Chapter 51: Cross-Department Consultant

They walked together, up the staircase and through men in the clubhouse. Tension hung in the air. All eyes were on them. Many of them were confused while some glared with obvious contempt. Some of the men did a double take when they walked past. Nobody talked. The whole place fell into complete silence.

Chad didn’t bother acknowledging anyone as he led the man up the staircase. A whisper sounded at one corner, “what kind of crazy is this? Are we letting the Viper leader walk freely on our ground now?”

Hank didn’t even flinch. He maintained the upright posture, completely casual, like he was strolling through the garage. “What can he possibly do? He doesn’t have any weapon with him. We outnumbered him,” someone spat, replying to the whispering man in a slightly louder tone.

The two leaders walked in comfortable silence till they were totally out of sight. Hank casually placed his hands in the pocket of his pants as he chuckled. “I sure have a bunch of enemies.” Chad gave him the side-eye before replying nonchalantly, “yes, you do.” The exchange was as dumb as saying the earth is round.

They walked in silence again till Chad stopped in front of a door. The guards’ eyes widened as they fell on Hank. Their hands automatically landed on their weapons, ready to pull them out. Chad waved at them, signalling for them to lower their weapons. They were reluctant at first, but eventually obeyed. Their rigid posture maintained as their hands hovered over the handle of their respective weapons.

The two men stood in front of the closed door. Chad looked over at Hank. He pointed, signalling that he would stay there. Chad gave it a thought. He nodded before knocking twice. He was careful to control his strength, not wanting to knock too loudly, as if he was afraid of surprising the person in there.

A few seconds passed before some shuffling sounds were heard in the room. A young woman opened the door almost soundlessly. She studied the new visitors, eyes landing a beat longer on Hank’s face before quickly averting her gaze to the ground. “Are you busy?” Chad asked, voice almost a whisper.

Nelly turned to check on the unmoving figure in the room before shaking her head. Chad signalled for her to follow. Quietly, she closed the door behind her and followed the gang leaders to a room at the end of the hallway. Her hands fidgeted nervously as she walked behind them.

Chad entered the empty meeting room and took his usual seat. Hank did the same. His movement was natural, as though he was very familiar with the place. If anyone didn’t know better, they would think that he’s in his own clubhouse. Nelly, however, hovered by the door, looking awkward. Chad nodded at her as he pulled out a chair.

Carefully, she inched into the room and sat on the chair. Her posture was rigid, showing how she was very uncomfortable with the setting.

“How’s she doing?” Chad kept his tone casual as he asked the question. Hank's eyes zoomed in on Nelly, interested in their discussion. Nelly shook her head. “Still the same,” she replied, “if she’s not going to eat by tonight, we might need to consider prescribing a glucose solution. Her body will fall apart if this goes on.”

Chad could almost see the flick of surprise and worry before Hank carefully masked his expression. “Could you explain her condition?”

Nelly’s lips were pressed into a thin line. “I major in surgery, not psychiatry,” her tone came out flat when she spoke. The room fell silent and the men stared at her without saying a word. A few seconds ticked by but they didn’t back down. She cleared her throat. “I still have to explain it nonetheless, right?”

“I’m not sure if I’m entirely right, but she might be going through a depressive disorder,” Nelly said. “Depression,” the word came out as a whisper. Nelly nodded at Chad. “You’re right. Basically, people who have lived through traumatic events or undergone severe losses are prone to having depression.”

Hank took in a slow soundless breath. “What can we do now?” He spoke for the first time since entering the room. Nelly shifted her attention to the stranger in front of her. Chad noticed her reluctance. “He’s her.. friend,” he dragged the sentence longer than intended, not knowing what to say of their relationship.

Nelly brightened. “Glad to know that there’s someone she’s familiar with. Are you close?” She asked, oblivious to the tension that built in the room. Chad’s eyes darted between them while Hank cleared his throat awkwardly. “We lost contact a long time ago,” he finally said.

Nelly nodded absent-mindedly. “Better than nothing,” she mumbled. Then, she looked up at Hank. “I’m not sure what happened to her to make her this way,” her eyes darted to Chad, including him in the discussion. “There must be something that triggered her. Do you know what happened?”

Her eyes darted between the two men. Knowing perfectly what happened, the two men almost shifted awkwardly in their chairs. Nelly stared naively at them with hope shining through her two round eyes.

“Something.. major happened in her life,” Chad answered with much difficulty. Nelly nodded as the gears in her mind continued turning. “That’s possibly what triggered her. We need to know what she’s going through now. Might be loss, guilt, hopelessness..” Nelly continued on when a knock sounded.

“Come in.” The door opened to reveal Jack. He nodded at Chad before his eyes flew dramatically to Hank, widening in an instant. Then, his gaze found Nelly at the side where he was standing. He blinked twice, as if trying to process the situation.

“What do you want?” Chad started feeling the annoyance of getting interrupted. The dramatic drag wasn’t helping either.

Jack recovered quickly. “I’m actually here for Nelly. Heard that I can find her here.” Nelly stood up at the mention of her name. Chad made an annoyed sound. “Can you do this later? We are in the middle of something right now.” Jack made a weird expression, flashing his teeth at them before continuing, “I wish I could but it’s actually an emergency. She’s dying as we speak.”