Chapter 29: The White Cage
The car wheels coated in thick mud stopped spinning right in front of a wooden building that was almost buried in snow. White steam billowed from the hot engine hood, battling against the freezing Alpine mountain air.
Frans turned off the engine. He looked back, staring at his best friend through the rearview mirror.
"We arrived at point zero, Xav. Security sensors are green. No signs of life within a five-kilometer radius."
Xavier did not answer immediately. He looked down, staring at Agatha's face resting on his chest. The woman's eyes were closed tight, her breath was short, and her body temperature felt scorching against Xavier's skin.
"Open the door, Frans," ordered Xavier softly but sharply. "And activate ghost mode. I don't want any signal going out or coming in from this place except from me."
"Ready. What about Agatha? My phone has been vibrating non-stop. She must be panicked seeing the helicopter news."
"Ignore it. I will deal with Mother later. Your focus now is to ensure no tire tracks on the driveway. Cover everything with snow."
"Alright."
Frans got out of the car. Cold air immediately rushed in when the passenger door opened wide.
Xavier lifted Agatha's body carefully. He tightened the leather jacket wrapped around his wife's body that was already available in the car, protecting her from the bone-chilling mountain wind.
"Xavier..." Agatha mumbled softly, her eyes opening slightly feeling the drastic temperature change.
"Shh. Go back to sleep. We have arrived," whispered Xavier in Agatha's ear.
Xavier stepped down. His boots creaked stepping on thick snow. He did not stop to admire the majestic ice mountain view in front of him. His legs strode wide climbing the wooden stairs to the hidden main door.
A red laser beam scanned Xavier's retina.
Beep. Click.
The steel door covered in wood opened automatically. Warm air immediately welcomed them.
Xavier carried Agatha inside, passing through a luxurious living room with walls made of bulletproof glass, and went straight to a room behind a bookshelf.
He laid Agatha on a leather-covered examination table. The operating lamp on the ceiling turned on automatically, highlighting Agatha's deathly pale face.
"Hot..." complained Agatha. Her hands moved restlessly, trying to take off the thick jacket wrapping her.
"I know. You have a fever," said Xavier. He deftly opened the jacket and threw it on the floor.
Xavier's eyes narrowed seeing blood seeping through his black t-shirt that Agatha was wearing. The fabric stuck stickily to the skin.
"I have to cut this," said Xavier while taking medical scissors from a metal drawer. "This t-shirt is already trash."
Agatha opened her eyes, trying to focus on staring at Xavier's tense face.
"That... why do you always tear my clothes," said Agatha with a hoarse voice, trying to smile crookedly even though her lips trembled.
"I can buy the factory for you tomorrow morning. Be quiet."
Xavier cut the fabric from bottom to top with precise movements, splitting the back part. He pushed aside the wet fabric carefully.
Xavier's breath hitched. His jaw hardened until his neck veins bulged. The emergency stitches he made in the car earlier were shapeless. The gunshot wound and scratches on Agatha's back opened wider, red, and swollen.
"Is it very bad?" asked Agatha, reading the angry expression on her husband's face.
"You destroyed my artwork," answered Xavier coldly, trying to hide his worry. He threw the scissors onto the metal tray with a loud clatter. "Next time, if I tell you to stay still, you stay still. Don't jump like a crazy rabbit."
"If I stayed still... you would have a hole in your head, Mr. Valois."
"Better my head has a hole than seeing your back destroyed like this."
Xavier turned around, taking a syringe and a small bottle containing clear liquid.
"This is local anesthesia. It will sting for a moment."
"Just do it. I am not a glass doll."
Xavier injected the needle around the wound. Agatha's back muscles tensed. The woman's hand gripped the side of the metal table tightly, but no sound of groaning came out of her mouth.
"Hold on," muttered Xavier. He stroked Agatha's sweaty hair with his free left hand. "The medicine will work soon."
While waiting for the anesthesia to work, Xavier took a special satellite phone from his pants pocket. He turned it on for a moment.
"You want to call your mistress?" asked Agatha weakly, her eyes starting to droop due to the anesthesia effect and exhaustion.
Xavier snorted. His thumb typed a quick message on the screen.
"Yes. An old mistress who is very chatty named Melynda Valois."
"What did she say?"
"She didn't say anything because I won't give her a chance to speak."
Xavier pressed the send button.
Recipient Melynda Valois
We are alive. Safe. Don't track or I will disappear forever. Wait for news.
Xavier immediately pulled the battery out of the phone and placed it on a far table.
"Done. Now there is only you and me," said Xavier. He returned to the side of the table, wearing latex gloves and a mask. "Do you still feel this?"
Xavier pinched the skin around the wound lightly with tweezers.
"Feels thick... like rhino skin," muttered Agatha.
"Good. I will start stitching. Don't move a single millimeter."
The room was silent, only the sound of clinking medical tools and the sound of their breathing was heard. Xavier worked with full focus. His hands that usually held a pistol or a gold pen now moved nimbly uniting the torn skin tissue. Sweat dripped on his temples, but he dared not wipe it.
"Xavier," called Agatha softly, her voice sounding like someone delirious.
"Save your energy. Don't talk."
"Why did you bring me here?"
"Because the hospital is too dangerous."
"No... I mean... why this place?" Agatha turned slightly, staring at the glass wall showing the snowstorm outside. "You said your mother doesn't know this place."
Xavier stopped stitching for a moment. He stared at Agatha's back which began to be covered with neat stitches.
"Because this is the only place where I am not Xavier Valois the billionaire or the mafia king."
Xavier resumed his stitching.
"Here I am just an ordinary man who wants to hide his precious belonging from the outside world."
"Precious item..." Agatha chuckled softly, her eyes closed. "You still consider me an investment item?"
"Shut up or I will stitch your mouth too."
Agatha smiled faintly in her sleep. The anesthesia finally pulled her consciousness into a calm darkness.
Xavier finished the last stitch. He cut the thread, then cleaned the remaining blood on Agatha's back with warm gauze. He bandaged the wound with a neat sterile bandage.
"Done," muttered Xavier.
He took off his mask and gloves, throwing them into the trash bin. He stared at Agatha who was fast asleep. The woman's face looked peaceful, far different from the fierce face that killed people a few hours ago.
Xavier took a thick blanket, covering Agatha's body up to her shoulders. He did not move Agatha to the bedroom. He was afraid the movement would ruin his stitches again.
Xavier pulled a work chair, sitting beside the examination table. He rested his elbows on the edge of the table, staring at his wife's face intently.
He held Agatha's hand which hung limply. His thumb stroked the emerald ring circling the woman's ring finger.
"Now... sleep tight my little rose."
Xavier leaned his head on his arm, his heavy eyes finally closed, sleeping in a sitting position while guarding the only thing he feared losing.