NOVPUBSo they waited in silence for Marco to finally wake up and have the ability to talk, and on the other side of the city, there was waiting too.
Hector walked into the hospital as he were, gun still in hand, and well, he just made the whole misunderstanding on another level as he had the IF patch on his vest and his face was covered up, but it also helped that he wasn't alone, but Ramirez too, with a few men come with him, while the others were at Marco's house literally robbing the shit out of it while they had time.
Yeah, back at the house, dozens of guys started moving everything that they could, money, documents, anything that had value too. They picked up the guns, as many as they could, and the IF agents actually helped them after they finished off every single man of Marco. There wasn't any mercy nor the need to arrest anybody.
A soldier of a gangster and a soldier of the government, hand in hand, robbed the shit out of the estate.
"Dilian." Ramirez said his name, but he was in a state that was alarming. He looked like a zombie with his body covered in blood.
"Where is he?" Hector asked as he stood in front of him and Dilian just pointed toward a restricted area. "Fuck…" He sighed as he sat down too, and to Dilian's surprise, that was it.
He thought it over for him that he would be killed and he didn't have any problem with it, but it was more about Ferucci. He wanted to hear whether he was alive or not, he was ready to beg for his life to at least hear the doctor's word. But no, there wasn't any shouting, any feeling that he would die.
Something he was sure would happen to him, but no Hector sat beside him without any further words.
"Get yourself together." Ramirez said as he grabbed Dilian's weapon from him and then he unbuckled his helmet. "Go fresh yourself up." He said, but Dilian didn't move, just slowly looked up to Ramirez and he saw it.
The eyes of a soldier who lost every hope… the eyes of a soldier who struggles with his past and now this just puts more burden and weight on him.
Yeah, he saw it many times, especially at the younger ones, those who only wanted to show how capable they are, how good of a soldier they are, and then they collapsed under the pressure, under the consequences of their actions.
Something that is more worse than death… the struggle of what they experienced out there.
"I said go, Dilian." Ramirez pulled him up from a chair. "Liam, help him." He looked at one of the men that came with them.
He immediately stepped in, grabbed Dilian's arms and went toward the toilets with him, and that's when Ramirez realized it.
The eyes. There were dozens of people in the waiting area looking at them, snapping photos and whispering.
"We are going to be all over the internet…" He whispered as he sat down beside Hector and put on his mask… which was late but still he felt better by it. What he didn't feel better about was Hector who didn't speak, just stared up ahead. "Don't worry, he's going to—"
"James went alone." He said as he now looked at Ramirez. "He went alone with agents and a fucking director to the ministry… like fuck, isn't that crazy?"
Yeah, Hector was still more worried about James than Ferucci, who was in the worst state in his life, but it just made Ramirez realize that for Hector there was only one person, and that was James and his family.
"Can I ask a question?" Ramirez said as he leaned back.
Hector just nodded as he looked at him.
"You're afraid of it, right?"
"Yeah, he is—"
"Not that." Ramirez said as he stared at Hector. "Are you afraid of the power, aren't you? If something would happen to him, it would put you into his place."
Silence followed as Hector realized what Ramirez was talking about and what he was implied by those questions.
"No, I don't because I would die with him." He stared into Ramirez's eyes. "I'm afraid to lose who gave me the chance to see my sister live again, to see her outside of the hospital, to see her smile. And you too, as the other hundreds of men and women in the family, all of them are afraid of losing that somebody who gave hope. I'm afraid of that."
It was the truth. James helped without even knowing he helped, without even wanting to. Yeah, he helped so many people that their loyalty was not loyalty anymore but something that was far greater than that and it came with a cost that Hector knew too.
There will be no family if James dies. With him, all the hope will die, and there is nobody who they can accept as the successor.
Ramirez knew it too, because he would feel the same if somebody stepped in James's place, even if it was Hector himself. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't feel the same that he feels for James. 𝘯𝘰𝑣𝘱𝑢𝘣.𝑐𝑜𝑚
There was no other gangster in the entire country who built up a family that he actually protected and cared for, a family that got so much that they could never pay it back. There's not even any organization or government aid that could outnumber the help of James, he did so much… and he didn't even know about it.
He questioned the loyalty of his people, that if they heard that he worked with the government, that would be a downfall like he just betrayed them, but no there wasn't even one question about it, not even one thought of betrayal or anger.
Blindly following someone is a bad thing, but blindly following someone who they trust and they knew that made their life better, literally aided them to live, is a command from the heart. Let it be a war, an assassination, bribing, or money laundering, they do it without question.
James Bellini is the man to them, the one worth dying for.
"Excuse me." Suddenly a nurse stepped to them.
"Yes?" Hector asked as he looked up.
"Uhm, I'm sorry to say this, but your appearance is making our patients uncomfortable, and they're also taking photos of you." She said, a hint of embarrassment in her voice. "We have a private waiting room, so if you would follow me, that would be best for both you and for us, the hospital." She added.
And well, yeah, Hector and the others did cause discomfort, they stank of blood, sweat, and gunpowder… and the hospital was a private one.
Which meant rich people were in the waiting area, and, well, they expected to be as comfortable as possible, they paid thousands for it. Even though the IF patch was visible and they assumed Hector and the others were agents, the truth was simple, they paid for luxury so they wouldn't have to breathe the same air as the poor in a public hospital, where the chance of dying is higher than surviving.
People who looked like lowlifes weren't welcome, even in a hospital.
So they got up and went after the nurse into a room and everything just became more clear. Leather couches, luxurious decoration… it looked more like a hotel than a hospital.
"We can also proceed with the documentation." She grabbed a clipboard. "Can I ask for his name?"
Ramirez looked at Hector and he was clearly thinking, but then answered. "I can't give you that, he is an IF agent."
She looked confused. "Your other colleague said he is an ISB agent…"
"Joint operation, but I don't think we need to explain everything… you can see it." Ramirez cut in, staring at her.
"Okay, I understand that, then the bill should go to the Ministry of Justice, yeah?"
A question that just angered both of them.
"Bill? We don't even know if he's alive or not, and you're already talking about money?!" Ramirez raised his voice, but the nurse wasn't intimidated, she had dealt with people like him many times before.
"It's a private hospital, and yes, even if he dies or lives, the bill needs to be taken care of—"
"You fucking bitch… I mean, sorry, it just came out of nowhere." Hector said as he stared at her. "Just write it to the Ministry of Justice."
She stayed silent a bit but did write it down, and with a last look she went out of the room, muttering something.
"That's why I hate all of them." Ramirez said. "Asking for money when we don't even know if he's alive or not."
"They're gangsters too, aren't they? If you can't pay, they advise you to take a hefty loan that you can't pay back, and that loan agency will mess your whole life up. That's why I hate private hospitals."
"Healthcare was always a mafia." Ramirez answered as he sat down on the couch leaning back and closing his eyes. "But let's rest a bit until we get some news."
"You can rest, I'll stay up. Who knows, maybe they'll find out who we really are. If that happens, I'm shooting shit up." Hector said as he leaned back, putting his pistol on his lap.
"That would be a good alarm clock." Ramirez chuckled, and that was it, silence. Not long after, Dilian and the others also came into the room, sitting down, lying on the couch, and some of them even sleeping, while others like Dilian and Hector stayed up waiting.
Meanwhile, in the basement of the ministry, Marco was finally awake... ready to be "questioned."
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