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Authors: James Suriano
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you because, well, I didn’t want to tell you because I thought you might be ashamed of me for pursuing answers from him.” He looked at her and winced.
“Ashamed? Gavin, I love you dearly, but sometimes I just wonder how far you would go to stay true to your church’s teachings. This is our son. And I’m used to unusual names.”
“I know, but you’ve got to remember, God first, spouse second, children third. That’s the order.”
“No, that’s your order.” She pulled her hands away from him.
“You sure you want to go into the lion’s den?”
“I’ll put my head in the lion’s mouth if it saves Joshua.” She didn’t miss a beat.
He looked over his shoulder at his son lying in the hospital bed. Joshua looked pale and lifeless, with tubes and sensors attached to every part of his body. The image had been burned into his brain from previous trips—something he tried to erase from his memory, even though he knew it was the foundation of his greatest fears. He could tell Noila was serious. If they stuck together, he hoped that it would be enough and that they would be okay.
“You’ll like the ship. It’s amazing. I didn’t even know something like it existed. I just have a gut feel that Lucifer has ulterior motives.” He waited. “Are you absolutely sure?”
“Sure.” She looked him eye to eye.
He felt something in her had changed. She had a direction now, and she was going with it no matter what.
They walked out into the hallway. Lucifer was on the phone with someone. He disconnected upon seeing them and slipped the phone into his pocket.
“So? Should I put the plan into action?” he asked.
“Yes, on one condition,” Gavin said.
“Really, you’re ‘conditioning’ me? I mean, I’m ready to save your son’s life, invest what you could never dream of spending in treatment, and you’ll only accept on one condition? You can’t be serious.” He was half joking, but he was making a point.
“Noila and I will have access to him at all times, and nothing will be done without our consent,” Gavin said, ignored the jibing.
Lucifer shrugged. “That goes without saying. We aren’t running a prison out there. I think your bigger problem will be getting him out of here. If you’d like, I can handle that.”
“How?” Noila asked.
“I’ll be back in a moment.”
Lucifer went to the reception area for the unit and spoke quietly to the receptionist. When he came back, he smiled at Noila and Gavin, who were seated in Joshua’s room.
“All set. The doctor will be over soon. We should have Joshua on his way within thirty minutes.”
Gavin and Noila looked at each other, surprised.
“See what I mean?” Gavin whispered to her.
Twenty minutes later, the attending psychiatrist came over and huddled with Gavin, Noila, and Lucifer. “I just want you all to know,” he began, “that I think this is the best thing for Joshua. I hate to say it, but he’s not going to get better here. We just treat the aftermath of what happens. I can trust you’ll keep that between us.” He patted Lucifer on the back and handed him Joshua’s discharge papers.
Leo appeared at the door with another man dressed in what could be described as couture scrubs. Where the logo for a hospital usually would have been was the symbol of Lucifer, as Gavin began to recognize it: a gold dragon with an L shaped out of the dragon’s tail, along with a pair of ruby-red eyes. Underneath the logo, Gavin saw some ancient Greek writing, which he could make out from his seminary training: “You examine the face of heaven and earth, but you have not come to know the one who is in your presence.”
“Let Leo and Francisco do their work. Joshua seems to be asleep at the moment. I’ve asked the nurse to give him a little something extra to make the journey more comfortable.” Lucifer winked at them before turning around and heading down the corridor.
…
Gavin was pacing in his quarters on the Dragon while Noila was
“Ashamed? Gavin, I love you dearly, but sometimes I just wonder how far you would go to stay true to your church’s teachings. This is our son. And I’m used to unusual names.”
“I know, but you’ve got to remember, God first, spouse second, children third. That’s the order.”
“No, that’s your order.” She pulled her hands away from him.
“You sure you want to go into the lion’s den?”
“I’ll put my head in the lion’s mouth if it saves Joshua.” She didn’t miss a beat.
He looked over his shoulder at his son lying in the hospital bed. Joshua looked pale and lifeless, with tubes and sensors attached to every part of his body. The image had been burned into his brain from previous trips—something he tried to erase from his memory, even though he knew it was the foundation of his greatest fears. He could tell Noila was serious. If they stuck together, he hoped that it would be enough and that they would be okay.
“You’ll like the ship. It’s amazing. I didn’t even know something like it existed. I just have a gut feel that Lucifer has ulterior motives.” He waited. “Are you absolutely sure?”
“Sure.” She looked him eye to eye.
He felt something in her had changed. She had a direction now, and she was going with it no matter what.
They walked out into the hallway. Lucifer was on the phone with someone. He disconnected upon seeing them and slipped the phone into his pocket.
“So? Should I put the plan into action?” he asked.
“Yes, on one condition,” Gavin said.
“Really, you’re ‘conditioning’ me? I mean, I’m ready to save your son’s life, invest what you could never dream of spending in treatment, and you’ll only accept on one condition? You can’t be serious.” He was half joking, but he was making a point.
“Noila and I will have access to him at all times, and nothing will be done without our consent,” Gavin said, ignored the jibing.
Lucifer shrugged. “That goes without saying. We aren’t running a prison out there. I think your bigger problem will be getting him out of here. If you’d like, I can handle that.”
“How?” Noila asked.
“I’ll be back in a moment.”
Lucifer went to the reception area for the unit and spoke quietly to the receptionist. When he came back, he smiled at Noila and Gavin, who were seated in Joshua’s room.
“All set. The doctor will be over soon. We should have Joshua on his way within thirty minutes.”
Gavin and Noila looked at each other, surprised.
“See what I mean?” Gavin whispered to her.
Twenty minutes later, the attending psychiatrist came over and huddled with Gavin, Noila, and Lucifer. “I just want you all to know,” he began, “that I think this is the best thing for Joshua. I hate to say it, but he’s not going to get better here. We just treat the aftermath of what happens. I can trust you’ll keep that between us.” He patted Lucifer on the back and handed him Joshua’s discharge papers.
Leo appeared at the door with another man dressed in what could be described as couture scrubs. Where the logo for a hospital usually would have been was the symbol of Lucifer, as Gavin began to recognize it: a gold dragon with an L shaped out of the dragon’s tail, along with a pair of ruby-red eyes. Underneath the logo, Gavin saw some ancient Greek writing, which he could make out from his seminary training: “You examine the face of heaven and earth, but you have not come to know the one who is in your presence.”
“Let Leo and Francisco do their work. Joshua seems to be asleep at the moment. I’ve asked the nurse to give him a little something extra to make the journey more comfortable.” Lucifer winked at them before turning around and heading down the corridor.
…
Gavin was pacing in his quarters on the Dragon while Noila was
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