Love Unspoken

Quinn eyeballed her for what felt like forever and then blurted out, "If you wanna make more cash, just spill the beans. No point in hiring you as a translator otherwise."

Casey looked like a deer in headlights. She clutched her pocket, hesitated, and finally said, "Alright, I'll spill. I'm from around here, but my mom's not. She got tricked into coming here. I've been here since I was a kid. My mom used to grow poppies for Emilio, but she quit when she got sick. We live in this village."

"And who's Emilio?" Quinn asked.

Casey explained, "He used to run the show here, but someone else took over a few years back. Leadership changes all the time here; we're used to it."

Casey made it sound like no big deal, but Quinn caught on that her mom had been duped into coming here.

Before growing poppies, she must've been through a lot.

"What about your dad?" Quinn asked.

"I don't have a dad. Mom said he died ages ago," Casey answered.

Quinn didn't push it. After waiting a while and not seeing Alexander and the others, she got up and headed in the direction they went.

Casey tagged along. Turns out there was a sickroom in the back, and the doc was in there patching up Alexander.novelbin

Hearing the doc talk, Casey ran in to translate.

The doc said Alexander's wound was infected and needed an IV. The injury was bad, and his skills were limited; he could only check for external injuries, not internal ones. Alexander's rib was definitely busted, but it was unclear how many were cracked. The doc also asked if that area had been broken before.

Quinn stood at the door, not going in.

The doc told Alexander to stay put for the IV. After cleaning up and changing into fresh clothes, Alexander looked like his usual dignified self, no sign of the mess he was in the forest. He leaned against the wall and asked Casey to step out to ask Sean some questions.

After Casey came out, the door closed, but the soundproofing sucked, and Quinn could kinda hear the convo inside.

Sean talked about Walter showing up.

Alexander lit a cigarette and said thoughtfully, "Then it's not surprising."

"What's not surprising?" Sean asked, confused.

"The tiger," Alexander said briefly.

"Are you saying it was his doing?" Sean asked.

Alexander didn't answer, just smoked quietly, his expression getting colder in the swirling smoke.

Walter had stayed in that village for two days. It seemed like he did nothing, but who knew what he was up to behind the scenes.

Tigers could be trained, just like dogs, to remember scents and track targets.

And where Sean lived, there happened to be clothes he had changed out of.

Messing with the computer was to delay Sean and the others from rescuing, while not completely cutting off their communication, ensuring that when Sean arrived, Quinn would still be alive. Even though tigers could be trained, there were too many uncertainties. Even the trainer couldn't guarantee that after killing Alexander, the tiger wouldn't turn on Quinn.

Sean, a bit pissed, said, "He still hasn't let go of wanting to kill you!"

Alexander sneered, his eyes flickering.

"Didn't he initially say he was here to help you find someone, but changed his mind after seeing the notebook?" Alexander reminded.

Sean thought about it and realized it was true. At the time, Walter didn't react much to the notebook, just casually mentioned that he couldn't get in touch, making Sean think he didn't care. In the end, he leisurely stayed for two days, only leaving when Sean drove him away.