The night time was the right time when you wanted to get a heavy payload of work done. The federal building was as quiet as the tombs he frequented when Titus finally stepped off the freight elevator leading into the floors and floors of almost identical cars in the parking garage. His tie was loose and his throat was in need of a pint of something cold and dark. Nonetheless Titus moved quietly through the mostly dim area of the parking garage as he ventured outside to where his car was parked.
That's when he heard it in the alley next to the federal building. It was quiet though most brawls were. Unless the people were drunk or there was a crowd, a fist fight was just as quiet as traffic passing by. Finally, there was a loud yell as Titus crept to the open mouth of the alley. Three on one; never good odds for normal people. The scuffle looked serious enough as the three began to hold down the lone fighter. Titus moved down the alley like a ghost would haunt a hall. He drew the Para-ordnance and clicked off the safety but had yet to slide his index finger into the trigger guard. When he was close enough to see faint, young faces in the alley lighting, he raised the weapon and yelled. "On the ground now!"
The three kids turned to see the glint of the gun and that was all they wrote. They took off down the otherside of the alley saying something like bees or something that sounded like bees.
Titus looked down to the kid and instantly knew what the others were saying. V. This kid, no more than sixteen was beginning to froth at the mouth in a spray of crimson. Titus barely missed the water works as he dug into his pocket and produced the blue nitrile gloves he normally kept while he was working. He bent down and picked the kid up easily and tossed him over a shoulder. He began to move back to the mouth of the alley, as he picked out the phone from his pocket and pressed the dispatch speed dial. "This is Deputy Marshal Titus., I have a juvenile ODing on V I think. I don't think I have time for an ambulance, so I'm taking him in my personal vehicle. Inform the Medical Center in downtown that I'll bringing in a live one."
He slammed the brakes to the car as he pulled into the garage of the Medical center. Thankfully, dispatch relayed his call and there was a gurney and ER Techs waiting for him. He pulled up and began to recite what he had seen as he pulled the now comatose kid out of his back and laid him on the gurney. The kid was a shade of white Titus reserved for the dead, the only color a splash of red around the kids mouth. It almost seemed like the wrong color as he watched them push the gurney ahead of him as it disappeared into the maw of the medical facility. He was still in his gloves as he slowly followed with the trepidation of a phobia. A doctor greeted him with a red bag.
"Marshal I'll need you to disrobe." the doctor said as Titus looked around and back to the woman.
"What?"
"I need to take those clothes. You have blood all over them, and I need to have them tested."
"This is all I have on me right now," Titus said as he started to remove his clothing. He wasn't going to fight it but still felt a little sore about giving up a suit. The cold of the hospital chilled him a bit, worse than a cemetery, as he removed his shirt, showing of the glory of his chest, scars, scratches and all.
"Sorry Marshal, but you'll have to call to get clothes down here. Also I've called the cleaning team to clean out your backseat, but with what they'll use, you better just go ahead and call the dealership tomorrow to order a new one."
"Sonuva..." Titus growled but complied as he got down to his underwear in the middle of the hall and finally peeled off his gloves, tossing them in the red biohazard bag as well. The floor was cold and he had never felt more vulnerable in his life. "Is there a place I can shower?"
The doctors locker room was nice enough as Titus stood there with all the things a man had in his pants, plus his holster and gun. The doctor told him the kid was in the ICU but had no ID, just another statistic. He sighed as he pulled out his phone and dialed a number, once it hit voicemail.
"Alex, hey it's Titus, I'm at the Med Center in downtown Nawlin's and I need you to do me a favor, take your key, go to my house and grab me a change of clothes, nothing fancy just a pair of shorts and shirt will do. if I haven't heard from you in thirty minutes I'll try somewhere else."
He hung up the phone and with a heavy sigh he dialed another number.
"Marion, hey it's me. When you get this do me a favor and come down to the Med Center downtown. I may have a bigger favor to ask of ya. Bye."
Now Titus waited, wearing a pair of scrub bottoms while a team of qualified professionals began to bleach the inside of his car. He knew he should have spent the extra money for leather.
