5 An assassination attemp (1/2)
Richard remembered a day when he got sick and was forced to leave his sick bed after he took an emergency call from Du Lu.He hired a plane and flew to Siargao, an island in the middle of nowhere that didn't even have a decent motel to speak of.
Turns out, Du Lu was held in captivity by the father of a girl he messed around with and was being threatened with castration unless he marries the girl or pay the father $50,000 for dishonoring the pure little virgin.Du Lu was frantic and so Richard left his bed and flew 2,000 miles to attempt a rescue.
”What the hell were you doing here in the middle of nowhere anyway?” was the first thing he barked at his friend when he landed two hours later. ”And where am I staying tonight? Don't tell me I have to stay with you in that girl's house?!”
It was actually worst. He had to share a ramshackle hut with Du Lu without running water and other facilities he had taken for granted in his nice, high rise apartment. He spent a miserable week between fixing Du Lu's problems and his fever which fluctuated from high to low depending on his degree of annoyance and aggravation.
He remembered the incident and suddenly felt bone tired. His throat felt parched and sore. He wanted to get up and pour himself a glass of water but he felt too weak to move. He can only groan his annoyance because Du Lu was an asshole that deserved to have his dick cut off for making his life miserable. The asshole. Served him right if he ended up married to that ugly pig with the snub nose.
”I think he's coming to,” a voice suddenly sounded to his left. ”I'll go and get the doctor.”
He could hear someone sobbing in the bed beside him. He really wanted to open his eyes and see who it was but Du Lu was calling him about the pig that ate the sweet potato patch he planted in the yard. He was really getting tired of Du Lu's la-di-da voice.
He allowed his thoughts to further sink into deep unconsciousness to escape the grating noise. When he opened his eyes, it was morning. He was lying on a narrow bed surrounded by hospital equipment that blinked and hummed as he watched. He looked at them with an incredulous face. Did Du Lu flew him here from Siargo? Where was 'here' anyway?
”Good morning,” a voice suddenly greeted merrily. ”How are we feeling today? Are you hungry?”
The voice belonged to a middle-aged man with a smiling face. He was wearing a white coat and a stethoscope around his neck.He was chewing on a gum so his articulation was a bit off, with the Rs sounding like ”aw” when he said them.
”Where am I? What happened to Du Lu?”
”Du Lu? You mean the actor? He's fine as far as I know. I'd better go and tell your parents you're awake. Your dad begged your mom to rest and go to sleep not too long ago. She never left your side. She'll be happy to know that you're finally awake.”
The doctor didn't leave though until Richard answered all his questions and a nurse came in to serve him soft rice and jelly pudding. A little while later the door opened again and his parents came in. His mother immediately flung herself on the bed and sobbed on his chest. Richard looked at his father. The old man looked grimmer than usual and he seemed to have lost a lot of weight.
”What happened, Dad? Why am I here?”
”You don't remember?”
Richard frowned. ”I seem to remember a blast. An Ning was with me. An Ning...is she okay? Where is she?”
”Captain Roberts is waiting outside to speak to you. We can talk later.”
”Who? Wait, Dad!” Richard said but his father ignored him and walked out the door. His mom had taken a seat next to his bed and can't seem to stop crying as she held his hand. What the hell is going on?
The door opened again. A man in uniform came in and walked toward the bed. His mom stood up and, still crying pitifully, went outside, leaving him and the uniformed man alone in the room.