Chapter 5

"Once this is done, I'll get a cut of whatever Charlie makes." Richard straightened himself up and decided to go find Charlie to celebrate.

Meanwhile, Sophia was lying against her raised pillows, her eyes full of worry.

She had heard every word of Noah's call with Richard.

Noah walked into the room, clearly aware of this, but said nothing.

Sophia had just woken up, but she was no fool. She knew exactly what the name Blood Skull gang meant in the West Coast underworld.

They were a bunch of lunatics, heavily armed Mexican cartel fanatics. Charlie and Richard had deliberately handed Noah a death sentence.

"You shouldn't have... agreed to this, Noah." Sophia's voice was soft, with a slight breathless urgency. "They want you dead. There's no way you can take on an entire armed gang by yourself."

No matter how hard it was to speak, Sophia needed to make herself clear. She didn't want Noah walking into his death.

Noah came to the bedside, braced his hands on the edge, and looked at Sophia.

"If I back down even an inch today, tomorrow morning the Black Group board will use 'incompetence' as a perfectly legal excuse to strip me of every bit of control I have."

Seeing that Sophia had gone quiet, Noah's voice dropped, steady and certain.

"In a world where money and gangs mix, you can't show weakness. If they want to play, I'll play along and use it to take control once and for all."

Something about the quiet force this man gave off made Sophia feel, strangely, at ease.

She gave a small nod. "I... trust you."

Sophia believed her father must have had his reasons for choosing Noah as his sole heir.

Noah looked at Sophia's pale face, thinking back to that surge of wild awakening energy he had felt inside her moments ago. He reached out and took hold of her wrist.

He tried to draw on what remained of his Metahuman Ability to probe further, but strangely, although her pulse was beating, that energy was gone, as if it had never been there at all.

He also noticed that Sophia's body was dangerously weak, like someone who could die at any moment.

Noah frowned slightly and turned it over in his mind.

Had the drugs Charlie injected completely disrupted her awakening? Or had her body's self-protective instinct forcibly shut the energy down?

He didn't ask. As a former top-level assassin, he knew exactly what to focus on at each stage.

Right now, Sophia was simply a critically ill patient who had just brushed against death. Pressing her about Metahuman Ability would only push her over the edge mentally.

There was time. As long as she was alive, he would eventually get to the bottom of it.

"Get some sleep." Noah let go of her hand and pulled the blanket up over her.

A moment later, Noah stood and walked toward the door of the ward, sweeping a cold glance over the head of security standing outside.

"Keep this door locked. I've called a friend over. No one gets through except her. Not even a fly."

Half an hour later, a car pulled up outside the estate, and a woman stepped out.

It was Maria Cullen. She was wearing a black trench coat and walked quickly into the heavily secured floor.

Noah went out to meet her.

"Noah." When Maria saw him, a smile crossed her sharp, composed face. She stepped forward and pulled him into a firm hug. "Long time no see. I was starting to think you'd actually rot away out in the suburbs."

"Ran into some trouble." Noah kept the small talk brief and got straight to the point. "The woman in there is Brian's daughter. Someone worked her over badly. She's extremely weak. I need you to take over her entire care."

Maria was well-informed and already knew about Sophia's situation. She started negotiating. "You know my rates aren't cheap. And I don't clean up other people's messes."

"You pick all the equipment. No one interferes with your treatment plan. If any of Charlie or Richard's people get close, you're free to shoot them." Noah laid out his terms.

Maria smiled. As a woman herself, she understood exactly how much privacy and careful attention this kind of critical care required.

She nodded without hesitation. "Deal."

The two of them were about to head inside when the head of security stepped sideways and blocked the door with his body.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Wilson."

The captain looked Maria up and down with open contempt, as if she were some ordinary nurse who had wandered in from the wrong floor.

"Ms. Black is not someone to be handled carelessly. We have a dedicated private medical team. We can't allow some doctor pulled from who knows what neighborhood clinic anywhere near Ms. Black."

His men laughed along with him. In their eyes, Noah was just a lucky nobody. What kind of serious doctor could he possibly know?

The smile vanished from Maria's face instantly. She didn't even glance at the captain. She reached into her trench coat pocket, pulled out a dark gold credential, and slapped it against his chest.

"Open your eyes and read it." Maria's voice carried absolute authority. "Chief Trauma Surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Pentagon-appointed battlefield medical consultant. Maria Cullen. If you idiots think your second-rate doctors are better than me, I'll walk out right now."

The head of security looked down at the name on the credential. Cold sweat broke out across his forehead, and he kept wiping at it with his hand.

Every mercenary in the room drew a sharp breath.

Maria Cullen.

Who in the underworld or the military hadn't heard that name?

She was the one who could drag high-ranking officials and top operatives back from the edge of death with her bare hands.

"Dr. Cullen! I'm so sorry!" The captain immediately bowed ninety degrees, hands trembling as he returned the credential.

When he straightened up, the way the mercenaries looked at Noah had completely changed. There was nothing but awe and fear.

A man who could make Charlie eat his words, who could make one phone call and bring the most respected name in medicine over as a private caretaker -- who exactly was this guy?

Maria let out a cold snort and followed Noah into Sophia's room, where she moved efficiently through the space, checking the readings on every monitor.

"Go handle your business." Maria adjusted the drip rate and made a promise to Noah. "As long as I'm here, God himself isn't taking her."

Noah nodded, then fixed his gaze on the head of security outside the door. "Did everyone hear that? Anyone who comes near this room without Dr. Cullen's permission gets shot on sight. That means Richard. That especially means Charlie."

"But..." The captain swallowed hard, his face tight.

Noah was an outsider after all. They were on the Black family's payroll. Directly defying the board's authority wasn't a call they could make on their own.

The captain had no choice but to look toward Sophia on the bed for guidance.

Noah stepped to the bedside and gave Sophia a nod, signaling her to speak.

Sophia was weak, but her eyes were sharp and clear. She gathered every bit of strength she had and gave a small nod. Her voice was hoarse but cut right through the room. "Everything... goes through Mr. Wilson."

With their actual employer's approval secured, the head of security snapped to attention. "Understood. Not even a fly gets in."

With that settled, Noah patted Sophia's shoulder to tell her to rest, then turned and headed out.

"Noah." Maria followed him into the hallway and lowered her voice.

"I've heard what's going on. The Blood Skull gang isn't a bunch of small-time thugs. I have plenty of friends in the retired Navy SEAL community. I can get you two tactical teams at any time, weapons and connections included. Don't go throw your life away."

Noah stopped walking. He looked back at her, the corner of his mouth lifting.

"They're just trash. I'm more than enough on my own."