Lending A Helping Hand

Wearing a blue t-shirt and black skirt with white tennis shoes, Victoria left her baton at home. She would be going to Rose Garden hospital and did not want to cause alarm by carrying a weapon in. Today she was going to assist with a blood drive going on at the hospital. As a newly minted Petal of Black Rose, her job was to give the guild a good public face. Helping at a highly publicized function such as a blood drive was a gift-wrapped opportunity to build on Black Rose's public reputation.

Victoria walked up to the hospital entrance, which was flanked by a couple of town guard officers and a female nurse standing in front of them. In the nurse's hands was a clipboard, presumably of guilds that were allowed to enter and guilds prohibited from entering. Black Rose was certain to be welcome. Victoria stopped in front of the nurse and waited. She was soon greeted by a brown-haired young woman wearing a nurse's uniform.

"Ah, you must be here to help with the blood drive! What guild are you from?" The brown-haired nurse with a ponytail asked.

"Black Rose." Victoria said, showing off the guild tattoo on her left shoulder to prove her claim. The nurse's eyes widened in surprise. The town guard officers also took notice.

"Oh, a member of Black Rose! What a pleasant surprise! Please, come on in!" The nurse said before handing Victoria a badge on a red lanyard. The white card simply read "VOLUNTEER" in large black letters. Now that she had the badge around her neck, it was time to go to work. She entered the hospital and began looking for ways that she could help.

[Word Count: 286]

-Inside the hospital-

Victoria stepped inside the hospital and saw that the security presence was a lot bigger than normal. Normally there were only a few rent-a-cops here. Today there was a substantial town guard presence. She wondered why.

"Hi there! We need your help with this gentleman. He gave blood just five minutes ago. Could you help him get to the recovery room?" A male doctor with gray hair and a bushy gray mustache asked her.

"Sure." Victoria said as she took a skinny young man by the arm. He wore a white t-shirt and brown dress pants with brown shoes. He looked a little... beat up, for lack of a better word. He had short black hair and brown eyes. On his face and chest were prominent bruises like he had been repeatedly punched.

Victoria guided him down the hallway and followed the signs. They had rounded a corner when he suddenly forced her into an empty room and shut the door. Victoria was concerned.

"I'm real sorry about this." He said. Victoria was on the edge of panicking. Was he a Corlone hitman?

"I don't mean you any harm. Just listen to me. Please." He urged her.

"My name's Ted and I'm with the Corlones. Or, I used to be. I'll give it to you straight. I want out." He said to her.

"Why's that?" Victoria asked calmly.

"There's a lot of shady stuff going on with them." Ted answered. Victoria raised an eyebrow in skepticism.

"I know, I know, it sounds real hypocritical coming from me. Look. I joined them because I was a street kid without parents or anything... my parents died in a house fire ten years ago. No one gave a damn, but the Corlones took me in and promised that I wouldn't ever go hungry again if I just did what I was told." Ted continued. Part of Victoria felt like she was being played like a cheap kazoo. The other half felt like he was telling the truth. She just decided to hear him out before passing judgment.

"So I did things, things that I regret. I roughed people up for protection money and robbed old ladies. I'm tired of that life. Running's probably not the answer, but I want out and a chance to start over far from here." Ted explained further.

"Why don't you go to the police?" Victoria asked the obvious question.

"The Corlones have eyes and ears everywhere in this town. They'd think I was ratting them out and send hitmen to shut me up for good. Me and everyone in the building I'm in. Collateral damage is something they don't care about. That and I don't know if the police can be trusted... the Corlones have been dangling bait to see who'll bite." Ted replied. Victoria could not help but to agree with his logic. But what to do?

"So the Corlones are trying to buy themselves a mole in the police?" Victoria asked him.

"Yeah. No one's taken the bait yet. As far as I know, anyway. I was just a low-level grunt." Ted replied. Victoria was starting to believe him. Buying a mole on the police force sounded like something the Corlones would do, especially after the town guard had stopped Francesca Corlone from making good on her threats against Victoria twice before. Suddenly there was knocking on the door.

"Quick! Lean on me!" Victoria whispered. Ted leaned on her just as a doctor came in.

"What's going on?" A female doctor asked.

"Sorry, doctor. He got kinda woozy and asked me to help him into this room before he hit the floor." Victoria apologized. Ted nodded and feigned weakness. The doctor looked at them for a moment before responding.

"OK. Just don't take too long, OK? This room might be needed." She said.

"Of course, doctor. We'll be out of here soon." Victoria said. The doctor left and went on her way. The pair sighed with relief.

[Word Count: 664] [Total Word Count: 950/500]

I used Victoria's UA Smooth Talker. This is indicated by the text in bold font and in a different color.

"That was close. We'd better get going before someone catches us." Ted suggested. Victoria could not help but to agree. It was time to wrap this us before they got caught again.

"Quick question... how did you get the bruises?" Victoria asked him.

"Francesca Corlone got mad when I refused to kill someone for her. All the person did was bump into her in line for a... a passport. She got mad and had me beat up real bad. It took half a day before I was able to walk normally again. I admit that I've done some bad things, but I'm not a killer." Ted explained while showing the numerous bruises on his legs, including a few marks where he was hit with a blunt object. Then his eyes widened. It was like he recognized her.

"You! You're the one Francesca wanted me to kill! Some chick named Victoria Sheridan." Ted said to her.

"I'm flattered. I never knew that I was such a nuisance that she'd want me dead." Victoria snarked.

"It's no joke. She wants you dead real bad. Last I heard, she was looking for outside professionals to make the hit. Watch your back." Ted warned her. She got the feeling that he was not trying to play her. He was serious.

"Thanks Ted. Now let's get going." Victoria said. He nodded and opened the door. She helped him out and they made their way down the hall crowded with patients. What he had said to her sounded serious. The Corlones were trying to buy a police officer and they were looking to have her killed.

They wound down the hall and slowly weaved in between doctors escorting patients to rooms until they reached the recovery room. Ted turned to her and spoke again. He looked relieved and full of resolve.

"Thanks Victoria." Ted thanked her in a soft voice.

"No problem. Just don't play me." She replied calmly.

"I'm serious about getting out. I'm gonna leave Rose Garden and never come back. I have an older brother named Bill Cranston who's in Capital Crocus... he's a retired Rune Knight who works in private security for wealthy people. I have some magic, but it's pretty weak. I don't know if I can get a job in Crocus, but I'm gonna try to get some honest work." Ted informed her. Victoria decided to trust him. Sometimes one had to take a risk to do the right thing.

"If you need help, come to the Silver Moon Inn and ask for me. I'll try my best to help you." Victoria said to him.

"I will. And thanks." He said before walking into the room and getting a chocolate chip cookie to eat. Victoria hoped that she had not trusted the wrong person. Telling him to come to the Silver Moon Inn was a pretty big risk. It might get damaged yet again. Time that the bar was being repaired from yet another attack cost the guild money.

Still, she could not ignore a chance to legally get back at the Corlones, especially that entitled bimbo Francesca. She would need to inform the Guild Master of this development because this threatened the entire guild. She took a deep breath and went around to see who needed help.

-Eight hours later-

"Thanks for the help, Miss Sheridan!" The brown-haired nurse from earlier thanked Victoria as the latter handed in her volunteer badge. The latter had helped the elderly get to the recovery room, stopped unruly children beating each other with crutches, and even served punch to patients. She thought about Ted and hoped that she had not been tricked by a sob story. He seemed sincere, but she could not tell for certain. She would find out soon enough.

Victoria left the hospital and made her way back to the Silver Moon Inn. She would need to make that report soon. But first she might need a drink. Maybe some Slatheron would do the trick.

[Word Count: 665] [Total Word Count: 1,615/500]