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The restaurant that Lydia chose for dinner is a small Italian place near their apartment. Well, the apartment that Stiles is supposed to move into despite most of his stuff now being split between three different places. There’s still stuff at his old apartment, what survived the fire and didn’t get damaged, as well as some things that got moved to Lydia’s place, and, of course, a lot of his clothes and important necessities have ended up at Bucky’s place, where he’s basically been living since the fire.
Nothing’s been officially said about Stiles just moving in with Bucky, so he’s not presuming anything, but he probably does need to get around to cleaning out the other apartment completely sooner rather than later. He can just move everything to his room at Lydia’s because, really, he’s only been dating Bucky for, like, a few weeks even if it feels like it’s been much longer. So much has happened in such a short time that Stiles often catches himself thinking all of this mess has taken place over years instead of months.
When he gets to Mancini’s Italian Bistro, he scans the dining room until he spots Lydia and Peter sitting at a table near the back. He makes his way over to them, swirling his fingers as he approaches the table to cast the silencing charms that have become habit. “I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” he says, pressing a kiss against Lydia’s cheek before sliding into the empty chair. “There was a disruption on the subway, so I got delayed.”
“What kind of disruption?” Peter asks, arching a brow. “You know, it might be best for you to stop taking the subway, Stiles. At least, until the rest of the Hydra group can be killed.” He smirks slightly. “Or captured, of course. Do let me specify so your goodie goodie superhero clique doesn’t get their panties in a wad.”
“I’m not avoiding the subway, Peter,” Stiles says firmly. “I’m already distrustful of everyone I work with minus a small handful of people, and I assume every stranger I pass might be part of Nergal, so I’m pretty sure that I’m just as safe on the subway as I am taking a cab. As for the disruption, it was a different train that had a suspect for some jewel heist that got caught by some superhero or another. Didn’t hear the name, but apparently there are thousands of them around here, so who knows?”
“Peter actually has a point, Stiles,” Lydia says, rolling her eyes when Peter looks smug. “Don’t let it go to your head, Hale. Even an incorrect clock is correct once. Seriously, though, the subway would be an ideal place to try to attack you. It’s usually crowded, no one is paying attention to anything, and it would be easy to stab you from behind during a rush to board a train.”
“Et tu, brute?” Stiles clutches his heart and sighs dramatically. “Lydia, these people started a fire in my apartment building. I don’t think discreet and under the radar really matters to them if they want me dead. The files that Wash gave me have been found and turned over to the Avengers, so I might not even be a target anymore. I’m still looking into it because of the mysterious Enki, who managed to pique my curiosity, and because they killed Hazel and Jose and who knows how many other people.”
“Don’t be so dramatic,” Lydia says. “I’m being honest with you, which is what we promised years ago that we’d always do, brother dear. There are still people out there who fall into the category of villain that either want you dead or want you alive to get information from you, which I assume would end in death anyway. James is currently out of the country, and he entrusted me with your safety because, and I quote, ‘you know that Doc’s too stubborn to take care of himself’, end quote.”
“Besides, I wasn’t suggesting that you take a cab to work, alpha,” Peter says, stressing the title as he smirks. “We have a pack vehicle, and Braeden will be back from Buenos Aires before your next scheduled shift, so we also have a driver available. You mustn’t forget that you’re now the head of our pack, sweetheart. That comes with added responsibilities, such as staying alive and not being obstinate.”
“What’s she doing in Argentina?” Stiles asks. “Last I heard, you two were at the estate in Sleepy Hollow. It’s also not really fair that you can use this whole alpha thing against me when those responsibilities weren’t mentioned in the fine print before I accepted the position.”
“I’m sure there was a caveat in the contract that stated other duties as assigned,” Lydia says dryly, kicking his shin under the table with the point of her high heel.
“Braeden is working,” Peter says. “How do you think the pack can afford such a luxurious estate, Stiles? As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m in the procurement business, and I sell valuable items to wealthy people. Braeden has assisted me with this task for years, and she’s currently picking up an amulet from Buenos Aires for a particularly eager client.” He huffs. “It’s all legal and above board, alpha. The items just usually happen to have a supernatural lineage.”
“You forget that Derek and I actually had conversations back in Beacon Hills,” Stiles says, rolling his eyes. “I know most of your money comes from the Hale pack inheritance, but I do remember you mentioning finding and selling things before. As long as there’s no dark magic involved or evil intentions, I don’t have a problem with it.” This time, he smirks. “However, if I hear about anything bad happening, you’ll have to cease operations per your alpha.”
“Of course,” Peter says, looking far too pleased about Stiles asserting his alpha position. “We’ve agreed, then. No more subways or cabs until James tells us that the last of the Hydra threats against your life have been disposed of; at which time, we can reevaluate your transportation needs.”
“I didn’t agree to anything,” Stiles mutters, trapping Lydia’s foot between his legs when she tries to kick him again. “Stop that, sister-wife. Your shoes are pointy and hurt.”
“I’m not going to be forced to arrange your funeral when I’m young and attractive brother-husband,” Lydia says firmly, giving him a warning look when he opens his mouth. He closes it quickly, ignoring Peter’s snicker. “You’ll accept the lovely offer that Peter’s made regarding the car and driver, though I’d suggest utilizing Braeden as more of a bodyguard, personally, since we could hire a driver easily enough.”
“No bodyguards,” Stiles tells her, a warmth flushing through him as he looks at her, flashing his eyes alpha red because that’s something new and cool that he can do now. Peter doesn’t know about the remnants, about the side effects that basically make Stiles an immortal, so he isn’t aware that Lydia’s talk about danger and funerals is a bunch of nonsense. While he knows that Lydia is obviously worried about him, he draws the line at a bodyguard. “I’ll compromise, okay? I’ll take the damn car and driver to work if you insist, but I can use a protection spell to keep me from being harmed if I take other transportation on my days off. Agreed?”
“Fine, but I retain the right to renegotiate if another attempt is actively made on your life,” Lydia says. “You might be right about no longer being a target for Nergal, but you can’t be sure about that. I love you, Stiles, but you can be oblivious to things sometimes. I also know that Trini’s betrayal has left you feeling exposed and vulnerable, so you’re being more cautious, but caution isn’t enough to protect you from people who are part of Hydra. They kill and torture for sport, and there are some things that might be even worse than simply being killed.”
“Point taken,” he says, opening the menu as he makes a slight retreat from this fight. “We can renegotiate in the future if there’s any reason to do so. I spoke with Pops earlier. He and your mom made it back safely from their cruise, and he attempted to mentally scar me for my life, so you’d be proud of him.”
“Oh? What did the delectable sheriff have to say that would cause you mental distress, sweetheart?” Peter asks, allowing the subject change after he receives a nod from Lydia. Stiles rolls his eyes because they’re so ridiculous, but he reminds himself that it’s coming from a place of support and love.
“Apparently, our parents have discussed various plans regarding Jordan and his infatuation with Pops,” Stiles says, happy when Lydia grimaces just like he did. “See? I told you. I wish I could wash out my brain with bleach after hearing that because eew. So gross. They’re old and our parents, and Jordan’s younger and hot and also kind of flirted with you senior year.”
“Okay, we’re not going there,” Lydia says, still grimacing. “I don’t want to think about any of that, and you’re a terrible brother for even discussing that kind of thing with your dad, much less sharing it with me. I’ll probably have nightmares tonight. And he didn’t flirt with me, Stiles. He was just friendly and lonely. I guess he isn’t so lonely now that he has our parents. Oh gross. Yeah, we can’t talk about this anymore because I don’t even want to think about it.”
“I always knew the sheriff was a wild one,” Peter says, snorting when Stiles kicks him for the tone he uses when talking about his dad. “Moving on, did he have any interesting news of Beacon Hills? Is the lackluster Alpha McCall still alive and well?”
“We didn’t talk about Scott, and I’ve told you to be nice. He’s still my friend even if we aren’t close anymore,” Stiles mutters, looking up with the waitress approaches with breadsticks and butter. She takes their order, and he decides to just get spaghetti with meatballs because he hasn’t really looked at the menu. That’s usually a safe bet in an Italian restaurant even if he knows it’s more of an Americanized dish. Once she’s gone away, he sits back in his chair. “He mostly wanted to find out about the whole alpha thing. Jordan told him just enough to make his thoughts dangerous and incorrect, so I cleared up some things for him.”
“How did he take it?” Lydia asks, taking a sip of her red wine. “I assume you had to tell him about the apartment fire that caused your acceptance of the pack bonds. Did you tell him about the magic?” She holds his gaze for a moment, silently asking if he told his dad about the Nogitsune and the remnants.
With a slight shake of his head, he reaches for his glass of water. “I briefly touched on the fact that I have magical skills, but he was mostly concerned about my apartment building almost burning down. He was also curious about who’s in my pack, but we didn’t get into details about that before he had to get back to work.”
“Is he aware of James’ actual identity and your involvement with a local New York City Hydra cell?” Peter asks. At Stiles’ look, he sighs. “Really, Stiles, you need to learn how to share important information with the people who love you. Your father is in law enforcement, so he might have access to information that we don’t regarding the attempted arsonists or even your fake doctor.”
“Peter, do you really think that my dad is going to have clearance for anything in the world that Tony Stark doesn’t?” Stiles asks, giving him a pointed look. “Exactly. You forget that my new buddy, Tony, can hack into any system in the world, possibly the universe since, hey, aliens are real, and one of them visits occasionally to be part of my new boyfriend’s little superhero squad.”
“You had better introduce me to Thor the next time he visits,” Lydia says sweetly. “He’s gorgeous, and I’ve heard that he’s surprisingly intelligent, too.” She clears her throat. “Have you found out any new information about Nergal since our last discussion? You mentioned meeting with the superhero squad yesterday, but you refused to tell me what Stark’s new information was because you’re an asshole.”
“Yeah, I am,” Stiles agrees. “And I don’t know if I’d even meet your hottie, Thor, but I’ll be sure to introduce you if I do. As for my meeting yesterday, we basically started over from scratch. The intel was about a new housekeeper at the hospital, this guy that Natasha thought looked familiar. Turns out, he’s part of some group called Leviathan, which is similar to Hydra in terms of being full of awful evil people, but they also want to defeat Hydra. No idea why he’s here or why he’s emptying trash at the hospital, though I’m pretty sure it ties in with Nergal somehow.”
“Another person at the hospital is actually a member of an evil organization?” Lydia stares at him. “And you didn’t feel this information was worth sharing prior to our agreement about refraining from a bodyguard? Stiles, I know that your head is harder than lonsdaleite, but it might be wise to consider changing jobs at this point. There are plenty of hospitals in New York City that probably aren’t crawling with dangerous wannabe villains.”
“I have to finish my residency,” Stiles reminds her. “It’s almost complete, but I have to get the paperwork submitted before I can be signed off as an official trauma doctor. I’m not opposed to changing hospitals, though. Not anymore. There are just so many memories around there now that make it feel like I’m working with ghosts. The last two shifts have been really tough, especially when Lucas is still upstairs and Alicia’s on vacation. I might be stubborn, but I’m not unrealistic. There’s a good chance that I’ll probably look for another position once my residency ends instead of remaining there.”
“Do we know if this housekeeper is aware of you, and your connection with Dr. Wash and his notorious files?” Peter asks, slipping into left-hand mode with a slight curl of his lips. “You need to text me his name, and I can take care of the threat. If it helps, I can even search his residence for any useful information for your little squad.”
“You can’t kill him,” Stiles points out. “Not yet, at least. Stark and the others have him on their surveillance board now, which means they’re monitoring him closely. I’m letting them deal with him and Leviathan because I’m more focused on the person sending me anonymous cryptic texts about Tommy Mata and Carrie Hill. Speaking of, I might have finally had a break in my attempts to find a connection between them. One of the SHIELD agents is helping me explore my possible lead.”
“Now who’s being cryptic?” Lydia asks, looking up from her phone, where she’s been typing notes in an open document. “I know that James is out on an assignment because he texted me about keeping an eye on you. Does it have anything to do with Hydra or is it some other superhero related business?”
“He and Natasha are going to Poland to pick up Clint and a prisoner,” Stiles says, not sure if he should really share that information or not, but it’s Lydia and Peter. He trusts them with his life, literally. “Clint works for SHIELD, and Bucky just tagged along because Natasha asked him to go with her. He didn’t say that the prisoner was in any way involved with all of our mess, but he mentioned that Clint might know something about what Kaminsky was saying before he died.”
“What do you need from me, sweetheart?” Peter asks. “I’ll leave the housekeeper alone, I suppose, but I make no promises should he become an active threat to your life. However, I’d feel better about things if I’m able to contribute in some other way instead of simply waiting around for something else to happen.”
Before Stiles can answer, their food arrives. It looks good, and he’s suddenly starving. Picking up his fork, he winks at Lydia before smiling innocently at Peter. “Actually, there’s something I’m going to definitely need your help with, Peter,” he says casually. “In a couple of weeks, we’re going to have a guest in town for a few days, a friend of my pop’s, and I’d like for you to escort him around the boroughs to ensure his safety.”
“What friend is this?” Peter gives him a suspicious look while Lydia’s eyes widen slightly as she seems to figure it out. She takes a drink of her wine, using the glass to cover her smirk. Peter narrows his eyes at Stiles. “Your father doesn’t have many friends, does he? Especially not any that would require pack protection for a visit.”
“Yeah, well, I know that New York City is very different from most places considering the high concentration of superpowered individuals and the supernatural, and the rules here aren’t typical,” Stiles says, bringing his spaghetti covered fork to his mouth. “I simply offered our pack’s help to ensure that Pop’s friend doesn’t get into trouble. I mean, I don’t know how some folks around here would like a hunter in their territory.”
“Seriously? You want me to babysit Christopher fucking Argent, alpha?” Peter’s expression seems conflicted. He’s sneering slightly while also looking intrigued.
“Yes, Peter,” Stiles says. “My dad wants him to nose around, so I know you’ll do an excellent job of keeping him busy and focused on the things that we do share with Pops and away from anything related to Hydra and superheroes. Now, quit sulking and eat your food.”
*********************
Dinner was delicious. The restaurant is one that Stiles is going to have to take Bucky to when gets home. Because his two nearest and dearest pack members are paranoid, they drive him to work after their leisurely dinner ends. He’s dropped off at the front like a child being left at school, and his arm is still stinging from the sharp slap that Lydia gave it when he teasingly asked for his lunchbox.
Sometimes, his lovely sister-wife just can’t take a joke.
When Stiles enters the hospital, he’s immediately accosted by Susie, who looks rather stressed out. She ducks her head as she approaches him, and he makes a face because it’s really unnecessary. “Don’t do that, Susie,” he murmurs, tapping his finger against his thigh as he lets his magic surround them. If she’s greeting him in the lobby, she must have something personal to discuss, so he wants them to have privacy.
“Hey, you’re the one who went out and made yourself an alpha, Stilinski,” she points out. “I was taught all the appropriate protocols by my aunt, so suck it up and deal with it.”
“It’s weird, and I don’t like it,” Stiles says, pouting at her while she snickers. “That’s better. Now, what do you want? I still have to change, and our shift starts in twenty minutes.”
“It’s actually about the wards,” Susie says. “My aunt wants to know if you’d be willing to come out and place them sometime next week. The ones we have are getting weaker, and there’s always a slight concern because we aren’t one of the larger packs in the area. She mentioned it today before I came to work, and I don’t know. I think maybe something else is worrying her? If we can get the wards done, I’m hoping she’ll relax.”
“Sure, I can do that,” Stiles says. “I’m actually off the next three days, if you want me to come out this week. James is away on business, so it’s a good time for me to focus on warding.”
“Let me check with her,” Susie says. “I think it should be okay, but I’m not sure what the pack plans are for New Years since I’ll be working four in a row starting tonight.”
“Sure, I’m relatively free the next three days,” Stiles says. “I’m thinking about working at the homeless clinic on Tuesday, but, otherwise, I can meet your aunt anytime. However, it might be better to wait until you can be there, too, considering the whole alpha thing.”
“She’s not likely to get too bothered since you’re human,” Susie says thoughtfully, “but I’ll check with her. I think your lack of scent would probably be worse, in all honesty. Your spell for concealing your magic is the strongest I’ve ever seen, not that I’m as experienced with magic users as my aunt, and the only thing we can really smell is a weaker scent of human that is obviously altered from your normal scent. It took me weeks to adjust to it because it feels off to my wolf.”
“Really? I didn’t know I smelled any different than usual,” Stiles says. He wonders if it’s some type of instinctual protection from the leftover remnants or possibly his spark. “I just know I hide my magic unless I impulsively use it when in a hospital room with an unknown werewolf nurse.”
“Haha,” Susie says dryly. “It’s not my fault that you were so focused on work that you didn’t notice things happening around you. You’re more aware now, though, which is good. New York is a densely populated place with all kinds of supernatural creatures, and some of them can be dangerous.”
“There are also a ton of superheroes and villains here,” he adds. “Something else I basically ignored for years until it became impossible to do so. Even today, the subway got delayed because of a jewel thief being chased through another car.”
“Sometimes, I wonder if the abnormal residents don’t outnumber the normal in the city,” Susie says. “But then I’ll walk a few miles and smell enough mundane humans that I know I’m wrong.”
“Yeah, I think there are a lot of humans here. Speaking of, how’s Lucas doing?” Stiles asks, falling in step beside her as they walk down the hall towards the Emergency Department. “I caught up with him yesterday morning, but I didn’t stay that long because James was waiting on me.”
“He’s doing well,” Susie says. “There are some issues with his shoulder and the nerves there, though, so his doctor is consulting with neuro and ortho. There’s a chance that he might have ongoing trouble with his hand that could affect his nursing career, but he seems to be remaining optimistic about it.” She shrugs. “He said he’s lucky to be alive, so he isn’t going to worry about it.”
“That’s a good philosophy,” Stiles says. “He’s young, and he can use his degree in other ways if the issue turns out to be chronic. Don’t worry about things that haven’t even happened yet, Susie. Life’s too short.”
“I’m not worried,” Susie tells him. “Don’t give me that look, either. Lucas is like an older brother to me. I’m not interested in him romantically or anything, so I don’t need any rumors getting started. With his wife cheating and their separation, he just doesn’t really have anyone else but us, so I’m trying to be supportive.”
“You’re a good friend, Susie.” Stiles smiles at her and nudges her arm, getting rewarded with a grin. “I’m getting changed. I’ll see you out there.”
Going into the doctors’ lounge, he sees Stefanie and Kaley chatting in front of their open lockers. He goes to his locker, putting his bag down on the bench behind him before he enters his combination into the lock. The door opens, and Dr. Tran enters, looking exhausted and ready for his shift to end.
“Good luck this evening,” Phuong says, shrugging his no longer white coat off his shoulders. “It has been very busy today. Many cases of influenza and pneumonia, several accidents with power tools, and a handful of vehicular accidents for our shift. The floors are near capacity, so it is taking a long time for admits to go through.”
“You make me feel so excited to get to work,” Kaley says, groaning as she shuts her locker. “Do you know how staffing is tonight? If your shift was that busy, we’ll probably be worse if the trends are normal, and we’ve been running short for weeks.”
“Sorry, I do not know,” Phuong says. “I did hear Teresa mention that there are new nurses who have joined the team, but she didn’t specify if it was our shift or yours.”
“We can handle it,” Stefanie says confidently. She lightly punches Stiles’ shoulder and smiles. “Can’t we, Stilinski?”
“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Stiles agrees. “I know we have Susie tonight, and she’s been taught by the best. I also saw Obadiah and Harper on my way in, so we’ll each have a strong nurse, if nothing else.”
“When is Alicia back?” Kaley asks. “I think she said after the new year, but I wasn’t sure if she was taking less time or more time considering everything that’s happened up here recently. I was telling Greg about it, and I realized just have much has changed in such a short time.”
“Good riddance to Dr. Stone,” Phuong says bluntly. “I have not trusted his knowledge since he argued with me over a patient in AFIB shortly after joining the department. He was wrong and nearly cost the patient their life.”
“Yeah, I’m glad he’s gone,” Kaley says, catching Stiles’ gaze and smiling wryly. “How’s James doing, Stiles? Is he planning anything fun for the new year since someone got lucky with their rotation this year and gets it off.”
“He’s good. We don’t have any plans that I know about, mostly because he had to take a work trip rather last minute. He should be back home by Tuesday night, but you know how messy air travel around the holidays can be.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Stefani groans. “Our flight was delayed eight hours, and I was seriously worried that I might have to call in tonight. Fortunately, we got home shortly after midnight, so I was able to get enough rest to keep people alive tonight.”
“You should take Obadiah tonight if you’re jet lagged,” Kaley offers. “He’s the most experienced working tonight, so he can provide more support.”
“Be careful getting home, Phuong,” Stiles says, closing his locker and squeezing Phuong’s shoulder. “Traffic was pretty heavy when I came into work. See you in the morning.”
Following Kaley and Stefanie out of the lounge, he bumps into them when they stop suddenly. “Why is Dr. Lewis here?” Kaley whispers, looking at him and Stef. “It’s Sunday night.”
“Maybe he’s helping cover since we lost Stone?” Stiles suggests, not quite believing it even as he says it. “Come on. Let’s go find out.”
Dr. Lewis nods at them as they approach the circle of staff that are around him. “I think everyone’s here now,” he says, looking around the group. “I wanted to come in at shift change to tell you something I found out today that will likely cause you some distress. I didn’t want you to find out accidentally, though.”
“Are you quitting?” Harper asks, securing her dark hair with a scrunchie as she looks at Lewis.
“Or dying?” Matt, one of the techs, asks. “You’re scaring us, Dr. Lewis. We don’t see you on Sunday nights ever.”
“You’re all very impatient,” Lewis mutters before he squares his shoulders. “I received a phone call from Rajiv Malakar earlier today. I’m sorry to tell you that he received word yesterday that Trini passed away following an automobile accident. I’ve asked him to let me know if there is any type of service, and I’ll pass that information on when I receive it.”
Oh. Stiles didn’t expect this, but he probably should have, especially considering everything that’s happened. He sees a few people crying, and he has to remind himself that no one here knows the truth. They don’t know Trini as the person behind a virus intended to infect and kill millions. They only know Trini, the competent nurse who was always willing to help.
“You knew, didn’t you?” Susie asks quietly, her eyes shining with tears. “You didn’t react at all when Lewis told us about Trini.”
“Rajiv called me yesterday,” Stiles admits. “He knows how close Trini and I were, so he wanted me to know. I didn’t even think about letting anyone else know.”
“Dr. Stilinski, may I have a moment of your time?” Dr. Lewis asks, nodding politely at Susie.
“Of course, Dr. Lewis,” Stiles says, stepping to the side and looking at him. “Is everything alright? I haven’t made any case errors, have I?”
“No, not at all. Your work is exemplary as always,” Dr. Lewis says. “I actually wanted to let you know that Dr. Harris found one of your patient files when he was cleaning out Dr. Wash’s office. He thought you might have been consulting with Dr. Wash for a study, possibly publishing your results. I’ve got the file in my office if you’d like it back.”
“Yes, please,” Stiles says smoothly, even as his mind is whirling. Wash had a patient file that belonged to Stiles? They don’t even have paper charts, which means Wash must have printed a chart out. He needs to find out who the patient is and why Wash would have had his name on the file. Or, wait, it might actually be from the research he’d done over the summer, now that he thinks about it.
“Alright. Follow me to my office and I’ll get it for you,” Dr. Lewis says. “I’m very sorry about Trini, by the way. I know you two were very close. She basically adopted you when you joined us, and she always spoke so fondly of you.”
“Yeah, she was my work wife, so I’m still stunned about it.” He clears his throat and changes the subject. “Dr. Wash and I had been discussing a possible study involving an undefined viral substance that I’ve noticed in a couple of patients who were here for other reasons. I think it might be some type of new designer drug that’s spreading through shared needles or something, and I’d requested Dr. Wash to look at the research several months ago.”
While that’s actually true, Stiles honestly forgot about his suspicions regarding the drug when everything in his life became busy and dangerous instead of routine and slightly dull. The files had been given to Wash’s secretary months ago, but it’s the only thing that makes sense. He’s actually relieved to remember that project because Wash caused enough issues for him already.
They reach Dr. Lewis’ office, and he gets the file off his desk. “Here you go, Dr. Stilinski,” he says. “If you still need the opinion of a noted epidemiologist, I’d suggest reaching out to Dr. Majwi at Mount Sinai. His work is well noted, and his reputation is on par with Dr. Wash.”
“Thanks, Dr. Lewis,” Stiles says, flipping through the file and seeing the labs that he’d given Wash months ago. Good, this can get set aside for later. Maybe he can work on it after they locate the money behind Nergal. The overhead pages him to room 5, so he smiles. “See you later. I’ve got work to do.”
When he arrives in room 5, he finds Susie taking vitals on a middle age white male complaining about flu-like systems. When the man turns and vomits onto the floor, he looks at Susie and sighs. “Get ready, Susie Q. It’s going to be a long night.”