{Past_Future}

"Am I gonna kill myself?... Or am I gonna kill to save myself?"

No dedication for the arrogant...

"I'm working off a theory that could destroy me... you gonna stand by me, or against me?"

Chapter Twenty_Eight:

After the war between Andrew and Taker...

MARKELY: Hey there, man, how you doing?

JEFFREY: Marcoooo, how you doing?

MARKELY: Good, how's your health?

JEFFREY: Doing great.

MARKELY: Today's the big comeback.

JEFFREY: Chess, yeah!

MARKELY: Who's this?

— Don't remember me, old man?

MARKELY: You calling me old?

Jeffrey cracks up laughing.

JEFFREY: It's Nair, don't you recognize him?

MARKELY, stunned: Nair? That's you?

NAIR: Yep, it's me, "old man" surgeon, hahaha.

MARKELY, laughing: Missed you, kid.

NAIR: Gonna go with Lateena, we're grabbing some bread and vegetables from the store.

JEFFREY: All right, watch yourselves out there.

NAIR: Don't worry about us.

Lateena heads out with Nair, and the two friends get back to their Thursday nights.

JEFFREY: I can tell you've really got a handle on chess now.

MARKELY: Chess has got more than one direction.

JEFFREY: Just took your pawn.

MARKELY: And I'm taking your knight, you naive fool.

JEFFREY: You've gotten way more dangerous than you used to be at this game...

MARKELY: Either you conquer your enemy, or you sign a peace treaty.

The game rolls on, back and forth, trading talk about chess strategy.

MARKELY: Want a peace treaty?

JEFFREY: Sure, I don't mind.

MARKELY: It's a draw, my friend, you've really gone soft.

JEFFREY: Let's start fresh.

MARKELY: Come on, let's play again.

They keep playing round after round...

Jeffrey's hunting for a winning strategy, and Markely's clearly studied the game hard.

But Jeffrey's no fool either — he's sharp at chess, wins a few rounds — but Markely wins the overall war.

WILLIAM: It's not what you're picturing, son.

SLBERTER: What do you see in it, then?

WILLIAM: The drugs move through the lakes — someone picks them up there, then it heads to Latin America, along a route running north to south.

SLBERTER: So it starts up north?

WILLIAM: That's one theory.

SLBERTER: I can't do anything about the northern side.

WILLIAM: We need to loop in District Attorney Jacob Cadol.

SLBERTER: "The Greatest Detective" — he gonna actually work with us?

WILLIAM: Yeah! You know Andrew's got a huge reputation now after his war with Taker and the Dragon gang — picked up a lot of popularity too, for backing the Native tribes trying to get some of those villages back.

SLBERTER: Cub's a chip off the old lion, huh.

WILLIAM: Bouldj Bansal and Anirex Cadol backing Andrew boosted his standing at the family council, especially after Joseph Anir passed.

SLBERTER: Is Chairman Dean Anir on his side too?

WILLIAM: The Anir family doesn't take sides. Ever.

SLBERTER: We need to call another meeting to hash this drug case out.

WILLIAM: All right, we'll reach out to Anir and Cadol.

JATHI: Mr. Jacob, Detective Andrew's requesting leave to travel.

JACOB: Hand me that request.

JATHI: Here you go, sir.

JACOB: What — you're going with him?

JATHI: Yeah, I'm Detective Andrew's partner now, I've gotta go with him.

JACOB: Have him come to my office.

JATHI: You got it!

Andrew heads to District Attorney Jacob's office...

ANDREW: Yes, sir?

JACOB: Why the trip?

ANDREW: I've got something I need to finish, in another country.

JACOB, surprised: You've got business overseas?

ANDREW: Yeah! It's personal, and I need Jathi with me to help out.

JACOB: It's tough having our two best detectives both out of the office.

ANDREW: Seth and Pavel are here, plus Kaz and Rissal.

JACOB: I respect them plenty, but you and Jathi both gone at once is rough.

ANDREW: All four of them trained under me directly. They'll cover just as well, sir.

JACOB: Fine, here — you've got open leave till you're back.

ANDREW: Thank you, sir.

JACOB: Any news about...

ANDREW: Fantazia's still down south, don't worry, there's no rivalry anymore like there used to be. Things are a lot more mature between us now.

JACOB: Then I guess my worry was for nothing.

ANDREW: Don't worry, sir, things have really settled down.

JACOB: Safe travels, we'll genuinely be waiting for you to get back.

ANDREW: I won't be long. I'll wrap up my business out there fast and clean.

Jacob's thrown off by how Andrew phrased that.

Jacob stops Andrew before he heads out.

JACOB: Andrew... this business you're traveling for, is it a case outside the country?

ANDREW: It's Bansal family business. Not something the Cadol family needs to get involved in.

JACOB: I'll respect that, but when you're back, you're explaining everything to me.

ANDREW: Can't promise that. I've gotta go now.

The next day...

Nurse Nancy...

NANCY: Dr. Markely, you've got a really high-risk surgery, a patient in the ER.

MARKELY: Sami, finish stitching that wound up properly, then come to the other room, we'll look at the emergency.

SAMI: Yes, Doctor!

Markely goes to see the patient.

NANCY: We confirmed the heart's working, but the pulse is weak.

MARKELY: Heart's not running at full strength? Any issues with the arteries?

NANCY: The medical reports say there's a clot in the main artery, and there's a hole in one of the other arteries, cause unknown.

MARKELY: I think I know how to fix that.

NANCY: You'll find her in bed 3.

MARKELY: All right, get to your work, I'll handle this patient.

Markely walks in to find the patient is Corian — his old classmate, and Lucia's old friend.

Markely separates his professional life from his personal one, rushes her into the second OR...

Sami catches up with Dr. Markely fast.

MARKELY: Sami, good thing you got here in time. Look here, you see? There's a clear hole right here.

MARKELY: We're gonna repair it. There's a clot in the main artery too, we'll handle that. And she's gonna need electric shocks to get the heart active — it's beating right in front of us, less than 30 minutes and we'll have all this wrapped up.

She'll need the defibrillator to get the heart going again...

SAMI: Got it, Doctor.

Markely and Sami get to work treating Corian, doing everything they can.

The family council meeting begins, to handle the drug case coming down from the north of the country...

Sure enough, it's a bigger meeting than usual...

A lot of the most prominent family members show up...

WILLIAM BANSAL: Like Detective Fantazia said, everything starts from the north.

JACOB CADOL: You trying to insult me, William?

WILLIAM: District Attorney Jacob, we're here for the country, not to show off who's better than who.

SLBERTER: We don't need to spell out the difference between us. Everyone already knows who's better.

DEAN ANIR: No side conversations, gentlemen. William, since you filed the complaint, what's your suggestion?

WILLIAM: We need to move as one unit on this. We also want Mr. Jacob working with us, and of course, Detective Andrew.

Jacob cuts William off: You mean the Greatest Detective.

SLBERTER: Mr. Jacob, you failed to make your own son a detective, so don't act proud over Mr. William's son. You're just his boss at work. Nothing more, nothing less.

WILLIAM: Like I was saying — and of course we won't forget some of our other capable, standout people alongside Andrew and Fantazia — I think this'll all go better if we do it that way.

DEAN ANIR: But I don't see Detective Andrew here?

JACOB: He's got open leave, business outside the country.

ANIR: Since when's he been working outside the country?

JACOB: This is the first time.

ANIR: All right. My decision: Jan Docker and Fantazia Bansal handle the south, along with Tommy Docker and Andrew, or whoever's standing in for him from your office, Mr. Jacob.

JACOB: Mr. Anir, my office's already got some of our sharpest detectives, trained personally under Andrew Bansal — that's a real strength. I'll recommend Pavel and Rissal.

ANIR: Then we've got Tommy Docker, Fantazia Bansal, Pavel, and Rissal. We'll put surveillance in place, and this gets carried out exactly as stated. Meeting's over.

Everyone heads back to get ready for the mission...

At the hospital...

MARKELY: I'm heading out today, it's been a packed one.

SAMI: All right, sir.

MARKELY: Let them know that patient's bill is on me.

SAMI, thrown off: All right, Dr. Markely.

Markely heads home, changes clothes, lights a cigarette, and sinks into deep, silent thought.

LATEENA: We're back!

JEFFREY: Hey, babe. — kisses her.

LATEENA: I'll get the food going, Nis is sick today.

JEFFREY: Let me help you, honey!

LATEENA: No, I'll handle everything myself.