Panic rushed through Charles like a flood. The blood on his palm wasn't even red, but black. He could taste the metallic taste blood had thick on his tongue, and he coughed some more. As he coughed, it felt like he wouldn't stop. He wrenched his tie from his neck to enable him to breathe but doing that seemed to drain him faster as he fell to the ground. He tried to use his palm to hold himself but ended up collapsing on the floor. He continued to cough and dark blood dribbled down the sides of his mouth. His chest felt tight, like there was no space for his heart to beat. He had thought he would be fine, not knowing the gas had already done its worst while he had been busy hacking at the door. Was he going like that? The blue sky in front of him wavered, and seemed to split as he faced the heavens, and it was the last thing he saw as the darkness crowded his sight. Luckily for Charles who lay helpless on the floor, a woman looking to be in her mid-forties happened to pass by. She looked like she was bearing all the fury of the world upon herself as she struggled to move her legs as fast as she couldn't within her long, and tight skirt. Her scarf kept falling, and it made her frustration even worse as she tried to push it over her shoulder. Then she saw him. "Aaaah!" She screamed, and almost fell to the floor. Her eyes were as large as apples, and her lips parted slightly as she looked around. Her breath came out noisily as she took a step backwards. She turned and ran, scared to have seen a corpse, but she stopped and clenched her fists. What if he was still alive? Still breathing? She wouldn't be herself if she left without knowing if she was dead or not. The police could not harm her, after all, she had a place she was coming from and people she had argued with. There was no harm in checking to see his condition. Slowly, she took steps backwards with her chest heaving heavily, and then she turned, and ran to him. "Excuse me! Excuse me, are you okay!?" She asked with a shaking voice but realized she was being stupid so she bent down and put her head to his chest with restlessly shifting eyes and fingers that wouldn't stop vibrating as they tried to sweep back her hair behind her ear so she could hear better. Her own rash breathing didn't let her hear a thing, so she took in a deep breath, and stopped breathing, and her eyes shot open when she caught a faint heartbeat. "Somebody help!" She screamed, lifting her head from Charles and whipping it all around to check if anyone was nearby then she happened to spot his car key on the floor near the car, and she picked it up. Even though she no longer owned a car, and it had been years since she drove, she was going to drive, and save the man whose life was hanging right at the tip of her fingers. She lifted Charles with everything she had, and had him lean against her, and slowly she inserted the key into the backseat door, and when she pulled it open, with much effort, she pushed Charles in, and adjusted his legs so they were in the car, then she shut the door, and opened the driver's seat with the key so she could drive. She glanced back at him and with trembling fingers, she started the ignition, and drove crazily. Years of no driving or not, she still had it in her, and she zoomed past the cars on the highway when she got there. She drove to the nearest hospital, and called for help. Immediately, she was attended to by the doctors who came out rushing with a stretcher. Charles was taken, and she was asked of her relations to him. "I don't know him. I happened to see him laying there next to his car. See? It's his car out there." She told them. Charles was given first aid, and attended to and the woman had left in a hurry after dropping her number as she had been going somewhere before she met them. Later in the middle of the night, Charles opened his eyes and tried to sit after registering his surroundings. "Oh goodness me. You're awake." Vera whispered with tears in her eyes. "How did this happen?" She asked, and tried to help him into a sitting position. "How did I get here?" He asked. "A kind lady was so good to bring you here with your car. But, don't worry about that, I've rewarded her. She was also happy she had helped you." Vera told him, and he tried to recall the last thing that had happened. "It wasn't just a false lead, it was a set up. They wanted me there, and that was why they tricked James. I don't know what kind of gas it was but it almost killed me. I might not have made it without my suit." Charles said, flaring his nostrils. "Why would they go as far as this!? What's all this!? If we get Mark, I swear I'll…" Vera was saying but suddenly Charles held her wrist. "The court." He reminded her sharply, and she took in a deep breath. "I informed them of what happened to you so they decided to postpone the trial to three days later so you can heal properly." She told him, swiping back her hair. "Today is just all wrong! It's all wrong." Charles spat out, thinking of the day's events and how everything had been sour from the moment Josephine called. Then he remembered with a jolt. She had asked to meet that evening! "What's the time, Vera?" "We're in the early hours of the morning. Maybe two?" "What?" Charles grabbed his phone, but before he could do anything. He had seen the message from Josephine. He clicked on it, and it read…