Nicolai - The Prelude Part III

Nicolai awoke to the myriad beeps of machines around him. He knew he was in a hospital, even before the stark white walls greeted his vision. Gradually, his sight returned to him, and he found himself in a single ward, with one window that was covered in a blue curtain. So he had a whole ward to himself? That could only mean one thing. And sure enough, as he slowly turned his head to the door, he saw a policeman standing outside it. Shit! He had hoped that the police wouldn't be called in, but he was being admitted with a gunshot to the chest; of course the police would want to get involved. The gunshot! Nicolai had completely forgotten about it. He lifted his sheets to find gauze covering a section of his chest. He guessed the doctors got the bullet out, or he wouldn't be here. And suddenly the whole situation hit him like a train. He had nearly died in a Parisian suburb only to be lying in a hospital with a police guard outside that would no doubt like to question him as to how he ended up with a bullet in the chest. And what if they linked him to the theft, and the murders? Shit! SHIT! He had to escape, but in his current state that was completely out of the question. His thoughts were interrupted by the door opening. A doctor walked in, followed by a policeman. There was nothing for it; he would have to talk his way out of an investigation.

"Hello, how are you feeling?" the doctor asked in French.
"A...a little sluggish..." replied Nicolai, also in French.
If there was one benefit from working in and around Europe, it was that you quickly picked up other languages. The doctor nodded and lifted the sheets to inspect the wound.
"Yes, that looks like it's doing well" the doctor said, before turning to face Nicolai.
"You are a very lucky man; the bullet only caused tissue damage, but you lost a tremendous amount of blood. You'll probably be anaemic for a few months."
"How long until I can leave?" asked Nicolai.
"Oh my, at least a week or so my friend! The bullet may be out but we still have to make sure you aren't infected."
Nicolai was silent for a moment. A week was too long. In that time Petr and Josef would have left France and gone back to Vladivostok. Then again, perhaps it was best to recover here. Once he had he could start to search for the two traitors back in Russia. The police officer interrupted his thoughts.
"The doctor has said his piece, but there are a few questions we would like to ask you, Mr...?" he said, his accent rough.
Nicolai tried to remember the pseudonym that he used whenever he was in France.
"Blanques. Luc Blanques" he replied quickly. The policeman raised his eyebrow, but said nothing whilst getting out a notebook and scribbling something down.
"I see. Well then, Mr Blanques, perhaps you could tell us how you came to be shot in the first place?"
Slight panic began to show itself as Nicolai spoke, which was actually a good thing; it made him look more convincing as an innocent bystander.
"W-w-well I was just taking a walk by the river, wh...when I saw some men loading crates onto a barge. I said hello to them and asked them what they were carrying, and one of them just shot me!"
"So there was no provocation from you at all? He just...shot you?"
"Yes. He must have been a crazy person, or a junkie! I hear about them on the news!"
"Yeeeees, quite...how old are you, Mr Blanques?"
"25."
"And what do you do, exactly?"
"Me? Well I'm currently unemployed."
"Last place of employment?"
"Um, let me see, that would be as a janitor at a bank in La Défense."
"Which one?"
"Besson and Sons."
"How interesting. Did you know there was a robbery there a week ago?"
"I heard it on the news. Quite a bloody heist apparently."
"It was. I lost several friends during it."
The officer paused for a moment before continuing.
"Well, that's all we need to know for now. We'll let you get some rest, and also be phoning the bank to check the employment records. As a precaution, naturally."
"Naturally" replied Nicolai whilst smiling.
"Hmm, yes...well get better soon Mr Blanques. We way need to question you again once you recover."
"Happy to help sir."
"Quite. Goodbye, Mr Blanques."
"Goodbye."
The officer turned and left, with the doctor following suit. Nicolai was left all alone in the room. He waited for a moment until he could no longer hear their voices, then sank into his bed sighing. He had managed to fool them for now, but it wouldn't be long before they discovered the truth. If they did phone up the bank they would have found that a Luc Blanques did indeed work for them as a janitor, for it was actually Nicolai performing reconnaissance...but only for about a month or so before suddenly vanishing. Nicolai could tell the officer didn't believe much of what he had said, but it would take a while before they discovered he was lying. He estimated he had about five days before they came back to question him again, maybe even take him into custody. That gave Nicolai less than a week to recover...and find a way to break out.