Noah considered being honest for a moment, telling Gravois that the only thing Nicolaich Andropov could conceivably want would be a broken Noah Wolf. Trying to explain it would be too difficult, though, he decided.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “Somebody way above my pay grade would have to figure that out.”
“You said some of your equipment was classified. I take it you can’t give me a name on this terrorist?”
“I’m afraid not, Sir. This entire mission is highly classified.”
An orderly walked in at that moment, and looked at the detective. “Excuse me, I’m supposed to take this patient to x-ray.”
Gravois nodded and stepped back. “Don’t let me stop you,” he said. “Mr. Wilson, I’ll be waiting when you get back here. Something tells me we’re not quite finished yet.”
The orderly grabbed hold of the end of the gurney and began pushing Noah through the curtain and down the hall. They got into an elevator and rode up to the second floor, then got out and followed another hall for about a hundred yards. Noah saw the sign that said “Radiology” as the orderly turned him and pushed him through the door below it.
The orderly helped Noah slide onto the x-ray platform, and the next fifteen minutes were spent taking various pictures of different parts of his body. He managed to lie on his right side when he was asked to, but turning onto it caused considerable pain in his hip. Noah didn’t complain, just gritted his teeth and put the pain out of his mind.
When they were finished, Noah managed to get back onto the gurney by himself and the orderly retraced his route. True to his word, Gravois was sitting in a chair only a few feet from the curtain that the orderly pushed Noah behind. As soon as he was situated, Gravois returned with Sergeant Gallagher beside him.
“State Department says we’re not to hold you,” Gravois said. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to close this file, but I suppose that’s for somebody above my own pay grade to figure out.” He handed Noah a business card. “That’s got my cell number written on the back. I’ll make sure all your things are secured and not tampered with. You call me when you get out of here and I’ll meet with you to see that you get it all back.”
“I appreciate it, Detective,” Noah said.
“No problem,” Gravois replied. “State didn’t say anything about getting in touch with you or anything. Would you like me to put an officer here to watch over you? If your arms dealer figures out you survived, he might come back and try to finish the job after all.”
“I suppose that’s possible, but I have my doubts. Whatever he’s up to, I don’t think he’s going to risk exposing himself just to get me. Listen, I had a Glock pistol...”
Gravois grinned and nodded. “Yep, it was bagged and tagged. I’ll see that it comes back to you with all the rest. I don’t think you have anywhere under that gown to hide a handgun, anyway.”
Noah raised one eyebrow. “Very good point,” he said. “I think...”
He was interrupted by the arrival of a doctor, a thin older man of Middle Eastern descent. Gravois shook Noah’s hand and said goodbye, and then he and Sergeant Gallagher turned to make their departure.
“Detective,” Noah said quickly, “do me a favor and stick around for a few minutes, would you?”
Gravois grinned and nodded, and then stepped through the curtain.
“Hello,” the doctor said with hardly any accent at all. “I am Doctor Patel. I’ve been going over your x-rays with our x-ray technician, and he tells me that you have some minor fractures in two of your ribs and on the far right edge of your pelvis. None of them seem to be very serious, but they may cause you some discomfort. If you like, I can give you a prescription for the pain...”
Noah shook his head. “That won’t be necessary. How soon can I leave?”
The doctor’s eyebrows rose. “I was going to suggest that you might wish to stay overnight, just so that we can keep an eye on you. You suffered primary and secondary blast injury trauma. It is possible that you may have internal injuries that won’t show up on x-ray.”
“I actually don’t feel that bad, Doctor,” Noah said. “I’ll promise that if you let me go, I’ll come back if I start to feel like anything’s wrong. Would that be good enough?”
The doctor let out a sigh. “I suppose it will,” he said. “If you wish to go, you may do so. Let me complete your release documents, and the nurse will bring them to you to sign. Do remember, however, you could have some serious internal injuries. Do not hesitate to return if you feel the need. Any sudden increase in pain, any sudden pains or sensations in your head, they should be warning signs. Do not ignore them.”
The doctor walked out of the exam area and Gravois stuck his head back in. “Need a lift?”
“I will in a few minutes. Give me a minute to get my clothes on and sign whatever paperwork they got for me, and I’ll be ready to go.”