Nigel watches the aftermath of the chaos flow around him. He tries not to look too bewildered as he stands there wondering just what the bloody hell is going on...
Charlie is identified as the first one to have destroyed airport property in the battle. "Self-defense!" he wails. "Fookin'ell, oo's the bleeder that fingered me?"
Strangely enough, none of the Turbanites themselves are available for comment, as they are all absolutely and irrevocably dead, except apparently for the Turban boy. The paramedics check them out for vital signs, then they start working on Charlie, Francois, and Leo (all of whom are, in turn, strapped to gurneys and wheeled out of the room - Charlie being accompanied by a member of Airport Security, as is the Turban Boy.
As Leo is being loaded into an ambulance, (and being poured full of painkillers) a hazy figure runs up. Though fading fast, Leo can make out the unmistakable voice of Sam. Sam rushes over to the gurney, abandoning Grams Brinker, Marda, and Bubba Klaus. "What the hell happened?" he says, to Leo on the gurney. "We only left for ten minutes!"
"Ur... um... Sam?" mumbles Leo, fighting the effect of the painkillers for a moment. "We had... bar fight... They had knives, and... uh... I don't know which hospital..." The circus performer blinks several times, trying to remain awake. "Sam, I'm kind of worried... Grmmhmmb..." His words become so slurred it is impossible to understand the rest of the sentence, and his lids flutter shut.
"Goo'bye, mates!" shouts the Irishman dramatically, pressing Kitty's hand. "I'll never forget me comrades in arms!"
"What? Wait!" protests Kitty. "Where are you taking him? He only picked up the chair in self-defense, and it was the turbanites that were welding blades. What could he do?"
One of the paramedics responds with professional politeness. "He is being taken to the hospital for stitches and possibly surgery ma'am. We need to find out if his peritoneum has been ruptured."
The security guard responds somewhat less politely. "He needs to pay for the furniture he broke, and you are all going to have to pay a $50.00 fine for fighting within the Terminal." He grins. It isn't pretty. "Look at it this way, lady - you're sure paying less than those guys did." He motions to the Turbanites on the floor and chuckles evilly.
Kitty gives the officer a knowing look and asks wryly, "Where do I go pay my bill?"
"Oh, you can pay in cash or credit card right now," he replies, the smug grin still on his face.
Kitty takes out her wallet, pulls out fifty dollars in American currency, which is what is used on Al Amarja, and hands it to him. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have a child to find and a hospital to go to."
"Yes ma'am. Do you want a receipt for that?" asks the security guard.
About this time Kitty's keen vision spots Marda in the crowd outside the hotel. She is standing next to a grandmotherly old woman, and a guy who looks like a professional leg breaker.
Kitty glances at the officer blankly. "Um, no, no, thank you." She dashes out the door and tries to find her way out onto the street. "Marda! Marda!" she calls. "Where are you???"
Nigel walks over to the young woman (Kitty he thinks her name is, or some other catlike creature.) "Excuse me, but can you tell me just what the hell all that was about? Your friends seem to be in a bit of a state, is there anything I can do to help?"
Half answering Nigel and half looking for Marda, Kitty answers distractedly: "I'm sorry, I don't know myself. All I know is that the Aussie had been chased by those dead goons before."
Leo, Bruce, Francois, and Charlie are all loaded up into ambulances
and lugged off to the hospital - Sam, Marda, Nigel, and Kitty follow along
for the time being then return to their hotel rooms, but stop in to visit
for the next few days. The hospital is, in fact, inside the Terminal
- located on the seventh floor.
Nasty cuts and lacerations to Francois' face prove bloody, but not particularly severe. Francois gets out that night with a dozen or so stitches holding together pressure cuts on his face, and a hospital bill of only ~$500.00. Given his "difficulties" when not near Bruce, however, he sticks by the Australian's side for the time being.
During the time of Bruce's convalescence there is a major labor dispute
among the Terminal guide services, which leads to interruption of services,
claim jumping, and occasional bloodshed within the Terminal, and this makes
it quite difficult to find one's way out of the building.
Finding himself incapable of leaving the Terminal, he resigns himself
to connecting his laptop computer to the internet and spends a few days
accessing some Al Amarjan documents in that way to get on with his research.
Knowing that she can't afford the present hotel room, she grabs her
one duffle bag, checks out and finds a cup of coffee, noting that she should
have checked in with the Paranormal Center about a day ago.
He still has the address given by Mr. Shinma, where he may be able to get information about Serena Dandelion's whereabouts:
Sigourney Stuidhuist
Breakneck Cafe
170 Plaza of Flowers
Then Judge Fang said he should register with something called the 'Center for Paranormal Control', mentioning that Leo should have gotten the paperwork from his caseworker. Well, not knowing at the time that Al Amarja has such a requirement, he never asked Mr. Shinma for the paperwork. Well, he has to contact C&I anyway to get the forms to apply for a work visa, since his stay is definitely becoming longer -- and more expensive -- than he had hoped.
His accomodations were paid for, because of his participation in the Al Amarjan Tourist Board survey and because of the unpleasantness with the Goon of Doom in the C&I waiting room, for the first three nights, including meals. Well, that's soon gone. Then the next six nights will be charged at $75 a night, but everything starts disappearing very quickly after that.
Leo pulls out every dollar bill, coin and traveler's check he can find in his clothes and luggage, and spreads them on the night table; these represents all his savings. He finds exactly $2,076.54 -- Leo was never very good at saving money. He shrugs with fatalism.
After showering and changing into fresh clothes (including shoes that are not clown-style), he grabs a phone book and jots down the numbers for Deadly Temptations, Found Hope Agency, Myron's Gym, Raul Trevino, MDRC, Burger Burger, Chrome Dome, Kitchen Party, Memphis, Sad Mary's Bar and Grill, Sequins, Sunshine Street, Alabaster Auditorium, Chambers Memorial Theater, The Space, Opera of Absurdities, and The Black Death Theater Troupe.
"I guess we have to start somewhere," he comments to le P'tit.
With a sigh, he dials the C&I number. After spending a good
solid two hours on the phone Leo discovers the
following:
It is possible to get a work visa on Al Amarja, but in order to do so you must visit the offices of the Al Amarja department of Immigration, located in Freedom City. The office is open from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm with a two-hour lunch break between 11:00 and 1:00. An appointment is required. In order to make an appointment you must actually go to the Department of Immigration and speak with the appointment officer. Thus it requires at least two trips to Freedom City in order to get a work permit. Working without a permit is illegal, and violators are subject to icky, icky pain.
Leo still decides to return to C&I (which is undoubtedly gettin crazier with every influx of stranded tourists) to talk to different personnel and see if he gets different instructions on how to get a temporary work visa. Leo actually has to do this pretty often, working for a circus, and is used to a particular type of visa, meant for performers.
From his time spent at C&I Leo learns that in order to get a visa you must either:
#10 - "You should have applied before you arrived on the island. Too late now! NEXT!"
#9 - "Go to the C&I administrative offices in Freedom City and apply there."
#8 - "Use the handy form that you can get right here at C&I." (Leo does this, and the paperwork promptly disappears, along with a $50.00 filing fee, never to be seen again. Nobody else he asks at C&I has ever heard of such a form, and he can never find the C&I worker either, though he catches glimpses of him).
#7 - "You can't. You just can't. Sorry. NEXT!"
#6 - "Find a sponsor on the island who will be willing to fill out the paperwork for you."
#5 - "Make a cash donation of $10,000 to..." a) "Monique D'Aubainne", b) "C&I", c) "the Al Amarjan senator of your choice", d) "me". Since Leo doesn't have that sort of cash, it doesn't really matter I suppose.
#4 - "Go to Window B at 8:00 am." (Leo goes there. Nobody shows up and there is a sign there indicating that the window is closed until 1:00 pm. When 1:00 pm rolls around a clerk shows up, changes the sign to "Closed until tomorrow 8:00 am" and, despite Leos screams of protest, departs.)
#3 - "Al Amarja is a mystic city, and in order to become a citizen, your chakras must be properly aligned and your soul freed from sin. Come back after 8 years at a zen monastary, when that nasty soul of yours is a little cleaner."
#2 - "Oh, a visa? Simple! Here you go!" (Leo is shown a sheaf of papers that masses and weighs about as much as the average hardbound dictionary. He gets his picture taken and it is afixed to the front of the document with glue.). "Keep this on your person in plain view at all times. Don't lose it - its Al Amarjan government property and the penalty for loss or destruction is death. That will be $100.00 please. [stamps front of document]" (After a brief perusal Leo discovers that instead of a visa, he has just spent $100.00 for a copy of the 1984 Al Amarjan tax code (unabridged) with the words "WORK VISA" written by hand on the front with a large, black felt marker).
#1 - "A work visa? You? Want? A?
WORK VISA? Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! NEXT!"
Soon after his return to the hotel from a visit to the hospital, Leo
rings Kitty's room, then Nigel's, Sam and Marda's, and Charlie's.
He knows that François is still at the hospital visiting Bruce.
He also tries Ariel's room and Levine's but has to leave messages with
the front desk for them. He wants to check in with everyone and find
out if they are alright. He will meet everyone interested at Memphis,
as Kitty's note suggests.