When Harleen pushed open the hospital room door, Li Jie was trying to open a bag of chips one-handed in an extremely stiff pose.
"Need a hand, Sheriff?"
"No."
He bit down on the edge of the bag and whipped his head sideways. The chips flew out in a sweeping arc, scattering all over the floor.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Harleen leaned against the doorframe, laughing so hard she couldn't straighten up. Li Jie pursed his lips mournfully and sighed.
"What a waste."
He wriggled his way to the edge of the bed, then settled into his wheelchair with Harleen's help.
His right leg still couldn't bear weight, and his left arm hung in a sling across his chest. He looked like a hastily assembled piece of human-shaped furniture, but that didn't stop him from constantly urging Harleen to hurry.
"Are you sure the doctor approved this?" Harleen asked, twirling the car keys.
"The doctor approved light activity within hospital grounds."
Li Jie adjusted the settings on the wheelchair's armrest without expression. "My destination is the hospital parking lot. Strictly speaking, I won't be leaving hospital grounds."
"...That's what you call strictly speaking?"
"I'm a cop. I have professional confidence in my interpretation of the law."
Harleen didn't argue. She simply walked behind the wheelchair and pushed him down the corridor where he had once set the wheelchair speed record.
As they passed the nurses' station, Doctor Crud was standing there looking through something. He glanced up, lowered his head, then abruptly looked up again.
"Sheriff!"
"Good afternoon, Doctor." Li Jie nodded at him. "I'm getting some fresh air."
"Sheriff!" Doctor Crud lunged toward him. "Even if you're checking out, at least let me take another look at your legs!"
Ewww!
Li Jie, Harleen, and the nurses at the station