by R L Dunn
He blinked and pointed at her.
"I fell." She washed her hands, gloved, and placed a fresh, cool compress across his brow. "You sustained severe injuries and your fever is very high—I’m hunting for a reason." His eyes faded and closed. "First, your chest and belly." When the monitor turned red, Elizabeth stopped. His body processed any motion as a sprint, threatening to kill him. "Troy, we’re together in this. No surprises. I promise."
The epidural and paralysis made the exam painless, yet any memory of what happened, any idea of touch could add to the stress. "Troy, it’s Dr. Reed. We’re in the hospital room together." She felt his upper body tense and remembered her conversation about the kidnapped little boy. She hummed that song, the one with meaning to Martin and to her. His body relaxed. "I'm all done, Troy. Are you hanging in there?"
Thumb up. Troy's fingers formed four letters: SONG.
"You sign. Wow, that's terrific. The song—my fiancé sang it to me when I was scared. I think you know him. Martin Bailey.” His heart rate conveyed his recognition. "I want to help you, Troy." Elizabeth's thoughts turned in her head as her patient closed his eyes.
"Troy, you went to jail to find out why a little girl was found near death in a ditch and Martin's brother Austin was shot. You aren't a criminal."
Troy's heart rate notched higher. LET ME BE.
"Not happening. A lot of people, including me, are worried about you."
TO JAIL DIE.
"Troy, look at me," her tone was forceful. "You’re never going back." Troy's eyes turned dull. She ached for him. It was her mission that he understood he was safe before he died. What would Marty tell him?
"Marty Bailey...Farmer…and I went to high school together. We had English class together. One of the books we studied was Moby Dick. Chapter thirty-one was called ‘Queen Mab.’ She was a fairy who brought sexual dreams in Romeo and Juliet. It was our joke. Marty's middle name is Aaron. Marty was my fairy, so I called him Queen Mab."
Troy grabbed for her hand. COVER BLOWN.
Elizabeth held his hand between hers. "Troy, the mountain is getting smaller." A tear fell from her eye.
SUNSHINE.
She smiled. "Yes. I'm gonna help you. Kieran Chase is having the charges reversed. The guards will be gone soon."
Troy's eyes shifted toward the door. PAPER.
Elizabeth pulled a pad from her pocket. In broken sentences, he wrote:
Alden in charge moving contraband drugs in jail assault inmates. Deep-voiced woman inserted drugs inside me. His body was straining; his fingers couldn't control the pen. He pointed to below his waist. Man. No name. Taller. Black eyes. Can't move. Troy’s eyes dampened.
She swallowed hard. He had described Lewis. "Troy, they broke your back. You need more surgery. You have to give yourself time. You’re a survivor."
NO.
Elizabeth needed him to understand. She shared her story. She shared the shame she hadn't admitted to herself. "I didn't have someone to carry me off the mountain. He made the choice for me. He threw me off a balcony, and I was badly injured. I was pregnant with Marty's child. Our baby girl didn't survive. Troy, those words on your chest, the things you stand for. The reasons you took this assignment. You are a survivor."
STOP THEM. His hand dropped to his side; his eyes rolled into his head, and he seized.
"No, no, no." She pressed the code blue button, and medical staff, Sam, and Julian raced into the room.
Elizabeth's voice dropped an octave, her shoulders pushed back as she issued commands like a drill sergeant. The team around the bed jumped at her every word. Minutes ticked by before the seizures stopped.
Patrick approached her. "You got him back, Beth. I'll go with him to CT. You need to rest."
"I WOULD NOT NEED REST IF HIS GUARDS DIDN'T DO THIS TO HIM!" She launched herself at Alden McAllister.
The guard caught and lifted her off her feet, shaking her hard. "You need to watch yourself, Dr. Reed. Next time, I take you down hard."
Elizabeth saw the lethal operator appear in Julian. "Let go of her now."
Alden dropped her to her feet and took a step back, holding up his hands.
After she stomped down the hall toward the doctors’ lounge, Julian engaged the lock behind them. Before either could speak, Sam knocked. "Dr. Hedges is concerned. He wants a full set of vitals on Dr. Reed."
"Tell him I'm fine." She shoved Sam back and turned the lock again. "Here." She thrust her pad at Julian. "I pushed him too far."
He scanned what she handed him, then locked his eyes on hers and opened his arms. "Chère, Marty will be so proud of you. We’ll bring him home soon.”
Tucked inside Julian’s embrace, she sobbed.
Chapter Thirty
TJ "Cuda" Poole, posing as a CO, and Wesley "Alamo" Crockett, posing as Sergeant Dave Tibbs, walked down the basement corridor toward Martin's cell. "Open six," Wesley said.
The CO at the panel at the other end of the corridor pressed the button, and the cell opened. Martin was gone.
"Where's the prisoner?" Wesley asked.
Sergeant Keene Jensen ambled down the hall. "He's in interrogation room two with some lady from Homeland Security. Don't bunch your shorts in a knot, Dave."
"Keene, I'll give you a fucking knot. Bailey's attorney is here, demanding to see him. She's pissed," Wesley said.
Alarms sounded, and lights flashed. "Lockdown. Lockdown. Prisoner escape from interrogation,” the loudspeaker warned on repeat.
Wesley, TJ, and Keene took off in a run. Arriving at the interrogation room, they found Tim Lampton barely conscious and Brynn Hackman dead. TJ knelt to help Lampton. "Bailey escaped," were his last words before he lost consciousness.
Kieran's angry phone calls produced another set of angry calls. The entire federal law enforcement community was in response mode. With Mike at his side, Kieran banged on the front door of District Attorney Loren Ragan's residence until the door opened. "Mr. Chase, what's going on? Even for you, this is dramatic." The DA threw open his door and gestured for Kieran and Mike to come into his home.
"Ragan, sit your ass in that chair and listen."
"No one speaks to me like that."
"I am and will continue to. I have evidence of murder, extortion, battery, sexual assault, child sex abuse, importation of contraband and drug smuggling from the streets of Silverton through its police department to the jail. The trail leads to private citizens, hospital employees, and government officials on the local, state, and federal levels. I am also here to tell you Martin Bailey disappeared from the jail a few hours ago."
"I was told he murdered an undersecretary of Homeland Security and almost killed a corrections officer."
"And why would he do that? He knew he'd be released. You saw the video." Kieran's anger intensified.
"Drink? By the look on your face, there’s more." He took a sip of the bitter liquid.
"I'm just warming up. This morning, my people found a kid living in the apartments across the street from the police garage who likes to film the comings and goings. At the time of the Horizon garage explosion, someone dressed in Silverton PD tactical gear walked out carrying a long gun and got into a Silverton PD van. Security film shows that same van pulling into a building where we found a sniper's perch north of the garage." Kieran tossed a file into his lap.
Mike ticked off the rest of their findings—from Lissa to Trudy Saperstein. Elizabeth's prescriptions to Dufour's rape of his daughter and all the matters in between.
"Call the judge and the media, first and fast. If Martin is out there, until you do, he will be the target of every law enforcement officer in the state unless you tell them he is not guilty. My brother and I have multiple agencies en route. There is no wiggle room. Do what's right, or this will end badly for you. You have five minutes."
Ragan emptied his glass, then looked at the detailed list in the file. Horrified, astonished, and aware that his career was evaporating, Ragan called the judge.
Tim Lampton ar
rived in the Horizon emergency room, drifting in and out of consciousness, accompanied by TJ Poole and Keene Jensen. Louella Miranda met them at the door. The EMT read off his report. "Tim, my name is Lou. What happened today?"
"He hit me with a chair." He fought to stay awake.
"Stay with us, Tim, who hit you?" Nurses and residents began to cut away his uniform, attaching monitors, drawing blood, and starting an IV. She started her examination.
As the nurse cut away his underwear, Tim began to fight. "Tim, you're in the hospital." Keene's attempts to calm his friend failed.
"Keep him away from me!"
"Who?" TJ asked.
The air left the room. Keene Jensen turned white. Instead of saying it was Martin Bailey, Tim said, "Jenner, Clay Jenner. He's crazy." Tim's color turned gray.
Louella frowned. "Roll him." Tim vomited hard and lost consciousness. "Page neurosurgery STAT. Tell CT we’re coming."
Kieran and Zach met with Dennis Bailey. After they told him about Martin, Kieran asked for his help. "I need a safe place to protect Austin, Lola, and a little girl named Lissa. I would also like to bring my personnel to your farm."
"Anything, Kieran,” Mr. Bailey assured them.
Zach and Kieran outlined a plan to bring containerized housing to the land near the pond. "Kieran, I'll ask Livvy to order food, and my son-in-law will grade the land. We’ll be ready. What else do you need?"
"Two of my men are waiting for you and will help with anything you need." Kieran went through the logistics of getting everything set by six p.m.
"Well then, we better do our part. We have a crew to house and feed. Now, you find my son."
Troy's fever wasn't responding to the antibiotics. He thrashed and shivered. In addition to the cooling blankets, Kenny placed ice bags in his voids. Never waking up after the first seizures, he seized again. "Code Blue,” Kenny yelled, pressing the red button on the wall over his head.
When Alden McAllister walked into the room, the smirk on his face incensed Kenny, but his priority was Troy. The resuscitation team and Steven Keys ran in to assist.
Miles Gerba called out orders. It took three anti-seizure medications to stop them. As the immediate emergency was over, the residents cleared the room. "Steve, what the hell caused this?"
Elizabeth, Julian, and with Julian’s permission, Tucker ran from Lola’s room. “What happened?” Elizabeth’s gentle hand rested on Troy’s scorching forehead. During Miles’ explanation, Tucker performed another assessment. With Kenny’s help, he rolled Troy to his side.
Blood covered his lower back and bottom. A muffled groan came from behind her. "Beth, he's bleeding again," Tucker said.
"I need a STAT blood count. What's his temp?" Elizabeth began sorting through his symptoms.
"106.4," a nurse called out.
"Pack him in ice," Miles ordered.
"Julian, he needs more medical hands," Elizabeth said.
No longer caring about the appearance of private duty, he texted Pete to make the assignments.
The August weather did nothing to take the chill off the warehouse. Martin shivered as he was kicked in the back by Vernon's steel-toed boot. The fact they no longer covered his eyes affirmed his belief that their endgame was his death. The ride in the van took ten minutes, according to Martin's internal count. He acquired numerous bruises from hard starts and stops, leaving his head pounding and his ribs burning with each breath.
Boyd and Vernon joined Danny Logan and Beck Ferguson inside. Martin fought even with the confining shackles. A fifth set of hands joined the fray, grabbing his throat from behind. A sting. "What did you give me?" He struggled to his collapse.
"Sweet dreams," Hailey Ullman said.
Under the watchful eyes of the senior executives and level-three operators, Lola and Austin were evacuated from the hospital along with Joyce, Jamie, and Austin’s PAs. Forty-five minutes later, Kip pulled the Navigator carrying Lola up to the entrance of the farmhouse. Fay and Dennis Bailey greeted the group as they entered the large front parlor.
"Jamie," Fay said, “there’s a crib for Lola in the nursery with Austy, and I can put her bassinet in your bedroom."
"Thank you," Jamie said. "I don't plan on sleeping when I'm caring for Lola. Eric will take the next shift in the morning."
Joyce witnessed the fear and worry in Fay's face. "Austin is here, and you need to believe Marty will be home soon too."
Julian stood between the guards and Troy's door. Noah and Caleb walked with precision down the ICU hallway in crisp tactical uniforms. Len "Buck" Rodgers stood at attention. "Carlson, where are you going?" McAllister snapped.
Len's lips turned up. "Alden, my name's not Chip Carlson. My name is Len Rodgers, and those two men are here to take you into custody at the behest of the Department of Homeland Security."
Alden started to reach for his weapon. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Julian withdrew the weapon tucked into a belt holster at the small of his back and pointed it between Alden's eyes. Noah and Caleb also drew their weapons.
"Alden McAllister, you have harmed your last prisoner." Len removed McAllister's pistol, searched, and handcuffed him.
As Julian watched McAllister being escorted out, Len returned to his position outside of Troy's room and notified the jail of the situation. His Chase orders were to remain undercover until Troy's official release came down.
Julian worked at the nurse's station, making the necessary arrangements with Pete for Troy's extra care. Elizabeth and Steven joined him. "I need to put the orders in. Julian, call his family. They need to be here." Elizabeth's eyes filled with tears.
"Beth, he's a prisoner; we need to call the jail. They will know who to call," Steven said.
"No, he's not. He was working undercover trying to find out who was hurting prisoners and why. His name is Troy Bremen. He works with Martin and Homeland Security." Elizabeth took a deep breath. "Steve, how much did they pay you to look the other way?"
Julian's eyes widened at her words. He moved to protect Elizabeth. "Keys?”
Steven held his forehead. "I'm so sorry, Beth, more than you know. When did you figure it out?"
"When they rolled Troy, you gasped. I realized you were seeing the extent of his injuries for the first time. Steve, we've worked together for eighteen months. Never once did I hear that sound come from you. And then I looked at your face. I wanted to see surprise, but there was only guilt. Why? Money?" Her eyes misted.
"Chris's family saddled us with a huge debt when they left him the ranch. Even if we sold it, we'd never climb out of the hole. Five years ago, right after I was hired, I reported a suspicious injury to Hillinger. He offered me three thousand dollars a patient just to take whatever they said about their injuries at face value. He never asked me to harm them,” Keys stammered.
Elizabeth swiveled in her seat. "Did you ever think about what happened to the ones who wouldn't give the medical staff an excuse? You’re as guilty as the ones who hurt them." Her voice rose in pitch.
Julian placed a confining hand on Steven Keys' shoulder. "Someone is coming to take you in."
After Kip and Bruce removed Keys from the hospital, Julian wrapped his arms around Elizabeth. "I'm so sorry, chère."
“I thought he was my friend. How can I trust anyone ever again?” she cried. Julian continued to hold her and rub her back.
When Elizabeth's phone vibrated on the counter, she pushed from his embrace. "I hope this is the lab." She hit the speaker button.
"Hello, Sunshine.” The insidious voice of her ex-husband still caused chills to run down her spine.
Elizabeth pushed back from Julian. "What did you do to Marty?"
"He's hanging around," Clay snickered.
She refused to call him by his new name. "What do you want, Lewis?" Julian twirled his fingers, signaling her to keep him talking, and texted their tech department to put a trace on the call. "I want to speak to Marty."
"He figured you would say that," Clay snarled. "Wake him u
p!"
Elizabeth jumped in her seat when a zap of electric current was followed by a gasp. "Hey," Martin's scratchy voice came online.
"Marty, what did he do to you? Are you hurt?" Elizabeth's voice cracked.
"I'm fine. No matter what, I don't want you to do anything he says." Martin's words were followed by the sound of skin hitting skin and a guttural grunt.
"Marty!" Julian squeezed her hand. "Marty, please. I want to help you," she pleaded with the silence. Julian wrote a note on a pad. "Tell me our special word, so I believe you.”
"Mercutio. Now, beautiful, we’re doing this my way. Listen to me: I don't want you to come. You need to take care of Lola and yourself. I need you to take a smooth ten-minute ride to the house. Pack your bags and get out of Dodge."
"Enough, Marty. She'll come if she doesn't want you to die," Clay screamed at him. A slap reverberated through the speaker. "Sunshine, hmm, I like how that sounds, come to Penrose and Main at midnight. A car will pick you up. And if you want your precious Marty to live, you come alone." Clay hung up.
"Julian, he's going to kill him." Elizabeth shook.
"Not if we can help it." Julian took her hands. "Marty gave you a set of clues. You need to help me solve them."
"I don't understand." Elizabeth shook her head.
"Breathe with me. In and out. Now, chère, one clue at a time. Mercutio. Is that your code word?"
"No, ‘Queen Mab’ is our code. Mercutio is Martin's cat and a character from Romeo and Juliet who could hang out on both sides without getting into trouble. He's saying someone is playing both sides."
Julian thought of Brynn. "Beautiful? Another pet name?
"No, he never called me that. We used to sing a song... ‘Up, Up, and Away’..." Elizabeth sang the song about the beautiful balloon. The lyrics of the second verse answered their question. "He's telling us Lewis is Clay."
"Yes. ‘A smooth ten-minute trip to the house.’ Smooth is me. He's ten minutes from the jail. ‘Pack your bags and get out of Dodge.’ What's that mean to you?"