FORSAKEN: On The Edge 0f Oblivion (Beauty 0f Life Book 1)

by Laura Acton

  Crashing to the ground, Dan whacked his head again. In the space of one blink, nitro woman straddled him and began punching his chest repeatedly. Damn, she hits hard. Dazed, and woozy, his limbs not responding to his command to grip her arms, Dan failed to stop her assault.

  Through an encroaching fog, Dan watched as bandaged arm man tried to pull her off him one-handed. When he failed, gigantic man stepped forward, wrapped his arms around her waist, and hauled her off. Dan witnessed slender man attempt to make the other two men let go of the tiny auburn-haired hellcat.

  Dan’s world folded in on itself as the cacophony of sounds became too intense and created pain equivalent to pikes hammering into his skull. Relief came as he slipped into blackness.

  TRF HQ – Briefing Room

  Dale Gibbson waited in the huge conference room for Sergeant Pastore. He didn’t wait long before Pastore, and Jon Hardy joined.

  Nick strode in, wondering why the lawyer wanted to speak with him. “Mr. Gibbson is there something I can do for you?”

  “I’m here regarding Constable Broderick.”

  Jon flared, “Are charges being filed against him?”

  Taken aback by the fierceness of the words and the hostility oozing from Jon, Dale answered with caution, “No. Not as of yet. They’re still investigating. Broderick has been put on unpaid suspension until the investigation is complete and the outcome determined.”

  “Broderick should be fired now! But I can live with him on suspension for the moment. He can’t get anyone killed that way,” Jon sneered.

  Nick took a breath at the malevolence of his tactical lead’s words. His tone stern, he only said, “Jon.”

  One glance at Nick and Jon understood he needed to back off. Jon bit out, “Fine.” He paced away from them to the other side of the room to calm down. Ray came back from the hospital with a bandaged arm. ‘No big deal, only a few stitches,’ Ray claimed. Although relieved for Ray, the news didn’t reduce the anger he held for Broderick.

  This should’ve never happened. The damned rookie is too fast to shoot, always wanting to go in hard tactical. Broderick disobeyed a direct order today. He isn’t a team player. Jon paced, resentment and bitterness brewing, but he kept an ear tuned into the conversation between Gibbson and Nick.

  Nick tamped down on his anger. “Unpaid suspension. Alright. So, why are you here?”

  Hearing a more reasonable tone from Pastore, Dale explained, “Dan appeared dazed and in significant pain when I arrived at NRB. When he collapsed, I summoned paramedics. Apparently, he experienced a rather nasty migraine. The medic administered medication, and we were able to do the interview, but Dan remained silent, not answering any of the questions ....”

  Catching sight of Nick’s nod finding it odd he made no inquiries about Dan’s health, Dale continued, “As we left, Dan became unsteady on his feet and paled. I sat him down. He asked me for today’s date, and I informed him. Then Dan queried where he was. I told him NRB offices. Dan clarified the date, location, and his job and I verified. He disagreed, appearing utterly confused, as he insisted today is May twenty-sixth, he is in Afghanistan, and he provided me his rank, name, and serial number.”

  Jon burst out, “Dammit! This is just fucking great! Not only are we forced to take a soldier on our team … he’s got PTSD.”

  Dale glared at Jon. What the heck is going on? This isn’t the team I’m used to dealing with. Instead of voicing his thoughts, he said, “I don’t believe this is PTSD. I think Dan’s suffering a loss of memory. Something must have happened today. Did he strike his head at all?”

  Jon marched to Gibbson, got directly in his face and growled, “So, that’s his game? Claim a memory lapse to weasel out of repercussions of shooting a teammate? I don’t buy it for one damned second! Broderick screwed up, and now he’s trying to dodge the consequences.

  “Twice today he failed to follow my orders. No wonder Broderick left the military. He’s too arrogant. The smug SOB thinks he knows what to do and goes off on his own like a lone wolf. I will make sure he pays the fullest price for harming one of my team. If I had my way, Broderick would be dismissed from the police force and charged with reckless endangerment today.”

  Nick started to say something but stopped when bellowing from Loki, Bram, Lexa, and Ray reached all the way to the briefing room. The three broke into a run heading for the locker room.

  Confusion, Concussion, and Contusions

  18

  September 15

  TRF HQ – Men’s Locker Room

  The scene presenting itself to Nick, Jon, and Dale … one of mayhem. Several members of Echo Team began pushing Lexa, Loki, and Bram away from Dan who lay on the floor while Ray backed away with his palms out. Anger evident on all their faces.

  Dale raced forward to Dan. “What in the blue blazes is going on here?”

  Crispin glanced up. “We came in here and found Dan pinned against the locker by Loki who shouted vile things at him. Lexa joined in the fray, knocking Dan to the ground and pummeling him. Both maintained their verbal barrage, ignoring Bram’s and Ray’s demands to stop as Ray attempted to remove Lexa. Bram finally hauled her off Dan.”

  Nick gaped at Lexa and Loki. The behavior being exhibited was so far outside the norm as to be ludicrous and unbelievable. “Why in the world would you attack him?”

  Anger flowing out in monstrous waves, Loki yelled, “He shot Ray!”

  Struggling, Lexa managed to wrench out of Bram’s hold. Malice dripped from her words, “I will not work with the likes of him. Broderick doesn’t care for the team. Guns blazing, all militant, not caring who is hurt so long as he can be the so-called hero.”

  Jon crossed his arms and with a hard glare at Dan on the floor he snorted. “Don’t worry he’s suspended. Broderick will be off our team soon enough. Isn’t gonna weasel out of what he did this time.”

  Nick’s eyes creased and his brows drew together as he stared at his team in disbelief. Where the hell is my normally well-balanced team? I don’t recognize this mucked up, malevolent group before me. Ordering in a deadly calm voice, “Out. Now! Go to the briefing room and wait for me.”

  Turning to Crispin and Gibbson as the team started filing out of the locker room and Echo Team dispersed, Nick took several deep, calming breaths. “This incident shouldn’t have happened.”

  Crispin stood and faced Nick. “Damned right! Where is their control? I understand the call became emotional, we both know things happen beyond our control, but they intentionally assaulted a fellow officer! Everyone is well aware your team dislikes Dan. Only God knows why. Dan’s a decent guy. But this … this crap doesn’t happen here! I’m sorry, but I must inform Commander Gambrill. Behavior like this cannot be tolerated.”

  Nick cringed at the statement from Crispin. Not the part about telling the commander, but the one that cemented he screwed up. Other teams were aware of their dislike of Dan … not so elite now Pastore.

  As paramedics entered, Gibbson rose. “Sergeant Pastore, I never thought a fiasco like this would ever take place within this unit. Rest assured I will insist upon a full investigation. Dan would be well within his rights to press assault charges. Make it clear to them, they are not to come anywhere near Dan until further notice. Otherwise, I will file charges on Dan’s behalf.”

  Turning to one of the paramedics, Dale informed him, “Constable Broderick suffered from a terrible migraine earlier. The medic who examined him administered something to relieve his pain and indicated he might experience a relapse. Dan appeared confused, and I believe he is suffering from a loss of memory. I’m unsure if he sustained recent head trauma, but a concussion may be likely.”

  After a cursory examination of the unconscious man, Tobie Gage, reported, “I located a rather large knot on the back of his head. I’m sure the doctor will order a scan. Will anyone be accompanying him to provide necessary details?”

  “I will,” Gibbson said.

  Tobie and his partner properly secured their patient, lifte
d him to the gurney, cinched the belts, picked up their gear, then hurried out with Dale and Nick following.

  TRF HQ – Briefing Room

  Commander Walter Gambrill stormed into the room after being informed of an altercation in the locker room which required summoning EMS. In his command voice, he demanded, “What occurred in that room to cause another one of my officers to make a trip to a hospital?”

  Both Lexa and Loki sat with their arms crossed over their chests displaying closed-off body language. Ray, plainly upset, paced the back of the room. Bram sat quietly observing all of them with a deep-set scowl. Jon stalked back and forth near the windows, much like Ray, but fuming for a different reason.

  Nick strode in after following the medics providing them with Dan’s name and determining to which hospital they were taking him. He arrived in time to hear Gambrill. “That’s what I’m about to find out, sir. We haven’t debriefed from our two calls yet. When we finish, I will provide you a full report.”

  Gambrill directed, “Alpha Team is off calls for the remainder of today. I expect written statements from each of you before you leave. Behavior such as this is abhorrent and will be dealt with appropriately. I am going to the hospital to check on Constable Broderick.”

  Walter pivoted, ready to leave, but turned his head towards Ray. “Constable Palomo, how is your arm?”

  “Fine, sir. Only a graze. Thank you for asking,” Ray managed to say in a voice somewhat resembling his usual unruffled manner, although feeling anything but calm.

  Giving a slight nod, Walter briskly strode from the room wondering what caused them to turn on Dan. Walter comprehended the team disliked the top down way Dan joined them, but he assumed things were working out. He understood there were bound to be a few rough patches as Dan made the transition from elite soldier to an urban officer, but he never imaged this.

  Gambrill was acquainted with his godson’s skills and abilities. He expected Dan to need some retraining and softening of habits developed as a soldier and Pastore’s team to mentor Dan as they did all rookies. What he never expected was his own teammates to physically and verbally attack him telling him he was unwanted and unneeded.

  There is no bloody way I’m calling William until I can sort this out. The general would likely send a black ops unit to assassinate the team for how they mistreated Dan. Yes, Walter realized his thoughts were an overreaction, but still … William placed Dan in his care, and thus far he failed both his long-time friend and his godson. Things aren’t turning out like I anticipated —not at all!

  Nick turned towards the dispatch desk and noted Tia now occupied the chair instead of Dennis. “Tia, I need everything from both calls today. Now!”

  Tia had entered in the midst of chaos, coming in early to cover for Dennis. He briefed her on the calls Alpha Team worked today. His disgusting attitude towards Dan rankled her. Unfortunately, accidents happened in their line of work. She was confident Dan didn’t shoot Ray on purpose. Anticipating their needs for debriefing, Tia hurried in with a pile of objects. “Transcripts, audio records, and video footage obtained from each critical call, Boss.”

  “Thanks, Tia,” Nick said as Tia set the folders and audio-visual media down. After Tia exited, he pressed the button closing the briefing room door and turning the glass opaque. Removing his TRF ballcap, Nick tossed the hat to the table. He rubbed his hands over his face and raked his fingers through his short, dark brown hair.

  TRF is causing my hair to turn prematurely gray. He spotted more white hairs at his temple lately, but after today a dozen more would undoubtedly turn white. Today is a total mess. Tempers are at boiling points. Most of my team refuses to accept Broderick. This is my fault. I failed, and they are floundering in disarray. I must fix this, but before I can begin to repair the damage, I need to understand what happened today.

  Nick took a moment to study each team member and assess their emotional state. From first to last his impression read, not good. As Nick’s gaze landed on Ray, he noted the bandaged arm. “I know what you said to Gambrill, but truthfully how is your arm?”

  Stopping, Ray registered Boss’ concern. With the doors closed and no brass around, he allowed the frustration and crossness he felt to imbue his words, “Fine. Only a flesh wound and a few sutures.”

  Ray scowled at Loki and Lexa but kept his mouth shut to ensure he didn’t say something he would regret later. Though, he didn’t censure his thoughts. How could they strike out at Dan? Sure, I don’t like how the rookie became a teammate any more than they do. Yes, Dan appears brash and doesn’t fit well. And yes, he behaves more often than not as a soldier, action before talk, but there is no cause to attack him over my injury. Crap sometimes happened in calls. The rookie didn’t deliberately shoot me.

  Hearing the anger and reading the body language of his team Nick sighed. This is going to be a hellacious debrief. Nick rubbed his temples before looking from Ray to Jon as he instructed, “Sit down. We’ll take this from the beginning of the first call.”

  Mercy Hospital – Dan’s Room

  Dr. Andrew White checked the output of the monitors for his most recent patient. After a thorough assessment upon arrival and reviewing the x-rays and scans, he decided to admit the unconscious constable. Based on all the injuries found, Andrew concluded the officer incurred injuries from at least two recent but separate altercations.

  Having been a physician for decades, he didn’t think anything could shock him, but the significant faded scarring on the constable’s torso did. The myriad of faded thin lines indicated his patient endured a barbaric flogging at some point in his life. He cataloged several other scars. From their appearance, likely gunshot and knife wounds. He couldn’t fathom what caused the multitude of tiny circular burn marks on his stomach. The scan and x-rays also revealed previous, healed fractures.

  Andrew wondered how this constable came by all the scars and injuries. Surely this young man has been to hell and back.

  The door opened, and two men entered. Andrew recognized Mr. Gibbson, the man who accompanied the patient to the emergency room, but not the other one. A distinguished looking police officer with salt and pepper hair, who appeared to be in his mid-fifties, moved to the opposite side of the bed. Noting the officer’s furrowed brows and frown as he peered at the unconscious man, Andrew identified the emotion as distress. “May I help you?”

  Walter gazed at his godson, disturbed to find him unconscious. He saw the IV and a bit of relief coursed through him. One blessing, Dan won’t have to contend with needles. He shifted his gaze to the doctor as Gibbson spoke.

  Dale glanced at Dan first then focused on the physician. “Dr. White, this is Commander Gambrill of the Police Tactical Response Force. What is the status of Constable Broderick?”

  “Let’s talk outside.” Andrew moved toward the door allowing Gibbson and Gambrill to exit before him.

  Mercy Hospital – Outside Dan’s Room

  Andrew turned to the men. “Mr. Broderick is stable but unconscious. My examination and scans reveal recent head trauma. It appears he sustained two substantial blows to the back of the skull in the past few days. Swelling and contusions indicate a blunt force impact sometime within the last twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Difficult to determine exactly when due to the variation of the discoloration. In addition, there is significant bruising on his torso from at least two separate incidents.”

  Dale nodded and wondered about a second occurrence but asked, “Could the trauma to his head account for his confusion and memory loss?”

  Walter listened to the doctor and started to ask about the second incident, only aware of one, but Gibbson spoke, and his words threw Walter for a loop. “My gods…” He stopped before revealing their relationship and switched to “Broderick lost his memory?”

  Gibbson enlightened Gambrill to everything which happened to Dan while at NRB since he previously explained his observations to Dr. White during the initial examination upon his arrival in the emergency room.

 
Gambrill stared with an incredulous expression. “Dan believed he was in Afghanistan and it was still May?”

  “Yes. He seemed genuinely bewildered to me. If you could’ve seen the alarmed and lost facets in his eyes, you wouldn’t question Dan’s integrity the way Constable Hardy did,” Dale said.

  Three and a half months ago? Gambrill’s mind whirled. That is about the time of the friendly fire incident which brought Dan to us. “What date did he think it was in May?”

  Unaware of the importance Dale answered, “May twenty-sixth. Why?”

  Oh, dear God, the day Brody died. Walter controlled his reaction not wanting to reveal the details to Gibbson. “Needed to know for the report.” He addressed the doctor. “Could the impacts cause a gap in his memory?”

  Andrew gave a slight nod. “Yes. Amnesia, loss of consciousness, and confusion are all signs of concussion, but that isn’t definitive in this case. Many other factors can cause memory gaps. From what I understand, Mr. Broderick was a soldier until recently. A traumatic event might be the culprit. I believe the pain he experienced earlier today could be from a trauma-triggered migraine or TTM as we refer to it.

  “TTMs are associated with complex neurological disturbances which can last from hours to days. A headache can occur within seconds to hours after trauma and can be triggered by concussions. They can also present concurrently with a concussion. So, it is possible he is suffering from both.”

  Glancing at his paperwork, White said, “I require some information which Mr. Gibbson is unable to provide. Details such as his date of birth and emergency contacts. Can you provide me those details?”

  “Yes, I will fill out his forms. For now, I’ll be his emergency contact. Broderick is single, and his father is General Broderick. Currently he and his wife are out of the country. I will be their proxy. What is his prognosis?”

  Dr. White handed Gambrill several forms. “When he regains consciousness, I will do a further assessment. If the memory lapse is still present, I’ll plan to keep him several additional days for observation. Either way, we will be following concussion protocols, and he will remain here for at least a day. Beyond that, I cannot say at the moment.”