No Getting Away From It
A/N: I had hoped to have this posted on St. Patrick's Day itself to continue my usual St. Patrick's day stories but sadly I didn't manage to get it finished in time. However better late than never I guess. My muse is playing up somewhat these days I'm afraid and my heart to write is not what it used to be but I am trying to keep going and post what I can. Apologies for my absence but things have been a struggle lately. Anyway I hope you enjoy this completed six chapter story and I will post again as time and my heart allows. x
Chapter 1
As Steve finished putting his overnight bag into the trunk of his Porsche, he smiled to himself as he looked up Union Street and saw the Irish flags that his Irish neighbors, four buildings down had flying from their upper window. St. Patrick's Day was NOT going to cause him to get hurt this year. As planned a whole year earlier, him and Mike had decided to go fishing for a couple of well earned days off and despite the fact that fishing was not exactly Steve's favorite hobby, anything that got him out of San Francisco and into the wilderness where there were no Parades in sight was ok with him. He had dressed casually but warmly, wearing denim jeans, a red casual shirt and tie and a sports jacket and his ever present beige overcoat. Smiling as he heard the soft dulcet tones of Irish music carry on the breeze from the open window of his enthusiastic neighbor's house, Steve sat into the Porsche and gunned the engine towards De Haro Street. It was just ten to nine when Steve pulled up outside Mike's house and found Mike pacing on the kerb waiting, his bag and fishing gear already safely stowed in his car.
"You're late Buddy boy ... I thought we said eight thirty?"
Getting out of the car and retrieving his belongings, he crossed over to where Mike was, and the young detective, his eyes covered from the early morning sunshine by a stylish, dark pair of sunglasses began to apologize profusely.
"We did ... I'm sorry. I slept through my alarm ..."
"Well I did tell you not to meet the boys for that drink last night."
"Yeah, yeah I know you did but they were celebrating Lee's new baby Mike ... I didn't want to be rude."
"Uh huh ... I see ... But I'll make book that you didn't get away after one drink like you said you would, did you?"
Steve's cheeks reddened very slightly and his cheeky grin widened accordingly.
"No ... I got home about three ..." he mumbled, waiting for the inevitable telling off which came very quickly.
"THREE? In the morning? But you went over there at eight. Steve, you must have been three sheets to the wind by then?"
"No ... No I wasn't too bad ... I ah ... didn't have that many ... Just ... just a couple of beers that's all."
"Oh? Is that right? ... Then how come Art told me you all started doing shots come midnight huh?"
"Hey, now that wasn't MY idea! That was Norm's brainwave and I ... I only had one or two ... Norm must have had at least five ... Let's just say they well and truly wet the baby's head."
"I'll bet they did by the sounds of it ... Just one or two huh? Ok, give it to me straight, Buddy boy. Are you hungover?"
Steve flustered where he stood and then started putting his gear into Mike's trunk as he tried to deflect the question.
"No ... No, I'm fine ... Just a little tired that's all ..."
He didn't hear Mike coming up behind him as he bent in to place his bag and when he stood up and turned around Mike whipped the sunglasses from his eyes without warning. The bright morning sunshine temporarily blinded him and he grumbled as his sore eyes protested the loss of the shaded protection.
"MIKE? What did you do that for?"
Mike leaned forward and whistled as he took in Steve's bloodshot and puffy eyes that stood out so clearly now.
"Not hungover, huh Hotshot? Well your eyes tell a different story. I'LL drive. YOU get in the passenger seat."
"MIKE! ... I am perfectly able to drive. I drove over here, didn't I?"
"Yes, yes you did. But NOT with me in the car ... so if you don't mind I want to get going before the heavy traffic causes us problems." Mike said gesturing to the passenger side of the beige LTD and smiling disarmingly as he handed the disgruntled young man back his designer sunglasses.
Steve took the glasses and put them on quickly before raising his hands in mock surrender as he walked around the car and sat into the passenger seat.
"Ok, ok you win ... YOU can drive if it makes you happy but you still haven't told me where we're going on this surprise fishing trip of yours yet ..."
"Ah ah ... Patience if you please ..." Mike added annoyingly as he climbed into the driver's seat and wasted no time in getting underway.
Steve settled back on the passenger side and leaned his head back against the seat and yawned involuntarily. While he had been a little disgruntled at first about not being allowed to drive, now suddenly it didn't seem so bad. This way he could relax and take it easy and let Mike take the strain of driving for once. He WAS feeling extra tired due to his unplanned late night out with his colleagues and he had the unmistakable slight thumping of an alcohol induced headache to go along with his sore eyes. He smiled when he thought about the state the others must be in this morning considering that most of them drank a lot more alcohol than he did. Especially poor Lee, thanks to Norm and the others. He figured that it was probably a good job that Lee's wife was still in the Hospital with their new baby son and wouldn't see her husband in the state they finally carried him home in. Before he had a chance to contemplate it any more, Mike restarted the conversation.
"So Buddy boy ... I'll bet you're glad to be heading out of the city and away from the St. Patrick's Day Parade this year after the last two year's fiascos, huh?"
"Oh yeah ... You can say that again. All I want today is peace, quiet and relaxation and ah ... no injuries with that if possible."
Mike chuckled at Steve's statement. The last two year's Parades had ended up causing Steve injuries of some kind which had only served to convince Mike that the day was as jinxed as he had always believed it to be.
"So you're not going to miss the baton twirlers then?"
"Well ... maybe a little bit ..." Steve added mischievously as Mike laughed a second time.
Steve noticed that they were heading for the Golden Gate Bridge and not the Bay Bridge which at least narrowed down the direction they were heading in but he couldn't contain his curiosity a second longer.
"Aw come on Mike ... Tell me where we're going, will ya?"
"You really need to know, don't you? Can't you guess by the direction, we're heading in, Detective?"
Steve chuckled.
"All I know right now is that we're heading North via the Golden Gate. Local fishing spots up North never really made it into my general knowledge Mike. "
"I don't doubt that seeing as I've seen how you fish ..."
More laughter filled the car as Steve pleaded desperately for one final time.
"MIKE? ... Put me out of my misery, will ya?"
Mike looked across while driving and smiled warmly at the younger man, his green eyes still hidden beneath the dark glasses.
"Ok ... Bolinas ... "
"Bolinas? "
"That's right. The best beach fishing there is."
Steve's smile widened as he heard their intended destination. While he had never been to Bolinas as such, all he needed to hear was the word beach. Suddenly the thoughts of standing on golden sand instead of knee high in a cold mountain stream seemed pretty good to the young Inspector and he nodded approvingly.
"A beach huh? I like your style Mike. Sounds good."
"I thought you'd like that Buddy boy although I have a feeling I'LL end up doing most of the fishing while you catch some rays as you young people call it these days."
"Who ME? Never ..." Steve added in a feigned innocent sounding voice as he heard his partner's hearty chuckles again.
Steve's smile soon faded though as they turned onto the Golden Gate Bridge and hit traffic Northbound.
"Aw Man ... Sorry Mike. I guess my tardiness this morning has cost us precious time by the looks of it."
"No, no it'll be ok. They've just opened more lanes on the far side that's all, with all the traffic coming into the city for the Parade and the celebrations. It's still moving ok, just a little slower."
Steve sighed heavily as he looked across and saw several large buses heading south bound into San Francisco, emblazoned on the side with Irish Flags and St. Patrick's Day Banners, full of Parade performers and some with marching bands on board. He heard Mike laugh again at his reaction.
"There's just no getting away from it, is there Buddy boy? Don't worry. You should be fairly safe when we get to Bolinas. The traffic is moving a little quicker now. "
True enough, Mike sped up a little as the traffic started to flow a little easier. A bus full of pretty baton twirlers passed them next and a few waved and blew kisses out the window as they caught sight of Steve in the passenger seat of the car. He blushed as Mike roared with laughter again.
"You know Buddy boy, even after three years of being your partner, I still have to figure out if those good looks of yours are a blessing or a curse."
"Very funny ... " Steve began but then something out of the ordinary caught the corner of his left eye.
Removing his sunglasses and squinting at the bright sunshine that assaulted them he straightened up in his seat and stared across the Southbound lane to the middle one at a large bus that seemed to be swerving erratically.
"Speaking of funny Mike ... Is it just my sore eyes or is that bus in the middle lane driving a little dangerously?"
Having been concentrating on his own side of the road, Mike glanced across the other side.
"Where?"
Just as he asked the question, Steve roared a warning as the bus he had been speaking about swerved dramatically and started coming across the other lanes plowing through a red car in the next lane and heading straight in their direction.
"MIKE, WATCH OUT!"
Mike's jaw dropped in shock as he pushed his foot down on the accelerator and swerved their car dramatically trying to remove themselves from any impact but despite his quick reaction the bus clipped off the back of their car and sent them into a spin. What happened next in mere seconds seemed to happen in slow motion. As their car spun and impacted with others in the other Northbound lane, the sound of cars crashing and being struck by the still rogue bus and the harrowing sound of metal crunching filled their ears. They came to a dramatic stop as they impacted a blue Ford Galaxy and Steve's right temple and forehead impacted hard with the passenger window as he heard the sound of Mike being winded by the steering wheel beside him as they came to a stand still.
What followed next was a few seconds of stunned silence. That awful few moments after an accident when people start to come to terms with what has happened slowly. It wasn't long before loud screams, errant car horns and groans of pain replaced the shocked silence and Steve opened his eyes slowly as the pain in his head vibrated through his skull. He automatically brought his right hand up to where the pain was and felt the unmistakable sticky substance oozing from the side of his head. His neck was a little sore too from the whiplash and his vision a little blurry. He blinked several times to clear it as he felt a hand start to shake his arm and he heard Mike's panicked voice.
"STEVE? Steve ... are you alright?"
"It took a few seconds for Steve to make his voice work but he stammered bravely.
" Yeah ... yeah I think so ... I just banged my head ... What about you? You ok? Are you hurt?"
"I just banged my chest off the steering wheel and got a little winded, that's all ..."
Steve turned his head painfully to try and get a look at Mike and saw an arm wrapped around the older man's torso.
"Did you bust any ribs?"
"I'm not sure ... I don't think so ... but it's sore as hell ..."
Steve shifted himself more upright as his head protested the move and he heard movement beside him as he looked across into the worried face of the older man as he reached over with his ever present handkerchief and pressed it against the oozing wound on Steve's temple.
"Ooh that looks nasty Buddy boy ... How hard did you hit your head?" Mike asked worriedly, however the cracked glass in the passenger side window more or less answered that question already.
"Not too hard ... I can still think straight ... I think ..."
Just then he felt a distinct trail of blood exit his right nostril and head down his top lip as he wiped it away with his hand.
"Oh your nose is bleeding now" Mike gasped as he moved the handkerchief to the new spot where blood was escaping." We better get some help out here ..." Mike said reaching over instinctively with his free hand to pick up the radio receiver and suddenly realizing how lucky they were that he had asked Rudy if they could borrow the unmarked police car for their trip, as his car was in the garage having essential servicing done and he hadn't wanted to be cooped up in Steve's Porsche for their few days away. He hesitated for a few seconds as he didn't even want to think about how they would have gotten help otherwise, and also praying inwardly that it still worked after the crash. He pressed the button to speak just as he felt Steve bend forward to look out Mike's window at the carnage in front of him and he heard the young man speak shakily and in an incredulous, audibly shocked voice.
"Dear GOD Mike ... Look ..."
Mike turned to look out his side window and saw a trail of destruction heading half way across the bridge culminating in the rogue bus embedded in the side barrier a good ways up across the Northbound lanes. It had been a serious pile up and Mike knew that until the road was blocked off more cars were in danger of colliding with them. He quickly spoke into the radio.
"This is Inspectors 81 to Dispatch ... There has been a serious accident on the Golden Gate Bridge affecting both Southbound and Northbound lanes. There are multiple vehicles involved with possible fatalities and at best multiple injuries ... at first count possibly ..."
Mike looked across at Steve who was still staring at the carnage for guidance as to a number.
"At least twenty Mike and that's only the ones I can see."
" ... at least twenty vehicles. We're going to need a high influx of emergency personnel here right away and we need the road cordoned off from both sides as a matter of urgency. We are on site. Repeat we are on site ... Over ..."
He clicked the button and waited for a hopeful voice to come across over the static.
"This is Dispatch. We copy that. We will send an Emergency Response team to your location right away. Are you hurt yourselves Inspectors 81? Over ..."
"We sustained minor injuries but we should be able to lend assistance until help arrives. Over."
"Copy that ... Help is now en route to your location Inspectors 81 ... Over"
A sense of relief was palpable in the car, just knowing assistance was on the way.
Steve took the handkerchief from Mike as he watched the older man hang up the receiver and push his driver's door open. Then he turned and gripped Steve's chin.
"Look at me now Buddy boy. Are you SURE you're ok to get out of this car? Because if you have any and I mean ANY doubts about that then I want you to stay put and wait for help to get here. Do you hear me now?"
Steve shook his head gingerly to both ease Mike's concerns and at the same time dispel the last of the fog lingering in his throbbing head.
"No ... No I'm ok to help but ... I think my door is jammed. I'll have to get out your side."
Mike maintained a grip on Steve's chin and looked into the young man's eyes closely. They didn't look too glazed over but he still looked like he was hurting. He contemplated ordering the young man to stay in the car but he also knew that from past experience that wouldn't work so he just hoped the young man was telling him the truth about the extent of his affliction. Releasing Steve's chin, he turned and held his chest tightly as he exited the vehicle and then turned back around to assist Steve out of the car as the young man slid across the seat. Steve wobbled a little as his feet hit the ground but he steadied himself before Mike could say anything about it. The two men looked around and Steve looked a little overwhelmed.
"Mike? What do we do? Have you got a plan for THIS?" Steve asked nervously as the sound of moaning and pain-filled cries increased along with faint calls for help.
"Yes, but we're going to need to split up for it. Are you sure you're up for that?'
Steve nodded as confidently as his nerves would allow.
" Yeah ... Just tell me what to do?"
"Ok, we both know the basics of first aid, right? Help what ever people you can and don't move anyone that's injured until help arrives. Anyone that's ok, we need to move them over to the Pedestrian walkway out of harm's way. You head for that bus and see how many casualties there are. I'll help the people around here and try and get this road sealed off but Steve ... Until I get it sealed off there could be further collisions so be careful ... alright?"
"Ok, sure. Hey Mike, are the walkie talkies still in the trunk? That way we can still keep in touch with each other."
Mike smiled and patted Steve's shoulder.
"Good thinking Buddy boy. I think they are. "
Mike reached into the car and popped the trunk as Steve retrieved the walkie talkies and handed one to Mike.
"You take care too, ok Mike?"
Mike nodded, both feeling apprehensive about what they were about to witness.
"Good luck ..."
"You too."
Steve watched Mike head off in the other direction as he then turned and started heading towards the bus in the distance.