"Meet John...Gage"
Johnny woke up. He wished he could go back to his dream...and to his vacation
- in Hawaii ! A fireman didn't get that kind of opportunity every day ! When he'd
received a special bonus from the County, he booked his trip right away.
It had been the vacation of a lifetime, but now he was back in the real world.
His shift started at 7 a.m., so he bolted up and got ready quickly. (At least, he had
had a good night's sleep.) Some nights, he slept at the station. Being awakened
by a loud siren at 3 a.m. was not his idea of a good rest.
But today, he was at least sort of ready to attend to his duties as fireman/paramedic.
He hoped that Roy would not soon tire of his Hawaii stories !
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"But Johnny, you were just here." Dixie, the head nurse, gave him a
quizzical look. Usually, Roy & John enjoyed chatting with Dixie when they
loaded up on more supplies from the Emergency Dept. Johnny smiled, and
held up 2 fingers in front of Dixie's face. "Are you sure you aren't needing
glasses, Dix ?"
"John Gage, I'm serious." She showed him the list of medical items
he had signed for, earlier. John looked over at Roy, "Do you know anything
about this, Roy ?" Roy shook his head. Dixie handed over the materials.
"Well, we'll give this set to you, but
we'll need to look into this. It's no fun if the state authorities get a hold of
a possible fraud case." John shook his head, and walked back to the truck with
Roy.
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"What do you make of that, Roy? Dixie thinks I'm doubling up on
supplies ? It doesn't make sense..." Johnny had forgotten about his
"Hawaiian adventures" for now. "Maybe you stopped by on your
way to the station this morning?" suggested Roy, the senior partner.
They were busy for the rest of their shift, so John thought little of it,
til he encountered Dixie at Rampart Hospital the following day. "Johnny,
what's up ?" began Dixie. "We received a call from Community General
that you had gone there to get supplies, claiming that we were all out."
"Are you serious?" spluttered John. "I'm very serious. Johnny...
these supplies include narcotics." Dixie's face bore a grave expression.
Just then, Dr. Brackett walked by. He saw John, and arched his eyebrows
at Dixie.
"Dr. Brackett, now you don't ….."protested Gage.
Kelly Brackett placed his hands on the counter, and looked across at
John. "Johnny you know we want to help. We can refer you to a great
program." Johnny couldn't believe this was happening. It was very
seldom that he found himself to be speechless.
Back at the station, John wondered where his appetite had gone. He
was usually ravenous in the late afternoon. While looking through the monthly
newsletter that dealt with fire department issues, Johnny heard himself being
summoned by Captain Stanley. "I knew this day was coming!" joked Chet.
When the Captain had closed the door to his office, he explained right
away what was going on..."I got a call from Community General, that a
John Gage has been requisitioning supplies from their pharmacy. He looked
at John with a stern expression. "Do you know anything about this ?"
Johnny felt the weight of everyone's disapproval and lack of trust. " I only
know what Dixie told us," answered Gage. "There must be someone that looks
like me." "Someone that looks like you AND wears a fireman's uniform?
That sounds a bit far-fetched, doesn't it ?"
"You have to believe me, Cap," pleaded John. "I haven't the slightest
idea of how to explain it."
"Well, a Dr. Mark Sloan at Community General wants you to see him as
soon as you have a chance."
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Mark welcomed John Gage into his office. After shutting the door, he
returned to his desk. With his glasses perched on the end of his nose, he
looked over them at Johnny. "Young man, I think the paramedic program
is wonderful. Always have. But something doesn't sound right. You came
here to get supplies, because 'Rampart' was out ? That doesn't sound
plausible."
Johnny felt like he was in a hole that he couldn't climb out of. What
had happened to "innocent until proven guilty" ?
" I wish I had an explanation for you, Doc. I really do. But this is
a mystery to me, too."
Mark Sloan sighed. He folded his glasses and set them on his desk.
"Well, I asked your Captain about drug-testing. He said he'll get back to
me."
John couldn't believe what he was hearing. Drug testing?! Now
he really wished he was back in Hawaii !
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Gage walked into the station, still not having re-gained his appetite.
Too bad. Roy was cooking, and he was everyone's favorite "resident chef."
John spotted Chet sitting on the sofa. He wasn't sure if he could
face Chet's banter right now. Surprisingly, what he noticed instead was
a concerned expression.
"Gage, you shouldn't try to go through this alone."
"Why do you say that, Chet ?"
"Well, we all know that paramedics have added stress...it's hard enough
being a fire-fighter," sympathized Chet.
"So, you're saying what ?" John wished that he and Chet were having one
of their usual jovial arguments.
Well, word has been getting around about your...problem. Honestly
Gage, don't you think you can talk to us about it ?"
John looked over at his partner. Had Roy...? Roy shook his head. John used to feel
like this when he was a kid, playing "Monkey in the Middle." Everyone had tried
to keep the ball away from him – and it seemed like all the other kids were against him.
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At least, John had not yet been subjected to drug testing - but it was not easy
trying to procure supplies these days. He wished that Roy would be okay with
"flying solo" when it was time to replenish their drug box for the squad.
Just two days after his conversation with Chet, John and Roy were called to a
pharmacy. One employee was lying on the floor, while another was
tied up. When Roy removed the duct tape from that victim's mouth, he pointed
to John. "It was him!" Gage looked up from where he had been been attending his
unconscious patient. An officer who had arrived on the scene was about to place
John in handcuffs. Roy held up a hand. "Wait, officer. There's been some mistake.
My partner and I were on another run just 15 minutes ago." The officer wrote down
some notes, and left Gage to attend to his patient. "Whew!" thought Johnny.
He had almost seen himself in a striped uniform, chained to a large metal ball.
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Despite being cleared during that last incident, John's life was not
getting easier. He had been summoned again to Dr. Sloan's office. This time,
a younger man was also there. "This is my son, Steve- a police detective."
"Are you talking about that pharmacy case?" asked Johnny. Hadn't
they heard that he had been cleared ?
"Oh, there have been lots of "pharmacy cases," said Steve. "Where
were you Tuesday evening, about 8:30 ?"
"Working on my car," offered Gage. He could see where this
was going.
"No alibi, huh? There was a fatality in this case, so I was called in."
(Steve showed his badge to John). "You think I'm involved in a
homicide case ? I was with my partner the other day, at the time of the robbery.
There has to be someone else."
"Do you have a twin?" asked Steve. He was not smiling.
"I don't." Would this nightmare never end ?
"Well, we could lock you up for a few days – then you'd definitely
have an alibi," suggested Steve.
John waved his hand at that. "No thanks...I'll take my chances."
(How much longer would he be able to savor his freedom ?)
Mark Sloan looked thoughtfully at Steve, and then John. If you
were to spend your off-hours at the fire station, would there always be
someone there, to vouch for you ?"
"Not if there is a big run, like an industrial fire," said John, shaking his
head. He felt at least somewhat hopeful – perhaps Dr. Sloan believed him.
"Let's do this..." suggested Mark. "When you're off-duty, try to
be where there are other people. You may have to ride along on those
big runs, so you won't be alone."
"Is that allowed?" asked Steve. "I don't know – I'll speak with Captain
Stanley," said Mark, as he patted Johnny on the shoulder.
Johnny felt like his life was being orchestrated by others: Dr. Brackett
was trying to get him into a drug-rehab program. And now, Dr. Sloan was
planning out his free time. What had happened to his happy bachelor
existence ?
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Gage started to dread the end of his shifts. Other guys at the station wondered
why he didn't just go home. Roy tried to reassure him that whoever was responsible
for this string of pharmacy break-ins would surely get caught soon. Johnny wasn't
so sure. First, it had started as "authorized" requisitions (signed with his name !)
Lately, it had escalated to out-right violence, with 1 person dead.
"I can't even show my face in the grocery store now," complained John
one day. "Yeah, it's got to the point that people are afraid to go to their corner
drugstore now," commented Chet. "Families are hoping that Grandma can get by
for another day without her blood pressure medicine."
"It's hard, having an evil twin," smiled Captain Stanley. "But I'm not
sure that our station needs all the notoriety."
Gage thought, " I certainly don't need it !"
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Mark Sloan was carrying a cup of coffee, and a few patient files.
Coming from the direction of the hospital pharmacy was a young man carrying
a parcel close to his side. For a second, Mark thought that maybe he had
been duped by the young John Gage.
He motioned to a nurse to call security. He wasn't sure if he should
confront this person. According to Steve, this suspect was very dangerous.
Mark decided that he would at least try to follow the guy.
Sensing that he was being followed, the man broke into a run.
He didn't get far, as two tall medical students each grabbed an arm, and
held on, til security officers arrived.
Mark hurried to his office. He immediately dialed the number of
Station 51. The person who answered said the he didn't know where Gage
was. Mark was alarmed. What if …..? He breathed a huge sigh of relief
when Gage spoke into the phone. "This is Johnny."
Mark was happy to share that the look-alike had finally been
apprehended, having tried to steal yet more drugs. Fortunately, no one
had been injured this time.
John was immensely relieved when he heard the man's name given
during the TV newscast. The guy's name happened to be "Pete."
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Gage no longer felt the same sense of dread when he went to
Rampart, to pick up materials for their squad.
"So, Johnny," smiled Dixie, "How are things going these days ?"
"Well," chirped Gage, "I'm here to tell you that all that is behind me -
I'm not looking for trouble !"
"No need to," quipped Roy. "It finds YOU !"
Dixie laughed, as the paramedics left with their newly-acquired supplies.