Waiting Is The Hard Part
By Janet Brayden
While Murray Bozinsky sat thumbing through a six-month-old magazine without really seeing it his partner, Nick Ryder, paced the waiting area in King Harbor Hospital's Emergency Room like a caged panther. Their friend, and partner, Cody Allen, was being examined x-rayed and run through a gamut of tests to determine the extent of the injuries he'd sustained after jumping out of a speeding car.
It wasn't just jumping from the car that was responsible for Cody's injuries. While staking out Frankie Kahana's hotel room, Cody had run afoul of the two men – one very large and the other a martial arts expert wielding a knife – who had attacked the Hawaiian singer at Straightaway's the night before.
In some ways, Nick was blaming himself for Cody's kidnapping, beating and injuries. Nick and Boz had found out that Cody was somewhat of an amateur songwriter when Nick got hold of the box containing Cody's songs. After some harassment from both of his partners Cody had found himself, as a "fellow musician", at the fleabag hotel the singer was staying at.
After being taken to crazy Tommy Lemana's hotel and being beaten half to death (or so it had seemed to Cody at the time), the two men had been given orders to take Cody out and get rid of him. Lemana, being the just as crazy son of Pineapple Pete Lemana, had told them to use a grenade. Pineapple Pete liked to kill people by taping grenades to their heads.
Fortunately for Cody, Nick and Boz had shown up at the hotel just as he was being loaded, unconscious, into the back of the henchmen's convertible. A chase had ensued during which a grenade had been tossed into Murray's lap and disposed of. Moments later Cody had launched himself from the back seat of the car and lay stunned, on the sidewalk, when Nick and Boz pulled up seconds later.
Nick had ridden in the ambulance with Cody. His conscience was bothering him that he'd instigated the teasing and sent Cody out on his own – without backup – knowing that somebody was out to kill Frankie Kahana. As Cody had lain, stunned, on the sidewalk, Nick's voice had been a soft litany of words.
"Easy. Just take it easy, take it easy."
Cody hadn't said a word for several minutes but, by the time they'd arrived at the hospital, he was complaining that he was "fine" and he just wanted to go home.
"Not gonna happen my friend," Nick had said. "You're gonna get checked out first."
"Nick?" Murray's voice brought Nick back to the present
"Huh?"
"Why don't you sit down before you wear a hole in the floor?" Boz stood and walked over to his nervously pacing friend. "The doctor will tell us how Cody is as soon as they finish running the tests."
"I can't sit, Murray," Nick protested. "I'm too nervous."
"Nick, sit down!" Murray was exasperated. Nick's pacing was making him nervous as well but he knew they couldn't do anything but wait. Hopefully it wouldn't be too much longer.
"It's my fault you know," Nick said. "I kidded him about his music and told him that he should stake out Frankie's room 'cause 'music people should stick together'." Nick sighed heavily. "We wouldn't be sitting here in the waiting room of the hospital if I'd gone instead. I should be the one in the ER – not Cody."
"Nick…"
"No! It's true and you know it! If I hadn't sent him off without me to watch his back we wouldn't be sitting here waiting for news."
Nothing Murray said, or did, would calm Nick down at that point. Fortunately a few minutes later the doctor that was treating Cody came out to talk to them.
"Your friend is in good shape all things considered," the young black man said. "He's got a lot of bruises and I had to bandage his left arm – it's got a nasty scratch on it – and he'll be limping for a while. All in all, though, he got off lucky. We're fixing him up with a crutch, which he won't really need – it's just a precaution – and he'll be ready to go as soon as he signs off on the paperwork. Take him home and put him to bed – or at least try to see that he rests for a while. If he has trouble sleeping because of that leg have him take some aspirin. That's all he should need. He just wrenched it a little when he jumped out of that car."
"Thanks, doc," Nick said with a huge sigh of relief as he shook the man's hand.
"Thank you, doctor," Murray said. "We'll keep an eye on him."
Less than five minutes later a pale, and battered, Cody joined his friends. As they walked out the door Nick stuck like a burr to Cody's side and watched every step he took admonishing him to take the steps "one step – one step at a time". The blond protested that he was just fine. However, when Joanna Parisi showed up – well that was another matter all together.