Missing Scene 'Frame Up'
Chapter 1
It was supposed to have been 'a piece of cake', parachute in, steal a car, drive to their destination, arrange a meet, get the documents and leave. The first part had gone as planned according to the recipe. They had reached their destination and arranged a meet but then the cake fell. Casino, Goniff and Actor had stayed with the car while Garrison and Chief, for back up, had gone to the meet. Instead of their agent, there had been soldiers. The two men had fled. The plan had them leaving out the back of the building, down a lane and then to the car they had arrived in but somewhere along the way they realized they were about to be cut off. There were soldiers up ahead and shots were fired. Their best bet was to give them the slip.
Garrison had seen a grate near the middle which he figured would lead them to another exit. If they could get down before the soldiers caught up to them then they were safe. While Chief held them back with machine gun fire Garrison opened the grate and scrambled down, moving out of the way for his scout to enter the underground passage. Unfortunately the soldiers were braver or more motivated to catch them than Chief had figured. They came around the corner before he had a chance to drop down the hole so he fired off a burst to give him time. Before they died one got off a lucky shot. He felt the burn as the bullet slammed home into this right leg. Clenching his teeth he manoeuvred around so he could get down to the relative safety of the underground tunnel. It was too far to drop without risking further damage so he stepped onto the ladder. His leg hurt like hell but putting pressure on it made it worse. There was no helping that unless he wanted to stay there and be taken prisoner so he moved as fast as he could. Once down, Garrison helped ease him to the floor where he sat clutching his leg. Their leader had seen the way his team mate moved and knew he was hit so he understood when Chief snapped at him. The pain was so bad Chief had trouble getting up but with Garrison's help he made it to his feet. Together they made their way down the subterranean passage.
Garrison found the next exit but while he was trying to open the grate the remaining soldiers closed in. Chief knew they were in trouble. There was no way he could out run them and now he was out of ammo. Fortunately Garrison had a grenade which ended the pursuit. Eventually the pair found a grate that was not bolted and they were able to make their escape. It took Garrison a moment when they surfaced to figure out where they were and how to get back to where the others were waiting with the car. Their biggest fear, getting stopped by soldiers before they reached the car, did not materialize and they made it back. Garrison opened the back door for Chief then got in front with Casino. Their drive back was uneventful.
Four hours later they were stopped by an Allied patrol. Once Garrison had identified himself the patrol leader, Sargeant Dirks, offered to take Chief with them back to their lines. They were heading that way anyway. Chief agreed and seeing as other than being in pain he seemed to be doing all right, the men separated, Chief and the patrol headed back to their lines and Garrison and the other gorillas turned around for another attempt to get the information they had come for. Goniff was all for staying with Chief because, "well, what if he needs us for somethin'?" but Garrison overruled him and they separated.
By the time the patrol reached the aid station Chief became just one in a mess of casualties. The Sargent had him placed with the others but by just looking around he knew the kid would be waiting for a long time. Good thing his wound didn't look bad. With a wave and a "Good Luck" the patrol was off again.
Chief lay still, there wasn't much else he could do. Garrison would be half way back to that retched town and an agent that might have turned and double crossed them. Damn he wished he was going with them to protect them and maybe punch out that agent who got him shot.
Triage saw him left to the last. Just seeing the carnage around him with bloody chests and abdomens, missing limbs and heads wrapped in bloody bandages was enough. He knew they needed help more than he did. He waited. Someone brought him another blanket but no food or drink. That was all right by him, he couldn't eat when he was nervous and right now he was in too much pain to eat. Finally two orderlies came to get him. It was his turn at last.
Pain dragged him awake. His leg was on fire and his head was fit to explode. Shit! He had been shot before and it hadn't hurt this bad. Something must have gone wrong. A horrible thought came to him and he raised his head to look. The additional pain from the movement prevented any relief he might have felt that both his legs were still there. He lay back and tried to fight the pain. If he could only sleep but the pain pounded on.
Nurse Agnes MacKenzie had the night shift. She didn't mind, she had always been a night person. Besides it was usually fairly quiet. Tonight was not. With the influx of wounded, there were a lot of patients to check, charts to read and medication to dispense. Most of the patients were asleep but occasionally one woke up and needed a bit of reassurance. This was the case with the man in bed four. He had a shrapnel wound to the shoulder. He woke up complaining of pain but when she checked his chart he was not due for another shot for three hours. That was a long time to make him wait but she had no authority to give him another dose. She would wait and then if he didn't fall asleep she would call the doctor. Five minutes later a second soldier call out. He too had already had a shot about an hour ago. That was strange. The man in the bed next to him also seemed to be in distress. That was too much. She asked the orderly on duty to get the doctor.
Major Donald Aichen was Army through and through. He was also a good surgeon. He examined the patients and knew there was a problem. Either they had not had the medication that was marked on their charts or the dose that had been given was not the correct one. The patient in bed four was one of his and he knew it had been administered because he had given it. That left one other possibility, the medication had been tampered with. Where that had happened and by whom was not his concern. These men were in real pain. Unfortunately with the number of patients there was only one way to determine who had got the tampered doses. Ask them.
Chief was only partially conscious of the hushed voices and extra personnel moving about. He had more important things to deal with, the pain. A voice and a hand on his shoulder forced his eyes open but only part way. The voice wanted to know if he was in excess pain. He was but he was not about to admit it. He could handle the pain. Years ago a bully had twisted his arm and asked if it hurt. At first he had said yes but the bully had twisted it harder. When he said no then the bully gave up and finally left him alone.
Chief didn't want to move his head but didn't trust his voice so he turned his head slightly to each side and the voice and hand moved off. He went back to trying to deal with the pain.
The ward finally quieted down, the Doctor left and Nurse MacKenzie finished the charts. She made her rounds and then sat and enjoyed the cup of tea the orderly had brought. Some time later she prepared for another med pass. Patient three, leg wound, required penicillin and morphine. His eyes were closed, his breathing shallow so she assumed he was sleeping. She prepared the shot then sat down beside the patient but when she took his arm to do the injection she felt his skin. Something was wrong. His skin was cold and clammy. She replaced the syringe on the cart and checked the patient more carefully. His pupils were dilated, his pulse was weak and rapid. The patient was in shock. "David. Get Doctor Aichen, stat!"