Chapter Two
The automatic doors at the Pontchartrain Medical Center Emergency Room burst open with an explosive bang. Paramedics rushed in with a bloodied man on a gurney swathed in tubes and tore down the hall. Just before the doors closed completely, Pride caught them with his hand as he and Merri Brody entered carrying a hobbling LaSalle between them. The younger man also held his left arm gingerly.
The uninjured agents deposited LaSalle in a nearby wheelchair. "Arm, Arm, foot, foot" he yelped.
The three along with Special Agent Sonya Percy had responded to a call of a disturbed man dressed in a Naval uniform threatening the staff inside a nearby clinic. They heard shots being fired and the gunman fled, obviously hit. LaSalle pounced on him and the force sent the two rolling down cement steps.
It turned out, the man exchanged fire with someone inside the clinic. NOPD was on the scene and Pride left Percy there to represent NCIS as they got LaSalle to the hospital.
Pride approached the registration desk. "We have an injured federal agent here," he said. "He fell down a stairway."
LaSalle groaned.
Pride continued, "He's in a lot of pain."
"He the one who shot the other guy?" the nurse asked in an even tone.
"He was already shot when I chased him," LaSalle yelled in defense. "Bastard took me down."
Pride gave the nurse an apologetic smile. "He here too?" he asked.
"Went straight to the trauma unit," she said. "I can't give you any more information."
"Can you call security for his room until NOPD gets here?" Pride said.
"Sure, but I don't think he's going anywhere," she said as she picked up the phone.
The registration period was blessedly short, in part because LaSalle had been there many times before. The registrar put a band on his right wrist.
An aide came in and began to wheel LaSalle out. "Take him to 16," the nurse told her.
The ER rooms looked like any other in the hospital, except sliding glass doors made up the fourth wall. Curtains could be drawn across for privacy. After a few minutes, a young blonde nurse came in.
"Cindy!" LaSalle said.
Her demeanor changed instantly.
"Hello Special. Agent. LaSalle," she said curtly. She took out the blood pressure monitor from the wall and wrapped it tightly around his left arm.
"Bad arm, bad arm!" he cried.
"Sorry," she said, not sounding at all sincere. She switched sides and began to pump the bulb vigorously. She then snapped an 02 device on his finger and rubbed a thermometer over his forehead. She turned to the computer mounted on the side wall and began inputting the data.
"How are my numbers?" he asked.
"You'll live," she said and threw a blue plaid hospital gown on his lap. "You know the drill, open to the back. The PA will be in soon." She snapped the curtain closed.
"Brrr, chilly in here," Brody said.
"What's with her?" LaSalle said. "She gave me a massage last time." He knocked his elbow against the bed rail, "Son of a bitch!"
Brody looked at Pride, "Indeed."
Before LaSalle had a chance to change, a lanky redhead came in wearing a PA badge.
"Hello Agent Pride, Brody," she said.
"Lorraine!" LaSalle said.
The PA ignored his greeting and began to examine his limbs. By this time, his ankle and elbow had both swelled to grapefruits. She began to move his foot.
"Does this hurt?" she asked flatly.
"YES!" he said.
"How about this?" She probed his elbow.
He screamed like a goat.
"Well, that elbow's probably broken, and that ankle could be broken or badly sprained. We'll need x-rays to confirm," she said putting information into the computer. "And, I'll order something for the pain. Are you allergic to anything besides returning phone calls?"
Brody and Pride suppressed chuckles.
"No," he said, crestfallen.
"The nurse will be in to give you your meds," she said.
"You're coming back though right?" LaSalle tried his best charm despite the pain.
"No, the orthopedist will see you next," she said on her way out. "Good-bye." It sounded permanent.
"Better pray the next nurse is male, Chris," Pride said with a smile. "I don't think you want any women near you with sharp objects."
LaSalle tried to take off his shirt. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit," he said and turned to Brody. "Can you help me get my clothes off?"
Brody made a tight face, "And, that's when I leave."
Pride stepped out of the room with her.
"Why don't you get back to Percy at the clinic and learn things," he said.
"Need some help here," LaSalle cried from behind the curtain.
"I'll stay here with the boy and get some info from the suspect, if possible," Pride finished.
"OK, Pride," Brody said. She spoke to the curtain. "Behave yourself LaSalle."
About 10 minutes later, another nurse came into the room. She went directly to the computer and logged in.
"My name is Rachel and I'll be your nurse Mr. LaSalle," she said in a soft southern accent.
"Pick the short straw?" Pride asked slightly amused. She glanced at him with a sly smile. Pride was relieved to see that she was somewhat older than the other nurses, and ergo not LaSalle's type.
"It's about time you got here," Chris snarled. "A person could pass out from pain."
"I apologize," she said warmly. "But, I do have your pain meds."
She turned from the computer and scanned LaSalle's bracelet, a bag of saline, and a syringe, then set up the IV.
"Well, Mr. LaSalle, it appears you have dated nearly half the ER staff and arrested relatives of another third," she said as she worked.
"Occupational hazard," he said weakly.
She felt around LaSalle's right arm and found a vein.
"Now just a pinch," she said.
"Yow!" he said. "Watch it Rached!"
"You are a charmer!" she said pleasantly, as she finished attaching the tubing. "Now, I'm giving you Dilaudid right in your line, so you should feel better soon." She inserted the syringe into the IV port. She placed a hand gently on his unaffected shoulder.
"Try to relax and let the medication work." She spoke in a soothing manner as if calming a baby to sleep.
LaSalle's demeanor improved in just a few minutes.
"See, isn't that better?" she said to him. "Like a warm blanket over the pain."
Soon after, the orderly came in to take him to x-ray.
He and Rachel walked out of the room as LaSalle rolled out of the room.
"I'll wait here for you, son," Pride said.
"Are you his father?" the nurse asked.
Pride chuckled, "Not in the biological sense. I'm his senior officer." He extended his hand. "NCIS Special Agent Dwayne Pride."
He considered the woman; she was not overtly beautiful or even pretty, but she was pleasant to look at with a friendly, familiar face, although he was certain they hadn't met. She was a tad petite, about 5'3", with wavy, mostly auburn hair held back in a bun, fair skin, full lips, and clear blue eyes. He guessed she was somewhere in her 40s.
"Rachel Norton," she said, returning the handshake with her gloved hand. "Oops, sorry." She smiled and peeled them off.
She began to wash her hands at a nearby sink. "So, I'm told Mr. LaSalle's injuries had something to do our gunshot victim in the trauma bay."
"He apprehended the suspect at the Crescent Clinic," he said.
"Really? I used to work there," she said.
"So, you know Dr. Hollister?" he asked.
"Leland?"
He nodded. "Staff there told 911 that a man in a Naval uniform came in yelling his name and brandishing a gun."
"He's in with that patient right now," she said. "That's probably not kosher…"
"No, nurse, it is not," Pride said.