Chapter 4
"I think I am going to be sick" Ralph covered his mouth as he shut the door on the morgue locker. After Ralph changed into the suit, the two men had headed down to the morgue to find Mac. Bill looked over his shoulder from his spot at the door as a lookout and sighed.
"Kid would you stop messing around and find the guy?"
Ralph made a face, especially since Bill was not helping in the search. Bet he's still spooked by Mackie's visit the day I got this suit, he mused. "Bill this isn't working. There are a dozen or more lockers in here, and in the last five minutes since I been here I have seen things I don't think I can even have nightmares about, including the guy in that drawer." Ralph looked back at the closed door of the locker and shuddered. "I think he died in a fire."
"Ralph," Bill said, glancing out the window in the door before walking over to Ralph. "We haven't got all night."
"Then you look Bill." Ralph crossed his arms and walked away from the lockers, and Bill looked at the drawers then at Ralph then back again.
"Uh well Kid..." Bill hemmed not exactly liking the prospect of looking through the drawers himself. "Why don't you try to do like that Superman guy... you know X-ray…"
"Bill," Ralph cut in and crossed back over to his partner. "I am not Superman. I can't see through stuff."
"Have you tried?"
"Oh no," Ralph shook his head emphatically and pointed at Bill. "Last time you said that I ended up playing the Invisible man for most of the day."
"Invisible man….That was just that one time and…"
Ralph shook his head. "One time…Bill then there was the time I roasted your car, or what about the casino and…."
"Oh. Well yeah, but you got a handle on that stuff now so c'mon and try it."
"Bill…."
"C'mon Ralph you're wasting time here. We don't know what that shipment is or when it is coming and we need to find the body to prove Nevar killed Mac…."
"All right, fine," Ralph sighed running a hand through his hair before placing both hands on his hips and concentrating on a spot over his friend's shoulder.
"Well what do you see… anything" Bill asked after a minute.
"Yep."
"Great Kid, what is it?"
Ralph looked at Bill. "Dead people," he said straight-faced and nodded over Bill's shoulder. Bill then turned to see what Ralph was looking at, which were several gurneys with bodies laid out on them. Bill rolled his eyes. "Ha-ha Ralph," he turned back to the younger man. "I am serious here..."
"So am I Bill," Ralph pointed to himself. "I don't think the suit works like that," He finished and walked around the cold room, stopping in front of one the gurneys and looked down.
"I think I found him," Ralph said seeing part of Mac's face peeking out from under the sheet.
"That's great Kid. Where?" Bill crossed to stand next to Ralph thinking the man had gotten some sort of holograph.
"Here," Ralph stated pointing the dead man out.
Bill looked down "OK," Bill nodded rubbing his hands together, noting how cold it was in the room. "So see if you can get a vibe off him."
"What!!" Ralph shouted then quickly lowered his voice at Bill's insistence and continued. "He's dead Bill... you know beyond our help as in taking the celestial dirt nap."
"Well you can try."
Ralph just rolled his eyes wondering if the agent had been listening before. "Hello... Earth to Bill? Remember suit doesn't work like that."
"That's because you've never relaxed enough." Bill said, ignoring the younger man's look.
Ralph shook his head, pointing at the bodies. "Bill, I'd probably have to be as relaxed as these guys in order for it to work."
Bill looked around the room and gave in. "All right, all right….You don't have to touch the guy right?"
"No, but..." Ralph shook his head watching Bill as the agent took off Mac's tie and handed it to him. "Here try this."
Ralph backed away, trying not be to sick. "What do you want me to do with that?"
"Put it on." Bill took a step towards the other man, closing the gap between them.
"Bill..." Ralph protested pushing the tie away. "That is off a dead guy. I'm not putting it on."
"I don't think he's going to miss it Ralph, now put it on," Bill held out the tie. Seeing the agent would not relent finally Ralph gave in and grabbed the tie in disgust. He put it around his neck, giving Bill the old "are you happy now?" look, before concentrating on getting a holograph.
"Get anything?"
"Yeah... a severe case of the heebee jeebees…" Ralph said, taking off the tie and placing it on top of Mac. "I'm not getting anything. She probably didn't touch the tie."
Bill crossed his arms thinking of something else the man could try. Seeing Mac's shirt Bill suggested Ralph try it on, only to get a look that said 'drop dead' and Bill backed off.
"OK, maybe not...I'm running out of options here Kid," Bill said running a hand over his face then stopped when he saw that Mac was holding something. "Hey, he's got something in his hand. Get it Ralph."
Ralph rolled his eyes. "Fetch Ralph fetch," he mumbled, walking over to Mac's side and prying the hand open.
Once Mac's hand was open, Ralph picked the object up and held it out so Bill could see. "It's one of those penlights the doctors use" Ralph explained then looked closer at it "…Hmm it's got something written on it…Tracy Nevar."
"Hey that's it," Bill smiled. "See if you can get a vibe."
Ralph nodded and concentrated. After a few seconds, a holograph came into view. "I got something Bill," he announced and watched the scene in front of him come into view. "It's her Bill," Ralph finished and Bill came around the gurney and stood next to the man.
"Idiot…do I have to do everything myself?" Tracy Nevar complained, walking into the nursing station followed by Ryan.
"Sorry Tracy, that guy's friend startled me…"
Tracy silenced him with a wave of her hand, and then continued. "You screwed up and almost cost me that shipment. The customer isn't happy" Nevar stated and turned to the drug cabinet, pulling down several bottles and reading the labels as she continued. "Now the customer will be here soon to pick up the container…"
"Uh don't you mean the body Dr. Nevar…?"
Tracy stopped what she was doing and glared at the man next to her. "You idiot that is where the drugs will be: inside the body…"
Ralph paled slightly. "Oh that is just sick."
"What?" Bill asked. The younger man answered, while still watching the holograph. "It is drugs Bill. Apparently she hides them in the bodies of the dead."
The agent looked around the room making a face and started to ask another question, but Ralph waved him into silence.
"…What are we going to do about that guy in 302? I don't think he is going to give up…"
"Yes, no thanks to you Ryan," Tracy sneered and picked up one of the bottles she pulled down and shook out a few pills. She then added a clear liquid on them. "However, I think we may have a new volunteer for the shipment."
Ryan smiled as a nurse came into the station.Tracy turned to the new arrival "Nurse Myers, I need you to give these to Mr. Hinkley in Room 302….."
The holograph faded and Ralph handed Bill the pen. "Well it is drugs Bill, and Tracy wants to use me as her mule."
"Huh?" Bill asked confused. "What, why…I mean how is she going to do that? You aren't dead Ralph."
"Not yet…I saw her doctor some pills she wanted to give me..."
"That lady just won't quit will she?"
Ralph shook his head. "Guess not, and with me as her only witness to Mac's murder, well…" Ralph ran a hand through his hair. "You see my point."
Bill agreed and both men headed back to Ralph's room to think of a plan to stop Nevar and the shipment.
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Pam sat down on the end of the hospital bed "Third string utility backup again at your service," she huffed crossing her arms waiting for the two men to return. To say she was a little miffed at being made to wait "behind the lines" as Bill said before he and Ralph left was an understatement.
She looked at her watch then stood up pacing the room once more when the door opened and Nurse Myers walked in.
"Mr. Hinkley, It's time…." Myers stopped just inside the door when she realized her patient was no longer in the room. She glared at the only other occupant, who smiled nervously back at her. "Where is Mr. Hinkley?"
"Who?"
Nurse narrowed her glare more not amused. "The patient that is supposed to be in that bed," she asked, pointing the empty bed. Pam looked over her shoulder then back at Myers and smiled nervously again trying to think of something.
"Uh ... well he is..." Ralph where are you, she grumbled to herself. "He is in the bathroom."
Myers raised an eyebrow at the women glancing toward the closed door of the bathroom, not missing the fact that there was no light coming from under the door. She turned back to Pam. "And the other gentleman... Agent Maxwell is he in there as well?"
Pam chuckled. "No, he um went to get some coffee."
Myers just nodded not buying a word of what the younger women said. "Uh huh… Well when Mr. Hinkley comes back from wherever he went this time, make sure he takes these." She handed a small cup to Pam, who looked inside and saw two small pills sitting in a small amount of liquid.
"Yes I will."
"Good," Myers stated flatly and left the room. Pam rolled her eyes, thinking of a few choice names for Ralph and his partner before sitting back down on the bed waiting for the men to return.
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A few minutes later, Bill came in through the door.
"Bill, where's Ralph," Pam asked when she did not see the younger man return with the agent.
"Right here," said a detached voice right before Ralph reappeared next to Bill. The agent jumped, still not used to the suit power. "Waaaa…Ralph…I wish you would stop doing that," Bill said glaring at the man and getting a small chuckle from Ralph in response as he in turn went to sit on the end of the bed.
Pam shook her head then remembered the pills Nurse Myers brought in and handed them to Ralph, asking at the same time what they found.
"Well," Ralph started, taking the cup Pam handed to him. "We found Mac," he swallowed both pills and making a face at the taste then handed the cup back to her. "...And we found her penlight."
"Penlight?" Pam looked between the two. Bill continued. "Yeah, one of those doohickey things that they blind you with…"
"Exactly," Ralph cut in. "You see Mac must have grabbed it off of Nevar somehow when she stabbed him…" Ralph stood up and started to tell Pam what happened starting with when he overheard Mac and Tracy arguing earlier then about the holograph he got in the morgue.
"You see then I saw Nevar put something on some pills so she could give them to me."
"Why would she do that?" Pam asked.
Bill answered her question. "Because your boyfriend here is the only witness and she wants to use him as a mule…."
"OK," Pam put her hand up. "So, let me get this straight: Ralph overhears Tracy and Dr. Mac arguing about some shipment that Mac wants out of…and she ends up killing him after which, you," Pam nodded to Ralph, who was leaning against the windowsill. "Ralph, see Mac come out of the room and collapse." She looked at Bill then back at Ralph, each of who nodded and she continued.
"Then Ralph gets hit over the head, supposedly by Tracy, but before she can come back for Ralph and kill him, you Bill," Pam pointed to the agent, "found Ralph in the hall. Then later after Bill and I leave, someone tries to smother Ralph but fails. You guys go to the morgue, find Mac and get a holograph where you find out that the shipment is in fact drugs and she uses cadavers to transport them."
Pam paused and held up the cup she still held. "And then Ralph sees her doctor these pills to kill you so she can use you as a mule."
"Yeah," Ralph said running a hand through his hair and frowning when he felt strangely lightheaded. "That's pretty much it."
"So what do we do now?" Pam asked then looked down at the cup she was holding as Bill jumped in and answered her.
"Well Counselor, what we do is come up with a plan to…."
"Uh Ralph..." Pam interrupted the agent and looked up at Ralph. The man stood up from the sill, only to feel slightly dizzy at the sudden movement. He shook his head slightly as he passed it off as being from the bump on his head.
"Yeah Pam?"
"Those pills you mentioned... they wouldn't be these would they?"
Ralph shrugged. "Probably, did the nurse bring them in?" he asked and crossed the room, as Pam nodded and handed him the cup.
He looked in the now empty cup then looked at Pam and started to ask where they were when he remembered. "Oh no," he groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose connecting the feeling of vertigo to the pills he took when he first walked in.
Bill, hearing Ralph groan, crossed the room standing next to the man. "What?"
"I took the pills..." the younger man sighed, trying to shake off the nauseous feeling that started.
Bill's mouth dropped open. "You what?"
"I took... the pills…" He handed the agent the empty cup. "I don't feel too good Bill," he finished, and then suddenly leaned heavily on the rail of the bed.
"Whoa there Kid, take it easy," Bill said, holding the younger man up and with Pam's help tried to move him onto the bed but failed when Ralph closed his eyes and completely relaxed, starting to fall away from the bed.
Bill still had a tight hold on the man and kept him from falling completely to the floor.
"Oh no, Ralph," Pam said, shaking the man's shoulder, and not getting a response, tried to help Bill again. "He's out cold Bill."
"I see that Counselor…" Bill grunted, trying to keep Ralph off the floor. "Now if you can help me, I think he would be more comfortable in the bed than on the floor. And he isn't exactly a pillow of feathers here."
Pam shot Bill a glare, who then rolled his eyes at her. "Hey, it's not my fault he's dead to the world..."
"BILL!"
Bill looked down at the unconscious man. Realizing his mistake, Bill looked back at Pam. "Uh, I meant out like a light. Now will you help me out here?" He complained as he struggled to keep Ralph up and Pam helped the agent get Ralph onto the bed.
"The Kid certainly has great timing," Bill sighed once they finished, and the two stood there for a second before Pam spoke up. "Bill, he had the suit on. Why didn't it work?"
"I think it did…" He saw the Counselor glare at him. "Well, sort of anyway…he ain't dead at least."
Pam made a face. "Bill..."
"Well it's true, what else do you want me to say? I mean if Ralph here did not have the suit on, Tracy would have gotten what she wanted: Him dead."
"OK, but that doesn't explain why he's like this. How do we know the suit is even working?"
Bill looked at Ralph and frowned, not sure himself. "Well I don't know Counselor, it's not like I have an instruction book for this…thanks to butterfingers here. Maybe it's the suit way of compensating for the poison…"
Pam quirked an eyebrow, skeptical. "By knocking him out? That doesn't make sense; besides what are we going to do now?"
Bill rubbed the back of his neck, thinking of what to do next. Then he thought of something... though he was not to sure how the Counselor would take it. "Well seeing how Tracy wanted to kill him, why don't we give her what she wanted?"
"You mean let her think Ralph is dead? Bill that will never work Ralph isn't dead."
"Yeah, but she don't know that. I mean that Tracy dame thinks that Ralph here took the poison, and the Kid is out cold so why not use Ralph here as bait?"
Pam made a face, unsure this plan would work, Bill saw her look and continued. "C'mon Counselor, work with me will you?"
"Fine," She sighed and crossed her arms. "But what about the suit?" she asked.
"Well we could take the jammies off?" Bill suggested
Taking a closer look at Ralph, Pam shook her head in disagreement. "If the suit is the reason he's unconscious and not just the poison, then I think its better it stays on right now... it's probably saving his life."
Bill looked at the Ralph, who was now pale and, after putting a hand briefly on Ralph's forehead, cool to the touch. The agent would have thought he was dead if he did not see the subtle rise and fall of the man's chest. It gave him chills and he shook the feeling off, glad that Ralph had the suit on. "Yeah... you're right Counselor." He said and looked around the room. "Here we can put this back on him." Bill said abruptly, seeing and grabbing for the hospital gown Ralph had discarded earlier.
After sitting up Ralph as best at they could, Pam helped pull the gown on then saw that the gown was short-sleeved. "Bill this won't work, she's still going to see the sleeves."
Bill looked down and nodded then looked around the room again for something else, and spotted Ralph's robe. "Hand me Ralph's robe we can put that on then pull the covers over his legs to hide them."
"OK."
As Bill put the robe on Ralph, both hoped this plan would work to their advantage and not against.