Things cant go smoothly, can they? Mary is not going to be a happy camper.
It was only two hours later when Mary woke up. The nightmares weren't allowing her to sleep and she really didn't care to close her eyes again. She didn't like images that appeared on the insides of her eyelids.
She sat up and looked at her partner. He was still in the same position as last night. She didn't know why she expected to see a change. She knew just how critical he was. All she cared was that he was still breathing. She patted his hand and smiled slightly. His skin felt warmer this morning, not cold like a few hours ago.
"I have some errands to run today. I'm going after the assholes who shot you. I cant just sit here, and I'm sure your mom will be here soon. I'm not sure I can handle everyone elses emotions, my own are hard enough to deal with. I think I've reached my emotional limit, so I'm headed out."
After talking to him for a few more minutes she decided to go for a cup of coffee before going out to get a start on the day. She quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She grabbed her leather jacket and wondered down the hallway and started to put her day together. She needed to go back to the hotel, the crime scene, to look for any clues as to who these goons were. They sure as hell weren't going to get away with this on her watch.
Mary stuffed the Styrofoam cup under the dispenser and watched as the machine filled her cup with the hot, caffeinated beverage. She brought the steaming liquid to her nose and inhaled deeply. It smelled far better than she knew it would taste. It wouldn't be any better than any other hospital swill.
Maybe she would stop at the local precinct to see what they had. She decided the best option was going to be to leave soon to keep Stan and Dershowitz off her tail. She didn't feel like company today, she needed to do this herself. Stan and Bobby meant well but they were a bit too much like mother hens.
Mary noticed all the nurses looking over a clipboard at the nurse's station. She thought it was weird but didn't think anything of it until she got closer. Two doctors, Marshall's surgeon and one she hadn't seen, were gathered around with them. Something wasn't right and her stomach twisted nervously. She got closer so she could hear what they were saying.
"You're sure of the count? Did you count again to be sure?" the younger doctor asked; a worried look on his face.
"Yes, Doctor, I counted four times. We are definitely missing a lap sponge." The nurse confirmed. The young doctor breathed a heavy sigh and turned to Marshall's surgeon.
Anger burned through her veins. She warned the graying doctor of the consequences of his actions. She wouldn't him get away with hurting someone with his addiction.
"You left a sponge behind? I thought we already talked about being more diligent about…" as the doctor was scolding the surgeon a loud alarm sounded from Marshall's room. The four nurses and two doctors all but sprinted into the noisy room. Mary was right on their heels, wondering what was happening.
As she stood at the foot of his bed the nurses and doctors all started yelling to each other. She couldn't keep up with all the medical jargon, only being able to pick out small things.
"His temperature is 104 and climbing. We need to break the fever."
"His o2 levels are dropping."
Mary stepped up. "What's going on?" she demanded.
The younger doctor turned his head to her while continuing his work. "He has an infection raging in his chest and lungs. His body isn't strong enough to fight the infection and breathe. If we don't get his body temperature down and get his oxygen levels up, this could kill him."
The doctor finished and turned to his staff. "Get him to x-ray now and find that lap sponge. I want him in surgery in ten minutes, I'll be waiting. Let's go!"
The nurses and orderlies hustled and bustled and got Marshall out of the room. His surgeon following last. Before he could leave the room Mary grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. She spun him around and twisted his right arm up behind his back. He was standing on his tippy toes trying to get relief.
"You were warned. You remember that, don't you?" She whispered right next to his ear. He shivered as he tried to stutter out an explanation.
When he didn't answer the question she asked she twisted up in one sharp motion. With a sickening, audible pop, his shoulder dislocated. The doctor let out a garbled moan of pain.
"That didn't answer my question. You remember my warning, don't you?" she asked again.
This time he nodded very quickly with his answer, "Yes I remember!"
"Good, so what are you going to do now?" she put a little pressure against his injured shoulder to elicit the correct response.
"I'm gonna go fix it." He answered hopefully.
Mary nodded and pushed away from him. "You do that,"
Mary grabbed her leather jacket and headed for the door. Just before she walked out she turned back to the man in the room. "That was a nasty tumble you took down the stairs, maybe you should get that shoulder reduced before something is permanently compromised."
Mary pulled up in front of the hotel just after sunrise. It was still surrounded by crime scene tape and two uniformed officers stood guard outside. She hopped out of the SUV and walked up the hotel room door.
"Mary Shannon with the US Marshals, my partner was the one shot last night. Mind if I take a look around?" She asked in her best cooperative voice.
"Absolutely, go ahead. We're sorry for your loss. We are doing everything we can to find the guys who shot him." the deputy, Duets by his badge, tipped his head. Mary spun around on her heel to face him.
"He's not… he's in intensive care. As for the dipshits who shot him, they're mine. They better pray to god that you guys find them first though, because if I get ahold of them alone there won't be much left to arrest."
Mary stalked off into the room. When she looked around she sighed. It looked so much worse than a few nights ago. Now in the light she could see all the glass and debris from the door littering the carpeted floor. There was blood and bloody rags from the EMT's everywhere. The bed spread on the left had a large spray pattern of blood on it from the round that went through Marshall.
She dropped down onto the floor, hearing the glass crunch underneath her. She just stared at the dried pool of blood next to her. The whole event was flashing before her eyes. She could hear Marshall yell to her just before the hail of bullets pierced the door. His gurgling breath was loud in her ears.
She shook her head to clear it. She needed to be able to think about how to proceed. Starting an internal monologue she sketched out what she knew so she could figure out what she needed to learn.
Three shooters-assualt rifles-black four door sedan-possibly after their witness
"License plate…" she mumbled and got off the ground.
She burst into the lobby of the hotel, scaring the young blonde girl who was at the counter. She strode forward and leaned heavily on her forearms.
"Where is your security office? Is it back there?" Mary pointed to the back as she rounded the counter.
"Umm… Only employees are allowed back there… Ma'am, you can't go back there." The nervous teenager followed the older blonde woman who just ignored her.
Mary opened the wooden door with a plastic tag labeling the room 'Security'. A middle aged man with grey hair stood up.
"Mary Shannon, with the US Marshals, I need to see your security videos from mid Wednesday morning." Mary flashed her badge. The man uttered an 'okay' and turned back to his terminal.
Mary looked on as this man searched through his files with all the speed of a drunken snail. Eventually Mary's patience ran out and she growled as she grabbed the man's chair and wheeled him backwards.
"Just let me do it." She leaned over the keyboard and expertly navigated the security system that the man struggled with.
On the screen a beat up black sedan pulled into the parking lot just behind her and Marshall. She realized she had seen this car tailing them more than once. She didn't know why she didn't address it. Normally she would be the first one to use evasive maneuvers to lose a tail, mainly because she loved to drive evasively and mess with Marshall.
Mary and Marshall walked into the hotel room and three men got out of the car. They were all carrying what looked like AK-47's. They didn't even hesitate before spraying the door with bullets. The men didn't even take the time to ensure they had the right room.
Mary zoomed the best she could onto the license plate of the vehicle. It was very blurry and getting any closer would distort the image so much that it would illegible, she could however make out the first three characters. The counter worker piped up behind her.
"Can't you clear that up?"
Mary froze for a second before turning around. She gave the girl a look and rolled her eyes. "Okay, Malibu Barbie, this isn't CSI. You can't change a photos or videos quality after it's already been taken. The camera only captured so much information; you can't pull that information out of your ass."
Mary emailed the clip to her phone and stormed out of the hotel.
TBC
This chapter ended up being longer than I thought, but oh well!