All Hell Breaks Loose
Chapter 7
Rated R for language.
By early morning all the city newspapers had the story: "POLICE CAUGHT IN DEADLY AMBUSH," "COPS CREATE OWN CRIME SCENE," "ONE COP DEAD, ONE CRITICALLY INJURED IN LETHAL ATTACK." And the NYPD had absolutely no leads in this tragedy.
At his own home, Kenny Moran was on his cell phone early that morning, too. "You goddamn son of a bitch! Your guys fucked it up!"
Other party: "I don't see how he survived! The boys said he took at least four fucking bullets!"
"I don't give a damn if he took forty fucking bullets —HE AIN'T DEAD!"
"You said he'd be a sitting duck! Sitting ducks do not shoot back! My guys had to get out of there; he already winged Joey!"
Moran forced himself to be calm. "Seems funny to me that a guy who took four bullets could still shoot and get the best of two armed assailants. I wanna know what the fuck happened!"
"Up yours, Moran. My guys did their job. Ain't my fault your guys hangin' on."
"Yeah, well we'll talk about that later," Moran growled.
The other guy on the line laughed. "Cheer up, Moran. There's a good chance that cop could still check out. The papers say he ain't in such good shape anyway. You just better hope it happens before he wakes up. The guys gave him your message." He laughed again.
Moran felt his blood pressure rising. "Yeah, yeah, okay, question is, what do we do now?"
"You mean 'what do you do now'? We're done."
"You fucking son of a bitch!" Moran screamed, no longer bothering to remain calm. "You started this job, you're gonna finish it! And do it right this time!"
"I told you, we're done. Hell, that cops' just lingering on anyway. Give it a day or two, he ain't gonna make it. But if you're really worried, maybe we can make another deal…"
"We already had a deal! You mother—"
"Talk to me when you're ready to deal." The other guy hung up.
Moran stared at his phone for a minute, then angrily threw it at the wall.
After a few fitful hours of sleep, Alex woke up. There was no way she could have slept well anyway. The few minutes of sIeep she did manage were full of images of Bobby and Ross, their bodies bullet riddled and lying in pools of blood. It was better to go without sleep than have pictures of her dead boss and dying partner in her mind. Dying partner? No! She had to stop thinking that way, and imagining the worst. Bobby was going to make it!
She quickly grabbed her phone and called the hospital for an update on Bobby's condition, and was disappointed to hear the words, "no change." The disappointment showed on her face.
"What's wrong, Baby?" her father asked, seeing the expression on her face.
"No change," Alex said miserably.
John breathed easier. "Well, that's not necessarily a bad thing, in fact, it might be good."
Alex looked at him doubtfully. "How can that be good? Dad, he's hooked up to all kinds of machines, he can't even breathe on his own."
"Alex, honey, it means he's holding his own. The longer he goes with no problems, the greater the likelihood that he will recover."
Alex thought about that. "I know… I was just hoping…"
"For some kind of a miraculous recovery?" John said. "Alex, I know you want him back to normal as soon as possible, but you have to be realistic. Bobby has gone through a very rough ordeal, and it's going to take quite a while for him to get back to normal. Mentally as well as physically."
Alex smiled a little. "Thanks, Dad. I'm going to go get dressed now."
John watched as she went back to her room. He didn't have the heart to tell her that even if Bobby makes it, there were certain aspects he may never recover from. Being shot four times could have a bad effect on a person's mind. And that leg injury might never heal correctly. There were any number of things that could go wrong. But, they needed to be positive, and concentrate on Bobby just surviving.
As Alex passed Nate's room, the little boy called out. Alex stepped into his room, and sat on his bed next to him. "Is Uncle Bobby better now?" he asked sleepily.
"Not yet, Honey." Alex said, kissing his forehead. Nate frowned, and in typical little boy fashion, he immediately wiped off her kiss.
"Well, when? When I'm sick, Mommy gives me some 'medcine and I get better. Tell them to give Uncle Bobby some 'medcine so's he can get better, too."
"I will," Alex promised. "But the doctor said Uncle Bobby is really, really sick, and it might take a little longer."
"Oh. I hope they don't give him a shot." Nate did not like shots, and was very worried about that with Uncle Bobby. "Don't let them give him a shot, okay?"
"I'll tell the doctors," Alex assured him, giving him another kiss. He promptly wiped it off.
Arriving at the hospital, Alex and John headed straight for Bobby's room in ICU. Logan and Deakins were sitting right outside; Logan was snoring softly.
Deakins stood up, tapping Logan on the shoulder.
"We're sort of alternating with each other," Deakins said.
Alex nodded. "How is he?" she asked, indicating Bobby.
"Hanging in there," Deakins said.
Alex looked through the window at Bobby's still form. "He's tough," Deakins reminded her.
"I know," Alex replied. "You guys want to go home for a bit? I'll stay here."
"You go, Jimmy," Mike said. "I got a little nap in, I'm good to go."
Deakins didn't argue; he was exhausted. He planned to go to his company and set up a twenty-four hour guard for Bobby, then go home and get a little rest. "Alright, call me if there's any change."
John waited outside with Logan, giving Alex a little time with Bobby. She went into Bobby's room and looked down at him. They were right, there was no change. He looked every bit as pale as he did last night, breathing with the help of a respirator, hooked up to a number of machines. No change at all.
"Hi, Bobby," she whispered. If she was expecting a response, she would be sorely disappointed. Bobby never moved.
She sat down next to him, and gently took his hand, stroking it lightly. The sight of all the machines and tubes unnerved her, and she tried to make her mind go blank. That was virtually impossible, with Bobby lying there in front of her. So she tried to just think of the positive things, working on their cases together, having lunch together during breaks, their phone calls… All the little things. And she really admired him, without his intelligence and intuition in putting those cases together, they'd never have the incredible solve rate they have now. They really were a dream team.
One of the ICU nurses came in, and smiled at her. Alex moved back as the nurse did her examination of Bobby. She checked the surgical incisions and changed the bandages.
Wanting a professional opinion, Alex asked, "How's he doing?"
"Well, his vital signs are looking good," she told Alex. "And so far there's no sign of infection. That's good, very good." Then she checked his IV, and made a few adjustments.
"What about his leg?" Alex asked.
"The doctors will probably work on his leg in a few days. Since the bone was broken by the bullet, it will be a little more complicated. They want him stabilized; and a little more strong."
Alex nodded. The nurse seemed to understand Alex's need to know all about Bobby's condition. "If you have any more questions I'll be in and out all day."
"Thank you," Alex said, sitting back in the chair. She again took Bobby's hand in hers, stroking it, and talking to him softly. She settled in, planning on being there for quite a while.
Still there was no response from Bobby.
tbc
