Thank you all so much for your patience. We hope you will enjoy this extra long chapter. :-)
U-Turn - Chapter 10
Early Wednesday morning
Steve tried to sleep. He desperately wanted to sleep, because hopefully if he slept, he wouldn't be in so much pain. The nurse had been in a couple hours previous and at that time, he was still in the fuzzy, not-yet-quite-awake-feeling from surgery and he had said 'no' when she asked if he was ready for some pain meds. That fuzzy feeling was now long gone, and he really regretted saying no to the relief the drugs would bring.
Two hours had passed; he was wide awake and his body was screaming at him. In addition to the pain from the procedure they performed earlier on his lower back, his arm was hurting, his knee ached and his head was throbbing. And after surgery, the nausea was again rearing its ugly head. Broken bones sucked and concussions carried their own set of delightful symptoms.
He hated this hospital, he hated the bed he was stuck in and he hated the fact that he was even on the Big Island. Worry for his friends also caused his sleeplessness. And he hated that he still didn't know if Park and Zac were getting better or if either of them would even make it.
When he had asked, he knew Danny and Grover had been sugar coating the truth. And that was unacceptable. To sum it up, Steve was not a happy camper at the moment.
Steve tried to remember what had happened to him during his weekend trip. So far, just the little bits of information he had told his team and the sheriff were all he knew. Everything else had fallen into a black hole.
He reached up his right hand to rub at his eyes but quickly stopped before he hit himself in the face with the cast. He had seen his face in the mirror the day before and it didn't need another bruise. Steve looked at his casted hand and wiggled his two fingers and thumb that were free, thankful that at least his hand wasn't hurting.
With a sigh, he closed his eyes and tried to force his body to relax.
Of course, that task was easier said than done.
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Lisa glanced up as one of the red lights on her console at the nurse's station lit. She left her station to see what the commander needed. At her last check an hour ago, he was dozing but she didn't think it was a comfortable sleep. She could tell he didn't really want drugs, but she hoped she could persuade him otherwise. He wouldn't heal if he was constantly in pain and she knew he was in pain. He wasn't fooling anyone, and it was her job to fix that.
The room was in shadows with the bathroom light on and a light shining upward above the bed. Lisa moved toward her patient, asking, "Commander, what do you need?"
" 'M hot 'n achy," he admitted, hating himself for the fact that he felt and sounded 'needy'.
"I'm glad you called me. What's hurting?" she asked while gently laying the backs of her fingers on his forehead.
"Pretty much everything," Steve told her. "I can't get comfortable like this. Are you sure I can't roll onto my back?" He was well padded with pillows behind him and in front so that his casted arm was supported as well. "I just want to stretch out."
"Tell you what," she offered. "Let me give you a muscle relaxant and something for pain and we'll try to turn you a bit. You do seem a bit warm so I'll check to see if your temp has gone up. Deal?"
He hesitated for only a moment before he caved. "Yeah, thanks."
"I'll be right back with the meds. Just try to relax for me."
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Tally was at the end of the hallway near the stairwell, watching the floor. He had already made one walk to the other end, just to get the layout and check his exits in case there was a problem. And, during his walk, he went right past the bored-looking guard seated beside the closed doorway.
Piece of cake, he thought to himself, mapping out his strategy in his head. His luck of practically running into the laundry truck had given him the brilliant idea he was now following through. At least he thought it was brilliant. Tally felt rather dashing in his new, dark blue scrub outfit that he had changed into on the first floor. With it, Tally knew he could get in and out while blending in with everyone else on the floor.
The nurse had just gone into McGarrett's room. He needed to bide his time until she came back out, and then he would set his plan into motion.
And there she was, walking back to her desk. It was time. He quietly, fully opened the stairwell door and eased inside, taking out his phone.
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The nurse's aide approached Deputy Alvarez who was seated in front of Steve's door. "Sir, I've got a call for you from your dispatch. Something about your phone having a busy signal. They need to speak with you."
He quickly checked his phone. "Huh, that's weird. I don't have any missed calls."
"Sometimes our cell service really sucks up here," she replied. "You can take it at the desk if you want."
"Sure, thanks. All is quiet here."
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Steve opened his eyes when he heard the door open again, hoping that Lisa and her syringes would make him feel more comfortable. But instead of Lisa, he saw a dark figure peeking out the door as it slowly closed.
Steve knew that whoever this was, he wasn't there in a friendly capacity. He also knew that he could do little to defend himself. The bed stood in shadows so he watched the man creep closer toward the bed, unsure what would happen next.
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Tally saw the man lying on his side in the bed, probably doped to the gills with meds. At least he hoped so. This would be quick and quiet. He reached for a pillow that was lying on the side chair and moved closer.
Even if the SEAL woke up and tried to fight, he wouldn't be able to do anything with the pillow over his face. Tally held the pillow in one hand, ready to push it down with the other. When he leaned forward, he was surprised when something hard and heavy smacked into his face causing his nose to explode with pain. Instantly, blood began to gush.
Tally quickly jerked backward, tripping over the IV pole and crashing to the floor, taking both the pole and bed table with him. He screamed as he fell, from surprise at the unexpected move and the pain in his face. He thrashed to extricate himself but the tie on his athletic shoe was wrapped around the end of the upturned IV pole, holding him hostage. In the dark, he couldn't see what had snared him.
All Tally could think of was that the man on the phone was gonna be really pissed. And he knew that Dahlia would probably be gone before he made it back home.
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Steve waited and watched as the figure moved closer to his bed, stopping to grab a pillow from the chair. Oh, hell, no. He didn't really have a plan but he knew he had to prevent that pillow from touching his face. He twitched the fingers of his right hand. That's gonna have to do, he decided, waiting until the man came closer.
Come on. Just a little bit more.
Steve knew he had a very small window of opportunity and that he had to make the hit count. Hopefully he would be able to swing his arm from the position it was lying in. He also hoped the short cast was hard enough to at least slow the guy down, and to not do too much damage to his hand.
Through nearly closed eyes, Steve saw the man lean forward, the pillow moving from one hand to the other. He quickly struck, aiming at the man's face as his attacker bent lower. The back of his casted hand hit the man center mass of the face, and from the scream he heard, it was right on target.
Steve groaned at the pain shooting from his hand all the way to his shoulder and into his head, almost making him pass out. Suddenly there was another sharp pain when the tubing and plastic needle were jerked out of his arm. He wanted to curl around his damaged hand but couldn't move with all the casts and pillows around him. Instead he breathed through his own pain and listened to the sounds coming from the floor.
Not only was his attacker screaming obscenities, but the IV pole had landed on top of him, which had been what pulled out Steve's IV. In addition, the bedside table had upturned onto the man pinning him to the floor. From the sound of things, he wasn't having much luck getting himself out of his predicament. And Steve knew that with all the noise, help would soon be on the way.
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Lisa was on her way back to Steve's room when she heard the commotion inside. She glanced back at the nurse's station and realized the guard had also heard it and was running in her direction while pulling the weapon from his holster. He pushed her to the side and eased the door open before slowly entering.
"He's on the floor," Steve called from the bed. "Hit the lights."
Alvarez and Lisa entered the room, followed by an orderly and an aide to see if they could offer help. Lisa rounded the bed, keeping her distance from the man on the floor and went to Steve's other side.
Tally kicked out at the IV stand one more time, trying to get untangled from it. One hand was held to his face and he tried throwing a punch at Alvarez with the other.
"Do any of you know this guy?" the guard asked, as he turned Tally and kneeled on his back, making the downed attacker groan in even more pain.
They all assured him that Tally was not an employee on their floor.
"Well, then it looks like you and I are gonna have a talk," Alvarez told him, snapping a cuff around one wrist.
"Hey, I need medical help," Tally whined. "He hit me."
"And you were coming at me with a pillow," Steve shot back, cradling his broken hand as closely to his chest as he could. The one part of his anatomy that twenty minutes ago wasn't hurting now felt as if he had broken every bone in it. The pain in his hand was only outdone by the throbbing in his head which had increased ten-fold since his sudden movement.
Once Tally was cuffed, Alvarez pulled out his phone, which actually was in perfect working order, and called the department for back-up. Once that was done, he and the orderly completely untangled the prisoner from the IV stand and tubing. They finally hauled Tally up from the floor and pushed him out of the room, leaving Lisa and the aide behind to check on Steve.
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"What have you done to yourself?" Lisa quietly asked her patient.
"It was either him or me," Steve said, grimacing with pain. "Could we maybe talk after I get those drugs you promised?" At this point he didn't care any longer that he was begging for the drugs.
"Yes, of course," she assured him. "But not just yet," she decided, looking at the mess on the floor. "What I brought was to go into the IV which is no longer attached. I'll have to get a dose I can give you IM and we'll go from there. What I can do is give you the muscle relaxer. That should help a bit." Lisa pushed aside the sheet and warned him, "You're gonna feel this," before sticking a needle into his back side.
Steve listened to his nurse and hoped she would hurry up. The pain in his head was killing him, and the rest of his body wasn't far behind. He closed his eyes and tried to breathe through the pain.
"Lilia, see if you can pick up that stuff over there," she asked the aide.
"I'll have to request more IVs from Pharmacy." Lisa walked into the hall and quickly returned with a stack of bandages, stepping over the mess on the floor. Gently she picked up Steve's bandaged hand and examined it. "Cast isn't busted… that's good news. Let's hope nothing inside broke." She glanced at her patient's face, noticing the sheen of sweat, eyes clenched shut and his rigid jaw line. "Just relax, Commander." She opened several of the gauze packs and placed them over the bleeding tear in the crook of his arm before tightly taping them into place. She bent his arm so that it placed pressure on the bandages. "Keep that pressure on for a few minutes. I'll be right back with the pain meds."
" 'K," he said, opening his eyes and struggling to focus on her. Adding to the still increasing headache he now was also severely dizzy, and his vision wasn't the best. "Hey, can you have someone call Detective Williams and Lou? They need to talk to that guy."
"Will do," she promised. "Now relax… pain meds are coming right up."
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By the time she returned, the pain in his hand had lessened, but his head still pounded away. He gladly accepted another shot in an attempt to stop the pain.
"What's happening with that guy?" he asked. "Where is he?"
"He is cuffed to a chair in the nurse's lounge," Lisa replied. "Someone is checking his nose."
"Hope it's busted," he mumbled. "Make sure to—"
"Yes, I'll make sure they call your team," she assured him.
"Yeah, but…" Steve was having difficulty keeping his eyes opened, let alone focused. "They need… don't tell 'em wha'appened, K? Need to go to the station and focus on the case," Steve told her very emphatically.
"If that's what you want," she assured him. "In the meantime, I've called Dr. Kioni and she'll be in soon to assess the damage his face did to your hand." She ran the thermometer over his forehead and checked Steve's temp. "It's a little high, but not too bad," she told him, glancing at the aide who had cleaned up most of the mess. "Thanks, Lilia."
"No problem," the aide said, glancing at the bloody sheets and pillows. "I'll go get more supplies and bedding."
"Thanks," Lisa told her. "If anyone needs me, I'll be in here." She turned back to her patient who was finally relaxing enough to sleep. "Commander, we'll have you feeling better in no time."
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Raymond Tally was seated in a hard metal chair, in front of a metal table, his wrist shackled to a bar on the table with metal cuffs. His nose was three times its normal size and colored in vibrant hues of black and blue. With an occasional drip of red when he removed the gauze he held in his other hand.
Danny and Lou were pointed in the direction of the control room next door where they met Ken Salomon who was seated at a table, a mug of coffee in his hands. He glanced up from the papers spread on the table and motioned them in. "Coffee's hot," he told them, pointing to the coffee maker in the corner of the room.
"Bless you," Danny mumbled as he headed toward the coffee pot. "Wanna tell me what was so important that it couldn't wait until the sun was up?"
"Who's our neighbor over there?" Grover asked, pointing his thumb over his shoulder to Tally in the next room.
"Get your coffee and sit down," Salomon told them. He knew they wouldn't be happy when they heard the story he was going to tell them. In fact, he could see Williams bolting from the room to head to the hospital. These Five-0 guys seemed very protective of their own.
Coffee in hand, they both sat down facing the room's large window.
"OK, what's up?" Grover asked. "Who's that and where'd you find 'im at three-honkin-thirty in the mornin'? He don't look none too happy."
"Before you shoot the messenger, McGarrett 'requested' that you come here to interrogate Raymond Tally over there." He pointed with his thumb at the window behind him. "Apparently Mr. Tally thought it would be a good idea to go to the hospital and try to kill your boss."
"What?" Danny stood, coffee sloshing over his hand. "Shit," he hissed when the hot coffee hit his skin.
"Sit down," Salomon told him and tossed him a napkin. "Steve's no worse for wear. I tell you, the more I see, the more I admire that man. He's the one who popped Tally in the nose and saved his own hide."
"Where was the guard on the door?" Danny asked while blotting the coffee from the table.
"Nurse's station got a call for him from our office to come to the phone. It was all a ruse for the brains next door to get into the room."
"Do we know anything yet?" Grover asked, glaring angrily at the man behind the glass. "Who this guy is? And how Steve did that much damage to his face?"
"We're running his prints right now," the sheriff told them. "In addition to his broken nose he has several older bruises. I'm thinking he might have been one of the commander's attackers over the weekend. As for how your friend got Tally," Salomon stopped and grinned, shaking his head, "apparently he backhanded him with his right hand, cast and all."
"I think it's time to find out what Mr. Tally's story is," Danny said, standing once again.
"One more thing," Salomon said, flipping back a couple pages in the file. "We checked McGarrett's clothing for GSR and there was none. He didn't kill the guard at the airport but we don't know if he was present when it happened. Also, they are still working on the phone we found in the trash. It's a burner but they are trying to pull the data."
"A little progress is better than nothing," Grover said, taking the last swallow of his coffee. "Let's go scare this low-life."
H50 - H50 - H50
"Hey, it's about time somebody came in here," Tally whined when they filed into the room. "I'm bleedin' here. I need a doctor."
"The nurse looked at you before you left the hospital. You're good for now," Salomon told him, taking a seat across the table from the felon.
Danny pulled out another chair and straddled it while Lou crossed his arms and leaned against the wall near the door. Before speaking, Danny took off his badge and set it in the middle of the table in front of Tally.
"Wha's that?"
"It's my badge, Moron. Read it."
"Five-0. Huh, that really exists? I thought it was just made up. You know, like the boogie-man."
Grover chuckled from the corner of the room. "Oh, you're gonna wish it was the boogie-man."
Danny nodded in agreement. "Tell me, Mr. Tally, why the hell you were in Commander McGarrett's hospital room this morning."
"I'm not telling you squat so you can just get up and leave."
"That, my friend, is the last thing you will want us to do," Danny assured him. "See this?" he asked, nudging the badge once again. "Commander McGarrett is my partner and he's the head of Five-0. The governor gave us immunity. Do you know what that means?" Tally didn't need to know that the governor who issued that decree had been a criminal herself. And a dead one, at that.
Grover pushed away from the wall and leaned over Tally. "It means, that if you don't tell us what we want to know, your life is not gonna be worth shit. Understand?"
"You can't do anything to me," the prisoner stated, glancing at the sheriff. "I'm in protective custody."
"You're in interrogation," Danny argued. "So, I'm gonna ask again. Why were you in that hospital room?"
"I got confused. Thought it was my uncle's room."
"And you were going to greet your uncle with a pillow?" Salomon asked.
"Huh? No, man, I just picked it up, you know…"
The sheriff continued. "You aren't employed at the hospital, is that correct?"
"No, uh, I— I'm getting' a job."
Salomon showed him a photo of his own clothes that had been found in a pile inside the men's bathroom just outside of the emergency room. "Do these look familiar?"
"What? No, man. Why?"
He was shown another photo taken from the hospital entrance. It was time stamped at 1:34 a.m. and clearly showed Tally carrying a stack of clothes and still dressed in the clothes found in the restroom. "Want to change that statement?"
Tally leaned back in the chair and refused to look at them.
"Who hired you?" Danny asked. "Why did you try to kill Commander McGarrett? You do know that attempted murder of a law enforcement official is a huge offense, right? You're not getting off easily, so why go down alone?"
"I ain't talking."
Salomon pointed to the bruises on his arms. "Where did you get those bruises?"
"That's none of your business."
Danny finally stood up. "You know, I'm tired of wasting my time on someone who isn't willing to talk. We've already got the other two who are telling us what went down. I'm sure they will also implicate Mr. Tally. No need to stick around here when someone else is willing to work with us."
"What are you talking about?" Tally asked.
"Oh, we already have two of your friends," Grover told him. "And I gotta say, the guy in the hospital with the broken leg is naming names. I'm sure it won't be long before yours comes up."
"Hey, this was just a job… nothing more."
"Who's giving the orders?" Danny asked.
"I don't know, man. I'm not that high up the chain."
"Who told you to kill Commander McGarrett?"
"I just told you—"
"Tell me again," Danny ordered. "This time make it believable."
"I. Don't. Know. I got a phone call in the middle of the night."
"And he just picked you outta the phone book?" Grover asked.
"I may have… done some work for him in the past."
"And his name?"
"I don't know, I said."
A knock to the door interrupted them and Salomon got up to answer, stepping outside for a moment.
"Danny, can I ask you something?" Lou said while dropping into a chair.
"Sure."
"Would you be so stupid as to take the fall for someone else, knowing you would end up with a who lot of jail time?"
"Me?" Danny answered. "Never. I wouldn't take the blame. I've seen what they do to guys in prison. It's not pretty."
"You're not scaring me," Tally said.
"I gotta admit, I admire you," Danny told him. "I mean, being so loyal and all. But your friends will give us the details."
"I don't believe you."
"What's the guy's name with the broken leg?" Grover said, tapping his forehead and glancing at Danny.
"Jackie," Tally quickly replied.
"Yeah, Jackie," Lou said with a grin. "So, he is a friend of yours. Good to know."
"Hey, I didn't—"
"Don't worry. Jackie is pretty miserable, handcuffed to the bed and all. He figures he doesn't have anything to lose."
Salomon re-entered the room and handed a piece of paper over to Grover. An officer entered behind him. "Gentlemen, I think we're finished here," he said as Grover passed the paper to Danny.
"Raymond Tally, you are under arrest for the murder of Anaka Malone. You have the right to remain silent, any—"
"Hey, what are you talking about?"
"Silence didn't last too long," Grover muttered to Danny while the officer uncuffed Tally and pulled him up out of the chair.
"You can't prove anything…"
"We have your prints on the murder weapon," the sheriff told him.
"No way in hell," Tally yelled.
"That's where you're wrong," Danny said, moving into Tally's personal space. "Someone took the time to wipe down the gun, but you forgot one important thing… your print was left on the clip inside. Not as smart as you think you are, are you?"
"I didn't do it, I swear," Tally yelled, turning to look at them as he was led away. "Yeah, I checked the clip but I didn't off anybody."
"Then give me a name," Salomon asked.
"It was Joey, I swear," Tally told them. "In fact, he's the one who planned this whole thing. Tonight was the first time I ever talked to the head guy. He called me 'cause you locked up Joey."
"Yet, we have your print, not Joey's."
"He shot the guard and then wiped down the gun before tossing it. I swear, it wasn't me."
Grover got up close and personal with Tally. "Then you better give us something we can use. Or else."
"OK, OK, I will, I swear. The guy giving the orders, I don't know who he is, but he's military."
"Military? How do you know that?" Danny asked.
"Joey told me, but I could tell. When I talked to him, you can just tell, you know?"
"You didn't have a phone on you when we picked you up," Grover said. "Where'd you ditch it?"
Tally shrugged.
"Where's the damn phone?" Grover growled. "I ain't gonna ask you again."
"Hospital trash."
"Location, please."
Tally sighed. He knew he was in deep. "Stairwell, fifth floor."
"Get him out of here," Grover told the officer. "But I'm telling you," he punched his finger in the criminal's chest. "If your memory comes back and you have something to share, you'd better let us know. Got it?"
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Dr. Kioni was just finishing with her patient when Danny and Lou reached Steve's hospital room. It was still the middle of the night, but they needed to see for themselves that he was all right. She glanced up and smiled as they entered, then turned back to her patient. "So, does that feel better?"
"Mm…hmm, feels gooood," a relieved voice said.
Danny grinned at Steve's quite mellow voice. "Hey. How's the animal?"
" 'M' real goood," Steve told them.
"Sounds like someone is flying high," Grover said, smiling at his friend.
Steve was lying on his back, eyes at half mast. Pillows were propping up both arms and his leg and he tried to focus on his friends, clearly having difficulty with that task.
"He is," Kioni told them. "I gave him more joy juice before removing the drain in his back. For right now, everything is looking good. But we have to monitor him closely, with the concussion and skull fracture it's not the ideal solution to up his medication." She checked the flow of the IV and made a note on the chart. "Temperature is looking better and thankfully his hand wasn't damaged in the altercation."
Steve raised his arm. "Hurts like a bitch," he quickly pointed out.
"I'm sure it does," she agreed, setting his arm back onto the pillow. "Leave that there. I had to put in a couple of stitches in the crook of your elbow and I don't want you aggravating them by moving."
She gathered her things and added, "Gentlemen, I'm sure you all have things to talk about, but it will have to wait. Commander McGarrett needs rest and when the bolus I just gave him kicks in, he will sleep whether he wants to or not."
"We understand," Lou said. "Just one question." He leaned over the bed. "Steve, you with me?"
"Ye-ah."
"Did you recognize the guy who was in here this morning?"
Steve was quiet for so long, they thought he had already fallen asleep, but he finally rolled his head toward Grover. "Didn' recognize his face... but his voice kind'a sounded familiar," he finally said, his face scrunched in thought and a slur in his speech. "No' fro' lot."
Grover looked at Danny, "what is nofrolot?" he asked and turned back to the now sleeping Steve.
"A Russian name maybe?" Danny shook his head.
"Huh, guess we have to wait until he wakes again."
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The night nurse looked in worry down at her patient. She knew he wouldn't fully wake during her checks, but he at least should show some reaction to her prodding. But so far she couldn't evoke any form of awareness in the commander.
After another look at the readings on the monitors she decided to play it safe and inform the neurologist on call of McGarrett's status. Dr. Turner wouldn't be back for another two hours to start his next shift. That left her with Dr. Brill. That was not a call she was looking forward to. She had never met a person who thought so highly of himself.
He surely was a good enough doctor, but his attitude was, well, he let everyone know that he was the big shot. Wonder why he always pulls the night shift if he's oh so hot, Lisa thought.
"Lisa, everything OK? You looked like you were a million miles away just now."
"Dr. Kioni," Lisa called out, startled. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you coming."
"Are you OK?" Kioni asked again.
"Yes, doctor. I'm just... I was just going to call Dr. Brill. I checked on Commander McGarrett, and I couldn't rouse him."
"He has some heavy drugs in his system, it's expected for him to sleep through the tests."
"Yes, I know. But he's really not responding at all."
"OK, I'll check on him and then we can call Dr. Brill," Kioni said smiling, fully knowing about his reputation among the nurses. She respected her colleague, but surely wouldn't call him her friend.
They entered Steve's room, and on the first glance Kioni couldn't see anything on the off side on the monitors.
"How's his temp?"
"Good, it's almost back to normal."
"That's good news, guess we caught the infection just in time and got everything cleaned up nicely," the doctor said as she gently touched the sleeping commander's forehead.
"I tried to wake him by noise and touch," Lisa told Kioni as she also stepped closer to the bed.
"Did he react to pain stimuli?" She looked at the experienced nurse.
"Only minimally."
Dr. Kioni frowned at that information and took another look at the monitors. None of them showed any reason for concern.
"Commander McGarrett, Steve, can you open your eyes for me?" She tried her luck calling to Steve. Getting no reaction she gently shook his shoulder, but that also didn't bring the desired effect.
Next she pressed her knuckles onto his sternum. Not getting the desired reaction she turned to the nurse. "Skip calling Dr. Brill, call Neuro and have the commander picked up for a scan STAT. Something's not right."
"You think he's slipping?"
Kioni looked at her patient before turning back to the nurse. "I do," she sadly answered.
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