Chapter 10

Danny anxiously paced his father's hospital room. Every few seconds he checked outside through the glass walls of the room. It was quiet out there. He could see one nurse standing at the nurse's station. He could see no other staff. He took out his cell phone to check for messages...nothing. It was warm in the small room. Realising that he was perspiring, he removed his jacket in an effort to cool down. He felt for his sidearm, drawing comfort from the cool metal. He continued pacing.

Unknown to Danny, the veil of sedation was finally lifting for Frank. His eyelids felt so heavy. He just wanted to sleep but instinct told him to wake. He could hear a steady beeping to his left and wondered what it was. His throat was dry and he tried to swallow before realising that he couldn't. There was something in his mouth. It was uncomfortable and he immediately wanted it out. He tried to lift his hand to his mouth but his arms felt like lead. He hadn't the strength to lift them. Again he tried to open his eyes, this time with a little more success. Through the slits poured bright light, which at first stung his eyes. He groaned and closed them quickly. Then he tried once more. This time he saw a figure in the room. His vision was blurred and he couldn't be sure who it was.

Danny's attention was drawn back to his father. There was something different. At first he wasn't sure what it was, then as he approached, he realised that a pair of unfocussed brown eyes were following him.

"Dad?" he said, quickening his pace.

Frank's breathing had changed and Danny could see that he was gagging on the ventilator tube that remained in his throat. He could see that his father was becoming distressed.

"Don't fight the tube, Dad. Try and breathe normally and I'll go get the nurse," Danny told him as he quickly moved towards the door. He stuck his head out and said to the guard. "Hurry and get the nurse. He's waking up."

The guard did as he was asked and headed towards the nurse's station. However, the nurse was no longer there, so he checked the other rooms before hurrying down the corridor to find someone.

Danny returned his attention to his father. He took hold of his hand and tried to comfort him. Their eyes met and they shared an emotional father/son moment, a moment where they could both feel the other's fears. Danny's eyes brimmed with tears. The last couple of days had been an emotional rollercoaster for the young detective. His father sensed this and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. The lingering effects of the sedatives were threatening to pull him back into the solace of slumber, but he fought to stay awake for his son's sake.

He watched as Danny turned suddenly towards the door and a look of confusion spread across his face. From the position in which he lay, Frank couldn't see who was there. Danny released his grip on his hand and walked towards whoever it was.

He was surprised to see another patient standing in the doorway. From his appearance, Danny assumed that the man was a cancer patient and didn't want to be rude but didn't want him in his father's room either. There was still a security issue, so he didn't want anyone who shouldn't be there to get caught up in it. He produced his NYPD badge and showed it to the feeble-looking man in the hospital gown.

"Sorry, Sir, but you'll have to move on," he told him in as sympathetic a manner as he could.

The man outside raised his head slightly and stumbled through the door, much to Danny's surprise. Danny reacted and naturally reached out to catch the patient. But as he did so, he suddenly felt pain followed by a startling force of strength as the patient forced him back into the room. Danny was caught off guard and thrown backwards against a side wall. He hit it hard and slid down to the floor. He tried to put his legs back under him to stand up, but an unexpected weakness overcame him. He looked up with startled eyes at his attacker, who reached down and calmly took his weapon. Having neutralised any threat from Danny, the attacker turned his back on him and started towards Frank. Danny again tried to get to his feet but felt as weak as a kitten and didn't know why. He looked down at his useless body and only then noticed the handle of a hunting knife protruding from his midriff. Confusion washed over him. The room started to spin and he could taste blood in his mouth. He was sure he was going to pass out, but knew that if he did, both he and his father were dead.

"Stop!" he yelled as loudly as he could, hoping to attract someone's attention. His voice emerged barely louder than a whisper.

The assassin didn't even acknowledge him. He looked at the Commissioner, who helplessly glared at him from his ICU bed. Frank had watched in horror as his son was slammed against the wall and fell to the ground. He didn't see that his son had been stabbed and wondered why he hadn't put up more of a resistance. He tried to see his son, but from his prone position, his line of sight was limited. He watched as the man with the Asian eyes stood menacingly over him. Frank knew why he was there. It was time to acknowledge his fate. His time was up. There was no use fighting it.

"You should have died the first time, Commissioner," Chen said heartlessly.

He unhooked Frank's breathing tube from the ventilator. Then he took out one if the syringes from his pocket. He was unsheathing it when he was distracted by a teenage girl running towards the room.

"Sorry, Uncle Danny, I forgot my cell…" Nicky said as she rushed in.

She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw her uncle slumped against the wall, a knife in his abdomen and blood soaking his shirt. There was a strange-looking bald man in a hospital robe standing over her grandpa, holding a syringe. She was rooted to the spot. She tried to scream but nothing came out. Chen turned and smiled at her and reached for Danny's gun, which he had left down on the bed beside Frank.

Danny, helpless through injury, summoned all his strength and managed to roar,

"Run, Nicky! Run!"

The venom of his voice startled her and propelled her to run as fast as she could away from the nightmare scene. Chen raised the gun and took aim but then hesitated, knowing that an unsilenced shot would attract too much attention. He had to work fast. His eyes paused momentarily on the bleeding detective, and he allowed himself a wry smile. Time to finish this.

However, he was unaware that that the fleeing teenager had just run smack bang into Detective Mac Taylor, who was exiting the emergency stairwell. He and one of the hospital security officers had been checking the stairwells and sweeping each floor for their suspect. He was more than a little surprised to be hit by the distraught youngster.

"Woah," he said, stepping back. "Are you okay, Miss?"

"You've got to help them. He's stabbed my uncle. Please, help him," Nicky pleaded.

"Who?"

"I don't know. A bald guy; he has a gun," she told them.

Mac exchanged glances with the security officer and told him to call for back up and to look after the girl. Mac unsheathed his weapon and started carefully down the corridor towards the ICU cubicles. He only met one or two people on the corridor and directed them away from danger. He carefully approached the rooms. He could see through the glass walls which rooms were occupied. Then he saw his suspect a couple of doors away. With great stealth he continued unnoticed towards the room. That was until the suspect turned as he approached the door. Like lightening the suspect raised his weapon and hurried to one side of the room. There he remained, waiting for Mac.

As Mac reached the open door, he could see why the suspect had chosen to stay. He had a hostage. He stood boldly beside the semi-conscious form of Danny Reagan and held his weapon to his temple. He turned to Detective Taylor and calmly ordered him to step away from the door. Naturally, Mac hesitated. He could hear the alarms going off at the Commissioner's bed side. A code team was rushing towards the room until they saw what was going on. Taylor raised his hand to signal them not to get any closer.

"I'm walking out of here and he's coming with me," Chen told Mac calmly. "Anyone tries to follow me, I'll blow his head off."

From his demeanour, Mac was left in no doubt that he meant what he said. The assassin hauled the injured detective to his feet, putting his arm around his neck to keep him upright. He kept the pistol at his head and used his body as a shield. Mac didn't want to let him out, but he knew that the only way to help the commissioner was to clear the room and get the medical staff in there. So he made the decision quickly and stepped back from the door, re-holstering his weapon and raising his hands.

Chen watched the detective very closely. He struggled to keep Danny on his feet and had to poke him with the gun several times to stop him from passing out. He backed away carefully, eyes all the time on Detective Taylor, and continued towards the elevator. All the while, Mac watched closely, keeping his hands in the air all the time. When he saw the elevator door close, he motioned the crash team into the now vacant room and they quickly got to work on the Commissioner.

Mac called Flack and told him that Chen was on the elevator and that he had a hostage. Flack ordered all security guards to watch the elevators on all the floors so they could see where he emerged. They received strict instructions, however, not to engage him, as he had a hostage. Mac watched for a short time as the medical staff continued in their attempt to revive the Police Commissioner. It didn't look good, he thought, as he turned away and ran back towards the stairwell.

Nicky looked at him with wide, bloodshot eyes, expecting good news. Mac found it difficult to meet her gaze.

"Did you get him? How's my uncle?" Nicky asked desperately.

"He got away," Mac told her, deliberately not elaborating at that stage. "Officer, you take her to find her mom. I gotta go," he said, hurrying down the stairs.

The security officer looked with pity on the terrified teenager.

"Come on," he said with a kind smile. "Let's find her."

Nicky sniffled, then nodded in agreement. The two descended the stairs towards the parking lot where Erin and Linda were waiting on her.

A/N - thanks for your patience guys. Sorry to leave you with a cliffie. Hope to get the next chapter to you ASAP.