The Enemy of My Enemy
Disclaimer - Uh, I don't think so.
Chapter 25
Jeff Tracy stood in the hallway, talking once more to Dr. Hirano, grimacing when he saw Virgil and Sarah trading places with Scott and Kate by Alan's bedside. In the twenty four hours since his youngest son's surgery, one of the feared results had come true.
Alan had slipped into a coma.
"Often, Mr. Tracy, a coma is the result of a body's trauma," Dr. Hirano gently said. "Alan could awaken tomorrow…"
"Or not at all." Jeff grimly responded.
"That is the worst case scenario," Edward sighed. "Alan is strong and he has a lot to live for."
"He thought he was going to die," Kate said softly, leaning into her cousin for a one-armed hug.
Edward and Dr. Hirano looked startled. "What do you mean?" they asked at the same time.
"Alan was on the radio with the Island when he went down," Scott answered. "He – he wanted to talk to his wife one more time. To say he was sorry."
"Sorry? Sorry for what?" Edward asked.
"Sorry he wouldn't be there for her and the baby," Jeff responded, a lump in his throat as he recalled the sound of Alan's anguished voice. Steeling himself, he nodded at the two doctors – no, three – as Emily and John joined them.
"I want to take him home. We can care for him there and whoever is responsible for this can't get to him on the Island. You've already said you can't do anything more for Alan here."
"Dad, it may not be safe to transport Allie yet," Emily said. "He had brain surgery yesterday."
"And it may not be safe for him to be here," Kate snapped.
"Twenty four hours," John jumped in before the two strong willed women could argue. "If there is no change in Alan, for better or worse, in the next twenty four hours, we take him home."
Dr. Hirano nodded slowly. "Edward has assured me that you have a top notch facility. But I do ask we monitor Alan for at least another twenty four hours."
Kate tossed her hands up and went to call Daria Delgado to update her, Scott and John following behind.
"Dad," Emily said, trying to change the subject, even as she glanced over Alan's vitals. "I know you wanted to thank the Gages for what they did for Alan. Mr. Gage – that would be the retired firefighter, not his sons Doctor or Detective – runs a rehab program for at-risk kids with horses. His daughter is extremely involved, his sons at a lower level. They submitted grants to several organizations, including the Tracy Charitable Trust."
"I take it you want to bump them to the top of the list?" Jeff gave a small smile. Emily had taken over the running of the Trust years ago.
"It is a good program," Emily shrugged. "And they are only looking for fifty thousand dollars."
"That's it?" Jeff mused. "OK, fund them for the next five years."
"Thanks," Emily smiled, heading off to introduce herself to Josie Gage before the other woman was discharged and let her know that sometimes being a Good Samaritan was a very good thing.
Gina looked around the entrance to the ICU. Even being a generous donor to programs here at Cedar Sinai wasn't getting her any closer to Alan Tracy or any of his family. Coordinated by the FBI, LAPD was supplemented by both the hospital's security and personnel on loan from Tracy Enterprises to make sure only authorized parties were getting anywhere near Alan Tracy. Glancing up to see a tiny blonde that she recognized as John Tracy's wife – and the family's doctor – heading quickly down the hallway, Gina stepped back into an alcove, pretending to be using her cell phone.
"Hi Dr. Tracy," a chipper Asian-American nurse greeted the woman. "Did you need something?"
"Josie Gage is still here, isn't she?" Emily asked.
The nurse nodded. She had been a student nurse here when Dr. Tracy – then Dr. Haas – had been on staff. "Yes, her father is talking to the pulmonologist on what to watch for while her brothers are interviewed by the FAA about the crash. Frankly, she said she was enjoying the break from the smother hens."
Emily chuckled. "Alan calls his older brothers the same thing."
"How is he?" Kira – the nurse – asked, neither woman noticing Gina's stillness as she listened in for the answer.
Emily lost her humor at that. "It will become common knowledge soon, although I hope it is from an official release," she sighed. "Alan slipped into a coma during the night. The family will probably take him back to the Island tomorrow. I'm going to arrange for leave from the clinic for the time being."
Kira shook her head. "I'm sorry, Dr. Tracy. I hope he recovers soon. One of the ward secretaries was a huge fan of his."
"Is that the woman that was murdered?" Emily asked.
"H-how did you know?" Kira stuttered.
"It happened at the field where the Tracys had landed when in Los Angeles." Emily grimly responded. "She may have witnessed what happened to Alan's plane. But it's only a theory, so don't repeat it. Gordon is talking to the police right now, but he has already told the FBI he never saw her. LAPD is having him speak with their lead officer on the case, in case he saw anyone who may have looked out of place."
Glancing at her watch, Emily nodded. "I better hurry if I want to catch Josie Gage."
"She's in 417," Kira said helpfully.
Emily already knew but still gave the nurse a smile before heading down the hallway.
Stepping out of the alcove, Gina pressed the small gun she had smuggled in to Kira's side. "Come with me, and you might survive this shift."
Kira, pale and terrified moved into the alcove, leading the way to a small closet. Opening the door, she stepped inside. The nurse was barely in the room when something slammed into her head and she knew nothing else.
Gina smirked as she began to remove the woman's uniform. Luckily for her, all Asians looked alike to these Americans.
Emily knocked lightly on the closed door before opening. Smiling at the dark-haired woman sitting up in the bed, Emily stepped forward.
"Josie Gage? Hi, I'm Dr. Emily Tracy," the physician said.
Josie looked confused. "Sorry, but my doctor came over from Rampart – she has privileges here and I've gotten the all-clear to ditch this hot spot."
Emily laughed. "I'm not here as a doctor. Well, I am but I'm not." Since that only seemed to confuse the paramedic more she explained. "I'm also married to one of Jeff Tracy's sons – John, brother number two. I just wanted to thank you for what you did. It was very brave and we can never truly repay you for your courage and selfless act."
"How is Alan," Josie asked eagerly. "No one will tell me anything. Is his wife here? Is she ok? When is she due?"
Chuckling again, Emily held up a hand. "Tin-Tin is alright. She's just over eight months along. If I hadn't thought it would be more detrimental for her not to come here, I wouldn't have approved it but just being near to Alan seems to calm her. And a calm mama makes a healthy baby. As for Alan…"
Emily sighed and looked away as she gathered her thoughts. "Alan is in a coma. We will probably move him home if there is no change in the next twenty four hours."
"What, do you have a medical facility at home?" Josie chuckled, only for that to fade when Emily raised an eyebrow.
"We have our own Island, why does an infirmary shock everyone?" Emily said dryly. "Now, I wanted to tell you something I was discussing with Dad about a charity you and your family works with, Helping Hoofs…" A noise from the hallway made Emily stop talking and both women glanced towards the entrance.
The door opened and Josie looked expectantly, hoping her brothers or father was coming to spring her.
Gina came in, pushing a wheelchair in her stolen nurse's uniform. "I'm here to take Ms. Gage for a test," she hastily said to Emily.
Emily frowned, thinking the nurse looked familiar but she could not place her, before she glanced at the medical chart by Josie's bed. "She isn't scheduled for anything." Picking up the phone by the bed, Emily said, "I'll just check with the hospitalist – ah!"
Josie looked, horrified, when the nurse used the handle of a small gun to knock Dr. Tracy unconscious. The nurse smiled coldly when the slender blonde fell to the floor. Turning the gun, the woman nodded.
"Get in the wheelchair, now. Your dead body will do me as much good as your live one."
Swallowing, Josie nodded and slid out of the bed and into the wheelchair. Right now she'd love to see her big brother. And his gun. Give her a burning office building any day to nut jobs and guns…
Daria hurried towards Kate. "Yo! Eppsie."
Kate rolled her eyes and turned around. "Yes, Dorf?"
Handing over a photo, Daria grinned. "We may have a break. Recognize this woman?"
Kate frowned at the picture. "That's Emily's mother. How is that a break? She's dead."
"I mean the Asian woman with her," Daria groaned. "We're running facial recognition software – Oh, hi Tin-Tin."
The younger woman rubbed her very pregnant stomach and took the picture from Kate's hand. "That's Gina Tanaka. Tomo's girlfriend, remember? The one who…well, she didn't like Alan at all. Even blamed him for Tomo's death, though how she ever came to that conclusion was beyond me. The autopsy traced the blood clot to a sports injury and not from when Tomo was protecting Alan – wrong leg."
The FBI agent snatched back the picture and used it to smack her former co-worker over the head. "Eppsie, you twit! No one thought to mention a demented woman who blames Alan for her lover's death? The cab driver thinks this is the woman who leaned in after Susan Haas – which more than likely makes her the one who killed her."
Before Daria could leave, Kate gently pushed Tin-Tin to Julie and Gordon who were approaching them. "Get Tin to the rest area we were given and keep the family there. We need to check some things out."
Once she was sure her family was safe, Kate pulled out a gun from her purse. "Come on," she said as she slipped it into a jacket pocket.
"How did a civilian get a gun in a hospital?" Daria asked, moving with Kate to the security area.
"We came in the VIP entrance," Kate explained. "No metal detectors. But I have a concealed carry permit anyways and there is no way I am going unarmed with a lunatic gunning for Tracys."
The two women froze as a voice called over the intercom. "CODE SILVER. FOURTH FLOOR. ALL PERSONNEL, CODE SILVER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."
Code Silver – someone with a gun. OK, this was not good.
"CODE SILVER. FOURTH FLOOR. ALL PERSONNEL, CODE SILVER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."
Dr. Richard Gage looked at his father and brother in dismay. "Code Silver? But that's -"
"Someone with a gun," Robbie said grimly, making sure his badge was obvious – it seemed easier to make his status clear when dealing with government officials – and pulling out his service weapon. "Keep Dad down here," he instructed his brother as he ran towards a stairwell. In the case of codes like that, the elevators would be locked down.
"But Josie is on the fourth floor," Johnny protested to his son's back.
Richie put a comforting hand on his father's shoulder. "He knows it, Dad. That's why he wants you to stay here."
Johnny moved on shaking legs to a nearby bench. "What are the odds this involves Josie?"
His son said nothing, knowing his sister all too well – the little trouble magnet.
A few minutes earlier…
Emily shook her head, wincing in pain. "That bitch," she muttered as she got to her knees. Then as sharp as the blow to her head, Emily realized where she knew the "nurse" from.
"Gina Tanaka," she muttered, remembering the woman from Tomo Wattamee's funeral. Emily couldn't believe she had forgotten that vile woman. Then again, that had been a rough time for the entire family.
Emily glanced towards the door and saw that Gina was pushing Josie out the door in a wheelchair, slipping a small gun into the pocket of a nurse's smock. Dizzy from what was undoubtedly a concussion, Emily didn't try to play hero. But she knew Josie would need help.
By the time the door closed behind them, Emily had managed to get to her feet long enough to grab the phone. Pressing the code for security, she quickly alerted them to what was happening…and then promptly passed out again.
Yeah. Definite concussion.
Kate and Daria were running down the hallway, Daria feeling every ounce of baby weight she hadn't lost yet and envying her friend's easy run. Down the other way, Robbie Gage was yelling for people to "get down, get out of the way".
Daria began to aim towards the LAPD detective when Kate nudged her. "He's LAPD, one of the Gage twins. I saw him when we were waiting for news on Alan."
The FBI agent relaxed a bit before she spotted Gina Tanaka. "Gina Tanaka?" she called out.
Gina pulled her gun back out of the smock pocket and pointed it at Josie. "Back off!" she screamed.
"There's no need for this," Robbie said smoothly, keeping his weapon level. Behind him, he could sense security keeping people back and the hallway between him and his sister clear. Looking at her, he smiled tightly. "You ok, Jojo?"
"I'm ready to blow this popsicle stand," Josie grimaced. "And don't call me Jojo. I hated that."
"Step back and lower your weapon, Ms. Tanaka," Daria said firmly.
"She messed things up," Gina said. "The fates were going to deal with the one who killed my beloved. So she should be punished for interfering in fukushu."
"In what?" Daria muttered to Kate. Kate shrugged. She didn't understand Japanese any better than her friend. But this whole situation was fu-ku'd up anyhow.
"She has to pay," Gina said, grabbing Josie's braid and pulling it until the other woman cried out in pain. Daria, Kate and Robbie all tensed when Gina tightened her grip on her gun and began to raise it once more…
Then, suddenly, Gina crumpled to the ground. Emily stood in the doorway, visibly shaking, a trickle of blood on her face and neck, holding onto an IV pole.
"How did you like it, you bitch," Emily growled before falling to her knees. Kate ran over to her sister-in-law, kicking the gun away from Gina before she kneeled next to Emily.
"I am definitely a bad influence on you," Kate grinned.
Emily tried to smile back, but she was suddenly occupied by the need to throw up.
Yeah, a definite concussion.
A/N - Just in case you are curious, this story will be at least 40 chapters. So Gina has an ace or two up her sleeve.
I have the whole freaking deck. Real life sucks and I am taking my frustrations out in this story.