Chapter 28 – The Tensions of the Aftermath
With those three gunshots, things happened in a quick succession. Johnny picked up a chair and began to slam it onto the window. All the while he was growling and practically clawing to get in there. What he saw affected him somewhere in his mind. Jackie was his Grandmother, it was the same feeling he got when he found out that his wife was shot, but this was something different. He saw this, and it made him see red. There was no point in trying to open the door, it was locked at Rose had the key. Sure, he could ask her. But Jackie, she was …she was bleeding out quickly and there was no time to look for it.
Above the almost white noise of rage and worry that had enveloped him, Rose could hear people shouting and it ended quickly as more gunshots rang out. He looked to the side and saw Rose shooting at the four corners. Looking back to the window he continued to slam at the cracking window. He saw Daniel bring the gun up the ceiling, and shot the hinges off of a large air vent that ironically encircled the whole room. Then as fast as that happened, he saw Daniel grab hold of Rebecca's unconscious form and leap up out of the room.
He didn't care, he couldn't care. All he had to do was get to his bleeding out Grandmother and get her to a hospital. After another minute of solid banging and shooting, the window cracked into a thousand pieces. Dropping the chair, Johnny leaped over the lower window sill and to Jackie's side. Bringing to fingers to her throat, he measured her pulse, "She's still alive. You call a hospital. I'll try to stop the bleeding! Hurry up damnit, she won't last-…"
Rose, who was still on the other side of the observation room, turned on her heel and proceed to the phone, she was still in shock. She was in shock, because in the process of three minutes her entire effort of the entire night went up in smoke and Jackie could quite possibly lose her life. Grabbing hold of phone, she cleared her throat and waited for the switch board operator. Before the woman could say hello, "I need paramedics and a Bus this interrogation room, I have a woman who's been shot multiple times in the chest."
Rose hung the phone back on the receiver and grabbed it again before pressing a large red button on the base unit of the phone. It was only used with large scale emergencies and this was indeed one of them. A steady red light went off throughout the entire building and Rose felt the intercom engage, "This is Agent Rose Long, we have escaped suspects they've escaped through the air ventilation system. This is Code 101 Lockdown. Emergency Personnel are to be screened by Agents. Security teams to the roof, this is Code 101 Lockdown."
EMT's did make it to the interrogation room, Jackie was taken by helicopter to the nearest hospital and Rose ordered Johnny not to go with her. They couldn't deal with it right now. Jackie had been through much worse things than three bullets to the chest. They had to deal with this now, there would be a time for grieving and worrying later, but she had an issue of national security to deal with. But she was willing to make time for what she was about to ask Johnny to do. Something, which would be a grievous and almost immediate death sentence, if there was anything more dangerous than her, pissed off, it was Erin.
"I-I don't know if I can do it," Johnny said rather hollowly.
Rose touched his shoulder, "She needs to know, because if there is anyone on this earth who will find Rebecca and Daniel, wherever they are. It's your Mother, and honey, Jackie is her mother. She needs to know and you are the only one that can break it too her."
"O-ok," Johnny nodded turned back to her, they were sitting in the now empty observation room. He was sitting on the floor with his head in his hands. He didn't know what to do, he had never, ever felt so fucking helpless, "Do you have a phone, I can use?"
Rose nodded and unclipped hers from her back pocket and handed it to Johnny slowly, she couldn't imagine what was about to happen. But if Erin was ready to butcher Rebecca for what she did to Alyssa today, oh, she was going to do unspeakable things to both Rebecca and Daniel. She knew very well that Erin didn't take too well to betrayal and that's exactly what Daniel did. The entire family had taken Daniel in and he really hadn't been a problem, on the contrary, he had been a complete pleasure. Jackie had taken him in, this was an act of betrayal and Daniel was going to pay for it. When she looked back to her son in-law and the look on his face, she was completely sure that he would pay.
What happened next was a sight that he was sure that he would never see in his life, it was the sight of Jackie Hutchinson being rushed down the hall on a stretcher. It was surreal to him, he actually did a double take and yes, it was indeed Jackie. Something had happened to her and now she was bleeding heavily from the chest. He wasn't freaking out, but he was worried about one person seeing it. That person was Jackie's great niece, and her practical child. He turned and saw Marissa, looking wide eyed in the chair.
"I-I's that-…?" She stuttered for a moment.
All Jake could do was sigh and nod, and shot up and bolted in that direction. Jake's eyes widened and he ran after her. Whatever was about to happen, Marissa couldn't go through it alone. Sure, he didn't know Marissa all too well, but since the events 12 years ago, they all had become family. He felt some need to help the girl, and to treat her as if she was one of his own children, she needed someone to talk to right now.
Johnny was in a private room making the phone call to his mother, and in the mean time she was being debriefed by Allen. He had ordered the lockdown over after a search of all the streets and all of the rooftops within five miles. That was an extraordinary feat, but the fact that it was early in the morning and it was the CIA, it was done. Right now, however, she was about to get an ass chewing and a new assignment she was sure of it, "Where are they?"
"Who?" Allen said with his back to her, he was looking out the window.
"My family?" Rose asked again, a tad more tersely.
"In the cribs," Allen responded still not turning around, "I've put them under mandatory forced protection, I'm also flying your niece and your other nephew in, it's for all of them."
Rose nodded, while she was grateful, she needed to know what was going to happen next, now that Rebecca had indeed escaped, "Alright, thanks. So, why did you want me in here?"
"We have a problem Rose," Allen said, continuing to show his back to her, "Bernard Waters, is the name that Rebecca gave you, but there is something that you have to know. As of this moment, Bernard Waters is the Assistant Secretary of Energy. I just finished a phone conference with Director Gordon. Right now, he's in the Situation Room informing POTUS."
She closed her eyes and sighed, this wasn't good. POTUS was the key word among all National and International Defense and Intelligence Agencies for, you guessed it, the President of the United States. This was blowing up and up to a Nova Level. Crossing her arms over her chest, she frowned, "And what did he want, is he being bitchy again?"
"Rose," Allen turned around and he looked stoic, "Director Gordon is about to recommend that the President declare Martial Law on all energy producing facilities in this COUTNRY, every single one of them. If the President agrees, then in one hour, the US Military and the National Guard is going to be sending tanks and soldiers to all Power Hubs and all Energy Producing places in all Fifty States. But what happens next is where our problem is."
Rose's eyes followed him as he walked to his desk and laid out a tan folder, and held out a photo of Bernard Waters. Walking forward, Rose looked down and peered at them. Yes, once she knew the face, she recognized him. As a Federal Agent and an Intelligence Officer she was required to memorize the faces, positions and names of the members of the Administration and their departments. But this one slipped her mind. Oh come on, it's one thing if you can memorize the name and face of the Energy Secretary, but the Assistant Secretary? Cut her some slack. But she knew what this meant, "Is it going to be clean, cut and quick?"
"No," Allen shook his head, "Director Gordon wants him brought in, but he also said that if Assistant Secretary Waters someone resists, you have clearance to shoot him. And you can shoot him in the head. But there's another problem too, they want us a Three Mile Island."
Rose nodded, "Where do you want me, Pennsylvania or Virginia?"
"I want you to go and arrest Waters," Allen said, "I'm gonna call Terry in and tell him that he's going to lead the raid on Three Mile Island. But I want someone you can vouch for. I want someone with your abilities. That kid, that Johnny Sindacco. Is he up for joining us?"
Rose snorted, oh this was funny. Crossing her arms over her chest, she looked up to her immediate boss and smiled, "He has my abilities, he hasn't had much experience with him but it'll be like riding a bike, put him on the bike and he'll pedal. I can't guarantee that he'll be up for it. His wife, my daughter was nearly killed tonight and for god sakes, the kid just watched his Grandmother shot in the chest. I'll try, but I can't guarantee you sir."
Bending down, he opened the front drawer on his desk and withdrew a black leather badge, it was only a shield but it would do. It was registered. In essence it would make him a temporary Federal Agent. Handing it over to Rose, he smiled, "You're my favorite person Rose, simply because you are the best damn agent that the Federal Government has. I let you run your operations the way you want to because you have a 99.4 Success rate. If it weren't for the fact, you and I wouldn't be as close as we are. You have my permission to bring in anyone you want. Only if they have your skills, anything you do to get the result that the Director wants will be kept quiet as long as it doesn't result in Civilian death. Understood?"
Rose smiled, nodded and fingered the badge in her hand, "I'll do my best sir."
When she turned to leave, Allen interrupted her, "Oh and Rose, in one hour, the President and the Cabinet will want to talk with us. I suggest after you recruit Mr. Sindacco, you go home, change, get what you need to get. Maybe visit your daughter, and report back here."
Stunned, Rose nodded blankly and walked out of the door. She was going to meet the President of the United States for the very first time, wow, this night was getting worse.
"Ms. Behrens, Mr. Long," The Doctor explained calmly to a frantic Marissa and a rather stoic Jake, "Mrs. Hutchinson is stable. Luckily we have her blood type on stock here. But here is the thing. We had to induce a Coma. Her body needs to rest, but I am going to have to-…"
Marissa fidgeted in Jake's arms. He was currently struggling to hold her back, "Is she going to be alright? Is she going to die? Why the hell did you put her into a Coma? Is she a vegetable?"
Her frantic, one right after the other, questions would have been amusing if it weren't for the fact that it was Jackie. The doctor shook his head and fingered his clipboard tighter, "There is an 80 Percent Chance she can make it through this. She's as healthy as a horse, she may be in her sixties, but she has the heart and internal organs of a 40 year old. If I perform surgery now, to remove the bullets, she will more than be okay. The reason I put her into the coma was to take the stress off of her brain and spinal cord, heart and lungs. And no, she's not."
Marissa nodded, "You have my permission to perform the surgery."
"While that is touching Ms. Behrens," The doctor added quietly, "I didn't need it."
He hated to hear his mother cry, he just despised the feeling. But this, this was a whole new level for him. He had never, ever heard Erin Hutchinson bawl like this. He shouldn't have been surprised. Jackie was her rock. They had been through a lot together. There wasn't a thing that he could do to make it stop, not until his mother decided to stop crying and do something. Oh, he could already see the final look of terror on Daniel's face.
Sure, Johnny wanted to maim the little shit, but he knew now that his mother wanted it and it was right hers. Besides, if Rebecca suffered even more for the things that happened to Alyssa, it was better. His mother's sanity was a rocky thing, she was sane, but when you pushed her far over the edge, she exhibited all the signs of a sociopath. He wasn't going to stop her, he knew that she'd blow up half the buildings on the Eastern Seaboard before she let Rebecca and Daniel out of her sights. As if he could stop her anyway, as if Rose could.
"Mama," Johnny whispered hoarsely, "Mama, you have to stop crying."
She didn't, it was as if she couldn't speak, but that all changed quickly. Because, a few seconds later, his words seemed to sink into her. And a strong, albeit, loose voice responded, "Johnny, I'm gonna find this girl and teach her a lesson that none of you managed to do, you can bet your ass on that. And as for Daniel, I don't like being betrayed. I especially don't like it when he tries to kill my mother. He's going to know what god meant when he said Let there be pain, I'm coming back tonight. I'm gonna have a talk with Natalia and I'll be there soon."
"What are you going to do, when you get here?" Johnny asked. He was freaked out.
"What else? Do what my Mama taught me to do, I'm gonna go Hunting. Love you baby," And then she hung up the phone without even a goodbye. A chill ran down his spine. He knew that voice, and he couldn't have been giddier. He knew that somebody was gonna get it.
The door shut behind him and Johnny jumped slightly before turning around and seeing the sheepishly smiling form of Rose. He raised his eyebrows, "You look like you have news."
"I do," Rose nodded and walked forward to hand him a gold badge, "Welcome to CIA."
"Hey baby brother," Alyssa whispered to DJ as he stepped into the room, "I have a bone to pick with you and it has to do with the stray bullet that shot me. Have any ideas DJ?"
DJ looked at the caste on her leg and shrugged. He lied for two reasons, the first being, he didn't want to put any stress on her, and the second was simply the fact that he didn't need any more drama going on in the family. Much less drama stemmed from him, "Don't know."
His sister raised her eyebrows, "Huh, well I may not be a Huntsclan or Gun expert like you are, but I happen to know that the hitman wasn't facing me and there wasn't any possible way that a bullet could have hit me from his gun. Which only leaves you, it was you wasn't it DJ? You fired a shot it missed. It hit something and struck me in the leg? Am I right?"
Looking down he nodded, "I'm sorry Alyssa. I put it together when I was pressuring the wound. You have no idea how sorry I am. I mean I could have killed you Alyssa."
"Get rid of the gun DJ," Alyssa finally said.
"What gun?" DJ fired back.
"You know what gun I'm talking about DJ," Alyssa growled.
"You'll have to talk to Mom about that," DJ told her quietly and it was true. Their mother was even more of a Gun Enthusiast then he was and she'd have a serious problem with that.
"Well that's what I'll do-…" Alyssa stopped and then she suddenly stopped and gasped.
Then as fast as it happened, it stopped and then she fell back into the pillows of the bed, eyes closed and breath slow. A light on the side of her bed began to beep and soon after that, the door to the room opened and her doctor went to her bed, "DJ, I'm afraid you need to leave."
"What's going on?" DJ asked, pacing to the door.
The Doctor put a hand on Alyssa's forehead and looked at her heart monitor, "She's passed out. Don't worry DJ, she's alright, she's just tired, go out and wait, she'll be around soon."
Marissa was a silent girl, much like Jackie. She only spoke when she had something to say and for the past fifteen minutes since Jackie came in. Poor girl, Jake wished he could do something for her, but he couldn't, it was not his decision. But he could have some say in his own children's decisions and what they told him. That's exactly what he thought when he noticed DJ, walking back to them. He's head was hung and his shoulders were rather stooped. Jake knew his son well enough to know that something had upset him very much.
"Is there something wrong Son?" Jake asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
DJ shook his head, "No, nothing's wrong, nothing at all."
But Jake was sure it wasn't true, he was going to find out, however now wasn't the time.
She was packed and ready to go, sure it was a pain in the ass to unpack and pack within five hours, but it had to be done. Someone had to go and teach Rebecca and Daniel a lesson that they would never forget. It had to be her. Yes, Alyssa was one thing, Alyssa was Rose's daughter and Erin figured that she would give her a hand in demolishing them. But when Jackie came into the question, she was going to annihilate them. It was not okay. Erin loved her daughter, but her if there were people out there, trying to kill her family members, they hadn't dealt with her yet. However, Erin had to get things under control, with Natalia.
Sitting on the edge of Natalia's bed, she moved a stray strand of Natalia's dark hair out of her forehead. She was a beautiful girl. When she had chosen to go to school in Oklahoma, she was surprised, but she was even more surprised when she saw the records and the standing of the school. After that, Erin practically encouraged her to go, "Natalia, baby wake up."
Natalia's deep green eyes fluttered open slightly, she was drowsy and when she spoke, it was a soft murmur, but it came out clear as day, "Mama, what time is it?"
"4:00 AM," Erin said gently, "There's something that I have to take care of in New York, I'm sorry Nat. But I can't help it. You're going to have to forgive me, for missing this, alright?"
She sat up and raised up to one elbow, "What happened?"
Erin sighed and crossed her legs, this was hard for her. Even the words themselves, put together scared her, but they had to be confronted, "Your Grandmother was shot tonight."
"Oh my god," She gasped and held her hand up to her mouth, "I-Is she okay?"
Erin shrugged blankly. She didn't want to let emotions out right now. Not in front of her daughter, only when she was alone and only when she finally caught up with Rebecca and Daniel, "I don't know, but I have to get back there tonight. So, I have to miss your Gradua-…"
Shaking her head, "No, I understand. Do you want the boys to go with you?"
"No," Erin shook his head, "The need to stay here, it's the safest place for them right now."
"What are you going to do Mama?" Natalia asked slowly.
Erin stood up and turned back to look at her, "I'm going to find Daniel and cut his balls off."
"Daniel did it?" Natalia blinked, she was shocked. She kind of liked him.
Natalia had agreed to let her go, she understood, Erin knew she did. She was just like her when it came to family, she raised Natalia and Brant to be like Hutchinsons with their values, and it worked in her benefit. It took the guilt out of missing her College Graduation, and that was a close call. She would have missed it either way, but at least this way Natalia wouldn't resent her. Natalia loved Johnny, she loved her Nephews and her Niece, she understood. Brant however was another story, sure, he loved his brother, but she could tell that he didn't like him and that he resented him. He wouldn't understand.
That's why she was leaving it up to Natalia and her Husband to soothe him out.
"What time does the plane take off?" Mark asked, sitting up in the bed.
Erin sighed and slipped on her dark coat, "An hour, that'll give me enough time."
"Enough time to do what?" Mark asked taking in a quiet tone. He knew the answer of course. When Erin had awoken him up crying, he asked her, and she told him, all of it.
Erin gripped her duffle bag and turned to grip the handle on the door of the hotel room, "I will not stop until I have a gun on the back of Daniel's head, and I have to see my mother…"
Nodding, Mark smiled sadly at her, "You do what you feel is right, I love you Erin."
She smiled back at him, "I love you too."
And then she was gone. Gone with a mission and that Mission was to find Rebecca Kay and Daniel Mills and kill them both for what they did. No one would stop her from doing this.
Authors Note: To hell with it, I've put this on my work Laptop. I couldn't help but think of you guys and I had a free night tonight. So here it is. A lot happened in this chapter, and a helluva lot more will happen in the next chapter. It's the end of the second act. The big transformative things will take place to set the stage for Act III.
Good news, I have a date for the Epilogue, June 20th. Mark your calendars folks! And as of yet, I have decided if I want to do a fifth story. I'm leaning towards yes, but still not sure. However, I still have this story to worry about.
Leave a review for me!
