Waiting until the waiting room door closed after the surgeon and Joanne left the room, Lee turned back to the four firemen watching him before he pulled out the map he had placed in the large pocket inside his coat. Carefully pushing the coffee pot and mugs on the table into the corner, he unfolded the hiking map and carefully spread it out as the firemen crowded around him. "This is a map of the Los Padres National Park and the surrounding area." He began before pointing to the spot where Roy had been found just hours before, "And this is where DeSoto was found, along the side of the Sisquoc River Trail, a little used hiking trail just south of the Lower Bear Camping Ground." Looking back up at Cap he added, "As you can see the area is quite rough, dotted with hidden crevices and the forest in that area is so thick that we have had a few hikers during the last couple of years who wandered off the trail and got themselves lost. It took us days to find them, that's when we were lucky enough to find them at all. The trail itself doesn't usually attract many hikers. It's been a few years since the Parks Department did any work on it and at the moment it's too extreme except for the most experienced hikers."
"The perfect place to hunt someone." Cap murmured as he studied the contour lines that showed just how rugged the area was.
Jim nodded, "And later this evening it's going to be even more treacherous than usual, the weather bureau is warning that a cold front with heavy rain and the potential for flooding is moving in and temperature tonight is going to drop low digits and it's going to drop fast."
"That's why we need your help." Jim continued, "Anything you can tell us about your man is going to help. The more you can tell us about him, things like, is he a city boy or does he go camping? I know he can work under pressure at a fire and you have all probably done your share of rescues in some pretty isolated areas but being out there in the wilderness, alone, hunted and trying to survive is different. The more we can get in his head and the better idea we will have of just where to start our search for him."
"Well, I know that Johnny grew up on a reservation in Montana," Cap began, "And even now he loves being outdoors and one with nature."
"He goes camping every chance he gets." Chet cut in. "If anyone can survive out there, it's Johnny. He's amazing out in the wild when we go camping. He loves hiking, and he knows everything about the plants and animals around us. He's even been teaching me how to track."
"So, he's an experienced outdoorsman?" Lee asked, relieved that the missing man might just have a chance out there.
Cap nodded.
"Johnny taught you how to track?" Marco whispered, surprised, no longer listening to the conversation taking place around him .
"Yeah, he started to show me some stuff, like how to track, catch small prey like rabbits, and stuff like that, the last couple of times we went camping." Chet nodded as a small smile of pride slipped momentarily graced his lips, "In fact, Johnny said I was getting good at it." Chet's eyes travelled back to the two local detectives standing just in front of him at the table before he grabbed Marco's arm and pulled him back a couple of steps away from the rest of the men. "Maybe, even good enough for us to be able to track him in that park."
"But you heard what the detectives said, there's no way they are going to let us join in the search," Marco reminded his friend softly.
"You just saw the area they are going to be searching, Marco. We both know that there's no way just the two of them are going to be able to find Johnny in time." Marco silently nodded his agreement as Chet continued quietly, "But if there's four people searching, especially if one of us can track Johnny."
Marco's eyes went wide as he realized what Chet was proposing. Casting a quick glance towards the men still huddled around the table deep in conversation about Johnny's strength and weaknesses, Marco looked back at Chet and whispered "But Cap and the detectives are never going to let us-"
"Who said we're going to tell them?" Chet breathed softly as he ran his hand over his moustache and eyed the other men again before he looked back at Marco, "Are you coming or not?"
Taking a last glance at Cap and Mike, Marco had no doubts that Johnny would do the same thing for any of them if they were the ones being hunted. Turning back to Chet, he nodded and whispered, "Okay, let's go.", before he followed Chet quietly out of the room.
Feeling more confident about their chances of finding Gage alive, Lee folded up the map after he gathered as much information about the missing paramedic as he could, placing it back under his arm before he looked up and thanked Crockett and the firemen for all their help, promising them that he and Jim would do their best to find their friend.
Cap nodded as he watched Crockett and the two Santa Barbara detectives turn and walk out the small waiting room, closing the door behind them. Turning back to Mike, Chet and Marco, he was shocked to only find Mike still standing there, "Where did Chet and Marco go?" he frowned.
"I saw them slipped out about a minute ago," Mike paused before he turned and looked at the closed door before looking back at Hank, his eyes narrowing with suspicion, "You don't think that-"
"If they have, I'm going to kill them," Cap growled as he turned and hurried towards the door, muttering angrily over his shoulder, "And then after I kill them, I am going to have them both doing latrine duty clean using toothbrushes for the next twelve months!"
"Where are you going?" Mike asked.
"After those two twits before they end up becoming two sickos' prey in their hunting game!"
"Wait a minute, Hank," Mike called, hurrying to catch up as Hank disappeared out of the room, "I'm coming with you."
E!E!E!E!E!E!
Climbing out of the hire car they had rented, Chet pulled up the zipper of his jacket against the cold before he walked around to the front of the car and spread out the large map they had bought after entering the San Padre National Park on the hood.
Rubbing his hands together to try and warm them up a little, Marco zippered up his own winter jacket before he climbed out of the car and joined his friend at the front of the car. "Looks like that late season cold front they were warning about is starting to roll in faster than they predicted, and we only have about two or three hours of daylight left if we're lucky and this rain holds off. If we're going to find Johnny, we better find him soon. It's going to get cold and it's going to get cold fast." Marco sighed as he watched Chet studied the map before the other man looked up and around at the solid wall of trees that ringed the small clearing where they had just parked and then returned his attention back to the map spread out in front of him. Looking up at the threatening dark clouds that were beginning to roll over the treetops, Marco frowned as he returned his attention back to Chet who had begun to fold up at map again and frowned, "So, where do you want to start?"
Walking around to the rear of the car, Chet opened the boot before grabbing one of the backpacks packed with food, water, flashlights and the first aid supplies that they had bought in Santa Barbara and slipping the map inside one of the backpack outer pockets, slung it over his shoulder. Grabbing another similarly packed backpack he handed it across to Marco before slamming the boot closed again and turning back to his friend. Tilting his head towards the trees just a short distance away from where they were standing as he announced softly. "According to what told us, this has to the spot where Roy was found this morning."
Marco nodded as he turned and looked at the spot on the side of isolated rugged dirt track that many would describe more of a little used, rough goat track, than a hiking trail where their critically injured friend was discovered by hikers just hours before. It had only been sheer luck that Roy had been found, the hiking trail was so rough that all but the most experience hikers avoided it.
Looking across at Chet, Marco asked, "Okay Chet, you're the tracker here, so where do we start?"
"Well, I figure we start there and see if we can backtrack Roy's movements." Chet answered slowly, no longer feeling anywhere near as confident as he was back at the hospital when he told Marco his plans to search for Johnny on his own, that he would be able to read or recognize any tracks they found before he led the way to the spot where they had found Roy.
Reaching the spot marked by an area of crushed grass and the remnants of litter from the medical dressings used by the Santa Barbara paramedics as they had tried to stabilize Roy, Chet stopped and carefully looked around. He frowned, concentrating as he searched for any little sign that would show just where Roy had emerged from the forestry. A small triumphant smile graced his lips as he noticed the small, broken fern frond and the small red droplet that still clung to one of its leaves. Hurrying across to it, he knelt and carefully fingered the sticky red droplet before lifting his fingers to his nose. His nose crinkled a little as he recognized the faint metallic odor of blood. Letting his hand loosely drop back down to his side as he stood up again, he continued to carefully study the undergrowth and the muddy ground leading back into the forest before he suddenly grabbed the straps to his backpack and adjusted them again as he suddenly headed into the forest, calling to the others back over his shoulder, "This way."
Hesitating a heartbeat before following Chet, Marco frowned, "Are you sure?"
"Positive," Chet answered more confidently than he was feeling a few minutes before as he pushed his way through the undergrowth and began to backtrack the almost invisible trail left by Roy.
E!E!E!E!E!E!
Joanne sat up higher on the chair, uncertain if she had imagined Roy's soft, breathy moan of his partner's name.
"J…j…johnny…"
Roy's weak, desperate call for Johnny told her that it had not been her imagination at all, Roy was calling for his partner. Rising quickly from her chair, Joanne leaned over Roy, one hand lightly squeezing the hand she held as her other hand gently brushed the side of his face, alarmed at how hot it felt as she whispered, "Roy… Roy, can you hear me?" She waited a moment, hoping for some sort of indication that he had heard her, before she squeezed his hand again and begged a little louder, "Please, Roy, try and open your eyes or squeeze my hand for me."
Her heart began to beat faster as she felt Roy's fingers twitch slightly before they slowly curled around her hand. She swallowed down a sob and blinked away the tears that blurred Roy's face as she watched Roy's eyelashes flutter before she saw a small slit of blue peek out from between them as Roy turned his head and tried to focus on her face. "Roy?"
"J…j…joanne?"
"Yeah Roy, it's me." Joanne weakly smiled through the tears, squeezing his hand a little tighter. "I'm here. You're safe now, you're going to be fine."
"Johnny?... Where's Johnny…" Roy's soft terrified whisper was barely audible above the beeps of the heart monitor as the small green blip raced across its screen as Roy's eyes panned the room, growing more agitated and restless as he couldn't see the man he was desperately looking for.
"They are looking for him, Roy." Joanne tried to reassure him as her tears began to fall freely as she gently caressed Roy's hot, damp face as the heart monitor alarm suddenly went off and echoed throughout the room.
"J...Johnny...Johnny!" Roy continued to call desperately as the nurse hurried into the room and crossed to the side of the bed, glancing at her agitated patient before she looked up at the heart monitor and hit the button, silencing the alarm.
"Easy, Mr DeSoto, easy. You need to relax." The nurse tried to sooth him as she gently bumped Joanne out of the way with her hip and reached for the nurse call button, pressing it. Reaching for the thermometer, she slipped it into Roy's mouth before she reached for the blood pressure cuff and wrapped it around his arm as she asked Joanne over her shoulder, "What happened?"
Joanne shook her head, her clutching her hands tightly together in front of her chest as she stared at Roy who now seemed to be struggling to breathe." I…I don't know… he was asleep and then…"
The nurse nodded silently as she put the stethoscope into her ears and quickly began to bump up the blood pressure cuff, frowning and she released the air and listened. Her frowned deepened as she re-inflated the cuff and took the reading again before she straightened up and removed the stethoscope from her ears.
"Meryl, what's happening?" Another nurse asked from the doorway.
"I'm not sure." Meryl answered as she adjusted the flow of oxygen and removed the thermometer from beneath Roy's arm, glancing at the mercury before she looked across at her colleague who had hurried across to the side of the bed, "He's agitated, BP's …" She paused a moment as her eyes travelled to the anxious young woman standing next to her still holding the patient's hand, before she continued more softly, "BP's low, and he's running a fever."
"Peritonitis?" the nurse asked softly.
Meryl nodded, "Or sepsis. But whatever it is, you better page Dr Miller, stat."
The nurse nodded and hurried out of the room as Meryl turned back to her patient who continued to call for his partner, gently pushing him back down against the pillows as he tried to sit up. "Just try and relax, Mr DeSoto, I'm sure the other officers are out there right now searching for him. But I need you to try and settle down and concentrate on your breathing. Do you think you can do that for me?"
"Johnny…" Roy called out again as he struggled against the nurse's gentle restraint.
"Shh, Babe, it's okay, the guys are going to find him." Joanne whispered as she stepped closer to the bed again and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly, "And they're not going to stop searching for Johnny until they do. But you need to rest and get better."
"I'm sorry but we need you to leave now."
Joanne jumped as she felt two soft hands grab her shoulders as a nurse gently guided her from the room as it filled with medical staff. Standing at the door as she watched the frantic activity of the medical staff who now surrounded Roy. She was unable to stop the sob that escaped as she wrapped her arms around herself as she felt her world start to crumble around her. After she had married Roy, she had tried to prepare herself for that one day that she knew and feared deep down that she might be told that Roy had been killed in the line of duty. She had always known there was a chance that he could be killed in a fire or a building collapse, but she never expected something like this. Turning to stare at the staff who were rushing in and out of Roy's ICU room. Her hands travelled down to cradle the small life that she had excitedly discovered was growing inside her only a few short hours before, she wasn't sure if she was strong as she knew she needed to be, not only for Roy, but for Chris, Johnny and the new baby as well.