"I hope we're not too late," Buck drove like a maniac across the street. Yet he had been completely indifferent to any law. His only thought was to save Maddie from Doug. With shaking hands, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Athena's number.
"Hey Keena, were you trying to reach Bobby and that's why you're calling me? He is in the shower. I can tell him to call back," she talked on it, so I didn't have a chance to get in the way.
"Athena, we need your help," I sobbed into the cell phone, distraught. Shocked, Buck looked over at me, who hadn't missed my brittle and tearful voice. He held out his right hand to me with the inside facing up. Hesitantly, I put my left hand in, then he held it ironclad.
"Keena, what's wrong? Why are you crying?", Athena inquired, getting her direct and serious voice of the policewoman she was. So, I knew immediately that she was on the case.
"Maddie had called me and in the middle of the conversation Doug showed up. Athena something happened. Buck and I are on our way to see her," slight panic sounded in my voice. I prayed to God that Maddie was okay.
"Don't touch anything because I certainly can't stop you guys from not going in until cops are on the scene. Do not do anything stupid. I'll be right with you," her request was more than clear, then she had hung up. I dropped my phone in my lap.
"We're not supposed to touch anything or do anything stupid," I informed Buck, who had let go of my hand again. With a hard slam on the brakes, he stopped the car and got out. I had great difficulty following his steps. But suddenly he stopped in the middle of the small, longer arch that led to Maddie's apartment. As I got closer, I saw the reason. Chimney was lying on the ground in his own blood. Buck squatted down and squeezed the wound shut with his hand. Immediately, I knelt to him and pushed him aside.
"Go check on Maddie. I'll take care of him," I ordered him, and Buck stood up. I had placed my cell phone on the floor beside me and dialed 9-1-1. After three spaces, someone answered.
"9-1-1. What is your emergency?" a female voice waited for my response.
"This is Paramedic Keena Nash from the 118, I am off duty and came to a scene where Firefighter Howard Han was seriously injured. I am in dire need of an ambulance. It is a deep stab wound. The patient has lost a lot of blood and is in danger of going into shock. Sergeant Athena Grand has already been notified and is coming by with a unit from the LAPD. Tell the hospital to prepare with plenty of blood," I informed the operator in detail.
"Got it. Continue to provide first aid. Ambulance is on the way," she relayed, then I hung up. Immediately, I pressed my hands tighter on the wound again.
"Hey, Chimney! Can you hear me? I need you to wake up and stay with me. You cannot die, do you hear me? Maddie needs you. Your family of 118 wants you to stay by their side. Please stay with us!" my attempt to bring him back to consciousness failed.
"Inside, it looks like there was a struggle. Little splashes of blood are all over the floor. Keena, he did something to Maddie!", Buck seemed completely distracted. He seemed torn. Was he just going to go off on his own?
"We'll find her. I don't know how, but we'll find her," I told myself more than Buck. Chimney's breathing was getting shallower, which is why I gently slapped him against the cheek with one hand.
"Hey, you need to stay here! Fight!", I yelled at him as I was running out of ideas. I could only squeeze the wound to keep the blood from leaving his body faster. Without equipment, I could not do more than that and wait. Where was the ambulance!
"Over there!", Athena came with her people and the paramedics. I exhaled with relief and left Chim to his colleagues.
"Did Doug do this? What about Maddie?", Athena inquired.
"We didn't find Maddie, but I did find blood on the ground. That son of a bitch did something to her!" growled Buck in anger. I could understand him. This feeling of not being able to do anything while someone was fighting for survival was very painful. It felt like time was racing, even though every minute was precious.
"We're going to find Maddie. But you should wash off the blood first and you give me your car keys before something happens from one of your short-circuited actions" Athena turned first to me, then to Buck. I ran into Maddie's apartment and explained to the men and women of the police that I would like to wash off the blood without contaminating the crime scene. They led me into the bathroom, which was not part of their investigation. I washed my hands and went back out. Buck had become even more agitated, and Athena seemed quite annoyed.
"We have some leads via this surveillance camera. We are going to watch the video and then we're going to take the next steps, do you understand me?", Buck and I nodded, then an officer handed her a tablet where she turned on the video. On the video, we could see Chimney being stabbed by a man in a black hoodie after briefly stopping, rooted to the spot, in front of the perpetrator. Then the man kept running. About 5 minutes later, he had grabbed Maddie tightly and was dragging her alongside.
"He's very uncontrolled and impulsive. That does not make the situation any easier. The only thing I can say for certain is that he is not going to hurt her. He wants her back, so murder would be out of the question," Athena explained to us as Buck suddenly slammed his fist against the wall.
"Buck she's safe. He's not going to kill her," slowly I walked up to him and looked at his hand. It had some abrasions but nothing more serious. From my colleagues I got some bandages, something to clean the wound and tended to Buck's right hand.
"He won't kill her, but he'll torture her until she's compliant," the words came out of his mouth, spraying with hatred. And somehow, he was right. He would break her until she no longer resisted.
"We're going to help Maddie. I am trying to put out an APB on the car in the background right now. But let us face it, he's not going to make it easy. The best thing to do is get in my car and we will do a little driving down the streets nearby. It may be that Doug has rented an apartment nearby and will take Maddie there. Come on, get in," Athena led the way and Buck and I followed her. She unlocked her car and we got in.
"He has a head start, but we will find them," Athena assured us. Hopefully, it was in time and hopefully we were right about him not killing her. Athena drove off and turned on the radio in the car. I made myself comfortable in the back seat. This was going to be an awfully long night. But why was Chimney rooted to the spot in front of the man? He could have still run to Maddie and locked himself in with her.
"Why did not Chimney run anyway? He had time to run to Maddie and contact 9-1-1 there. Why didn't he do that?", I threw the question into our little circle.
"Seemed like he couldn't react out of fear," Athena answered.
"Chimney deals with danger almost every day. Do you really think a situation like that would fill him with fear? We are direct targets out there every time. Somehow, we have all learned to deal with it, which is why I find his behavior so odd. He wasn't afraid, but then what was it?", I gave my opinion to both and waited for reactions. Since I was sitting behind Athena, I could watch her through the rearview mirror and could see Buck directly from the side. And he got an idea right away that derailed his features. Something had occurred to him again.
"Chim had told me about a man in a video store a few days ago. Apparently Chim had forgotten his money and the man helped him out. Chim thanked him with a couple of beers at the bar and since then the men have met more often. He called him Jason. What if Jason was Doug all along? And Doug was constantly spying on them and getting information through Chimney?" speculated Buck. But it sounded very plausible.
"Wouldn't Maddie have had to see his friend Jason all the time?" inquired Athena.
"No, because the men always met somewhere in public and never in private," Buck informed us. Doug was downright infatuated with Maddie, but how much I had never imagined until that day. His aggressive and very rough manner had been described to me many times by Maddie, but I had been under the illusion that it was all in the past and none of it could ever happen again. If only I had done more research and paid more attention to Maddie, maybe Doug would have had less of a chance. I felt a chill run down my spine, getting quite cold.
"Can we turn up the heat a little? I'm a little cold," I asked Athena, who immediately put this into action and heated the car a little more. The warm lights of the streetlamps tempted me to close my eyes for a while. The shift had been exhausting and I had not had a real opportunity to relax. As soon as something was, the others would wake me up, I could count on that.
"Keena, wake up. We have an operation at a gas station, and we are already on site. Do you want to come out and get some fresh air?", Athena gently woke me up. Completely disoriented, I woke up and looked at her. She had opened my door and touched me lightly on the shoulder. Then I looked out past her and saw the gas station. I got out and looked around. Somehow it was quite cold outside, so I crossed my arms to get a little warmer. What were we doing here?
"Doug and Maddie were here. Doug shot the owner. We are looking for clues here. Apparently the two of them switched cars a long time ago, which is why we cannot find them. The officer showed me the video footage," Athena informed me of the current situation. I nodded and rubbed my eyes for a moment. My whole body was shivering with cold.
"Here, put these on and you won't freeze anymore," Buck held his jacket out to me. I put it on and together we walked into the gas station.
"We found a note in the restroom. Apparently, she was going to write help but didn't get around to it," one of the cops on the scene explained. Athena accepted the paper in the bag and turned it over. It was a yellow note from a car rental company.
"Maddie didn't just leave us a message. We have a license plate number and the model he was trying to hide from the cameras. We can put out an APB for the car," the latter she said more to her colleague, who immediately set everything in motion.
"They could be anywhere by now," Buck sighed out, rubbing his temples.
"But we have a good chance of finding them and we definitely will," Athena spoke up. How long this chase might go on no one could answer us, but I was starting to get just as impatient as Buck. Things were not moving fast enough for me, allowing panic to grow more and more and confidence to sink.
"We're going to keep searching the area. Come on get in. Maybe she could leave us more clues," Athena urged us and we got back in the car.
"What if Buck is capable of more than we're suspecting right now after all? He killed that man because he was probably trying to help her. What if this just makes him feel more pressured and understand that one day, she won't be with him?" muttered Buck, looking out the window.
"Maddie is strong. She walked away from him because she is strong, and she will be today. As soon as the opportunity comes to do something, Maddie will do everything imaginable. Maddie will outlive him," I put my hand on Buck's shoulder from the back seat.
Even if the confidence just in us was sinking, the greater the confidence in Maddie was that she could somehow save herself. Buck placed his right, wounded hand on mine.
"We're going to help her. Let us keep an eye out for clues and do what all the officers and cops are doing. Let us look for them," Athena focused us on the job. And she was right. It was not important to speculate, but to act.
Slowly, the morning dawned again. The fatigue was growing, but the urge to find Maddie would not let my body rest.
"Sergeant Grand, we got a call from a man who saw a couple matching the description of the ones we were looking for. He was worried because the woman had bruises and seemed very intimidated. I'll give you the address," a male voice announced. Buck and I stared at Athena, who immediately put through that we were on our way and that other units should go there as well. Athena stepped on the gas and the roads whizzed past us. We were getting farther and farther out.
"He hit Maddie again. If I get my hands on him, he is going down!" threatened Buck in mock anger, clenching his healthy hand into a fist.
"You're not going to do anything. We'll arrest him and then he'll get his just deserts, or do you want to go to jail for a stupid idea?", Athena admonished him and instantly he dropped his fighting stance. Maddie, no matter where you are and how scared you are. We are on our way, and we will help you.
With that thought in my mind, I focused on rescuing her. A few minutes later we had reached our destination in the snowy area. Buck immediately got out of the car and Athena went after him. I also got out and looked around. There were a lot of cabins here that seemed uninhabited. They could be anywhere.
"The couple is in one of the back cabins. Come with me. I'll show you," a middle-aged man approached us and the policeman. Then he went ahead to the huts he meant. The door was wide open. This could not be a good sign. One officer went ahead and Athena, followed by Buck and me behind. The cabin was in chaos.
"They were here just a few minutes ago," the man swore as Athena found small drops of blood on the floor. She gestured for us to follow her, but instead of following, Buck ran ahead. Athena got annoyed and ran after him. I followed the two of them quite slowly along the path.
Completely out of breath, I arrived at the spot where Athena and Buck were standing. Maddie was in Buck's arms, but I could not see Doug anywhere.
"What happened? Why is Maddie bleeding so much?", I inquired of Athena, trying not to disturb the two. Maddie was crying bitterly, but Buck comforted her.
"The two of them got into a fight. Doug is dead, Maddie is alive. We are waiting for the ambulance right now. Then we are going to the hospital. Bobby just called me and said Chimney is going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay," Athena told me and I was more than relieved.
"Keena!", Maddie looked me straight in the eye and cried. With her arm, she motioned for me to come to her while the other held her wound. I walked over to her, then she clasped me. Reassuringly, I stroked her back until the paramedics put her on the stretcher.
"How's Chimney doing? Buck said he survived," Maddie turned to Athena.
"He made it through everything. But now you should make sure you are feeling better too, then you can go see him," Athena reassured her. The paramedics pushed Maddie into the ambulance and Buck got in with her.
"Come with me. We're going to the hospital," Athena took my hand and led me to the car.
"You have nice warm hands," she smiled at me and then hugged me to her. Then she pushed me back and looked at me with almost maternal concern.
"Not just your hands, you're positively glowing," she remarked.
"I caught a fever that night, but I didn't want to go home until we got Maddie," I confessed to her.
"You belong in bed my dear. You caught something in your action with the water rescue," Athena admonished me and continued to pull me towards the car. She opened the door for me, I sat down inside, and Athena gave me a blanket to lay over it.
"Can we go to the hospital for a minute? I just want to know if Maddie is okay. I will sit in the car, I promise. I just want to be close for Buck and Maddie," I pleaded with Athena. She sighed, but then smiled.
"I understand. Alright we'll stop by for a minute, and I can see Bobby too. I'll get Buck out for a bit then you guys can talk a bit," Athena approved of me and drove off. I snuggled into my blanket and enjoyed the ride, which was now a bit more positive than the previous one. The roads were just rushing past us. Athena had turned the heat up a bit more, for which I was grateful to her.
After a short drive, we arrived at the hospital. Athena parked the car near the entrance.
"You stay here as we discussed. I will get Buck out and you can see how he's doing. As soon as Buck gets back, I will drive you home. I'll see you in a bit," Athena was just turning to leave when I called something after her.
"If Eddie is there, please getting him out too!", I asked Athena. She gave me a thumbs up to let me know she understood. Then I waited and stared at the entrance. The door opened and closed what felt like twenty times before Buck and Eddie came out. I opened the car door and pulled the blanket a little higher.
"Athena said you wanted to talk to us, why don't you come in?", Eddie started the conversation. I grinned like a toddler.
"Because I'm sick and I promised her with a fever I wouldn't go in. But I really wanted to hear how you were doing," I answered his question. Puzzled, Eddie looked at me.
"Buck and Maddie, as well as Chimney, are the ones affected. Why do you want to know how I'm doing?", Eddie asked me, and Buck seemed to have the same question because he also looked at me curiously.
"You seemed pretty absent and preoccupied the last shift. Something is going on. That is why Buck, and I got worried," without much ado, I got right to the point. Eddie looked to the floor, then to Buck, then back to me.
"Shannon's pregnant," he mumbled quietly, but Buck and I had more than understood.
"That's a beautiful thing! Christopher is having a sibling. Then why do you seem so sad?", I probed.
"You really have luck on your side. Your wife's back and you're finally closer again, but something's bothering you, isn't it?" added Buck.
"I still can't trust her and I'm very afraid she'll just leave with the new kid," Eddie confessed.
"We'll be there no matter what. But you should be honest with her and have the courage to talk openly with her," I tipped him off. Gratefully, Eddie nodded.
"It's good to know you guys are there. I will talk to Shannon, but for right now, you are sick and should be in bed while Chimney and Maddie want us inside by their side. Get better and I will see you on the next shift. I'll tell you all about it," Eddie shut the door with a grin. I pretended to be totally outraged behind the glass. Buck laughed at my expression, then waved goodbye. A few moments later, Athena was back.
"I'll take you home," she said, and drove off with me. The stressful day came over me and I fell asleep in the car.