Chapter 3

Lee breathed slowly as they wheeled him down the hall toward the X-ray department. It took every fiber of his being not to struggle against the straps still holding him securely.

Lee's vision was limited by the apparatus they strapped his head into. Everything he heard felt magnified. The squeak of the orderly's shoes, the hum of the wheels on the floor, the beeping of a machine nearby, and the whimpering sounds of a woman.

He felt the gurney slow and maneuvered into a small waiting area. "Okay, Mr. Stetson. I'm going to go in and get the tech for you. Don't go anywhere," the orderly explained before he disappeared into a doorway nearby.

The whimpering sounds were louder in this space, and recognition set in after a minute or two. "Emily?" he whispered loudly.

"Lee?" the familiar voice replied. "Lee, is that you?" the voice, filled with panic, questioned.

"It's me, Emily. Thank God you're here," Lee exhaled.

"Where's Amanda and William? Are they here… are they..." Emily's voice faded.

"They're here," Lee choked. His emotions began to get the better of him. "NEST is here," he managed after a minute.

"Good, good. How are they?" Emily asked tentatively.

Lee tried to shake his head slightly. "I don't know. I'm not sure. The doctors haven't said much… only that William was unconscious… and Amanda… she… um… she…" Tears filled Lee's eyes as he tried to explain. He coughed to clear the lump in his throat. "How's the leg?" Lee attempted to distract his thoughts.

"They said it's broken in three places. I'm heading up to surgery. But nothing else. The morphine they gave me is working to numb the pain somewhat." Emily paused. "What about you?"

"Me? Don't worry about me, Emily. I'll be fine… as long as Amanda and William are fine, I can survive anything," Lee assured her with as much confidence as he could muster.

"Mrs. Farnsworth, we're going to take you up to surgery now," a female voice announced.

Lee heard several metal clicking sounds before he heard Emily command, "Wait. Lee… I'm sorry… I'm sorry about Barta and Krejci… I didn't know…."

"Hey… it's okay. You didn't know. We'll talk about it later," Lee responded, although even to his own ears, his voice sounded flat and not very reassuring.

"You're up, Mr. Stetson," the male orderly declared. He quickly shifted Lee into the X-ray room and closed the door.

Several hours later, Lee found himself in a recovery room. He was no longer strapped to a backboard and his arm was in a cast up to his bicep. He heard someone cough beside him. Lee turned his head to find Billy sitting there, watching him.

"Well, it's about time you woke up, Scarecrow," Billy joked.

"What time is it?" Lee questioned groggily.

"Don't worry about the time. It doesn't matter." Billy stood and leaned onto the side of the bed.

Lee waited for him to say something, but a full minute passed in silence. "Where's Amanda and William? What's going on with them?" Lee pressured.

Billy stretched his head to the side slightly. "At the moment, nothing. They are both still being evaluated. Tests run, that sort of thing. I haven't heard anything since you got out of the OR."

"OR? What did they do to me?" Lee demanded.

Billy reached out and touched Lee's shoulder. "Don't worry. It wasn't serious. You got a little carried away during your X-rays so the doctors thought it would be best to sedate you to set your arm."

"Carried away? Billy, what are you talking about?" Lee's mouth fell open.

"I guess the pain meds they injected you with didn't quite agree with you. When you threatened to shoot the X-ray tech because she touched you… well… let's just say I'm glad today was your day off and you weren't carrying your gun. That's more paperwork than I ever care to write, nor would I want to try to explain to the President." Billy pressed his lips together and attempted a half-smile.

"No, I guess not," Lee agreed.

"We've been trying to get ahold of Dotty and the boys. So far, no luck. The cruise ship they're on is up in Alaska, somewhere in Glacier Bay National Park, but there's a storm blowing around, knocking out signals. As soon as it's all clear, we're sending a chopper to get them to the nearest airport," Billy explained.

Lee exhaled loudly. He attempted to shift himself when pain wracked his body. Inadvertently, he cried out.

"I'll get the nurse to give you something," Billy stated, and immediately scrambled to his feet, leaving Lee alone once more. He returned a minute later, a stern-looking nurse in tow.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Stetson?" she barked.

Lee glared at her. "How do you think I'm feeling? My damn arm hurts. I have no idea what is happening with my family and I want some answers, dammit."

"Lee, you need to calm down and let the woman do her job!" Billy snapped authoritatively.

"It's okay, sir. I'm used to dealing with big boys like him. Now, I have some pain meds for you. You can cooperate and we can do this the easy way or if you put up a fuss, we can do it the hard way. Your choice," the nurse informed Lee as she raised an eyebrow to challenge him.

"What's the hard way?" Billy furrowed his brow, confused.

The nurse folded her arms and stated, "In my hand, I have two pills but if we want to be difficult, I can return these to the bottle and get a very large needle that will need to be inserted into one specific area, if you follow my drift."

Lee took one sideways glance at Billy before he swallowed hard and said, "I'll behave."

Billy fought hard to hold back his snicker.

The nurse gave him a sarcastic grin as she nodded. "That's what I thought. Take these and I'll let the doctor know you're awake." She shoved the small paper cup into Lee's hand, poured him some water, and walked away.

Billy jerked his thumb in her direction. "We should hire her to replace Mrs. Marston. I like her."

"No," Lee swallowed. "My luck she'd be a better shot and while you're having drinks with the President and crew, I'd be back writing up reports. I tell you, I haven't missed writing those since you got promoted to be Advisor to the President."

"You didn't write them, anyway. Amanda wrote most of them for you." Billy laughed.

"Have you called Francine?" Lee changed the subject abruptly.

Billy nodded. "She's on a flight, as we speak. They just wrapped up the European Council on Terrorism Summit, so she was able to hop on the first plane headed west. She's doing a fine good job as the Head of International Operations and Counter-Terrorism."

"You knew she would," Lee confirmed.

"And you're not doing too bad as Section Chief. You could stand to be a little firmer some days, but overall, you're not doing too bad." Billy glanced up at the clock on the wall. "Emily made it through surgery just fine and she's settled into her room. The nurse checked in with me just before you opened your eyes. She got lucky, like you."

"But not Amanda and William. Billy, I need to know what is going on with them," Lee insisted. "I need answers."

"Hopefully, I can give you a few," an unfamiliar voice interrupted. A tall, grey-haired man wearing a white lab coat appeared around Billy. "I'm Doctor Lore, head of NEST. Good to see you alert, Mr. Stetson."