Chapter 32: Awakening (Part 1)

Lake Vinewood Health and Rehabilitation Center
Vinewood Estates
Vinewood Hills
1:30 PM

Sergeant Troy Harrison and Officer Declan Fostenberg exited their Chevrolet Impala police cruiser in front of the Lake Vinewood Health and Rehabilitation Center. Meanwhile, Sergeant Adam Xander exited his own identical-looking police car just behind them. All three of them dressed in their LSPD uniforms, Harrison and Fostenberg met Xander halfway between the two cars.

"Adam", Harrison said, "Thanks for coming out, bud. Sorry for the short notice."

"No worries, guys" Xander replied, "If Ahron Ward's awake, he must have something to say, right?"

"Let's hope so", Fostenberg said as all three of them turned and started heading toward the center's entrance.

The Lake Vinewood Health and Rehabilitation Center was actually nothing more than a converted and well-renovated modern style mansion in the small but very exclusively expensive neighborhood of Vinewood Estates, an offshoot enclave of sorts tucked away in Vinewood Hills. The frontal exterior was accented in what appeared to be repurposed steel with large pillars holding up a balcony that seemed to house an outdoor activity area.

The three officers entered the center's main lobby through frosted glass double doors and made their way toward an ivory-colored desk in the middle of the room, behind which a dark-haired African-American woman in a bright blue scrub outfit sat. Her ID badge identified her as Gloria Watkins and indicated that she was a Licensed Nursing Assistant for the center.

"Can I help you, Officers?" Gloria inquired with a very hospitable tone.

"Yes ma'am", Harrison said, "I'm Sergeant Troy Harrison with the Los Santos Police Department. This is Sergeant Adam Xander and Officer Declan Fostenberg." He gestured to each of his colleagues respectively as he introduced them.

"Oh my", Gloria said, some slight anxiety now apparent in her voice. "Is something the matter?" she asked.

"Oh no, ma'am" Xander replied, "Nothing like that at all. Sergeant Harrison here received a call that one of your patients seems to have had a very drastic change in their condition and we're just here to follow up. Who was it who called you again, Troy?" He momentarily glanced back at Harrison as he asked.

"Doctor Prisha Karanevaala", Harrison said.

"Ah", Gloria replied, "Yes. She's our Medical Director. Just a moment, please, and I'll tell her that you're here."

Gloria then did as she said, picking up the receiver of her desk phone, quickly dialing a three-digit extension, and softly speaking to someone who apparently answered. After less than a minute, the helpful LNA set the receiver back down and looked again to the three officers. "The doctor will be right out to see you gentlemen", she said before giving them a kind smile.

Harrison nodded. "Very good", he said, "Thank you for your help."

The trio of uniformed officers stood off to the side and silently took in the scene as several patients using wheelchairs, walkers, and motorized scooters made their way past them over the course of the following few minutes. Five minutes or so later, a short tan-skinned, dark-haired woman in a white lab coat approached them. "Which one of you gentlemen is Sergeant Harrison?" she inquired. Her accent truly was a uniquely fascinating fusion of Indian and British.

As such, Harrison extended a hand to the woman. "That would be me", he replied, "Troy Harrison, ma'am. These are my colleagues, Sergeant Adam Xander and Officer Declan Fostenberg. I take it you're Doctor Karanevaala."

The woman reciprocated the gesture with a firm handshake of her own. "I am", she replied, "It's nice to meet you in person, Sergeant."

"It's nice to meet you as well", Harrison said as they broke the handshake.

The four people began walking down a hallway as the conversation continued, with Dr. Karanevaala pleasantly ushering the officers toward the center's Coma Care Wing. "So", Dr. Karanevaala said, "I understand that two of you discovered Mister Ward out in Blaine County, yes?"

"Well," Xander spoke up, "To clarify, it was one of our fellow officers who discovered him out there that night. She called Sergeant Harrison and I in to help investigate once his identity was ascertained."

"I see", Dr. Karanevaala said, "And if I may ask, what is your history with Mister Ward?"

"Sergeant Xander and I had some brief contact with him as part of a police investigation that's technically still ongoing", Harrison explained, "The detective who would later find him out in the desert was also present then."

"My goodness", Dr. Karanevaala said, "That's certainly a very odd coincidence." She then eyed Officer Fostenberg curiously. "And what is your connection to Mister Ward, Officer?" she asked.

In response to this, Fostenberg chuckled nervously. "Sergeant Harrison is my field training officer, ma'am" he replied, "I guess I'm just along for the ride on this." He then caught a look from Harrison, at which point he cleared his throat. "When…uhhhh…when did Mister Ward come out of his coma?" Fostenberg finally asked, trying to distract the others from his very obvious uneasiness.

"He first regained consciousness eight days ago", Dr. Karanevaala said, "The head neurologist at Pillbox Hill Medical Center thought that referring him here to us would be the best plan for his recovery."

"I understand that most medical establishments usually can't or won't divulge this kind of information without first receiving a court order", Harrison said, "But if I may ask, Doctor, what is Ahron Ward's neurological state as of late?"

"Well according to the CAT scan images that Pillbox Hill provided", Dr. Karanevaala began explaining, "The first bullet penetrated the posterior portion of his skull and the proceeding path made its way through the brain before lodging right beside his hippocampus. The bullet just missed it, essentially."

"And the hippocampus helps maintain a properly functioning memory", Harrison interjected.

Dr. Karanevaala nodded. "That's right", she replied, "Which basically means that portions of his memory have been coming and going since he woke up."

"What about the second bullet?" Fostenberg asked.

"It entered approximately four inches below the first in the posterior of the skull", Dr. Karanevaala continued, "The proceeding path, this time, made its way at a somewhat more upward angle and came to rest right near his prefrontal cortex."

"He could have some more deficits as a result of that second bullet", Harrison said, "The prefrontal cortex maintains procedural memory and motor learning."

A now impressed Dr. Karanevaala grinned. "Your knowledge of the brain is very appealing, Sergeant" she said, "Do you have a medical or psychology background?"

"Thank you", Harrison replied, "I minored in Psychology in college."

"Were either of the bullets able to be removed?" Xander asked.

Dr. Karanevaala, unfortunately, shook her head. "The neurosurgeon decided against taking them out", she explained, "He figured that, what with how the bullet paths damaged the brain, he didn't want to take the chance that any further trauma from brain surgery would cause a stroke."

By now, the doctor and the three officers had reached Ahron Ward's room. They looked through a glass window and observed the 21-year-old Ahron, now clad in a pale green hospital gown and specialized gray non-slip socks with his head carefully bandaged, sitting up in a brown leather chair beside a window and sleeping peacefully with his head against a mounted brown cushion.

Xander then turned to Dr. Karanevaala. "Is he able to speak at all?" he asked.

"Unfortunately," Dr. Karanevaala said, "Not in full sentences just yet, but our occupational and speech therapists have been working very diligently with him. He has been able to write a little. This morning, he wrote what looks like someone's name."

With that, Harrison raised an eyebrow with considerable interest. "Really?" he inquired, "What name was that?"

"'Vlado Marks'", Dr. Karanevaala replied, "Does that name mean anything to you gentlemen?"

Harrison and Xander traded looks before the former's face ran completely pale with bitter realization, all the while with Fostenberg shrugging his shoulders in confusion. "It does", Harrison said, "Could you excuse us for a moment, Doctor?"

"Of course," Dr. Karanevaala replied, "Take your time."

The three officers then went off to a corner to talk amongst themselves. "Who's Vlado Marks, Sarge?" Fostenberg asked Harrison.

"Back when Adam and I were partners in Homicide", Harrison began explaining, "I got involved in a vehicle pursuit where I attempted to retrieve a stolen yacht being towed on a big rig truck with a kidnapped kid on board. I ended up getting into a car accident on the Elysian Fields Freeway."

"The team from NCIS Los Santos found the stolen big rig and what remained of the yacht in Elysian Island later that day", Xander added, "The yacht had been stripped to bits, but fingerprints found inside the truck's cab identified Vlado Marks as the driver."

"He's apparently a gun and driver for hire from Serbia", Harrison continued, "He's wanted on a ton of charges not only here in the States, but also in about a half-dozen countries in Europe. LSPD's been trying to nab him for causing my accident that day."

"And it looks like he's on Martin Madrazo's payroll now also", Fostenberg said as he put the pieces together in his head, "You gotta hand it to this Ahron guy. He receives two bullets to the head and still fingers his own would-be assassin."

Office of Detective Sergeant Adam Xander
LSPD South-Central Station
Mission Row
2 Weeks Later
9:30 AM

Things had again changed drastically for Adam Xander and Troy Harrison. With Lieutenant Brian Wong having departed Los Santos for his new Deputy Commissioner job in Liberty City, Xander had elected to take him up on his offer and was now the new commanding officer of LSPD Homicide. Harrison, meanwhile, had transferred back to the South-Central Station and taken up an office just down the hall from Homicide in his new function as Chief Detective.

Detective Sergeant Xander, now dressed in a charcoal business suit with his LSPD Sergeant's badge on a chain around his neck, was busy putting his new office together when a knock came at his door. "Come in", he said.

The door opened, at which point Chief Detective Harrison stepped inside the office. Harrison, clad in a blue suit jacket a blue and white plaid button-down shirt underneath, blue jeans, and white slip-on shoes, closed the door behind him before crossing to Xander's desk and extending a hand to him. "Detective Sergeant Xander", he said, "Good morning."

Xander chuckled before reciprocating his friend's handshake. "Good morning to you, too, Chief Detective Harrison" he said as he mimicked Harrison's cordial tone.

Harrison sat down in the small chair in front of the desk. "How are you settling in, man?" he asked.

Xander sighed as he sat down in his own leather office chair behind his desk. "Okay, I guess", "We're getting about twelve suspicious death calls per shift, Wong left me with a shit-ton of backdated paperwork, and we're one person short on our squad, so…"

"Paradise", Harrison said.

Xander chuckled once again before nodding. "Pretty much", he said.

"I think I can help you with that staff shortage issue", Harrison said, "Did you get your copy of that e-mail Raven Wolf Claw sent us yesterday?"

"Yeah", Xander said, "Looks like she wants out of Narcotics and is looking to come over to Homicide."

"Has she talked to you about why exactly she wants to switch squads?" Harrison asked.

"I talked to her on the phone last night", Xander explained, "She's just tired of Blaine County, tired of undercover detail, and wants to move back here to the city to be closer to her mom."

"I just got a text from her half an hour ago", Harrison said, "She wants to meet us in Paleto Bay and discuss things."

Just then, Harrison's desk phone rang, at which point Xander gave Harrison an upraised forefinger and answered. "Detective Sergeant Xander", he said into the phone, "Yeah. Where? Okay. Hold down the scene as best you can and call the coroner. We're on the way." He then put down the phone and scrambled up from his desk.

"Homicide?" Harrison asked as he got up from the chair and headed toward the door.

"Yep", Xander said, "A double homicide at an apartment in Vespucci Beach. Patrol says it's pretty bad."

"You guys go handle that, then" Harrison instructed, "I'll go see Raven personally. Hey, where's the Dream View Motel?"

"It's on Pyrite Avenue in Paleto Bay", Xander said, "Just off the Great Ocean Highway."

"Got it", Harrison replied, "I'll catch up with you later."

With that, Harrison and Xander both left the office and split off to carry out their respective tasks.