CURIOSITY PART III

Fredric Storage Warehouse—3.04pm

Detective Kyle James was waiting for Lieutenant Sloan outside the Fredric Storage Warehouse later that evening. It was cold and chilly and even in his thick overcoat, he felt the coldness of the September air breeze through. He sat next to Dr Jesse Travis. The young Doctor was bleeding from head to toe. There didn't seem an area that didn't flinch when he touched him. He was unconscious but shivering almost uncontrollably. Jesse's blonde hair was matted with blood, as was the remains of his white hospital coat and jeans he wore underneath. Several bruises and abrasions covered his face and his shirt was half-undone.

"Where are those paramedics!" he shouted. "And where's Sloan!"

Another office turned from the outside of the alley to look at the two of them. "Sloan is supposed to be on his way, so are the paramedics. They should be here any minute."

Within a few minutes of saying that, a car screeched to a halt outside of the alley and Steve Sloan got out. Barely closing the door, he ran down the alley and came to a stop at his knees beside the unconscious doctor. "Jesse! Jess, can you hear me? Jesse, it's Steve, wake up." He shook Jesse slightly and turned him from his side onto his back. He gasped in disbelief at the mass of cuts and bruises and wondered who would do this to him. His shock was immediately replaced by anger. He would find out who did this.

"He still breathing?" Steve demanded.

"He was the last time I checked." Steve put his fingers to Jesse's neck and found a pulse. It was faint and rapid. He was obviously going into shock. "I don't know how long he's been there, Sloan. We found him fifteen minutes ago and he could have been anywhere." Kyle James looked at detective Sloan carefully propping the shivering and muttering Jesse against the wall almost tenderly. "Do you know him, Steve?"

Steve nodded curtly. "He works in the same hospital as my dad." Kyle James nodded. Suddenly he knew who Steve was referring too. He had heard of the many tales of the Sloans with Amanda Bentley and Jesse Travis.

Jesse stared to stir. Slowly at first, moving his head from side to side and wincing as he did so. Steve, having learnt a lot form his father as a doctor, knew it would be best if Jesse was awake. He lifted his head up. "Jesse, wake up, come on." Jesse slowly started to open his eyes. He couldn't see very much at first apart from the blurred figures in front of him. Pain followed immediately afterwards and he was too weak to do anything but groan from the pain. He closed his eyes again and someone said to him, "No, Jesse, stay awake, you can't go back to sleep."

"Steve?" he moaned, recognizing the voice of his friend. "That you?"

"Yeah, it is. What happened to you, buddy?"

Jesse frowned, unable to hear what was going on. He was in a world of his own. "I'm sorry, Steve…didn't mean to do anything wrong…knew—knew I should have told you…they got me first."

Steve took Jesse's shoulders. "Who got to you first?"

Jesse didn't appear. He seemed really distressed. "I was going to tell you…I was…just didn't get the time." His eyes started to close and he didn't hear both Steve and Kyle James calling out his name, attempting to wake him up again. But Jesse had slipped back into unconsciousness again. Steve mentally kicked himself for not keeping Jesse awake. There was every chance he could fall into a coma and if that happened, he may never wake up. From the state of his injuries, Steve would not be surprised. Jesse looked as though he had been through hell and back again.

Only time could tell. Steve was relieved when the ambulance finally arrived. He insisted he rode in the ambulance with Jesse and called a distressed Mark and Amanda to warn them they were coming in. To Steve, the ride seemed slow. The ambulance was going as fast as it could but to Steve, it wasn't fast enough. He remembered his captain always telling him it was never a good idea to get involved with personal cases but in this case it was different. If it were his father or Amanda, it would have been the same as well. He wanted to take part in this and wanted to catch them. This was more than just a cop instinct.

They arrived outside the Community General Hospital within a few minutes. Mark and Amanda were waiting for them. Several paramedics helped Jesse into the hospital. Amanda's field was not doctoring. She held back Steve so he would not run with his father. "What happened to him?" she asked, one arm holding onto Steve and the other up to her mouth. She had got a brief glimpse of Jesse before he was quickly whisked away but what she did see shocked her. "Steve?"

Steve simply shrugged but looked ahead at the doors. "I don't know," he finally said. "He woke up for a few minutes but then he went again." He kicked the wall in anger. "Who the hell would want to do this…to Jesse of all people."

Amanda put a hand on Steve's shoulder to calm him down. "It may not be that bad. You'd just have to wait and see what your father comes up with." But even with her expertise in an autopsy, she knew that the injuries were hardly anything to take lightly.

Inside the hospital, Mark was having problems of his own.

"Dr Sloan, I don't think you should be doing this one," Dr Pete Taylor said. Mark looked outraged at this. As much as Pete respected the Doctor for his brilliance in helping people, he always remembered that even in a hospital routine that it's not good if someone you knew was being treated by yourself. It brought on too many emotional problems which could easily result with problems both for the patient and the doctor.

"What do you mean, you don't think I should be doing it. He's my friend any more than yours. There should be no reason that you shouldn't be doing it either." Mark Sloan's face was set in determination.

"With all due respect, Dr Sloan, I just think it's for the best, you being more friends with Jesse Travis than I am. Just wait, Dr Sloan, I'll come out as soon as I have finished and tell you first exactly what is going on." Pete Taylor had always been a firm man and good at his work. Mark knew that. Reluctantly, he agreed to let Pete doctor Jesse Travis, provided he could be in the same room.

"Okay," Pete said when he entered the room with Mark. "What is there?"

Jeanie Porter, a new doctor looked over at Jesse's still form. "Head injuries, possibly a severe concussion. Quite a few broken ribs and internal injuries. We have internal bleeding near the appendix area—possibility of broken bones in the leg area. Second degree burns and the spine seems to have suffered damage due to the bruising behind…" The list went on and on and Mark wished that Jeanie wasn't so accurate in her accounts this time. The injuries now coming to life about Jesse were all becoming apparent. He wished it was anyone but Jesse and that he was treating him. He put his head in his hands and shook his head at the same time. Pete briefly noticed but had to get on with his job.

"All right, I want him in surgery as soon as possible. He's lost a lot of blood." The doctors got Jesse prepared. Mark Sloan looked at his friend and prayed.

Community General Hospital—7.28pm

Jesse shook his head. He didn't know what was going on. There were voices around him everywhere and he couldn't understand a word they were saying. He couldn't recognize any of the voices. His legs and arms and eyes felt heavy. He couldn't move them to walk or open them up to look around. He felt really bad and wondered what was going on.

"…Stopped internal bleeding now so…"

"Yes Doctor Taylor…should I get Dr Sloan…"

"Will…a good idea…down immediately with Steve and Amanda..."

Through the misted world within Jesse's mind, he remembered the names. He started to remember what happened. He knew he had been in his apartment, he had been kidnapped. He remembered the struggle and that he had been knocked unconscious. When he woke up, he was strapped in a chair, arms and legs bound with a blindfold over his eyes. His head felt as though it was stuffed with cotton wool and the horrible smell of chloroform still lingered.

"Hello!" he shouted and his voice echoed around. Jesse shook his head and scraped it against his shoulder to try and get the blindfold off.

"That won't be necessary," someone else said. His voice seemed to come from everywhere. "I think at the moment, it is necessary that identities remain secret for the moment, don't you agree? I know exactly who you are, Doctor Travis but I think it is wise you do not know me or anyone else in this room."

Jesse gritted his teeth. "Marcus! I know it's you! There's no point in denying it. I know all about you, I've been told about your schemes."

A laugh vibrated through the large room. Jesse looked around to see where it could have come from through the blindfold. But he could not pinpoint where the sound was coming from. "It seems that for someone who was just meant to 'look after' Day Passer, you know an incredible amount. I didn't think they'd tell you my name. Come on, Dr Travis, who told you? Passer? Anders? Or maybe Holmes himself." The laugh sounded again but Jesse remained silent. "It's a shame that you do not share the same humor that I do, Dr Travis."

Jesse laughed bitterly. "I don't see the reason to be humored by a kingpin who laughs at his own sad jokes."

He heard footsteps approach him and he let out a sharp cry as someone slapped him hard across the face. He felt hot breath against his neck. "I advise you not to anger Mr. Marcus. It could be sufficiently bad for your health, and even you, as a doctor should know that." A small evil laugh filled his ears and Jesse shivered involuntarily at the comment. He didn't realize how much trouble he was in until now. These guys really meant business and they wanted to have fun.

"I'm fed up with games! What do you want!" Jesse tried to sound as tough as he wanted to be but in reality, his voice came out small and didn't half vibrate through the room.

"You know exactly what I want Dr Travis. You're a bright young man, it shouldn't be too hard for you since you have been told about this." More footsteps came towards him and the blindfold was ripped from his eyes. He stared to face with a man who must have been in his late forties with jet black gelled hair and small dark eyes. He forced himself to stay calm even though that was very hard.

Jesse gritted his teeth and stared into his eyes. "Go on, tell me, your boys must have knocked me out too hard. I can't remember."

Marcus looked back at the reluctant young doctor. He brought out a hand from his expensive trousers pocket and placed it around Jesse's throat. Panic gripped the younger man's body. He could feel the hand tighten around his throat. "Believe me, Dr Travis, the last thing you want to see is someone like me getting annoyed. If you cannot remember I shall have to say it out to you clearly. I want to know where Day Passer is." He gripped Jesse's throat even more to enforce what he was saying. Jesse almost gagged and gripped the sides of the chair he was strapped to even tighter. Closing his eyes, Jesse wondered whether he was going to black out.

He thought about Day, probably drinking at the bar as he usually did every night to relieve himself from stress. He already knew that Marcus wanted Day and he would do anything he could to not give him away to Marcus. He then looked up at Marcus. "Over my dead body," he managed to say despite the hand around his throat.

Marcus let out an enraged cry and cuffed Jesse across the face. He let out a cry and couldn't keep his balance, especially with the blindfold on. He could feel himself falling over. Jesse landed hard on one of his tied arms and it took a lot for him to just wince in pain. He wriggled to see if he could do anything to get out. Suddenly, the chair was straightened up for him and he shook his head to clear it. "I must apologize for the cruelty of some of my friends. I see they have not made you feel that welcome. Rogers! Please untie Dr Travis from his chair. I am sure he would like to walk around before we decide to do the next things on our agenda. They, of course, will not allow him to stand up easily."

Jesse shivered again as he felt a knife cut through the ropes that bound him to the chair. His hands fell free and he looked around his surroundings again. He was in a large building—like a warehouse. It was totally empty and must have been used a long time ago. The only things that remained were a few boxes the dust. The lights were switched on and Marcus' guards were everywhere.

"Well, what are you waiting for you? Get up." Jesse looked round again slowly and shakily got to his feet, pressing down against the arms of the chair. He wasn't too confident around being around here. With all the guards armed with their own rifle or shotgun, he was aware that his position was not good. He ran a hand through his dark blond hair and let out a shaky breath. "There should be nothing for you to worry about Dr Travis. Provided that you do the things we ask you, you shall be all right."

Jesse shook his head. "If you think I'm going to give up Day that easily you got another thing coming." Jesse didn't know how the words were coming out of his mouth. He didn't feel brave at all but there was something inside him that didn't want him to give up Day that easily. He didn't want to die but he wanted to give Marcus a little bit of difficulty. Jesse didn't want to show them that he was easy.

Marcus did look slightly amused. "Is that so, Dr Travis. Well, as they say in those good old movies, 'we have ways of making you talk.' I hate that line, don't you? It's so cliched, but I can see why people use them now. I do have ways, which I could make you give up Day's whereabouts."

"Oh really? I'd like to see how."

Marcus laughed and everybody joined in. "This is going to be a long night, fellas, don't 'cha think?" They all nodded. Marcus walked over to Jesse and lifted his chin up. "You are still young Dr Travis. You could have a good career ahead of you and I would hate to see for someone like you, to have a good medical education disappear because of a bullet through the brain." Jesse's eyes widened in fear but he didn't answer. If he could help it, he was going to say as little as possible. He didn't want to give any hints as to where Day could be.

"So, you are someone with a lot of courage," Marcus said. "Or at least you are trying to have some."

"I'm not hiding anything or pretending anything either," Jesse stated as persuasively as he could. He didn't think he was convincing anyone though. "Listen I'm fed up with playing games. You can do what you want to do but I'm sure as hell not going to give away Day that easily…" Jesse stopped for a moment in thought. "But before you do, tell me one thing, how did you know that I was connected to Day anyway?"

Marcus spread his hands wide. "Let's say I have some sources. I must say, one of those sources you got hooked onto pretty well."

Jesse frowned in confusion. He frowned at Marcus wondering what he was getting at but realized that with his winning smile, he was not going to move him at all. Jesse waited for something to happen—a shot? A kick? A sudden knife stab in the back from one of the 'henchmen' standing behind him? But Jesse realized they couldn't kill him. After all, they needed him. Without him, they were pretty much stuck. That comforted Jesse a little but he was pretty certain that pain was to follow. A cold draught flowed through the old warehouse making him shiver as he was still in just his light shirt and white hospital jacket. Jesse thought he must look pretty stupid but suddenly, that didn't see important any more. His own safety was more important now.

A door opened and suddenly Jesse knew where the draft was coming from.

There was the sound of footsteps and from behind someone appeared. A slender figure appeared through the doors, wearing a black dress and her heels clicked against the concrete floor of the warehouse. Her long blonde hair was tied back neatly and it looked as though was ready to go out somewhere fancy. Jesse's mouth dropped open in surprise and for a few moments, he said nothing. "Ah, here she is," Marcus said as he put his arms around the waist of the woman. "That's my girl. Ready to go out?"

Jesse started to take a step forward to two people prevented him from getting there. He was held back by both his arms. "Haley! Haley, you were in this as well? How could you do that?"

Haley, the blonde woman smiled and put her arm around Marcus' shoulders. "I wish I could say I'm sorry, Jesse. But you wouldn't be the first. It's all part of the plan, Jess, and you fell right into it. You told me all about Day…"

"I can't believe this!" Jesse shouted, interrupted her. He was angry beyond thought. He struggled against the people holding him. He would do anything to reach out and hurt Marcus or Haley herself. Jesse couldn't believe the woman who he trusted and had been going out for two months with could do something like that to her. Jesse didn't know whether to be angry and carry on showing it or break down in tears. His situation seemed hopeless now.

"I'm sorry, Dr Travis. Maybe you could reconsider your holding back of Day Passer's whereabouts?" Jesse lowered his head and shook his head, his arms still being held onto. He had stopped struggling by now. Suddenly, he saw a movement. As he looked up, he saw someone's fist flying toward him. It caught him full force into his stomach. Instinctually, Jesse collapsed to his knees, pain forcing its way through his stomach. Unable to help it, he started to cough up…

Community General Hospital—7.43pm

"…Blood. Doctor Taylor, Jesse is beginning to cough up blood," Jeanie informed. Pete Taylor got up from his chair quickly, where he had been having a coffee. He ran towards Jesse's ICU room. Jesse had come out of surgery over an hour and a half ago. Since then, things had been pretty quiet. He had informed Mark, Steve and Amanda of the current situation of their friend and promised to do everything he could. He had been relaxing and having a much-needed coffee. Jesse seemed to be all right and had just been brought to a stable condition. He was still critical though and wondered whether Jesse would actually make. So he had been half way through his coffee when Jeanie suddenly came in and announced the news.

In the process, she woke up Mark and Amanda from their sleep. Steve remained totally undisturbed and continued in his slumber curled over three of the doctors lounge chairs. The second Mark and Amanda heard that, they forgot about their tiredness and followed Pete into the ICU room. "Mark, maybe you shouldn't come in. Or you Amanda."

Mark shook his head. "Nothing is going to make me stand outside this time, Pete. Our friend could be dying in there, I'm a doctor and I have every right to help him as you do."

Pete gave up. "You're a tough one, Dr Sloan."

Pete, Mark and Amanda entered the room. Pete ran over to Jeanie who was standing beside Jesse. He was jerking awkwardly, his breath coming up raspy in between the amounts of blood he was coughing up. His body would tense up harshly every now and again and then relaxing. "All right, he's convulsing. I was someone to stand by. He's having trouble breathing so I want some oxygen in here right away." Nurses started to move around and Mark found he couldn't move. Amanda also found that out. The sight of one of their best friends in some of the worst conditions they had dealt with frightened them both. These things they expected to see from other patients who had been beaten up in alleys or rough pubs—not from Jesse.

"Pulse stat!" someone shouted loudly. Mark knew he could go in and help but he suddenly realized the sense in Pete's words. It wasn't good for him to get involved and the shock of his friend's appearance had prevented him from doing anything anyway. Amanda had seen Jesse fir the first time since he had been brought in and she was just paralyzed with shock. Eventually, unable to stand by and watch her friend suffering, she turned round and walked out of the room into the corridor.

Mark noticing this followed her out. She was pacing outside the reception area, her hand to her mouth again and closing her eyes every now and again to prevent the tears from coming out. Mark came up to her and hugged her closely. Amanda broke down in tears. "Come on, Amanda," Mark said, "it's all going to be all right, you'll see."

Amanda shook her head. "I would always be so sure that it would never happen to any of us and because we were doctors, we'd pull through. Now I'm not so sure, Mark. Looking at Jesse like that scares me. I don't know within myself that he's actually going to make it."

Mark shook his head this time. "Jesse's going to make it. You'll see about that. He's got Pete working for him and Jesse will pull through this fine, just like he's pulled through everything else."

Amanda nodded and Mark let go. Amanda sat down in one of the waiting room chairs beside reception and took a deep breath, running her hands through her long dark hair. "He's just…so young. You don't expect anything like that to happen to him. I mean…we always think of Jesse as the one to get into trouble 'cause he's younger and more vulnerable. I suppose that's what…

"Don't worry," someone said coming beside her. "I'm going to find out who did this." Amanda and Mark turned to see a tired but determined Steve walking up to them. He put his hand on Amanda's shoulder. "I'll make sure of that." Amanda nodded and lowered her head again.

That's when all the nurses came out of the ICU room. Amanda jumped up and walked over to them. "How is he?" she demanded.

Pete ran a hand over his eyes. "Well, he's still critical but we stabilized him. He's not convulsing or coughing up blood anymore." He looked away from his friends. "Truth is, I don't know how to tell you guys, but Jesse could easily slip into a coma. He sighed remorsefully. "And I'm not sure, with all his injuries, that he'd ever wake up from it again if that did happen."