CURIOSITY PART XIII

Haley Johnson's House—5.40pm

Steve stopped dead as the scream shot through the night. But being a cop, he was used to this kind of thing. He sprang into action before the others did, running up the driveway to go and find Haley Johnson. They had left the door open. Kyle came up to him, his own gun drawn as well. Steve turned to Anders and said, "you wait out here. You're a civilian and I don't want you getting hurt. You got that?"

Anders nodded. "Can I deck him when you catch him though." Without much of an appreciated glance, he opened the door slightly and Kyle followed him. They hoped to creep up quietly and catch them unsuspected. How Steve planned to do this with just two of them, he didn't know. He knew he should have called for back up but by the time he did, Haley Johnson could be dead. There came the sound of crying from another room and someone was talking. Steve crept up slowly and saw the scene. Kyle went to the other side of the door. Both had the machine guns that were being stored in the back of Steve's car. They were not totally outnumbered.

There were around five men in the room, not counting Marcus Lavoy. No one seemed to be watching out for anyone. Haley Johnson was on her knees, crying. All of the men had guns, apart from Lavoy and some of them were pointed at Haley. Steve shared a glance with Kyle and at his nod, they eased their guns inside.

Marcus was shaking his head. "I am so disappointed in you, Haley. It is so hard for me to find someone I can trust these days. You have truly disappointed me by telling everything to the police all for that Doctor. Tell me, what did you really do all those times when I wasn't looking with him?" If Haley hadn't been so scared, she would have stood up and slapped Marcus, just like she did with Carlos. But she was too scared to do that now. Marcus looked almost disappointed to not get a reaction from her apart from a few sobs. "Oh, I am getting tired of this Haley. We may as well get it over with now."

One of the men grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back as she cried out again. A gun was aimed at her but before it could be fired, two other shots rang out The men either side of Haley fell to the floor wordlessly, the blood pouring from the back where the bullets entered. The other two men immediately spun round and started shooting, not aiming at all. Kyle and Steve pressed themselves up against the wall. Kyle raised his eyebrows towards Steve and said, "we really need back-up." Steve nodded as Kyle raised a finger and ran out of the house. Steve looked at him id disbelief but took his mind of it when he felt the other two men come towards him. He also started shooting blindly, hoping that one of them fell. It wasn't long before Haley's living room was a mass of bullet holes.

Steve knew he had hit someone when he heard a cry of pain. There didn't seem to be a single sound from Haley or Marcus. But looking down the corridor, he could see Haley running away quickly in fright, towards the back door to escape. He started to move that way to prevent anyone from following her.

As he shot, he saw it hit one of the other men's arms. Just as he was about to do it again, someone tapped him on the shoulder and put a gun towards him. Steve immediately stopped and watched as the metallic weapon made its way towards his forehead. "Now, I suggest you drop that gun on the ground." Steve did so, throwing it out of reach of anyone as he was pushed forward into the living room. Three bodies were spread out on the floor. One man was kneeling, clutching his arm; his face contorted with pain and Marcus Lavoy had calmly stood, watching the proceedings. Looking behind him briefly, Steve saw it was Carlos who had apprehended him.

He was forced into the living room. Marcus looked at him and shook his head. "It's a shame that it had to come to this. Very foolish thing to do, don't you think? Come in by yourself and attempt to do it alone?" Steve didn't say anything. "Well, unfortunately for you, the mission failed and you luck as run out. I have places to go and business to see to so I hope we will not meet again too soon." He nodded at his friend. "Carlos." Marcus walked past them and headed out of the back door where Haley had done.

Next to him, Carlos whispered, "it's a shame we don't have enough time to do what I did to Doctor Travis. At least Marcus Lavoy has given me the privilege of killing you and watching you die." Steve felt the gun barrel press against his head and waited for the inevitable to happen. He closed his eyes. But when the shot did ring out, it wasn't from his gun. He flinched as he felt the bullet whiz past him and not far away, Carlos silently fell to the ground. Steve spun round and saw a very stunned but relieved Kyle James standing in the doorway, still poised as if he was to shoot.

Steve turned back to look at Carlos. He was definitely dead; there was no question about it. He looked appreciatingly at Kyle. "Thanks. Nice shot."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Steve walked over to the other man who was still withering on the ground. His blood was seeping out onto the carpet and even though it was only an arm wounded and he was in a lot of pain, he would live unlike the rest of his friends. Steve grabbed him by his collar and forced him up. "Where has Marcus Lavoy gone? Come on, you must know." When he didn't answer the first time, Steve shook him. "Tell me."

"After Haley!" he stammered.

"Where did Haley go?"

The man shrugged." I d-d-don't know. Marcus wanted t-to kill her. She was getting in the w-way. Maybe she went to the hos-hospital." Steve thought about this for a second. Then, dropping the man, he took Kyle James's arm and dragged him outside.

"The hospital! Of course. She goes there to see Jesse and she's leading everyone into danger." He ran outside where a very impatient Miles Anders was standing. He demanded to know what had happened and Kyle told him the short story whilst Steve started up the car and grabbed his phone at the same time. He tried to ring his father so that he could warn him. He hoped he had his phone with him and that it was switched on. After a few rings, Steve was tempted to ring off when he heard the familiar voice saying: "Mark Sloan."

"Dad! It's Steve. Listen, there's no time for talking. Lavoy came to Haley's house. There was a little battle and Haley managed to get away. So did Lavoy. We think that she's coming to the hospital and that Lavoy is following her. You have to get Jesse out of the room he's in and get him somewhere safe."

"I'm onto it, Steve. No one was hurt, were they?"

"Only the bad guys." After putting down the phone, Steve floored the pedal of the car and it roared off. Beside him, Anders held on for dear life. Even strapped in a safety belt he didn't feel safe. The always cautious Anders was now worried whether he would make it to the hospital only to become a patient himself. He held onto the side of the door and locked it to make sure he didn't fall out. In the back seat, Kyle was grinning with enthusiasm. He liked the speed they were going at and the authority of charging past traffic lights over the speed limit. He only wished he were driving.

They reached Community General Hospital in less than five minutes. Steve parked the car awkwardly and then jumped out with Anders and Kyle following. Mark was already waiting for them in the hospital. "We saw Haley Johnson run in here," he said, "but we couldn't catch her. So far, there's been no sign of Lavoy."

"Good, maybe we got here before them."

"We got Jesse moved. He should be safe."

Norman came up to them in a fit of worries. "It is coming true isn't it. It is exactly like the nightmare. Some powerful crime lord is running round the hospital terrorizing it and this will get a bad name. The hospital will have to close and we'll all be out of business."

Steve simply glared at him. "What have you done about all this."

Norman tried to get himself settled. "Well, there are security guards all the way around the perimeter of the hospital making sure no one comes in. There are some inside as well. We can't do much until the police get here."

Steve nodded. He got Kyle and told everyone else to stay where they were, against his father's protests. Then he went with Kyle James inside the main part of the hospital so they could start looking. He wanted to find Haley Johnson first and get her into safety so they could concentrate more on Marcus Lavoy. He still clung to the hope that maybe Marcus was not here. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? Maybe if he was inside then they could catch him more easily.

"This is a massive hospital," Kyle said. "It would take ages to search."

"Well. How about we try the ICU room Jesse was in. That was where Haley last saw Jesse." Together the two of them went up to the ICU room. Steve wasn't sure whether anyone was going to be there or not. Once again he had mixed feelings as he made his way to the fourth floor. As they rounded the corner of the floor, Steve could swear he heard something. Quietly, he and Kyle looked around and saw a familiar figure walking down away from them. Steve held Kyle back as they watched Marcus Lavoy come out of one of the rooms and then turned round the next corridor. Then he motioned Kyle to follow him. Steve knew from experience that the next corridor was long and practically room-less. But to their surprise, when they got round the corner, there was no one in sight.

Steve sighed in frustration. "Great," he muttered as he turned back to go downstairs again.

On the other side of the hospital, Jesse was in his new room. He had no idea why he had been changed. Neither Mark nor Pete had told him. He had just been told he had to move up a few floors to somewhere different and so he did that. When Pete left, he had been warned not to get up and not to do anything. Not even summon for help unless very necessary. He told Jesse to lock the door and not come back out. That gave Jesse the biggest hint that it had something to do with Marcus Lavoy but before he could find out, he was trapped inside the little brightly-lit room to wait. Sighing in frustration, he lay back on the bed with his arms crossed. He knew he was being stubborn about this. He wanted to do something. He was fed up of being told what do, when to do it or having things done to him.

Knowing he was going against Pete's orders, Jesse braved himself for the worst. He was going to get out of bed and find out what was going on. He swung his legs round and got himself out of the bed. Jesse then counted to ten to make sure he had his balance before taking a few steps. The blood rushed from his head as he did so and for a moment, he thought he was going to topple over. Then, regaining it again, he took another few steps forward towards the door. When he touched the round brass handle, he stopped to catch his breath and make sure his legs weren't going to give out. He opened the door and looked out. It was empty—no nurses, not staff, not even patients wandering aimlessly like lost lambs. Finding this strange, Jesse stepped out and closed the door behind him in pursuit to find out what was going on.

Community General Hospital—6.13pm

Steve studied a map of Community General and looked down on it. "I don't see how he got away," he said to himself for the hundredth time. No one else had an answer for it either but he wasn't going to go on and on about it. By now, the police had arrived. Plans were being taken into action. His captain, thinking he was being too generous, allowed Steve to command this operation. One sign of problems and he was out. Steve tapped a pencil on the map layout and then looked at Norman. "No way at all?"

Norman shook his head. "I don't see how. All the rooms that could be looked, have—either electronically or by key. All the lifts had been sealed off."

Amanda nodded. "The only way would by via the stairs." She had come back after closing off all the pathology labs under Norman's orders.

"Or the laundry chute," Norman said. Looking at everyone's disapproving glances he said, "there is a laundry chute right by the storage cupboard. He could have gone in there to hide."

Kyle shook his head. "He had no idea we were following him."

Norman wiped his brow with a handkerchief. Things were getting too stressful. "I have the security guards watching around the hospital. No one's going either in or out of this place without them knowing. I wish this person would actually come out. All rooms have been sealed off for the patients safety—or as much as we can and there are cameras all around the hospital which are being monitored."

"Good, maybe they'll find something."

Mark sighed and looked down at the map. Things were getting hectic now, he knew. This time he had no power over it. They knew who the suspect was and it was up to son to make the right moves. He put his hands into the pockets of his white jacket and looked at his son. They shared a glance, which meant they could only hope for the best. At the moment, their cameras were the only way they could find something properly and quickly. It was the most reliable thing they had. A few minutes later, Pete came rushing in. He looked very much out of breath and they waited for him as he ran up to them and stopped to catch it. When he had finally finished, he said, "I just went upstairs. Jesse's not in his bedroom. I have no idea where he is."

Amanda looked round. "Do you think Marcus found him?"

Pete shrugged. "Either that or he walked off, which I told him not to do."

Steve took his gun out. "That's it, I'm getting fed up of this. I want all you officers to spread out on every floor of this building. Keep a look out for Haley Johnson and Jesse Travis. If you find them, you bring them back here to the lobby. If you see Marcus Lavoy, you do not shoot or confront him. You radio me and tell me where you are. Follow him if necessary but don't shoot." When all the other doctors agreed, they all set off.

Mark grabbed his son's arm. "Steve, please let me come."

Steve looked at his father. "You know I can't do that. I'm not risking you as well. It's bad enough Haley Johnson is somewhere up there and probably Jesse. This time, the police really need to do it, dad, please understand."

Mark sighed and then nodded. "All right, be careful, won't you." His son nodded. "And bring Jesse back in one piece."

"If there's one thing I intend to do right, it's that." With this said, he made his way to the stairs along with everyone else. The rest of them watched after him. Steve made his way to the forth floor. He wanted to find out where Marcus Lavoy had got to. He couldn't have gone very far. With most things sealed off, his only chance was taking the stairs and that would only lead him to another floor. Someone was bound to spot him. No doubt that eventually a camera would catch sight of him and he would be alerted. Steve would only have to wait for that signal. He was angry as well. He was angry at Haley Johnson running and leading Marcus here where she could easily endanger the lives of many patients. There was a countless number of people, either terminally ill, heart problems, new born children which could be at stake. But at the same time, there was worry. Where had Jesse got to? Had Marcus found him or had he been too silly for his own good and gone against his orders.

Steve carried on going up and reached the forth floor. He made his way back to that long corridor again. Only a few of the hospital staff were up here, like the linen and laundry people who had no idea what was going on. After sending them down, Steve got on with his job and reached the long corridor. Just like Norman had said, all the doors were locked. He opened the storage cupboard and looked inside. Marcus Lavoy was certainly not there. He pressed into the laundry chute and wondered whether Norman's silly theory was right and he had gone down it.

Steve found it hard to picture that a crime lord took a fast getaway into a bundle of dirty clothes.

Sighing, he carried on trying to make his way around this and make it all fit in. Most important, he wanted Lavoy. Finding nothing of use, Steve turned round to carry on looking. One way or another they would find him. There was no way Lavoy was getting out this building whilst he was around to make sure of it.

On the sixth floor, two floors above, Jesse had just about finished touring it. There seemed to be absolutely no one around and he found that rather odd. Suddenly, he wondered whether he should have taken Pete's advice and stay in his room. I probably was for his own safety. It obviously had something to do with Marcus Lavoy. A shiver chilled up his spine as he thought of that man coming back to get him. He tried not to think about it. But as he carried on walking, the pain in his right side developed again. All the working around and that energy had taken its toll and it was beginning to become unbearable.

Jesse leaned against the wall of the hospital and waited, catching his breath, wondering if the pain will go away. It was then that he heard a sound. A figure ran out from the cross section and without looking, ran in the opposite direction. He recognized the think blond woman from anywhere. "Haley!" he shouted with as much strength as he could muster.

The woman spun round. Spotting Jesse, her eyes widened and she changed direction coming towards him. "Jesse! Thank goodness you're here, I thought something terrible had happened to you."

Jesse put a hand to her cheek. "Me? Never." He kissed her and then pulled away. "Man, I've been wanting to do that for a long time."

Haley raised her eyebrows. "Oh really?" Then her smile was erased quickly. "Jesse, you can't stay here. I've done something terrible. Marcus came to my house. He was going to kill me had your friend, Steve Sloan not turned up. I got away, because I found out he was coming back to kill you afterwards. And I couldn't let that happen so I came to warn you. But Marcus followed me here, Jess, he's somewhere in the building."

Haley was obviously getting herself into a state. Jesse pulled her in. "Hey, don't worry about it. It's all going to be all right, you'll see. Everything will work out all right one way or another. Steve will help, us won't he?" Haley just shrugged. "What does that mean?"

"That means I'm not sure. Steve was still in the house when I left. I don't know whether I made it out or not."

Jesse looked down, mentally crossing his fingers for good luck. "Don't worry about it. We'll get out of here ourselves if necessary."

Haley looked down at him like a scolding mother. "Jesse, you can't go anywhere. If Marcus finds you he's not going to let you off lightly." There was a genuine concern in her voice. She looked as though she really wanted to make sure Jesse wasn't hurt again. She looked down at him. "What's wrong, Jess? Are you hurt, have you been shot?"

Jesse smiled and looked up even though the pain was killing him. "Nah, I'm fine. It's just this dam appendix thing. I don't think it has quite healed yet." He rubbed it lightly.

Haley took him by the shoulder. "We have to get you out of here and into one of the rooms where you'll be safe. Marcus knows he hasn't got enough time to hunt you down everywhere. You can sit down and be safe from your pains and safe from him." Jesse knew he couldn't argue so he started to move but the searing pain shot in his side. With a small cry of pain he sank back against the wall and sat down on the ground in some way to ease the pain. "Jesse? Jesse, please get up. We have to get you out of here."

Jesse shook his head. "I can't, Haley. It hurts too much." He stopped to take a few breaths then looked up at Haley. "Do we a favor, ok?" Haley nodded. "Go downstairs, find Mark Sloan and tell him I am on the sixth floor, area D okay? Can you do that?" Haley was very reluctant to leave Jesse by himself. He looked as though he was in a lot of pain and anything could happen in the space between now and then. But after a lot of persuasion, Haley agreed to go and bring help. Jesse could obviously not go very far.

She left him against the wall, promising to be back. She ran towards the stairs, hoping that Marcus wouldn't find him. He wouldn't be so nice to Jesse, she knew that for a fact. Haley went faster in an effort to do this thing quickly before too much time elapsed between it. Jut as she reached the stairs though, the door was opened for her and she bumped into someone. Haley stared up in horror into the eyes of Marcus Lavoy.