Tension Mounts
Mark awoke to the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafting into his bedroom, and the noise of cupboards opening and closing in the kitchen. Mark decided that it was time to get up and get ready for work. After washing and dressing, he padded into the kitchen.
"Morning," Steve greeted. "Looks like you had about as much sleep as me."
"That bad?" Mark asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
"Don't drop this one," Steve commented, seeing Mark pick up the mug. Mark chucked in response.
Steve continued. "I'm going to take another look at Sycamore Street site today. It was too late yesterday to do any real investigating. The captain advised that it would be better to look today. Want to come?"
"I would if I could," Mark answered, "but I have rounds this morning, plus there are the extra patients from yesterday to tend to. I've got my hands full today."
"I'll probably see you around today. After I check out the site, I'll probably drop in and start questioning some of the people who were there at the time to see if they saw anything."
"Good idea. THAT is probably an investigation I could help with."
"I thought you'd be interested."
"This guy needs to be caught. We all have to do everything we can to ensure that happens."
Steve knew then that the investigation was really beginning to get to his father. He paused to think before saying anything. "Dad, I know how you feel about this. Or I can guess, anyway. You probably feel like I do. I guess you're angry with the guy who is doing them, and you want to catch them as soon as possible. And you probably won't stop thinking about the whole thing until it is over."
Mark nodded. Steve had read him like a book.
Steve continued, "I want to catch him as much as you do, Dad. But we need to be patient, and wait until he slips up somewhere. Rushing into it will not do anyone any good. We have to wait."
"Waiting costs lives," Mark muttered under his breath.
"Pardon?" Steve enquired, not catching what his father had said.
"Nothing," Mark mumbled, not wanting to become angry with anyone who did not deserve it, especially his son.
The problem was, Mark knew that the anger was churning inside him, and soon, someone would say something and it would all flood out at once. And it would probably hit someone who did not justify it.
For two days, Mark felt the stress gradually build up. It had not yet been let out, but the amount of tension inside him was becoming greater and greater. The people around him had noticed that there was something not quite right with Mark, but they let him be for the moment.
Amanda and Jesse talked about Mark's behaviour over coffee on the morning three days after the third bombing.
"He is getting more and more agitated," Jesse explained, gulping down his coffee.
"I know," was all Amanda replied with as she sipped her own beverage. She seemed to be deep in thought.
"It's probably this case getting to him, the Carolina Street bomber," Jesse continued. "That's when he started getting all edgy."
"I don't recall ever seeing Mark get so fraught over a case, even a bombing one," Amanda added, seeing that Jesse had a good point.
"Perhaps there is a different reason," Jesse suggested.
"No, I am pretty sure you were right the first time," Amanda decided. "It is this case."
"But why is it THIS case that is winding him up? I mean, like you said, no other cases have got to him this badly."
"I don't know, Jess. It could be a whole number of things."
"Like what?"
"Well, it could be that this case has so little evidence with it that it is frustrating him. Or, perhaps he is worried that the bomber might strike again and again, and he won't be able to stop it."
"Or, maybe he feels sorry for the guy behind it all."
"How do you figure that?" Amanda asked, trying to hide the smirk on her face. She wondered where Jesse got his wacky ideas.
"Well, this guy is making each of the blasts devoted to someone. I guess this guy has a reason for doing that, and maybe Mark thinks the same."
"I doubt it, Jesse," Amanda chucked.
At that moment, Steve walked into the room. "Hey, you guys," he greeted them. "Seen Dad around lately?"
"Not lately," Amanda replied. "Why?"
"Got the results back from the lab. on that spray paint can we found yesterday," Steve explained. "It matches the flake of paint we picked off the wall. We have a match."
"Any prints on the can?" Jesse asked hopefully.
"None," Steve replied gruffly "We are back to square one."
"Have you questioned any of the victims yet?" Amanda asked.
"A few, but none of them saw anything. They all say it happened too fast."
"Understandable, except one thing," Mark said, walking in. The three faces turned to him, and he continued. "When does this guy spray the paint on the walls?"
The three faces looked at him blankly. "Before? After?"
"Maybe they painted it on before, and covered it up with something," Jesse came up with after a moment of silence.
"Possible." Everyone could tell that Mark was tetchy at that moment. "Steve, one of the nurses said you wanted to see me?"
"Yeah, I…" Steve was cut off by the bleeping of his beeper. After glancing at the device, he ran out of the room, calling behind him, "another bomb. Brace yourselves."
Within minutes of Steve leaving the hospital to travel to the site, injured civilians began pouring into the hospital. So far, there were two DOA, but a lot more critically injured people.
One particular woman was rolled in and diagnosed by Mark. She was half conscious, and Mark caught part of her mutterings. "I saw who is was," the woman murmured, "I saw who the bomber was." That was all she said before she passed out.
"This woman needs emergency surgery," Mark said. "She is internally bleeding. Jesse!" The young doctor looked up from where he was working. "Over here." Jesse jogged over to where the wiser doctor was. After explaining the situation to him, he almost growled, "This is important, Jesse. Before she passed out, she said she knew who the bomber was. She holds the vital piece of information in this investigation."
Jesse nodded, and got ready for the surgery.
Meanwhile, the other doctors and nurses, including Mark and Amanda, had stabilised the other patients, and were taking a quick rest in the Doctor's Lounge.
"Where was it this time?" Amanda asked.
"Mayflower Road, the Colombia Insurance Company," Mark replied drowsily.
"Why don't you go home?" Amanda suggested. "As the patients are all stable now, it is better for you to get some rest now rather than later."
"Not yet," Mark said. "I'm going to wait for Jesse to bring the woman out of surgery. She knows who the bomber is."
"Mark, it could be hours before the woman comes around after the surgery, you know that. You really should get some sleep."
Mark shrugged. Amanda had never known Mark to be so stubborn, or short with her. She sat with him, and she too waited for news of the woman in surgery.
Sometime later, Jesse walked to the door of the Doctors' Lounge. He looked tired, and his face was pale. Mark jumped out of his chair, and Amanda followed, worried about the expression on Jesse's face.
"Well?" Mark demanded to know. "Is she stable?"
Amanda and Jesse were both astounded at Mark's tone of voice. What was wrong with him? This case was an obsession to Mark, Amanda decided.
"Well?" Mark repeated. Jesse shook his head.
"She lost too much blood," was all he could say. He hung his head as he said the words.
Marks face turned to stone. For a moment, words failed him. Then, with a glare directed at Jesse, he spat out the words, "she knew who it was. She could have told us who was behind these bombings. She could have stopped more lives from being lost. You've prevented that from happening, Dr. Travis. Losing that one life could cost countless other lives. You will pay for that mistake." With that, he stormed off.
Jesse looked at the retreating back. He let his own back slide down the frame of the door where he had been leaning. He drew his knees towards his chest and wrapped his arms around them.
Amanda, who had stared at the scene with an open mouth, walked over to Jesse and crouched down beside him. She put her arm on his shoulder. He looked up at her, and she noticed he had a single tear running down his face.
"Jess," she said, with a soothing tone in her voice. "Jesse, I can't believe Mark would do that."
"I didn't mean to," Jesse snivelled, feeling about six years old at that moment.
"I know you didn't," Amanda calmly said. "And I am sure that inside, Mark knows that too." She helped Jesse to him feet, and sat him at a nearby table in the Doctors' Lounge.
"I've never seen Mark get so angry like that," Jesse said.
"It's not a normal occurrence," Amanda assured him. "It takes a lot of pressure to make someone like Mark blow like that. I think that this case has been so stressful for Mark. Don't ask me why it is specifically this case that has wound him up, because I don't know. But I think that the tension has been building up so much, and when he saw the chance of solving the case slip away, he just hit the roof. Sooner or later, he would have lost it anyway. It was nothing personal, nothing against you."
Jesse sighed. "I wish he hadn't have yelled at me." Amanda gave him a hug, and they both wished that Mark would take back what he just said.
Mark awoke to the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafting into his bedroom, and the noise of cupboards opening and closing in the kitchen. Mark decided that it was time to get up and get ready for work. After washing and dressing, he padded into the kitchen.
"Morning," Steve greeted. "Looks like you had about as much sleep as me."
"That bad?" Mark asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
"Don't drop this one," Steve commented, seeing Mark pick up the mug. Mark chucked in response.
Steve continued. "I'm going to take another look at Sycamore Street site today. It was too late yesterday to do any real investigating. The captain advised that it would be better to look today. Want to come?"
"I would if I could," Mark answered, "but I have rounds this morning, plus there are the extra patients from yesterday to tend to. I've got my hands full today."
"I'll probably see you around today. After I check out the site, I'll probably drop in and start questioning some of the people who were there at the time to see if they saw anything."
"Good idea. THAT is probably an investigation I could help with."
"I thought you'd be interested."
"This guy needs to be caught. We all have to do everything we can to ensure that happens."
Steve knew then that the investigation was really beginning to get to his father. He paused to think before saying anything. "Dad, I know how you feel about this. Or I can guess, anyway. You probably feel like I do. I guess you're angry with the guy who is doing them, and you want to catch them as soon as possible. And you probably won't stop thinking about the whole thing until it is over."
Mark nodded. Steve had read him like a book.
Steve continued, "I want to catch him as much as you do, Dad. But we need to be patient, and wait until he slips up somewhere. Rushing into it will not do anyone any good. We have to wait."
"Waiting costs lives," Mark muttered under his breath.
"Pardon?" Steve enquired, not catching what his father had said.
"Nothing," Mark mumbled, not wanting to become angry with anyone who did not deserve it, especially his son.
The problem was, Mark knew that the anger was churning inside him, and soon, someone would say something and it would all flood out at once. And it would probably hit someone who did not justify it.
For two days, Mark felt the stress gradually build up. It had not yet been let out, but the amount of tension inside him was becoming greater and greater. The people around him had noticed that there was something not quite right with Mark, but they let him be for the moment.
Amanda and Jesse talked about Mark's behaviour over coffee on the morning three days after the third bombing.
"He is getting more and more agitated," Jesse explained, gulping down his coffee.
"I know," was all Amanda replied with as she sipped her own beverage. She seemed to be deep in thought.
"It's probably this case getting to him, the Carolina Street bomber," Jesse continued. "That's when he started getting all edgy."
"I don't recall ever seeing Mark get so fraught over a case, even a bombing one," Amanda added, seeing that Jesse had a good point.
"Perhaps there is a different reason," Jesse suggested.
"No, I am pretty sure you were right the first time," Amanda decided. "It is this case."
"But why is it THIS case that is winding him up? I mean, like you said, no other cases have got to him this badly."
"I don't know, Jess. It could be a whole number of things."
"Like what?"
"Well, it could be that this case has so little evidence with it that it is frustrating him. Or, perhaps he is worried that the bomber might strike again and again, and he won't be able to stop it."
"Or, maybe he feels sorry for the guy behind it all."
"How do you figure that?" Amanda asked, trying to hide the smirk on her face. She wondered where Jesse got his wacky ideas.
"Well, this guy is making each of the blasts devoted to someone. I guess this guy has a reason for doing that, and maybe Mark thinks the same."
"I doubt it, Jesse," Amanda chucked.
At that moment, Steve walked into the room. "Hey, you guys," he greeted them. "Seen Dad around lately?"
"Not lately," Amanda replied. "Why?"
"Got the results back from the lab. on that spray paint can we found yesterday," Steve explained. "It matches the flake of paint we picked off the wall. We have a match."
"Any prints on the can?" Jesse asked hopefully.
"None," Steve replied gruffly "We are back to square one."
"Have you questioned any of the victims yet?" Amanda asked.
"A few, but none of them saw anything. They all say it happened too fast."
"Understandable, except one thing," Mark said, walking in. The three faces turned to him, and he continued. "When does this guy spray the paint on the walls?"
The three faces looked at him blankly. "Before? After?"
"Maybe they painted it on before, and covered it up with something," Jesse came up with after a moment of silence.
"Possible." Everyone could tell that Mark was tetchy at that moment. "Steve, one of the nurses said you wanted to see me?"
"Yeah, I…" Steve was cut off by the bleeping of his beeper. After glancing at the device, he ran out of the room, calling behind him, "another bomb. Brace yourselves."
Within minutes of Steve leaving the hospital to travel to the site, injured civilians began pouring into the hospital. So far, there were two DOA, but a lot more critically injured people.
One particular woman was rolled in and diagnosed by Mark. She was half conscious, and Mark caught part of her mutterings. "I saw who is was," the woman murmured, "I saw who the bomber was." That was all she said before she passed out.
"This woman needs emergency surgery," Mark said. "She is internally bleeding. Jesse!" The young doctor looked up from where he was working. "Over here." Jesse jogged over to where the wiser doctor was. After explaining the situation to him, he almost growled, "This is important, Jesse. Before she passed out, she said she knew who the bomber was. She holds the vital piece of information in this investigation."
Jesse nodded, and got ready for the surgery.
Meanwhile, the other doctors and nurses, including Mark and Amanda, had stabilised the other patients, and were taking a quick rest in the Doctor's Lounge.
"Where was it this time?" Amanda asked.
"Mayflower Road, the Colombia Insurance Company," Mark replied drowsily.
"Why don't you go home?" Amanda suggested. "As the patients are all stable now, it is better for you to get some rest now rather than later."
"Not yet," Mark said. "I'm going to wait for Jesse to bring the woman out of surgery. She knows who the bomber is."
"Mark, it could be hours before the woman comes around after the surgery, you know that. You really should get some sleep."
Mark shrugged. Amanda had never known Mark to be so stubborn, or short with her. She sat with him, and she too waited for news of the woman in surgery.
Sometime later, Jesse walked to the door of the Doctors' Lounge. He looked tired, and his face was pale. Mark jumped out of his chair, and Amanda followed, worried about the expression on Jesse's face.
"Well?" Mark demanded to know. "Is she stable?"
Amanda and Jesse were both astounded at Mark's tone of voice. What was wrong with him? This case was an obsession to Mark, Amanda decided.
"Well?" Mark repeated. Jesse shook his head.
"She lost too much blood," was all he could say. He hung his head as he said the words.
Marks face turned to stone. For a moment, words failed him. Then, with a glare directed at Jesse, he spat out the words, "she knew who it was. She could have told us who was behind these bombings. She could have stopped more lives from being lost. You've prevented that from happening, Dr. Travis. Losing that one life could cost countless other lives. You will pay for that mistake." With that, he stormed off.
Jesse looked at the retreating back. He let his own back slide down the frame of the door where he had been leaning. He drew his knees towards his chest and wrapped his arms around them.
Amanda, who had stared at the scene with an open mouth, walked over to Jesse and crouched down beside him. She put her arm on his shoulder. He looked up at her, and she noticed he had a single tear running down his face.
"Jess," she said, with a soothing tone in her voice. "Jesse, I can't believe Mark would do that."
"I didn't mean to," Jesse snivelled, feeling about six years old at that moment.
"I know you didn't," Amanda calmly said. "And I am sure that inside, Mark knows that too." She helped Jesse to him feet, and sat him at a nearby table in the Doctors' Lounge.
"I've never seen Mark get so angry like that," Jesse said.
"It's not a normal occurrence," Amanda assured him. "It takes a lot of pressure to make someone like Mark blow like that. I think that this case has been so stressful for Mark. Don't ask me why it is specifically this case that has wound him up, because I don't know. But I think that the tension has been building up so much, and when he saw the chance of solving the case slip away, he just hit the roof. Sooner or later, he would have lost it anyway. It was nothing personal, nothing against you."
Jesse sighed. "I wish he hadn't have yelled at me." Amanda gave him a hug, and they both wished that Mark would take back what he just said.