Title: Nothing to Lose
Rating: R, I guess, since there's some strong language.
Summary: A seemingly normal night in the ER becomes one of violence and horror in one instant.
Author's Note: I just wanted to let ya know that this is only the first chapter, and others will come soon!
Spoilers: After 'A Simple Twist of Fate', before 'Secrets, Lies…' in season 8.
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone. No matter how many times I wish for Carter to just appear on my doorstep, it doesn't happen. I do own the psycho and his buddies (just read, you'll see).
Cook County General Hospital ER: 10:16 PM
Abby Lockhart watched the clock impatiently, waiting for the minute when she would be able to clock out and head home. She'd been on all day and was ready to get away from the sprains, flues, and traumas that the ER was known for. It wasn't that she didn't like her job; it was just that on days like this it was hard to stay upbeat.
Watching people die did that to you.
It had been a depressing day. Five had come in through ambulance, and Dr's Carter, Greene and Weaver had all lost one each, leaving just two survivors from a shooting. They had been innocents, too. Just caught in the line of fire, caught in bullets not meant for them. That didn't matter, though. Bullets weren't picky when it came to choosing their victims.
"Hey, Abby," a familiar voice said behind her, and she turned. Carter was standing there wearily, his eyes the picture of exhaustion, "could you help me out with a leg lac in exam 2?"
She nodded and gave him a smile, "Sure Carter, but it, uh, won't take long, will it? I'm off in fifteen." She made sure that he heard the 'fifteen' part of her sentence.
"It'll only be a minute." he answered, running a hand through his hair, making it stand on end a little. He had been here just as long as her, and she could see that he was rough around the edges from the events of the day.
She gestured for him to lead the way, and he did so, smiling at her graciously. She only rolled her eyes at him. He always made her feel a little better with that grin of his.
Still, she knew that smile wouldn't help her get out of here on time.
Mark Greene felt like punching someone. Namely, the old woman sitting on the bed in front of him. She had been brought in with a sprained ankle just ten minutes ago, and as of yet, she had refused to let anybody touch her.
"Mrs. McNeal," he admonished, holding his voice in check, "I need to examine your ankle to make sure-,"
"Don't raise your voice to me, young whipper-snapper," she snapped, staring at him defiantly, "I don't need any of your help. I didn't even want to be brought in here. When I was younger, we would get broken bones, and we'd like it."
Mark sighed, "Well, as much as you don't want me to fix your ankle, I really need to-,"
"No!" she cut him off, "I want to go home!"
"And I want you to go home too, but right now, that ankle really needs to be looked at!" Mark yelled back.
She crossed her arms stubbornly, letting him know that she didn't want anybody poking around her ankle, "Call me a taxi."
Mark would've pulled his hair out, if he had enough to be pulled, "Fine. Whatever," he glance outside to see Chuny passing, "hey, Chuny!" he yelled.
"Yeah?" she paused.
"Could you call Mrs. McNeal a taxi, please? She wants to go home, and frankly, I'm ready to send her home."
Chuny smiled. He could tell she was amused by this, "Sure, Mark."
"I can't believe the things I have to go through to get out of this place," she muttered as she hopped down from the table, favoring her right ankle.
Mark rubbed his temples tiredly, "Then don't get in the ambulance next time and save us the trouble."
With that said, he stalked out of the room, leaving Mrs. McNeal to fend for her own. It was times like these that made him want to quit. Just three hours ago, he had done everything he could to save a woman from a shooting, but she had died. And here, he had someone refusing to be attended to. It was a crazy world.
He erased his name from the board slowly, even though the injury hadn't exactly been fixed.
"Finished with that sprain already, Mark?" Kerry asked behind him.
He dropped the eraser and headed toward the lounge, hoping she wasn't following him, "Not exactly."
"Then you're not finished?" she called to his back curiously.
"I didn't say that," he answered, before entering the lounge and leaving Kerry hanging in mid-sentence.
He grabbed a cup off the counter and started to pour himself a cup of coffee-slop. It was when it didn't come out that he realized it was empty. Frustrated, Mark groaned, "Why me? I just need some caffeine…,"
This night officially sucked.
Carter gave Abby a grateful smile as he finished suturing the leg lac he'd been roped into. The patient, a huge, towering football player who looked to be about twenty-five, was rambling on about the game he had received the injury in.
"And then, I got the ball and I'm running like there's no freakin' tomorrow, when this guy pushes me straight into the yellow flag."
Carter clipped the length of the thread expertly, "And that's what gave you this."
"Oh, this?" the guy, Jimmy Lambert, shook his head, "Hell no. I really don't know how that happened. I just know I went the whole game with it, not even noticing it. It was afterwards when I saw the blood and stuff. Thought it couldn't hurt to come in."
Carter nodded, "You were right. That's a deep cut."
"So, did you guys win?" Abby asked beside him conversationally.
Jimmy pumped his fists into the air excitedly, "Hell yeah! We kicked ass!"
Carter held back the urge to laugh at this character. It looked to him like football was what Jimmy lived, breathed, and ate, "What was the score?"
"Twenty-seven to fourteen."
Carter finished the suture up and peeled his gloves off, "Well, looks like you're done, Jimmy."
"Hey, thanks, doc," He answered as he stood up, "I can play football tomorrow, right?"
Carter frowned, "Uh, I don't encourage it. A wrong move could open that up again."
Jimmy's eyes bugged out in his head, and Carter almost did a double take when he thought he saw tears, "Aww, man. There ain't no way."
"Well, if you must," Carter lamented, knowing that he'd get nowhere by telling him not to, "just take it easy, alright?"
Jimmy nodded, "Thanks, man." He shook Carter's hand excitedly before heading towards the desk.
Carter watched him a few moments before turning to Abby, "Have you ever played football?"
"Uh, a few times. Touch and flag." she answered as they made their way toward the lounge.
Carter laughed, "Oh, the wimp's version." He pushed open the door and let Abby in before him.
"Hey," she warned, "it's late, I'm beat, and don't mess with me."
Carter put his hands up in a gesture of peace, "Okay, okay."
He watched her as she opened her locker and grabbed her jacket, "So you're going home?"
"I don't know," she said as she took off her nurses' jacket, "I'll probably stop by Luka's."
Carter's heart twisted a little at the mention of the Croatian, "Oh." He made sure that his voice didn't give away the fact that those two together bothered him.
She shut her locker and opened the door, "See you," she gave him a smile, and he waved at her before she disappeared.
Mark watched Abby leave, wishing that was him, more than anything, but no, he was on for another few hours.
The waiting room stood completely empty right now, and there were only a couple minors in the exam rooms. It seemed like the night had reached its lull, but he knew it wouldn't last for long. It was like the eye of the storm, calm and quiet, until all Hell broke loose.
"Hey, Mark," Carter said from behind him, "wanna grab a cup of coffee over at Doc Magoo's while it's still slow?"
Mark was able to manage a small smile. Coffee would be good, "Yeah, sure. Just let me finish this chart up."
"Great," he heard Carter say.
"Hey Abby,"
Abby groaned to herself. She was so close…she just needed to take a few more steps.
She turned around to meet Kerry, who was shivering in her flimsy lab coat, "Yeah?"
"Before you leave, I need to ask you about the patient in exam 1."
Abby tapped her foot impatiently. She really had somewhere to be…, "Yeah?"
"Were you able to get the insurance provider for Mr. Hensley?" she asked, glancing at a chart she was holding, "because the chart doesn't say anything about it, and I thought-,"
"Uh, I thought I did," Abby interrupted her, "I guess I might've missed it."
Kerry nodded once, and Abby hoped she wouldn't make her go back in there and get the insurance, "Well, is there any way you could-,"
"Can't you get Chuny to do it?" Abby asked, trying to keep her voice patient.
Kerry looked like she was about to protest, but Abby tried to give her the best begging look she could muster, "Alright. I'll just get Chuny."
Abby sighed, relieved, "Thank you so much, Kerry."
The woman smiled and nodded, "See you tomorrow."
"Yeah."
Abby turned and made her way towards the El station, thanking whoever was in charge up above for the break. She even managed to smile at a guy that was walking towards her. He had a nervous look to him, and she figured he was going in to score some drugs.
He didn't smile back. Instead, he lunged toward her, grabbing her arm, and she felt something hard pointing into her back, "Don't say a word, and you won't get hurt."
"What?" she whispered, barely registering what was happening. Was this for real? Was she actually getting mugged?
Her heart pumped so quickly and so loud, that it seemed like the guy would be able to hear it. That he would be able to hear her fear. It had only been a few months since Brian had attacked her for convincing his wife to seek help. The black eye still hadn't gone away completely.
And here she was again. Why me? She thought miserably as the guy began to drag her towards…the ER?
"Why are you taking me back there?" she asked, and she instantly regretted the question.
The man jabbed the gun into her back harshly, and Abby bit back a whimper, "Don't say anything. Nothing, you hear me?"
She nodded, barely controlling the fear that had welled up within her and threatened to swallow her completely. She couldn't be scared. She had to stay calm. Just keep a level head…
The guy shoved her in front of him, still keeping the gun at her back. She barely stopped herself from slamming into the automatic doors, but instead managed to stumble back into the brightly-lit ER waiting room.
She saw Carter look up from the desk, "Abby? What are you doing back?" she watched as his eyes turned from surprised to suspicious when his sight went to the man behind her.
Abby didn't say anything, but she didn't have to, "Alright," the guy said, his voice loud and demanding, "nobody move a muscle, and this little lady here won't get blown away."
She heard a collective gasp rise up from the several doctors and nurses at the front desk, and she closed her eyes, hoping this would all go away when she opened them. Maybe it was just a nightmare…Abby opened her eyes slowly, and was brought back to reality when she saw the same familiar faces watching her and the man behind her. Different degrees of horror were evident on everyone's face, and Abby was sure they matched her own.
This was real, and for the second time in the last few months, Abby was afraid she was going to die.
Joshua hated all of them. Every single one of the high and mighty doctors. He hated how they had made something of their lives, and he hadn't. He hated everything about them.
But right now, they weren't so great. Right now, he was in charge.
He could feel the cute woman in front of him trembling, scared out of her wits. She had reason to be. He wasn't afraid of taking a life. He really wasn't afraid of anything. He had nothing to lose.
The waiting room was completely still. Everyone watched him. It felt great.
A movement out of the corner of Joshua's eye caught his attention, and he swung the gun away from the brunette to a younger woman behind the desk. Her eyes widened, and she let out a little scream.
"You can try the phones, honey. They won't help you."
Slowly, she did as she was told and picked up the phone. He watched as her eyes teared up, but she kept them down. Strong girl.
"The-the phone line's out." She barely whispered, but Joshua heard it. So did everyone else.
He pushed the woman he had brought in away from him, towards the desk, and he watched as a tall doctor who looked to be in his early thirties took a few hurried steps toward her. The guy's brown eyes widened when Joshua pointed his gun at him, "Don't move." He ordered, and the guy froze.
Another doctor, one with glasses and a receding hairline, raised his arms up in peace. So this was the one who would try to talk him out of it, "Look man. Whatever this is, it's not gonna be solved this way."
"Yeah, says you," Joshua laughed. This guy was a riot, "what's your name?"
The doctor blinked, surprised, "Uh, Mark. Mark Greene."
"Well, Mark Greene," Joshua said as he took a few measured steps toward him, "I disagree with your diagnosis." Then, he couldn't help but laugh out loud. He was a funny guy.
No one else laughed, though.
Kerry thought the ER was strangely quiet all of a sudden. Curious, she turned away from the patient she had asked Abby about and headed toward the desk.
"What's going on?" she asked. Everyone behind the desk turned to look at her. Carter was pale and running his hand through his hair constantly, and Mark was strangely tense.
She saw the reason why as soon as the words were out of her mouth. There, right in front of her, a tall, lanky guy swung his sawed-off shotgun around to face her, and her heart began to pump a little faster.
"Who the Hell are you?" he asked, his voice reaching fever pitch.
Kerry tried to look calm, even though she was panicking inside, "I'm Dr. Kerry Weaver." She answered slowly, hoping that the man standing there didn't go off.
All they had to do was make sure that no one got hurt until the police came. There were elevators everywhere. Access was easy to the other floors. The problem would be over, just as soon as somebody knew about it.
Then, the man began to laugh. Slowly at first, then louder, and louder, until he was practically rolling. Kerry bit back the urge to ask just what was so damn funny, since he was the one who had the weapon.
"I can see you thinking right now, little Kerry," the guy said cruelly, "but I'm not as stupid as you think," he turned to look out the doors of the ER, "see, I have friends."
Kerry felt like she had just been punched in the stomach. It was obvious that this guy meant business. And that he wasn't afraid of much.
The doors to the ER slid open to reveal four huge men with dark clothes on. Each carried his own gun, and each had the same malicious glint in his eye.
"Danny, take the elevators. Make sure no one comes down. Permanently." The guy said, and the man in front, Danny, lumbered towards the elevators.
They had planned this. It was obvious.
"You," the guy pointed at Randi, who straightened, "close these doors off. No one comes in or out."
Randi swallowed, and Kerry desperately hoped that she wasn't dumb enough to refuse, "Alright."
She grabbed the keys and headed toward the front doors slowly, where the small lock in the wall was that overrode the automatic doors. She hesitated when she neared the man, but he only waved her forward, until she was there and had turned the key in the lock.
"It's- it's done." She whispered, and the guy smiled.
"Good girl," he licked his lips hungrily, and Kerry felt like she was about to throw up, "what's your name?"
He touched her arm, and she recoiled, "Randi."
"Randi," he nodded, "that's a pretty name," he gestured towards the desk, "go on."
She did so, almost running, and Kerry didn't relax until she was back behind the desk.
In all her years as a doctor, she had never been so scared in her life.
Cook County General Hospital ER: 10:41 PM
Carter felt like he was going to explode, he was strung so tightly. Since the man with the gun had first arrived with Abby in front of him, he had spread his friends out to cover all exits, the phone lines had been cut, and the doctors and nurses that were on had been herded behind the desk. They were packed in tightly, and he felt like he wasn't going to be able to last much longer like this.
He was pushed against the front of the desk, where he faced the leader. Beside him was Abby, who was shaking uncontrollably.
"It'll be okay." he said to her, and she only nodded.
The group was made up of himself, Abby, Kerry, Mark, Chuny, Deb, Randi, Lydia, Haleh, and Micheal Gallant. They were lucky that the staff had been a bit smaller tonight.
The leader was talking quietly with one of his henchmen in chairs, and Carter strained his ears to hear them. As of yet, they hadn't been informed of what the gunmen wanted, but Carter could guess it was something big. Taking over a whole ER was a huge stunt to pull.
The leader was pacing now, and Carter wondered what was going on. Maybe they had been found out. Maybe this would be over with before they knew it.
Carter's concentration was torn from the two men when he heard the sounds of sirens pulling up to the ambulance bay.
The leader jerked, then pointed his gun straight at Carter himself, "What the Hell is that?" he asked, breathing heavily.
"That's an ambulance. They're bringing a victim in." Carter answered, barely able to keep the trembling from his voice.
The leader made a small sound and pulled at his hair, "Send them somewhere else."
"We can't," Gallant said from behind Carter, "they're here already. We have to take it."
The leader pointed his gun away from Carter to Gallant, "I don't care!"
Carter couldn't believe this. They were going to have to let someone die, if nobody did anything, "Look," he said, and the leader whirled to watch him through insane eyes, "this is the ER. We have to do something."
"No! No," he said, taking a step toward Carter, "there's another hospital somewhere-,"
He was cut off by the sounds of the back doors flying open. They hadn't been locked. A gurney was pushed in with a bloody woman lying on it, "We got a thirty-seven year old female, stab wound to the stomach. BP is 80 over 30. Lost consciousness on the way over-," Doris stopped when the leader spun and leveled the gun at her, "what the Hell?"
"Send her back!" the guy yelled, "send her back!"
Before Carter knew what he was doing, he was going towards the gurney, "We can't. She's going to die without help, and the next hospital is too far away."
Even though he was screaming at himself to not do this, Carter knew he couldn't ignore a patient, "Okay, let's get her into trauma-,"
And before he knew it, he felt the bullet enter his left arm. It sent a fiery wave of pain all the way from where it entered to his chest, and Carter couldn't help but cry out. Beside him, Doris screamed.
"What did I tell you? I told you to send her back!" the guy said again.
Carter saw the man beside him lower his pistol, a grin spreading across his scarred face. The pain was unbearable.
"Oh God!" Haleh screamed, horrified.
Carter clamped a hand on his arm, trying to stop the blood. He had no idea what it had hit. All he knew was that it hurt like Hell.
"Carter!" Abby yelled, and all he could do was fall to his knees. It was like his legs had suddenly become too weak to support him. He saw her rush towards him, along with Mark and Gallant, but the leader stepped between them and pointed his gun at them and everyone behind the desk.
"Nobody move!" he screamed, his eyes bulging from his head, "nobody make another fucking move!"
Carter tried to breath evenly, but he could tell he was losing blood fast, "I'm fine," he gritted, hoping that no one would risk their lives for him, "just-just stay over there."
He could see Abby, crying. She was staring at him, and he could see her desperation, but he knew if she tried anything, she would be shot. He willed her to stay behind the desk.
He felt a presence above him, and Carter looked up to see the leader staring down at him, a sneer on his face, "Should've listened, doc."
Then, as if things were going in slow motion, the guy raised his shotgun and pointed it at the unconscious woman lying on the gurney. He gave Carter another cold smile before pulling the trigger.
The body jerked, and Carter closed his eyes against the horrific scene. He was a monster. This guy wasn't even human. He heard Doris scream again, along with everyone else behind the desk.
Slowly, Carter opened his eyes to see the blood…the brain matter everywhere. The patient was dead.
"Hey, you," the leader pointed his gun at Doris, "you can go. Tell your little friends that nothing comes to these doors, you got that? Or you'll get what he got," the guy pointed at Carter, "only worse."
Doris looked at him, her eyes wide and unseeing. Carter nodded. They needed to keep as many people safe as possible. She stood up and left, with one last, terrified glance over her shoulder.
"Now it'll get around, and before you know it, we'll have what we want." The leader said cheerily, and Carter felt like strangling him, if he wasn't injured.
The guy gave Carter a little nudge with his foot, "You dead yet?"
Carter moved his legs away from the guy's boot, "What do you think?" he asked, his voice barely masking the pain that he felt.
"Smart-ass." the guys said, "get up. I want you back over there, with the others."
Carter nodded and struggled to stand up. It seemed like every single move he made caused another wave of pain to emanate from his wounded arm. Gritting his teeth, he managed to stumble to his feet and make his way to the desk on shaky legs. He was seeing stars, he was in so much pain. Mark helped him behind the desk, and Carter was able to give him a grateful smile before crumpling onto the floor.
He knew that he wouldn't last long without help.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Rating: R, I guess, since there's some strong language.
Summary: A seemingly normal night in the ER becomes one of violence and horror in one instant.
Author's Note: I just wanted to let ya know that this is only the first chapter, and others will come soon!
Spoilers: After 'A Simple Twist of Fate', before 'Secrets, Lies…' in season 8.
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone. No matter how many times I wish for Carter to just appear on my doorstep, it doesn't happen. I do own the psycho and his buddies (just read, you'll see).
Cook County General Hospital ER: 10:16 PM
Abby Lockhart watched the clock impatiently, waiting for the minute when she would be able to clock out and head home. She'd been on all day and was ready to get away from the sprains, flues, and traumas that the ER was known for. It wasn't that she didn't like her job; it was just that on days like this it was hard to stay upbeat.
Watching people die did that to you.
It had been a depressing day. Five had come in through ambulance, and Dr's Carter, Greene and Weaver had all lost one each, leaving just two survivors from a shooting. They had been innocents, too. Just caught in the line of fire, caught in bullets not meant for them. That didn't matter, though. Bullets weren't picky when it came to choosing their victims.
"Hey, Abby," a familiar voice said behind her, and she turned. Carter was standing there wearily, his eyes the picture of exhaustion, "could you help me out with a leg lac in exam 2?"
She nodded and gave him a smile, "Sure Carter, but it, uh, won't take long, will it? I'm off in fifteen." She made sure that he heard the 'fifteen' part of her sentence.
"It'll only be a minute." he answered, running a hand through his hair, making it stand on end a little. He had been here just as long as her, and she could see that he was rough around the edges from the events of the day.
She gestured for him to lead the way, and he did so, smiling at her graciously. She only rolled her eyes at him. He always made her feel a little better with that grin of his.
Still, she knew that smile wouldn't help her get out of here on time.
Mark Greene felt like punching someone. Namely, the old woman sitting on the bed in front of him. She had been brought in with a sprained ankle just ten minutes ago, and as of yet, she had refused to let anybody touch her.
"Mrs. McNeal," he admonished, holding his voice in check, "I need to examine your ankle to make sure-,"
"Don't raise your voice to me, young whipper-snapper," she snapped, staring at him defiantly, "I don't need any of your help. I didn't even want to be brought in here. When I was younger, we would get broken bones, and we'd like it."
Mark sighed, "Well, as much as you don't want me to fix your ankle, I really need to-,"
"No!" she cut him off, "I want to go home!"
"And I want you to go home too, but right now, that ankle really needs to be looked at!" Mark yelled back.
She crossed her arms stubbornly, letting him know that she didn't want anybody poking around her ankle, "Call me a taxi."
Mark would've pulled his hair out, if he had enough to be pulled, "Fine. Whatever," he glance outside to see Chuny passing, "hey, Chuny!" he yelled.
"Yeah?" she paused.
"Could you call Mrs. McNeal a taxi, please? She wants to go home, and frankly, I'm ready to send her home."
Chuny smiled. He could tell she was amused by this, "Sure, Mark."
"I can't believe the things I have to go through to get out of this place," she muttered as she hopped down from the table, favoring her right ankle.
Mark rubbed his temples tiredly, "Then don't get in the ambulance next time and save us the trouble."
With that said, he stalked out of the room, leaving Mrs. McNeal to fend for her own. It was times like these that made him want to quit. Just three hours ago, he had done everything he could to save a woman from a shooting, but she had died. And here, he had someone refusing to be attended to. It was a crazy world.
He erased his name from the board slowly, even though the injury hadn't exactly been fixed.
"Finished with that sprain already, Mark?" Kerry asked behind him.
He dropped the eraser and headed toward the lounge, hoping she wasn't following him, "Not exactly."
"Then you're not finished?" she called to his back curiously.
"I didn't say that," he answered, before entering the lounge and leaving Kerry hanging in mid-sentence.
He grabbed a cup off the counter and started to pour himself a cup of coffee-slop. It was when it didn't come out that he realized it was empty. Frustrated, Mark groaned, "Why me? I just need some caffeine…,"
This night officially sucked.
Carter gave Abby a grateful smile as he finished suturing the leg lac he'd been roped into. The patient, a huge, towering football player who looked to be about twenty-five, was rambling on about the game he had received the injury in.
"And then, I got the ball and I'm running like there's no freakin' tomorrow, when this guy pushes me straight into the yellow flag."
Carter clipped the length of the thread expertly, "And that's what gave you this."
"Oh, this?" the guy, Jimmy Lambert, shook his head, "Hell no. I really don't know how that happened. I just know I went the whole game with it, not even noticing it. It was afterwards when I saw the blood and stuff. Thought it couldn't hurt to come in."
Carter nodded, "You were right. That's a deep cut."
"So, did you guys win?" Abby asked beside him conversationally.
Jimmy pumped his fists into the air excitedly, "Hell yeah! We kicked ass!"
Carter held back the urge to laugh at this character. It looked to him like football was what Jimmy lived, breathed, and ate, "What was the score?"
"Twenty-seven to fourteen."
Carter finished the suture up and peeled his gloves off, "Well, looks like you're done, Jimmy."
"Hey, thanks, doc," He answered as he stood up, "I can play football tomorrow, right?"
Carter frowned, "Uh, I don't encourage it. A wrong move could open that up again."
Jimmy's eyes bugged out in his head, and Carter almost did a double take when he thought he saw tears, "Aww, man. There ain't no way."
"Well, if you must," Carter lamented, knowing that he'd get nowhere by telling him not to, "just take it easy, alright?"
Jimmy nodded, "Thanks, man." He shook Carter's hand excitedly before heading towards the desk.
Carter watched him a few moments before turning to Abby, "Have you ever played football?"
"Uh, a few times. Touch and flag." she answered as they made their way toward the lounge.
Carter laughed, "Oh, the wimp's version." He pushed open the door and let Abby in before him.
"Hey," she warned, "it's late, I'm beat, and don't mess with me."
Carter put his hands up in a gesture of peace, "Okay, okay."
He watched her as she opened her locker and grabbed her jacket, "So you're going home?"
"I don't know," she said as she took off her nurses' jacket, "I'll probably stop by Luka's."
Carter's heart twisted a little at the mention of the Croatian, "Oh." He made sure that his voice didn't give away the fact that those two together bothered him.
She shut her locker and opened the door, "See you," she gave him a smile, and he waved at her before she disappeared.
Mark watched Abby leave, wishing that was him, more than anything, but no, he was on for another few hours.
The waiting room stood completely empty right now, and there were only a couple minors in the exam rooms. It seemed like the night had reached its lull, but he knew it wouldn't last for long. It was like the eye of the storm, calm and quiet, until all Hell broke loose.
"Hey, Mark," Carter said from behind him, "wanna grab a cup of coffee over at Doc Magoo's while it's still slow?"
Mark was able to manage a small smile. Coffee would be good, "Yeah, sure. Just let me finish this chart up."
"Great," he heard Carter say.
"Hey Abby,"
Abby groaned to herself. She was so close…she just needed to take a few more steps.
She turned around to meet Kerry, who was shivering in her flimsy lab coat, "Yeah?"
"Before you leave, I need to ask you about the patient in exam 1."
Abby tapped her foot impatiently. She really had somewhere to be…, "Yeah?"
"Were you able to get the insurance provider for Mr. Hensley?" she asked, glancing at a chart she was holding, "because the chart doesn't say anything about it, and I thought-,"
"Uh, I thought I did," Abby interrupted her, "I guess I might've missed it."
Kerry nodded once, and Abby hoped she wouldn't make her go back in there and get the insurance, "Well, is there any way you could-,"
"Can't you get Chuny to do it?" Abby asked, trying to keep her voice patient.
Kerry looked like she was about to protest, but Abby tried to give her the best begging look she could muster, "Alright. I'll just get Chuny."
Abby sighed, relieved, "Thank you so much, Kerry."
The woman smiled and nodded, "See you tomorrow."
"Yeah."
Abby turned and made her way towards the El station, thanking whoever was in charge up above for the break. She even managed to smile at a guy that was walking towards her. He had a nervous look to him, and she figured he was going in to score some drugs.
He didn't smile back. Instead, he lunged toward her, grabbing her arm, and she felt something hard pointing into her back, "Don't say a word, and you won't get hurt."
"What?" she whispered, barely registering what was happening. Was this for real? Was she actually getting mugged?
Her heart pumped so quickly and so loud, that it seemed like the guy would be able to hear it. That he would be able to hear her fear. It had only been a few months since Brian had attacked her for convincing his wife to seek help. The black eye still hadn't gone away completely.
And here she was again. Why me? She thought miserably as the guy began to drag her towards…the ER?
"Why are you taking me back there?" she asked, and she instantly regretted the question.
The man jabbed the gun into her back harshly, and Abby bit back a whimper, "Don't say anything. Nothing, you hear me?"
She nodded, barely controlling the fear that had welled up within her and threatened to swallow her completely. She couldn't be scared. She had to stay calm. Just keep a level head…
The guy shoved her in front of him, still keeping the gun at her back. She barely stopped herself from slamming into the automatic doors, but instead managed to stumble back into the brightly-lit ER waiting room.
She saw Carter look up from the desk, "Abby? What are you doing back?" she watched as his eyes turned from surprised to suspicious when his sight went to the man behind her.
Abby didn't say anything, but she didn't have to, "Alright," the guy said, his voice loud and demanding, "nobody move a muscle, and this little lady here won't get blown away."
She heard a collective gasp rise up from the several doctors and nurses at the front desk, and she closed her eyes, hoping this would all go away when she opened them. Maybe it was just a nightmare…Abby opened her eyes slowly, and was brought back to reality when she saw the same familiar faces watching her and the man behind her. Different degrees of horror were evident on everyone's face, and Abby was sure they matched her own.
This was real, and for the second time in the last few months, Abby was afraid she was going to die.
Joshua hated all of them. Every single one of the high and mighty doctors. He hated how they had made something of their lives, and he hadn't. He hated everything about them.
But right now, they weren't so great. Right now, he was in charge.
He could feel the cute woman in front of him trembling, scared out of her wits. She had reason to be. He wasn't afraid of taking a life. He really wasn't afraid of anything. He had nothing to lose.
The waiting room was completely still. Everyone watched him. It felt great.
A movement out of the corner of Joshua's eye caught his attention, and he swung the gun away from the brunette to a younger woman behind the desk. Her eyes widened, and she let out a little scream.
"You can try the phones, honey. They won't help you."
Slowly, she did as she was told and picked up the phone. He watched as her eyes teared up, but she kept them down. Strong girl.
"The-the phone line's out." She barely whispered, but Joshua heard it. So did everyone else.
He pushed the woman he had brought in away from him, towards the desk, and he watched as a tall doctor who looked to be in his early thirties took a few hurried steps toward her. The guy's brown eyes widened when Joshua pointed his gun at him, "Don't move." He ordered, and the guy froze.
Another doctor, one with glasses and a receding hairline, raised his arms up in peace. So this was the one who would try to talk him out of it, "Look man. Whatever this is, it's not gonna be solved this way."
"Yeah, says you," Joshua laughed. This guy was a riot, "what's your name?"
The doctor blinked, surprised, "Uh, Mark. Mark Greene."
"Well, Mark Greene," Joshua said as he took a few measured steps toward him, "I disagree with your diagnosis." Then, he couldn't help but laugh out loud. He was a funny guy.
No one else laughed, though.
Kerry thought the ER was strangely quiet all of a sudden. Curious, she turned away from the patient she had asked Abby about and headed toward the desk.
"What's going on?" she asked. Everyone behind the desk turned to look at her. Carter was pale and running his hand through his hair constantly, and Mark was strangely tense.
She saw the reason why as soon as the words were out of her mouth. There, right in front of her, a tall, lanky guy swung his sawed-off shotgun around to face her, and her heart began to pump a little faster.
"Who the Hell are you?" he asked, his voice reaching fever pitch.
Kerry tried to look calm, even though she was panicking inside, "I'm Dr. Kerry Weaver." She answered slowly, hoping that the man standing there didn't go off.
All they had to do was make sure that no one got hurt until the police came. There were elevators everywhere. Access was easy to the other floors. The problem would be over, just as soon as somebody knew about it.
Then, the man began to laugh. Slowly at first, then louder, and louder, until he was practically rolling. Kerry bit back the urge to ask just what was so damn funny, since he was the one who had the weapon.
"I can see you thinking right now, little Kerry," the guy said cruelly, "but I'm not as stupid as you think," he turned to look out the doors of the ER, "see, I have friends."
Kerry felt like she had just been punched in the stomach. It was obvious that this guy meant business. And that he wasn't afraid of much.
The doors to the ER slid open to reveal four huge men with dark clothes on. Each carried his own gun, and each had the same malicious glint in his eye.
"Danny, take the elevators. Make sure no one comes down. Permanently." The guy said, and the man in front, Danny, lumbered towards the elevators.
They had planned this. It was obvious.
"You," the guy pointed at Randi, who straightened, "close these doors off. No one comes in or out."
Randi swallowed, and Kerry desperately hoped that she wasn't dumb enough to refuse, "Alright."
She grabbed the keys and headed toward the front doors slowly, where the small lock in the wall was that overrode the automatic doors. She hesitated when she neared the man, but he only waved her forward, until she was there and had turned the key in the lock.
"It's- it's done." She whispered, and the guy smiled.
"Good girl," he licked his lips hungrily, and Kerry felt like she was about to throw up, "what's your name?"
He touched her arm, and she recoiled, "Randi."
"Randi," he nodded, "that's a pretty name," he gestured towards the desk, "go on."
She did so, almost running, and Kerry didn't relax until she was back behind the desk.
In all her years as a doctor, she had never been so scared in her life.
Cook County General Hospital ER: 10:41 PM
Carter felt like he was going to explode, he was strung so tightly. Since the man with the gun had first arrived with Abby in front of him, he had spread his friends out to cover all exits, the phone lines had been cut, and the doctors and nurses that were on had been herded behind the desk. They were packed in tightly, and he felt like he wasn't going to be able to last much longer like this.
He was pushed against the front of the desk, where he faced the leader. Beside him was Abby, who was shaking uncontrollably.
"It'll be okay." he said to her, and she only nodded.
The group was made up of himself, Abby, Kerry, Mark, Chuny, Deb, Randi, Lydia, Haleh, and Micheal Gallant. They were lucky that the staff had been a bit smaller tonight.
The leader was talking quietly with one of his henchmen in chairs, and Carter strained his ears to hear them. As of yet, they hadn't been informed of what the gunmen wanted, but Carter could guess it was something big. Taking over a whole ER was a huge stunt to pull.
The leader was pacing now, and Carter wondered what was going on. Maybe they had been found out. Maybe this would be over with before they knew it.
Carter's concentration was torn from the two men when he heard the sounds of sirens pulling up to the ambulance bay.
The leader jerked, then pointed his gun straight at Carter himself, "What the Hell is that?" he asked, breathing heavily.
"That's an ambulance. They're bringing a victim in." Carter answered, barely able to keep the trembling from his voice.
The leader made a small sound and pulled at his hair, "Send them somewhere else."
"We can't," Gallant said from behind Carter, "they're here already. We have to take it."
The leader pointed his gun away from Carter to Gallant, "I don't care!"
Carter couldn't believe this. They were going to have to let someone die, if nobody did anything, "Look," he said, and the leader whirled to watch him through insane eyes, "this is the ER. We have to do something."
"No! No," he said, taking a step toward Carter, "there's another hospital somewhere-,"
He was cut off by the sounds of the back doors flying open. They hadn't been locked. A gurney was pushed in with a bloody woman lying on it, "We got a thirty-seven year old female, stab wound to the stomach. BP is 80 over 30. Lost consciousness on the way over-," Doris stopped when the leader spun and leveled the gun at her, "what the Hell?"
"Send her back!" the guy yelled, "send her back!"
Before Carter knew what he was doing, he was going towards the gurney, "We can't. She's going to die without help, and the next hospital is too far away."
Even though he was screaming at himself to not do this, Carter knew he couldn't ignore a patient, "Okay, let's get her into trauma-,"
And before he knew it, he felt the bullet enter his left arm. It sent a fiery wave of pain all the way from where it entered to his chest, and Carter couldn't help but cry out. Beside him, Doris screamed.
"What did I tell you? I told you to send her back!" the guy said again.
Carter saw the man beside him lower his pistol, a grin spreading across his scarred face. The pain was unbearable.
"Oh God!" Haleh screamed, horrified.
Carter clamped a hand on his arm, trying to stop the blood. He had no idea what it had hit. All he knew was that it hurt like Hell.
"Carter!" Abby yelled, and all he could do was fall to his knees. It was like his legs had suddenly become too weak to support him. He saw her rush towards him, along with Mark and Gallant, but the leader stepped between them and pointed his gun at them and everyone behind the desk.
"Nobody move!" he screamed, his eyes bulging from his head, "nobody make another fucking move!"
Carter tried to breath evenly, but he could tell he was losing blood fast, "I'm fine," he gritted, hoping that no one would risk their lives for him, "just-just stay over there."
He could see Abby, crying. She was staring at him, and he could see her desperation, but he knew if she tried anything, she would be shot. He willed her to stay behind the desk.
He felt a presence above him, and Carter looked up to see the leader staring down at him, a sneer on his face, "Should've listened, doc."
Then, as if things were going in slow motion, the guy raised his shotgun and pointed it at the unconscious woman lying on the gurney. He gave Carter another cold smile before pulling the trigger.
The body jerked, and Carter closed his eyes against the horrific scene. He was a monster. This guy wasn't even human. He heard Doris scream again, along with everyone else behind the desk.
Slowly, Carter opened his eyes to see the blood…the brain matter everywhere. The patient was dead.
"Hey, you," the leader pointed his gun at Doris, "you can go. Tell your little friends that nothing comes to these doors, you got that? Or you'll get what he got," the guy pointed at Carter, "only worse."
Doris looked at him, her eyes wide and unseeing. Carter nodded. They needed to keep as many people safe as possible. She stood up and left, with one last, terrified glance over her shoulder.
"Now it'll get around, and before you know it, we'll have what we want." The leader said cheerily, and Carter felt like strangling him, if he wasn't injured.
The guy gave Carter a little nudge with his foot, "You dead yet?"
Carter moved his legs away from the guy's boot, "What do you think?" he asked, his voice barely masking the pain that he felt.
"Smart-ass." the guys said, "get up. I want you back over there, with the others."
Carter nodded and struggled to stand up. It seemed like every single move he made caused another wave of pain to emanate from his wounded arm. Gritting his teeth, he managed to stumble to his feet and make his way to the desk on shaky legs. He was seeing stars, he was in so much pain. Mark helped him behind the desk, and Carter was able to give him a grateful smile before crumpling onto the floor.
He knew that he wouldn't last long without help.
TO BE CONTINUED...