TITLE: Running CHAPTER 17 of many chapters
AUTHOR: Daaasl
RATING: R for language, violence and some sex
DISCLAIMER: The characters of Dominic, Leon, Vincent, Mia,
Brian, Jessie and Letty belong the film company. All the
other characters are mine all mine, though. Any copyright
infringement is unintended.
ARCHIVE: You can find previous chapters at:
http://www.realmofvindiesel.homestead.com Anyone else
wanting to post my fanfic on their site, please check with me.
FEEDBACK: Please. I like to know what you think. But be
gentle with me.
******** Mia's POV ********
As Leon, Vince, and Brian ran out of the house, I bent down to pick up the papers that Sarah had thrown at Leon. I looked down at them and my mouth dropped open as I saw school records from grade school to college, Department of Motor Vehicles information, hospital records, credit report, a birth certificate copy, and someone's death certificate -- everything! These papers were records of everything Sarah had done in the last 10 years at least! I looked up at Dom, Letty and Jesse.
"What is all of this?"
"You know what it is Mia." Dom answered.
"No. Dom. I don't. I know that you looked her up. I can understand that, but what is all of this other extra stuff from her childhood and all these hospital records? Jesse?"
"Don't look at me!" Jesse exclaimed. "I only did her DMV and the credit check. Your boyfriend did the police check, hospital records and the rest. Jesse's face flushed with guilt and he looked down at the floor.
I turned and ran out onto the front porch with Dom on my heels. I saw Brian and Leon just as their cars peeled away down the street, hot on Sarah's trail.
I turned to Dom angrily. "How could you Dom? I thought you said she was ok! Why did you feel the need to dig so deep? Do you realize how close Leon and Sarah have become? How could you destroy something like that for him?" I stopped suddenly, breathless with my anger.
Dom looked at me silently for a minute, and then sighed deeply. "Come back inside Mia, he said sadly, "and I'll tell you everything."
******** Leon's POV *********
I drove around for an hour, and still couldn't find her. The sun was starting to set, and I was getting more nervous. I called V. and Brian on my cellphone.
"Any sign of her?"
"Not yet brother."
"I haven't seen her either." Brian replied. Both of their voices were solemn. I hung up and kept driving.
**************
Sarah's POV **************
Oh God, where am I? I should have paid better attention to where I was headed, but the only thing on my mind was getting the hell away from Leon as quickly as possible. Leon. God, I thought he was different. Why had he snooped on me behind my back? I could not understand. What was so important that he had to dig around in my private life before I could tell him about me, myself? Was he just he scared of me endangering the team; was he just incredibly impatient to know more about me; or was he looking for away to have control over me? I was furious that I had been stupid enough to trust him. I thought he was real and kind and good. I hated it that I had been fooled by caring and concerned act. I wiped my tears fiercely, and stepped on the gas again. When I focused on the road again, I saw it. The Black Escalade was right behind me!
******* Vince's POV *******
I pulled out of the alley off of Pico and was making my way back around to circle the neighborhood again. I couldn't believe I was out there looking for this chick! Why did she run off like that anyway? I mean, why couldn't Sarah have just waited and let Leon explain things to her? She didn't have to run off like that. Sometimes chicks are so emotional!
I thought about turning back, and giving up on the hunt, but I knew Leon was seriously digging Sarah. And it had been a long time since Leon was diggin' on any chick. So, because Leon was my bro, and only for that reason, I doubled back and kept looking for her. Just as I began to turn the corner on Broad and 63rd, I saw her red T-bird fly past me, followed closely by a big black SUV. I shifted into gear and took off after her. Then my cellphone buzzed.
I grabbed it. "Yeah?" I shouted
"V its Brian. Have you-?"
"I found her man! Call Leon and tell him to get back here, she's headed north on Broad Street, driving like a maniac. I'm trying to catch up to her now."
"Ok! We're on our way!" Brian replied. I dropped the cellphone, shifted again, and began to close in on the T-Bird. Just as I pulled up alongside the Bird, to get Sarah's attention and wave her over, she glanced over my way. Suddenly she yanked the steering wheel hard and the T-Bird jumped down a ramp and onto the freeway.
"DAMNIT!"
***** Sarah's POV ******
As soon as I saw the Escalade, I shifted into high gear and floored it. Panic set in, and I went into survival mode. I had been chased by Anthony before and was able to outrun him; I wasn't about to let this stranger take me down.
I floored the T-Bird, and began weaving in and out of traffic, trying to lose the SUV. Suddenly I saw a blue Maxima come up on my other side. Great! Two of them! I spotted an off ramp, yanked the wheel sharply and jumped onto the freeway.
I punched the gas and shot into the merge lane. I was pushing 100 mph when I hit a sharp curve and tried to navigate the turn. But I was going too fast. I slammed on my brakes only to have them lock on me and fishtail the car out of control. In terror, I yanked the steering wheel again, trying to get myself back on track, but I lost control completely.
As the car slid, it crashed through a guardrail on my right and flipped over down the embankment. In reflex, I tried to curl up and duck down in the front seat to protect myself when I lost control. As the car flipped, over I felt myself being thrown against the door frame and the edge of the steering wheel roughly, despite my old seatbelt. The heavy blows and a searing pain in my side made me cry out in agony before the world turned black.
******** Vince's POV ******
I'd just barely caught up to the T-Bird, weaving in and out of traffic on the freeway only to see Sarah go flying around a tight turn. Shit! I could see that Sarah wasn't going to be able to navigate it! The back end of her car fishtailed wildly and then the T-Bird slid out, flying through the guardrail and flipping over the bank. The Escalade that had been hard on her tail, slowed only briefly and then shot away, leaving her for dead.
I wanted to run the bastard down and find out who the hell it was, but I needed to help Sarah. When I drew up to the turn where the guardrail was down, I pulled over to the side and slid to a stop. Leaping out of the car, I could see the T-Bird, had landed halfway upside down, on the embankment. Oh Jesus. Memories of my own accident came flooding back as I ran down the hill to her car.
"Sarah!, Sarah, can you hear me?" I shouted.
A high moan of pain came from inside the twisted metal in answer. Jesus! The top had been down on the car and I had feared the worst. I dropped down to my knees to get into the car, and saw Sarah's half-lifeless body wedged between the floor and the mangled seat. I smelled gas and heard cracking sounds of the dead engine's heat.
"I'm gonna get you outta here girl! Hang on." I begged her. I looked to see what kind of injuries Sarah had, but it was hard to tell because she was covered in her own blood. Sarah's arms were all cut up, and her shirt was ripped and torn, leaving half of her bruised chest exposed. I grabbed her gently under her arms, and slowly began to pull her up from the floor.
"Vince?" a strangled whisper escaped her lips.
"Yeah girl. Come on now. Can you move?"
"I.my leg.caught" she tried to talk, but blood in her mouth began to make her choke. I tightened my grip on her and tried to pull her out, but she moaned in protest.
"No..silver..case..whole.life.silver" I didn't know what the hell she was talking about. A silver case? I looked into what I could see of the back seat, and saw a glint of light. Reaching back, I grabbed the silver case and threw it out of the car behind me.
"Got it! Now, come on, damn it Sarah!" I insisted as I pulled her free from the car. I half-carried and half-dragged her 20 feet or so away from the wreck, just in case it decided to blow. A mixture of grass, mud, and blood covered Sarah and I couldn't tell where all her bleeding was coming from. I pulled her into my lap and slowly rocked her back and forth, trying to prevent my nightmare memories from clouding my vision.
"Stay with me girl. You stay with me now." I told her as I rocked her and tried to see where her injuries were.
"Let...me...die" her breathy voice whispered raggedly, as her eyes rolled back into her head. Instinctively I slapped her cheek to waken her, and was rewarded when her eyes opened and focused again.
"Can't do that honey. Leon would kill me if I let you go." I said, wiping her matted hair away from her face, unintentionally smearing blood on her forehead. "You got to stay awake now girl. Help is coming for you." I insisted. Sarah's eyes locked on mine and tears began to slide down her cheeks. I couldn't be sure if it was from the pain of her injuries, or if it was from hearing Leon's name. A high, piercing wail broke from her, startling me. Once more her eyes rolled back and her eyelids closed; and this time, I couldn't get her to wake again.
***** Brian's POV ****** I made it to Broad street but didn't couldn't see the T-Bird or Vince's car anywhere. I guess I'll never know why I decided to hit the on-ramp for the freeway. Maybe it was just instinct, but as I merged, I could see the back of Vince's car up ahead on the curve, a cloud of dust just settling where a guardrail was down. I pulled over behind the Maxima and jumped out. As I ran to look over the side, I heard a small, shrill cry. When I got to the smashed guardrail and looked over, my stomach lurched. Everything seemed to move like slow motion after that. As I scrambled down the bank, I could see Vince holding Sarah's blood-covered body in his arms, gently rocking her. Behind the two of them lay a battered silver case. Sarah's twisted and battered T-Bird lay just beyond them, almost completely upside down! Vince looked up at me with a blank stare as I dropped down beside them and ripped open my cellphone.
I began shouting out information when I connected with 911. "I need an ambulance! Right now! Highway 14 South! We're just past the East L.A. on- ramp. Yeah! The Curve. Female. Approximately 25 years old. Massive bleeding. Contusions. Possible broken bones. Unconscious, but has a pulse. Ragged breathing. Make it fast!"
I spit out the information as I checked her pulse and peeled back her eyelids briefly to see if they were dilated. V. seemed to be in shock too, and didn't speak as he sat, rocking Sarah. I tore off my flannel shirt to help cover Sarah's half-naked body and began ripping strips off my t-shirt to start working on the worst of her bleeding wounds. Vince finally looked up at me in recognition.
"Call Leon." he said.
***** Leon's POV *****
All I could think was, "Jesus Christ! I'm at least a half an hour outside of L.A! Where the hell is she? My heart's been beating so hard I feel like it will leap out of my chest! I feel like I'm losing it. I can't seem to calm down. Damn it! Why did this have to happen? What the hell was I thinking, keeping the file like that? Why did I listen to DOM? Shit! Shit! Shit! This is doing me no good. I'm getting nowhere!" Just as I began my turn Jesse's car around to go back and join up with Brian and Vince, my cell went off again.
"Better be good" I answered.
There was a brief silence and just as I was about to speak again, I heard Brian's voice saying, "Leon man. There's been an accident."
"What! What kind of accident?", I shouted.
"We're on Highway 14, just past the East L.A. exit. Sarah tried to take that sharp curve. She was going to fast."
"Where is she Brian?"
"Right here Leon. Me and Vince got to her all right, but she doesn't look good."
"Let me talk to her."
"She can't talk. She's unconscious. Look Leon. Just get back here as soon as you can. The ambulance is --- They're here now. I've got to go." Brian said and cut the connection.
"Wait Brian---" But, it was too late, He had already hung up. I started to call back, but decided against it. He'd saved Vince's life once. I knew he would do the best he could to save Sarah's. I had to let him help her. Making a U-turn in the middle of the street, I floored it and headed back towards Highway 14.
I begged God to please, let Sarah be ok.
**** Vince's POV ****
The EMTs took Sarah from my arms and went to work on her immediately. I just sat there, watching. Last time it had been me, where Sarah was now. As I watched, I understood how Dom and Mia had felt. I felt really sick as I watched Brian talking to the EMTs. Everything seemed surreal. Even when I looked down at my clothes, stained in Sarah's blood, it felt like a dream. Brian returned to where I sat stunned, and gave me a shake.
"Come on man. We've got to follow them to the hospital. Can you drive?"
I nodded my head and rose to my feet shakily.
"I'll call the team on the way." Brian said. Then he pointed to the silver case and asked, "What is that anyway?" I glanced over at it and looked back at Brian.
"She made me get it out of her car. Said it is her whole life." I told him.
Brian picked up the case and handed it to me. I threw it into the back seat of my car and followed Brian and the ambulance to the hospital.
*** Dom's POV ****
I heard Mia cry out, and then the sound of her sobbing after she answered the phone. Jesse, Letty and I all ran into the kitchen to find her on the floor, cradling the phone in her hands, and crying.
"Mia! What's wrong?" I asked. Dropping the phone, Mia jumped to her feet and punched me in the chest, hard. She hit me a second time and yelled.
"Damn it Dom! You did this! This is your fault!"
Before she could land another punch, I grabbed her arms and held her in a tight hug while she sobbed. Letty grabbed the phone.
"Hello? Letty's eyes grew large and she stared at me in shock. "Oh my God! Yeah. We're on our way right now." she told the caller, and hung up the phone.
Mia sobbed into my chest. Letty looked at Mia with concern and then told me,
"Sarah's been hurt. She's at the hospital. She crashed her car."
Jesse clutched his stomach and dropped into a kitchen chair abruptly.
"Oh shit man, not again." he said.
I looked at Letty, and nodded towards Jesse. Letty nodded back and put her hand on Jesse's shoulder, consoling him.
"Sarah never hurt any of us" Mia whispered in tears.
"I know Mia." I said, as I gently released her.
"We'll go to her. We'll take care of her." I said sternly and looked over at Jesse and Letty. I grabbed Mia's key's and we piled into the car and headed to the hospital. None of us spoke. Letty looked out the window silently and Mia and Jesse clung to each other's hands in the back seat. I caught Mia's eyes for a moment, but she looked away in anger and tears again.
I wondered. Was Mia right? Had this been my fault? I had to know about who Sarah was. I had to protect the team. I never imagined it would backfire like this. Leon is never going to forgive me. Leon! Jesus! Where the hell is Leon? Does he know about this? I grabbed my cell, but Letty put her hand out to stop me.
"Leon already knows, he's on his way." she said softly.
I nodded, once again amazed that Letty could know what I was thinking so often. I put the cellphone away.
When we arrived at the hospital, we found Vince, Leon and Brian in the ER waiting room. Leon paced like a lion. Vince sat stunned; covered in grass, dirt and drying blood. I heard Mia gasp and she ran to Brian and buried her face in his chest. I walked over to Leon.
"Leon, man I'm-"
"Save it" he said coldly, and walked away. I hung my head and swallowed my pride. Now was not the time, nor the place to start trying to work this out. I found some room on the couch next to V, and Letty and I sat down to wait with the others.
**** Leon's POV ****
My heart ached. My body felt numb. But my mind was boiling with guilt, anger and terrible fear. I felt so responsible. Hell I ::was:: responsible for all of this! The blood all over Vince was just another reminder of what I had done -- what the team had done. We thought we were protecting ourselves, but Sarah was the one who needed protection, and I had pushed her away. I might as well have killed her myself. Killed. Dead. God, please. She couldn't die. I felt my stomach wrench with guilt. I stared at the emergency room doors to the O.R. and waited in desperation. Letty quietly got up from the couch and walked over to me; her eyes full of the same guilt and shame that I was feeling. She put her hand on my arm and then pulled me into a hug. Neither of us had any words. I don't think either of us could have spoken if we tried.
Jesse sat on the floor; his back to the wall, his knees pulled up towards his chest, and his head on his knees. It was an eternity before the Doctor finally came out to talk to us. His scrubs were covered with blood. I ran to him, but pulled up short, unable to ask.
"Are you Ms. Ippolito's family?" the doctor asked me.
"She has no real family, we're the closest she's got." Brian answered for us all. The doctor nodded his head and watched our faces as we gathered around him closely to hear what he would tell us.
"Ms. Ippolito has lost a great deal of blood. She sustained a concussion, has a collapsed lung, broken ribs and some internal injuries. She also has a number of superficial cuts and a couple of serious bruises to her chest and legs. We've managed to get her stabilized, but it's still too early to tell how well she is going to do. Hopefully we will know more after she's out of surgery and has recovered consciousness. I hope to be able to tell you more in the next 24 hours."
The doctor told us we could maintain contact with him through the nursing staff and then he headed back to his work. I stood in silence, watching those doors after they closed behind the doctor. I could hear the others returning to their places to continue our waiting. I turned slowly to see everyone's eyes on me, watching with concern. Dom's eyes were filled with pity and regret. He closed his eyes slowly, leaned forward and lowered his head into his hands. Mia clung to Brian, Vince and Jesse looked at each other solemnly and then back to me -- and Letty stood up from where she sat next to Dom, and began to walk over to me again.
I turned around to face the doors again. I sank down, squatting with my head in my hands. I couldn't hold anything back anymore, and my tears began to stream down my face and sobs racked my body. I began to pray silently to God. I begged God to not let Sarah die. She didn't deserve to die like this. She deserved to be happy and have a good life. I told God how happy Sarah made me and how much I wanted to make her happy.
My heart begged God -- please don't take Sarah away from me.
******** Mia's POV ********
As Leon, Vince, and Brian ran out of the house, I bent down to pick up the papers that Sarah had thrown at Leon. I looked down at them and my mouth dropped open as I saw school records from grade school to college, Department of Motor Vehicles information, hospital records, credit report, a birth certificate copy, and someone's death certificate -- everything! These papers were records of everything Sarah had done in the last 10 years at least! I looked up at Dom, Letty and Jesse.
"What is all of this?"
"You know what it is Mia." Dom answered.
"No. Dom. I don't. I know that you looked her up. I can understand that, but what is all of this other extra stuff from her childhood and all these hospital records? Jesse?"
"Don't look at me!" Jesse exclaimed. "I only did her DMV and the credit check. Your boyfriend did the police check, hospital records and the rest. Jesse's face flushed with guilt and he looked down at the floor.
I turned and ran out onto the front porch with Dom on my heels. I saw Brian and Leon just as their cars peeled away down the street, hot on Sarah's trail.
I turned to Dom angrily. "How could you Dom? I thought you said she was ok! Why did you feel the need to dig so deep? Do you realize how close Leon and Sarah have become? How could you destroy something like that for him?" I stopped suddenly, breathless with my anger.
Dom looked at me silently for a minute, and then sighed deeply. "Come back inside Mia, he said sadly, "and I'll tell you everything."
******** Leon's POV *********
I drove around for an hour, and still couldn't find her. The sun was starting to set, and I was getting more nervous. I called V. and Brian on my cellphone.
"Any sign of her?"
"Not yet brother."
"I haven't seen her either." Brian replied. Both of their voices were solemn. I hung up and kept driving.
**************
Sarah's POV **************
Oh God, where am I? I should have paid better attention to where I was headed, but the only thing on my mind was getting the hell away from Leon as quickly as possible. Leon. God, I thought he was different. Why had he snooped on me behind my back? I could not understand. What was so important that he had to dig around in my private life before I could tell him about me, myself? Was he just he scared of me endangering the team; was he just incredibly impatient to know more about me; or was he looking for away to have control over me? I was furious that I had been stupid enough to trust him. I thought he was real and kind and good. I hated it that I had been fooled by caring and concerned act. I wiped my tears fiercely, and stepped on the gas again. When I focused on the road again, I saw it. The Black Escalade was right behind me!
******* Vince's POV *******
I pulled out of the alley off of Pico and was making my way back around to circle the neighborhood again. I couldn't believe I was out there looking for this chick! Why did she run off like that anyway? I mean, why couldn't Sarah have just waited and let Leon explain things to her? She didn't have to run off like that. Sometimes chicks are so emotional!
I thought about turning back, and giving up on the hunt, but I knew Leon was seriously digging Sarah. And it had been a long time since Leon was diggin' on any chick. So, because Leon was my bro, and only for that reason, I doubled back and kept looking for her. Just as I began to turn the corner on Broad and 63rd, I saw her red T-bird fly past me, followed closely by a big black SUV. I shifted into gear and took off after her. Then my cellphone buzzed.
I grabbed it. "Yeah?" I shouted
"V its Brian. Have you-?"
"I found her man! Call Leon and tell him to get back here, she's headed north on Broad Street, driving like a maniac. I'm trying to catch up to her now."
"Ok! We're on our way!" Brian replied. I dropped the cellphone, shifted again, and began to close in on the T-Bird. Just as I pulled up alongside the Bird, to get Sarah's attention and wave her over, she glanced over my way. Suddenly she yanked the steering wheel hard and the T-Bird jumped down a ramp and onto the freeway.
"DAMNIT!"
***** Sarah's POV ******
As soon as I saw the Escalade, I shifted into high gear and floored it. Panic set in, and I went into survival mode. I had been chased by Anthony before and was able to outrun him; I wasn't about to let this stranger take me down.
I floored the T-Bird, and began weaving in and out of traffic, trying to lose the SUV. Suddenly I saw a blue Maxima come up on my other side. Great! Two of them! I spotted an off ramp, yanked the wheel sharply and jumped onto the freeway.
I punched the gas and shot into the merge lane. I was pushing 100 mph when I hit a sharp curve and tried to navigate the turn. But I was going too fast. I slammed on my brakes only to have them lock on me and fishtail the car out of control. In terror, I yanked the steering wheel again, trying to get myself back on track, but I lost control completely.
As the car slid, it crashed through a guardrail on my right and flipped over down the embankment. In reflex, I tried to curl up and duck down in the front seat to protect myself when I lost control. As the car flipped, over I felt myself being thrown against the door frame and the edge of the steering wheel roughly, despite my old seatbelt. The heavy blows and a searing pain in my side made me cry out in agony before the world turned black.
******** Vince's POV ******
I'd just barely caught up to the T-Bird, weaving in and out of traffic on the freeway only to see Sarah go flying around a tight turn. Shit! I could see that Sarah wasn't going to be able to navigate it! The back end of her car fishtailed wildly and then the T-Bird slid out, flying through the guardrail and flipping over the bank. The Escalade that had been hard on her tail, slowed only briefly and then shot away, leaving her for dead.
I wanted to run the bastard down and find out who the hell it was, but I needed to help Sarah. When I drew up to the turn where the guardrail was down, I pulled over to the side and slid to a stop. Leaping out of the car, I could see the T-Bird, had landed halfway upside down, on the embankment. Oh Jesus. Memories of my own accident came flooding back as I ran down the hill to her car.
"Sarah!, Sarah, can you hear me?" I shouted.
A high moan of pain came from inside the twisted metal in answer. Jesus! The top had been down on the car and I had feared the worst. I dropped down to my knees to get into the car, and saw Sarah's half-lifeless body wedged between the floor and the mangled seat. I smelled gas and heard cracking sounds of the dead engine's heat.
"I'm gonna get you outta here girl! Hang on." I begged her. I looked to see what kind of injuries Sarah had, but it was hard to tell because she was covered in her own blood. Sarah's arms were all cut up, and her shirt was ripped and torn, leaving half of her bruised chest exposed. I grabbed her gently under her arms, and slowly began to pull her up from the floor.
"Vince?" a strangled whisper escaped her lips.
"Yeah girl. Come on now. Can you move?"
"I.my leg.caught" she tried to talk, but blood in her mouth began to make her choke. I tightened my grip on her and tried to pull her out, but she moaned in protest.
"No..silver..case..whole.life.silver" I didn't know what the hell she was talking about. A silver case? I looked into what I could see of the back seat, and saw a glint of light. Reaching back, I grabbed the silver case and threw it out of the car behind me.
"Got it! Now, come on, damn it Sarah!" I insisted as I pulled her free from the car. I half-carried and half-dragged her 20 feet or so away from the wreck, just in case it decided to blow. A mixture of grass, mud, and blood covered Sarah and I couldn't tell where all her bleeding was coming from. I pulled her into my lap and slowly rocked her back and forth, trying to prevent my nightmare memories from clouding my vision.
"Stay with me girl. You stay with me now." I told her as I rocked her and tried to see where her injuries were.
"Let...me...die" her breathy voice whispered raggedly, as her eyes rolled back into her head. Instinctively I slapped her cheek to waken her, and was rewarded when her eyes opened and focused again.
"Can't do that honey. Leon would kill me if I let you go." I said, wiping her matted hair away from her face, unintentionally smearing blood on her forehead. "You got to stay awake now girl. Help is coming for you." I insisted. Sarah's eyes locked on mine and tears began to slide down her cheeks. I couldn't be sure if it was from the pain of her injuries, or if it was from hearing Leon's name. A high, piercing wail broke from her, startling me. Once more her eyes rolled back and her eyelids closed; and this time, I couldn't get her to wake again.
***** Brian's POV ****** I made it to Broad street but didn't couldn't see the T-Bird or Vince's car anywhere. I guess I'll never know why I decided to hit the on-ramp for the freeway. Maybe it was just instinct, but as I merged, I could see the back of Vince's car up ahead on the curve, a cloud of dust just settling where a guardrail was down. I pulled over behind the Maxima and jumped out. As I ran to look over the side, I heard a small, shrill cry. When I got to the smashed guardrail and looked over, my stomach lurched. Everything seemed to move like slow motion after that. As I scrambled down the bank, I could see Vince holding Sarah's blood-covered body in his arms, gently rocking her. Behind the two of them lay a battered silver case. Sarah's twisted and battered T-Bird lay just beyond them, almost completely upside down! Vince looked up at me with a blank stare as I dropped down beside them and ripped open my cellphone.
I began shouting out information when I connected with 911. "I need an ambulance! Right now! Highway 14 South! We're just past the East L.A. on- ramp. Yeah! The Curve. Female. Approximately 25 years old. Massive bleeding. Contusions. Possible broken bones. Unconscious, but has a pulse. Ragged breathing. Make it fast!"
I spit out the information as I checked her pulse and peeled back her eyelids briefly to see if they were dilated. V. seemed to be in shock too, and didn't speak as he sat, rocking Sarah. I tore off my flannel shirt to help cover Sarah's half-naked body and began ripping strips off my t-shirt to start working on the worst of her bleeding wounds. Vince finally looked up at me in recognition.
"Call Leon." he said.
***** Leon's POV *****
All I could think was, "Jesus Christ! I'm at least a half an hour outside of L.A! Where the hell is she? My heart's been beating so hard I feel like it will leap out of my chest! I feel like I'm losing it. I can't seem to calm down. Damn it! Why did this have to happen? What the hell was I thinking, keeping the file like that? Why did I listen to DOM? Shit! Shit! Shit! This is doing me no good. I'm getting nowhere!" Just as I began my turn Jesse's car around to go back and join up with Brian and Vince, my cell went off again.
"Better be good" I answered.
There was a brief silence and just as I was about to speak again, I heard Brian's voice saying, "Leon man. There's been an accident."
"What! What kind of accident?", I shouted.
"We're on Highway 14, just past the East L.A. exit. Sarah tried to take that sharp curve. She was going to fast."
"Where is she Brian?"
"Right here Leon. Me and Vince got to her all right, but she doesn't look good."
"Let me talk to her."
"She can't talk. She's unconscious. Look Leon. Just get back here as soon as you can. The ambulance is --- They're here now. I've got to go." Brian said and cut the connection.
"Wait Brian---" But, it was too late, He had already hung up. I started to call back, but decided against it. He'd saved Vince's life once. I knew he would do the best he could to save Sarah's. I had to let him help her. Making a U-turn in the middle of the street, I floored it and headed back towards Highway 14.
I begged God to please, let Sarah be ok.
**** Vince's POV ****
The EMTs took Sarah from my arms and went to work on her immediately. I just sat there, watching. Last time it had been me, where Sarah was now. As I watched, I understood how Dom and Mia had felt. I felt really sick as I watched Brian talking to the EMTs. Everything seemed surreal. Even when I looked down at my clothes, stained in Sarah's blood, it felt like a dream. Brian returned to where I sat stunned, and gave me a shake.
"Come on man. We've got to follow them to the hospital. Can you drive?"
I nodded my head and rose to my feet shakily.
"I'll call the team on the way." Brian said. Then he pointed to the silver case and asked, "What is that anyway?" I glanced over at it and looked back at Brian.
"She made me get it out of her car. Said it is her whole life." I told him.
Brian picked up the case and handed it to me. I threw it into the back seat of my car and followed Brian and the ambulance to the hospital.
*** Dom's POV ****
I heard Mia cry out, and then the sound of her sobbing after she answered the phone. Jesse, Letty and I all ran into the kitchen to find her on the floor, cradling the phone in her hands, and crying.
"Mia! What's wrong?" I asked. Dropping the phone, Mia jumped to her feet and punched me in the chest, hard. She hit me a second time and yelled.
"Damn it Dom! You did this! This is your fault!"
Before she could land another punch, I grabbed her arms and held her in a tight hug while she sobbed. Letty grabbed the phone.
"Hello? Letty's eyes grew large and she stared at me in shock. "Oh my God! Yeah. We're on our way right now." she told the caller, and hung up the phone.
Mia sobbed into my chest. Letty looked at Mia with concern and then told me,
"Sarah's been hurt. She's at the hospital. She crashed her car."
Jesse clutched his stomach and dropped into a kitchen chair abruptly.
"Oh shit man, not again." he said.
I looked at Letty, and nodded towards Jesse. Letty nodded back and put her hand on Jesse's shoulder, consoling him.
"Sarah never hurt any of us" Mia whispered in tears.
"I know Mia." I said, as I gently released her.
"We'll go to her. We'll take care of her." I said sternly and looked over at Jesse and Letty. I grabbed Mia's key's and we piled into the car and headed to the hospital. None of us spoke. Letty looked out the window silently and Mia and Jesse clung to each other's hands in the back seat. I caught Mia's eyes for a moment, but she looked away in anger and tears again.
I wondered. Was Mia right? Had this been my fault? I had to know about who Sarah was. I had to protect the team. I never imagined it would backfire like this. Leon is never going to forgive me. Leon! Jesus! Where the hell is Leon? Does he know about this? I grabbed my cell, but Letty put her hand out to stop me.
"Leon already knows, he's on his way." she said softly.
I nodded, once again amazed that Letty could know what I was thinking so often. I put the cellphone away.
When we arrived at the hospital, we found Vince, Leon and Brian in the ER waiting room. Leon paced like a lion. Vince sat stunned; covered in grass, dirt and drying blood. I heard Mia gasp and she ran to Brian and buried her face in his chest. I walked over to Leon.
"Leon, man I'm-"
"Save it" he said coldly, and walked away. I hung my head and swallowed my pride. Now was not the time, nor the place to start trying to work this out. I found some room on the couch next to V, and Letty and I sat down to wait with the others.
**** Leon's POV ****
My heart ached. My body felt numb. But my mind was boiling with guilt, anger and terrible fear. I felt so responsible. Hell I ::was:: responsible for all of this! The blood all over Vince was just another reminder of what I had done -- what the team had done. We thought we were protecting ourselves, but Sarah was the one who needed protection, and I had pushed her away. I might as well have killed her myself. Killed. Dead. God, please. She couldn't die. I felt my stomach wrench with guilt. I stared at the emergency room doors to the O.R. and waited in desperation. Letty quietly got up from the couch and walked over to me; her eyes full of the same guilt and shame that I was feeling. She put her hand on my arm and then pulled me into a hug. Neither of us had any words. I don't think either of us could have spoken if we tried.
Jesse sat on the floor; his back to the wall, his knees pulled up towards his chest, and his head on his knees. It was an eternity before the Doctor finally came out to talk to us. His scrubs were covered with blood. I ran to him, but pulled up short, unable to ask.
"Are you Ms. Ippolito's family?" the doctor asked me.
"She has no real family, we're the closest she's got." Brian answered for us all. The doctor nodded his head and watched our faces as we gathered around him closely to hear what he would tell us.
"Ms. Ippolito has lost a great deal of blood. She sustained a concussion, has a collapsed lung, broken ribs and some internal injuries. She also has a number of superficial cuts and a couple of serious bruises to her chest and legs. We've managed to get her stabilized, but it's still too early to tell how well she is going to do. Hopefully we will know more after she's out of surgery and has recovered consciousness. I hope to be able to tell you more in the next 24 hours."
The doctor told us we could maintain contact with him through the nursing staff and then he headed back to his work. I stood in silence, watching those doors after they closed behind the doctor. I could hear the others returning to their places to continue our waiting. I turned slowly to see everyone's eyes on me, watching with concern. Dom's eyes were filled with pity and regret. He closed his eyes slowly, leaned forward and lowered his head into his hands. Mia clung to Brian, Vince and Jesse looked at each other solemnly and then back to me -- and Letty stood up from where she sat next to Dom, and began to walk over to me again.
I turned around to face the doors again. I sank down, squatting with my head in my hands. I couldn't hold anything back anymore, and my tears began to stream down my face and sobs racked my body. I began to pray silently to God. I begged God to not let Sarah die. She didn't deserve to die like this. She deserved to be happy and have a good life. I told God how happy Sarah made me and how much I wanted to make her happy.
My heart begged God -- please don't take Sarah away from me.