The Ransom of Dr. Dave

Previously on ER: As the ER wonders what happened to a comatose Dr. Dave, we learn that just over 2 months previously he was carjacked on the way back from picking up an engagement ring for his girlfriend and future mother of his child, Jing-Mei. His abductors think they have Carter and so does the rest of the ER who gets news of the kidnapping while attending a Carter family/hospital banquet. As Mark and Gamma head out to pick up the ransom money, they run into Carter and Abby coming in the door. When the kidnappers call back, the cops and ER staff learn Malucci was actually the victim.

Capt. Amos and the others learn about the mystery phone calls Carter's been getting while the kidnappers learn their hostage's true identity.

Trying to decide what to do with their hostile hostage, Rico and Dino visit their boss, Vincenzio Malucci in the hospital who learns that their hostage isn't the intended Carter but his own son, Dave. He decides that he has other plans for their captive.

After Rico, Dino, Frankie and Dr. Fallone get through with carrying out their orders on Malucci, they learn the cops are on to them and flee but not before finishing Malucci off.

Meanwhile they contact the hospital and set up the ransom drop as Mark and Gamma are about to leave with the money, the captain gets a call. His men found Malucci.

Part 12

Capt. Amos: Well, it looks like you won't have to pay the ransom after all.

Mark: Then that last call was a HOAX?

Capt. Amos: Apparently, they thought they could get the money out of you before we found Dr. Malucci.

Kerry(sarcastically): Speaking of which, how is Dr. Dave?

Luka: Knowing Dr. Dave, he's running the whole show, telling the cops how to do THEIR jobs.

The others relax and start to laugh at Luka's comment, all except Jing-Mei who's relieved that Dave was finally found and Capt. Amos who isn't even smiling. He just stands in the middle of the ER staff and gives them a grim look. Seeing how upset Jing-Mei was and the captain not smiling, everyone decided to get serious. This obviously wasn't a laughing matter.

Carter: Captain, Malucci is alright, isn't he?

Capt. Amos(shakes his head): The news isn't good. Your Dr. Malucci is in very bad shape. My men called an ambulance and I've ordered them to bring him straight here.

Jing-Mei: But Dave is alive, though?

Capt. Amos: Yes. Barely.

Jing-Mei( with tears in her eyes): What is wrong with him?

Capt. Amos: I don't know all the details, just what my men have told me. There was a fire at the hangar.

Jing-Mei: What! Was Dave burned?

Capt. Amos: Not as far as my men can tell. Airport fire service put it out before it got completely out of control. But from what I understand about the situation, the fire was the least of Dr. Malucci's problems.

The entire ER falls silent as they await the ambulance that is bringing Dr. Dave in.

Capt. Amos: I just spoke with one of my men who was on scene at the hangar. The ambulance just picked Dr. Malucci up and are on their way here with him now. ETA: about 20 minutes.

Abby: Did they tell you anything more about what happened?

Capt. Amos: Yes, they did go into a little more detail, but I don't think I should say anything right...

Jing-Mei(interrupting): Please, Capt. Amos. I have to know what's happened with him.

Capt. Amos: Alright. I do have to warn you anyway.

Carter: Warn us about what?

Capt. Amos: It's more along the lines of preparing you.

Kerry: Preparing us?

Capt. Amos: Yes. Your Dr. Malucci...

Jing-Mei(interrupting): He prefers, that is, he likes to be called Dr. Dave.

Capt. Amos: Okay, Dr. Dave has been very badly beaten. He's unrecognizable.

Jing-Mei: I'll know him. Besides, it doesn't matter what he looks like, he's still my Dr. Dave and I will love him no matter what.

Capt. Amos: Glad to hear that, Dr. Chen. But, that's not it.

Mark: What do you mean?

Capt. Amos: When my men got inside the hangar after the fire was put out, they found Dr. Dave lying unconscious on the floor in a pool of blood, covered in blood and gasoline.

Haleh: You mean they were going to set him on fire?

Capt. Amos: I guess so. They said Dr. Dave was bound hand and foot, blindfolded and gagged.

Elizabeth: How on earth was he suppose to defend himself?

Capt. Amos: I don't know. But when the paramedics did their preliminary assessment of his condition they found multiple stab wounds to his back and ...

Jing-Mei(near hysteria): And what?

Capt. Amos(trying to be as gentle as possible): And a gunshot wound to the heart.

Everyone stood in shock. Nobody knew just what to say. They never expected that. Finally, the silence was broken.

Jing-Mei: They shot Dave!!

Capt. Amos nodded as the others tried to comfort Jing-Mei. She was totally hysterical at this point and they worried about her and the baby. Kerry insisted she go rest and they would come get her as soon as Dave was brought in. She refused.

Jing-Mei: I know you mean well, but, there is NO way that I'm going anywhere.

Just then, the ER staff heard the call come in over the radio.

Paramedic: We have a 34 year old male, unconscious and unresponsive. Both pupils blown. Weak and thready pulse, irregular breath sounds. Double tension pneumothorax. Intubated. ETA: 5 minutes.

Elizabeth: I'll arrange for an OR on standby and scrub. As soon as he is stable bring him right up.

Mark: Clear Trauma Room 3. Setup a thoracotomy tray. Alert CT and get a portable x-ray in there. He's going to need a blood gas, CBC, Chem 7 and prepare to dip a urine. Two chest tube trays and order 6 units of type specific blood. A+

In moments the ambulance pulled up and Mark, Kerry and Malik ran out to meet it. The paramedics unloaded Dave and started running off his vitals and statistics.

Paramedic: 34 year male. Comatose. BP: 70/46. Pulse: 62: Respirations: 10. Intubated on scene. Crashed twice en route but revived. Blunt head trauma. Severe trauma to chest and back. Numerous fractured ribs, spinal fractures, fractured skull, facial fractures including a fractured jaw. Crushed larynx. Gunshot wound to heart. Multiple stab wounds to back. Severe rope burns and lacerations to arms, wrists and ankles. Deep abrasions around mouth area from his gag. Scratched corneas from the blindfold. Severe smoke inhalation. Severe blood loss. Toxic absorption from the gasoline.

Kerry: Move him into Trauma 3. Mark, Luka, Lydia and Haleh- you are with me on this. On my count: 1-2-3

As they lifted Malucci off the gurney, backboard and all onto the bed, Jing-Mei came into the room. She took one good look at Dave and saw his face smashed up and completely bloody.

Jing-Mei: OH, MY GOD!! HIS FACE! WHAT THE HELL DID THEY DO TO HIS HANDSOME FACE!

Mark: Get her out of here.

Jing-Mei: I want to help. I need to help.

Luka: We've got this Jing-Mei. You'll just get in the way.

Kerry: Carter, Abby take her out of here now.

As Carter and Abby come in to escort a crying, frenzied Jing-Mei out, she starts to resist.

Abby: There's nothing you can do for him in there.

Jing-Mei: I need to be with him.

Abby: You need to be resting right now. Listen to me, I use to be an OB nurse.

Carter: She knows what she's talking about, Deb.

Jing-Mei: What if something happens to him and I'm not there?

Carter: Nothing will happen to him. He's got the best doctors working on him and once they stabilize him, they'll send him up to surgery. Elizabeth will take good care of him there. Now come on, let's go sit in the lounge and wait for news.

Regretfully, Jing-Mei went with Carter and Abby to the lounge. As much as she wanted to stay with Dave, she knew she needed to take better care of herself for the baby's sake.

Carter: Jerry, if there's any news about Malucci we'll be in the lounge.

Jerry nods.

In Trauma 3, Malucci's clothes were cut off him and a gown and drape were thrown over him, the nurses collected the blood and urine samples they needed. They inserted two chest tubes and took the x-rays of Dave's chest and back.

Kerry: Dave, can you hear me!

Getting no response, Kerry starts shining a light into Dave's eyes.

Mark: Get rid of those clothes. They still smell from the gas.

Outside the trauma room, Capt Amos heard Mark's order. He enters the trauma room.

Capt. Amos: Sorry Dr. Greene but we need to hold on to his clothes as evidence. Anything that comes off Dr. Malucci must be saved.

Once Kerry cleared Dave's neck, the neck brace and backboard were removed. Mark and Luka rolled Malucci onto his stomach to access his stab wounds.

Luka: Mark, Kerry I think you better see this.

As the other two doctors walked over to look at Dave's back, Luka showed them his wounds.

Kerry: Jesus! What the hell did they use to cut his back with? A chainsaw.

Mark: He's cut through and through and there appears to be a gapping hole in his back,( pause) and what in the world is that?

Kerry and Luka stared at what Mark was pointing at. Malucci's back was completely opened and you could see straight inside him. The lame stitches that Dr. Fallone put in him after he operated came undone when Rico kicked him.

Luka: It looks like a steel rod.

Mark: But why is it there and how did it get there?

Kerry: I'm not sure. We probably won't know until Dave regains consciousness. He is the only one....

Just then Malucci's heart monitor beeped.

Haleh: He's in V-Fib.

Kerry: Roll him on his back and charge the paddles to 200.

Lydia: Charged.

Kerry: Clear.

Haleh: Still in V-Fib.

Kerry: Charge to 300.

Lydia: Charged.

Kerry: Clear.

Mark: Sinus rhythm. Thank god.

Luka: We have to get him up to surgery and get that bullet out of him. He's losing blood faster than we give it to him.

Lydia: His brainwaves are decreasing.

Mark: Should we risk moving him down to CT?

Kerry: No, he'll never make it. His head is busted open. We may have to try to stop the bleeding ourselves. According to the these brain wave readings, the blood circulation is being cut off somewhere near the brain, probably because of his fractured skull.

As the doctors examined Malucci's head wounds, they all noticed it about the same time.

Kerry: Well, that would explain what's cutting the circulation off. The metal plate that is in Malucci's skull has been moved and is pressed on an artery.

Luka: We have to try and move it back. If we don't he's going to lose oxygen to his brain.

Mark: Alright Luka, I'll lift the plate up and you sweep the artery out from under it. Be careful but be quick.

As Mark lifted the plate up, Luka went to work on the compressed artery when Malucci went into convulsions.

Mark: Damn it!! He's starting to seize!

Luka: Mark, put the plate back down, now!!!

As soon as Mark released the plate, Malucci's seizure stopped.

Luka: There's no way we can fix the artery down here. He needs to get into brain surgery.

Haleh: Dr. Malucci is starting to go into renal failure.

Kerry: Put his back x-ray up. We have to see the damage to the kidneys.

All three doctors glanced at the x-ray.

Kerry: There's no doubt about it. His left kidney is crushed and beyond repair. The surgeons will probably have to remove it.

Mark took a second look at the x-ray.

Mark: That's not possible, Kerry.

Kerry: What do you mean, Mark. They have no choice. Malucci's lost alot of blood, his immune system is compromised. He can't fight off any infection. The longer a non-functionable, dead kidney stays in him the bigger the risk of infection and he'll die.

Mark: If we remove the kidney, he'll die anyway.(pause) Kerry, look at the x-ray again! Malucci's only got 1 kidney.

Kerry: What!

Both Kerry and Luka looked at the x-ray again.

Kerry: I can't believe it. Malucci's never mentioned about losing a kidney before. At least, not to me he hasn't. Any of you?

Mark and Luka shook their heads no.

Mark: Haleh, have Malucci's medical file pulled.

Haleh left the trauma room to get the file while the others stayed back to continue to stabilize Malucci.

Luka: Lydia, call down to the blood bank. We're going to need at least another six units A+ blood.

Luka: I don't think we can wait any longer. We need to move up him up to surgery.

Mark called upstairs and Elizabeth began to scrub. He told her that Malucci would probably need multiple surgeries ASAP. Kerry called around and arranged for a cardiologist, neurologist, orthopedic and general surgery team to be on standby. The doors to trauma 3 opened and Malucci was wheeled off to surgery.

Mark: Jerry, have you seen Jing-Mei?

Jerry: She's in the lounge with Abby and Dr. Carter.

The three doctors walked into the lounge, to see Abby and Carter comforting a still very upset Jing-Mei.

The trio stood as they saw the doctors walk in.

Jing-Mei: How is he? He's alright, isn't he?

Mark: He's alive. Barely. We just sent him up to surgery.

Carter: But he's going to be okay, right?

All three doctors had grim looks on their faces.

Abby: What is it?

Kerry: Jing-Mei, we have to talk. We have a few questions that maybe you could answer for us. You've been getting close to Dave lately, obviously, so I'm hoping he confided in you.

Jing-Mei: Not much he didn't but I'll try. What do you want to know?

Luka: First, did you know that Dave had a steel rod implanted in his back?

Jing-Mei(shocked): No, I didn't.

Kerry: Second, did you know he had a metal plate in his head?

Jing-Mei(shocked): No, I didn't.

Mark: Thirdly, did you know that Dave only has one kidney?

Jing-Mei(shocked): No, I didn't.

Carter(shocked): You found out all that. I mean, Malucci really had all those things.

Luka: Yes, it was a total surprise to us too.

Jing-Mei: I didn't know any of those things but from what Dave has told me and from what I've seen I shouldn't be surprised.

Kerry: What do you mean? What did Dave tell you?

Jing-Mei: Sorry Kerry. That's private. I promised Dave that I wouldn't tell anyone.

Haleh came in with Malucci's file. They searched the medical record until they came across the last report of Malucci's resident and new hire physical.

Mark: Just what I thought. No where in this report does it mention that Malucci lost a kidney. Jing-Mei, where was Dave born?

Jing-Mei: Italy. Why?

Mark: I'm going to send for all of Malucci's medical records from the time he was born. Maybe they will give us the answers we need.

Mark leaves the lounge and arranges for Malucci's medical records to be sent. While he's gone, Kerry and Luka fill them in on Dave's condition.

Mark looks over Malucci's personal file and finds out what hospital Malucci was born in back in Italy. He locates it and phones the chief of staff who tells him if he gets a signed release from Malucci or an immediate family member he will send them. Mark looks at Malucci's next of kin form and finds his sister, Sophie's phone number. He gives it a shot and calls her. Thinking he should have contacted her in the first place. Once he gets her on the phone, he explains to her what happened to her brother.

Mark: Ms. Pancamo, I knew that you would want to know. I'm also calling you because I need to look at Dave's medical records but the doctor at the hospital where your brother was born won't give them to me, only to a blood relative.

Sophie: Well, they HAD better give them to me and I will fed-ex them to you if they will help you save, Davey.

Mark: Thank you so much.( hang up)

Mark re-enters the lounge and tells the others about what Dave's sister said. They sit and await news of Dave's surgery(ies).

To be continued. Please read and review.