June 3, 2:15 am
The plane was silent, too silent, the woman decided.
Cosmo's cousin Jane slumped back in her seat and shook her head slightly, trying to chase any thoughts of death, no matter how small, out of her mind. Second time in three years, how could the marshals be facing this for the second time in three years? She felt her jaw tense at the unfairness of it all.
Jane had been shocked when Cosmo had called her with the news of Catherine's injuries, and of course her first thought had been to get to him and the others; to be there to offer support to her cousin and his friends. Fortunately, Deputy Frank Henry had been able to arrange a USMS flight for her out of Minneapolis to Chicago where she could connect with him and Dr. Richard Kimble on the trip to New York.
"...and I just thought you'd wanna know," Frank had said on the phone, moving rapidly through the office as he talked, automatically making the arrangements that Cosmo had requested.
"Oh, my God. Thanks, Frank," Jane had said, shocked at the news. "I want to be there...How'm I gonna get there?"
Frank nodded, even though he knew Jane couldn't see it. "I figured you would. Can you be at the airport in twenty? I arranged for a Marshals plane to pick you up and get you here to me. You can go to New York with us."
"Yeah," Jane said absently, already searching for a bag to tumble clothing into. "Who's 'us'?"
"Doctor Richard Kimble and me."
"Kimble?!" Jane repeated, shocked. "You guys know some important folks."
"Well..." Frank answered, unwilling to bring back the old case, when he knew Kimble had worked hard to live down the memories. "Perks of the job and all."
"Yeah," Jane replied, tumbling clothing into the bag she'd retrieved, without much thought. "I guess so. Hey, lemme let you go; I'll be at the airport in ten."
"The plane'll be ready for you," Frank had promised.
And it was.
She shook her head slowly again, glancing down at her bag. She didn't even want to think of what she would find in there to wear. She hadn't paid much attention when she was tossing things in earlier. 'Well, that don't matter much. I'll just scare up some scrubs when we get there,' she thought.
She glanced up at the two men next to her; a vascular surgeon, Kimble was poring over a stack of faxed papers and making notes, while Deputy Henry sat across from them silent, and with an expression on his face that Jane couldn't quite identify.
"How does it look?" Jane asked Kimble quietly, and Frank immediately glanced up to listen. She hated to think of Catherine, so severely injured. In the aftermath of Noah's shooting, Catherine had been so helpful, arranging to fly Jane in to support Cosmo and the others, and giving her a chance to say goodbye to Noah. She felt tears sting slightly at her eyes as she recalled the young marshal that she had been dating until his tragic death. Even now, years later, the pain still popped up, unbelievably fresh.
Like it had only been yesterday.
"Not good but...." Richard glanced down at the papers once more, as Frank winced. He had been surprised to receive the call from the marshals and then to learn the circumstances. Memories of his wife, of losing her.... "She's hanging on, though. That's the important thing right now. She's still trying to fight."
"Catherine's a strong lady." Jane murmured, silently willing the plane to go faster. She had liked Catherine from their first meeting and now, thinking of her in a hospital bed fighting for her life.... The chiropractic physician looked intently at her surgical colleague. "What can we do to help her?"
"I've got an ICU specialist flying in, too, like we are," Kimble said slowly, his mind running over the situation for what felt like the millionth time as they talked. "The most important thing right now is getting that infection under control. If we don't do that, and fast, we could lose her."