Note from author:  I'm really sorry it took so long but I've been real busy.  Sorry about that Chief.

16. Bullets and High Heels

"Are you gonna be okay?"   Murphy whimpered, sniffing Mark's blood stained shirt.

He nodded his head slightly.  Even that hurt.

"Look, Mark…" Max said, sheepishly pawing the floor with his foot.  "…I'm really sorry about that.  Is there anything I can do?"

Mark gave a low groan then spoke in a raspy voice.  "Just don't do it again."  At the moment he was in too much pain to be mad at anyone.

99's eyes suddenly light up.  "Max!"  She yelled excitedly.  The Chief quickly shushed her.  She apologized and continued in a quieter tone.  "I forgot, I have my 'bullet kit!'"

"But I thought they took your purse." 

"But my 'bullet kit' is in my shoes.  About a week ago Prof. Windish gave me these."  She began taking her black heels off.

"Oooh.  That's clever.  Use your shoes as a purse so you wouldn't have to put your feet in a bag, and if they took your purse they wouldn't be taking your heels because your feet would be in your shoes and if your feet are in your shoes…eh…if your feet are…uh…the shoes would be…" Max suddenly realized he hadn't the foggiest idea what he was getting at. 

"If your feet are in your shoes-?"  Murphy asked impatiently."

"They won't get cold."  Max finally found an intelligent (or so he thought) ending to his statement.

Mark groaned again, only more loudly this time.  I haven't died and gone to heaven.  I've died and gone to a Mel Brooks marathon! 

99 ignored Max's babbling (which was pretty easy by this time in their relationship) and opened the heels of her shoes to reveal a hidden compartment in each one.  Out of the right compartment she pulled out a large white pill and set of tweezers that telescoped to a foot long, out of the left came what looked like a large, white, foam earplug.  She held the pill up to Mark's mouth.  "Take this."

Being in the physician's field, even though he was just a vet, he prided himself in knowing most all prescription and off-the-shelf drugs and this one was unknown to him. 

"What's that?"  He asked hoarsely.

"What do you mean 'what's that'?"  Max asked.  "I can't believe you don't know what that is.  Some doctor you are.  It's your job to know that kind of thing.  'What's that' ha." 

"Well, what is it?"  Mark, Murphy and the Chief asked impatiently.

"Well, go ahead, tell 'em what it is 99."

"Basically it's just a pain pill, but it works almost instantaneously and is so strong that it can render even the most excruciating pain bearable.  Now open up!"  Mark started to say something but 99 took the opportunity and shoved the capsule in his mouth before he could utter a word.

Marks face tensed and his nose wrinkled as the pill began to dissolve in his mouth.  He swallowed quickly.  "Yeeech!"  Instantly the pain began to fade.  It didn't altogether disappear but he no longer felt like he was going to pass out every time he so much as blinked.  "Thanks."  He said, forcing a smile.

"We're not done yet."  She began rubbing the tweezers with an alcohol swab that also came from her shoe.  His eyes widened as he realized what she was about to do.  He'd done it many times through out his practice but he had never been on the other side of the tweezers.  "We're going to take the bullet out."  99 hated to do this.  She wished she could just turn her back and let someone else do it.  But the Chief's eyes weren't as keen as they used to be and there was no way she would trust Max's fumbling hands with a delicate procedure such as this.  "Take your shirt off."

"99!!"  Max exclaimed, appalled.  "First you kiss him and now this?"

"Oh, Max."  She explained quietly as she helped Mark with his sweater-vest.  "I have to be able to see what I'm doing."

"Alright.  Fine.  You can see what you're doing.  Just don't look."

She heaved a weary sigh and continued unbuttoning Mark's shirt.  "Even with the pain-killer this is going to hurt."

Mark nodded and braced himself.  99 did the same.  Even though just the thought made her queasy she inserted the metallic tongs.  Mark's whole body tensed and his feet locked around the legs of the chair.  She could hear his teeth grind as she probed further.  Then she felt the satisfying click of metal on metal.  With one quick twisting jerk and a loud yelp out of Mark the bullet was extracted.

He just sat there panting as 99 put the tweezers away.  He looked down and immediately wished he hadn't.  The, now unstopped, blood vessels were pouring more of the sickeningly red fluid from the open wound.  He was used to blood with performing countless surgeries routinely it was inevitable.  Even though he saw the substance just about every working day of his life, seeing so much of his own still made him nauseous. 

He didn't have time to think about it for long though.  For the efficient 99 was now twisting the foam thing so it compacted into a three inch long rope about as thick as a pen.

"I don't think it matters how big the earplug is, if you don't have two it ain't gonna work."  Murphy said, as he watched with interest.

"It's not an earplug.  It is a plug though."  99 explained calmly.

"Than what's it for?"  Mark was afraid he already knew.

"It's a bullet plug."    

"I was afraid it was something like that."  He groaned.  Will this ordeal ever end?    

They had a bit of a struggle getting it in place.  But once it was in it stopped the bleeding quite efficiently.  Mark was impressed with the invention and wondered why someone hadn't thought of it before.

"Thank you, Miss…?"

"I'm 99, and that's the Chief." 

Murphy looked up at her amazed.  "You're 99?  Wow.  How many facelifts have you had?"

"No."  Max explained.  "That's her agent number, mutt.  Actually, she's CONTROL's best agent, besides myself of course."  99 rolled her eyes and the Chief got a look on his face that said 'I think I'm going to barf'.  "Not to mention she's my wife." He finished.

"Oh," Murphy nodded as though a light bulb had switched on in his doggie brain.  "So she's the one who watched coldly as you lost your job and then hung up on you in your time of need." 

"MAX!"  99 yelled.

"MURPHY!"  Mark scolded.

"CHIEF!"  Max turned for support.

"MEOW!"  Shouted a voice above the others.

"Meow?"  They all repeated looking down at the smallest member of their group who was now standing amidst them.

"She says 'what are we all standing around for?  Are we going to stop the bad guy or what?'"  Murphy translated.

Max looked down skeptically.  "You got all that from 'meow'?"

"So I paraphrased a little.  So impound me!"