Although the name of the street – Terrace Drive – sounded like a bright clean area, it turned out that it actually laid in one of the more run down parts of Boston. The apartment building was only one of many. Probably built in the late sixties, and without a lot of repair or improvement since than, it looked grey and without appeal. The faces of the people reflected the attitude of the area – disillusion and hopelessness.

Judson pulled the car into the parking lot in front of the building and stopped in a spot close to the entrance. three teenagers were standing by the door, smoking cigarettes, each of them having a bottle of beer in his hands. They were laughing until they saw the car stop. Obviously not used to seeing a new and fairly expensive car in this area of town they looked up and for a moment watched them with interest before they returned to their previous activity.

The entrance and the hallway of the building were littered with empty beer cans, cigarette butts and candy wrappers. The lamps on the ceiling gave only a dim light off, some of them were broken, others were missing the light bulbs. All in all there was hardly enough light to see from one end of the long hall to the other.

A woman was standing in front of one of the doors, searching with one hand for something in her purse while she held a paper grocery bag in the other. For some reason the lamp above her was working and gave enough light to show the team that it had the numbers '4a' written on it.

Gabe hurried over to her, followed by the others. Just as he approached her, the bag started to slip out of her hand. Jumping forward, he was able to catch it before it dropped.

"Thanks for the rescue!" she gave him a thankful look.

"Why don't you let me hold it for you while you look for whatever it is you are looking for!" Gabe suggested.

"Thanks again, I just can't find my key!"

She continued to search her big purse, giving him a chance to study her. Prematurely aged, her face spoke of a tough life probably involving drug and alcohol abuse. Her skin had an unhealthy yellowish tint to it, her pale blue eyes spoke of disappointment and despondency and the current influence of some kind of illegal drug. The hair, evidently colored with a cheap coloring agent, was stringy and of an unnatural bright red. Her cloth looked more like the one of a teenager than of a woman in her late forties.

Suddenly she looked up with a triumphant grin on her face, holding up a key in front of Gabe's face. "Found it!"

She turned to insert it into the look but Gabe stopped her, "You must be Ellie Miller!"

The smile instantly disappeared from her face and turned into a haunted look. "What do you want from me, I have no money!"

"I am not here for money!" Gabe assured her, laying his hand on her forearm, "Matter of fact, I thought you might be able to use this!"

He pulled a hundred dollar bill out of his pocket and handed it to her. For a moment she hesitated, studying his face. After she was confident that he didn't want to harm her, she took the bill and hastily stuffed it into her purse.

"So what you want? I usually don't do business in my apartment but I could make an exception for you!" Once again there was a smile on her face only this time it had an almost sleazy quality to it.

For a moment caught off guard, Gabe took a deep breath. He realized that Judson was ready to jump in but waved him off with a look that indicated he was able to handle this. Then he turned back to Ellie.

"I think you misunderstood Miss Miller. I am here to talk to you! My name is Gabriel Patterson!" 

The mention of his name had a frightening effect on the woman. Her face turned pale and her hands started to shake so much that she dropped the key she still held. Her eyes wandered up and down the hallway like she was expecting the boogeyman to appear and get her. There clearly was fear written all over her eyes.

For a moment Gabe was afraid she might collapse and reached out to hold her, dropping the grocery bag he still was holding. After a moment her frantic breathing started to slow down and she brushed his hands off.

"Are you okay?" Gabe inquired, still a little worried about the reaction he had caused in her.

"Yeah, you shouldn't have come here!"

She bent down to pick up the key while Gabe collected the fallen groceries that had spread all over the floor. After he had retrieved the last piece and put it back into the bag, he looked at her again, "Will you talk to me!"

"I told you shouldn't have come!" she said once again, then continued, "But now that you are already here, you might as well come in. But only you, your friends need to wait outside!"

Mac wanted to protest but Gabe interjected anything she had to say, "It's okay guys, why don't you wait in the car, this won't take long!"

Judson gave Mac a sign and very reluctantly she turned to walk back to the entrance. She had just taken a couple steps when a loud blast behind her almost deafened her. She felt the impact of another body pushing her to the ground.

++++=

For a moment Mac felt disoriented, feeling a heavy weight on her back. When it finally lifted, she realized it had been Judson who had landed on her. There was a slight moan from him.

"You okay?" she asked him with slight worry in her voice, still not quite sure what had happened.

"Yeah, just got the wind knocked out of me, what about you?"

"Same here!"

It was then when they heard a scream from Mary Sue, who had remained by the entrance. Now she was running by them, her voice filled with anguish and fear, repeating only one word, "Gabe!"

As Mac and Judson's eyes followed her they realized what had happened. The moment Ellie had turned the key in her look it had set off an explosion that had caught her and Gabe in it's wake. There was no doubt that Ellie was dead, the blast had caught her head on. Gabe, who had stood a little to the side had been thrown against the other wall and now was lying unmoving on the ground, his body partially covered by debris.

Mac stumbled up and ran over to him, where Mary Sue was already checking him out. Blood was running from a deep laceration on his forehead where some of the debris had struck him, otherwise he had no visible injuries. Instinctively she wanted to lift him up and cradle his head in her lab but Mary Sue held her back.

"He might have some back injury that you could worsen by moving him!"

Mac looked at Judson, who already had pulled out his cell phone to call for help, then her eyes wandered back to her fallen friend. Why in the world did this happen? It seemed like everything had conspired against him!

+++++

For Mac and Judson the next few hours went by like in a blur. Following the ambulance to the hospital turned out to be the easiest part, it was the waiting for news about their friend's condition which finally almost made them loose it. Mary Sue once again turned into their rescuing angel. Knowing almost everyone at the hospital, she kept them up to date as much as she could. But even she was unable to obtain any exact information on his condition.

After what seemed like days but actually had been only two hours, she finally returned once again from one of her trips into the treatment area. As she slowly approached them, they could read in her eyes that she didn't have any good news.

"They got Gabe stabilized and finished the last test!" her voice almost broke and she had to stop to collect herself.

"But that is good news, isn't it?" Mac asked, already knowing the answer would be no.

"I wish it was, the way it looks he has a severe concussion but that is probably the least of their worries right now. There are some injuries to his kidneys and they are taking him up to surgery right now."

She stopped once again, hoping there would be no further questions for now. Her hope was disappointed.

"But that's not all, you haven't told us everything?" Judson gave her a piercing look.

For a moment she hesitated, the she said, "No, that's not all, the CT showed an injury to his spine. They can't quite tell the extent of the injury yet, but I was told when Gabe regained consciousness for a short time, he was unable to feel anything from his waist down!"

"Oh no!" Mac screamed out as tears appeared in her eyes. The words she had just heard had hit her like a hammer and were almost beyond comprehension. Paralyzed – it sounded almost like a death sentence. Looking at Judson she could see that he looked just as distressed as she felt.

Mary Sue also recognized the effect her words had, "Guys, this is serious but it doesn't have to be a permanent condition. We have to wait and see. They already called a specialist in, who should arrive soon. "

Mac looked at Judson and without words they knew that they both were thinking the same thing. It just seemed like Gabe could never get a break. Why would it be different this time?

+++++

The man that was pacing the office of the hospital administrator on the other side of the building was in his own way just as worried as the Adventure Inc. team was. William Patterson had arrived at the hospital within 20 minutes after his son had been admitted. He very purposely had avoided any contact with the team, very well knowing he couldn't expect any kind words. After he had gotten the full report on the explosion that had injured the youngest member of his family, he realized that he was at least in part to blame for what had happened. And just this confession to himself was something very out of character for him.

Being Senator Patterson he had hidden his feelings very well and played out the importance of his position. This way he had avoided any contact with the press and even the police. He had also used the times in between updates on Gabe's condition to make several phone calls with the result that by now there was a full statement prepared for the public. He would just have to read it off and the e-mail he just had received and already printed out.

It was now that the door opened and Dr. Simpson, the chief of the surgical department, appeared. He was dressed in scrubs and looked in a hurry when he entered. Very shortly he explained the situation to the Senator, using almost the same words Mary Sue had used with Mac and Judson.

For a moment an expression of distress crossed the Senators face, "I want a specialist called in!"

"I have already done that; Dr. Lowry from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota should be here early tomorrow morning. He is the best in his field!"

"Good", his face had taken on its usual unreadable appearance.

"Would you please excuse me now", the doctor requested, "your son's surgery can't wait any longer!"

On his way out he turned around, "This will take a few hours, why don't you go home, I have the nurse give you a call when we are done!"

William Patterson stood quietly for a moment. Suddenly he realized that he really had no desire to go home. His wife was visiting Gabe's twin sister Constance in France where she had taken a one year residency position at one of the hospitals. And his other two sons were on business on the other side of the world.

His family was not around. The longer he thought about it the more he realized what needed to be done next. Anger started to flare up in his mind, fueled by the knowledge that someone that messed wit his family. Forgotten was his earlier self confession. No one was hurting his family and get away with it.

+++++

Thomas Jameson stretched in his oversized office chair. The last 25 years had been kind to him. His suits now were tailored and although his face still spoke of over consumption of alcohol, it was no longer cheap booze but rather the most expensive cognac available. The decision to go into business with the Patterson family had proved to be the best he had ever made. His seemingly grounded career had suddenly taken off, when it had become known that he was favored by one of Boston's finest. His office was no longer in a run down building but rather in one of the big high rises in downtown Boston. It now included a whole suite of offices and he had others do his dirty work. He had never used his knowledge to defend the innocent and helpless instead he helped the shady creatures that could pay his price. Now at 62 he no longer needed to work, his financial future was secured and he appeared in the office only once in a while to show he was still boss or for special client's.

This day had been no different. His firm had just successfully defended a rich entrepreneur that had been involved in a money laundering scandal and Jameson now had personally made sure he would receive the rest of his promised payment. Satisfied he leaned back, looking at the large Cuban cigar in his hand, enjoying the taste of the smoke he inhaled. In his mind there was nothing that could ruin this day.

A split second later the door opened and the anger in the face of the man that entered showed him how wrong he had been. Jameson jumped up, almost dropping the cigar and coughing as he swallowed some of the smoke.

"Senator Patterson!?" he stammered in surprise.

"Jameson, when I told you to stop my son from getting any information about his past, I didn't mean to kill him!"

The lawyer paled, "I…ah…I don't understand?"

"The explosion you set to kill the Miller woman hit my son also!"

Jameson relaxed slightly, "There was no way to know he would be there, plus, I didn't set the explosive!"

"That's the problem, ever since you started to depend on your hired hands, you have gotten sloppy. If my son dies, I will hold you personally responsible!"

The threat in Senator Patterson's voice was so real that the other man stepped backwards. Yet just for a moment, then he caught him self again. A devious smile appeared on his face as he realized that he still had the upper hand.

"What are you going to do? Tell the police? It would be real interesting for the public to know about all the dirty business that I have taken care of for your father and you. Especially, because the one, that you now call so affectionately your son is actually a not very legally adopted child."

The Senators face suddenly turned to stone, no longer showing any of the emotions that he had let come through in his anger before. The ice cold tone of his voice could have cut through rock when he spoke next, "Jameson, you are making a big mistake when you think you can mess with my family. Gabriel is my son, no matter what. I might not be able to go to the police, but I have other ways to make sure you won't be able to enjoy your retirement!"

With that he turned around, leaving the other behind not quite knowing what to make of the last words.

If you like my story and all the other Adventure Inc. stories on this site, I want to invite you to check out my website www.gabesadventures.com and also GabesAdventures-subscribe@yahoo.com. I did not found this group, Aimless and Little Wing did. We are a great bunch of list sibs, just try us. And by the way I always appreciate feedback.