State Hospital
Deaq's cover had already been established at the State Psychiatric Hospital when Van was brought in. He had been working for the last two weeks as a janitor, slash maintenance man, Mark Wilson. Van would be arriving today. He was portraying a transient, Jake Maddox who had been found wandering the streets by the police. He hadn't committed any crime so the city had then sent him to the state hospital to get him off the street and off of alcohol and drugs. Billie was investigating extortion and possible murder at the hospital that was basically a drop off spot for the desolate of L.A. When the city hospitals no longer could care for them, the poor of L.A. were sent to the state hospital. The California State Welfare office suspected someone at the hospital of fixing the books and also keeping patients in the hospital far longer then they needed to be in order to extort money from the state. The second patient to die, Mike Holt, had been found dead in his room of an overdose. All patient's rooms were kept locked during the night. If they needed a nurse they could buzz for one and one would arrive accompanied by a security guard. The staff at the hospital claimed Holt had broken into their medicine cabinet and had stolen drugs, then had gone back to his room and died of an overdose during the night. The hospital was found not liable due to the fact that Holt had supposedly jimmied the lock on his door himself and escaped. There had been too many calls to the police from the state asking them to check the hospital out for the police to ignore it any longer.
Van was brought in tied down on a stretcher kicking and yelling by two ambulance attendants. Deaq watched, as he mopped the floor from the TV room. You look good partner Van had not taken a bath or shaved for the last three days. His clothes were filthy.
"Let me go! Let me go, you bastards!" Van screamed as he struggled against the restraints.
"There, there Mr. Maddox. That's no way to act. You're here for your own good." The head nurse, Betty Seyler smiled down at him. One of the ambulance attendants handed her papers concerning the new patient. She read them, then smiled and laid the papers on a desk behind her.
"Let me go you old bat! I don't belong here!"
"Easy Mr. Maddox. I'm going to give you something to help to relax you." Betty went behind a desk and came out with a pill and a glass of water. When she placed the pill in Van's mouth he spit it back at her. Deaq could see the expression on her face change to anger.
"Alright Mr. Maddox, you don't want to behave then you're going to have to learn that I am the boss and you do as I say." Betty went behind the desk again but this time came out with a syringe. She held up a small vial, filled the syringe, then went over to Van's arm and plunged it in.
"Owwww!" Van yelped.
"Have a good rest Mr. Maddox."
Deaq watched as Van continued to struggle for a few minutes then suddenly his body just went limp, he lay on the stretcher glassy eyed staring at the ceiling. Deaq moved a few steps closer to his partner. He was worried. Van had passed out too quickly for just a sedative but when he noticed Van's chest rising and falling he relaxed. Damn partner don't scare me like that He watched as the nurse gave a smug smile and leaned down to Van.
"You'll learn." She said as she patted his face. "Take Mr. Maddox and get him washed up and dressed, then take him to his room." She ordered two orderlies.
They wheeled Van down to the shower room and were in the room for about an hour. When they emerged Van had been dressed in loose fitting blue pants and shirt. The top of his shirt was soaked from his wet hair. His face also had been shaved. Deaq watched as they rolled the litter over to room 302, took Van inside, and emerged a few minutes later. Deaq mopped the hallway and peaked in the window of Van's room. He lay on the bed, perfectly still, his arm hanging over the side of the bed. Small trickles of blood ran down his face where they had cut him shaving. What the hell did they give you? Deaq didn't like the fact that Van appeared completely oblivious to anything that had happened. He should have started coming out of it by now, he thought. Deaq knew his shift would be over soon and hated the thought of leaving his partner here, but knew he had no choice. He couldn't blow his cover. At the end of his shift, he walked out the door like he didn't have a care in the world and headed for the Candy Store.
"Hi Deaq. How's it going?" Billie looked up as Deaq entered and smiled.
"Hey Billie."
"You sound down. Anything wrong."
"Just don't like leaving Van there with no backup."
"He should be fine. There's no reason for them to hurt him. Not till they bleed the state for money to keep him there longer."
"I just don't like it. He's only there a few minutes and already they've got him doped up." Deaq picked up the basketball and tossed it back and forth in his hands wishing his partner was there to go one on one with.
"Who gave him the dope?"
"A nurse, Betty Seyler. Mean woman, treats the patients like prisoners, always barking out orders. Van got off to a bad start with her already."
"You have your camera?"
"Yeah." Deaq fingered the small camera disguised as a button on the front of his shirt.
"Okay, I want you to take pictures of anything unusual. Any kind of violation, cruelty...............what ever. Van has been set up as a perfect victim to their scam. The papers we sent with him have him listed as a ward of the state. No family, no one wondering where he is, the perfect victim. He's been scheduled to only stay ten days. Who ever is doing this will probably act a day or so before he's to be released. They'll pull something to keep him there longer. Stick as close to him as you can without being obvious. Two men have died up there and I don't want Van to be the third." Billie walked over to Deaq and put her hand on his arm. "And Deaq................Van knows what he's in for. He knows he's going to get smacked around. I need you to stay calm, turn your face if you have to, just don't go freaking out unless you're positive he's about to be seriously injured or killed. We need pictures, we need proof of what's going on up there and I want to get all of them that are involved, not just a few." She handed Deaq a tiny plastic object that was about the size of a dime. It looked like a small band-aid. "If you can, get this to Van. They already searched him when he arrived so tell him to stick it on himself somewhere they won't notice it like under his hair in the back. It's an alarm. Tell him if he's ever in fear for his life he should squeeze it hard. The alarm will ring here and I can call you or send help."
Deaq arrived an hour early for work the next day. He sat in the staff lounge talking and laughing with some of the staff of the hospital. He was anxious to go on duty and check on his partner to make sure he was okay. Once he was on duty he headed to Van's floor and started sweeping the hallway. As he went by his room he looked inside. Van was nowhere in sight. He could feel his heart start to beat faster. Where the hell are you partner?
"Hey Marcus." Deaq yelled over to another maintenance worker who had worked at the hospital for many years. "Where's the new kid?"
"I heard he gave them trouble last night. Probably took him to the isolation room."
"Isolation room?"
"They stick them in there till they cool off."
"I thought this was a hospital not a prison."
"They say it does them good. Part of their treatment or something."
"How long do they keep them there?"
"Well, he's new and it's his first offense. Probably just the day, he should be out tomorrow. Why the concern?"
"Just trying to learn the ropes. Besides I should get in there and mop up." Deaq hitched his thumb at Van's room.
"I'll get the key."
Deaq watched as Marcus went over and took a key off the board behind the nurse's station. It might come in handy to know which key opened Van's room. Deaq took his mop and bucket into Van's room and started mopping the floor. His eyes searched the room. One of the chairs was knocked over and the bed sheets were a mess as if there had been a struggle. He found what he was hoping not to find. Blood. Not much just a few drops on the floor. Damn! He knew he had to find which floor the isolation room was on, his partner could be hurt. He finished mopping up, locked the door, then handed the key to Marcus.
"Looks like they messed him up a bit." Deaq said.
"Yeah, they tend to do that with the...............unruly ones."
"Where is the isolation room?"
"In the basement. Why?"
"Thought it would be kind of fun to sneak a peek." Deaq winked.
"It might be at that. I've never been down there. It's off limits. How 'bout I go with you?" Marcus smiled.
"Not this time. Let me see if I can find it first. If we both disappear they'll notice."
"Well, don't let the white coats catch you. They fired the last man they found down there."
Deaq spent the next hour cleaning and doing some minor maintenance. He then grabbed a trashcan, got on the elevator, and headed for the basement. When the elevator door opened he was met by a blast of cool air. The hallway was dark and damp. The basement appeared to be just a large storage area. There was no one around so Deaq went from door to door knocking, all of the doors were locked and there was no answer. At the last door on the left he noticed a small sliding door about eye high. He slid it opened but couldn't see into the room which was totally dark.
"Van.......Van you in there?" Deaq said quietly
"Deaq?" Van whispered back. "What are you doing down here?" Van hurried over to the door.
"I saw blood in your room. Are you okay?"
"Yeah............. but watch out for that orderly Watkins. He's psycho."
"You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, but you gotta get out of here. They catch you down here the gigs up."
"Here." Deaq handed the small alarm through the door. "Billie said you should stick it under your hair. It's an alarm. If you're in big trouble press it and she'll notify me or if I'm not available, she'll send help."
"Okay.............now get out of here before they miss you." Van reached up and took the alarm from Deaq.
"I'll see you tomorrow. Try to stay out of trouble till then."
"Okay............watch your back partner."
"You too."
Deaq quickly went back to the elevator with his trashcan and headed back upstairs. He was relieved he had found Van but still hated leaving him in the cold, dark basement. He spent the rest of the day doing his job but couldn't get his mind off of his partner.
After work he headed back to the Candy Store. Billie looked up as he walked in.
"They got Van in some kind of isolation room in the basement." Deaq said frowning.
"What?"
"Supposedly he got unruly last night and this is part of their treatment."
Billie shook her head.
"Is he okay?"
"He said he was."
"You talked to him?"
"I...........Well I kind of snuck down to the basement to make sure he was alright."
Billie frowned.
"You might have blown your cover doing that."
"No, everything's fine. I had a backup plan if I was spotted."
"You're worried about him." Billie looked into Deaq's eyes.
"I don't like the fact that he's there alone at night."
"That's why I gave you the alarm to give him. He needs help............we'll be there in a matter of minutes."
"I still don't like it. It only takes a few seconds to kill someone."
"You know ............Van requested this assignment."
"Why?" Deaq looked puzzled.
"A few years back a friend of his was diagnosed with schizophrenia. He had gone to high school with him. Well anyway...............they had sent him to the state hospital because his family had no money. Van would visit him and find him covered with bruises. They told Van he would become violent and that they had to restrain him. They said he would sometimes even hurt himself. Van believed them, he had no reason not to. One day Van went to visit him and was told he had hung himself during the night. Van never forgave himself. He felt like he should have done more, should have been more observant. This is his way of somehow making his friend's death count for something."
"How do you know all this? Van just started working for you."
"I know a lot about my people. I have to." She gave Deaq a small smile.
"So Van figures if he let's them slap him around, it somehow makes up for his not stopping them from slapping his friend around?" Deaq asked.
Billie gave a sad smile and nodded.
"Something like that."
"Well, let's hope that slapping him around is all they do."
"We got to let him play this his way."
"I know............ but I don't have to like it."
The next morning Deaq was once more an hour early. He went to the staff room and drank coffee with the staff then got his bucket and mop and headed for Van's floor. On his way there Nurse Seyler stopped him.
"I need you to mop up the first floor today."
"I usually start on the third floor and work my way down." Deaq wanted to make sure he checked on Van before he did anything.
"Well I'm telling you to start down there today. Two patients got into a fight and it's a mess down there."
Deaq grabbed his bucket and headed for the elevator, his eyes searched for Van. In the hallway he saw an enormous man, dressed in patient blues and flanked by two orderlies, heading for the TV room. The man looked more like a gorilla then a human. On the way down the hall he would lunge out at some of the patients then start laughing when they backed away from him terrified. He thought he saw Van in the TV room but couldn't risk going in there because Seyler was watching and would question him. He went to the first floor where Marcus was already starting to mop one end of the hallway.
"Hey Marcus." Deaq put up his hand.
"They got you down here too?" Marcus walked over to Deaq.
"Yeah, they told me some patients went at it last night."
"They should have more janitors around here. Two for each floor."
"Trying to save money I guess."
"Cheap bastards."
"I saw this giant of a man on three. Who the hell is he?"
"Oh.........you must have seen Bull." Marcus laughed. "Don't know his real name but that's what everyone calls him."
"Looks like a mean sucker." Deaq said.
"He is. He'd rather beat the hell out of you then say hi. I heard rumors that they use him once in awhile when they have trouble with a patient. Can't say it's true but I heard sometimes they lock patients in with him for an hour or so just for the fun of it. They make bets on how badly hurt the man is when he comes out. Never saw it myself though."
Deaq made a mental note to try and warn Van about Bull. He knew Van could fight with the best of them but also knew he would be no match for Bull. They cleaned the first, then the second floor and finally the third. He glanced in the TV room, Van stood at the window looking out. Deaq entered and began straightening up the room. Van turned and barely glanced at Deaq before he started heading back to his room. Deaq winced when he saw the dark bruise on the side of Van's face from the confrontation yesterday.
"Learn to duck." He whispered as Van walked by him. Van didn't acknowledge him but continued toward his room.
"Mr. Maddox." One of the nurses at the station called to Van. He turned and looked at her.
"Don't forget your medication." She held out a small cup with pills.
"I don't need no medication, what I need is to get the hell out of here!" Van snapped at her and continued toward his room.
Come on partner, don't give them a reason. Deaq continued cleaning the TV room but kept his eye on his partner. It seemed like Van was just asking for trouble.
A few seconds later two huge orderlies came up to Van. Each one grabbed one of his arms and pulled him to the nurse's station. He tried to free himself but it was hopeless. The nurse gave one of the orderlies the pills. The man grabbed Van's nose and held it shut till he opened his mouth. He shoved the pills in, then held his hand over Van's nose and mouth till he couldn't breathe. Van swallowed but the orderly didn't release him right away and he started to panic as he struggled for air. Deaq watched from the TV room, fighting the urge to help his partner. Let him go you son of a bitch! Just as Van was about to pass out the orderlies released him. He fell to the floor gasping for breath. The orderlies laughed and walked away. Deaq remembered what Billie had said about turning his face to the abuse. He kept his head down and continued cleaning, but watched out of the corner of his eye. Van finally got up and headed for his room. Later in the day as he was mopping the floor he walked by Van's room and peaked in. Van sat on the edge of the bed his hands clasped in front of him. Deaq bumped the mop against the door to get his attention. He looked over and seeing Deaq gave him a small smile and a wink. He held up the pills that he had pretended to swallow and stuck them under his mattress where he had hidden other pills. Deaq immediately felt better. His partner seemed okay.
The next three days were pretty uneventful. Deaq snapped a few pictures of patients who looked like they might have been abused. On the 4th day Deaq arrived to find all the patients lined up against the wall, including Van. He quickly walked over to Marcus.
"What's going on?"
"They found a patient with a knife early this morning. They're doing a room search."
Deaq looked over at Van who met his eyes. He could see the apprehension in Van's eyes. If they found his pills, he would be in trouble. Deaq walked over to Nurse Seyler.
"Need help searching the rooms?" Deaq hoped he could get to Van's room and dispose of the pills before they found them.
"We don't need your help. Go back to work, our orderlies are trained in room searches." Seyler snapped at Deaq.
Deaq looked back at Van who now was watching as the two orderlies entered his room. Deaq went about his cleaning but stayed close enough so he could keep his eye on what was happening. Ten minutes later the orderlies came out holding the pills. Deaq glanced at Van who had his eyes shut and his head back against the wall. Nurse Seyler walked over and stood in front of him.
"You've been a very bad boy Mr. Maddox." She motioned to the two orderlies. "Take him down to isolation."
As the orderlies went to grab Van he resisted them, punching one of them in the face and slamming the other against a wall. Nurse Seyler pulled a syringe out of her pocket and stuck it in Van's leg. He looked at her with a shocked expression then fell against the wall and slowly slid down it as the drug quickly took affect. Deaq seeing what was happening instinctively started to head for his partner. Marcus grabbed his arm and stopped him.
"What do you think you're doing? You interfere they'll fire you on the spot."
"What did they give him?"
"Probably the same stuff they give everyone who fights them, some kind of sedative. He'll be fine in a few hours. Why do you care?" Marcus looked at him questionably.
"It just seems they're always picking on the new kid. I feel bad for him."
"Well don't worry 'bout him. He's a statey, he won't be here long."
"What do you mean by that?" Deaq asked anxiously.
"He'll probably be released in a few days............but they all come back eventually."
Deaq watched as the orderlies dragged Van by his arms toward the elevator. He touched his button, taking another picture as they passed him. He then shut his eyes and clenched his teeth. It took all his will power not to help his partner. He couldn't wait till this assignment was over and he and Van were out of there. When the end of the day came he hated leaving, he felt helpless, like he was deserting his partner. As he pulled away from the building his stomach twisted in a knot thinking of him alone in the dark basement. Stay strong partner. He headed back to the Candy Store and told Billie the latest. Billie could tell Deaq was worried.
"Deaq you got to hold it together. I know it's hard."
"They have him locked in this dark cell............. How do we know they didn't overdose him?"
"I'm sure they're not going to kill him with all the witnesses around...........at least not yet. Tomorrow, if you have the opportunity, I'd like you to see if you can get, or take pictures of the files of the two dead men, Mike Holt and David Zern. Maybe there's something in them we can use. Be careful, they see you snooping around they'll destroy any records they might still have. Also try to get pictures of their log and accounting book. Don't try and take them, they'd miss those for sure."
"Good, I'll be glad to get this case over with and get my partner out of there." Deaq removed the film from the tiny camera and handed it to Billie who gave him a fresh film to replace it with.
The following day when Deaq got to work he headed immediately to his partner's room and looked in. He could see Van laying on the bed his face toward the wall. I'm going to try and wrap this case up today. Just stay out of trouble till then. He went to the utility room and picked up his mop and bucket then headed for the TV room. A few minutes later Marcus came in.
"How's it going Marcus?"
"Can't complain. After you left last night we had a little excitement."
"What?"
"Remember those rumors I told you about Bull?"
"Yeah."
"They're true. The new kid was giving them trouble last night so they stuck him in with Bull. I saw it. Kid must have gotten in some good hits because Bull looked a little worse for wear this morning."
"How's Maddox?" Deaq could feel his throat tightening, he swallowed hard. His eyes looked down the hall toward Van's room.
"Pretty banged up. I saw them dump him back in his room just before you got here."
You bastards! You're going to pay for this! He glared over at Nurse Seyler who had a smile on her face as she talked to the orderlies. Deaq watched as they exchanged blood money. How bad had Van been hurt? Deaq had no way of knowing; he walked down the hall past his room again and looked in. He hadn't moved. Deaq watched till he could detect the rise and fall of Van's breathing. At least he's alive Deaq knew he had to bide his time till he could get to the records. The best time would be around noon when most of the staff was at lunch and only one person watched the desk. Deaq kept checking on Van throughout the day. He still faced the wall. Around ten he decided since Nurse Seyler was on break, he would ask one of the other nurses to check on him.
"Excuse me but I think the patient in room 302 might be sick. I heard him groaning."
"Thanks. They told me he had started a fight with another patient last night."
The nurse grabbed Van's room key and went to check on him, Deaq followed. The nurse opened his door and went to his bed as Deaq watched from the doorway.
"Mr. Maddox? Mr. Maddox are you okay?" The nurse gently shook him. Van finally groaned and rolled over. Deaq stepped into the room and looked down at his partner. Damn! Van's face had fresh bruises all over it. When he sat up he groaned in pain and pressed his hand hard over his ribs.
"Did they x ray those ribs for you?" The nurse asked.
Van shook his head.
"I'm okay............just a little sore."
"Would you like to go out to the TV room?"
"Yeah."
"Will you give me a hand?" The nurse asked Deaq who immediately went over to Van and helped him out of bed. Boy did they do a number on you. Between Deaq and the nurse they finally got Van out to the TV room and in a comfortable chair.
"Thanks."
"You need anything Mr. Maddox, please let me know."
Van nodded and sat on the chair rubbing his injured ribs. The nurse went back to her desk. Since Seyler was still on break and no one else was around, Deaq took the chance to talk to Van.
"You okay Van?" He leaned down, his eyes filled with worry.
"Yeah, I just had a little boxing match with a gorilla."
"Can't you stay out of trouble?"
"Guess not." Van rubbed his sore jaw.
"At noon I'm going to try to get to the records. They have a lunch meeting today and they'll probably only have one person watching the desk."
"Leave me alone! Get out of here!" Van suddenly kicked out at Deaq..
Deaq looked at him questionably until he noticed that Nurse Seyler was back and watching them.
"Just trying to help buddy." Deaq put his hands up and backed away from Van.
"What the hell is he doing out of his room?" Seyler screamed at the young nurse behind the desk.
"He was groaning I thought he was sick so I checked on him. There wasn't any memo about keeping him locked up." The young nurse nervously answered.
Seyler walked over and stood in front of Van.
"You going to give us anymore trouble Mr. Maddox?"
Keep your mouth shut Van Deaq thought.
Van didn't answer her. He stared at the floor.
"Well if you do, you'll really regret it next time. Go back to your room."
Van got up and without saying a word headed back to his room.
She spun around and faced Deaq. "And you.............get back to work! This man is no concern of yours."
"Sorry the man looked sick. Thought I could help."
"You don't help...........you call us next time."
Deaq turned away and went back to his cleaning. At twelve the patients were all locked in their rooms while the staff had their lunch meeting. The same nurse that had checked on Van earlier guarded the desk. Deaq walked over to her.
"Excuse me miss but I think I smell something burning down near the staff lounge, maybe you should take a look. It smells kind of electrical."
"Oh great. I can't leave the desk."
"I'll watch it for you."
"Okay, if anyone comes tell them I'll be right back". The nurse hurried down the hallway toward the staff lounge.
Deaq snuck behind the desk and looked in the files. He quickly found the files for Holt and Zern and tossed them into his trashcan. Next he looked for the accounting books. Finding them he opened them up and began snapping pictures. He was almost done when he saw Nurse Seyler coming up the hallway. He quickly put the book back in the drawer and slid around to the other side of the desk. He prayed she hadn't seen him.
"Where's the nurse that's on duty?" She glared at him.
"I smelled something burning down in the staff room and she went to check on it."
She looked suspiciously at Deaq.
"Well I'm here now. You can leave."
Deaq hoped he hadn't gotten the girl in trouble. He headed down the hallway to the elevator. He took one last look in Van's room as he left. Van lay on the bed his arm draped protectively over his ribs. Deaq gently knocked on the door and Van looked over at him. Deaq made an okay symbol with his hand to indicate to Van he had accomplished his mission. Van gave him a little nod and a thumbs up. Deaq went back to his cleaning then at the end of the day once more headed to the Candy Store.
"Mission accomplished." Deaq handed the files and film to Billie.
"Great, I'm going to get this developed immediately. I'll be right back." Billie took the files and film and left to go down to the lab. While they developed the pictures she would go through the files.
Deaq propped his feet up and decided to wait for Billie to come back. Hopefully she would find enough in it to close down the hospital. He soon fell asleep. He woke up a few hours later as Billie reentered the Candy Store.
"Everything's here Deaq and just in time too. Your Nurse Seyler has a predated entry for the day after tomorrow." She held up the paper and read. "Notify California State Welfare that Jake Maddox is unable to be released at this time. He is considered dangerous to others and himself and should be kept in the hospital till further notice." Billie smiled at Deaq. "She's doing it again, but this time we got her."
"I'll be glad to get Van out of there. I think she enjoys hurting him."
"Well, go home tonight and relax. Tomorrow we'll take her down and get your partner back."
It was finally almost over. Deaq drove home and decided to stay in for the night. He lay on the sofa and turned the TV on. After awhile he drifted off to sleep but was awakened a few hours later to the phone ringing. He looked at the clock. It was three A.M.
"Hello." He said groggily.
"Deaq it's Billie." Deaq could tell by her voice something was wrong. He quickly sat up.
"What's wrong Billie?"
"The hospitals' on fire. I'm on my way there now."
This couldn't be happening. Not now. Not when they were so close to ending this case.
"Van?" Deaq held his breath.
"I don't know. All I know is they didn't get everyone out."
"I'll meet you there." Deaq said as his body turned to ice.
Oh God No! He jumped in his car and flew toward the hospital. He could see the red glow from miles away. He skidded to a stop, got out, and ran toward the hospital. He was quickly stopped by a firefighter.
"Sorry pal, you can't go in there."
"I have a friend in room 302!"
"We're checking all the rooms. There's a group over there. Why don't you see if your friend is with them?"
Deaq frantically searched through the patients. Van was not one of them. He spotted Billie and ran over to her, she threw her arms around Deaq.
"I think he's still in there." Billie sobbed, not trying to hide her sorrow. "They've gotten to the third floor and are checking the rooms." Billie looked at Deaq. "Deaq, the fire started on the third floor. There's not much left of it."
"Oh no! Oh God no!" Deaq's face was a mask of agony. He could feel his world crashing in around him. "I can't lose him. My brother and now Van.............Billie I can't lose him."
Billie pulled him closer to her. A half hour later a fireman came over to them. He removed his hat and shook his head sadly.
"I'm sorry. Everyone on the third floor is either in the group over there or......."
He didn't need to finish. Deaq spun out of Billie's arms and his eyes searched for Nurse Seyler. He was certain she had caused the fire.
"I'll kill that bitch! I swear I'll kill her!"
"We have her Deaq. She's in custody along with the two orderlies that worked on that floor. One of the nurses said she saw them hanging around right before the fire started."
Tears ran down Deaq's face as he and Billie walked over to the charred bodies covered by blankets. Neither one wanted to pull back a blanket, scared at what they might find.
"I can't believe he's gone." Billie said softly, tears steamed down her face. "I'm sorry Deaq, I'm so sorry."
Deaq wiped the back of his hand across his eyes. He looked back at the burning building. The third floor was now fully involved. He felt like his heart had been ripped from him. Out of the darkness a lone figure approached him.
"Hi." The young nurse he had talked to yesterday stood in front of him her outfit covered in soot. "This is horrible, so many didn't make it."
"What.............what happened? Were you here?"
"I was working a double shift. Everyone was locked in their rooms for the night. I went down to the staff room for coffee and when I came back everything was on fire. I unlocked as many doors as I could and we just ran for the fire escape. It was so horrible. I could hear people screaming." She began to sob.
"The guy in 302, Maddox, What happened to him?"
"I'm not sure. Soon after your shift was over I saw the head nurse and him arguing. I think he tried to stop those two goons of her from pushing another patient around. I remember Nurse Seyler giving him a shot then the next time I saw him they had a straightjacket on him. They said he had become extremely violent."
Deaq grabbed the girl by the shoulders.
"Did they put him in isolation?" His heart was pounding.
"I'm not sure."
"Think! What did they do with him?"
"They had him on a litter and were pushing him down the hall."
"To isolation?"
"They may have.............yes they probably did."
Deaq turned to Billie.
"He's in the basement!" Deaq started running toward the building.
"Deaq! No!" Billie screamed after him. She knew Deaq could get himself killed trying to find Van.
A fireman grabbed him by the arm.
"You can't go in there!"
"My friend is trapped in the basement!" He struggled to free himself.
"The building's going to collapse! The whole thing is going to come down!"
"Let me go!" Deaq freed himself and ran to a fire truck. He grabbed an oxygen mask, flashlight, and an ax then ran toward the building.
"No! Deaq! No! It's too late!" Deaq could hear Billie screaming.
He put the oxygen mask on and headed to the outside door leading to the basement. He was either going to get his partner out of there or they'd die together. The smoke was thick and the flashlight of little help. He felt his way along the hallway till he came to the isolation room. He removed his mask.
"Van!............Van you in there?" He replaced the mask and started breaking down the door with the ax. He shone the flashlight into the room. It was almost impossible to see anything. Deaq got on his hands and knees and felt around the room. He finally found what he was looking for. He shook Van but there was no response. He took off his mask and placed it over Van's face. As he did he felt something on Van's face and realized it was duct tape. My God they even had his mouth taped shut He pulled it off.
"Breathe partner! Breathe!"
He pressed on Van's chest the best he could with the straightjacket on, he doubted it did any good. Deaq knew he didn't have time to take the jacket off or to perform CPR. All he knew was that he had to get his partner out of there before the place collapsed on top of them. He threw Van over his shoulders and putting his hand against the wall to guide him headed for the stairway. Deaq could feel himself getting light headed. He removed the mask from Van for a few seconds and sucked in precious air. He quickly put the mask back on his partner's face. After what seemed like hours he made it back outside. Two firemen ran over and took Van from him. One of the firemen took the mask off of Van and put it over Deaq's face. They then went to work on Van as Billie ran over to Deaq.
"Deaq! Oh thank God!"
"How's...........How's Van?...........Check...........on Van." Deaq gasped out.
"They're working on him. You gotta try and take some deep breaths Deaq."
After Deaq was breathing better he and Billy went over to where the paramedics were working on his partner. They had cut the straightjacket off of him and were performing CPR. One of the paramedics would give him two breaths of air then put his ear next to Van's mouth to see if he was breathing.
"Nothing!" He shouted to his partner. The other paramedic continued pressing on Van's chest trying to get his heart beating.
"Anything?" He asked his partner.
"He's in respiratory arrest. We're losing him." He started to place a breathing tube down Van's throat.
Deaq turned to Billie.
"I swear Billie, he dies and I'll kill everyone involved in this." He said through clenched teeth.
Billie put her arm around Deaq and put her head on his shoulder.
"Those bastards left him down there with a straightjacket on. My God Billie they even had his mouth taped shut so he couldn't call for help." Deaq could feel the rage building in him. He squeezed his eyes shut to get the image out of his mind.Oh God! You have to make it partner.
Once the tube was in place the paramedic hooked Van up to a portable oxygen tank.
"We got to get moving." He shouted to his partner.
"I'm going with him." Deaq said to the paramedic.
"I'm going too." Billie said.
"Okay but one of you will have to ride up front."
"Deaq you stay with Van. I'll ride up front."
They climbed into the ambulance. Deaq picked up Van's hand, it felt cold. He squeezed it tight and choked back a sob.
"Hang in there partner. I'm here, Billie's here, you just hang in there. You fight partner. You use everything you have and you fight to come back."
The ride to the hospital seemed endless. They finally pulled into the emergency entrance and Van was quickly wheeled from the ambulance. Deaq and Billie followed him into the emergency room. They stood against the wall, out of the way of the doctors who worked frantically on him. One of them ripped open his shirt to begin to perform CPR on him.
"Breathe, come one breathe." The doctor looked down at the dark bruise covering the left side of Van's chest. "What the hell happened to him?"
"The hospital.............they beat him, then they burned it down around him." Deaq's face was etched in rage.
"Looks like he's got some busted ribs. I'll probably puncture a lung if I keep pressing on him like this." The doctor took out a long needle and plunged it into Van's chest. He then listened with his stethoscope. "Nothing!" Next he pulled out paddles and put one over Van's heart the other at his side. "Clear!" He yelled as the electric charge shot through Van. His body jerked off the table as the charge went through it. "Again!" Another charge shot through his body.
"Come on Van! Don't leave me partner!" Deaq shouted his face filled with anguish.
"Come on! Damn it!" The doctor gave him another jolt. Van's body jumped again, his head fell to the side, his arms hung off each side of the table. The doctor shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry............we've lost him." The doctor looked at the clock and wrote down the time of death.
"Noooooooooo!" Deaq ran over to the table. Billie turned her back to the scene and covered her face sobbing.
"Don't do this to me partner! Don't you go and leave me!" Deaq pushed Van's damp hair out of his eyes. "You son of a bitch, don't you leave me! Oh God please don't leave me!" Deaq began pressing on Van's chest. "Breathe! Please Van breathe!"
Billie came over to Deaq and tried to pull him away.
"He's gone Deaq. I'm so sorry............he's gone. You got to let him go." She buried her face in his shoulder. Deaq put his arms around her and hugged her close to him.
"I..............I can't believe it Billie. Oh God............I can't believe it." He couldn't take his eyes off his partner's lifeless body. In his mind he kept seeing pictures of them laughing, playing basketball and just being partners. He squeezed his eyes shut. This lifeless body wasn't his partner.
"Deaq............we got to leave. We got to call his family." Billie could tell Deaq was losing it. She knew she had to get him out of there.
"I can't leave him Billie. I need to be with him.............He needs me."
"There's nothing more you can do for him."
"I shouldn't have left him there. I knew that nurse had it in for him. I shouldn't have left him." Deaq ran his hand over his head.
"Deaq..............Van knew the risks and he wanted to take them. You both know things can go wrong. Things happen. As much as you pray they don't............they just happen. I cared about him too. I would give anything if.............." Billie choked on her words. "Deaq............Van would want you to be strong. He wouldn't want you blaming yourself." Billie took Deaq's hand and gently pulled him away from Van. "Let's let the doctors do what they have to do."
Deaq walked a few steps then turned and looked back at Van.
"I'll miss you partner. I love you buddy." Tears streamed down his face.
Deaq and Billie headed for the door as the doctor began disconnecting the IV's that were connected to Van when Van suddenly gasped for air.
"My God he's still alive!" The doctor immediately began to take Van's vital signs. Deaq and Billie hurried to the side of the table. Van's breathing was very labored, but he was breathing. "I can't believe it. He was dead............I know he was dead." The doctor said as he began reconnecting the IVs.
"Come on partner, fight! I'm here, Billie's here. We need you partner........... I need you."
The doctor shook his head in disbelief.
"I got a heartbeat. It's weak, but it's a heartbeat."
Van began to groan softly and slowly opened unfocused eyes. He began to panic as he felt the tube down his throat and the machines connected to him. He began to thrash about on the table, Deaq quickly grabbed his hand.
"Van! Van look at me!"
Van slowly turned his head in Deaq's direction.
"I'm with you man." He squeezed his hand. "You gotta stop fighting the tubes. You need them...........they're helping you."
Van's eyes started to focus and he stared up at his partner. He began to noticeably relax as he looked into his partner's eyes. He weakly returned Deaq's squeeze.
"How you doing buddy?" Billie stood next to Deaq and smiled down at Van.
Van couldn't talk so he blinked his eyes to let Billie know he heard her.
"We were so worried about you." She added.
"We got them partner, they won't hurt anyone else. It's over, all you gotta do now is rest and get better."
Van nodded slightly, then shut his eyes and drifted back to sleep.
"He'll be okay won't he?" Billie anxiously asked the doctor.
"We won't know till he's off the respirator and fully conscious.............but I'll be honest with you, I'm worried about possible brain damage."
Deaq looked at the doctor.
"Brain damage!.............. He recognized us, he squeezed my hand. I know he knew who I was, I could see it in his eyes."
"We don't know how long he was without oxygen. He may appear to recognize you but in reality not have the slightest idea who you are. Or other areas could have been affected, speech, balance, memory, we just won't know till he's fully awake."
Deaq looked down at the floor. Emotionally he was drained and didn't know what to feel. A few seconds ago he had been elated that his partner was still alive, and now he had just heard that Van might have brain damage and might never be the same. Billie took his hand.
"We can't lose hope Deaq. Van needs us to be strong."
"I know Billie, it's just that................he's been through hell."
"I know Deaq, he bet the odds once and he's going to do it again, you'll see."
"God I hope so Billie." Deaq turned his head as tears once more filled his eyes.
The next two days were agonizing for Billie and Deaq, Van was in and out of consciousness and still on the respirator. The third day he was finally taken off the machine and was breathing on his own. He had a bad cough due to all the smoke inhaled but he was awake and talking. After numerous tests the doctors determined that he showed no sign of brain damage, but he would need to rest for the next few weeks before returning to work. Billie and Deaq quietly entered his room. Van was awake and looked over at them and smiled. Untouched food sat on the tray in front of him.
"How you doing partner?" Deaq asked.
Van nodded and smiled, afraid to talk in case it would trigger a coughing fit.
Billie walked over and put her hand on Van's arm.
"We got them Van, ...................Seyler, the orderlies and two on the board of trustees. Seyler began singing as soon as she was in the interrogation room, trying to save her own skin."
Van swallowed hard then tried to speak without coughing.
"How many?" Was all he could get out before he had to cough.
"Thirty two."
Van shook his head sadly then looked down. Thirty-two people had died because of someone's greed.
"Hope they..............throw the ............key away." He managed between coughs.
"Oh, they'll be going away for a long time alright. Thirty two counts of murder and attempted murder, there's no way they're going to walk away from this one." Billie leaned down. "You know Van, we almost lost you, but Deaq wouldn't give up, he went back into the hospital and pulled you out."
"Thought................I heard...............you calling..........me, but...............couldn't answer." Van looked over a Deaq. "Thanks..............partner."
"Hey, the only reason I saved your sorry ass was because you still owe me a meal from the last time I saved your butt."
Van smiled and nodded toward the hospital food in front of him.
"Oh no." Deaq said. "You're not getting off that easy."
Billie smiled to herself. It would take a little time, but it looked like everything would soon be back to normal.
The End