***People, thanks for reading, and not lynching me. Since I'm not gonna be
on tomorrow, I'll post chapter 9 tonight. This story has taken so many
twists, even I can't explain it to myself. Happy reading!***
((Mainly takes place in the Morgue, right after the explosion.))
CHAPTER 9:
~~Jordan~~ This can't be happening...Woody was doing backup on this raid. Woody can't be hurt. He has to be okay. He has to be. I grabbed weakly at the chair that Nigel slid in front of me, and I sank into it, completely shaking. Garret was rubbing my shoulders and trying to get me to calm down, while Nigel was on the phone in the hall trying to call the Police Plaza to get any information he could. All I could do was stare at the image of the burning house, seeing the thick black smoke filling the clear sky. This can't be happening...
"Jordan, you have got to say something." Garret was leaning down in front of me and staring straight into my face. "Come on...say anything...please Jordan."
I glanced up at him and bit my lip. "What can I say Garret?" I was trying not to cry.
"I just don't want you going into one word answers. I don't care what you say." He gently rubbed my forearms while I stared at the TV silently.
"Where did Nigel and Lily go?" I glanced slowly around the room.
"Lily's on the phone with the police now, and Nigel went to go search for information in the police databases...Nigel figured Lily was the better talker." He smiled at me. "We're going to get information soon."
I nodded, then looked back at the TV. The reporter lady was back, but standing on the side of the building. I turned up the sound and listened to her.
"We are now getting the first reports on injuries and the impact that this explosion has caused. We have been informed that several officers were injured in the explosion, and one officer and the suspect are still not accounted for. Police are not releasing the name of the missing officer or the suspect at this time." She cut away to show the building, a gaping hole missing from it's side. "As you can see, this explosion was caused by various chemical compunds, and HAZ-MAT teams are on the site now to evaluate the danger posed to the community."
~~Garret~~ I glanced at Jordan, then to the TV. I bent my head down and prayed to myself silently. God, please don't let him be in trouble...for Jordan's sake... I looked back up to see Jordan shaking, letting little sniffs escape from her voice. I sat in the chair next to her, and I reached over and gently tried to hug her, which prompted an immediate clutching grasp that she locked onto me with, then she broke down sobbing in my arms. "Jordan...it's okay baby...I gently held her while she cried, trying to calm her down. She's not ready to lose you Woody...don't let yourself be lost...
"Garret? I...uh...need to talk to you for a moment." Nigel peeked his head in the door and looked down at Jordan nervously.
I nodded, then whispered in Jordan's ear. "Jordan, can I go talk to Nigel for a minute, then I'll be right back..."
She nodded, so I stood and walked out of the room, and into Nigel's office where he was blankly staring at his computer screen.
"Yeah Nige?" I looked at him, already knowing what he was going to say.
"Woodrow's the one missing Garret. And they've sent out a call for us to come assist in finding him..." He looked up at me. "We can't let Jordan come."
He nodded. "You and me will go. I'll hand Chief to Jordan while we go look for him. Bug and Peter can make sure she doesn't leave, I'll have Lily try to calm her down."
"You know she's gonna try and throttle you Mate..." he stood up in his chair and walked over to the window that looked into my office.
"I know, but it's for her own good. We're gonna get stuck with the autospy too...unfortunately. And if worse comes to worse, we're going to have him in the crypt sometime in the next 10 hours..." I rubbed the back of my neck. "Nigel, get the scene bags, lots of gloves, and get the bodybags. I have a fear we're going to need them."
"Alright." He walked down the hall to the supply room, while I went back in and grabbed my coat and keys, then grabbed Jordan's out of her coat which was hanging on my door.
"Garret? Where are you going?" She stood out of her chair.
"Me and Nigel have been requested to process the scene at that house." I motioned towards the TV. "And I'm handing Chief down to you while I'm gone. You are not to leave this building--Peter and Bug will make sure of that. You are going to talk to Lily and calm yourself down. Understand?" I looked at her shocked face. "I'm dead serious Jordan. You are NOT to leave this building."
"Garret, please, just let me--"
"No Jordan. For your own sake no. Me or Nigel will call you when we get information. I promise."
"Alright." She sat down in my chair and glared at me.
I walked out of the office, and grabbed Peter and Bug as they went walking down the hall.
"Do NOT allow her to leave this office. I don't want her in the elevator, the stairwell, or anywhere near the roof, understand me?"
They both nodded in unison. "We understand."
"Good. If she shows up at that crime scene, you will both have Hell to pay." With that, I turned and bumped into Nigel who was carrying a bag full of equipment, and a case with the camera in it.
"Ready Dr. Macy?"
"Yes, let's go." We walked down the hall, into the elevator, then down out into the lobby, where we nodded at the receptionist who gave us odd looks.
*****NOW WE'RE AT THE HOUSE*****
~~Nigel~~ The place was an absolute mess...rubble everywhere, smoke. The fire was out now, so all we had to do was wait for the "all-clear" that it was safe to enter, and then we had to go find Woody and the suspect. Garret's over there talking to the police, trying to get an idea of what actually went down. Well, the firefighters are coming out of the building now, so we should be able to go in pretty soon.
"Well, the cops said that everything seemed to be working, and the last place they saw Woody was heading into the basement after the suspect." Garret walked over to me and took a drink off of a bottle of water he was carrying. "You and me are going to need to work together on this. We're needed to find and ID the bodies, and then get them out and take them back to the morgue."
I nodded. "You think we're going to be able to find him?"
"I have a feeling we will, but it isn't going to be pretty." He shook his head. "Jordan is going to freak out."
"I know Mate...we should call Max and get him over to the Morgue."
"We'll call him after we've found him, just to be sure."
"Hey Macy! You and your guy can go in now!" A cop standing by the door yelled at us.
"Alright buddy, thanks!" We gathered up the stuff and donned protective gear, masks and helmets, and started for the basement.
When we got down there, I had to cover my eyes with my hand--there was so much smoke that still hadn't cleared out. Garret coughed a few times, then walked over to a charred body lying on the floor, next to what appeared to be the remaints of a gun.
He pulled out the camera and started snapping photos, then he turned the body over gently and shook his head. "Nigel, come here and look at this."
I looked, and nodded. "It isn't Woody." I turned around slowly and saw the pile of rubble that had fallen from above. I noted the blast pattern that the initial explosion had left on the walls, and I walked towards the pile of broken concrete and slightly charred wood, which I photographed and then tried to lift, with no sucess. "Garret, can you give me a hand with this?"
He walked over and nodded. "Sure." He counted to three, then we lifted the heavy section of flooring off the pile and flung it to the ground.
"What in the bloody hell..." I stared blankly at the body in front of us.
"That's impossible." Garret shook his head several times, then looked over at me. "It's not possible..."
"He's not even burnt..." I stared down at Woodrow's body, completely intact, no burns, only a little dirt and mud caking on his skin. "You have got to be kidding me..."
Garret grabbed the camera and snapped a few primary photos, then gently knelt down and started to clear the broken concrete blocks away from his body. "The bricks protected him from the flames...
I leaned down and started to pull some of the wood pieces away, clearing off his body. Once we had it uncovered, Garret took a few more photos, then looked up at me. "Put him in the body bag, I'll go and get a stretcher to carry him out on." He rose slowly, and after one more look at him, turned and walked out.
I slowly unzipped the bag, not thinking about what I was doing. This was Woody...the same Woody that was dancing with Jordan a few nights ago in the Pogue. The same Woody that couldn't grow a backbone if he tried. The Woody that Jordan was falling for...I bit my lip and gently picked up his body, placing it slowly in the bag, and closing it, taking one last look at his face. Garret came back carrying a stretcher under one arm, and he nodded when he saw the bag lying on the ground.
"Garret, help me get him on the stretcher..."
He nodded, then laid it down next to the bag and helped me slide it onto the stretcher.
"Let's carry him out first, we can come back for the other guy." We slowly walked out past the other officers that had crowded around the door to the house, and they all looked at us, and they bowed their heads as we passed. We placed the body in the back of the van, then we headed back in for the other guy, which we took out in the same fashion, except the cops didn't give the bag a second glance. After they were both in the van, we spoke briefly to the police chief about what we were going to do with the body, and then we got in the van for the drive back to the Morgue.
When we got there, Garret just turned off the ignition and rested his forehead on the steering wheel. "Nigel...what are we going to do about this?"
"I have no clue...I know she considers us like brothers, but, I don't think she'll even talk to us. I doubt Max will get anything out of her."
"We just need to get her through this..." He softly hit his head on the steering wheel a few times, then looked up at me. "We can't let her be alone. Ever."
"I know. I'm afraid she'll run again...Max couldn't stop her the first time she did..." I rested my hand on Garret's back. "We're gonna have to double- team her Mate...like big brother's are known for doing..."
"Yeah, but I'm just afraid to go in there, you know Nigel?" He looked up at me. "She's going to be a mess..."
"Yes, she will be, but we're going to get her through this. I don't know how, but we are." I smiled at him weakly. "If we can survive the first 12 hours, she won't try and kill us after that..."
"You're probably right about that." He paused, then motioned towards the back of the van. "Let's get them inside."
We went around back, and gently placed the bodies on gurneys and wheeled them into the crypt elevator. The doors slid shut, and Garret glanced at me as he pushed the button to go up. "Ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." I held onto the edge of the gurney as we started for the floor of the Morgue, and I nodded to myself. Prepare for the wrath of Jordan...
TO BE CONTINUED:
***Thanks for reading, and I'll post more later!***
((Mainly takes place in the Morgue, right after the explosion.))
CHAPTER 9:
~~Jordan~~ This can't be happening...Woody was doing backup on this raid. Woody can't be hurt. He has to be okay. He has to be. I grabbed weakly at the chair that Nigel slid in front of me, and I sank into it, completely shaking. Garret was rubbing my shoulders and trying to get me to calm down, while Nigel was on the phone in the hall trying to call the Police Plaza to get any information he could. All I could do was stare at the image of the burning house, seeing the thick black smoke filling the clear sky. This can't be happening...
"Jordan, you have got to say something." Garret was leaning down in front of me and staring straight into my face. "Come on...say anything...please Jordan."
I glanced up at him and bit my lip. "What can I say Garret?" I was trying not to cry.
"I just don't want you going into one word answers. I don't care what you say." He gently rubbed my forearms while I stared at the TV silently.
"Where did Nigel and Lily go?" I glanced slowly around the room.
"Lily's on the phone with the police now, and Nigel went to go search for information in the police databases...Nigel figured Lily was the better talker." He smiled at me. "We're going to get information soon."
I nodded, then looked back at the TV. The reporter lady was back, but standing on the side of the building. I turned up the sound and listened to her.
"We are now getting the first reports on injuries and the impact that this explosion has caused. We have been informed that several officers were injured in the explosion, and one officer and the suspect are still not accounted for. Police are not releasing the name of the missing officer or the suspect at this time." She cut away to show the building, a gaping hole missing from it's side. "As you can see, this explosion was caused by various chemical compunds, and HAZ-MAT teams are on the site now to evaluate the danger posed to the community."
~~Garret~~ I glanced at Jordan, then to the TV. I bent my head down and prayed to myself silently. God, please don't let him be in trouble...for Jordan's sake... I looked back up to see Jordan shaking, letting little sniffs escape from her voice. I sat in the chair next to her, and I reached over and gently tried to hug her, which prompted an immediate clutching grasp that she locked onto me with, then she broke down sobbing in my arms. "Jordan...it's okay baby...I gently held her while she cried, trying to calm her down. She's not ready to lose you Woody...don't let yourself be lost...
"Garret? I...uh...need to talk to you for a moment." Nigel peeked his head in the door and looked down at Jordan nervously.
I nodded, then whispered in Jordan's ear. "Jordan, can I go talk to Nigel for a minute, then I'll be right back..."
She nodded, so I stood and walked out of the room, and into Nigel's office where he was blankly staring at his computer screen.
"Yeah Nige?" I looked at him, already knowing what he was going to say.
"Woodrow's the one missing Garret. And they've sent out a call for us to come assist in finding him..." He looked up at me. "We can't let Jordan come."
He nodded. "You and me will go. I'll hand Chief to Jordan while we go look for him. Bug and Peter can make sure she doesn't leave, I'll have Lily try to calm her down."
"You know she's gonna try and throttle you Mate..." he stood up in his chair and walked over to the window that looked into my office.
"I know, but it's for her own good. We're gonna get stuck with the autospy too...unfortunately. And if worse comes to worse, we're going to have him in the crypt sometime in the next 10 hours..." I rubbed the back of my neck. "Nigel, get the scene bags, lots of gloves, and get the bodybags. I have a fear we're going to need them."
"Alright." He walked down the hall to the supply room, while I went back in and grabbed my coat and keys, then grabbed Jordan's out of her coat which was hanging on my door.
"Garret? Where are you going?" She stood out of her chair.
"Me and Nigel have been requested to process the scene at that house." I motioned towards the TV. "And I'm handing Chief down to you while I'm gone. You are not to leave this building--Peter and Bug will make sure of that. You are going to talk to Lily and calm yourself down. Understand?" I looked at her shocked face. "I'm dead serious Jordan. You are NOT to leave this building."
"Garret, please, just let me--"
"No Jordan. For your own sake no. Me or Nigel will call you when we get information. I promise."
"Alright." She sat down in my chair and glared at me.
I walked out of the office, and grabbed Peter and Bug as they went walking down the hall.
"Do NOT allow her to leave this office. I don't want her in the elevator, the stairwell, or anywhere near the roof, understand me?"
They both nodded in unison. "We understand."
"Good. If she shows up at that crime scene, you will both have Hell to pay." With that, I turned and bumped into Nigel who was carrying a bag full of equipment, and a case with the camera in it.
"Ready Dr. Macy?"
"Yes, let's go." We walked down the hall, into the elevator, then down out into the lobby, where we nodded at the receptionist who gave us odd looks.
*****NOW WE'RE AT THE HOUSE*****
~~Nigel~~ The place was an absolute mess...rubble everywhere, smoke. The fire was out now, so all we had to do was wait for the "all-clear" that it was safe to enter, and then we had to go find Woody and the suspect. Garret's over there talking to the police, trying to get an idea of what actually went down. Well, the firefighters are coming out of the building now, so we should be able to go in pretty soon.
"Well, the cops said that everything seemed to be working, and the last place they saw Woody was heading into the basement after the suspect." Garret walked over to me and took a drink off of a bottle of water he was carrying. "You and me are going to need to work together on this. We're needed to find and ID the bodies, and then get them out and take them back to the morgue."
I nodded. "You think we're going to be able to find him?"
"I have a feeling we will, but it isn't going to be pretty." He shook his head. "Jordan is going to freak out."
"I know Mate...we should call Max and get him over to the Morgue."
"We'll call him after we've found him, just to be sure."
"Hey Macy! You and your guy can go in now!" A cop standing by the door yelled at us.
"Alright buddy, thanks!" We gathered up the stuff and donned protective gear, masks and helmets, and started for the basement.
When we got down there, I had to cover my eyes with my hand--there was so much smoke that still hadn't cleared out. Garret coughed a few times, then walked over to a charred body lying on the floor, next to what appeared to be the remaints of a gun.
He pulled out the camera and started snapping photos, then he turned the body over gently and shook his head. "Nigel, come here and look at this."
I looked, and nodded. "It isn't Woody." I turned around slowly and saw the pile of rubble that had fallen from above. I noted the blast pattern that the initial explosion had left on the walls, and I walked towards the pile of broken concrete and slightly charred wood, which I photographed and then tried to lift, with no sucess. "Garret, can you give me a hand with this?"
He walked over and nodded. "Sure." He counted to three, then we lifted the heavy section of flooring off the pile and flung it to the ground.
"What in the bloody hell..." I stared blankly at the body in front of us.
"That's impossible." Garret shook his head several times, then looked over at me. "It's not possible..."
"He's not even burnt..." I stared down at Woodrow's body, completely intact, no burns, only a little dirt and mud caking on his skin. "You have got to be kidding me..."
Garret grabbed the camera and snapped a few primary photos, then gently knelt down and started to clear the broken concrete blocks away from his body. "The bricks protected him from the flames...
I leaned down and started to pull some of the wood pieces away, clearing off his body. Once we had it uncovered, Garret took a few more photos, then looked up at me. "Put him in the body bag, I'll go and get a stretcher to carry him out on." He rose slowly, and after one more look at him, turned and walked out.
I slowly unzipped the bag, not thinking about what I was doing. This was Woody...the same Woody that was dancing with Jordan a few nights ago in the Pogue. The same Woody that couldn't grow a backbone if he tried. The Woody that Jordan was falling for...I bit my lip and gently picked up his body, placing it slowly in the bag, and closing it, taking one last look at his face. Garret came back carrying a stretcher under one arm, and he nodded when he saw the bag lying on the ground.
"Garret, help me get him on the stretcher..."
He nodded, then laid it down next to the bag and helped me slide it onto the stretcher.
"Let's carry him out first, we can come back for the other guy." We slowly walked out past the other officers that had crowded around the door to the house, and they all looked at us, and they bowed their heads as we passed. We placed the body in the back of the van, then we headed back in for the other guy, which we took out in the same fashion, except the cops didn't give the bag a second glance. After they were both in the van, we spoke briefly to the police chief about what we were going to do with the body, and then we got in the van for the drive back to the Morgue.
When we got there, Garret just turned off the ignition and rested his forehead on the steering wheel. "Nigel...what are we going to do about this?"
"I have no clue...I know she considers us like brothers, but, I don't think she'll even talk to us. I doubt Max will get anything out of her."
"We just need to get her through this..." He softly hit his head on the steering wheel a few times, then looked up at me. "We can't let her be alone. Ever."
"I know. I'm afraid she'll run again...Max couldn't stop her the first time she did..." I rested my hand on Garret's back. "We're gonna have to double- team her Mate...like big brother's are known for doing..."
"Yeah, but I'm just afraid to go in there, you know Nigel?" He looked up at me. "She's going to be a mess..."
"Yes, she will be, but we're going to get her through this. I don't know how, but we are." I smiled at him weakly. "If we can survive the first 12 hours, she won't try and kill us after that..."
"You're probably right about that." He paused, then motioned towards the back of the van. "Let's get them inside."
We went around back, and gently placed the bodies on gurneys and wheeled them into the crypt elevator. The doors slid shut, and Garret glanced at me as he pushed the button to go up. "Ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." I held onto the edge of the gurney as we started for the floor of the Morgue, and I nodded to myself. Prepare for the wrath of Jordan...
TO BE CONTINUED:
***Thanks for reading, and I'll post more later!***