"We are," Con assured him.
"What about the men who were watching Joe?" demanded Fenton. "How did Deerborne and Loewan get by them?"
Con turned red. "Once Davenport reported he and Johnson had captured Loewan and Deerborne, they were dismissed," he answered.
"By whose authority?" Fenton demanded haughtily.
"The chief's, Sir," Con replied honestly.
Fenton rushed past Con with a thunderous expression. He ran to the steps and crashed into Officer Simpson. "Sir, the chief asked me to find you," the officer said to Fenton, reaching out and grabbing one of Fenton's arms to steady him. "He is in the emergency room."
Fenton acknowledged the information then ran down the steps, hoping the anger he felt would be expended with his energy release. He reached the bottom floor and took a deep breath before entering the lobby. He walked quickly through the lobby to the entrance of the emergency room.
"Fenton!" shouted Todd Tyler as Fenton sped by him.
Fenton stopped and turned around in shock. "I thought you had gone," he said in an accusatory tone.
"No," Todd denied. "Only you have the authority to release us from our job," he added.
"Then how did they get Joe?" demanded Fenton.
"The elevator had two officers in it," Todd explained. Kurt and Matt went with Joe and the doctor and orderly onto the elevator. There wasn't any more room so Todd and I took the stairs. But the elevator stopped on the floor below and Joe, the doctor, and the two cops were gone. Kurt, Matt, and the orderly were unconscious. Apparently, Deerborne and Loewan stole the uniforms from two officers they attacked."
"Any idea on their location?" Fenton inquired.
"Chief Collig found out Dr. Lane signed out an ambulance and Joe. Allegedly to transfer him to Baptist in Southport," Todd informed Fenton.
"No one thought it was funny that the doctor would do that?" demanded Fenton.
"Apparently, doctors do have the authority to arrange the transfer at the drop of a hat and escort the patient, although it is a rare occurrence," Todd replied. "The chief may know more by now. I was ordered to wait out here for you."
"To try and calm me down, no doubt," Fenton said, ruefully running a hand through his brown hair until his hand was at the back of his neck. There he began rubbing at the building tension. "Let's go see what Collig has learned"
Joe's eyes flickered twice before opening. "Easy," Dr. Lane ordered Joe as he started to sit up. "Just stay still. You can't move your left leg for a few more hours yet."
"What... what are you doing here?" asked Joe, his speech fuzzy because the anesthesia hadn't completely worn off. "And this doesn't look like a hospital room."
"It isn't," Dr. Lane told him, his face marred by a scowl. "You were my second and last patient for the day so I was escorting you back to your floor. After we got on the elevator two men wearing police uniforms attacked your bodyguards and the orderly. They were going to knock me out too but I convinced them to bring me along so I could take care of you."
"But why would they want me taken care of?" queried Joe in confusion. "I thought Deerborne wanted me dead."
"I do," Deerborne concurred, coming over to where Joe lay still on his stretcher. He was holding the gun he had taken from the officer he had killed. "But he needs you as a hostage," he added, jerking his head over to where an Asian American sat watching them, his own weapon within easy reach. "But after this night is over...." Deerborne never finished his sentence but his meaning was clear. After tonight, Joe would die.