Kerry burst through the door to the trauma room to find Luka, Malik, and Chuny already rushing around, administering to Carter. "CBC, Chem 7, Coag Panel, Lytes, and serum glucose. And run another Tox Screen," Luka barked.

"Luka, what is it?"

"He's hypertensive," Luka answered quickly. "BP 210/120 and climbing."

"What changed, Luka?" was Kerry's question, as she checked the monitors for herself.

"I don't know, Kerry, I wasn't here. He was conscious when I came in, but his pressure started going up, and he passed out."

"All right," Kerry responded, fighting to remain calm. "Let's take him for a CT. Maybe it's not as bad as..."

"He's seizing!" Malik called out as Carter's legs started to twitch violently.

"Damn it!" Kerry cried. "Hold him! Luka, hold his head! Watch the vent!"

The doctors and nurses took up positions around Carter, holding him as still as they could without hurting him. Luka leaned down and wrapped his arms around Carter's head, trying to keep him from pulling the tube out of his throat. "Kerry, if he vomits..." he began, his voice full of worry.

"One thing at a time, Luka," Kerry returned, glancing up when she heard the door opening.

"What's happening?" Abby cried, rushing toward him. "What's happening to him?"

"He's having a stroke," Luka answered as calmly as he could.

"Abby, you need to leave," Kerry commanded.

"No," Abby responded, leaning down beside Luka and helping him to stabilize Carter's head. "Let me stay. Let me help him."

"I'm not arguing with you, Abby!" Kerry shouted.

"Good," Abby replied. "Because neither am I."

Carter's thrashes began to weaken, and slowly ceased altogether. Everyone jumped into action again immediately, unhooking monitors and preparing Carter for the move to radiology. Luka was snapping up the rail on Carter's right side when a glint on the floor caught his eye. He bent down to retrieve it, and heard Kerry call out.

"Chuny, 25 milligrams of Urapidil."

"No!" Luka protested, jumping up from the floor.

"What?" Kerry demanded.

He handed her what he'd found on the floor, and turned to Chuny. "Five milligrams of phentolamine," he ordered. "And quickly. We've got to get him to CT before he seizes again."

"What?" Abby asked in confusion. "What is it?"

"Epinephrine," Kerry replied, holding the large syringe out for Abby to see. "It's an epinephrine overdose."

Abby looked at the needle closely, her eyes widening when she realized the implications. "He's here," she breathed. "Whoever tried to kill him this afternoon... he's here!"

Luka nodded stiffly, convinced that he knew who it was.

"Luka, the needle's broken off," Kerry observed, handing the syringe back to him. "The other piece should be in the injection site still."

"We'll have to look for it later," Luka returned, unhooking the ET tube from the vent and attaching an ambu-bag in its place. "Malik, bag him. We've got to get the CT."

The group ran from the trauma room, pushing Carter's gurney toward Radiology. Luka lagged behind slightly, and stepped to the side to speak to Peter. "Give this to the police," he told him quietly, keeping his voice low enough that only Peter could hear him. "And don't touch it."

"What the hell...?" Peter began, looking back at him in shock as he pulled his sleeve down to take the syringe from the doctor's hand.

"Dave," Luka said, glancing around to make certain that Cleo didn't overhear him.

Peter's eyes narrowed as they darkened. "Got it."

Luka nodded his head once in affirmation. "I'll find you when I can," he said, and then turned and hurried down the hall toward Radiology.

Peter looked down at the large syringe in his hand, and then back up at the corner Luka had disappeared around. Setting his jaw in determination, he turned and headed back to the lounge to find Paul Marcus.

"Peter!" Cleo called as she rushed to catch up with him. "Peter, what is it?"

Peter pushed open the door and walked into the lounge, leaving Cleo standing, unanswered, in the hall.

"Pressure's coming down," Malik reported.

Luka and Kerry shared a sigh of relief. The trip to Radiology had been uneventful. Carter hadn't had another seizure, and now seemed to be responding well to the phentolamine Luka had ordered to counteract the effects of the epinephrine. Twenty-five minutes later, the crisis appeared to have passed, and Carter's blood pressure was slowly returning to normal.

Security had been alerted to the attempt on Carter's life, and a guard was stationed in the hallway. Abby looked over her shoulder at the guard as she pulled the stool back to John's side and sat down, taking his hand in hers. "It's going to be all right now, baby," she whispered to him. "Everything's going to be all right."

Kerry allowed herself a small smile when she turned to Luka. "That was a good call, Luka, on the phentolamine. If you hadn't caught that..."

Detective Marcus walked through the door then, clearing his throat to announce his presence. "How is he?" he asked, jerking his head in Carter's direction.

"He's still unconscious," Luka responded without looking up. "But he's stabilizing, and he should be waking up soon."

"Good," Marcus replied, looking at Luka in confusion. "What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for the broken end of the needle," Luka answered, running his hands slowly and carefully up and down the inside of Carter's right arm. "It should still be lodged in the skin at the injection site." Luka's head snapped up a few seconds later. "There it is. Malik?"

Malik put the tweezers in Luka's outstretched hand, and only moments later Luka was holding the small piece of hollow metal up for inspection. "Got it."

"I'll take that please, Dr. Kovac," Marcus said, holding a small clear plastic bag toward him. Luka dropped the broken needle into the bag, and started to lay the tweezers down on the equipment tray. "I'll take that too, if you don't mind," Marcus continued, gesturing toward the tweezers.

Luka shrugged and put them in the bag. "I don't understand why you need them," Luka said.

"I need to talk to you, Dr. Kovac," the detective said, motioning toward the hall with his head. "Could you come with me please?"

"Why?" Abby asked, looking up from John's hand.

"I just need to talk to him, Miss Lockhart. It won't take long." He turned back to Luka. "Dr. Kovac?"

Luka nodded in confusion, and followed the man out into the hall. "I'll be right back, Abby."

Luka turned toward the detective as soon as the door closed.

"Dr. Kovac, I think I should tell you that you are considered a suspect in the attacks on Dr. John Carter, and that anything you say about these incidents may be used against you later."

Luka's eyes flew open in shock. "You're arresting me?"

Marcus shook his head. "No, I'm not arresting anyone right now. Not until Dr. Carter is awake and is able to answer a few questions."

"Didn't Peter tell you who it is?"

"He did tell me that you felt it was a..." Marcus trailed off as he checked his notes. "A David Mallucci?"

"Yes, Dave. He was alone with Carter right before..."

"So were you, Dr. Kovac."

"Yes, I was. That's why I know I didn't do it." Luka was astonished, and his voice was growing tight. "I told you who's doing this. You should be out looking for him, not here questioning me."

"I have already done some checking into this Mallucci fellow. It looks to me as though he and Dr. Carter are pretty good friends, and have been for some time. However, Dr. Kovac, the same cannot be said of you."

Luka rolled his eyes. "This is ridiculous!"

"You had a relationship with Miss Lockhart, did you not? One that predated the one Dr. Carter is having with her now?"

"Yes," Luka answered through his teeth. "But that doesn't mean..."

"You were heard, less than a week ago, to tell Miss Lockhart that you missed her, and that you would get her back, is that correct?"

"I was drunk," Luka explained.

"You were upset," Marcus countered. "At least, that's what you told the officer that responded to the car accident you were in later that night."

"I can't believe this..."

"And that car accident resulted in a medical student, a Miss Erin Harkins, nearly dying, did it not?"

"It was an accident!" Luka spat.

"Where were you this afternoon, Dr. Kovac? Your timecard shows that you clocked in shortly after Dr. Benton arrived here with Dr. Carter."

"I didn't do this!" Luka protested. "You're wasting your time talking to me when you should be trying to find Dave!"

"You have twice argued against the course of treatment Dr. Weaver has ordered, haven't you?"

"There's more involved than that," Luka argued. "She wasn't taking something into account that I thought she should have. And she didn't know about the epi."

"And how did you know, Dr. Kovac?"

"I found the syringe on the floor!"

"And you knew immediately what had been in it?"

"So did she, as soon as she saw it. It was too large to have been used for anything else."

"Then there's the matter of a mugger, an unidentified man, who died at your hands two years ago."

"Self defense," Luka answered quickly.

"You've got an answer for everything, don't you, Dr. Kovac?"

Luka sighed in frustration. "And you are an idiot." He turned to walk back into Carter's room, but stopped and faced Marcus one more time. "I did not do this to him. Dave is the man you want."

"Don't go back in there," Marcus said threateningly. "I'm not going to allow you anywhere near him."

"Fine," Luka replied, pushing past the detective on his way to the lounge.

"I strongly advise you not to leave the hospital, Dr. Kovac!" Marcus called out from behind him.

Luka ignored him and walked into the lounge, grabbing his coat and walking out the ambulance bay doors before anyone could stop him. He jogged down the alley and out to the street, his eyes darting from side to side constantly.

If the police weren't going to look for Dave Mallucci, then he and Peter would have to do it themselves.