A/N: This chapter is heavy - so please read with care. I'm sorry this took so long to post. The weather here has been near impossible causing power outages and constant work to protect property. I do not anticipate being able to post again before American Thanksgiving. Thanks so much for reading.
A/N2: Shout out to Jennifer Baratta! Glad you liked it!
Chapter 39
There wasn't time, nor was it exactly secure, to have a phone call in the cab. She sent a coded message to Luke via a secure messaging app. Hopefully, he could do some super sleuthing while she handled things here.
The cabby let her out and she tipped him well before rushing inside the building. The nurse gave her directions and she quickly headed up to the waiting room on the seventh floor. As she got off the elevator, she heard a noise that could only be described as a mix of anguish and sorrow. Rushing to the waiting room, she found Kara in Alex's arms. The doctor scurried away as quickly as possible, having other patients to attend to. Kelly went to the brunette in the doorway.
"They did all the could, but there were just too many internal injuries," she explained.
"Damn. Tatiana claimed another victim. Damn," Kate could feel the anger welling up inside her.
"This is not your fault. Nyxlygsptlnz hired a woman with no conscience. Someone was going to get hurt and neither one of them cared. We did all we could to find him. You performed CPR when you found him and bought him more time to get to the hospital," Kelly said.
"You think Kara feels that way?" Kate gave her a look. Kelly heaved a sigh. She was grieving too, but of everyone there, Kara knew him the best. What the woman didn't know
"I'm going to call J'onn," the psychologist told her.
"Good idea. Papa Bear needs to be here," the brunette nodded. The only reason he wasn't there already was that he told everyone that he'd work on keeping the city safe tonight. It allowed Nia to catch up on the rest she desperately needed and for Kara to be here in this moment. M'gann had joined him so he had backup. Kelly quickly pulled out her phone and called the Martian. By now, Alex had managed to get to her sister into a chair. Kate went out into the hallway and found the nurses' desk.
"I need to speak to the doctor that treated William Dey," she told the woman at the desk.
"Are you family?" The nurse gave her a look, telling Kate that she wasn't about to believe that the woman in front of her was related to the deceased.
"No. William didn't have any family left. His death is a homicide and my friend in the waiting room is out of her mind with grief. His murderer has already been captured and detained, so I can go ahead and call the Feds, NCPD, hell, I can call Supergirl herself and have them crawling all over this hospital just looking for any sort of malfeasance on top of evidence to nail the guilty party, but I don't want to do that. I just want to talk to the doctor," Kate was a hair away from busting out her full Batwoman voice. She might not have been as scary as her cousin, but she could be intimidating in her own way. The thought of the word "lawsuit" getting mentioned made the nurse nervous and, despite knowing better, decided to dump the woman in front of her off on the medical man. She quickly picked up the phone and paged the doctor.
When the poor man rounded the corner, Kate confronted him. He tried claiming that HIPAA laws prevented him from discussing the case, but he quickly figured out that Kate wasn't interested when she repeated her earlier threat. This time she pulled out her cell phone and when he saw she was more than serious, he caved but pulled her into an empty patient room first.
"If anyone finds out you heard this from me, I'll deny it," the doctor said.
"I'll tell people I heard it from the cops," Kate nodded. Somewhat satisfied with that response, he continued,
"The person who did this was methodical. To cause the level of damage without outright killing him…" Kate frowned.
"All of his ribs were broken which led to his spleen being damaged and the puncture of one of his lungs. The damaged spleen slowly bled into his internal cavities. He was basically drowning in his own blood. This person made sure that he would suffer. When CPR was attempted, it forced the broken ribs into other organs, puncturing them as well. It was sort of a booby trap, it's the only way I can describe it, even though I've never seen anything like that," he explained. Internally, Kate felt like she was going to vomit. Could this be what Tatiana was referring to? She had no way of knowing who had rescued William but to her it wouldn't matter. Just the knowledge that the person who tried performing life saving measures had actually put the final nail in William's coffin would be enough to satisfy her sick game.
"Thank you, Doctor," Kate nodded and quickly left the room, heading to her friend. She expected to find Kara still upset. The brunette found her upset, but not in the way most would have anticipated.
"She isn't worth it. Trust me," Kate told her friend, whose grief had been replaced with rage. The only reason she hadn't taken off was because J'onn had arrived and he was keeping her grounded. Rage was not an emotion that Kara often let get the better of her, but there had been so much she'd wanted to say to William. She'd held it in and now it was too late.
"She isn't worth it. Revenge only puts a temporary cork in the feeling. When it boils over, regret follows. You're too good for that. You are the beacon of everything good. You have to let me be the beacon of darkness," Kate told her. In that moment, Kara's rage simmered, and she looked at her friend, completely confused. After all, Kate was the Paragon of Courage, not a beacon of darkness.
"Come on. Let's get you home," Alex tried to gently press her sister. This was a conversation that they should not be having in the hospital. They needed a private setting. Kara only nodded but gave Kate a look that said she needed to explain. Alex guided Kara out of the room and J'onn was about to follow when Kate stopped him.
"I need you to do me a favor. I don't know if she'll ever forgive me for what happens next," now it was time for the Martian to look at her funny.
"Kate, whatever happened, it is not your fault, nor is it Kara's," J'onn said.
"She's not thinking clearly. I can't blame her for that. You've always been a rock for her Papa Bear and I know you'll continue to be that. Don't let her fall. The path is slippery and steep. Bruce did something that caused him to leave Gotham and not leave a trace of where he went. In the moment, the decision seemed right, but as soon as he did it, regret filled him. It was too late to take it back then," Kate's message was cryptic as the Martian wasn't sure what she meant but he was beginning to get the drift.
"Come on. We'll go talk to her together," J'onn clapped a hand on her back.
To Be Continued…
