" ER/Stand part 13 "
It was a much nicer car lot than Jeanie had ever shopped at
before. She had to hand it to Carter, he certainly had good
taste. She looked over the vast lot, wondering just how many cars
there were. How about a BMW, she asked herself as she ran her
hand over the bright red hood of a convertible. I always wanted a
BMW, but that wasn't the most practical of vehicles. The roads
were a mess. It couldn't be denied. She had doubts as to whether
a truck or jeep was even going to be feasible in the long run.
She also wished that one of the men had stayed in the truck lot.
She wasn't a car person and she didn't pretend to know very much
about them.
The men, and Lucy, were off in the motorcycle lot that was
connected to the car lot. She could hear them revving up engines
already. She would have preferred to have gone with them, but
that would have meant leaving Kerry alone with Randi and she
questioned whether that was a good idea. Not that she didn't
think Randi was a nice person, no. She just didn't consider the
younger woman particularly responsible.
It hurt to think it, but she didn't think Kerry was
particularly responsible either. Kerry had suffered a breakdown
of notable proportions. I'm not being cruel, Jeanie told herself
as she watched Kerry and Randi kick the tires of a nearby Porshe.
She understand that something horrible had happened, something
that shook her to the very core of her being each time she saw
another corpse lying out in the open, like the one lying next to
the Porshe that Randi idly kicked out of the way as they walked
by. It shook her every minute of every day. If I feel this way,
she reasoned, then Kerry couldn't be expected to do much better
considering what had happened. Still, it wasn't normal to
completely repress a memory, even a horrific memory. She had
asked Kerry about it that morning, as they prepared for the day
long supply seeking excursion, but Kerry had brushed her off with
a few mild words.
The better living through chemistry version of her friend
was also starting to concern Jeanie. It wasn't normal to watch
Doug Ross score points off Kerry with such little reaction. She
knew part of that was sympathy on Kerry's part. Doug was grieving
and his drinking and cutting remarks were due to that. His moods
were on a pendulum. One minute he was a caring sensitive man
filled with good humor and good ideas, the man Jeanie knew. Then,
it would swing the other way, and not only would he be
surprisingly cruel but also quiet and depressed. Jeanie knew that
Kerry would take a lot from Doug under the circumstances. Carol
had been a strong force in Doug's life, the force that kept him
from spiralling down into self destructive behavior. What worried
Jeanie wasn't the fact that Kerry didn't snipe back at the man,
it was that it didn't seem to be provoking any reaction at all. I
didn't like this drug therapy idea to begin with, she thought
darkly, and the only thing it's doing is letting us ignore the
problem.
" We need something big, not a sports car," Jeanie called as
she trotted to catch up to the two other women. Randi and Kerry
were poking about a snazzy looking black Ferrari convertible.
" Jeez, we're just looking, Mom." Randi retorted. She
gestured to the row of trucks and SUVs off in the distance. " We
were waiting for you to catch up and this just caught our eye."
" You know, I couldn't afford this even on a private
practice doctor's salary," Kerry said as she ran her hands around
the steering wheel. She smiled. " You know, I really don't feel
up to walking all the way over there."
" And you really shouldn't." Randi intoned as she jumped
into the front passenger seat. " After all, you wouldn't want to
strain yourself."
" Maybe.... maybe we should drive over there. I mean, we do
have a car right here. It would be almost wasteful to walk." Both
Kerry and Randi shook from suppressed laughter as Jeanie rolled
her eyes at them.
She got into the back seat, enjoying the moment but still
feeling the need to be realistic. " We don't have keys for this
thing." In fact, once they picked a truck or jeep, one of them
would have to trot back to the main office and find the keys. "
And it's a stick shift."
Kerry waved her hand in disagreement as if Jeanie was the
one being perfectly ridiculous. " We're driving around a parking
lot. It's not going to leave first gear. And its not like we
really need keys." She reached under the wheel and pulled out
some wires. In seconds, the engine turned over. She noticed their
looks of surprise. " What? Don't tell me you've never seen
someone hot wire a car. I might think that of Jeanie but I'm sure
you've seen it once or twice, Randi."
" I hate to ask where you picked up that job skill, Dr.
Weaver." Randi said with a laugh as the car started to roll.
" I said you could call me Kerry, and I picked that
particular job skill up in a Rhodesian mercenary camp." Kerry
revved the engine as they tooled around the lot. Jeanie could
hear the gears straining. It wasn't a car that was meant to stay
in first gear.
" Where is Rhodesia anyway? " Randi asked after a moment.
Jeanie had to admit, she was curious too, though she assumed it
was in Africa.
" At last check, I think it was being called Zimbabwe."
Kerry stopped the car in front of a row of trucks. " I'd prefer a
truck to a jeep. They're more solidly built. The only real
requirement though is that it's an automatic. " She smiled
suddenly. " A cd player would be nice though."
They spread out among the trucks. Even the trucks were high
end, Jeanie thought as she glanced into one and spotted leather
seats. They all seemed to have cd players, though precious few
were automatic drive. She found a few possibles and mentally
noted them as she heard Randi call out excitedly. She trotted
around the lot, finding Randi standing in front of a truck.
" This is it!" Randi said. She pointed to the various
features. " Its an automatic, it has four wheel drive and there's
a cd player."
Jeanie looked over the truck. She wasn't a car person but it
looked like a good fit for what they needed. She could do without
the bright red color but the heavy grill and winch on the front
made up for it. Kerry seemed to approve too, which was a plus
since she would be the one primarily driving it. Jeanie reached
up to open it but the door was locked. She looked inside through
the window. There was a cd player, along with a very fancy
looking cb radio. It was a dual cab truck too, which was nice.
Jeanie didn't relish the notion of riding on a motorcycle for
days on end. " It's locked Randi."
Randi held up a piece of flat, flexible piece of steel. She
slid it down the truck window into the door. In seconds, the door
clicked open. " I didn't spend four years in Joliet Women's
Prison without picking up some useful skills. I don't recommend
hot wiring though."
" It's a little big, but it'll do." Kerry said. " So who
wants to head back to the main office and get the keys?"
" I will, " Jeanie said quickly, " and I'm taking the
Ferrari." Not only did she feel a little uncomfortable leaving
Kerri and Randi alone with a car that could move at speeds of up
to one hundred fifty miles an hour, she had to admit, she wanted
to drive it herself. She hopped behind the wheel and took off. In
seconds she was back by the motorcycle lot. Everyone was either
sitting astride a bike or fooling around with one. Luka flagged
her over.
" Jeanie this is very nice, " he said, a smile flickering
across his face, " but it's hardly a truck."
She cut the engine and got out. " We found a good truck. I
was just heading over to the office for the keys. How are you
guys doing?" Lucy, and Carter had wandered over to admire the
Ferrari.
" We've found the bikes we want." Luka gestured over to the
row of bikes. Jeanie counted five bikes lined up, including the
one that Doug was sitting on and posing with a pair of shades.
" Where's the sixth bike?" Jeanie asked. Both Lucy and
Carter looked at each other. Luka looked down at his feet. "
What's up?"
Doug sauntered over. " They're trying to avoid telling you
that we've decided that we really should have someone in the
truck with Kerry." Judging by their awkward looks, Jeanie
realized that Doug was not teasing.
" Why is that? Look, she isn't crazy. I think we can trust
her to drive." It was starting to make her angry. There was
reason to be concerned but it was starting to get ridiculous.
Doug smiled and looked away. " You know Jeanie, you're
assuming something there. " The other three nodded along with
that. " We're not concerned about her taking the truck and
ramming it into one of us. I don't know about these guys, but I'm
worried that she's suffering from a head injury and that she's
taking medication that causes dizziness. She also mentioned not
being able to drive for long periods of time. I think it's safe
to say we weren't being assholes about her being loony." He
shrugged. " Her being loony was a very small part of it."
Again she felt angry. Not just at Doug, who was giving her
his best puppy dog " I'm not to blame" look, but with herself
too. I'm mad at them, she thought suddenly, but I don't exactly
trust Kerry myself, do I? And deep down, she thought it was a
good idea, and that made her feel bad. Disloyal even. " I
thought we talked about name calling, Doug." It wasn't exactly
defending Kerry, but it made her feel a little better.
" She's not here, is she?' Doug asked easily.
" Look," Luka said, stepping closer, " Let's not name call.
Jeanie, do you understand where we're coming from?"
She nodded. Luka was attempting to keep things calm and she
was willing to go along. " I'll go find the keys," she snapped.
She got out of the Ferrari and walked over to the main office,
leaving behind the motorcycles but not her anger with herself.
She didn't feel like she was being a good friend. She was just
going along with it, because it was easier and because Doug's
reasons weren't bad ones. She just knew though, that underlying
the good reasons, were the same fears that she was afraid to
admit even to herself. After all, they certainly weren't going to
discuss their reasons with Kerry.
She shook off the thoughts as she entered the darkened
showroom. It depressed her to see that dust was already
collecting on the show cars. It also depressed her to not have
electrical power. Face it Jeanie, she told herself as she walked
into the back office, this is what life is going to be like from
now on. Dust, uncut grass, darkened rooms.... She sighed as she
searched the peg board for the right keys. I'd feel better, she
thought, if I could just a decent night's sleep. She hadn't had
an unbroken night in days. The last good night she'd had, had
been the night they'd moved into Carter's house. I'm tired, she
thought suddenly, and I need more sleep. Finally she found the
right set of keys.
" You're not stealing those are you?" Jeanie spun around at
the sound of the raspy, male voice. A small, thin looking man
wearing a business suit slipped out of the dark corner he'd been
hiding in. She saw that he had a gun belt, and her fear grew. The
man leered at her and coughed into his hand. Was he sick with the
flu, Jeanie wondered. If it was the flu, he wasn't very sick and
she wasn't so certain it was the flu. She rather thought the
plague had burned itself out. He gestured to the keys in her
hand, his own hand on the small gun in his belt. " Are you going
to pay?"
Oh god, Jeanie thought. He's crazy. " I have a credit card."
If he was really nuts, then he might just take the card.
He came closer, still coughing and sniffling. " Oh there's
no need for money to change hands." He licked his lips. Before
she could react, he leapt across the room and had her backed into
the wall, his arms on each side of her. " You're very pretty.
Like a Nubian goddess. " He leaned in and said breathily, " The
dark man promised me a Nubian goddess." His hands touched her
breasts and she started to writhe, trying to get out of his
grasp.
" I have AIDS, " she said, her voice panicked. That he
wanted sex was obvious. His grasp was strong but she could tell
he was weakened by his illness. I think I can get away, she
thought, I just need to get the right moment.
" They all say that, baby," he murmured into her ear. He
tried to kiss her, and she jabbed him with her elbow. Suddenly,
the man went flying. She looked up, surprised and pleased to see
Carter standing there. He held the rifle he'd been carrying and
it was aimed at the small man who was huddled up in a ball.
" Are you ok, Jeanie?" Carter asked as he pulled her to him.
He glared at the man. " This pig didn't hurt you did he?" Carter
was, she realized through her shock, literally frothing at the
mouth and was only seconds away from shooting the man.
" I'm ok, Carter." She was relieved to see him visibly calm
down. " He didn't hurt me. I have the keys we need. Let's just
go, ok?" The absolute last thing she wanted was to see Carter
blow the man away. She felt like she had already met her lifetime
quota of watching close friends shoot others.
After a long moment, Carter nodded. " We got worried when it
took so long." He kept the gun aimed at the man. " You listen up,
buddy. We're leaving. You aren't following. I see you come out of
this building, we will shoot you. You understand that?" Carter's
eyes had lost the wild anger that she had seen, but his voice was
hard. Jeanie didn't doubt that the small man would meet a violent
end if he did follow them.
The man nodded though. She and Carter backed out of the room
and quickly left the show room. " Jeanie are you sure you're ok?"
Carter asked as they walked out into the light of day.
" I'm ok, " she said." Just a little shook up." What
disturbed her, though she didn't want to admit it to Carter, was
what the man had said. The dark man, she thought. Goosebumps rose
on her arms and she shivered despite the hot summer air. Her
dreams, the dreams that had plagued her since the flu epidemic
started, had been about a dark man. A dark man that not only
beckoned her but frightened her. How did that man know, she asked
herself again. It was as if they were having the same dreams, but
she knew in her rational mind that it was simply not possible. In
her heart though, she started to wonder.
It was a much nicer car lot than Jeanie had ever shopped at
before. She had to hand it to Carter, he certainly had good
taste. She looked over the vast lot, wondering just how many cars
there were. How about a BMW, she asked herself as she ran her
hand over the bright red hood of a convertible. I always wanted a
BMW, but that wasn't the most practical of vehicles. The roads
were a mess. It couldn't be denied. She had doubts as to whether
a truck or jeep was even going to be feasible in the long run.
She also wished that one of the men had stayed in the truck lot.
She wasn't a car person and she didn't pretend to know very much
about them.
The men, and Lucy, were off in the motorcycle lot that was
connected to the car lot. She could hear them revving up engines
already. She would have preferred to have gone with them, but
that would have meant leaving Kerry alone with Randi and she
questioned whether that was a good idea. Not that she didn't
think Randi was a nice person, no. She just didn't consider the
younger woman particularly responsible.
It hurt to think it, but she didn't think Kerry was
particularly responsible either. Kerry had suffered a breakdown
of notable proportions. I'm not being cruel, Jeanie told herself
as she watched Kerry and Randi kick the tires of a nearby Porshe.
She understand that something horrible had happened, something
that shook her to the very core of her being each time she saw
another corpse lying out in the open, like the one lying next to
the Porshe that Randi idly kicked out of the way as they walked
by. It shook her every minute of every day. If I feel this way,
she reasoned, then Kerry couldn't be expected to do much better
considering what had happened. Still, it wasn't normal to
completely repress a memory, even a horrific memory. She had
asked Kerry about it that morning, as they prepared for the day
long supply seeking excursion, but Kerry had brushed her off with
a few mild words.
The better living through chemistry version of her friend
was also starting to concern Jeanie. It wasn't normal to watch
Doug Ross score points off Kerry with such little reaction. She
knew part of that was sympathy on Kerry's part. Doug was grieving
and his drinking and cutting remarks were due to that. His moods
were on a pendulum. One minute he was a caring sensitive man
filled with good humor and good ideas, the man Jeanie knew. Then,
it would swing the other way, and not only would he be
surprisingly cruel but also quiet and depressed. Jeanie knew that
Kerry would take a lot from Doug under the circumstances. Carol
had been a strong force in Doug's life, the force that kept him
from spiralling down into self destructive behavior. What worried
Jeanie wasn't the fact that Kerry didn't snipe back at the man,
it was that it didn't seem to be provoking any reaction at all. I
didn't like this drug therapy idea to begin with, she thought
darkly, and the only thing it's doing is letting us ignore the
problem.
" We need something big, not a sports car," Jeanie called as
she trotted to catch up to the two other women. Randi and Kerry
were poking about a snazzy looking black Ferrari convertible.
" Jeez, we're just looking, Mom." Randi retorted. She
gestured to the row of trucks and SUVs off in the distance. " We
were waiting for you to catch up and this just caught our eye."
" You know, I couldn't afford this even on a private
practice doctor's salary," Kerry said as she ran her hands around
the steering wheel. She smiled. " You know, I really don't feel
up to walking all the way over there."
" And you really shouldn't." Randi intoned as she jumped
into the front passenger seat. " After all, you wouldn't want to
strain yourself."
" Maybe.... maybe we should drive over there. I mean, we do
have a car right here. It would be almost wasteful to walk." Both
Kerry and Randi shook from suppressed laughter as Jeanie rolled
her eyes at them.
She got into the back seat, enjoying the moment but still
feeling the need to be realistic. " We don't have keys for this
thing." In fact, once they picked a truck or jeep, one of them
would have to trot back to the main office and find the keys. "
And it's a stick shift."
Kerry waved her hand in disagreement as if Jeanie was the
one being perfectly ridiculous. " We're driving around a parking
lot. It's not going to leave first gear. And its not like we
really need keys." She reached under the wheel and pulled out
some wires. In seconds, the engine turned over. She noticed their
looks of surprise. " What? Don't tell me you've never seen
someone hot wire a car. I might think that of Jeanie but I'm sure
you've seen it once or twice, Randi."
" I hate to ask where you picked up that job skill, Dr.
Weaver." Randi said with a laugh as the car started to roll.
" I said you could call me Kerry, and I picked that
particular job skill up in a Rhodesian mercenary camp." Kerry
revved the engine as they tooled around the lot. Jeanie could
hear the gears straining. It wasn't a car that was meant to stay
in first gear.
" Where is Rhodesia anyway? " Randi asked after a moment.
Jeanie had to admit, she was curious too, though she assumed it
was in Africa.
" At last check, I think it was being called Zimbabwe."
Kerry stopped the car in front of a row of trucks. " I'd prefer a
truck to a jeep. They're more solidly built. The only real
requirement though is that it's an automatic. " She smiled
suddenly. " A cd player would be nice though."
They spread out among the trucks. Even the trucks were high
end, Jeanie thought as she glanced into one and spotted leather
seats. They all seemed to have cd players, though precious few
were automatic drive. She found a few possibles and mentally
noted them as she heard Randi call out excitedly. She trotted
around the lot, finding Randi standing in front of a truck.
" This is it!" Randi said. She pointed to the various
features. " Its an automatic, it has four wheel drive and there's
a cd player."
Jeanie looked over the truck. She wasn't a car person but it
looked like a good fit for what they needed. She could do without
the bright red color but the heavy grill and winch on the front
made up for it. Kerry seemed to approve too, which was a plus
since she would be the one primarily driving it. Jeanie reached
up to open it but the door was locked. She looked inside through
the window. There was a cd player, along with a very fancy
looking cb radio. It was a dual cab truck too, which was nice.
Jeanie didn't relish the notion of riding on a motorcycle for
days on end. " It's locked Randi."
Randi held up a piece of flat, flexible piece of steel. She
slid it down the truck window into the door. In seconds, the door
clicked open. " I didn't spend four years in Joliet Women's
Prison without picking up some useful skills. I don't recommend
hot wiring though."
" It's a little big, but it'll do." Kerry said. " So who
wants to head back to the main office and get the keys?"
" I will, " Jeanie said quickly, " and I'm taking the
Ferrari." Not only did she feel a little uncomfortable leaving
Kerri and Randi alone with a car that could move at speeds of up
to one hundred fifty miles an hour, she had to admit, she wanted
to drive it herself. She hopped behind the wheel and took off. In
seconds she was back by the motorcycle lot. Everyone was either
sitting astride a bike or fooling around with one. Luka flagged
her over.
" Jeanie this is very nice, " he said, a smile flickering
across his face, " but it's hardly a truck."
She cut the engine and got out. " We found a good truck. I
was just heading over to the office for the keys. How are you
guys doing?" Lucy, and Carter had wandered over to admire the
Ferrari.
" We've found the bikes we want." Luka gestured over to the
row of bikes. Jeanie counted five bikes lined up, including the
one that Doug was sitting on and posing with a pair of shades.
" Where's the sixth bike?" Jeanie asked. Both Lucy and
Carter looked at each other. Luka looked down at his feet. "
What's up?"
Doug sauntered over. " They're trying to avoid telling you
that we've decided that we really should have someone in the
truck with Kerry." Judging by their awkward looks, Jeanie
realized that Doug was not teasing.
" Why is that? Look, she isn't crazy. I think we can trust
her to drive." It was starting to make her angry. There was
reason to be concerned but it was starting to get ridiculous.
Doug smiled and looked away. " You know Jeanie, you're
assuming something there. " The other three nodded along with
that. " We're not concerned about her taking the truck and
ramming it into one of us. I don't know about these guys, but I'm
worried that she's suffering from a head injury and that she's
taking medication that causes dizziness. She also mentioned not
being able to drive for long periods of time. I think it's safe
to say we weren't being assholes about her being loony." He
shrugged. " Her being loony was a very small part of it."
Again she felt angry. Not just at Doug, who was giving her
his best puppy dog " I'm not to blame" look, but with herself
too. I'm mad at them, she thought suddenly, but I don't exactly
trust Kerry myself, do I? And deep down, she thought it was a
good idea, and that made her feel bad. Disloyal even. " I
thought we talked about name calling, Doug." It wasn't exactly
defending Kerry, but it made her feel a little better.
" She's not here, is she?' Doug asked easily.
" Look," Luka said, stepping closer, " Let's not name call.
Jeanie, do you understand where we're coming from?"
She nodded. Luka was attempting to keep things calm and she
was willing to go along. " I'll go find the keys," she snapped.
She got out of the Ferrari and walked over to the main office,
leaving behind the motorcycles but not her anger with herself.
She didn't feel like she was being a good friend. She was just
going along with it, because it was easier and because Doug's
reasons weren't bad ones. She just knew though, that underlying
the good reasons, were the same fears that she was afraid to
admit even to herself. After all, they certainly weren't going to
discuss their reasons with Kerry.
She shook off the thoughts as she entered the darkened
showroom. It depressed her to see that dust was already
collecting on the show cars. It also depressed her to not have
electrical power. Face it Jeanie, she told herself as she walked
into the back office, this is what life is going to be like from
now on. Dust, uncut grass, darkened rooms.... She sighed as she
searched the peg board for the right keys. I'd feel better, she
thought, if I could just a decent night's sleep. She hadn't had
an unbroken night in days. The last good night she'd had, had
been the night they'd moved into Carter's house. I'm tired, she
thought suddenly, and I need more sleep. Finally she found the
right set of keys.
" You're not stealing those are you?" Jeanie spun around at
the sound of the raspy, male voice. A small, thin looking man
wearing a business suit slipped out of the dark corner he'd been
hiding in. She saw that he had a gun belt, and her fear grew. The
man leered at her and coughed into his hand. Was he sick with the
flu, Jeanie wondered. If it was the flu, he wasn't very sick and
she wasn't so certain it was the flu. She rather thought the
plague had burned itself out. He gestured to the keys in her
hand, his own hand on the small gun in his belt. " Are you going
to pay?"
Oh god, Jeanie thought. He's crazy. " I have a credit card."
If he was really nuts, then he might just take the card.
He came closer, still coughing and sniffling. " Oh there's
no need for money to change hands." He licked his lips. Before
she could react, he leapt across the room and had her backed into
the wall, his arms on each side of her. " You're very pretty.
Like a Nubian goddess. " He leaned in and said breathily, " The
dark man promised me a Nubian goddess." His hands touched her
breasts and she started to writhe, trying to get out of his
grasp.
" I have AIDS, " she said, her voice panicked. That he
wanted sex was obvious. His grasp was strong but she could tell
he was weakened by his illness. I think I can get away, she
thought, I just need to get the right moment.
" They all say that, baby," he murmured into her ear. He
tried to kiss her, and she jabbed him with her elbow. Suddenly,
the man went flying. She looked up, surprised and pleased to see
Carter standing there. He held the rifle he'd been carrying and
it was aimed at the small man who was huddled up in a ball.
" Are you ok, Jeanie?" Carter asked as he pulled her to him.
He glared at the man. " This pig didn't hurt you did he?" Carter
was, she realized through her shock, literally frothing at the
mouth and was only seconds away from shooting the man.
" I'm ok, Carter." She was relieved to see him visibly calm
down. " He didn't hurt me. I have the keys we need. Let's just
go, ok?" The absolute last thing she wanted was to see Carter
blow the man away. She felt like she had already met her lifetime
quota of watching close friends shoot others.
After a long moment, Carter nodded. " We got worried when it
took so long." He kept the gun aimed at the man. " You listen up,
buddy. We're leaving. You aren't following. I see you come out of
this building, we will shoot you. You understand that?" Carter's
eyes had lost the wild anger that she had seen, but his voice was
hard. Jeanie didn't doubt that the small man would meet a violent
end if he did follow them.
The man nodded though. She and Carter backed out of the room
and quickly left the show room. " Jeanie are you sure you're ok?"
Carter asked as they walked out into the light of day.
" I'm ok, " she said." Just a little shook up." What
disturbed her, though she didn't want to admit it to Carter, was
what the man had said. The dark man, she thought. Goosebumps rose
on her arms and she shivered despite the hot summer air. Her
dreams, the dreams that had plagued her since the flu epidemic
started, had been about a dark man. A dark man that not only
beckoned her but frightened her. How did that man know, she asked
herself again. It was as if they were having the same dreams, but
she knew in her rational mind that it was simply not possible. In
her heart though, she started to wonder.