THE LEGACY – CHAPTER 17

It was a week later and Ruthie was still a little freaked from her day soloing, but she was slowly coming to grips with the consequences of dealing with the paper. She had helped Gary out once or twice since her solo shot, and she had realized that helping him was a burden that she wanted to bear. Another thing that had helped her deal was the distraction provided by her brother.

On Tuesday, right in the middle of the lunch rush, the big dummy had knelt down in the middle of the floor and proposed to Lily. Ruthie was happy for them both, but she could imagine the fireworks that had occurred when he had called home. Apparently the fact that she was going to be a lawyer didn't cut much ice with the Camden clan. The reaction of Lily's family was no better when she told them that she had accepted his proposal. The idea of Lily marrying some money grubbing, conservative, blond surfer dude from California didn't fit the plans that they had made for their little girl. The pair remained undaunted and Ruthie felt that Simon had summed it up best when he said "the heck with all of them, we're the ones getting married; they're just gonna have to learn to deal." The two of them were head over heels for each other and didn't seem to care that both families were ready to disown their offspring.

She was sitting in class, letting her mind wander over the subject of Simon's impending nuptials and reminding herself to go to the bank after class when the bell rang.

"Ms. Camden, could I have a word with you please?"

Dr. Pearson wanted to talk to her, maybe it was about the professorship he had mentioned. Ruthie bounded down the stairs of the lecture hall "yes sir" she said.

By way of reply he handed her an envelope and said "would you do the honors please?"

A little perplexed, Ruthie looked at the envelope, it was from the Guggenheim Foundation. Her eyes shot back up to Dr. Pearson "Teressa" she asked. He nodded with a smile "you want me to tell her, either way" she asked and again he nodded.

The girl closed her eyes and said a prayer, then broke the seal and eased the letter out.

"Do we have another one to put in the case" the professor asked.

Ruthie remained silent for a moment, her eyes scanning the letter; they flickered to the top and then back down again. Dr. Pearson was starting to get impatient, but then he saw a huge grin break out on his student's face and he had his answer. He then recognized the look in the young woman's eyes and put out a hand to stop her.

"Please no physical displays Miss Camden, my back is still aching from the last one. Why don't you go find your friend and tell her the good news."

"Thank you sir" the girl threw over her shoulder as she sprinted out of the hall. She was so happy, she felt like she would burst as she headed towards McGinty's. 'Oh crap, the bank' she thought a moment or two later. It was something she really needed to take care of, and it would only take a couple of minutes. She needed to deposit the last check she had gotten from the Sun-Times, because she had been holding it for a week. She altered her path to McGinty's and stopped by a branch of Bank of America on the corner of Madison and Dearborn. She rushed in and was filling out a deposit form before she realized who it was that was there with her. It was that awful reporterette from the Sun-Times. Ruthie blew out a heavy sigh, and the other woman looked up, eyes going wide with distaste when she realized who was there with her. Both young women resolved to simply ignore the fact that the other existed and went about their business. Ruthie had finished with the deposit slip and looked up to see something that made her blood run cold; it was Gary and Toni.

Ruthie knew that if they were here there was only one reason, and it wasn't banking. She knew that Gary did all of his banking through Illinois Trust, both for himself and for McGinty's. When Ruthie asked why he used such an old fogey institution like that, he just gave her a little grin and said "tradition". Ruthie hadn't understood, but Gary had made it clear that that was the end of the conversation. If Gary and Toni were here, that meant a robbery was going down and soon. Then Ruthie realized that if Toni was here, that probably meant shooting as well. Ruthie started scanning the branch, looking for someone that didn't fit, that looked as though they were loitering a little too casually.

Nothing, no robbers anywhere, no one that even looked like they were mildly bad; there were no long loose coats, no high collars to disguise the faces, nothing. She was frantically looking around when she heard the bank's door open. Then she saw all of the long coats she ever wanted to see. Three men walked in as though they owned the place. The one in the lead was reaching behind him when Ruthie screamed "gun" and ducked behind the little work station in the middle of the floor. As soon as the word was out of her mouth, all hell broke loose. People were yelling and running and there voices bellowing orders and pure chaos, fortunately though, there were no shots, at least not yet. Ruthie looked up from her hiding spot to see what was happening, and was horrified to see that the young reporter had frozen, standing right out in the open, she wasn't crouched or looking for cover, she was just standing immobile in the middle of the darned floor.

Ruthie saw the three men looking around and trying to clear their weapons from their coats. Peripherally she saw Brigatti and two guards draw their weapons and take aim. Ruthie broke from her cover and raced over towards the Latina in order to get her out of the line of fire. One of the robbers cleared his weapon just as Brigatti shouted "FREEZE" but the man didn't freeze, he continued to try and raise the automatic shotgun. As the weapon came up, a shot rang out and blood was suddenly spraying from the man's forehead. His hands convulsed as he died and the shot tore into the carpet at his feet. The man's death should have been the end of it, but for some reason, the other two robbers kept on pulling their weapons. Brigatti yelled "FREEZE" again, but it did no good. Ruthie was closing on the girl, when she heard Brigatti's second shout. She dove and hit the girl with one of Gary's patented flying tackles and forced her to the ground just as the shooting erupted around them. The ground hit her a lot harder than she expected, and the young artist lost consciousness.

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Toni hated this, the robbers had to know that they were in deep when they lost surprise, but they had decided to shoot it out anyway. What a waste, if they had surrendered then at least they would still be alive, and not looking at that much jail time (relatively speaking), but they hadn't surrendered, and now they were dead. She holstered her pistol and looked back at Gary; he was fine, and checking the paper. Toni saw her husband go ashen, and before she knew it he was screaming for an ambulance.

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Janet's mind was still trying to process what had just happened. She had heard someone yell "gun", then she had seen the men in the coats and the guards; and she had just stood there. For whatever reason she had just stood like some spectator at a sporting event wanting the best seat to view the action; even when the shooting had started, she had been as immobile as a deer in the headlights. That is until someone had knocked her down. Now that the shooting had stopped she was trying to untangle herself from her rescuer and see what had happened. "Thanks but you can let go now" she said to the weight that was lying on her, she looked and all she could see was a mass of brown curls. "You can move now" she said a bit more sharply, but there was no movement. 'Great' she thought 'they're brave enough to knock me down, then pass out on top of me'. "Thanks again" the journalist said and shoved the person off of her. The first thing she noticed was her rescuer was the artist girl that she didn't like. The second thing she noticed was that her hands were wet and red when she pulled them back. Somewhere she heard someone yelling for an ambulance, but she was frozen again, staring down at the face of the person that had saved her life; then she looked back at her blood covered hands and screamed.

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Gary responded first to the screaming girl. He saw her standing, staring at her hands as though she could not understand what was on them. When he got to her, he realized that the blood was not hers; it belonged to the person that was still on the floor. Gary didn't understand, according to the paper, the young journalist was supposed to get shot in the arm, but the journalist was fine, and someone else had been shot. He bent down and carefully rolled over the body of the bystander and recoiled when he realized that he was looking at the face of Ruthie Camden. He tore the paper open, hoping that the wound was superficial, that RC would be fine. "Art Student Killed During Robbery Attempt" was the headline that he saw. Apparently Ruthie was going to die because the Ambulance would break down in traffic and she would bleed out before she could get to the hospital. Gary looked up and found his wife "Toni, we need some towels or something and we need to get her to the hospital now".

"The Ambulance is on the way Hobson".

"I know, but it'll be too late."

Toni's eyes got wide and she glanced from her husband's face to the paper and back to his face, searching for confirmation.

He noticed and gave her a brief nod, telling her that this was indeed something he had read.

The cop in Brigatti took over, she started barking orders for towels or blankets or anything to stop the blood flowing, anything that would keep RC alive long enough to get them to a hospital. Soon Gary was carrying the young woman out to a squad car, Toni was already in the back seat to help and an officer already had the motor running. As soon as the door was closed, they tore out in the direction of the nearest hospital. The sergeant who was driving slowed only once, then sped up when he was told that he'd be busted down to walking a beat if he even thought about using the brake before they got to the ER. Brigatti had radioed ahead, and the doctors at Mercy Hospital knew what was coming. As soon as Gary was out of the car, Ruthie was whisked away to a waiting Operating Room; and all Gary and Toni could do was call the girl's family and wait. Gary didn't know what was going to happen because the article was still there but it was blurred, Gary figured that meant that the outcome was still in question. With shaking hands he pulled out his cell phone and called McGinty's.

"McGinty's, this is Marissa Clark, how can I help you?"

"Marissa, it's Gary, I need you to do something for me."

"Sure Gary, what is it?"

"I need you to call RC's brother and tell him that she's in emergency surgery down at Mercy Hospital."

"Oh my God, what happened?"

"There was a shootout, RC dove on someone that was in the line of fire and got clipped herself."

"Does the paper have anything to say?"

"No, the article's still there, but it's blurry, like things aren't set yet."

"I'll call her brother, and then I'll be there as soon as I can."

"God Marissa, she wasn't even supposed to be there, we never told her about this one, it was just bad luck."

"You said she was saving someone?"

"Yeah, the reporter girl that was there the other day."

"Then she was doing what she thought was right, no one's to blame for that Gary, especially you."

"I know Marissa, Toni told me the same thing; I just can't help but feel that there was something else I could have done."

"You always think that Gary, but when the two smartest women you know agree, you should listen."

Her comment cause Gary to give the phone a weak smile "message received Marissa; just hurry down here as quick as you can, please."

"Sure Gary, I'm on my way." The blind woman hung up the phone, then her head just sagged forward, and she prayed that her friend would pull through; she also prayed that she would find the right words for Simon Camden.

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McGinty's had closed; there was no one there to run the place because everyone was down at the hospital waiting for news. It had been five hours since Ruthie had arrived at the hospital, and so far all anyone would say was that she was still alive; period. Simon Camden was there with Lily in his arms; her eyes were puffy and red from crying, he was just shell shocked. When he had arrived he had said that his parents were due in late that night, along with Lucy and Kevin. Matt and Sarah had juggled their schedules so they could take care of the twins and Savannah. Teressa wore a look much like Simon's; she simply could not comprehend the fact that her best friend might die. Gary was pacing around like an angry lion; he would just glare at the paper and growl; then pace some more.

Finally the doors opened and a doctor in a blood spattered gown came out, "Ruth Camden" he said, and then was shocked as the entire room seemed to converge on him.

Simon stalked up, as people cleared a path for him "Yes, how is she?"

"Well, it was touch and go for a while, but she never crashed; baring any unforeseen complications, she'll make a full recovery. Your sister is one hell of a fighter Mr. Camden."

The sigh of relief was enough to ruffle the notices on a bulletin board halfway down the hall; "could I see her please" Simon asked "just for a second."

The doctor hesitated for a moment, then realized that the crowd would probably lynch him if he said no "family only, and only for a minute."

Finally allowing the tears to come, Simon stumbled off after the doctor to see for himself that Ruthie was going to be alright.

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For Lucy, the day had been one continuous nightmare; the screams over the phone, the rushing off, the uncertainty of what they would find. Her parents looked like they had both been gut punched, and she realized that in every way but physical; they had been. Kevin had been her island of stability in all of this, for whatever reason, he was convinced that nothing less than a nuclear blast would take out Ruthie, and his belief that she would pull through had never wavered.

The taxi pulled up to the ER entrance and they all but ran in, looking for any bit of information. Fortunately the first person they saw was someone they recognized; Marissa, she had just gotten back from walking Riley.

Marissa's head had come up at the sound of the rushing people. She knew who she hoped it was, but she didn't want to say anything to the wrong people, she was spared that dilemma when they spoke first "Ms. Clark it's Eric Camden, how's Ruthie?"

"Marissa gave her most reassuring smile "she's out of surgery and fine, the doctors expect her to make a full recovery."

"Can we see her?"

"I'll take you to someone you can ask" she replied and headed off towards the OR waiting area. The Camdens were shocked by the number of people that were there to reassure them that everything was going to be alright. Most of them they recognized from the Christmas party, but the sheer number was daunting. After being told who they were, the duty nurse immediately took Eric and Annie back to where they could see their daughter; that left Lucy and Kevin alone with a room full of strangers. They looked around awkwardly until Toni came up "you're a cop, right" she asked Kevin. When he nodded she continued "my name's Toni Brigatti, I'm a lieutenant in the Chicago PD."

"Yeah, he answered, where's Simon, and what happened?"

"Simon went home with his fiancé as soon as he found out she'd be OK, he'll be back in the morning. As to what happened, RC just happened to be in a bank when it was getting robbed, there was a girl standing in the middle of a crossfire and Ruthie tackled her. She got shot in the process, but she saved the other girl's life. If you want to see the tapes, I can let you do that tomorrow down at the precinct as a departmental courtesy, I'd also understand if you didn't want to see them, it ain't pretty." She had added that deliberately, telling him but not his wife that people died on that tape, and a strong stomach would be required to watch it.

"That won't be necessary" Kevin replied "but I appreciate the offer".

As Brigatti was finishing, Marissa came up "do you have somewhere to stay tonight?"

"No" Lucy answered "it all happened too fast."

"Well then you can stay with me tonight, that way we'll be back here first thing in the morning" The Kinkirk's looked like they weren't sure when Marissa added the capper; you're both exhausted, staying here wouldn't do either of you any good, especially you" she said to Lucy, referring to the woman's pregnant condition. Reluctantly they realized that the blind woman was right, but they refused to leave until Lucy saw her parents again, and was reassured that Ruthie was going to be alright.

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'She looks so small' Annie thought as she stared down at her daughter. Ruthie was pale and bandaged and there was a small army of machines monitoring every facet of her current existence. Seeing her like this was too much for Annie and Eric, they were running on adrenalin and exhaustion; after assuring themselves that she was indeed alive, they stumbled back to the waiting room in tears. There they were comforted not only by Lucy and Kevin, but by the entire McGinty's staff. After the Camden's had a good cry, the group broke up; Lucy told her parents that they were staying with Marissa, and Gary led Eric and Annie off along with Toni. As they were headed out to the car, Annie asked the one question that she had to know the answer to "what happened"?

"We had gotten a tip that a branch of Bank of America was gonna be hit, but we didn't know which one. We had assigned an officer to each branch, myself included, they just happened to show up at the branch that I was stationed at and that RC was using. I gave them two chances to give it up, but they were determined to shoot it out. There was a girl, a reporter for the Sun-Times who just froze in the middle of the floor, right out in the open. Your daughter saw that and ran over to get her out of danger. She saved the girl, but got clipped herself; I rushed her here, and you know the rest.

"Thank you" Annie said "for saving her".

"You're welcome" Toni replied "but compared to her, I didn't do much".

"Where are we headed, by the way" Eric asked.

"McGinty's" Gary replied from the driver's seat "we figured you didn't have a place to stay, and we've got a spare room."

The Camden's finally allowed themselves to relax, the knowledge that Ruthie would be alright, and the caring and hospitality of her friends finally succeeded in easing their worries, at least for a little bit. When they got to the bar Gary asked "can I get you all anything, either to eat or drink"?

Annie and Eric hadn't eaten since they had left the house that morning, and now they were feeling it. "That would be great, but we can take care of it" Annie said.

"It's no trouble" Gary said "Toni can show you where you're staying and when you get back down, I'll have something ready."

Without a word, Brigatti led the Camden's up the stairs and into the guest loft; true it was above a bar, but it was cozy and comfortable. As they were walking in the door, Toni finally spoke up "in case you're interested, All Saints is less than a block away, and I know it's open all night, in case you need a church". With that she eased herself out of the room and back downstairs to help Gary in the kitchen, well as much as she could.

When the Camden's came back downstairs, Toni showed them to a table and Gary came out with some Fettuccini Alfredo, Garlic Bread, Salads and Tea. Eric and Annie were stunned that such an elaborate meal had been thrown together so quickly.

"So did you put this together Toni" Annie asked.

Brigatti actually laughed at that "me, God no; I'm a disaster in the kitchen, Gary's the cook in the family, I just butter the bread and toss the salads."

Dinner conversation carried on, a little strained it's true, but carried on just the same. Gary and Toni were telling the Camden's stories from Ruthie's acting stint and some of the other things she had been doing in Chicago. It made the girl's parents realize how deeply these people cared for Ruthie, and they were happy knowing that she had people like that in her life.