Chapter 24
By mid-morning, Jack raced into the hospital with Sue and Bobby trailing not far behind him. The first place they went to was the Emergency Room where they stood impatiently waiting while the admissions clerk finished her phone conversation.
"I'm Agent Hudson with the F.B.I.," Jack told her, showing her his badge when she finally hung up the phone. "We were told two of our agents were brought in this morning, Tara Williams and Myles Leland?" he inquired watching as she checked her computer.
"Mr. Leland is in Room 419," she informed them after a moment. "However, Ms. Williams is in I.C.U. on the 2nd floor," she added, looking up at the three visitors across from her.
"I.C.U.? What happened?" Bobby asked concerned, his anxiety evident on his face.
"I'm sorry sir, but I don't have any other information," the clerk responded solemnly.
"Thank you," Jack sighed as they turned towards the elevator. "We'll stop by the I.C.U. to check on Tara first, and then we'll go up to see Myles," he confirmed with the others as they stood on the elevator impatiently waiting for it to move one floor.
Coming off the elevator, they found a volunteer staffing the desk outside the I.C.U. Her name badge identified her as Amber while the sign on her desk said all visitors had to check in there.
"Can I help you?" the volunteer inquired, looking shyly up at Jack and Bobby with a broad smile.
Sue watched with a smirk as the young woman coyly flirted with the two agents. However, Bobby and Jack were very oblivious to volunteer's attention as she batted her eyes at them.
"We're here to see Agent Williams," Bobby flashed his dimpled smile at the young woman as he flipped open his badge.
Amber nodded and picked up the phone.
"Agent Williams has visitors," she said quietly waiting for a response on the other end.
Bobby, Jack, and Sue nearly danced with impatience until Amber hung up the phone and directed them to Room 6 through the locked doors to her left. Pressing a button under her desk, a buzzer sounded releasing the lock.
Managing to thank her through the lump in his throat, Bobby followed Sue and Jack through the doors. Through the windows of each room, the sight of helpless patients surrounded and dwarfed by machines, tubes, and monitors responsible for keeping them alive terrified the three of them in more ways than any undercover assignment in the past.
Spotting Room 6, they went in, but the scene before them had their hearts plummeting to their feet. Blue blood Myles Leland, clad in a hospital gown and robe with an IV in his left hand, was seated in a wheelchair keeping vigil at Tara's side. There was a brace on his wrist as he slumped over the bed, his head resting on her arm.
An obscene tube taped to her mouth marred Tara's delicate features. A large sling bound her right arm to her side as wires protruded from under her gown to the monitors overhead.
"Tara?" Sue choked back a sob at the sight. Jack put his arm around her comfortingly as they stared at their friends.