Chapter Eleven: Priorities

Five hours and two x-rays later, the gunshot wounds in Lisa's shoulder and leg were almost gone and the nick in her right heart was now the size of a dime. However, she was still in a coma and not responding to anything Gary did to bring her out of it.

Moreover, Sue and Lucy were still in danger of being shot and he was being haunted by images of the shooter, the gun, the two women, and he could hear Levi barking. Still, he couldn't bring himself to leave her side, for Pete and Adele were still talking about calling in Von Braun, although the healing injuries were causing them to hold off on it for the moment.

He'd briefly spoken to Marissa on the phone, but he didn't tell her about what was in the paper. He knew she'd try to talk him out of leaving Lisa, and he wouldn't have it. He couldn't leave her. Not now. Not while she needed him.

He did, however, try calling the hotel to get a hold of Sue and Lucy, but they were out of the room. He'd left a message with the front desk for them to get in touch with him as soon as they returned.

As the clock ticked closer and closer to 1:30, he found himself more and more haunted by the article. He dozed off beside Lisa, sleeping fitfully. He could almost see the shooter, Sue and Lucy. Levi was barking, and beneath it all was Lisa's voice, urging him to go help. There was the sound of a gun, and…

Gary awoke with a start, breathing hard, and glanced down at Lisa's still unmoving body. In his head, he could still hear her pleading with him to help Sue and Lucy.

Lisa? he tried. Lisa?

Once again, she didn't answer. Gary sighed and put his head in his hands, then grabbed the paper, put on his shoes and headed out of the door and out of the hospital. He hailed a cab to the hotel and checked the time: 1:05PM

The cab, unfortunately, got stuck in traffic. Panicked, Gary said to the cabbie, "Look, uh, just let me off here." He handed the driver money and left the cab, taking off down the street at a run. By the time he arrived at the hotel, he had mere minutes.

He looked around and found Sue and Lucy talking to each other outside the hotel. Levi was at their side, waiting patiently for them to finish.

"Sue! Lucy!" Gary shouted to them, waving his arms. "Get into the hotel!"

Sue, obviously, couldn't hear, and Lucy only noticed Gary running up to them. She waved to him, and called, "Hey, Gary! How's Lisa? Is she any better?"

"Girls, get into the hotel!" he yelled as he came closer. His eyes fell on Levi. "Levi, get them inside, quick!" Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a familiar figure in the crowd. The guy who robbed McGinty's; he started to reach inside his jacket.

The dog wasted no time. He barked and dragged Sue into the hotel building as someone exited, Lucy following in alarm, and Gary tackled the shooter, pinning his arms down so he couldn't reach the gun.

"Somebody call the police!" Gary shouted, grunting with the effort of holding the guy down. He would have lost him had Lisa not clamped her telekinetics onto him.

Gary looked up, shocked. "Lisa!" he croaked.

"Shh," she said, her voice strained. "Just hold him down…"

Lucy appeared, wide-eyed, with a gun in one hand and her badge in the other. "FBI! Hang on, Gary…" She pulled out a pair of handcuffs and manacled the crook's hands behind his back.

Sirens wailed in the background and Sue and Levi came out of the hotel, Levi barking and heading straight for Lisa.

"Gary…" Lisa groaned, and collapsed right into his waiting arms.

"Oh, Lisa…" he whispered, holding her close.

"Hey…" she whispered back, one hand lifting to caress his cheek.

Gary and Lisa kissed as police cars appeared on the scene. It was finally over.

End chapter eleven.