Chapter 3:

Dr. Collins had led Jack out of ICU, after he positively had identified his fellow agent. His face was rid of all emotions – he looked so empty, so lost to her. She knew it was unbelievably hard to see someone like this and that's what Agent Malone looked like right now – like he just couldn't believe. Finally he found his words once again – in an outburst of emotion.

„What the hell happened to him? That's nothing of the kind of normal injuries!"

"Yes, you're right, it isn't. Taking the kind and severeness of the injuries into consideration and putting up a time frame for the injuries he was suffering from…"

"What!"

"I believe he was tortured. That would be my – diagnosis to explain the injuries…"

He was speechless, he just couldn't believe she really meant what she had just said. It didn't make any sense. Who would do this to Danny? And the even more important question was. Why? What had he done or known that somebody was desperate, cold-hearted and crazy enough to do something like this to him? He repeated the doctors words in disbelief.

"Tortured?"

"That's what I believe and this indicates a timeframe in which the injuries occurred. Taking into consideration that he's still alive, the more severe injuries probably occurred at a later time, then…"

Jack interrupted her – his thoughts were racing to catch up to what she was talking about.

"Wait a second! What does that mean a timeframe? What exactly are we talking about?"

She took some seconds to think about his question before she looked him right in the eyes to answer him.

"As the even more deeper cuts already started a healing process on their own when he was brought in – I'd say several days."

He couldn't do anything against the feeling of nausea that overtook him by her answer and once again he was only able to repeat her words in disbelief.

"Days? Several days? Don't tell me he had been conscious for the whole time! I mean he's unconscious right now…"

Desperation lay in his voice as he waited for Dr. Collins to answer his question and the fact that she took her time made him believe he wouldn't like the answer she would give him.

"I'm sorry – but I'm afraid he has been. For the whole distance of the two and a half days."

"Good lord!"

"As I already told you – I have no idea how he could survive that. He must be an extremly strong and also stubborn character. He wasn't willing to give up – that's what probably kept him alive over the full distance of time. I can't explain this in any other way. Because physically – well I don't believe anyone would survive such severe injuries. I'm still not sure he will, as I already told you. But you know the saying – mind is stronger than matter. I guess that's deeply true in his case."

"Stubborn – huh? I guess you could say that about him."

A slight smile had appeared on Jack's face right now and it made Dr. Collins feel even more sad to destroy his hope right away once again.

"Well apart from the physical damage – I don't even wanna think about the psychological consequences. Even if he'll make a full recovery – which I doubt – he'll never be the same person he was before."

"Well I know that – you don't need to tell me, but I will wait with being concerned about that until he's physically better. I know about the full range of psychological consequences: depression, paranoia, panic attacks and the list goes ever on and on. But don't let us talk about this now. Give him time and a chance to recover. We'll see how he is doing then."

He definitely had more knowledge about psychology than she had, so she wouldn't insist against him. But there was something else she had diagnosed, something else she needed to talk about with someone and as Agent Taylor didn't have a family, Agent Malone was the nearest person she thought of to tell her diagnosis.

"There is something else I need to tell you about. Something else I found out. I'm not sure I should bring this up, but as he has no family members and you seem to be a close friend… I guess you have a right to know about it and you make out what you wanna do about it. If you wana tell him you know or if you wanna tell anyone else about it…

"So what is it, that you need to tell me?"

She could hear the angshious tone in his voice and she wasn't sure if she wouldn't regret to tell him. But now she had started, there was no more way out of it. The silence between them longered as she tried to find the right words. Finally she whispered her diagnosis to him.

"There are signs of,…, sexual assault…"

There wasn't a word spoke after her statement. Complete deadly silence fell between them – one could have heard a needle falling to the ground. She knew this was hard to take and she knew he probably wouldn't believe her in first place. But there was nothing she could do about the facts. That was the way it was, if he wanted to believe it or not. She could hear his harsh breathing and could literally feel the anger behind it, before he finally responded to her words.

"No!"

He forcefully shook his head no and looked at her in anger and disbelief. She tried to stay objective and restrained – she needed to calm him down, needed to make him see she wasn't lying to him. That – as unbelievable and cruel as it was – it was the truth.

"I'm so sorry, but if definitely have proof for this. I know it's very hard and I know you don't want it to be true, but it happened. I'm absolutely sure about it."

She had believed he would insist again and again until he would finally believe her. But he gave in right away. He knew she had no reason to lie to him. She could almost see the emotions taking over his physics – could see how his heart sunk.

"Why the hell should somebody do this to him. Is there any justifiable reason for it? I mean – what the hell happened!"

"Have you ever seen any torement that needed a justifiable reason? People who do this, especially the people who did this to Agent Taylor, didn't care the last bit about human dignity. They probably had their own sick reasons, but we won't get to know about them. I'm so sorry I can't help you with this. I'd wish to do something for you – for him, but I can't tell you much. We haven't found anything – no fingerprints, no -…- bodyfluids – nothing that would help us identify his attackers."

"But how did he get here? Somebody must've called the ambulance…"

"He didn't come in here by ambulance. He was dropped off in front of the E.R. Nobody saw the driver of the car that took him here and we were too busy saving his life, so nobody had a closer look at the car or the direction the driver turned to. I can't give you any hint."

"I just can't believe this – I mean this is like a bad nightmare and I still wait for someone to wake me up, but nothing's happening… I'll find the goddamn bastards that did this to him! I bloody will – I owe him to do so. I want him to have the certainty that they won't ever hurt him again. I want him to feel safe when he wakes up…"

In her mind she silently corrected him – if he wakes up.