When Terror Takes Its Toll
Chapter 3
"Steve? ...STEVE? " Mike cajoled, gently patting the young man's cheek in a vain attempt to get Steve to respond but there wasn't an ounce of movement from his now prone, young partner. Checking his pulse and feeling its somewhat thready beat beneath his fingertips he shouted out for help as the worry for his friend grew steadily in his heart.
"Sekulovich? SEKULOVICH? ..."
He thanked God for the simple fact that Steve had fallen so close to their own Department and was heartened by Art Sekulovich's swift arrival through the outer bullpen door. Seeing Mike with the prone figure of Steven Keller in his arms, Art gasped in shock and rushed over to kneel beside them.
"Dear God Mike! What happened?"
"He collapsed on me Art. He's hurt worse than we thought ..." Mike added as he pulled up Steve's shirt from the back and showed Art the massive contusions on the young man's back. "He ah ... told me a minute ago that he's passing blood too."
Art's face fell and grew ashen as he heard Mike's words and as he took in the pitiful sight of Keller's back.
"Mike, that's not a good sign. Sounds like there's something wrong with his kidneys. We need to get him to a Hospital and quickly."
Just as those words left Art's lips, Bill Tanner appeared out of the bullpen door and looked equally horrified in their direction.
"Bill, Call an ambulance and bring me my overcoat to cover him with too, will you? His hands are like ice."
Mike felt the ice cold of Steve's hands and frowned as he watched Art listen to his partner's breathing.
"His breathing is OK Mike but his pulse is very thready. He must have taken quite a beating on that boat."
Mike scowled and nodded, feeling anger rise within him at the current helplessness of their situation as they waited for medical help to arrive. He stroked Steve's forehead and spoke soothingly as he suddenly felt a small lump beneath Steve's hairline with his fingertips. Bending over more closely to get a better look, Mike discovered a doozy of a bump and more bruising on Steve's scalp on the left hand side of his head and frowned again at the discovery of this new injury that Steve had failed to tell him about.
Bill arrived back out to him and gently covered his colleague's fallen form with Mike's overcoat as more people came down the corridor and rushed to see what all the excitement was about. As the new group drew nearer, Mike recognized the bulky form of his Sergeant, Norm Haseejian and the motley assortment of hostages form the siege earlier. A tall man in a sailor's outfit rushed forward when he recognized the prone man and he spoke in an anguished tone.
"Oh my God! ... Stevey? ... What happened?"
"He collapsed on us. We're waiting for an ambulance to get here."
"Oh Man ... He took quite a beating earlier from one of those psycho terrorist dudes. "
Mike's head snapped up as he heard those words and he questioned the young sailor.
"You witnessed it?"
"Yeah man. We all did. But it wasn't a fair fight. Steve's hands were cuffed behind his back. He managed to get a few kicks in, in fairness to him but he was fair game other than that. "
Mike felt a twisting in his gut as he listened to what Steve had endured and thought about how close he had come to losing his partner today. He then heard the soft sobs of a woman and looked up to see the woman hostage from earlier being comforted by another man that he had recognized from the earlier situation. Suddenly Steve started to move a little in Mike's arms and a low groan escaped from the young man's lips. Mike watched as Steve's eyes fluttered open and although he seemed to be struggling to keep them open, he seemed alarmed by the amount of faces now peering down at him. Knowing Steve's hatred of fuss of any kind, Mike spoke up and called out politely.
"Ok, folks. There's nothing else to see here for now. Norm, could you please take these people to give their statements?"
Norm obediently shuffled the hostages off into the bullpen and so all that was left now was Mike, Art and Bill attending to Steve.
"Mi ... ke ... What's ... going on?" Steve mumbled almost incoherently.
"Easy Steve ... Easy. You have to stay still Buddy boy. You collapsed on me. The paramedics will be here any minute now. You're going to be ok."
Steve's face suddenly contorted in pain and he arched his back as the pain returned with his lucidity.
"Ooh ... My back ..."
"I know ... I know Steve ... Hold on now ... " Mike added soothingly as Art assisted him in keeping Steve from moving too much and aggravating the injury.
"Mike, the medics are HERE!" Bill shouted and Mike felt relief flood his heart at those words.
Within seconds, Steve was being attended to and lifted onto a gurney and Mike followed him out to the waiting ambulance where the young man continued to drift in and out of consciousness all the way to Franklin Hospital. It was another hour or two of an agonizing wait for Mike as he paced the waiting area waiting for further news of his partner and friend. He was sitting staring into space, reliving the earlier siege in his head, when he finally saw the tall, African American Doctor approach him. Jumping to his feet he raced forward expectantly.
"Lieutenant Stone?" the Doctor asked with an outstretched hand.
"Yes ... How is he Doc?"
The Doctor could see the visible concern in the older man's face and quickly moved to reassure him.
"He's doing fine Lieutenant. My name is Dr. Ojomo. Inspector Keller received quite a beating. He has a mild concussion, badly bruised ribs on his left hand side and a badly swollen kidney on his right side. At the moment he is passing a significant amount of blood so we need to closely monitor the situation. He will need plenty of rest to allow his kidney to heal so we have decided to keep him sedated for the time being and have inserted a catheter so we can monitor the blood loss. The catheter can be unpleasant so the sedation will keep him comfortable. We will be keeping him in until the bleeding stops but he's young and he's strong. I have every confidence he will make a speedy recovery."
Mike sighed heavily with relief and shook the Doctor's hand gratefully.
"Thanks Doc ... Yes, he is young and strong. Although I have to admit he had me worried. He was in a lot of pain with his back on the way here in the ambulance."
"A swollen kidney can be a painful thing Lieutenant but we've given him pain relief now and the sedation will ensure he gets the rest he needs to keep him comfortable and resting. You know Lieutenant, I followed the siege on the news earlier. You know it sickens me that these people carry out these atrocities supposedly to help the people of Battazi but they do not represent the people back there. They are evil personified and only carry out their acts for their own glory. "
"Yes, most of these fruitcake terrorists are ... but at least this time, the damage they caused was minimal but a poor girl still lost her life and her Father's is ruined. "
"Yes, a terrible thing ... Anyway you can see Inspector Keller in a little while if you like but he won't be responsive. We would hope that the bleeding should settle over the next twenty four hours so that we can then remove the catheter and ease off the sedation."
"Thanks Doc ... "
Another hour later and Mike sat beside Steve's Hospital bed. The young man looked as white as a ghost and the tubes and wires protruding from the young man's body both above and beneath the bed covers was unnerving at best. The sight of the pink tinged liquid in the bag hanging from the side of Steve's bed was the most frightening of all and a horrifying reminder of how seriously hurt he had been. He was suddenly glad that Steve was being kept under as he knew Steve would NOT be best pleased by the presence of the catheter and shuddered even himself at the prospect of one. It was going to be a long night's vigil but Mike settled back in the visitor's chair and prepared himself for the long haul.
The first rays of morning sun were starting to stream through the partially closed Venetian blinds as Mike woke from a doze in the hard chair. Removing the fedora from his face, he groaned as his back protested the position he had fallen asleep in and he shifted himself back into an upright position. A cheerful, quiet voice greeted him.
"Good Morning Lieutenant ... It's shaping up to be a gloriously sunny day out there."
"Oh ... ah Good morning ..." Mike replied drowsily as he took in the sight of the nurse attending to Steve.
As his eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room, the first sight Mike took in was the clear golden colored liquid now working its way into the bag at the side of Steve's bed and his grin broadened.
"The bleeding's stopped?"
"Yes, Lieutenant. It stopped about two hours ago when we changed the bag. It's a very good sign. Dr. Ojomo is very pleased and hopes to remove the catheter this morning and ease off the sedation."
"Oh that's great news. " Mike beamed.
"Why don't you go and grab some breakfast while he is still under, Lieutenant. By the time you come back they should be starting to bring him around."
"Yeah ... That's a good idea, thanks."
Mike stood up and rubbed his lower back where the muscles were still protesting painfully. Reaching over he tousled Steve's hair affectionately and smiled down at the younger man. He still looked very pale but he looked peaceful and not in any pain. His breathing was soft and shallow and other than the bruising that Mike knew was there under his hairline and under his gown, he looked as if he were just asleep.
"Hang in there Buddy boy ..." he whispered softly.
An hour later, Mike was back with a full stomach and was pleased to see that the catheter had been removed in his absence. The nurse informed him that the sedation had been stopped but assured him that the pain meds were still keeping any pain the young man had at bay. It would be another full hour again though before Steve began to shuffle restlessly and emit low moans every now and then. The sedation wore off very slowly and Mike watched with interest as Steve fought the effects and tried to return to full consciousness. Mike was reading the morning paper, the sports pages spread open in his hands and his black rimmed glasses perched on his nose when the first intelligible sound filtered through the silence in the room.
"Mike? ..."
Mike quickly folded and dropped the paper and removed his glasses as he leaned forward and caught sight of his drowsy looking partner.
"Well it's about time you rejoined us Buddy boy. How are you feeling?"
"Like I ... got hit with a bus ... Was I?" Steve asked and Mike chuckled at the statement.
"No ... Not a bus Buddy boy. But he was built like one alright!"
Steve attempted to sit up a little but stopped as the discomfort worsened and Mike quickly reached out a hand to placate him.
"Hey, hey ... Easy now. You're going to have move slowly for a while. Your kidney was badly swollen. That's what was causing the pain and bleeding you were experiencing. "
Steve groaned again a little louder and Mike watched as the young man closed his eyes and shuddered and began moving his tongue around his mouth in a displeased fashion .
"Steve, talk to me. What's the matter?"
"Ugh ... I have a metallic taste in my mouth and I feel sick as a dog ..."
Mike smiled sympathetically.
"Uh oh ... The nurse did say you might have those side effects after the sedation. I'll get her in here and see can she give you something to help you with that." Mike explained pressing the call button for the nurse as he did.
"Sedation? ... "
"Yes. They've kept you under for a while so that you'd get the rest you needed and so that they could monitor the bleeding. But you don't have to worry about that now because the bleeding has stopped. You're going to be fine with plenty of rest. "
"Wait a minute ... Kept me under? For how long? ... What day is it?"
"Don't worry ... You weren't under for that long. I guess you've been out ... oh about sixteen hours or so now. It's Monday. The Hostage situation was just yesterday afternoon. You haven't missed much, believe me ... *The Forty Niner's lost to the Bengals twenty one to three yesterday in Candlestick Park. Can you believe it? The Cincinnati Bengals of all teams. And that's after two excellent opening games ... "
Steve had to smile as he heard Mike's rant about the Forty Niners and was almost glad that he had been sedated during that result ... Mike would have been insufferable after hearing that box score and he no doubt would have had to endure Mike's clinical synopsis of what had gone wrong and how they could improve for next time. Something that under current conditions he didn't feel one hundred percent up to however ... there was something else niggling at him about what Mike had explained.
"Hey, wait a minute, Mike. How do they know that the bleeding has stopped?"
Mike had just finished his rant about the Forty Niners and was about to elaborate passionately but on hearing Steve's question he dropped the subject and flustered accordingly, feeling that telling Steve the exact details of the invasive procedure he had unknowingly endured would only make the young man feel worse.
"Let's just say that ... you're better off not knowing that answer, ok Buddy Boy? And you're going to have to trust me on that one."
Steve turned his head to study Mike closely and seeing his facial expression, he decided that perhaps on this occasion, Mike was right and that he didn't want to know the answer of what had perhaps been done to him during his time in dreamland and that in this case perhaps ignorance was the better option. He shifted uncomfortably again and his thoughts returned to the one thing that continued to bug him about the whole horrific ordeal he had endured.
"Ok ... You're right but Mike ... Is there any news about the girl who was murdered's Father. Warren, wasn't it?"
Mike scowled as Steve brought up that subject to rehash once again. The young man was like a dog with a bone that he just wouldn't let go of.
"Thats right. Charles Warren but Steve, we've talked about this, haven't we? The man made his own choices and now he has to live by them."
"His daughter was KILLED Mike. He was UPSET."
"That doesn't give him the right to go off like a vigilante taking the law into his own hands Steve. Now you know THAT? I TOLD him to let us handle it but OH NO ... He had to go off getting a gun and trying to interfere ... And THIS is what happened."
"He SAVED my life Mike."
"I KNOW THAT and ... I'm glad he did AND I understand you feeling indebted to him because of it but he shouldn't have gotten himself involved in the first place. We had things under control. "
"Had you?"
Mike's anger filled rant dissipated as he knew what Steve was implying. He hadn't known that Steve was in so much danger at that stage and if Warren hadn't intervened when he did, he would be standing over Steve's body in the morgue right now instead of a Hospital bed in Franklin. Mike sighed heavily and shook his head.
"I don't know what you want me to say Buddy boy."
"That you'll help me to help him ... anyway we can. "
Mike frowned and sighed again, leaning forward to stare at the floor as he seemed to mull over Steve's request. When his answer did not come automatically, Steve spoke again.
"How old ... was his daughter Mike?"
"Eighteen."
"What was her name?"
"Ellen ... Ellen Warren. They were just going off to spend some time in the sun together." Mike answered in a sad tone, shaking his head in sympathy and in disgust at what being in the wrong place at the wrong time could cause.
"Does he have a wife?"
Mike's eyes met Steve's briefly and he shook his head.
"No ... From what we could gather, his wife divorced him five years ago and has since remarried."
"What about other kids?"
Again a solitary shake of Mike's head followed.
"No ... He just had Ellen ... By all accounts they were very close ..."
"My God ..." Steve answered in a melancholic tone, rubbing a distressed hand through his hair just as the day nurse appeared into the room and momentarily distracted their thoughts.
"Ah Mr. Keller ... Nice to see you to back with us. Is everything alright, gentleman?"
"He's ah ... feeling sick just like you said he might after the sedation."
"Oh dear ... Never mind. I can give you something to help with that, Mr. Keller " she announced cheerfully as she picked up a syringe from the bedside tray and proceeded to prepare it and inject it into Steve's IV.
She then checked Steve's vital signs quickly before writing in his chart.
"You're doing really well Mr. Keller. Try to get plenty of rest. The nausea should ease up soon after that injection and we'll see about getting you something to eat later. Just ring the bell if you need me." she announced warmly as she then left the room as quickly as she had come in.
Mike hoped that the distraction had made Steve forget about his solo mission to save Charles Warren but no sooner had the nurse left the room when Steve spoke again determinedly.
"Mike, I want to speak to Gerry O'Brien."
"Steve, haven't you been through enough? ... You DON'T have to get involved."
"Yes Mike ... I DO ... I owe him that much. That man has suffered enough and he shouldn't be punished for what he did. He acted in my defense and come hell or high water I'm gonna act in his WITH or WITHOUT your approval."
"He let his heart rule his head Steve. How many times have I told you that you have to keep your fists in your pocket and your feelings out of the way?"
"What? Like you did when Leonard Cord threatened to hurt Jeannie? Mike, you wanted to rip his head off. It took me, Dan AND Lee to keep you off him, remember? And at that stage he had just threatened Jeannie. These guys KILLED his daughter Mike. Jeannie is not much older than Ellen. How would YOU have felt in those circumstances, HUH? Or what about the time that guy killed your ex partner Gus and you went after him on some solo revenge mission to bring him to justice dead or alive, HUH? Didn't you let your heart rule your head then? WELL?"
"That's different Steve. You CAN'T compare those things. I DIDN'T kill anyone!"
"No, no you didn't ... Because you had people who cared enough about you to stop you and to make sure you didn't step over that line. He didn't Mike ... He needs our help. The man he killed was about to kill me without a thought and he would have killed you, Jeannie and any other innocent human being who stood in the way of his supposed cause. Warren is not the enemy here. He's a victim. Mike ...he's already been sentenced to a life without his only daughter. Isn't that punishment enough? "
Mike stared unnervingly at his young partner and let his words sink into his heart. His thoughts went to Jeannie and he knew that Steve was right. It was easy to think of things from his Lieutenant's point of view. To be angry about Warren's blatant disregard of his handling of the hostage situation and his endangerment of innocent lives and his disregard of the Law but to think as a Father, he could easily understand the torment that had led him to do what he did. He also had to take into account that Steve wouldn't be alive now only for Warren's unauthorized intervention and so he hung his head and exhaled sharply before finally giving his reply.
"Ok, ok ... I'll call Gerry. Let's see what can be done for him but only within the limits of the Law, you got that?"
"Absolutely ... Thanks Mike ..."
Mike smiled warmly and then got a mischievous glint in his eye as he added smirking.
"And on one condition ..."
Steve's smile faded.
"What's that?"
"You do everything the Doctor's tell you to do in order to get better ... "
"Aw Mike ..."
" ... WITHOUT complaint." Mike added.
"Even eat the Hospital food?" Steve asked in disgust, his face grimacing and looking a little greener than before.
Mike smiled.
"If it's edible, yes. If not, I may make an exception ... Have we a deal?"
Steve sighed heavily.
"Ok ... Deal. So you'll call Gerry?"
"I'll call him right now ... while you REST just like the nurse told you to." Mike added grinning, feeling this Hospital stay of Steve's was suddenly going to be less troublesome than his usual stays.
Steve's eyes rolled as he really hoped he didn't live to regret the deal he had just made and watched as Mike left the room.
A/N:*Based on fact ... On Sunday, September 29th 1974 The Cincinnati Bengals actually did beat the 49ers by that exact margin in Candlestick Park.