Just a little Fruity
These good fellows don't belong to me but I promise when I'd done to pick um up, dust um off and with a kiss on the cheek return them safely home.
"No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good that he seeks." Mary Wollstonecraft.
Chapter 18
Kanda and Johnny sat quietly watching TV as the evening news signed off for the night. He was endlessly restless and she was pretty sure she knew why. Roy had called her to tell her about Johnny's questions regarding Karen and how he had broken the news to him. She wanted to spend more time with him today but her attending was cracking down on her in the final days of her fellowship which kept her running all day long.
All of Johnny's symptoms were now gone leaving behind only some residual fatigue and the still numerous holes in his memory regarding the last three weeks. And even those seemed to be improving steadily. She felt that some holes were elective as he could only handle so much at one time.
"Will you be still?" She kidded him trying to get a smile from him.
"You get stuck in a bed day after day and see how long you can be still," he said as he sifted positions again. He was restless but he was also ancy. "Sis?"
She said yes but didn't turn to him. She knew what he wanted to talk about and she knew he must get it out before he could continue to heal.
He sat up, "You don't believe what they're saying about Karen do you?"
She fought back the tears. What that woman had done to him and this only showed how much he had fallen for her. Standing up to be near him she said, "Johnny she was sick inside her heart for some reason that we don't know."
"How could she do that to me?" There was anger in his voice.
"I hope that we can find out for our own piece of mind but we might never understand. I know she meant a lot to you and I know you are hurting so much." The tears ran down her face as she held his hand watching him fight back his own grief and tears.
"Why? What did…I don't..." he just stammered.
"You did nothing wrong and don't ever let her make you feel that way. This was something about her, her issues, her problems." She wanted to hold him and take the pain away but he just rolled to his side away from her. Effectively tuning her out, along with the rest of the world for just a little while longer.
She had planned on going home for the night as he would be discharged home in the next couple of days but now she worried about leaving him alone and settled back down into the chair to watch TV. She would be there when he had more questions. She might not have the answers but she would be there to help him ask them.
Mike quickly jumped out of the truck with Chet hot on his heels. Both hearts were racing now and running across the parking lot didn't help. Michael had pulled into an employee's gated parking lot and disappeared and they knew only that he was inside that building somewhere.
Breathing heavy, they reached the front doors just to be told that visitation was over by a sweet little kind hearted grandmother in a pink smock.
"Dear, visiting hours are over," she told the huffing and puffing men.
"We're with the LA County Fire Department. There's an emergency with our friend up on the fifth floor," Mike had to stop and breathe. When he did he saw the complete look of fear on the little grey headed volunteers face. He saw the emerging panic, fire?
"No Mame, there's not a fire but I need you to call the police right away and tell them that John Gage in room 588 is in danger." Mike got frustrated as he realized that she wasn't getting it, she wasn't even moving. "Chet, get the police here. I'll go to Johnny's room."
As Mike headed for the elevators Chet reached over the counter, much to the shock of the little elderly lady, and grabbed the phone. "Sorry Mame but we need help right now." He dialed the operator and got connected to the police station. Once he gave them a rapid report on what was going on he again dialed the operator.
"Operator, how may I help you?"
"Yes, there is an emergency in room 588. We need security there right away. I've already called the police."
Chet was amazed, it was like talking to dispatch, "Yes sir. Security to room 588. I will page them immediately. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Chet paused, "Yea, how do I found out which department an employee is working in?"
Kanda left Johnny's room when he fell asleep and walked down to the coffee shop on the first floor. It had been a rough week and not getting enough sleep for any night was leaving her completely exhausted. As she stirred her coffee she about jumped out of her skin when someone put their hand on her shoulder.
Roy chuckled, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare ya."
She playfully slapped him in the chest, "You about scared me to death."
He eyed her closely as she ran her fingers through her long dark hair, "You look beat."
She would have slapped him again but she saw the caring concern in his blue eyes. "Soon. I will get to sleep soon," she smiled thinking about finishing school in about a month.
"Define soon," he squinted at her like he was interrogating Chris over something.
She suddenly realized he was really seriously concerned, "Really Roy, I'm okay. I was about to curl up and sleep in Johnny's room for a while." She ran her hand down his arm feeling the layers of hard earned muscle. "I just don't think he should be alone tonight."
"Bad day?" He asked about his friend as they turned to walk back towards the elevators, his hand gently at the small of her back.
"Yea. He had more questions about Karen. Even asked me if I believed what people were saying about her." She hung her head down and shook it, "its heartbreaking Roy. He shouldn't have to go through this."
Roy stepped in front of her taking his hand and gently pulling her chin up. "No he shouldn't but he will and we'll be there to help him through it."
"I know. I can't imagine him going through this without you helping him." She looked deep into his eyes, "Or me."
******CODE MANPOWER TO ROOM 588……CODE MANPOWER TO ROOM 588…..CODE MANPOWER TO ROOM 588 *****
They both looked up to the overhead announcement. It was Johnny's room. "Oh God, that's a security alert!" Kanda cried out as they both started running as fast as they could.
The tall dark headed man had already entered the locker room and changed into his white pants and shirt for his shift. After he put on his white coat he discreetly slipped the gun into an inner pocket. Stepping outside he went across the hall and signed out his linen cart and headed for the elevators. He pushed the button for the fifth floor and while alone in the elevator he tucked the pistol in-between some towels. The sound dinged his arrival to the right floor and he casually pushed the cart down the long corridor to the end of the hallway waving at the nurses at the station as he passed them. He delivered fresh towels to the room across from Gage's and almost smiled at the police officer they had sitting outside the man's room.
"Evening officer, how are you tonight?"
The officer eyed him but didn't think much about the towel delivery boy, "Good, you?"
"Oh, I'm doing great." Michael grabbed the special stack of towels and entered the room. "Housekeeping," he announced casually.
Johnny didn't even roll over. All he could think about was what Karen had done to him, how she had tried to turn him against his closest friend and sister. He heard the man go into his bathroom to put the towels up but was not prepared for what came next.
Even after pushing the elevator button ten times it didn't arrive any faster so Mike looked down the hall and headed for the staircase. As he emerged from the door heading full steam he slid to a stop before hitting the opposite wall. He looked down the hallway and saw a large linen cart in front of Johnny's door and the police officer just sitting outside. He headed for them in a dead run, past the protesting nurses and watched the officer come to his feet.
Luckily Mike knew the cop and he rushed into Johnny's room just as the code was announced over the intercom system. The officer didn't even wait to hear it because he was already right behind Mike.
Kanda and Roy about ran into Chet as they headed for the stairs all at the same time. "Chet, what the hell is going on?" Roy demanded as they took two and three stairs at a time.
"Michael, he's here! Mike's already gone to Johnny's room. Don't know where he went." Chet said between breaths.
Kanda's heart was beating out of her chest and the stairs were not the only reason why. "Police," she managed to get out.
"Called um, on the way," Chet huffed.
They all burst through the hallway door and headed to Johnny's room. The first thing Roy noticed was the officer wasn't in his chair and second there was a linen cart just outside the door.
As they were about 100 feet from reaching the door they heard the unmistakable sound of gunfire as it echoed down the hallway. It seemed like slow motion as they skidded to a halt and watched the door start to open.
AN: I know ...me and my cliffhangers. Sorry, it's how my brain flows. Maybe I need Cliffhangers Anonymous...