Chapter Four

This was not supposed to happen! Dammit! He walked furiously back and forth, unseen, at the end of the hospital hallway. Everyone else (except Rudy and Oscar, of course) was already in the tiny waiting room, anxiously awaiting word of Oscar's fate.

Jaime, I know Steve wanted you to stay at the house; he's way too noble that way. But this time, for once, I wish you'd listened to him. You've forced my hand now, unfortunately, and it wasn't supposed to get this ugly this fast. You shouldn't have had to witness this, but...can't help that now, I guess.

At least, this way, we'll be together even sooner...

- - - - - -

Rudy slipped quietly into the waiting room, his face a mask of grim determination. Jaime was on her feet before any of the uninjured men surrounding her, and Rudy was alarmed to see her sway ominously as she grew even more shaky and pale. Steve was almost instantly standing beside her, his arm firmly supporting her; he'd seen her nearly go down, too.

"Rudy?" she began nervously, too frightened to say more.

"He's alive," Rudy affirmed. "The bullet's path would've led straight to his heart, but it hit a rib, deflected slightly, and passed through his lung and out his back. A large portion of his chest was badly bruised when he hit the steering wheel, but the good news is that his heart appears strong. I've placed him on a ventilator, so all of his strength can go toward starting to heal, rather his having to struggle to breathe."

"Is he conscious?" Steve asked, still tightly but carefully supporting Jaime.

"No," Rudy answered, "and I don't want him to be, until he regains more strength. I've got him under heavy sedation, for at least the next 12 to 24 hours."

"Can we see -"

Jaime's question was interrupted by the sound of two gunshots, in rapid succession – very nearby - and the thud of bodies hitting the hard, tile floor. Six people moved as a single unit into the hallway, nearly tripping just outside the doorway on the prone, unmoving bodies of the two guards. There was virtually no blood; both had died instantly, apparently never having seen it coming and never even beginning to draw their own weapons. There was no one else in the hallway. Rudy futilely checked each in turn, then stood up, silently shaking his head. There was nothing he – or anyone else – could do.

Rudy moved quickly into the ICU to check on his patient, and Russ and Chris found phones where they could alert Security and assemble the army of OSI and NSB agents who would rapidly ascend upon the hospital. Steve and the other two men pulled Jaime into the room across the hall, assisting her onto the bed at the same instant that her legs gave out in shock. She stared wordlessly into Steve's eyes, too terrified and stunned to move or speak.

"Security will seal off the exits, and our people are gonna put a stop to this," Steve told her softly.

She was not reassured. "Is...is Oscar ok?"

Steve turned to Sam. "Let's go check on your uncle. Jaime, you wait here."

"I'm going with you."

Steve looked into her eyes, and his voice was loving, but very firm. "Please just wait for us here. I'll come right back with an update. You're already hurt, Sweetheart." His expression told her this one was non-negotiable, and Jaime sighed as she settled back onto the pillows. Steve kissed her quickly, and he and Sam hurried into the ICU.

Instead of Rudy, Steve and Sam found Michael at Oscar's bedside. He spun around to face them. "Did I just hear gunshots?" Michael asked.

"Where's Rudy?" Steve responded, ignoring the original question.

Michael shrugged. "No idea. Did anyone call Security?"

"Security and half an army's worth of manpower," Steve told him. "Sam, why don't you stay here, and I'll go and start directing the teams." Steve left Sam with Michael and Oscar, but made one stop before heading to look for the reinforcements.

Jaime, true to her word, had remained where he'd left her, in the hospital bed. Steve looked around, expecting to find Russ and Chris, but Jaime was alone. "They're not back yet," she told him, seemingly reading his thoughts.

"What the hell -?" Steve, without realizing it, began thinking aloud. "Why do I get the feeling that if I went back to the ICU, Sam and Michael would be gone, too?"

"Huh?"

"Rudy...um...disappeared, somewhere between the hallway and Oscar's cubicle. This is like a really bad episode of the Twilight Zone."

"Steve -" Jaime was already out of bed and on her feet.

"Uh-uh; you're staying put."

"Steve -"

"No, Sweetheart. Security has all the outside doors blocked, so whoever's doing this is somewhere in the hospital. That is, if Security ever got the call in the first place."

"What? Steve, what is going on?" Jaime asked in a shaky voice.

"I'm gonna find out. Now." He picked up the bedside phone, but slammed it back into the base. "Damn - it's dead. Ok; I'll find another phone and make sure we've got teams on the way. I want you to lock the door behind me, just as soon as I leave."

"I'm going with -"

"Jaime, please just stay here and lock the door!" he insisted, a bit more sharply than he'd intended, but Steve didn't have time to argue. Jaime, frightened by his demeanor even more than she was by the whole situation, complied.