Slipping Into Darkness
Disclaimer: I do not own Without A Trace or any of its character. They belong to Jerry Bruckheimer and company, so please don't sue.
Previously on Slipping Into Darkness: "All right, I'll tell you but please don't shoot me! Ritchie's at the hospital now. He's been there since they took Danny over there. He already got to Danny once but that stupid orderly wouldn't leave him alone with Danny. But it doesn't matter. Ritchie's not going to stop until he's dead. Ritchie's going to kill him for killing his little brother in cold blood. And just like Danny killed Sebastian, Ritchie's going to kill his partner first and make him watch." Cavenaugh shook and cried terrified, causing Jeff to lose it and shriek violently.
Chapter 15
"The only thing that matters is that we get Ritchie before he can get to Danny and Martin. But I swear that if I get my hands on him I'm going to kill him myself." Jeff quietly cried angrily as he tried to calm down.
"Don't worry. We'll get him and we'll make him pay for everything." Agent Chuck said with conviction as he drove toward the hospital where a deadly game of cat and mouse was about to ensue.
BACK AT THE HOSPITAL…
Danny had remained sleeping thanks to the sedative that Sean had injected him with. But Jack refused to leave his side and remained by Danny's side until he too eventually gave in to some much needed sleep.
Jack had been sleeping for an hour, causing him to nearly punch someone when they grabbed his shoulder and caused him to awaken abruptly. He was about to swear angrily at said person, when he turned around and realized that he'd almost hit Martin.
Martin looked at Jack as if he were a deer caught in Jack's headlights, causing Jack to become concerned.
"Martin, what are you doing? Are you all right?" Jack said more gruffly than he meant to, causing Martin to sigh heavily.
"How is he?" Martin said with a heavy sigh as he looked toward Danny.
"Martin, what are you doing out of bed?" Sean said a bit sternly but concerned as he entered the room, causing him to take a hold of Martin and lay him back in bed.
"Forget about me, I'm fine. How's Danny? And why the hell does he have those restraints on him?" Martin asked somewhat angrily, causing Sean to gently push him back down when he tried to get up from the bed again.
"Don't worry. He's going to be fine. It's just that he became restless and tried getting out of bed, which he's not allowed to do. So, I put the restraints and injected some sedative into his IV." Sean said kindly as he checked Martin's vitals, causing Martin to suddenly look toward Danny's direction.
"Danny?" Martin said confused but concerned, causing Sean and Jack to worry when they saw Danny thrashing weakly and struggling to get out of bed-but he could barely open his eyes and he remained restrained.
"Shhh. Just get some sleep, kiddo. You're not going anywhere." Sean said caringly as he soothed Danny's head like a child.
"I'm…going…see…her." Danny cried very weakly but with conviction as he struggled in vain to get up, causing Sean to gently soothe his face with a wet washcloth and raise the oxygen when Danny began struggling a little, to breathe. "Let me go. I hate you." He weakly cried angrily like a child because Sean wouldn't let him see Sam.
"What's the matter with him? Who's he talking about?" Martin asked somewhat angrily.
There was suddenly a knock at the door and Nurse Vicky entered the room.
"Dr. Novak, I need to speak with you, please." Nurse Vicky said calmly but clearly concerned.
"I'll be right back, kiddo." Sean said caringly as he soothed Danny's head and put the washcloth on his forehead and then turned to Jack. "He's just upset about the sedative and the other stuff. I'll be right back, but keep an eye on Danny and don't let Martin get out of bed. I'll be right back." He said kindly and then exited the room with Nurse Vicky.
"What's going on, Vicky?" Sean asked as he saw the fearful look on her face.
"The Agent that was here earlier, Agent Carmichael, he called your father." Nurse Vicky said somewhat shaken.
"What's going on? What did he say?" Sean suddenly asked very concerned as he got a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Apparently, Agent Carmichael interviewed the man that was here at the hospital and tried to kill Agent Taylor. He admitted to Agent Carmichael that…that the terrible man who's trying to kill your brother and the other agents, is here in this hospital. Agent Carmichael says that he's been here the entire time - waiting." Nurse Vicky said shaken as she shook a bit. "I don't know what to do, Dr. Novak. Your father just asked me to inform you about what's going on." She said calmly but shaken and somewhat fearfully.
Sean couldn't believe what he was hearing. Ritchie had been right under his nose the entire time and he'd allowed it by not taking more precautions to ensure Danny's safety and that of his teammates. Now, more than ever, he wanted to kill Ritchie for everything that he'd done to him, Danny and Danny's teammates.
"Where the hell is Agent Carmichael now?" Sean said harshly, causing him to sigh heavily but out frustration when he realized that he'd frightened Nurse Vicky. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm just…I won't let that bastard hurt my brother or his teammates again." He said with a heavy sigh. "Now, where's Agent Carmichael?" He said with a frustrated sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"He's downstairs with another agent and Dr. Foster. Agent Carmichael let your father know what was happening and he's very concerned about the young lady in the ICU." Nurse Vicky said still a bit shakened.
"All right. I want armed security in Sam's room in the ICU right now. No one is allowed in that room except for Dr. Foster and myself. Is that understood? Afterwards, I want you to go tell Dr. Foster that I'll be down as soon as I can. But right now, I'm going to talk to Jack. So, go on. Get out of here." Sean said frustrated, causing Nurse Vicky to nod – still shaken, and then leave.
Sean took several breaths and tried to calm down because he didn't want Danny knowing what was going on. Once more calm, he went back into the room and took a hold of Danny's hand.
"Hey, kiddo, how are you feeling?" Sean said caringly as he swallowed hard, causing Danny to weakly squeeze his hand as more tears escaped his eyes.
"Let me see her. Please, I won't take long. I just want to see her." Danny cried weakly but emotionally like a child.
"Why the hell didn't you tell me what happened to Sam? How the hell is she?" Martin said calmly but angrily as he tried to stay calm in front of Danny.
"How…" Sean said with a heavy sigh but Jack quickly cut him off.
"I told him. He had a right to know. Now, answer the question. How is she?" Jack said somewhat gruffly out of concern.
Sean sighed heavily as he continued holding Danny's hand tightly in his own.
"Sam's still in the ICU and she's going to remain there for several days." Sean explained as gently as possible but he didn't know how to continue.
"Why aren't you answering the question? That's not what we asked." Martin said calmly but angrily, causing him to sigh heavily when Danny looked at him pleadingly and reached out a hand as if to get him to stop being angry at Sean. "I'm sorry, brother. I'll keep calm if you stop losing control and trying to get out of bed. Deal?" Martin said with a sad smile as he got out of bed and took a hold of Danny's free hand.
"Traitor." Danny weakly cried crossly, causing Martin, Sean and Jack to suddenly chuckle amused. "Fine, you jackass." He cried crossly and then turned to Sean. "Are you happy now, you jerk? Now, tell me how Sam is. I want the truth." Danny cried weakly but crossly out of fear and concern, causing Sean to soothe his head like a child and nod.
"Okay, kiddo, I'll tell you the truth. But I need you three to stay calm because we're doing everything to make Sam better. Sam's in the ICU. But because of the injuries she sustained, she had to be intubated and given four units of O-Negative blood. And I need you to stay calm, but because of the injuries and because she's going to be in too much pain, we have to keep her unconscious and sedated for the next several days." Sean explained very gently as he held Danny's hand tightly but carefully, causing Sean to embrace Danny protectively when Danny weakly cried distraught and Jack and Martin gasped horrified.
"You keep saying injuries. What the hell did that sick, son of a bitch do to her?" Martin said angrily through gritted teeth as tears of rage escaped his eyes.
"Someone tied her to the chair at the office and slit her wrists and her throat. But Jeff and Chuck found her in time and rushed her over here. That's when Sean and his father went downstairs and started treating her." Jack said with a heavy sigh as tears stained his face.
"Shhh. Shhh. Calm down, kiddo, you promised. I know hard this is, but you need to stay calm because we're going to do everything to we have to make Sam well again. I promise. We're not going to let anything happen to her." Sean softly cried soothingly as he held Danny a little tighter as he continued weakly crying distraught and shaking.
"What about her injuries? How serious were they?" Martin said through gritted teeth as more tears escaped his eyes and he held Danny's badly shaking hand tighter.
"I'm sorry but we won't know for several days, the extent of her injuries. The cuts to her wrists were deep and at this time, it's impossible to determine whether or not she suffered extensive nerve damage." Sean said softly as he sniffled.
"Son of a bitch! This is all my fault! Why the hell didn't he just kill me and left everyone the hell alone?! I'm the one who killed 'bastian! They didn't do a goddamn thing to him!" Danny weakly cried furiously and completely distraught as he tried weakly kicking his feet.
"Don't you dare ever say that again. Do you understand me? None of you deserved what that son of a bitch Ritchie's done to you. And we sure as hell didn't deserve what he put us through. Look, Sebastian's death was justified and you know it. He was trying to kill your dad and you. You warned him to drop the gun but he didn't. So, you didn't have a choice, Danny. Sebastian caused his own death, not you. So, calm down and don't you dare give up. Damn it, I already lost you once, Hermanito little brother and I'm not going to let it happen again. So, get that garbage out of your head once and for all. None of this is your fault." Sean said harshly but caringly as more tears escaped his eyes and he continued holding Danny protectively tight.
Sean continued to hold Danny as he sat there crying furiously out of fear and anger at everything that had happened. Danny's vitals were a bit unstable and Sean wanted him to calm down, but given the situation at hand and knowing full well that Ritchie was hidden in the hospital, there was no way in hell that he was giving Danny anymore sedative.
"Shhh. I need you to calm down, munchkin. Come on. I want you to breathe nice and slow and drink this water for me." Sean said soothingly as he gently wiped away Danny's tears and then tried to feed him some ice water, causing Danny to growl furiously and move his face away.
"Leave me alone. I don't need or want any damn water. Now, let me go and take this shit off of me." Danny cried angrily as he weakly struggled to get free of the restraints, causing Sean to sigh heavily and soothe his head like a child.
"Shhh. Calm down and listen to me, kiddo. Okay? If you drink the water and calm down and if you promise not to try to get out of bed again without permission, I'll take off the restraints. Deal? Because, I don't want to see you in those any more than you want be in them. So, what do you say, munchkin? Do we have a deal? Hmm?" Sean said caringly, as if talking to a child, causing Danny to look at him untrustingly.
"You're a liar. You're just trying to give me more sedative." Danny weakly cried angrily but somewhat like a child, causing Sean to swallow hard and shake his head.
"I promise you that I'm not going to give you anymore sedative, munchkin. Now, please drink this water, Danny. Please." Sean said a bit sadly as he soothed Danny's head and face again with one hand and held the cup of water with his other hand.
Danny wasn't sure what to believe, so he looked directly at Sean's eyes. When he looked in Sean's eyes, all Danny felt guilty because all he saw sincerity in Sean's eyes – but also a hint of pain, causing Danny to stop struggling and let his body sag in defeat as he cried.
"Shhh. It's okay, kiddo. Please, just drink the water." Sean pled softly as he gently fed Danny the ice cold water and tears escaped his eyes. "Shhh. That's it. That's it, it's over. Just breathe and calm down so I can take off the restraints." He softly cried soothingly, causing him to carefully embrace Danny protectively tight after he removed the restraints and Danny shook violently out of anger and exhaustion.
"He's not going to stop until he kills them all and them me. He said so. Ritchie said that even if he killed me, he wasn't going to stop until he killed them all. He said that he was going to make them pay for having a murderer as a friend." Danny weakly cried distraught as his teeth chattered.
"Kiddo, how the hell did that animal find you?" Sean softly cried soothingly as he continued holding Danny protectively tight but carefully.
"He said he hired a private eye but I don't believe him. But it doesn't matter anymore because he's not going to stop until the rest of us are dead. At least… you're safe and…he can't you again." Danny cried weakly but distraught as he struggled to breathe and remain awake, causing Sean to put an oxygen mask on Danny's face and raise it to the highest pressure.
"What do you mean by that, Danny? Why did you say that?" Sean softly cried soothingly as he checked Danny's vitals.
"Ritchie…Ritchie told me…that he was going to kill me…just like…he…killed you." Danny cried very weakly until complete darkness took over and his head lolled to the side, causing Sean to shake his head when Martin gasped horrified and went bug-eyed.
"Don't get scared, Martin. He's just completely exhausted from all the drugs, so he's going to be in and out of it for a while. But right now, I need to have a serious talk with both of you because you have a right to know what's going on." Sean said sniffling as he kissed Danny's head like a child and then brought the blanket up to his chest.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Jack said gruffly but Sean shook his head.
"No. Not here, out there. I don't want Danny to hear. Come with me." Sean said as he sniffled again, causing Martin and Jack to follow Sean outside.
"What's with all the secrecy, Sean? What don't you want Danny to know?" Martin said somewhat angrily, causing tears to escape Sean's eyes. "What is it?" He said somewhat fearfully as he got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Nurse Vicky…the reason she came to see me a few minutes ago is because Agent Carmichael and Agent Chuck are downstairs talking to my dad." Sean said a bit shaken as more tears escaped his eyes and he breathed angrily.
"Why would they be talking to Dr. Foster instead of updating me?" Jack said gruffly.
"The suspect Agent Carmichael was interrogating in FBI Headquarters, the one who tried to kill Danny here, well he confessed to your agent that…that Ritchie's here at the hospital right now. He said that Ritchie's been here the entire time, waiting." Sean said through gritted teeth as tears ran freely down his face, causing Martin and Jack to gasp horrified and growl quietly but wrathfully.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Jack said quietly but wrathfully so that Danny wouldn't hear him.
"That's all I know, I swear. I already have armed guards inside and outside of Sam's ICU room and no one is allowed in there except for me and my dad. But I need you to stay here with Danny while I head downstairs and meet with your agents." Sean said he sniffled.
"Who said you're going downstairs? That's not your job." Jack said gruffly out of concern.
"You don't have a choice, Jack. If Ritchie's really here, then he's looking for you too. All he'll have to do is follow you and know that you'll lead him to my little brother. Are you willing to willing to risk Danny, because I'm not?" Sean cried sternly out of fear, causing him to take a deep breath to try to calm down his fear and anger.
"Look, Jack, I know that you care about Danny—maybe even like a son. I understand that. I really do. And we both also know that Ritchie's not going to stop until he kills Danny. But I swear on my life that I'll kill him first before I let him hurt Danny again. I'm not going to lose my baby brother to that worthless son of a bitch." Sean said through gritted teeth as tears stained every crevice of his face and he shook out of fury as he fisted his hands forcefully, causing Jack to suddenly hold the back of Sean's head as Sean continued shaking out of fury.
Jack suddenly held the back of Sean's head and stared intently to his eyes to see if he could find any trace of deceit. But at that moment, Jack realized how horribly wrong he'd judged and treated Sean. When Jack studied Sean's eyes, he didn't find treachery. No. Instead, all he saw was someone filled with anger, loss and despair—causing Jack to sigh heavily.
"I'm sorry. I was wrong about you. I thought that you were only trying to hurt Danny. But you aren't. At least, that's not what your eyes are saying." Jack said a bit gruffly as he gently tugged Sean's head, causing Sean to hold his head in his badly shaking hands and quietly cry furiously.
"Damn it. I already told you…" Sean quietly cried angrily but Jack cut him off.
"Shut up, all right? You're worse than Danny." Jack said a bit gruffly but kindly. "Go. Get the hell out of here." He said kindly but with a heavy sigh as he released Sean.
"What?" Sean cried confused.
"He said get the hell out of here and go downstairs with Jeff and Chuck. And tell us what the hell is going on with that sick son of a bitch." Martin said a bit gruffly but then gave him a small smile for good measure, causing Sean to suddenly look uncertain and toward Danny.
"I don't…" Sean suddenly cried uncertain as he looked toward Danny, causing Martin to suddenly squeeze his shoulder and gesture for the elevator.
"Go downstairs and we'll take care of Danny. He's my best friend and partner and I'm not going to leave him alone now. So, go on. Get the hell out of here and watch your back." Martin said kindly but with conviction as he squeezed Sean's shoulder again, causing Sean to nod and although he was still uncertain, he left in the elevator downstairs to meet Jeff and the others on the third floor.
Sean exited the elevator on the third floor, but he had no idea that he was being admired by the stranger who had remained hidden in the shadows unnoticed.
"Well, well, if it isn't little Sean. I should've made sure back then that I'd killed you. But that's all right. Where there was one, there was always the other. Enjoy, while you can, little piggy because you're going to lead me to Danny and then I'll kill you both like the murderous, filthy pigs that you are." Ritchie thought to himself silently as he laid in wait until the moment came where he could carry out his final revenge.
TBC…