Return of the Crown Prince

Chapter 11

11.1

He waited in the dark. He was positioned just to the left of the doors leading to the courtyard. His senses were on alert. Something was wrong. The hair stood up on the back of his neck.

He stood up when a shadow appeared at the window. The scent was not familiar to him. The stranger smelled of danger ... danger to his friend. He must protect his friend. His friend was in danger. He must protect his friend. A low growl rumbled in his throat ... so low, the stranger did not hear him.

With eyesight keen in the dark, he moved slowly and silently closer to the door. The stranger could not see him but he could see the stranger.

The stranger lifted something to the window. It was one of those things that caused great pain. He snarled and leap into the air through the open door. Otto clamped his jaw down on the stranger's forearm just as the gun went off. The bullet shattered the glass, embedding itself in the wall across the room.

Ironside, awaked by the noise, resisted the temptation of turning on the light. There was just enough moonlight to shine on his attacker's face. He watched as Otto fought with Phillip York.

The stranger dropped the gun as the Shepherd ripped at his flesh. When he tried to reach for the gun with his other hand, Otto pounced on it. The German Shepherd picked up the gun in his teeth as the one of the officers who had been guarding Ironside's room, burst through the door.

"Go after him," Ironside roared.

"I am sorry sir, but Commissioner Randall gave me strict orders not to leave you if something happened."

"I don't care what he said. Stop that man. He is the shooter from the Hall of Justice! That is an order, Officer!"

The officer ran out of the room in time to join four other police offers in pursuit of the shooter.

Phillip York had taken advantage when Otto let go of his arm to stop him from picking up the gun. He turned and ran through the courtyard. Without stopping, he ripped his jacket off his back and threw it to the ground. Still running, he reached down and removed the gun that was strapped to his ankle. He pulled a white towel he had placed in the back of his stolen hospital uniform, and wrapped it around his bleeding arm concealing the weapon. York forced himself to slow down. He spotted four police officers headed in his direction. He ran directly toward then. "Help! He tried to kill Chief Ironside! I ran into his room, the man shot me." York showed the officers his bloodied arm, careful not to reveal the gun. "He ran that way through the courtyard. Please go after him. He missed the chief." He pointed in the direction from which he had come.

The officers took off in the direction he had pointed, joined by an officer running out of Ironside's room. York walked swiftly toward his awaiting car.

11.2

Medical personnel started filling Ironside's room. Sister Agatha entered, showing concern on her face, shouted over the confusion. "Robert, are you hurt?"

"No Sister. Thanks to Otto."

Sister Agatha started clearing the room. She looked around. "Where are the officers that were supposed to be protecting you?"

"I sent one after the shooter. I don't know where the hell the other one is."

"Robert, you must watch your language. Remember where you are," she scolded.

"I beg your pardon, Sister. What is taking so long? With the cops we had around this hospital, he could not possibly get away this time."

"Be patient, Robert. They will report to you when they can. Now calm down or you will force me to give you a sedative."

For more than forty-five minutes, Ironside waited impatiently for word of York. The door to his room opened and Ed and Duffy came in. "They lost him, Chief," Ed told him.

"LOST HIM! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!" Ironside shouted.

"Robert, keep your voice down! You are not the only one in this hospital and it is late," Sister Agatha scolded.

Two more officers entered Ironside's room. "Sorry, Chief. Somehow, he managed to slip by all of our officers. It is as if he disappeared into thin air. There is no sign of him."

"Where's the other officer that was guarding this room?" Ironside asked.

"He went down to emergency to find out how the doctor is doing."

Ironside turned his head quickly. "Doctor, what doctor?"

"The one that was shot when he came into your room. He showed us his bloody arm where the bullet had entered," the officer told them.

Brown, Duffy and Ironside look between them. Not again, Ironside thought. "Officer, no doctor entered this room and no doctor was shot in here. If the man was bleeding, it was because Otto tore up his arm to prevent him from shooting me."

The officer turned red, realizing he had allowed the shooter to run right by him, as did all the other officers.

The door opened again and Ironside's other bodyguard entered. "No doctor reported to emergency for treatment of a gunshot wound, he told his partner."

"That's because no one was shot in this room, Officer," Ironside snarled. "The man with the bloody arm was the shooter.

Embarrassment shown clearly on both officers' faces. Nothing was worse than standing in front of Chief Ironside when you had screwed up. "He had on scrubs, Chief. I thought he was a doctor."

"That is what he wanted you to think," Ironside roared. He knew he should not be so hard on the two officers. He had been fooled by York, who got past him as well. Yet, frustration and anger was getting the better of him. But there was one question that he wanted an answer to. "What took you so long to come into my room," he said to the one officer and then turned his attention to the other. "And why did you never come in at all?"

Looking away from the angry detective the one officer said. "We were down the hall Chief."

"You were what!" Ed exclaimed incredulously.

There was a call at the desk. Someone spotted York at the hospital entrance. Unfortunately, he hung up before we could find out which entrance. So, we split up to check both entrances on each side of your room. When I found nothing, I returned to your room. That is when I heard Otto snarling and growling. I pulled my gun and entered your room."

"Did it occur to you, Mister, that the call was made by York, himself to draw you away from Chief Ironside's room?" Ed asked with anger in his voice.

"No sir. Not until afterwards. I am sorry, Chief Ironside. We were just trying to be sure he did not come near your room."

"Alright, go home," Ed told them. After they left Ed shook his head. I should have stayed here myself."

"You can't work twenty four hours a day, Ed. And neither can you Duffy. Now both of you clean up this operation and get out of here. Send Mark to pick me up in the morning." Duffy nodded and then left. Ed lingered.

"Go home Sergeant," Ironside said again.

"Chief, I am not leaving you here with no protection."

"What good did the protection do me? York got in here anyway. No, I'll take my chances with Otto. Besides, he is not going to try again tonight. He has to attend to that arm."

"Why was that door to the courtyard open?" Brown asked.

"To bait Mr. York, what else? He was not expecting Otto to be in here. It would have worked if those officers had followed their orders and not left my room. They could have been in here and had York under arrest."

"That was pretty risky, Chief." Brown said concerned.

"Not with Otto in here. He was on him immediately. Now go home, Ed. Get some sleep. And make sure you send Mark after me in the morning."

Ed nodded and left the room. Once outside, he called for two police officers to guard Ironside's room and for another two to be stationed in the courtyard. Having figured he had done all he could to protect his boss, Ed left the hospital.

11.3

Damn that cop and his mongrel! He never expected Ironside would have a dog in a hospital room. He did not like it. Why had that door to the courtyard been open? Could the police have been that careless with Ironside's life? No, he could not believe that. Ironside set him up.

Phillip York put his arm into a large pan of warm water to rinse off the blood. The water brought out the pain. He glanced down at his forearm. It looked like something that came out of a butcher shop. The damn dog had torn it up pretty good. That was no ordinary dog. When he reached for the gun, that dog went after the gun as if he knew what it was. He could not imagine the dog would have attacked just anyone. No, that dog was protecting Ironside. He was a specially trained dog. He would have to keep that in mind in the future.

York searched his memory. Since when did Ironside have a dog? He had not heard of seen the dog any in photo or reports he had read on the man. The Shepherd had come as a complete surprise. It was time to forget Ironside for the moment. Oh, he was going to kill that crippled cop all right but he had to attend to business first.

York picked up the phone and dialed. "I want the crown prince picked up tonight. We have wasted too much time as it is. We cannot collect the ransom until we have them in our hands. I do not care where they go tonight. As soon as the opportunity presents itself, grab them. You got that?" York slammed the phone down.

The crown prince was not the only prize here. Eve Whitfield … Ironside's policewoman from what he was able to find out was a woman who was special to him. Maybe Ironside secretly longed for the young policewoman. It must have been a blow to the cripple to find out that she preferred a real man to him. That would not stop Ironside from trying to get her back. He would collect the ransom on the crown prince. Then he would use Eve Whitfield to draw Ironside in. And, he would come. Then he would finally kill that crippled cop before he returned to Europe.

11.4

"Robert, do you want to get out of this hospital today or not?" Sister Agatha stood in front of the detective's bed in a defiant stance.

"Sister, I am leaving this hospital just as soon as Mark arrives to pick me up. You are not going to stop me," Ironside roared.

"The last thing I want is to put up with you for another single day. But, you will take this medicine or I will call the Doctor down here to keep you another day. So do us both a favor and take the medicine so we can send you home. There are other patients in this hospital and I seem to spend most of my time arguing with you every time you are brought in here." Sister Agatha reached out with the pill cup one more time.

Standing in the door, Doctor Taylor took in the scene with amusement. He loved watching the never-ending battle between Robert T. Ironside and Sister Agatha. It was a coin toss at any given time who would win. Both stubborn, strong willed and combative, it would be the makings of excellent television. He decided he had better intervene or Chief Ironside would never get out of this hospital. Sister Agatha would stand her ground until the chief became a permanent resident. "Take the medicine Chief and I will put my signature on this release form."

"I do not need any pain medicine. I need a clear head. I have a case to work on," Ironside growled.

"You always have a case, Robert," Agatha said.

"Chief, you need to let the sister do her job. That is the last ordered dose of medicine. Just take it and get out of here. This hospital can't handle having you very long," Doctor Taylor said.

"May I remind you I did not want to be your guest in the first place? Rest … how much rest did I get? Nurses in and out of here all day and night. Assassins shooting at me and cops crawling all over my room half the night. I would have gotten more rest if you had put my bed in the middle of the Golden Gate Bridge."

"So take the medicine and go bust criminals. Crime went up with you out of circulation last night." Doctor Taylor grinned. "So what will it be Bob? If you don't take the medicine, Sister Agatha will probably note that you had an extremely restless night and need one more day in the hospital, at which time I will note that you will be our guest for one more day."

Mark walked into the room with Barbara who walked over to Ironside and kissed him. "Are you about ready to go, Bob?" She patted Otto on the head.

"He hasn't been released yet," Sister Agatha said. "And he won't be if he doesn't follow hospital rules."

Mark grinned. Here we go with the battle of the wits. "Chief, you have Artie Hinson sitting in your office as we speak. You know what that means."

"Give it up Bob," Barbara said with a smile.

"Oh hell, give me the damn pill," Ironside growled.

"Robert, what did I tell you about your language?" Sister Agatha warned.

"Are you going to give me the pill or not?" Ironside asked with a frown.

Sister Agatha handed Ironside the pill cup and poured him a glass of water. He took the pill out of the cup and put his hand up to his mouth to pop the pill. Picking up the glass of water with the other, he drank down a couple swallows. "Did you swallow the pill, Robert?"

Ironside opened his month wide enough to show off his tonsils. Doctor Taylor laughed and signed the release form. He handed it to Sister Agatha. "We will need the chief's signature on the form. Then he is officially released."

Sister Agatha put the form on the patient table and handed the pen to Ironside who promptly signed the form. "Go home, Robert. And see if you can stay out of here for a while. I can't take too much more of you."

"Gladly," Ironside snarled. "Oh, by the way, can you throw out something for me."

"Throw out what?" Agatha asked. Ironside took her right hand, turned it over so that her palm was up and placed the pain pill in her hand.

Doctor Taylor burst out laughing. "I'd say the chief won this round Sister. And no, I cannot keep him. I already signed the release."

Ironside grinned at her and said. "Sister, until the next time!"

"Next time your medicine will be in a needle and will be administered into your backside."

Doctor Taylor laughed again and left the room. Mark helped the chief into his wheelchair and he and Barbara wheeled him out of the hospital. Otto followed close behind.

11.5

Ironside opened the door to his office as Mark pushed him into the room. Barbara and Otto followed them in. He wheeled down the ramp to the main office table. Artie Hinson stood up. "Well hello, Artie. It's good to see you." Ironside reached out his hand.

Hinson took his hand and shook it. "It's good to see you too, Chief." He turned to the uniformed officer standing a few feet away. "You see this man? He arrested me many eons ago. It turns out it was the best thing that ever happened to me." The captain shook Ironside's hand as the chief introduced everyone in the room.

"How's the president?" Ironside asked.

"He's great, Chief. Although, he is very nervous about this plan of yours." Hinson told him.

"It will work, Artie. Don't worry, we will keep them under close watch. Now, I think it is time you change those chips."

Hinson walked over to the crown prince. "I trust Chief Ironside has made your visit interesting?"

"Most interesting," the crown prince said.

"You are okay with this Your Highness?" Hinson asked him.

"I trust Chief Ironside."

"You father is giving the president quite a time over this announced engagement. The president told me to tell you that the State Department will issue a formal apology," Artie told him.

"No, they will not," the crown prince insisted. "I will not allow the State Department to apologize for an engagement to Miss Whitfield as if she is beneath me. She is in fact better than I deserve. My father has a lot to learn about American women." Eve turned and looked at Miguel, her face turning a bit red, embarrassed by the prince's admission.

Ironside smiled when Hinson did not know how to respond. He was really starting to like this young prince. He silently thank god the young man was from a foreign country and one that did not treat women well, at that. He knew it was a merely selfish feeling but in the end, he knew he would not lose his pretty policewoman to this man. Yes, she would remain on the job, here where she belonged.

When the captain completed the task, he left Chief Ironside's office. The chief looked at Artie. "Anything on the finger prints of the man we found floating in the bay?"

"Yes, Chief. His name is Brian Green. He works in the State Department," Artie said.

"Now we are getting somewhere," Ironside said. The door banged open and Lt. Carl Reese walked in.

"Chief, we got a line on the two guys that were following Eve and the crown prince."

Ironside watched the detective come down the ramp. He sat down at the table. They are from Washington." He dropped the pictures of them down in front of Ironside who showed them to Artie Hindson.

"Do they look familiar, Artie?" Ironside asked.

He studied the pictures. "Yes, they are Jeffrey Mills and Timothy Little. They work in the State Department."

"Ed, I want you to work with Artie. We need to trace York and these men and to whoever is calling the shots in Washington. Find the connection between them and you will find the man in the president's administration. And Ed, you only have until tonight."

"Then you are going to move tonight, Chief?" Artie asked.

"Yes Artie, we are. By tonight, we are going to have Mr. Phillip York in custody and we will know who is behind these kidnappings.

Or would they?