Steve sighed in frustration as he loitered by the nurses' station closest to the immunology lab. He was doing his best to follow Shane's instructions, but he couldn't help but feeling that he had been sent on a fool's errand.
How the hell am I supposed to find out of something is going on at the lab? he asked himself, not for the first time. He could not very well just knock on the door and ask, and it was not like the lab had windows he could peek through.
Unable to come up with any better ideas, Steve had simply roamed around the hospital floor, trying to keep an eye on the lab door to see who was entering and exiting. So far, that had been exactly two people - both assistants that Steve had recognized.
He knew he would have to give up soon. He had more leeway than most people to roam around the hospital, because he was well known at the hospital. Because of Kayla and Marcus, it was not uncommon for him to be hanging around and he had gotten no more than smiles and hellos from the staff so far.
But the longer he lingered, the more curious glances came his way. Even now, he could see one of the security officers on the floor looking his way so he made his way to the pay-phones, picked one up, and pretended to make a call.
This is ridiculous. He had promised Shane to follow orders and he was honestly trying. But this really made no sense. He should have been down on the pier checking out the information about the boats.
It wasn't that Steve did not trust John to look into that. It was just that John did not know the people down there, at least not like Steve did. Plus, no matter what name he was using now, John would still be a police officer in the eyes of the Riverfront. That would make the people suspicious and wary.
It was ironic, really. John Black had been revealed as an imposter, a man with no identity, yet to the Riverfront crowd, he would still be an authority figure, someone to be cautious of at all times.
Meanwhile, although Steve had lived on the right side of the law - more or less anyway - for years now and had himself been a police officer and ISA operative, to the people of the Riverfront, he would always be "Patch." They knew him and trusted him.
Steve supposed that should bother him, but it really didn't. He might have a wife and daughter - and another child on the way, he thought to himself - and be living about as middle class a life as existed, but he would always be part of that blue-collar world. He would never forget what it was like to scrape by any way you could. And he would never forget that different rules applied in that world.
Seeing the security officer move down the hall, Steve hung up the phone and sighed. He checked his watch and saw that it was almost noon. Maybe he could catch Kayla and take her to lunch. That would at least keep the morning from being a total loss.
He moved towards the elevators just as the lab door opened and Carly exited. She too was walking towards the elevators and Steve realized he might have finally caught a break.
"Hey, Carly," he said as they both reached the elevator.
She turned in surprised and then smiled. "Hi, Steve. What brings you around these parts?"
Steve just shrugged nonchalantly. "I was looking for Marcus and somebody said he might be on this floor. Apparently, they were mistaken."
Carly just nodded, seeming to accept his explanation. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Steve stepped aside, allowing Carly to enter first, and then followed her.
"Where are you heading?" she asked, her hand poised over the panel.
"First floor," Steve answered. "I'm going to see if my wife will join me for lunch."
"Sounds like fun." Carly smiled. "I'm meeting Bo for lunch myself." She looked up at Steve. "You're welcome to join us. We're just going to Alice's restaurant."
"That would be great." Steve kept his voice casual. "I guess things must not be too crazy at the lab if they are letting you out for lunch these days."
Carly nodded. "We seem to be between big projects right at the moment, so I actually get to work decent hours again." She grinned. "I plan on enjoying that while I can."
"Did they hire a new administrator yet?" Steve could not help but ask.
He saw Carly frown slightly and then she shook her head. "No. And I don't think they are planning on looking for the time being. Neil and Jordan are still so mad at the ISA, they don't want to admit defeat by actually replacing Kayla."
Steve remained silent. He was still kicking himself for getting Kayla fired. Not only because of the impact on her, but because it eliminated a source inside the lab. Had he not been so careless and reckless, they would know exactly what was going on in the lab right now.
They rode in silence the rest of the way to the first floor. When the doors opened, Carly stepped out and Steve followed. Steve told her he would check with Kayla and then meet her and Bo at Alice's as soon as he could.
As Carly left, Steve made his way to the Trauma Center. He thought about calling Shane, but decided it could wait. After all, he had nothing to report. Although at least now he could report that the nothing also included the lack of any sense of urgency at the lab. He shook his head again. Two hours roaming around the hospital and he had gotten all his information from a two-minute conversation.
Oh well. At least he was going to get to see his beautiful wife and, with any luck, get to enjoy a nice lunch with her and Bo and Carly. But when that was over, he definitely intended to have a conversation with Shane Donovan. If the good captain wanted someone to play errand boy, he was going to have to find somebody else.