She tore her gaze away from the paramedics performing CPR on her partner as they loaded his still form into the ambulance… trying to make herself focus on what her boss just asked her. Jennifer knew she was probably in shock… everything had gone wrong so quickly… and now Lenny was… she gulped. He had a girlfriend… fiancé… and a baby. Valdez glared at her… but with less venom than usual her eyes trailing toward the closing doors of the ambulance as well.
"Jennifer? Did you hear me?"
"What was that ma'am?"
"I need to know what happened." Jennifer shook her head her eyes darting to the second bus… Jones was arguing he didn't need to go to the emergency room. Clearly Diana and the paramedic disagreed… Berrigan's strident voice carried to the young agent.
"Have you lost your mind? The bullet is still in there!" Jones gave her a mildly surprised look and dropped his eyes to examine his arm curiously.
"Jennifer what happened?" Valdez asked again
"The social worker took the boy in… 30 minutes later… those three men were dragging him out the side exit into the alley." She swallowed hard. The urge to be sick lingered in her throat "the small one had a gun out… pointed at the kid's chest.
"He was clearly threatening the boy?"
"Yes ma'am… ranting loudly 'your dad killed my daughter… you have to pay for the sins of the father…' that kind of thing" her voice trailed off as the ambulance carrying her friend sped away.
"The boy's father… interesting…" Valdez looked thoughtful "go on… then what happened"
"L-lenny yelled… Lenny yelled for him to drop his weapon and…" she swallowed again trying to breathe away the horrible feeling she was going to be sick all over her boss. "The man just turned and shot him… just like that… one second he was standing there beside me and the next blood hit me in the face and he was on the ground… Jones and Berrigan returned fire…they called for back up …the other two suspects fired a couple of rounds before they grabbed the smaller guy and tried to pull him away… Jones was hit… spun him around but he didn't go down… Berrigan dropped to her knees but she wasn't hurt… she tried to help Lenny… I finally remembered to return fire as well and they fled… the kid is smart though… he dropped like a rock as soon as the shooting started and then he ran to us as soon as it stopped…."
"Thank you, Jennifer."
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Burke stood up as she entered the room… clearly intending to remove her but Valdez had no intention of being removed… not now.
"The situation hasn't changed Valdez… he is still unable to talk" he gestured to the man in the bed and the breathing tube trailing from his lips. She had no intention of cutting either of them an inch of slack though.
"Oh yes the situation has changed!" She tried to pin Burke to the wall with her furious glare "Lenny Thompson was pronounced dead on arrival thirty minutes ago because of some vendetta against your CRIMINAL CONSULTANT!" She threw the words out harshly.
"I'm sorry to hear that… Lenny was a good agent."
"D*** straight he was! A good agent and a good man and a good father. He didn't deserve to bleed to death in a dirty alley."
"No he didn't"
"His fiancé deserves to be planning their wedding not his funereal"
"I agree"
"The man who killed him was screaming your pet con here KILLED HIS DAUGHTER!"
"Valdez, Neal wouldn't… I know it's hard for you grasp but he's a decent man… he doesn't deserve this either." She snorted a harsh bitter laugh
"I got a print off a casing at the scene … Johnny Richards… well guess what, his daughter died seven years ago… SHE WAS 15!" Her glare was deadly "If I find out Caffrey had anything… ANYTHING to do with it I will make sure he goes down! Am I 100% clear?!" Burke narrowed his eyes coldly
"You better have a lot more than accusations if you intend to try it." The injured man stirred slightly… seeing his eyes cracking open just a sliver Valdez stalked to his bedside.
"I saw that" she sneered as his eyelids dropped again "don't you dare try to pretend you are still out!" his eyes fluttered open again, his gaze unfocused, trying to look at her then abruptly they rolled back…closing "A good man is DEAD because of YOU! WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE GIRL?" The blue eyes remained closed… the limp figure didn't even twitch as she screamed at him. Valdez grasped his shoulders intending to shake the man until he responded. Strong hands grabbed her from behind pushing her to the wall
"Don't touch him." Burke's voice was low but deadly serious
"I know he's awake… I know he hears me…you may be fooled but I know.., I saw him open his eyes."
"Yeah he does that…he opens his eyes for a couple of seconds at a time! He isn't able to answer questions… he definitely isn't up to you screaming at him and manhandling him!"
"I will find out WHAT HE DID TO THAT GIRL!"
"Valdez you are leaving NOW."
"Fine" She growled "but you remember a member of my team is dead you think I'm going to stop digging you are dead wrong."
"Dig then… all you want… but you remember this Neal is a member of my team… and he's been in a coma for 5 days… If you even think of laying a hand on him again the assault charges you will be hit with before you get back to the office will be the least of your worries .Am. I. Clear?"
"Will you still think he's worth it when I tell you one of your people took a bullet today too?" She spun on her heel and strode away. The moment she was out of sight Peter grabbed his phone.
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Dr. Sanders stood quietly just inside the door watching the FBI agent. He hadn't meant to listen to the conversation earlier but… half the ward couldn't help over hearing… the woman had obviously been angry, and Peter hadn't sounded thrilled either though he definitely kept his volume at a lower decibel… The conversation was going to be awkward the doctor thought… but it needed to happen… with his patient beginning to show signs of returning consciousness… after what they over heard some of the staff were…concerned.
"Peter" Dr. Sanders shifted his weight nervously.
"Doctor?" the brown eyes were filled with concern "Is something wrong?"
"Peter I'm sorry to bring this up but… some of the nurses are concerned… the woman who left a little while ago was… a bit loud. We couldn't help over hearing part of what she said…" Peter dropped his eyes for a moment and when he looked up again the worry had been replaced… by a protective anger.
"About him being a criminal? Does it matter?"
"I assure you that whatever you say will not affect the quality of care I give my patient but I need to know if he is a threat to the staff or other patients in anyway."
"Does he look like a threat to you Dr. Sanders?"
"At the moment…no." the man shrugged he paused thoughtfully for a few seconds "but that could change very quickly… even the most non aggressive people tend to lash out when they are disoriented and in pain…If a person is already prone to violen-." The angry snort of laughter cut him off. He studied the agent a moment. "She was accusing him of…" the glare was glacial
"I heard what she had to say." Peter took a deep breath drawing himself up straight "tell your concerned staff that Neal in one of the least aggressive people they are likely to meet."
"Are you certain because we all heard…?"
"I KNOW WHAT YOU HEARD!" Peter dropped his voice abruptly "And I'm telling you… you would be more likely to intentionally hurt someone than he is."
"I see…" he hesitated unsure how to proceed…
"Forgery… " Peter shook his head "look do you think I would be working with him if he was violent… that I would he sitting here with him if… If I couldn't in good conscious call him a friend."
"I suppose not…"
"He is not a bad man… more like a misguided kid… please make sure your staff knows that…"
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When the dark silence he floated in finally receded… it was sudden… like a bubble popping. Some part of his aching mind thought there might have been moments he struggled in to the twilight edges of the darkness before… moments when voices penetrated the muffing fog… when distant light had called him… but this time light and sound returned in an agonizing rush. Too much color swirled mercilessly into his eyes….whooshing, clicking, squeaking, clattering sound rushed headlong into ears to long empty…he blinked…trying to make the dancing light and shapes take form….moved his hands to cover his ears…that small movement brought something into focus…PAIN!
More than pain… gut twisting torture … like nothing he had ever felt before…it hummed violently through every inch of his being…almost submerging him once more in the inky silent blackness he just burst free of. He screamed against the anguish…. Except there was no sound! Amid the cacophony of noise his own voice was silent…lost. Panicked he tried to rise… to run for this bizarre place… agony like a thunderbolt shot through him! Hands caught his shoulders as he dissolved back against the…the what? He didn't dare turn his head to see…fighting to breathe…he blinked again…trying to focus on a vague form that floated before him…again and the face swam into clarity.
"Pe-ter?" that earned him a tight smile
"Hi"
"Hurts…" he could barely hear himself though the mask …he doubted his friend would catch it…but a hand moved from his shoulder to run a thumb across his cheek…awkwardly swiping at an errant tear.
"I'll bet it does… just breathe ok? I'm going to call the nurse… just breathe…" the hand left his face…his friend's face faded from his line of sight "and don't try to move." It was an order…even spoken softly as it was. He blinked…gasped and wondered fuzzily if blinking and gasping counted as moving.
"He heard Peter speaking with someone… arguing with someone… over the discordant symphony of hospital noise he caught
"…in pain…"
"…should be sufficient..."
"Clearly not…" Peter sounded annoyed
"…care for patients …not supply drugs... like him…"
"… To Dr. Sanders immediately!" suddenly Peter did not sound annoyed, he sounded furious. He came back into Neal's vision… for one moment he looked furious. Then his face softened.
"You still with me? You still awake?" with an effort Neal pulled his drooping eyes wider…the agony ebbing and flowing like the surf… that painless darkness suddenly felt incredibly tempting.
"…here…"
"Good your doctor will be here in a minute…he'll give you something for the pain…ok?" he nodded a tiny movement and instantly regretted it as a sledge hammer slammed into his left temple. A question floated up from the dim recesses of his mind…
"Dy-ing?"
"No!" the word was to sharp… to intense… Neal flinched… afraid of what that tone meant. "You're going to be fine… just fine…" he watched the muscle in Peter's jaw flex as he clenched his teeth.
"Truth…" Peter deflated a little, sighing as he lay his hand far too gently on his hair.
"I'm not lying to you Neal… it's not going to be easy but you are going to get through this… I promise." That was good enough for him…he hurt far too much to think about it long… he tugged a ghostly smile into place for his friend… drifting slightly…the memory caught him before he slipped back into the bubble of murky silence… a little boy… his little boy his cloudy mind corrected… a ransom, a time and place…. His eyes flew open again.
"Nate!" he whispered desperately "Miss-ed…Ran-som"
"Yeah, you did but its ok. He's ok. Nathen is fine. Just rest. Dr. Sanders will be here soon."
"Real-ly?"
"Really." Peter patted his shoulder gently… "He's safe with Diana." The pain was more than he could bear… every breath tore through him… the darkness was pulling him under… away from the pain… far away he heard Peter say something about "…keeping the doctor…"