Socks and t-shirts flew through the air and littered the floor as Maxwell Bennett frantically tore through his top dresser drawer with both hands. With a curse, he yanked open the drawer below it and then the next as his search continued.
The floor around him was a mess and his dresser drawers completely torn apart before he remembered he'd left his only pair of jeans flung across the foot board of his bed as usual. He snatched them up and hopped into them as he hurried into the living room, not bothering to waste even a second by standing still. There was a mirror on his bedroom door and he caught sight of himself as he passed by it. Wrinkled clothes, unruly hair, five o' clock shadow. No time to worry about that now.
It wasn't usual that the normally laid back young man was this frantic, but after the call that had roused him from sleep minutes ago, it was hard to be anything but.
Maxwell grabbed his sneakers off the living room floor and, still hopping about, pulled them on one at a time. Now fully dressed, he grabbed his keys and rushed out of his apartment only stopping long enough to lock the door behind him. Getting a call from Sabrina Duncan was strange enough, but after midnight? He'd known there was something wrong the second the phone rang.
Ignoring the fact that it was late, he pounded down the hallway of his apartment building, down the steps and into the parking lot. His blue eyes scanned the area for headlights but there was nothing. Sabrina wasn't there yet.
Maxwell swore again and jammed his hands into his pockets. Kelly and Jill were in trouble, injured, and all he could do about it was stand in the parking lot and wait to be picked up like a child from school. He would have worried himself into a frenzy, but luckily for him, headlights suddenly lit up the street in front of his apartment building. Even though he wasn't sure what car Sabrina drove, the urgent screeching of her tires as she swerved into the lot made him confident his ride had come. A second later, the orange Ford Pinto was close enough that he could see Sabrina sitting in the driver's seat. Waving, he jogged over to where she had come to a stop and quickly got inside.
The scent of cigarette smoke immediately had him wrinkling his nose. "I didn't know you smoked." He greeted Sabrina quietly as the Pinto lurched out of its spot and toward the street.
Sabrina only rolled her eyes, the cigarette jutting from her lips looking foreign and out of place. "I don't." She snapped.
The Pinto cut off a slower moving van as they merged onto the road.
Maxwell took a deep breath. He wasn't the only one who was upset it seemed and since Sabrina wasn't going to offer more information, he'd have to ask before it drove him insane.
"So, what's going on?"
Sabrina's eyes jerked toward him and then back to the road. "Just what I told you. Kelly and Jill had an accident and some guy took them to a hospital and... and something isn't right there. Jill called me and they need help. We're going to get them."
Maxwell let out a slow breath. That much she'd already told him. "So what do you need me for? Did Kelly ask for me?"
"No, Jill did. They're in Bridge Grove somewhere." She ignored Maxwell's puzzled look. "She said you knew your way around there and since we don't have time to waste getting lost, to ask you to come with me."
"Bridge Grove." Maxwell echoed. He took a moment to process this information. Sabrina hadn't exactly asked him to come along so much as demanded, but here he was and he'd do anything to help his friends. "Okay, get on the highway-"
"Well, I know that!" Sabrina snapped. She sighed her exasperation before rolling down the window and letting the wind take her cigarette. "Sorry. I'm sorry, this is just- God, I should have gone with them."
Maxwell ignored her apology. "So, what did the police say?" He asked, trying not to upset her further.
Sabrina gave a derisive scoff. "Police." She muttered. "We can get there faster than they can."
"You haven't called the police?!"
The horrified look on Maxwell's face made Sabrina roll her eyes. "No, I haven't called the police. We used to be police, didn't Jill tell you? And we can get there faster than they can."
The expression on Maxwell's face didn't change at all. "But, they have guns-" He started, before realizing that there was a holster clipped onto the waist of Sabrina's jeans. "- and badges. And they can arrest people. The way you're telling it, this is a police matter. We can't just go barging in on-"
"You just watch me." Sabrina cut him off stubbornly.
Maxwell sighed his frustration. "I still think we should call. Pull over, there's a phone by the bus stop just a block from here."
Sabrina gritted her teeth. She was in no mood to be badgered. If it would shut him up, she would call. "Fine. Move your arm." She grumbled at him, elbowing his arm off of the phone he didn't realize he was covering. Normally, she enjoyed watching people's surprised reactions to her mobile phone, but at the moment it was the farthest thing from her mind. Not caring if her companion could hear the things she was mumbling about him under her breath, she grabbed up the phone and angrily began punching buttons to dial the police.
Maxwell watched her nervously. Sabrina was angry he knew, but she had every reason to be. And she could call him anything she wanted as long as Kelly and Jill got help as soon as they could. He watched Sabrina fidget restlessly with the phone as the muffled ring tone sounded on the other line. Finally, she sat up straight.
"Hi, I'd like to report some suspicious activity at the hospital in Bridge Grove. I think my friends are in danger." A beat and then she continued. "Yes, a hospital."
Maxwell flinched when she suddenly smacked the steering wheel with an open palm.
"No, I haven't been drinking!" Sabrina yelled angrily into the phone. "Look, they called and they need help, they're in trou- No, they aren't getting help at the hospital! If they were getting help why would I call?!" She rubbed her temple in agitation with her free hand. "Sabrina Duncan." She paused for a moment. "Ex-wife. And yes."
She stopped to listen to his voice, the look on her face getting darker with each passing second and Maxell fought the urge to yank the phone out of her hand and listen to what was being said himself. Whatever it was, it wasn't what she wanted to hear.
"Out of your jurisdiction?!" She exploded suddenly, jerking the car sharply to the left. A lamppost blew past them, alarmingly close. "You're not even gonna try to help my… wait, is this Larry Donovan?! Damn you, Larry, then get off your ass and find out who can help me!" Maxwell cringed as Sabrina let out a strangled cry. The Pinto seemed to swerve with the pitch of her voice. "No, I will not lower my voice! I'm gonna yell all I want!"
Fearing Sabrina's anger and erratic driving would make them wreck, Maxwell reached for the phone. "You want me to talk to him?" He offered feebly.
The offer went ignored. Sabrina hadn't even heard him.
"You don't blame Bill for divorcing me? Is that right?" Sabrina continued heatedly into the phone. "Well, for your information I divorced him and also for your information, your wife is cheating on you with a highway patrolman and I don't blame her either!"
In the passenger seat, Maxwell closed his eyes and groaned softly to himself. This wasn't helping at all.
"Jill Munroe saw them sucking face at the theater last week and she said she looked a hell of a lot happier with him than she's ever seen her with you! Go on and ask her yourself! And yes, transfer me!" He heard Sabrina yell. "Wish you'd done it sooner!"
From his seat, Maxwell could hear the line click and then begin to ring again. Was it safe to move? He glanced Sabrina's way and she thankfully acknowledged him. "What a prick." She muttered angrily. "He's always had it out for me and Jill."
Maxwell shifted uncomfortably. "Sounds like it."
There was an awkward silence before Sabrina huffed loudly. "Why aren't they picking up?" She wondered aloud. They waited a few moments longer before Sabrina slammed the phone down and, to Maxwell's relief, returned both hands to the wheel.
"See?!" She blurted out. "This is why I didn't want to call! This is exactly why I didn't want to call! They'll only slow us down."
Her speed picked up and Maxwell instinctively clutched the sides of his seat. "Yeah."
"We can help Jill and Kelly faster than they can."
Maxwell nodded, not eager to set her off again. "Okay, okay. So… so what else do you know?" He asked quickly.
"That's all I know, Max." Sabrina admitted, finally calming somewhat. "Which is pretty damn close to nothing. They're in a hospital somewhere in Bridge Grove and they're being kept there against their will. I don't know why or who or…much of anything. Only that we need to hurry."
Maxwell nodded and tried to ignore the tightness in his chest. None of that sounded normal to him either. He bit his lip and glanced at his companion. Sabrina looked sick with worry, one hand on the steering wheel and the other pressed up against her mouth and revealing nail biting as the second of her bad habits he'd discovered tonight. Another glance at the speedometer told them they were indeed hurrying. It was all up to them. And already doing all they could for now, he leaned back in his seat as the Pinto flew along at least twenty miles over the speed limit.
They would be okay, Maxwell told himself. Kelly had to be okay.
Jill scooted as far back under the desk as she could, the phone still clutched tightly in her hands. She mouthed a silent curse to herself. With her head ducked down and her back pressed up against the cool wall of the heavy wooden desk as far as it would go, there was nothing to do but listen to the sound of Bruce's footsteps coming closer.
"Ms. Munroe?" He called out softly, his voice strained with thinly veiled panic.
Jill started to sweat. Whatever was going on here was still a mystery to her, but answering him and being taken back to wait for Nurse Stone was not an option. Behind her, she could hear him closing the distance between them. He couldn't be more than a few feet away now.
"Ms. Munroe?" He called again. He was standing a few feet in front of the desk, Jill deduced and she held her breath for fear he'd hear her. She watched anxiously as his long black shadow slowly climbed up the wall in front of her.
"Ms. Munroe?"
His shaky voice was carrying all over the room as if he wasn't sure where to direct it. It was little comfort. He paused for a moment and then cleared his throat. "Your friend asked to see you. I'm supposed to walk you back to her room."
Another pause.
"Anna examined her and it's possible she fractured her skull. It looks like we're going to have to run some X-rays. She's a little upset, I think it would help for you to be with her."
Behind the desk, Jill felt her stomach churn. It was impossible that the injury Kelly sustained was that severe, or else she would have known within minutes of their car accident. She was being lured out, her concern for Kelly as bait. The sense that they were truly in danger was getting stronger and stronger. If only she hadn't mentioned her gun. Still frozen behind the desk, Jill waited in silence for Bruce to take another step or call out to her again to give away his location.
Finally, he uttered a low curse and his footsteps jogged away.
Jill struggled with her internal instinct to fly out from behind the desk and tackle him down, demanding an explanation for the odd behavior that was all too threatening. Kelly, though, was more important at the moment than finding out details. That could come later. When she had her gun.
Waiting until the sound of his footsteps were no longer in range, she slipped the phone back into place and crouched outside of the desk. She hid at its side, slowly lifting her self to her knees to see if any nurses were around.
All clear.
Strands of wild blonde hair whipped in the air as she darted for what she assumed to be Kelly's room. Finally. She only hoped that Kelly's head had been treated enough to where they could leave the hospital and wait for Sabrina. Trying not to topple over once she reached the door knob, Jill gripped down with her sweaty palms and pushed on the door.
It didn't budge.
She tried again, fiddling with the knob more frantically each second. "No," She mumbled, working herself into a panicked state. "No, no, no. You can't be locked." Her shoulder began shoving into the door to see if any type of force would make it breakaway.
"Kelly!" Jill pressed her mouth in the crease of the door, praying her harsh whisper would alert her friend and nobody else.
"Jill?" She heard from the other side, and for a brief second, all her panic faded. But Kelly's voice sounded laced in worry. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, what about you?"
"Apart from wanting the hell out of this place, I'll live. I'm pretty sure the baby is okay too, I think I would have felt something by now."
Jill smiled. That was one less thing to worry about. "Good. Do you see anything in there that could open this door?"
"Only nothing." Kelly commented dryly. "There's no lock on this side."
Jill closed her eyes and laid her head against the frame of the door. "Then I'll have to find something."
She heard Kelly's helpless sigh of frustration. "Okay, Jill. I'm looking too. Just… just be careful, alright? And hurry."
"I'll try." Jill said, hoping her voice was as reassuring as she was attempting to be. "Wait here."
Before she could hear the sarcastic reply she knew that comment would earn her, she turned and hurried down the dark hallway towards the main lobby. She could only pray that Bruce was still gone.
The dim light slowly illuminated her form as she crept warily into the lobby. Her blue eyes carefully scanned her surroundings. Still empty, still quiet. Jill breathed a soft sigh of relief. It wasn't just paranoia that made her desperate not to be seen and now that she knew Kelly felt the same way, it made her all the more desperate to put some distance between themselves and this place. With one eye on the hallway Bruce had vanished through, Jill hurried back towards the nurse's desk she'd been hiding behind earlier.
The view was much different than it had been from her vantage point a few minutes ago. There were stacks of paper, folders, notebooks scattered everywhere along it's surface. Nothing like the neat and orderly desks she'd had experience with. But this wasn't a normal hospital, was it? Her stomach rolled violently just thinking about. Maybe it was because the safety of Kelly's unborn child was on the line, but she'd never felt this jittery and sick under pressure before. No time for that though. She pushed aside her nervousness and scanned the desk's surface.
Something to pick a lock. What could she use to pick a lock? A knife? A file?
She quietly swept aside some clutter and the glint of metal caught her eye.
A key?
A key!
Jill snatched up the little key ring and anxiously flipped through the three keys attached to it. Would they open the door? It was worth a try.
Excited by her discovery, Jill clutched her prize in her hand and jogged toward Kelly's hallway. This had to be it. This had to be the way out of here, she told herself fiercely, refusing to entertain the thought of failure.
So anxious was she to get to Kelly's door to try her keys that she didn't hear the approaching footsteps until they were almost on top of her.
Internally cursing that she couldn't catch a break, Jill made a detour away from Kelly's room. She could only thank God that there was hardly any lighting around the area, making it not only hard for her to see, but for the nurses to see as well. There was her advantage. Using the darkness against them, she pressed her body against the wall and slid across as quietly as she could manage.
Bruce's body came into the light, his partly shadowed face revealing a side of him Jill hadn't seen earlier. The look of determination to find her had over taken him. His fists were clenched in aggravation, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead.
Jill stayed hidden in the darkness, holding her breath as Bruce looked around and stalked off. How had she managed to pull that off? Even not far from his sight, Bruce wasn't able to see her or sense another presence nearby. What was wrong with these people? She let out a breath and was about to take a step into the light before she heard a voice.
"Bruce!"
Taking no chances the second time around, Jill dashed along the wall to another door before the unrecognizable voice could reach her or Bruce came back her way again. With an adrenaline rush that gave her faster reflexes, she twisted the handle down and threw herself in backwards. She had enough sense in the rush of the moment to make sure she didn't close it all the way, leaving a small gap for her to peek out from.
Her blue eyes brisked around but couldn't make out anything except red bio-hazard bags stacked on metal shelves. Behind her was a large garbage bin from what she could make out with her hands, and possibly a mop next to it. She placed herself on the far right wall, allowing her to see what was going on. Bruce rushed past the door, meeting with the much smaller nurse she had yet to fully meet.
A baleful smile curved on to Anna's lips. "Looking for something, Bruce?"
His face drained of color, unwilling to incriminate himself by admitting he'd let Jill slip out of his sight. Anna didn't look impatient, but still searched his face with hint of pleasure. "I... don't know what you're talking about." He tried to sound adamant.
"Really?" Her arms crossed, after she swiped away hair from her dark eyes. "Here I was thinking you might have lost something by the way you've been running around. But it turns out you've only lost your mind."
Reluctant to ask for help, especially from her, he stood strong. "Aren't you supposed to be upstairs? Helping instead of harassing me?"
She giggled in a deranged way that even made Bruce uncomfortable. A grown woman with the laughter of a small child.
Jill, not liking even one bit of the conversation she was over hearing – and feeling she was much too close to – tried to blend in helplessly inside the dark closet.
"We both know it is Irene's job to help the good doctor, I would dare not interfere in their preparations." She walked around Bruce in a circle, and he followed her every step with guilty eyes. Anna then stopped an inch away from him, and drew her face toward his. "What did you do?" She whispered.
Bruce sucked in a breath, and lied straight to her face. "Nothing. Now, would you please let me by? I have a patient to ready."
She smiled. "If you must, I have my own as well."
"The doctor will be pleased."
"He already is." Anna kept the smile plastered on her face, as if she enjoyed seeing the man squirm in front of her. He trudged away without any further words. Watching him as he disappeared down the hall, Anna glided alongside Kelly's door, gently tapping her long fingernails against its surface as she passed. "I'll be back soon, Kelly." She said to only herself as she walked down the opposite end of the hall.
Inside the storage closet, only a few feet from where they'd been talking, Jill stood rooted in place. The whispered council between Bruce and Anna had made her break out into a cold sweat despite the stuffy, stale air of her hiding place. She stayed still, breathing heavily, almost tasting the lemony floor cleaner the closet reeked of. If there was any shred of doubt that something gruesome had been planned for her and Kelly from the start, that conversation had sure swept it away. She licked her dry lips and waited for the echoing of Anna's footsteps to fade to nothing.