With a broad smile, Steve stuck out his right hand. "I am very pleased to meet you, Trooper Caudill," he effused, gripping the proffered hand firmly.
"Ah, I've got to get back to Kearney," Noble said with a twinkle, backing slowly away from the pair. "I'll leave you two to get acquainted."
Both Steve and Caudill looked at the retreating sheriff. "Thank you," Steve said quietly and sincerely, "uh, for what you did today…"
Noble shook his head, cutting him off. "No need, Steve. For the brotherhood, right? I'm just glad things turned out as they did." He looked the younger man squarely in the eyes. "You take care of yourself, and go visit Mike as often as you can, and I'll see you both soon." He turned to Caudill. "Trooper, thank you for today and, ah, well, for everything." He started to head away. "Have a good night, both of you."
"Today?" Steve asked, turning back to Caudill when Noble had disappeared around a corner. "You were there today?"
Caudill shuffled self-consciously. "No, God no. The two great-grandsons wouldn't know who I was, and they didn't, seeing as my partner and I drove them back down here from Frankfort. But my grandfather would've recognized me for sure, and everybody else that was there, from what I heard. It was decided that I make myself scarce."
Steve was nodding. "Yeah, I would think so," he chuckled dryly.
Caudill glanced quickly at the hospital room door behind him. "Listen, ah, Inspector, I'd really –"
"Steve, please, call me Steve," the city detective interrupted him politely.
Caudill smiled and nodded. "All right, Steve, thank you. Look, I really do want to talk to you but, ah, well, there's someone waiting for you in your room. He's been here for awhile."
Steve frowned, pulling his head back slightly. "Do you know who it is?"
The state trooper shook his head. "No idea, but he looks like he has some rank, if you know what I mean." He smiled slightly, raising his eyebrows.
"Yeah, I do," Steve said slowly, nodding in agreement. "Thanks." He turned the wheelchair and reached out to push the door open. Caudill beat him to it and held the door while Steve wheeled into the room.
"Jesus, Steve, are you okay?" Captain Rudy Olsen's voice reached his ears before his eyes had time to settle on his superior officer.
Unable to resist a welcoming smile, Steve wheeled himself further into the room as Olsen got up from the guest chair and started towards him, his kindly face contorted with worry. "I'm fine, Rudy, really. It looks a lot worse than it is."
The older man came closer, putting a tentative but gentle hand on his left shoulder. Steve winced involuntarily and Olsen snatched his hand away. "Geez, sorry, Steve. Is, ah… were you hit in the shoulder …?" His voice was hesitant.
Steve smiled quickly, hoping to reassure his boss. "No, Rudy, I'm okay. I took a shot through my upper right arm and another through the calf of my left leg."
"Shit," Olsen mouthed worriedly, glancing down at the younger man's leg. "You in a lot of pain?"
"It's gotten a lot better," Steve replied earnestly, "believe me. I hurt my left shoulder when I hit a tree going down, and it's pretty badly bruised, but I should be able to get around on crutches maybe by tomorrow, we hope."
"That's good, that's good," Olsen mumbled almost absent-mindedly, staring at the inspector with a worried brow and faraway look. "They, ah, they told me what happened, to you and Mike… Geez, Steve, I had no idea… I thought it was just gonna be a quick trip here, you know, pick up the fugitive and get back on the plane… I had no idea…" His voice had almost disappeared.
"Rudy," Steve said sharply, regaining the older man's attention, "it's not your fault, none of this is your fault. How could you have known?"
Olsen had refocused and was staring into Steve's strong green eyes, but he still looked distressed and overwhelmingly guilty. "But Mike, I mean, he's not doing so good is he?"
"Who told you that? Mike's doing okay. He's gonna be fine, it's just gonna take a few days, that's all, same as me." Olsen nodded but didn't say anything. "Rudy," Steve caught his attention again, "I just came from seeing him. They're gonna be moving him into ICU for a couple of days and I'm gonna head back down there in a little while to see him again. I want you to come with me, okay?"
Olsen nodded again, and the younger man could see the rigid posture begin to ease somewhat and that ironic but very familiar grin begin to appear on the older man's lips. "You're both gonna be all right?" he asked, a slight crack in his voice.
Steve smiled warmly and nodded. "Yeah, Captain, we're both going to be fine."
# # # # #
Noble waited for the phone to be answered, staring down the corridor towards ICU.
"Hello."
"Hi, honey, it's me. Listen, ah, I might just stay in Harlan overnight, there's some unfinished business I have here."
"You're worried about those two detectives, aren't you?"
He smiled; she knew him too well. "Yeah… yeah, I'm still a little worried about what some people might want to do, you know what I mean? I'd just feel a lot better if I could stay here where I know what's goin' on…"
He heard her sigh compassionately. "They've really gotten to you, haven't they?"
He snorted a tiny chuckle. "Yeah, they really have… So, is it okay?"
"You have to ask?" He could hear the warmth in her voice and could picture her loving smile. "You start home first light, and I'll have breakfast waitin' for you by the time you get here, all right?"
"I love you, you know."
"You better. Nobody else would put up with you… Stay safe."
"Good night, honey."
# # # # #
"So where's Devitt? Did you leave him back in Kearney?"
"Devitt?" Olsen asked, surprised. "Roy's not here. What made you think that?"
Taken aback, Steve shook his head almost involuntarily. "I'm not sure. Sheriff Noble said that a couple of guys were coming out here and he mentioned you by name but he couldn't remember the other one, other than it was a lieutenant. I guess I just assumed it was Roy. So who is it?"
"Pierce. Marty Pierce from Narcotics. It was his case originally, right, so I figured he would be the logical one to bring. But you're right, he is in Kearney. He's meeting up with the local police there to get all the details about what went down."
"Well, he's gonna have to wait to see the sheriff. Noble just left; he's been with us all day." Steve paused and his focus turned inward. "He's, ah, he's been unbelievable. He and his men. Mike and I wouldn't be here without them, believe me."
Olsen, who had pulled the guest chair closer to the wheelchair and sat, reached out and gently laid his hand on Steve's forearm. "From what I've heard so far, it was a pretty horrendous experience. I'm just so glad you're both still alive." He saw the younger man swallow heavily and nod, his stare unfocused. "Listen, ah, why don't we get you settled back in the bed and you can begin to tell me all about it. How does that sound?"
Steve met the older man's sympathetic eyes. He knew he was going to have to start talking about it to someone; it might as well be his superior officer. He nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good."
They both stood, and Olsen helped the younger man the few steps to the bed. "Hey, ah, I don't know about you, Steve, but I haven't had anything to eat in quite awhile. You think there's a chance you and I can get some food delivered here? What d'ya say? Are you up to eating something?"
Settling back on the bed, trying not to wince from the pain and the effort, the exhausted inspector realized that he too had eaten nothing since some toast and coffee at breakfast. So much had happened that food had not even crossed his mind, but now that the exchange had been made and Mike was safely back in their hands, the reality of his current situation suddenly hit home. It had been a very long day and he was drained, physically and emotionally.
"Yeah, Rudy, that sounds good. It's been awhile."
"Great," the older man said with a smile and a sudden burst of energy. "I'll go speak to the officer at the door, maybe he can tell me how to go about it." He started for the door then turned back. "Anything special you wanna eat?"
With a warm smile, Steve shook his head. "At this point, I don't care."
"Well, ya can't go wrong with pizza, even in Kentucky I'm thinking. What do you say?"
"Sounds good. Oh, by the way, the trooper at the door? His name is Caudill."
"Thanks," Olsen said with a nod as he opened the door and disappeared into the corridor.
Steve leaned back against the pillows with a sigh; he knew the name wouldn't resonate with the captain just yet - he still had a lot of learn about the families in this part of Kentucky. His smile disappeared. The relief that there was now someone of a higher rank to take over, allowing him to concentrate on getting both Mike and himself healthy and home again, was tempered with the reality that he actually had to start coming to terms with the events of the past few days.
# # # # #
Noble pulled the metal chair to the corner of the room and sat. He rubbed a hand over his tired eyes and tried to stifle a yawn. He knew he probably wouldn't be able to stay awake all night but at least he was there, and he hoped his mere presence was enough of a deterrent.
He stared at the man on the bed, at the gentle rise and fall of his chest, and thought back to earlier that day and those terrifying few moments when he had watched the body being dragged from the truck and thought the lieutenant was dead.
He shook his head in silent wonderment, intrigued by this unlikely pair who shared such an unconventional bond.
# # # # #
Steve tossed the crust of the last piece back into the cardboard pizza box; he had been hungrier than he realized. He picked up the cup of Coke, took a sip through the straw, then put it back on the overbed and pushed it away.
Olsen, leaning back in the guest chair, his soda in his hand, was staring at him with a furrowed brow. "God, Steve, I can't believe what you guys went through. It's a miracle you and Mike survived. Where the hell did they get all that firepower? Damnit, we don't even have anything like that."
"I never want to come up against it again, I can tell you that. Considering the number of rounds they fired into the car, I'm still amazed that only Mike was hit and it wasn't worse than it was. It felt like the whole car was being torn apart." Steve's voice had gone quiet. "I've never been in combat, but I think that may have been close…"
Olsen nodded sympathetically. A Normandy veteran, who usually bristled when he heard people compare their experiences to combat, understood exactly what the young man was saying. From everything he had learned about the ambush so far, the analogy was not a stretch.
He let the silence lengthen between them, then ventured gently, "Rutter… "
At the mention of the name, Steve's eyes suddenly misted and he swallowed with a sharp gasp. "He didn't deserve to die, Rudy, he really didn't," he began slowly, running a hand over his face. "Turns out he had a hell of lot more integrity than a lot of people I know. Mike and I owe him our lives, we really do." He paused. "I almost think that if he didn't have to bother about us, if he was on his own, he'd still be alive. He had more than one chance to get away, to leave us, to leave me…and he didn't… I think he was really worried about Mike… and he didn't want to leave me, even after the bullets started flying… he could've been long gone… and he'd still be alive..."
Olsen let him finish and they sat quietly. It was going to take a lot longer for this young man to recover mentally and emotionally than physically, he knew, and he would do everything in his power to see to it that the path would be a smooth one.
Their respite was abruptly interrupted by a loud knock on the door, which was immediately pushed open and, to Steve's surprise, Noble entered quickly, pushing a wheelchair. Caudill was behind him holding the door open. "Steve –!" Noble began sharply, then pulled up when he noticed the presence of the older man. Choosing to ignore the visitor, he looked back at Steve, pushing the chair close to the bed. "Steve, you've gotta come with me. Now. Hurry!"
His brow furrowed in worry, Steve glanced briefly at Olsen. "Sheriff, what's going on?"
"Get in the chair," Noble urged quickly again. "I've got to get you down to ICU. It's Mike. He's starting to wake up, but he's confused and agitated; he thinks you're dead."