Bobby Meets His Match-Chapter 20
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Adam McQuade drew his weapon and ran with his partner for tonight, Bobby Brown, towards the armed robbers in the jewelry store. Bobby approached first, communicating with Adam via hand signals. Adam had only been at Rangeman a few weeks, and this was the first armed confrontation he'd had on the job. They had called Rangeman control for backup, and the cops were on their way. He and Bobby approached crouched silently outside, met by the blaring of the store's alarm and the smashing of glass cases. Bobby signaled that he would approach first, and Adam was to cover him from the other side. Stealth was key, as was precise timing. They were both to burst in, from opposite directions on the thieves, at exactly the same time. Bobby motioned to his watch and they confirmed. Move in in 30 seconds. They wanted to surprise the thieves, not be surprised by them. Bobby crept forward slowly, silently, weapon drawn until he was swallowed up by the shadows. Adam was supposed to get to his position simultaneously, but he lost track of the timing. He was still getting into his position when he heard Bobby yell, "Rangeman Security. Drop the weapon." He watched, stunned, as one of the assailants turned and shot Bobby. Bobby flinched and then fired, taking both assailants down , even as he fell. Adam also fired, belatedly.
'Oh, fuck," Adam thought, as he ran to where Bobby had fallen. The two assailants were on the ground with bullet wounds to the head. Bobby was crouched on the ground , holding his hand to the hole that was in his Kevlar vest over his lower chest . Adam got on the radio to Rangeman, telling them only that Bobby had been shot and to order an ambulance. He stood, in shock, staring at Bobby, as the The Rangeman SUV arrived, at the same time that the cops did. Hal and Woody came running out of the SUV and over to Bobby, with the rig's medic kit. All the guys at Rangeman had some degree of basic medical training, so Adam should have already been giving Bobby first aid, but the other guys didn't waste time right now to find out why Adam wasn't giving Bobby assistance.
Woody grabbed a bandage and applied pressure to the large wound on Bobby's chest , where an armour piercing bullet had penetrated his Kevlar, while Hal, following Bobby's directions, carefully stripped Bobby's vest and shirt off. As soon as Hal lifted the vest, Bobby and Woody both put pressure on the wound trying to stop the bleeding. Bobby was still semiconscious, gasping out directions to talk Woody through starting an IV and pushing glucose, and to Hal about an occlusive dressing. Typical Bobby, Woody thought. Seriously injured and directing his own care. Hal got on the radio, communicating with Rangeman as the ambulance arrived.
" Brown, what the hell happened?" the medic asked. He The recognized Bobby since he had done ride-alongs with them as a paramedic. Bobby was still partially conscious and tried to give the medics directons in a rapidly slurring voice. 'We got it, Brown, just rest," the medic told him as they took his vitals, secured the dressing, pushed meds into the IV Woody had started, and bustled him off on the gurney. Woody got in to ride with Bobby to the hospital.
Hal approached Adam, who was telling the cops about the break-in.
"Yeah, we answered the silent alarm and Bobby went in the back. He got shot, but he took down both of them AFTER he was shot," Adam said, completely leaving out the part where he missed the timing and froze up. "That Bobby is a tough SOB," Adam said.
"What the fuck happened," Hal confronted Adam. He knew that something wasn't right here. Bobby wouldn't just have approached the assailants without a partner "How the fuck did he get shot and why weren't you giving him medical assistance when we got here?" Hal roared at him, then bustled him into the SUV and to the OR.
Cathy tried not to hyperventilate as Steph drove her in the Rangeman Mercedes to the hospital. She tried to slow her breathing, Bobby would want her to stay calm. Steph was on the phone, getting an update from Rangeman control.
"Well, I don't know a whole lot more," Steph said, as she drove. " He was shot responding to a jewelery store break-in."
Cathy knew the guys wore Kevlar, Bobby had told her so. It couldn't be bad if he had Kevlar on could it?
"How bad is it?" She asked , her voice shaking. Stay calm, breathe, she told herself.
" Woody was backup and said Bobby got shot in the chest. The bullet penetrated his Kevlar."
Oh, God, Cathy thought. The chest. That HAD to be bad. She felt herself breathing rapidly again.
Steph looked at her. " Woody didn't know how bad it was, but he said Bobby was conscious most of the way to the hospital. That has to be good, right?" she said, trying to calm Cathy's fears. Not that she wasn't scared herself. She loved Bobby like a brother. She'd be devastated if he was…no, she couldn't even think that.
Cathy spent the rest of the trip trying to avoid hyperventilating. Shot in the chest sounded really bad. Oh, God, she couldn't bear it if Bobby…no, he'd be ok, he HAD to be. She loved him, and she couldn't bear to lose him. The tiny part of Cathy's brain that could still think rationally realized that this must have been how Bobby felt when he had found her almost dead. The worry and the fear Bobby must have felt.
Steph and Cathy rushed down the hospital corridor towards the OR. They heard loud male voices arguing heatedly even before they saw anyone. As they turned the corner, they almost ran into a wall of black. The waiting room was filled with 10 huge men in black, heavily armed. Holy crap, these were the men who worked with Bobby. They had all come to support their friend, their brother, who had fallen. They looked angry and lethal. These were not men you'd want to have as enemies.
All the men in black were surrounding two other guys. Steph stood perfectly still just inside the waiting area, afraid to interfere, and she held out her arm to keep Cathy back. The guys had to settle this situation themselves. Cathy recognized one man who wasn't dressed like the others. He had on jeans and a blue shirt. There wasn't a weapon visible on him, but Cathy was sure he had one concealed somewhere. She recognized the guy in blue as Bobby's partner and best friend, Lester. "Holy shit," she heard Steph whisper, " it must be bad if Lester ditched a date to come here." It didn't surprise her, she knew that Lester and Bobby were the guy equivalent of best friends. Lester loved Bobby like a brother.
The room was overflowing with testosterone radiating off the huge men, even though most of the huge guys were still. The room was quiet and filled with tension., and anger. All the men in black were watching Lester, who was getting right in a slightly shorter guy in black's face. Lester was pissed.
Cathy wondered why none of the hospital staff intervened in this scene, then she realized that they were probably afraid to.
"You almost let my partner get killed," Lester was yelling at the guy he had pinned against the wall. "You are supposed to back up your partner, cover his back, you didn't do that, asshole…"
"I..I…" the guy, was sputtering.
Another tall muscular guy who Steph identified as Woody, got up and stood next to Lester, big and angry. "Adam, Bobby was conscious in the ambulance almost the entire way here. He only passed out from blood loss a few minutes before he got here. He told us exactly what happened. "
Lester yelled at Adam again. " You weren't fucking focused on the mission and you missed your cue, and Bobby may die because of it." Lester was pressing in on Adam, his hands gripping Adam's shirt.
Cathy felt like she was going to vomit when Lester mentioned the thought of Bobby dying.
The really huge sweet guy Cathy recognized as Hal commented, " And then, you just stood there like a fucking moron while Bobby was bleeding. You didn't even help him. Bastard. "
Ranger stared at Adam from across the room. "Is that true?"
" Bobby had to apply pressure himself and Woody and I had to give him med assistance," Hal confirmed.
Ranger approached Adam, his dark eyes smoldering with anger, boring holes into Adam. "You were in the military. You should know how to provide backup. You were careless, made an asinine mistake that got your partner, who is also one of my best men, AND a good friend shot, then you didn't even render him aid. AND you tried to lie to me about it." You are fired. Don't even go back to the building. We will mail you your shit. You will not list Rangeman on your resume, and I will make damn sure you never work security again. " Ranger was talking to the guy through clenched teeth, his voice getting dangerously lower and lower.
Lester leaned closer to Adam, pinned against the wall.. "And if Bobby dies, you won't be safe anywhere. I will fucking hunt you down and kill you." Finally, three of the guys in black pulled Lester back from Adam. They took Adam's gun, toolbelt, and cuffs. Ranger said, " get the hell out of here before I change my mind and kill you now fucker."
Cathy didn't know how, but suddenly she really wanted to hurt that asshole Adam. He was the one whose carelessness might have killed Bobby. She gasped, and suddenly couldn't control her tears. Lester turned at the sound of her sobbing and she suddenly went to him. He was Bobby's best friend, he had helped Bobby keep her alive. She ran to him and he pulled her into his arms and against his hard, warm chest.
"Oh, God. Lester, he can't die, I love him," she whispered through her tears. She was so scared. Lester's voice soothed her, taking care of her when bobby couldn't. "I know. And he knows." Cathy suddenly broke,unable to control her sobbing, her tears wetting Lester's shirt. " What if…he…dies?" she choked out. "Shh… he won't die. He's a tough SOB. And he was talking in the ambulance. That's a good sign, right?" Lester said, trying to reassure himself as well.
Lester went over to the small couch and sat, holding Cathy to him, letting her cry. "He'll be ok," Lester kept whispering to her. Cathy sniffed , then quieted. It suddenly hit her that this anger, this overwhelming anger to hurt the person who had hurt Bobby was the same thing Bobby had felt when Scott almost killed her. She could understand now why Bobby had killed him. She would kill Adam if she could. But she was pretty sure all the other guys in black would take care of that for her.
She buried her face in Lester's chest, taking strength from his warmth. " I am so sorry I hurt him," said, to herself as much as to Lester. " I know he's a good man. I just didn't understand that other side of him, the side that will protect what he loves at all costs." She understood now because she felt it. If Bobby died…she shuddered at the thought, and felt Lester's arms tighten around her. "He won't die," Lester repeated firmly. He couldn't die. Lester knew he'd be lost if Bobby died.
Cathy and Steph sat, surrounded by a wall of huge men in black, just waiting. Finally, a doctor came out.
"Who here is Robert Brown's medical contact?" he said.
Ranger stood. " I am his medical next of kin and power of attorney."
" Well, Mr. Brown suffered a gunshot from an armour piercing round. It entered through his lower chest, just under his ribcage, and it exited in his abdomen. It damaged his spleen, and we've had to remove part of it, but none of his major organs were damaged. He lost a lot of blood, and he'll have a lengthy recovery, but, barring complications, he should recover fully."
"Oh, thank God, " Cathy heard herself whisper as she sagged against Lester.
" He is out of surgery and as soon as he is in a room, you can see him. But only for a short time.
Cathy stood next to Bobby's bed, holding his large hand. She felt comforted being with him, even in his current state. He had a monitor and IVs and an oxygen mask on, and he was still unconscious. "hey, Bobby, it's Cathy. I love you." She whispered, not knowing if he could hear her.
Her eyes stung from crying. What a role reversal this was. She was the one sitting worriedly by a bedside, and he was the one who was hurt. It was her turn to take care of him, as he had always taken care of her. Only now did she realize the helplessness Bobby had felt. But she knew he'd be ok, eventually.
She held his hand to her lips, kissing it, as she saw his beautiful chocolate brown eyes open slowly.
" Oh, Bobby, she said, " her tears rolling down her cheeks again. " I love you. I am so sorry I hurt you."
He actually raised his hand, with more strength than she imagined she'd have, as he tried weakly to brush her tears away.
She saw his mouth move, but she had to put her head right next to his mouth to hear his muffled words through the oxygen mask.
" Please, don't cry," he whispered hoarsely. " I'll be ok," he said.
That was Bobby. He's the one who's hurt and he's still trying to be strong for others.
She sniffed, and nodded and tried to wipe her eyes on her sleeve. Lester came in for a moment, just to reassure himself that Bobby really was alive. He clapped Bobby on one shoulder. " See what happens when you do a shift without me to cover your back?" he teased Bobby, his own eyes starting to sting embarrassingly. Bobby managed to grin slightly at that.
Lester clapped Bobby on the shoulder again, said, "Take it easy, man" and left them alone.
Cathy stroked Bobby's hair. "Just go to sleep. You'll be ok. And I won't leave you again."
Bobby closed his eyes again and Cathy settled next to the bed, her head next to his. A few minutes later, she joined him in sleep.