Chapter 4. Fight back

Robby's labs and toxicology report had taken a little longer than usual to arrive, three long days, due to several uncovered staff absences at the hospital lab at the time: But they finally had the results, and they shed some light on what had happened to Robby, although they also raised new questions.

The SAFE result, on the other hand, had been inconclusive. Not because there was any doubt about if Robby had been sexually assaulted or not —by now it was already painfully obvious that he had— but no biological remains had been found inside Robby —his assaulter had probably put on a condom—, and the DNA extracted from under her fingernails had not been of any use either, since his assaulter was not on police record. The two detectives who were handling the case had told them that the day before. But both officers had assured the family that they will keep investigating.

Miguel read the toxicology report once more time on his tablet. Maybe those results could help the police in some way.

Beside him, Dr. Atwood placed a gentle hand on his back.

"Shall we go?" he asked.

Miguel nodded. He was grateful that Dr. Atwood had allowed him to be in the loop on Robby's case, even though, as a family member, he was strictly forbidden from treating him.

The two doctors walked down the central hallway of the ICU, and stopped in front of the glass enclosure that delimited the first room.

Miguel looked through the glass first at Robby. His brother was still unconscious, completely sedated, and intubated. His face was more recognizable now that the facial swelling had gone down a bit, but the color of the bruises, initially red, was turning an ugly deep violet. His hair, loose and shoulder-length, since he hadn't cut it for two years, had had to be shaved near his right temple, where they had had to operate on him, opening up his skull to relieve the swelling in his brain.

Then he looked at Johnny, sitting hunched in an armchair, unshaven, staring at nothing. His stepfather didn't look good either, to be honest.

Johnny Lawrence had spent three whole days there, stuck in that room with his unconscious son. He only had left his side to have a coffee or go to the bathroom, no more. He barely ate or slept. Carmen, Rosa and Miguel had insisted that he allow them to take turns being with Robby so that the man could get some rest, but he had refused point blank.

Dr. Atwood knocked gently on the glass with a knuckle. Johnny looked up, got up with effort from the chair, and went out into the hallway.

"Anything new?" he asked in a low, monotonous voice. He looked truly exhausted.

"We got the toxicology report," Dr. Atwood said.

"About time," Johnny muttered, but he didn't have the energy to display his usual bad temper. "So?"

"Positive for alcohol. 0.10 grams per liter in blood."

"But that's very low, isn't it?"

"One beer," Miguel confirmed.

"I told you," Johnny murmured, looking at his stepson.

Johnny was referring to the debate that had taken place in the family about how it was possible that Robby, with his knowledge of self-defense, had ended up like this. Rosa had hinted at the possibility that Robby had been drunk, but Johnny flatly refused to believe that. Robby barely drank.

"You were right," Miguel said simply. "But there's something else."

"What else?"

Miguel tried, but the words failed him. Dr. Atwood came to his rescue.

"The report also shows a positive for flunitrazepam."

Johnny stared at the doctor.

"What's that?"

"It's also known as Rohypnol. It's a drug that depresses the nervous system. To put it simply, Mr. Lawrence, it's a powerful sedative that's commonly used in rapes. You've probably heard of it before. It nullifies people's will and, in many cases, leaves them unconscious."

Miguel looked at Johnny, worried about his reaction. Johnny seemed to have taken the news relatively calmly, but Miguel knew him better than that. His blue eyes blazed with fury.

"I don't understand", he finally muttered. "It doesn't make sense. If that son of a bitch drugged my son… why… why this?" Johnny pointed at Robby's beaten body and gradually raised his voice. "If he could knock him out with that drug, then, why? Why did he almost beat my son to death?"

Miguel wondered the same thing.

What kind of psychopath had Robby met?

"I'm sorry I can't give you those kinds of answers, Mr. Lawrence. All we can do now is send this report to the police."

Johnny closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Yes, do it. Please." He sounded absolutely defeated.

Dr. Atwood said goodbye and Miguel was left alone with Johnny.

"I'm going to… I'm going to text Carmen," Johnny said. "I promised her I'd let her know immediately if there was any news."

"Okay…"

"See you later?"

"Yeah, of course."

After a gentle squeeze on the shoulder, Johnny walked back into the room.

Miguel stared at his father and brother through the glass, until a buzz in his pocket alerted him that he had received a message.

It was Sam.

Hey. How's Robby? Anything new?

Sam and the rest of the LaRusso's were the only people outside the family who had been informed of what had happened to Robby; not even Eli had been given the details. Obviously, the LaRusso's were in shock too. Especially Sam.

Miguel started typing.

Still sedated. But there is news indeed: the toxicology results have arrived.

And…?

He was drugged.

It took Sam a few seconds to respond.

That damn BASTARD.

It was not usual for his girlfriend to swear, but the situation deserved it. At that moment Miguel's pager started ringing. It was Dr. Kirkman.

I have to get back to work.

Ok. I miss you. :3

I miss you too. :3

Miguel put his phone away and went looking for Dr. Kirkman to continue his intern's work.

Hours later, during a mid-afternoon break, Miguel met his mother in the ICU waiting room. Since only one family member was allowed in Robby's room, Johnny and Carmen would often meet there to see each other and exchange items Johnny might need, such as snacks and spare clothes.

Carmen had only seen Robby for a few minutes the day before, standing in for Johnny while he drank his umpteenth cup of coffee of the day. Even though she was a nurse and had seen it all, the woman had left the ICU with a distraught face.

"Hello, mijo." His mother greeted him with a kiss on the cheek.

"Hello, mom."

Carmen caressed his face with a small smile of pride. She couldn't help it, it was her reaction every time she saw him in the white doctor's coat. But she quickly became serious again.

"Johnny told me about the Rohypnol. I couldn't believe it."

"Yeah, me neither. It was a shock."

"How is he? Any improvement?"

"The swelling is still going down. Spontaneous breathing tests are excellent. Dr. Atwood says that if he continues like this, he will take him off sedation in 48 hours."

Carmen put her hand to her chest.

"I hope everything goes well... but it's going to be hard. Miguel, you have to prepare Johnny."

"I know."

Yes, Miguel knew.

Robby had eight broken bones. Eight. Three ribs, left collarbone, two severe pelvis fractures, the nasal bone and the left cheekbone.

Johnny hadn't exaggerated when he said he'd been nearly beaten to death.

The sedation was the only thing keeping Robby's pain at bay. Once they took it off, there was no drug they could keep give him to relieve it enough.

He was going to be in pain. A lot.

"Ahem. Good afternoon."

Miguel and his mother turned around. The two detectives who were handling the case were there. If he remembered correctly, their last names were Winter and Hernandez.

Carmen didn't bother to say hello.

"Have you found out anything?"

"Is Mr. Lawrence here? Officially we have to inform him first."

"I'll let him know right away." Carmen took her phone out of her purse and started typing.

Miguel turned to the older Detective Winter, a slightly overweight man with an intelligent look.

"Have you received the toxicology report?"

"Yes, this morning."

"Was it of any use to you?"

"It's possible. That's why we're here."

Johnny arrived a minute later. He didn't bother to say hello either.

"Well? Have you found out anything?"

"Mr. Lawrence, we added the result of Mr. Keene's toxicology report to our own case report, and when we expanded the search in our system, we came across a similar case in Las Vegas."

"A similar case? Are you referring to another victim?"

"Yes." Detective Winter opened a small folder in his hands and pulled out some papers. Miguel couldn't help but think he was a little old-fashioned: a tablet was more convenient.

"The victim was a young man of similar age and physical appearance to Mr. Keene," explained Detective Hernandez, a young woman of Latin origin, with her hair pulled back in an elegant high ponytail. "He was drugged with Rohypnol and sexually assaulted in a motel room outside Las Vegas."

Miguel swallowed. It was a very similar case indeed. Robby had been found by a cleaning lady on the floor of a motel's room in North Hills, half naked, unconscious and injured. The woman had called an ambulance, and the two paramedics who had arrived fortunately decided to take Robby to the nearest hospital: the Los Angeles Presbyterian, where Miguel had been working for just a few weeks. It had been also fortunate that his assaulter had not taken his wallet, thanks to that he was identified when he arrived at the ER.

"Had they arrested the assaulter?" he asked.

"No. Not yet."

"And when was that? When was that kid from Las Vegas assaulted?" Johnny asked.

"It was two years ago."

"Two years?!" the man repeated, incredulous. "Are you telling me that there is a rapist who has been drugging and assaulting young men in motels for at least two years and you still haven't caught him?"

"We don't know for sure yet if it's the same assaulter or if there are more victims," Detective Winter said. "But we now have a possible physical description. As soon as your son wakes up from his coma, we will question him and then we'll know if the description matches."

"And how is that other boy?" Johnny asked. "Did he fully recover?"

"Oh, yes." Detective Winter reread his notes. "He was only under observation for a few days."

"Only under observation for a few days? How is that possible?" Miguel wondered.

The two detectives looked at each other for a second.

"The Las Vegas victim was sexually assaulted, but not physically", explained Detective Hernandez. "According to what we have read in the Las Vegas police file, the boy stated that he began to feel dizzy and that, when he realized what was happening, he decided not to fight back."

A tense silence fell momentarily in the Lawrence-Diaz family.

Johnny seemed at a loss for words. When he spoke, his voice was broken.

"You're telling me... you're telling me that my son is like that... because he did resist? That my son was almost killed... because he did fight back?"

Miguel felt sick.

"Mr. Lawrence, we still don't know for sure what happened. It's best not to jump to conclusions."

"Please let us know as soon as your son can talk to us."

"We'll do that," Carmen said. Johnny seemed to be in shock.

As soon as the officers had left, Carmen hugged her husband. Johnny barely hugged her back.

"Is it my fault...?" he whispered. "Is Robby like this... because I taught him to fight?"

Carmen gently grabbed his face.

"Amor, I know your son. You know your son. Even without knowing karate, you know damn well that Robby would never let anybody lay a hand on him without resisting. It's his nature."

"Mom's right," Miguel said.

Johnny didn't say anything else, but he didn't seem entirely convinced.

"Johnny, you're exhausted," Carmen pointed out. "Let me stay with Robby tonight, and you go home and sleep. You need it. Besides, Sara misses you."

"And I miss her. Believe me. But I can't leave." He shook his head. "I really can't. I… I completely failed Robby for sixteen years. And I kept failing him afterward, several times. Look, it's… it's a miracle that he forgave me. I promised myself that I would never fail him again. Ever. And now he needs me, more than Sara, more than Miguel." He glanced quickly at his stepson. "Sorry."

Miguel gave him a nod, letting him know he understood perfectly.

"You don't have to apologize, amor..." Carmen sighed. "Okay, stay with him. But at least go home for a couple of hours. Take a shower, tuck Sara in, say her good night, and then come back. I swear I'm not going to leave the room."

Johnny hesitated.

"Johnny, I'm here too, okay? Relax. Go with Sara for a while. And take a shower. Seriously." Miguel smiled slightly.

The sensei gave back a small smile. The first in three days.

"Okay, fine. Two hours, no more."

Miguel and Carmen sighed in relief. Johnny needed to rest and regain his strength.

Because the worst was yet to come.

Fin del capítulo 4