Chapter 16
A/N: Eventful chapter ahead. I promise we're getting somewhere. Thanks for the reviews! I didn't abandon this. Went through a difficult life event and my writing got pushed aside, but I'm back. I've written ahead through chapter 19, so updates will be quicker. Also getting ready to post a new story.
x x x
9:00 pm - Redstone Women's Center
They're in Alex's room.
She gives Tess, Roni and Ivy a summarized version of events that brought her to this place, the truth about who she is and what just happened outside with Bobby, and then waits while they process it.
She doesn't like talking about the attack, but letting them know proves she still wants their trust.
As she concludes, Alex looks at each of them.
Tess manages a smile. "I knew you were tough. But damn..."
Ivy speaks next. "My dear… Your cover story ex was bad, but your real-life horror story is worse. I'm so sorry you went through that. I can't even imagine. Now I know why Bobby looked so worried that day of the break-in."
"I'm sorry for not being upfront with you all."
"You were told to keep things private. You didn't know. But you don't have to do that here. Everything stays in this group," says Ivy. The other two nod in agreement.
Tess, who'd been staring at her phone, speaks up. "I've texted Gunther. He'll be here in 10 minutes. We'll get you to the hospital."
"Thanks, Tess."
"What else can we do?" Roni asks.
"I'm not sure yet. Just cover me. I'll have to figure it out as I go."
xxx
Alex changes her clothes into a comfortable pair of jeans, some hiking boots, and plenty of layers. The temperature has dropped. Although there's a scent of rain in the air, it's staying dry.
She's following Gunther, through a narrow dirt path that goes along the back of the building through some wooded area. It's also hilly, it's dark and Gunther sets a fast pace.
Since Gunther's not allowed on the Center's premises, they've got at least a 2-mile hike through this wooded area before they reach some county road where Gunther's car is parked. Then it's 9 miles to the hospital.
She has no idea how to get to the road. There's a little moonlight filtering in which lightens some of the area, but nothing near the ground, so she's following the flashlight beam and can barely see the path they're on.
Her knee is bothering her. The running she's been doing with Bobby and her physical therapy helps, but it didn't prepare her for this.
She'll keep her expectations low. Just finding out Bobby's condition is enough. She'll try to sweet-talk someone into letting her in to see him. That alone would make the difference in how she sleeps tonight. If at all.
"GUNTHER!"
She calls out when she starts getting tired of squinting to see the beam of light that is more than 200 feet ahead of her.
Jackass.
At least shouting his name finally prompts him to stop. He seems to be waiting there for her. She could have tripped, fallen, and injured something, or had her eye poked out by hundreds of low-hanging tree branches that happen to hit her in the face. It's not like she's been backwoods hiking through Illinois before.
Although he's been Tess's friend for years, she's pretty sure Tess wouldn't be happy to know that he walked off and left her in unfamiliar terrain.
Sadly, Gunther reminds her of a few perps who came up in the system with juvenile records and never quite learned how to grow out of it. He's probably in his 30s and gets by with whatever work he can find while he squeezes in community service hours. Doesn't say much. But she's paying him $50 to get her to the hospital and that's all that matters.
Finally, Alex catches up and she's within 10 feet of him.
"What?" he prompts.
"I don't know where I'm going!"
He mumbles something incoherent. A second later she thinks she hears him say 'sorry,' but he turns and starts walking again.
They go another 500 feet before he glances back over his shoulder and says, "It's up ahead."
She'd been busy watching the ground for rocks and anything that could trip her up, but she looks up ahead and sees a downward slope for about 50 feet then another 500 feet to a road.
Although walking and having layers on helps her keep warm, it's not enough. She'd love to sit next to a heater right now, but getting inside the vehicle will block some of the wind.
Moments later, they reach the vehicle. It's a beat-up Toyota sedan that's at least 20 years old. Might be dark blue. She purposefully walks around and makes note of the license plate. Tag looks current, which is good. Whether it's stolen or not is another story.
When they're inside the car, Gunther starts it and pulls out onto the road. Neither of them says a word, which is okay by her. A rock station is on the radio playing a Red Hot Chili Peppers song, but there's too much static coming through and Gunther shuts it off.
He's a good driver. Stays close to the posted speed limit and doesn't blow through any stop signs, which is probably to avoid catching the eye of law enforcement.
She could have asked to see a driver's license but maybe it's better she doesn't know.
Finally, they arrive at the emergency room entrance. She hands him $50, he gives a nod which is probably a 'thank you,' then drives off. Doesn't bother asking whether she'd want a ride back, even if it would mean extra money. She'll figure it out.
x
Once inside the facility, she sees a sign to 'Emergency Entrance' but it's hard to tell if that's patients and staff only or anyone who might want to check on a patient.
She walks in because the worst they can do is yell at her.
A few feet inside, she sees some small consulting rooms and cleaning stations on either side. Doors are closed with the lights off. The patient area is up ahead of her. She can see a glimpse of two patients between the gaps in the white curtains and neither of them is Bobby.
They could have moved him out of the ER and into a patient room.
One girl dressed in scrubs is looking at some medical charts. There's a small stack of index cards close by. Probably a med student. She looks like she might be the one on duty, so Alex approaches her.
"Excuse me… Sorry to bother you. Could you give me some information about a patient who was brought into the ER? Name is Robert Goren. I'm his next of kin."
As the words leave her mouth, she suddenly remembers that any ID labeling her as 'Alexandra Eames' is locked up with the feds.
The only one who can prove her identity is Bobby and she'll have to hope that she hasn't dug herself into a hole with her story before she manages to see him.
The med student doesn't even look at her. After an incoherent mumble, she picks up her radio and calls for someone named 'Katherine,' to come to the ER, then sets the radio down and goes back to looking at her charts.
"Thanks," Alex tells her. Well, it's a start. She's going to have to wait for Katherine instead of bothering to see if this girl has any information, even if she could share it.
If she's been in the ER for the last few hours, she's seen something.
Alex walks toward the entrance of the ER to wait.
It's about 10 minutes later when an older woman in scrubs shows up. She walks past Alex and goes a few paces further toward the med student. "What is it, Nikki?"
Nikki lifts her head, and gestures toward Alex without saying a word.
Katherine turns back and approaches her. "Can I help you, Miss?"
"I'm looking for a status on a patient. Name is Robert Goren."
"And your name?"
Amy Eastman isn't supposed to be here, so she takes a risk. "Alex Eames."
Katherine shakes her head. "I'm sorry. I can't release patient information. Are you family?"
"Next of kin."
Katherine gives her a long stare, then another head shake. "I can't help you. You're not authorized, and I need you to leave." Katherine stands there like she plans to watch her walk out of the ER.
She suspects that the feds have restricted the information shared, which isn't a surprise. Still, she is his next of kin. Bobby didn't change that when he joined the bureau.
Sadly, between her and Nikki, Katherine seems to be in a better mood and she's still not getting anywhere.
On the verge of tears, which she already hates, she has nothing in her back pocket in the way of an alternate plan except maybe sympathy.
"Please. He's my partner." She pulls out her badge and flashes it. Not enough to see the name, just the logo. Katherine takes a look. Fortunately, that causes her expression to change. Less irritated, a little more respect. Maybe some pity. She'll take what she can get.
"I can prove I'm his next of kin. Is he awake? Let him know it's me. I need to know how he is. That's all. Then I'll leave."
Katherine licks her lips, still thinking about it. For a second or two, Alex starts to think she's got this woman in her corner, but the woman shakes her head again. "I'm sorry. But I was given strict instruction not to release information to anyone except two names."
"Special Agent Dana Lewis and FBI Assistant Director, Theodore Dunkirk."
Katherine reacts enough that Alex knows she dropped the right names.
"Sorry. I still have to follow security protocol and all information is only to be channeled through them. I can't help you, Alex." There's a sympathetic smile at least.
She might be able to persuade Dana to give her something, but for sneaking out of the locked facility, she's already in trouble. She hasn't met Dunkirk yet. Given her status in witsec, it's doubtful Bobby would have mentioned her by name.
"Talk to Robert Goren," Alex presses. "He'd give you verbal consent. We worked together in New York."
"I'm sorry, ma'am."
Great. She's gone from 'Alex' to 'ma'am.' At this point, she'll pull any remaining cash out of her wallet for information.
Or maybe she should save it for Nikki, the med student. God knows those people are broke.
Alex wanders out through the double doors. After giving Katherine a minute or two to make sure she's returned to her station, she walks back in and approaches the med student.
"Hi, Nikki." Alex gives a friendly smile, pretending that Nikki's mood a while ago is long forgotten.
She pulls a hundred dollars out and puts it on top of the index cards. It at least prompts the poor girl to blink her eyes a few times, make sure she's not hallucinating, and then look up at her.
"Let me see him. No one has to know."
Nikki doesn't speak, but she hasn't looked away from the cash in front of her.
In her most sympathetic voice, "I know it must be awful trying to scrape your way through school. All of those loans. Nothing but vending machine food and Cup of Noodles to get by on. Why not have a nice dinner after your exam and a trip to the salon? What do you say?"
Nikki settles back in her seat, her eyes are somewhat bloodshot from a lack of sleep. "I don't know what I can tell you."
The poor girl looks scared. But Alex knows she's got her. "Let me see him. Just for a minute. Please?"
"I think he died during transit. Internal bleeding from a head wound or something like that." Nikki can't even look at her. Maybe it's guilt or sympathy. Or maybe she's not all that sure of what happened.
Regardless, she's not going to react or freak out because she can't prove Nikki saw a thing. It looks like the only thing keeping this girl upright at the moment is a bottle of Mountain Dew and a package of Frito Lays.
"Did you see him?"
She shrugs. "Only the gurney being wheeled in. A sheet was over him."
In all of her time in the NYPD, she never accepted a description like that as proof.
Nikki continues. "There were lots of agents around. At least a dozen. If he's some government official I couldn't step in without Katherine or someone higher approving. Against the rules."
"Did you see where they took him?"
Nikki starts to respond but hesitates. She shakes her head. "Umm… Didn't. I got called away for some gunshot emergency."
Alex nods. "Thank you." She walks away, leaving the $100 with Nikki who collects the money and puts it in her belt pouch.
"Thank you!" she says enthusiastically. "I'm sorry about your friend." Then she goes back to her charts.
She got almost nothing out of that exchange, but she didn't have it in her heart to take the money back from the girl.
At least she made someone's night.
Alex walks out of the ER. As she looks toward the entrance, two guys in scrubs rush someone in a wheelchair from the back of an ambulance toward the door of the ER, one of them supporting the IV bag for the patient.
She looks through the glass doors that lead outside and sees two familiar faces. EMTs Vicky and Jon are standing there talking. It doesn't look like they're about to rush off to another emergency, and rather than miss out on a chance to see what they remember, Alex hurries toward them.
"Vicky! Jon!"
Both of them look back and a flicker of recognition flashes in each of them. "Hi"
They already know she's from Redstone, they heard Agent Asshole confront her, so there's no point in changing her story.
"Hi. I'm Amy." She flashes her badge then slips it back in her pocket. "Can you tell me anything you remember about the status of the man you picked up from Redstone? He had a head injury."
Vicky and Jon exchange a glance then look at her. Vicky shrugs a shoulder. "We just dropped him off. What do you mean?"
"Was he alive when you dropped him off?"
Vicky gives her a puzzled look, almost wondering why she would ask that. "Yeah. A bunch of agents showed up as we got there. He was wheeled inside. I'm not sure beyond that."
"He didn't die during transport?"
"No," both EMTs respond in tandem.
"If he died during transit, we'd have more paperwork to fill out. The agents barely took our intake form before telling us to get lost," Jon adds, rolling his eyes.
"Wait… They're saying that he died?" says Vicky.
"Is there anything else you can tell me? I'm trying to figure out what happened to him. Maybe something about his prognosis. You can't say definitively and I get that. But anything would be helpful."
"Let's see… They probably took a CT scan to see what was going on. His weak pulse had me a little concerned. I remember seeing signs of a concussion. But once they brought him in and got him stable, and attended to the head wound, he had a good chance of pulling through," Vicky explains.
Pretty much as she expected.
"So, you're saying there isn't much chance he suddenly took a turn?"
"The transport was very smooth. After the CT scan, they'd probably just watch him through the night. If there's bleeding on the brain or other trauma, they could have brought in a specialist from Chicago General. There's a chance they'd airlift him to Chicago, but that hospital isn't more secure, it's just bigger," Vicky says.
Alex nods. "Thanks, I appreciate it."
"We hope you find out something soon, and it's good news."
"I'd better figure out what to do. Do you know if there are any cabs around here at this hour?"
Vicky and Jon look at each other and smirk, answering her question that it's unlikely.
"I guess I'll be spending the night here."
"Our shift just ended. I can give you a ride back," says Vicky. "Redstone, right?"
She's still hoping she'll figure out a way to see Bobby, but it won't happen tonight. The thought of a warm shower and crawling back into her bed sounds like heaven compared to spending the night on some waiting room chairs.
She's not even sure what to do next. Probably best to go back, talk to her three co-conspirators and figure out a plan.
"I'll take her, Vicky," Jon offers. "You've got to go back to Chicago." He turns to Alex. "I'm just over in Plainfield. It's closer for me."
"Thanks, Jon," Vicky replies. Then to both of them, "Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Vicky leaves and there's just her and Jon.
"Thank you, Jon."
"No problem. I'm this way," he says, pointing to a staff parking lot that appears to be further than she'd like, but at least this route is on flat terrain with no sharp branches sticking out or rocks or tree limbs to climb around.
Unlike Gunther, Jon walks with her. He's calm, sympathetic, and friendly and she needs that right now.
"If you don't mind me asking, how did you get here?" he asks. "I thought that center was locked down. Mostly women with substance abuse issues, right?"
She's getting a good vibe from Jon, so she decides to give him a modified version of the truth. No details about her capture and such. Just says it was an assignment that took a bad turn and she ended up in witness protection. Bad guy is still at large and they were trying to find out his next plan when someone put a hit on Bobby. Bobby is only here from New York because he fears for her safety.
She also lets on that she and Bobby weren't just partners, but 'partners', which explains her desperate response and gets her more sympathy from Jon.
They're getting inside his SUV and he's turning on the heater and asking if she's comfortable while she finishes the story.
"So, I escaped to come here tonight and see what I can find out. That's what partners do."
He nods, then starts the vehicle. "I wish I had more to tell you about his condition. But like I said, they rushed him inside."
"How long have you and Vicky been partners?"
He thinks about it. "About a year and a half. I just finished a tour in Afghanistan doing similar first responder work and landed this job. This is close to my folks."
She sensed a military background from him and it was right. "You two make a great team."
"Yeah, we do."
Alex grins. "And you like her."
Jon blushes. "Yeah, but I don't know if it's returned."
They talk about their partners and the job on the way back to Redstone.
Since the visitor's lot is dark, she asks him to pull into the back and park. She can walk along the back of the building and over to the side near her window, get Roni's attention and they'll help her climb back inside.
"So, what do you plan to do next?" he asks her.
"I need to find out what happened. Someone wanted Bobby out of the way. It could be that they know he's onto them."
"Who's 'they'?"
She shrugs. "Might be the guy who's after us. It might be another agent."
"Oh shit…" Jon groans.
"Yeah." Her eyes scan the lot. She knew his car would be towed and investigated, but she's wondering what she could find out from there. "I need to see his car."
"It's probably at the county lot. But if not, you could check with the police or fire department. I'm not saying they'll know much, but someone's filled out a report. If they give you anything like 'it never happened' then you can be sure the feds wiped it all clean."
She starts to hand him some cash. "Thanks for the ride. I don't know how to thank you."
Jon waves his hand. "I don't need that. I'm glad to help." He pulls out his card and hands it to her. "Call me if you need anything else."
Alex hesitates. "Thanks, Jon, but I'm nervous about involving you more than I have already."
"I'm former military, I can handle it. And I hate the way that agent in the parking lot tried to restrain you."
"He's an asshole. Thank you again. Good night," she says as she gets out of the SUV.
"Good night."
She makes her way around to the opposite side of the building. It's dark except for some spotlights anchored to the side of the building.
Although technically she's on the first floor, there's a basement at ground level and the ground is lower, so she still has to make her way up a floor to get inside. She sees Roni's light on. Roni and Tess are likely inside. It's now almost 1:00 am. They weren't told to expect her back, but they're awake.
"RONI!" Alex calls. She hollers a few more times and Tess appears.
"One second!" Tess replies.
A minute later, Tess pushes a rope ladder down. It hovers maybe a few feet off the ground. Tess anchors it to Roni's bed and then waves her hand for Alex to climb up.
When she reaches the window level, she sees all three of her friends inside, having drinks and hanging out.
She lands clumsily onto Roni's bed. She updates them all with what she's heard so far.
"…Whether he's alive or not is unconfirmed. The feds have this thing locked down," Alex says in conclusion.
"Oh shit…" Tess groans. "Bastards."
"So, what do you plan to do next?" Ivy asks.
"Whatever you need, we've got you," says Tess. The others nod.
"Thanks. I'm going back to my room to shower and then try to get some sleep. I'll have a game plan in the morning."
xxx