Jae's Assignment

by Bernice Layton

  It wasn’t so much what he said that almost caused Jae’s legs to give out, but the voice of the person who’d said it. No sooner had she realized who it was,, he stood up, confirming her belief.

  Randy Cross.

  Her instinct was to charge at him and beat him to a pulp. But then, the door eased open and suddenly a hand clamped over her mouth and pulled her backward and into the room.

  Held in a tight grip, she couldn’t move and she couldn’t reach for the gun strapped to her ankle. But as she struggled to bite the hand clamped over her mouth, a hushed, garbled voice snarled in her ear. “Don’t,” was all the patient had managed to say before Jae bent her right elbow and with a hard thrust, jabbed him in his diaphragm. Releasing her immediately, he dropped to the floor, gasping for air, and managed to pull her down with him.

  Putting all of her weight into her legs, Jae pushed the man away with her feet and scrambled to get up and hurry back to the door, and all the while, the patient was using his feet trying to stop her. Not to be deterred, Jae was on a mission. She had to find out why Randy was there. The thoughts running around in her head pointed to a connection to the goons who attacked her and Trevor in the parking garage. She was at the door about to open it when the patient lying on the floor moaned in pain then whispered her name. Jae whirled around to face the patient who’d repeated his whisper and called her name. She’d heard it before—last night when Trevor held her tightly in his arms; when they were flesh to flesh and he had electrified her senses in a moment of ecstasy. Not turning on the light, Jae crept back over to him and dropped down to turn him over onto his back.

  In the darkened, shadowy room, she recognized his face. It was Trevor! He had been beaten and his face was pale and ashen. He looked like he had gone three rounds with a very angry Floyd Mayweather and lost. His knuckles were swollen and bruised and his blue eyes were cloudy and unsteady.

  “Oh, God, Trevor!” Her relief at finding him was replaced with the horror at seeing what they had done to him. She slid down on the floor beside him and cradled his head in her arms. “Trevor,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know it was you.” Her heart broke looking at his bruised and battered face, the track marks on his arms. “Trevor, stay awake. I’m getting you out of here,” she said, emotional as she tenderly touched his face.

  Turning him into the warmth and security of her bosom, Jae could hardly believe she’d found him though, actually, he’d found her.

  “I-I h-ave to help them,” Trevor slurred over the tortured cries and pitiful screams of the patient next door.

  The part of his brain that remembered the Hippocratic oath to do no harm, wanted desperately to ease the suffering of the people around him. But from what they had already done to him, he could barely help himself.

  When he heard a shuffling noise outside his door, he managed to crawl out of bed and half-stumble to the door. It was his second attempt. Perhaps, he could overpower whoever was out there and escape. He’d already tried once but was overtaken by two burly thugs in green scrubs and carried back to the bed. When he attempted again, and looked out the small glass windowpane, Trevor knew he was hallucinating from the narcotics. Only when he opened the door and his heightened senses picked up on her light perfume did he believe she was actually there. Unbelievably, it was Regina James wearing those ugly chunky shoes creeping by, then coming back and pressing her back into the door. What is she doing here?

  Shaking his head in the hope that would clear it, panic and fear surged through him. No, not Regina James, it was Jae. He was sure of it. Easing open the door, he covered her mouth to keep her from crying out, and pulled her into the room before she was seen by anyone.

  Trevor thought maybe he was hallucinating again when she walked toward him, naked. She was undoing the tight bun she had styled her hair in as she headed his way. She was as sexy and beautiful as the goddess she was, except for those damned shoes. Trevor snorted and cursed the drugs he knew were sizzling through his body and mind.

  Jae had been pushing and tugging Trevor along the floor so that they were on the opposite of the bed. She didn’t want to risk anyone passing the door and looking in, especially Randy. When his shoulders shook and his stomach muscles quaked, she feared he was a having seizure. Rolling him over onto his back and preparing to assist him, Jae glanced at his swollen face and saw that he was laughing. “Trevor? Are you laughing?” When his chuckles increased, she implored him to be quiet. “Look, I’m going to get you out of here, but you’ve got to be quiet and do as I say. I know they injected you with something, but please try to be very quiet and I’ll get you out of here, okay?” Frowning, she wondered what they’d given him. From the small light along the top of the bed, to her horror, she could make out three red and swollen needle pricks along with an IV casing taped to the back of his left hand. When he mumbled her name and trying to reach up to her face, Jae asked if he knew what he’d been given. His response wasn’t what she expected to hear.

  “I-I don’t like Regina’s sh-shoes,” he slurred, eyes glassy before they rolled to the back of his head.

  Unable to respond since she heard movement in the hallway, Jae eased Trevor back down to the floor before scrambling up and hurrying over to the bed. Working quickly, she molded the bed covers to give the illusion that Trevor was sleeping under them. A hard enough task made all the more difficult with Trevor rolling around on the floor.

  She suspected the nurse was coming to administer one of those syringes she’d been filling at the nurse’s station. Jae devised a plan but needed to get Trevor on his feet first.

  “Trevor, you’ve got to get up, now,” she urged quietly, trying to wedge her shoulder under his arm for leverage. After several seconds, she managed to wake him, get him behind the door, and prop him up. “Be quiet,” she whispered and then rolled her eyes when he held a finger to his lips and whispered, “Sshh.”

  Releasing the gun from her ankle strap, Jae crept to the corner of the glass window. The two doctors in scrubs and Randy were nowhere in sight. The nurse was locking the door to the room across the hall. She turned and headed toward Trevor’s room.

  Jae waited until the nurse came in and without flipping on the top light she watched the nurse approach the bed holding a syringe up in her right hand. Just as she prepared to insert the needlepoint into the IV bag, the nurse paused, glanced down at the dangling IV tube and yanked the covers back.

  Before the nurse could react, Jae crept up behind the nurse, snatched the syringe from her hand, and pushed her facedown onto the bed.

  Over her initial surprise, the nurse fought back, kicking and reaching around trying to grab the hands that had a tight hold on her hair.

  The nurse swung her right hand back and dug her fingernails into Jae’s forearm. Jae was caught off guard and almost dropped the syringe into her own thigh. The nurse turned over and started swinging, but Jae was faster, lighter. With two sharp blows to the nurse’s upper body, Jae easily gained control and subdued the struggling woman, knocking her back onto the bed. From the corner of her eye, Jae saw Trevor stumbling and falling toward the bed. As quietly as she could, she hissed at him to go back and watch the door. Unfortunately, in his drug-induced state, he misunderstood and opened the door, and like a deflated balloon, slid slowly to the floor.

  Thinking someone was bound to come by and notice the partially opened door, Jae was climbing down off the bed, just as the nurse loomed up with a balled up fist, sending a blow to Jae’s upper shoulder and almost sent her flying off the bed.

  “Shit,” Jae hissed, grabbing the nurse in an awkward hold and managing to jab her backside with the syringe. She hoped the drug was a sedative. Struggling to pull the nurse up on the bed, Jae succeeded and pulled the covers up over the woman’s mouth. Unhooking the woman’s ID badge and keys from the chain around her waist, Jae climbed down off the bed and using the bed restraints, secured the woman to the bed railing. Recallin
g that Trevor had been tied to the bed but had somehow managed to work the strap loose to free himself, Jae reinforced the leather strap by twisting it into a double knot. Glancing at Trevor, she saw that he’d closed the door and was now struggling to stand up against the wall.

  Knowing they wouldn’t get far if spotted wearing institution pajamas, Jae guessed she and the nurse were almost the same size, with the nurse being taller. Swiftly removing the woman’s blue scrubs and put them on, Jae had to roll up the bottoms of the pants. She shoved the pajamas she’d taken off beneath the blanket with the nurse.

  Rushing to the door, she checked the corridor and found it and the workstation empty. Opening the door, she pulled the nurse’s medication cart into the room and into a small closet. Glancing at her watch, she knew the only way out was the way she’d come in. They had to move and one look at Trevor’s condition made that seem doubtful. “Trevor, let’s go.”

  “Bu-Buck Rogers needs p-pants,” he stammered and slid down the wall again.

  “Forget the pants, we have to go!” Jae said, throwing his arm over her shoulder as she helped him to his feet. After another quick check of the hall, they left the room.

  Feeling like she was in dead last in a potato sack relay race, Jae made it to the first patient’s room, where the patient lay in a fretful sleep. Careful not to disturb him, she hauled Trevor inside while she went to see if the first workstation was still unattended. Luckily, it was.

  Rushing back to the room, she found Trevor standing over the patient. She heard him slurring and trying to tell the man that he was going to be all right and to go to sleep. When she tried to guide him toward the door, he resisted moving.

  “Nooo, I-I can’t go.”

  “Trevor, come on, what’re you doing?” Jae understood that he didn’t want to leave when he started consoling the patient, whom she noticed also had fresh needle marks on his arm. “Trevor,” she coaxed. “Listen, I’ll get help back here for him…for all of them, I promise. But we have to get out of here first.”

  Finally, he seemed to understand and allowed her to lead him out. At the door, Jae swiped the nurse’s ID in the slot and guided Trevor through it, but just as she was about to break out into a run, she spotted two staff members coming from the opposite hallway. She had no choice but to shove Trevor around the nearest corner as she waved at the staff members.

  Hearing a thump and guessing Trevor had tripped over something, Jae cringed. The sound reverberated in the otherwise quiet hallway. Truthfully, she prayed the two staff members didn’t come to assist. “Be right there,” she called out, trying to sound annoyed at the interruption and hoping the two wouldn’t notice she wasn’t the regular night nurse. When they waved and continued on their way down another corridor, Jae let out a sigh of relief.

  Doubling back to the corner where she’d pushed him, Jae blinked to see Trevor sprawled out over a laundry cart and a smile crept across her face. Setting the cart upright, she succeeded in helping Trevor get inside. Tossing linens over him and moving as fast as she could, Jae pushed the heavy cart toward the service elevator. There, she swiped the nurse’s ID card and waited, but the elevator didn’t open, so she swiped it two more times.

  Standing there feeling exposed, Jae tried not to panic as she prayed for the elevator to come so they could get the hell out of there.

  After finally getting into the elevator, Jae whispered, “Come out of there, the ride is over,” before pulling back the linens and pulling him out. “We’re going to take the stairs, so get your legs ready, okay?”

  “I-I just wanna kiss you and ne’er s-stop,” he said, caressing her face.

  Pushing his hand away from her forehead, Jae shoved her shoulder under his arm after helping him out of the cart. “You’re a heavy, doped up hot mess and I’m not kissing you, so haul ass, now,” she grunted, pushing open the door, and proceeded to drag, shove, and struggle down the stairs with him as fast as they could manage. Mastering one step at a time, they finally made it to the first floor.

  But no sooner had they rounded the corner after exiting the stairwell, than Jae found herself staring into the evil eyes of Randy Cross.

  At the same time, Trevor looked up and slurred, “S-son of a b-bitch. It’s Agent Jones…kil-killer.”

  In that instant, a disturbing picture formed in Jae’s mind. It had been Randy who had been after Trevor all along—it was his voice instructing his goon to “take care of her” when she’d been tossed in the back of the sedan.

  Jae reached for the gun at the small of her back.

  * * * * *

  Rita West had just come off her dinner break and walked down the hall stopping at the reception desk when she spotted Special Agent Darius Hall standing there.

  After introducing Rita to Mike, Darius explained that he needed to talk to her again about the night she’d last seen Dr. Holmes. “So, you think something peculiar could be happening on the fourth floor? Well, honestly, I wouldn’t doubt it, especially tonight.”

  “Why’s that, Ms. West?” Darius asked.

  Rita explained about receiving a call just before her break. “One of the interns called to report losing his ID badge, but then he said it could’ve been stolen by a sexy sister who stopped to give him a hot shot earlier. He said she knew exactly what she was doing and that she worked in this building at the fourth floor workstation,” Rita finished, looking doubtful. “Not to speak unkindly about the staff up there, but I wouldn’t call any of ’em a sexy sister. I mean it’s mostly men, and the three females on the evening shift are older gals who wear support hose.”

  Darius instructed McGuire to jot down the name and address of the intern then send an officer to pick him up and take him to the field office for questioning.

  “And you know what else is strange?” Rita continued. “One of the supervisors had to leave for an emergency but his car wouldn’t start. He said someone may have tried to steal it then gave up because they left the wires dangling underneath the dashboard. The thief didn’t steal anything, not even the $40 in the console. Anyway, he ended up using one of the facility’s cars.”

  Darius asked for a description and location of the car then sent Amil to check it out.

  Within minutes, Amil returned. “A Buick. It’s hot and on standby and there’s a reported stolen vehicle that just came across the local PD’s radio. It’s located on the southern end of the parking lot,” he said.

  “Can you get us up to the fourth floor, Ms. West?” Darius asked.

  “I sure can, my pass card opens everything. Y’all come on this way,” she said, clasping Mike’s hand and took off in a jaunt down the long corridor.

  Darius, Amil, Iverson, and McGuire all followed, exchanging looks when Mike glanced down at Rita’s fast-moving feet. When Mike shot a look to his teammates, each sent him a meaningful snicker.

  Seconds later, when they reached an area where two private elevators stood, all snickers disappeared at the sound of two rapid gunshots.

  Chapter Twenty

  With their weapons drawn, all five men took cover and waited for the elevator doors to open. Rita was also hiding…behind Mike. All eyes were drawn to the back of the elevator where two holes had pierced the metal.

  Acrid smoke still hung inside from the bullet rounds.

  Rita was on her walkie-talkie calling in security personnel, which also included troops from the military base nearby. “Lord, it must be a full moon tonight. Y’all be careful and stop by my booth before y’all leave,” she called out as she ran outside to her booth.

  “The stairs! Take the stairs!” Darius shouted as he ran to the stairwell and headed to the second floor. They came through the door in a well-practiced maneuver and were greeted with a chaotic scene. Both patients and staff were either cowering against the wall or sprawled out on the floor. Some were crying, some whimpering, many praying.

  “They went that-a-way,�
�� an orderly whispered nervously as he pointed up from the floor.

  “Who did and what happened up here?” Darius asked, showing his ID badge as the other team members searched the perimeter.

  “That gal with a gun and I-I think she kidnapped a patient,” an elderly man said.

  “Did she fire the gun?” Darius asked, stepping over people on the floor but making a cursory view to make sure no one was hurt.

  “No, the other man did,” another patient called out from the floor.

  “What other man? What did he look like?” Darius asked.

  “He’s a doctor,” a nurse said, peeping up from behind the nurse’s station. “Oh, no, there he is now,” the terrified woman whispered.

  Darius glanced up as Randy Cross turned the corner with gun in hand. His hair was wild and disheveled. Madness gleamed in his eyes.

  Reaching down, Randy shoved and turned over several nurses wearing scrubs, so he could see their faces.

  “Damn it, Jae. Where are you?” Randy yelled at the top of his lungs until he looked up and saw Darius, Mike, and Amil. His mouth twisted into an evil sneer as his hand gripped the gun tighter. “Well, well, well, it’s the posse coming to Jae’s rescue. Why am I not surprised?”

  “Don’t even think about it,” Darius commanded, his gun centered directly at Randy’s chest. “Drop the weapon, Randy. Do it now!”

  Randy caught McGuire and Iverson closing in on him and halted. “I’m beyond thinking. I’m doing,” he said calmly before pulling a frightened nurse up from the floor to use as a human shield. With his gun shoved into her side, Randy kept his eyes trained on them, as well as on the people on the floor. He screamed at another woman to get up.