by Amy Rachiele
The doors slid open, and Bill walked through, coming straight for me. He held a walkie-talkie, which perked me up because I knew Will and Derek had ones just like it.
“Have you heard from them?” I asked with anticipation. Bill shook his head no.
“I think we’re too far away. Any news?” Bill asked.
“No.” No one had come over to give me any updates on Jake, Kara, or the other girls we brought here.
“I’m going to call my wife,” he said and walked towards a payphone next to the doors.
He was on the phone for a few minutes when a nurse walked up and spoke to him. They mumble quietly, after which, Bill motioned for me to follow him. I rose and walked to them.
The nurse led us to a room with blue curtains drawn around a few beds. We stopped at the first one, and Kara lay there. She was hooked up to an IV, and her eyes were closed.
“We gave her something to help her sleep. She was crying out for someone named Derek,” the nurse informed us. My heart twisted painfully for her. This poor kid had been through so much.
A man in a long white coat with a stethoscope around his neck and a small plastic ID reading “Dr. Morgan” hovered by her bedside. In one hand, he held a clipboard.
“Hello.” He reached his other hand out to me, then Bill. “I’m Dr. Morgan. I need to ask you a few questions. This patient here...” he said, as he pointed to Kara, “we have her name as Kara Matthews, but she refused to give us any other information about her condition or next of kin.” He paused, taking a pencil out of his pocket. “Are either of you related?”
We both shook our heads no.
“Do you have a number of a parent or someone we can call?”
We shook our heads no, again. I doubted Kara would want her father called.
“Do you know if she is allergic to any medications?” he asked all business.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Is she going to be okay?”
“Can you describe the incident that brought her in?” he asked. “We have a person in surgery from a gunshot wound, three others dehydrated and possibly under the influence of illegal substances. I need to know more information for treatment.”
I had no clue what to say or not to say, so I decided to let Bill handle this. Bill took out his ID, showing the doctor his FBI badge.
“I am a special-agent with the FBI. In the operating room, you have special-agent Jake Reynolds, shot in the line of duty. This girl and the two others were rescued from a hostage situation that was already under investigation. Please do not alert your staff at this time. The situation is extremely sensitive.”
The doctor nodded. “Preliminary observations show that the three girls are stable. I am running routine blood work. Excuse me, I need to add to the blood work request.” He turns to leave.
“What about special-agent Reynolds?” Bill asked.
“Nurse,” Dr. Morgan called, and a nurse came in. “Please take these two people to the waiting room outside the OR.”
The nurse led us down a few different hallways. All of them had rooms and medical equipment beeping and humming. At the end of the last hallway, automatic doors opened and a large sign over the door said ‘Operating Rooms.’
Around the corner were more padded red plastic chairs. Huddled in one was Jen.
“Jen!” I called to her.
“Joy!” she cried, and held her arms out to me. I ran over and hugged her tightly. “He’s still in surgery,” she sniffled. Her eyes were red-rimmed and runny. I hugged her again.
“He’ll be okay,” I said. She nodded apprehensively and stared at the floor.
“How’s Kara?” she asked.
“Okay. Stable, the doctor said.”
“Good.”
“Any word on how he is doing?” Bill asked Jen.
“Not yet. They rolled him in there, and I haven’t heard from anyone since.” Jen grabbed a tissue from the box on the laminate coffee table in the middle of the room, and she blew her nose. Bill and I sat down with her to wait.
Bill was very worried about his partner, and I couldn’t blame him. The wound didn’t seem like it hit anything major, but he bled...a lot. Bill’s pocket rang.
What? Where did the phone come from? I didn’t know he had a phone. Why did he use the payphone earlier?
Bill took the phone out of his pocket and clicked the accept button.
“Go.” There was a long pause. “I’ll be right there!”
Bill got up and walked to the door.
“Where are you going?” I asked him, miffed at his sudden need to depart.
“It’s over...” he said cryptically, and the swinging OR waiting room door closed behind him.
Chapter 17
Derek and Will:
Derek and Will scurry for cover and brace for attack by their fellow agents. They position themselves like they have done so many times as a team of two.
“You ready?” Will asks Derek.
“Yeah.”
Derek and Will move out. They cover each other and scan the area, watching for their brethren to strike at them at any moment. The bureau is going down in flames.
“Two on the south wall,” Derek says.
“Three on the north,” Will throws out. “And one at the fence.”
Their eyes dart around, soaking in everything they can.
“You better get the fuck out of here!” Tommy screeches into the din.
“Does he realize that he is surrounded?” Derek asks Will under his breath, mocking Tommy.
“Does he realize we are in a ton of shit?” Will mocks too.
Matthews moves forward, his stance is arrogant. He waves his gun around, closing in on the area that Tommy’s voice emanated.
“You little piece of shit! You think you can fuck with me and get away with it!? I am going to bury you so deep that worms won’t be able to find you!”
The team of agents that swarmed the area earlier never even move.
“Why aren’t they moving in?” Will wonders aloud. Derek shrugs his shoulders in the dark.
“They’re waiting for Matthews,” Derek offers.
Headlights are coming towards the fence.
“Look,” Will says.
“Who the fuck is this, now?” Derek asks.
“It’s not a car. It’s a truck or something. Matthews ordered a freakin’ paddy wagon to take us away? I thought he wanted us dead.”
The vehicle slows and stops at the agent by the fence. They speak for a second, and the agent lets it through.
The vehicle rolls forward and stops. Bill hops out and stands by the van, using it for cover.
“Bill? Holy shit! Is he trying to get shot?” Derek curses.
Bill’s gun is drawn, and he calls out to Matthews.
“It’s all over! Throw down your weapon, Al!”
“How nice of you to come, Bill!” Matthews chastises. “I have some business to take care of. I’ll be right with you.”
“Business is over, Al!”
“I have agents all over this place! Stand down!” Matthews yells to Bill.
“You are incorrect, Al! I have agents all over this place!”
The click of gun barrels and the shuffle of feet carries from all over the parking lot. Matthews freezes. Derek and Will are confused.
“Go! Go!” someone yells.
“What the hell?” Derek curses in confusion.
Derek and Will brace to be overtaken, but the team doesn’t move towards them, they swarm Matthews and Tommy. Sirens whirl in the distance. Police cruisers and an ambulance come to a screeching halt by the parking lot.
Watching from their place of cover, they see Tommy and Matthews pushed to the ground and handcuffed, beams of flashlights span the region. The entire thing has blown up into a crime scene to fortify and investigate.
When they are finally authorized by agents, EMTs rush to Mouse and Brian. Bill is barking orders and instructions. Derek and Will take it all in and emerge dumbfounded. Bill is on the phone, re
capping the entire episode. Policemen force the criminals into the back seat of their cars.
Bill clicks his phone off.
“There you are!” he says, glad to see them.
“The perimeter is secure, and we have retrieved the other perpetrators,” a policeman informs Bill.
“Good.”
“Sir, the mayor would like to speak with you,” a woman tells Bill.
A phone is handed to him.
“Yes, Sir.” (pause) “The area is secure and all suspects are in custody.” (pause) “Yes, Sir. Thank you.” Bill taps the phone off and hands it back to the woman.
“What is going on?” Derek asks incredulously.
“You guys did a great job,” Bill says proudly. “I could have never wrapped this up without you.”
“What?” Will asks.
“Let’s get to the hospital, and I’ll explain it all.”
*****
Joy:
Time dragged with worry and darkness. A nurse finally came out of the operating room, followed by Dr. Morgan. Jen sat up, and her face was crawling with anxiety. Her outfit, combined with her worry, made her look years older.
“The bullet has been removed. We gave the patient two pints of blood, and he is stable. He is in the recovery room,” Dr. Morgan informed us. “You can go in to see him in about twenty minutes.”
“Thank you.” I said, breathlessly. My breathing had stopped as soon as I saw them come through the door. They left us, and I turned to Jen.
Jen crumpled in the chair and silent tears slid down her face.
“That’s good, right?” she asked. “I sort of blacked out after the bullet part.” I rubbed her back with small circles.
“He is going to be fine. We can see him in a few minutes,” I reassured her.
Where was Will?
Jen cleaned up her face and took a small drink of water from a stainless steel fountain. We went to check on Kara since we had a few minutes before being able to see Jake.
“A little walk will pass the time,” I told her. She nodded her head.
We walked back through the corridors to Kara’s room, and coming down the hall from the other direction were Will, Derek, and Bill.
Will!
I ran across the tile floor, and jumped into his arms.
“Where have you been!?”
He pulled back and kissed me, then he hugged me tightly.
“I was so worried about you,” I told him.
“I couldn’t stand not knowing if you were okay,” he mumbled into my hair. We separated, but Will continued to hold my hand.
Everyone else had gone into Kara’s room, and we followed them, standing over her bed. She was asleep, but looked better. Derek kissed her forehead. The monitors that she was hooked up to were quiet. That was a good thing.
“So?” Will said to Bill.
The nurse came in.
“You can visit Mr. Reynolds, now,” she stated. “Two at a time, only.”
“Let’s go see Jake, then I’ll tell all of you.”
We walked back to the OR recovery room. Bill and Jen went in. The rest of us waited.
“What a hell of a night,” Will said to Derek.
“Uh huh,” Derek responded distractedly.
After a few minutes, Jen and Bill came out. Bill had his arm on her shoulder, and Jen was blotting her nose with a tissue. I touched her arm in comfort, and followed Will into the recovery room.
Jake was in the first bed by the door. His eyes were closed, and he had three different IVs attached to his arm. His skin was very pale, probably due to the blood loss. His shoulder was covered with heavy, thick, white bandages.
His eyes opened to slits and he smiled.
“Hey,” he said groggily.
“Hey,” Will said softly. “You look good, man.” Will smiled at him.
“I’m gonna have a hell of a scar,” Jake croaked out weakly.
“That’s okay. Chicks dig scars,” Will joked.
“Do you think that chick digs scars?” Jake motioned to the door slightly with a nod of his head.
Will looked to me for affirmation.
“I am sure she does,” I told Jake.
Jake looked really tired, and his eyes closed. Will signaled to me that we should leave.
“We’ll see you soon, buddy. Get some rest.”
*****
“My orders were directly from Washington.”
We were assembled in the waiting room. No one was there but us, and we listened intently to Bill.
“I was the mole. I was the agent that needed to take down Matthews. It’s tricky and confusing because I had to go along with everything. Matthews thought that everyone was afraid and looking the other way. He was quite clever. He acted like he wanted to infiltrate, and take down an operation that he was running. He thought he was throwing everyone off his trail. Putting you guys in the operation to try and flush out his guy Tommy, it was a perfect scenario. Matthews was always one step ahead until Tommy turned on him. Matthews could falsify documents, make evidence disappear, even all traces of people’s lives. Kara was caught in the cross fire between Matthews and his flunky, Tommy.” Bill paused. “I couldn’t tell you. I had to wait until the time was right. The DA has been abreast of this entire case. I’m sorry you all had to go through this. I had to let it play out.” Bill ended his recount on a remorseful note.
He had spilled his guts to all of us. It made sense. One wrong move and Matthews would have known the FBI was onto his charade. It’s hard to catch a criminal when the criminals are the ones in charge.
“What about all the people and girls that passed through Tommy’s warehouse?” Derek asked.
“Some of the girls were recovered, a few were plants, but I have a team in the south and one on the ocean trying to recover the rest of them.”
I felt a little bit of relief knowing that there was someone looking for the girls who were taken.
“You did a great job. It will not go unnoticed by the bureau,” Bill added.
“My camera!” I startled everyone with my outburst.
“It was recovered at the scene and will be used, along with all of our other evidence, to put Tommy and Matthews away for a long time. You’ll get it back soon. Or I will personally buy you a new one. Those pictures are what is going to mold this case into an unbreakable rock.”
Kara’s father was going to jail for committing despicable crimes. I don’t know whether to feel relief for Kara...or sadness.
*****
We spend the night and the whole next day at the hospital. Kara and Jake were doing extremely well. I sat at the foot of Jake’s bed watching Jen as she fluffed his pillow and gave him sips of ginger ale from a straw. He had a smug expression on his face as she doted on him. Will had been writing reports and filling out paperwork for the last two hours on a laptop Bill had dropped off for him. Derek had not left Kara’s bedside. She slept non-stop for almost twenty-four hours, waking later in the afternoon. Occasionally, I went and laid down on the couch in the waiting room next to Will as he worked. I slept in spurts of thirty- and forty-five-minute naps.
In the late evening, Kara and Jake were released. I don’t think it was hospital protocol; I think it was Bill’s doing. We were all just happy to get out of there.
The girls we found in the warehouse were being remanded to Child Services for evaluation and treatment. Their hospital stay would be longer. Hopefully, they could get help and homes.
In the bitter end, Bill informed us that six people had been arrested in total. Brian was at a different hospital recovering from a gunshot wound to his lung. Derek believed that, with Brian’s testimony and his cooperation, he would get a light sentence. Mouse, Tommy, and two others would be prosecuted as adults to the full extent of the law. Matthews would be headed to federal prison to await trial. It was a relief to know that they were off the streets...that it was safe to go home.
Epilogue
Joy:
I wake up in my own bed, in m
y own little apartment. I shift and focus on the window with the fire escape. I remember clearly the night Derek came and whisked me away to run for my life. So much has changed...I’ve changed. I have a thicker skin, yet I realize the importance of letting people in...I realize how lucky I am.
Wafting from my kitchen, I can smell coffee brewing and hear the clank of dishes. I stretch my arms behind my head and touch my pillow. Boy, how I missed my pillow. I took a lot of time to pick this particular one. About six months ago, Jen and I stood in the home goods store debating its fluffiness and durability for a long time.
Movement in the doorway of my bedroom makes me look up. Will is standing there, grinning at me. His lean fit body is wearing only the sweatpants Ann gave him the night we stayed at her B&B. I think it’s safe to say I have a boyfriend.
I let myself go and gave into the amazing urges that have surfaced since finding Will beaten on the ground under the bleachers. I gave all I have to him; even though it was something I never thought much about losing.
It seems like a lifetime ago, Will stretched out on the cold ground, moaning from the massive hits he took. My old life seems like the dream now and not this one I’m in. I lived a lifetime in one week. I gained a new appreciation for all life has to offer...like hot sexy, FBI boyfriends. I don’t really think it matters if you have known someone five years or five days, it just seems right between us. It’s like we have always been together. Will is perfect for me! He is my balance.
“You ready for coffee?” he asks me.
I nod and stretch some more, relishing just relaxing in my bed. My body is really tired. I feel like I ran a marathon with no shoes on.
Will disappears back into the kitchen, and I hear my front door open.
“Hey, Joy-Joy!” Jen yells through the apartment. Muffled voices come from the kitchen. A deep gravely one and Jen’s high pitched girly voice.
Will comes back into the bedroom and hands me a mug of coffee made just the way I like it. It smells heavenly.
Jen sings songs my name again.
“Joy-Joy!”
“I’m back here!” I call out to her.
