Vicky took a big gulp of wine, and reread the letter. She met someone. Was it serious? Did she love her? She quickly pulled out the next letter.
Hey kid,
Well I’ve been in Iraq for 7 months now, and am doing pretty good. The heat is unreal here! Anyway, I’ve been taking pictures mostly of the USO, and the base. They won’t let me out in the field yet, so I get to see Sam on a regular basis, and we’re getting pretty serious. How lucky was I that she got stationed close enough that I could keep seeing her after boot camp. It must be a sign. Anyway, I told her all about you, and she totally understands why I keep writing you, even though you’ve never written me back. She says it’s a way to keep my emotions in check, whatever that means. Something about you being my moral compass? Anyway, she’s thinking about taking some psych courses when her tour is up, so she’s practicing on me. Of course, we both signed up for six years, so she’ll probably change her mind before then. I hope not, she’s good.
Vicky concentrated on the name Sam. Why does that name ring a bell?
Vicky, you know you will always be my friend, my best friend, but like you have obviously done, I have to move on, and I think Sam is the one.
Aidan
She set the letter down, and looked at the picture of her and Aidan, together as children. It’s my fault, she thought, if only I could have gotten these letters. Now what happens to us, when she remembers Sam? For a split second, she considered hiding the letters from Aidan. Just as quickly, the thought was dismissed. No, I couldn’t do that to her. I am not my mother’s daughter!
Vicky couldn’t stop herself, she pulled out letter after letter, hoping that, somehow, someway, Aidan would find her. Intellectually, she knew that was impossible. That part of Aidan’s life had already been lived. But emotionally, the ache was still there.
Hey kid, it’s me again.
I’m sorry I haven’t written in over a year, but I got the feeling it was starting to make Sam jealous. Of course, it didn’t help that I, uh… sort of sent her your letter by mistake. That’ll teach me to get drunk on furlough, ha! Anyway, I’m at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri for a while. Wish you could drive up and see me. (that’s what I wrote in the letter that Sam got, yikes!)
It looks like they’re gonna send me back to Iraq soon. The guys have a superstition about three tours in a battle zone. They joke that my number is up. But I’m not worried…, much.
Well, I hope you are doing well? I’m sure you’re probably married by now, with a dozen kids. I do sometimes wonder what you grew up to be like?
Aidan
Emotionally depleted, and physically heartsick, Vicky decided to go back to the hospital, hoping she’d run into Aidan. She needed to reconnect with the Aidan she knew, now.
*
The hospital was equipped with a state‒of‒the‒art security system, where the swipe of a badge would allow an employee into a secured area, like the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, or the eighth floor Psych Unit. That is, if that employee’s status warranted access to those areas. Even the Administration offices had keyless entry. But unless that employee was a security guard, or a director or above, their badge wouldn’t work. Only the Leadership team, and Security personnel had access to all areas of the hospital.
There were also some areas that still required a key to gain entry. Like the unfinished section of the new tower. Aidan, disguised as Bill, made her way to the new tower on the east end of the hospital, heading to the unfinished section. She wanted to check the empty shell that she had mentioned to Tom Bradshah.
Using her master key, one that every security guard at the hospital carried, Aidan unlocked the door and walked onto the empty floor. All she saw in the room, were patches of stucco on the sheetrock, steel girders that held up the floor above, and cables sticking out of the ceiling, on their way to nowhere. Even though there was nothing out of the ordinary, she took pictures anyway, on a disposable camera the agency had given her. Another dead end, she thought. Making her way over to Cardiology, Aidan decided to check it out, even though it didn’t have any outside doors.
“Working the night shift, Officer?” Nancy Carpenter, the night shift floor nurse, greeted Bill. Nancy was heavy set, but not obese. She had gray hair, cut short, and shaped to her face, and wrinkles that gave away her age.
“Yes ma’am, just making my rounds.”
“Have you worked here long? I don’t think I’ve met you before, and I’ve been here for thirty years.”
“No ma’am, just started a few days ago. I’m trying to get the lay of the land. I think I’ve been to every floor in this hospital, now.”
“Oh yeah? Have you been down to the dungeon, yet?”
“The dungeon?”
Nancy explained, “Yeah, only us old timers remember the dungeon. It used to be the physician parking lot, but they closed it up, years ago. Now they store junk down there, that no one else wants. I hear it’s haunted, but I don’t believe in such things.”
“Is it on the ground floor?”
“No, it’s under that floor. The Rehab unit is on the ground floor, and the dungeon is underneath that floor. You have to have a special key, just to get down there. But I’m sure, you being Security, that you have one.”
Just as she finished, another nurse walked up, and asked her a question. When she turned back to Bill, he was nowhere to be seen.
*
Vicky arrived at work, looked around for Aidan, and was disappointed, when she didn’t see her. She did see Julie, who was working late, and took the opportunity to thank her for staying with St. Frances. Julie told her that she wouldn’t work anywhere else. Moments later, Vicky entered her office. She checked her email, more out of routine, than from expecting anything urgent. On a whim, she opened her Facebook to see what was going on with her friends. Her profile indicated she had a message. Hmm, who could that be from?
Vicky, thank you for emailing me. I am so happy to hear that you know SFC Cassidy and would very much love to talk to you about her. My phone number is 410-555-2981. Please call me as soon as you can.
SPC Jerry Williams
She wrote Jerry’s phone number on a piece of paper, logged out of her Facebook account and shut down the browser. Hoping it wasn’t too late to be calling a total stranger, she dialed his number.
“Yes, Jerry Williams, please.”
“This is Jerry.”
“Jerry, I’m Victoria Montgomery, Aidan Cassidy’s friend. Do you have a minute to talk?”
“Absolutely! Thank you for calling, Victoria!”
“Please, call me Vicky,” He sounds so young and eager. “I read your story about the attack, and wondered if you’d like to meet the woman who saved your life?”
“You know it! Tell me where and when, and I’ll be there.”
“You let me know when, and I’ll send you a plane ticket. The where is here in my office, at the hospital where I work.” She went on to tell him the name and address of the hospital, and they set a date for him to fly to Little Rock.
*
The dungeon, where old hospital equipment goes to die. Aidan stepped out of the elevator into the poorly lit room, and the stale air assaulted her nostrils. She pulled out her flashlight, and let her eyes follow its beam, as it illuminated the area. The large dark windowless room, had a layer of dust, grown thick, and clogging every possible means of escape for the pungent, stagnant air. A graveyard of old hospital beds, bedside tables, IV poles, even a few factory painted, landscape pictures, that protruded up like a tombstone, cluttered the room. The white parking stripes, on the concrete floor, were still visible, and Aidan thought she even saw a car bumper, under the rubble. As she cautiously moved down a makeshift path, something caught her eye. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was a red light, blinking from the back wall. It seemed out of place with everything else that was there. She carefully made her way past old broken bed rails, their metal strips jutting out of the pile. Shining her flashlight down to see her way, she noticed footprints
in the dust. Then she saw it.
“Fuck me!”
The light was blinking from a small box, stuck to the bottom of a main support column. The box had a timer on it, and was counting down from 05:35.34. She followed the wires from the detonator, to three M60 oxygen cylinders chained to the column, their valves wide open. With shaking hands, she pulled out her personal cell phone, and took a picture of it. Looking around the room, she saw three more blinking red lights, making it a total of four bombs, counting down.
They must have just planted these… unless it’s a 12 hour timer? Choking down her panic, she texted the photo to Bradshah at Homeland Security. Then she called Paul. She knew it would take Homeland some time to get there, and she didn’t want to wait for them.
“Security, Paul Stewart.”
“Paul, its Aidan. What? Yes, I’m alive. No time to talk‒‒ I think there’s a bomb in the basement, what they call the dungeon. I think the bombers are still here, planting more. Hurry down here. We only have five hours!”
Paul could hear the panic in her voice, and he immediately hung up the phone, and ran down the hall to the elevators. He didn’t know why Aidan would fake her own death, but he did trust her enough to know, she would not joke about a bomb in the hospital. Good God, a bomb! His face drained of all blood, as he swallowed hard. He had heard about the dungeon, but had only peeked inside once, more out of curiosity, than anything else. He hurried off the elevator, into the dark room.
When Aidan heard the elevator ding, she ducked behind a hospital bed, lying on its side. She didn’t know if it was Paul, or the bomber, on that elevator. When Paul call to her, she stood up, relieved, and shouted, “Over here!”
Paul moved as quickly as he could, cursing out loud, each time he bumped his shin against something in the dark.
“Bill?” I thought Aidan called me? “Have you seen a woman down here? She’s about‒‒”
“Paul, it’s me, Aidan.” She pointed to the detonator, and he let out an audible gasp. Immediately, he pulled out his two way radio, and called in the code to Security.
“We’ve never had a Code Green, before.” The raspy voice on the radio said, “Is this a joke?”
Paul shouted, “No, you asshole, lock this hospital down, now! Call in the LRPD, and the bomb squad, then call the CEO, and alert employees, do it in that order. Got it? Do it now!”
“Yes… yes sir! Right away, sir!”
Paul clicked off, and looked closer at the detonator, “I don’t think there’s a dead man’s switch.”
“Are you sure?”
He shook his head, “No, can’t be 100% sure.” Then he gave Aidan a look that told her he wanted an explanation.
“Short version is that I’m working with Homeland Security, because the terrorists are back. Homeland faked my death, and set me up as your new employee. Listen, I know this is a lot to take in, but I think they are still here. We need to go find them, before they escape.”
Just as he was about to ask another question, his beeper went off. So did Aidan’s.
The Security office was sending out the alert to all employees. The protocol for locking down the hospital, was to send out a text message to all staff cellphone numbers. Employees were trained to stay where they were, not to wander about, or try to leave the building. Their only priority was to protect the patients.
Aidan took out her burn phone and texted Vicky, ‘Stay away from the hospital!’ But as she was about to put her phone away, Vicky texted back, ‘To late. What’s up?’
“Oh shit!” Aidan yelled, and ran for the elevators, followed closely by Paul. “I’m going to check on Vicky. She’s probably in her office.”
“I’m going to my office, to call in more help,” he replied, as the elevator doors opened on the first floor. They both took off running in opposite directions.
Aidan spotted Vicky in the hallway, and began screaming, “Vicky! Vick!”
“I’m here, what’s wrong Bill?” Vicky met her halfway, and Aidan took her up in her strong arms, and hugged her tight.
“Oh, thank God!” Aidan exclaimed.
“Um, Bill, what is the matter?” She was confused, and suddenly very scared.
“Vicky, they’re back. They’re in the hospital, right now!”
“Oh my God!”
Aidan demanded, “I need you to leave the hospital, right away!”
“No, I won’t run, Aidan.”
“Vicky, there are bombs under the hospital. The timers are set for just over five hours, and I don’t want you here, if they go off!”
Vicky’s eyes brightened, as a quiet calmness overcame her. The Vicky that stood before Aidan, was no longer her lover, her best friend. She was the one responsible for the lives of over a thousand people. Aidan took the change in her demeanor to mean she would comply.
“I’ll meet you back at your house, as soon as I can.”
“Where are you going?”
“To find the other bombs,” Aidan replied over her shoulder, as she ran down the hallway.
Vicky took out her cell phone, and called Paul, as she practically ran back toward her office. He reported to her everything that he had seen in the dungeon.
“Thanks, Paul. I’m going to order an immediate evacuation. Please, let the police know to expect this.”
“But ma’am,” he rebutted, “We’re in lock down, so we can catch the terrorists.”
“I don’t give a damn about the terrorist Paul, our patients come first. She closed her cell and picked up her desk phone. She called the CEO’s of the other two hospitals in the area, and informed them of the situation.
“Charles, this is Victoria. I apologize for the lateness of the hour, but I am evacuating my patients. We have a credible bomb threat. Please, prepare your staff for arrivals. No, I’m sorry, no time to elaborate.” She hung up, then went down her mental list. Next she called the director of transportation, and informed him of the triage order that the patients should be evacuated in. The critical patients would be taken by ambulance to the closest hospital in the city. Non critical would be transported to one of St. Frances smaller hospitals. Then Vicky called the two local ambulance companies, and finally, sent out an email to the executive team, physicians, nurse directors, and other clinical directors, advising them of the protocol for evacuation. Satisfied that everyone who needed to be alerted, had been, she walked to the Communications room.
The operator greeted her with concern, “Ms. Montgomery, what’s going on? What does lockdown mean?”
She nodded her head to the operator, and sat down at the house phone, activating the house wide microphone.
“This is Victoria Montgomery, President and CEO of St. Frances.”
“Oh shit!” Aidan yelled, as she stopped in the hallway, and looked up at the speaker on the ceiling.
“This is not a drill. This is an emergency. Please, prepare your patients for immediate evacuation. All patients, on all floors, are to be evacuated, immediately. Be professional, courteous, and make sure that the patient comes first. The nursing staff will accompany their patients to the alternate hospitals. This is not a drill. Stay calm, people. Thank you.”
Aidan wasn’t sure what to do. She knew she should run to Vicky and protect her. Somehow convince her to leave. But she also knew, Vicky would never be safe, not until this thing was over for good. Decision made, she ran to the opposite end of the building, where the Center for Education was located. She remembered Vicky telling her about the empty convent on the fifth floor, where years ago, the Sister’s lived, when they ran the hospital. It had not been used in years. She thought it would be much the same as the dungeon, abandoned, and a perfect place to hide a bomb. As Aidan ran into the Education part of the building, she heard sirens blaring, just outside the door. The police, wearing flak jackets and carrying semi-automatic weapons, barged through the sliding glass doors.
“Freeze! Get your hands up! Get your hands up!” They shouted at her. Aidan instantly complied, as they circled around her
, and an officer patted her down.
“Wait! She’s one of us!” Tom Bradshah shouted as he rushed through the doors, waving his badge. He was followed by three Homeland Security agents. “Give me a sitrep, Aidan.”
Aidan talked as fast as she could, “Four bombs in the dungeon, on the east end, set to go off in five hours. We’ve called in the bomb unit. I was on my way up to the abandon convent, on the fifth floor. I think they may have planted bombs up there, and may be there now.”
“You heard her, fifth floor, ASAP!” Bradshah barked out the order. He turned to his own people and commanded, “You and you, guard the exit.” Then reaching down, he pulled up his pants leg, and pulled out a Sig Sauer P210, strapped to his ankle. “Know how to use one of these?” he asked, as he handed her the pistol.
Though she had never used one before, now was not the time to learn how. Aidan nodded her head yes.
“Stay behind me, understand.” It wasn’t a question, it was an order.
*
“Set the timer for two hours.” Muham thought he heard a sound, and nervously looked around. The muffled sounds of the overhead speaker had echoed into the room, but stopped before he could make out what was being said. They’re probably praying to their fake god, again. He looked at his watch and decided that’s what it was because, he knew the chaplains always prayed over the intercom in the mornings, and again in the evenings. He returned his attention to the cylinders being strapped to the support columns. “Our plan is brilliant. When the authorities come to investigate what’s left of this floor, the fools will be trapped in our snare.” Muham pulled out his pistol, and pushed the slide back, just enough to check the cartridge chamber. “I’m going to take care of the infiltrator. Finish your work and leave.” He said, as he tucked the gun at the small of his back and covered it with his shirt.
I Remember You Page 22
