Fire Escape

by J. R. Tate

  "He's okay, Ms. Crisante. I know you don't see it the way I do, but this happening could work in our favor."

  She glared at him from the passenger side. "And if he's not okay? I don't see that helping anyone at all."

  Mr. Clifton lifted his hand off of the steering wheel, a look of sympathy on his face. "I apologize, Eva. That didn't come out right."

  "Let's just cross one bridge at a time." She knew what he meant about it helping, but his well-being was what was on her mind before anything else. Without wasting any time, she hurried into the ER doors, pushing through the crowd of people. "I'm here to see Michael McGinnis."

  The lady turned to her monitor. "He's in exam four. I don't think I can let you back there though. He's escorted by the NYPD. He's in their custody."

  Mr. Clifton chimed in. "I am his lawyer and this is his fiancé. We will be going back there, regardless of the situation."

  The receptionist nodded. "Only two at a time."

  "Do you see more than two people here?" he asked, and Eva couldn't help but smile at his sarcastic comment.

  Eva stopped outside of the door, trying to gain her composure. She had seen him hurt so many times before. How many more would it take to send her over the edge? Mr. Clifton waited with her and she fought back the emotion that was enveloping her.

  "I'm sorry, Mr. Clifton. It' just so much to take in. I'm pregnant, he's in some serious shit, and now this. I don't know when it will all stop."

  He nodded. "Let's get in there and scope it out. I will make damn sure that this doesn't go unnoticed. And call me Frederick. Mr. Clifton is too damn formal."

  Eva forced herself to open the door. Two cops were sitting in chairs on either side of the bed, each on guard as she came through the threshold. Immediately looking at Mikey, she noticed he was asleep.

  "Ma'am, you can't be in here."

  "Yes, she can. I'm his lawyer and she has every right to be in here unless you have a court order saying otherwise."

  The cop sat back in his chair. "We can get one."

  "Until you do, we will be here."

  Eva appreciated Frederick. If it wasn't for him, she'd be lost. She'd have believed everything they had said and would be stuck out in the waiting room with nothing but a million questions that weren't getting answered. Grabbing a tissue from the side table, she wiped away a few tears as she got her first real look at him.

  His hair was disheveled, there was dried blood on his nose and lips, and his right eye was swollen and black. Letting out a whimper, she ran her hand through his hair. His breathing was shallow and his eyebrows arched from her touch. At least he was responding to things. Of course, they had his arms restrained against the sides of the bed. They were treating him like some mass murderer.

  Looking at the other cop, she said, "What are they saying? Is he going to be okay?"

  "They are waiting on some tests to come back. He could have a concussion and some other internal issues. He took some heavy blows to his chest and abdomen."

  "Shouldn't they be trying to wake him if he has a head injury?" She began to feel frantic and lifted his shirt up to take a look at his other injuries.

  The cop seemed indifferent, like he had better things to do. There was already severe bruising across his ribcage. Tears fell down her cheeks. "Oh my God, Mikey. Please be okay."

  "I hope the NYPD is aware that if my client doesn't get the best care, I will be sure to report it to the appropriate parties."

  "He's here in the ER. He's been examined. We're just waiting to hear back."

  "And he's listed as a criminal, so his stuff is all put on the back burner, right? I know how it works, officer."

  Eva blocked out the bickering and focused on Mikey. Grabbing his hand, she intertwined her fingers with his. "We're gonna get you out of all of this, hon. I promise," she whispered. "If you can hear me, squeeze my hand."

  There was no response and a sense of dread flowed through her. Pulling his shirt back down, she kept her hand on his. "I love you. I'm sorry you went through this." She traced his hair line, feeling the sweat that had gathered in his hair. Again, his eyebrows responded to it, so she kept the contact going. "You need to wake up, Mikey. Please wake up for me. You do your part by waking up and getting healthy and Frederick Clifton and I will do our part and make sure you get out of this."

  A soft moan escaped his lips and he turned his head slightly. His brow creased as if it caused some pain, and his fingers latched onto hers.

  "That's it, Mikey. Fight through it."She was oblivious to the other people in the room. Her focus was waking him up. The last thing he needed to be doing was sleeping if he had a concussion. "C'mon, Mikey."

  ***

  The pain in his head was excruciating. Each time his pulse thumped, searing discomfort shot through his entire body. He could hear someone saying his name, but the voice was distant. Was it Eva? It sounded a lot like her. Opening his eyes was next to impossible, but he fought through the discomfort. The dim light around him was enough to make it feel like someone was driving a nail right through his forehead. His vision was blurred, but he could tell it was Eva standing over him. He tried to reach up to grab her hand but something dug into his wrist, hindering his chances of moving anywhere.

  "What the..." the sound of his own voice made him wince and he lifted his head off of the pillow. "Where..."

  "Shh, Mikey. You're at the hospital." Her soft hand brushed through his hair and he closed his eyes, savoring her warm touch. "Just lie back and take it easy."

  Blinking, Michael tried to clear his view. It was like he was looking through soiled contacts. "Eva?"

  "Yes, Mikey, I'm here. You were in a fight back at the jail and they had to bring you to the hospital. I'm here with the lawyer your mom recommended. Frederick Clifton. He's keeping everyone in line who has tried to take advantage of me." She glared at the two cops hoping they had caught on to her sarcasm.

  He tried to reach up and rub his temples, but he must have been restrained. Whatever it was, it was uncomfortable and doing a good job. "Why am I tied up?"

  "They cuffed you to the bed. Don't worry about that."

  He tried to remember what had happened. Slowly, his memory was coming back to him and he remembered getting arrested and placed in a holding cell. The only thing he could remember from the apparent fight was that there were two other men with him and they were giants compared to him.

  "What are we waiting on?"

  "The doctors to come tell us what's going on. Mr. Clifton and I just got here about ten minutes ago. If we don't hear anything soon I'll go ask someone what's taking so long."

  His head was throbbing and as he continued to wake up, his heart beat raced faster. He got his first good look at the two cops, hoping he'd recognize them from mutual calls they had gone to. Neither looked familiar. That was par for the course. Nothing seemed to be going his way.

  Another man stood next to his bed, dressed in a fancy suit, his hair slicked back, his attitude making it obvious that he must've been the lawyer that Eva was talking about. Michael remembered him from the past, but didn't know him well enough to consider him a friend.

  "Mr. McGinnis, you've definitely changed since the last time I saw you."

  Arching his eyebrow, Michael let out a sarcastic laugh. No matter how he adjusted his weight in the bed, he couldn't get comfortable. The pain seemed to be getting worse, but since he was being accused of a crime, he was certain the level of care was horrible.

  "I worked on your brother's case about ten years ago."

  "You'll have to be more specific, Mr. Clifton. Both my brother and I have been in our fair share of bullshit." He balled up his fists, pulling on the handcuffs. "I guess this one takes the cake, huh?"

  The lawyer looked at both cops and back down to him. "We'll have an in depth conversation about this once we can be alone and out of the hospital. Right now anything you say they'll remember and use against you. For the time being, we need to find out what the hell is going on a
nd get you outta here."

  Michael nodded and immediately regretted it. It was like his brain was sloshing around inside his skull. Just as Eva was going to grab a nurse, the exam room door opened and a doctor and nurse entered. He was holding a clipboard that he didn't look up from for a few moments. Michael tried to sit up, but his body screamed out in pain and he fell back down to the mattress. He wouldn't have been surprised if someone had told him he had been ran over by a semi-truck.

  "Mr.McGinnis, we got your scans back. It is showing a mild concussion. Your nose is surprisingly not broken, but severely bruised. As for your abdominal injuries, you have a cracked rib and some internal bruising. I don't see any bleeding or anything, at least not right now." He looked up from his notes. "I'd say you came out pretty lucky considering the beating you took."

  "So what does he need to do now?" Eva asked, her concern obvious as she grabbed his hand.

  "We're going to admit him for the night. We need to make sure that he doesn't develop any internal bleeding or injuries we might've missed. We also need to check and make sure that the concussion doesn't turn into a more serious head injury. We're gonna have to keep you awake for the next several hours. I'll have the nurse set you up and get you moved. I'll also inform them that there will be police surveillance on the room."

  Michael swallowed the bile in his throat. How in the hell had those guys gotten in so much damage when guards were supposedly just around the corner? It was an issue he needed to bring up with his lawyer. Something wasn't right.

  "I surmise that you two officers will be camped out near his room for the night?"

  "Either us or reinforcements later."

  "Good," Frederick said. "That'll give me a chance to talk things over with my client. There's no need for you to stay directly in the room with us, seeing as if we tried to escape you'd hopefully see us walking out the door."

  "We'll see how things look once they transport him up to his room."

  Michael just wanted to be alone. He wanted the cops and Mr. Clifton to leave. He wanted to close his eyes and sleep. Was it too much to ask for? He was too scared to even ask for pain medication. It only took one thing to alter his mental state and make him backtrack to drinking again. He wasn't sure how much more of the discomfort he could take, and buried his face in the pillow.

  "You okay, Mikey?" Eva's hand ran down the side of his face. "You're burning up. You want me to ask for something to help?"

  "No. Just tell everyone to shut the hell up and let me rest."

  ***

  After transporting him to a room on the seventh floor of the hospital, Michael was finally starting to get comfortable in the bed. The nurse had come in and put something in his IV that seemed to be working. Each worker who came in gave him a stern warning to stay awake, even if it were for just a few more hours. A part of him wanted to say screw it. If there was anything wrong, at least it would pull him away from the horror he was living.

  One cop remained outside of his room, keeping an eye on each and every one of their movies. Though it was frowned upon letting Eva stay, Mr. Clifton had somehow worked his magic and got it to where she could be there for as long as she wanted to be. From the moment she had gotten there earlier, she hadn't left his bedside, and it killed him to see her so exhausted and worried.

  He wanted to reach out and touch her, but they left the cuffs on him. "Eva, you should go back to the apartment and rest. You've got the baby to worry about."

  She shook her head no. "I'm not leaving, so don't even suggest it again."

  "At least get some food. Not eating will only hurt you and the baby."

  Mr. Clifton came back in the room after having a talk with the cop. A sly smile was on his face and he looked like he was ready to get down to business. "You two don't mind that we talk here, do you? It'd be better than down at headquarters. We can get this all out of the way before his arraignment, which has to happen, at the latest, forty eight hours after arrest. That also depends on when you will get discharged from this hell hole too."

  "No, you're fine, Mr. Clifton. They want me to stay awake anyway. What better way to entertain me than talk about my future in this country's screwed up legal system?"

  He pulled up a chair on the opposite side of the bed and got a notepad out. "So they are charging you with the warehouse arsons?"

  "Yeah."

  "What evidence do they have to support it?"

  Michael went into detail, his memory still fuzzy about it all. It was crazy how much energy it was taking to even discuss it. He felt worse than earlier that day and wondered how much longer it'd be before they would let him pass out. Eva sat quietly beside him, her eyes downcast through most of the conversation. He couldn't tell if she was just worried or if she was starting to think he actually did it. It was her first time hearing everything that happened in the interrogation room and as things progressed, she seemed to recede even further into her shell.

  "Well, Mr.McGinnis, we have some work to do, but we'll get it done. I'm gonna take this home and work on it. You get some rest. Ms. Crisante, call me as soon as they discharge him. We need to persuade the judge that he qualifies for bail. This beat down he took will work in our favor for that part of it."

  "Thank you, Frederick. We'll be in touch."

  Michael looked out into the hallway as he left, seeing that it was the same cop as before. He felt like scum. Handcuffed to a bed with a cop right outside. This was the deepest he had ever been in any trouble. Laying it all out for Mr. Clifton gave him some perspective.

  "I know I didn't light those fires and with everything against me, how are others going to believe it?" His voice cracked and he cringed when he felt the IV in his arm move. The thought of the cold needle stuck in his vein made him sick.

  "I don't know, Mikey. How could your badge be at one of the scenes? I just don't get it." Tears began to fall down her cheeks and Michael longed to reach out and wipe them away. It sucked being so close to the love of his life and not be able to console her.

  "I have a pretty good idea of who planted it."

  "Who?"

  "Gregg. I don't have solid proof, but as soon as I bail out it'll be my sole purpose to set it all straight. I'm not sure how I'll do it but I'll think of something."

  Eva shook her head and stood up. Rubbing her belly, she paced back and forth at the foot of his bed. "I don't know, Mikey... I just don't know."

  "You believe me, don't you?"

  "Of course I do, babe. It just seems like we're grasping at straws. You and Gregg have had your riffs, but going so far as to framing you for arson? We're not in a movie. This is real life."

  "Before talking to Viper again I'd have thought the same thing, but too much has fallen into place to be coincidence. I'm going to prove it with you or without you, Eva. I'm so sorry I'm putting you through so much shit."

  She wiped her face with the back of her hand. "I'm scared we're in too deep."

  Though she didn't say it out loud, Michael knew her well enough to know that she had her doubts. How could she not? Everything brought out on the table tonight pointed right to him. If he had been looking from an outsider's perspective he'd have to question it too. He was screwed. Hopefully Frederick Clifton was as good as his mother had claimed. He had to find a way to prove Gregg and Viper were the masterminds behind it all.

  The loud beeping of the IV machine was a sudden reminder that he was constrained in a hospital bed. His first course of action was to rest and recuperate. He couldn't get anything done until he recovered. Turning on his side as best as he could, he yawned and felt the exhaustion hit him hard. To hell with what the doctor wanted. With heavy eyelids, his body relaxed into the bed. Forcing a smile toward Eva, he drifted off into a light sleep, hoping that when he woke up, he'd have a whole new viewpoint on his situation.

  Chapter Fifteen

  After a long and sleepless night at Michael's bedside, Eva waited out on the sidewalk at the court house. He had been released from the hospital after a n
ight of observation, and the doctors were heavily pressured by the detectives to release him in time for his arraignment. She wasn't sure if he should've been discharged due to his injuries, but that decision was out of her hands.

  Bail had been set and thankfully, it was at a price where they could work with a bail bondsman. She had to be thankful that at least one thing was working in their favor. Michael was inside, finishing up the fine print needed to be set free, at least until his trial came up. She couldn't stand to be inside. The smell of the building made her sick, likely from her thoughts about why they were there.

  She heard the doors open and two people she didn't recognize made their exit. The sidewalk out front was busy with people, but she spotted Mikey as soon as he came out. His face was bruised up and he looked like he could lay down right there and sleep for days. His brow was creased with worry and she found it hard to make eye contact with him as he walked up.

  "Well?"

  He shook his head. "Well what?"

  "What's the next step?"

  "We wait." He walked down the street, his pace almost too quick for her to keep up.

  "Wait on what? You'll have to forgive me, Mikey. I'm new to this stuff."

  He jerked his head toward her, his expression looking nowhere near amused. "We wait on the case to come up in court. They said it can take from a few weeks to a few months. The longer it takes, the better case my lawyer can build."

  "And the longer it takes the longer we have to sit and wonder what the hell is gonna happen."

  Mikey was a few steps in front of her and his shoulders slumped. He leaned against a nearby building and ducked his head. He was a man defeated. He had been ran through the grinder, both physically and mentally. If it wasn't for the fact that they were in public, Eva believed he would've broken right down in the street.

  Grabbing his hand, she forced a smile that killed her inside. "I'm sorry, babe. I know you don't need to hear that negativity."