by Lynn Ames
“Yeah, boss, just a little bruised.”
Jason said, “He’s got a nice-size hole in the middle of his vest in back. Lucky guy.”
“Can you make it to the roof?”
“No problem.”
“Okay, let’s move.” Max stowed the gas masks in a locked box off to the side of the go-round door and hoisted Kate over his shoulder again.
He began to climb upward.
They reached the door to the roof without incident and Max handed the door key to Jason. He unlocked it, holding it open so that Max could carry his burden through, followed by Gary. Peter was waiting for them when they arrived.
He moved quickly to assist Max with Kate. Together they laid her on the roof.
“She’s got a weak pulse and her breathing is shallow. She was unconscious when I found her.” He moved to unlock the handcuffs that still bound her wrists.
Peter, noticing the odd angle of her wrist, stopped him with a hand to the arm. “Don’t—her wrist is broken. I don’t want to have to worry about her arms flopping free until we can get her stabilized.” The sight of his friend’s hands restrained left him unsettled. “Thank you, Max—you did a great job.” It was hard for Peter to get the words out; looking at Kate’s Lynn Ames
battered form affected him in a way he’d never experienced before. He’d been in the middle of many battles and seen many of his buddies fall, but this was different. This was Kate. She was not a combatant—just an innocent bystander who had gotten caught up in the middle of an incomprehensible morass.
In an odd way, he felt somewhat responsible. He should have seen the danger for her, should have been able, somehow, to protect her better.
She looked so fragile lying there, her face bloodied and swollen, her clothes torn and tattered.
Peter knelt down over her, sweeping the hair back off her face. “I’m so sorry, Spinmeister.”
Anything else he might have said was drowned out by the deafening whir of helicopter blades. He stood and waved his arms over his head.
The chopper circled once and hovered some thirty feet above them. A door opened in the side and a long cable was lowered until Peter could reach it. He clipped it to his own harness, then yanked on the cable to get more slack in the line. Kneeling, he unhooked the clamp from his harness and attached it to Kate’s, then reattached it to his own. He gathered her in his arms tenderly and stood, tugging on the line twice.
Slowly the cable was retracted into the helicopter, pulling Peter and Kate up with it. He cradled her head against his chest, his other arm wrapped securely around her waist. Within a minute, they were being pulled into the helicopter by a state trooper.
“Careful with her,” Peter said to the medic who had been hanging over the edge of the chopper watching their progress.
“I’ve got her,” the medic said. He laid her on a stretcher, skillfully evaluating her injuries and placing an oxygen mask over her face. “Do you have the keys for these?” He pointed to the handcuffs.
Peter produced a key from his pocket and efficiently unlocked the cuffs, careful not jar Kate’s arms. The medic was looking under Kate’s lids with a penlight.
“Well?”
“Severe concussion, laceration to the skull, possible fractured cheekbone, displaced fracture of the wrist.” He made a slit down the center of her blouse. “Contusions to the abdomen.” He palpated her ribs.
“Likely fractured ribs.”
Peter’s mouth was set in a grim line. “What about her lungs? She took in a lot of CS gas.”
“We’ll flush her system gradually; it will take some time for the gas to work its way completely out of her system, but she’ll be okay.”
“Why hasn’t she regained consciousness?” The concern was obvious in his voice.
The Cost of Commitment
“You may not want to hear this, but I suspect she’s been drugged.”
The medic pulled up Kate’s sleeve, where a needle mark seemed to confirm his suspicion. “She’ll come around.”
Peter had to work even harder to contain his emotions. “What kind of drug?”
“It appears to me to be some kind of sedative used to incapacitate her—knock her out.”
Although he hated to ask the question, Peter knew the answer would be important not only to him, but to Kate and Jay as well. “Has she been sexually assaulted?”
“I don’t see any evidence of that, but a complete rape kit will be done on her at the hospital just in case.”
“I don’t suppose she can make it to a hospital in Albany?”
The medic considered. “Yes, but I’d like to get her stabilized here, first, before you transport her all that way.”
“Okay.”
Peter moved to the front of the helicopter and addressed the pilot.
“Buffalo General Hospital.”
The pilot nodded.
Peter returned to where the medic continued to work on Kate. “Take good care of her.”
“Count on it.”
Peter leaned over, kissed Kate on the forehead, and reclipped himself to the cable. He gave the trooper, who had been standing off to the side, a thumbs-up as he moved to the open door. Slowly, Peter was lowered back to the roof of D block. When he had touched down safely, he unclipped himself and waved the chopper off.
“Okay,” he said to Max, “let’s finish this.”
Max turned to his men. “Jason, you’re with us. Gary, why don’t you wait here?”
“No way. I want the son of a bitch who redecorated my vest.”
“Are you sure you’re up to it?”
“Yes, sir.”
“All right then, let’s go.”
The four men reentered the stairwell, donning their masks and helmets as they went. They used Max’s key to get back through the go-round and onto the tier. The gas had begun to dissipate somewhat, and the scene was less chaotic. Inmates were facedown on the floor with their hands flexicuffed behind their backs, CERT team members standing over them.
Peter motioned to the five team leaders. “Is everybody accounted for?”
“Yes, sir.”
Lynn Ames
“Any casualties?”
“Nothing life-threatening, sir.”
“All inmate weapons accounted for and confiscated?”
“It appears so, sir. We have the one weapon that was fired and the inmate who possessed it.”
“Okay. I want these scum separated, treated, and interrogated. Then we’re going to ship them out.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m going to need a full report within twenty minutes—procedures, weapons fired, force used, injuries sustained, et cetera.”
“Yes, sir.”
“We’ll do a debriefing after that.” He paused. “Good job, everybody.
Well done.”
“Governor, I’m happy to report that the mission was a success. The hostage was rescued, and no lives were lost in the process.”
“Thank you, Peter.” The governor looked relieved. “I’d like to meet with your men, if I could.”
“Yes, sir, they are just wrapping things up. I should be able to assemble them for you within a half hour.”
“Excellent. That ought to leave me just enough time to take care of our friends in the media.” He hesitated for a moment. “Peter, did you see her?”
“Yes, sir. I loaded her on the helicopter myself.”
“How is she?”
“She’s got a number of injuries, and she was unconscious the entire time, but none of the injuries seem to be life-threatening.”
“Where is she?”
“They’re taking her to Buffalo General Hospital. They have to stabilize her before they can transport her to Albany Medical Center.”
“Does Jay know?”
“I’m about to call her now, sir.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to be the one to tell her, and then have you fill her in on the details.”
“Of course, sir.” Peter move
d to the phone, dialed, and handed the receiver to the governor.
“Jay? This is Governor Hyland.”
“Yes, sir.” Jay’s heart was beating wildly in her chest, and she sat down on the bed to keep herself from falling down.
“I have some good news for you.”
The Cost of Commitment
Jay closed her eyes. “Oh, thank God.” She had watched the dramatic footage on CNN of a helicopter hovering over the roof of one of the cell blocks, but the camera was unable to zoom in sufficiently to pick out the features of the two figures being lifted into the sky. She didn’t dare hope...
“Peter and his men have gotten Kate out safely. She’s on her way to a hospital nearby. I’m going to have the car take you there right away. And when she’s ready, I’m going to have you accompany her on the chopper ride to Albany Med.”
“I don’t know how to thank you, Governor, for everything you’ve done.”
“No need, Jay. I’m just sorry it happened in the first place. I’m going to let you talk to Peter now.”
“Hey, half-pint.”
“Hey,” Jay faltered temporarily at the sound of Peter’s familiar, confident voice. “Hey, yourself, Technowiz. Did you see her? Is she okay?”
“I put her on the helicopter myself, honey.”
“And?”
“She’s had a rough time of it, Jay, there’s no question about that.
She’s got several broken bones, a severe concussion, and she’s had a prolonged exposure to CS, or tear gas. She was unconscious when I left her. But she’s going to be just fine.”
Jay was crying, tears of relief mingling with tears of anger and grief.
When she could talk she said, “You know I can never repay you for bringing her back to me. I owe you so much— we owe you so much. Kate is everything to me.” She fingered again the two letters from Kate that Wendy had given her. She had read them so many times the words were indelibly engraved in her mind.
“And you to her, honey. Believe me, Jay, it was my honor and pleasure. You’d better get ready, your ride should be waiting outside. I’ll be there just as soon as I can.”
“Okay.”
“Jay? Put Brian on the phone, will you?”
She handed the receiver to Sampson.
“Yes? Good news?”
“The best.”
“It was hard to tell from the television images, and Jay and I couldn’t listen to their wild speculation anymore. We put the sound on mute.
Congratulations.”
“Thanks. Any chance you can have that driver courier the tapes over here after he drops Jay off? I’d like the governor to hear them now.”
“Consider it done.”
Lynn Ames
“Thanks. I’ll see you back in Albany.”
“Peter? Good job.”
“Score one for the good guys.”
“Ladies and gentlemen of the press, I am very happy to report the success of a rescue mission undertaken a short time ago here at the Attica Correctional Facility. More than that, I am overjoyed to tell you that Katherine Kyle, one of the bravest individuals I have ever had the pleasure to meet, is alive, safe, and undergoing treatment at an undisclosed location.”
“What are her injuries?”
“I am not a doctor, and I don’t want to speculate. For now I think it is important to focus on the courage that she showed and on the heroic deeds of the professionals who put their lives on the line to save her.”
“Can you tell us any of the details?”
“I authorized and personally approved a hostage rescue mission designed to free Ms. Kyle and regain possession of the single tier in D
block that remained outside our control. That mission involved five corrections emergency response teams from five different regions: Albany, Auburn, Collins, Elmira, and Oneida. Each member of each group showed poise, professionalism, and bravery, and all made me proud today.”
“Can you describe what they found in there and how they were able to accomplish the goals you had set for them?”
“I don’t want to give too much away because of security concerns, as I’m sure you can all understand. I will say that the mission was accomplished using minimal force and resulted in no life-threatening injuries. The tier is back under control, the uprising is now officially over, and the perpetrators are in custody.”
As more questions were shouted at him, the governor turned away from the microphones and waved before he retreated back across the street and into the administration building, where Peter was waiting for him with the tapes of the conversations between Breathwaite and Redfield.
By the time he had finished listening to them, the governor was standing over the tape recorder, fists clenched in anger and disbelief.
“Why? What’s this all about, really? You can’t convince me that it’s all about getting a job. I won’t believe it.”
Peter answered, “We have no evidence linking them to any motive more sinister than that, sir, although, like you, we are rather incredulous.”
“How can you order someone’s murder just like that? I don’t understand.”
The Cost of Commitment
“Sir, I have to say, I’m glad you don’t.”
“Where are they now?”
“Breathwaite and Redfield have been moved to separate processing cells in an isolated area of the prison’s intake area for the moment, and the correction officer Breathwaite mentioned on the tape as his contact has been located and taken into custody. The eight inmates we were able to identify from the Times Square videotape have been subdued and arrested and are being transported to separate prisons around the state for interrogation.”
“Good. I wonder how long it will be before the media gets a hold of the scope of this mess.”
“I would say that, for the moment, we’ve got a little breathing room.
They’ve got so much to chew on that it may take them a while to figure it out.”
“Kate could give us a better, more definitive answer than that if she were here, couldn’t she?”
“Yes, sir, she certainly could.”
“I don’t care what it takes, Peter, let’s nail the bastards.”
“With pleasure, sir.”
Lynn Ames
The Cost of Commitment
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
ay hustled past the guard at the back entrance, following a Jplainclothes state trooper down the hallway and into the area
marked Authorized Personnel Only. They continued down another stretch of corridor, around a corner, and through another set of double doors into the emergency room. The officer led her directly to the farthest cubical from the entrance, where the curtain was drawn and two more plainclothes state troopers stood watch. Jay nodded at them as she parted the curtain and stepped inside.
There on the gurney, covered by a white sheet up to her chin, lay Kate—pale and fragile looking. Jay stood for a moment, frozen in place by the image of her normally vibrant, healthy partner lying beaten and helpless. A doctor who had been standing off to the side unnoticed by Jay said, “It’s all right. You can come closer.”
Galvanized to action, Jay walked the last few steps to the bed.
Leaning over, she kissed Kate reverently on the forehead, one of the few places on her face that wasn’t swollen or covered with bruises. She reached under the covers and grasped Kate’s free hand, which seemed cold and lifeless. It sent chills up her spin. “Is she...”
“She’s going to be just fine,” the doctor said as he approached Jay, putting a hand on her shoulder.
“Then why isn’t she conscious?” Jay was unable to tear her eyes away from her lover’s face.
“We are still evaluating her situation, but all of her vital signs are satisfactory, given what she’s been through. We do know that she was drugged before she was rescued.”
Jay looked up sharply at the doctor, an involuntary gasp escaping her lips. She felt the room close in on her and had difficulty formulating he
r Lynn Ames
next words. “Did you...” Jay cleared her throat. “Was she sexually assaulted?” She choked on the phrase.
“We collected a rape kit, just to be sure. But no, she was not sexually assaulted.”
Unbidden, tears of relief escaped Jay’s eyes. “Oh, thank God.”
“It appears from our tests that the drug she was given entered her bloodstream not more than five minutes before she was rescued. Its purpose was to render her unconscious. Unfortunately, we must wait for the drug to run its course naturally and that may take a little while.”
“How long?” Jay asked.
“I can’t really be sure. But I would say she should be coming around soon.”
“What about her other injuries?”
“She suffered several forceful blows to the head, leaving her with a severe concussion. She has a fractured cheekbone, a laceration to the back of her head, three fractured ribs, a displaced fracture of the navicular bone in her wrist, a deep contusion to her abdomen, another to her shoulder, and a variety of other cuts and scratches.”
Tears ran freely down Jay’s face as the doctor finished reciting the litany of injuries. “Oh, Kate,” she breathed, stroking her lover’s hand.
At Jay’s touch, Kate’s eyelids fluttered open.
“Jay,” Kate called weakly. “Is that you, baby? Is it really you?”
Jay leaned over so that she was more in line with Kate’s field of vision. “Yes, sweetheart, it’s really me.” Jay choked on the well of emotion that bubbled to the surface.
“I’m glad,” Kate breathed, as she closed her eyes again.
“I love you so very much, Katherine Kyle,” Jay said, even though she knew Kate could no longer hear her.
When Kate next awoke the room was dark. Jay was sitting by her side, slumped forward, her head resting on the bed. It was clear that she was asleep. With effort Kate lifted her good arm and ran her fingers through Jay’s hair, reveling in its softness.
The movement caused Jay to stir. Slowly getting her bearings, she raised her head and gazed into her lover’s adoring eyes.
“Hi there, beautiful girl,” Kate murmured.
“Hey there yourself. How are you feeling?”
