by Jesse Reiss
Chapter 35
She urged Neil to drive faster as they went down Sunset Boulevard towards the Kaiser hospital. She told him she had completely forgotten that she had to see a friend who was going into an operation and had to be there as fast as she could. It was already after ten in the morning by this time and she willed the car to get them there faster.
Neil could easily tell there was more to it than merely visiting a friend, but didn’t try to pry, having learned that this girl was full of surprises and some were best to remain with her. He admitted to himself that he was enjoying the excitement and sudden curve balls she threw at him, but was having doubts whether he could keep up in a longer term relationship with her. He was beginning to dread she might pull some stunt on him that he wouldn’t be able to ever understand or possibly ever forgive.
They kept glancing to their left as media, police and fire helicopters buzzed over Griffith Park. They watched as a propeller plane passed over, dropping orange fire retardant from its belly before disappearing into the smoke cloud. On the streets people seemed to be going about their usual routine, unfazed by the catastrophe occurring in plain sight on the mountainside. Traffic was busy, stores were all open, and pedestrians strolled the sidewalks and busses continued on their usual routes. Everyone seemed to blindly know that the fire would be put out and that it wouldn’t affect them.
They arrived at the hospital and Neil pulled into an empty parking spot on the street.
Angelina placed her hand on his and looked him in the eye. “You don’t have to wait for me if you don’t want to. I can get a ride home from a friend or call my mom or something.”
“No, that’s all right,” Neil said, waving his left hand. “I’ll probably go visit the Skylight Bookstore up the street on Vermont and you give me a call when you’re ready.”
“Are you sure?” Angelina asked, feeling like she had already asked too much of him.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” Neil said with a half-smile.
“I feel like I owe you so much that I’ll never be able to repay. You have been so nice to me — beyond anything I would ever expect or want from a guy and I love you so much for it. I mean it — really.”
He smiled and blushed, a little overwhelmed. “Well, I’m still getting to know you and this last week has been more than interesting, but I’m sure I love you just the same.”
She kissed him on the lips and exited the car, waving goodbye as he drove off. It made her feel wonderful to be able to kiss a man and wave goodbye, knowing he was all hers and that he’ll be there for her again when she called.
She turned to the hospital complex and looked up at the grey buildings, which she hadn’t visited in over a year’s time. The smile fell from her lips — now to find Sam.
She was familiar with the complex from hanging around it with her Dad and knew which buildings were designated for what and thought that some longer-term employees might even still recognize her. The directory confirmed the Psychiatric Department’s location and she went through the sliding glass doors into the lobby. A uniformed woman was at Reception with her head down, paying no attention to who entered and exited. She past without notice and found the bank of elevators.
She waited as the last elevator in the row chimed and opened its doors. Out stepped Thane, Lucy, Tyra, two bodyguards in dark suits and two other people she had never seen before, but could assume they were hospital employees. Their mood was sober. She ducked her face and turned around to avoid being seen. She waited until they were walking away with their backs to her before she slipped into the closing elevator.
Pushing the button for the seventh floor, she looked upwards as it began the ascent, a knot in her throat. That they were leaving was a sign that Sam was either about to go into or came out of his operation. She knew the seventh floor was an operating and recovery wing and patients with their own private rooms that were recovering or being monitored by nurses would be on the sixth floor and below. But today was Saturday — not a usual operating day and the seventh floor would otherwise have been empty. Nanny had said they had reserved an entire hospital wing for Sam, so she assumed it would be on this one floor.
She came out of the elevator. The walls were a plain off-white and the floor was a long stretch of yellow linoleum that curved up at the edges, removing any need for baseboards that could harbor bacteria in its crevices or holes for rodents. Fluorescent lights gave a bright and sterile feel to the place. Thick plastic chair rails ran along most wall surfaces in anticipation of the gurneys and carts running into them. Everything in the hospital was designed for sanitation and function.
Angelina walked down a hall and turned the corner. Her suspicion was correct. Two guards sat on watch before closed double doors halfway down the hall. She approached and one stood up, raising a hand.
“No access. Sorry,” the man said.
“I’m here to visit, as a friend of the patient,” she said calmly.
“This wing is private and accessible only by approved visitors,” the guard said sternly.
She looked shocked that they would be telling her this. “Hello? What do you think I am?”
“The visitors just left and you don’t have a visitor tag,” the guard replied, justifiably looking down at her chest, but for a moment longer than he needed to.
“So you want me to go back downstairs after Lucy Curry just sent me up here and tell her that you wouldn’t let me see the boy?” she asked with a shocked look on her face.
The use of the celebrity name threw them off guard. The man thought about this for a moment. “Who did you say your name was?”
“Angelina Russell. They’re expecting me.”
“Hang on Miss Russell,” the guard said and went through the doors.
A minute later he came back with Jerome Westhall, a hulking black man who had been Sam’s bodyguard since before he learned to walk. Jerome had been a football lineman in college until an injury sent him into a bodyguard career and he landed the job watching over Sam after many recommendations. He was a soft spoken and gentle man that Sam and Angelina referred to as Yogi Bear.
Angelina smiled. “Hi Yogi!”
He pulled her aside and spoke in hushed tones. “Angelina, what are you doing here girl?”
“I came to see Sam. I heard he has been calling for me.”
“Yes, you’re the only one he’s been asking for, but do you realize the trouble I’ll get into if Lucy or Tyra finds out I let you in?”
“I saw them leave and they didn’t see me. No one is going to know I came. But if Sam finds out I got this close and you wouldn’t let me see him, I think he’ll be the one to fire you.”
He thought about this, realizing it was true. If he didn’t let her in, Angelina would somehow tell Sam and yes, he would somehow find himself out of this job. He shook his head and walked back through the double doors with her, continuing to shake his head. He lead her down the hall, past a deserted nurses station and around a corner to dozens of identical rooms. He motioned for her to enter one and returned to his chair right outside.
Angelina quietly walked into the room, closing the door behind her. Sam was sitting up on a gurney, looking utterly out of place, his little head and arms sticking out of a teal patient gown. His head had been shaved and EKG stickers were placed at various points on his head and shoulders. Black dots and lines had been drawn where a technician had carefully marked out exact locations where the surgeon’s handiwork would be done. He had been crying and Nanny, who was holding him tightly with tissues in her hand, was looking as distraught as he was.
“Sam, it’s me,” Angelina whispered, trying to sound upbeat.
“Angie,” he said with despair and grief, holding out his arms in her direction. Angelina was stunned by the sound of his voice. She had never heard him sound so frightened and helpless as he did now. She hugged him tightly as he began to sob again. Nanny wiped tears from her eyes and mouthed a big “thank you” to Angelina, like she had done so many times before.
Nanny spoke sympathetically between her sniffles to bring Angelina up to date on what was happening. “They’re going to put him to sleep here in about half an hour and then wheel him into the operating room down the hall. There they will hook him up to all this fancy equipment and they promise Sam he isn’t going to feel any pain and isn’t going to remember a thing. Sam doesn’t believe it. Lucy tried to tell him it was important he cooperate and be brave, but…” she shrugged her shoulders, lost for words.
“Angie, don’t let them do this to me, please!” Sam said, gripping her arms tightly in his shaking hands. “You said I don’t have to see if I don’t want to and I don’t want them to do this to me.”
Angelina felt her rage reaching a boiling point. She gritted her teeth and squinted her eyes. She wanted to tear Lucy’s Barbie face off with her fingernails. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself.
Sam continued on with his pleading, “Save me Angie, PLEASE! Don’t let them do this!” At this time she was his only trusted friend and last hope. He was lost in a dark world, pleading for help.
Angelina’s face went calm. She knew what was right and knew what she had to do. She pulled out her cell phone and called Neil.
“Neil…hey! Yes…you are going to hate me for this. I know we just parted, but I’m going to need you to pick me up.” There was a pause. “Like in the next 5 minutes on Edgemont Street right outside the hospital. If you can be there in the next 5 minutes I will love you for the rest of your life even if you choose to hate me forever.” There was a pause and she smiled. “I’m dead serious. YOU MUST BE THERE.”
She hung up the phone and put her game face back on. “Nanny, where are his clothes?”
Nanny froze, staring wide-eyed at her. “You can’t be serious. You won’t make it — ”
“I asked where are his clothes?” She repeated, inches from Nanny’s face.
“In the bag there,” she said, pointing a shaking finger.
“Good.” Angelina winked at her. “Now, Sam would like you to go get him some chocolate milk from the cafeteria downstairs.”
“But, he isn’t allowed to eat or drink before his — ”
Angelina got in her face again. “ — Sam would like you to get him some chocolate milk from the cafeteria, wouldn’t you Sam?”
“Yes,” said Sam, not knowing why, but knowing this was the correct answer if Angelina said it was. His eyes were fixed, staring straight ahead. Angelina’s tone of voice had put a glimmer of hope on his face.
“Okay,” Nanny said, nervously straightening her blouse and heading for the door. “I didn’t know anything about what you are about to do,” she said aloud as if practicing for how she was going to explain herself to Lucy and Tyra.
“Just calmly tell anyone asking that you’re going to get Sam something and will be right back. Take the elevator to the first floor and get some chocolate milk from the cafeteria, okay?”
She nodded profusely and was out the door, whispering prayers to herself.
Angelina grabbed Sam’s bag and led him to the bathroom, which was big enough for a wheelchair to move around in and then some. She stripped the gown off him and helped him back into his clothes. His crying had stopped and he was putting all his concentration into helping her get him dressed as fast as they could. She pulled his Dodgers baseball cap tight over his head to hide the markings and stickers.
“There, that’s how you’re supposed to look,” she said, guiding him back into the main room. “Now, you stand here by this door as silent as you can. When I grab your hand and pull, you be ready to run with me, okay?”
He nodded silently, standing like a sentry in his position behind the door.
Angelina opened the door slowly and stuck her head out. “Hey,Yogi. Nanny had to leave to get something. Could you come in here and help Sam do his thing in the little boy’s room? He’s embarrassed having a girl do it, you know?”
“Angie, you know that ain’t my thing,” he protested.
“You’ve got kids yourself. Come on, get in here and help a brother out.”
He shook his head again and reluctantly entered the room, slowly strolling across the floor. He walked into the bathroom, “Okay Sammie — ”
Angelina slammed the bathroom door shut and slid the back of a guest chair under the handle. No sooner than Yogi had realized what had happened, she was grabbing Sam’s hand and they were racing out the door. She heard him yell her name and heard a pounding on the door. That will hold him for a few precious seconds before he smashes the entire door down, she thought.
She knew they wouldn’t get past the other guards, so had to go the other way, down the long hallway and through the operating wing. They passed a nurse who was wheeling an implements tray, looking stunned as they flew by.
As they turned the corner they came face to face with Dr. Zinnovy. He was wearing his full surgical scrubs, minus the facemask. He froze, startled. His mind didn’t register what he was seeing until they were right upon him.
Angelina, now in a rage, leapt up at him and slammed her elbow into his face, smashing his glasses and busting his nose. He didn’t know what hit him. He reeled backwards, the stabbing pain in his face overwhelming all his senses and mental processes. He screamed and grabbed for his face, writhing on the floor.
Angelina didn’t look back, but pulled Sam along, willing his short legs to move faster. She heard the sound of Yogi’s voice from down the hallway and turned to see him in a fury, barreling down on them like a linebacker after a quarterback. They had reached the staff-only access door to the operating wing at the hallway end. She pulled out her dad’s access card.
Come on Daddy, help me out here, she prayed. She swiped the card and the green light came on, releasing the magnetic lock — Yes! She pushed open the door and shoved Sam through ahead of her. She stepped in and pulled the door shut as Yogi’s body slammed into it with a loud crash. It was a fireproof hospital door with several thousand pounds of magnetic lock holding it shut. It and the walls around shuddered, but it held.
She looked at him through the window slats in the door as he yelled her name in anger. She felt sorry for him, knowing what she had done would end his career. “Sorry Yogi,” she yelled in her best apologetic tone and they took off again. They passed several large operating rooms. Several staff in scrubs, their faces hidden behind masks and goggles had stuck their head out to see what the commotion was about. None recognized what was happening to react in time to stop them. Angelina reached the fire escape door and slammed it open, setting off the alarm. She picked Sam up and threw him over her shoulder in a fireman’s carry, using her strong legs to go down the seven flights of stairs as fast as she could. Nearing the bottom, she heard voices and shouting from above and footsteps of people following after them.
They burst from the fire escape door on the street side and saw Neil’s SUV a hundred feet up the street. Thank God he’s there! Her thighs and calves were burning, but she had plenty of energy still with the adrenaline rushing through her. She hurried up to it with Sam still over her aching shoulder and swung open the passenger side door to get him in.
“Who is this?” Neil asked as he looked back at the little boy Angelina was desperately buckling into the passenger seat. She didn’t answer. She was moving fast, her face deep red, sweaty and flustered. “Is everything okay?” he asked perplexed.
“Get out of the driver’s seat. I’m driving!” she yelled as she slammed the passenger side door closed.
“You can’t drive! You don’t have a license,” Neil protested with his hands in the air, looking at her through the rearview mirror as she came around the car’s rear.<
br />
“I had a permit and you have a license,” she retorted, as she opened his door for him.
“But I’m under 21!” Neil shot back, getting out of his seat. She didn’t answer.
Neil walked around the car with his hands in the air as Angelina buckled herself in and adjusted the rearview mirror. She looked determined and fierce, like she was ready to fight an army. It scared him. Here, women were ruling him again, he thought. He needed to grow up and get some teeth, he admonished himself.
“Is that your boyfriend Angie?” Sam asked between breaths.
“Yes, this is my boyfriend.”
A deeply confused Neil got into the jeep, staring at her.
“Neil, meet Sam. Sam, this is Neil,” Angelina said hastily.
“Hi,” Neil said slowly with a single wave of his hand and was puzzled to see the kid didn’t make any eye contact with him.
“Angie says you are very handsome. Is that true Mr. Neil?” Sam asked.
Neil shook his head in confusion. “Well, I think she’s gorgeous, so I guess we feel the same,” he said, taking in the sight of the kid, a big question mark on his face.
“I trust Angie. But it doesn’t sound like you trust her that much,” Sam said with a shrug of his shoulders.
“Of course I trust her,” he said with a smile and turned to face Angelina. “Now, please tell me what is going on?”
Angelina saw in the side-view mirror the two security guards and two other men in surgical scrubs come bursting from the fire escape door, scanning up and down the street. They spotted the idling SUV and raced towards it. Angelina shifted into gear and hit the accelerator, skidding the tires as the car burst forward and up Edgemont, towards Hollywood Boulevard. The men quit their pursuit and ran back to the building. She reached the light and skidded to a stop, waiting impatiently and seeing nothing further happening in the rearview mirror.
“Whoa, slow down. You’re not on a race track here,” Neil said, his arm on the dashboard to brace himself. He looked back curiously at the kid in the backseat with the eyes wandering aimlessly. He looked over at Angelina and whispered, “Is he blind?”
As the light turned green two hospital security cars with their lights flashing came racing up the street towards her. She hit the gas and swerved left onto Hollywood Boulevard.
“Yes, I’m blind,” Sam said loudly, having heard him clearly.
“Who is this kid and why are you so exhausted?” Neil implored her.
“My name is Sam Curry.”
“The Sam Curry?!” he asked her in shock.
“Yes, the Sam Curry,” Sam answered with a big smile.
Neil looked back to see two security cars with their lights on, swerving in and out of traffic and following on their tail. “Hey, those security cars are following us, you could get a ticket driving like this.”
He realized why they were driving like this. “We just kidnapped Sam Curry?!”
“We didn’t kidnap him!” Angelina shot back.
“Then why are we speeding away and not stopping?!”
“It’s a long story and I can’t explain it right now. You have to trust me,” she said, swerving around a car.
There’s that word again, he thought. His emotions were sending him in several directions at once. He ran his fingers through his hair in anxiety. “We’re dead. We just kidnapped Sam Curry.”
“We did not kidnap him!”
“What do you call this then?” he snapped, shouting back at her.
“Sam, were you kidnapped?” she yelled to the back as they burst through an intersection that had turned red.
“No way!” Sam answered, a big grin on his face.
“See?” she said with a confident smile.
