Jake flipped open his credentials. “Carlisle. FBI.”
“Who called you in?” Brush’s eyes narrowed and his gaze swung to the corner where several men in dark suits hovered around Senator Klein and his wife. “The senator’s people?”
“No, sir.” Jake studied the other man a moment. Brush had a lot on his plate with the evacuation and no known backup coming. He was holding his own at being in charge, but there were details he didn’t know and that could get someone, especially those held hostage, killed. The other man returned his steady gaze and Jake made a quick decision to trust him. “I’m going to be straight with you, Lieutenant. I’m not here in an official capacity.”
“Then why are you here?” Brush asked, head cocked slightly sideways.
“One of the hostages in the OR is married to a member of my team. She has been in contact with us from the beginning.”
Brush looked around and behind Jake. “Your team? All I see is you.”
“Currently, four members are stationed just outside the OR backdoor. The last member of my team will be meeting me here momentarily.”
“Damn. You can’t go in there. Whoever is behind this has the place wired to blow if anyone tries to open any of the doors to that suite.” Brush wiped his hands through his thinning gray hair.
“We understand that. One of our team members is a bomb expert. We have a marksman with them, too.”
“Do you know how many bad guys are we looking at?”
“Our person inside the OR managed to get the information to us that we’re looking at one gunman, who has indeed wired all the doors to blow.”
Brush narrowed his focus on him once more. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“He has a timer set to blow. The original time was—”
“Ninety minutes.” Brush let out a long breath, once again running his hands through his hair, then looking at his watch. “By my calculations we have maybe twenty minutes left to clear the building.”
“That’s not the only problem we have.” Jake leaned a little closer and nodded towards the senator’s entourage.
“I’m not going to like this, am I?” Brush said.
“Our gunman has an agenda. He’s already killed a surgeon and he wants the senator brought up to the main OR doorway.” Jake glanced at his watch. “We have about five minutes to make that happen.”
“That’s what the big ruckus was all about,” Brush said, shaking his head.
“Ruckus?”
“Yeah, about five minutes ago, one of the nurses rushed over to the senator’s group and spoke. There was some yelling and hand waving, but I was too busy trying to get people out of here to try to put out that fire, too.”
“Can you get me a vest?”
“Don’t need to do that.”
Jake turned to see Luke standing right behind him, holding a police vest and his laptop. “Had Wilson outside get me one. And I have some information for you guys. Can you patch into Matt’s phone, so I only have to tell it once?”
***
“You’re on speakerphone, Luke,” Dave said as Matt held the phone out between the quartet.
They’d made their way to the stairwell just outside the side entrance into the Operating Room unit. Judy was less than fifty yards away and he still couldn’t get to her. Frustration warred with the fear and anger surging through his veins. The woman he loved was in danger and he was as useless as a eunuch in a whorehouse.
“I did some digging into Wilkes. It took me a while and I had to hack into some databases that aren’t supposed to be hackable, but I found something.” Luke paused as if waiting for accolades.
“What? You want a pat on the back? Judy’s life is in danger. Just spit out the info, little brother.” He felt the others’ eyes on him as he ground out the words, but couldn’t help feeling like taking the hide off of someone, even if it was Luke.
“Seems our gunman and the senator’s lives have crossed once before. Six months ago, the senator’s son was involved in a DUI, details of which were buried deep in both the media and the internet. Both victims were brought to this hospital and the surgeon was—”
“Hodges,” Matt said.
“Right. The other victim was Wilkes’ wife.”
“Dammit.” Dave ran his hand over his face. The guy wanted payback for his wife’s death.
“Apparently, Hodges chose to work on the senator’s son while the senior and second-year residents tried to save the wife.”
“And Wilkes is holding the surgeon and the senator responsible for the wife’s death,” Castello said.
“Well, that, and there’s more.”
“Luke.” Dave growled in frustration.
“The wife was pregnant.”
“Oh, my God,” Katie whispered.
Dave exchanged looks with Matt and Castello. The gunman had nothing to live for and that made him worse than crazed.
“Any news on the senator?”
“Klein and his people are here, but making no move to comply with the gunman’s demands,” Jake said, his voice full of tension.
“But you’re going to light a fire under them?”
“As soon as we hang up, I’ll get a vest on him and drag him up there. How long ‘til the deadline he gave us?”
“Little less than four minutes,” Castello said, studying his watch.
“I’ll have him in the main hallway in three.”
“I’ll meet you there, Jake,” Dave said then Matt pocketed his phone again. “Any way we can get a look at the wiring for the explosives?”
Katie pulled out a slender tool that looked like a small snake a plumber might use. “If this can wedge in the gap between the doors, I might be able to see what he’s got set up.”
Dave nodded at her and Matt. “You two take a look at that while I meet Jake up front. If Judy can get this Wilkes in front of the door, I’m taking him out.”
“Castello?”
“I’ve got your six. Carlisle can keep the senator’s handlers out of the way and I’ll make sure no one gets past us here.”
***
As Wilkes dragged Judy back to the OR suite once more, her mind frantically worked to find a way to use the Succinylcholine on him.
She couldn’t let Dave shoot him. Despite the sudden madness of the hospital orderly, she believed there was a good man still inside—she’d seen it over the past months of working with him. And if Dave killed him while not on duty, Dave could go to prison at worst or lose his job at best. Besides, she couldn’t live with herself if she helped her husband take that shot.
So, Succinylcholine it was.
With Wilkes out of commission and not an immediate threat, she could unbind her co-workers and they could all figure out how to defuse the bombs. Or help Dave do it. Question was, how was she going to get the Succinylcholine into Wilkes? He wasn’t just going to stand still and let her stick him with a needle and pump drugs into him.
The door to the OR suite slammed open as Wilkes hit it then once more shoved her toward the other hostages. She stumbled in front of them, mouthing the words, need distraction, to Karen and Bill. They exchanged looks then nodded.
“You know the police won’t let the senator come up here,” Judy said as she straightened then turned to face Wilkes and stand her ground.
“Shut up,” Wilkes groused at her, pacing the short distance to the OR table and back to the door. “He’ll come.”
“Surely you can’t believe his handlers will let him get close to doors rigged to explode.”
“He’ll make them, just so he can check on his bastard son. And this time the senator and his warmongering cronies aren’t getting his son out of this one.” Wilkes turned and strode straight towards her, invading what little personal space he’d been giving her, his face so close his spit hit her as he spoke. “Now. I. Said. Shut. Up.”
Judy swallowed hard, didn’t move, but didn’t say anything more. She clenched the syringe in her pocket and wondered again how she was going to get
the drug into the man before he either shot them all or the bombs blew.
“Sit with the others,” Wilkes said, leaning in until his breath blew hot on her face, his eyes wild with hatred.
Slowly she returned to her spot on the floor next to Karen.
Her friend’s body shook beside her. Judy turned to see tears streaming down her face, which she had pressed into Bill’s shoulder. For months she’d seen the pair dance around the attraction sparking between them. She’d even teased Karen the week before about arranging her call days on the anesthetist’s regular schedule. Karen had blushed and laughed, saying if she had to come in on her time off, she might as well have fun doing it. While Bill would make jokes and flirt innocently, Judy had to admit he’d always been professional, putting his patients’ needs over any romantic feelings he’d have for the cute brunette.
Perhaps this drama would push them to admit how they felt about each other.
Bill turned his head and whispered something to Karen. She nodded and leaned in closer. His eyes met Judy’s over Karen’s head and he gave her a brief nod that he meant to protect her friend as best he could—just as Dave always protected her.
They’d been driving for hours, winding through the river valley of southeastern Ohio, on their way home from her grandmother’s funeral. She’d hated leaving her mother, so they’d stayed late into the day, visiting with family until she’d finally exchanged one last tearful hug with Mom before Dave took her hand and walked to the car. The dreary fall weather wept right along with her as they’d traveled through the darkening countryside.
“She’ll be fine once your dad gets her home,” Dave said over the soft jazz music playing on the radio.
“I know, but it’s so hard to see such a strong lady like Mom in such pain.” She held her tissue to her nose again, pressing hard to try and stem the tears.
His hand squeezed her free one. “Yes, it is.”
Looking over at him, she read the concern and love in his hazel eyes and knew he was talking about her as much as her mother. She gave him a shaky smile. “We were all very close, you know. When I was a kid I used to call Granny whenever Mom was too busy to talk and she would listen to all the things I had to tell.”
“You still did.” Dave gave a laugh and squeezed her hand once more as fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.
“Now I won’t be able to.”
“Sure you will— Geez!” Dave’s words were cut short and he grabbed hold of the steering wheel as a pickup swerved into their lane, the headlights nearly blinding them to the slick road.
“Shit!” Dave turned hard and the spit gravel as they careened off the highway into the small ditch.
“Oh. My. God,” she whispered and clutched the dashboard with one hand and the seat with the other. Trees flew by and the car bounced up the side toward one massive oak.
“DAVE!” she screamed, closing her eyes, prepared for impact.
It never came.
When she opened her eyes, she was amazed. Dave managed to pull them to a stop mere inches from the oak’s trunk.
Suddenly her door was wrenched open.
“Are you okay, babe?” Dave asked, squatting down to unbuckle her seatbelt, his hands skimming over her arms, legs, torso. Fear and need pouring off him. Fear that they’d almost died, need that she be uninjured.
She cupped his face in her hands. “I’m all right. Truly.”
“You’re sure? You didn’t hit your head or anything?”
“David.” She never used that name, only when she wanted his undivided attention. “I’m okay. Nothing’s hurt. Nothing’s broken.”
The next second she was swept out of the car into the drizzling rain and into his strong arms, his body heat warming her despite the cold rain. His heart pounded against hers.
“The son of a bitch came out of nowhere. I didn’t see him until it was too late.” He squeezed her harder. “I thought we were going to die.”
She knew his fear and relief were making him babble and all she could do was hold him tight. “We’re okay, sweetheart.”
“All I could do was try to keep the wheels steady and not head nose-first into something. The bastard didn’t even stop to see if we were okay.” He pulled away and gazed down into her face. “It’s my job to keep you safe—always.”
The phone on the OR wall rang.
Wilkes stalked over to her and hauled her up by her elbow. “You answer it, Ms. Judy. If they don’t have the senator outside the OR doors, you tell them someone in here is going to pay.”
“OR-four, Judy Edgars,” she said, trying to keep the phone from shaking. She flinched as Wilkes reached past her to hit the speakerphone button.
“Ms. Edgars, this is Agent Carlisle of the FBI. Is Mr. Wilkes there with you?”
She nearly sagged with relief at hearing her brother-in-law’s voice. “Yes. He’s right here and you’re on speakerphone.”
“Mr. Wilkes, I have Senator Klein outside the main door as you requested.”
“Push him to the window so I can see him.”
“I can’t just put him out there for you to take a shot at.”
Wilkes gave a harsh laugh. “I don’t intend to shoot him. I just want to be sure he’s here.”
“What exactly are you looking to accomplish here? You don’t have a means of escape.”
“What I’m looking for, Mr. FBI agent, is some justice. Setting right what these three did.”
“Killing all those innocent people in that room isn’t going to accomplish this.”
“Tick, tock. You’re running out of time. If you want them out of here, you’d best let me see that bastard senator.”
“Tell you what. I’ll stand in front of the door. You let me see that one of the hostages is okay, say, Ms. Edgars, and then I’ll hand the phone to the Senator.”
Wilkes pushed the mute button on the phone and looked at Judy. “Will this cord reach out into the hallway?”
She tried to remember the last time she’d pulled it into the hallway. “Yes. Barely.”
He grabbed the receiver from her hand and hit the buttons to take the phone off mute and speaker. “No tricks, or Judy is the first to die and it will be on your head.”
Holding the phone and his weapon in one hand, he hauled Judy out into the hall by her arm.
Judy could see Jake standing just outside the doors to the OR and behind him, eyes full of intensity focused solely on her, was Dave. A sudden sting of tears hit her eyes and she tried to hide the sniffle caused by the burning in her nose with a hard cough.
Dave slowly raised his weapon. He was hoping to get a shot of Wilkes, but her captor was using the open door to hide him from those at the end of the hall. Dave motioned for her to move farther into the hall.
She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t let him kill this man.
Her heart in her throat, she shook her head no at her husband.
“Here she is. Now let me see the senator,” he said into the phone.
It took a moment and Judy wondered if they’d truly managed to convince the politician to come meet Wilkes’ demands or if Dave and Jake had simply been bluffing. Then the grey hair of the senator moved into the small frame of the window.
Beside her, Wilkes let out a huge breath. “Put the bastard on the phone.”
Jake nodded and handed the phone to Senator Klein.
“Senator.” Wilkes stared at the main OR doors, his attention focused on the state senator. “Glad you could join us. Your son has to pay for what he did and I want you to hear justice finally taking place.”
He turned, raised his weapon at the senator’s son, lying prone on the table and fired at his chest.
Chapter Five
The gunshot echoed off the tiled walls of the operating room, the sound deafening Judy for a moment even as she screamed and turned to cover her ears.
“Judy!” She could see Dave screaming her name, more than hear him, even as Wilkes shoved her back into the operating room and slammed the receiver b
ack on the wall mount.
“You bastard! You’re going to kill us all, aren’t you?” Dr. Smith said, eyes wide with fear. The resident surgeon wasn’t known for handling surgical emergencies well, even though it was his area of expertise. That he’d kept his calm thus far was a miracle.
“Want to be next?” Wilkes aimed right at him.
Forcing her fear deep inside, Judy stepped between them, hands raised in submission. “Please don’t. He’s just scared. We’re all scared.”
“Right now he needs to keep his mouth shut. You all do.”
Out of the corner of her eye she could see the tall nurse anesthetist, Bill, sliding along the wall toward the tubes and cords of the anesthesia machine. She needed to keep Wilkes focused on her and hopefully get him to lower his weapon.
“We’d all be less scared if you told us why you were doing this? What did Dr. Hodges and the senator do to you?”
He lowered his arm slightly, pointing the gun out to the side, moving in to invade her space once more, intimidating her with his anger. “Stop trying to get inside my head, Judy. I said to shut up.”
Despite her common sense telling her to back up, she held her ground. Her daddy had always told her a bully just needed someone to stand up to them. Of course, she doubted he was talking about gun-carrying, bomb-making lunatics. “Why? Or are you going to execute me like you did Dr. Hodges? I don’t know what your beef was with him or the senator, but I’ve done nothing to you.”
For what seemed like an eternity, she stared into the deep blue abyss of Wilkes’ eyes—hatred and pain staring back at her.
Then he blinked, his look changing to despair. Growling, he ran his free hand over the back of his neck—the same motion of frustration Dave had used during a fight when he knew he was wrong—and backed up two steps.
“They killed her.”
“Who? Dr. Hodges and the senator?”
He pointed his gun at the OR table and the patient bleeding out onto it. “He started it.”
Slipping her hand in the pocket with the syringe, she loosened the cap at the same time edging to the side to still hide the anesthetist’s movements towards the tubing from the anesthesia machine lying curled on the floor. “What did he do?”
SEIZED, A Romantic Suspense Novella Page 5
