Chapter Sixty-Three



Eli

We've been here for hours and we've only found two devices. Bomb squad have taken them away to destroy them, but we have to keep searching. There's such a vast area to cover, and we need to be thorough and strategic as we move through the station. The whole area has been evacuated to minimize causalities. I haven't spoken to Dani in hours. Come to think of it, she hasn't found anything and that's very unlike her. I take a glance at the massive clock in the station, which reads 13:45. Yeah, it's unusual for Dani to not have found something in 8 hours. Something is bugging me, but I'm on the job and I can't afford to lose focus right now. My comms crackle to life as Captain Torres, the head of bomb squad, says, “The two devices weren't live. They're dummy devices.”

I reply, “Do we proceed, sir?'

“Proceed for now, but await further instruction.”

“Roger, sir.”

I really don't like this. Something is wrong and I can't do anything about it. Ash is at my side, “LT? What's wrong?”

“Something isn't right. I haven't heard from Romanov in hours. She was searching the cameras to find devices, but there's been no communication. Hearing that those two devices were dummies does not fill me with positive thoughts. Get Captain Michaels on a secure channel.”

Ash is on it and within a minute he says, “Channel 3, LT.”

“Cap, you heard from Romanov?”

“Not since 0800 hours. What's wrong?”

“I haven't heard anything either. She was looking for devices but she's either found nothing or something's wrong.”

“It's not like her to have found nothing at all. I'll speak to Captain Torres and clear you to leave. You get back there and check on her. You need to read me in after this, Ramirez. I told you about this.”

“Yes Cap.”

“You call me straight away. You hear me?”

“Yes sir.”

I leave the team with Ash and rush back to the truck. I can't believe that the Cap is allowing me to break protocol like this. He must have a serious soft spot for Dani if he's allowing me to leave the scene. Either that or he now thinks this whole bomb scare is a hoax.

I'm sure I turn more than a few heads as I jump out of the truck. I'm in full SWAT gear in a department truck. Not suspicious at all, huh? A feeling of dread fills me as I run up the stairs to Dani's floor. I've never doubted my gut feeling before, but I seriously hope it's wrong this time. As I round the corner of the stairwell, I see Dani's front door at the end of the corridor and I know I'm too late. The door has been blown off it's hinges and I have to brace myself, not knowing what I'm going to find through that door.

When I step into the house, I have my gun out. I have to be cautious, there's no telling who is in here. The first thing I notice is the mess, like someone has tossed the joint. I scan the room and see a dead guy by the couch. Dani must have got some shots off. I quickly count the bullet holes. Seven. Geez, she really went for him. She must have been scared. I clear the living room and make my way in to the kitchen. I see a trail of blood and the panic starts to bubble up inside of me. I can't see Dani and I'm panicking that they've taken her. I follow the trail of blood towards the bedroom and what I find at the end of it nearly makes me sick. Dani is laying there, bleeding and unconscious. She may even be dead; I don't know. I holster my gun and dash over to her. I rip my gloves off and desperately feel for a pulse. I grab my radio, “Dispatch, this is Lieutenant Ramirez, badge number 5837. I have a 10-22. I need a bus forthwith. I'm at 438 49th Street West. Apartment 5. I need urgent medical assistance and I need cops on scene.”

“Services have been dispatched to your location, Lieutenant. Do you need me to stay on the line?”

“No ma'am. Thank you.”

It's only now that I realize Dani is naked. There's so much blood and I was in too much of a shock to notice it before. I grab a blanket and throw it over her, but not before I actually see that scaring that she's covered in. Geez, she wasn't wrong about the scars. I vaguely spot the initials AB on her thigh and it doesn't take many guesses to figure out who that is from. I cover her up but also try to assess the damage, knowing that the medics will need some information from me. I manage to find a weak pulse, but it's fading. That's not really surprising with the amount of blood that's on the floor. If it wasn't for my training, I'd have lost it completely by now. I'm a mess, but I'm managing to hold on by a thread. I grab my cell and call the Cap.

“Eli? What's the scene? I heard you requested a bus...”

“It's not good Cap. I think we might lose her...”

“What happened?”

“I don't know. It's a mess here. She's a mess. She took one of them down though, so I'll need an ID on him. I'll need someone to process Dani. I can't do that myself.”

“I wouldn't expect you to. It'll be done at the hospital. The medics should be on the scene any moment now. How you holding up?”

“Can't talk about it. I need to shut it out right now. Just get someone here to process the scene. Someone we trust.”

“I'm on it. Keep me updated and I'll send Ash to the hospital when he gets back. Where will they take her?”

“Lenox. I'll call my dad.”

“Ok. Check in with me...”

The medics appear at the door with all of their equipment. As soon as they're at my side, they say, “You first responder?”

“Yes sir. Lieutenant Ramirez.”

“I'm Pete and this is Sam. What have we got?”

“Multiple GSW's and she's taken a severe beating. I don't know how long she's been like this but there's a lot of blood. I found a faint pulse, but it's getting weaker.”

“Is she any relation to you?”

“My girlfriend.” I don't even need to think about that answer. That's pretty much what Dani is, even though we haven't spoken about it or put a title on anything.

“Do you know her blood type?”

“No sir.”

“Any allergies we need to know about?”

“No allergies, but she's a recovering addict. Been clean about 4 years and she's on Modecate for anxiety.”

“Right. We need you to step back while we work on her. You'll need to keep the cops out until we can get her stable enough to transport. You ok to do that?”

“Yes sir. Just... just take care of her. She doesn't deserve to go out like this...”

“We'll do everything we can, Lieutenant.”

I take a step back and head towards the bedroom door so I can stop the cops from just walking in. As I do this, my cell rings. It's Arrow.

“Now's not a good time, man...”

“You know anything about 438 49th Street West?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I followed Babkin there earlier.”

I grind out, “Where is he now?”

“At the Bratva Bar. Why? What's going on?”

“Do not let him out of your sight. That address you saw him go to? That's Dani's address. She's a mess, man...”

“Sheesh. I'm sorry LT. If I'd have known, I'd have done something about it. I just thought they'd dropped off one of the guys. They were one less when they left.”

“I think Dani killed him.”

“I'm sorry, Eli. Is she going to make it?”

“I don't know.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Don't lose him. Greggson will want him brought in and we can't afford for him to drop off the radar. He'll know we want him after this, so he's going to try to disappear. Whatever you do, don't let that happen.”

“Yes sir. I'm sorry LT. If you need anything, all you have to do is ask.”

“Thanks. I have to go.”

The cops have arrived and I immediately say, “You can't go in there yet. The medics are working on her. Once she's stable then you can go in.”

“Yes sir. Lieutenant Ramirez, I'm Detective Baker and this is Detective Jones. Captain Michaels said to tell you CSU are on their way. Tom is with them.”

“Thanks.”

“We're waiting for a couple of deputies and we'll send them to knock on doors and see if anyone saw or heard anything.”

“There's a dead guy in there. You'll need to ID him. That should turn up some answers. I'm sure he's in the system somewhere.”

Baker says, “Sure thing.”

The medics have Dani hooked up to a heart monitor and I've been listening to the faint beeping of the machine. My heart literally stops when I hear the beep turn into a flat tone. I can't lose her! Especially not like this! Not after everything we've already been through. I hear one of the medics ask for adrenaline. I had to administer that in the army. That is one massive needle and it goes straight into the heart. I don't want to look, but I can't tear my eyes away from the scene. I've now got my back to the detectives but I'm blocking their view, so they can't see what Dani looks like. I hold my breath, waiting for any sign of a heart beat. It feels like a lifetime before one of the medics says, “I have a faint beat. We need to get her out of here now. Bring the cot...”

There's a flurry of activity and before I know it, the medics are wheeling Dani out. Thankfully she's fully covered up, so I don't have to worry about anyone seeing her. I shoot a look at the detectives and say, “I'm going to the hospital. She's got a Glock 19. I'm guessing it's in the house somewhere. That'll be what she used to shoot the guy. It's got a clip of 22 bullets, just so you know.”

“Yes sir.”

I rush after the medics and jump into the back of the bus. As Pete drives, Sam works on Dani and I make the dreaded call to my pops.

“Pops, you at work?”

“Yes, why? What's wrong Eli?”

“Dani's on her way in. It's bad, pops.”

“What's your ETA?”

“Maybe 7 minutes, traffic dependent.”

“Who's driving?”

“Pete. I don't know his last name.”

Sam quickly says, “Turner. Your dad work in the hospital?”

“Yes sir. Don Ramirez.”

“Hold the cell and let me talk to him... Doc, it's Sam. We got multiple GSW's and she's taken a serious beating. There's severe blunt forced trauma to the head. She flat lined before transportation, so we gave her some epinephrine and we've managed to get a weak pulse back. She's lost a lot of blood, so you need to have some O Neg units ready. I don't have her blood type. She'll need surgery for the GSW's so prep an operating room. We're almost there.”

I don't even try to talk to my dad again, I just hang up. He needs to focus on getting Dani fixed. I know he can't do her surgery or anything, but he can get everyone ready for her arrival. When we screech to a halt in front of the hospital, there's an insane amount of activity. I want more people. I want them to save Dani. She flat lined again on the way in but I don't know if they got her back because the medics were working on her when she was carted away from me.

I'm now left standing in the hallway of the emergency room, on my own, just waiting.