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...... | Lazarus Chapter 1 Part 2 by: Jim Jones Inside, Peggy Adams was in the recovery room standing at the front window that faces the E.R entrance. She was hiding behind the pastel peach drapes that had a picture of blooming red tulips scattered about. Watching with anticipation, her grin was hiding somewhere under the caked-on dark red lipstick. She told Dr. Kerr that she would watch out the window and keep everyone up on what was going on. She didn't let him in on her true intentions. John Kerr: "Medical Doctor." Well, not just yet! He still has to take his G.I.M.L.T. {Government Issued Medical License Test} But he's working hard at studying and the test is next week. Tonight would be the true test though. It would be tonight that his medical skills would be proven. John Kerr went back to his patient after the whole ordeal outside. He knew that if anything would happen, Peggy would let him know right away. "Right." He had his doubts about her, but at the moment he had no choice but to trust her. "I'm sorry for running out on you like that Mrs. Robertson. There was a commotion outside, but the police have everything under control. Now! How is your fever? Did it go down since I gave you the Motrin?" Mrs. Robertson was an elderly lady that came in during the evening shift. She was complaining to the doctor that her chest was hurting. It seemed to Kerr that it was a heart attack and he was going to get confirmation for Horowitz before the ruckus happened, now he had to confirm the diagnoses himself. Or wait until another doctor shows up. That could be hours. But he wasn't thinking about that, He was thinking about Stacy; He and Stacy had dated a few times and he often found himself thinking of her during work. The special circumstances eased his conscious and allowed him to think of his girlfriend, without feeling mortified. Mrs. Robertson didn't know the difference when he rechecked her to confirm his diagnoses. He designated a room for her to stay overnight so that should anything arise, she would have immediate care. He wrote on his clipboard what floor to send her to and what medicines to give her and then hung the clipboard on the outside of the door. "You have a good night Mrs. Robertson." And with that, he cut out the light and closed the door behind.. Heading back to towards the E.R., he suddenly realized that there was no one in charge. Horowitz was in charge, But what about now, now that he has been hauled off to jail. The thought gave him a shiver. He decided that he should call Albert Young, the hospital administrator, when Peggy came around running the corner of the corridor. Her pace was fast, and her breath was short as she talked to Kerr. Gasping for air she stated. "Someone else is here now doctor, They showed up just a few minutes ago." She made sure that she didn't reveal who it was. It was almost as if she didn't know who it was herself. But she knew. It was the same man that caused her envy every time a child was delivered during her shift. It was the same man that assured her a position in the hospital. With the new development, Kerr forgot about calling the hospital administrator, and he rushed off with Peggy to the sliding glass doors where they saw Chief of Police Gordon talking to the peace officer that held Stacy and Horowitz. They ignored Larry's warning, and walked outside to see what was going on. Kerr noticed that the Rigor Mortis process had begun on the bodies. He looked for Stacy but she wasn't in sight. He scanned the area in search of her and spotted her in the rear seat of a police car. He frowned with disappointment. Peggy was restless when Gordon looked their way. She couldn't stand still. Like she was nervous. She was like this throughout her shift and Kerr had thought about her actions all night but dismissed it when he heard the shots. Gordon was a taller, round man, with a brown cowboy hat that covered the top of his long, white hair and the hat cast a shadow over his mostly white beard that hid his lips. The tan blazer he was wearing had gray leather elbow patches. It hid most of his belly but you could still see the white undershirt being forced to bulge out. The voices of the two lawmen were low, undetectable with the exception of Gordon's shouts, but when he realized that his voice was turned up, he would lower it again. It seemed to Kerr, that whatever it was that they where talking about, it was irritating Gordon. With a last shout from Gordon, Keys made his way to his car. With Doctor Horowitz and Stacy in the back seat, Larry sped to the stoplight and took a right towards the police station. But that's not where they went. Gordon's beaded eyes were locked onto Peggy's as he walked the five yards to face the couple standing outside of the sliding glass entrance. His first words were stern and familiar to Peggy. "You need to go on back inside now. I have to talk to the doctor." He waved his hand to dismiss her. With his tone tuned down a bit, Gordon's interest was turned onto Kerr. "I'm afraid that we have a critical situation on our hands. It seems that there might be some cult activities going in the area. We have reason to believe that Dr. John Horowitz and Stacy Henderson might be linked with it. Are you the one in charge?" He waited for the response. Kerr was stunned at the thought of Doctor Horowitz being a part of the occult. This was the man that reported Dr. Simpson for raping Jill Porter during her operation. The whole idea that Horowitz could be apart of the occult was absurd. But here it was, being thrown in his face. "Well, Dr. Horowitz was in charge, but now, I, I don't know. There isn't anyone here except for a few nurses and myself." He acted almost scared when the answer dripped from his mouth. Gordon was puzzled by the fact that Kerr didn't know who was in charge. But he went on to say. "This is what I need you to do." His manner was instructive as he relayed his orders to Kerr. "Go back inside, and stay off the phone. We think that they may be planning an attack on the hospital." Kerr's hazel eyes lit up with worry when he said that. "So we can't let them know that anything has happened. First, let's get ready to deliver that baby, bring a gurney out so we can take her inside, Then I need you to stay inside, Keep the nurses busy so they aren't snooping around out her. I'll come in and let you know what to do next. Do you hear me?" He said that to make sure than Kerr was paying attention to his demands. He nodded with attention. "And stay off the phone." He stressed the point again. "Do you think you can do that for me?" His voice was a kinder voice than the one he used on Peggy. "Sure!" Kerr mumbled in response. Still dazed with his accusations. When the Chief motioned that he was through with him, he hurried inside to get the gurney. Cathy Bates and Cindy Blake had started the prepping of the O.R. when they were ordered inside the fist time. They knew that they would need the room for the delivery. Half of his mission was completed by the time Gordon even explained it. Tracy Stanton was sitting behind the Information desk that was directly in front of the sliding glass doors that led people to the care of the hospital. "Tracy, I need you to come with me." He had no problem adjusting his humble manner to management, and it seemed that the crew didn't mind taking orders from him. It was a rather smooth merger from internship to head doctor, despite the fact that it was a forced merger. She grabbed her stethoscope and followed the doctor who had taken the gurney from its' position on the wall. The quickness was a run for time was crucial and he knew that there wasn't much time before delivery would be unachievable. With the steel framed bed in his hands, he approached the pile of death in hopes that there might be life among the reaper's touch. She was light, there was no problem hoisting the cadaver onto the gurney by himself, with Tracy standing by just in case. There wasn't time for him to secure her to the bed and he ordered Tracy to take the two handles on the opposite end. It was her first time working with a gurney. Her novice approach was clumsy as she walked backwards. She didn't notice the gun that Larry had kicked form David Lawrence's hand earlier, and when she stepped on it, her ankle had shifted, causing her to lose her balance. And when she toppled to the ground, one of the handles had nudged into her ribs. She could hear the cracking of the bone as the steel bar jabbed her side. And agony followed. The agony of shattered bones cutting into your flesh from the inside. Sending her nerves into frenzy of discomfort. John had held up his end of the gurney. He almost lost control when Tracy fell, but he was able to sustain it. He gently set the bars down to the concrete and stepped over to Tracy. Examining her wounds, he came up with the diagnoses of a broken rib and a sprained ankle, he prescribed that she go inside and wait in the lounge. "I'll cast this as soon as I can. And grab yourself a couple of Vicodin while you wait." He smiled at her when he said. "You can go home afterwards." He placed his bear like hand into hers to help her up from the ground. She looked into his eyes, Like a schoolgirl looks into her favorite teacher's eyes, and said "Thank you." Gordon was inside the still running Monte Carlo, not paying any attention to the emergency professionals, He was searching for something, like he desperately needed whatever it was he was searching for, almost like a crack-head would search for 'just one more hit.' The search was consuming him, eating him, like a snake eats its' caged rabbit. Kerr noticed the constable rummaging through the car, and the pile of clothing laying resting on the sidewalk that was thrown without care from the vehicle. He ripped the contents out of the car carelessly, and using his pocket knife, he slashed the clothe upholstery. But that information was of no use to Kerr. He was concentrating on delivering the baby. The two went inside, with Tracy holding onto John's arm for support. If Gordon were paying attention, he would have seen Tracy replacing John with Cindy and walking off to the lounge. John retreated back to Mary's body with Cathy by his side. They disappeared soon after with the cadaver. A Band of sirens filled the chilling air, like an orchestra in an amphitheatre, full of sound and the lights dancing on the night skyline exposing the creeping storm. The army of police officers made their way through the parking lot and filed in order in front of the crime scene. Gordon was through with his search and standing at the curb when Michael Collins, a rather thin man with a neatly pressed, ready for inspection should inspection be required, uniform, opened his door. His vehicle was in the middle of the neatly filed cruisers. When he got out of his car, he stepped up to the chief. "So what's going on sir." He was always respectful to his superiors, the type that strived for promotion with his attentive behavior, working late when it called for it, taking on responsibilities beyond his duty. Coming in on his days off, like tonight. He didn't know that this was his last week in the Lancaster division. Maybe even in the whole state of Michigan. He probably wouldn't have strived so hard for the Chiefs approval if only he knew. It was only last week when Michael went to Gordon for advice. Looking to him for his superior knowledge on a situation that he had with his partner, Jack Wells. It seemed that Jack was pulling over young women and telling them that he wouldn't give them a ticket if they would go out on a date with him. Michael thought that was a little unscrupulous and he didn't want any part of it. He had his own reputation to uphold. But he knew what would happen to him if he complained to internal affairs. {Do you know how when one is inducted to the mafia, how the only way out is death? That's what it would be like if he went to the I.A. No way out.} It was when he confronted Gordon with the problem that Gordon put him on the Black List. Gordon called it a three-week probation; termination was inevitable. After the third week he would simply say that he wasn't satisfied with his work and let him go. Yes he was on the Black List all right. But he didn't know it. It was a secret black list and only Gordon and who ever Gordon told knew about The List. "It seems that we have another cult on our hands. I found evidence that a certain David Lawrence and his wife Mary Lawrence were in the process of carrying out a bombing." He held a piece of paper that had the words "Bomb" and "Hospital". The paper was wrinkled and folded in spots so it was hard to read it but those words where on it. He saw them. Michael didn't know David Lawrence but he knew Mary. She was the one that worked at 'Rubies Hair and More.' Every payday he would go to her shop and ask for her specifically to style his hair. He liked to keep his hair neatly trimmed for appearance, and Mary was the one that he was completely satisfied with, trusting her. He was her regular customer for the last two years. Since the year that he passed the academy and joined Lancaster's finest. They had endless talks during his sessions with her, about life and dreams. She told him all about how her husband stopped in the middle of the highway and saved a squad of turtles by moving them off of the road. She even mentioned her baby, she told him that they were going to name him Mitch. Not quite convinced that Mary was apart of this devilish scheme, he listened intensely to the chief. He was listening for his excuse to not believe his lies. But none where to be found. "I have reason to believe that they still might go ahead with their attack." He left the impression on his mind that he had some sort of evidence. The parking lot was waking up with activity. Residents of the community were starting to gather around the crime scene. It was like there was a circus coming to town and people were curious to watch them set up. At first it was only a few people, but it wasn't long after that the crowd began to grow. It was like a swimming pool filling up with water. Gallon by gallon. Peggy took her place at the window back inside the recovery room and watched as the detectives took their pictures, and outlined the body with white chalk. She could see Gordon talking to Michael Collins and she was wondering what they were talking about. She tried to read their lips, but vanity overturned her tries. Kerr let her keep up her curiosity to keep her out of the way. She remained there the entire time that the baby was being born. ~End Chapter 1, Part 2~
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