Twenty minutes later, Chris and Ezra were seated in the Travis living room.
The room had been set up to look like a nineteen century drawing room. The
room matched the Victorian style of the beautiful house. Once they were invited
in by Evie. Ad Travis's wife, she had insisted on making them some lunch.
The two agents now sat on the coach with warm bowls of delicious chicken
noodle soup.
"Now Chris, you know I need some connection between Meeker's case and what
is listed in your job descriptions. If I let Sidney do this without that,
I'll be breaking the rules of the ATF.
"Come on Orrin, when have you let those rules stop you before," Chris said.
Orrin Travis may be boss, but there was camaraderie between the two men that
went farther than boss and employee. The two were close friends, and that
relationship allowed the man in the lower position to speak so freely. In
his youth Travis had been one hell of a good FBI agent. His techniques were
very similar to Chris's, always effective, but legally questionable.
"Chris, I've already covered your asses countless times. I've got the higher
powers breathing down by neck to keep you and your team in line. Do you know
what they would do if they found out that I lent my agents out for local
non agency related purposes. You and I could both loose our jobs!"
This is a load of bullshit," Chris answered.
"I agree with you Chris, but unless you can create a story about a legit
reason to send Sid in there, then I can't give my ok."
"I've got nothing Orrin other than the fact that eight innocent girls have
murdered and their killer is on the loose. Who gives a damn about the politics
involved in the various departments? We are all law enforcement fighting
for the same thing!"
The Assistant Director sighed. Sometimes he really hated his job. He rubbed
his tired eyes with his hands.
"Can't you think of any reason for Sidney to go in there? There's got to
be some far-fetched connection.
"There were significant traces of cocaine found in the girls, during the
time of their autopsies," Ezra said. Travis stared at Ezra.
"I'm listening Standish," Ezra prompted.
"What if Chris and I told you that we suspected Carson of selling the drug
to his students, then killing them when they threatened to expose him to
the police."
"I would say give me evidence proving that," Travis answered.
"And Chris Larabee would answer by placing an agent at the University to
either prove or disprove his assumption."
Chris grinned; glad the Ezra's cunning mind was on his side. The idea was
so simple, but he knew he never would have figured it out himself. Travis
was thinking, after a few minutes Chris asked,
"So what do say Orrin?"
"You better get Sidney prepped, because I'm on my way to the office to sign
the papers."
"Thank you sir," Chris said, getting up. Ezra did the same. Evie was standing
in the doorway.
"Can I interest the two of you in more soup?" she asked.
"No thank you ma'am," Ezra answered. "As delicious as the first bowl was,
duty must take precedence over my stomach.
"Then hold on, I'll put it in a bucket so you can take some home." She
disappeared into the kitchen.
"You're a lucky man Orrin," Chris said. The older man smiled as he put on
his coat.
"I tell myself that when she's in one of her bad moods. I'm lucky if I end
up with an apple on those days. Well, I'm off. Watch your backs and tell
Sidney to be careful. I would hate to loose my best agents to a local case."
He opened the door and walked out.
"A few minutes later, Chris and Ezra were driving down the road. The warm
bucket placed on Ezra's lap.
"Thanks again Ezra, that whole thing with Carson and the drugs was genius."
"I admit that it was rather quick thinking on my part, but I owe to that
fact that I would hate to see Sidney's face that she wouldn't be going in
because of a minor technicality." .
"You really going to take all the soup?" Chris asked, remembering the delicious
taste.
"Yes, consider it reimbursement for my services today." Chris was going to
argue, but decided against it. Ezra did have a point.
Tuesday Morning had rolled around quicker than Chris would have liked. He
stared into the binoculars pointed at the Science Building. He watched Sidney
walk inside, a backpack flung over her shoulder.
"Well here we go," he sighed.
"She'll get him Chris," Meeker said. He was sitting in the passenger seat.
"You and I both know that she's one of the best."
"That doesn't change the fact that even the best screw up sometimes," Chris
answered.
'How often is she supposed to stay in contact with us," Vin asked. He was
sting in the back seat.
"As much as possible, she'll have easy access to a phone. She's got a campus
apartment all to herself. Besides, JD will be in steady contact with us too."
"Is that such a good idea, putting him in there too?" Vin asked. "I mean
Casey is a student here and her most of her friend's know JD. What happens
if they recognize him?"
"I think even Casey would have a heard time recognizing him now," Chris answered
exchanging an amused look with Meeker. Vin could only wonder what the two
of them had done to the poor computer whiz.
Sidney stood in the doorway and took a deep breath.
"Well here we go," she sighed and walked into the classroom. There would
be forty students in the class all together, but only half of them were in
the room right now. There were still ten minutes of class left to go.
There he was sitting at his desk. Sidney had to take in a deep breath. She
had no idea Professor Robert Carson would be so damn hot. He was a little
over six feet tall with shaggy brown hair. Although it didn't make him look
bad, he turned to look at her when she walked into the classroom. She could
feel herself melt when his deep blue eyes met her own.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
"Umm yes," Sidney said, reminding her of the job she had to do. She pulled
a pink sheet out her pocket. "I was wondering if you had room in your class
for another student."
"I thought the add drop period ended last Friday," Carson said looking at
the sheet.
"I had family problems these few weeks that required me to be at home. As
you can see, the Academics department Okayed it, if you have room in your
class." Sidney said, trying her best to play the hesitant junior, totally
absorbed with her new attractive professor. The second part wasn't very hard
to pretend.
"Of course," he answered, eying her from head to toe. "We have room for another
student, especially someone like you. Now I do need to warn you that this
psychology class is one of the more difficult ones offered at the school.
There may be times when you find yourself totally confused. I conduct study
sessions at my home about three miles off campus."
Sidney almost jumped in surprise, but she managed to keep her cool.
"I will keep that in mind, Sir." He grabbed a pen and signed the sheet of
paper given to her by the security force at the University. When Buck explained
the situation, the campus had unwillingly agreed to help. Many of the
administrators didn't think it possible that their young hotshot professor
was capable of committing a crime.
"You see the girl in the back?" Carson asked, pointing to an attractive redhead
sitting in the back row. Sidney nodded her head.
"That's Miranda Prince. She's the TA of this class. She's hearing to help,
but several students have complained about her lack of compassion. Little
piece of advice Miss," he glanced down at the paper to get a name, "Fisher.
If you need help, I would be more than happy to help."
"Thank you sir," Sidney answered. Carson handed her the sheet of paper and
returned to his work. Sidney searched for a seat. She had several selections,
but some would be more strategic than others. She placed herself between
two pretty girls. They seemed to fit the profiles of the killer's preferences.
One of them had long blond hair and the other a short perky auburn cut. Both
of them looked to be upperclassman. The blond smiled at her when she sat
down.
"New student?" she asked. Sidney nodded her head.
"I transferred here from Boulder. I needed to be closer to home for my family."
"Seems like we're getting a lot of new students today," the shorthaired girl
said. "That guy in the corner just added to out class today too." Sidney
followed the girl's pointed hand. In the corner of the desk was a stocky
blond haired kid with thick horn rimmed glasses. He was wearing a stained
burgundy sweater, and didn't seem to notice the three girls staring at him.
He was typing frantically on his laptop. Sidney eyes opened wide and had
to do a double take.
"You know him?" the blond asked. .Sidney shook her head.
"No, he just looks like somebody I knew in Bolder, but it's not him." she
answered. "I'm Michelle Fisher, by the way." She added.
"Shannon Jones," the blond introduced and this is Mackenzie Walters."
"I take it you two know each other," Sidney stated, breathing a small sigh
of relief that she had found people to talk too right away. She had feared
that she might have a difficult tome fitting into a group and learning more
about Carson, but these girls seemed genuinely friendly and willing to accept
her, at least in this classroom setting.
"We were roommates in the dorms our freshman year. We've been best friends
since.
"That's awesome, my freshman roommate and I didn't get along with each other
at all." Sidney answered. Conner got up and walked across the room. Sidney
felt her spine tingle. Mackenzie correctly interpreted the look on her face.
"He's quite a looker isn't he?" she asked.
"Hell yeah," Sidney answered. "What I wouldn't give to be invited to one
of his study sessions."
"You play your cards right and you will be," Shannon told her. "He has certain
requirements, and you seem to meet all of them."
"What are you talking about?" Sidney asked.
"Let's just say that girls with brains aren't the only ones that find themselves
at Professor Conner's house on Thursday nights." Sidney wanted them to elaborate,
but she didn't get the chance to ask more. The professor stood up and the
class fell silent. The class started.
Sidney watched the teacher as he walked across the room, explaining how the
Nazis were able to convince the entire country that the Jews caused the
Holocaust. He was an incredibly good speaker and Sidney felt herself completely
absorbed. It was hared to believe that this man was capable of killing eight
women. Who are you really Robert Carson? She asked herself. If
you really killed those girls, you are going to regret the day you put your
signature on that admission slip.
Later that evening, Sidney was sitting down in her beat-up apartment, cooking
herself a can of Campbell's chicken noodle soup. She pulled her hand away
from the oven as a giant ant crawled across it. She had heard the mousetraps
she had set going off all day. She cringed. She had forgotten how bad college
housing was.
She had been almost through her freshmen year of school when her father had
been murdered. Her dreams of becoming a lawyer died when he did. Shortly
after, she and enrolled in the Police Academy. Sidney always thought that
she had made the right decision, but now she was having second thoughts.
She watched as students studied and played Frisbee on the large lawn outside
her apartment. How much had she missed out on? Of course, her agent's license
was the equivalent of a college degree, but it still didn't feel the same.
A loud knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.
"Who is it?" she asked.
"Buck, let me in." Sidney opened the door to reveal her friend standing there
in a janitor's uniform. There was a large bag in his hand.
"Get a work study job?" she asked with a smile, opening the door farther
to let him in. A delicious smell reached her nose. What's in the bag?" she
asked. Buck pulled out a steaming plate of Spaghetti. Sidney's eyes lit up
in delight.
"You have to suffer through a college class, you shouldn't have to eat like
one too. But before I let you eat this a little bird told me that you made
some friends who revealed some valuable information."
"Could that little bird happen to be a complete nerd that resembles JD?"
Sidney asked. Buck's face fell.
"You recognized him?" Buck asked.
"Buck, what do you expect? I see him more than most sisters see their brothers."
"Guess you're right," Buck sighed. "How did he look?"
"Like a freaking nerd." she laughed. "Who dressed him like that?
"Who do you think?" Buck asked eyes twinkling.
"Ezra better watch his back, cause JD isn't going to take to kindly to this.
IS he just going to be in the classes or is watching the apartment too."
"He'll be in the classes; the rest of us will be doing surveillance at Carson's
house and around here, just to be safe." Sidney figured as much She grabbed
the spaghetti plate away from Buck and began eating. Buck shook his head
as the girl ate. She had sauce on all over her face. The phone started to
ring.
"Hello?" Sidney answered putting down her food grudgingly and picking up
the phone. Oh hi Shannon....Are you kidding me, Of course! This is so cool!....At
eight? Sounds good... Wait I don't know where that is...I would love is somebody
would meet me here. Great I'll see you on Thursday."
Sidney hung up the phone and began eating again.
"What was that about?" Buck asked. Sidney held up her to signal that she
was chewing. Buck waited impatiently.
"That was Shannon. Carson sent her an email about the next meeting time.
He asked if she would invite me to come along!" she answered.
"That was quick," Buck said.
"What can I say, I've just got the touch. Guess he thought I was pretty cute."
she said with a smile.
"I wonder what he would think when he saw you with food all over his face,"
Buck told her. "I better get going. Is this meeting Thursday night?" Sidney
nodded her head. "Then I better go tell Meeker and the others, we've got
to plan this entire thing out. Have a good night Sidney,"
"Thanks Buck," she answered. Buck got up and walked out of the door.
"Alright, she's on the move," Meeker said, looking through his binoculars.
Sidney and Mackenzie were walking down the south side of the campus.
"I got him," Vin's voice said through the microphone. "They're heading in
to Carson's home right now. I'll stay just outside the door in case something
happens."
"10-4," Meeker answered.
"What do we do know?" JD asked.
"Nothing, but wait," Meeker told him.
Two hours later, four girls emerged from the house. Shannon and the TA Miranda
Prince walked one way. Sidney and Mackenzie went the other.
As Sidney walked back to her apartment, she could see her teammates hidden
in various cars and ally ways.
"I'll see later," Mac told her.
"You will be okay walking home alone?" Sidney asked
"I walk this campus every night. I'll be fine. You still going to come to
that party at our apartment tomorrow?"
"Of course, see you tomorrow." Sidney answered, before walking into her room.
So sooner had she closed the door then her cell phone began to ring.
"Nothing happened Chris," she answered, knowing exactly who it was. "Looks
like I'm going to be in this longer than I thought.'
"You're sure?" Chris answered.
"Yup, look Chris I'm really tired. Can I just go to bed and get the Spanish
Inquisition tomorrow?"
"Smart ass," Chris told her. "Yes, go to bed. Good night Sidney,"
"Good night," Sidney answered, and closed her cell phone.
Across the campus, Team Seven were emerging from their hiding spaces. None
of them noticed Miranda getting into her car.
"I am going to make profiles of all those girls at the meeting," Nathan told
Josiah. "All of them could be Carson's next victims."
"Looks like the Team Seven's office is facing another long night," Josiah
answered. The two agents walked to white van at the end of the street.
"ATF Team Seven?" Miranda asked herself, turning on her car. "What the hell
is going on here?" She grabbed a Kleenex of her dashboard and wiped off the
pen marks on her left hand.
"God, these pens always make my hands so dirty," she whined before driving
off to do research.
The next Friday morning, Sidney woke up to a loud banging on her door.
"Who the heck is that," she wondered, dragging herself out of bed. God, why
did her head hurt so much? Today was supposed to be her day to sleep in.
She was going to shoot whoever was at the door.
"Damnit Sidney, open up!" Chris's voice growled on the other side of the
wooden door.
"I'm coming," she answered, completely flustered. She opened the door to
see a disgruntled Chris. Ezra and Josiah were standing in the doorway.
"Why were you no answering you cell phone?" Chris growled. Sidney winced.
Her bosses loud voice was making her head hurt.
"I was sleeping Chris, I didn't hear it," she answered. The men walked into
the room as Sidney plopped down on the couch. The clock read 11:00, she hadn't
realized she had slept so long.
"What the hell happened at the meeting last night?" he asked.
"Nothing much," Sidney answered. "There was four of this there me, Mac, Shannon
and the TA Miranda. All we did was study, kind of anti-climatic, if he's
killer then he doesn't do anything at the meetings. I'm beginning to wonder
if he's even connected at all. I mean he definitely likes attractive students,
but that's the reason we are watching him." Ezra sighed heavily, not sure
how to break the news to Sidney.
'You are sure nothing happened at the meeting?" he asked.
"Nothing if importance<" Sidney answered.
"Sidney, there was another murder last night," he told her.
'Oh my God," she winced, closing her eyes. "Do you know who it was?" Ezra
glanced at Chris, and the two exchanged a look.
"Mackenzie Walters," Josiah said. Sidney's heart almost stopped.
"No, it can't be," she answered in a low whisper. "I went to Carson's house
with her, she walked to my apartment with me," Sidney answered.
"Wait, she walked home by herself?" Chris asked. Sidney nodded her head.
:"How could I have been so stupid?" she asked. "I should have known that
she needed to be watched better." Ezra patted her on the shoulder.
"You couldn't have predicted something like this," he told her. "This isn't
your fault"
"Sidney, I need to know exactly what happened at the meeting," Chris told
her. Sidney sighed and began to rack her brain.
"We arrived at Carson's house around eight. He had some drinks prepared for
us..."
"Did you drink anything?" Chris interrupted, eyeing her suspiciously.
'I had a few sips so I didn't look suspicious," Sidney answered. "I'm not
hung over boss." Chris didn't push the subject. He knew the girl wouldn't
be that stupid.
"What happened next?" he prompted.
:"We took out our textbooks and, and then we..." I don't remember what happened
after that," she stated, with a confused look on her face.
"What do mean you don't know what happened next?" Chris asked. "How can you
not know?"
"I don't know Chris," Sidney cried, almost in tears. She closed her eyes
to try and remember what happened last night between the time she pulled
out her textbook and walked home with Mackenzie, but there was nothing, but
blankness. It scared the shit out of her. Chris sat down on the coach and
grabbed onto her shoulders. He shook her hard.
"Sidney, what the fuck happened?" He was as scared as she was. He had never
seen her so frightened, and it terrified him. "Do you really not know?" Sidney
shook her head.
Ezra had clenched the side of the couch, completely as at a loss. He had
no idea what to do, and that fact scared him. The only one who didn't show
a reaction was Josiah.
"Sidney, did Carson ever mention anything about being able to perform hypnosis?"
he asked.
"I think he said that he was certified in it when he was getting his doctorate,
but he hated to do it. Said it scared the shit out of him." She answered.
"Hypnosis is such a powerful tool; the hypnotist is in complete power of
the patient. He could make them do just about everything."
"Where are you going with this Josiah?" Chris asked.
"Remember when you mentioned that Carson was controlling these girls using
Cocaine?" Josiah asked.
'Do you want me to take a drug test?" Sidney asked.
"That might be necessary, but I want to try something first," Josiah answered.
"This is going to be very illegal and you are going to have to trust me
completely."
"What the hell do you want to do, Josiah?" Chris asked.
"I checked his files and he wasn't scared to death about it. In fact much
of his studies were based on Hypnosis. Sidney, I think he might have hypnotized
you at the meeting to forget about everything that you saw there. During
that time, he convinced Mackenzie to kill herself. I would like to try and
re-hypnotise you to see if he can get you to recall what happened at the
meeting. This will be illegal, because I have no license certifying me to
do this. This decision is up to you Sid."
"Do you really think that you can get me to remember," Sidney asked.
"Hypnosis is used to recall hidden memories. It isn't always successful,
but it's worth a try," Josiah answered.
"Then let's try it," Sidney answered.
"Sidney, are you sure. IF this works right, you will be completely in my
control. I promise that won't."
"If trust you Josiah, I don't think you'll make me hump out of a building
or anything," she said with a weak smile.
"Alright, I will need those shades to be drawn and something to wave in front
of her eyes," Josiah told Ezra and Chris. Chris went to close them.
"I don't have any of those funky moving disk things," Sidney answered.
"It doesn't have to be complicated like that, I just need something that
will focus your attention."
"There's an old cat toy I found in the right drawer in the kitchen," she
offered.
"That will work," Josiah nodded. Ezra went to retrieve the toy.
A Few minutes later, Sidney was lying comfortably on the couch.
"Alright Freud, I'm ready," she said nervously. Chris and Ezra were sitting
in the back of the room, so they didn't disturb anything.
"Okay here we go," Josiah stated. "Sidney, I want you to focus on this moving
purple ball. Don't think of anything else, but the purple ball. Watch it
float back and forth in front of your face."
"This isn't working," Sidney stated. Ezra pressed his lips together to stop
the threatened laugh,
"It may take a little while, just concentrate on the purple ball. Watch it
circle in front of your face. As you are watching it, relax down into the
coach, completely loosen your muscles. Don't let anything tense up. Keep
on focusing on the purple ball. You may feel yourself getting sleepy, but
keep watching."
Chris felt himself getting a little tired as he listened to Josiah's deep
comforting voice. He watched in amazement, as Sidney completely went limp
on the coach. He trusted Josiah. But he had to admit that this whole thing
made him more than a little nervous.
"Okay Sidney, can you count to ten for me?" Josiah asked.
:'One...Two...Three...Four ..." she began.
"She's gone," Ezra whispered in his ear. "She would never do that without
asking why."
:"Can you tell me where you were last night?" Josiah asked.
"I went to a study session at Professor Carson's house," she answered.
"Can you tell me what happened there?" he asked.
"We were going to study, when he pulled out this funky looking flashy light
thing."
"Did he do anything with the light?" Josiah asked.
"Yeah, he told us all to watch it. The girls said that he does it before
every study session. It's a way that helps them relax."
"Did it have any effect on you?"
"Yeah it made me feel really relaxed, almost like I was going to fall asleep.."
"What happened after that>"
"He started talking to Mackenzie. He told her that her time had come and
that is was time to do exactly what he said. He told her that she was supposed
to go to WestPoint Bridge and jump off when the meeting was done."
Chris nearly jumped out of his seat. There was no way that Sidney could have
known that. Nobody had told her how the girl had died.
"And what did you do when this happened?" Josiah asked.
"I stood up and yelled for him to stop. I told him that I was an ATF agent
and he was under arrest for attempted murder."
Chris almost flew out of his seat. There was so much distress in the girl's
voice. Ezra grabbed onto his arm.
"Let me go Ezra!" he hissed. "Can't you see what this doing to her?"
"Josiah knows what he's doing," Ezra answered back. "This is the only way
we are going to get the information we need."
"What happened after that," Josiah asked.
"He seemed very surprised and told me that it would be okay. That he was
just playing a game. Mac wasn't really going to kill herself. He told Shannon,
Miranda and I to forget everything that we had heard from the point he had
taken out the light. Then he told us that it was time to go."
Chris's heart was beating faster and he could feel his face start to get
red. He wasn't just going to shoot this bastard; he was going to make his
death as slow and painful as possible.
"Aright Sidney, I want you to relax for a few minutes," Josiah told her,
He turned to look at Ezra and Chris.
"She's going to remember everything that happened when she wakes up. I can
make her forget that any of this happened, but I'm not going to do that to
her. There is one thing that I can do to hopefully lessen the guilt when
she wakes up. It may not work, but it's worth a shot. It does involve
manipulating her a little bit.
"Do it Josiah," Chris answered. "She won't be able to stand the fact that
she couldn't do anything to stop him." Josiah nodded his head and turned
to Sidney.
:"Aright Sidney, when I clap my hands you are going to awake. You will remember
everything that happened last night, but you are going to understand that
there was nothing you could do to stop it, understood?" Sidney nodded her
head. Josiah clapped his hands and Sidney slowly sat up.
"Did it work?" she asked. Josiah smiled weakly.
"Yeah it did Sidney, I was right. Carson hypnotized you and the other girls
to kill themselves."
'God I wish there was something that I could have done to stop him," Sidney
said sadly.
"You know there was nothing that you could do," Josiah said. "The human mind
can only be asked to do so much.' I
"Yeah, I know," Sidney answered. Chris had turned on the lights and had walked
over.
"That was almost scary Josiah," Chris told him.
"Now you see why I was so hesitant to use it on her," the big man answered.
Ezra walked over and he almost turned pale.
"Shit, Carson knows who she is now!" Ezra answered. "I'm surprised he didn't
kill you last night.."
"I'll go arrest him right now," Chris growled. "If he puts up any fight,
I'm blowing his freaking brains out."
"No!" Sidney protested. "Carson did tell us that confessions or witness reports
given under hypnosis are not accepted in court.'
"Sidney, he forced those girls to kill themselves. I don't care how we got
the damn evidence!" Chris growled.
"She's right Chris. If we arrest Carson now with the evidence we've got.
He'll walk." Josiah said.
"What do you propose we do?'" Chris asked. "Sit here and wait for him to
come kill her?"
"Chris, he had the perfect opportunity to do it last night," Sidney stated.
"Obviously he thinks that I don't remember confessing like that."
"There's a meeting next Tuesday. I'll go to the meeting like everyone else
and when he starts to do it again. You can come in and arrest him." Chris
was going to argue.
"Chris, listen to her. That's the best proposal I've heard so far." Ezra
told him. Chris sighed, knowing that he had been beat by the two of them
again.
"I swear that I'm going to beat you in these stupid mind games yet!" he growled.
Ezra and Sidney smiled at each other.
"Fine, we wait until Tuesday. But in the meantime Missy, you will be under
constant surveillance from us."
"I figured as much," Sidney answered. "Chris, put someone on Miranda and
Shannon too. I think they are okay, but I don't want to risk it. Make sure
they don't know they are being watched."
Chris nodded his head. "I'm calling Buck and JD to get their asses over here
right now."
"Aww come on Chris, don't leave me with Bevis and Buthead," Sidney whined.
Chris smiled evilly.
"Payback can be a bitch can't it?"
Later that night, Sidney was rolling her eyes as her two "roommates," argued
about what they were going to watch on TV.
"There are only four channels," she said shaking her head. "How can you be
fighting over what to watch?" she asked, brining in the hot chocolate, she
made.
"Well you see, JD wants to watch Numbers, this crazy show about solving crimes
with math."
"It's not a crazy show, the guy on is there is one of the smartest I've ever
seen."
"He's an actor JD. Wouldn't you rather watch the Victoria's Secret Fashion
show?"
"Let's watch Numbers," Sidney said distributing the cups. She really didn't
care. She had gone over to visit Shannon in the afternoon. The poor girl
was heartbroken. Her parents had come up to bring her home for a little while.
Sidney felt a lot better, knowing that Conner couldn't get to her. Nathan
was supposed to be keeping close watch on Miranda, but she seemed to have
disappeared.
:"That's tow to one Buck, you loose," JD stated. "Don't you love democracy?"
"Yeah, well I'm older and count for three," Buck said, but he didn't push
the issue. Soon the three of them were absorbed in the show. Buck watched
Sidney as she drank from her mug silently.
They had come so close to loosing her yet again. Conner could have easily
ended it right there or even chosen to send her to the bridge instead of
Mackenzie Walters. While Buck was thinking about Sidney, JD was thinking
about Buck. He recalled the conversation that he had heard between his roommate
and Chris before Chris had left them for the night, a conversation that he
was not supposed to have heard.
"Buck, watch over hero okay? Make sure nothing happens." Chris pleaded.
"Hell Chris, you know that I would die for her if I had too. She won't be
leaving that house without my permission for the rest of weekend>"
"Spoken like a true father," Chris laughed.
"She and JD might as well be. They might be the only ones, the way my love
life has gone recently. I would risk my life to make sure the two of them
were happy." Chris patted his friend on the shoulder and walked out of the
building. JD saw the confident smile on his bosses face.
Sidney realized that she was the only one still watching the TV show.
"Hello, earth to Buck and JD!" she said.
"What?" They both turned to look at her at the same time, both with dazed
looks in their eyes
"I'm going to bed," she stated.
"It's only nine thirty Sidney," JD said.
"I'm tired," she answered. "It's not everyday that I have my mind controlled
by two different people." There was bitterness in her voice.
"Sidney..." Buck began, but he was interrupted by a knock on the door. Both
JD and Buck pulled out their guns.
"Go answer it," Buck told her. Sidney walked over to the door.
"Who is it?" she asked.
"Michelle? This is Miranda. I really need to talk to you." Sidney opened
the door as JD and Buck put their guns away.
"Come on in Michelle." Sidney said opening the door. "Where have you been
all day? Shannon and I were trying to find you. Can you believe what happened
to Mac?"
"No, I needed to get away. I just couldn't handle being around here anymore."
She dropped her backpack on the floor and stopped when she saw JD and Buck
standing in the living room.
"Don't mind us," JD said. "I'm her cousin Jake and this is my dad, Frank."
Buck fought the urge to punch the kid.
"We'll leave you ladies alone. Come on Son, let's round ourselves
up some sleeping bags."
:"Listen Miranda, I need to talk to about something," Sidney said, once JD
and Buck were gone. "I've been trying to get a hold of you all day. Carson
is the one killing all of the girls. You might be next. Give me a couple
of minutes and I'll explain to you how I know."
As quick as lightening, Miranda pulled a syringe out of her pocket and stuck
it into Sidney's neck. The girl collapsed to the ground, unable to move.
:"It's an intense muscle relaxant," she said. "Carson used drugs, like cocaine
to get the girls to relax. I just took it a step farther. You won't be able
to move at all for the next few hours." she screamed. JD and Buck rushed
out of the room. They were caught completely off guard when they saw Sidney
on the ground, not moving, and a gun pointed at their chests."
"Drop you guns Agent Dunne and Wilmington, or I will shoot her," Miranda
said in a cool voice.
"Now, look here Ms. Fisher," JD started to say.
"NOW!" she screamed and pointed the gun down at Sidney.
"Just do what she says," Buck told JD. The two agents tossed their guns on
the ground." Buck held up his hands.
"Alright, you have the upper hand here," Don't do anything you are going
to regret."
"Oh I won't regret any of this Agent Whilmington Now you are going to lift
up your agent on the floor here and the two of you are going to walk down
the steps to a car that waiting for us. Rob is driving." Buck thought for
a moment.
"Honey, listen to me. This psychopath has you under his control. He hypnotized
you into doing this."
Miranda laughed. "Is that what you think happened? Wow this worked out better
than I planned. I don't know how you figured out about the hypnosis meetings,
but you've got all wrong." She paused, then pointed the gun harder at Buck.
Buck nodded to JD to do what he said. He bent down and lifted Sidney up into
his arms. Her eyes were open, but she wasn't moving a muscle. She was completely
limp in his arms.
"What did you do to her?" he asked. Miranda didn't answer right away. She
opened her backpack and pulled out a pair of boots, she threw them onto the
ground with a tweed jacket.
"It's just a muscle relaxant," she answered. "She can still understand everything
that's going on. Believe me she will want to see what's gong to happen next."
Buck couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw Sidney's eyes cloud over in
anger. He hugged her tighter, trying to offer some comfort. JD was constantly
looking for open doors in the building, but saw none. After all this was
Friday night on the college campus. They walked outside and to the red mustang
parked along the curb in the back. The window was open.
"You sick bastard," Buck spat, when he saw Carson pull out a gun also.
"Mr. Dunne or should I say Brent, please take a seat in the front." JD saw
no other choice.
Buck got into the backseat, carefully so he didn't hit Sidney's head on anything.
Miranda got in along side of him.
"Head to 5414 Manchester Street, please Rob," she said, buckling her seatbelt.
"Safety First," she added with a smile.
Buck looked at her in complete surprise. "You are the one that..." He couldn't
finish his sentence.
"Let's just say that I was one of Professor Carson's brightest students.
I caught on to the whole hypnosis thing pretty fast." The car pulled away
from the curb and down the street.
"What do you think people will say when they see us pull up?" Nathan asked
Chris. The aroma of Inez's homemade Pizza filled the Ram.
"They won't think that is anything, but a crazy college party," Ezra answered.
"Tell me again why we must grace that disgusting living space with our presence
again?"
"Peace offering," Chris answered. "It was a little harsh putting those two
with her."
'I'll say," Vin answered Chris pulled the Ram along side the curb, unaware
that the same car had parked there less than half an hour ago. They all got
out of the truck, and headed up the steps.
"What the hell?" Vin asked as he walked in. "Where did they go and why would
they leave the door open."
"I'll kill him," Chris growled. "I gave them explicit instructions not to
leave the building unless they told me about it."
"I don't think they left on their own free will," Nathan said. He pointed
to the gun and the syringe
"Look at this," Josiah said holding up the jacket and the boots. The pizza
box had been thrown on the floor.
"Those boots look awfully familiar," Ezra stated, looking down at Chris's
feet. "Don't you own that same style of boot, Mr. Larabee?"
"The footprints," Vin stated quietly. "Those damn footprints!" Vin swore
stamping his foot.
"There's a R. C embroidered on his collar," Josiah said looking inside the
jacket.
"That son of a bitch!" Chris swore. He headed for the door, but Josiah stopped
him.
"Not so fast Chris," Josiah said. "We have no idea where they are. All of
our evidence is in Meeker's office:"
:"We don't have the time Josiah," Chris growled. "Who knows what he's doing
to them right now!"
"We don't have much of a choice Chris" Nathan said, carefully studying the
syringe, trying to determine what was inside.
"Then let's get a move on," Chris growled. For once, nobody dared argue with
him. They all headed for the door.
JD squirmed in his chair, trying to break the ropes. Sidney was lying on
ground near his feet. She hadn't moved since they gotten to the house. Not
that she could do anything. Carson was standing in the corner with the gun
pointed at them.
Miranda had disappeared with Buck into one of the bedrooms. He had no idea
what was going on in there. There seemed to be no possible way of escape.
What was Chris going to do when he figured how they were missing? Would the
team know where to look? Did anyone even know they were missing yet?
He turned his head when the door opened. Buck walked out under his own power.
Miranda followed close behind. He opened his mouth to say something, but
before he had time to react. Buck had sprung forward and sized the gun out
of the unexpected Carson's hand. He shot Carson right in the temple and the
man grumbled to ground.
JD almost cried out in joy, but was the cheer got stuck in his throat when
he handed the gun to Miranda. JD could only stare in disbelief.
"You police guys think you're so tough, but not even you are invincible to
the power of a mind controller. Agent Dunne, your friend will now do anything
that I ask him. Would you like a demonstration?" JD didn't answer, but Miranda
took that as a yes.
"Sit down on the ground Agent." Buck obediently sat down on the ground. "Now
sing the ABCs," Buck began to sing. After that, she made Buck do several
other things, including some rather embarrassing and perverted poses.
"You sick bitch," JD hissed. Miranda just smiled.
"Rob said that the night he broke up with me." she answered. JD looked at
her in surprise. "Yes, hard to believe isn't it? I will tell you the entire
story. You see Rob and I were secretly dating for a few years. The school
doesn't look too highly upon teacher student relationships .He promised me
the world. We were going to do studies together, about how to control the
mind. We were going to become famous. He told me how of this, and dumped
me flat on the ground. His interest in pretty girls was just too tempting.
Of course, I wasn't going to let him go unpunished. So I hatched up a plan.
Wow, I even impressed myself with it. I thought of a way to get back at Rob
and the girls who stole him away from me.
One night a couple of months ago, I hypnotized him. Even though we weren't
a couple anymore, he was always willing for a one night stand, the bastard.
In his trance, I told him to have study sessions at his house, picking only
the prettiest girls in class. During those meetings, he would hypnotize the
girls and pick one of them to kill herself. He told them to do it at random
times, but I made sure the locations were not so random. My plan was to confuse,
terrorize, and to get my revenge When this over, I will leave this city and
become famous all by myself"
"No you won't," JD answered. "Carson's dead. There's nobody to take the wrath
for you. Believe me, somebody will figure it out."
"No, I have the plan all worked out," she answered with an evil grin. "I
will use Buck here to dispose of you two and then he will kill himself. After
that I will fix the crime scene to make it look like Rob was responsible.
People, even your team, will think that this is the end of his spree. He'd
rather kill himself than go to jail. They will morn you and go on with their
lives."
JD was so flabbergasted, he couldn't even talk. Movement on the floor caught
his eye. Sidney was switching slightly on the floor. Miranda saw it too.
::Damn, its wearing off faster than I thought,' She swore. "Agent Whimlington,
you know what to do." JD watched in horror, as Buck lifted Sidney up and
walked to the bathroom. He heard a facet being turned on.
"I reserved on my favorite forms of suicide for Agent Marks," Miranda said.
"She will drown in that bathtub, because she can't move at all." JD glared
at her with all the hatred he could muster.
"Don't look at me kike that," Miranda said. "She won't feel any pain. I've
heard that drowning is a peaceful way to go. Unfortunately Agent Dunne, yours
will not be as creative or peaceful. but it will be tragic end to a strong
friendship.
+ + + + + + +
"God, what do we do?" Meeker cried. The guilt was almost consuming him, bur
he couldn't let that bother him now. Not while there was still a chance.
He had still been in the office when Chris and his team had come barging
in. Chris opened his mouth to say something, but Josiah interrupted him.
"Chris, can you and me that marker?""
"Josiah now isn't the time to be drawling pictures," Vin stated. Josiah took
the marker from Chris and began connecting the dots. When Josiah was finished
there was a weird shape on map.
"Does this look familiar to anyone?" Josiah asked. Everyone shook their heads.
:"Doesn't look like anything I've ever seen," Vin stated. "You know what
it is Josiah?"
"Wait a second," Nathan said. "That's no the international symbol for psychology
is it?"
"I think so," Josiah answered. "Of course it's a little lopsided and misshapen,
but the foundation is defiantly there." He grabbed a marker and drew a shape
next to the map. "This is what it's supposed to look like," he stated.
"Josiah, you're a genius." Meeker cried, "But that doesn't help us find Buck
and the others."
"Hey, that fork thing had got a par missing on the top," Vin stated, he grabbed
the marker from Josiah and circled it. "Right here."
"You think that's where Carson brought them," Chris said, catching on.
"He'll kill them there to complete the picture," Josiah answered.
"Ezra, get that GIS map on the computer and figure out what's in that location,"
Meeker said. Ezra began typing, wishing he had JD's skill. A short while
later, the map popped up.
"The whole area is residential with a large amount of acreage belonging to
each homeowner."
"Will the map show you the owners of the homes?" Meeker asked. Ezra typed
a few buttons. "Yes, I've got it."
"Look for anything that might seem familiar," the inspector continued. Ezra
began reading off the homeowner's name, but none of them rang a bell, until
he read the final name, George Prince.
"Where do I know that last name?" Nathan asked desperately. The others looked
at him expectantly. Nathan beat up his brain searching for it.
"Hold on," He grabbed the files of potential victims that he had been working
on.
"Miranda Pierce is the TA of Carson's class," Nathan said and looked at the
others.
"Pack up," Chris stated. "Someone call the cops and get a squad car down
there."
"We can't be sure that this any connection at all," Vin said. "We could be
completely wrong."
"Yeah we could," Chris agreed, but right now, it's all we've got to go with.
"Oh God, please Buck!" JD pleaded. "Don't do this! Snap out of it. Remember
what Josiah said about this hypnosis stuff. You have to want to be controlled.
A person has the power to break out if he wants. Please Buck; I know you
can do it!"
Buck completely ignored him and continued loading his gun. The vacant expression
in his eyes showed that he didn't hear a word JD was saying.
"Forget about it Agent Dunne," Miranda Prince said from the corner of the
room. "He is under my complete power now." JD vainly wiggled in his seat.
He could now hear the water in the bathtub flooding onto tile floor. There
was nothing he could do now and he felt his heart breaking. JD hung his head.
He tried to reason one more time.
"Think of what you're doing Buck. Are you really going to let Sidney drown
in that bathtub like that? Are you ready to shoot me in cold blood? I heard
you talking to Chris. You said that Sid and I were as close to your kids
as you would probably ever come. You'd do anything for us; even go to hell
and back. You wondered if we cared as much as you do. If we possibly loved
you as much as you do us. You damn well better know the answer is yes and
we'd do the same for you. Please don't do this Buck." JD's plead was no louder
than a whisper. There were tears in his eyes by the time he finished.
JD lifted his head and looked at Buck, expecting to stare into the barrel
of the shotgun. He was completely caught off guard when he looked into Buck's
shiny eyes and tear stained face.
"Aw Kid,' the big man said, dropping his gun onto the floor. At that exact
moment, the running water made a loud gurgling noise. Buck's tear streaked
face was instantly replaced with a look of horror. "Oh God, Sidney!" he yelled
and immediately rushed to the bathroom.
"NO! You will not ruin my plans!" Miranda screamed desperately, The next
few moments flashed in front of JD's eyes in slow motion and he was unable
to do anything to stop them. With surprising speed, Miranda bent down and
picked up Buck's dropped gun. She aimed it at Buck's back as he rushed to
Sidney's rescue. JD opened his mouth to warn Buck, but he was too late. Miranda
pulled the trigger with a sick triumphant smile on her face.
Two shots rang out within a split second of each other. JD watched as the
bullet meant for Buck's head sailed past its mark and into the wall. The
left side of Miranda's face exploded and her body crumpled to the ground.
JD closed his eyes to avoid the splattering blood.. JD turned his head in
surprise to see Chris standing at the open window, his gun drawn.
:"What the hell happened here?" he asked. Complete surprise written all over
his face.
"Help Sidney," JD yelled. "She's drowning in the bathtub!" Buck didn't even
stop to answer. He rushed into the bathroom. With amazing agility, Chris
scaled the bedroom window and rushed into the bathroom. The rest of the team
followed Chris, all of them hearing JD's statement.
Vin, the last one through the window, quickly pulled out his knife and cut
the ropes binding JD. The two agents crowded the bathroom door with the rest
of the team.
Buck had pulled the unconscious girl out of the water and set her down on
the soaking wet floor. He bent his head down near her mouth.
"Nathan, she's not breathing!" he yelled. Nathan was on the floor with Buck
and Chris in a flash. He put two of his fingers on her neck.
"She doesn't have a pulse either," he stated, remarkably cool in the situation.
He immediately moved above her head.
"Buck get ready to do chest compressions!" he ordered. Buck didn't move.
He just sat there with a glazed and listless expression in his eyes.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Chris growled and shoved his friend
to the side. He moved to one side of the girl's legs and the two men began
CPR. Ezra quickly called for an ambulance and then the room fell silent as
the two men worked desperately to bring their friend back to life.
"Come on Sidney," JD pleaded. He felt the heavy pressure of Josiah's hand
on his shoulder.
"What the hell happened here?" Vin asked as he watched the scene unfold,
not really wanting an answer. There was a more important thing right now.
Ezra was not a praying man, but he found himself silently offering a prayer
for the young woman's life. Chris's prayer was much more vocal.
"God, don't you dare do this to me again!" he pleaded as he pushed down on
Sidney's rib cage, feeling her ribs crack under his pressure. "You know she
doesn't deserve this. Don't let my mistake be responsible for another innocent
life."
"Come on Sidney, breathe! I know you still got it in you. You're not ready
to leave us yet." Nathan said between breaths. Buck had inched his way back
into the corner of the bathroom. He had the common sense to turn off the
facet, but then he sat silently, just shaking.
Chris and Nathan continued their attempts for one minute, then two. Slowly
the time went by. Around five minutes, Josiah and Ezra replaced the exhausted
agents. After ten minutes, Nathan sighed heavily.
"It's time to give it up guys; she's not going to come back." As much, as
the wanted to keep going, Ezra and Josiah knew they were fighting a loosing
battle. Ezra leaned back on his knees and hung his head. Chris's hands covered
his face and be began to shake all over. Vin went over and placed an arm
around him, but Chris didn't seem to notice.
"Lord, please watch over our fallen friend," Josiah said stroking the wet
bangs off her closed eyes. "Bring her home to her father and Cody."
"You can't just give up like that!" JD cried. "You can't give up on her!"
"JD, too much time has passed. The heart can't be jumpstarted after a certain
amount of time."
"You said yourself that drowning victims have one the best chances of survival
with CPR," JD continued.
"Sometimes, there's just too much water in the lungs," Nathan explained.
"We got to her just a little to late."
"Oh God, what have I done!" Buck yelled, pushing himself to his knees and
staggering out of the room.
"I better go get him, he's not in his right mind right now. He might do something
stupid.
"No," Chris croaked, lifting up his head. "I need to know what happened.
Josiah you go." Josiah stood up and ran out of the room.
"Alright JD," Nathan encouraged. Before JD had the chance to open his mouth,
a loud coughing noise interrupted his thoughts.
"Shut up Sidney, I'm trying to..." JD grumbled that stopped.
Sidney was coughing! Her body was moving up and down. Water and mucus were
flying out of her mouth.
Ezra turned the girl to her side and held her up, as she puked up the gunk
that was preventing her from breathing. Everyone watched in silent hope as
the disgusting mucus came out of the girl's mouth. It splattered all over
the floor and Ezra's clothes.
"Watch her ribs Ezra. If they collapse, she doesn't have a chance." Nathan
said. Finally, the girl stopped coughing and hung loosely in Ezra's arms.
He didn't set her down.
"Nathan?" he asked, afraid to check for himself. . Nathan reached out a hand
and felt for a pulse. He sighed in relief. He also noticed that the girl's
chest was moving up and down, almost unnoticeably.
"She's back," Nathan sighed. There was a loud whoop. "Hold on second, that
doesn't mean she's out of the woods yet. I'm betting there's still a lot
of water clogging her airway. Where is that damn ambulance?"
As if on cue, the sirens of the ambulance and to cop cars were heard pulling
into the driveway and yard. Nathan went out to show the ambulance where to
go. Ezra looked down at the girl in his arms. Her breathing appeared to be
a little stronger, but the breaths were incredibly labored.
Two EMTS game rushed into the room with a gurney. One of them took Sidney
out of Ezra's arm and placed her on the gurney. The other began setting up
the life support system.
"By the sound of it," the first one said placing Sidney down, "I think she's
got a collapsed young. Probably from all the water pressure in it."
"Is that serious?" Vin asked.
"Serious enough, It's a pretty common occurrence and fairly easy to fix,
but you can never be too careful when the lungs are concerned. Let's get
her to a doctor and find out for sure." I
The two EMTS wheeled the gurney out. Team Seven quickly followed. The other
EMT was talking to Jeff, when they got outside.
:"Are we ready to go?" she asked. When her partners nodded, she rushed for
the vehicle. "We've got room for someone in the back and in the driver seat."
she told the team. Nobody questioned when Nathan jumped in the back and Chris
headed for the driver's seat. The doors were slammed and the ambulance took
off in the direction of the hospital.
"Was she really gone, I mean..." Jeff asked , stuttering for the correct
words.
"For a while, I thought so," Vin said. "I swear that girl is going to kill
Chris yet."
"Let's me glad for the fact that he still has someone to worry about," Ezra
answered; still visibly shaken He couldn't completely believe what just happened.
"Come on, we've got to head for the hospital," Vin answered. "I think you
guys have this under control?" he said looking at Jeff. Jeff nodded.
:"Kali and I will stop by the hospital when this is all over." The remaining
agents walked over to where Chris's Ram and Josiah's Blazer were still parked.
Vin pulled out his extra key to Chris's truck and opened the door.
"Do you think Buck's okay?" JD asked.
"Josiah will take care of him," Ezra answered. "If anyone can help Buck it's
Josiah."
Josiah waited for Buck to finish what happened. Buck had breathed a sigh
of relief when he heard about Sidney, but that was all. He launched into
the story about what happened. He was careful to show no emotion on his face,
even though he felt his stomach turn circles. If Buck thought Josiah blamed
him, then there would be no way to get through to him. Buck finished and
hung his head in his hands.
"God Josiah, I almost killed both of them<" he gasped. "She was dead right
there on the floor, and I was the reason."
"You weren't the reason Buck. The sick mind of a confused girl was. Nobody
would even think about blaming you for something like this. You saved Sidney
Buck, another few seconds and we might not have had that miracle we witnessed."
"JD saved her.," Buck answered. "He's the one that talked sense into me.
Otherwise, I would have shot him too. I am no better than the Prince girl."
"You didn't kill him Buck, that's what makes you different." There was a
long pause.
"Come on we need to get to the hospital." Josiah said getting up.
"No." Buck said "That's the last place I can handle right now, seeing her
hooked up to all those tubes, completely helpless. Just let me walk home."
"You aren't walking home, no in the state you are in right now. I won't make
you go the hospital, but I will drive you home." Buck sighed in resignation,
and got up to follow Josiah.
Meeker rushed up to them as soon as he saw them. Buck just walked by the
detective and slammed and got into the SUV, slamming the door shut.
"Is he okay?" Gus asked.
"He's battling his own inner demons right now," Josiah answered. "Do you
know what happened? "
"I just got off the phone with JD," Gus answered. "It just doesn't seem possible.
This whole thing sounds like a plot from a movie."
"Reality is harsher than make believe," Josiah answered. "We're heading over
to the hospital right now."
"I'll try to get over there as soon as I can., but God knows when that will
be." Gus answered. Josiah nodded his head and walked over to his truck The
ride back into the city was silent.
"I was just thinking," Josiah said. "Remember the first case we had with
Sidney?" Buck didn't answer, but he knew that he was listening.
"We had to protect that international peace conference. I still remember
when we all thought that Eddie Steward had the best of us, how he almost
set the bomb off that was attached to Vin. We never would have made it out
of there if Sidney hadn't come barging in there. The look on Steward's face
was unforgettable" Josiah saw the traces of a smile on Buck's face. "You
also remember when Steward locked her in that car? She would have died from
carbon monoxide poisoning just like that one girl, if hadn't rushed into
that building like that." Josiah pulled the truck next to Buck's condo.
"Thanks for the ride," Buck said, before getting out of the truck. Josiah
hadn't missed the tears in his eyes. The profiler sighed heavily and headed
for the hospital.
It was another fifteen minutes before Josiah reached the reception room.
Chris and the others were sitting around in the chairs.
"Where's Buck?" JD asked.
I dropped him off at home. I think that's the best place for him right now.
I don't think he can handle this right now."
"Maybe, I should I go and make sure he's okay," JD said hesitantly.
"This is something that he needs to handle by himself. These are things that
he needs to work out himself." They all lifted up their heads when they heard
the doctor come in. She was still in her scrubs. Chris stood up
"Hello, Agent Larabee" she said, shaking hands with him. "I'm Doctor Alice
Silvers, I operated on Sidney. The surgery was a complete success. She did
have a collapsed young due to the water pressure/ We opened up her chest.
Relieved the pressure and re-inflated her lung. She should make a complete
recovery.
Chris heaved a giant sigh of relief. So did the rest of the room.
"We're keeping her on life support for a few more hours, just to give her
lung a chance to recover."
"How long does she have to stay here?" Josiah asked.
"If nothing goes wrong, I should think she can leave tomorrow afternoon."
Dr. Silvers answered. "Of course, she will be strictly limited in her physical
activity for the next couple of weeks. Any other questions?"
"When can we go see her?" Vin asked. The doctor smiled, knowing the question
was coming.
"You are welcome to go in there now, but she's still sleeping. She won't
wake up from the anesthetic for a while. She's in the last room on the left."
They all got up and headed for the door.
"Thank you doctor," Ezra said before leaving. "I don't know if you can possibly
imagine how special she is to us."
"I have some idea," she smiled. Ezra smiled back and walked down the hall.
One of the EMTs who brought Sidney in, walked up to her.
"That agent pull through okay?" he asked.
"Yes, she'll be back on the street in a few months."
"I don't get it Doc, from what Jackson told me that girl was gone. Nobody
comes back to after their heart has stopped for ten minutes."
"Stranger things have happened," Alice answered.
"We were always told that CPR isn't that effective."
"I don't think it was CPR that saved her." She thought about the faces of
the agents that had been just been in the waiting room."
"Then what did?"
"I think it was love," she answered.
"Love?" the man asked in disbelief.
:"As dysfunctional as that group might seem, they have the strongest bond
that I have ever seen. As corny as it might sound, I bet that Sidney didn't
want to let them all down. She fought to stay with them. I'd say he just
witnessed a miracle, Bryan." The young EMT just stared. The doctor patted
him on the shoulder.
"Once in you're in this line of work longer, I think you'll figure out what
I mean," she told him and walked down the hallway.
Buck rushed into the waiting room. The nurse at the reception desk looked
at him. He had gotten to know most of the receptionists from his many visits,
but this one must be new.
"Can I help you sir?"
"I need to see a patient, Sidney Marks."
"I'm sorry sir, but visitors hours ended over three hours ago."
"He's with us," a familiar voice boomed. Chris was standing in the doorway
of the waiting room. The nurse shrank back a little bit and nodded her head.
Buck rushed forward and looked at Chris.
"She's fine," Chris said, before Buck had the chance to say anything. "They
took her off of life support twenty minutes ago, and she's doing just fine.
Hopefully, she'll sleep through the rest of the night
"Chris, can you forgive me?" Buck asked, refusing to look Chris in the eye.
"Buck, there's nothing to forgive. None of this was your fault. Any one of
us could have been in that situation."
"Chris, you understand that I never in my right mind would do anything to
hurt her. But do you think Sidney understands that?" Chris grabbed his friend's
hand. Buck looked up at him, meeting his eyes.
"I think it would help if you would go and see her. JD's in there two. He
fell asleep awhile ago, and nobody had the heart to wake him up."
"I think I might do that. Neither one of them can say anything when there
asleep" He started to walk down the hall.
"It's at the end of the hall," Chris called out, and then he returned to
the waiting room. His entire team was still there, along with Meeker. Kali
and Jeff. Orirn and Mary had showed up about an hour ago to make sure everything
was okay. Chris was amused to see how Kali had fallen asleep. The poor girl
had worked just as hard as them for the last couple of weeks. Her head had
conveniently fallen on Vin's shoulder. The sharpshooter didn't seem to mind
in the least. Sidney had developed quite a fan club.
"What was he like?" Josiah asked when Chris sat back down.
"I think he'll be okay," Chris said with a smile.
Buck walked into the small hospital room. He smiled when he saw JD in the
chair. He was lying in an uncomfortable position. Once again, Buck was amazed
at how young his friend looked. He grabbed another chair and lifted JD's
legs onto it. JD stirred a little bit.
"Its okay kid," Buck said, as he moved JD into a more comfortable position.
When he was finished, he sat down at end of the bed. "Thanks JD; I would
have destroyed all of our lives if it hadn't been for you." He turned his
attention to Sidney, who was also sleeping peacefully. He reached out and
stroked her cheek. Sometimes he forgot that she was just a kid too. Most
of the color had returned to her face, but she still looked helpless in the
large hospital gown and oversized bed. Right now, it was hard to believe
that criminals feared the two of them.
"I hope you guys realize that I would never do anything to hurt the two of
you. God, my heart stopped when I heard that you weren't breathing anymore
Sidney. I just froze." Tears spilled from the seasoned gunman's eyes.. You
can't hear me now, but I want to you know how much I love you guys more than
anything in the world. I would do anything within my power to help you. I
would die to get you anything you wanted.
"Even a hybrid?" a weak voice answered. Buck turned his head to look at Sidney.
Her eyes were open.
"Sidney, you're awake! How do you feel?"
"Why does my chest hurt so much?" she asked.
"You almost died Sidney. You stopped breathing and somehow the others managed
to bring you back. Your lung collapsed, but the doctor said you were going
to be just fine." Buck said at record speed.
"And you blame yourself for almost killing me and JD," Sidney said. Her voice
was hardly above a whisper.
"Sidney, I..." Buck started to say, but Sidney reached out her hand. Confused,
Buck took a hold of it. She squeezed it, but Buck hardly felt it. He realized
how weak she really was.
"I heard everything that you just said Buck and I heard what JD yelled in
the bathroom. There is no way that I blame you for this and... I feel the
same way JD does. And I'm proud of it" Buck saw that talking was really hurting
her. He let go of her and leaned over to kiss her on the forehead.
"That's what I needed to hear Sidney, now you try to get some sleep. The
only way you're going to heal is if you relax." Sidney opened her mouth to
protest, but Buck put a finger on her lips.
"You have to rest Sidney whether you like it or not. It's the only way you
are going to get better. Maybe if you are good, I'll look into that Prias
for you."
Sidney smiled and closed her eyes. Buck sat up and moved into another chair.
HE want' going to move until somebody made him.
:"I can walk Chris, my legs aren't broken," Sidney yelled, and instantly
regretted it. She leaned back in the car seat in pain, rubbing her chest.
It was around seven o clock the next evening, and Sidney had been released
from the hospital, now it was to the Ranch for a complete session of Larabee
rehabilitation Chris had walked around to the passenger side and offered
to carry Sidney into house.
'I will do a lot worse than carry you, if you don't stop yelling like that,"
Chris growled. Sidney sighed and got out of the car. She refused to let Chris
carry her, but she take Chris's offered arm.
"What are all these cars doing here?" she asked quietly. "And who owns that
Prias over at the right?"
"Buck took your truck and traded it in for your new car," Chris answered.
"There's no way that truck was worth the price of a Prias," Sidney answered.
"Well, Buck haggled the office a little bit, and they are going to do an
experiment. They want to see if they should switch its worth switching the
company vehicles. The head of the office agreed to pay the entire cost. You
still get to keep your truck if you need to bring Calypso anywhere/"
'God, I love him," Sidney answered, being careful not to talk too loud."
Chris led her into the house, and there was a loud cheer as soon as they
walked in. There were at least thirty people in the house. Team Seven was
all there. So were Meeker, Jeff, al of the Travis family and several people
from the office.
"Well, we thought of all the people that might come to you're funeral," JD
said coming up, "and we decided to have a party to celebrate your life."
"Really?" Sidney asked.
"Something like that," Chris answered. "JD, where's Vin? I don't see him."
"Well he and Kali said they were going to get some more beers. That was almost
two hours ago," JD laughed.
"It's about time," Sidney answered. Ezra had walked up to join them.
"Can I get you something to drink Ms. Marks? Some orange juice or chocolate
milk perhaps? You are under strict instructions not to drink alcohol."
"No thanks Ezra," Sidney told him. "I'm really tired. I think I need to take
a little nap before I come back to this party." She yawned and headed for
the steps. Nathan joined the three agents as the stared in disbelief.
"Did I just hear what I thought I heard?" he asked. "Did Sidney actually
admit that she needed to sleep?"
:"Guess she's getting smarter," JD answered with a shrug of his shoulders.
"It only took her nearly dying to realize it," Chris snorted.
"You know our girl," Josiah said walking up. "She's got to do everything
the hard way and scare us all half to death before she admits that her elders
were right."
"Would you really want her any other way, Mr. Larabee?" Ezra asked.
"Well, I prefer that she keep breathing," Chris answered. "But she wouldn't
be Sidney, if she wasn't so damn stubborn and pigheaded."
"Do you think that she might listen better now?" JD asked.
Chris just laughed as he took a swig of an offered beer.