Stephen Cannell - Final Victim

Malavida was transferred to a gurney and rolled down to X-ray at quarter to ten. Ray Gonzales was lifted onto a gurney for the same destination at about the same time. They were both wheeled down to the X-ray room and arrived five minutes apart. Both were parked in the anteroom adjoining the X-ray machine. Ray had been thoroughly briefed by Karen and was conscious, but pretended to be asleep. Malavida was sleeping off and on, due to the heavy medication he'd been given. The agent assigned to accompany Malavida was different from the night before, and sat on a chair out in the hall as Malavida was wheeled into the X-ray room. At quarter past ten, a technician put the lead vest over his chest to protect his heart and lungs, then moved the nozzle of the X-ray machine down and began taking pictures of Malavida's abdomen.

After the X-rays, the technician parked both beds in the anteroom.

As both patients appeared to sleep, he read their wristbands, then checked the computer for their IDs and destinations. The computer identified Malavida as Ray Gonzales. So the technician pushed Malavida's gurney out the east door, into the main lobby. He told the waiting attendant to take the patient back up to the Renal Care ward. The Federal agent who was supposed to guard Malavida was still sitting in the main corridor outside the X-ray department, reading the sports page. Five minutes later, they sent Ray Gonzales out to him.

"Here's your boy," the X-ray technician said. The agent slowly got to his feet. He walked around to confirm that the man on the bed was Malavida. It was only then that he realized they had returned the wrong man to him.

Karen Dawson, in her fresh, new candy-striper's uniform, took Malavida's gurney from the attendant as he wheeled it off the elevator on the third floor, near the Renal Care ward.

"Got it. Thanks," she said as she pulled it out of the elevator. After the attendant left, she pushed the elevator button and got the next car down.

Once downstairs, she pushed the gurney right out the front of the hospital. To her surprise, nobody said a word. She wheeled Malavida around the side of the hospital and finally arrived at the rented van. She opened the back doors, then pushed the gurney up hard against the back bumper. The gurney bed overhung the legs by almost three feet and extended into the vehicle. She then collapsed the front legs so that the gurney's skids were resting on the bed of the van. This accomplished, she jumped in and pulled with all her strength… The gurney slid into the van on the metal rails under it. She looked around to see if anybody had witnessed the operation.

Her heart was pounding. She was having a ball. She knelt down and put her hand on Malavida's forehead.

"I'm awake," he grimaced. "That was the worst ride I ever took, even worse than the shore break at Huntington."

"Sorry." She smiled. "We're a little shorthanded this morning." He looked up at her and saw her grinning. "What the hell's so funny, Karen?"

"Nothing. Sorry, I get off on strange stuff"

In twenty minutes, she had Malavida back at The Swallow Inn and propped up in bed. The room seemed suddenly small, as both of them communicated silently… each remembering another motel room where they had clung to each other in ecstasy and then awkwardness. Karen moved quickly across the room and turned on the TV. She finally found an all-news station. She set the volume and went back out to unload some hospital supplies she'd filched. Ten minutes later there was an update on a story in Washington, D. C. Neither of them was paying much attention until they heard Lockwood's name.

Karen quickly turned up the volume.

6 4… at D. C. General Hospital. Agent Lockwood is in a coma," the gray-haired news anchor said.

"What…?" Karen almost shouted at the screen.

"As we reported earlier, the Director of All Operations of U. S. Customs, Laurence Heath, died in the mishap when halon gas accidentally escaped in the locked file room in the basement of the Department of Justice. Heath was the second-highest-ranking officer in the service. Along with him, and also dead on arrival, were Agent Victor Kulack and two attorneys: Carter Van Lendt, with the Justice Department, and Alex Hixon, who was representing Agent Lockwood at his Internal Affairs hearing. Government engineers are still studying the mishap to determine why the elevators in the building locked and the halon system malfunctioned. That report is due shortly. In the meantime the lone survivor, Agent John Lockwood, barely hangs on to rife at D. C. General."

They called the hospital, but there was a stop on Lockwood's phone; Karen's call was transferred to a man who sounded like a cop. She quickly realized that he was not going to give out any additional information. She hung up and cursed under her breath. Karen looked at Malavida, who was now propped up in the bed.

"Did that news guy say 'mishap'?" Malavida finally asked, his voice still whispery.

"That's what he said." She was consumed with fear for Lockwood. "Bullshit. The Rat set that system off," he said.

Karen's emotions were rolling. She had come to rely on John Lockwood. He had been their leader. She was devastated by the news. She could not believe the depth of her feelings. She had always seen herself as a rational and deductive person, despite her love of death-defying risks. Yet here she was, between two men, both of whom she had strong feelings for. Was it just another game of chicken? Had she fallen into bed with Malavida to preclude a relationship with Lockwood, because she wasn't able to commit to anybody fully? As these thoughts tumbled in her mind, she looked at Malavida. They held each other's gaze. They both knew they were thinking the same thing…

The Rat had cut them down, one at a time. Only Karen remained standing.

"I'm going to get this motherfucker," she finally said.

Malavida had never heard a woman sound so dangerous.

In the dream, he was at the bottom of a sand dune, struggling to climb to the top… but the harder he tried, the more sand came down on him. It carried him back to the bottom of the pit, where again he would claw his way up toward the top… only to have it happen again. It was a struggle he knew he must win. If he could climb to the top, he would wake; if not, he would be doomed. Over and over he would almost get to the lip of the sand dune… barely seeing the light before slipping back down again.

Finally, at about nine on Saturday night, he made it. Victorious, he opened his eyes and looked at the white acoustic tiles of the hospital ceiling. He had been unconscious for thirty-five hours. A nurse who had been taking his blood pressure ran to get a doctor. Lockwood tried to move. Something was wrong. His coordination was off. He couldn't control his muscles. Then a doctor came into his line of sight.

"Welcome back," he said.

Lockwood tried to nod. He didn't think he could speak. He tried to clear his throat.

"You've had a severe loss of oxygen and you were unconscious for about a day and a half," the doctor said, "and that is going to affect you for a while. Do you remember your name?"

Lockwood lay in the bed. His name… his name… He knew his name. He struggled for it. It was there, just out of reach, just on the edge of his memory. His name was… it was…?

"It's okay. It's gonna come," the doctor said. "Time for a Paul Revere. Hold tight, I'm gonna run tell a few people you're back."

Lockwood watched as the doctor moved out of his sight.

"Paul Revere," he said softly. His voice was strange in his ears. The name was familiar but he didn't think he was Paul Revere.

As time passed, things came further back into focus. He was still unable to move freely. His arms and legs didn't seem to obey his mental commands. His thoughts were jumbled and confused. When he finally came up with his name, he told a nurse that he was Lockwood, John W., Sergeant, 3769007656-his name, Marine rank, and serial number. They took him carefully from the bed and gave him an MRI scan. They explained to him what had happened in the Justice Department file room, but he had trouble remembering any of it. His short-term memory was a mess. He remembered parts of what had happened in Florida. He remembered chasing a huge, bald man and firing two shots from an old.45 at a fleeing air-boat. It was like a five-second movie loop in his head. He could replay it but not see around either side of it.