Chapter 10

Jason stared at the TV, not really seeing what was on. Some infomercial about something. He had not slept much. It wasn’t the first time, but this time it felt different. His mind was in a dozen different places. Trying to work out every detail of the day. He was also trying to think of who it could be that sent Pierce and why. He wasn’t active. He hadn’t been for over seven years. Not that matters to some people. Twenty-five years was a long time to think back on. Was it Pierce, or was he working for someone? How many were involved?

He got out of the bed. That was part of the reason he didn’t sleep as well. Hospital beds were far from comfortable, in his opinion. He grabbed his tablet and then the coffee that he had bought the day before. Four cups are still in the holder. He shook his head and went looking for the microwave. He turned away from where the doctors were talking to the nurses at the station.

He had just put the last cup into the microwave and was sitting reading something on his tablet when the two doctors walked in.

“There you are. We are everywhere for you,” Kathy tried to sound mad, but the smile on her face didn’t help the effort. She glanced at the coffee cups.

Jason looked up from his tablet just in time to see the look. “Help yourself. They should be hot enough.”

“Correct me if I am wrong but didn’t you get these yesterday?” she asked crinkling up her nose as he took a drink from one in front of him. “I know you haven’t got more since then. Neither the cafeteria nor the gift shop is open yet.”

Jason took another drink. “Yes, it is, and it is fine. That is why we have microwaves.”

“I’ll pass thanks,” she again wrinkled her nose in disgust. “We can get fresh coffee you know.” She took the cup from him and then all the rest. Tossing them in the garbage.

“Hey, that stuff cost money, you know,” he growled at her.

That had her wondering. Something she would have to look into later. “That stuff has been out of the open for at least twelve hours. I’m not going to let you get sick on it.”

As she talked, she moved to the counter with a coffee pot on it. “You could have just asked the nurse for a cup,” she said bitterly as she started to make a fresh pot.

“It was fine. But it doesn’t matter now,” Jason was looking at McCann. He was looking worn out. “Lieutenant,” he said calmly, still making McCann jump. “Are you okay?”

It took a moment, but McCann nodded. Jason thought he saw a slight sideways glance at Kathy but couldn’t be sure of it. He studied the two a moment, considering.

“He spent three-quarters of the night working in the ER. Then crashed in one of the on-call rooms,” Kathy said as she texted someone. “I’d say he didn’t sleep very much.”

Jason held up his tablet and tapped on the screen. “Well, that might not be a good thing, but at least you should be able to sleep better tonight. Hopefully, this will be over, and things will get back to normal.”

“Normal would be nice,” McCann yawned. “It just seems out of reach now.”

Jason set the tablet down and looked at the coffee that Kathy sat in front of him and another in front of McCann. “You are caught up in something out of the norms for you,” he said as he analyzed the cup’s contents. “Once Pierce has what he told you to get odds are you will never see him again. It is not like I am planning on being in a hospital again.”

“Very few plan a trip to the hospital Jason.” Kathy nudged the cup at him “Don’t you trust my coffee making skills?” she teased. She went back and made herself a cup.

Jason looked at McCann, who was drinking the cup she had given him. “Can’t be too bad if you got a tea man to drink it.” He took a cautious sip, and as suspected, it was reasonably close to how he drank it. “Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Whatever Pierce is after, it is unlikely that he will need a doctor involved after this. There is a chance that he won’t even stay in the state.” He stopped and drank the coffee, letting McCann wake up.

Kathy sat. “The lab tech won’t be in for at least another three hours, but we have the first slot for the test. Barring any issues, we should have the results evaluated and signed off on inside a half-hour to an hour. The big wait will be on the blood work. With all the patients we had come in could be a long wait on that. Maybe not until after lunch.”

“I was meaning to ask about that. Why the bloodwork?”

Kathy tapped her fingers on her cup. “Just a double-check for infections and a routine check. A man your age can’t be too careful. As I said yesterday, you could stand to lose a few pounds.”

“I will take it under advisement, but the blood work is not part of this. Pierce wanted the scans. I would say that he is not going to give McCann any more time than he has already. I would bet dollars to donuts that he calls shortly after the tests are done.”

“Okay,” McCann sat up, getting a boost from the caffeine. “What then?”

Jason polished off the coffee and got up. “We need three sets of the results. One for you to give to Pierce, one for the hospital, and one that is to be sealed and held and ready for a courier to take back to the base.” He made another cup, slowly stirring it as he thought. “He isn’t going to chance going back to the base. He will suggest a place. Unless it is in a public location, you need to find a way to steer it to one.” Both Kathy and McCann held the same expression. “There are too many unknown variables. The public is better and better safe than sorry.”

Kathy moved her chair closer to McCann as she sat and put a hand on his shoulder. “What are the odds of this being bad?”

Jason took a breath and then downed the whole cup of coffee. “About the same as you coming in here and tossing twelve bucks of coffee into the trash. Again, too many factors are unknown. As you both know, it is numbers. Take a patient who is given a year to live. Everything tells you that. But somehow, that patient is still alive after two years or five or more. We can’t look at odds. People beat them all the time.”

He sighed as he went over and made another cup of coffee, muttering about small cups. They sat in silence as the situation ran through all their minds. A nurse came in with a young man following.

“He has a delivery for you,” she announced as she waved the young man toward Jason.

Jason chuckled as Kathy and McCann both got antsy as the young man held a couple of packages out. “Don’t be so suspicious. I have been expecting this.” He took the package and opened it. “Thank you, Timothy. Any problems?”

Timothy shook his head. “What you wanted took a little time to work out, but it should do.”

“Okay. Thanks again for getting it here. Now get going before your father has a fit for you being late again.” Timothy looked surprised. “It may not be frequent, but we do talk. His favorite subjects are you and your sister. And occasionally your mother. And do me a favor, tell him what you want to do. He may not be thrilled with it, but the longer you hide it from him, the harder it will be.”

“I know Uncle Jason. He just isn’t the easiest to talk to sometimes.”

Nodding, Jason waved him to the door. “I am well aware. So utilize what and who you have to make it easier. And tell them all the full story with all the characters.”

Timothy’s foot stopped midair as he spun around, gawking at Jason. “I ... what...” he stammered. “You know? How?”

Jason nodded at the door. “The point is I do know, and those most important to you should also know. It may take some time, but they will understand. Now get going.” Timothy walked out as Jason sat at the table.

“You had a package delivered here? Couldn’t wait for it to get home?” Kathy asked as she eyed the box.

“Well this is not for me, so it had to be delivered. Since I couldn’t go get it myself.” He pushed the box to McCann who hesitantly took it and opened it. Then looked confused.

“It’s very nice major but I have no need for it, like most I already have one as you know.” He set the box down and the phone inside lit up.

Jason’s eyes rolled as he tried to be understanding. “Yes. We all know. This one is not tied to you. It is a means to listen in. There’s no need to try to get him to say anything. Just let him talk and answer when you have to. Just keep it in hand from the minute you leave here through the entire meeting.”

McCann picked the phone out of the box. It was bigger than his. Slightly heavier. “Is that necessary?”

“We need as much as we can get to figure out who he is. This may not be much but it is more than we have now.” Jason tapped on the table. “You can do this Doctor. Nothing to it.” He tried to sound convincing but he had some doubts.

They sat there in silence as other hospital staff came and went. A few made a comment about the coffee always being empty or burnt. An hour later, Kathy was constantly looking at the door.

“Doctor, is there something wrong? You need to be somewhere?”

Her head snapped back. She started to say no but stopped herself. “Honestly, I was expecting your guests to be back.”

“They will probably be back this afternoon. The contractor for the diner is supposed to start today, and Selena has classes that she can’t miss.”

She again looked at the door. “Well then, I think I better have them order you a breakfast.”

Jason got up and made one more cup of coffee. “Don’t concern yourself. I’m not hungry. You should go home or do whatever you need to do. You have been almost as long as I have been.”

She got up. “I went home. Had some sleep. The administrator wants me to stick around until after the tests. Including the blood work.”

“So you are going to pull another double? No offense, Doc, but it is a bit overkill. I can have the general call...”

“NO,” she shouted. “There is no need for that,” she said, a little calmer. “They just want to be sure things go smoothly. They have been made aware of the situation. Since I have been here from the start, they think it is best. Besides, it gives me a chance to check in on a few people.”

“Whatever Doc. Just an offer. So, who is it you are checking out? Patients? Nurses or other doctors?”

She laughed. “Hospital business and none of yours.”

There was a sense that there was more to it but he didn’t press. He also didn’t say anything about the concern he had about how her staying may appear. Maybe it wouldn’t be thought about.

It was almost time for a nurse to come in with a wheelchair.

“Seriously?” Jason looked at the poor woman as if she had just threatened him. She was another one that looked barely out of high school.

“Behave, or you’ll be spending the rest of your stay in bed. Besides, it is hospital policy. Just be glad I have been nice. You shouldn’t have been walking or standing at all. We still don’t know if there is anything we missed. I don’t need you passing out or going into convulsions.” She pointed to the chair. “Now sit.”

“Stupid policy,” he muttered and grabbed the cup as he reluctantly sat in the chair.

“Better finish that before we get there. Can’t have it in the lab. And are you forgetting something?” McCann was pointing at the other box that Timothy had left.

“Forgetting? Oh, that is for you as well. The ones you have now look a little tarnished,” Jason said as the nurse pushed him out. He was so ready to have this all done.

It would have been faster if he had walked. It didn’t help that the elevator stopped on every floor. When they got there, the radiologist opened the door.

“I was just getting a briefing on our patient,” he told Stanton and McCann. “We need to take this to the old lab. We also need to put in an IV so we can use contrast.” That made Jason even unhappier. Kathy taking the coffee away made it worse, not because of Jason, but the radiologist.

“What was that?” he asked.

“Coffee,” Jason answered. “Problem?”

“You shouldn’t have been drinking any caffeine for twenty-four hours. You also shouldn’t have eaten anything for the last three,” he snipped, wondering how the screw-up happened.

“We weren’t told that he was going to be needing contrast,” Kathy shot back.

“I have it in the orders,” he said as if she shouldn’t have questioned him. He went to the desk and pulled the top file from a pile. The file he pulled out he thumbed through and stopped handing the folder to Kathy.

She read what he pointed out. Then flipped back through. “He is having an MRI of his head. No one ordered a Cardiac MR stress test. This doctor is not even authorized to make such a request, and I don’t recall the name.” She slapped the folder back at him and went to the phone. She was back a minute later. “There is no Doctor Pen Triate here. When did you get the orders?”

“This morning with all the others,” the radiologist was flipping pages as if the content would change the more he read it. “I was just starting to read them when I got a call for a quick consult.”

The door opened, and a security guard stepped in. He was not a small man.

“You can’t...”

“He is here at orders of the administration. The police have been called,” Stanton waved at the nurse that was still there. “We are not...”