Chapter 10: The Last Battle Won

"I think I'm going to pass out," I said as the familiar blackness closed in.

"Get him back to the hospital, now!" Julie yelled. Later I was told Bucky ran with me in his arms back to his van and held me while Julie drove. I was unconscious for nearly twenty-four hours.

Off in the distance I heard someone yelling. "Where's the doctor's daughter?" I tried to yell. "Arrest the mayor, arrest the cops, and shoot Cassidy!" Suddenly I came awake and realized I was doing all the yelling. "Oh damn but I hurt," I moaned.

Babs Stoker sat in a chair beside my bed. "John, how are you feeling now?" she asked in a very sympathetic voice. "You gave us a scare there for a while. That doctor worked almost all night to get you stabilized."

"It was the least I could do after you got my daughter back to me. That Chief Cassidy had her locked up in the city jail. I apologize but I was afraid for Susan."

I started to chew his ass out for being so cowardly. Then I remembered how quickly I threw in the towel when Julie was threatened. Instead of saying something cruel I told him, "I would have done the same in your position."

He nodded his thanks at my understanding. "How long before I get out of here? I need to check out my garage. I need to get a chief of police and a new police force. There are so many things to do. I can't lay around here."

"Well, if you'll agree to just sit in a wheelchair real quiet like and not try to be the Lone Revenger, you can probably be out of here in another week. Just take it easy and let others do some of the work."

He nodded and turned to one side. "Susan, come meet the man who saved you." He stepped to one side.

A young girl somewhere in her early teens entered the room and smiled shyly at me. "Thank you," she said in a shy voice. "May I kiss you on the cheek?" I nodded.

Babs' cameraman recorded everything. Babs thought she would have a heart-warming scene to show on her next broadcast. Instead she got a snippet of video where a young girl kissed me hard on the mouth. Then that young girl grinned as she drew back, turned to the camera and said in a loud voice, "All right Betty Conner, let's see you do something better." She stuck her nose in the air and walked out of the room. Her father looked after his daughter not believing his eyes.

"Really, John, she is too young for you," Julie said as she came into the room. "I know, I know, the women just can't leave you alone.

The horrified father explained, "Betty Connor is Susan's nemesis at school. I think she just one upped Betty in a big way." He shook his head and left me speechless.

Quickly Julie got down to business. "These three gentlemen say they know you intimately." She pointed toward the door.

Walking through the door one at a time was a sight I never thought I would see again, my three remaining teammates from the seals. The rest of the team was all gone, casualties of wars that should never have been fought for politicians who should never have been born. Oh hell," I grunted, "Who let those sissies in?"

"And greetings of equal feeling onto yourself," Chip Henderson said with a nasty grin on his face. "First you wuss out of the team whining about a teeny weenie ear ache. And then what did you do? You let some useless do nothing cop shoot you. It was safer in the seals where you had me to protect you."

"Now what did they do, use a magnifying lens on the camera to give you a noticeable profile?" Clete Hampton, the deadliest man with a rifle I have ever known greeted me.

Billy Joe Johnson grinned across the room at me and said simply, "Hey, John, how they hanging?" He was the pretty boy of the bunch. Girls just couldn't keep their clothes on around him. I heard he married a martial arts instructor who was almost as tough on the mat as he was. She specialized in the Thai style fighting.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" I asked. These three were the last people I expected to ever see again ever.

Julie looked at them, as if wondering whether or not she made a mistake bringing them to the hospital, and no wonder. Chip Henderson looked like the Jolly Pink Giant, standing six feet four in his bare feet. His beer keg shaped body had all the resiliency of a block of hard rubber. Tennessee hillbilly Clete Hampton shot without seeming to aim and never missed. Equally proficient with pistol, rifle or cannon, nobody ever came close to Clete when it came to shooting. Billy Joe Johnson was the lover boy of the team. Even at forty-three he still looked like a matinee idol. He was also deadly at bare hand and knife fighting. He was our electronics wizard. He could almost make a radio out of dirt and thought nothing of partying all night and then run an obstacle course the next morning. I bet his wife had her hands full with him.

Julie worriedly looked from one to the other. They looked back at her appraising her with very critical eyes. They all smiled at the same time as she passed muster. "Leave it to old John Boy here to come up with a winner." Billy Joe gave her his seal of approval.

"I got a problem. You heard how I have started a campaign to run for mayor." They nodded. "I have been sent a few messages that if I didn't drop out of the race I don't get to live. But they also said they will kill my lady here.