Chapter 36

Before long my hospital room was as busy as Grand Central Station. There was a steady stream of doctors, nurses, and technicians coming and going, plus my ever present guards, both in the room, and stationed just outside.

Judge Jones showed up and spent several minutes getting up to speed on the three stooges, before making a phone call, and having four very burly, federal officers come to his side. He outlined his instructions, and they each grabbed another agent, and went in search of the three.

Just as the judge re-engaged Colleen to complete her briefing, his phone rang. He excused himself, and took the call in the bathroom. When he came out his face was white as snow. Rebecca leaped to his side, thinking he was sick. The judge waved her away, and motioned to our two in-room guards, Edison, and his partner, Caravello. They met with him in the corner for several minutes, until Agent Edison made a phone call of his own, and urgently spoke a set of codes to whoever answered.

When the door next opened, our guards snapped to attention, and fawned over our latest visitor, who ignored them, and instead huddled with Judge Jones. They talked quietly for some time, while the newcomer alternately spoke into his phone. Something very unusual was going on. I began to worry about our safety. Rebecca and Colleen caught my mood and stationed themselves on either side of me.

The judge spoke harshly to someone just outside, and then motioned for his security detail to come in our room. Behind the closed door, the judge was informed that the three stooges had slipped out of the hospital and simply disappeared. The news enraged Judge Jones. He was spitting fire as he shouted orders over the phone. The man who had yet to be identified, spoke very bluntly to someone on the other end of his phone, and very obviously heard the right answer, because he acknowledged it, and then hung up.

Dr. Hinson showed up with two other doctors, and was briefed by Rebecca on her concerns about my hematoma, and potential internal bleeding. He thoroughly examined the area, nodded at Rebecca and turned to the other two doctors. "We have a situation here. This young man has been through a lifetime's worth of injuries. That he's still alive is a testament to his strong constitution, and the everlasting devotion of his personal physician, Dr. Rebecca Temple.

Doctors, I need you to organize everything necessary to complete a full set of tests, as I just outlined, without this young man having to leave his room." When one of the doctors started to object, Dr. Hinson raised his hand to cut him off. "I don't believe you understand things quite as well as you think.

"This patient WILL NOT leave this room. You WILL arrange to bring everything necessary to us, in here, as fast as is possible. You will be doing this because you LIKE CONTINUING TO BE EMPLOYED at this hospital.

"DO I make myself PERFECTLY CLEAR?" There were no objections this time.

"Good. Now make it happen, exactly as I ordered." They were clearly dismissed, and knew it.

Dr. Hinson turned to Judge Jones, and the other official and asked, "Can your people guarantee that Brian will not be molested, bothered, interrupted, intimidated, threatened, injured, or caused unnecessary stress while we determine the extent of his internal injuries?"

Judge Jones looked at the other man, and getting a slight nod, answered for them both. "Dr. This lad has had to endure far too much, causing far too many injuries. This is Assistant, Deputy Director Calvin Jamison of the DHS. He is in charge of all protection services undertaken by the US Federal Government. He was dispatched to us, earlier, by the President himself, when Miss Bell called me about the questioning going on, here. We, and by 'we' I mean everyone from the President, on down, are determined to take back control of this cluster F--," he caught himself just in time, and shot a look of apology our way. "As I tried to say, we are determined that this stops here.

"The information we just received is very disturbing. The three agents that interviewed you have slipped out of the hospital. We don't know so much more than we do know, about them. The nature of intelligence work is in keeping, finding out, and exploiting secrets. The three agents that we can't locate have a piece of this puzzle. We just don't know what it is. Until we are fully certain this will not reoccur, we are limiting all access to agents who are personally known, on sight, to the supervisors from each agency participating.

"When Miss Bell called their bluff, and phoned me, earlier, she scared them into withdrawing. The problem is, we don't know who sent them, or why they were sent, what they hoped to learn, or what their intentions were. This whole thing is a puzzle, wrapped in a conundrum.

"Director Jamison made a strategic call, and ordered additional security, beyond his personal protective contingent, there are twenty-five officers in route as we speak. Each has been personally vetted Director Jamison's command staff. Miss Bell, Dr. Temple, and young Brian will not be bothered by anyone, for any reason, what-so-ever, until such time as Dr. Temple agrees it is appropriate."

Turning to Colleen the judge said, "Miss Bell. Would you repeat for the Director, what you told me about the three agents who interviewed Brian, earlier? Please?" He turned to a man standing behind him and said, "Scrounge up six comfortable chairs. We will be staying until this is properly sorted out. No one will be happy if we get a call from the President, stating he is displeased with our handling of this.

"Call the mobile command post. I want our contract caterers to be here with a full meal, for twelve people, all adults, and one teenage boy, within the hour. If they can't accomplish that, find someone who can, and get them on it. Teenage boys need to eat on time, especially when they're healing up." He smiled at me when he said that, and I started laughing. That got under the Director's skin, and he started laughing with us.

As the judge's aide rushed off see that his orders were being carried out, I noticed a knot of armed agents gathered around our door. From what little I could see, I knew they were heavily armed. The judge saw the concern on my face, asked Colleen to step aside, with his eyes, and took her place on the edge of the bed, beside me.

"Son," he said. "Because I am heading up a very sensitive investigation into what happened to you, the Attorney general assigned a protective detail to stay with me until this whole thing is over. The fact that you were nearly assassinated by an FBI agent makes everything much more worrisome.