To Know A Man

Part 2

The sound echoed in Tom's head. He couldn't hear. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. Then the cough came, unexpected and painful. Awareness soon followed. He heard the sound of a car engine close by, and then a voice, "Oh my God! Someone call the police! Get an ambulance!"

"We are the police," Tom muttered, still gasping for breath. He tried desperately to rise, but a weight on the trunk of his body prevented it.

"Tom? Tom, get off me!" Cassy's voice finally penetrated his brain. He realized that he had been hearing it for several seconds, but it hadn't registered.

"Can't. . .can't move," he groaned, trying desperately to accommodate Cassy's request. He could feel her squirming to get out from underneath his head and shoulders.

"Harry?" that was Frannie. "Harry?" Her voice was whispered. Then suddenly the whisper turned to a shout, "Oh God, no! Harry!"

The sound of Frannie's frantic plea mobilized Tom, giving him the added strength to force the weight off his upper body and sit up. As he looked down at what impeded his movement, he realized that he was staring at the unmoving, blood-covered body of his captain. Harry's still form remained across the top of Tom's legs, preventing him from rising.

"Don't move him," someone shouted from beside him. Tom turned to find he was looking into the worried brown eyes of a hotel staff member.

He sensed movement behind his body. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Cassy rising to her feet. "Cassy, you okay?"

"Yeah. . .fine." She ran to kneel by Harry's unconscious form, across from his worried wife. She did a visual inspection of the older woman and confirmed that she was uninjured.

"Cassy, is he. . .?" Frannie's voice was shaking. The cop's wife was trying with all her strength to remain calm.

Cassy let her shaking fingers rest at Harry's throat. "He has a pulse. It's weak. . .but he's still with us." She heard Frannie whisper a silent prayer of thanks. Inspecting Harry's bloody chest, Cassy found the entry wound. "The bullet went in there." She pointed to a dime-sized hole in Harry's once-white shirt, just below his heart.

"An ambulance and the police are on their way," the hotel person said. Cassy looked at the badge on her vest. It indicated that she was the night manager.

"Thank you. I need towels or something to help stop the bleeding. And a blanket." The manager nodded and rushed back inside the building.

Frannie leaned over Harry, bringing her lips to his forehead, "Harry? Can you hear me? Harry, you're going to be okay. We're taking care of you. Harry? Please say you can hear me."

Cassy listened to the wife's words, sympathizing with the pain and panic she knew the woman was feeling. It had not been long ago that she had used the same words with Tom. She looked up with panic in her blue eyes and gripped his shoulder. "You okay."

Tom diverted his gaze from Harry's body still lying across his legs and nodded, "Yeah. Harry pushed me down."

"Me too," Cassy responded, shaking her head at the result of his actions.

The sound of an ambulance siren could be heard approaching from a distance. The hotel manager returned with white towels and two blankets in her hands. "Here."

Cassy grabbed a handful towels and pressed down on the wound. Harry made no sound. There was no acknowledgment that he felt her touch, no response to any pain. She spread out one blanket and placed it over his body. The other she shook out and wrapped around Frannie's arms.

Frannie didn't seem to realize the blanket was even there. "Harry, the ambulance is coming. Don't leave me, Honey. Please don't leave me." Frannie had lost her battle with control. Tears began to stream down her face. She angrily wiped them away, but she could not keep up with the flow.

Tom reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Frannie, he'll be okay." From his pinned position that was all the comfort he could provide.

Frannie ignored the younger man's words. She was completely focused on her injured husband, directing every thought, every action towards him.

The red and white lights of the emergency vehicles could be seen reflecting off of buildings a few blocks away. "Hear that, Honey? They're almost here. Help is almost here." The injured man remained silent and unmoving.

Frannie brought her lips to his, kissing him lightly, wishing desperately that the contact would be enough to bring awareness back to her husband. But there was nothing. A sob escaped from her throat.

Cassy, keeping one hand pressed against Harry's chest, put the other around Frannie's shoulders, pulling her close, but Frannie fought her off, choosing instead to remain hunched over Harry. Cassy released her and looked at Tom. She could see the same worried look in his hazel eyes as she knew appeared in her blue.

Two patrol cars and an ambulance cut their sirens as they approached the drive which led to the hotel's entrance. Uniformed officers and ambulance attendants suddenly filled the area. The officers pushed back the few on-lookers who had gathered, while the attendants, an older man and woman, had gone to Harry's side. The man immediately fingered the area around the wound on Harry's chest, while the woman noticed Tom trapped under Harry and went to Tom's side.

Tom shook his head, "Help him. I'm okay."

The attendant nodded and moved to Harry's head, lightly touching the area around his neck, confirming that there was no spinal injury.

"Let's go ahead and move him to the stretcher," she told her partner.

One of the uniformed officers leaned over the attendant's shoulder, "Need help?"

"Yeah. Help me get the stretcher." The woman rose to her feet and led the cop to the back of the ambulance.

The other attendant pulled out bandages and an IV from his medical case. Harry's dress shirt was cut open and a pressure bandage was applied to the chest wound. The remaining parts of the shirt were cut from Harry's body. Tom watched, his stomach turning, as the needle was pressed into Harry's forearm.

Cassy let her hand drop to Harry's, her fingers lightly brushing against his. They were so cold. He had lost a great deal of blood and she knew that he was in shock.

The stretcher was placed next to Harry's body and in an instant, the still form had been moved off of Tom's legs. Frannie rose to her feet and followed the attendants as the rushed Harry to the back of the ambulance.

"You're his wife?" the woman asked.

Frannie nodded, her fear keeping her voice from sounding.

"Get in," the woman offered Frannie assistance climbing into the vehicle. "Choice of hospital?" The woman asked.

Frannie was too stunned to answer. Cassy, who had followed Frannie to the vehicle shouted, "Whatever's closest and can save his life!"

"County General," the woman nodded and slammed the doors shut. The siren sounded and the ambulance left the drive. Within seconds it had disappeared from view.

Cassy turned her attention to Tom, who was still picking himself up off the sidewalk, with the assistance of a uniformed officer. His pant legs were covered in blood. . .Harry's blood. He was leaning over, hands resting on his thighs. She realized that he might have been less than truthful about his uninjured status. She rested a hand on his forearm, "You sure you're okay?"

"Legs fell asleep," he mumbled, moving towards the sedan which was still parked in front of the hotel. "Let's get to the hospital."

"I'm sorry, Sergeant Ryan, but we need a statement of what happened here before you leave," the uniformed officer said.

"Captain Lipschitz was shot. That's all we know," Tom growled, having no patience to fill out reports in triplicate.

Cassy grabbed the officer by the arm. "Check for shell casings across the street. I think the bullet may have come from that direction."

Tom, hearing Cassy's words, calmed down and nodded his agreement, "I think it did too. I think Harry saw the shooter. He was looking across the street before he pushed us down." He looked apologetically at the officer, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. Look, we're going to the hospital to check on the captain. Come down there to get our statement after you're done here."

The officer nodded, "I'm sorry. I hope he's okay."

"Me too," Cassy replied. Unfortunately, after having seen the older man's condition, she knew that hope might not be enough.

End Part 2