Vendetta
Part 3
After what seemed like hours, but were truly only minutes, Jeremy regained his composure and released Cassy from his strong grip. She felt like all of the air had been squeezed out of her. Looking into his gentle eyes she immediately read guilt. He looked down, unable to meet her stare, "I'm. . .I'm sorry. I shouldn't have. . ." he started to apologize.
She smiled at the young man, "Hey, it's okay." Then she grinned, "Remember, I was married to an ex-football player. . .I know how to handle those death grips of yours." She had evoked the response desired and Jeremy smiled, suddenly not looking so miserable.
He looked at Harry, "What happened? How did this happen?"
Harry looked at Cassy and shook his head, "We're really not sure. Tom called into the Narcotics Unit and asked that a team go out to the garage where your dad works. In route, a report came in that shots were fired at the same address so additional units were called in. When they arrived, all they found were your father and Tom injured, and two other unknown men, dead."
Jeremy's confusion was evident. "Narcotics? Like drugs? What kind of drugs?"
"None were found on the scene," Cassy answered. "We don't know why Tom called in Vice. Whoever shot Tom, your father and those two men probably has something to do with Tom's call. We'll just have to wait until he and your dad get out of surgery before we'll know what happened."
The door to the waiting room swung open and Dr. Susan Powers, Tom's surgeon, walked into the room with a smile on her face. Immediately Cassy and Harry felt the tension in their bodies start to ease from their bodies. "We're all done with Tom. Things went really well."
"How is he?" Cassy asked, still concerned about her partner's well-being.
"Well, we were right. The bullet caused a hairline fracture to the left side of the pelvis, but otherwise he was quite fortunate. There was no other serious damage. He'll be sore for awhile. We'll have to keep him immobile for a week until the pelvis has a chance to do a little healing, but otherwise, he should be no worse for wear."
Harry frowned at the doctor, "So he won't have any problems walking?"
She shook her head and smiled, "No. He'll have to take it easy for awhile. . .won't be running any footraces, but in a few weeks he should be as good as new."
"When can we see him? We really need to talk to him." Cassy asked anxiously.
"He's in Recovery right now. We'll be moving him to a private room in an hour. You can see him then, but he won't be awake for awhile." She shrugged, "I have him on some pretty strong sedatives. He should be awake by late this evening."
Jeremy closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair, "Thank God he's okay."
Dr. Powers looked at the young man, "I'm sorry, but I don't think we've had the chance to meet."
"I’m Jeremy Millen. My dad. . ." his voice broke and he was unable to continue.
Cassy spoke for him, "His dad is Fred Millen, the other gunshot victim that was brought in with Tom. We haven't heard about his condition. Do you know anything?"
Susan shook her head, "No, I've been with Tom the whole time. But let me go see what I can find out for you." She reached forward and patted Fred's son on the hand. "We have a fine group of surgeons at this hospital. I assure you that your dad is in the best hands possible."
Jeremy nodded meekly, unable to verbally express his thanks. Dr. Powers rose and smiled at the two police officers. "I'll be back in a sec." She exited the room, leaving the three alone in silence.
"I'm going to call Lyam and Margaret," Cassy stood, "They're in the process of trying to get back here from their cruise. If I can let them know that Tom's okay, they may decide not to let this ruin their trip." She left the room quickly.
"I just don't understand what my dad was involved in," Jeremy muttered, as he rested his head in his hands again.
Harry sat back down at the table, across from the distraught man. "Jeremy, I need to ask you some questions. They are going to be difficult, but I have to ask."
Before Harry could ask, Jeremy answered his question for him, "You wanna know if dad could be involved with drugs," he whispered.
Harry nodded, "Yes."
Jeremy shook his head slowly, "Like I said, I haven't talked to Dad in a long time. But, I can't believe he would ever be involved with drugs. I mean, he may have been an ex-con, but he went to jail for counterfeiting and forgery. . .not drugs."
"Was he ever a drug user, Jeremy?"
"No. . .never," he paused, "At least not that I know of," the son shrugged, realizing that he really didn't know his father well enough to answer without doubt.
"Well, someone obviously wanted Tom and Fred dead, but didn't have time to finish the job. Until we can figure out what they got themselves into, I'm putting a guard on both their doors."
Jeremy looked sick, "I just don't understand," he muttered, placing his head in his hands once again.
The waiting room doors opened once again and Dr. Powers entered the room, followed by Cassy. This time, however, the doctor's look was not the pleasant one she had brought with her when informing the group of Tom's status.
"Jeremy?" she said to the young man, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We need to talk about your father. Let's go over to the couch."
Jeremy looked as if he were being asked to walk into the fires of Hell, the fear in his eyes was apparent. "Is my father dead?"
Susan shook her head, "No, Jeremy." She motioned for him to sit next to her. "But I'm sorry. It doesn't look good." Harry and Cassy pulled up two chairs across from the doctor and distraught son. "The bullet severely damaged your father's heart. Our best cardiologist is handling the surgery, but he hasn't been able to completely repair the damage. Your father lost a lot of blood and is suffering from shock." She grabbed Jeremy's hand. "He's very weak, so they are going to close him up and try to go back in tomorrow to see if they can repair the rest of the damage. The hope is that he will be stronger then."
Jeremy dropped his head and whispered, "He's gonna die, isn't he."
Dr. Powers looked from Harry to Cassy and then back to Fred's son, "I'm not going to lie to you, Jeremy. He could die. But like I said earlier, our best people are working on his case. Don't count him out yet." Dr. Powers stood and looked at Harry, "Tom is going to be moved to Room 312."
"I want to put police officers on his door, as well as Mr. Millen's." Harry told the woman.
She frowned, "I don't understand what happened to these two men, but are you sure that guards are necessary."
"We don't understand what happened to Fred and Tom either, that's why the guards are necessary." Harry looked seriously at the doctor.
She nodded, "Tom's room will be no problem. But there can be no guards in Fred's room. . .not while he is in ICCU."
"But his life may be in danger." Harry argued. Jeremy nodded in agreement.
"His life is, unfortunately, already in danger, and I can't have armed police officers interfering with the ICCU staff." Dr. Powers' voice, for the first time, was strict and unwavering. "I will, however, assign my best nurse to his room. He will be left with instructions that no one is allowed into the room without my approval. Would that suffice, for now?"
Harry nodded slowly, "For now. But if we discover clear evidence that Mr. Millen may be a target, we will have to discuss this issue again."
"Very well," Susan nodded in agreement.
"Please, Dr. Powers, can I please see my father?" Jeremy's plea broke Cassy's heart.
It must have affected the doctor, too. She was silent for a moment, and then nodded. "It's against the rules, but I think we can make an exception for you," she smiled warmly, once again, and escorted Jeremy from the waiting room, leaving Cassy and Harry behind.
Harry took off his glasses and rubbed at his tired eyes, "Did you get a hold of the Ryans?"
"Yeah. They dock in Cancun tomorrow. They will call then to see how Tom is doing and decide whether to come back. I told them that Tom will have a cow if they come back and ruin their anniversary." Cassy smiled. The Ryans had decided to take a two week cruise through the Caribbean to celebrate their anniversary. They were only on the second day of the trip. Tom would be tremendously upset to think that he would be the cause of the trip's failure.
Harry smiled, "You know they will come back, no matter how great Tom is doing. They're parents."
Cassy shook her head "Nope, they're good parents."
Harry let it drop, knowing that Cassy was contrasting the Ryans with her own mother.
"I'm going to head back to the station and see if the ballistics report is in yet. I want to know why my detective is lying in a hospital bed." Harry pulled his suit coat back over his rumpled shirt. "You stay here until Ryan wakes up. I want you to get the story from him as soon as you can."
Cassy nodded, "Yeah. . .and I'd like to know why, once again, my partner forgot to take backup with him."
Harry grinned at the woman, "Starting to take it personal?"
"Very," Cassy answered simply, watching her Captain leave the waiting room.
End Part 3
To Part 4