Tuesday, December 12, 2006
When Fiction Meets Reality - Pt. 13
He hung up and pocketed his phone, drew his gun and checked it. When he looked up from his gun he noticed Kiefer and Jon staring at him, along with half of the crew who had stopped doing what they had been occupied with.
"It may be nothing," Jack said to Kiefer, "but I would like for you to go to your dressing room anyway. And get security to send four guards over, take two inside with you and two at the door. Go … now."
Kiefer didn't need any explanation, he went straight for the door with Jon hot on his heels. The moment they reached his dressing room, Jon called security and asked them to send the guards over. Jack was waiting out in the hall and he waited for the men to take up their positions before he went to the room where Jon had taken the extras. He went inside and stopped just inside the door.
"Henry Gunnard?"
"Yes?"
His man got to his feet.
"Could I speak with you for a moment sir?"
"Sure. What is this about? Who are you?"
"Outside please, this is a private matter." Jack replied calmly.
The man followed Jack and he took him a few steps down the hall.
"What is this all about? Is something wrong?"
"I don't know." Jack replied coldly. "Why don't you tell me?"
"What?"
"Who are you?"
"What?"
"You heard me." Jack snapped, "Who are you? We've done a background check on you and you don't exist. The social security number you gave to the temp agency is fake."
"What? Who the hell are you?"
"I'm a federal agent and I'm asking you one more time. Who are you and what are you doing here?"
"Can I see your credentials?" the man asked calmly.
Jack was slightly taken aback by the sudden coolness of the man and he felt the hair at the back of his neck tingle. He pulled his badge out left-handed and showed it to the man.
"Well agent Bauer, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but you're barking up the wrong tree here."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I'm Special Agent Gonhart, I'm with the FBI and I was sent here today regarding the threats against Mr. Sutherland."
"And do you have your credentials?"
"Yes I do … if I may."
The man slowly opened his jacket and moved his right hand to reach into his inside pocket.
Jack nodded and he pulled a small wallet out, handing it to Jack.
He compared the photo on the ID card with the man he had before him.
"Don't move."
Jack nodded to the security guard at the door a few steps away and the man approached, staying beyond Gonhart's reach in case things went wrong. Jack fished his cellphone out and called Nina.
"Nina, get the feds on the line and ask them if they have an undercover agent looking into the Sutherland threats will you."
"The feds?" Nina exclaimed.
"Yeah, Henry Gunnard claims to be a federal agent and I'd like to know if he really is." Jack replied sharply, his eyes locked on Gonhart.
"Okay, stay on the line."
She punched in a number for the local FBI and asked to speak with someone in charge of undercover operations. The operator patched her through and Nina introduced herself to the agent, then patched Jack into the conversation.
"Sir, this is agent Bauer from CTU Los Angeles, I'm working on the Sutherland threats and am currently at the Fox studios with a man claiming to be of your services. Could you confirm this to me?"
"Special Agent Gonhart is one of our agents, sent in today to investigate the veracity of these threats."
"Could you describe Special Agent Gonhart to me sir?"
The agent gave Jack a description of the man he was looking at.
"Thank you for your cooperation sir." Jack said and hung up.
He handed the other man's badge back and waved the security guard away.
"Next time, you might want to fill us in on your little operations." Jack snarled.
"You've made me waste my time on this."
"I'm sorry, but I can't be blamed for the inter-agency communications or the lack thereof. I get my orders and carry them out. I wasn't aware of your assignment either."
"Have you found anything?"
"Not so far. Have you?"
"CTU's looking into some evidence we gathered from Mr. Sutherland's security tapes."
"Do you think we could have a look at that evidence?" Gonhart asked.
"You'll have to put that request through our District Director, Ryan Chapelle. I'm simply carrying out orders." Jack said evasively.
"Okay, thank you." Gonhart said, knowing Jack had blown him off effectively.
Jack went over to Kiefer's dressing room, preparing himself to face Jon and his anger. He had been wrong. Not entirely because there had been something fishy about the guy, but he had been wrong to think the man was a threat to Kiefer. He nodded to the guards, dismissing them and he knocked on the door before going in.
The guards were on high alert and nearly tackled him the moment he stepped inside, but they stopped short from actually doing it when they recognized him.
"Well?" Jon asked at once.
"He checked out." Jack said softly.
"He's a federal agent, sent undercover to investigate on the threats you've been receiving." he continued, concentrating on Kiefer.
"I checked his credentials with the local FBI office and he's one of their men all right."
"Why weren't you informed?" Kiefer asked, "You should've known they were planning on sending someone over here."
"CTU and the FBI don't have too much of a working relationship together, this guy knew nothing about me either."
"So you wasted our time for nothing." Jon interrupted.
"I should've known it."
"It wasn't for nothing, I knew there was something weird about the guy. His file proved to be false and the name he had given was unknown to any government office. I was right about that."
"But you wasted our time for no reason."
"If you say so."
"I don't think asking you to shift a few takes around was wasting your time and I most certainly don't consider Kiefer's safety as being ‘no reason'. But you are entitled to your own opinion." Jack replied flatly.
He turned and started for the door again.
"I want an apology." Jon said sharply.
"I'm sorry." Jack replied without stopping or turning.
He headed out of the building; in dire need of some fresh air. Kiefer joined him moments later, lighting up a cigarette as he stepped out of the building.
"I'm sorry I wasted your time." Jack said, sincerely this time.
"You didn't." Kiefer replied, "You did your job."
"You knew something was wrong about the guy and you were right about it. The information we had on him was false, that alone puts me on your side in this. He lied to everybody, nobody knew who he was and what he was doing here. You did the right thing."
"Could you repeat that speech to Chapelle?" Jack joked.
"I'd be happy to." Kiefer replied seriously, "If he gives you any crap over this, I will."
"You trusted your gut-"
"Stop right there." Jack said, holding his hand up.
"Don't ever say something like that to Chapelle. He'll nail my ass to the wall before your words are cold."
"Right I forgot who we were talking about here. Sorry."
"No problem."
"Is he going to have my ass nailed to a wall?"
"Nah, don't worry about Jon. He doesn't like to be pushed around, but he knows you did what you had to in order to ensure my safety. And that's all he really cares about at the end of the day."
"He didn't sound like he knew I did this for you."
"Don't worry, he does."
"But like I said, an apology could do wonders,"
"… a sincere one that is." he added, patting Jack on the shoulder.
"I guess I'd better. I don't want him breathing down my neck."
"We'd better head back."
They went back into the building, finding the extras back in the studio, going over the details again with Jon. Kiefer joined them but Jack stayed out of Jon's way for the time being. He would apologize to him as soon as he was done. But the same feeling of uneasiness crept up on Jack and his senses switched back to full alert. His eyes scanned the room, scanned the faces, nothing seemed out of the ordinary but he couldn't shake the feeling. Kiefer and Jon walked away from the group and came towards him.
"I'm sorry about before." Jack said when they were still a few steps away.
He had grabbed him in front of everyone, he should apologize in front of them too.
"I shouldn't have grabbed you like that."
"Whatever. Just stay out of the way from now on." Jon replied coldly.
Jack stepped out of the way and let them pass, getting a quick tap on the arm from Kiefer.
Minutes later, everybody was ready to roll, but Jack still had the same bad feeling, so he went up to the edge of the set, positioning himself right behind one of the cameramen. He was only a few steps away from Kiefer if anything happened and he had a good view of the set except for that part hidden behind the camera. They started taping and the scene went pretty smoothly until one of the extras sneezed pretty loudly. Things like that could happen and they started over. But only a few moments into the scene, the same man sneezed again, louder still. He apologized, face flushed in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, there's just too much dust here. I'm pretty sensitive to that."
"Okay, that's not a problem, you can switch place with her." Jon said, pointing to one of the female extras.
She was seated at the end of the desk, closest to where Kiefer would be at the end of the scene.
Jack's hair stood on end as he watched them trade places. He didn't know what was wrong or why he felt like this and his stomach knotted when he realized his comments would be waved away after the stunt he pulled earlier.
Everybody got back in position and much to Jack's horror, Kiefer went over to the sneezing extra. They talked for a moment and Kiefer tapped him on the shoulder before walking away smiling. Jack drew his gun and held it down by his side, finger on the trigger guard. He realized people would think he was a lunatic, but he couldn't shake the feeling.
Something was about to happen and he would have to move quickly.
They started rolling and the take went smoothly, no sneezing this time and nothing else happened either, but Jack's gut kept him on alert, this wasn't over. They took it from the top and when Kiefer stepped closer to the desk at the end of the scene, the extra leapt up behind him. With a flick of his wrist, he extended a telescopic nightstick and struck at once, landing a vicious blow to the back of Kiefer's head, sending him sprawling. Despite the hard blow, Kiefer wasn't unconscious and he had the life saving reflex to roll; the man came after him, reversing the grip on the stick and bringing it down in a stabbing motion. The metal rod struck the floor inches away from Kiefer's body as he rolled away from the spot he had landed in.
The loud crack surprised everybody and several people screamed in fear.
"Freeze!" Jack yelled, "Drop the baton!"
He moved through the chaos erupting around him, his gun aimed at the man who had attacked Kiefer. His bullet had thrown him back as it tore through his upper left arm but he was still on his feet and still an immediate danger to Kiefer who lay on the floor only a foot away. Blood dripping down from the wound on his arm, the extra reversed his grip on the baton again and launched at Kiefer, intent on bringing the metal rod down on him, striking wherever he could hit him. It didn't matter where he hit, it would hurt like hell and if he smashed it down on Kiefer's head or throat, it could even kill him. Jack took no chances and fired again, his bullet dead on target this time, slamming into the middle of the charging man's chest, throwing him back and down. He moved forward, gun trained on the downed man, positioning himself between him and his target. Gonhart was also moving, he had come around the desk he had been at and he kicked the baton away from the man's hand, staying clear of Jack's line of fire.
"Get an ambulance." Jack yelled, keeping his gun on the man.
The bullet had taken him out of action, but he wasn't dead, which meant he was still a threat.
"Kiefer?" Jack called.
"Can you hear me?"
…
"Gonhart, check on him."
The FBI agent went around to check on Kiefer who was barely conscious, a puddle of blood forming under his head.
"He's bleeding."
"Dammit!" Jack cursed.
"Get that ambulance here on the double." he yelled.
"And get some security in here."
Three guards came running and Jack could finally turn to Kiefer. He holstered his gun and fell to his knees next to him, checking his pupils for reaction, but there was hardly any.
"Kiefer can you hear me?"
…
"Kiefer!"
He shook him gently by the shoulder and his eyes fluttered, then opened, a soft moan building.
"Don't move." Jack said immediately, "You're bleeding from the head so just stay down."
Kiefer's nod was hardly visible, his complaining moan at the pain that shot through his head clearly audible though.
"It's okay, just stay with me, you'll be fine."
Jack checked behind him to make sure the assailant wasn't moving, but the man was surrounded by studio security.
Moments later, paramedics came storming into the studio and Jack pushed up, motioning for them to tend to Kiefer first.
"Shouldn't they be working on him?" one of the guards asked.
"I don't get paid to keep him alive." Jack replied dryly.
The paramedics checked Kiefer's vitals and the wound at the back of his head. It was a pretty big one and would need stitching so they dressed it temporarily and shifted their attention to the assailant.
"I don't want him going anywhere without escort."
"I'll ride with him." Gonhart said.
Jack turned and his eyes met Gonhart's.
"Why don't you take Mr. Sutherland to the hospital and I'll ride with them in the ambulance."
Jack agreed and with the help of one of the guards, he got Kiefer on his feet, arms locked around their necks and they took him out to Jack's car, getting him into the passenger seat and buckling his belt for him. The moment Jack closed the door, Jon opened the rear passenger door.
"I'm coming with you."
Jack didn't waste any time and hurried around the car, climbed in, slammed the key in the ignition and rammed his foot down on the accelerator, causing the big car to leap forward. He had parked it in such a way he could drive off at once, no matter what. The ambulance didn't block him in and he sped to the main gate, punching in a speed dial on his phone.
"Nina, get me a route to the hospital closest to the Fox studios."
"What's wrong Jack?" Nina asked, hitting the keys on her keyboard as she spoke.
"Now Nina!" Jack snapped and hung up.
Seconds later, his PDA buzzed and Jack fished it out of his pocket as he cleared the gate.
"Help me navigate." he said to Jon, handing the PDA to him.
He hit a switch on the dashboard, turning on his emergency beacon, but he left the siren off, it could only bother Kiefer. The flashing lights were attached to the vehicle's ventilation grid and weren't visible from the cabin. Jon directed him and they reached the emergency entrance of the hospital in less than ten minutes. He hit his horn while slamming his foot down on the brake. The car skidded to a stop three feet from the door and two paramedics came running out to meet them. Jon and Jack were out of the car in the same heartbeat.
"Front passenger seat." Jack called out to the paramedics as he made his way around the car.
"Bleeding wound to the head. He's conscious but only barely."
They yanked the passenger door open and pulled Kiefer out of the car, taking him inside at once and getting him on a gurney, wheeling him straight into a crash room. A doctor and a nurse came running and Jack and Jon stepped out of their way.
"What happened?" the doctor asked.
"He took a blow to the back of the head with a metal baton. He's conscious but disoriented."
"Did he pass out?"
"No."
"Did he vomit?"
"No."
"How long ago did this happen?"
"Almost twenty minutes ago."
"And he hasn't lost consciousness or vomited since. That's positive. Let's have a look at that wound."
The paramedics rolled Kiefer to the side and the nurse wiped the blood away as best as she could. Thank god Kiefer had been sporting a short hairdo, it enabled the doctor to get a good look at the wound without having to resort to different methods which might not have arranged Fox at all. The wound was pretty nasty-looking but once it had been cleaned thoroughly, it looked much better already. The nurse injected a mild sedative into the skin immediately surrounding the wound, repeating the process in five different spots, numbing the entire area around the wound and by the time the doctor started stitching him up, Kiefer felt absolutely nothing.
It took twelve stitches to close the wound and once the bandage was in place, the nurse applied an ice pack to keep the swelling to a minimum.
"I'd like to keep him overnight for observation." the doctor said quietly when he was done.
"Do you think he has a concussion?" Jack asked.
"That's why I'd like to keep him here." the doctor explained, "It's hard to tell."
"What did you say he was hit with?"
"A telescopic nightstick, I don't know if you're familiar with those."
"I've seen the damage they can do."
"I'll have him transferred to a room in a moment, do you want to stay with him?"
"We'd like to. He might panic if he wakes up and sees nobody he knows."
"What happened?"
"Some lunatic came after him." Jack replied evasively.
"Thank you doctor."
"You're welcome. If you need anything, just buzz the nurse."
"Thank you."
Jack waited for the doctor to leave before turning to Jon.
"I need to move my car, stay with him."
Jon nodded, his face ashen, worry plastered across it.
"Are you okay?" Jack asked worriedly.
Jon nodded again.
"I'll be right back."
"It may be nothing," Jack said to Kiefer, "but I would like for you to go to your dressing room anyway. And get security to send four guards over, take two inside with you and two at the door. Go … now."
Kiefer didn't need any explanation, he went straight for the door with Jon hot on his heels. The moment they reached his dressing room, Jon called security and asked them to send the guards over. Jack was waiting out in the hall and he waited for the men to take up their positions before he went to the room where Jon had taken the extras. He went inside and stopped just inside the door.
"Henry Gunnard?"
"Yes?"
His man got to his feet.
"Could I speak with you for a moment sir?"
"Sure. What is this about? Who are you?"
"Outside please, this is a private matter." Jack replied calmly.
The man followed Jack and he took him a few steps down the hall.
"What is this all about? Is something wrong?"
"I don't know." Jack replied coldly. "Why don't you tell me?"
"What?"
"Who are you?"
"What?"
"You heard me." Jack snapped, "Who are you? We've done a background check on you and you don't exist. The social security number you gave to the temp agency is fake."
"What? Who the hell are you?"
"I'm a federal agent and I'm asking you one more time. Who are you and what are you doing here?"
"Can I see your credentials?" the man asked calmly.
Jack was slightly taken aback by the sudden coolness of the man and he felt the hair at the back of his neck tingle. He pulled his badge out left-handed and showed it to the man.
"Well agent Bauer, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but you're barking up the wrong tree here."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I'm Special Agent Gonhart, I'm with the FBI and I was sent here today regarding the threats against Mr. Sutherland."
"And do you have your credentials?"
"Yes I do … if I may."
The man slowly opened his jacket and moved his right hand to reach into his inside pocket.
Jack nodded and he pulled a small wallet out, handing it to Jack.
He compared the photo on the ID card with the man he had before him.
"Don't move."
Jack nodded to the security guard at the door a few steps away and the man approached, staying beyond Gonhart's reach in case things went wrong. Jack fished his cellphone out and called Nina.
"Nina, get the feds on the line and ask them if they have an undercover agent looking into the Sutherland threats will you."
"The feds?" Nina exclaimed.
"Yeah, Henry Gunnard claims to be a federal agent and I'd like to know if he really is." Jack replied sharply, his eyes locked on Gonhart.
"Okay, stay on the line."
She punched in a number for the local FBI and asked to speak with someone in charge of undercover operations. The operator patched her through and Nina introduced herself to the agent, then patched Jack into the conversation.
"Sir, this is agent Bauer from CTU Los Angeles, I'm working on the Sutherland threats and am currently at the Fox studios with a man claiming to be of your services. Could you confirm this to me?"
"Special Agent Gonhart is one of our agents, sent in today to investigate the veracity of these threats."
"Could you describe Special Agent Gonhart to me sir?"
The agent gave Jack a description of the man he was looking at.
"Thank you for your cooperation sir." Jack said and hung up.
He handed the other man's badge back and waved the security guard away.
"Next time, you might want to fill us in on your little operations." Jack snarled.
"You've made me waste my time on this."
"I'm sorry, but I can't be blamed for the inter-agency communications or the lack thereof. I get my orders and carry them out. I wasn't aware of your assignment either."
"Have you found anything?"
"Not so far. Have you?"
"CTU's looking into some evidence we gathered from Mr. Sutherland's security tapes."
"Do you think we could have a look at that evidence?" Gonhart asked.
"You'll have to put that request through our District Director, Ryan Chapelle. I'm simply carrying out orders." Jack said evasively.
"Okay, thank you." Gonhart said, knowing Jack had blown him off effectively.
Jack went over to Kiefer's dressing room, preparing himself to face Jon and his anger. He had been wrong. Not entirely because there had been something fishy about the guy, but he had been wrong to think the man was a threat to Kiefer. He nodded to the guards, dismissing them and he knocked on the door before going in.
The guards were on high alert and nearly tackled him the moment he stepped inside, but they stopped short from actually doing it when they recognized him.
"Well?" Jon asked at once.
"He checked out." Jack said softly.
"He's a federal agent, sent undercover to investigate on the threats you've been receiving." he continued, concentrating on Kiefer.
"I checked his credentials with the local FBI office and he's one of their men all right."
"Why weren't you informed?" Kiefer asked, "You should've known they were planning on sending someone over here."
"CTU and the FBI don't have too much of a working relationship together, this guy knew nothing about me either."
"So you wasted our time for nothing." Jon interrupted.
"I should've known it."
"It wasn't for nothing, I knew there was something weird about the guy. His file proved to be false and the name he had given was unknown to any government office. I was right about that."
"But you wasted our time for no reason."
"If you say so."
"I don't think asking you to shift a few takes around was wasting your time and I most certainly don't consider Kiefer's safety as being ‘no reason'. But you are entitled to your own opinion." Jack replied flatly.
He turned and started for the door again.
"I want an apology." Jon said sharply.
"I'm sorry." Jack replied without stopping or turning.
He headed out of the building; in dire need of some fresh air. Kiefer joined him moments later, lighting up a cigarette as he stepped out of the building.
"I'm sorry I wasted your time." Jack said, sincerely this time.
"You didn't." Kiefer replied, "You did your job."
"You knew something was wrong about the guy and you were right about it. The information we had on him was false, that alone puts me on your side in this. He lied to everybody, nobody knew who he was and what he was doing here. You did the right thing."
"Could you repeat that speech to Chapelle?" Jack joked.
"I'd be happy to." Kiefer replied seriously, "If he gives you any crap over this, I will."
"You trusted your gut-"
"Stop right there." Jack said, holding his hand up.
"Don't ever say something like that to Chapelle. He'll nail my ass to the wall before your words are cold."
"Right I forgot who we were talking about here. Sorry."
"No problem."
"Is he going to have my ass nailed to a wall?"
"Nah, don't worry about Jon. He doesn't like to be pushed around, but he knows you did what you had to in order to ensure my safety. And that's all he really cares about at the end of the day."
"He didn't sound like he knew I did this for you."
"Don't worry, he does."
"But like I said, an apology could do wonders,"
"… a sincere one that is." he added, patting Jack on the shoulder.
"I guess I'd better. I don't want him breathing down my neck."
"We'd better head back."
They went back into the building, finding the extras back in the studio, going over the details again with Jon. Kiefer joined them but Jack stayed out of Jon's way for the time being. He would apologize to him as soon as he was done. But the same feeling of uneasiness crept up on Jack and his senses switched back to full alert. His eyes scanned the room, scanned the faces, nothing seemed out of the ordinary but he couldn't shake the feeling. Kiefer and Jon walked away from the group and came towards him.
"I'm sorry about before." Jack said when they were still a few steps away.
He had grabbed him in front of everyone, he should apologize in front of them too.
"I shouldn't have grabbed you like that."
"Whatever. Just stay out of the way from now on." Jon replied coldly.
Jack stepped out of the way and let them pass, getting a quick tap on the arm from Kiefer.
Minutes later, everybody was ready to roll, but Jack still had the same bad feeling, so he went up to the edge of the set, positioning himself right behind one of the cameramen. He was only a few steps away from Kiefer if anything happened and he had a good view of the set except for that part hidden behind the camera. They started taping and the scene went pretty smoothly until one of the extras sneezed pretty loudly. Things like that could happen and they started over. But only a few moments into the scene, the same man sneezed again, louder still. He apologized, face flushed in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, there's just too much dust here. I'm pretty sensitive to that."
"Okay, that's not a problem, you can switch place with her." Jon said, pointing to one of the female extras.
She was seated at the end of the desk, closest to where Kiefer would be at the end of the scene.
Jack's hair stood on end as he watched them trade places. He didn't know what was wrong or why he felt like this and his stomach knotted when he realized his comments would be waved away after the stunt he pulled earlier.
Everybody got back in position and much to Jack's horror, Kiefer went over to the sneezing extra. They talked for a moment and Kiefer tapped him on the shoulder before walking away smiling. Jack drew his gun and held it down by his side, finger on the trigger guard. He realized people would think he was a lunatic, but he couldn't shake the feeling.
Something was about to happen and he would have to move quickly.
They started rolling and the take went smoothly, no sneezing this time and nothing else happened either, but Jack's gut kept him on alert, this wasn't over. They took it from the top and when Kiefer stepped closer to the desk at the end of the scene, the extra leapt up behind him. With a flick of his wrist, he extended a telescopic nightstick and struck at once, landing a vicious blow to the back of Kiefer's head, sending him sprawling. Despite the hard blow, Kiefer wasn't unconscious and he had the life saving reflex to roll; the man came after him, reversing the grip on the stick and bringing it down in a stabbing motion. The metal rod struck the floor inches away from Kiefer's body as he rolled away from the spot he had landed in.
The loud crack surprised everybody and several people screamed in fear.
"Freeze!" Jack yelled, "Drop the baton!"
He moved through the chaos erupting around him, his gun aimed at the man who had attacked Kiefer. His bullet had thrown him back as it tore through his upper left arm but he was still on his feet and still an immediate danger to Kiefer who lay on the floor only a foot away. Blood dripping down from the wound on his arm, the extra reversed his grip on the baton again and launched at Kiefer, intent on bringing the metal rod down on him, striking wherever he could hit him. It didn't matter where he hit, it would hurt like hell and if he smashed it down on Kiefer's head or throat, it could even kill him. Jack took no chances and fired again, his bullet dead on target this time, slamming into the middle of the charging man's chest, throwing him back and down. He moved forward, gun trained on the downed man, positioning himself between him and his target. Gonhart was also moving, he had come around the desk he had been at and he kicked the baton away from the man's hand, staying clear of Jack's line of fire.
"Get an ambulance." Jack yelled, keeping his gun on the man.
The bullet had taken him out of action, but he wasn't dead, which meant he was still a threat.
"Kiefer?" Jack called.
"Can you hear me?"
…
"Gonhart, check on him."
The FBI agent went around to check on Kiefer who was barely conscious, a puddle of blood forming under his head.
"He's bleeding."
"Dammit!" Jack cursed.
"Get that ambulance here on the double." he yelled.
"And get some security in here."
Three guards came running and Jack could finally turn to Kiefer. He holstered his gun and fell to his knees next to him, checking his pupils for reaction, but there was hardly any.
"Kiefer can you hear me?"
…
"Kiefer!"
He shook him gently by the shoulder and his eyes fluttered, then opened, a soft moan building.
"Don't move." Jack said immediately, "You're bleeding from the head so just stay down."
Kiefer's nod was hardly visible, his complaining moan at the pain that shot through his head clearly audible though.
"It's okay, just stay with me, you'll be fine."
Jack checked behind him to make sure the assailant wasn't moving, but the man was surrounded by studio security.
Moments later, paramedics came storming into the studio and Jack pushed up, motioning for them to tend to Kiefer first.
"Shouldn't they be working on him?" one of the guards asked.
"I don't get paid to keep him alive." Jack replied dryly.
The paramedics checked Kiefer's vitals and the wound at the back of his head. It was a pretty big one and would need stitching so they dressed it temporarily and shifted their attention to the assailant.
"I don't want him going anywhere without escort."
"I'll ride with him." Gonhart said.
Jack turned and his eyes met Gonhart's.
"Why don't you take Mr. Sutherland to the hospital and I'll ride with them in the ambulance."
Jack agreed and with the help of one of the guards, he got Kiefer on his feet, arms locked around their necks and they took him out to Jack's car, getting him into the passenger seat and buckling his belt for him. The moment Jack closed the door, Jon opened the rear passenger door.
"I'm coming with you."
Jack didn't waste any time and hurried around the car, climbed in, slammed the key in the ignition and rammed his foot down on the accelerator, causing the big car to leap forward. He had parked it in such a way he could drive off at once, no matter what. The ambulance didn't block him in and he sped to the main gate, punching in a speed dial on his phone.
"Nina, get me a route to the hospital closest to the Fox studios."
"What's wrong Jack?" Nina asked, hitting the keys on her keyboard as she spoke.
"Now Nina!" Jack snapped and hung up.
Seconds later, his PDA buzzed and Jack fished it out of his pocket as he cleared the gate.
"Help me navigate." he said to Jon, handing the PDA to him.
He hit a switch on the dashboard, turning on his emergency beacon, but he left the siren off, it could only bother Kiefer. The flashing lights were attached to the vehicle's ventilation grid and weren't visible from the cabin. Jon directed him and they reached the emergency entrance of the hospital in less than ten minutes. He hit his horn while slamming his foot down on the brake. The car skidded to a stop three feet from the door and two paramedics came running out to meet them. Jon and Jack were out of the car in the same heartbeat.
"Front passenger seat." Jack called out to the paramedics as he made his way around the car.
"Bleeding wound to the head. He's conscious but only barely."
They yanked the passenger door open and pulled Kiefer out of the car, taking him inside at once and getting him on a gurney, wheeling him straight into a crash room. A doctor and a nurse came running and Jack and Jon stepped out of their way.
"What happened?" the doctor asked.
"He took a blow to the back of the head with a metal baton. He's conscious but disoriented."
"Did he pass out?"
"No."
"Did he vomit?"
"No."
"How long ago did this happen?"
"Almost twenty minutes ago."
"And he hasn't lost consciousness or vomited since. That's positive. Let's have a look at that wound."
The paramedics rolled Kiefer to the side and the nurse wiped the blood away as best as she could. Thank god Kiefer had been sporting a short hairdo, it enabled the doctor to get a good look at the wound without having to resort to different methods which might not have arranged Fox at all. The wound was pretty nasty-looking but once it had been cleaned thoroughly, it looked much better already. The nurse injected a mild sedative into the skin immediately surrounding the wound, repeating the process in five different spots, numbing the entire area around the wound and by the time the doctor started stitching him up, Kiefer felt absolutely nothing.
It took twelve stitches to close the wound and once the bandage was in place, the nurse applied an ice pack to keep the swelling to a minimum.
"I'd like to keep him overnight for observation." the doctor said quietly when he was done.
"Do you think he has a concussion?" Jack asked.
"That's why I'd like to keep him here." the doctor explained, "It's hard to tell."
"What did you say he was hit with?"
"A telescopic nightstick, I don't know if you're familiar with those."
"I've seen the damage they can do."
"I'll have him transferred to a room in a moment, do you want to stay with him?"
"We'd like to. He might panic if he wakes up and sees nobody he knows."
"What happened?"
"Some lunatic came after him." Jack replied evasively.
"Thank you doctor."
"You're welcome. If you need anything, just buzz the nurse."
"Thank you."
Jack waited for the doctor to leave before turning to Jon.
"I need to move my car, stay with him."
Jon nodded, his face ashen, worry plastered across it.
"Are you okay?" Jack asked worriedly.
Jon nodded again.
"I'll be right back."
Digg this | 
de.licio.us 
Fark it
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home