| ||||||
| ||||||
|
|
| Page Two |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Hank Stanley had just finished acknowledging his chief's report when a low rumbled sound cascaded over the roar of the lifting cranes. He saw the broken pile of debris draping over the escalator, suddenly start V-ing downhill in a further collapse. He could just see Mike Stoker's head start to poke out as he began to drag the scoop stretcher out of the top landing hole. He didn't hear the danger over all the noise and din coming from the two lifting cranes. "No! Mike, get back!" But the stretcher struggling engineer didn't hear him. Captain Stanley dashed forward and shoved Stoker back down the escalator. Then his head shot up in alarm as the sound of bolts snapping zinged around him. He felt a change bodily through the air as something nearby in the darkness around Mike ripped free from its moorings. He didn't wait to see what it was, and started scrambling deeper. Cap threw himself onto the escalator stairs inside the hole alongside the scoop stretcher as the opening leading to the outside suddenly sealed off with a roar. Pancaking heavily to the floor, another skywalk section spewed a gust of wind and a huge dust cloud as it slid to the mall floor over their location. Then, followed a sickening silence. "Cap! You ok?!" shouted Stoker as he grabbed his captain's jacket and hauled him over onto his back. "Yeah.. d*mned fool construction workers.. They're hurrying too much! Now WE gotta got dug outta here.." coughed Cap. "Come on, let's get back down to Roy and Johnny to give them the bad news. How's your noggin? I tackled you pretty hard there.." "I'm fine. So's Leo. I still got my hand on him." Cap told the Battalion Chief what had happened over his radio. ##Of all the-- Ok, Hank. We'll get you and your men out as soon as we can. Keep in constant contact with me through all developments as you check out your situation. ## "Will do, Engine 51, out." Roy, Johnny, Mike and Cap met in a ring of faces above Leo's sleeping one under an umbrella of torchlight. "Any way out the bottom of the escalator?" Cap asked Gage. Johnny wasn't too pleased after learning that they were all trapped like all the other mall victims under the debris pile."We haven't gone down that far yet. We stopped at Leo's level, remember?" he gestured. Cap sighed in frustration, grunting as he tried to get his bulk comfortable in a space that was too small for him. "Ok, exploration'll be our new priority. Stoker. Stay with him. Shout if his breathing changes for the worse.." "Right, Cap." Johnny, Roy and Hank slowly untied their ropes from their jacket belts and they started the slow process of crawling down the buried escalator. "Hey! I think I'm seeing daylight..." shouted Johnny over his back, from where he lay in the lead on his stomach. |
 |
 |
 |
|
"Where?! I don't see any. Oh, there it is. Let's go ch--" began Hank. A sharp report and echo ripped through the chucks of debris above their heads with a whine of seared air and cut off his words. All three men ducked, fearing another cave in. "What was that?!" Johnny spat in surprise. "I don't know. I'm gonna go ahead and look.." said Stanley. He inched forward and stuck his head through a small hole shining in full sunlight. "Maybe it's one of the diggers trying to dig us out already." *Ping!!* bit another odd sound. Johnny watched as Cap suddenly jerked as a small boulder of "ceiling" gave way in front of him in a cloud of dust, making him drop his helmeted head to his elbows in a protective stomach down move. "Watch it, Cap!" Gage yelled. "You all right?" Hank didn't react. "Cap?!" shouted Roy, squirming beside Gage along the small cramped space in the sunlight in a sudden panic. "Can you hear us?!" "What's wrong with him?" hissed Johnny as the two of them clambored up to their captain's side. "He's seems like he's out cold! But I swear nothing fell on him." "I don't know yet." Roy's probing hands slid lower underneath Cap's jacket after they had assured themselves that he was still breathing. They came away bright with blood. "What th--?" Johnny drew out his shears and cut away Hank's shirt over that place. He startled over a wound that was cratered like a geyser's mouth, bubbling out air and blood. "Roy? Get your head down! This is a gunshot wound!!" As if to taunt his words, another ricchochet hit very near where they were pinned, through the hole of sunlight and the whizzing bullet spat angrily around them as it spent its velocity before embedding itself into the softer debris pile over their heads. |
 |
 |
 |
|
Roy and Johnny unceremoniously hauled the unconsious Cap, face down, back into the escalator's smothering darkness by his pants belt. "Mike, get back! That noise's not debris settling out! It's gunfire. And Cap's been hit!" Johnny shouted. "What!?" said the startled engineer. "Shhh!! Get out an occlusive dressing. He's got a sucking chest wound, Mike. Right here under my hand." Johnny hissed, suddenly whispering to hide their location. Roy was already handling securing a good airway on Cap using an oral one from his turnout pocket. "Gimme the other O2 line off Leo's tank. On second thought give me that ambu too, in case Cap decides to stop breathing on us. He's out real deep." Stoker moused down and did what he was told. A moving shadow covered the daylit hole forty feet away from them, making the three firemen freeze their positions right where they lay on the tooth stairs in fright. ::Oh mother of..:: thought Gage, as he started looking up. The gut feeling about who might be there with them wasn't a pleasant one. ********************************************************************************** From : patti keiper <pattik1@hotmail.com> Sent : Wednesday, April 27, 2005 3:40 PM Subject : [EmergencyTheaterLive] Pinhole Operations.. A grizzled man of fifty whirled on his partner in crime and thrust the arm that was still holding the smoking silencer down forcefully. "Mugsy! Knock it off right now! Put your piece away! What in blazes do you think you're doing ?!" he said from behind a pillar in the rotunda a short distance away from where the mob of firefighters, rescuers and crane operators were working. "Lance, it's that d*mned dog of da fuzz's. The one they're using to search. I swear I saw him stalkin us from that hole. I saw his black fur coat, I swear. If we don't put a bullet in his head, he'll spoil da plan even before we get inside the casino." said the younger thug with the twisted nose and uneven crew cut. "You know how they're trained to sniff out hidden guns.." "Are you as stupid as you look? No, don't answer that." fumed the gray haired ex con. "Lance, you're definitely not thinking again. We can't waste the mutt out in the open like this." "Listen to me, Mugsy, no one will think anything of a d*mn bleeding dog once we nail him. There's too much danger and instability around this area. You saw a part of that whole mess cave in. We'll bury him in junk. Then we can still circle around and get right back into the wall ventilation shaft. No one's paying attention to us since we put these on." Lance insisted, gripping the construction worker hard hat he was wearing that matched the team of construction workers milling about on the rubble with blow torches and shovels. "I'll just put a clever bead on him at close range." "Ok.. ok,..you win. Anything to calm ya down. Ok, Lance. Go have a look but don't use ANY lead unless you're face to face with that mutt and he's slobberin on ya. And I mean it, Lancey boy. Get it into your thick skull. No more guns out in the open! Not even when we get the high sign from the rest of da guys to slip inta the casino to start knocking it off." "Ain't that why we sabotaged those sidewalks to come down in the first place? To give us some working cover in case we had ta knock off a few people wid these.." he said, patting the L shaped bulge of his gun crammed half hazardly into his dusty shirt pocket. "I definitely got it now, boss." "You sure didn't a minute ago." "Cover me.." said the eager Lance with a scarred eye wink. He started making his way back up to the hole that he had spotted the black colored movement within, using a shovel and fake digging to blend in whenever an alert rescuer glanced up in his direction. "Once we get that roving fuzz dog outta the way, it'll be smooth sailin', boss. He's the only complication left, between us and millions, and you know it." Mugsy mumbled to himself, "Cover him, he says.. Cover him.. Why did I ever agree to school this sorry excuse of a joe inta the thieving business while I was still stuck in the slammer? He's hopeless!!" Another mental voice in his head replied back. ::Because his uncle'll mark ya for a driveby hit if you don't.:: |
 |
 |
 |
|
Right then, a piercing whistle split the noisy air from a fireman wearing a white helmet and workers everywhere suddenly froze in place. Even the two laden cranes became still and every single person in the area fell silent. Mugsy dashed over to the foot of the debris pile. "Lance! It's another listening check. Hold still up there, ya moron, or you'll stand out like a sore--" A passing fire captain with the number 99 on his black helmet glanced up at him while walking by with a handful of mall blueprints. "Problem, mister?" Mugsy put on his best street smile. "No problem, fireman, sir. It's just that my partner's part deaf from running da cranes tonight. I was just giving him a heads up for the check, sir." "I see." said the older fireman. "Well, tell him to keep his eyes out for signs of an engine company, number 51, up there. They've been pinned inside the escalator track and may find a way out somewhere near your buddy up there. Have your man radio in if he spots any sign of movement." "Will do, sir. I'll tell da whole crew while I'm at it. Don't you worry." The fire captain nodded and hurried away with his plans of the electrical infrastructure, ducting and pipes layout of the rotunda area beneath the disaster area. "Be ready for when we break through into the escalator from the casino vault. There's a maintenance tunnel that we're gonna use that runs in between to get all of 51's trapped men and their victim out. We just got the casino manager's blessing to use their secured access routes." Mugsy's eyes bugged out but he quickly turned away before his plot hungry, surprised face, could betray him. Lance, in the meantime, was complaining loudly to himself up on the debris pile where he stood with his hands on his hips while he impatiently waited for the survivor listening check to be over. "No pieces, he says. No wastin' the cop dog out in the open, he says. What does an honest crook like me haveta do to get any fun in anymore? Do I haveta start pickin the pockets of all these dead people lying around to even get somethin to eat tonight?" His litany of grievances against his fellow criminals kept on as his frustration grew. Some of it carried into the hole and down the escalator to the trapped firemens' ears. Johnny Gage held out a shushing hand and frowned as he overheard the now oddly suspicious sounding non rescuer voice. He kept his other one on Cap's neck, monitoring his pulse. In a flash of inspiration, Mike Stoker pulled out his HT, switched it to emergency channel nine and then he bound its talk button firmly, with a thick strap of I.V. tape so it would remain open and on . He tossed the radio neatly up the escalator until it landed just short of the sunny spot Cap had discovered. Gage nearly cried out a warning when he figured out what Stoker was up to. But then nodded in affirmation fiercely in agreement. Roy was busy keeping the drugged Leo quiet and still with soft whispering. Johnny lifted his handy talkie to his ear and started listening on channel nine as the Stoker's open line began registering. ::What an idea.. Stoker, you're simply wasted working our engine. You shoulda made cap a long time ago.:: thought Gage. ##......six guys to knock off a joint as small as this one, he says...## came Lance's complaining voice. ##Not everyday you get to stir up some real trouble like making those sidewalks come down...Now if only that d*mned mutt would stick out his head out again like a nice doggy so I can blow it clean off his stinking, fully police trained shoulders!! ## boomed the voice as the cacaphony of rescue work suddenly resumed overhead, releasing the criminal to freely voice his frustrated opinions again. ## ...Lance,....## came a second quieter thick New York accented voice. ##..You're not seeing anything and you know it. Get your butt back down here. I think I'm onta something real big. Seems these fireboys are gonna do all of the work FOR us so we won't have to...## ##Really, Mugsy? Ok,.. I-I ..I think I got him though. There's blood on these marble rocks here. The dog's gotta be dead. I saw him drop real fast after I shot up this here hole real good..## ##..Fine, .. That's great. Now get down here before I crack ya up on the side of the head and leave ya for all these rescuers ta find and deal with ya.. Listen close ya big lug. The Treasure Chest's gonna deliver right into our ever lovin greedy hands, my good man. And soon, too. Come down and gimme your ear.## ##Coming, boss.. Now what's so all fired important that's got ya all steamed up like a---## The voices over the open HT faded into resumed sounds of loud rescue work as the two mystery men left the range of Stoker's HT's transmitter. Mike Stoker leapt up the escalator steps and snatched his HT back down, turning it over to 51's rescue channel. "Engine 51 to Battalion One! Did you copy that? Those were perpetrators with guns in the area up to funny business. But we've a Code I down with a gunshot wound. He's critical! Over.." ##Just relax son, we heard but we don't completely understand. Are you saying you've a fireman who's been shot up?## |
 |
 |
|
Gage broke into the channel on his own radio. "Yes, Battalion. Our captain. He's taken a bullet to a lung. We're safe for the moment but there's at least six of these guys running around by you! Listen to the recording again and then tell the police ASAP. Those two we caught on the air are only a few who're directly responsible for this whole mall disaster!" ##Battalion, Squad 51, 10-4. Stepping up your rescue's priority.## Gage continued transmitting. "Chief, there's a hole to the outside that's too small to break through that Cap found. We need more medical supplies to handle him or he'll go sour on us real fast." ##Where son?## "Watch for a fireman's overcoat! We're tossing it out!" shouted Stoker. He crawled to the sunny hole in the debris pile and peeled off his coat and he kicked it outside holding his radio's handstrap in his teeth. He watched it tumble down the debris pile even as he put his helmet back onto his filthy head. ##Got you pinpointed boys. Hang on. Give me a report of your man's injuries! I've just learned that a doctor sent for is only a minute away.## Mike sighed where he lay in gratitude, and he let his dusty head thunk down onto the escalator steps dotted wet with Cap's blood."I'm glad that worked.." "And I'm glad we're all safe..." Gage echoed, turning back to tending Cap's wound and airway. "Stoker, come help me prop Cap semi seated. He'll breathe easier that way. The bullet didn't exit so we've just this single pneumo of his to deal with. So far, both lungs are still inflating from what I can make out, but that's gonna change real fast. He's got a lot of bright red froth present in his mouth and nose and his breathing rate's already over 20 a minute." DeSoto picked up his radio. "Not good. Battalion One, Squad 51. We're located on stair set number seventy two. The hole we reached ya through's been punched through a break in one of the escalator's outer walls. Nothing short of a whole night's blow torching will make that hole any bigger I'm afraid. It's only a head wide." ##We've an alternative, 51. Hang tight.There's a tunnel that's accessible beneath the escalator stairs that connects with the casino nearby. We're making arrangements to get to you through there. The stair plates themselves will cut apart easily for freeing you. I'm estimating we'll be at your side in less than fifteen minutes. As long as it takes to cut through the steel decking inside a vault's secondary door that leads into that tunnel.## said Battalion One. "DeSoto, go meet your doctor at your hole's breach. He's being shown the way to it." "10-4, Battalion." said Roy eagerly. "Johnny? Did you hear that?" he grinned. "It's about time Brackett arrived. Hey, Leo, naptime's over. The doctor's in!" he smiled. He touched Leo's forehead with drumming fingers. "Hmm?" sighed Leo. "Terrific.. I'll tell my wife to bake him a ..a..cake.." he grimaced sleepily from inside his cervical collar. "yeah, that's what I'll..." Leo fell back asleep at once but his face was now truly relaxed for the first time since the firemen came. Kel Brackett's welcome shadow blocked out the sunlight. Two blood pressure cuffs and another O2 tank were firmly shoved inside and onto the escalator's steps by work gloved hands. "Roy? Johnny? I've been updated. Come get these and the new tank. Gimme your fireman's vitals first. The others said that he took a bullet into the chest.." "Mid left lateral, doc!" shouted Roy. "Breath sounds still on both sides.." "Is he breathing?" asked Kel, pressing his face against the torn metal hole to try and see around the corner. "Yeah, but rapidly. Borderline." said Gage. "Bloody froth's now becoming apparent in larger and larger amounts." "Could be just a hemopneumothorax.. That's better than a tension pneumo any day of the week."grumbled Brackett. "How's your other man doing?" "He's stable. Sleeping." Stoker replied, quickly accepting all the medical gear rescuers were handing him around Brackett's shoulders. Brackett nodded. "Leave him be then after the first set of vitals. We've gotta get those I.V.s going into your second victim." "Doc, it's Captain Stanley.." said Roy. "Knowing who he is'll help out here." "He's forty two years old at one hundred ninety five pounds if I remember correctly. It sure does, Roy. Thanks. Start two large bore of normal saline on him in both arms. I don't know yet if we're gonna have to rapid sequence intubate him or not. We'll see how he does after we've got some light fluids into him and a whole lot more of that O2. The d*mn EKG monitor won't fit inside, so I guess we'll have to do without it." "No we won't, doc.." said Stoker. "We can go get him and lay him in front of you, wounded side towards you, so you can see him for yourself. The patched lines will reach in that far." "Get it done, boys. I've got the defib right here that can work for him in the same manner a little faster. I wanna see whether or not that bullet has compromised his pericardium. Any signs of jugular vein distension?" "Not yet.." replied Roy. "Better and better. Get him up to me, pronto.." said Kel, gesturing hasty hands through the ragged hole. He only moved aside long enough for brightly lit construction lamps to be inserted past him from their connected portable generator. All the firemen squinted painfully in the blasting glare. But they were grinning, too, for Cap was gonna live. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
 |
 |
|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Battalion One stood in the doorway of the Treasure Chest Casino next to the casino manager. The small lobby of the casino was dotted with medical people and firemen caring for the walking wounded either seated or lying on the carpeting. He extended his hand out to him. "I wanna thank you for opening your business to us, sir." "Anytime. Anything else I can do besides getting you that vault tunnel access beneath the rotunda?" asked the well dressed casino man. "Not at the moment. I'll give you the names and numbers of exactly who's coming into those secured areas of yours for your surveillance people. I've a man coming with that information right now." "Thank you, sir." said the manager. "But you can have him work with Mr. Blaze here. He's our surveillance head. Please, use as many security guards as you need, too, to handle your equipment. Some of them are first aid trained and are available to help you stretcher out your people. And all of them know the way to where you're going. They have to remain present throughout your rescue attempt. The vault's a very sensitive area." The radio head set festooned Mr. Blaze and Battalion One shook hands. "I understand. We'll follow your procedures to the letter, sirs." said Battalion. "Let's just hope that you can distinguish all your casino guests from those we detected earlier in the mall as being highly suspect. One of our men's been shot by them." "Believe me, our cameras miss nothing. Even more so now that we've been alerted by the police." reassured the casino manager. Right then, Vince Howard and Luke paced up. "We'll be keeping post at the main door, gentlemen. No one with a gun will get through. Not with him standing watch." said the streetcop, pointing to the dark coated German Sheperd seated at his feet. The group of men glanced around at the glittering casino surrounding them. Not a single slot machine player looked up or acknowledged the wounded being tended near them by fully uniformed firepeople. "Is this a normal reaction from everybody?" Battalion asked Vince. "Oh, yeah. Medicals happen in the casino all the time . And the regulars get real used to that. I saw a man suffer a fatal heart attack, falling out of his chair once. The player sitting next to his machine simply took over the man's vacated spot and started playing on his credits without even looking behind her to see how he was doing. Gamblers are real weird like that." said the policeman. "They either ignore the clearly obvious, or they cross themselves on behalf of the sick or dead ones leaving by ambulance." The chief frowned uneasily after learning that. The casino manager and the head of surveillance both nodded in agreement, enjoying his reaction. "This way, please.." they said after controlling their exchanged glance of humor. |
 |
 |
 |
|
The group of rescuers and the firemen were suddenly flanked by four security guards wearing ear bud radios who indicated the way to go silently. A female security officer held out an electronic name card which triggered a magnetic door that opened onto a long metal lined hallway. "The way in's at the end. But hold up a minute, I have to call down a camera first, gentlemen.." And she triggered a hidden toggle in a sleeve. "Security to 1000 and Surveillance." ##Go for 1000.## "LACoFire's entering secured hallway. Six in number." ##100 copies.## "Ok.." she smiled. "We're clear to go. I'll be here to swipe open the doors with my access card for any stage you need during the rescue. I'm the one going into Softcount with you. Mr. Blaze, if you'll go ahead of me." said the security guard. "Thanks, Peri." "My pleasure, sir.." she replied, holding open a second thick door leading into the mantrap area before the vault room. Mr. Blaze went inside with the rescuers but not the casino manager. He went back to talk with Vince Howard to learn more about the supposed heist that was planned to happen sometime soon in the mall that day by the mysterious rotunda shooters. Peri waited until every fireman was crowded into the L shaped three-way doored access space. "The door behind us will have to be fully closed before I can open this one. Only one of these doors can open at any one time. Just let it shut behind you." Marco Lopez, Chet Kelly, along with the four others carrying a K-12 and wall cracking gear shoved up tightly against each other in the small space to allow the outer door to relock itself while Peri called out again to her dispatcher and the surveillance room. "1000, ready to enter cart storage and Softcount.." she stated into her radio's microphone. The hidden voice acknowledged. "1000 copies. Entering Softcount." Mr. Blaze surged ahead into a room full of people who were counting large sums of money on a clear acrylic table located in the center of the room. They wore dark navy tunics with no pockets and they looked up in surprise at the sight of fully dressed firefighters entering the vault area. |
 |
 |
 |
|
The black tunic count supervisor stepped forward to Mr. Blaze. "Is there a 10-999, Mr. Blaze?" "No, there isn't a fire. But a walkway's collapsed out in the mall, trapping a few firefighters inside a buried escalator. We're going to go get them using the old utility tunnel behind that wall.." he pointed. "We'll move the dollar bill acceptor carts out of your way then.." smiled the vault supe. She motioned for several workers to leave the sorting table to push the wheeled, pock hole covered metal carts out of the way of the steel panelled wall Mr. Blaze had pointed to. Kelly and Marco, meanwhile, were goggle eyeing the money bundles sitting in clear acrylic trays on the money sorting machines and in the workers' hands and all the eye bud domed cameras that almost completely covered the ceiling inside the windowless room. "Man, look at all the bread, Marco. Even just one bundle of that and we'll won't have to work for an entire year..." Kelly whispered. "Look at the muscles on the vault guards, Chet. If you try anything you won't leave TRACTION for a whole year.. Mind your own business. Johnny and Roy need us to be fast focused for Cap's sake, remember?" "I can admire from afar, can't I?" Chet asked Peri. "I guess.." she smiled. "Even we can't touch the cash." Soon, the wall was courdoned off with canvas tarps and the saws bit deeply into the metal sheeting concealing the old access tunnel which led to the escalator's housing room. The high pitched whine they made cut sharply through the noise of all the money sorters chattering and the white noise hum of the money sorting machines. Lopez tried not to look up as one of the camera domes lenses rotated to focus on their cutting point. He felt more on display than he had ever felt before in his entire life. "You get used to it.." said Peri. "Keep in mind that they're here to help as well as to watch all the money." "Are those other two guards in the room watching the sorters so that they don't steal anything?" asked Kelly, swallowing dryly. "No, they're watching to make sure money doesn't fall on the floor to end up under a table or machine someplace where the cameras can't see it anymore. The counts will be off then." she explained. "It's up to Surveillance and the cameras to watch for wrong doing. Not us." "Oh.." Lopez elbowed Chet for being forward and he changed the subject while they waited for the wall crews to cut down to the hidden tunnel door. "Are you one of these first aider guards Mr. Blaze's manager was talking about?" "I am. I help out now and then when I can." "Good, cause we may need you as a go-for between our firemen and your Mr. Blaze here. I don't think our radio frequencies match up enough on our radioes to let us talk to each other." "She can do that.." affirmed Mr. Blaze without turning around from where he was watching the other firefighters work. Marco and Chet startled. "He's sure got good ears." "That's why he's head of surveillance..." Peri winked. Soon, the metal sheeting of the vault room was folded down out of the way by eager boots and Marco and Chet promptly forgot about the female security guard and the James Bond like Mr. Blaze. Lopez swept his radio out of his pocket. "HT 51 to Squad 51. We're halfway there. We're into the tunnel at stairway number..." Mr. Blaze spoke up. "H-Vac Maintenance says this tunnel reaches stairs level ninety, Mr. Kelly.." "Ninety.. We're breaking through now with plenty of help.." Kelly said loudly, impatient to see those who were trapped. "How's he doing?" he asked before Battalion One could. ##Cap's vitals are holding, Chet. Just concentrate on getting us outta here..## Gage said half amused. ##Brackett's taking a good look at him now. We'll let you know as soon as we know.## Kelly sighed in relief and then he got a shiver. He looked uneasily at Blaze while he whispered fearfully to Lopez, "Wait a minute, how did he know my name?" Peri cleared her throat as she held the light a firefighter had handed her to light the space behind the wall. "He read your nametag.." she said sotto voce. "Oh.. Geeshh." Marco laughed. Chet glared at him. Mr. Blaze suddenly tilted his head at an incoming transmission, and so did Peri's. It wasn't loud enough for either Chet nor Marco to overhear. But their reactions were instantaneous. |
 |
 |
 |
|
Peri spoke up suddenly serious and hard. "I'll stay, sir." "Then I'll take one of these two. Kelly, come with me. There's been a development. We need you down in Surveillance ASAP." "But..." Peri took hold of Chet's arm. "When Mr. Blaze says go. You go.." she said. Chet went. "Yes, Mr. Kelly. We need you and your radio. You yourself, don't have to physically do anything. But I am going to ask you to never talk about what you'll see in the room where we're heading into. It's all classified information." "Chet'll be good for that. He forgets everything.." piped up an eager Marco. "Good enough." said Blaze, holding open the Softcount door for the curly haired fireman. "See you later, Chet.." said Peri. "I'll keep you posted about your friends." "You do that.." Kelly said feeling more than intimidated by the whole casino feeling in the vault. The atmosphere had a pall like he would imagine the secret service would have on any protected government place. His last sight of the vaulted room was sets of curious eyes from all the casino vault sorters as they straightened out and organized any wrinkled bills they found from the cash boxes they had keyed open. It wasn't long before Battalion contacted Gage over the radio to tell them to watch out for blow torch fallout from stair set ninety as plates were removed to gain access between them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Squad 51, Battalion One. 10-4. We've got Leo and Cap well away from that stair section. We're set for ya." said Johnny. Right then, Brackett gave a shout. "Roy! Get over here. I think Stanley's coming to.." His gloved hands were examining the bloody hole in Hank's chest around the EKG wires attached to him through the small sunlit tear in the escalator wall. Stoker was holding Cap's side pressed against it to give the doctor the best working angle possible. "On my way.." said DeSoto. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
 |
 |
|
******************************************************************* Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2005 06:26:03 -0700 (PDT) From: "Jeff Seltun" <finiterider@yahoo.com> Subject: Relay.. Johnny Gage had his hands full of moaning Cap. He was hard pressed to keep the foamy red tinged oxygen mask fastened over Hank's nose and mouth. "Keep still a sec until you're awake all the way. Cap?! Listen to me. You've been hurt real bad by a-- Roy, he spat his oral out a few seconds ago. You talk to him. We've got to concentrate to keep both our hands over this chest wound. Air's getting in even faster now that he's breathing harder." Dr. Brackett and Johnny worked fast to tape a strong three sided seal over the gaping gun shot wound shining in the sunlight. Roy raised Cap's shoulders gently onto his knees without getting into his partner's way to ease Hank's sense of suffocation from the blood sitting in his chest. "I got him.. Hank.. It's Roy. You with me yet? I'm gonna hold ya still until you are all the way.." Brackett spoke sharply, "Stoker, keep that side of his as near to me as you can! We've almost sealed this off good enough..." "How's that?" Mike asked, straining to lift Cap's ribcage high enough off of the metal stairs for wrapping. "Perfect.." said Brackett, working intently. Cap coughed wetly and suddenly made a face of pain at the jarring he was going through while doctor, paramedic and fireman taped him up rapidly. "That's it, Cap. We're done. Welcome back.." smiled Roy. He angled a penlight into Cap's eyes to check their responses with Stanley's return to consciousness. Gage finally rocked back onto his heels. "We got that dressing back into place. It's holding, doc. But for how long?" he frowned, then he put on a grin for Cap's benefit as the world came slowly into focus for Stanley. "Who punched me?" Hank asked through the reddened oxygen mask. "My side's hurting like a real son of a-- wait a minute, we're still under the debris pile.." he remembered. "Yes, we are Cap.. How's your breathing coming?" Roy asked. "Like I'm....not getting enough.." admitted Hank. "*cough* Come on, tell it to me straight. How'd I get hurt?" Johnny and Roy and Stoker and Kel all exchanged looks of who's gonna break it to him. But Johnny finally relented. "It was a bullet, Cap. Now that you know I'm not gonna lecture ya as to how important it is for you to lay absolutely still. Dr. Brackett's here and he's working on ya best he can until we can all get ya outta here. They're already blow torching us free just above us from a side tunnel." Gage said, draping a tarp over Cap's head so the sparks from the swiftly cutting tool wouldn't land on Cap's face and be further ignited by the oxygen. "I've...been..shot?! By ......whom?" whispered Cap. "We don't know that yet. But the nearby casino's working on that. We just got word from Battalion One of possible video coverage." "Of all the stupid ways to get laid up on the...hhhh." Hank began to shiver and his skin grayed a bit. Against his will, his head sagged back onto Roy's lap. "How's Leo?" "Fine, Cap." said Roy. "We just need to fuss over you." "And what's going on outside? Any more survivors?" Hank said without opening his eyes. His voice was gurgling. "Still too soon to tell. Heard about a dog working a while ago.." DeSoto said truthfully. "That's...that's good. They got him here real .....fast.." "Hank. Do I have your permission to treat you? Surgically if necessary?" asked Brackett. "Doc,...you don't have to ask that yet. I'm...awake aren't I?" said a woozy Stanley. "Cap, answer the man. It's important." said Gage seriously and loud. "Yeah.. I guess so. But actually, I feel like ...like ..I'm doing pretty good.. Gimme my radio.." Cap ordered weakly. "Now, Cap,..that can wait...." said Johnny, turning up the flow on Cap's I.V.s. "Shut up, Gage. Nothing's better than a personal audio on a rescue scene this bad. There's a lotta stunned firefighters out there pulling out a whole lotta corpses right now. Let me show them that there's one less they'll haveta deal with! ..In me... Now hand ..*gasp* ..it over.." Mike Stoker flipped to the general all call and set the HT down on Cap's sweating chest. At a nod, he kept his hand on the talk button and pressed it. Hank opened his eyes as wide as he could. "This is Station 51. Wanted to show you all that we appreciate the personal attention being given for digging ...us out. We have a live one with us and he's doing good. About me? I'm talking to ya, aren't I? K- Keep up the good work. I'm proud of what ya all are doing for us out there...I couldn't ask for a better set of people to bail my whole station out of a tough spot. E-Engine 51 out.." Cap waved that he was finished and Mike took back his radio. "Thanks, pal. Had to be done. For morale's sake, you know?" "Yeah, I know." said Stoker. "Listen.. They're cheering out there.." "Good." smiled Cap. Then his face lost all expression and animation and his eyes closed softly. |
 |
 |
|
"Cap?" Roy asked. The heartbeat sounding on the monitor suddenly sped up ominously and Hank's face turned dusky. "Doc, he's not breathin.." he said after a fast check by feel and a careful listening. "Bag him, Roy. Gage..get out a paralytic agent. 0.10 mg/kg of Vecuronium IVP. We're not delaying anymore for our secured endotrach." Brackett snapped. "He's probably just gotten tired. So we're going to take over for him. That's it, Roy. Get him real pink. He's not quite there yet. Johnny, when you're through injecting that med, tube him. Stoker, clean out that blood in his oropharynx first." Kel handed Gage a laryngoscope and he ansed uncomfortably through the hole as he shoved the drum end of a stethoscope into multiple places over Cap's chest assessing his assisted breath sounds. "As I suspected, the left lung's gone quiet, boys. And he's deviating. Looks like I'll have to insert a full chest tube. Not just the needle decompression we were hoping for." "What? Here? You can't get to him well enough through that hole!" Johnny reasoned as he taped off the endotracheal airway he had finished positioning. Roy now used his ambu bag through it. "No other choice, Johnny. We all know he'll just get worse without one. I've got a thoracic tray right here. So scrub up, Gage. You've just been drafted as a nurse." Kel barked. "These conditions are filthy, doc.." Roy said, pumping pure oxygen into Cap's paralzyed form. "No matter. Antibiotics are wonderful these days, Roy. I'll just double his dose. In fact, I'll begin some right now. Is he allergic to any?" "To sulfas, and penicillins.. and I think some of the mycins.." Stoker said quickly. "Any others?" Brackett grinned. "No..." said Roy and Johnny at the same time, nervously. "Relax, guys. A chest tube's no big deal. Think of it as a very large catheter. Cause that's what it is. I'm not completely cracking his chest and you guys are already handling his breathing problem. He's covered..." the doc smiled. "Start him on a 300 milli ESN, microdrip I.V., wide open. Are you set yet, Gage?" "Yeah,.." said Johnny, holding up a pair of sterile gloved hands. "So am I. Let's get started shall we? Stoker, I hope you have a strong stomach." "I've seen nothing yet that's gotten in the way of working." said Mike. "Good, cause this rod and blade's over a foot long. Hold that light just as you are. I'm skipping the anesthetic cause he doesn't need it." said Brackett, draping sterile sheets over Cap's hastily betadine cleaned wound that was still pressed up against the hole in the escalator wall. "Cutting now.." and Kel made his incision to expose rib cartilage. "Johnny, hand me some gauze. Lots of it. Roy, give him some epinephrine. 1 mg 1/10,000. After this is in, he'll drain better if he's been dried out." "Got it, doc." said DeSoto. "That and the piggyback antibiotic." "Ok, Stoker, I'm punching through his chest wall in a few seconds. Hold him tight so he doesn't move. I have to push pretty hard." and Dr. Brackett unpackaged the chest blade and rod to ready it for use. "Johnny, get his tube and my 5.0 suture set out. I'll reach for them in a few seconds. We'll worry about the vacuum jar later. Getting that lung reinflated's more important than being tidy." Johnny got out of Brackett's light as the ER doc made his sharp carving stab to gain entrance into Cap's chest cavity. Holding the site open with a small spreader, Brackett flicked his fingers for Johnny's chest tube. He got it. Kel threaded it in six inches until he was rewarded with escaping air and a flood of blood down the inch thick tube, which Johnny had end sealed off with an OB clamp. |
 |
 |
 |
|
"That's right, Johnny. He's gotta lose all that pulmonary blood slowly. Take a BP. It can't be allowed to fall too low as I let this hemorrhaging out to reinflate that lung or he'll develop arrythmias. It's ok to break your sterile field now." Kel said, stitching the other end of the chest tube securely into place. "I'm finished." Stoker took over for Roy to continue breathing for Cap using the bag valve attached to his airway. DeSoto kept track of what Hank's left lung was doing while Brackett made tube adjustments and continued draining Cap's chest clear of artifact fluid and air. "Doc, he's eight four over fifty." said Johnny. "Fair enough. If it drops below eighty, give him another dose of epinephrine. Mike, he may start gasping for you at any time. The vecuronium will soon be wearing off. Let him make attempts on his own and help him when he needs it. I just gave him Versed so he won't remember from moment to moment that he's intubated. Don't be frightened of it. He won't know he's feeling uncomfortable from that airway at all. That tube has to stay in as insurance against any further collapse in the injured lung." "Ok, doc. There's the first one already.." he said as Cap's chest began to rock up under his hand. Roy looked up from his stethoscope check. "Dr. Brackett. I've got breath sounds on both sides now. And the bubbling in his trachea's gone." "Figured it was just saliva.. Sealing this off right now, nothing more's evacuating for the moment." said the doctor. "Good going. There wasn't enough blood telling me that the bullet had gotten down as far as his left lung. Ok. Johnny. Go ahead and completely close off the patch over his gunshot wound. We don't need to have the one side open on that anymore. A complete close off's better until he gets into exploratory surgery to handle a repair job." Under Stoker's hands, Cap began to moan unawares, as if he was talking. "Look at that, he's giving orders already." Gage quipped, taking another fast blood pressure. The others smiled and Brackett wasn't the only one who laughed. "Ninety eight over seventy two." reported Johnny. "Right on schedule." said Brackett. "He'll be on a bird for another day until that chest finishes clotting up. Take turns bagging him until we get to a resuscitator. The easier, the better. He's profusing well enough for real shallow assists. He doesn't need them any deeper." Right then, stair plate ninety clattered through as a last cut was made with a torch. Marco Lopez's head stuck through the rectangular gap. "How's it going guys? Ready to get outta there?" he beamed. Then his face fell into a look of worry when he spied Cap being actively ventilated. "He's stable. That's just for a fresh chest tube." Roy reassured him. "He's waking up bit by bit in stages. So don't fret. See?" and he pointed to the EKG monitor that was visible from Marco's angle. It bleeped evenly in the eighties in unadulterated sinus rhythm. "I'll tell the others. The lieutenant in here says that it'll take us about twenty minutes to burn through enough stairs to get an opening large enough for a scoop stretcher for Cap." said Marco. "Got any water?" Gage said, licking his lips. "Yeah, hang on a minute. These casino folks sure are quick. Anything we need,.. and its suddenly right there...." said Lopez's head as he withdrew to collect a large thermos with water in it. "What's the tally so far?" asked Roy, taking his turn on the water container. "Six alive. Not including him." said Marco, pointing to Leo. "The dog located them pretty quick. Most are still being dug out. The minor injuries are being treated in the casino in triage before they ship out. Vince says hi." Captain Stanley made a noise immediately after that comment. "I thought you said he wasn't awake." Marco frowned. "He isn't. Not mentally at any rate. He's a little looped on meds right now because of this." said Stoker, tapping the bag that was giving Cap another slow breath under his hand. |
 |
 |
|
"Oh..." said Marco in faint disgust. "Glad I'm not him. I'll be back. They've just gassed up the next torch and I gotta move out of the way. See ya fellas later.." "Later. Thanks for the water." Johnny said with a grin. "Doc, want some?" the dirty paramedic asked hefting up the jug that finally came to him. "I'm fine. I had too much coffee as usual before I came out here." he grumbled, turning on a paper EKG strip so he could get an updated reading on Captain Stanley for his patient chart. "If I think about it too much, I'll probably float away. Enjoy that amongst yourselves. Thanks." he said quickly. Gage shrugged and returned to getting an uncalled for set of vitals on the dozing Leo. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chet Kelly was turned instantly mute by the sight of the sophisticated, completely complicated surveillance room. Monitors covered every free wall, counter and lap space surrounding the five technicians in the room. But Mr. Blaze strode forward unhesitatingly and touched a tech on the shoulder. "Show me." he said, indicating the largest monitor nearest him and Chet. "Happened at 1108. Looks like a definite 10-995, boss. That fireman took it into the chest. See?" and a replay of Cap's shirt puckering up against his skin and the sudden bloom of red showed over and over again before the camera angle zoomed out to show the shooter himself. Lance. Eerily, the crook's figure mouthed the only audio anyone had captured. The frantic channel nine trick that Mike Stoker had dreamed up. Mr. Blaze held Chet's questions pending until he had listened to the entire segment of babbling three times. While he was listening to the last replay, Chet's radio went off. Kelly desperately turned down his volume but none of the casino techs seemed to be bothered by the addition of another radio voice. In fact, Mr. Blaze asked Chet to turn his up. It was Marco. ##We're through, Battalion. And all they need is water.## Mr. Blaze nodded to a security supervisor in the room. "See to that, would you?" |
 |
 |
