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************************************************** From : patti keiper <pattik1@hotmail.com> Sent : Thursday, September 6, 2007 5:37 PM Subject : The Mystical Effect Hostage©, Mark VII Limited© and Universal Studios© Production # 37411 Original Teleplay Character Dialogue was written by Susan Keenan©. Police were controlling the bystanders outside as the gang rushed out to where Engine 51 and Squad 51 were parked outside the glass factory for shovels and more gear. Inside the store room, many gloved hands were clearing away jagged pieces of glass from where Gage and Ralph were lying. They all got it off quickly as Kelly and Lopez got on either side of the salvage cover to lift off the remaining glass. DeSoto tossed the boards away and he was relieved when he saw Gage's face turn towards his to look up at him. "Are you both okay?" asked Roy. "I think so." grunted Gage. "I must admit, it had me a little worried." DeSoto tended to Ralph, checking his arm. Johnny sighed, resting. "That's the best I could do in a prone position." he said about the splint and blood compresses. DeSoto grinned. "Looks like it's just fine." he replied. A couple of Mayfair ambulance attendants arrived and soon, Gage and DeSoto helped them load Ralph onto their gurney. Johnny brushed the glass dust off of his jacket as he looked at them. "Take it real easy going down the stairs." Liggatt, the owner, stopped Johnny. "That was a brave thing you did." Johnny grinned. "I think he's going to be okay. You can follow us if you'd like. We're going to Rampart General." he replied, accepting the compliment. |
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In a treatment room, Firefighter Demick lay on an exam table. Dr. Brackett hovered over him with a nurse in attendance. He looked over his chart and some test results and nodded in satisfaction. He handed them back to the nurse and left the room. In the hallway, he met Johnny and Roy just arriving with Ralph on their gurney. Dr. Early was with them. They all followed as the bed was carted into a treatment room. Gage held the door open as Early and a couple of nurses filed in after the glass wounded man. Then they continued down the hall to where Dixie was on the phone and where Brackett was having a quick cup of coffee. They did the same thing, keeping quiet while McCall finished her on the line conversation. "Right.." said Dixie. "Dr. Brackett wants a CCU bed ready as soon as possible... Right.....Demick, Roger, R. ...Thank you." she said and then she hung up. Gage couldn't contain his dismay and concern any longer. "How's he doing?" Kel swallowed with satisfaction. "He's regained consciousness and his respirations have improved. And, we've found out what the problem is." Roy's face mirrored dread. "What's that?" Brackett's frowned. "The EKG indicates ischemia. Chances are, he has serious coronary artery disease despite the fact that he's young and has never had any chest pains. The smoke inhalation and lack of oxygen brought it to the surface." Gage couldn't speak for a few moments, stunned. "Is he going to be okay?" Brackett set down his empty coffee mug onto the countertop near the rescue recorder. "We can't tell yet if there's been any permanent damage. But I'm afraid his career as a fireman might be over." Roy looked pained, worried. "Has anyone told his wife?" Dixie spoke softly. "Not yet. She's on the patio, having some lunch." DeSoto blinked, thinking. "Can I tell her?" McCall smiled, supporting him. "Sure. Go ahead." DeSoto left the group and headed for the coffee shop, keeping the squad's HT with him. He winced when he heard Gage still trying to digest the news behind him. "Leave the department?" said Johnny. "Rog and his wife are going to take that pretty hard. You know he's been accepted for the next paramedic class..." |
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The nurse that had been with Demick suddenly whipped open his door. "Doctor! Come quick!" she shouted. Brackett, Dixie, and Gage all responded and rushed into the treatment room after her. On the bed, Demick was silent and sweating under his oxygen mask. A high fluting tones alarm was sounding on the EKG oscilloscope. Johnny could see Roger was suffering some PVC's. Kel leaned over the bed, studying the monitor and Roger's inhalation efforts. "PVC's. Dix, a hundred milligrams bolus of Lidocaine..." he ordered. McCall prepared and injected the medication into Demick's I.V. line. Soon, everybody was working hard to save the fireman's life, taking vital signs, double checking his airway, and his lung and heart sounds. The EKG monitor changed pitched when Demick suddenly slipped into V-tach. Johnny gripped Roger's neck and shook his head at the lack of a pulse. The nurse looked up from the monitor she was watching. "V-tach." she added. Gage reached over to the crash cart and gelled the paddles up, powering the unit on full. Then he handed them to Dr. Brackett who rubbed them together swiftly to spread the conductive paste. "Clear!" hollered Kel. He defibrillated. And everyone looked tensely at the scope as the forced rhythm danced hideously afterwards. The screen settled into a resumption of pulseless V-tach. Brackett's face became firm with determination. "Clear!" he called out again. Once more, Roger's body arched off the bed under his tubes. The irritated, chaotic heart activity disappeared into a straight line after the second shock. Working rapidly, Kel began to bark orders. "Take the paddles.." he said to Gage, passing them off as he started CPR on Demick himself. "Dix, Isoproterenol I.V." he snapped. |
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Dixie added the cardiac booster to the I.V. port on Roger's left side as the second nurse began ventilating Roger with an oxygenated ambu bag. Kel looked at McCall while he maintained his compression rhythm. "Okay..Increase the drip." he told her quickly, beginning to sweat. Johnny was frozen, fearing the worst as the steps he knew so well were carried out on a close friend. He found his eyes glued to the scope and the recapture attempt progress tensely. Brackett was equally focused, watching the screen. "Just a little more on the drip.." he stated. Then he suddenly broke off his CPR as a fluting tone began to sound off a viable beat. "Slowly." he cautioned. Johnny's face broke into a scared, grateful grin. "Fifty five.." Kel wiped his lip free of moisture. "A little more.." he said to Dixie, who was turning the dial on Demick's drip chamber. Gage burst out in happy news. "Seventy.. And it's holding." he sighed, gripping the sides of the bed as Roger began to breathe again through his unconsciousness. Letting out the breath he was holding, Kel stepped down off the gurney foot rails where he had been standing throughout the resuscitation effort. He started to smile. Everyone was relieved. Soon, all of them were working to stabilize Roger's heart. |
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the patio coffee shop, Roy and Demick's wife and little girl were sitting in bright sunlight. Molly was fussing with her daughter, Cindy, who was in a highchair. DeSoto was sitting across from Molly, toying with his half empty coffee cup and he was talking steadily. "..I know it's going to be hard on him." he said to her. Molly wrung tears out of her eyes, trying to hide them so her daughter wouldn't see her crying. "The fire department is his life, Roy. What is he going to do?" Roy pursed his lips, and began again. "Look, you're the one that's going to have to be strong. He needs that." Molly shook her head, fighting emotions. "I know ...you're right, b-but what is he going to do?" she said again, still trying to wrap her mind around the idea of her husband's career ending so suddenly. Roy tried to lighten the matter. "Probably anything he wants to." he said, leaning back and smiling at her as he crossed his arms over his chest."Except, be a professional athlete." he joked. Mollys face crumpled. "...or a fireman... or a paramedic.." she wilted. Roy took her hand instantly, easing her pain. "Now, please." he encouraged her. "You have to just be strong." he said gently. "Let's see how Rog feels about all of this before getting too upset, okay?" Molly gripped his hand in return, in gratitude. "Okay.." she sniffed bravely. |
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DeSoto covered her cold fingers with his warm ones. "Let me get you a refill of coffee." He rose from the table with both his mug and Molly's and he headed for the coffee pot counter. He was just out of her sight when Dixie and Dr. Brackett intercepted him as he was filling the two cups. Roy noticed that they looked tired. Kel spoke. "How's Mrs. Demick?" DeSoto eyed him up, instantly alerted. "A little shook. But she's doing better." Brackett suddenly confirmed his goosefleshed shiver. "I wish I could say the same thing about her husband." Roy didn't move, overfilling his coffee cup. "What?" Brackett helped Roy mop up the overflow with a nearby cafeteria towel. He made sure DeSoto hadn't burned himself with a glance first before he said more. "He went into V-tach. We had to hit him twice to get him going again." he reported. DeSoto was shocked, and turned around, leaning on the tray rails for support. "How's he doing now?" Brackett folded his arms together thoughtfully. "He's stable on Isoproterenol. I think he may need heart surgery. There's a specialist on his way down now." Roy nodded, glancing over at Molly. "I guess I'll head back to the station." he replied, realizing that Kel and Dixie had come to tell Molly of her husband's newly averted crisis. "Keep us posted." he asked. Kel nodded. Dixie smiled. "We'll do that. Here, I'll take the coffee." Kel glanced up soberly to where Molly was hugging her toddler tightly in a hug. "This is always the most difficult thing about being a doctor." Nodding in agreement, Roy left the shop as McCall and Brackett crossed over to join Mrs. Demick and her daughter at their table. |
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Johnny Gage was already in the squad at the emergency entrance. Roy got into the driver's seat, putting the truck into gear and they moved on out. Almost too quickly, Gage picked up the mic."Squad Fifty One. 10-8." he said. ##Squad 51.## replied L.A. Johnny returned the microphone to its spigot and tried not to fidget as he relived again the almost death of their friend Roger. Roy paused a bit, as if he wanted to say something. But then he decided to concentrate on the road as they pulled out onto the street to head back towards the station. He drove for a minute, in silence, when Johnny finally spoke. "Man, that's hard to understand.." he said. Roy didn't even need clarification. "I know." Johnny was bothered, disturbed deeply. "How come things like that happen to someone as dedicated as Rog?" DeSoto shrugged reluctantly. "I can't explain it." Gage went on, trying to voice his feelings. "I mean,..he's such a good person. Why does he have to carry such a burden?" Roy looked up at his partner's troubled face seriously. "Look, Johnny. Everyone has their cross to bear. I'm not justifying what has happened to him. I just mean that things like that happen. And it's all part of life." Johnny looked away and out the window, depressed. "I know. It seems so unfair." DeSoto gripped the steering wheel a little more firmly and he began to smile. "If and when Rog gets back on his feet. I'm sure he and Molly will adjust to their new life. And you and I can help by giving as much positive support as we can." Gage began to relax, thinking about things, hard. "You're right." he whispered. |
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The trip back to the station was uneventful. Soon, the squad pulled up in front of the station and backed into the garage. When the squad came to a halt in its parking place, Gage piled out. "Am I starved!" he declared as they both made a beeline for the kitchen. "How's Rog?" asked Hank as he and the others were finishing up the last bitefuls of lunch. Roy rubbed a few aches out of his shoulder and neck as he said. "He's stable. I don't think they'll know much more until after the surgery." Stoker looked up. "What a lousy break. I sure hope he gets better." he said firmly. Gage and DeSoto made their way over to the stove where Lopez, the cook, was dishing them up some lunch. Their curiosity was peaked when Marco leaned into them, suddenly whispering. "We still can't find out why Chet's been so silent. Maybe you two can work on him." he said secretively. Johnny spoke quietly, acknowledging his hush hush demeanor. "We'd be more than glad to." he declared, smiling richly. The two paramedics turned with their plates and took seats on either side of Kelly as they dug in and began to eat. Gage rubbed his hands together and said grandly. "Marco, these are super enchiladas. Wouldn't you say so, Roy?" DeSoto spoke up, also pseudo serious. "Right, Johnny. These are the best I've ever had." Johnny winked up at Lopez, feigning amazement. "I don't know how you do it, Marco, do you, Chet?" he said, glancing casually back at Kelly, seated next to him. "Ummph." said Chet, not looking up from where he was picking his teeth over his empty plate. Roy continued the put on, still serious seeming. "What has gotten into you, Chet? Your days off must've been too much for you." Johnny said more, still straight faced. "Come, Chet. What's bothering you? You can tell us. We're all your friends." Kelly looked up at him in sudden genuine worry. "Friends.. That's why I want you to leave me alone." he said empathetically. "I'm dangerous." he declared with a broad sweep of his hands. "I might hurt you." |
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Nearby, Hank regarded his man with a puzzled narrow eyed look. Johnny tapped Chet on the arm softly. "What do you mean by that?" Roy agreed with him and spoke up, too. "Have we done something to upset you?" Kelly let out the sad breath he was holding. "No, ..it's nothing like that. I'm...not mad at any of you." Gage insisted next, getting irritated. "Well, then, what is it?" Marco jumped on the bandwagon, where he was frying ice cream. "Come on. Tell us." Kelly held up defensive hands and finally bellied up. "All right. But I don't want anyone to laugh. This is serious." Roy immediately met his eyes evenly. "We promise." The whole gang stopped what they were doing and listened intently as Chet began to recount his story. Of them all, Gage was the only one having trouble keeping a straight face. Chet didn't even look at him. "Well, it all started innocently enough. My crabby downstairs neighbor was barbequeing late yesterday afternoon. Well, the smoke was coming right over the balcony and into my apartment. So I called down to him to please move it. He wouldn't. Then I thought some terrible things. One being that he'd burn his dinner. Well, he did. And now the smoke was worse. I then hollered down to him that the smoke was more than I could bear. He made some crack about a little smoke shouldn't bother a fireman. Well, that was about all I could take. I told him I was on my way down to settle it in another way. He said not to bother..cause he was coming upstairs to shut ME up. Well, he's a big guy and I was sorta making an idle ...threat.. but now I was in a fix. Then I thought some more terrible things. I mean, it worked with his dinner.. Well, one of those thoughts was that he'd break his leg before he got all the way upstairs. And...then.. he did. In two places." he said meekly. Gage leaned over dramatically, almost laughing. "So?" Kelly eyed him up, hurt. "So? Can't you see that I'm dangerous?" Johnny fired his reply back instantly, still chewing. "Coincidence." Kelly looked away, still miserable. "I wish it was.. but it's..." |
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The alarm overhead sounded. And all the firemen started. When the rest of the gang heard that the call was just for the squad, they returned back to the dishes while Cap and the paramedics left for the bay. They couldn't wait to hear the rest of Kelly's story. ##Squad 51. Child injured at Latigo Park.## Roy and Johnny boarded the rescue squad as Hank wrote down their information in the response alcove. ##...Daleridge Road. Cross street via Vista. Time out: 1350.## Cap acknowledged the run. "Squad 51. KMG-365." The squad exited the garage and entered traffic, going Code R. |
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************************************************** From : patti keiper <pattik1@hotmail.com> Sent : Saturday, September 15, 2007 5:13 AM Subject : That Gentle Touch.. Hostage©, Mark VII Limited© and Universal Studios© Production # 37411 Original Teleplay Character Dialogue was written by Susan Keenan©. Squad 51 rushed along non Code R. They began to flank a residential park filled with picnic tables, lots of grass and trees, and a soft ball diamond. There was a new area containing an assortment of slides, swings, climbing bars, and merry go rounds. The squad pulled up a short distance away from a cluster of people surrounding a twenty foot high cork screw slide. A covered area at the top was made of sheet metal and that is where they found a five year old little girl, with her finger stuck. Her mother was up on the slide with her. Another small group of mothers and children were gathered at the base of the slide as Gage and DeSoto arrived with their gear, still in their helmets. Johnny looked up. "I don't know if this thing is sturdy enough to hold us all." he remarked, adjusting the strap on his chin as he studied the girl's position. Roy nodded, pulling off his helmet. "Let's not take a chance. I'll take the kit and the small pry bar, and you can stay below." he suggested. DeSoto went up the slide's ladder only to meet an embarrassed, slightly irritated young mother. "I don't know why she always insists on coming up here. She never slides down." she declared, hands on hips. Roy noticed dripping blood. "Where's her finger stuck?" The mother pointed with her chin. Both her arms were supporting her daughter around the waist, preventing her from slipping down the chute. "Right here. Her left index finger." she said seriously. DeSoto found the girl's hand was wedged between a section of the sheet metal edge and the tubular frame of the slide. ::If she slips.:: thought Roy. ::Or if her mother lets go, her finger's gonna be hurt seriously when it starts to support her whole body weight.:: he realized. Roy smiled for the child's benefit. "I see. I think we can pry the metal away without too much trouble." He ruffled the sniffling girl's blond hair. "You just sit nice and still." he told her. |
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On the ladder, Johnny got the small pry bar ready to pass up. Roy got the child's attention after making sure the finger's oozing wasn't arterial. "My name's Fireman DeSoto. What's yours?" he asked. The child replied quietly, trembling a little but very wide eyed at the sight of an actual fireman sitting in front of her. "Kirsten." "Okay Kirsten. This won't hurt at all." Roy said, accepting the tool from Johnny. He started to separate the two pieces of metal from the frame gingerly, around the girl's hand. "Kirsten is a pretty name. How old are you?" "I'm five." she sniffled, squeezing her eyes shut at the sound of creaking metal. The pry bar slowly opened a space. Roy gave out a triumphant grunt when he finally freed her finger. "Here you go." he said, grinning. The mother, was highly relieved. "Thank you so much." |
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DeSoto grabbed the first aid box from his partner. "Let me look at that cut." He opened the medical kit, stopped the bleeding which had only been dripping because of the girl's fright and put on some antiseptic and a bandaid. Then he began to use an alcohol bottle and a few gauze pads clean up the splashes of blood on the slide frame and floor grate. "Has she had a tetanus shot lately?" "Oh, yes. Just a couple of months ago." replied Kirsten's mother as she hugged her daughter and admired the large bandaid Roy had applied to her daughter's finger. She pretended to nibble at it to end the child's tears. Roy smiled, putting away the soiled materials he had used tidying up the slide, into the biocontainer in their kit. "Good. Keep the cut clean and covered for a few days." Then he turned to the little girl, still parked seated in between her mother's legs. "You can go down the slide now." he said. Kirsten made a frown. "No. I want to go down the ladder." she said, pointing with her good finger while she hugged the wrapped one closely to her chest. Both paramedics chuckled and between Johnny and mom, they helped guide the woe be gone child back down to the sandy ground. Roy handed down the equipment but instead of coming down the way they had gone, he simply shrugged, moving back over to the slide chute. He shot Gage a look of 'why not?' and down he went. Johnny winced as DeSoto hit the bottom in a cloud of dust in a three point landing. He jogged over quickly, trying to keep a straight face and failing. "Quiet!" Roy hissed, brushing himself off. Gage just smirked anyway. "I didn't say a thing." DeSoto cleared his throat, flushing five shades of red. "I know what you're thinking though." he accused, pointing at his face. |
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The daylight hours never penetrated the surgical suites of Rampart. Doctors were in the midst of Roger Demick's heart operation. Heart specialist Jim Caruso was performing the operation while another surgeon assisted. They were surrounded by silent, but relaxed nurses and an anesthetist at the fireman's head. Dr. Brackett was also in the room, masked, to observe. Dr. Caruso grunted as a nurse wiped away the sweat on his forehead created by the hot surgical lights aiming down. "Sponge. ...Hemostat." Brackett looked up at the anesthetist, his hands held ready, in sterile gloves. "How's he holding?" The man nodded minisculely. "Steady. But weak." he said, monitoring the carotid pulse he had a hold of under the blue sheets. Caruso lessened Kel's worry instantly with a firmer reply. "We should be able to close in a few moments." he said. |
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Jim entered the critical portion of the operation. He carefully made the correction needed to improve circulation and end Demick's cardiac nodal rhythm re-entry problem. The fireman looked pale under anesthesia and the open heart that lay beating in the cavity before them looked vivid by comparison. Kel eagerly assisted when his colleague nodded for retracters and suturing forceps crisply, nodding in understanding when he saw a creative solution crafted that solved a complicated bypass puzzle. Caruso again nodded for a brow swipe from the nurse attending him with supplies. A minute later, the surgeon finally added the last tight knot in the coronary juncture he was working on. "Larry," said the older doctor. "You can close now." he said finally. |
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Kel and he stepped back from their patient as the new, closing team closed in. Together, they left the operating field. They entered the scrub room where the two friends began to removed their soiled gowns, masks, caps and gloves. Kel grinned wearily, but he was awed. "You continue to amaze me, Jim." Caruso sighed proudly. "He's a lucky young man. We got it just in time." Brackett held the door open after drying his hands. "I'm going to go see his wife now. Would you join me?" he invited. Jim looked at his watch. "Sure." he shrugged. They left the room. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Molly was sitting alone with her daughter, who was lying asleep in her lap. Brackett and Caruso entered quietly, mindful of the exhausted child. Jim gently stroked the child's cheek to soothe her back into sleep as he crouched to take the mother's hand. "You husband is going to be fine." Roger's wife sighed hugely, tears glistening. "Oh, thank God. When can I see him?" Jim and Kel looked at each other, beaming. Caruso replied. "I'd say in about two hours." Molly rose off the waiting room couch, still holding her sleeping daughter. She whispered tearfully. "I don't know how to thank you both.." she sobbed, grateful. Kel just grinned, noticing the child for the first time. He brushed some hair out of the girl's face without thinking, the caretaker in him still very much in the foreground. "Looks like your daughter is a little tired." he said. Molly dipped, still rocking gently. "I know. I'll take her to her grandparents and come back. Thanks so much." she smiled, still crying in relief. She left the annex for the parking ramp, still cradling her daughter. The doctors soon followed in her wake, feeling pretty good. |
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gage and DeSoto were at the base station, checking out some supplies from Dixie when the two surgeons came down the hallway towards them, still in their greens. Kel stopped there, waving to Jim as he continued on to his next case. "See you, Kel." said the cheerful, cherubic faced man. "I've got another patient waiting." Brackett waved him on enthusiastically. "Right." Sighing in contentment, Kel joined the others at the base station. Johnny couldn't wait to ask. "How's Roger?" he blurted out in worry. Roy touched his arm. Brackett began to smile to reassure them both. "Thanks to Dr. Caruso." he said, pointing to the surgeon retreating away from them. "Roger should recover good as new." Gage dropped his head and rapped on the counter in celebration. DeSoto dared ask the question that had been in their heads for hours. "Good enough to stay with the department?" |
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Brackett's smile finally faded. "I doubt that very much. But he should be able to do just about anything he wants to.. except fight fires." he told them. DeSoto nodded, thankful for Kel's honesty and disclosure. "We're sure glad it all went so well." he said, picking up their supply box. Gage echoed the sentiment. "Thank you. See you all later." he said. McCall and Dr. Brackett watched them go. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gage and DeSoto came out the double doors in the emergency parking area and starting loading their supplies into the back. Roy tried to smile. "Great news about Rog." Johnny grinned, but it didn't last. "He's still going to take it hard about not being a fireman anymore." Roy was thoughtful, pausing a bit as he relocked a gear door. "I don't know. We'll just have to wait and see." The two paramedics finished loading the Squad and climbed into the cab. Taking a deep expansive breath, Johnny instantly changed the subject. "Now what are we going to do with our psychic?" DeSoto looked at him askance. "Chet?" Gage frowned, rubbing his chin in deep thought. "Yeah, there's gotta be a way to snap him out of it." he declared. Roy scoffed, starting the ignition. "If you think of anything, let me know." Johnny nodded ruefully in agreement and put his helmet on. He picked up the mic. "Squad 51 available." ##Squad 51.## They pulled out of the parking area. |
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The peace in Rampart's reception area, was shattered. Through the entrance door came a very nervous and distraught young prospective father, Curt, and his very pregnant wife, Suzi. Curt was carrying Suzi as he staggered towards the desk. The woman was in pain, but somewhat embarrassed by her overeager husband. Nurse Carol was behind the counter and she immediately looked up. Curt blurted. "My wife's going to have her baby! You've got to do something!" ************************************************** Subject: Breadcrumbs. From: patti keiper (pattik1@hotmail.com) Sent: Wed 10/03/07 6:34 AM Hostage©, Mark VII Limited© and Universal Studios© Production # 37411 Original Teleplay Character Dialogue was written by Susan Keenan©. Carol left her place behind the reception desk and motioned for an orderly to bring over a wheelchair. "How far apart are the pains?" Suzi grunted. "About ten minutes." she said. Curt leaned against the desk, still carrying his wife. "Do something." Nurse Carol indicated the wheelchair that was quickly wheeled over to them. "Please set your wife down in that wheelchair." Curt did so after Carol locked the brakes and opened the foot stands. Dr. Morton noticed the expression on Suzi's face and joined the group after leaving an examination room. He left his chart on Carol's desk. Carol filled him in. "Dr. Morton, her pains are ten minutes apart." Mike nodded, crouching by Suzi's chair. He set a hand on the woman's gravid stomach through her oversized sweater, feeling for cramps. "Do you have a doctor you want us to call?" he asked. Suzi tried to smile. "No. He's up in Santa Barbara." Curt added more. "We were on our way to visit my folks in San Diego. We're not.. I mean,.. she's not due for another month.." he stammered. "Please, do something!" he shouted. |
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Morton was firm and no nonsense. "We are. Let's go to Room Three." he told the orderly standing at the chair's handle grips. They started down the hallway and approached a treatment room that was color indicator flag flipped to be unoccupied. Curt balked.. "Aren't we going to maternity?" Morton pushed the door open and waited for the man to preceed the rest of them. "We have to be sure she's in labor first." he replied. Curt didn't enter the room. "You mean you're NOT sure--" he got mad. "What kind of a hospital is this?" he declared, getting loud. Suzi held up a hand in between the puffs of air she was taking. "Curt, honey. Take it easy. There are thousands of babies born everyday." she panted. Morton and Suzi and the orderly entered the room. Firmly, Carol stopped Curt at the door at a slight signal from Dr. Morton. "This'll only take a second. Why don't you wait right here?" she told him. The door closed, leaving the nervous, fretting husband behind. Suzi was helped up onto the table. She was slow and cumbersome, and relied heavily on the orderly to guide her bulk onto its surface. "Please forgive Curt." she smiled at them all. "First baby, you know." Morton held the back of her head. "That's all right. Now just lie back. Carol, why don't you see if you can calm the nervous husband. I'm okay." he said about preparations. |
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Carol nodded and left the room, coming toe to toe with Curt awkwardly in a near collision. The door shut behind her. "Doctor Morton should have an answer in just a moment." Curt was beside himself still. "With pains as close as she's having.. doesn't that mean the baby's on the way?" he asked eagerly, running fingers through his dark hair. Carol replied. "That all depends on--" She was interrupted when the door opened and Dr. Morton appeared. "Your wife's in false labor.." he said. Curt calmed down, frowning in perplexity. "What does that mean?" Morton smiled. "It means that your wife won't have the baby for at least another couple of weeks. And as soon as she rests for a while, you can continue your trip to San Diego." Curt fell against the door, holding his chest, sighing. "Can I go in?" he asked in complete relief finally once he pulled his emotions back together. Morton pushed the door back open, in answer with a flourish. "Sure." he replied, offering an after-you hand pointing into the room. Curt went into the treatment room, leaving Morton and Carol in the hallway. Just as they started back to the reception area, the door opened and Curt stuck his head back out. "Doctor!" Morton and Carol stopped and turned back, expecting the worst. Curt smiled broadly, still peeking out. "Hey, thanks a lot.." he said. Then his head disappeared again, leaving doctor and nurse alone to share ruefully amused grins. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Roy and Johnny were relaxed as they began the return trip back to base at the stationhouse. DeSoto was driving as they passed city streets, while Gage was thinking. Suddenly, something caught Johnny's eye. "Stop in front of that book shop for just a moment." he said, pointing eagerly. Puzzled, Roy slowed and parallel paused along the curb. The book shop through the windshield read, 'Gemini Bookstore, Everything on Witchcraft and Astrology.' DeSoto made a face. "There?" |
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Johnny was excited. "There." And he opened his passenger door when the squad stopped moving. He got out. "I'll be just a second." he said, holding up an eager finger, knowing Roy hated breaking protocol rules about stopping for personal purchases while still on duty. He entered the store before he had to weather any protests. The owner of the store was at the back, stacking some books. His name was Homer and he definitely looked like he was the type who would be running that type of book store, a poor man's Vincent Price. Johnny entered, startling at the gargoyle bell hanging over the door. After a few seconds looking around, not certain of what he wanted, he found the owner for some help. Gage whispered, mindful of the crow sitting in the cage on the counter who was regarding him with a baleful eye. "Excuse me." Homer turned from his restocking. "Yes?" Johnny jolted at the creepshow appearance of the man. "Uh,..I'm looking for a book for a friend." Homer smiled ingratiatingly. "What kind of a book?" Gage swallowed, still unable to take his eyes off the taller man's creepy ones. "Well, this friend thinks he has some sort of psychic power.. and what he wishes comes true.." he stammered. |
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Homer shrugged, after blowing some dust off of ancient gold leaf bound volumes.."So?" he prompted, asking for more information, politely enough. The crow echoed his word perfectly in a bird imitation. Gage's gaze shifted to its beady black eyes warily. "Well, it's a lot of baloney. And I want to prove it to him. I thought you might have a book that could do this for me." he smiled nervously as both man and bird fluttered about in uncanny like motions. The sallow faced man smiled hideously. "I do have lots of books on the subject. However, none of them would disapprove that your friend is a psychic. They would prove just the contrary." Gage swallowed, creeped out by the environment of the place and its haunted looking owner. "Oh, well,... thanks." he peeped, starting to back away slowly. Homer seemed to drift over the countertop, following. "Your friend is a young man, right?" Johnny smoothed down the goose pimples that began rising on his arms as he put some cautious distance between himself and Homer. "Ah, yes he is,...uh..." Homer pursued, still smiling grotesquely. "He's a fireman?" Gage seeped away, hurrying, feeling behind himself for any obstacles. He bounced off an Egyptian sarcophagus and corrected his flight without looking back. "Uh, yes." Homer grinned, staying close. "He has a moustache?" |
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Johnny had had enough. He abruptly whirled around when his shoulder hit the same Victorian bell that rang whenever the front door opened and he yanked the brass handle until sunlight showed him his escape route back outside. "Yes, he does. Well, thanks again." he waved quickly. Then he rushed out the door, fleeing with many backward glances. Homer melted away from the windows as if he had never been. Gage climbed back into the squad quickly. "Let's go!" Roy's eyebrows climbed into his hairline, and he smiled a little, curious. "Didn't you find what you were looking for?" "No. Let's go." Johnny pointed fast, tipping his helmet down to block the view of the store front. He hoped that he hadn't seen a crow flying around and landing on a dusty skeleton near the faded red velvet curtains festooning the window displays. DeSoto pulled out into traffic. Roy noticed his nervousness. "What's bothering you?" Johnny jumped at his partner's touch on his sleeve. "That..weird guy at the bookstore. He gave me the creeps." But Roy was no longer listening. He had spotted something ahead. "Hey.. I wonder what he wants?" |
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Gage looked forward through the windshield. A young man of twenty five was flagging them down. His name was Paul. The squad pulled up next to Paul who stuck his head in the passenger side urgently. "My friend is real sick. I'll take you to him if I can get in..." Johnny nodded. "Sure." And Paul pulled open the door and climbed inside the squad after Gage slid over to the middle of the seat. As he got in, Johnny picked up the mic to call in, but when he did, Paul pulled out a gun and pointed it at both paramedics openly. "No radio calls." said the man, dropping his earlier clean kid facade. "Just drive down to Twenty Fifth Street and then turn right." DeSoto gripped the wheel, not making any sudden moves. "What is all this?" Paul snarled. "Be quiet and drive." Roy didn't make any sudden motions as he pulled the squad back out into traffic. Paul kept his gun trained on Gage's chest, below the level that anyone else could see. Johnny and Roy couldn't believe what was happening. Roy just talked. "I don't know what you're trying to prove.. but.." he began as they turned onto 25th St. The sweating man interrupted him. "Now keep going until you reach Ash and then turn left. And no more yak!" he growled, shoving the muzzle into Gage's ribcage for good measure. At Johnny's surprised grunt, Roy clammed up, fretting instantly with worry and dismay. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Captain Stanley looked at his watch from where he sat at his office desk. Then he got up from his desk and stuck his head out into the garage as he called out to the firemen wiping down the engine. "You guys don't have any idea what's taking Gage and DeSoto so long to get here?" he asked. Lopez looked up, surprised. "No, captain." Hank nodded, going back to his desk. He picked up the phone and dialed it out. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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In Rampart's base station, Dixie McCall was just finishing organizing the morning's recorded rescue response cassette tapes into a storage drawer when the phone rang. She picked up the white phone off the wall. "Rampart General, Nurse McCall." she cocked her head, listening as the caller shared more. "No Captain. They left here about twenty minutes ago." She paused, beginning to frown. "No.. I was there a few minutes ago and their squad wasn't outside." she replied. Then she sighed. "Right, I will. Goodbye." As she hung up the receiver in puzzlement, Dr. Brackett entered the room for an EKG tape he needed for a case. "What was that about?" he asked, recognizing that the landline inside the base station alcove was rarely used. Dixie chewed a pencil end. "That was Captain Stanley asking if we'd seen the boys. I told him they left twenty minutes ago." Kel grunted in reply and both doctor and nurse turned back to what they were doing. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- L.A.'s voice was blaring over the radio, but Squad 51's paramedics weren't allowed to answer it. ##Squad 51. Do you read?.......Squad 51, L.A.## came Sam's hail. Johnny looked at it subconsciously. Paul didn't look away from either of them. "Ignore it. All right, here's Ash. Turn left and then pull into the driveway at the side of the corner house." There was an old Victorian style rooming house on the corner. Roy drove the squad into the driveway next to it and into an old garage at the rear. He frowned when he realized the squad was no longer visible from the street. The truck came to a stop. Paul got out and then the two paramedics out Roy's door. Paul twitched the gun menacingly. "All right. Get everything you'll need for someone who's O.D.'d on 'H'." Gage and DeSoto took what they needed from the equipment bay cautiously, including the resuscitator and defibrillator. "Now let's get going. Stay in front of me.." Paul warned when they were done. They exited the garage. Paul ushered the paramedics outside, pausing only briefly to shut its door. "That'll keep the curious neighbors away." he told himself more than them. Johnny tightened his lips when the last line of sight of the squad was covered up. "Look mister, we.." Paul shouted. "Cool it, skinny! Up those stairs!" and he cocked the safety off on the gun. Both Roy and Johnny twitched when they heard it as they walked. They obeyed without saying another word. But Johnny shifted the drug box enough at his hip so his gripping hand brushed by his belt containing the hemostat and scissors. The hemostat fell from his holster to the ground. His eyes shifted quickly to the ground and back up again. Their kidnapper hadn't noticed and Gage sighed in sweaty relief as they moved ahead along the sidewalk path. The group started up the outside stairs leading to a set of upper apartments. Paul got out his keys and started to open the door, keeping the gun trained carefully on the paramedics. "Now one word of warning." he said. "Les is a very sick man and I need him well. If you two don't pull him through.. then neither of you are coming out of here alive... understood?" he snarled. |
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Gage and DeSoto nodded numbly and started to enter the apartment. Intentionally, Johnny bumped into Roy's shoulder as they both went inside long enough for the door jam to knock the scissors off his belt and onto the door mat. He didn't look down as they fell. Again Paul didn't notice anything amiss as he forced them inside with a shove. "Hurry it up!" said Paul. The door closed behind them, leaving sunlight to wink off the scissors lying on the landing. ************************************************** From: patti keiper <pattik1@hotmail.com> Date: Thu Oct 4, 2007 6:59 pm Subject: Clues Do.. Hostage©, Mark VII Limited© and Universal Studios© Production # 37411 Original Teleplay Character Dialogue was written by Susan Keenan©. The apartment was like many of those that were in old houses. There was a small kitchen area to one side, a bath in the back, and a small bedroom next to that. In the back of their minds, Roy and Johnny noticed that the furniture was old and fit the feel of the place. Aged, from a bygone era, smelling of mothballs and permeated with the scent of newly rented spaces. There were a couple of suitcases and some cartons lying about, as if someone were planning to leave. Les, the patient, was lying on the couch in the living room, not moving at all. Gage and DeSoto were pushed quickly into the room. Johnny frowned, eyeing him up. "I hope we're not too late." he mumbled to Roy as he pushed the end table out of the way as he knelt to feel the man's carotid. Paul sneered. "I hope not, too. For your sake." he told them, still brandishing the gun. Johnny gave Roy a short nod when he found some vital signs. He angled the man's head so he could breathe freely as he watched Roy open the medical kits. And the biophone. Paul saw that and immediately became suspicious. "What's that?" he asked, gesturing his gun muzzle. "It's a radio.." replied Roy. "So that we can talk with a doctor at the hospital." |
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Paul licked his lips, worried and aggressive. "I don't want you using any radios." he demanded. DeSoto stayed crouched down, his hand on Les's chest, monitoring his breathing. "Look. If you want him to live, we're going to have to talk to a doctor." he said softly, keeping his face carefully neutral. Paul eyed him up. "How do I know you're not calling the cops?" Roy explained softly, holding out the phone receiver and the antennae he had been inserting into the communications port. "This radio is only to the hospital. And we need it to--" Paul shut his eyes, impatiently. He interrupted, shushing DeSoto. "Let me think about it!" Gage spoke up, making no apology with a harsh tone of voice. "B.P. is 85 over 45, Roy." DeSoto nodded, his eyes never leaving Paul's. "Look mister. You'd better decide fast. This man's in a bad way." |
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stanley, Lopez, Kelly and Stoker were grouped around a desk in the office at the fire station. Marco fretted, meeting everybody's worried gaze. "It's not like them to not have the handy-talkie if they're out of the squad." Chet rubbed his moustache. "Something's wrong. I suggest we call the police and have them keep a look out for their squad." Hank bobbed his head quickly. "Good idea, Chet." Cap picked up the phone and started dialing. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brackett and Dixie were finishing up at the base station, having cups of coffee when Dr. Early entered the alcove, seeking some of his own. Joe spoke. "How's that fireman doing?" Kel smiled. "Great. Looks like he's out of danger now." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Roy and Johnny worked feverishly over Les. Gage made sure of a rich oxygen flow while Paul paced back and forth, trying to decide whether to let them use the bio-com or not. DeSoto tried another viewpoint. "We're not doctors. But we can save his life if you'd let us talk to one." "I'm thinking!" Paul said, getting a little wild with stress. Gage recognized the symptoms of drug withdrawal beginning to work on Paul. ::He's an addict, too? Terrific.:: he thought. ::Now we're really in deep with all of this.:: he thought. "And we're not policemen. Right now, we're only interested in saving his life. Not in what problems you have have with the law." he tried to explain to their mind clouded captor. Paul halted in his tracks. "All I want is that he becomes well enough to travel." he shouted. Then he blinked. Hard. Paul licked his lips nervously. "All right. Use your radio. But remember, I'm listening to everything you say." Roy picked up the phone on the bio-com and called Rampart as fast as he could, worried for both themselves and the overdosed Les who was fading in front of them. "Rampart Base. This is Rescue 51." he started to hail. |
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brackett, Early and Dixie all turn to the transmitter in surprise. Brackett stepped up to the phone to answer, hesitating only briefly as Roy's voice continued to speak. ##Rampart, this is Rescue Fifty One..## "This is Rampart Base, 51. Go ahead." he said with curiosity. In the apartment, Roy didn't look at Paul's reactions directly. Instead, he concentrated on his note pad and pen so he wouldn't provoke the situation further. "Rampart, we've a male approximately twenty eight. Unconscious. Pupils reactive. Possible overdose of heroin. Vitals are: BP is eight five over forty five. Pulse is weak at 25. Color is ashen. Respirations are twelve." Kel took down the information as Early listened in as well. Dixie was on the phone with the fire station behind them, speaking quietly. "Yes, Captain. Brackett is on the biocom with them now. I"ll see if I can find out." Brackett said. "Patch him up and insert an esophageal airway. Also start an I.V. with D5W." Roy replied. ##10-4, Rampart.## Dixie moved behind Kel's ear. "Can you find out where they are? The station didn't hear them get a response." Brackett startled. So did Joe. Kel nodded. "I'll try." He thumbed the mic. "Where are you located, Fifty One?" In the apartment, Paul reacted with anger. Roy froze, speaking fast as the gun came to bear directly at his face. "Cannot give you our location." he said. Brackett frowned, trying again. "We need your address for the ambulance." he said, prying once again. DeSoto felt a trickle of sweat run down his forehead. "I repeat. Unable to give location. EKG will be lead two. Looks like a junctional rhythm." he added, changing tact. Kel's frown deepened into frustration laced with concern. The odd answer reflected back out of his expression as he glanced up at Joe and Dixie, perplexed. McCall stayed on the phone with Captain Stanley. "10-4, 51." he finally said, pointing down at the speaker so Dixie saw that he had tried unsuccessfully to pinpoint the information. He shook his head in puzzlement. Dixie turned back to the phone. "They wouldn't give their position, Captain." |
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