ATF Alternate Universe
PART 2
Josiah followed Chris back into the living room. He could see Chris was furious. JD hastily got out of Chris's way as he stalked towards the reason for his wrath. Josiah looked at the doomed agent. He was talking with and older agent, but Josiah noticed all the others were keeping far away. The agent wasn't much older than JD and had "political appointee" stamped all over him. As Chris got closer to his target the angrier he got. Josiah grabbed him as he lunged for the younger agent."What the hell do you think you were doing!" yelled Chris as he struggled in Josiah's arms.
"It was a judgement call," said the agent. "Your men were unarmed and we got everything we needed on tape. If we had waited for you they would have gotten way."
"Gotten away?" Chris said sarcastically "They did get away asshole! And sent one of my agents to the hospital. Or didn't you notice all the blood?"
"I'm sorry about your agent but we came here to get Stanton and we got him"
"Stanton?" Chris growled "You idiot! We were after Tommy Hong also!!"
Chris broke away from Josiah and tried to go after the younger man. Some of the other agents grabbed him and tried to calm him down. They were all friends of his and didn't want Chris getting reprimanded for hitting a fellow officer.
"Chris calm down," warned Mike Winder, Team 2 leader, "This kid ain't worth it. Which of your agents was hurt?
"Vin."
"Shit," he said. "Why don't you go to the hospital. I'll finish up here. This way it will give you a chance to calm down."
"You're just lucky they were here kid," snarled Chris. "Don't get attached to your GS9 position because when I get through with you, you won't be working for a government agency anywhere."
All the agents watched as he stormed off followed by Nathan, JD and Josiah. Winder turned to the younger agent and shook his head.
"Kid, you stepped on the wrong agents toes. You got one of his agents injured and Chris won't ever forget that."
"What can he do to me?" the kid scoffed.
"You don't want to know."
+ + + + + + +
Four Corners General Hospital
Buck paced around the waiting room like a cage lion. He stopped by the door and ran his hand through his hair. One of the nurses had given him a change of clothes and he was now dressed in green scrubs. He glanced towards the door where they had taken Vin. He cursed the agent that done this but knew Chris would take care of him. All he had to do now was wait and he hated to wait. At least Ezra had stayed with Vin. The doctor wasn't too happy but they couldn't get Vin to let go of Ezra's hand.
Ezra had been taken completely by surprise when Vin had latched onto his hand. The younger agent was in a lot of pain by the time they had gotten to the hospital. As soon as they walked in the doors the nurses had stopped Buck and Ezra from entering the room. Vin had panicked and grabbed on to Ezra's hand. The nurses tried reassuring him but he wouldn't let go. They finally just let him stay and Ezra sat in a daze at the whirlwind of activity. They took a sample of blood to get it cross matched for type and took his vitals. When the results came back they hooked up a pint of AB- blood. They had also placed Vin on his right side so they could check the cuts on his back. The doctor had arrived took a look at Vin's leg and said something about staples. Ezra didn't want to know. He just held on to Vin's hand and talked with the now glassy eyed agent. They had given him a shot of morphine too ease the pain. They had also given him penicillin to stop any infection. Ezra pushed Vin's hair out of his eyes and smiled.
"How are you feeling?" asked Ezra.
"Ain't sure. My arm itches."
Ezra looked at the arm where they had given him the injections. One of the areas was red and inflamed. Ezra didn't think that was good and pointed it out to the nurse.
"Damn," she said. "He's having an allergic reaction to the penicillin."
"Why didn't you tell her you were allergic?" asked Ezra.
"Didn't know." he answered.
Another doctor had come in to assist and the nurse pointed out the inflamed area. She looked at it and said he'd be all right that he was just getting a rash from it but they would have to keep an eye on him. The first doctor had been cleaning Vin's leg to make sure all the glass was out before they started to close the wound. When he was satisfied there was no glass he explained to Vin what was going to happen.
"Mr. Tanner I'm now getting ready to close the wound. It's too large an area to stitch so we are going to use staples."
"Staples?" asked Ezra.
"Yes," he said. "Surgical staples. I'm going to give you a local anesthetic but you might still feel some discomfort. A few of the cuts on your back need stitches also. Dr. Allen will be taking care of those."
"Hello," said an attractive redhead. "This is going to take us some time. You let us know when you need a break and we'll stop."
Vin nodded and they got to work. At first there was very little pain, but after a half-hour Vin was having a hard time staying still. Ezra started telling outlandish stories to distract him. The nurses and the doctors laughed at his stories and for awhile so did Vin. At one point he yelped in pain and tried to pull away from its source.
"I'm sorry Vin," said Dr. Allen. "Didn't mean to pinch you. Just try to relax."
Ezra wiped the fine sheen of sweat on Vin's brow and smiled. He tried to smile back but Ezra could see it was too much effort. Just then Chris walked in the door. Ezra saw him and leaned closer to Vin.
"Vin," Ezra called. "Chris is here."
Vin opened his eyes and smiled. One of the nurses tried to keep Chris from entering.
"You can't come in here," she said.
"No wait," Ezra spoke up. "It's his brother. I'll switch with him."
The nurse stepped aside and Chris walked over to Vin. As he walked to the other side he could see the leg would was closed to below the knee. Ezra stood to leave but Vin was disoriented and wouldn't let go of his hand. Chris came over and placed his hand over Vin's.
"It's OK, cowboy, you can let go. I'm here now"
Vin blinked as he recognized Chris's voice. He let go of Ezra's hand and took Chris's. Ezra looked at Chris and nodded. He was about to leave when Vin called for him.
"Hey Ez," he said in a tired voice. "Thanks"
"Anytime."
Chris watched as he walked towards the door. Just before he went out he turned to look at Chris. Chris saluted him with two fingers and smiled. Ezra returned it then walked out the door. He turned his attention back to Vin.
"How you doing, pard?"
"Hurts."
"I bet. Just take it easy they're almost done."
"Easy for you to say."
"Yeah it is," Chris said with a smile. "Why don't you close your eyes and relax."
Chris pushed the hair off Vin's face as he closed his eyes. He continued to stroke Vin's hair and he could feel the younger agent relax. Chris looked up and caught the eye of the red haired doctor. She was just tying off the last stitch on Vin's back.
"There that's all done," she announced.
"How bad?" Chris asked.
"Well there's one cut about ten inches long that I put 40 stitches in," she said as she stripped off her gloves. "Another is seven inches that has twenty-three stitches. The others are smaller but a few needed at least one or two stitchs to keep them closed."
She put on a fresh pair of gloves and came around by Chris to check Vin's vitals. His heart rate was a little fast but that was to be expected. The pint of blood was just about finished and she pulled it out of his arm. The IV was almost done also so she changed that. Last she checked the injection area for the penicillin. They had placed an ice pack on it when it began to swell. She touched it gently with her fingers and Vin flinched and opened his eyes.
"Does it hurt?" she asked.
"A little," he admitted.
"What's that from?' Chris asked.
"We gave him an injection of penicillin and he had an allergic reaction."
"Why didn't you tell them you were allergic?" Chris scolded.
"I didn't know," Vin answered.
"It's not uncommon for people to become allergic as they get older," said the doctor.
"Done!" suddenly cried the other doctor. "Now we just have to bandage this up and you're all set. And get you checked in for the evening."
"Doctor, how many?" asked Chris.
"107," he answered and Chris cringed.
The two doctor's left and Chris stayed while the nurses bandaged Vin's leg. A few minutes later Dr. Allen returned with a syringe.
"This is to help you sleep," she said.
"I don't want it," said a reluctant Vin.
"Trust me Mr. Tanner when the local wears off your going to want to be asleep."
"It's alright Vin," coaxed Chris.
He nodded and the doctor rubbed alcohol on the IV then injected the medication. In a very short time Vin's eyelids began to droop and he was asleep. Once he was asleep they moved him to another gurney to transfer him to his room. They pushed him out the door and Chris followed. As they went out Chris saw the other members of his team and Mike Winder.
"Why don't you take your watch dogs and go home," suggest Dr. Allen. "He'll be asleep for the rest of the night. You can come see him in the morning."
Chris knew she was right. It was almost one o'clock. He walked over to others and they bombarded him with questions.
"How is he?"
"Can we see him?"
"How bad is it?"
"Hold on!" he yelled. "First things first. What brings you here Mike."
"Just thought you'd like to know we caught Tommy Hong and his bodyguard."
"That's great!" said JD.
"Well not so great. The bodyguard put up a fight and we had to shoot him. He's dead."
"Not your fault," said Chris. "At least we got Hong. Thanks for bringing me the information."
"Anytime Chris," he said as he turned to leave. "Oh and about Michaels the rest of us will back you on what ever you decide. That kids going to get someone killed."
"Well?" demanded JD after Winder left.
"Well what?" Chris asked with a smile.
"What about Vin!" he yelled.
"Their going to keep him over night," began Chris. "He's got 107 staples in his leg and about 70 stitches in his back. The doctor said he'll sleep through the night and to come back in the morning."
"107!" cried JD.
"Damn," said Josiah. "He's going to be hurting for awhile."
"Well gentlemen I don't know about you but I've had a harrowing night," said Ezra "I think I'll head home."
The others followed Ezra as he went out. Buck stopped when he realized Chris wasn't following. He knew where Chris was going to stay.
"Want some company?" he asked.
"No Buck, but thanks," said Chris. "I'll see you in the morning."
Buck watched as Chris headed for the elevator. He turned and caught up to the others and they went home for the night.