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Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to CBS and Viacom. This is a piece of fan fiction, written for pleasure and not for profit. The characters are borrowed for the purpose of the story.
This story is dedicated to Betty – with grateful thanks for all her help and support both in beta reading my stories and for being a friend.?? ? Mind Games 2 by ? TWO MONTHS AFTER THE ABDUCTION – 4 AM ? His spirits buoyant, Steve Sloan strode towards his car, whistling cheerfully.?? It was Friday evening, he’d finished his shift at the precinct and – best of all - he had the weekend off, with nothing more taxing to do other than lounge around the beach house, get in some surfing, maybe watch a little TV, drink a few beers and – most importantly of all - spend some much needed, and long overdue quality time, with his father. ? The trouble with working shifts, Steve reflected, as he drew level with his car, was that neither he nor his dad got to see much of one another.??? Well that wouldn’t be the case this weekend, he mused, as he reached for his keys, his pleasant thoughts interrupted by the agonised sound of tyres squealing on tarmac, as a black van hurtled inexorably towards him.?? ? “What the…..?” he exclaimed, as the vehicle screeched to a halt beside him, the back doors bursting open to emit two armed and masked men.?? Before he had a chance to react, Steve was grabbed and slammed up against the side of his car, a cloth soaked in an insidiously sickening substance clamped roughly over his mouth and nose.??? ? Chloroform was his last thought, as he succumbed to darkness.
? He was woken the following morning by the sound of the door to his cell slamming against the wall as it was flung open.?? He was then hauled unceremoniously from the bed and dragged from the room, up a flight of stone steps and along a cold corridor before being thrown unceremoniously into a room as bare as the one he had just vacated.?? As he slowly raised himself to a kneeling position and took in his surroundings, a cold hand closed around his heart. ? ? Steve’s eyes snapped open, darting wildly around the room, his panic turning swiftly to confusion as, totally disorientated, he fully expected to find himself in the cold damp cell that had been his home for 16 days, rather than the warm, comforting, surroundings of his apartment at the beach house. ? “It’s over,” he murmured, raking a hand through his sweat-soaked hair before hauling his equally sweat soaked body out of the bed and, guided by the soft, dawn light, headed for the bathroom to take a much-needed shower. ? As he was crossing the short expanse of space from his bed to the bathroom, there was a soft knock on the door to his apartment.?? A moment later the door opened and his father entered the room, his cerulean eyes filled with concern.
? “I’m okay dad,” Steve replied in as reassuring a tone as he could manage.???? “I had a nightmare that’s all.?? It’s nothing for you to worry about.” ? “Would you like to talk about it?” Mark enquired gently. ? “No!” came the emphatic reply. ? “Because its talking about it that’s causing the nightmares to return, of that I’m 100% certain” thought Steve as, having finally convinced his father that he would be all right; the detective headed for the bathroom and that much-needed shower. ? 4 PM - JUNE CARTER’S OFFICE ? “I want to end the sessions.” ? If June Carter was surprised by Steve’s somewhat terse statement, she gave no indication of it, remaining perfectly impassive while Steve, in contrast, shifted uncomfortably in his chair. ? “It’s time for to put the past behind me and move on,” he continued.??? “And I can’t do that if we keep going over and over what happened.” ? Still the doctor remained silent. ? “I know I agreed to attend counselling sessions,” Steve hastened on, wishing the doctor would say something because her silence was beginning to unnerve him.??? “And maybe they did help a little - at first,” he grudgingly admitted.??? “But now I feel they’re becoming counter-productive.??? All this talking about how I feel, how I felt,” he corrected himself. ??“It’s not achieving anything.” ? “You don’t feel that, by discussing what happened, how you felt while it was happening, has succeeded in helping you to regain control?” June enquired, finally breaking the silence. ? “I never LOST control in the first place,” Steve snapped, which was a lie and both he and June knew it.?? The simple truth of the matter was that he HAD lost control; both for the 16 days he was held captive by Carter Sweeney, and the days that followed his release when he had turned against his father as a direct result of the treatment he had received while he languished in Sweeney’s insidious clutches.?? ? “You didn’t??? Are you sure about that?” June queried. ? “All right.?? Maybe for a while at least I wasn’t totally in command of things” Steve reluctantly admitted.?? “But I am now,” he added swiftly.??? “I am now,” he reiterated. ? THAT EVENING ? “You’ve done what?” Mark exclaimed. ? “Stopped the counselling sessions,” Steve replied.?? “Which, I might add, I’m perfectly entitled to do, dad.? ?My attendance was, after all, only ever on a voluntary basis.” ? “But why?” ? Only his father would have the temerity to ask that question, thought Steve.?? Others might think to ask it, but they would never have the courage to do so, given that Steve would either level them with a fearsome glare or deliver a few short, sharp, words, both of which the detective had discovered worked equally effective in reducing people to silence.???? His father, however, was impervious to both those - and the numerous other tactics - Steve called upon to deflect issues he had no wish to discuss.?? His father would also, Steve knew only too well, keep on asking the question until he received an answer.?? Only then would he allow the matter to drop. ? “Because,” Steve sighed, knowing when he was beaten.?? “I have to get on with my life dad and, as I told June Carter, I can’t do that if I keep going over and over what happened to me, constantly analysing how it felt - how I felt - both while I was held captive and afterwards.?? ?It’s been two months dad.?? It’s time to look to the future.” ? “All right.”? ? Steve glanced suspiciously at his father.? ? “No - seriously, it’s all right,” Mark reiterated, having caught the dubious look levelled in his direction.??? “It’s your decision son.??? I’m not going to interfere.”?? ? “You’re .... Not?”?? ? “No, I’m not.??? Just so long as you know that I’m always here for you if you ever do need to talk - about anything.” ? “I know that,” Steve murmured.?? “Thanks dad,” he added gratefully. ? FIVE DAYS’ LATER - 2 AM ? Steve woke in the early hours, jerked from an uninterrupted, dreamless, sleep, by a noise from upstairs.??? Rolling on to his back, he laid in the ubiquitous darkness, every sense on red alert. ? The noise came again and this time he recognised it for what it was.??? Footsteps.??? They were not, however, the confident, steady, stride of his father.??? These steps were stealthy and furtive, indicating the unwelcome presence of intruders.??? Steve was awake in an instant, rolling out of bed and reaching for his jeans.??? He didn’t want to confront any intruders while he was naked, that was for sure! ? Carefully extracting his gun from the holster which lay draped over the back of the bedside chair, he eased open the door to his apartment and slid up the stairs as silent as a wraith. ? “Freeze,” a voice, snarled in his ear, at the same time that the cold barrel of a gun was pressed firmly against his left temple. ? Steve froze.? To do otherwise would be madness. ? “Get his gun.” ? A shadowy figure detached itself from the gloom to comply with the terse instruction.?? ? “Where’s my father?? If you’ve hurt him ......” ? “I’m all right son,” came the welcome reply.??? ? Steve’s eyes were drawn to the couch where his father sat, as still as stone, the barrel of a gun pressed very firmly against his head. ? “What is that you wan.....?” Steve started to say, just as his arms were pulled roughly behind his back and a soft cloth soaked in a cloying substance placed over his nose and mouth.???? ? He tried not to breathe; tried to fight, his hands clawing ineffectually at the smothering cloth but he couldn’t, wasn’t able to …. The world faded from grey, to black, to nothingness. ? --- ? “Steve!? Oh thank God you’re finally awake,” a familiar voice – his father’s voice – permeated the miasma that enshrouded him.
? Steve struggled to raise himself to a sitting position. ? “What’s wrong, did I sleep through the alarm?” he enquired, astonished at how weak he felt. ? “No you ….” ? How did he begin to even answer that question, thought Mark, as he reached for the meagre blankets, carefully swaddling his son’s shivering frame.??? He wasn’t that warm himself, he ruefully reflected, but at least he had on pyjamas, a dressing gown and slippers to keep out the worst of the cold, whereas Steve was clad only in jeans, which were hardly sufficient to protect him against the chills which were wracking his lean, muscular body. ? ?“Thanks dad,” Steve said absently-mindedly.?? “Guess I’ll head for the show…..,” he stopped abruptly, clarity returning with all the force of a physical blow. ? “Oh god,” he moaned, as his eyes took in his all too familiar surroundings.??? “Please no,” he murmured, pushing himself to his feet and crossing over to the small barred window where he looked out, already knowing what he would see.??? ? The window didn’t afford him much of a view, since all he could see was a narrow, rubbish-strewn alleyway and a somewhat dilapidated building directly opposite.? ? “Steve are you ….,?” Mark was interrupted by the sound of the door opening.?? Father and son turned just in time to see Carter Sweeney, flanked by two masked and armed men, enter the cell. ? “Steve.?? Dr. Sloan,” he purred, with all the contentment of a cat confronted by a barrel load of cream. “How very nice to see you both again.”
? “An ugly rumour,” Sweeney replied.??? “I’ve been in LA all the time, plotting my revenge.? Hello Steve,” he murmured softly, coming to stand directly in front of the detective.???? “Get him,” he nodded impatiently towards Mark, “Out of here.??? I have things I need to say to Steve.??? Private things,” he added, smiling vituperatively at the older man, as he struggled to free himself, his face contorted with fear as the door to the cell closed, leaving his son alone with Sweeney. ? “That’s better,” Sweeney pronounced himself satisfied.?? “We don’t want dad listening to our conversation do we??? So, how have you been Sloan???? You’ve given up the counselling sessions I hear?” ? “How do you know about that?” the detective angrily demanded. ? “Oh you’d be surprised WHAT I know,” Sweeney replied.?? “Let me see,” he paused for a moment, idly stroking his chin. ???“I believe the good doctor tried to convince you how effective the sessions had been in helping you to regain control.” ? Steve’s eyes flashed fire.?? The room where the sessions had taken place had to have been bugged, that was the only answer.?? When he got out of here he was going to kick some serious butt until he found Sweeney’s co-conspirator. ? “You, of course, were vehement in your protestation that you’d never lost control,” Sweeney continued.??? “But you did, Sloan.?? You were mine to command once.?? You will be again, and when you are, you’ll do what you should have done the first time.??? You’ll kill your father.” ? Having anticipated the detective’s rage and inevitable action at that suggestion, Sweeney was able to neatly side step the furious man as he launched himself at his hated enemy.? A brutal chop to the back of Steve’s neck, felled the detective.??? Dazed, still weak from the effects of the chloroform, he struggled to raise himself to his hands and knees. ? “I’m going to break you,” Sweeney hissed, reaching out to bury his hands in Steve’s hair, twisting his fingers brutally causing tears of pain to spring unbidden to the detective’s eyes.?? “And to add to the fun, I’m going to ensure that your father gets a ring side seat while I do it.?? ?He can watch while I turn you into his assassin.”?????? ? “That will never happen Sweeney.?? I will never hurt my father, no matter what you do to me,” Steve ground out the words between gritted teeth. ? “You say that now, Sloan.?? Let’s see how you feel once the treatment begins.” ? With that, Sweeney turned on his heel and strode out of the room. ? “You obviously didn’t hang around long enough to hear the end of the conversation Sweeney,” Steve muttered as he struggled to his feet.???? “I admitted that I wasn’t in command of things for a while, but I am now.?? I am NOW,” he stressed the final word. ? MID MORNING? - COMMUNITY GENERAL ? ?“Amanda, have you seen Mark?” Jesse enquired of his colleague, as he entered the doctor’s lounge looking for his friend and mentor.?? “He was due on shift an hour ago but he hasn’t shown up yet.”?? ? “Did you try calling him?” Amanda queried, which question elicited an “Oh please - do you think I’m a complete idiot?” look from her young colleague.
? The two friends exchanged concerned glances. ? “I think you and I should take a drive out to the beach house Jess,” said Amanda.??? “Right now,” she added firmly.
? The first thing they noticed when they pulled into the driveway of the beach house was that Mark and Steve’s cars were still parked outside.??? The second that the front door stood wide open.???? When a cursory search of the house yielded up no sign of Mark or Steve, and no clue as to what might have occurred there, Amanda headed for the phone on Mark’s desk to call Captain Newman. ? “He’s on his way” she informed Jesse, after concluding the conversation.?? “He told us to wait for him and NOT,” she stressed the word, reaching out to stay Jesse’s hand as he was about to pick up a brochure which lay on the kitchen counter, “To touch anything.”
? “I have reason to believe that Carter Sweeney is behind the Sloans’ disappearance,” the sombre-faced Chief of Police informed Jesse and Amanda, as a four strong team of officers began to comb the house for evidence. ? At the mention of Sweeney’s name, a chill spread over Amanda’s heart.?? ? “Sweeney has managed to evade recapture ever since he escaped from the State penitentiary,” Masters continued.??? “Given that his last attempt to wreak revenge on Dr. Sloan and his son failed, I think it’s a fair assumption to make that he’s behind their abduction.” ? “So what are you going to do about finding them?” asked Jesse, seemingly impervious to the way the Chief bristled at the question. ? “Rest assured Dr. Travis,” he replied in cold, clipped tones.?? “We’ll utilise every resource available to us to locate Dr. and Lieutenant Sloan.” ? --- ? Eventually Mark abandoned his efforts.??? If Steve wanted to tell him what had happened, then he would.?? Until then, he would just have to be patient. ? THE NEXT MORNING ? Mark winced as a hot pain stabbed through his lower back.??? It was time to start thinking about investing in a new mattress, he thought, as he shifted his position slightly.?? This one was so uncomfortable he might as well be sleeping on the floor.??? ? Cracking open one eye he stared around him in confusion before ugly reality came rushing back.?? He WAS sleeping on the floor, on bare concrete to be more exact; small wonder his back, scratch that his whole body, was screaming in protest.????? He was just struggling to sit up when the door to the cell opened. ? “Good morning Dr. Sloan,” Sweeney called out a cheerful greeting as he entered the room, flanked by two thickset guards.??? “I see Steve is still asleep,” he commented, crossing over to where the detective lay, curled into a tight ball in an attempt to conserve as much body heat as possible. ? “This is your wake up call Steve,” he crooned, drawing back his foot and, before Mark had a chance to react, kicking Steve, hard, in his lower back.??? ? “Leave him alone you bastard,” Mark yelled, rushing to his son’s aid, only to find his path blocked by Sweeney’s henchmen. ? While Steve struggled to get up, Sweeney kept up his relentless assault, succeeding in delivering several more brutal kicks to the defenceless man before Steve was finally able to get on his feet, where he swayed precariously, gasping at the pain which was exploding through his lower back. ? Before Mark had a chance to examine his son, both men were swiftly manhandled out of their cell, up a short flight of rough, uneven, stone steps and along a narrow passageway to a room which was as barren and inhospitable as the one they had just vacated save that this room had no window, the only light provided by a single bulb that hung on a frayed flex from the ceiling.??? ? “Get them seated!” Sweeney said curtly, at which command father and son were directed towards two chairs; the larger of the two - into which Steve was unceremoniously thrust - boasting thick, leather, straps which were immediately fastened around the detective’s wrists and ankles. ? Mark was forced, none too gently, into the other, smaller, chair whereupon his hands were bound tightly behind his back.
? “There’s still time for you to change your mind,” he whispered. ? “Go to hell, Carter,” came the defiant reply.??? ? “As you wish.??? Just remember that I was generous enough to offer you a choice.” ? “Some choice!” Steve snarled derisively. ? “So much aggression Steven,” Sweeney said reproachfully.?? “I think you need something to help you relax.?? What could I possibly offer you???? I know,” his face split into a broad grin.?? “How about a cigarette?”?? ? Sweeney nodded curtly to one of his companions who promptly extracted a packet of cigarettes and a lighter from his jacket pocket.??? The lighted cigarette was then passed to Sweeney who, eyes gleaming with eager anticipation turned toward Steve and quite calmly pressed the burning end on the detective’s bare chest. ? “Stop it,” Mark yelled as Steve bit down so hard on his lower lip to stifle his cry of pain that tiny rivulets of blood began trickling down his chin. ? “Only Steve can do that,” Sweeney informed the anguished doctor.??? “All he has to do is agree to my terms, don’t you Steve?” he purred. ? ? “As you wish.” ? Steve braced himself, as the cigarette was re-applied to his smooth, tanned, flesh – over and over again.??? By the time Sweeney had finished, mercifully growing quickly bored with the game since there was, after all, no fun in a victim who refused to utter even a tiny mewl of protest, a river of blood was flowing down the stoic detective’s chin and dripping on to his ruined flesh.????? He felt dizzy and sick as wave after wave of red-hot pain tore through his wounded body.?? As Sweeney turned and strolled casually over to a table in the corner of the room, the detective could only hope and pray that merciful oblivion would claim him before his adversary had a chance to start in on him again. ? “Perhaps this,” Sweeney turned back to face his helpless, bloodied, victim.??? “Will help you to change your mind.” ? “No - God NO!” Mark screamed, struggling futilely to escape the ropes that bound him to the chair as he saw what Sweeney held in his hand.??? “Steve,” he cast a panicked look in his son’s direction.??? “Don’t let him do this.?? Whatever he wants you to agree to, do it.” ? “No way,” Steve growled. ? “Son please,” Mark begged as Sweeney drew level with Steve, raising his hand so that the wickedly sharp knife was mere inches away from the detective’s eyes.?? ? “I can’t - I won’t.”?? ? That last comment was directed at Sweeney who smiled malevolently before pressing the tip of the blade against Steve’s upper right arm. ? “Just let me know when you change your mind,” he said, as he began to draw the blade down the soft, honeyed, flesh in a slow, smooth, movement, the skin opening up hungrily under the blade’s insidious kiss.?? The process was repeated some five or six times before Sweeney pronounced himself satisfied, by which time the detective’s blood was pattering like rainfall on to the hard, granite, floor.??? ? Mark sat, horror-struck, as Sweeney turned his attention to Steve’s left arm.?? By the time he was finished the detective hung, limp and unresponsive, having finally - thankfully insofar as Mark was concerned - lapsed into unconsciousness. ? “That’s it for today,” Sweeney announced, thoroughly dissatisfied at his lack of progress.?? The detective had proved more obdurate than he’d given him credit for, but he couldn’t hold out forever.?? No one could. ? “Take them back to their cell.?? No food or water,” he instructed his silent companions.?? “Let’s see how tough you are tomorrow Sloan,” he murmured as the detective was dragged from the room. ? --- ? Once they were back in their cell Mark was able to thoroughly examine Steve, his eyes filling with tears as he surveyed the devastation Sweeney had wreaked on his son’s body. ? The burns to Steve’s chest were both deep and suppurating and if they weren’t treated soon then Mark knew that there was a high risk of infection setting in.? ?It was a similar situation with the wounds to the detective’s arms, which, while not deep, nonetheless also ran a high risk of becoming infected. ? Those injuries however paled into insignificance when Mark finally turned his attention to Steve’s heavily bruised lower back.??? No sooner had he placed a feather light touch on the contused flesh than Steve let out a yelp of pain. ? “Sorry,” Mark apologised. ? “You didn’t hurt me dad - your hands are cold that’s all,” the detective lied.???? ? “You don’t have to pretend with me,” Mark said quietly.?? “I know you’re in a tremendous amount of pain, son.?? I’m going to ask for a first aid kit to deal with these cuts and burns,” he added as he stood up and crossed over to the door. ? “They won’t give it to you,” Steve said wearily, propping his aching body against the cold, damp, wall.?? “The whole point of this is to weaken both my body and my resolve until I ....,” he stopped talking abruptly, cursing himself for letting that admission slip.?? ? “Until you what??? What happened between you and Sweeney when you were alone together?” ? “Do we have to talk about this right now dad?” ? “Yes.”?? Mark said firmly as he sat down opposite his son.?? “We do.” ? “I figured as much,” the detective sighed. ? “Well?” Mark enquired after several minutes had passed during which Steve remained silent. ? “Sweeney figures that if he keeps at me for long enough he’ll be able to break me and that, when he does that, I’ll be his to control.?? Like last time,” he reluctantly admitted. ? It didn’t take a genius to work out what Steve was - or rather wasn’t - telling him.?? It was apparent to Mark that Sweeney’s plan involved breaking his son’s strong will, reducing him to a mindless puppet and then directing the detective to turn on his father.? ??? ? “It won’t happen,” Steve’s voice was as grim as his expression.?? “I can take whatever Sweeney throws at me for just as long as it takes for help to arrive.” ? As his gaze travelled over his son, noting the ashen complexion, the beads of cold sweat standing out on Steve’s forehead and the steady trembling which wracked the tall, lean, frame, Mark felt a wave of dread wash over him as he realised that, if help didn’t arrive soon, then his son was going to die. ? 9 AM THE FOLLOWING MORNING ? “You don’t look so good Sloan,” were Sweeney’s first words when he entered the cell a little after 9 a.m. the following morning. ? “I’m fine,” Steve retorted although it was clear to all present that that was far from the truth.??? The detective’s eyes glittered with fever, his body streamed sweat and, when he eventually managed to stand - with Mark’s help - he had to lean heavily on his father for support. ? As they re-entered the room where the ghastly events of the previous day had been played out, both men froze.?? Suspended from an iron hook in the ceiling was a noose, underneath which stood an extremely rickety looking stool.??? Mark’s body flooded with fear as he realised Sweeney’s intention.??
? “Don’t dad,” Steve murmured, turning to face his father, bringing his lips close to his dad’s ear.??? “Please don’t give him the satisfaction of hearing you beg.?? It won’t make any difference anyway,” he continued swiftly as his father started to object.?? “You know as well as I do that Sweeney plans to kill us both, but the longer I can hold out against him the more chance we have of someone finding us,” he whispered as he turned away and, unbidden, climbed up on the precarious looking stool. ? Mark was led over to a chair in the corner of the room where he was ordered to sit, his hands once again bound tightly behind his back. ? “Well I guess we’ll just leave you two alone for a while,” said Sweeney as one of his henchmen climbed up on a chair and affixed the noose firmly around Steve’s neck.??? “Don’t run away now will you?” he added, laughing uproariously.
? THE PRECINCT ? “We finally got a break,” Captain Newman announced, smiling broadly at Jesse and Amanda as they entered his office to check whether there had been any developments.??? “We’ve been following up a lead on a complaint of reckless driving.?? The incident occurred in the early hours of the morning, the day before yesterday.” ? “The day Mark and Steve disappeared,” Amanda observed aloud. ? “Exactly,” said Newman.??? “The driver who reported the incident said that a black transit van pulled out from the driveway of a house out at Malibu, forcing him to take evasive action to avoid a collision.??? Yes,” he said anticipating Jesse’s next question.?? “It was the beach house and yes,” he continued pre-empting the doctor’s further question, “The driver of the other vehicle did get the licence plate.??? An APB was put out immediately and I’ve just been informed that the van has been located at a deserted warehouse unit downtown.??? The Chief and I are on our way down there with backup right now.”
? ---
? “Steve!” Mark yelled, a wave of panic engulfing him as his son’s eyes began to close.??? In desperation, he cast around for something to say that would stimulate his son into opening his eyes, into focusing his attention on staying awake, on staying alive. ? “Steven Sloan don’t you DARE give up on me,” he roared. ? Just as Mark had hoped, the angry reprimand had the desired effect, serving to jolt his son back to reality whereupon Mark breathed a sigh of relief which rapidly turned to dismay as the door to the cell opened and Carter Sweeney, grinning vituperatively, re-entered the room.?? Mark’s eyes were drawn immediately to the snub nosed revolver cradled in Sweeney’s right hand. ? “Well Steve,” Sweeney drawled as he walked slowly round and round the detective like a large and extremely dangerous cat sizing up its prey preparatory to moving in for the kill.??? “It would seem that what you told the good doctor was correct after all.?? You ARE in control and, much as it would delight me to break you, I simply don’t have the requisite time.?? So I’ve decided to kill you both right now, starting ...,” he moved closer to the detective who was glaring down at him contemptuously.?? “With you.” ? “Noooooooooooo,” Mark screamed as Sweeney drew back his right leg and prepared to kick the stool from under Steve’s feet, just as one of his companions stumbled in to the room. ? “The police are outside!” he announced.?? “They’ve got the whole area surrounded.” ? “Oh and JUST when I was about to start enjoying myself,” Sweeney drawled, seemingly totally unperturbed by the news.????? “Get him down,” he instructed his flustered colleague, gesturing towards Steve.??? “You’re my ticket out of here,” he informed the detective who, having been released from the noose and pulled none too gently off the stool now stood swaying unsteadily on his feet. ? “My son is sick Sweeney,” said Mark.?? “Take me instead,” he implored. ? “A sick hostage - not to mention one of their own - will ensure that the police do everything within their power to ensure my safe and speedy departure and, once I’m free, I’ll simply dispose of him,” Sweeney said brightly. ? At those words Mark’s blood turned to ice.?? He could only sit and watch helplessly as his son was pushed roughly towards the door, towards impending death.?? He wanted to beg Sweeney to spare Steve, but knew that his impassioned plea would fall on deaf ears, knew also that his son’s captor would derive a perverse pleasure in hearing his adversary beg and would then kill Steve anyway.??? ? “Until next time Dr. Sloan,” Sweeney growled, “And there WILL be a next time,” he added ominously. ? “Sweeney come ON,” his impatient colleague snapped.?? “We have to get out of here.” ? “We?” Sweeney queried, his cool gaze travelling over his comrade in crime.?? ? “Well sure,” Came the puzzled reply.?? “We’re ......,” the burly man glanced over at his colleague who had hastened to join them.?? “Coming with you, right?” ? “Wrong.” ? Raising the snub nosed revolver Sweeney took aim and, before either of the men had a chance to react - or to move - squeezed off two rounds into the forehead of one before turning to his colleague and repeating the action. ? “You cold-hearted son of a bitch,” Steve growled as he was forced to step over the crumpled bodies. ? “Sticks and stones,” Sweeney murmured.??? “Now MOVE!” he snarled, jamming the barrel of the gun into the detective’s back.??? ? --- ? As the sound of the shots reverberated throughout the building, Chief Masters knew that he could delay matters no longer.?? The teams were in position.?? He only had to issue the command and they would storm the building.?? Reaching for his walkie talkie he was about to give the order when a voice announced. ? “Someone’s coming out.” ? No sooner had the words been uttered than Steve emerged from the inner gloom of the warehouse, wincing as the bright sunlight stabbed unmercifully at his eyes.
? “Just take it easy Sweeney,” said Masters.??? “Tell us what you want and we’ll try and accommodate you.” ? “Oh you’ll do more than ‘accommodate me’,” Sweeney sneered.?? “You’ll do exactly what I tell you or one of LAPD’s finest will have his brains blown out in front of you.???
? ? “Keep moving,” came the snarled command from his aggressor. ? Realising that it made little difference whether he complied with the instruction or not, given that Sweeney was going to kill him anyway, Steve came to a decision. ? He stopped walking. ? “Move,” Sweeney hissed.
? Even as he ground out the words, Steve began to turn, biting down hard on his lower lip to steady himself as a wave of dizziness washed over him.?? ? “Give me the gun,” he said quietly as the two men came face to face. ? Sweeney stood regarding the tall detective for a long moment, silently weighing up his options.??? He could die here now, shot down like a rabid dog, or he could give himself up, go back to the penitentiary, and bide his time until another opportunity to seek his revenge upon the Sloans arose.
? The weapon relinquished, half of the LAPD descended on the two men.??? Sweeney was wrestled to the ground, cuffed, lifted back up - none too gently - and hustled over to a waiting patrol car. ? “It’s not over Sloan,” he threatened as he was led away. “It will never be over for me until you and your father are dead.” ? “Whatever,” Steve muttered, swaying precariously. ? “Steve!” ? “Jesse.” ? The detective reached out blindly, one shaking hand finding and latching on to the slender blond’s shoulder. ? “Jesse,” he mumbled, as his legs lost their strength and he began to crumple.?? “My dad.?? Please go help my dad.” ? And then his body - taxed beyond the limits of all endurance - simply shut down and he surrendered to the darkness. ? THE DOCTOR’S LOUNGE - FOUR HOURS’ LATER ? “Here Mark - drink this,” said Amanda, proffering her ashen-faced friend a cup of coffee.??? When it became apparent that Mark’s hands were shaking too violently to hold the cup, Amanda closed her hands around his and gently guided the receptacle to his lips.??? Slowly, some of the colour returned to those pallid features. ? “Thanks,” Mark croaked, grimacing as he drained the last drop of the bitter brew.??? “The last time ....,” his voice faltered.???? “I sat here like this,” he eventually continued.?? “Was when ....,” he fell silent, assailed by bitter memories. ? “When Steve was shot?” Amanda finished the sentence for him.?? ? “Yes,” Came the whispered reply.?? “I’d never felt so helpless in my entire life as I did that day - or today,” he added.??? “I should be in the OR with Jesse instead of just sitting here drinking coffee,” he said, his voice laden with disgust - disgust at himself and his inability to do anything to help his son. ? “Mark,” Amanda’s voice was firm.??? “I know how very hard this must be for you but do you remember what I said to you right after Steve was shot?” ? “I ....,” The older man raised his head, his tortured blue eyes meeting Amanda’s calm, steady, gaze.?? “You said,” he took a deep breath before continuing.?? “That my presence in the OR would be a distraction, that Jesse - that the medical team - wouldn’t be able to focus their full attention on Steve if they were worried about me.” ? “The same thing applies now,” Amanda said softly.??? “I know that you want - that you need - to be with Steve but you can’t, Mark.??? Jesse is with him and you know as well as I do that there’s no surgeon better qualified - apart from you - to get Steve through this.”??? ? AN HOUR LATER ? It was an effort to put one foot in front of the other he was so exhausted.?? The events of the past few days, culminating in the discovery of the Sloans’ whereabouts, Steve’s collapse and the nightmare journey in the ambulance to the hospital where Jesse had fought long and hard to save his friend’s life for the second time, the ensuing surgery, had taken its toll on the young doctor.??? All he wanted - needed - was to sleep for the next two or three days. ? Firstly however, before he allowed himself to succumb to the welcome oblivion of sleep, he needed to speak to Mark.??? As he entered the doctor’s lounge his eyes met those of his friend.??? Mark was on his feet in seconds, one trembling hand reaching out for the young doctor. ? “How .... How is he?” ? “He’s going to be fine,” Jesse replied, gently pressing Mark back down onto the chair.?? “He’s out of theatre and in the ICU.??? I .....,” he hesitated for a moment before continuing and Mark felt a lightning bolt of fear jolt through him. ? “Jesse - please,” he croaked.?? “Tell me.” ? “The tests, the abdominal MRI scan, renal scan and intravenous pyelogram, confirmed that Steve’s left kidney was too badly damaged to repair.? I’m afraid that removal of the organ was the only available option to control the internal bleeding.??? I’m sorry Mark,” he apologised in a voice barely above a whisper.?? “If there had been any chance – no matter how slight – that I could have repaired the organ then I would have done so, but it was virtually torn in two.” ? “Damn you Sweeney,” Mark silently cursed.??? “I hope you spend the rest of your life rotting in the state penitentiary.” ? “I need to see him Jess,” he said softly. ? “Of course,” Jesse agreed.?? “Right now he’s unconscious and he’s hooked up to a ventilator but, once he regains consciousness, the breathing tube can be removed.?? He’s also linked to a heart monitor and then there are the ......”. ? The exhausted doctor caught sight of Mark’s amused glance and subsided into abashed silence. ? “Sorry,” he mumbled.?? “I just wanted to ....”. ? “Warn me what to expect?” Mark queried, smiling fondly.??? “There’s no need to apologise for that Jesse,” he continued.???? “And your concern is very much appreciated.??? Even though I’m a seasoned professional it’s always different - harder,” he added, “When the patient is someone you love.” ? At the door of the lounge Mark paused, turned, and crossed back to the young doctor. ? “Thank you,” he murmured.?? “Thank you for saving my son’s life.” ? --- ? After Mark had left, Jesse slipped gracefully over to the couch where he sank into an exhausted, boneless, heap. ? “How are you feeling honey?” Amanda enquired, slipping a cup of the liquid that laughingly masqueraded as coffee into his slender hands. ? “Me?” Jesse looked astonished by the question.?? “I’m fine.?? Steve is the one who’s sick Amanda.” ? “I know that,” Amanda concurred.?? “But you’re the one I’m worried about right now.?? Steve is in good hands and Mark is with him now.?? Whereas you ..... You look awful Jesse.” ? “Gee thanks,” Jesse’s attempt at a smile failed badly.???? “I .... Nearly lost him Amanda.?? I thought for a moment there that I had and I could never have lived with myself if he’d ...” he fell silent, unable to voice the last terrible word. ? “Tell me what happened,” Amanda said softly. ? “I have a white male, 38 years old with suspected acute renal failure,” Jesse snapped as he accompanied the gurney bearing his insentient friend into the emergency room at Community General. “I want an abdominal MRI scan, renal scan and …..” ? He got no further as at that precise moment the heart monitor flat lined. ? “Charge to 150 joules,” Jesse barked out the instruction as he grabbed the heart paddles. ? “Charged,” Came the immediate reply. ? “Clear,” Jesse yelled as he applied the paddles to his friend’s smooth, tanned, chest, the savage kiss of the electric current lifting the detective’s inert body from the table.
? Again the procedure was repeated, again Steve’s body was lifted from the table, and again he remained unresponsive. ? ? “No response.” Came the cold reply.??? “Dr. Travis maybe we should .....” ? “We are NOT going to lose him,” roared Jesse.??? “Charge to 400 joules - DO IT,” he cried, his cool composure slipping as the terrible realisation dawned upon him that his friend might yet die. ? As the last savage blast of electricity tore through the detective’s limp frame the heart monitor flared back to life.? Nothing had ever sounded sweeter to Jesse’s ears than the slow rhythmic bleep that informed him his friend was back with them.
? “I’ll be okay,” he assured his anxious colleague in a tremulous voice.? “I just .... I knew that Mark was depending on me Amanda and I was scared,” he confessed.?? “Scared that I wouldn’t be able to save Steve, that I would let him and Mark down.” ? “But you didn’t,” Amanda soothed.??? “Steve is alive thanks to you, and now,” she added firmly, hauling the slender blond to his feet.?? “I’m taking you home so that you can get some much needed sleep.??? You can come back tomorrow when you’re rested,” she said as her friend immediately started protesting that he could sleep in the on call room, that he wanted to be around when Steve woke up.???? “Jesse Travis do NOT argue with me,” she said sternly as she pushed him out of the lounge and towards a waiting elevator.??? “Steve will be fine,” she added to take the sting out of her words.??? “His father is with him.” ? THE ICU - SIX HOURS’ LATER ? He couldn’t breathe, his throat constricted by the hands - Sweeney’s hands -, which were slowly, inexorably, squeezing the life out of him.???? Panic swept through him and he began to fight back, clawing at his throat in a desperate attempt to dislodge the brutal fingers that dug into his soft flesh. ? “It’s okay Steve just calm down.?? You’re safe,” a soft voice murmured close to his right ear. ? Not hands on his throat, something IN his throat.? Sweeney had put something in his mouth and was trying to choke him.??? His eyes snapped open, pupils dilated with terror. ? “Steve!” ? His father’s face hove into view.??? Not Sweeney after all.?? He was safe.?? But then why couldn’t he breathe? ? “It’s all right son,” Mark soothed.?? “You were hooked up to a ventilator while you were unconscious and you have a breathing tube in your mouth and throat. I’m going to remove it now and then you’ll be able to .... STEVE,” he thundered, as his son reached for the obstruction, clearly intent on ripping it free himself.??? “Son you have to try and relax.?? I want you to look at me - straight at me - come on,” he gently coaxed, as Steve’s panic-filled eyes bored into his own.?? “Just lie back and take it easy while I ....,” Slowly, tenderly, Mark began to extract the tube.?? It wasn’t a pleasant process and Steve began retching as it was withdrawn, but he’d at least calmed down at the sight - and sound - of his father that made the procedure much easier on both of them. ? “Your throat is going to be quite sore for a few days,” said Mark as the last part of the tube was finally - thankfully - extracted.??? “Would you like a drink of water?” ? “Please,” Steve croaked. ? Filling a small tumbler with water, to which he added a few chips of ice and a straw, Mark slipped his hand beneath Steve’s head, lifting it slightly, and inserted the straw into his son’s mouth. ? “Slowly,” he cautioned as Steve sucked greedily at the straw.?? ? Nodding obediently, Steve slowed his pace.?? When he’d drunk his fill he sank back gratefully on the pillow. ? “M’Tired,” he mumbled. ? “Then sleep,” said Mark. ? “You should ....,” Steve winced as each word rasped the delicate lining of his throat, “Go home dad.?? Get some rest.?? You look like you need it,” he added, grinning wryly even as his eyes closed and he succumbed to restorative sleep. ? THREE WEEKS’ LATER
? “Oh!”?? ? Jesse paused mid-forkful, a look of such manifest guilt on his face that his friends couldn’t help but laugh as they reached for their plates and helped themselves to what was left. ? “If Steve had half your appetite Jesse, then I’d be happy,” Mark ruefully remarked, frowning as he watched his son merely picking at his food. ? “Dad!” Steve protested.??? “You pushed so much food down me at lunchtime it’s not surprising I don’t feel hungry right now.” ? “You don’t?” Jesse’s eyes gleamed with hope. ? “Oh no you don’t,” Steve laughed, quickly moving his plate out of his friend’s eager reach.?? “Stop worrying dad,” he added, smiling over at his father.?? “I know I’ve lost weight but I’ll soon put it back on.??? Now how about I meet you all for lunch tomorrow??? It’s Thursday - which means Community General’s canteen will be serving up pigs in blankets.??? What?” he enquired as that comment served to elicit a collective groan from the dismayed trio.?? “The trouble with you three is that you don’t appreciate good cooking.??? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the food at Community General.” ? “Not much right with it either,” Jesse muttered. ? As he listened to Steve and Jesse engaging in gentle banter Mark smiled.? His son was home; he was safe and he was recovering.???? ? Carter Sweeney was back behind bars where he belonged. ? The nightmare was finally over. ? The End ? |