Honor Thy Mother & Thy Father Ch. 04

"Patty, after what I did to you today, I would do anything you ask me to help you."

"Great Steve, you are real friend. Here is what I need you to do..."

Every few hours, her FBI agent would step into the room to make sure everything was as it was supposed to be. Steve looked over at him and told him that she had not moved, but her breathing was steady and she felt cool. He did not know if cool is good or not, but he was thankful that she was breathing okay. The agent asked him if he planned on stating all night. Yes, he replied, and when they move her tomorrow, he would get a change of clothes from his apartment and follow her to her new hospital. He was in love with her at school, but she never gave him or anyone else, the time of day. We all thought we lost her in the explosion, and it was a big blow to the entire school. I will stay with her, until I know she is out of danger.

The agent nodded his head and walked back outside the room, sat down in his chair, and continued to read his book.

Steve asked Patricia how he did.

"I did not know you loved me."

"Shit Patty, every man, at the school, loved you. You never took your nose out of a book long enough to notice us."

"Are you sure it was love, or was it lust?"

"If you had given any of us a chance, there would have been a ring on your finger by now."

She turned her head and looked away. She wondered if what he said was true. Had she turned a blind eye to everyone at school? Or was it the fear of what eventually happened to her mother, and to herself that made her so skittish to form any kind of relationship. She would never know now.

Steve saw the change in her, and said, "Patty, I did not mean to upset you, please forgive me."

"There were so many things going on while I was growing up that forced me to live the way I did. I did not mean to hurt any of you, and I find out I hurt myself too."

"Do not think about it now. All you have to think about is living, and getting away from those who want to harm you. Everything else will take care of itself."

At 10 o'clock, the nurse came with the medicine cart to change the immunoglobulin bags. The agent checked her ID, and followed her into the room to make sure nothing was added to the mixture that would harm, Patricia.

The nurse said, "I have been at this hospital for 13 years. Do you think I am would harm any patient, for any reason, now?"

"Ma'am, I have my orders. I mean no disrespect, but the director would have my head on his desk, if anything would happen to Miss Garrett."

The nurse looked at all the monitors and said to the agent, "She seems to be doing fine. Her vital signs are strong. Her oxygen absorption rate is good. She just has a little flutter in her heart, which is probably caused by the radiation. I will be happy when they move her to the Eastside Hospital, where they can get her into the PET scan, and do this job properly."

"Is she in any immediate danger? Should I call the director and let him know what is going on?"

"No, not at all; she is definitely stable, and will handle the night easily. I will be back in four hours to change the medicine. Young man, if you see any change in her ring her bell; and I will be back immediately."

Steve joked with the nurse, "I tried to ring her bell all through graduate school. It did not work then; at least I know it will work now."

The nurse and the agent both laughed as they left the room.

When the room was empty, Patricia opened her eyes and said, "Steve you have to stop doing that. I almost laughed with them."

"It is the truth, Patty. It can still happen, if you let it."

"I cannot go there now Steve. I have too much going on in my life to think about what might be in my future. Distract me, please, tell me what you are doing. Who are you working for? Who are you dating? Who do you see from school? Fill me in on what is happening on the outside of my bubble."

"I work for myself. I am a company of one. I opened a small software company, and I am hoping to grow it into something more than what it is. I worked for a larger company, but could not stand the constraints they put on me. I work so many hours, during the day and night; I do not have time to date anyone. Every once and again, I do get a call, from someone we knew at school, and we try to catch up over dinner and a few drinks. I live in an apartment, very close to where we met. I was on my way to my office, when I saw you. That is the story of my life since I left graduate school."

"You probably will not believe me when I tell you I envy you. No one has tried to blow you up, kill you, or kill your family. You have not had to change your identity, kidnap anyone that you liked, trying to keep him safe. You have not had to break a law to make sure someone was not hurt, by that gangster. I was so innocent, while I was at school, Steve. Now I am ready to kill anyone to kill the man who is responsible for the death of my mother, and my friends, while trying to stop him from killing my father and me."

"Why won't you let the authorities do their job?"

"I know he did it. They do not have enough evidence against him to put him in jail forever. He is also responsible for Sandy's death, and for blowing up the dormitory. They cannot prove that either. However, I know it is true. He was trying to kill me, and he missed. He killed 41 of our friends instead. He lives in the lap of luxury, and does not worry about those deaths at all. Our friends' parents are devastated, by the loss of their children, and he deals out death every day, like it is candy. I have his son, and I intend to use him to get even with Bruno Valentino, even if I have to go to jail, afterwards."

"Patty, you cannot do an evil, to avenge an evil. It is not supposed to work that way, in a civilized society. We suffered the terrible loss of our friends. You also lost your mother. That does not give us the right to become judge and jury against the man; even the man who ordered those killings. We have laws that are supposed to protect us from people like that. We have to let them work. Please do not become a criminal to avenge the deaths of your mother, and our friends. I bet you I could get our classmates together and help you in your quest to put these people away. We can use our computer skills to track every movement they make, and supplying the police with information to put them away. They even may be able to shut down their entire criminal network."

"No Steve, I have seen what these people are capable of doing. If they even think they are being watched, they will kill you or any member of that team. I will not have that on my conscience. Let me pursue this on my own, but if I need your help, I will contact you. Is that okay with you?"

"Not really, Patricia, but if that is the way you want it, I will go along with your wishes. I think it is time for me to go steal a set of greens for you. I will be right back."

When he stepped out of the room, the agent asked him if he was leaving. Steve said no, he was just going to ask the nurse for the use of another chair and possibly a pillow and blanket, so he could rest by the bed near Patricia. He walked down the hall to the nurses' station and there was no one there. He walked around and found the linen closet. He took a blanket, a set of greens and walked out. He rolled everything into one, put them into a chair, he found in the lounge and rolled them towards Patricia's room. As he passed the agent he said, "Mission accomplished, except for the pillow."

The agent nodded his head; and watched Steve walked back into the room.

At almost exactly midnight, two hours since his last check, the agent walked back into the room to make sure everything was as it was supposed to be. Steve was propped up in the two chairs covered by the blanket, and waved to him. Patricia seemed to be sleeping comfortably and the monitors were beeping quietly. At 2 o'clock, the nurse came in, with the agent to change Patricia's medication and check her vital signs. Everything was going well.

Steve joked with the agent and said, "I will see you at 4 o'clock, I will be the one with the bad back."

4 o'clock came and the agent did not come in. At 4:15 a.m., he still was not there. Steve stuck his head out the door and the guard was not there. He said, "Patty, get up and get dressed. There is a problem. The agent is not as his station"

She told Steve to come over and turn off all the monitors, before she disconnected herself from the tubes. Once this was accomplished, she jumped out of bed, took off the hospital gown, and was naked for a few seconds, while she struggled to put on the hospital greens.

Steve said to her, "Do not ever do that again, Patty. You may not get out of here for another hour, or more."

Patricia looked at him, with a frown. "You have seen a naked woman before, Steve. I have heard stories about you, and the girls at school?"

"It's true Patricia; but I have never seen anyone as beautiful as you are."

"Stop that Steve; I cannot handle that kind of thing right now."

"You, look what you have done to me. I will have a hard time walking."

She looked at him, and the hardness in the front of his slacks was impossible to miss.

She looked into his eyes and asked, "Steve, when was the last time you got laid?"

"I told you my business has taken up all my time. I have not been with a woman in more than a year."

"You poor boy; I have never been with a man."

"Never, you mean you are...

"Yes, Steve, I am one of those."

"Oh my God, this thing will never go down."

"Yes, it will, when we start running again."

"Patty, I am so out of shape. The only thing I run around is my desk."

"Steve, what is the name of your company, and do you have a backdoor I can get into your computer?

"My company's name is 'LyonsliquidLogic.com. The backdoor is the name of the company backwards, followed by Z Tab Shift Insert. Anyone can get into the back door, but without using the Z and the rest, they will run into a firewall. If you need me, use it."

"Okay, Steve, I am ready. I am going to walk out the side door of the hospital. You walk out the front of the hospital, in five minutes, and go home. Do not argue with me, do it. If everything works out, I will contact you on your computer. Thank you for everything, Steve. Goodbye."

Patricia kissed him on the cheek, opened the door, and checked the hallway. No one was visible. She started walking down the corridor. She saw a light in one of the rooms, and stepped into the shadow of the room across the hall.

She saw the medicine cart first, then the nurse lying on the floor. She reached around, and felt the nurse's neck for a pulse. She had none. They had killed another innocent to get to her. What were they waiting for? If they had killed the nurse, they had probably killed the agent also. It dawned on her that they were probably waiting for Don Bruno to arrive at the hospital so he could kill her himself. She did not know how much time she had left, but if she worked quickly, she could use that time to her benefit. She searched the nurse for her keys. She found them, plus a package of cigarettes and a lighter. She took those also. She walked down the hallway, and down the two flights of stairs to the lobby level. It was deserted. She walked towards the exit closest to 16^th street, and it had a sign on it: "Locked after 8 PM. Use main entrance/exit." She started using the keys, and after the fifth try the door unlocked. She walked out into the early morning air, and stepped into the breezeway. Immediately, she saw a shadow at the far west end. She took out the pack of cigarettes, withdrew one, put it between her lips, and lit it up and. She started walking towards the shadow blowing a big puff of smoke out into the air, so it could be seen. She turned and started walking towards the other end of the breezeway and continued blowing smoke out at regular intervals. She wanted the person to believe that she was on a break. She turned back towards the shadow, and continued this pattern. She stopped, stubbed out the cigarette, pulled out another one, and lit it. She turned and walked towards the front of the hospitals' breezeway. It was now or never, she thought. She continued walking at the same pace, never turning around. As she reached the intersection of the breezeway and 9^th Avenue, she turned and waved at the traffic light to her right, and walked in the direction of 16^th Street. As soon as she cleared the breezeway's view, she dropped the cigarette and ran for life.

She had used up so much time during this elaborate deception; Steve exited the front of the hospital. He saw Patricia turn west onto 16^th Street. His mind yelled, "Run Patty run, do not let those bastards catch you. I want to see you naked again. I need to see you naked again."

He turned north, and was not more than 50 yards from the hospital, when three cars drove up to the front entrance. Seven men got out of the cars. One of them held the door for an older man, who led the way into the hospital. He saw a New York City police car driving north on ninth Avenue. He ran into the street, waving his arms trying to get its attention. The police car nearly hit him.

Steve said, "Officer, there is something wrong in the hospital. My girlfriend is missing from her room. She was being guarded by an FBI agent, and he is not there, either. I went to look for him, and no one else is around. I am afraid something is going on. Seven men just walked into the hospital and they did not look friendly."

The officer thought he was nuts, but called it in anyway. He backed his car up to the hospital turned his lights on and blocked three cars that were in front of the entrance. The two officers did not go in. They waited for backup to arrive, and encircle the hospital. It did not take long. Within three minutes, there were 15 police cars circling "The Great New York Hospital." The police went in quietly, and in force. The switchboard was unattended. The ground floor, except for the emergency room was empty. The two nurse's stations on the second floor were unattended. More backup was called for. They went up to the third floor, and opened the door. Seven men were standing by the elevator, being yelled at by one man, who was standing in front of them. The police sergeant said, "Police, put your hands up, and do not move."

Caught totally by surprise, and with no place to hide, all of the men did as they were told.

Each of them was lined up against the wall, and searched thoroughly. Most of them had one gun; others had two.

Don Bruno Valentino had no gun or knife on him and as the police would say later, "He was clean."

They will all read their Miranda rights, brought to the local precinct and booked. Then they were given the privilege of making their one phone call. The police did not bother trying to question them at the scene, because all these men were known criminals. They knew what their answers would be, before they asked the questions.

As the police searched the building, they found the third nurse, and the FBI agent dead in separate rooms. They did not find Patricia Garrett. When the head of the FBI's New York office was informed of the situation, he went ballistic. He called Washington to inform the director of the incident. He was informed the director was in New York City. He called the safe house, where the director was staying. When the director was informed, he picked up the phone and remained very calm.

Michael Free said, "Stan, by the time I get to the hospital, if every agent between Cleveland, Albany, Boston, and Washington is not working on this case; I am going to take you apart, hair by hair, until all that is left of you is your heart. I am going to put that on a stove, fry it, slice it up, and feed it to the rats in the sewers. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes, Michael, I will get on it right now."

Stan Williamson put down his phone, looked up to the heavens, and said a prayer. "Thank you Lord for allowing Michael and my sister to marry and have off-spring; if he were not my brother-in-law, he might have thought of something very drastic to do to me."

Patricia darted across 10^th Avenue, before she saw the first vehicle. She did not know if it was friend or foe, but she never varied her speed, to find out. She could smell the river, but could not see it; it was too dark. If she remembered the map correctly, it was three or four more streets before the docks. It did not mention if they were open or fenced in, but one way or the other, she was going to get to that river, and to her father.

By the time she was in middle of 10^th Ave. and 16^th St., she knew the vehicle she saw was after her. It was easy enough to figure that out, because the bullets were dancing off the walls of the buildings to the right of her. She saw no reason to put her arm up to protect her head, because if the bullet hit it; she would be going down. She asked her body for everything it had, and put on a burst of speed, as she crossed 11^th Ave. She was completely out in the open, until she reached the other side of the street, where she could get some cover from the parked cars.

The car was only 50 feet behind her, and had entered the intersection, when she heard a deafening crash. A northbound truck had crushed the Tahoe like it was a toothpick. Her father had promised to watch out for her, as she ran for her life, and he had done it. Two more streets, she thought, just two more.

She thanked every exercise, and physical activity she had ever done, because at this moment, her legs were telling her, in no uncertain terms, that when she stopped, they were going to get even with her in a big way. Mentally, she promised them a massage, a steam bath, and a week's rest, if they would last for another 10 minutes. Her legs argued for five, Patricia's mind asked for eight, and a meeting of the minds was agreed at seven minutes and 30 seconds. Patricia passed under the Lincoln Highway, and crossed 11^th Avenue, when she felt dirt splash, up around her. Then she felt it, again. Someone was shooting at her, from a great distance away. She could not hear the gunshots. She could not protect herself from a ghost. She was crossing over the Hudson River Greenway and could see the dock area straight ahead of her. She had three choices. There were long piers to her left, and right, which would take her at least 1000 feet into the Hudson River. If she ran straight ahead, the water was only 200 feet away. Her choice was made easy when three more shots hit the ground, and dirt flew into her arms and face. Those shots made her decision for her, "Fuck this, I am getting wet." She did not know what was below her, but as she pushed off from the concrete edge of the Greenway she gave it every last bit of energy she had.

She landed in the water, feet first, well clear of all the debris boats, tides, and people bring to the water's edge. She went so deep, it took her several moments for her to surface. When she did; arms, like grappling hooks, grabbed her, and pulled her into a boat. It picked up speed, and left the area in total darkness. They covered her in a heavy marine blanket, and told her not to be frightened; her father was waiting for her, on the other side of the river.

They asked her if she would like a drink.

She replied, "A bottle of Johnny Walker Blue, please."

The man laughed, but said, "You have the choice of Coffee, or Gatorade, Patricia."

"My legs would like the Gatorade; my body would like the coffee."

"I will go with your legs. They hurt when they cramp up on you, and a blanket will keep you warm."

"I do not know your name so I cannot thank you properly."

"You just thanked me, and you will never know my name."