"Tuck said that about Elizabeth's condition. I'll put him on to explain.”
Bathed with Tuck's help, dressed in scrubs and medicated, Martin refused the wheelchair and used crutches to hobble into Elizabeth's room. She lay like Sleeping Beauty.
Joyce smiled. "Let's get you close to her."
Martin placed a soft kiss on her cheek. "Hi, Sunshine."
Pete reinstated Martin to duty and handed him his phone. "I'm warning you."
Martin requested two more Eagle’s Talon teams to Iowa, then dialed again. "Raptor, sitrep." His tone was firm.
"Damn, knew you wouldn't stay down long. How are you? Tiger is with Austin. He’ll be with you ASAP with a full report."
"Fine. I need you to expand the check of Elizabeth's phone logs. Screen for anyone related to corrections employees. She's caught up in the other situation."
Mike whistled. "It's escalating. Greece took another beating and cavity search last night. He's placed in the hole again."
"Shit, how bad?" Martin groaned as he let out a breath.
"Bad enough. Our eyes say he's refusing to use the duress word."
"Mike, his lawyer needs to visit him. Does Tiger have a phone and my weapon?"
"Roger that. New phone and your cleaned HK MK23, one additional clip."
"Austin, we need you to stay calm. I'm going to assign a liaison to you, so you don't have to wait for information,” Tighe said.
"The Reverend's visit triggered a memory. Two men in black. One said, ‘You did a lousy job taking care of that’ before another man shot me."
“Did you recognize anyone? You never drew your weapon," Tighe said.
Austin's heart rate soared. He started to hyperventilate. Jonathan shoved Tighe away while Judson drew up a sedative.
"No, please, don't knock me out. Friendlies, their car...it was Corrections." With his heart rate soaring and his struggle to breathe, Judson pushed the medication.
Tighe looked shaken. "Is he all right?"
Judson wiped Austin's brow with a dry washcloth. "No, his system cannot rally. Did he say what I thought he did? He was shot by another cop?"
"Yeah. Remember to keep that quiet." Tighe's next stop was Martin.
Martin sat in a recliner with his leg elevated, holding on to his composure after his conversation with Tighe and a follow-up with Mike. His laptop open on his lap, he read and typed.
Joyce kept an eye on Martin while she and Ruth chatted with Tucker and Pete. "Is he always that focused?"
"He's very competent at his job," was all Pete would say.
"Joyce, I can hear you." His gaze rose above his computer with a smile.
A knock on the door stopped all conversation. Tucker opened it after a nod from Martin. Lois Massey and a woman wearing duckling scrubs came in. "Mr. Bailey?"
Martin lifted his hand from his concealed weapon. "Dr. Massey, is something wrong with Janey?"
"Oh, no, I discharged her. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. I bumped into Colleen. Well, I'll let her explain. I told her how great you were with Janey. She told me about another patient."
"Can I help you?" He tilted his head to the side.
The IV lock above his wrist and the scrubs stalled Colleen. "I don't mean to bother you. We met in the emergency room—the explosion. I normally work in Pediatrics. I should go—you need to rest."
