Out of Darkness

Just breathe

Gabriel caught up to us just before Luke and I entered the neighbors' garage.
I asked him, "has something changed?"
He shook his head and pulled out a spray bottle and a scrub brush.
"I need to make those bloody fucking footprints disappear," and he pointed down to the pavement. "Just make sure to smudge your walking in there, and they'll think it was the dumbass burglar."
We both nodded and entered.
Luke went straight up to the crate and started talking to the person inside. I went to work on the keypad. I could hear him babbling anything and everything, trying to keep the prisoner tapping. The pauses were getting longer.
I heard him start talking about how to bake a cake, and I rolled my eyes at him as my program uncovered the third of the five digits. A text message popped up on my screen from Mr. Blackbourne.
Blackbourne: Responding officer is a Friend. Leave the code on the door and get out of there as soon as possible. Mr. Taylor is to track a misleading route into the woods before rendezvous at Mr. Griffen's. Police ETA 3 minutes.
"Luke!" I called him over. He read the message while I found the final number to the code. I scribbled it out onto a scrap of paper, taped it to the door, and grabbed my laptop. As I was running out, Luke turned back to walk his feet through the gore, loading up on his putrid 'ink'. I saw him duck behind the house just as two squad cars pulled up in front.
***
Officer Shannon Calderone had just turned down her third opportunity to take a promotion. Her partner thought that she was out of her ever-loving mind. Someday, she would take the raise, but right now, she was needed on the street.
Her emergency phone buzzed with an incoming message.
Owen Blackbourne: Raspberry
She replied: tire iron
A coded exchange that wasn't coded at all. Random was the key.
Owen Blackbourne: Urgent situation uncovered by one of my dogs. Person caged in the garage. Keypad lock. Code on the door. You will be called in on an armed intruder. Be advised, blood on the scene. Sean will be 'visiting a friend' nearby.
Her radio crackled to life with the call as she chuckled at Owen's suggestion that Doctor Green would just happen to be nearby. Those two have been amazing her for years. They couldn't be more different, and yet either of them could be the poster-child for 'overachiever'. A team leader, and a Doctor at 19! She was almost ten years older than them. Her partner called in their affirmation as she sped off to the scene.
***
I watched the officers exit the squad cars and split up. Two unholstered their weapons and approached the garage while the other two rang the doorbell. I glanced down at my watch. 1:37 am. I felt a slight smile cross my face. 137 is a prime number.
I pulled out my phone to let Mr. Blackbourne know that the cops were on site.
Kota: Be ready. Cops on scene.
I looked up to see the younger of the two officers run out to his car and radio for backup and an ambulance. That's my cue.
Kota: GO
There was shouting and a bit of a commotion at the front of the house. My new neighbor, the dad, bellowed out a pretty good imitation of North, punched the officer in the face, and took off running.
I let my Golden Retriever, Max, off his leash, pointed, and commanded him to 'subdue'. He took off, and I ran after him.
The rookie who was radioing for backup and his partner followed after us and drew their weapons as they approached with grim faces.
"Put your hands where I can see them!"
***
While her partner called for backup, Officer Calderone destroyed the evidence that the Blackbourne team was ever there. She opened the door to the crate using the code she had found and had to fight to keep her dinner down. Lying inside was a girl, and she was covered in blood. Training overtook her shock and Shannon rushed to check her vitals while screaming at the assisting officers to "arrest those fuckers". The girl's pulse was barely there, but her eyes were fluttering open and her mouth was moving.
"Shh, darling, my name is Shannon, and we are going to get you out of here." She was unsure weather she was trying to calm the girl or herself more, but she kept talking while pressing on the gash that seemed to be oozing the most. After a few moments that lasted years, Sean Green walked in and nudged her over.
"I'm the Doctor," he smirked.
***
"I'm the Doctor," I said, while nudging Officer Calderone out of the way. I looked at the girl on the floor and knew that time was running out. I gave a quick assessment to make sure that I wouldn't do more damage, then I scooped her up into my arms and ran to the yard. By now, a carefully constructed crowd had gathered, which consisted mostly of my team. Where was the ambulance? Reluctantly, I placed the waif of a girl on the grass and shouted out to Owen to bring my bag. I looked over the girl one more time. She was quite pretty, and older than I first thought, 15 or 16. I mentally smacked myself for checking her out while she was in serious need of my professionalism. I realized that none of her injuries were bleeding much anymore, and her pulse was virtually non existent. This was not good. Owen knelt next to me. "What do you need?"
I looked down. She wasn't breathing.
"Damnit! Owen, chest compressions, NOW!" I bent over her to feel for breath. "Sorry, Pookie. This isn't how I wanted our first kiss to go," I whispered before beginning CPR.
1-2-3-4-5, breath,1-2-3-4-5, breath, 1-2-3-
::cough::
I stopped him and felt for her pulse. It was even again, though still weak.
"She needs blood, Owen."
He immediately stripped off his jacket and rolled up his left sleeve. We both know that he is O negative, and I quickly set up a field transfusion.
"Stay with us, sweetie. Hang in there. Just breathe!"
***
"Put your hands where I can see them," I shouted while approaching a kid that I was pretty sure was a member of Owen's team. Gotta play the part. The scene was ridiculous. Sixteen year old kid with black hair and glasses standing there in his pj's holding up his hands, one of which has a coiled dog leash in it. 40-something year old man lying on the ground curled up in a fetal position and in a puddle of his own piss from the smell of things. Happiest dog in the world sitting on top of the man, holding his neck in his jaws but not drawing blood, tail wagging like crazy, intermittently growling whenever the man tries to move.
My partner looks like he's either going to bust up laughing, or burst out crying any minute now.
"I'm the one who called you guys," the kid said without an ounce of fear. "I was letting Max do his business when this guy punched the cop back there. I guess Max didn't like that." He shrugged.
"Can you call off your dog so that we can cuff the guy?"
"Sure, but you should let Max stay where he is until after you do. He won't bother either of you."
I looked at my partner, nodded, and went over to the bastard on the ground. Frankly, I wouldn't mind letting Max have a little more fun with the jackass.
***
I watched the paramedics load the girl into the back of the ambulance. Mr. Blackbourne and Dr. Green were going with them. Doc made eye contact with me and gave me the "all clear" and a smile. Then he winked at the female paramedic causing her to blush. He was flirting! That meant that the girl would live, thank God! I ran my hands through my hair and then set about gathering the guys. What a night! The plan was to meet at the hospital in twenty minutes. Kota would have to stay behind to make a statement, and Nathan would wait with him. North had Silas and Gabriel with him in his Jeep, and they're already on their way. I'm taking Luke, just as soon as he can get cleaned up a bit.
"Hey, Vic," Luke calls out from Nathan's bathroom, "you're really good at code. What is '.../.-/-./--.'?"
I tap it out on my leg to hear it.
"Why, Luke? Where'd you hear it?"
He comes out, clean and ready to go. We lock up Nate's house and head to my car.
"She tapped that pattern when I asked her name. What does it mean?"
I stopped before getting in the car and tapped it out on the roof. "This?" I asked him. He nodded.
"It means her name is Sang."