The Cost of Commitment - KJ2 (37 page)

breaking down the door. Elmira will take care of the lock box. Auburn will drop the gas and Oneida will secure the tier. We’re in charge of the package. She is our only concern.” Heads nodded all around him.

Max surveyed the area, looking for the other CERT team leaders, making sure that they were in position and at the ready. At their affirmative signal he tapped his lieutenant on the shoulder, whispering urgently, “Go.”

Within seconds they had climbed to the second of D block’s three floors. As they waited for the Collins team to overcome the barricade, they donned their gas masks. With a loud crash the door gave way, the Collins team stepping aside to allow the Auburn team to drop the gas.

When that had been accomplished, Max and his Albany group entered the tier through the go-round.

“Now!” Max yelled the muffled command through his mask as he started down the tier. Each of his eleven team members followed suit, racing through a fog so thick it was difficult to see. All around them they could hear the sounds of people choking and sobbing. As they made their way quickly down the gallery, the cacophony of cries from startled inmates assaulted their ears.

Max tried to count the cells that streaked past him as he ran full tilt down the gallery, one objective in mind. When he reached what he thought should be cell number eleven he stopped, trying to clear the smoke and gas from in front of him enough to see inside. He waited impatiently for the door to slide open. Glancing down the rest of the tier, he tried in vain to spy his counterparts from Elmira who were in charge of the lock box that controlled access to the cells.

Several seconds later, as the cell door began to slide open, he felt a tug from behind. He turned to see a massive inmate reaching for his gas mask. Before Max could make a move to ready his weapon, a second inmate flanked his other side. Max kicked out, landing a blow to the first inmate’s solar plexus, causing him to double over. As Max prepared to strike out at the second inmate, his lieutenant came up alongside, hitting the inmate in the head with the butt of his rifle and knocking him unconscious.

Max nodded his gratitude as he slipped into the cell, where Kate lay slumped against the metal sink. He bent down quickly to her and slid the mask over her head, adjusting it until it fit her snugly. It was not immediately clear whether she was breathing, so as soon as he had her mask in place he felt for her pulse and respiration. Her breathing was shallow and her pulse was weak, but it was steady. She appeared to be unconscious.

He whistled twice, loudly, and two of his men appeared in the cell doorway. He motioned to them to watch his back as he lifted Kate over
The Cost of Commitment

his shoulder and made his way out of the cell. The scene was pure bedlam; inmates and CERT team members were running in all directions.

Max pointed to the go-round, indicating his intended path of escape. One of his men moved into the lead, his weapon at the ready; the other officer remained behind him, ensuring a safe retreat. Together, they moved at a jog toward the far end of the tier, back the way they had come.

As they were about to exit through the steel door, Max heard the thwack of a baton cutting through the air, then a single gunshot. He could not see around Kate’s slack body, but the man on his flank pushed him forward and off the tier before he could get a sense of what had happened. When they were safely on the landing to the fire stairs, Max laid Kate gently on the ground and turned around. He pulled his mask off. The officer who had been behind him was breathing heavily.

“Are you all right, Gary? What happened back there?”

“I got hit. Just give me a second, it hit me in the vest.” He leaned against the wall, trying to catch his breath.

“Jason, check him out,” Max ordered as he bent over Kate. Carefully he removed her gas mask. Her eyes were closed, her breathing still shallow but steady. He unclipped the spare safety harness from his belt and slid it over her legs, securing it around her hips. Without turning his head he said, “Gary, Jason? Everybody okay?”

“Yeah, boss, just a little bruised.”

Jason said, “He’s got a nice-size hole in the middle of his vest in back. Lucky guy.”

“Can you make it to the roof?”

“No problem.”

“Okay, let’s move.” Max stowed the gas masks in a locked box off to the side of the go-round door and hoisted Kate over his shoulder again.

He began to climb upward.

They reached the door to the roof without incident and Max handed the door key to Jason. He unlocked it, holding it open so that Max could carry his burden through, followed by Gary. Peter was waiting for them when they arrived.

He moved quickly to assist Max with Kate. Together they laid her on the roof.

“She’s got a weak pulse and her breathing is shallow. She was unconscious when I found her.” He moved to unlock the handcuffs that still bound her wrists.

Peter, noticing the odd angle of her wrist, stopped him with a hand to the arm. “Don’t—her wrist is broken. I don’t want to have to worry about her arms flopping free until we can get her stabilized.” The sight of his friend’s hands restrained left him unsettled. “Thank you, Max—you did a great job.” It was hard for Peter to get the words out; looking at Kate’s
Lynn Ames

battered form affected him in a way he’d never experienced before. He’d been in the middle of many battles and seen many of his buddies fall, but this was different. This was Kate. She was not a combatant—just an innocent bystander who had gotten caught up in the middle of an incomprehensible morass.

In an odd way, he felt somewhat responsible. He should have seen the danger for her, should have been able, somehow, to protect her better.

She looked so fragile lying there, her face bloodied and swollen, her clothes torn and tattered.

Peter knelt down over her, sweeping the hair back off her face. “I’m so sorry, Spinmeister.”

Anything else he might have said was drowned out by the deafening whir of helicopter blades. He stood and waved his arms over his head.

The chopper circled once and hovered some thirty feet above them. A door opened in the side and a long cable was lowered until Peter could reach it. He clipped it to his own harness, then yanked on the cable to get more slack in the line. Kneeling, he unhooked the clamp from his harness and attached it to Kate’s, then reattached it to his own. He gathered her in his arms tenderly and stood, tugging on the line twice.

Slowly the cable was retracted into the helicopter, pulling Peter and Kate up with it. He cradled her head against his chest, his other arm wrapped securely around her waist. Within a minute, they were being pulled into the helicopter by a state trooper.

“Careful with her,” Peter said to the medic who had been hanging over the edge of the chopper watching their progress.

“I’ve got her,” the medic said. He laid her on a stretcher, skillfully evaluating her injuries and placing an oxygen mask over her face. “Do you have the keys for these?” He pointed to the handcuffs.

Peter produced a key from his pocket and efficiently unlocked the cuffs, careful not jar Kate’s arms. The medic was looking under Kate’s lids with a penlight.

“Well?”

“Severe concussion, laceration to the skull, possible fractured cheekbone, displaced fracture of the wrist.” He made a slit down the center of her blouse. “Contusions to the abdomen.” He palpated her ribs.

“Likely fractured ribs.”

Peter’s mouth was set in a grim line. “What about her lungs? She took in a lot of CS gas.”

“We’ll flush her system gradually; it will take some time for the gas to work its way completely out of her system, but she’ll be okay.”

“Why hasn’t she regained consciousness?” The concern was obvious in his voice.

The Cost of Commitment

“You may not want to hear this, but I suspect she’s been drugged.”

The medic pulled up Kate’s sleeve, where a needle mark seemed to confirm his suspicion. “She’ll come around.”

Peter had to work even harder to contain his emotions. “What kind of drug?”

“It appears to me to be some kind of sedative used to incapacitate her—knock her out.”

Although he hated to ask the question, Peter knew the answer would be important not only to him, but to Kate and Jay as well. “Has she been sexually assaulted?”

“I don’t see any evidence of that, but a complete rape kit will be done on her at the hospital just in case.”

“I don’t suppose she can make it to a hospital in Albany?”

The medic considered. “Yes, but I’d like to get her stabilized here, first, before you transport her all that way.”

“Okay.”

Peter moved to the front of the helicopter and addressed the pilot.

“Buffalo General Hospital.”

The pilot nodded.

Peter returned to where the medic continued to work on Kate. “Take good care of her.”

“Count on it.”

Peter leaned over, kissed Kate on the forehead, and reclipped himself to the cable. He gave the trooper, who had been standing off to the side, a thumbs-up as he moved to the open door. Slowly, Peter was lowered back to the roof of D block. When he had touched down safely, he unclipped himself and waved the chopper off.

“Okay,” he said to Max, “let’s finish this.”

Max turned to his men. “Jason, you’re with us. Gary, why don’t you wait here?”

“No way. I want the son of a bitch who redecorated my vest.”

“Are you sure you’re up to it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“All right then, let’s go.”

The four men reentered the stairwell, donning their masks and helmets as they went. They used Max’s key to get back through the go-round and onto the tier. The gas had begun to dissipate somewhat, and the scene was less chaotic. Inmates were facedown on the floor with their hands flexicuffed behind their backs, CERT team members standing over them.

Peter motioned to the five team leaders. “Is everybody accounted for?”

“Yes, sir.”

Lynn Ames

“Any casualties?”

“Nothing life-threatening, sir.”

“All inmate weapons accounted for and confiscated?”

“It appears so, sir. We have the one weapon that was fired and the inmate who possessed it.”

“Okay. I want these scum separated, treated, and interrogated. Then we’re going to ship them out.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’m going to need a full report within twenty minutes—procedures, weapons fired, force used, injuries sustained, et cetera.”

“Yes, sir.”

“We’ll do a debriefing after that.” He paused. “Good job, everybody.

Well done.”

“Governor, I’m happy to report that the mission was a success. The hostage was rescued, and no lives were lost in the process.”

“Thank you, Peter.” The governor looked relieved. “I’d like to meet with your men, if I could.”

“Yes, sir, they are just wrapping things up. I should be able to assemble them for you within a half hour.”

“Excellent. That ought to leave me just enough time to take care of our friends in the media.” He hesitated for a moment. “Peter, did you see her?”

“Yes, sir. I loaded her on the helicopter myself.”

“How is she?”

“She’s got a number of injuries, and she was unconscious the entire time, but none of the injuries seem to be life-threatening.”

“Where is she?”

“They’re taking her to Buffalo General Hospital. They have to stabilize her before they can transport her to Albany Medical Center.”

“Does Jay know?”

“I’m about to call her now, sir.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to be the one to tell her, and then have you fill her in on the details.”

“Of course, sir.” Peter moved to the phone, dialed, and handed the receiver to the governor.

“Jay? This is Governor Hyland.”

“Yes, sir.” Jay’s heart was beating wildly in her chest, and she sat down on the bed to keep herself from falling down.

“I have some good news for you.”

The Cost of Commitment

Jay closed her eyes. “Oh, thank God.” She had watched the dramatic footage on CNN of a helicopter hovering over the roof of one of the cell blocks, but the camera was unable to zoom in sufficiently to pick out the features of the two figures being lifted into the sky. She didn’t dare hope...

“Peter and his men have gotten Kate out safely. She’s on her way to a hospital nearby. I’m going to have the car take you there right away. And when she’s ready, I’m going to have you accompany her on the chopper ride to Albany Med.”

“I don’t know how to thank you, Governor, for everything you’ve done.”

“No need, Jay. I’m just sorry it happened in the first place. I’m going to let you talk to Peter now.”

“Hey, half-pint.”

“Hey,” Jay faltered temporarily at the sound of Peter’s familiar, confident voice. “Hey, yourself, Technowiz. Did you see her? Is she okay?”

“I put her on the helicopter myself, honey.”

“And?”

“She’s had a rough time of it, Jay, there’s no question about that.

She’s got several broken bones, a severe concussion, and she’s had a prolonged exposure to CS, or tear gas. She was unconscious when I left her. But she’s going to be just fine.”

Jay was crying, tears of relief mingling with tears of anger and grief.

When she could talk she said, “You know I can never repay you for bringing her back to me. I owe you so much—
we
owe you so much. Kate is everything to me.” She fingered again the two letters from Kate that Wendy had given her. She had read them so many times the words were indelibly engraved in her mind.

“And you to her, honey. Believe me, Jay, it was my honor and pleasure. You’d better get ready, your ride should be waiting outside. I’ll be there just as soon as I can.”

“Okay.”

“Jay? Put Brian on the phone, will you?”

She handed the receiver to Sampson.

“Yes? Good news?”

“The best.”

“It was hard to tell from the television images, and Jay and I couldn’t listen to their wild speculation anymore. We put the sound on mute.

Congratulations.”

“Thanks. Any chance you can have that driver courier the tapes over here after he drops Jay off? I’d like the governor to hear them now.”