Watching-Part 7

[mjcmmv]

PART 7

Chapter 29: Lifeblood                             Music: “Helicopter” by Tim Truman

Wynwood Warehouse District, Miami

0530

Rico 

The chopper flew overhead, its searchlight scanning rooftops and alley-ways behind warehouses and buildings. Patrols on the ground, scattered throughout the area, watching for any signs of life, but the dark streets remained silent. 

By five am, they had found nothing, and Rico was going out of his mind with worry. After walking by a lot of abandoned cars for a second time, he realized he’d been going in circles. Pausing for a moment, he sat down on the curb. His body ached from exhaustion. 

The radio in his hand suddenly came to life. 

“Rico!” 

“Stan! Anything?”

“Ah… yeah… I think so. 911 just got a call. A guy found someone shot down in a parking lot in the warehouse district. The Lieutenant thinks it could be Sonny. Where are you?”

Rico looked up at the street sign. “Eight Avenue and 28th. I’m on the corner.”

“I’ll be right there. Hold tight.”

 

Sonny

He tried to slow the bleeding by pressing what was left of his shirt against his belly, but he could still feel warm liquid seeping through his fingers. He knew he had to get outside, or no one would find him. He managed to pull himself to a side door by raising up on his left elbow and pushing forward with his uninjured leg.

It was a slow, painful process, but better than letting Pedrosa win.

And better than dying alone in the dark…

He lay on the pavement outside and waited, floating in and out of consciousness, until he felt someone going through his pockets. 

“Get help!” he called out. “I’m a cop!”

Whoever it was, stopped, but said nothing. Then, it was quiet, and he knew the person was gone. 

He could hear the thunder of heavy trucks on the highway overpass. A siren pierced the morning air, but then faded away. He knew his chances for surviving this were not good.

“God, why?” he moaned, choking back the bitterness. "Now… when everything was going my way."

He bit down hard on his bottom lip.

Tires crunched loudly on loose gravel and he heard several car doors burst open and slam shut in quick succession. 

“Are you the guy that called it in?” someone asked.

“Yeah. I found him lying over there. He told me he was a cop. There’s a badge in his pocket.” 

“You did the right thing, buddy. Thanks. Wait right over there, and don’t leave. We’ll need a statement.”

Footsteps came closer. Someone turned him over and he heard himself groan.

“Damn it, Mike! It’s Crockett! Call it in!”

 “It’s Jimmy Lawson, Sonny." Jimmy was checking for a pulse. "Hold on buddy. We’ve got you now!”

Sonny could make out the crackling of radio static in the distance and Jimmy’s partner shouting into the car radio’s mike.

“Officer down, officer down! This is, patrol car 672, Patrolman Mike Regan, requesting an ambulance immediately to the warehouse district…144 36th St. I repeat, Officer down, please acknowledge…please acknowledge….”
“Copy that, Patrol 672. Ambulance being dispatched. officer down … I repeat … officer down … all units in the vicinity respond … location is 144 36th St. Wynwood ... I repeat … 144 36th Street, Wynwood …. patrol #672, stay on the line. Do you copy?”

“Copy that.”

Now, the radio came alive with an avalanche of activity. Sonny heard the voices of cops on patrol, responding in a frantic chorus. He knew more guys would be coming soon. 

Another screech of brakes and a flash of brilliant red; a car door slamming …“What’s his condition?” a deep voice demanded. 

"Shot several times, Lieutenant."

“Sonny?" Marty lifted Sonny’s head and shoulders off the pavement. 

“Lieutenant?”

 “I’m here.” 

Sonny felt Marty put his fingers on the side of his neck while cradling his head in his arms.

“It was Pedrosa all along,” he said. “And it looks like he’s back in Miami.” 

“Let me worry about him,” he heard Marty say. “Don’t talk now. Save your strength.”

Sonny licked his lips and tasted blood.

“Get Gina, Marty. She’s on the St. Vitus. She’s waiting-for me.“

“Okay, Sonny. I will.” 

Castillo eased Sonny’s head and shoulders back down on the ground. Someone took off their jacket and tucked it under his head. 

“Talk to him. Keep him awake. I’m going to the marina to get Gina.”

Strong arms wrapped around him. “Hey, buddy,” Rico said. Sonny looked up at his partner and tried to smile. “Guess I shoulda listened, .."

He saw tears in Rico’s eyes. It surprised him. 

“It happened so fast,” Rico said. “We tried so hard to keep up…”

Sonny took a breath and winced. “It was my decision. I walked into this with my eyes wide open. No one to blame by myself. And just so you know, there wasn’t any deal. It was a trap. And I was the prize.”

“Who, Sonny?” 

“Pedrosa. He planned it. And he pulled the trigger.”

He felt Rico’s hands tighten on his arm. “We’ll get him, Sonny. I’ll get him!”

“Listen, Rico. I need to tell you this. it's important.”

“What? Anything!”

“Pedrosa … he’s going after Gina … and maybe Emily ... "  

He choked, as the fear he was trying so hard to conceal, came bubbling to the surface. He grabbed Rico’s jacket and tried  to pull himself up. “You and Marty. Protect them! Promise me!”

“Easy, man, easy! Of course. I wouldn’t let anything happen to them, you know that.” 

Exhausted from the effort, Sonny let his body relax.

“We’ll protect them together, partner,” Rico said. “You, and me. They’ll fix you up, and when you get strong again,  we’ll be out there, hunting the bad guys. Just like we've always done.”

“Think so?”

“I know so.”

Not this time, buddy …“You’re a good liar, Rico.”

“It’s the truth! Jackson’s the best!”

“Yeah, okay.” Sonny closed his eyes. “Just remember. Pedrosa’s smart. Real smart.”

Rico pull him closer. “Put your mind at ease on that one, partner. When I catch up to this bastard, his ass is gonna be mine!”

 

Chapter 30: Regret
 

0630

Gina 

She could barely breathe as she stood there, watching Castillo look back at her in silence.

“It’s Sonny, isn’t it?” 

“Get in.” He held the door open without answering the question. As she slid into the front passenger seat, a thousand possibilities raced through her mind.

“What happened? Please. Tell me.”

He was pushing the car to go faster. She had never known him to drive so recklessly.  Her heart began to pound.  Finally, he spoke.

“He was shot, Gina.” 

“God, no…” she moaned. 

“He's been missing for a couple of hours. We just found him.”

“Missing? What about the back up. He was wearing a wire, right? He promised!”

“We think they found the wire. Before Rico and Stan realized he was in trouble, the dealer’s van took off and they lost them in traffic.”

“Marty, my God. He was all alone! Why?  Why did you let him go in there by himself?”  She knew it was stupid to blame Castillo. Sonny had always made up his own mind about how to run an operation. But she didn’t care. Right now, she wanted to lash out at someone, anyone.

“He told me they were anxious to negotiate, but they insisted he come alone. He worried he’d lose them if he didn’t agree. I trusted his judgement. There was no reason not to.”

“But Lieutenant…”

“You’ve been undercover, Gina. You know the risks. Sonny did, too.”

She knew he was right. “How bad is he?”

There was a long silence. “He’s lost a lot of blood.”

“Is he conscious?”

“Yes.”

Castillo was pulling into a parking lot and when he hit the brakes, she put her hand on the dash to brace herself. She watched him turn off the ignition. “An ambulance is on the way. I thought you’d want to be with him.”

She was staring straight ahead, afraid to move. “Thank you,” she murmured.

He took her hand, squeezing it gently and her eyes began to fill with tears. 

The passenger door opened, and she knew Rico would be standing there. She couldn’t bear to look at him. “Am I too late?” she asked, her voice trembling. 

“No,” Rico answered. “He’s awake and he’s asking for you.” 

Reluctantly, she glanced up at him and saw his face, twisted with regret.

“I’m sorry, Gina,”  he said.

The emotion in his voice broke her heart. “Stan and I, we never saw it coming.”

She put her hand on his arm. “I know you were both there for him, Rico. This wasn’t your fault.”

She swung her legs around and stood.  “I’m ready. Let’s go.”

Rico reached for her hand. 

 

Chapter 32: “They’re coming baby…”                                   Music: “We Do What We’re Told” by Peter Gabriel
 

0645   

Gina                     

The sun had just begun to rise, bathing the wet asphalt in a soft glow. Rico led her toward the knot of uniformed officers huddled up ahead.  She quickened her pace.

Sonny was on his back, his face battered and his eyes open, staring at the sky. His shirt was ripped open and soaked with blood. She could hear his ragged breathing as he struggled for air. Jimmy Lawson was beside him, holding a towel against the stomach wound. It was  soaked with blood, too.

“Give us some room. Let Gina through,” Stan called out.  Jimmy stood and let her take his place.

“Sonny?”  Her voice was soft and gentle. A smile flickered across his face and she knew that he heard her. She stroked his cheek.

I’m going to lose him… She bent over to kiss him.

“He’s bad, Lieutenant!” Rico said. “We can’t wait. We have to get him to Jackson ourselves!” 

She saw Castillo glance down at Sonny. “We’d never make it.”

“But this is nuts! I don’t even hear a siren . We could put him in a cruiser and have him in the ER in five minutes!”

“And if his heart stopped on the way? What then, Detective?”

Rico set his jaw, defiantly. “I’d handle it.”

Castillo looked up at the highway ramp as if half expecting an ambulance to magically appear. 

“We’re wasting precious time, Lieutenant!” Rico pleaded. 

But before Castillo could answer, Jimmy Lawson came over and put his hand on the Lieutenant’s shoulder. “Jackson Memorial’s sending an Air Rescue chopper. ETA is in five minutes.”

“We wait, Castillo said. “The Medivac has the equipment. He’ll be in good hands.”

Rico looked down at Sonny and turned away with an angry sigh.

She began to rock him, trying to ease his restlessness. “You have to stay with me, honey. Listen, listen to my voice.”

He moaned and turned his head away.

“Let me tell you what Emily did yesterday.” Now, his eyes opened, wide. She smiled. 

Daddy’s girl…

“She took her first steps, yesterday,” she told him.

“Yeah?” he answered.

“She was so determined. Before I could catch her, she made it all the way out to the deck!”

“Ah, man. Now we’re in for it.”

“We’ll have to baby-proof everything. Where shall we start, do you think? Gates for the stairs? Locks for the cabinets? Huh? What do you think?”

He started to shiver. 

“God, Sonny!” She tightened her hold, trying to keep him warm. 

“Shh … Gina. It’s okay.” He tried to comfort her, reaching up and stroking her hair, but it wasn’t long before his hand dropped away and fell to his side. 

“Sonny?” She shook him gently and became alarmed when he didn’t answer. “Don’t do this, Sonny, please!” 

Finally, he stirred, and when he looked up again, she knew he saw her fear.  “I’m sorry, Gina,” he said.He was staring at her, his eyes probing, as if trying to memorize every detail of her face. 

She took his hand and brought it to her cheek. It was cold, and she knew his body was giving in to shock. She heard him take a shallow breath and sigh. Then his body sagged, and his eyes shimmered into stillness. 

"No..." she groaned.

The thump-thump-thump of a helicopter got louder and louder until she could feel the vibrations pounding in her chest. There was a whine as the blade rotation slowed, a sudden thud as the chopper touched down, and then, the sound of running feet. 

“They’re coming, baby,” she whispered. “They’re here….”

 

Chapter 30: Watching

Sonny

The pain that had burned like fire, had faded away to an icy numbness. His heart was pounding frantically, like fists, beating against his chest. He wanted to focus, pay attention to the people crowded around him, but his concentration kept wavering, fading. 

Gina was holding him. He could see the fear on her face; hear it in her voice. She was fighting hard to keep him with her, reminding him about important things. Like Emily. 

Rico was angry, pacing, blaming himself.  He kept looking down at Sonny, as if asking for forgiveness. 

Nothing to forgive, buddy. Partners for always. Partners ‘til the end. 

Castillo was standing close, watching. Like a sentry. Trying to protect, like a friend.

Sonny heard the copter in the distance. It was moving in fast. It would be here soon.

He heard Gina calling him. He forced his eyes to open. He didn’t like what he saw. 

“I’m sorry, Gina,” he said.  

Sorry for causing all this. Sorry for taking chances. Sorry for making you cry.

He took in a shallow breath and smelled the familiar scent of blood.

His blood. 

He imagined  it leaving his body, trickling slowly off the curb and making puddles in the gutter. 

He looked at her again. “You’re so beautiful,” he wanted to say.

He heard running footsteps. He knew they were coming for him.

“I’m tired,” he thought.

He stared at the sky and drifted off to sleep.

 

Edited December 9, 2019 by mjcmmv

[Robbie C.]

Nicely done!

[vicegirl85]

My power was out last night and couldn't read!  Will definitely read this tonight.

[vicegirl85]

This is the part that always makes me cry.  You showed it beautifully.

[mjcmmv]

1 minute ago, vicegirl85 said:

This is the part that always makes me cry.  You showed it beautifully.

Thank you, Vicegirl. That means a lot to me. 

[Glades]

I find it touching how you described the mood of the situation and brought it to life in me. Not so much by saying it directly, but through the way you told the story.

The worries and busyness and routines of the others and Sonny, who is already no longer quite of this world. Nevertheless I still  hoped he wouldl be rescued.

[mjcmmv]

4 hours ago, Glades said:

I find it touching how you described the mood of the situation and brought it to life in me. Not so much by saying it directly, but through the way you told the story.

The worries and busyness and routines of the others and Sonny, who is already no longer quite of this world. Nevertheless I still  hoped he wouldl be rescued.

Thank you for your feedback! This chapter was tough to write. There was a part of me that wanted him saved, too. But my goal was to explore what could have happened, not necessarily what I wanted to happen.

Figuring out how the other characters would react and make it realistic was tough, too.  It means a lot to hear I was able to bring it to life for you. Thanks again.   

 

[Glades]

vor 2 Stunden schrieb mjcmmv:

There was a part of me that wanted him saved, too. But my goal was to explore what could have happened, not necessarily what I wanted to happen.

Sonny's story as you told it really makes sense to me! Even if it's very sad, of course.

Edited August 24, 2019 by Glades