Doctor Brackett stood at the nurses' station trying very hard to maintain a professional decorum while Pidge and Cassie described the run they had just been on. The call had been to the Shady Acres Rest Home. One of the patients had fallen and they suspected that she had broken her hip. The patient was Miss Leticia Baldwin Applebee. She had been a silent screen star and still considered herself, above all else, an actress. Although she had not worked since the twenties she felt she was merely between roles. She always demanded all the pomp and circumstances that her imagined celebrity status called for. Miss Applebee could easily be one of the least co-operative patients that anyone ever had to deal with. She had no intentions of being hauled away to a hospital. Her agent could call at any minute, after all.
"That's when my partner comes up with this hare-brained scheme," Pidge continued the story.
"What do you mean hare-brained? It worked, didn't it? Sometimes you just have to think like the patient," Cassie defended herself.
"And the further the into dementia the patient is, the easier it is for you to think like them, I've noticed," Pidge stated firmly.
"So how did you finally get her to agree to come in?" Brackett prompted. It was far too early in the day to deal with an argument from these two.
"Cecil B de Kelly here convinces her that this is all a hospital drama movie and she has been cast as lovely ingenue who has broken her hip in a skiing accident."
Brackett willed himself not to laugh. He had a reputation to keep up. He just patiently waited while Cassie once again interrupted Pidge's story.
"That was the easy part. Once we got here, we had to convince Dr Driven to go along with the scenario."
"Who?" Brackett asked, not daring to look up from the chart he was pretending
to go over.
"Doctor Morton," Pidge said, nudging her partner furiously. She'd been a
nurse too long to be as open with nicknames for doctors as Cassie was.
"But once we explained the whole thing, I don't think he was all that insulted as being introduced as Sidney Poitier. I think he was really getting into it, in fact."
"Great, so now instead of one "movie star" around here we might have to deal with two," Brackett groaned.
"Guess I didn't think that far ahead," Cassie admitted sheepishly. "I was just trying to get Miss Tish in here for treatment."
"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure I can bring Mr Poitier back down to Earth and
if I can't, I know that Dixie can when she gets back from lunch," Brackett
assured them.
Suddenly the ER doors burst open and two very nervous ambulance attendants
ran in with a gurney. Dr Brackett came immediately to attention. "What have
you got, George?" he demanded as he ran to check on the patient.
"Motor cycle accident. That leg's pretty bad. Looks like he's in shock too,"
George panted.
"I think you're right. Let's get him into a room and get him stabilized,"
Brackett barked.
Pidge had been checking the treatment rooms. "Two is free," she called.
"Why the heck didn't they call the Fire Department?" Cassie griped, shocked
at the patient's rapidly deteriorating condition.
"That's who they did call," George told her. "We were dispatched by the Fire
Department but the paramedics never showed up. We didn't dare wait any longer,
Doc. We figured we'd better get him in here as soon as possible. Andy and
I did all we could for him but he needs more than that."
"You did the right thing, George," Brackett assured him as they lifted the
patient onto the exam table.
"We were in a dead zone. The radio was useless," George went on miserably.
"It's okay, George," Brackett said. He knew that the ambulance did not carry
all the equipment needed to stabilize a patient. "We'll handle it from here.
Cassie, get me some vitals. Pidge, draw some blood. We'll need x-ray and
let's get some more help in here STAT."
They worked on the patient for nearly thirty minutes but finally Brackett
was able to turn him over to Carol to be admitted. Wearily they left the
treatment room and returned to the nurses' station. Joe and Dixie had just
arrived and had been filled in by the duty nurse.
"Everything breaks loose when I go to lunch," Dix apologized. "Sorry you
guys had to be pressed into service."
"No problem. Dix," Pidge assured her. "We should be getting back. Captain
Tacy will be wondering where we've gotten to."
"Okay. Thanks for your help and look into that no-show, will you?" Brackett
was concerned about the obvious breakdown of the system.
"They may have had a mechanical problem. George said they were in a dead
zone. Probably by the time word got back to LA and they dispatched a second
unit, the ambulance had already left," Cassie reasoned.
"I'm sure it's something like that but see what you can find out. I'd feel
better if I knew for sure," Brackett admitted.
"Don't worry about a thing, my good man," Cassie said in an exaggerated English
accent. "Holmes and I will get to the bottom of this. Bit of a sticky wicket,
eh what?"
"Come on," Pidge said rolling her eyes and dragging her lunatic partner toward
the door.
"I say there, Holmes?" the doors closed on the rest of the routine leaving
the three at the nurses' stations shaking their heads, but Kel still seemed
preoccupied.
"What's up, Kel?" Dixie wanted to know.
"I'm not exactly sure. An ambulance brought in a victim. He should have been
stabilized in the field before he was moved but no paramedics ever showed
up."
"Are you sure the paramedics got the call?" Joe asked.
"Must have. It was the Fire Department that dispatched the ambulance."
"That is strange," Dixie agreed.
"Don't worry. I'm sure Holmes and Watson will get to the bottom of it," Joe
laughed.
***
As Cassie drove out of the parking lot Pidge picked up the mic. "LA, this
is squad 18."
"Go ahead, Squad 18"
"Squad 18 is available. Also, LA, have you dispatched a squad in the past
hour or so to respond to a motorcycle accident?"
"Stand by, Squad 18."
"10-4, LA."
"That's affirmative, 18. Squad 51 was dispatched at 12:02 to aid a 'motorcycle
VS rock wall'. We also dispatched an ambulance to that location."
"LA, the squad did not arrive on scene. Rampart has asked us to look into
it. Did you receive any further advice on the run?"
"Stand by, 18. I'll check with the station."
"10-4, LA."
***
The phone rang at Station 51. Captain Stanley picked it up. "Station 51.
Captain Stanley."
"Captain Stanley, this is LA dispatch. We show an acknowledgment to a run
for Squad 51 at 12:02. Were there any problems on the run, to your knowledge?"
"Gee, nothing that I know of. What's the matter?" He was concerned.
"They did leave on the run?"
"Yes, well over an hour ago. Please, tell me what's wrong."
"Apparently they did not arrive on scene. Have them report in if you hear
from them. We will continue to try and raise them from this end."
"10-4, LA." Captain Stanley felt stunned as he hung up the phone. He was
getting what his teenage son would call 'bad vibes' about this situation.
***
The dispatcher tried three times to raise Squad 51 on the radio with no luck
then he got back to 18.
"LA, we've been advised that the location of the call was within a dead radio
zone. Request permission to go take a look in case the squad has experienced
a mechanical problem. What was the address of the call?"
"10-4, Squad 18. The call was to Ragged Canyon Quarry. Old Ragged Canyon
Road."
"10-4, LA."
"Keep us advised, 18."
"10-4, LA."
Cassie hit the lights and sirens.
"Hey! What's with the lights and sirens? No one authorized a Code R," Pidge
objected.
"What did you say? I can't hear you over the siren," Cassie vowed.
Pidge just shook her head. It was the quickest way to get through traffic
and if this was more serious than a mechanical breakdown, time was important.
When they got to Ragged Canyon Road, Cassie killed the siren as she pulled
onto the two lane road. "We'll go to the quarry then work our way back to
51's. Damn! This road is bad news. About all it's good for is motorcycle
hill climbs and make out spots."
"We all know you don't ride a motorcycle," Pidge teased, "so how do you come
by your intimate knowledge of this road?"
"I'll never tell."
***
Captain Stanley walked into the kitchen. He was noticeably worried. Chet
and Marco exchanged curious looks. "What's the matter, Cap?" Chet asked.
"Maybe nothing," Cap mused. "Maybe something."
"What's up?" Marco was now very serious.
"Gage and DeSoto never showed up at their last response."
"What?!" Chet was shocked.
"Maybe they got the address wrong," Marco suggested.
"It wasn't an address. It was Ragged Canyon Quarry on Old Ragged Canyon Road,"
the cap said glumly.
"Maybe they got lost. Lots of those old roads up there don't have street
signs," Chet put in hopefully.
"Maybe they had a breakdown. Roy was saying he didn't like the way the steering
felt --" Mike had meant it to be a cheering suggestion but they suddenly
realized the ramifications of the steering malfunctioning on those treacherous
canyon roads. "Maybe he was wrong," Mike quickly added.
"Sure," Chet agreed, "Gage drove the squad too and he said he didn't notice
it."
***
Squad 18 got all the way to the quarry. They had come upon no sign of Squad 51. They tried their radio at the quarry but could not raise dispatch. They decided to search the road even more carefully and make their way back to Station 51. The walls of the quarry were probably creating the dead radio zone. They decided they would check with dispatch often until they were able to re-establish contact.
***
Roy opened his eyes. Everything was spinning. He didn't know how long he'd
been out. He forced himself to remember what happened. The steering had gone.
He'd lost control. He'd told Johnny to jump as the squad careened off the
road. Johnny? Where was Johnny?
"Johnny!" he tried to holler but very little sound came out. He began to
cough. He tasted blood. Was he coughing up blood or had he just bitten his
lip? There seemed to be too much blood for that. As he gingerly felt his
face in search of a wound, he hand brushed against his nose. That smarted.
"Nose bleed" he murmured. He hadn't had one this bad since he got hit with
a baseball during a little league game. Everything was sore but he attempted
to go into paramedic mode and assess his injuries. He forced himself to look
around. There was a lot of broken glass in the cab of the squad and a lot
of blood. He tried to move. He was pinned in. The dashboard and the steering
wheel were crushed and holding him in place. With great effort he reached
for the mic. "LA, this is Squad 51." It was very difficult to speak but he
had to get help. He waited impatiently. There was no response. "LA, this
is Squad 51. Do you read me?" He began to cough again. When he was finally
able to catch his breath he tried again. "LA, please come in. LA? LA? It's
dead," he muttered to himself. "Electrical system must be shot."
He was only now beginning to realize that the squad was on its roof. He tried
to get out but he was wedged in too tightly. He struggled for a while but
tired easily. The windshield was smashed and there was a large tree branch
sharing the cab with him. He looked at it sadly. "I hope you're all right,
Johnny. I hope you got out okay and have just gone for help." His chest hurt
and breathing was becoming difficult. He forced himself not to panic. He
had to stay calm and wait for help to arrive. He felt very tired and longed
to just go to sleep but he fought the urge. He soon lost his fight to remain
conscious and blacked out.
***
It had all happened so fast that Johnny had not had time to think. Roy had told him to jump but before he could even argue about it, his door was torn off and he fell out of the squad as it tumbled down the side of a brush-covered cliff. He too, was knocked unconscious. When he awoke he still felt a little light-headed but forced himself to shake his head till it cleared.
All he could see was underbrush in every direction. He could see neither the road nor the bottom of the ravine. He did not see the squad but debris was strewn everywhere. Evidently all the bay doors had opened and everything had spilled out. The last thing he remembered was hitting the dirt and forcing himself to roll. His instincts had taken over. He tried to get up but during his slide down the side of the hill he had managed to jam his leg between a rock and an old log. He struggled to free himself but finally gave up. He was stuck. He'd just have to wait for help to arrive. He hoped that Roy had been thrown clear also and would come and find him. Between the two of them maybe they could budge one of the obstacles that pinned him.
"Guess this is what they mean by being stuck between a rock and a hard place," he muttered.
Then he spotted the orange biophone in some tall grass about four feet away. Now he knew why they were that ghastly color. It took a long time for him to maneuver his upper body in such a way that he could reach it. He dragged it toward himself. It looked pretty battered. He hoped it still worked. It took a few minutes to get the top opened. It was badly dented. He picked up the antenna, which was now in a U shape. He fumbled with it to get it into place. It was no longer a secure fit. He prayed it would still work.
"Rampart, this is Squad 51, how do you read?"
"Squad calling in, repeat," Dixie said. She'd been a few feet from the base
station but what she had heard of a transmission was garbled.
"RAMPART, PLEASE, YOU GOTTA HEAR ME," he yelled but he too heard heavy static
over the transmission.
"Squad calling in, please identify," Dixie was concerned over the strange
message.
"THIS SQUAD 51. CAN YOU HEAR ME?"
"Not too well, 51, but go ahead." Dixie looked around for a doctor.
"A wreck," he tried to report, but he found that the yelling winded him.
"Squad went off the road...."
"51, you were in a wreck?" She was beginning to get the picture. She finally
saw Kel get off the elevator and waved frantically for him to join her.
"What do you have, Dix?" He could tell by her actions that this was no a
run of the mill situation.
"Sounds like Johnny Gage but he's very hard to understand," she confided
to him then turned her attention back to the call. "Repeat 51, you were in
an accident?"
"Yes -- I mean affirmative."
"Where are you, 51?" Brackett took over in his most business-like voice.
Johnny could barely be heard. Brackett assumed this meant Johnny was weak
and he was afraid he'd go out on him before they could get any information.
He'd bully him into remaining conscious if he had to. He wished the transmission
was clearer.
"I - I don't know," Johnny admitted honestly. He pushed his hair out of his
eyes. He was determined to make his report even if he really didn't have
much information to give. He said whatever came into his head but the more
he thought about things, the more panicky he started to feel. "I don't know
where the squad is. I can't find Roy. I can't move."
"Well don't try to move. Do you hear me, Johnny?" Brackett took control
of the call.
"Uh-huh."
"You're very hard to understand, Johnny. Can you speak up at all?" He tried
to keep Johnny calm.
"I- I can't talk any louder, Doc."
"It's okay, Johnny. If you speak slowly I think I can get it. Can you see
any houses?"
"Just underbrush. That's all I can see in any direction. I can't stand up."
"Okay. Don't move around. Do you remember what happened?" Brackett kept his
voice completely calm in hopes of keeping Johnny calm also.
Johnny strained to remember exactly what had happened. It took a minute but
finally he did remember everything clearly. "The steering went out. I - I
fell out. Where's Roy? Roy ROY!" he called.
"Johnny! Calm down, Johnny," Brackett demanded.
"I don't know where Roy is. He might need some help."
Johnny seemed to be becoming increasingly incoherent. Brackett suspected
he might have a concussion. They needed to get help to him before things
got even worse.
"Johnny, listen to me. Dixie is calling the Fire Department. She's going
to find out where you are. Someone will be there to help you very soon. Do
you understand me? You have to try and relax. Help is on the way. Okay, Johnny?"
Johnny had been holding the loose antenna in place but as he tried to move
to get a better look at his surroundings, it slipped out of his hand and
rolled down the hill out of his reach. "Oh damn! Now I can't transmit at
all!"
"Johnny, we're going to need your help. Talk to me, Johnny," Brackett commanded.
"I'm talking. You're just not receiving me," Johnny said with disgust at
himself. He listened with frustration as Brackett called to him.
Joe Early had come into the base station. Dixie had filled him in as she
was phoning the Fire Department. He caught Brackett's eye to let him know
he was there to help.
"Now we know why no one showed up at the motorcycle accident," Joe commented
sadly.
Brackett continued to talk to Johnny. He was afraid that Johnny had lost
consciousness. He needed help and he needed it now. Roy could even be in
worse shape. Brackett cloaked the fear in his voice while he continued to
try and raise him. The lack of response was frustrating. If help would just
arrive.
***
"Hey what's this?" Pidge noticed something they had missed on their way in.
Cassie pulled over. There were skid marks in the dirt at the side of the
road. They got out and inspected them. Once they were close enough to the
underbrush they could see some of the small branches were flattened and broken.
"Looks like something went off here." She went over to the edge.
"Be care-ful," Pidge yanked her back.
"Damn! Can't see a thing in all that underbrush." Cassie ignored her partner's
warning. "I need to get down there closer ---"
"Let's get a chopper," Pidge said in a voice that brooked no argument. "We
don't need another paramedic missing here." She walked back to the
squad to call for one. Cassie made a face behind her back. "I saw that, girl,"
Pidge vowed. She reached into the squad and grabbed the mic. "LA this is
squad 18."
"Go ahead, 18."
"LA we are on Ragged Canyon Road about 3 miles west of the quarry. We have
found tire marks to indicate a possible vehicle off the road but due to the
heavy underbrush we cannot see the bottom of the cliff. Request a chopper
to do an air search and also engine company assistance and it might be wise
to have an ambulance standing by."
"10-4, 18."
"LA, this is copter 2. We are in the vicinity of 18's incident and are
responding. ETA two minutes."
"10-4, Copter 2," the dispatcher acknowledged as he sounded the alarm for
engine company assistance. "Engine 51, Engine 18 meet Squad 18 Ragged Canyon
Road approximately 3 mines west of the quarry for possible rescue of Fire
Department personnel." Since this was now a probable traffic accident, he
also had to notify the Sheriff's Department of the situation once he got
all his units rolling.
"Squad 18, Rampart General reports that they are in contact with one of the
missing paramedics. Stand by to be patched through to Rampart."
"10-4, LA," Pidge acknowledged as she and Cassie anxiously waited for the
connection to be established as well as for the arrival of the copter and
the engine companies.
"Rampart Emergency," Dixie's voice sounded cool and professional but they
knew her well enough to know that she was worried also.
"This is Squad 18, Rampart."
"18, are you at the accident site?"
"10-4, Rampart, at least we are at a place where somebody recently drove
off the road. All we can see from our location is underbrush. A copter is
on the way to aid in the search," Pidge filled her in.
"Good. We had Johnny on the biophone. Apparently he was thrown clear during
the crash but they have been separated."
"How does he sound?"
"He's very hard to understand. He seemed to be experiencing varying degrees
of LOC. But then we lost him. He may have passed out again," Dixie reported
the facts as they knew them.
"Did he have any idea where he was?" Pidge asked hopefully.
"All he could see was underbrush but he did have the biophone so there's
probably other equipment strewn about near him."
"Rampart, the copter is on scene. Stand-by," Pidge said.
"Squad 18, this is copter2 "
Cassie grabbed the handy talkie and walked away from the squad so this
transmission did not get garbled with the one between Pidge and Rampart.
"Go ahead, Copter 2."
"Have spotted the vehicle. It's overturned at the bottom of the ravine. No
sign of fire or gas leaks but no sign of the victims either, " the pilot
hesitated to add. "It's about twenty feet to the right of your location..
Do you want a tractor to clear a path to it?"
"Negative, Copter 2. Rampart is in contact with one of the paramedics, he's
somewhere in this undergrowth."
"Do you need more manpower, Squad 18?
"We'll keep you advised, Copter 2. Engine companies are en route."
"10-4, Squad 18. We'll hold our present location as long as fuel allows."
"10-4, Copter 2," Cassie acknowledged and went back to report to Pidge. "They
spotted the squad. It's bottomside up at the bottom of the ravine. No sign
of any victims. Maybe Roy was thrown clear too."
"I sure hope so," Pidge breathed as then she reported the situation to Rampart.
She asked if they were still in contact with Johnny but they reported that
they suspected that he had lapsed into unconsciousness.
Just then the engine companies arrived and joined them at the squad. Concern
was etched deeply in every face. "Copter 2 has spotted the squad at the bottom
of this ravine. It's bottomside up and there is no sign of anyone in the
immediate area." Pidge tried to be as informative as possible although she
was sensitive to the fact that the missing men were not just victims to the
guys from Station 51. "But Rampart reports that up until a few minutes ago
they were in contact with Johnny. He was thrown clear. Possibly Roy was too."
"Why don't we split up into two teams with one paramedic on each team," Captain
Stanley suggested then turned to Captain Tacy. "You can co-ordinate. I'm
going to join the search.."
"The copter reports that the squad is about twenty feet to the right and
straight down all the way down to the floor of the ravine. Johnny is somewhere
in this underbrush," Cassie reported.
"Okay girls, you go with Pidge down to the squad. Kelly, you go with 51's
and I want all of you to use full safety gear -- that means you, Kelly, and
don't give Captain Stanley any trouble," Captain Tacy took charge.
Cassie looked duly insulted but wisely decided not to say anything as she
joined Pidge over by the squad to get her equipment. Pidge smirked but chose
not to say anything either. "Ha ha ha," Cassie muttered but then shook it
off. There would be plenty of time to avenge the insult later. Right now
she had more important things to think about. "Look, you take the biophone.
Johnny has theirs and it obviously works."
They loaded two stokes baskets up with all the equipment they thought they'd
need to treat the injured men.
Station 18 tied their lines off and made their way down to the bottom of
the cliff. They would start their search at the squad. Cassie went with the
men from 51's as they began a wide area search. They were literally beating
the bushes in search of Johnny.
They spread out as they walked down the steep incline. About one third of
the way down they began finding some of the equipment. They picked up anything
that was salvageable. Debris became thicker and it became obvious by the
fresh marks in the soft dirt and grass that the squad had hit and rolled
over. None of them said anything, they just kept searching.
***
Station 18 found the squad right where the chopper pilot said it would be.
They approached the overturned vehicle with some trepidation. This was a
lot easier when the victim was a stranger but everyone knew Roy. Roy's wife
was one of the few wives who had no animosity toward them. Barb Yates was
also a fireman's wife. She knew exactly what Joanne would be thinking if
she knew what was happening. She prayed that they would find him uninjured.
The driver's side door was partially opened. Pidge pulled at it trying to
get it opened far enough for her to get close to Roy and assess him. She
struggled for a minute and then Crenshaw walked up and grabbed the door.
Since it was upside down, it was difficult to maneuver but Crenshaw got a
good hold on it and with a mighty tug, yanked it all the way open. Pidge
nodded her thanks and approached Roy. He was perfectly still and very pale.
Pidge checked his neck for a pulse. "He's alive," she sighed with relief.
The others let our their collective breaths.
She checked him over quickly. She could see that he was pinned. She thought
that in a way it was lucky that he was upside down. That kept the blood from
draining away from his vital organs but she wanted to get him out of the
squad as soon as possible. They had to get him to Rampart right away. She
secured his neck and back and Tinker went to work with the huge jaws of life.
It took several long minutes to pry the dashboard and steering column up
enough to free him. They carefully slid a back board in place to keep his
spine as straight as possible then lifted him out of the squad and placed
him into the stokes basket they had brought.
Barb got on the biophone. "Rampart this is squad 18, how do you read?"
"Read you fine 18," Dixie's voice sounded very eager.
"Rampart, we have located Firefighter DeSoto. He is alive but is comatose
at this time. We have extricated him from the overturned squad. Stand-by
for vitals."
Pidge shouted the vitals at her as she prepared IVs to replace the vital
fluids he had obviously lost. Within ten minutes she had administered all
the medications that Rampart had ordered and had him packaged up in a trauma
suit and ready to roll. Pidge knew that he could have crush injuries to his
chest. Rampart wanted him brought in ASAP, so Pidge contacted the chopper
that was still over head and they arranged to meet them a half a mile up
the ravine where there was a place the chopper could put down.
Roy startled awake just as the chopper lifted off. "EASY, ROY" Pidge tried
to yell over the noise of the engine. "YOU'RE ALL RIGHT. JUST TRY AND RELAX.
WE'LL BE AT RAMPART IN 15 MINUTES."
"Rampart?" Roy was confused. He scowled as he tried to figure out what was
happening. "There was a motor cycle call ---"
"THAT'S BEEN TAKEN CARE OF. YOU JUST RELAX," Pidge assured him as she took
another set of vitals. The drugs were helping to regulate his blood pressure
but she wanted him to remain as calm as possible.
"I can't remember --- WAIT the steering went -- WHERE'S JOHNNY?"
"IT'S OKAY. YOU HAVE TO RELAX, ROY." Pidge was firm but felt she would probably
have to answer his questions before he would calm down. She leaned down over
him so they would have some chance of hearing one another.
"Where's Johnny? Is he all right?!"
"Cassie is with him. More than likely, by this time, he's having to referee
some sort of Chet/Cassie brawl. I'm betting he's got his hands full with
that," Pidge told him casually. She hated lying to him but with any luck,
it wasn't a lie at all and that was exactly what was happening.
Roy smiled content that all was as it should be. After all, if Johnny wasn't
getting flown into Rampart he probably wasn't that badly hurt. As long as
he stayed on the sidelines in the Kelly Brawl, he'd be okay. Sure, Johnny
stay on the sidelines of anything?! That would be the day.
***
Captain Tacy paced around next to the engine. Periodically she would peer
down into the underbrush but she could see nothing that gave her any information.
She hated being in the dark. This was going to be a tough one on them all.
They always gave 110% for on every rescue but when it was one of your own,
it was just different. She knew that they had had at least one live victim
up until a few minutes ago. She had sent Pidge, the more sensible of her
paramedics, and the rest of her team to search for the one they did not know
about. If the worst happened it was better that the rest of 51's did not
have the chance to recriminate themselves for not finding him fast enough.
This accident had happened more than an hour ago. Time was defiantly working
against them.
She shook her handy talkie. Why didn't she hear anything? Was the damn thing
broken? Finally she saw the bushes move in an unnatural way. This was followed
almost immediately by the sound of Crenshaw's southern drawl cutting through
the air with some very un-southernbelle-like language. It was hard to say
who was worse, Crenshaw or Kelly. Not that she had not been equally foul-mouthed
when she was as young and foolish as these two, she mused.
Crenshaw, Yates and Tinker climbed up to the roadway muling the heavy equipment
that had been a lot easier to get down to the ravine bottom when it was loaded
in the Stokes basket.
Tacy had hoped that the chopper had left its position overhead to rendezvous
with Pidge and the patient but she not had been able monitor any transmissions
on her handy talkie. "He's alive," Barb Yates panted. "They are airlifting
him to Rampart. Have you heard from 51's?"
"I haven't heard a damn thing on this fool gadget. Let me try to raise them.
Engine 51, this is Engine 18, do you read?"
"Read you fine," Captain Stanley's voice sounded far away.
"We have located your other paramedic. He is alive and is being airlifted
to Rampart."
"Thank God!"
"Any luck on your search?" Tacy ignored the protocol. She heard the other
men cheering in the background.
"Not yet, 18. We'll keep you posted."
"We'll be standing by for extra manpower if you need it."
She heard Cassie correct her with the word "Personpower"
"Shut up, Kelly. Excuse me, Captain Stanley."
"No problem. I find myself saying that exact phrase more often than I can
count. 51 out."
***
The chopper touched down on the helipad in the lot at Rampart. A few minutes later they were pushing the door open to Treatment Room One. Drs. Brackett and Early were waiting in there. Organized chaos erupted as Pidge gave her report and Brackett barked orders to the nurses and techs in the room with them. Each one knew his job and did it flawlessly, in spite of the fact that this was not 'just another victim'. This man was family.
Within a half an hour Roy was relatively comfortable as they awaited test results. He had insisted on calling Joanne himself to prove to her he was not seriously injured. She had just arrived when Dr Brackett came into the room with news. Pidge and Dixie were still in there. They each watched Joanne carefully. Fainting relatives was a fairly common event in the ER.
"Well, it looks like that old Squad 51 luck has come through again," Brackett announced. "You have some cracked ribs and a bruised lung. Those are going to demand some down time. We can get an intern in here now to finish suturing up the rest of your cuts. But other than that and the obvious broken nose, you are one very lucky man, Roy."
"Broken nose?!" Roy squawked. That explained why the oxygen mask had hurt so much and why there was so much blood on his shirt. "You gotta be kidding!!"
"'Fraid not, Roy," Brackett said somewhat sympathetically. Still, he was amazed that Roy's injuries were as relatively minor as they were.
"You look a little like a raccoon, hon," Joanne told him, referring to the two black eyes that surrounded his bandaged nose.
"Oh no. The guys are never going to let me live this down," he complained, he had been given a hard enough time from his little league team when he'd broken his nose as a kid, and his teammates were pikers in the razzing department compared to the guys at the station. Especially Chet.
"Probably not," Dixie agreed. "Joanne, I need you to come sign some forms since Humpty Dumpty here will be busy getting sewed back up. You can come back in as soon as the intern is done. After all, these guys have to practice on somebody."
"Gee thanks a lot," Roy groaned. Secretly he was happy she was leaving. He wanted to find out about Johnny and he didn't want to give her anything more to worry about. As soon as she had left the room he confronted Brackett and Pidge. "Any news about Johnny?"
Pidge and Brackett exchanged glances. Brackett sighed and decided the truth was the best course of action. "They haven't located him yet. We had him on the biophone earlier but we lost the signal. They tell me that is a dead radio zone so it may have just been a problem with the telemetry."
"There's a lot of underbrush in that area. That's probably the main problem but I'm sure they will find him soon," Pidge assured him. "After all, Captain Tacy is co-ordinating the rescue and no one would dare screw up. I'm sure they are doing a very thorough search."
Roy had heard stories about Captain Tacy. Johnny was sure afraid of her. Roy wondered if Captain Stanley shared Johnny's feelings. He was pretty sure the other guys did. He was pretty sure he did, too.
***
"Cap!" Chet was crushed by the obvious insult. Cassie laughed at him and
he took a swipe at her.
"Hey!" Marco grouched. He did not care much for the skinny game trail they
presently followed down the side of the cliff. There was too little between
him and the bottom of the ravine to suit him. "Watch it! You trying to knock
her down the side of the mountain?"
"Fat chance!" Cassie scoffed.
"That's for sure, she'd just hop on her broom and ----"
"KNOCK IT OFF, YOU TWO!" Captain Stanley yelled. "From here on out, this
is a silent search. Unless somebody spots something -- keep quiet. If Johnny
is trying to call out we'd never hear him." Captain Stanley turned his back
on them and continued the search, following Stoker. It was too steep here
to do a wide area search. All they could do was follow the trail till they
got to a spot where they could fan out.
Marco walked past the two Kellys. He had no desire to bring the captain's
anger down on himself.
Chet and Cassie exchanged glances and followed. They each had the tendency
to play the clown. Humor usually helped in most situations but it was really
hard to find anything funny about this.
As the trail widened once more and they were able to expand their search.
They were beginning to find more things from the squad. They wanted to hurry
but were afraid that might cause them to miss Johnny. Stoker had tripped
over a backboard that he had not seen in the tall, wispy grass. They were
gathering up anything that they found that seemed to be in salvageable condition.
"Johnny!" Chet called. "Where are ya, Man?"
It seemed fruitless to call out to him as he was quite probably unconscious
but no one stopped Chet and finally Marco thought he heard something. They
were once again silent as they strained to hear a response.
"That way," Captain Stanley pointed with the handy talkie. He was sure he
heard something in the scrub brush just south of their position. "And be
careful. We don't need any more accidents. Go slowly."
***
Cassie spotted the orange biophone first. She knew that Johnny had used to to contact Rampart. He had to be close by. "This way," she called as she ran past them.
"I said, go slowly," Captain Stanley complained as she whizzed by. He looked accusingly at Chet. He wanted to yell at someone who would at least have the courtesy to listen.
Chet shrugged helplessly then followed Mike and Marco in the direction that she had gone. None of them heeded the cap's warning. He sighed and followed also. He found himself traveling far more quickly than he thought advisable.
Cassie stopped three running paces from Johnny. He was fairly well hidden by the tall grass. He lay beside the bio-phone. The receiver was in his hand but he was very still. He looked asleep. Her heart jumped to her throat but she drove the thought of any other possibility out of her mind. As she walked toward him she forced herself into full paramedic mode. She heard her father's voice in her head. "Firemen don't fall apart." She'd heard him say it a million times. She knew it was really a lie but firemen didn't fall apart when there was a job to do. She was a paramedic and he was not a friend. At the moment, he was a victim and he deserved the best she had, just like any other victim.
She squatted next to him and checked for a pulse. "Thank God," she breathed. She was startled that he jumped as soon as she touched him. It almost seemed as if he had been just laying there enjoying the sunshine and had dozed off.
"'Bout time you guys got here," he pretended to grumble as he saw the rest of his station arrive behind Cassie.
"What are you doing -- just lying here catching some rays?" she asked as she began her initial assessment of him.
"Not much else I can do. My leg is trapped and I dropped the antenna for the biophone." He pointed to where it lay just out of his reach.
"Broke it too, by the looks," Cassie said picking it up. "I don't know how you're going to explain this to Dr Gorgeous."
"Hey, this is nothing. I had to tell him an elephant sat on one once," Johnny admitted.
Cassie began to suspect he might have a concussion or some other head injury. She shined her penlight into his eyes to check his pupils.
"Ahhh don't," Johnny gasped, attempting to push her hand away.
"Hey, watch it. Now you lay still and let me do my thing. If I lose my place, I'll have to start all over again."
"This isn't necessary. I -- hey, where's Roy?" He suddenly got panicky.
"Roy is okay. He and Pidge are on their way to Rampart."
"But ---"
"No buts about it. Chet, fix this." She handed him the bent antenna. "Then somebody get on the horn to Rampart," Cassie commanded.
To his surprise, Captain Stanley found himself obeying. Chet handed him the straightened out antenna and he slid it into place. "Rampart, this is Squad 51. How do you read?"
"Read you fine, 51," Dixie's overly anxious voice answered him. "Go ahead."
Cassie called out Johnny's vitals to him. Johnny was becoming increasingly concerned about Roy. Cassie tried to assure him that Roy was fine but he wasn't buying it.
"No she's right, John. I just heard over the radio. Roy's not in too bad a shape. A lot of bruises and a broken nose." Captain Stanley told them all.
"A broken nose?" Johnny repeated with disbelief.
"So, the sooner you co-operate, the sooner we can get in there and give him a hard time," Cassie pointed out. "Now how many fingers do you see?"
"Two," he sighed, "but I still don't think this is necessary."
"Yes it is. Says so right in the book. Now what day is it?"
"Tuesday," he answered.
It suddenly dawned on Cassie that she had no idea what day it was. She asked Marco in Spanish.
"I don't have a head injury!" Marco spurted out in surprise.
"I bet the Girl Wonder doesn't know what day it is," Chet laughed. "He's right. It's Tuesday."
Cassie had been hoping to avoid that particular revelation. She let them all have a laugh at her expense. She'd get them back later, especially Chet. Because Johnny had been probably unconscious at some point and could possibly have a mild concussion, they could not prescribe a painkiller for him so laughter was the best she had to offer him.
It took all four of the men from 51 to move the log that had Johnny trapped while Cassie grilled Johnny about the elephant sitting on the biophone story. With anyone else she'd assume a story like that was a definite sign of a concussion, but knowing Johnny, it was probably the actual truth. None of the others disputed it and it did take the attention off the fact that she did not know what day it was.
Once he was free, Cassie got the backboard ready.
"That's not necessary," Johnny argued. "I'm not hurt. I was just stuck."
"The paramedic says it is, John," Captain Stanley told him in no uncertain terms.
"I'm a paramedic too --"
"Not at the moment, Pal. Right now, you're a victim."
He strongly disagreed but decided it was unhealthy to argue with the cap. He gritted his teeth as they finally got him onto the backboard and into the stokes basket for the long haul back up to the road. There was no way to put a chopper down here. They would have to carry him out.
"Take it slow and easy and I mean slow," Captain Stanley commanded forcefully as they started back up the way they had come.
***
Dixie had downplayed Roy's injuries a little bit for the guys at 51. He had several cracked ribs and a bruised lung, but since he had complained the most about the broken nose when he was given a list of his injuries, that was what she chose to share with his crew. She knew that the engine company would be hot on the heels of Johnny's ambulance so she stood waiting by the door to take charge of them. Every once in a while she had to pull her meanest head nurse routine to keep the Fire Department in line. This was her turf and they knew it.
The ambulance backed in. Cassie jumped out and ran beside the gurney.
"Mr Poitier will see you in three," Dixie advised. She crossed her arms over her chest ready to take charge as she saw two engines and a squad pull into the lot.
Cassie grimaced, wondering if her earlier plan had created something of a frankenstein.
"Who?" Johnny asked.
"It's a long story," Cassie sighed, picturing Morton with an silk ascot and a cigarette holder, calling everyone 'darling' and wanting his people to get in touch with people so they could do lunch. "And not nearly as entertaining as your elephant story. I'll tell you about it later."
As soon as they were in the room, Morton called for tests and x-rays. Cassie made her report and then wanted to make herself scarce. Johnny was flirting with one of the nurses, or he was till she started to cut his clothes off. Then Romeo suddenly seemed at a loss for words. As soon as she could, Cassie slipped out.
Dixie had corralled all the Fire Department personnel into the doctors' lounge so she went in there to join them. They all asked about Johnny. She gave the standard "waiting for test results" answer but they all looked so worried that she did add that he was flirting with one of the nurses when she left the room. This made them all feel better. She did not mention the part about the nurse cutting off Johnny's clothes, although she did file it away for future reference. She was sure that Johnny would tease her about not knowing what day it was and when he did, she'd nail him with it.
Dixie came in to report that Johnny was battered and bruised but nothing was broken. They were going keep both him and Roy for observation, however. They would be moved up to a room soon and then they could have a short visit.
Engine 51 was going to stay at the hospital till they got a chance to see their paramedics but Captain Tacy rounded up her crew to herd them back to the barn. Cassie and Pidge had hardly been at the station all day. They had no doubt that they would be back at Rampart before their shift was finished. They could check on Roy and Johnny then and with any luck, Cassie could avoid Dr Morton. So far today they had turned a perfectly good doctor into a movie star and solved the case of the missing squad and their shift was less than half over. It looked like it was going to be one of those days.
