Background
When the McClellan brothers happen across the assasination of a state senator, their lives and their families are thrown into chaos. A crime drama that includes the aspect of faith.
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"They have it covered. There's no way the Lehmann brothers can get at you again."
At the mention of the name Cody felt cold fingers clutch the nape of his neck. "Lehmann," he whispered.
"Yeah. The root of all evil, evidently."
"Brothers?"
Jack nodded.
"There were four, right? When I saw them there were four of them."
"Yeah. Three now, and we have one of them in custody. Well, the feds have one of them in custody."
Cody glanced at Rudy, who had resumed his place at the door, pretending again not to eavesdrop. "So there's two?"
Jack nodded. "Two still at large, yeah."
"What happened to the other one?"
"He, uh ... " Jack glanced away from Cody, walked to the window and stared down at the sidewalk. "He was killed." He turned to face the room again but avoided Cody's gaze.
Cody blinked, remembering a voice, hard as concrete, and a man leaning over him, spitting words at him. 'That little booby trap your brother left on ya'lls trail ... my brother fell into it. Cut him up on the insides. I sat and held him while he died.' Cody stared up; Jack's face was a mask.
The intercom above them crackled to life, its disembodied voice startling them both. "I'm on my way," a low, feminine voice informed them. "Dr. Gates and Dr. Kreitz are with me."
"Kreitz is your neurologist. Great guy. Kind of a stick in the mud, but as Mom pointed out, we already have friends. We needed an excellent doctor and Kreitz is that." Jack lifted his revolver from its holster and wiggled his eyebrows at Cody. "Gates is the agent I told you about—Dr. Fed. She doesn't particularly like him. Says he's a cold son of a duck. She's the one that started calling him Dr. Fed. Calls him other things too, none of them too lady-like." He took a position at the foot of the bed.
It crossed Cody's mind to ask who 'she' might be, but he glanced toward the door. Rudy had drawn his weapon, as well, and moved to stand in the doorway of the connecting restroom, his back pressed into the door frame, revolver ready to destroy whatever face walked through the door. Tension settled into the room, as thick as Friday afternoon smog. Cody watched, uneasiness growing as the seconds ticked by.
Jack looked over at him. "Gotcha covered, Code." His voice held no hint of anxiety. "No sweat."
The door swept open, admitting a dark-haired woman no taller than his mother and two men, one, balding and middle-aged and the other, tall, and graying with small, intense eyes . All three wore the long, white coat that signified their profession. The older man seemed more interested in his surroundings than in any particular person around him. He scanned the room and stepped past Rudy, stood just inside the small entryway to the main part of the room and stopped, his attention now directed at the closed door.
The other man, the neurologist, Cody guessed, came directly to him, but Cody's attention was drawn to the woman.
She never glanced up from the chart she read as she entered the room. "You can put your weapons down now, gentlemen."
Jack grinned and re-holstered his revolver, as did Rudy.
Abby Kitman looked up at Cody and smiled. "Good," she said, her face softened by the smile, "you're awake and alert. How're you doing?"
Cody blinked. "I ... uh ... I'm g— I'm ... Good." He felt suddenly tongue-tied and light-headed, and had a mental image of Jack saying, 'She doctor', you patient' like an old Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan. He swallowed, took a slow breath and answered again. "I'm okay, I think. A little tired."
"That's to be expected." Kreitz didn't seem too interested in bedside manner, but instead examined the read-outs he got from the equipment around Cody's bed.
Abby smiled down at him. "Your body has been through a lot. Give yourself a chance. Tired is to be expected right now."
As the woman felt his pulse, Cody shot a quick look at his grinning brother and felt color rise in his face. He imagined all the things Jack would love to do or say at this moment and prayed that he'd have sense enough to stay silent. He realized she was talking to him and tried to focus on her words.
"...but after all you've already been through it should be a breeze. Do you have any questions about that?" She looked solemn, as though she'd delivered some important piece of information to him. Her eyes widened almost imperceptibly when he didn't answer right away and she cocked her head slightly. "Mr. McClellan? Did you understand?"
Cody frowned, feeling stupid. "I'm sorry. I wasn't ... I didn't ... hear ..."
"I think his brain's still a little muddled, Doc," Jack said. He nodded from her to Cody and, upon seeing the look on his younger sibling's face added, "What?"
"Oh! You don't even know me,do you. I'm so sorry. I'm Dr. Abby Kitman. I'm not technically on your case, but these fine gentlemen are kind enough to allow me to tag along." Abby smiled again, magically changing back into the breathtaking beauty. "It's okay," she said, her voice soft as snowflakes. "Give yourself some time. Now that we have you awake, we'll be running tests, but right now, at least, everything looks pretty good, isn't that correct, Dr. Kreitz?"
Kreitz grunted.
Abby kept speaking, as if she never expected an answer. "We're hoping for what will be very close to a full recovery. Jack's read all the information on the physical therapy. So have your mother and sister-in-law. Any of them can probably tell you as much about it as I can. And the physical therapist will be in starting next week, so you can ask him anything they can't answer." She touched his arm again as she stood. "I'll check in on you in a while. You get some rest."
As the door swung shut behind the three doctors, Jack laughed. "Oh, Bubba," he snorted.
"Oh, Bubba, what?" Cody didn't waste a look at Jack, but studied the closing door.
Jack raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Nothing. Just, 'oh, Bubba.'"
Author Notes
Thanks for reading, especially to my fiathful reviewers; your help has been invaluable. Please leave a comment--positive or negative.
Synopsis: Two years after the murder of Cody's wife, Jack and Cody McClellan go amping 'to get away' for a long weekend. While Jack naps at the campsite, Cody takes a camera and goes in search of interesting shots. Instead, he interrupts the assassination attempt of a state senator. He is shot and left for dead. Jack hears the shots and finds him, dragging him out of the woods and to safety, with the help of other campers. The hitmen follow, and an attempt is made on Cody at the hospital. He is left in a coma. Jack struggles to understand how a loving God could not only allow these events, but allow the murder of Cody's wife, Pam. As he vents to the doctor he finds help in her faith. Last chapter, Cody woke from the coma, still confused about the events that led him to the hospital.
Characters in this chapter:
Jack McClellan--mid-30s, police detective. A devout family man, he struggles with his faith since the death of his sister-in-law.
Cody McClellan--early 30s. Widowed and raising two children, he left the police force to become an investor and a PI. Loves his kids and family, loves God.
Rudy Sotello--family friend, Cody's ex-partner
Dr. Abby Kitman--head of the trauma team that treated Cody upon his arrival at the hospital
the Lehmann brothers--four brothers. White extremists responsible for the deaths of several prominent minorities. ATM to pay for his birthday cake Assassination briefly
HOpe that helps. :)
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