Rise & Fall (THIRDS 4)

THIRDS Team Leader in critical condition after car bomb explosion…. THIRDS agent Sloane Brodie rushed to hospital after Coalition attack on THIRDS teammate goes awry…. THIRDS issues Threat Level Red alert after one agent is shot and a Team Leader is critically injured by Coalition leader Beck Hogan.

The headlines went on and on and on, dredging up anything connected to Sloane. They posted images of Gabe, ran old news footage of his death, of the funeral, before they moved on to Sloane’s new partner. Once again Dex found his image plastered all over the news, footage of him leaving the courthouse after sending his HPF partner away. It didn’t end there. The whole team was dragged into it, most of the footage from before Dex had been recruited.

There was Ash tackling some Therian perp to the ground during a case and restraining him, looking fierce and menacing. Rosa rushing to give medical aid to a wounded citizen. Letty shooting the lock off a warehouse door before the team rushed in. Calvin running toward his partner after setting an explosive device that Hobbs then set off. When Cael’s face came on the screen, Dex couldn’t take it anymore. He’d wanted to punch something so bad, he’d been forced to leave the waiting area.

For hours he walked up and down the halls, around the hospital grounds, and drank enough coffee from the Garden Café, the staff was on a first-name basis with him. He tried to keep himself busy so he wouldn’t drive himself out of his mind with worst-case scenarios. He’d wandered around the Greenberg Pavilion and its wings. Then the Baker, Payson, and Whitney Pavilions before making his way back to Greenberg.

These days, hospitals were trying to look less clinical with art on the walls, bright colors, comfy couches, restaurants, and hotel suites. That was fine with him, but it wouldn’t ease his nerves or alter the sick feeling in his stomach. It wouldn’t stop him from seeing Sloane unconscious under the battered car door, or the jagged piece of metal sticking out of him. The images had his stomach reeling, and the reality of what had happened, what could still happen, had Dex running to the nearest trashcan. Once he was done losing what little was in his stomach, he wiped his mouth, grateful for the café attendant who ran over to offer him help and some antibacterial wipes. He cleaned himself off and allowed them to lead him to a chair where he sat down and thanked them. The young man brought him a bottle of water and made sure he was okay before going back to his duties. Dex had no idea how long he’d sat there trying to hold on to his composure.

Dex’s family and teammates took turns scouring the hospital for him to make sure he was okay. It was usually a quick assessment. No one was ready to utter a word. As if any kind of conversation might influence the outcome. Dex had been staring out the glass doors of the hospital entrance when Cael rushed over. Dex braced himself.

“Dex, the nurse said the doctor’s going to come out and speak with us.”

“Did they say anything about Sloane?” He hurried after his brother to the waiting area.

Cael shook his head. “Nothing.”

When Dex joined the rest of his team inside the tastefully decorated lounge of soothing gray hues, they acknowledged him before returning to their previous fretting. They looked lost. Like they were waiting for Sloane to come out and tell them everything was okay. Dex knew the feeling. The team spent so much time together on the job—and off it—it was hard not falling into their roles no matter the situation, and Sloane’s role was of leader. They’d follow him to hell and back. Dex understood how this might be doubly hard for the team what with having lost Gabe. He could imagine what was running through their minds. It was probably somewhere along the same line as his thoughts. Would they be attending another funeral? Dex buried that thought down deep. He couldn’t go there. While he waited for the doctor to come out, Dex stood to one side and observed his teammates.

Letty and Rosa were huddled together speaking quietly, their arms linked, while Calvin gave Hobbs a reassuring pat on the shoulder, both glassy-eyed and tense. Dex hadn’t seen Hobbs whisper to Calvin once since the two had arrived at the hospital, and Dex feared Hobbs was retreating into himself again like he had after Gabe’s death. Ash was sitting in one of the two-seaters, red-eyed and groggy. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. Dex felt for the guy.

The nurses had taken care of Ash’s stitches hours ago, and despite whatever they’d given him making him drowsy, Ash refused to close his eyes, even for a moment. Dex had a whole new level of respect for him. The longer he knew the guy, the more layers he discovered. Ash might be a certified prick, but Dex was growing to appreciate the rough agent’s underlying qualities. Dex understood Sloane’s loyalty now.

Ash bitched and groaned about almost everything. He was tactless and unapproachable, but if you needed someone to go to war for you, Ash Keeler would bring down his wrath like some vengeful Greek god and make it rain blood and pain on whoever made the stupid mistake of crossing him. Despite all that, somewhere deep inside, Ash Keeler still had a heart, because Dex saw evidence of it breaking every time Ash’s gaze landed on Cael. Why the guy was so damned determined to be without someone he would die for was beyond Dex.

A Therian doctor who Dex recognized as one of several who’d come out when the EMTs had arrived with Sloane, came barging through the door and into the waiting area, straight to Tony. Dex had learned months ago from his own stay at the hospital after some of Pearce’s hired goons ambushed him that the THIRDS had their own appointed medical staff here at the hospital, so he wasn’t too surprised to find the doctor royally pissed off. Dealing with the government had that effect on people. Whatever the hell had happened, the doctor was furious. When he spoke, his tone was harsh and clipped.

“Sergeant Maddock, a word please.”

Clearly dealing with the THIRDS didn’t mandate the same patience required for civilians. The doctor pulled Tony off to one side, and although their voices were quiet, it was clear by the doctor’s dilated pupils and his hand movements something wasn’t right.

“Screw this.” Dex marched over and butted in. “What the hell’s going on?”

The doctor eyed him with a frown. “Who are you?”

“I’m Agent Daley, Agent Brodie’s partner. If something is going on with him, I have the right to know about it.”

“Well, Agent Daley, I hope you care about your partner more than your organization does.”

The words hit Dex like a punch to the gut, and he did his best not to panic. “What happened?”

“The THIRDS withheld vital information regarding agent Brodie’s medical history, and it nearly cost him his life.”

“What?” A series of emotions swept through Dex, everything from shock, to anger, to confusion. The doctor must have picked up on it because he expanded his reply.

“Your partner suffers from malignant hyperthermia, a potentially fatal muscular disorder triggered by general anesthetics. As the anesthesiologist was given no information regarding Agent Brodie’s susceptibility to this crisis, he was administered anesthetics along with a paralyzing agent, causing him to suffer an episode. We immediately began emergency procedures, stabilizing his vitals before he could go into cardiac arrest. These complications could have been prevented had the THIRDS been forthcoming.”

“Is it possible they didn’t know?” Dex asked, hoping their organization hadn’t purposefully withheld such important information. Something told him he already knew the answer.

“It’s possible Agent Brodie was unaware of his susceptibility, but malignant hyperthermia is inherited, and the THIRDS refused to release background and medical information on Agent Brodie’s family, merely stating there were no concerns.”

“Those sons of bitches.” Dex’s jaw muscles clenched along with his fists. There was no doubt in his mind Sloane’s condition stemmed from his time at the research facility. It would explain why those bastards up in Washington were more concerned with keeping their secret safe than saving one of their agents. It had nothing to do with Sloane’s parents. The Therian Defense Department withheld information from Sloane’s First Gen records in order to prevent the risk of exposure to the First Gen Recruitment Program. After all, what was one agent in the grand scheme of things? Tony placed a hand to Dex’s shoulder in an attempt to calm him.

“Take it easy, son. Now’s not the time.”

His dad was right. He’d lose his shit over this later. Dex returned his attention to the doctor whose anger appeared to have subsided. “So what now?”

“He’s out of surgery and will remain in ICU under close observation for the next thirty-six hours. Until Agent Brodie regains consciousness, we won’t know what—if any—damage may have been caused by the episode. Once I have additional information, I’ll determine the next course of action. Hopefully it will simply mean moving him to a general private room before he’s well enough to discharge.”