Power Play (FBI Thriller 18)

Everyone had done the right thing, including Natalie, waiting to trap the intruder. Hooley and Mendez had been fast, but still it hadn’t been enough. He hated that the person to pay was Hooley.

Davis realized he was beat. He looked over at Perry, who was now quietly talking to her mother, her hand on her mother’s shoulder. He saw the dark shadows beneath her eyes, saw the strain.

At last Savich said, “We’ve got enough to go on with this guy to search through AFIS—a young man with a noticeable odd gait, in good physical shape. Best of all, Hooley shot him. Maybe we’ll get lucky with one of the ERs in the area. He sounds like a killer for hire, and if he is, it’s very possible he’ll be in the system. I’ll get this all to Ben Raven. We’ll have a lot of cops looking for him.”

Nurse Chambers appeared in the doorway. She looked serious, as if she was ready to give her condolences. Then she stepped aside. “This is Dr. Proctor, everyone.”

An older man walked into the room. He was perfectly bald and very short, enough to make Davis wonder if he stood on a block while operating. He looked at the clock on the wall out of habit. Davis looked with him. It was exactly 3:00 a.m. He had on a fresh white coat over fresh scrubs—no trace of Hooley’s blood on him now. He said in a very deep voice for someone so short, “Mr. Hooley is in recovery and doing well, and if he knows what’s good for him, he’ll stay that way. He’s a young man, and strong. But I have to say it was a close thing; that knife did a lot of damage. We’ll try to extubate him soon, and we’ll have to watch him very carefully for any signs of bleeding. Are any of you his family?”

Natalie started. His family. She had no clue about Hooley’s family. They’d met so recently they’d never spoken of siblings or parents. She said, “None of us are related by blood, but I suppose you could call us his family. I will find out—”

Connie said, “He has a sister who lives in Denver with her husband and three children. I’ll find her phone number and call her.”

Dr. Proctor nodded. “Yes, it’s best she be here. And I don’t mean to alarm you, but if he is religious, I think it wise that his pastor be notified. I understand many of you are FBI?”

Savich said, “That’s right. This is Mrs. Natalie Black, and Mr. Hooley is her bodyguard. How long before you’re confident he’ll survive?”

“I don’t want to minimize the danger. The knife tip punctured his pericardium and entered his heart muscle. The wound was within a couple of millimeters of being quickly fatal. If he hadn’t gotten to me so quickly he would have died from blood loss. But he did get here and he survived the surgery, and that in itself says a lot about the young man’s strength of will.

“The biggest risks now are delayed bleeding and infection in his chest or his blood. I don’t expect this to happen, but we’ll know much more by tomorrow. I’ll have you notified when he’s transferred to the ICU and he’s conscious. I suggest all of you go home now and try to get some sleep.”

Dr. Proctor turned on his heel, paused, turned back. “I recognize you, Mrs. Black. I’m sorry for your recent loss. The nurses told me you and Ms. Mendez saved Mr. Hooley’s life, stayed with him until the paramedics could take over. You both did excellently.”

Connie said, “Dr. Proctor, someone tried to kill him. He needs to be guarded. Let me stay. I won’t get in anyone’s way. I want to protect him, make sure no one can hurt him again.”

Dr. Proctor looked at her closely, saw the fear in her eyes, the blotches of blood that had bled through to the white lab coat she was wearing. “Shouldn’t the police be guarding him if there’s really a need?”

“I’m his partner and a professional bodyguard. It’s my responsibility.” Connie fell silent, simply stared at him. She had no more arguments to make to him.

Dr. Proctor sighed, looked toward Savich, who nodded. “Very well. You can stay with him, but be ready to move out of the way fast if they need you to, okay?”

He turned to Nurse Chambers. “Mr. Hooley needs protection.” And, eyes twinkling, he added, “Make it so.”

Half an hour later, Connie pulled up a chair next to Hooley’s bed, but she didn’t sit down. Not yet. She had to look at him, watch him breathe, even though it was a machine doing the breathing for him. His face was as white as the hospital sheets. With his hair flopped over his forehead, he looked very young, helpless. She lightly laid her fingers on his forearm and she prayed, something she hadn’t done in a long time. Finally, she sat down, leaned her head back against the wall, and because of her training as a Marine, she fell asleep deeply, within a few seconds, knowing she would awaken instantly if someone came into the cubicle.