As soon as they’d crashed to the ground, Jimmy grabbed Reg’s throat and began pounding his head against the pavement, oblivious to the gaping hole in Reg’s chest.

“Oh, God...no...” Justin moaned. Karen skidded to a stop beside him, as her brain tried to comprehend the scene before her. Then he stuffed the gun back in his holster and ran to Weeping Sparrow. His movement startled Karen back into action and she followed him.

Frank and Leigh ran to Reg, and Evan stopped in his tracks, stunned by what he saw. Frank quickly searched Reg for other weapons, as Leigh tried to pry Jimmy’s hands from Reg’s neck.

Karen saw her struggling with him and came over beside the group. “Stop!” Karen yelled, smacking Jimmy hard on the back of the head. The attack made him pause long enough for Leigh to get his hands open and Karen to pull him off Reg by the collar of his coat. Then Karen turned and watched helplessly as Justin tried to stop the blood from spurting out Weeping Sparrow’s neck by using one of her scarves to apply pressure to the wound.

“Evan! Get the soup!” Frank yelled, turning his attention from Reg as soon as he was sure there were no other weapons.

“Karen, ged da silencer off my gun,” Justin said quietly, his voice grim and his eyes never leaving Weeping Sparrow. She moved around behind him and lifted the gun from the holster. She unscrewed the silencer and slipped the gun back in the holster. Then she pulled off her gloves, shoved the silencer in one and stuffed it deep into her coat pocket. She took a step back and held her breath, as Frank joined Justin in trying to keep Weeping Sparrow alive.

Leigh knelt beside Reg and could hear his lung sucking air in through the hole in his chest. She pulled the wind breaker open and tore at the hole in his shirt to get down to the wound.

“Karen, go get doctors from the ER,” Frank ordered. Karen ran for the door Evan had gone in.

“Jimmy!” Leigh shouted. He was standing over her and Reg, still seething with anger...and fear for Weeping Sparrow’s life. “Go get plastic wrap from the RV, and tell Terri to get lost,” she ordered him when she was sure she had his attention. He blinked a couple times as his brain fumbled with the request, then ran over to the RV.

Evan was just coming back out the door from the kitchen, and Leigh turned to him, her hands pressed against Reg’s chest to slow the loss of blood and air. As she pushed down, she could feel his ribs dropping as his lung began to collapse. “Evan, get plastic wrap from the kitchen!” She wasn’t sure that Frank and Terri had any in the RV, and she didn’t want to waste any more time if they didn’t. Better to have too much.

Jimmy came racing back, a roll of Press-and-Seal wrap in one hand. Behind him, the RV rolled slowly away.

Karen ran through the kitchen, dodging appliances and kitchen workers. She burst into the dining room and looked around frantically, then ran toward the door to the lobby. She flung the glass door open and yelled, “I need a trauma team NOW!”

The security guard, who’d been standing by the information desk chatting with older lady sitting behind it, put her hand on the butt of her gun to steady it as she jogged over to Karen. “What’s going on?” she demanded.

“Please...” Karen pleaded, grabbing the guard’s sleeve and pulling her toward the kitchen. “There’s two people injured in the parking lot! This way!” She led the woman through the dining room and kitchen, and out the back door.

As soon as the guard saw Reg and Weeping Sparrow on the ground, people leaning over them, and the slush around them turning red from their blood, she pulled the walkie-talkie from her belt. “”HQ, this is Cooper. I’ve got two people down in the south-west lot. Send trauma teams immediately!” Evan and Jimmy bracketed Karen, and the three stood silently watching Leigh, Frank and Justin work on their wounded comrades.

Suddenly, a crowd of doctors and nurses pushing gurneys piled with equipment came charging from the hospital toward the scene, followed by several more security guards. The trauma teams pulled to a halt and surrounded the two injured people, and the security guards went to Cooper for instructions.

“I’m a doctor,” Frank grunted as two of the ER specialists knelt beside Weeping Sparrow. They let him continue to help.

Leigh and Justin stood and backed away, their blood-covered hands shaking from the cold and the adrenalin. The other three came and clustered around them. “Dat wasn’ Reg,” Justin whispered, his eyes shifting from Weeping Sparrow to Reg and back. He was talking to Karen, though the others in that small circle easily heard him, too.“Dere was nudding of Reg in dat face...’xcebd maybe as he wen’ down.” Karen wrapped her arm around Justin’s waist and held him tight.

Cooper directed the other guards to begin searching the ground for weapons and any other evidence. Then she went around and asked to see the weapons each of the Envoys carried. Sniffing the muzzle of each one, it was soon obvious that Justin’s gun was the only one that had been fired; and she called in to the security office for evidence bags. Moments later, one of the other guards found the bloody scalpel that had flown from Reg’s hands when the bullet hit him. Both items were quickly bagged and carried inside.

“I’m Evelyn Cooper,” the guard told the five. “I’ll need you to come with me.” They followed her into the hospital. She took all their names as they walked.

She led them to a short hallway lined with doors, near the ER. “The Livonia Police have been called. I’ll need you all to stay here until they’ve cleared you to go.” She then put each one into a separate exam room, starting with Justin, then Leigh, Evan, Karen, and Jimmy. If any of them had bothered to check, they would have found the doors to their rooms locked.

Justin began pacing as soon as the door clicked shut behind him. “Oh, God...oh, God...oh, God....” He spotted the sink and nearly ran to it. He went to pull on the knobs then stopped, staring at the blood on his hands. After a couple seconds, he shook his head and used his elbows to pulled them; and water splashed around the counter and onto Justin’s clothes from the force of the stream hitting the bottom of the sink.

He rubbed his hands together under the water until the blood was washed off, then he pumped soap from the dispenser and washed some more. Steam rose from the sink, the water was so hot, but Justin didn’t seem to notice. When he was done, his skin was bright pink from the scrubbing.

He began pacing again and talking to himself. “I’m sorry, Reg. I can’d even brodecd my friends.... You’re supposed do brodecd your friends....”

A couple times, he stumbled over the chairs that sat against the wall because he wasn’t actually seeing the room or the things in it. All he kept seeing was that face, something else’s face where Reg’s should have been, as Reg turned toward Jimmy, the scalpel, spraying Weeping Sparrow’s blood, gripped firmly in his left hand. Was Reg right-handed or left? Justin couldn’t remember, and he wondered if any of them had ever even noticed before....

Justin tripped on one of the chairs again. This time, instead of putting his hand out to catch himself, he let his shoulder collide with the wall, then slowly slid to the floor, sobbing. With his back against the wall and his elbows on his knees, he pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes, ignoring the pain that shot around his skull from the still-bandaged left side and trying to blot out that face.

Leigh also went to the sink in her room and tried to wash up as best she could. But hers wasn’t the obsessive scrubbing that Justin’s was. She was careful and deliberate, and she stopped when she’d gotten her hands and wrists clean. Then she dampened a handful of paper towels and tried to blot as much blood off her coat and pants as she could.

Jimmy was pacing as well, furious with Reg for what he’d done, but just as angry with himself for not preventing it. It didn’t matter than none of them had foreseen that particular turn of events. He felt that, somehow, he should have been able to anticipate it and intervene.

Karen and Evan sat patiently. Evan worried about Weeping Sparrow. The blood spurting from her neck had been so red.... He worried about Running Elk, whose condition they still didn’t know. And he worried about Jimmy, the hot-headed one in the bunch, hoping that he didn’t do anything rash....

Karen worried not only about her mentor and all four of her guardians, but also about Reg and Leigh and, most importantly, about her husband. Before she’d even seen what had happened, she’d seen the horror on Justin’s face. He’d only done what needed to be done, what his instincts and training told him to do. But to shoot a friend? Karen knew that it must have gutted him, and she worried that it could break him. He already carried an almost overwhelming guilt over not being able to save all the guys in his unit back in Iraq. But to have been the one who actually caused the damage to...or maybe even killed a friend? She bowed her head and prayed that he’d be able to hold himself together.

When the adrenalin made it impossible for Justin to sit still a second longer, he pushed himself up and went back to the sink and began scrubbing his hands again. They were raw from the hot water and rubbing before he even realized what he was doing and stopped. Would they ever be truly clean again? Justin was afraid to think about it. He began pacing, trying to walk off the pain. And before long he was on the floor, his back pressed against the corner, sobbing again.

Karen checked her watch. It had been about 10am when Frank, Leigh and Evan had gone in to get Reg. It was almost 11:30am now. She wondered how long they would be stuck here, how long before she could see Justin....

There was a light rap on the door, and it was pushed open by a good-looking Hispanic man, in maybe his late 20s, wearing a not-terribly-expensive suit. When he held out his hand to her, Karen could see a badge clipped to his belt. “Mrs. Kazotchek? I’m Detective Stone.” Karen shook his hand, then he pulled the other chair around to face her and sat down. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Karen told him. “We’d come to find a friend who’s been acting kind of strange lately. Some of us were waiting in the parking lot, while others went in to find him. I was watching around the side of the building, in case he came out a different door. All of a sudden I heard a gun shot, and I saw Justin holding his gun and pointing at something. I rushed over, and when I came around the corner I saw Weeping Sparrow and Reg on the ground bleeding....”

“And why were you looking for this person?”

“Like I said, he’s been acting kind of strange lately. We were worried about him because he wasn’t himself, ya know?”

“Where are your cars parked?”

“I have no idea. We were dropped off by the building. So how are they?”

“Who?”

Karen rolled her eyes. “The two injured people....”

Stone flipped a couple pages on his note pad. “The old woman is in critical care. She could go either way. The gentleman,” Stone said this with a hint of sarcasm, “is in surgery.”

“That would be Weeping Sparrow and Reg Morrison?” Karen asked. She found it offensive that he would refer to Weeping Sparrow as just ‘the old woman.’ She was so much more than that to Karen. And to Jimmy and Evan. She knew they’d be smart enough not to hit a cop. But if he wanted them to open their mouths at all, he’d better not show Weeping Sparrow any disrespect.

“Right,” Stone said. “So, can you think of anything else that might be important?”

Karen thought for a minute. “No.”

“Well, here’s my card, if you do. And we’ll call you if we have any more questions for you. I’m sure we will. In the meantime, you’re free to go.”

“Is it OK if I just wait in the hall for my husband?”

“Sure. Just stay out of the way.”

Karen nodded. She’d spent enough time waiting for people in hospitals. She knew how to stay out of the way.

Stone had already disappeared into another room by the time Karen gathered her things and went out into the hallway. The room he’d gone into was Leigh’s.

“Mrs. Sorenson? I’m Detective Stone.” He shook her hand, and pulled the second chair over and sat facing her. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“I just got back into the States, and I stopped to visit friends...the Kazotcheks. I’d heard that our friend Reg was acting a little odd, and the three of us and a few other friends came here looking for him.”

“How did you know to look here for him?”

“I’m not really sure how they knew. Anyway, Reg cut Weeping Sparrow, and Justin shot him because...well, what else do you do when someone goes mad and starts cutting someone like they’re the butcher of Fleet Street?”

Stone didn’t say anything, looking blandly at Leigh until she continued.

“Mr. Muelder and Justin were working on Weeping Sparrow, and I.... Is Reg going to be OK? And Weeping Sparrow? Are they going to live?”

“Mr. Morrison is in surgery right now, and Weeping Sparrow is in intensive care. It’s still touch and go.”

“Just pray to God that they both survive,” Leigh whispered, more to herself than to Stone.

Stone stood. “Incidently, I’m going to need your coat and....” He glanced down at her pants, which, in spite of her attempts at cleaning them, were still obviously bloody on the thighs and knees. “Someone will bring you something else to wear in a minute. Then you’re free to join your friend in the hall. Here’s my card, in case you think of anything else. We’ll contact you if we have any more questions. And, I’m sure you understand, please don’t leave town or the country. Thank you, Mrs. Sorenson.” He shook her hand again and left the room.

Karen watched Stone come out of Leigh’s room and go over to speak to a uniformed officer standing at the end of the hall. The officer disappeared, and Stone went into Jimmy’s room. A couple minutes later, a female officer came up the hall with an arm-full of clothes, and went into Leigh’s room. A few more minutes passed, and Leigh came out wearing scrub pants and a different coat. The officer followed her out, carrying two large paper evidence bags, and Karen assumed that Leigh’s pants were in one and her coat in the other.

“Heard anything more about Reg and Weeping Sparrow?” Leigh whispered to Karen. Karen always had thought that was funny, how people spoke in whispers in hospitals. Just one of those odd things about human nature.

“Just that Reg is in surgery and Weeping Sparrow is in the ICU.” Karen checked her cell. “Nothing from Aiden about Running Elk, either,” she whispered, very close to Leigh’s ear. No point in letting the cops know about that.

The two waited quietly in the hall. Shortly, Jimmy joined them, a scowl creasing his face, and Stone went into Evan’s room. About 15 minutes later, Stone and Evan came out. Stone went up the hall and out of sight, and Evan stood with the others. He and Jimmy exchanged glances, and the two maneuvered to bracket Karen as much as possible. They all wondered what was happening with Justin. They hadn’t seen anyone go in his room yet. What they didn’t know was that another detective had gone in while Stone was still interviewing Karen.

Justin was sitting on the floor, his back in the corner and his elbows on his knees, his head resting on his hands. He looked up when he heard the door open. An older man came in, maybe between 50 and 60. He had a full head of hair that was already graying, but his mustache was still dark. His suit was well-worn, the jacket hanging open, and it was not at all complimented by the garish tie. He wore a badge on his belt and a dyspeptic look on his face. Justin couldn’t be sure if the guy had indigestion or was just grumpy. He was very Caucasian, and looked like he’d spent his whole life as a Detroiter.

“Mr. Kazotchek, I’m Detective Phillips.” He looked directly at Justin’s hands, which were hanging limply over his knees. “I take it no one told you not to wash your hands?”

“Dey were govered in blood,” Justin said, using the wall to push himself up wearily.

“Also known as ‘Evidence.’ The security guard should’ve bagged ‘em. But whad’d’you expect from a ‘rent-a-cop.’”

“Id was Weebing Sbarrow’s blood,” Justin grumbled.

“So, what merits pulling out a hand cannon and blowing a guy away in a hospital parking lot?”

Justin hung his head for a second then stared the cop right in the face defiantly. “Draining.”

“You’re an auto mechanic. A very good one, I hear. Is that what they’re teaching mechanics these days?”

“No, soldiers.”

“You’ve been out for quite a few years....”

Justin shrugged. “He wasn’ agding lige him.”

“So he doesn’t usually go around slashing little old ladies?”

“No! He’s a good guy!”

“So what’s his beef with her?”

“None! He liges her!”

“So he slashes the throat of people he likes?”

Justin sputtered. It wasn’t like that. The cop was twisting this all around. Justin knew he was doing it to fluster him, and it was working. He had to calm down.

“OK. Start at the beginning,” Phillips told him.

“We came here do find him begause he’d been missing...”

“How long?”

“Since around Ghrisdmas or so...”

“And how’d you track him here?”

“I was sleebing,” Justin said, pointing his thumb at the bandage taped to the left side of his head. “I don’ know.”

“So, what happened to your face?”

“Id god gicged.”

“By who?”

Justin sighed. “Anudder friend.”

“What’s his name?”

“Nod dellin’ you, begause id was an agcidend. He meand do gicg anudder guy.”

“Why?”

Justin rolled his eyes and sighed again. He knew the cop was playing stupid on purpose, but it was still annoying. “Id was a fighd.”

“Do you get in fights often?”

“No. Nod any more dan any udder whide guy in Dedroid.”

“So, a lot. I assume you have a permit for that gun, and a concealed carry permit? I’ll need to see them.”

Justin put his right hand out, open flat, and reached around slowly with his left to get his wallet. When he had it out, he pulled out not only the gun permits but also his bounty hunter license, and handed them to the cop.

“Mm hmm. So you were chasing a bounty?”

“No, looging for a friend.”

“So you could shoot him?”

“No! And you gan guit rubbing id in. I know whad you’re doing.”

“Why carry the gun then?”

Justin pulled a folded piece of newspaper out of his wallet and unfolded it carefully before handing it to the cop without a word.

The cop scanned it. The article explained how the names of the survivors from Justin’s unit had been leaked to the media. And how hits had been ordered on each of those people by name. The writer was unable to discover who had ordered the hits.

Phillips handed the article back to Justin, who carefully folded it back up and put it back in his wallet.

“Under the circumstances, you’ll have to be our guest downtown,” Phillips told Justin.

Justin sighed. “Gan my wife dage my bersonal effegds?” He had plenty of family members in law enforcement, and he genuinely liked most of the other cops he’d met over the years. He respected most of them, too. But he still didn’t trust them until they’d earned his trust.

“Yes. And I don’t think we’ll need to cuff you, will we?”

“No. Gan I ged some of my meds? My face is gilling me.”

“That can be arranged.”

“Are dey ogay?”

“Who?”

Justin sighed again. “Da beoble who were bleeding....”

“The woman...”

“Her name is Weebing Sbarrow,” Justin interrupted him. “...or Ma’am.”

“Fine. Weeping Sparrow is in ICU. It’s still touch and go with her. And Mr. Morrison is in surgery now.”

Phillips opened the door and ushered Justin out with one hand under his elbow. Karen took a couple steps forward, then stopped when she saw Phillips’ hand on Justin’s arm. “Gan I hug her?” Justin asked, glancing over his shoulder at the cop. “You gan frisg me afderwards.”

Phillips nodded and let go of Justin’s arm. Justin and Karen closed the distance between them, and wrapped their arms tightly around each other. They stood this way for a minute or two, with Justin’s face buried in the crook of Karen’s neck, and Karen gently stroking the back of his head. “Dell Reg I’m sorry,” Justin whispered to her before he straightened up. The two let go of each other. “Here, you need do dage dis sduff...” Justin said. He took off his watch and handed it to her, followed by his keys, wallet and cell phone, then some change and other random stuff from his pants and coat pockets. She dropped everything into the small front section of her bag.

Then Justin carefully slid off his wedding ring, placed it gently in Karen’s palm and wrapped her hand around it. He lifted her hand up and kissed her knuckles softly before letting go. She unfastened the chain that held Fr. Andrew’s crucifix, and slipped the ring onto it, so when she fastened it back around her neck, the ring hung with the crucifix at the center of her chest.

Throughout it all, Phillips watched them carefully. “I’m going to need his license,” he told Karen. Karen got Justin’s wallet, and pulled out the license. As she handed it over to the cop, he studied her hard, like a bug under a microscope.

“I guess dis is where I gall my lawyer, righd?”

“You’ll need a criminal one...unless you already have one on retainer.”

“Am I under arresd?” Justin asked the cop.

“Yes.”

“Lawyer.” Justin replied. From this point on, he wasn’t saying another word, at least not without a lawyer present. He nodded at Karen. She knew to call Mark and get his recommendation for the best criminal lawyer in town.

“Will I be able to bring him his pills, as long as they’re in a bottle labeled with the prescription?” Karen asked.

“That’ll be fine. Here’s my card, in case you have any other questions. I will be needing to speak with you at some point. Will you be going home?”

“I...I don’t know,” Karen told him. “I’ll be staying here at least until I find out how Reg is and can see Weeping Sparrow.” Phillips nodded, then led Justin up the hall toward the ER lobby.

As soon as Phillips was gone with Justin, Karen motioned the others closer. “So, what happened to Frank?” she asked them in a whisper. “He was with the doctors....” The others shrugged and shook their heads. No one had seen Frank after he came into the hospital.

Evan borrowed Karen’s cell and went outside to call the Rez. He wanted to let everyone know about Weeping Sparrow and Running Elk, at least as much as he knew at the moment.

Stone stuck around, waiting to find out if Reg would make it. That would be the difference between charges of murder or attempted murder against Justin. Leigh, Karen, Evan and Jimmy split their time between the ICU waiting room and the surgery waiting room. At least Stone wasn’t dogging their steps, though just knowing he was around made them all careful about what they said.

Justin was taken to the Wayne County jail and put in a ‘private’ cell. They took his belt and bootlaces, and had no choice but to give him an orange jumpsuit when they took most of his clothes as evidence. Though they weren’t exactly friendly with him, they weren’t at all unpleasant to him either. In fact, they were even careful to serve him only soft foods at dinner time, because of his wired jaw. Mashed potatoes and gravy, applesauce, pudding.... It wasn’t the healthiest dinner he’d ever had; but it was nice that they hadn’t brought him a peanut butter sandwich or brick-hard meatloaf.

About that same time, Leigh realized that no one had checked that all Reg’s soup was really gone. So she went down to the cafeteria. On the ‘hot table’ where the soup would have been was a sign, “No Soup Today.”

Leigh returned just as a nurse came out to let them know that Weeping Sparrow was conscious. Karen, Evan and Jimmy would be allowed in to see her, but only for five minutes. They were also told that she probably wouldn’t be able to speak. Leigh told them she’d meet them down in the ICU waiting room.

Jimmy was the first one through the door; and as soon as he was inside, he leaned over Weeping Sparrow and engulfed her in a hug. The astonishing thing was that he didn’t disturb even a single one of the tubes or wires attached to the woman. “I’m so sorry, Grandmother. I should have been there to protect you, Grandmother,” Jimmy told her in Ojibway.

Karen and Evan could see his back shake as he sobbed silently into Weeping Sparrow’s shoulder. She patted Jimmy’s back and tried to speak, but no sounds came out; her throat was still too sore and swollen. Karen could read her lips, though, as she mouthed, “It’s alright. I’m fine. Quit worrying.”

After a couple minutes, Jimmy sniffled deeply and straightened up, again not disturbing any tubes or wires. Weeping Sparrow made a writing motion with her hand, and Jimmy went immediately to the nurses’ station for paper and a pencil.

Evan went to the wise woman next. He took her hand gently and squeezed it. She squeezed back and smiled at him.

All four of the young men may have held done the same job for her; but they were each as different from the others in their personalities as they were physically. Evan’s simple gesture conveyed as much love and guilt as Jimmy’s sobs and hug. And Weeping Sparrow responded to each with the same affection, in the way that each man needed most.

Jimmy came back at as fast a pace as the short distance allowed, and handed Weeping Sparrow the pad and pencil. She scrawled a few words and turned the pad for Karen to see it. “Not Moose’s fault.” She smiled at Karen.

“I know, Grandmother,” Karen said, also in Ojibway. “And I think Justin...Moose,” Karen grinned, knowing how disappointed Justin had been at not yet having an ‘Indian name,’ “knows that in his heart, too. But it may take him time to accept it in his head.”

Weeping Sparrow nodded. Evan took the pad of paper and flipped the top page, then handed it back. “I will live,” she wrote. “Go home.”

“As soon as I know how Reg is,” Karen told her. Evan flipped the next page.

“Thank you.” Weeping Sparrow turned the pad to each of them. She knew that they had all done their parts in saving her life, and wanted each to know that the sentiment was meant for all of them.

The nurse came in to shoo them out, and they left willingly after each gave the seriously-injured woman another quick hug. They could see that just the few minutes of visiting had worn her out and they understood she needed to rest.

In the hallway, Evan and Jimmy locked eyes. It was like an invisible ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ to see which of them would get to stay to guard Weeping Sparrow. After a moment, Karen could feel the tension subside, the two nodded at one another, and Jimmy went to the waiting room for a chair. He sat on it beside Weeping Sparrow’s door, where he could see her through the window but still be out of the way of the nurses and doctors. Evan simply nodded at Karen, and followed her to the surgery waiting room.

“How’s Weeping Sparrow?” Leigh asked as the two came into the room and sat beside her.

“Weak...but alive and determined to stay that way,” Karen told her. “I think the electronics surrounding her are kind of bugging her, though. I wish I could bring her a plant or something, but I know the ICU has rules against that. Partly so the items don’t bring in germs or anything, and partly so they don’t get in the way or get lost when they ‘step’ the person ‘down’ to a regular room. Have you heard anything more about Reg?”

Karen no sooner asked, than a tired-looking, very young-looking woman in scrubs came into the waiting room. It seemed odd that someone so young would even be in med school, much less done and doing surgery already. But Karen had no doubt that people thought the same about Aiden. If she didn’t know him, she’d have probably thought that about him, too. “Are you the family of Reginald Morrison?”

“I’m his girlfriend,” Leigh told her. “His family hasn’t gotten in from California yet.” Leigh didn’t mention that was because his family hadn’t even been told yet.

“It was touch and go in surgery,” the surgeon told them. “It was a serious wound. The bullet did a lot of damage, and there was a great deal of internal bleeding. But we think he’s going to make it. We’ll be taking him to ICU and you can wait there, though he may not be awake for a while.” She turned to leave, then turned back in the doorway. “I’m not sure who did it, but that plastic wrap probably saved his life.” She turned again and disappeared down the hall.

Leigh’s heart leapt. She wasn’t sure what made her think of the plastic wrap. Luck? God? Whatever it was, it made the difference for Reg. Now, if they could only get some inspiration regarding why he kept doing such awful things....

Karen pulled out her cell. She’d turned it off while she was in with Weeping Sparrow, and when she turned it on now, she found a text message from Frank. “Fine. Will call U. F.” Karen told the others. Then she called Receiving to find out if Running Elk was going to be OK.

She wasn’t surprised when the operator said they couldn’t tell her anything because she wasn’t family. She’d forgotten about that when she called. But it wasn’t a problem. “Could I speak with Dr. Aiden Carter, then?” she asked. The operator put her through.

“This is Doctor Carter,” Aiden answered.

“Hi, Aiden. It’s Karen. How’s Running Elk?”

“He’ll be fine. But he’ll need some rest for a while. He’s in the ICU for now, but he can have visitors whenever you guys want to come over to see him. I kind of figured you’d have been here before now.”

“Well...if we weren’t at St. Mary Mercy in Livonia, without a car....”

“What...? Who...? If someone else is hurt, why didn’t you just come here?”

“Because it happened here. Reg and Weeping Sparrow. And Justin is in county lock-up. I can’t really explain more than that on the phone. But let Fran know that she’ll be fine.”

There was a pause as Aiden told Fran and Angie that something had happened

“Fran is about to explode, but I’ll be right there...”

“You might want to bring something other than your truck. I don’t know if we’ll all fit.”

“Well, who’s there?”

“Me, Evan and Leigh. Jimmy’s with Weeping Sparrow. I don’t know where Frank is, but he tm’d me that he’s fine. And you might want to leave Angie there with Fran for now.”

“OK. I take it the casino van is still at your place?”

“Yeah. I’m not sure who has the keys, though. Ask Fran. But I think Running Elk was the last one to drive it. We’ll be in the ICU waiting room.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Aiden hung up and asked Fran if he had the van keys. Aiden made sure that Fran had been given everything from Running Elk’s pockets before he’d gone into surgery. The keys were there, along with Running Elk’s wallet and watch (an old-fashioned wind-up watch, without a battery.) Aiden took off.

When Karen was done on the phone, the three started up to the ICU. They got off the elevator just as Reg was being rolled by, on his way from Recovery to his ICU room. His eyes were open, and Leigh and Karen walked along with him on either side of the gurney. Both tried to sense if there was an Unknown presence near or in Reg, and felt nothing. Reg looked up at Leigh.

“Weeping Sparrow will be OK,” she told him, taking his hand.

“What happened to Weeping Sparrow?” Reg asked weakly.

“You...went a little crazy,” Leigh said. “The police will be in to talk to you, but don’t let them scare you by telling you she isn’t OK.”

“And Justin says he’s sorry,” Karen told him.

“Yeah...it was a good shot,” Reg admitted.

“I haven’t called your dad yet,” Leigh said.

“We probably shouldn’t,” Karen added, looking across Reg at Leigh.

“No, he won’t understand,” Leigh and Reg said almost in unison.

As they passed Weeping Sparrow’s room, Jimmy glared at Reg. His rage was apparent, and he’d have done worse than choking to Reg if he’d thought he could get away with it.

They reached the door to Reg’s room, and Karen and Leigh and to step aside to let the orderlies push him inside. Leigh gave Reg’s hand a quick squeeze before letting go. Several nurses followed the gurney in, and shut the door and pulled the curtain while they hooked him up to all the monitors and oxygen, and moved his IV bags.

Karen, Leigh and Evan went to the waiting room. Karen took a moment to call Mark for recommendations on criminal defense lawyers there in Detroit. Mark gave her three names, all lawyers he had dreaded having to face in a courtroom when he was with the county prosecutor’s office. She planned to make appointments with all three in the morning, to meet them before choosing one.

About 45 minutes after Karen called him, Aiden arrived at the St. Mary Mercy ICU. He gave the three in the waiting room a quick wave, and headed straight for the nurses’ station. The three could see a couple of the nurses greet him right away, as if they knew him. A third nurse crept up behind him and hugged him from the back after she came out of Reg’s room.

Eventually all four nurses were standing there, and he appeared to be flirting with them. The last one to come from Reg’s room, who didn’t seem to already know Aiden, was eventually swayed by his charm, and she handed him Reg’s chart. Aiden looked through it. Reg was feeling well enough to wave at Aiden, so Aiden went in to check him over. He was clearly not feeling up to having a conversation, though, and Aiden came out when he was satisfied that Reg would recover.

He went into the waiting room. “I think it would be OK if you wanted to see him now,” he told Leigh. Leigh nodded and headed toward Reg’s room. A nurse stopped her just outside the door, and Leigh was afraid they were going to turn her away because she wasn’t family. Instead, the nurse told her that she’d have to put scrubs over her bloody clothes before going in. It didn’t matter than the blood was Reg’s own. They couldn’t take any risks of infection or contamination while his condition was so weak.

When Leigh was suited up, she was allowed in. Reg smiled up at her, and she pulled a chair over so she could sit with him. She took his hand, and he responded with a small squeeze. But he wasn’t feeling very chatty, and they settled for sitting quietly together for as long as the nurses would allow. But something about Reg still felt ‘off’ to Leigh, though she couldn’t put her finger on what it was. Just in case, she raised both a Sphere and a Shield before leaving. Reg stared at Leigh’s back, all the way out the door.

She went over to see Weeping Sparrow, but the wise woman was sleeping. Jimmy assured her he’d let Weeping Sparrow know she stopped by. While he’d been sitting there quite quiet and still, it was obvious that he was watching Weeping Sparrow like a hawk, attentive to any movement or signal that might indicate she needed something.

While Leigh was gone, Karen filled in Aiden about what had happened, careful to change the subject whenever anyone passed by the doorway. “So, I take it you know the nurses?” she asked when she’d finished.

Aiden grinned. “I did a little moonlighting here, before I took my position at Receiving. So, how are you holding up? You know, it’s OK for you to fall down sometime. You’ve been through a lot, too.”

“Actually, I’m doing surprisingly well, considering Justin’s in jail, Weeping Sparrow, Running Elk and Reg are in ICUs and we have no idea where Frank and Terri are. Don’t worry. I’ll fall down when I have the time...maybe when I get Justin out....” Karen smiled tiredly and shrugged.

The last time she’d let herself just give up and collapse was when Fr. Andrew died. This current situation may have been a crisis of epic proportions, but no one was dead yet. And Justin was fully justified in shooting Reg, and there were plenty of witnesses would could vouch for that; so she had no fear that he’d be kept any longer than it took her to get a lawyer to work on his case.

“OK. I’ll take your word for it. I’m going to go in and check on Weeping Sparrow for a second, then why don’t we get out of here?” Karen, Evan and Leigh nodded agreement. There wasn’t much more they could do there tonight.

While Aiden was in with Weeping Sparrow, a uniformed Livonia police officer arrived and took up a position outside Reg’s door. There was no sign of Stone or Phillips, but they obviously knew that Reg was going to live, and they weren’t taking any chances.

Aiden’s eyebrows went up for a second, when he spotted the cop. He continued on into the waiting room without a pause, though. “I got the name of the tribal doctor from Weeping Sparrow,” he said as he came in, “and I’ll be starting the paperwork to get her transferred to the hospital in Mt. Pleasant as soon as she’s out of the ICU.”

It was about 8pm, and the four headed for the elevator after letting Jimmy know they were leaving. “Can we swing past the county jail on the way, so I can drop off Justin’s pain pills?” Karen asked Aiden. “Phillips said it’s be OK for him to have them.”

“No problem.”

“And I was thinking...if you don’t mind, Evan, maybe you could take over sitting with Running Elk, to give Fran a break? We could pick up Angie at the same time....”

Both men nodded.

Justin fell asleep a short time after the guard came to take away his dinner tray. But it was a restless sleep, filled with dreams sparked by what had happened that day. The dreams all started the same way. He was looking down the barrel of his gun, aiming at a friend. At first it was Reg, over and over, just like it had happened that morning. Each time, he tried to stop himself, tried to will the gun to fail. And each time, he watched the bullet fly out the barrel in a gout of flame and spin...and spin...until it plowed into Reg’s chest.

Slowly, the dreams evolved. Most of it happened the same way, but now his target was different. One time Aiden. Another time Leigh. Another time Angie. One by one, he felt himself pull the trigger and shoot another of his friends.

When the target was Karen, though, he woke with a gasp, barely stopping the scream from erupting from his chest. It seemed so real. Was that why he was sitting there in a jail cell? Had he really shot his beloved wife? He curled up in the corner and sobbed, his heart choking him like he’d swallowed a lump of red-hot iron. He had no idea what time it was.

Karen was going to run into the jail alone, to drop off Justin’s pills. But without a word, Evan climbed out of the van with her, and followed her to the door just behind her right elbow. Before she could even reach for the door handle, Evan was opening it and following her through. She supposed that Weeping Sparrow was used to that kind of service, but Karen thought it might drive her nuts having someone there ALL the time.

The officer she spoke to was very nice. When she explained why she was there, he called to have the staff physician come down to take the pills personally. The doctor asked if she wanted to see Justin briefly.

Everyone was being so solicitous that Karen began to wonder if Justin was OK, or if maybe the cops felt that he was a danger to himself and were keeping him for his own protection. She nodded, and the doctor waved over a guard. “I have to check these into the pharmacy,” he told her, holding up the bottle of pills, “but this officer can take you to the visiting room and I’ll meet you both there.”

When Evan started to follow Karen to the visiting room, the guard stopped him. “Each prisoner can have only one visitor at a time. I’m sorry, but that’s regulations.” He actually did sound apologetic.

Karen smiled at Evan. “It’s OK. You wait here. I won’t be long.”

Evan nodded, but the look on his face told Karen he wasn’t happy about having to let her go alone.

Justin was already sitting at a small table when Karen was escorted in. He stood, and the guard pointed at the sign that said, “No Physical Contact Allowed.” Justin and Karen nodded, and sat on opposite sides of the table. The guard stood unobtrusively by the door.

“They’re all going to be OK,” Karen told Justin quietly. He looked like hell, and she hoped the pain pills would help him get some sleep.

Justin nodded. “No one sdays alone,” he said firmly. He wasn’t about to tell her about the dreams. Not until he was home alone with her and she could hold him when he did it.
“It’s fine...” Karen started.

“I’m serious. No one sdays alone.” Justin’s voice rose ever so slightly in volume, and the guard looked over at him.

“Shh. Listen to me...no one is alone,” Karen said, trying to calm him down. “Evan is here with me, and Jimmy is staying with Weeping Sparrow. Aiden is out in the car with Leigh, and Angie is with Fran at Receiving until we can drop off Evan to stay with Running Elk for the night. Then Fran will stay with me. The only people we can’t account for are Frank and Terri, right now. And I think Frank can take care of himself. There’s even a cop with Reg.”

Justin relaxed visibly, and sighed as he nodded. He didn’t seem to see the irony of what he was saying, considering HE was the only one that wouldn’t have a team member with him tonight.

“Weeping Sparrow said to tell you that it isn’t your fault, ‘Mons.’ It means Moose.” Karen smiled; but Justin didn’t return the gesture, though he nodded. He ‘got’ that he finally had an Indian name. Somehow it just didn’t seem to matter much while he was in here.

“Did you dell Reg...?” Justin asked. “Wha’ did he say?”

“I told him as soon as I could, when he was being moved to the ICU. He said...he said it was a good shot.”

Justin cringed, then hung his head as he slumped further into the chair. Karen knew it hurt him to hear that; but she wasn’t going to lie to him. And it was the truth. Considering Justin didn’t have full use of his left eye yet, because of the bandage, he was still feeling the last effects of Weeping Sparrow’s medication and the pain pills, and he’d shot from the hip? It was an amazing shot On top of that, it was good in the sense that it stopped Reg, or rather Tommy, from doing any more damage

Reg may not have been himself when he cut Weeping Sparrow and when Justin shot him. But when he found out exactly what had happened, she was sure he would understand and forgive Justin. In the meantime, she would keep reminding Justin that he’d only done what had to be done, and that she loved him more for it since it allowed them to save Weeping Sparrow’s life, and Reg’s too. Now they could hopefully get Reg the help he needed, no matter what form that was going to take.

Just then, the doctor walked in carrying a paper ‘pill cup’ and a plastic cup of water. “Here’s two of your pain pills,” he told Justin, holding out the paper cup. Justin took it and tossed the pills back into his mouth. The doctor handed him the water, and Justin drank it, washing down the pills. He didn’t really need the water. He’d gotten used to taking pills without it when he was in the Army. But the guy offered.

“Just let the guards know if you need another,” the doctor said.

From the corner of his eye, Justin saw the guard come up behind him, a few feet back. “Time to go,” the guard said with a shrug. Justin and Karen both stood, and the guard escorted Justin out one door.

“I’ll walk you back up front,” the doctor offered to Karen.

“Thanks.” He held open the door she’d come in, and let her go through first, then walked with her back out to the visitor’s entrance. Evan stood as she came up, nodded at the doctor, and escorted her to the waiting van.

Aiden drove to Receiving, and all of them went in to see Running Elk. Then Evan stayed with him, and Fran and Angie went with Karen, Aiden and Leigh back to Justin and Karen’s house. Aiden and Angie decided to head home for the night. The first thing Karen did was close the door to the room where Running Elk was stabbed. She didn’t feel like worrying about it tonight; there would be time to clean it up tomorrow. She made up a room for Leigh, but Fran insisted on ‘guarding’ Karen all night, just like he would have for Weeping Sparrow, rather than staying in the posse’s usual room. Karen was too tired to argue with him, and she and Leigh headed straight to bed.

The next morning, Friday, Jan. 11, the first thing Karen did was call the department office to let them know she wouldn’t be in to work. Then she called all three lawyers and set up 15-minute appointments with each. She figured that would be plenty of time to decide which one she wanted to defend Justin. She invited Leigh to come along to the interviews, too. She wasn’t planning on discussing Justin’s case directly anyway, and then Leigh would be able to pick one for Reg without a special trip.

Before going to the meetings with the lawyers, the two went up to Livonia, so that Leigh could raise another Sphere and Shield on Reg. While she was doing that, Karen tried calling Terri. It had been almost 24 hours since anyone had seen or heard from her. The call went straight to voice mail, and Karen hoped that Terri was just trying to stay out of the middle of the case...especially since she was on a leave of absence from the DPD right now.

About the same time Karen was interviewing lawyers, Stone and Phillips were trying to interrogate Justin again. But he knew that Karen was working on getting him a lawyer, so he refused to say anything until his lawyer was present. He just hoped that Karen was working fast, because his arraignment was scheduled for late that afternoon.

Eventually, the Livonia cops gave up and sent Justin back to his cell. Their next stop was St. Mary Mercy. Weeping Sparrow actually gave them more trouble than Justin did. All she would say, when they asked her to describe what happened, was that it all happened so fast she didn’t know what happened. Followed by “I want to go home. I want to go home NOW.”

She stuck fast to that story, and nothing the cops said could shake her from it. After going in circles with her for a half hour, they decided to speak with Reg. But he was unconscious. “He’s very weak,” the nurses told them, “and he’ll probably continue to fade in and out for a day or two.” They left orders with the uniformed officer to call them immediately when Reg was conscious again, and left the hospital with less information than they’d been hoping for.

The uni called them twice that morning, and both times, Reg was unconscious again by the time they got there. Finally, Phillips left Stone there in the room with Reg, to wait for him to wake again.

Reg woke to find a handsome, young Hispanic man sitting next to his bed. “Mr. Morrison? I’m Detective Stone. I have some questions I’d like to ask you. Do you know how you got here?”

“Besides the orderlies? No. Someone told me I was shot. Did my associates tell you I was having blackouts?”

“How long do these ‘blackouts’ last?” Stone asked.

“They can be as short as a few days and as long as many months,” Reg replied.

“Do you know what today’s date is?”

“I have no idea.”

“How about the month?”

“Um, February?”

“And the year?”

“2008. I do know that much.”

“Can you tell me who’s president?”

“George W. Bush...unfortunately.”

“So you aren’t that ‘out of it,’” Stone commented. “How long did your longest blackout last?”

“About 9 and a half months. I was told I was shot by my buddy Justin. Is that true?”

“Yes. How do you feel about that?”

“I don’t know...maybe I deserved it.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I don’t know what I do during the blackouts. He’s a bounty hunter. So maybe I was inflicting damage on someone else?”

“Do you do that often?”

“Not if I can help it. Not if I’m Reg....”

“Who else would you be?”

Reg simply shrugged. He didn’t even know how to begin answering that one.

“So, how long have you been having these blackouts?” Stone asked.

“Since, uh, the beginning of last year, I guess.”

“Have you seen a doctor?”

“No,” Reg answered almost sheepishly.

“Do you usually kill someone during these blackouts?”

“I have no idea. I hope not.”

“Do you know...” Stone stopped and looked at his notes. “...Weeping Sparrow?”

“She’s an acquaintance.”

“How do you feel about her? Has she done anything to make you feel angry? Annoyed? Murderous?”

“Not that I know of.”

“So you know of no reason you would attack her?”

“In my right mind? No. Like I said, I’m having blackouts.”

“And you have no idea what causes them?”

“No.”

“Interesting.” Stone was studying Reg intently, wishing he could think of the right question to ask to get him to spill his guts. The guy was obviously hiding something. “I think I’m done for now. Don’t plan on leaving town...or the hospital any time soon.”

“Right. Do you do a whole stand-up routine? No, I’m not going anywhere.”

“I know. But I had to say it. Anyway, the nurse is giving me dirty looks. If you need to call an attorney, I’m sure the hospital staff can help you.”

“So, I’ll need one?”

“On the good side, for you, it probably won’t be an attempted murder charge. The woman is unwilling to press charges.”

“She’s a wise woman in many ways,” Reg told the cop.

“I’m not sure we need her permission,” Stone warned him from the doorway. “Thanks for your cooperation.” Stone walked into the hall, letting the door shut behind him. Reg was left with the impression that the cop wasn’t buying his story. Not for any specific reason that Reg could put his finger on, though. He looked over and saw Stone staring at him through the window. When Stone noticed Reg looking, he walked down the hall and out of sight.

By lunch time, Karen had attorney David Nowak hard at work getting Justin out of jail. Just from Karen’s description of what had happened, Nowak was pretty certain that he could get any charges against Justin dropped, once the cops finished their investigation. He did recommend that Karen bring Justin’s passport along to the arraignment, though, since the judge would likely order him to surrender it as a prerequisite for being released on bail.

“Do you need the name of a bail bondsman?” he asked Karen. “I have several I could recommend.”

Karen assured him that she could come up with any amount of bail money the court demanded.