Chapter 5
Blake screamed when the bone was snapped back into place. In all the years Maggie had been a mother, she had never heard her son scream in pain like that before. He bucked so wildly on the operating table that the nurse barely held him down.
“Keep him still,” the doctor shouted. “We need to get the pins in place to ensure the bone heals properly.”
As the doctor worked, Maggie helped the nurses keep her son from moving. Blake kicked and screamed, but Maggie knew this was necessary.
When the doctor finally pushed the screws into the bone, Blake screamed louder than he’d ever done, and then he passed out.
“We can give him an IV when we’re done,” the doctor said, noticing Maggie’s distress. “The most important thing right now is ensuring we finish.”
As hard as it had been to watch her son scream in agony, Maggie was partially glad that Blake had passed out. At least now he wasn’t crying anymore. But there were dangers in allowing her son’s system to become overloaded from shock.
To ensure Blake didn’t slip into cardiac arrest, Maggie placed her finger on her son’s wrist to track his pulse. So long as Maggie still felt that solid thump against her finger, she knew he was okay.
The doctor worked quickly, and once the screws were in place, he hurried to stitch up the wound. The stitch work was hastily done and would leave a scar, but the marks were a small price to pay for fixing the arm.
Once the insertion points were closed, the doctor started to put on the cast, and Darlene wheeled over an IV to get ready to put it into his arm. But just before either of them could finish, another nurse rushed into the operating room in a frenzied panic.
“We just received a lot of people involved in a bus accident,” the nurse said. “We need staff to assess trauma victims and clear all of the operating rooms.”
The doctor nodded and started packing up the room before he was finished wrapping Blake’s arm.
“Where are you going?” Maggie asked.
“There are other people who need help,” the doctor answered, already heading toward the door. “You can finish the wrap yourself.”
When the doctors and nurses hurried out of the room, Maggie finished the cast on her son’s arm.
She wanted to get out of this hospital as quickly as possible.
Done with the cast, Maggie scooped Blake up in her arms and headed toward the door.
Her son was far heavier than she had anticipated, but there was no other way to move him.
When Maggie entered the hallway, she searched for a wheelchair, but the building was in chaos. People rushed past her, hospital staff and pedestrians, none of whom were paying attention to where they were going.
More than once, Maggie was nearly knocked over, but she managed to stay on her feet, keeping her son close to her chest.
Maggie eventually found an empty wheelchair and set Blake in it. She made sure to strap him down so he wouldn’t fall over and then pushed him through the hallways.
When Maggie and Blake reached the emergency room, the lobby was packed with people coming in from the streets. They were crammed shoulder to shoulder, blocking the exit. Everybody was shouting, screaming, and begging for help that wasn’t coming.
Maggie tried her best to push through, but there were just too many bodies. She tried shoving a few people out of the way, but when they shoved back, she feared they would hurt her son in the process.
Just when Maggie thought she was running out of options, an opportunity presented itself.
“Step aside! Step aside! Move now!”
Maggie couldn’t see who was shouting, but he had an authoritative voice, and the crowd slowly parted. She wheeled her son closer to get a better look, and she found a man dressed in a suit and tie with a gun in one hand and a badge in the other, pulling along another man in handcuffs.
“I’m Special Agent Mark Willow,” he said, barely able to catch his breath. “I am transferring this man to a federal prison, and I was injured in a car wreck on my way there.”
Maggie saw the wound on the agent’s abdomen, but there were no nurses around to help him. None but her.
“I can help,” Maggie said. “All I need is for you to give me a ride out of the city.”
Agent Willow glanced down at Blake, still unconscious in the wheelchair. “I’m transporting a very dangerous criminal,” Agent Willow said. “Escorting a child with me isn’t the best idea.”
“I can help you,” Maggie said. “All I ask is that you help me, too.”
With no one else stepping up to help, Willow had little choice but to accept Maggie’s deal.
“Follow me,” Maggie said.
Maggie pushed Blake ahead of her, and Agent Willow and his prisoner followed her into a nearby room. She set Blake in the back, away from the prisoner, and Agent Willow shoved the prisoner into a nearby chair.
“Stay,” Willow said, pointing the gun at the prisoner.
Maggie grabbed what supplies she could find in the room and then cut open the agent’s shirt to expose the wound. “Have you heard anything about what happened?”
“No,” Willow said. “All communications are down, so I’m alone out here.”
Maggie didn’t want to reveal too much about what she knew of the EMP. Whenever people talked to her about preparing for an event like this, they looked at her as if she was crazy. But she thought Agent Willow might know what set off the EMP device.
“I wasn’t sure whether or not you had heard about any type of terrorist activity,” Maggie said.
Willow shook his head. “I’m afraid I don’t work in the antiterrorist department. I work in the banking department.” He glanced over at the prisoner, who was still nearby and in handcuffs.
It was then that Maggie finally recognized the prisoner. He was the bank robber whose picture had been plastered all over the news. Dillon Elliot had robbed Cincinnati Federal Reserve Bank, stealing over one hundred million, which was never recovered.
Maggie reached for a small knife and started cutting the line to stitch up the wound. Whatever had stuck Agent Willow hadn’t hit any vital organs, but without the proper medical technology, it was impossible to know for sure.
Maggie cut the line and then set the knife aside. But when she did, she had her back turned to the prisoner, and with Agent Willow having his guard down, the prisoner pounced.
The bank robber lunged forward, grabbed Maggie, and removed the pistol she had in the back of her waistband. Before Agent Willow had a shot, the bank robber used Maggie as a human shield.
“Drop it, or I kill her,” the bank robber said.
“Let her go, Dillon!” Willow said. “I mean it.”
“I know you do, but so do I,” Dillon replied. “Do you really want to test me?”
Maggie had taken a few self-defense classes, but the prisoner was stronger than she had anticipated. She tried kicking and throwing a few elbows, but neither worked.
Finally, Willow lowered his weapon. “Okay, Dillon. Just let her go, and you can walk free.”
“Handcuff keys,” Dillon said. “Toss them over to her.”
Agent Willow complied and then tossed them so Maggie could easily catch them. Dillon then forced Maggie to set him free.
“Ah, that’s better,” Dillon said. “There’s nothing worse in this life than being restrained.” He smiled at Maggie. “Unless you’re into that sort of thing.”
Maggie winced and again tried to break free but was unsuccessful.
“Let her go, Dillon,” Willow said. “We had a deal.”
“Yes, but unfortunately, I changed my mind,” Dillon said.
Dillon squeezed the trigger, and the gunshot brought even more screams and chaos in the hospital, but all Maggie saw was the shock and pain on Agent Willow’s face.
Dillon had hit him in the gut, right next to the wound Maggie had been stitching up. Agent Willow collapsed into the chair and pressed his hands against the wound to stop the bleeding. But he was already too weak. Eventually, Willow passed out and lay motionless in the chair.
“Now that’s finished,” Dillon said, turning toward Maggie. “You have a choice.”
“What choice?” Maggie asked.
Dillon’s voice had a disgustingly playful tone, and he aimed the gun at Maggie’s head. “I need a hostage. All good bank robbers take one.”
Maggie gestured to the hallway. “Take your pick.”
“No, not them,” Dillon said. “It’s either you,” and then he aimed the gun at Blake. “Or him.”
Maggie rushed over to her son, using herself as a human shield to protect him. “No,” Maggie said.
“I told you I have to take someone,” he replied.
“Not him,” Maggie said.
The bank robber stepped closer, and Maggie took one step back. “I take you, or I take your son. It’s your choice.”
Maggie didn’t know much about this man. She had not followed the news about his arrest, but he was clearly dangerous.
“The deal won’t be on the table much longer,” Dillon said. “What will it be?”
Leaving Blake here alone was dangerous. But allowing her son to go with this man wasn’t an option. She had told John they were heading to the hospital the last time they spoke. Her husband would come here first.
“Me,” Maggie said. “I will go with you.”
“I was hoping you would say that,” Dillon said. “I’ll let you say your goodbyes.”
Blake was still unconscious, but he was still breathing. Leaving him here wasn’t ideal, but she had no other options. She did not doubt Dillon would hurt her son for his gain. And if she could step in and take his place, that’s precisely what she would do.
Maggie leaned close to Blake’s ear and whispered, “I love you so much. And I will find a way back to you.” She sealed the promise with a kiss on her son’s head and reluctantly turned around.
“What did you tell him?” Dillon asked.
“None of your business,” she answered.
Dillon laughed, grabbed her arm, and pulled her close as he firmly pressed the gun against her stomach.
“This is going to be fun,” he said.
Maggie disagreed but didn’t fight back as he pulled her toward the exit doors. But while she left willingly, the moment they were out of the hospital, Maggie would do everything she could to return to her son. And if that meant killing Dillon, then that’s what she would do.