Caleb 39 - Gracie

Author's note.

As usual, I would like to thank Dr Mark for his help, advice and comments. I have no doubt that this would be a very different story without his input.

Also, I would like to thank those who support me on Patreon, and those who leave feedback. It increases my motivation to continue to write, knowing that there are people out there who are reading and enjoying what I produce.

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Caleb 39 - Gracie

I did a double take, hoping against hope I was mistaken. Blue highlights in black hair aren't unique, right?

I didn't waste any more time on hope; I delved into her mind, and although the thoughts were chaotic - fear, pain and confusion, warring with the drugs that the paramedics had given her - I recognised her. There was no mistake. The bloody body on the gurney was Gracie.

­"Call Dianna," I sent to Mary. "Gracie has just been brought into the ER. She's been shot, and is in critical condition."

"You know her?" asked Jeevan from my side. Once again, he had picked up my thoughts, which must have come through to him as a scream. Since we were working together to Heal, my shields needed to be down.

"She's an FBI agent," I said, "and a friend. We need to help her."

"She is badly injured," Jeevan said as we followed the gurney into the trauma room. "She may be beyond anything even we can do."

"Please Jeevan," I begged. "We can't let her die."

He looked at me for only a moment. Everything he needed to say, he put into a single nod - including a warning that I needed to prepare myself for the worst.

Strangely, nobody in the room took notice of us. I wondered if Jeevan had somehow conditioned the staff here to pay him, and by extension me, no heed.

The doctors and nurses were busy cutting her clothing off and assessing the damage to her body. They attached monitors and bags of blood. The latter, two of the orderlies squeezed to get the lifesaving liquid into her as fast as possible. I didn't understand much about medicine, but even I knew that a blood pressure of seventy over forty wasn't good.

Once more I reached into her mind.

"Gracie," I sent to her. "It's Caleb. I'm here. We're taking care of you. You're going to be fine."

"Caleb?" her mind responded. "It hurts. Please God it hurts so bad."

"Can I block her pain?" I asked Jeevan. He was examining her carefully, and I didn't want to do anything that would interfere with his plan.

"Yes," he said. "Block it all."

I reached in and saw a storm of pain signals coming from just about everywhere in her body. The worst were from her chest, but she had pain all over. Whoever had attacked her had been thorough.

I blocked all of them. Every pain signal from every part of her body, I switched off.

The response was visible on the monitor. Her heart rate began to fall. Unfortunately, so did her blood pressure. Pain, it appeared, was a positive inotrope.

"We need more blood," yelled one of the doctors. "Do a full trauma panel, type and cross for eight units but get me another four O-neg in the meantime. Put them in the level 1 infusers."

I saw Jeevan sweating and I watched what he was doing. He was concentrating hard, and I saw that he was repairing blood vessels in her chest and abdomen. The bullets had, miraculously, missed her heart and aorta, which would have been almost immediately fatal, but had nicked her inferior vena cava, the large blood vessel tasked with taking blood back to the heart.

I saw him gently move one bullet, guiding it back along the track it had taken on entry, until it was just in the muscle under the skin, as he began to heal the damage it had caused.

"You take that one," he said to me. "Do exactly what I did. Squash the bullet into a smooth sphere before you try to move it. Also check around. Do you see how the cells react to the foreign bodies? Find any fragments and repair the damage they did."

I searched around the bullet he had assigned me and, fortunately, couldn't 'see' any fragments. It seemed that Gracie's assailants had not used hollow points; from Dean's memories, I'd learned just how nasty those could be. I squashed the bullet into a smooth shape so it wouldn't do any more damage as I teased it back along the track it had come in on. When I first moved it, a small blood vessel began to pump blood, but I sealed it. The bullet had been plugging a hole. I gently withdrew it, repairing what damage I could as I went.

By the time I finished, I saw Jeevan was done. He was pale and his face was covered in sweat. His energy bar was completely depleted. He looked at me. "I'm sorry, bhaiya. I have nothing more to give."

"I do," I said, looking at my own energy bar and seeing I had about three quarters left. "Show me what's next."

While talking to him, I had lost focus, and the bullet I had been moving popped out of Gracie's wound and rolled down her belly, ending up in her navel. One of the nurses saw it.

"The angel's here!" she said.

"Who?" snapped one of the doctors, looking around, but she didn't respond. She simply picked up the bullet with a gloved hand and dropped it in a metal kidney dish on the trolley by the side of the gurney.

"We seem to have gotten her stable," said the lead doctor, "although God only knows how. Tell the OR that we're coming up."

"OR say there's a problem," said the orderly who had been speaking on the phone. "They are saying thirty minutes before they can take her."

"She might not last thirty minutes," growled the doctor.

During those tense and heated exchanges, Jeevan had guided me to find the third bullet. It had passed through her lung and was lodged in the muscles of her back.

"It's not doing any damage there at the moment," he sent. "We can remove it later. For now, let's concentrate on fixing the damage to the lung."

Once again, I concentrated, allowing him to guide me. It was brute-force work, and we couldn't let anything happen gradually. I pushed, pulled, and urged cells to bind and grow. The energy draw on me was massive, along with the strain on Gracie's body.

"That is enough," he sent. "She can do the rest of that herself. We still have another bullet to deal with."

We found the last bullet lodged between two of the bones of her spinal column. Fortunately, it had run out of momentum before it had hit her spinal cord, but Jeevan warned that it would cause her a huge amount of pain and disability if we didn't move it. On confirmation from my mentor, I crushed it into a smooth sphere and then eased it out along the track it had entered.

"Just drop it here for now," he sent. "It will do no harm. You are running low on energy, so let's fix what we can."

I checked my energy bar and saw I had less than a quarter left. I panicked. I felt like we'd barely begun.

"We have to prioritize the injuries that will kill her," Jeevan told me. "We can always come back later to fix the other stuff. For now, let's just keep her alive."

We worked for another ten minutes or so, and then I felt a wave of dizziness wash over me.

"Enough," Jeevan said out loud. "We are done."

He took my arm and guided me out of the room.

"But..." I protested.

"If you stay," he said, "then you will not be able to resist trying more. You are depleted. I'm sure we have done enough that they will be able to save her now. We can always come back and do more when we are both rested."

"Are you sure?" I asked "I can..."

"I am sure, bhaiya," he responded, "but even if I were not, I wouldn't let you go back in there. To turn your own argument against you, if you kill yourself helping one person, how many children will die that you could have saved?"

I growled at him, but knew he was right.

Just then, the doors to the trauma room opened and we were pushed out of the way. The medical team took her out, and off to the OR.

"Gracie," I sent to her, "you're going to be fine. I promise." I sent her mind to sleep.

I overheard a nurse and one of the orderlies talking as they cleaned up the trauma room.

"You saw it too?" asked the nurse.

"I thought it was just a story," said the orderly. "I'd heard about 'the Angel' but I've been here over a year and never seen a thing.

"You can't tell anyone," said the nurse. "It's part of the legend of the Angel. If it gets out, then he - or she - will move on."

"Okay," replied the orderly.

Then the nurse turned to the back wall of the exam room and said, gravely, "Thank you, Angel. You helped us save that woman."

"Yes," added the orderly, self-consciously, apparently talking to the monitor on the back wall, "Thank you."

I raised an eyebrow to Jeevan, and he smiled.

"There has been a Healer working this hospital for over a hundred years," he explained. "Let's say that the last incumbent was a little less discrete about her interventions. The legend of the Angel has been around for about eighty years. When it first surfaced, she implanted the idea that it had been around for much longer into quite a few staff members, young and old, and also jump-started some convenient superstitions. It gets passed from staff member to staff member, and I occasionally reinforce the message. That way, if anything happens - like that bullet falling out of the wound - it won't generate a lot of outside attention.

"I consider it one of life's little jokes that healthcare workers are so receptive to fairy tales and ghost stories," he said. "Given that people like you and I actually exist, it is a joke with many layers.

"We need to go and eat," he said abruptly. "Then, we can go and wait for them to finish in the OR."

My phone beeped: Dianna.

­_where are you?

­ _heading for the hospital cafeteria.

_I'll meet you there. Maggie is enroute.

Both Jeevan and I piled our trays high with food. The woman behind the register looked at us both as if we were mad, but rang up our purchases. The bill came to over one hundred and fifty dollars.

"I'll get that." The voice from behind me was Dianna's.

After she paid, we settled down on a table in a semi-secluded part of the cafeteria.

"I presume that you need all that," she said, indicating the piles of food, "because you used all your energy on Gracie?"

I nodded.

"How is she?"

I looked to Jeevan.

"She was in a bad way when she arrived," he said. "She had been shot four times, but she had been beaten first. They broke both arms, both legs, and her jaw. Even with our help, she is in for quite a long recovery time."

"Was she awake when she came in?" asked Dianna. "Did she say anything?"

"Not verbally," I said. "I connected to her mind. That seemed to be okay, although she was in agony, confused, and afraid. Also, the paramedics had given her strong painkillers. I blocked all her pain and then sent her to sleep."

Maggie came into the cafeteria, followed by Frank. They looked around and, spotting us at our table, joined us. I saw Dianna send the memory of our conversation so far.

Frank sighed. "She was supposed to come in last week," he said. "She said she had found the evidence we were looking for, but needed to confirm something. That was the last time we had contact with her."

Jeevan and I had both finished our food, and I was feeling much better. My energy bar was out of the red, and was increasing steadily. Based on past experience, it would take a few hours until I was back up to full strength.

"Let's go up to the OR waiting room," said Maggie. "Jeevan, thank you. Are you going to hang around?"

"No," he said. "There is nothing more for us to do tonight. I will return in the morning."

"I'm staying," I said immediately, and he smiled.

"I had no doubt, bhaiya," he said softly. "Call me if you need anything and I will come. For you, my brother."

Maggie frowned, but said nothing. I realized that Jeevan was reminding her that he was not under her orders. I knew, though, that he would come immediately should I call.

­When we got up to the OR waiting room, all three of my girls were there.

"We thought you might like some support," said Mary. I held my arms out, and the three of them enveloped me in a group hug.

We sat. Maggie went to the OR reception and identified herself. She let them know that we were there for the Jane Doe. She informed them of Gracie's identity, handed them some papers, and asked to be updated as soon as there was any news.

"Is there a next of kin we can contact?" the receptionist asked.

"Her parents live out of state," Maggie told her.

"What about a partner, or boyfriend?"

"He's in the waiting room with us."

My ears pricked up. I immediately looked around for Gracie's ex, and already felt my hackles rising.

"We'll get more information that way," Maggie said to me as she sat down. "Officially it makes no difference, but unofficially they will be much more likely to tell you things if they think you are the partner, even if you are not listed as next of kin."

I calmed down a bit, but I wasn't happy that she'd so casually gamed the system. I kept my own counsel, but my girls could see that I was peeved.

We sat in the waiting room, which, it occurred to me, was tragically accurately named. I felt useless, and the temptation to play hero was rising with every uptick of my energy bar. I was sitting on a sofa, with the twins on either side of me. Predictably, Jules was curled up on my lap.

"I've sent a message to Kevin to say that you won't be there in the morning," said Mary to me quietly. "I've also warned him that you might not be there tomorrow night. I explained that a friend has been taken to the hospital. He said that's fine and to let him know when you will be back."

After a while, I had the thought to see if I could find Gracie's mind. That struck me as a fair-enough compromise between being useless and bursting into the OR. I soon located her. She was still asleep, both the anaesthetic and my Compulsion keeping her there. I could have scanned her body, using her mind as a proxy, but I didn't want to waste my power. I knew I might need it in a hurry. It was reassuring to know that she was still alive, though. I kept the connection open and shared what I had discovered with my girls.

It was one a.m. when someone finally emerged from the OR to talk to us. The girls and Jules were asleep. I had been dozing, but had felt something change with Gracie. She was being moved, so when the surgeon came out, I was awake and ready to hear his news.

Maggie stood as he entered. She identified herself and asked him how Gracie was.

"She's a very lucky young lady," he said. "I don't know what they used on her. It was like they shot her with ball bearings either from a low powered gun, like a musket, or even using something like a hunting slingshot. I don't understand what they were trying to achieve - probably just inflict more pain and suffering. They really worked her over before she was shot too. She has fractures to her left humerus, her right radius and ulna, both femurs and her jaw. Luckily, they are clean fractures. They probably used something like a crowbar on her. She also has several fractured ribs.

"We have immobilized her limbs and wired her jaw. We're transferring her to the ICU overnight. You'll be able to visit her..."

"We're going there now," interrupted Maggie.

"But..." began the doctor.

"Someone attempted to murder one of my agents," said Maggie. "I'm putting a 'round the clock' guard on her. Starting now."

The doctor nodded. "They said her boyfriend was here?"

Maggie indicated me. The doctor eyed me, sitting on the sofa surrounded by girls and with Jules in my lap. "It's complicated," said Maggie.

I woke Jules. We all went around to the ICU, and into the room, where the nurses were still busily getting things sorted out.

"Why don't you guys go home?" I said to the girls. "There's no sense in us all being here."

They looked at me, knowing that I was staying no matter what.

"Okay," said Mary. "Wake us if you need anything. We'll bring you some breakfast in the morning."

I kissed all three of them goodbye, and they left.

"I'll organise an agent to come and stand guard," said Maggie.

"I won't let anyone get to her," I said flatly.

Maggie looked at me, and for the first time, I think, she saw the suppressed rage I had been holding onto.

"Caleb," she began.

"Nobody will hurt her," I said.

Maggie nodded once and left the room.

Dianna, who had been standing beside her, put her hand on my shoulder. "I know that you and she shared," she said quietly. "Is there more there than that?"

I thought about that for a second.

"I don't know," I said honestly, "but for now, it doesn't matter. Anyone capable of doing this to someone needs to be taken out. It's taking a lot for me not to go after them right now."

"I know," she said. "I feel like that too. But we have to do it right, Caleb. We can't be seen as vigilantes. We will get them, and they will be punished. I promise you."

I looked into her eyes, seeing the truth there. At least it was her truth. I also knew that there was another truth. A truth of corruption, legal wrangles, deals, and loopholes. Where innocents got hurt, and the guilty got away with it, usually because they had a lot of money or influence. I was determined to make sure that that didn't happen, and if that put me at odds with the FBI or the Council then so be it. Whoever did this to Gracie was going to regret it.

I don't know what Dianna saw in my eyes, or my aura, but she shook her head sadly and patted me on the shoulder. "Be careful," she said, leaning in to kiss my cheek. Then she left the room. I was left with Gracie and the nurse, who had finally finished all her setting up, and was perched on a stool by the computer typing something.

I sat down on a chair by the bed and reached out with my mind. I assessed Gracie once again. There were still myriad pain signals, but they were less chaotic. They were all still blocked.

"Are you keeping her asleep?" I asked the nurse, and she shook her head.

"No," she said. "In fact, I'm a little bit surprised she hasn't woken up from the anaesthetic yet."

"She likes to sleep in," I jested with a soft smile, and the nurse smiled back at the feeble joke.

Slowly, I woke Gracie.

"Gracie," I sent to her. "Don't speak. You are in the hospital, and you are going to be okay. I promise."

"It doesn't hurt anymore," she thought.

"I'm blocking your pain," I sent. "They really did a number on you."

"I know," she returned. "I was there."

"Don't think about that now. I'm going to stay with you. We're going to get you better."

"I got them. I have everything I need to take them down. I just need to..."

"Not now. I promise they will be punished, but right now you need to rest, and get better."

The nurse looked at Gracie and noticed her eyes were open.

"Hey there," she said. "Don't try to move. You're in the hospital. My name is Tracey and I'm going to be looking after you tonight. Your jaw is wired, so you won't be able to speak, but can you blink for me?"

Gracie blinked.

"Excellent," said Tracy. "Now, are you in any pain at all? Blink once for yes and twice for no."

Blink Blink.

"None at all?"

Blink Blink.

Tracey frowned. "Okay then," she said. "Your boyfriend, Caleb, is here. And you're going to be fine. Just rest now, okay?"

Blink.

"Boyfriend?" I heard from her.

"Maggie's idea," I sent. "She thought we'd get more info if they thought you and I were a couple."

"Shame," she thought. "I kind of like that idea."