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Post by Jordanna on May 1, 2009 22:57:10 GMT -5
"I don't know." Proteus frowned at Voegel. "He was awake when I got to him, but I don't think he was in any kind of shape to go anywhere."
"He'll be easier to babysit than most of our prisoners, then," Vance muttered.
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Post by skybright on May 1, 2009 23:00:53 GMT -5
"Just so long as he's talkative." Daws sighed and shrugged. "Okay, then. I guess our next stop is the Valiant."
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Post by Jordanna on May 2, 2009 22:27:38 GMT -5
"It ain't Disneyland." Vance held up his cellphone. "Here. Might be a good idea to let Cole know we've got our boy. The sooner he hears, the sooner he can make an appointment to visit the patient."
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Post by skybright on May 2, 2009 22:40:04 GMT -5
Daws nodded and took the phone, flipping it open and dialing Cole's home number. She bit back on an impatient sigh as the phone rang through to the answering machine.
"Cole, it's your favorite loud thinker." She said. "That little . . . project I let you know about is coming together. The sooner you can drop by the location and lend a hand, the better. You know the number."
She snapped the phone closed and handed it back to Vance. "There. That should be suitably vague, if any of the cleaning staff should happen to get nosy."
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Post by Jordanna on May 2, 2009 23:00:24 GMT -5
"We're startin' to need a codebook," Handy opined from the back seat.
The drive to the Valiant Motel was uneventful. Vance stepped out of the car and tossed Daws their room key, going around to help Proteus and Handy haul Voegel out of the back seat.
The scientist began to stir and make vague noises of discomfort as they lifted him. Vance stifled an annoyed curse.
Proteus frowned. "Actually, I'm kinda relieved. I didn't think he'd be out as long as he was--I was getting worried."
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Post by skybright on May 2, 2009 23:12:37 GMT -5
"It'd throw a pretty big hitch in our plans if he didn't wake up." Daws said grimly, leading the way to the room farthest from the Valiant Motel's office.
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Post by Jordanna on May 2, 2009 23:20:44 GMT -5
Handy and Vance carried Voegel to the room, with Proteus still keeping a hand in contact with the patient-prisoner's skin.
As Daws they reached the door, headlights flashed into the driveway. Handy peered into the dark--he was accustomed to acting as Vance's night eyes. A grin crossed his face as he announced, "It's Nate."
"Good." Vance turned to Daws. "Is Caddy supposed to be here already? I didn't recognize his car--but you know my eyesight in the dark."
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Post by skybright on May 2, 2009 23:35:39 GMT -5
Daws nodded towards a small, dark car parked in the far corner of the Valiant's poorly-lighted lot. "That's him," She said, "I think he probably figured it'd be less conspicuous to wait in the car."
They had reached the door of the room, and she fitted the key into the decrepit lock. After a moment's fumbling, the latch slid back and she shouldered the door open.
"Our home away from home." She announced dryly.
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Post by Jordanna on May 2, 2009 23:40:39 GMT -5
As Daws switched on the light, the men carried Voegel into the room and laid him on the bed. The bandaged man's eyelids were fluttering slightly, and Vance scowled.
"Better get Caddy quick," he said to Daws. "I wanna know how rough we can be in restraining this guy if he starts to get unruly."
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Post by skybright on May 3, 2009 0:00:54 GMT -5
"Right." Daws slipped out of the room and crossed the darkened parking lot, tapping lightly on the driver's-side window of Caddy's car.
After a moment the door opened and Caddy grinned thinly at her as he climbed out of the car, black bag floating behind him. "Hiya, Daws."
"Hey." Daws raised an eyebrow at him -- his usual brightly-colored labcoat was conspicuously missing, replaced with a long dark trenchcoat. Caddy noticed the look and shrugged sheepishly.
"I was going for stealthy." He said.
Daws chuckled, turning back towards the room. "C'mon, we've got a bad guy for you to give the once-over."
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Post by Jordanna on May 3, 2009 22:43:18 GMT -5
Vance turned to the door as Caddy walked in with Daws. He gave the doctor's clothes a quizzical once-over, then raised an eyebrow.
"Looks like you've been watching the same movies as Regina."
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Post by skybright on May 3, 2009 22:54:04 GMT -5
Caddy shrugged and grinned crookedly. "Hey, what can I say? She's got good fashion sense."
"'Bout time somebody noticed." Daws said.
Caddy shrugged out of the trenchcoat and let it drift across the room to settle across the back of the moth-eaten armchair in one corner. "Nice place you've got here, Major."
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Post by Jordanna on May 4, 2009 22:48:42 GMT -5
"It's low enough for this creep." Vance gestured to Voegel on the the bed. Proteus was beside him, with Handy and Sid close by to hold him down if he started to become any more alert.
Vance shrugged. "Let's have your diagnosis, Doc. We need to know if he's gonna be strong enough to question any time soon--and strong enough to start giving us trouble."
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Post by skybright on May 4, 2009 22:53:04 GMT -5
"Sure. Right. Got it." Caddy stifled a grimace and rolled up his shirtsleeves, black bag drifting at his side as he approached the bed. "Don't suppose anybody got me any medical documentation when you picked this guy up, didja?"
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Post by Jordanna on May 4, 2009 23:11:08 GMT -5
"I managed to find a chart at the nurses' station." Proteus took out the folded paper and dropped it on the bed.
"You might want this too, if Voegel starts coming around." Vance tossed down a black ski mask, his lips twitching slightly. "We can't let him see your face--and not just because he'd pass out from fright. Fact is, we don't know exactly what we're going to do with him in the end."
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Post by skybright on May 4, 2009 23:16:16 GMT -5
Caddy looked like he had something to say to that -- but, uncharacteristically, he left it unsaid and merely nodded. "Noted."
The paper drifted up from the threadbare comforter, unfolding itself as it did, and Caddy scanned the document in midair as he pulled on a pair of nitrile gloves. "Hmmh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense . . ."
He continued muttering to himself as he perched gingerly on the side of the bed and began checking Voegel's vital signs. The injured man shifted slightly and groaned, and after a moment's hesitation Caddy drifted the ski mask over and pulled it on before continuing his ministrations.
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Post by Jordanna on May 4, 2009 23:29:35 GMT -5
Vance folded his arms and watched thoughtfully. Sid and Handy leaned closer to the bedsides, prepared to grasp Voegel quickly by the wrists if it became necessary.
"I managed to avoid giving him any sedative when I grabbed him," Proteus submitted to Caddy. "I don't know if it matters."
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Post by skybright on May 4, 2009 23:33:49 GMT -5
"Probably not a bad call on your part," Caddy said over his shoulder. "The drugs in his system from the hospital should be pretty much worn off by now, but there's always the chance there could've been a nasty interaction."
After another moment he sat back and rubbed absently at his masked face. "These things are itchy." He remarked.
"Try wearing one over fur sometime." Daws shot back.
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Post by Jordanna on May 4, 2009 23:50:09 GMT -5
Vance unfolded his arms and gave Caddy an impatient look. "Do you need to perform exploratory surgery here, or are you gonna tell us what his condition is?"
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Post by skybright on May 5, 2009 0:02:14 GMT -5
Caddy held up his hands. "Okay, alright." He sighed.
"Well, the guy's pretty banged up -- I mean, you didn't need a doctor to tell you that." He gestured to the bandages covering Voegel's body. "There's some pretty bad burns and lacerations there, which means there's the possibility for infection if you hold on to him in this place for any length of time, and he's got crush injuries to his ribcage. Something must have landed on him in the explosion."
The blond doctor frowned. "All all that up with the fact that they were going to have him on a morphine drip once they got him settled in to a regular room, and he's going to be in a pretty significant amount of pain once he comes round."
He gestured to the paper chart Proteus had lifted from the nurse's station. "The other thing you should know is that the guy's got a heart problem -- there's a valve defect there, looks preexisting, but the record makes it seem like he might've had a mild cardiac event either during the explosion or immediately thereafter."
Daws scowled. "Great. Are you saying this guy's going to drop dead if we slam the door too loud?"
"Mild cardiac event. Mild." Caddy replied, holding up a forefinger. "So no, he's not going to drop dead of it. Well. Probably not. I mean, chances are good his regular doctor took heart surgery off the table because it's more risky than the defect is. But that was before he had a couple of really nasty shocks and some pretty significant injuries on top of that, so it's something to be aware of."
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