A Piece of My Heart

Part 57: The calm before the storm

The police burst into the room followed by Rudi Guiliani.

"Okay, boys, in there. She's been shot,  unconscious and bleeding quite a lot.  " Miami said.

The EMS arrived and immediately proceeded to work on Cynthia. The bullet caught  her in her hip and lodged in her femoral artery. They brought in a stretcher and hooked her up to a saline drip. Meanwhile one of  the paramedics removed a scisssors from his bag and started to cut away her skirt. Freddie seeing this charged over to him and demanded "What are you doing?"  as Freddie tried to cover her nether region as she was sans undergarments. One of the responders looked up from his work, startled and said, "Holy Cow, it's Freddie Mercury."

Agitated, Freddie walked over and said, "Please guys, you'll get all the photos and autographs later, please take care of my fiancee as he kept on moving Cynthia's skirt to cover her body.  

"Oh my God, it's Queen" another one said. "Yes, Yes. it's me, it's the band, Please, take care of Cynthia. She lost a lot of blood." cried Freddie

"Make way, make way, where is he?" Guiliani asked.

"Rudy, than God you're here. Please tell them to rush, it's Cynthia and Paul Prenter shot her" Freddie said.

"Thank God you're all right Freddie. Scotland Yard would have my balls if anything happened to you and Queen under my jurisdiction. You are England's treasure."

Again, Paul moaned and tried to move his body, but John kicked him in the head again.

"I'm kind of enjoying this" John said.

Roger seeing this said, "John, can I have a go?"

"Enough, son, his face is bruised and I don't want to press charges against the two of you. You had your fun and I'm sure it was warranted, but leave the rest of it to the police."

A stretcher was brought in and they placed Prenter on it with his hands cuffed to it  and told to take Prenter to Bellevue Hospital. Meanwhile, Cynthia was being moved out of the suite with Freddie in pursuit. 

"I'm going with her in the ambulance, don't stop me now." Freddie said.

No one dared to stop him as he hopped into the ambulance with Cynthia.

"Why isn't she still unconscious?" He asked one of the EMS paramedics.

"She lost a lot of blood, Mr. Mercury.  We are replacing her fluids as we speak."

"It's Freddie, dear"

Freddie held her hand and smoothed her hair.

"Darling, you know I didn't mean anything that I said. It was all for  Paul's  benefit and it worked except for that prick shooting you" Freddie whispered.

A paramedic said that her vitals were stable and that they were seven minutes away from the hospital.

Freddie continued holding her hand and occasionally brushed her hair back and kissed her gently on her forehead alternating with soft kisses on the top of her head. The EMS guys nudged each other watching the loving interaction between the two of them.

The ambulance turned on E.68th Street and stopped in front of New York Presbyterian Hospital. One of the finest hospitals in the United States.

Freddie donned his aviators and found a New York Yankees baseball cap stuffed into the rear seat of the ambulance and jumped out  following the gurney with Cynthia on it. He was totally ignored by the populace,  there were a few nurses giving him a double-take. He hurried behind the gurney with his head down until they reached a patient elevator.