WALKING DISASTERS | Jack Thompson

51.

EVERYTHING WAS FUZZY. The steady beeping of hospital machinery, the lights above her head glaring down on her, the voices talking, be it to her or to others, she wasn't sure. All she knew was that Ana Jarvis was fighting for her life because of her.

Sera was in shock, her entire body paralysed with guilt as she sat in the waiting room of the hospital with Jarvis and Peggy, her hands clasped so tightly together in her lap that her knuckles had turned white beneath the dried blood coating her hands. Her eyes were trained on the floor as she returned to the last hour, replaying the scene over and over in her head.

Whitney Frost with the gun, a malicious grin on her face as she pulled the trigger. It wasn't Sera that she intended to use as a means of slowing down their investigation; it was Ana. Sera could bounce back and she wouldn't let anyone lose momentum over her, but Ana was someone different. Shooting her sent everything screeching to a blinding halt, and the decision to shoot Ana Jarvis was one that Whitney Frost made with the intent of subduing Sera Stark into a guilt-riddled whirlpool of suffering.

If she had noticed quicker, or if she had been a little quicker on the uptake and put an end to Frost there and then, Ana would be okay. She would be safely tucked away in Howard's house, free of the danger of her husband's endeavours. She wouldn't be fighting for her life in surgery.

Sera already had blood on her hands. Chief Dooley's death was on her conscience, an incident she could not prevent because she wasn't quick enough to come up with a solution. His death had rattled her, but if Ana died, that would crush her indefinitely.

Not only were they fearful for Ana's life, but Dottie Underwood escaped the trunk of the car where she had been locked and was free roaming about the city. At first, Sera was worried, but then the grief and the guilt returned to her and Dottie became a mere fly on a very large wall of problems in Sera's life.

She wanted Jack.

She wanted to feel his arms around her and have him tell her that it was okay, that it wasn't her fault. In an ideal world, she would believe him and everything would be good in the world again, but this wasn't an ideal world, and Jack wasn't there. He was in New York, working on whatever case crossed his desk as she was here, in Los Angeles, wishing she never got on the plane in the first place.

Jarvis had told her that what happened to Ana wasn't her fault after she could be found crying in the corridor when they wheeled Ana into surgery. She had told him that it was her fault and that if she had been a bit quicker, Ana would still be okay. Jarvis had hugged Sera, who had been surprised but nonetheless accepted the comforting embrace, and told her that it was not her fault and that she mustn't ever think that.

That didn't stop her from believing it.

They sat in the waiting room all night, until Ana was taken out of surgery and taken to a hospital room, where Jarvis sat beside her until the early hours of the morning. Peggy made a coffee run, returning with three cups balanced precariously on a small tray, and found Sera holding Ana's hand gently and Jarvis fiddling with the radio.

Unable to get anything other than what was already playing, Jarvis's frustrations got the better of him and he slammed his fist down on the radio and broke it, startling Sera and Peggy, both of whom immediately jumped to comfort him. After reminding him that as long as he was there, Ana would wake up happy, the two of them headed back to the house to pick up a new radio and a change of clothes for Jarvis.

Rolling up to the house made Sera freeze in the passenger seat of the car, because this was where Ana had been shot. Daniel was crouched on the steps, presumably looking at the dried blood that had pooled there after Ana was shot.

When the two of them got out of the car, Daniel hurried over to them. "Thank God you're alright. What happened?"

"Whitney Frost," Peggy replied. "She has Jason."

"Is he hurt?" Daniel asked.

"Ana Jarvis," Peggy said, and Sera's bottom lip trembled.

"Oh no," Daniel sighed. "She..."

"She's in the hospital," Sera said, her voice strained. "I... I don't know."

"What did you get into?" Peggy asked, noticing the plaster on Daniel's eyebrow.

"Oh, Vernon Masters isn't above ordering an old-fashioned beatdown," Daniel replied. "He's looking for the uranium rods for Whitney Frost."

"Well, if she wants them so badly, let's get them to her," Peggy said, heading for the house.

As Sera walked past Daniel, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

She shook her head and turned to Daniel. "It was my fault."

"What was?"

"Ana," she replied, tears in her eyes. "If I hadn't... If I'd just been... It's my fault."

Daniel shook his head and wrapped an arm around Sera's shoulders, pulling her into a hug. "It wasn't your fault. This was Whitney Frost, okay? And we're gonna get her, Sera."

Sera sniffed as she stepped away from Daniel. "I hope so."

They headed into the house after Peggy, who was seemingly channeling tunnel-vision in order to rescue Jason. Daniel asked, "You're willing to give up the uranium rods for Jason?"

"I need Whitney to think I am," Peggy replied. "Question is, how do I reach her?"

"Maybe Joseph Manfredi," Daniel said. "His soldiers were helping out at the Roxxon factory."

"But aren't they just men for hire?" Peggy asked.

"They're more than that," Daniel replied. "Wait, where are you going?"

"I need to change," Peggy said. "Well, really, I need a hot bath, but, um..."

Sera sighed. "I guess I should change to."

"Yes, and wash your hands," Peggy added.

Sera nodded. "I'll be right back."

-

Tracking down Manfredi was easy, and when they walked into the diner that posed as a front for his organisation, the three of them were stopped by half a dozen men.

"We're looking for some spaghetti," Daniel said.

"We only serve steak."

Sera scoffed. "Well, what a crappy restaurant."

"I have a message for your chef," Peggy said, eyeing Manfredi in the kitchen.

"Sorry," the man replied. "We're closed."

Sera raised an eyebrow. "We'll see about that."

Then they were fighting, and Sera was channeling all of her anger into taking down Manfredi's men. It was a rather unfair fight on their part, because Sera, Peggy and Daniel were a lethal combination when they were fighting together, and as the last man was slammed into the door separating the kitchen from the rest of the diner, Manfredi and the woman he was talking to turned in surprise.

Sera locked eyes with Manfredi, a look of realisation crossing his face when he remembered who she was, and the temptation to punch him in the face overcame her and she pushed through the kitchen door, marched right up to Manfredi and punched him square in the jaw.

"That was for Ana Jarvis, you son of a bitch."