Leather Jackets and Brooches

Chapter 23

It was a busy evening in the Whyte Wyrm and the majority of the Serpents were all there having drinks and playing pool including FP who was at the bar but drinking a glass of coke to stick to his sobriety. His phone buzzed from inside his leather jacket, he quickly put his hand in to retrieve it, his phone flashed up with Sheriff Keller which caught him off guard.

"Hello Sheriff what's up?" FP asnwered

He listened carefully to everything Sheriff Keller was telling, he rubbed the stubble on his face in disbelief.

"Where are they now?" he questioned.

He then ran his fingers through his hair as he continued to listen to his phone.

"I will get the boys on it right away, does Thomas know?"

"Ok, I will bring him to the hospital. Thanks Tom"

FP ended the call and breathed out deeply which caught Hogg Eye's attention.

"Everything okay there FP?" he asked will wiping down that part of the bar

"I wish it was" FP stroked his stubble again. 

FP stepped down from his bar stool and walked to the end of the bar where the bell for last orders hung, he rung it loudly to get everyone's attention. He then jumped on to the bar and stood up to address the room.

"Hey can everyone listen up please" 

The room became quiet as all the focus was on FP.

"I have some bad news, there's been an incident with the Ghoulies which resulted in Toni being shot. She's been taken in to surgery to try and remove the bullet and stop the bleeding. The guy that shot her has been arrested but there was other Ghoulies involved. I want those that can,  to ride around town and try to find those scumbags, the Police are outside the hospital for protection but I want a couple of us to be there as well to show our support for Toni.  We are a family and we protect each other. I won't rest until the Ghoulies are finished once and for all!"

"Here here" several serpents shouted

"Alright that's the serpent spirit I am talking about! Let's go get those scumbags!"

More serpents cheered and began putting on their jackets to leave the Whyte  Wyrm. FP jumped down from the bar and walked over to Jughead who was already packing away his bag to leave.

"How serious is it?" Jughead asked

"Pretty serious, come on, we are gonna go find Penny and end this for good" FP helped Jughead with his back and they made their way out of the Whyte Wyrm.

Meanwhile at the hospital

Toni had been wheeled in to a room after going through surgery to remove the bullet that hit her in the lower left part of the abdomen just above her hip bone. The bullet had hit an artery which had caused her to loose a lot of blood and she required several blood transfusions to keep her organs alive during the difficult surgery. The doctor was outside talking to anxious Thomas Topaz.

"Her condition is now stable but her heart is working unnecessarily harder than normal therefore she will be under close supervision for the next 24 Hrs" the doctor explained.

"Thank you Doctor for everything" Thomas was very grateful

"Would you like to see her?"

Thomas nodded and followed the Doctor in to the room. Toni had several tubes connected up to her and an oxygen mask over her face. The room was quiet except from the sounds of the machines running in the background. Thomas sat down next to his granddaughter and held her hand that was resting on top of the hospital blanket the covered her body, he had tears forming in his eyes.

"I will leave you in peace" the doctor quietly exited the room.

Thomas sat in silence while still holding Toni's hand. A light knock at the door caused him to look up.

"Hi Mr Topaz, can I join you?" Cheryl stood in the door way with her cut arm bandaged up.

"Yes of course" he wiped his eyes with his other hand.

Cheryl sat down next to Thomas then handed him a paper handkerchief which he accepted with a small smile.

"It's all my fault" Cheryl confessed

"I knew I shouldn't have left her"

"It's not your fault"

"Did they hurt you?" Thomas hinted at Cheryl's bandaged arm

"Not really, I cut my arm on broken glass trying to retrieve my phone"

"Those Ghoulies have caused so much pain to my family. I promised Toni when her father passed away I would do everything possible to protect her. I broke my promise" Thomas confessed

"You didn't break the promise, you have protected her for all these years. This is no ones fault  other than the Ghoulies" Cheryl comforted the older man.

"I can't lose her too" 

"You won't. She's a fighter" Cheryl reassured him.

"Toni's really lucky that she has you" Thomas admitted.

"I'm lucky one. I really care about her" Cheryl smiled at Thomas who smiled back at her.

The two of them sat quietly listening to machines beeping away while trying to comprehend the events of the last few hours.