Just The Way You Like It - Under Construction

Chapter Seventy-Three

Chapter Seventy-Three

Wallace had just parked his car into his permanent parking space at the hospital when Alice called. Why she needed to get to the compactor was beyond him, but he thanked his lucky stars that he hadn't allowed Blake's body to be tossed in there the night before. Walking into the hospital, the air felt tense and strange. The halls were completely empty of people, save for himself. No nurses, doctors, or staff of any kind, no patients, no visitors were roaming around. Listening to his shoes click across the floor, Wallace picked up his pace and headed for the elevators.

Walking past the I.C.U. and E.R. wards, Wallace finally spotted the first signs of life other that his own. Seven F.B.I. agents flanked the nurses station that only a week ago had belonged to Tess, another two agents stood guarding one room of the I.C.U., and another three were pacing the hall. Each man was keeping their hands firmly planted on their holsters, making Wallace's skin crawl. One of the hall guards met up with Wallace, only feet away from the elevator doors.

“Excuse me, Sir. I.D. please.”

“Uh, yeah sure.” Wallace said, scrambling to pull his wallet out of his back pocket. “Can I ask what is going on here?” He handed over both his driver's license and his medical I.D.

“Sorry Sir. Need to know basis only. Talk to Sheriff Luke if you want clearance.” The agent scrupulously checked both of Wallace's I.D.s before handing them back. “You have clearance to the entire hospital except the I.C.U. and the O.R. Understand?”

“Yes Sir.”

“Have a nice day, Doctor.” The agent turned and continued his sweep of the hall.

Sweating and flustered, Wallace didn't let go of his breath until he was sure the elevator doors had fully shut. Making his way up to his office, he sat down in his chair and thought about whether or not to get involved. It could be nothing, or it could be anything. His curiosity got the better of him, and Wallace picked up his desk phone and pulled out his Rolodex. Sheriff Luke answered quickly as usual. “Hey Sheriff, it's Wallace Montgomery. How are you?”

“Not good at the moment.” Luke sounded exhausted, but continued on. “What can I do for you Wallace?”

“I'm just curious as to what's happening down in the I.C.U. today. Kinda creepy getting the once over from the F.B.I. bright and early on a Monday morning, you know? Anything I can do to help?”

“I don't think so Wallace. Thanks though. I'll let you know if anything comes up.”

“Well see, here's my problem. I don't care about not being let into the O.R., or the E.R., but I will, at some point, need to be let into the I.C.U.”

“There is only one patient in there now, and you have no reason to see him at the moment, so until something changes, I can't give you that clearance. Sorry Wallace. Let me know if something comes up though.”

“Yeah. Okay then.” Wallace was about to hang up, feeling a bit dejected. His own curiosity wasn't worth this kind of hassle though, so he's just have to wait things out. Luke's voice came through the line again just as Wallace was about to set the phone back down on the cradle.

“Hey Wallace, you still there?”

“Yeah, I'm here.” Wallace answered, bringing the phone back up to talk.

“I think you deserve to know. It's Blake.”

“What about Blake?” Wallace asked, feeling his palms begin to sweat.

“He's the one in the I.C.U.”

Wallace hung up the phone without saying another word and stared at it blindly. The clock on his wall ticked away the minutes. How had this happened? Blake was dead, Sam had seen to the dump run, everything had been going according to plan. What on Earth was he going to do now?