Page 51 of That Last Secret
The money in the bank is a nice bonus too.
“We need a unit to respond to the 110th Street apartment complex,” dispatch says through our radios. “Suspected cardiac arrest.”
“We’re only about two minutes from there,” Silas tells me.
“Forty en route,” I respond to dispatch and put the car in drive.
Silas flips a switch on the center console as I turn left, and the lights flash to life on top of the SUV. The sirens echo through the night as we race to the location. Calls like this always put me on edge since we don’t get all the details until we show up on location.
The best thing I can do is take a few calming breaths and get my head on straight before we get to the scene. I’ve become pretty damn good at pushing any nerves I have to the side so I can do my job the best I can.
We arrive in two minutes and I don’t see an ambulance anywhere in sight yet. In cases like this, with a medical emergency, the paramedics would handle most of it. Still, we are usually the first ones on the scene after the call comes through.
“ETA on the ambulance,” Silas asks through his radio as we exit the SUV.
“Two minutes,” dispatch replies.
We leave the SUV and enter the apartment to find a man, who looks to be about fifty years old, unconscious on the ground.
“I don’t know what to do,” the woman in the room sobs.
“Ma’am, I’m Officer Bennett. Can you tell me what happened?” I ask her, keeping my voice calm and comforting as Silas and I close the distance.
“He collapsed. He has a heart condition,” the woman cries louder. “Please help my husband.”
Silas checks for a pulse as I situate myself over him.
“He’s not breathing, and I can’t find a pulse,” Silas tells me.
“I’m going to start compressions.”
I position my hands one on top of the other and drown out every sound around me to focus on counting the number of compressions and keeping my pace even.
After two rounds of compressions, the paramedics show up, and we seamlessly transition, working together to stabilize the man. I watch intently as they continue the care before we have to bring him to the hospital.
As per protocol, we have to escort the ambulance to the hospital. It's a busy night in the city, and the extra sirens can help us get him there faster.
“City General,” Silas says from the passenger seat. He says it like he knows where my mind goes when I think of that particular hospital.
For the last half hour, I successfully focused on my job, and now we’re going to the place where I risk running into her.
Instead of dwelling on that, I nod as we spend the next few minutes flying through the city streets to get the man there as fast as possible. Once we arrive, the paramedics unload the patient from the back of the ambulance and bring him inside.
Silas and I follow as an extra precaution since we were first at the scene. Both of us are also the type of people who want to see situations like this through and confirm he’s okay.
As we walk to the room, I scan the area and a few surrounding rooms, looking for someone, only to find her not there.
For the first time, I’m disappointed that she isn’t here.
It’s probably for the best.
Right?
“He’ll be just fine. Good job getting him here as fast as you did.” The nurse smiles.
“That was all the paramedics,” I say.
“Whatever you say.” She laughs as she exits the room.