Page 50 of Flash and Bang

“He, of all people, must understand,” John said. “Have you been together long, Thayne?”

“Not long. Less than a year,” Thayne replied after a short hesitation. He hadn’t really known what to say at first. They’d been together almost four months before he’d testified against Mills Lang, and then they’d been separated for months when Jarrett had gone off to Georgia for his ATF training. Now they’d only been back working together for about a month and a half.

“Well, you make a handsome couple,” John, the much more talkative of the pair, said.

“Thank you.” Thayne reached up and put his hand over his eyes, resting his head on the window. The cut had stopped bleeding but his head was still throbbing.

“Look,” Adam tried whispering, “Your incessant yammering is giving him a worse headache. Can you stow it for once?”

Thayne felt his lips twitch and he had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing as he kept his eyes covered. The couple sounded so much like old married folks, he wanted to crack up laughing. But he kept his own mouth closed and pretended to doze. He hoped they’d get there soon. Not only was he worried as hell about Jarrett but he was beginning to think he should have an X-ray of his own. His ribs were hurting like hell every time he breathed.

****

They made it to the hospital within thirty minutes and Adam pulled up to the emergency room entrance to let Thayne out. He and John both scampered out of the car and ran inside to get him a wheelchair and get him signed in. With their help, he was put at the front of the line to be triaged and Thayne was ever so grateful to the kind men who’d literally climbed down a cliff to come to their rescue. Thayne was desperate to see Jarrett but he was told that he needed to be seen before they’d let him go meet up with his partner wherever he was in the large medical center.

Adam went to punch his time card, telling Thayne that he’d be back later to check on him and as soon as he sat down to have his vitals taken, John rushed out to get some news on Jarrett. After a few minutes, he returned to tell him that Jarrett was being x-rayed and that the doctor had ordered an MRI. He hovered around the bed, chatting up the young Filipina nurse with Thayne while she wrote in the chart. Thayne was thoroughly entertained by the man who bounced when he talked like he had springs in his heels as he told her about the excitement of the day. When he finally bid Thayne goodbye, telling him he had to go start his shift, it was like all the oxygenhad been sucked out of the room. Thayne’s nurse grinned at him.

“He’s always like that. I love John and he sure makes the world a brighter place,” she said.

“He has a lot of energy,” Thayne remarked as she typed on the computer where she was writing in his chart.

“That’s for sure.” She stood up. “Okay, the doctor will be in to see you soon.”

Thayne nodded as she bustled out. A few minutes later, a tall man in a white coat came in and introduced himself as Doctor Steadman. He ordered some X-rays, palpated Thayne’s abdomen and looked him over pretty thoroughly.

“You went over the side on the 10 Freeway?” he asked, looking quite incredulous.

“Yes,” Thayne nodded.

“On a motorcycle?”

“Yes. My partner was driving.”

“You’re lucky to be alive. We rarely get anyone in here who’s gone over without severe injuries.” He seemed to think for a minute. “Oh, you must be the other man’s partner.”

“Yes. My partner is Jarrett Evans. Are you hisdoctor?” Thayne was hopeful.

“Yes, I am. He’s a lucky one too. He has several cracked ribs but you were both lucky. I guess you’re anxious to see him.”

“Yes. The other nurse said he is in X-ray.”

“I sent him for an MRI. I want to be sure he doesn’t have any internal bleeding.” The doctor was palpating the back of Thayne’s neck, running his gloved fingers over every vertebra.

“Okay, doc. Thanks. I was really worried,” Thayne said, breathing a sigh of relief.

There was a knock on the door and the doctor called for whoever it was to enter. When two large Highway Patrol officers peeked inside, the doctor stepped back.

“We’d like to ask your patient some questions when you’re done, Doc,” the burlier of the two said.

“I’m done,” he said, patting Thayne’s shoulder. “I’m going to order a chest X-ray but other than that, I think you’re fine except for a cracked rib or two. I just want to look at it with an X-ray. The nurse will be in to put some Steri strips on that laceration. I really don’t want to put stitches in your forehead. It should heal just fine but stitches will scar you unnecessarily.”

“Thanks, Doc,” Thayne said.

The doctor patted Thayne’s shoulder again and then left the room, standing aside as the two Highway Patrol officers stepped into the room. They were both holding notepads.

“We already talked to Special Agent Evans but we wanted to ask you a couple questions for our report if that’s okay, Special Agent Wolfe,” the larger of the two men said.

Thayne nodded, happy that Jarrett had already told the majority of the story to save them time. He didn’t know what he’d have to add anyway. “What would you like to know?”