When the Past Returns (Day 2)
Follows This
Tuesday Evening
It's too quiet. Even sullen, sulky witnesses like Liz aren't this quiet. And there is a difference between sleeping and silence and no one in the house is sleeping, not even the guards who should be. Her gut has never failed her and she gets up, moving through the house. It doesn't hurt to check on her witness.
The door is cracked and Mary peeks in, at first reassured by what appears to be Liz's sleeping figure. Two breaths later she realizes all is not peaceful. It's the sprawl of Liz's body, the way her feet are pointed, the rasp of the breath. Mary barges in, seeing only her witness, screaming for her backups. In this moment, she knows who the leak is, the only one she hasn't seen all morning, the one who was off duty and supposed to be "sleeping."
"Call for an ambulance!" She screams while racing to Liz's side. The woman is breathing, but the breaths are shallow, and the bruising around her neck is already turning a deep, deep purple. "And while you are at it, grab Fallon!" She kneels over Liz's body, quietly cursing, seeing her witness and her job flash before her eyes. Suddenly it isn't Marshall's wrath she's worried about but the mood of a certain director back in DC. If Liz dies, there will be hell to pay. Eyes open and Liz reaches out for Mary. Mary shakes her head, "Take it easy, we've got an ambulance coming. Was it Fallon?" When Liz nods, Mary sees something else behind her eyes, but doesn't push. Right now, it's about getting her help. She knows her witness' history, she knows how terrifying this must be. "You're going to be okay." Already she can hear the sirens and the thud from the other room tells her that their leak has been busted. Marshall can deal with him. She's got Liz.
The paramedics give her oxygen but are worried to intubate - her windpipe is severely bruised. Liz can respond but not speak and the frustration is clearly building. But she's lifted into the ambulance and Mary wants to ride with her, but she has a felon to deal with. He's cuffed and sitting silently in the living room when she comes in. Marshall is on his way, as is the section chief and the FBI regional director. She's in charge so she stays while her witness is rushed to the hospital under the watchful eye of two of the other guards. She doesn't want the asshole to speak and it takes all she has to not beat him into the ground. Liz might have messed up a few things the last couple of months, but this guy is the reason they couldn't keep her safe.
She doesn't speak after reading him his rights. If she does, she's worried she'll violate most of those rights by beating him to a pulp. So she stares at him, wondering about his accomplice because there's no way he overpowered a former agency director by himself. At the least, Liz would have screamed and not a peep had been heard. "Go check the windows in the bedroom," she orders. "They're supposed to be nailed shut." Reinart disappears into the bedroom to look while Mary calls up a forensic team.
Marshall makes the trip to Santa Fe in 45 minutes and she gleefully watches as he manhandles Fallon into the car. The FBI is already turning on the heat and she now can race to the hospital to sit with her witness, who, when she gets there, is in a room, turned away from the door. She's on oxygen and a feeding tube has been threaded down her throat. "She can't speak," the doctors warn her. "There is too much swelling around her trachea. She'll be fine in a day or two, but right now we need to make sure she's breathing and she can't swallow at all. Anything she needs she can write down. She needs to rest and we might need to sedate her."
"Don't sedate her," Mary says quietly, knowing she has no authority to make this decision but also knowing it is what Liz would want. "Let her just be." She pulls Liz's phone out of her pocket and turns it on. There are two text messages and one voice mail waiting. She walks away from the doctor and into the room, putting the phone into Liz's hands. "You're safe now," she says softly, even though they both know it's a lie. Until Fallon's accomplice is caught, Liz isn't safe. But there also isn't much they can do. "Just don't tell anyone where you are, okay?"
Liz nods, folds her hands around the phone, and then closes her eyes. Mary just sighs. What a clusterfuck.
Tuesday Evening
It's too quiet. Even sullen, sulky witnesses like Liz aren't this quiet. And there is a difference between sleeping and silence and no one in the house is sleeping, not even the guards who should be. Her gut has never failed her and she gets up, moving through the house. It doesn't hurt to check on her witness.
The door is cracked and Mary peeks in, at first reassured by what appears to be Liz's sleeping figure. Two breaths later she realizes all is not peaceful. It's the sprawl of Liz's body, the way her feet are pointed, the rasp of the breath. Mary barges in, seeing only her witness, screaming for her backups. In this moment, she knows who the leak is, the only one she hasn't seen all morning, the one who was off duty and supposed to be "sleeping."
"Call for an ambulance!" She screams while racing to Liz's side. The woman is breathing, but the breaths are shallow, and the bruising around her neck is already turning a deep, deep purple. "And while you are at it, grab Fallon!" She kneels over Liz's body, quietly cursing, seeing her witness and her job flash before her eyes. Suddenly it isn't Marshall's wrath she's worried about but the mood of a certain director back in DC. If Liz dies, there will be hell to pay. Eyes open and Liz reaches out for Mary. Mary shakes her head, "Take it easy, we've got an ambulance coming. Was it Fallon?" When Liz nods, Mary sees something else behind her eyes, but doesn't push. Right now, it's about getting her help. She knows her witness' history, she knows how terrifying this must be. "You're going to be okay." Already she can hear the sirens and the thud from the other room tells her that their leak has been busted. Marshall can deal with him. She's got Liz.
The paramedics give her oxygen but are worried to intubate - her windpipe is severely bruised. Liz can respond but not speak and the frustration is clearly building. But she's lifted into the ambulance and Mary wants to ride with her, but she has a felon to deal with. He's cuffed and sitting silently in the living room when she comes in. Marshall is on his way, as is the section chief and the FBI regional director. She's in charge so she stays while her witness is rushed to the hospital under the watchful eye of two of the other guards. She doesn't want the asshole to speak and it takes all she has to not beat him into the ground. Liz might have messed up a few things the last couple of months, but this guy is the reason they couldn't keep her safe.
She doesn't speak after reading him his rights. If she does, she's worried she'll violate most of those rights by beating him to a pulp. So she stares at him, wondering about his accomplice because there's no way he overpowered a former agency director by himself. At the least, Liz would have screamed and not a peep had been heard. "Go check the windows in the bedroom," she orders. "They're supposed to be nailed shut." Reinart disappears into the bedroom to look while Mary calls up a forensic team.
Marshall makes the trip to Santa Fe in 45 minutes and she gleefully watches as he manhandles Fallon into the car. The FBI is already turning on the heat and she now can race to the hospital to sit with her witness, who, when she gets there, is in a room, turned away from the door. She's on oxygen and a feeding tube has been threaded down her throat. "She can't speak," the doctors warn her. "There is too much swelling around her trachea. She'll be fine in a day or two, but right now we need to make sure she's breathing and she can't swallow at all. Anything she needs she can write down. She needs to rest and we might need to sedate her."
"Don't sedate her," Mary says quietly, knowing she has no authority to make this decision but also knowing it is what Liz would want. "Let her just be." She pulls Liz's phone out of her pocket and turns it on. There are two text messages and one voice mail waiting. She walks away from the doctor and into the room, putting the phone into Liz's hands. "You're safe now," she says softly, even though they both know it's a lie. Until Fallon's accomplice is caught, Liz isn't safe. But there also isn't much they can do. "Just don't tell anyone where you are, okay?"
Liz nods, folds her hands around the phone, and then closes her eyes. Mary just sighs. What a clusterfuck.