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The Pretender characters in this story don't belong to me - They belong to NBC, etc. I'm just borrowing them - I'm getting no money for this story. It is written for my own myself and others who would like to read it.
In Pursiut Of Happiness
Part 2
by jojarod50
It was raining in torrents and the wind was whipping the tree branches against the fallen plane.
Remarkably, the Centre pilot had crash-landed the plane despite the temporary short-circuiting of the power by the electrical storm; however, the impact of the plane in the wheat field had caused considerable damage to the plane and probably the passengers inside.
The plane had slid through the entirely drenched field ending up in a lightly wooded area. Luckily, the plane had not caught on fire.
It had been twenty minutes since the plane went down which had shown up on radar at an airport just Northwest Trenton, New Jersey.
Emergency equipment had been dispatched at that time and was just arriving on the scene.
Three ambulances and two police cars made their way through the rain soaked field, sirens sounding, and lights flashing to the pre-dawn crash site.
The emergency personal scrambled out of their vehicles grabbing their emergency equipment, and headed for the downed plane.
The police gathered together to firm plans to secure the area and lend assistance. Knowing full well that the press would be showing up shortly.
Yellow tape went up around the crash site as the police cars were positioned to shine their headlights at the triage area forming just outside the plane.
The door to the plane had been opened and there were a bunch of indentations and gouges in the mud below indicating what looked like something or more likely someone dragging himself away from the plane and into the woods. Claps of thunder overhead completed the dismal scene.
Police Sargent Harry Carter was examining area under the opened door to the plane with Joe and Harry.
"Joe, why don't you see where those marks end up and Harry, help secure the scene while the emergency team brings out the survivors of this mess."
It was dark inside the plane, with an occasional sound of someone in pain.
Mark and Larry were EMTs and Kim was an EMIC with sound medical skills, but this was the biggest disaster they had been called on to date. Quickly, they evaluated the patients putting all their tri-age skills to work.
The other team removed patients with lesser injuries to the outside of the plane.
The more seriously injured passengers were taken to the waiting ambulances after they were stabilized Unfortunately, there had been two fatalities, a woman with a broken neck and an older man who had been impaled by flying debris.
Mark was at the rear of the plane treating a man in a dark suit that had multiple leg fractures with severe bleeding. The man one chair from him in the window seat had a head wound with probable concussion. Mark also noticed blood in the vacant seat in-between them, which seemed strange.
"Mark, can you come over here? This one is loosing a lot of blood?"
"Yeah, coming Kim. Give me half a minute to finish stabilizing this fracture. Hey, Larry what do you have over there?"
"Have on old man with an oxygen tank. Got him plugged back into it now. Lucky thing that didn't blow!" Larry said eyeing the tank with a pleased look. "Anyone check on the pilot?"
"Yes, I did Larry. Lost cause. Tree limb broke through the front window. He didn't have a chance. You about done over there, Mark?" Kim said looking over at him with a pleading look.
Suddenly, there were gunshots outside the plane and at the same time three sweepers came bursting into the cabin of the plane taking out the emergency personnel.
"I thought you'd never get here." Lyle said in a threatening voice as he arose from his seat.
"Get the cleaners to work in here quickly, there isn't much time." With that, Lyle limped out of the plane.
Willie the sweeper was just outside the plane barking out orders into his phone when Lyle limped up to him.
"Willie, any sign of Jarod?"
"No, Sir, but I've got a whole team checking the area. He couldn't have gotten far, not in the shape he was in."
Lyle grabbed the bigger man's tailored suit coat pulling him face to face.
"Find him or you will be personally responsible before the Triumvirate."
Abruptly, Lyle pushed Willie away and turned on his heel back to confer with Raines.
Willie's face turned to stone then rolled his shoulders to straighten his suit coat and walked away. He would remember this.
Raines looked up from his seat inside one of the sweeper's car putting his telephone down, as Lyle approached him.
" Two helicopters will be. here in five minutes .and I expect everyone .on board. Time. is of the essence," Raines wheezed noisily.
"Fine, Raines, but Jarod is gone." Lyle stood there with rain pouring down his face in his drenched silk suit.
Raines eyed Lyle incredulously.
"Impossible! Jarod was beaten .(he glanced down at his watch) and is still.. stoned out of his mind on. that hallucinogen. you gave him. I can't believe he made it out of his seat! He couldn't have gotten far. Activate the tracking chip and get him back here, now!"
Raines gave Lyle a look that made him tremble despite his cool demeanor.
"Jarod better be on one of the helicopters .before. we're forced to leave, Lyle, or you'll wish. you'd never been born."
"We'll find him," he said in a low and dangerous voice. Lyle broke eye contact, turned, and walked away.
* * *
"Take it easy, Mr., I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Joe. Why don't you just come out from under those bushes and let me take a look at that arm."
Jarod pulled back further under the bushes shivering violently.
"You're hurt, mister. We need to get you back to the plane where you can get medical help."
"That's where you came from, isn't it? You were in that plane crash." Joe said in the most soothing tone he could muster up.
Joe used to work a beat in the inner city and had seen a lot of action in emergency situations and he knew a hysterical man when he saw one.
The injured man stared at Joe with wild eyes, lost in a drug-induced nightmare. Joe's voice sounded very far away and like gibberish. Jarod had managed to drag and stumble amazingly far away from the crash site in a paranoid psychotic frenzy chased by invisible demons of his own invention.
His leap for life from the plane had rewarded him with a possible broken leg and an ugly looking shoulder, both, which he was totally oblivious of.
Joe knew he needed to get the frightened man's bleeding stopped before he could get him back to the crash site. Walking slowly toward the injured man, the burly policeman spoke soothing words stopping right next to the bushes. Slowly, he crouched down until he was level with Jarod.
Immediately Joe noticed that Jarod pupils were extremely dilated which could indicate drug use.
The pretender was focused on his bleeding hands now as he seemed to be struggling to get them apart, making tight huffy sounds and breathing short rapid breaths.
That's when Joe noticed the hand cuffs.
"What's your name fella?"
Jarod made no reply.
"Say, you look pretty banged up. Can you come toward me a little so I can help you get that bleeding stopped?"
Jarod's eyes got wide again as his mind registered on the man peering at him. His breath quickened and he made a strangled muffled cry as the policeman reached for his good arm in an attempt to coax him out.
Jarod started mumbling a bunch of nonsense his eyes darting back and forth from the man to the woods beyond.
"Come on now, let's get you out of there. You're hurt and soaking wet," Joe said, leaning into Jarod's body and wrapping his arms around him."
Jarod made low guttural sounds from the pain as Joe gently pulled him out from his hiding place.
Quickly, Joe removed his police shirt and ripped it into rags placing pressure on the bleeding wounds until the bleeding was under control.
Jarod winced as he applied the pressure to the wounds.
The pretender was rambling on about a secrete hiding place in the lower levels and something about thousands of flashing red eye. Finally, he trailed off again shutting his eyes tightly.
Joe looked up from his work as he noticed the pretender quietly crying seemingly lost in another place and time. Joe shook his head, noticing a sick feeling in his gut, as he wondered what the heck had happened to this guy.
Examining at Jarod's mangled shoulder, he carefully put Jarod's arm in a sling and used his belt around Jarod's chest and arm to immobilize it.
Looking into the pretender's eyes, Joe could see how utterly lost his patient was.
Something wasn't right here. This man was more than just hysterical from the plane crash, and what about the cuffs? He better phone this one in.
Taking his walkie from the grass beside him, Joe contacted Harry back at the crash site.
"Harry, this is Joe. I found a man in pretty bad shape about ½ a mile from the crash site. You'll need to send someone with a stretcher. I don't think he can walk. And another thing, Harry, the guy is wearing handcuffs and seems to be suffering from severe emotional problems or drugs.
"No wonder he was trying to make a run for it. I copy that Joe, we'll.what the...."
* * *
Joe listened in horror as he heard the multiple gunshots and cries of his partner and the others.
He stood there totally stunned for a moment holding the dead walkie then reality came crashing in as he switched it off.
"Oh, my God! We've got to get out of here, now!"
Grabbing Jarod by the waist, Joe bent over and hoisted him over his shoulder grunting with the effort.
* * *
As fast as he could, Joe made his way through the woods and on to the county road he knew would be there. Flagging down the first car that came along, Joe flashed his badge and spoke to the young college behind the wheel
"What's your name son," Joe asked with a friendly smile, realizing how strange this all looked to the young man.
"William Pierce, Sir, "the boy said nervously, eyeing the police man with no shirt and the bloody man slung over his shoulder.
"William, My name is Lieutenant Joe Clark and I just left a crime scene with this injured man and need to get him to a hospital very quickly before his condition worsens. Could you help me get this man into the back seat of your car?"
"Yes, Sir." William said jumping out of his car and into the pouring rain.
William assisted him getting the now unconscience man in the back.
Both men jumped in the front and they were off in no time heading back to Trenton.
It was daylight now and the heavy rain showed no signs of slowing as another angry clap of thunder sounded above them.
* * *
Picking up Jarod's tracker signal, the sweeper team converged on the site.
One of the sweepers picked up the walkie and looked at it closely. Scanning the scene, Willie could see signs that people had been here and someone had been bleeding pretty badly.
"Jarod" He said out loud.
Willie called in their findings and took off again tracking the signal.
* * *
Lyle pursed his lips considering the facts.
"Damn, somebody else had been sent to investigate the tracks left by Jarod and found him. That's just great! When I find Jarod, I'm going to kill him." Lyle rubbed his tired eyes and turned around coming face to face with Raines.
* * *
Part 2
by jojarod50
It was raining in torrents and the wind was whipping the tree branches against the fallen plane.
Remarkably, the Centre pilot had crash-landed the plane despite the temporary short-circuiting of the power by the electrical storm; however, the impact of the plane in the wheat field had caused considerable damage to the plane and probably the passengers inside.
The plane had slid through the entirely drenched field ending up in a lightly wooded area. Luckily, the plane had not caught on fire.
It had been twenty minutes since the plane went down which had shown up on radar at an airport just Northwest Trenton, New Jersey.
Emergency equipment had been dispatched at that time and was just arriving on the scene.
Three ambulances and two police cars made their way through the rain soaked field, sirens sounding, and lights flashing to the pre-dawn crash site.
The emergency personal scrambled out of their vehicles grabbing their emergency equipment, and headed for the downed plane.
The police gathered together to firm plans to secure the area and lend assistance. Knowing full well that the press would be showing up shortly.
Yellow tape went up around the crash site as the police cars were positioned to shine their headlights at the triage area forming just outside the plane.
The door to the plane had been opened and there were a bunch of indentations and gouges in the mud below indicating what looked like something or more likely someone dragging himself away from the plane and into the woods. Claps of thunder overhead completed the dismal scene.
Police Sargent Harry Carter was examining area under the opened door to the plane with Joe and Harry.
"Joe, why don't you see where those marks end up and Harry, help secure the scene while the emergency team brings out the survivors of this mess."
It was dark inside the plane, with an occasional sound of someone in pain.
Mark and Larry were EMTs and Kim was an EMIC with sound medical skills, but this was the biggest disaster they had been called on to date. Quickly, they evaluated the patients putting all their tri-age skills to work.
The other team removed patients with lesser injuries to the outside of the plane.
The more seriously injured passengers were taken to the waiting ambulances after they were stabilized Unfortunately, there had been two fatalities, a woman with a broken neck and an older man who had been impaled by flying debris.
Mark was at the rear of the plane treating a man in a dark suit that had multiple leg fractures with severe bleeding. The man one chair from him in the window seat had a head wound with probable concussion. Mark also noticed blood in the vacant seat in-between them, which seemed strange.
"Mark, can you come over here? This one is loosing a lot of blood?"
"Yeah, coming Kim. Give me half a minute to finish stabilizing this fracture. Hey, Larry what do you have over there?"
"Have on old man with an oxygen tank. Got him plugged back into it now. Lucky thing that didn't blow!" Larry said eyeing the tank with a pleased look. "Anyone check on the pilot?"
"Yes, I did Larry. Lost cause. Tree limb broke through the front window. He didn't have a chance. You about done over there, Mark?" Kim said looking over at him with a pleading look.
Suddenly, there were gunshots outside the plane and at the same time three sweepers came bursting into the cabin of the plane taking out the emergency personnel.
"I thought you'd never get here." Lyle said in a threatening voice as he arose from his seat.
"Get the cleaners to work in here quickly, there isn't much time." With that, Lyle limped out of the plane.
Willie the sweeper was just outside the plane barking out orders into his phone when Lyle limped up to him.
"Willie, any sign of Jarod?"
"No, Sir, but I've got a whole team checking the area. He couldn't have gotten far, not in the shape he was in."
Lyle grabbed the bigger man's tailored suit coat pulling him face to face.
"Find him or you will be personally responsible before the Triumvirate."
Abruptly, Lyle pushed Willie away and turned on his heel back to confer with Raines.
Willie's face turned to stone then rolled his shoulders to straighten his suit coat and walked away. He would remember this.
Raines looked up from his seat inside one of the sweeper's car putting his telephone down, as Lyle approached him.
" Two helicopters will be. here in five minutes .and I expect everyone .on board. Time. is of the essence," Raines wheezed noisily.
"Fine, Raines, but Jarod is gone." Lyle stood there with rain pouring down his face in his drenched silk suit.
Raines eyed Lyle incredulously.
"Impossible! Jarod was beaten .(he glanced down at his watch) and is still.. stoned out of his mind on. that hallucinogen. you gave him. I can't believe he made it out of his seat! He couldn't have gotten far. Activate the tracking chip and get him back here, now!"
Raines gave Lyle a look that made him tremble despite his cool demeanor.
"Jarod better be on one of the helicopters .before. we're forced to leave, Lyle, or you'll wish. you'd never been born."
"We'll find him," he said in a low and dangerous voice. Lyle broke eye contact, turned, and walked away.
* * *
"Take it easy, Mr., I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Joe. Why don't you just come out from under those bushes and let me take a look at that arm."
Jarod pulled back further under the bushes shivering violently.
"You're hurt, mister. We need to get you back to the plane where you can get medical help."
"That's where you came from, isn't it? You were in that plane crash." Joe said in the most soothing tone he could muster up.
Joe used to work a beat in the inner city and had seen a lot of action in emergency situations and he knew a hysterical man when he saw one.
The injured man stared at Joe with wild eyes, lost in a drug-induced nightmare. Joe's voice sounded very far away and like gibberish. Jarod had managed to drag and stumble amazingly far away from the crash site in a paranoid psychotic frenzy chased by invisible demons of his own invention.
His leap for life from the plane had rewarded him with a possible broken leg and an ugly looking shoulder, both, which he was totally oblivious of.
Joe knew he needed to get the frightened man's bleeding stopped before he could get him back to the crash site. Walking slowly toward the injured man, the burly policeman spoke soothing words stopping right next to the bushes. Slowly, he crouched down until he was level with Jarod.
Immediately Joe noticed that Jarod pupils were extremely dilated which could indicate drug use.
The pretender was focused on his bleeding hands now as he seemed to be struggling to get them apart, making tight huffy sounds and breathing short rapid breaths.
That's when Joe noticed the hand cuffs.
"What's your name fella?"
Jarod made no reply.
"Say, you look pretty banged up. Can you come toward me a little so I can help you get that bleeding stopped?"
Jarod's eyes got wide again as his mind registered on the man peering at him. His breath quickened and he made a strangled muffled cry as the policeman reached for his good arm in an attempt to coax him out.
Jarod started mumbling a bunch of nonsense his eyes darting back and forth from the man to the woods beyond.
"Come on now, let's get you out of there. You're hurt and soaking wet," Joe said, leaning into Jarod's body and wrapping his arms around him."
Jarod made low guttural sounds from the pain as Joe gently pulled him out from his hiding place.
Quickly, Joe removed his police shirt and ripped it into rags placing pressure on the bleeding wounds until the bleeding was under control.
Jarod winced as he applied the pressure to the wounds.
The pretender was rambling on about a secrete hiding place in the lower levels and something about thousands of flashing red eye. Finally, he trailed off again shutting his eyes tightly.
Joe looked up from his work as he noticed the pretender quietly crying seemingly lost in another place and time. Joe shook his head, noticing a sick feeling in his gut, as he wondered what the heck had happened to this guy.
Examining at Jarod's mangled shoulder, he carefully put Jarod's arm in a sling and used his belt around Jarod's chest and arm to immobilize it.
Looking into the pretender's eyes, Joe could see how utterly lost his patient was.
Something wasn't right here. This man was more than just hysterical from the plane crash, and what about the cuffs? He better phone this one in.
Taking his walkie from the grass beside him, Joe contacted Harry back at the crash site.
"Harry, this is Joe. I found a man in pretty bad shape about ½ a mile from the crash site. You'll need to send someone with a stretcher. I don't think he can walk. And another thing, Harry, the guy is wearing handcuffs and seems to be suffering from severe emotional problems or drugs.
"No wonder he was trying to make a run for it. I copy that Joe, we'll.what the...."
* * *
Joe listened in horror as he heard the multiple gunshots and cries of his partner and the others.
He stood there totally stunned for a moment holding the dead walkie then reality came crashing in as he switched it off.
"Oh, my God! We've got to get out of here, now!"
Grabbing Jarod by the waist, Joe bent over and hoisted him over his shoulder grunting with the effort.
* * *
As fast as he could, Joe made his way through the woods and on to the county road he knew would be there. Flagging down the first car that came along, Joe flashed his badge and spoke to the young college behind the wheel
"What's your name son," Joe asked with a friendly smile, realizing how strange this all looked to the young man.
"William Pierce, Sir, "the boy said nervously, eyeing the police man with no shirt and the bloody man slung over his shoulder.
"William, My name is Lieutenant Joe Clark and I just left a crime scene with this injured man and need to get him to a hospital very quickly before his condition worsens. Could you help me get this man into the back seat of your car?"
"Yes, Sir." William said jumping out of his car and into the pouring rain.
William assisted him getting the now unconscience man in the back.
Both men jumped in the front and they were off in no time heading back to Trenton.
It was daylight now and the heavy rain showed no signs of slowing as another angry clap of thunder sounded above them.
* * *
Picking up Jarod's tracker signal, the sweeper team converged on the site.
One of the sweepers picked up the walkie and looked at it closely. Scanning the scene, Willie could see signs that people had been here and someone had been bleeding pretty badly.
"Jarod" He said out loud.
Willie called in their findings and took off again tracking the signal.
* * *
Lyle pursed his lips considering the facts.
"Damn, somebody else had been sent to investigate the tracks left by Jarod and found him. That's just great! When I find Jarod, I'm going to kill him." Lyle rubbed his tired eyes and turned around coming face to face with Raines.
* * *
