Syrena felt much more relaxed after her encounter with Sid. Alex offered another dance, but she felt she should sit this one out and kissed him on the cheek in thanks before going to find Michelle. Colin and Michelle were sitting out the dance at the bar, each with a pint before them, talking softly as Colin rolled another cigarette.
Syrena tapped Michelle on the shoulder. "Hey, 'chelle." They turned and chatted for a moment, reminiscing about the dancing until Syrena changed the subject. "You missed all the excitement before. Hando and Sid were raising some hell, and they're locked in the back room." Michelle looked surprised but then thought about the two of them together and nodded sagely. "Sid's module is out, and Hando's tied up pretty good, but they're so quiet back there. Wanna come with me to check on them?"
Michelle nodded, "Yeah, let's go, Sy."
They turned and made their way through the crowd to the door of the back room, and Syrena opened it carefully. The sight before them struck to their hearts: Sid lay on the floor with a hole in the back of his head where the module had been, nanogoo surrounding him in a surreal halo; Hando lay prone near Sid with his face pressed into the concrete and the flesh around his bonds torn and bloody. The back of his jacket was saturated and a small pool of blood had formed on the floor.
"Shit, 'chelle, we've got to get him out of those! Shit! Where's the key?" Syrena turned to the door and yelled over the sound of the band. "John!"
John glanced up from behind the bar and noticed Syrena waving him down. He crossed the room quickly and entered the back hallway. "What's up?"
Michelle's voice came out of the back room.... "Sy, hurry!!!" John stepped forward in surprise and glanced into the backroom, immediately noticing the blood on the floor.
"Holy shit..."
"His pulse is very weak John... He's lost quite a bit of blood!" Michelle looked with a panicked look.
"Let's get him untied and off this cold floor." John pulled out the key and undid the chains. Carefully, he lifted Hando over his shoulder and carried him down the hall and into a tiny room. Michelle and Syrena followed, pulling back the covers on the small cot that lay in the corner.
"I'll go grab some water..." Michelle scurried out the door.
"And clean bandages!!!" Syrena yelled after her. Together her and John peeled off Hando's white suspenders and T-shirt, both red with blood . Syrena grimaced as she saw the blood had soaked down to his white jeans as well. "Oh God, John... please let him be alright!!"
"He's going to be fine... just fine..." John spoke calmly as he removed the blood soaked jeans and tossed them into the corner with the other clothes. Hando groaned softly, his eyes fluttering open and he gazed hazily around him.
"What am I doing here..." He sighed, his voice echoing the pain he obviously felt.
"Just relax, Hando. Everything'll be okay," John said, turning to grab a couple blankets from a stack in the corner and spread them over Hando's thin form. Syrena sat on the edge of the cot carefully and took Hando's left hand gently in hers, shuddering at how icy cold his skin was to touch. Blood smudged her fingers and caused her to wince. He looked up at her with confusion in his eyes, the look of systemic shock, and she smiled down at him and gently smoothed his brow.
"You'll be fine, Hando. Just hang in there," her voice was laden with concern. He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. She watched him carefully, waiting for his chest to rise with his next breath, and squeezed his hand when the breath didn't come quickly enough. His eyelids flickered, and his chest rose haltingly. "John," she whispered urgently. "He's looking really bad. What can I do?"
"Just stay with him, hon. He needs contact now. I'm going to go see if I can help Michelle get hot water and bandages faster." He turned and left the room carefully closing the door behind him.
Syrena shifted to kneel beside the cot and held Hando's hand to her chest. He opened his eyes for a second and looked at her--the fear she saw in his eyes made her squeeze his hand a little tighter and place her free hand on his forehead. His skin was clammy and cool, and she sat there mute, unable to find anything to say to comfort him. He shivered uncontrollably then stilled, and she watched his eyelids drift closed. His chest continued to rise and fall haltingly, but there was more time between each breath. He needs to get warm, and quick. These blankets just aren't cutting it--his body heat has already dropped too far, she thought. Forgetting all decorum, she shifted again and crawled beneath the blankets on the narrow cot, cradling his limp form in her arms and lending her body heat to him.
John and Michelle returned with a bucket of hot water and several handfuls of clean bar towels to find them lying there. "He's in really bad shape, guys," Syrena whispered as she heard the door close behind them.
Michelle dropped the jug of water on the bedside table, and whispered softly as she reached for another wool blanket from the corner. "Colin's on his way with some hot towels. He should be here shortly..." She covered Syrena and Hando, tucking the blankets in around them.
"He's shivering horribly!" Syrena pulled Hando's body closer to hers. Colin entered quietly and gazed in amazement at the scene before him.
"Bloody hell!" Colin's mouth dropped open and it wasn't until John crossed the room to help him with the warm towels that he moved again. Together they gently lay several of the hot towels over top of Hando, and another one wrapped gently around his bare head.
"That should do the trick," John stepped back and glanced down at the cot. Michelle leaned against Colin, and a shiver ran up her spine as she thought of Hando's poor condition.
"He has to get better!?!" Michelle buried her head in Colin's chest. He ran a gentle hand through her hair, comforting her.
"He will, love... he will..." Colin held her tightly and everyone waited for some sign of improvement.
Syrena lay there holding Hando's inert body, feeling the infusion of heat from the towels draped over them as it warmed the surface of his skin ever so slightly. His breathing began to even out, and she pulled him closer. "It'll be okay, Hando. You're going to be fine," she whispered in his ear, gently rubbing her hand on his chest to stimulate circulation. His eyelids flickered, and he began to shiver again as his blood began to warm up.
She turned her head slightly, "Someone get some more warm towels?" Michelle elbowed Colin gently, breaking his trance at the scene before them, and he left abruptly to get more warm towels. "He's starting to warm up now," Syrena announced to Michelle and John. Michelle breathed a heavy sigh of relief as though the world had lifted from her shoulders, and John knelt down beside the cot to place his hand on Syrena's back.
"Thanks to you, Sy, thanks to you," he murmured. "If you hadn't remembered him, he probably would have died back there. I guess we got a little carried away." He hung his head, feeling guilty for having ignored his police training in lieu of vengeful punishment. Hando stirred slightly, noticing the body beside him and the weight on his chest of the blankets and the damp towels. He opened his eyes and looked at Syrena. "Wh.. wh... where am I," he stammered.
"It's okay, Hando. You're at the tavern, and there was a little incident. Just relax and warm up, okay?" He nodded mutely, grimacing painfully as his muscles reacted to the aftermath of shock. Syrena felt his muscles bunch beneath her hand as he struggled to move his arm. "Shhh, don't struggle, hon. It's okay." He stopped for a moment, gathering his strength, and worked his hand up to his chest to take hers in his. His face contorted in a tired though thankful smile; she looked into his bleary eyes and returned the smile. "You're going to be fine, eh," she stated and squeezed him a little closer.
Colin returned promptly with a new set of hot towels and set about quickly replacing the old ones. Michelle slinked an arm around his waist once again as she gazed down at the cot. John smiled, standing up from his seat in the corner and directed the two towards the door. "He's going to be just fine... Why don't we go back to the party?"
"Take care Hando..." Michelle turned once again as she reached the door and Hando managed a weak, but sincere smile. The trio returned to the dance floor, where the band was just swinging into a new set, and John poured everyone a round of drinks.
Michelle glanced back towards the room, a concerned look on her face."Don't fret, love."
John kneeled in front of her and took her hand, looking her straight in the eye. "He's in good hands... Now c'mon..." He pulled her to her feet, "I think it's my turn to have a dance with this lovely lady." John winked at Colin and swung Michelle onto the dance floor.
The door closed behind them, shutting out the sounds of the party in the tavern. Hando gripped Syrena's hand in his, his grip growing stronger as he warmed up; Syrena returned the grip and let herself relax slightly. He was past the hardest part, and she was confident that everything was going to be okay. He gazed at the ceiling of the little room, tracing the patterns of the tiles with his eyes, and swallowed with difficulty. Syrena heard the clicking in his dry throat and moved to crawl off the cot to retrieve the jug of water Michelle had left.
"Don't leave me," he whispered desperately with a tormented look in his eyes.
"I'm not leaving, Hando. I'll stay here and take care of you. Just let me get some water, okay?" He released his grip on her hand slowly, and she eased out from under the covers, crossed the room and returned with a full jug of warm water and a pint glass. "Here, drink this," she held the glass to his lips. He drank greedily, quickly draining the pint.
"More?" He nodded, and she filled it again and held it to his lips.
He left the glass half full, and rested his head back on the pillows. "Thank you," he said, his voice stronger now and his eyes filled with gratitude.
"No problem, hon. How're you feeling now? Warm enough?" He nodded somewhat emphatically. "Okay," she looked around the room for the stack of clean dry towels Colin had left in the corner. "We've got to take care of your wrists now. Think you can handle that, Hando?" He nodded again with determination in his eyes,unsuccessfully veiling the pain there. "Right. I've got to get some more hot water and something better than towels to use as bandages. I'm going to leave you here for two ticks, and I'll be right back," she explained, smoothing his brow softly. "I promise I'll be right back."
He closed his eyes, nodding, and she quickly rose and strode out of the room to search for bandages.
Watching Michelle on the dance floor, Colin smiled as she burst into laughter when John swung her across the tiles. He took a long swig of beer and rolled himself another cigarette as his eyes followed them around the room. His mind eventually wandered to the apparent prior events of the evening, and he thought of Sid and decided venturing down the hallway to the storage room where Sid still remained unconscious.
"Bloody hell!!" Colin gasped as he entered the room and saw Sid's limp and blue-blood covered body lying in the far corner. "What'd you do to deserve this, mate?" Colin chuckled to himself. He crossed the floor, sidestepping the drying blood that must have been Hando's, and kneeled beside Sid, immediately noticing the missing character module.
Glancing around the room, Colin saw a tiny trail of blue blood leading to the drain in the corner. He pulled away the grate and reached his arm as far as he could down the pipe.
Something touched the tip of his fingers, just beyond his reach. Finding a coil of wire on one of the storage shelves, Colin slipped the end down the pipe, struggling for several moments until it caught on something and he tugged gently. The character module popped out the top of the drain, rolling between Colin's feet. He reached down and picked it up, holding it in his hand.
Syrena marched down the hallway past the door where Hando had almost died and Sid still lay in a puddle of nanogoo on the floor. As she passed the doorway, she glanced in and saw Colin standing there looking at an object in his hand. She hesitated, knowing that she'd promised Hando she'd be right back but overcome by curiosity to know what Colin was looking at so intently. She entered the room silently and peered over his shoulder.
"Colin, what! Are you completely mental?" Her voice echoed loudly in the small room, and Colin spun to look at her, dropping Sid's character module on the floor again where it bounced into the corner under a shelf. "When he wakes up he's going to hunt me down and do his best to pay me back for dumping Kool-Aid on him! You can't put the module back, please."
Colin raised his eyebrow. "Kool-Aid?" He knew he'd missed something, but this was too funny. Come to think of it, Sid did look a little sticky below the blue slick of nanogoo. He glanced back at Sid's inert form and chuckled, "I guess I missed that part of the excitement tonight. We'll leave him here for the time being, Sy. No worries, mate." He smiled and, resting his hand on Syrena's shoulder, the two of them left the room, closing the door behind them.
She forgot Hando momentarily when she saw the festivities in the main room of the tavern. Her conscience nudged her forcefully, and she proceeded on her search for hot water and bandages.
Tina had worked another long week at the police department, and was happy there was no overtime tempting her to work another of her off days.
Exhausted, she slowly pushed open the door to Crowe's Tavern. She'd been away too long. She was not only already tasting one of her favorite Champagne Mimosas...she was missing someone special as well.
The music from the band hit her ears the moment she stepped inside. She glanced towards the dance floor and smiled. Her friend Michelle appeared to be attempting to teach Tina's favorite Alaskan sheriff a few dance steps, but attempt was right! John was laughing and shaking his head as he stumbled a bit, causing Michelle to also laugh. Considering his grace and skill as a hockey player, he was just a mess when it came to dancing, and THAT was John's word.
Still... there was just something about him as he so sweetly kept giving it a try. Tina sighed. She hated to cut in, but at this moment, seeing his lopsided grin and the glow in his eyes, she looked forward to being held in his arms again.
Colin surveyed the main room and saw Michelle kiss John gently on the cheek before she passed him off to Tina, whom Colin gathered had just arrived. Returning to the bar, Michelle stumbled with feigned exhaustion as she took a seat next to Bud White. The band settled into another slow song and a crowd was beginning to gather around the bar for refreshments. Bud laughed as Michelle fell into him, gripping her around her waist and pulling her onto his lap. He whispered something in her ear and Michelle giggled trying to pull away from him, but to no avail.
Colin approached the bar and Cort tossed him another beer which Colin downed in one swig. Bud tickled Michelle relentlessly, causing her to squeal with laughter, begging to be let go. Colin raised an eyebrow, "Let her go, mate..."
Bud blinked and turned. "Just havin' some fun, Colin... relax and have another beer." He turned and continued his tickle-attack on Michelle.
Colin felt a sudden surge of jealousy run through his veins. He gripped Bud's arm. "I said... let her go... mate."
Bud turned slowly, his eyes trailing up Colin's hand, past his shoulder until they met eye to eye. "I suggest you get your hand off me... mate!" Bud hissed.
John gently wrapped his arms around Tina's neck, and bent over to give her a kiss on the lips. She heard him whisper 'I've missed you', and she laughed, pretending to be upset...
"You didn't seem like you missed me much, John Biebe,...but I'm in a very forgiving mood tonight...Hey, have I missed anything?"
"Sweetheart...you're not going to believe what's been going on here tonight. Sid and Hando..."
"Sid and Hando?" He could see the apprehension in her eyes. "John..."
"No Tina,...wait 'til you hear what's going on. They..." He was interrupted when he heard Colin's voice raise, and both he and Tina turned in that direction. "What the--"
