The shot hit David high in the chest. He fell over, the ax skittering across the floor.
Theena cried out in relief, burying her face in Bill’s neck and holding him tight. Bill let out the breath he was holding and pulled her close. He felt a wave of sickness wash over him. The implications of what he’d done began to gnaw at him. He’d taken a life.
“Look at Manny!”
Bill spun around, half expecting to see the man back on his feet, like some unkillable Halloween monster. Instead he saw Manny cough, his chest rising and falling.
Bill’s hope soared. “He’s still alive.”
“Help him.”
Bill wasn’t sure that was such a hot idea. He was happy Manny wasn’t dead, but if he suddenly recovered Bill didn’t think he could shoot him again.
“Theena…”
“Bill, please. It’s not his fault.”
She was right. If ever there was a textbook case of insanity, it was Manny.
Bill went to him, felt the carotid. Pulse was weak but steady. He tore open Manny’s shirt and used it to wipe away the excess blood. There were three bullet holes, one in the sternum, one just above the belly button, and one through the right nipple. Incredibly, they were no longer bleeding.
“We need to get him to a hospital. Call 911. Get the police here, too.”
Theena nodded. Bill gently lifted Manny into a sitting position and examined his back. One exit wound, under the shoulder blade. The other two bullets were still in his body somewhere. Manny’s breathing was raspy, shallow. He laid him back down and put an ear to his chest. Collapsed lung.
“Get something to put under his feet.”
Theena finished the phone call and brought the chrome garbage can over. They placed Manny’s legs on top to help improve blood flow to the brain and stave off shock. All at once, Manny started to twitch and tremble.
Bill listened to his chest again. The arrhythmia was obvious. He guessed it was ventricular tachycardia-Manny’s heart had to be up near two hundred beats per minute.
“What’s happening?”
“He’s having a heart attack. A clot probably dislodged.”
“What can we do?”
Bill didn’t have an answer. In a fully stocked ER there was plenty he could do. But without drugs, all he could manage was keep CPR going until the paramedics arrived. Manny’s heartbeat, though fast, wasn’t effectively pumping blood through his body, and if Bill couldn’t get the blood to circulate, the man would be dead within minutes.
He raised Manny’s neck, opening the airway.
“Bill, there are drugs in the lab downstairs.”
“What kind of drugs?”
“Everything. We’re stocked for World War III.”
“Heparin? TPA? Streptokinase?”
Theena nodded.
“How about epinephrine and beryllium?”
“I’ll be right back.” Theena ran for the elevator.
“Hold on. You shouldn’t go down there alone. We don’t know if those two mob guys are dead.”
Theena’s face was frantic. “I can’t just let him die, Bill. It’s my fault this is happening.”
Bill thought it over, then handed her the gun. “Don’t take any chances. And don’t forget the syringe.”
Theena took off. Bill stared down at Manny, watching his face contort in pain. His legs thrashed, kicking the garbage can across the lobby. He’d gone from V-Tach to V-Fib, his heart playing an erratic game of stop and go, beating without coordination. He’d also stopped breathing.
Bill raised both hands over his head and brought them down hard, giving Manny a precordial thump on the chest. The object was to restart the heart’s electrical current and override the arrhythmia. A defibrillator would work better, but he doubted even Theena’s well stocked lab had one handy.
He checked Manny’s heartbeat and hit him again. Then he did a quick mouth sweep and tilted Manny’s head up, giving him the breath of life. Bill fell into the familiar rhythm of CPR, putting one hand over the other and pressing on Manny’s ribcage, feeling the heart spasm under his palms.
A sound, from outside. Bill turned to look through the doors, continuing his chest compressions.
A helicopter was landing in the parking lot.
Before Bill had a chance to laud the incredible speed of Schaumburg paramedics, Albert Rothchilde climbed out of the bird and ran to the front doors.
Bill gave Manny another breath, wondering what to do. Why was Rothchilde here? To see if his goons finished the job?
Rothchilde unlocked the front door and entered the lobby. He held a glistening black garbage bag. He approached Bill with an expression of quiet amusement.
“Dr. May. So good to see you. Is Theena still with us?”
Bill punched Manny’s chest again.
“We need to get this man to a hospital. Help me with his legs, we’ll use your chopper.”
“Sorry, but I don’t think so. In fact, why don’t you just stop trying to help him.” Rothchilde produced a gun from his pocket. “Now, please.”
Bill continued the CPR. Rothchilde might hire guys to do his dirty work, but Bill didn’t think him the type to do it himself.
Rothchilde aimed and fired, putting another bullet into Manny’s gut.
Bill jumped back, raising his hands. So much for his character assessment. He looked down at Manny.
Manny twitched twice, and then was still.
Rothchilde was all smiles. “Much better. Now where’s Theena?”
Bill felt anger clogging his throat, making speech difficult. “You bastard.”
“Dr. May, I have no time for games. Don’t make me ask you again.”
“You’re going to kill me if I help you or not.”
“True. But if you don’t help me, I’m going to shoot you in the kneecap. It’s supposed to be excruciating. Shall we see?”
Bill mulled it over. Theena was one of the reasons he was in this ridiculous mess. Why should he suffer, especially since Rothchilde would inevitably find her anyway?
But he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t let this megalomaniac find her, even if it meant pain. Bill was confused about his feelings for Theena, but if he could protect her he would.
“Those thugs you hired shot Manny and took her away.”
Rothchilde squinted at him. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“They said they wanted to find out what she knew. That it was worth a lot of money.”
A flash of panic swept over Rothchilde’s face.
“Do you know where they took her?”
“Back to her apartment.”
“And why aren’t you playing hero and trying to save her?”
Bill tried to sound cold. “I don’t owe that bitch anything.”
Rothchilde smiled. “She is quite the little charmer, isn’t she? Did you find out about her and daddy yet? And he’s the one that sent her to me. There’s enough in that relationship for a lifetime of therapy.”
Bill had to get him out of here. Theena could be coming back any second.
“You’d better go. The police are on their way.”
“No, they aren’t. I’ve taken care of that.”
Rothchilde moved closer, his focus intense.
“Move your arm, please. I want a clear shot at your heart.”
Bill knew with absolute certainty that he was going to die. This was more than Rothchilde simply needing him out of the way. The bloodthirsty bastard actually wanted to shoot him. He was practically drooling.
Bill grasped at a straw.
