Jennifer looked at him. “Oh, Jeff, I’m so sorry.” She held out her hand. “Come here, are you alright? Are you okay?” Jeff walked to her and took her hand.
“Yes, Twinkie. I’m fine. But don’t worry about us, this is nothing.”
“Nothing!”
“Yes, one time on Ashlar, Genghis and I were trying to make an arrest when suddenly we found ourselves surrounded by eight gunmen.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, my PK was empty and Genghis’s SK5 shotgun was jammed, but we got out of that without a scratch.” Jeff turned toward Bollar’s lifeless body, then back to Jennifer. “This kind of thing happens to us all the time.”
“I can’t imagine. That was the scariest thing I’ve ever been through,” Jennifer said with a cracking voice. “Look at me.” She held her hands out. “I can’t stop my hands from shaking.”
“That’s the adrenaline, Twinkie,” Genghis said. “Why don’t you go sit in the cruiser and relax. We have to clean up here.”
“No, I can help you guys.” She then looked at Bollar. A pinkish-green viscous liquid was oozing out of the back of his head. Jennifer felt queasy. “You know, now that you mention it, I think I will go sit in the Bird.” She turned for the entrance.
“Hey, Twink,” Genghis said. “Thank you for coming in when you did.”
“You're welcome.” She said weakly, and left the building.
Genghis lifted his right hind leg with a grimace, “Oh, crap!” He then looked up to Jeff. “Eight gunmen, huh?”
Jeff was rotating his head, trying to get the kink out of his neck. “Yeah.”
“And how exactly did we get out of that little scenario?”
“Nuclear weapons.”
“Ah, yes. Of course.”
They both started slowly walking over to Bollar. “Well, I had to tell her something. I didn’t want her to worry about us.” Jeff looked down at Genghis, “You hurt?”
“I hurt like a son of a bitch! You?”
“Likewise.”
It didn’t take long to secure the scene. Bollar’s body was teleported to the morgue on the third deck of the cruise. The items Trent pulled from his pockets were sent to the evidence locker. They both made one more look around before they left the building. The bodily fluids were cleaned up, and the PK rounds were removed from the wall. The only thing they couldn’t fix was the broken front door that Trent kicked in.
They exited the building and could see flashing lights and heard the sirens of the police cars and other emergency vehicles as they responded to the chaos at the nightclub a few blocks away. Jeff and Genghis climbed into the Thunderbird just as a gentle snow started to fall.
Chapter Sixty-Six
Genghis was lying on his side on the silver examining table, with Jennifer and Jeff standing alongside. The Medical Diagnostic and Surgical Unit was activated and humming.
“Okay, now,” Jeff was telling Jennifer. “Just touch the prompt that says diagnose and be careful because the arm will start moving.” Jennifer did as she was instructed, and the articulated arm of the MDSU swung around and started to scan Genghis. Jennifer was amazed as she watched the computer display on the side of the device. It showed a clear and detailed 3D image of the inside of Genghis. She could see his heart beating, blood traversing through the veins, lungs inhaling and exhaling. Then, the text that was displayed on the screen started flashing red.
“Alright, what is the display telling you now?” Jeff asked.
“Well, let's see,” Jennifer studied the screen. “Oh, Genghis! You have two fractured ribs on your left side. And your right leg has a fracture in the carpal joint.”
“Yeah, sure feels like it,” Genghis said. “It smarts every time I take a deep breath. And my leg hurts like hell.”
“Aw, poor puppy,” Jennifer said, rubbing his head, which Genghis didn’t mind a bit.
“Okay, Twinkie. The display is now giving you a couple of options,” Jeff pointed them out. “What we have are bone abnormalities that we want to set and mend. If we did nothing, in fifteen seconds the computer would perform the procedure on its own. It's designed to operate independently in the event that there's an injured agent all by himself. But, go ahead and touch the 'set' prompt.” She did and watched as a laser emitted from the bottom of the Medical Diagnostic and Surgical Unit. It started flashing on and off over Genghis’s side in a strobe-light fashion, working its way to his legs and clicking loudly each time the light came on. Jennifer watched the 3D image of Genghis’s ribs, as the fractures started to fuse together before her eyes. When the laser shut off, Jeff moved the articulated arm of the MDSU up so Genghis could get off the table.
“Oh, yes, that’s much better,” Genghis said as he stretched his back. “Still a little sore, but much better.”
It was Jeff’s turn next. Genghis let Jennifer do all the operating of the MDSU with very little instructions. Jeff’s back was bruised and his larynx was sore, but not damaged, both the results of the fight in the vacant building. He also had bruises and superficial lacerations from the fight in the club. Jennifer touched the appropriate prompts and Jeff's wounds were mended. He slid off the table thankful that he was in good shape. Jennifer shot her index finger in the air. “Hey! I have a splinter, can I give it a go?”
Jeff said, “Sure thing. Go right ahead.”
Jennifer placed her hand on the table and with the other brought the unit down and activated it. The MDSU scanned her hand as she read the display. “Well, will yah look at that. I have a foreign object in my finger.” The display informed her that the object was 0.15875 centimeters long and made of wood, species pine. She touched the extract prompt and a laser shot out of the bottom of the unit in a quick millisecond burst. The splinter fell from her finger.
Jennifer brought her finger up and flexed it up and down.
