On the Scene

ON THE SCENE

George O. (Pete) Love EMT-Paramedic

iUniverse, Inc.

New York Lincoln Shanghai

On The Scene

Copyright © 2006 by George O. Love

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN-13: 978-0-595-39015-1 (pbk)

ISBN-13: 978-0-595-83406-8 (ebk)

ISBN-10: 0-595-39015-3 (pbk)

ISBN-10: 0-595-83406-X (ebk)

Contents

DEDICATION

HOUSTON FD EMS

PRESENT DAY

BIRTH

BETWEEN SHIFTS

STATION BREAK

HOME

BACK TO WORK

CRASH

RESCUE

NEW HORIZONS

MEETING

THE VISITOR

REGGIE

FACE AND NAME FROM THE PAST

HIGHWAY 288

RIGHT PLACE FOR A SCOOP

BREAKING NEWS

THE PROBLEM WITH BACK UP

DISPATCH CENTRAL

FROM THE SCENE

HOME

COMPETITION

ASSIGNMENT

SCHOOL

WORKDAY

SCHOOL

HOME

ASSIGNMENT

WORK

CONSTRUCTION CALL

CALL FROM HOME

ASSIGNMENT

COOPERATION OR NOT?

STACY AND KIMBERLY

INTERVENTION

A LITTLE HELP FROM THEIR FRIENDS

PREPARATION

TRAINING

WORK

HELEN AT WORK

GIRLS AT SCHOOL

BUSINESS AS USUAL

AMANDA

SHOOTING THE PROMOTION

REVENGE?

STILL TO COME

About the Author

DEDICATION

This book is first dedicated to my wife Carla, who was my editor and proofreader as she stood by this work and never gave up hope that it would be finished and eventually placed in print, all of my children who have great and exciting lives and last, but not least it is dedicated to all those families and individuals who work day in and day out in the field of Emergency Medicine and especially those who work for 911 Emergency Ambulance Services all over the United States of America.

DISCLAIMER

Any similarity between the characters portrayed in this book and real life are purely coincidental. Actual ambulance calls have been used to base some of the calls in this book and have been fictionalized to stay in character with this novel.

HOUSTON FD EMS

It was one of those nights when you could feel tension in the air and you knew something was about to happen. For Paramedics Kevin Wright and Gregg Grayson, it meant they would be very busy, but neither had any way of knowing this night would change their lives forever.

Kevin and Greg had just finished checking off their rig when the tones put them into action.

Medic 55, Engine 55, Car 55. Assist PD with a suspect. 610 East at 45 North, main slab. Possible ETOH poisoning.

PD can’t handle a drunk? Greg complained as they threw themselves into the unit. The Commander’s car led the way as the ambulance followed the fire engine through the night traffic. The traffic was still very heavy and Kevin was wary of letting the engine get too far ahead of them. Kevin had witnessed more than once civilians driving between two emergency vehicles to break through traffic. He could live without that danger.

Medic 55 on the scene, Kevin reported.

Greg turned off the rig’s siren as they arrived. The scene they witnessed was quite bizarre, in fitting with the tenseness of the evening. The suspect/patient was a young looking petite blonde. She was walking along the guard rail of the interstate. Normally, this would not be of much concern to anyone except this guard rail was a good 75 feet above the rescuers and she waved around a hand gun large enough to make Clint Eastwood proud. She was indeed a handful and it was very obvious why they had been called out in force.

Looks like your type of woman, Kev, Ole Pal!! Greg joked as they parked the ambulance out of harm’s way.

I think she’s more like your type, Greg. What do you say I go up there and get her number for you?? Kevin was all smiles as he approached the police commander.

How long has she been up there? Kevin asked.

About half an hour or so came the terse reply. That hand cannon she’s waving around makes things a bit tricky.

I see that, but I think I can talk her down. Are there any criminal charges against her?

Public drunk is all right now. I think the gun is legal. We found her carry permit, or should I say, she threw that to us the officer replied as he showed Kevin the permit, carefully folded into a paper airplane.

Okay, so let me talk to her a minute. Public Drunk is a good thing so far.

We have our negotiators on the way, son. Why not let them do their thing and you can pick up the pieces later.

If you let me do my thing we won’t have to pick up any pieces, now or later.

My man knows what he’s doing his captain defended. It can’t hurt to let him chat with the little lady.

If she makes a false move, we do what we have to do.

That will not be necessary. I can get her off that rail, into the ambulance and we can all go home happy.

Okay, you have a few minutes before our negotiator gets here, so use them wisely.

Kevin had Greg park their ambulance on top of the over pass so the back doors were facing the patient. She was still on the guardrail and doing a great job of keeping her feet and balance. Kevin was watching her closely as he walked slowly towards her. He had a can of soda in both hands and acted as if he was just casually taking a walk in the night air. He got close enough to sit on the guard rail and stretch his arms a bit.

HI! he said in a calm and friendly tone.

The woman turned to see Kevin not more than five feet away and casually sitting on the guardrail. Her preoccupation with the police and other emergency vehicles had allowed him to get very close without her noticing at all.

Who are you? she demanded as she once again turned on the railing.

I’m Kevin he said. Sure is a nice night for a walk, huh??

Yeah, it could be if you weren’t getting screwed over by all your friends. She twirled on the rail as she said that and Kevin almost had the chance to grab her by the gun hand when she did, but her reflexes were still very good for an intoxicated person, so he decided against that action for now.

Friends can do that, Kevin said as he slowly took a long drink from his can of soda. Kind of hot out, don’t you think? as he offered her the second can.

Little bit, Thanks, but I’m not too thirsty. I’ve had a few to numb my brain tonight.

Felling no pain right about now?

Just a lot of frustration. You know, I bet I could pop at least half a dozen of those lights from here.

Kevin was relieved she did not point the gun in the direction of the emergency vehicles. She looked at them with a shooter’s eye and had calculated the range.

Might not want to do that Kevin said.

Sharpshooter? I’ve seen him. I know I could bead in on him too, but he’s probably got a quicker trigger finger than mine.

Sarah twirled again on the guard rail. She was walking back and forth about 8 feet either direction of the exact center of the overpass. How she was keeping her balance was way beyond Kevin’s reasoning. Most drunks would have fallen long before now.

Sure you wouldn’t care to sit with me and share a Pepsi? Kevin offered again.

No thanks. The caffeine would make me have to pee and I don’t see a lady’s room around. Besides, I’m great. I’m just buzzing away up here.

Did you do any shooters tonight? Kevin was trying to get a handle on the amount of intoxication he was dealing with. He knew his time was running out as well.

Nah, just several dry martinis, shaken, not stirred, she said. 007 fan??

Yeah, are you?

Seen every James Bond movie they’ve made. Say, why not sit down a minute and let’s talk about our favorite Bond movies, or who was your favorite Bond?

Only one Bond, she protested. After Sean Connery, the rest were copies.

Even Brosnan?

He was good, but Connery was the best of them all though. She did another twirl on the rail and nearly slipped. She bobbled for a moment then caught herself.

Close call; why not step down from there for a bit. You are starting to worry me. Why not step down from there for a bit. You are starting to worry me.

Why should you care? You don’t even know my name.

I would if you told me.

That statement disarmed the woman who was sure no one on earth even gave a damn about whether she was even alive, had ever been alive, much less cared about her name. She softened her tone slightly as she answered Kevin.

I’m Sarah. You’re Kevin?

Nice to meet you Sarah, Kevin offered the Pepsi once again.

Nice to meet me? If you had any idea of what I’ve been through, you wouldn’t think that way. You have kids of your own?

Yes, I’m a father Kevin replied in a very cool and calm tone.

Boys or girls? Sarah demanded.

Two girls, but they’re a bit younger than you.

Really, you have two girls? Her tone softened noticeably when Kevin let her know he was a father of two girls.

Sure do and I think they are the most wonderful things that ever happened to me.

My father didn’t. He was one tough, mean SOB.

Sorry to hear that.

Couldn’t stand that I was a girl, she said as her voice trembled. Kevin knew his time to move was getting close. A nerve had been touched. Which way she would go next was in Kevin’s hands, so his next words had to be perfect.

Let me guess. I bet he took that out on your mother.

It was so much more than that. He took it out on both of us. He never raised a hand to my older brother and it didn’t matter what he did. He just followed his orders. Pure military BS.

Now that Sarah was talking to him, Kevin knew the connections to talk her down had been made. All he had to do now was keep talking and wait for her to break. A serious jumper would have taken the jump by now. Sarah wanted help.

Sarah continued her rant, and Kevin knew he was close to making another rescue.

I tried to follow his footsteps, Sarah cried. I tried so hard! I topped the whole ROTC class, aced every test, and broke all my brother’s records. Hell, I even got appointed to West Point. Neither of them could deny that. Wasn’t good enough for the old warhorse though, no sir.

That’s impressive.

Yeah, unless you’re an old line Army Ranger. No place in this man’s army for any skirts, he liked to say.

Sarah Kevin interrupted, this would only make his point for him. You can win this battle tonight against him. It may be one battle, but it’s a start. Step over here and let’s get you some help.

Sarah stopped her rant and slowly looked around. The flashing lights below looked like a carnival, and she began to feel like the side show. Kevin’s presence and conversation were really making more sense to her as the alcohol began to wear off.

He would expect this of a skirt wouldn’t he? Take the easy way out. Jump and die, be paralyzed or try to shoot myself, miss the right spot and become a veg. That’s exactly what he would expect of me.

You’re stronger than that, Sarah. I can see that. You can get through this night and come out on top again, just like you have all your life.

Kevin’s confidence in her was a surprise to Sarah. She took another look around and bent over to lay her hand gun on the guard rail. Kevin could see it was a match quality target pistol. If this girl had really wanted to do the things she mentioned earlier, Kevin had no doubt she could have just taken target practice using the flashing lights as targets. She was in a crouching position on the railing and once again, she seemed to defy gravity with her balance.

Looks like I’ve gotten myself in a mess tonight. How much jail time am I looking at?

Kevin laughed. I would say probably not much more than public drunk. Your gun is legal, you didn’t shoot anyone, you never even threatened to shoot anyone or anything and you walked here from the last bar.

You’ll stay with me if I agree not to jump?

All the way to the hospital, Kevin promised.

Sarah stood up from her squatting position and tried to take a step towards Kevin but as she tried to step off the rail, she lost her footing on the concrete. In a flash, Kevin took up the space between them and grabbed Sarah’s arm as she went over the rail. She was a small girl, but it took all of his strength to keep her from plunging to the ground below.

Kevin felt arms grab him around the waist as Greg grabbed him to help pull their patient to safety. It seemed an eternity, but the much shaken, and now quickly sobered; Sarah was back on solid ground. In seconds, police officers were everywhere, securing the weapon and the rest of the scene. A female officer patted Sarah down for more weapons and escorted her to the ambulance. After a very brief exam and discussion with the police on the scene, Sarah was on her way to Houston Trauma for a psych exam.

What happens now? she asked Kevin.

Well, we check you into the ER at Houston. They’ll clean up that scrape on your arm for you and they will have a psych resident talk to you. The only charge the police have against you is public drunk, but I think they will drop that once you talk to the psych folks.

You think I’m nuts?

Not in the least. Let’s just say, I think you need some help to get past some issues in your life. You may have been here before, but maybe tonight some more buttons got switched on in places that were not touched before. And, no, I don’t think you are nuts.

Kevin, you didn’t have to try to save me tonight. I don’t know how it would have turned out if you weren’t the one talking me down.

I could not let you put a permanent end to a temporary set of problems. It cuts across my grain. I’d do this for anyone I found in your shoes.

Especially abused army brats?

This is all standard. Everyone gets this treatment after holding a midnight stroll on the 610 overpass.

I bet you say that to all the blonde haired army brats who ride back here.

Only the ones who love James Bond and high powered handguns. The flirting tones kept the atmosphere pretty light and Sarah definitely let down her guard to Kevin more and more.

Kevin, she said. You are a good man. Your girls are lucky to have you as a dad. Wish my dad could have been more like you.

Sarah, we can get you help, but we really need to know more about what drove you to the point you were at tonight. Neither of us can change your past, but there are a lot of ways to put the past behind and recover from what happened to you. Let the domestic violence people step in and take care of this.

How? Sarah asked. I’ve been through all this before. It blew up on me then, so it will just make things worse this time around as well. You can’t stop him. He has too many friends in the right places.

Your father? Kevin asked. Look, my dad’s ex-military, and he has a lot of high ranking friends, too. I think I can get some calls made to help you, but you have to give us more than what we have now.

Go over all those graphic details all over again? How detailed do we need to be here? I’ve been through this, and I really don’t like to bring it all up again. It hurts.

Sarah began to show some signs of weakness as Kevin pressed for more answers. She was quietly crying at times, but soon, the whole story began to unfold. It took Kevin’s promise to visit her once she let the facts come to the surface one more time.

I’m not going to look very pretty to anyone if I have to tell my side of the story again. It makes me feel so horrible when the thoughts of that night come back to mind. Even the martinis can’t wash them out of my head. My best friend turned on me when I tried to confide in her, and so did everyone else I knew. Stuff like this never happens to good people. It happens to tramps, druggies and whores. Not to nice pretty girls. No one wants to think a decorated war hero would hurt a blonde haired all American little darling.

The first step is always the hardest, even if you have taken it before. The rest will be much easier.

Am I attractive to you? Do you think I look pretty, cute? Am I an attractive woman?

Kevin was not too surprised by the question. Sarah was a petite young girl with a well proportioned body, a light natural tan and very blonde hair. Her eyes were a deep, deep violet and were very expressive. She was very attractive and very disarming.

I’m no beauty contestant judge, Kevin said, but you are a very attractive girl. My partner agreed with me on that note.

My ex-boyfriend told me I was the most beautiful girl he ever laid eyes on. Then I told him the truth. I told him I wasn’t a virgin and I told him why.

That took some guts, Sarah.

Guts? It was stupid. You want to know what he called me when he broke up with me?

Let me guess. He called you a fat ugly slut.

You’re good, Kevin, she said. You are really good. You hit it right on the head.

This isn’t the first time I’ve heard a story like yours and the ending is usually the same. He couldn’t handle your past, so he copped out on you.

I’ve been called fat and ugly by my father all my life she said. Can you imagine how that makes a girl feel? He encouraged my brother to call me names, encouraged him to play rough with me. God, there’s no good place to start. It went on all my life.

Kevin listened with some amazement and disgust at the life Sarah described to him. The name calling was one thing, but the abuse by proxy was something else. Sarah told Kevin about her father teaching her to ride her bike and how her brother knocked her down so many times her knees and elbows were covered in scrapes and cuts while her dad laughed off her complaints and protests and made her get back on the bike over and over until she could barely stand or hold her head up. She was allowed no comfort from her mother if she cried after being hurt.

She could not remember ever getting a hug from her father. Sarah was almost completely isolated from any emotions other than abuse and cruelty. It wasn’t just abuse, but also the emotional neglect she had suffered. It’s a wonder she made it through life to this point at all. The first positive emotions she could remember happened in first grade. After another military transfer, she was a new kid in school once again. She showed up with those scraped knees and bruised arms from multiple bike crashes. Her teacher at once took her to the school nurse’s aid. She cleaned her up and bandaged the scrapes, all the while talking softly to her and encouraging her to tell her what had happened to her. She held Sarah in her lap while the school social worker talked to Sarah about her family and helped Sarah find some jeans to cover her knees and walked with her back to her class.

She was always there for me. I could see her whenever I needed to talk or just get a hug. She was a stranger, but she showed me hope. I missed her terribly when we got transferred again.

Sarah was quiet for the rest of the trip. She closed her eyes trusting the man who had just risked his life to save hers.

Upon arrival at HT, Kevin stayed with her as he promised. She answered the questions posed to her in a quiet and very matter of fact manner.

What do you think? Kevin asked the psych resident.

"She’s pretty mixed up inside. I