FanFic: "Ground Fire" (Hawaii Five-0) - Chapter 15 of ??
H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The attack was instantaneous, not at all what Tortorro anticipated, and he reacted without even thinking. He never heard the terrified shriek of the nurse who had been standing to his side. The killer didn't fire first at him, but at the armed Five-0 officer and then two of the Coast Guard men. The Asian officer went down hard clutching his upper thigh with a stunned shout. Near where Tortorro sat on a gurney, Abrams followed in a soundless heap without even having a chance to draw his own weapon. With an aggressive purpose, the masked orderly drove back anyone that might be a threat or cause him an issue before completing his original deed.
Wrists cuffed and now bleeding from where his IV had been nastily ripped out, Tortorro dove for the tiled floor fumbling for Abrams' gun. In less than a fraction of a second, he had forgotten about his injured arm and the severe ache to his damaged ribs. Using both hands, he yanked it from the Coastie's holster as shots continued to ricochet amongst screams in the trauma bay. He had seconds before the killer cleared a selfish escape route and then rounded back for him. On his knees and driven by a surge of adrenalin, Tortorro swung upwards while simultaneously thumbing off the handgun's safety.
Expecting to be face to face with the masked orderly, his sights wound up aimed directly at the female Five-0 officer's chest and his fisted hands wavered dangerously, before completely dropping. Small thin blade in hand, she too, had lurched off the gurney to stand unsteadily in the midst of the altercation. Behind her, the masked killer had his back turned as he exchanged frenetic fire with the Coast Guard corpsman who was partially hidden behind a stanchion and the only one left blocking his exit.
"Give me the gun." Hand out-stretched shakily, Kono fought the sensation of vertigo in her head.
Gritting his teeth in frustration and shaking his head to the negative, Tortorro had no time and she was in the way. Her breathlessly pained voice was slurred and her eyes unfocused, yet she demanded Tortorro give her the Coastie's weapon. He growled inaudibly under his breath and raised a querulous eyebrow at her next order. "Get ... behind me .. and give it."
"No, not likely." Slipping in his own blood as he tried to gain purchase on the floor, Tortorro snarled angrily as the Five-0 officer swayed weakly in place. "No. Not likely at all." She was barely on her own feet and torn between protecting her downed team-mates or the civilians who had scattered about in the room; even himself, and Tortorro wouldn't have it. He knew though that his brother's assassin would take no issue with shooting through her just to get to him.
"Get out of the way." Gaining his balance, this time he made it off one knee while spouting his own demands. "Get down before you get your fool head blown off!" Their argument took place as doctors and nurses vainly tried to protect helpless patients while gunfire popped and exploded around them all.
"Give it to me!" Over-taxed, Kono's voice was raspy. It changed almost in horror though when a solid crash sounded off to Tortorro's left hand side. "Chin!" She saw her downed cousin first, but then her wide eyes fell on the nearby gurney. "Danny!"
Taking a moment to look, it was Tortorro's turn to be stunned as the badly injured detective fought the Coast Guard medic who had literally flung himself protectively across his patient's body. The crash had been the sound of the gurney jolting roughly a few feet across the floor. Muffled words and the sounds of their struggle continued despite the ongoing fire-fight. The detective's goal seemed to be his fallen friend who failed at being able to draw his weapon for the volume of blood soaking through his pants to smear across the white tiled floor.
"No. Need to .. help." Barely able to speak, Danny fought against Mike's strength which was waning quickly for the man had been wounded himself. Struck in the shoulder, he denied the detective as much movement as he was physically able. The officer's reactive plan was decidedly going to end with a very poor result and the medic kept his entire weight over the flailing limbs. In spite of his best efforts though, Danny had still managed to tear out two IV's completely from his arms and dislodge the oxygen mask.
Ignoring the distressed complaints, Mike tried to stay low and keep the detective from doing more harm to himself as sporadic gunfire and screams reigned across the once respectable trauma room. He closed his eyes briefly against the deep ache in his shoulder and hung on. He had no intention of releasing the grip he had until the situation ended ... no matter when or how any solution was achieved.
A soft moan drew his attention and Mike rubbed his eyes into his clenched fist before blearily looking around. Behind him on the floor, Chin clutched his leg with both hands as he too, rocked in pain. Just beyond him, Abrams lay unconscious and unmoving. What Mike saw next had him shocked to his core, yet he remained completely helpless to do a single thing. "Oh no." He murmured quietly.
Kono had succeeded in doing what Danny continued to insist upon. Hunched and unsteady, she had one hand on a gurney for balance while the other fisted a small knife. She seemed confused about where to go first. On the floor in front of her, their arrested criminal painfully rocked on his knees. Even with both hands fisted for the hand-cuffs, he had managed to get Abram's weapon and he seemed to be aiming it at the injured Five-0 officer.
Confused, Mike frowned when he realized that the two seemed to be arguing, but the shooter was turning again and looking for his real target. His angered eyes slid over people and ruined equipment as he sought Tortorro. "Shit, shit, shit." Mike muttered into his arm as Danny continued to protest. No one could reach Abrams or intervene at all within the center of the trauma unit.
"Shit. Stay down. Danny. Stay down." Under the medic's body, Danny bucked again and almost won the battle. He felt Mike's hands slip for a moment and he gained enough leverage to get both legs off the side of the gurney before he was unceremoniously hauled back into place. "Stop .. I'm not going to let you .. get up." Mike hissed in his ear with his own pain evident in the cracked tone. Dismally, he realized the detective's original gunshot wound had begun to bleed and erratic breathing was now completely shattered.
They were entering a dangerous territory again and now certainly wasn't the time. Worried as the detective's pallor turned more ashen, Mike could only plead until the standoff came to an end. "Danny, stay still. You have to calm down."
"I have .. to get .. up." Danny had seen Chin fall though and he struggled anew as his friend moaned in pain. He sensed the rising fear and heard its proof but his body slowly began to fail as the medic maintained his hold. "Mike." Weakly gasping the medic's name, Danny fisted his uniform in turmoil. Besides Chin, he knew that he heard Kono's voice in the distance, followed by Tortorro's angry retorts. Everything was happening at once and he was utterly helpless.
"Kono." He tried to call for her and his voice suddenly failed him, too. Nearly spent, he finally sagged as the gunfire continued around him and yet, the Coast Guard medic persisted in his protective stance. Frustrated and now beyond exhausted, Danny coughed as his breath unexpectedly caught in his throat. Adrenalin had funneled his first automatic response, but his beleaguered body had used it up much too soon. Pain leaked into his senses again and as before, his breathing altered to leave him no choices. As he failed at drawing in a sufficient amount of air into his tired lungs, Danny merely closed his eyes to finally cease his fight.
"Damn it, Danny." Swearing softly under his breath, Mike felt the change and then watched as Danny's eyes suddenly rolled back in his head. All his struggles stopped at that point as his body, from head to toe, went entirely slack. Using one hand, Mike locked his jaw as he dared to reach for the oxygen mask which had fallen to the floor. With all his determination and forcing his wounded arm to work, Mike left Danny completely to scurry the few feet necessary. His fingers curled successfully around the mask and he was back in place resolutely over Danny's body an instant later.
"Good, good, good." He muttered repetitively as he got one small thing accomplished and hung his head to rest. He had achieved one small feat which would at least begin forcing oxygen into Danny's lungs.
"Hey." The soft word was almost a shout. It came from the floor and Mike partially turned searching for the voice. "Hey! Here." With distinct relief, he caught the eye of the TAMC physician who had taken temporary refuge near a supply cabinet. There was no doubt the doctor was angry. Relying on hand signals, he indicated to Mike that he intended to at least get over to where Chin was lying. Glancing towards where the shooter was, Mike gave an approving signal for the doctor to try.
Bravely then, he edged along the floor towards Chin to hastily apply a desperately needed tourniquet. Seconds later, he was dragging the injured Five-0 officer to a safer corner in the room.
"What the hell happened." Gritting his teeth against the pain, Chin tightly clawed at the wound in his thigh. Things had changed so quickly, he still wasn't sure what had happened or who was even shooting. All he knew was that the wound was bad as blood pulsed through his own fingers. The TAMC attending hadn't said a word as he shimmied over and below what he hoped was the line of fire. But now, he tried to explain as he hastily finished applying the tourniquet.
"It's the damned .. orderly. I didn't think I recognized him." The physician was upset as he shook his head in self-retribution. "I wasn't sure .. but this?" Narrowing his eyes, he slammed his mouth shut before grabbing Chin under his arms. "Help me out here .. can you move at all?"
"Yeah." With that, Chin pushed off using the heel of his opposite foot while the doctor began dragging him determinedly to a far corner.
"He's okay." Though Danny wasn't conscious, Mike heaved a broken sigh before whispering into his ear. "Chin's okay, Danny. Doc's got him .. he's okay."
On the other side of the room, Tortorro was becoming desperate as Kono tried to focus her bleary gaze. She was concussed but wasn't going to listen to him, let alone give an inch. Using both hands together, he tried anyway by waggling the gun to enforce his point.
"Get down." He hissed it angrily now. He was done with the blood bath and the female Five-0 officer who remained almost belligerently in the way. Behind her, the killer seemed satisfied and he was moving again. Looking and searching for that one person, and Tortorro's time was officially up.
"Damn it, give me the gun!" Kono knew it, too. She sensed the subtle changes in the atmosphere, but there was little she could do as Tortorro glared defiantly back at her.
"No." He flatly refused and he didn't have time to worry about the other men or anything else. Tight-lipped in anger, Tortorro's attention focused on the killer and the young woman who remained steadfast. The killer was moving quickly with a clear purpose. Shots were becoming scarily sporadic as an alarm was finally triggered in the background. Screams were even lessening as frightened moans rang louder around them and medical staff bravely fought for the right to protect patients and now, their own wounded.
"Down. Move .. get out of my way." He was breathless from anxiety as he clambered awkwardly to his feet. Tortorro reached her side on a sloppy lurch, only to intentionally slam himself into her shoulder to knock her sideways. The move put him now directly in the line of fire just as the killer swung around, eyes landing firmly on his true objective.
"There you are." Above the surgical mask, the dark eyes brightened maliciously when he found Tortorro cleanly out in the open. He ignored the injured woman so near to collapsing just behind the man he had been paid so well to remove from the face of the earth. He acknowledged, but also chose to ignore, the doctor who was desperately dragging an Asian officer to supposed safety.
Focused on Tortorro, his tone was sarcastic and dangerous, ending with a short chuckle as he took deliberate aim. His amusement only increased as Tortorro did the same while handcuffed.
There was nowhere to go, but Tortorro wasn't necessarily thinking of his own safety by then as the killer offered him a few final words. "Your brother says hello ... and good-bye. I believe that would be ... Aloha. How ... beautifully convenient."
"No, no!" Completely off balance and slightly behind Tortorro, Kono grabbed for his arm and then his shoulder in a vain attempt to prevent the inevitable. She was almost shouting over the killer's voice and Tortorro was already firing his weapon. He roughly pushed her aside before a wild bullet could find purchase in her own body.
"Get down!" His command was barely audible through an odd oomph of sound. After which, he staggered backwards as he continued to return fire, blocking her even more with a rock hard sense of purpose as another spat of gunfire echoed around them.
"Down!" She heard Tortorro that one final time as he stayed immovable in his defiance and used Abrams' weapon without hesitation. He fired repeatedly until he was out of bullets and then she was falling with him. Staggering back one step, Kono caught him as he sagged to his knees just as the gunman fled. Yet Kono barely noticed.
"Al! Al? No!" Moving more slowly than she wanted, Kono's sluggish responses had her hands applying firm pressure to the criminal's chest. He was stiff from pain and trembling under her fingers as a soft moan finally escaped his lips with an alarming amount of blood-laden bubbles.
"No. No. Come on, Al. Why did you do that? What were you thinking?" A tight sob got stuck in her throat as the front of his previously ruined dress shirt became a wetly dark crimson. His eyes fluttered once, to only fully close in a face that was suddenly much too lax.
Rocking her aching head into her bicep while she stiff-armed pressure into the accountant's chest, Kono closed her eyes and focused on staying upright. He had intentionally blocked her every effort. Unable to do a thing about the terrible situation, she stayed where she was as the masked orderly disappeared without contest.
"I need help here." Kono's voice brokenly rang out along with a few others who also now demanded aid as an eery quiet fell on the trauma bay. In her periphery, Danny was sprawled on the gurney with the Coast Guard medic slumped lightly over him as more staff began to rush in. Security swarmed in earnest through the chaos and then through the stairwell door which the shooter had used. Orders were shouted continually and Kono nearly cried in relief when she realized that the TAMC attending had already rescued her cousin and he was being lifted to a gurney.
But she still had no help and under her own stained and trembling hands, Al Totorro stopped moving.
~ to be continued ~
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