Part Four
Emily was standing on the side of the ball room floor when the chaos began. She heard a single shot and ran for cover under a table. "Are you ok?” she asked the people who were already cowering under the table.
The couple nodded even though they were obviously very frightened.
***
Robert got to his feet immediately and was at his brother's side before the ballroom doors had closed behind the fleeing gunman. "Mac...can you hear me, mate?" he said aloud.
Mac did not respond.
Robert put his ear close to Mac's mouth and listened. "He's breathing," he announced to Felicia.
Then, he put his fingers on the right side of Mac's neck to feel for his pulse. "It's weak and slow," he almost whispered. He knew his brother needed help fast. He stood up and scanned the room.
"We need an ambulance!" he yelled.
***
Laura and Lucky just got out of the door when they heard gun shot. They didn't know where it came from so they dropped to the ground. Lucky wanted to go back inside to check on Liz but Laura convinced him to stay down for the time being. They saw a strange man walk out with Brenda and they were both wondering what was going on.
As soon as the guy was far enough away, they went back to check everything out. At first they didn't know who was shot, but then she Robert Scorpio kneeling next to Mac on the floor.
Lucky went to look for Liz, to make sure she was fine.
***
Sarah Weber walked up the steps to her grandmother’s house. It felt strange being back after so long. She found the door to be unlocked so she let herself in. "Hello?" she called out to see who was home. There was no answer so she began to look around. Everything seemed exactly the same as before she left but she knew that a lot had happened since then. Sarah stood in the living room after discovering that no one was home. She wondered why the door had been unlocked. She sat down and waited for Liz or Audrey to get home. After a few minutes she became bored and decided to watch a movie. She found "Scream 2" and rewound it while she popped a bag of microwave popcorn and poured Diet Coke into a cup with two ice cubes.
When the movie was about halfway over she thought she heard a noice at the front door. She was already on edge because of the movie and became terrified when she saw that she hadn't locked the door upon entering the house. She quickly jumped up from the couch and accidently knocked over her bowl of popcorn. It crashed noisily to the floor. "Damn," she said forgetting about the movie as she ducked down behind the couch in terror. She peeked out from the edge of it to see the door swing open she was about to scream when she saw someone standing in the doorway.
***
Jax and Alexis had just sat down at their table when the crazed maniac came into the room. He watched in horror as Brenda was hauled out of the room with a gun pointed at her.
As the gunman and Brenda disappeared through the ballroom doors, Jax pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and dialed 911.
"911. What's your emergency?" the dispatcher asked in a high, nasal, sing-songy voice.
"Send an ambulance to the Port Charles Hotel Ballroom. Commissioner Scorpio has been shot. He's still down. There's also been a kidnapping. Brenda Barrett has been taken hostage by a tall man wearing a ski mask."
"Is this some sort of joke? Brenda Barrett has been dead for a year."
Jax's blood was about to boil. "I don't have time to explain. Just get an ambulance here!"
As he hung up, Robert called out for an ambulance.
Jax left Alexis at the table and went to Felicia's side. "I just phoned for an ambulance. Their on their way. How is he?" he asked, looking down at his friend.
Robert, who was kneeling at his brother's side once more, looked up to see the man he had met the other day on the docks. "Jax, right?" he asked.
"Yeah..."
"He's alive. I'm putting pressure spot where he was struck with the gun to try to stop the bleeding, but it isn't having much effect."
Jax fished his handkerchief out of the upper left breast pocket of his tuxedo. "Here. Use this," he offered.
Robert took the handkerchief and managed a weak smile. "Thanks," he said as he replaced his own soaked handkerchief.
Jax held on to Felicia, who was shaking uncontrollably. "He'll be okay," he said quietly. "Help's on the way."
***
"Oh my God," Chloe gasps as she hears the gunshot. "I've got to go." Chloe races through the crowd looking for Jax, so terrified that he might be hurt. She sees him ahead and runs to him.
As the minutes ticked by, the ballroom became more chaotic. With the shock of what had happened sinking in, people were becoming restless.
Jax searched the crowd for Chloe. In all the confusion, he hadn't had time to find her. Leaving Felicia in Robert's capable hands, Jax went out in search of Chloe.
Robert continued to keep pressure on the wound at the back of Mac's head. 'Where's the ambulance?' he thought, trying hard not to let Felicia or anyone else see how frightened he was.
Mac's blood had seeped through Robert's own handkerchief and now Jax's as well.
Robert didn't know if putting pressure on the wound was doing any good, but he kept it up. He tried to keep a brave front for Felicia's sake, who was still shaking like a leaf and whispering in Mac's ear. Robert couldn't hear what she was saying, but he could see that she was very upset.
"Felicia...he's going to be fine. Scorpios are tough, you know," Robert told her, trying to sound encouraging. He looked up at Ana and saw her standing silent and still. "Ana, luv, are you alright?" he asked worried by her silence.
***
Lucky went out in search of Liz.
"Elizabeth, are you all right?" Lucky asks.
"Yes, I think I'm okay. I'm just really scared right now. I know that was the man that pushed me into the road! I know it Lucky! Pat? Oh my God! Pat!" Suddenly Liz realized that Pat lay unconsious beside her, his nose bleeding.
***
"Oh, Jax," Chloe cries. "What happened? Are you okay?"
Chloe sees Mac laying on the ground nearby with his blood spread seemingly everywhere. She hugs Jax tight.
Jax wrapped his arms around Chloe protectively and tried to soothe her fears. "I'm all right. Mac's been shot and Brenda was taken out of here at gunpoint. Are you alright?" he asked Chloe.
His racing heart slowed just a little when she nodded. His weak attempt at a smile seemed to calm her as well.
***
Jason hears the gunshot and watches as Chloe runs inside.
Carly begins to follow but he pulls her back, "Stay here!" he tells her. Carly starts to protest but Jason doesn't let her, "I'll be right back.. Just promise me you'll stay here?" as he starts to walk away.
Carly calls after him. "Jason?!..."
He turns around, and runs back to her taking her face and kissing her. Carly is shocked, as he pulls away, "Just stay here..please." he says and goes inside.
Jason sees that Emily is ok, and goes over to the crowd forming around Mac's body.
Jax is standing there, mute.
Jason looks at him, seeing that he knows something, "What happened Jax?!" Jason yells, as his eyes wander around the room for Sonny and Brenda.
Jax releases Chloe from his arms and she goes over to be closer to Felicia. Jax begins to relate what he knows. "Some madman with a gun came in, shot Mac when he tried to stop him and took Brenda at gunpoint. I think he thought she was Hannah because she was with Sonny. He called her 'Miss Scott' and said something about being put away by her..." Jax recalled, trying to figure out that last part for himself. "It didn't make any sense."
Jason scrunched up his face, tyring to make sense of what Jax had told him. "Put away by her?...what the hell does that mean?" Jason asked, Jax just nodded his head. "Where's Brenda?...Who was the man??!" Jason asked Jax.
Jax shook his head. "I don't know, Jason. It doesn't make sense to me either. Obviously there's something we don't know about Hannah Scott. Maybe she's an undercover cop or something," Jax suggested. "Whatever the answer is directly relates to the man who took Brenda." Jax looked over at Chloe and worried about her being alone. "I've got to go. There are people who need me." Jax went over to Chloe and held her close.
"I was so scared for you," he told Chloe. "I didn't know where you were in all the commotion." He kissed the top of her head and said, "You don't know what a relief it was to have you come to me. I was looking all over for you." His eyes met hers and locked in on their calming blue. "I love you. I'm never going to miss an opportunity to say that. Time's too precious of a commodity to waste," he said thinking of how Felicia must be worrying about Mac and whether or not she would ever get to hear him say the same words to her again.
***
Carly stood alone on the terrace in shock. Her frightened mind raced. ‘Who was shot? I can't go in there. I’m so scared. I wish Jason would have just stayed with me.'
Slowly, Carly walked toward the door and looked in at the crowd. She thought for a moment and then she decided she should find AJ.
***
"You wanna dance?" Drew asked Maxie.
"I'd love to."
He grabbed her hands and pulled her into a corner, put his arms on her waist and drew her in close, swaying slowly to the music.
Maxie's mind was all a flutter. It was hard for her to think straight. First, she had snuck out of the house, went to a house party and here she was dancing with the hottest guy in the room! 'What would Mom think of me?' she giggled at the thought of Felicia not knowing that she had snuck out.
Suddenly she felt Drew kiss her softly on the neck. His hands caressed her back. Maxie began to get nervous. 'What is he doing,' she thought to herself. 'I hardly know him!'
"Come with me," he whispered in her ear, as he pulled her away towards the stairs.
***
As Jax held Chloe in his arms, he continued to look at his friend and Felicia. 'Hang on Mac...help's on the way,' he thought.
"Oh, Jax, I hope he'll be alright. I'm sure he will, he has Felicia to come back to," Chloe says. "I love you so much too, I'm so glad you're okay. Are the paramedics on their way?"
Chloe looks at Felicia and knows how much she must be terrified. She thinks how much she would be frantic if it was Jax laying on the ground. She wants to say something to Felicia, but knows that there is nothing to say so she puts her hand on her friend's shoulder.
Jax nodded and released Chloe from his embrace, but kept holding her hand so he could kneel down next to Felicia. "Felicia...the paramedics are on their way. He's going to be fine. I promise."
Just then, the wail of sirens could be heard through the open terrace doors. A few moments later, two paramedics with gear came running into the ballroom.
"We'll take over," one of them told Robert.
Reluctantly, Robert took his hand and handkerchief away from the back of Mac's head.
Blood dripped from the cloth to the floor.
Robert dropped the cloth and wiped his hand on his already bloody tuxedo trousers. He stood silently watching as the paramedics began their job.
The taller paramedic applied thick pads of gauze to the wound and held it on with cloth tape, then put a C-collar on Mac to keep his head immoblized just in case the bullet had lodged near the spine. While he did this, he asked, "What happened?"
Robert was clear-headed and told him, "He was shot with a .44 at close range. He's been unconscious ever-since."
"How long ago did this happen?" the paramedic asked as he slipped a blood pressure cuff around Mac's right arm.
Robert looked down at his watch. "Maybe ten minutes. It seemed like hours though."
The paramedic nodded as he pumped air into the blood pressure cuff. He watched as the needle descended on the dial. "100 over 60," he told his partner.
The second took Mac's pulse, then laid his hand on Mac's abdomin to check his respiration. When he had jotted down the vitals, he radioed General Hospital for instructions. "County unit 25 to GH base. How do you read?"
The hand-held radio crackled slightly before the response came. "GH base. Read you loud and clear, 25."
"GH base, we have a male age 35 who has been shot at close range in the back of the head with a small calibur pistol...He is bleeding out profusely and is unconscious. Vitals are as follows...bp 100 over 60, pulse 100 and thready, respiration 17."
"Start an IV with D5W and transport immediately," the voice at the other end said calmly. "I want a new set of vitals after you've established the IV and while in route."
"Roger that GH base. Lidacane drip. Update vitals. Tranport immediately. ETA fifteen minutes."
Jax watched as the paramedics continued to work on Mac. When they had him ready to go to the ambulance, he put his hand on Felicia's arm and looked at Robert, then addressed them both, "Do you want me to drive you to the hospital?"
***
"Oh my God!" Liz cried out. "He was fine just seconds ago! Someone please help us!" her voice cracked between sobs as she looked down at Pat.
"Liz, it will be fine," Lucky says. "Someone... come help us!" Lucky called out.
"Liz, does he have any medical problems?" Lucky asks.
"I don't know, Lucky! He never told me if he did. I'm so scared for him. I wish I knew what was wrong."
Just then the paramedics brought a second stretcher lifted Pat onto it and pushed him out the door.
"I need to find out what happened. I'm going to go with them. Lucky, can you please come with me? I'd feel better having someone around."
"Yes, I will, Liz."
***
Carly could not find AJ, so she started to head for the door. As she made her way through the crowd, she spotted Bobbie helping the paramedics take care of Mac.
"Mom! are you ok? How is Mac?"
Bobbie looked a little shaken up as Carly walked over. She looked at Mac, then to Carly. "Carly, are you ok?? I'm fine.. Mac will be fine. The paramedics are doing what they can," she said trying to reassure her daughter.
***
"I don't want to go upstairs, Drew. Please leave me alone!" By this time they had reached one of the bedrooms and he pulled her into it forcefully.
"Come on, Maxie. I saw the way you've been looking at me all night." he pushed her against the door and began to kiss her harder, holding her hands back.
"Get off!" she used her upper body in an attempt to break his hold, but only one hand managed to break loose.
Drew's hand quickly moved to her blouse as he began to unbutton it. "Relax Maxie. I won't hurt you! Stop being so tense." With her blouse completely open, she began to realize what a serious postion she was faced with.
Maxie bent her leg, pushed Drew back and nailed her knee into his crotch. "I said to get off!" As he keeled ober in pain, she opened the door and ran into the hallway. Tears welled up in her eyes and she could barely see in front of her.
"Maxie!" she heard a familiar voice cry out. "Wait!" someone grabed her arm.
"Let go of me!" she whirled around and came face to face with Lucas.
"Lucas?"
"Maxie? What happened?" he noticed the buttons on her blouse were not matched up and began to put the pieces together. "Did Drew do this?" she nodded.
"Maxie! Oh my God! Are you okay?" Lucus pulled her into a hug, "Come on. I'll walk you home."
***
Robert looked back at Ana. "Yes...we'll go with you," he told Jax. "Felicia might want to ride in the ambulance," he suggested.
V blinked out from her daze. "Everything seemed to be happening so fast," she thought.
V saw Jax and Chloe and rushed over to them to make sure they were both holding up ok.
"Are you both alright??" V asked them, looking around. "Will Mac be alright?"
For a moment, all Jax could manage was to smile weakly and nod. "We're both fine. I think Chloe's a bit shaken, but we aren't hurt. Mac's not conscious and he's bleeding alot. The paramedics are about to take him to General Hospital. I think we're going to follow to give Felicia some moral support. She hasn't said a word. I think she's in shock," Jax said, sounding worried.
"I'll follow behind you both and meet up with you there, alright? Hang in there."
Jax nodded and said, "Thanks," as he and Chloe headed for the door to follow Robert, Ana and Felicia out.
Jax ran to his Range Rover and started it as the others followed.
Within just a few moments, they were following the ambulance out into traffic on their way to the hospital.
***
Laura hurried around helping people if they needed it. She thinks 'Boy we are somewhat Lucky, many more people could have gotten hurt.'
She sees Lucky run over to Liz, glad that the both of them are fine. When she sees a stretcher go over to where they are she starts to make he way over to them. She doesn't quite make it in time because of the way the crowd is reacting but she sees both Liz and Lucky follow the paramedics. She then realizes that it is Pat on the stretcher and she hopes that Lucky will call her later to let her know what is wrong with Pat.
***
