Touched by a Phoenix (29 page)

“Then he’s going to be just fine, Dr. Anderson,” Alexis said with more certainty than she felt.

“That’s my girl,” as he squeezed her hands gently.

“I will be here to take care of him,” Alexis said solemnly.

“Now, let’s talk about his arm. The cable severed muscle and left a deep laceration however, there is no nerve damage. We repaired his arm but he’s going to be incapacitated for several weeks. I believe with therapy, he will regain full use of his arm but it will take time.”

Alexis threw her arms around the doctor’s neck. “Oh thank you, Dr. Anderson. When can I see him?”

He chuckled, “Don’t thank me yet, we’ve got a tough couple of days to get through. It will be about an hour before he comes out of recovery. You can see him. I’ll check on him every hour or so throughout the night. If you need me, have the nurse page me.”

Catherine wrapped her arm around Alexis’s shoulder. “Honey, Brad’s a strong young man. He’ll pull through this just fine.”

“He has to Mom,” she sobbed.

“Catherine, stay here with Alexis, I need to go to the office to find out what happened,” Phillip said. He kissed Alexis’s forehead. “I love you, honey…I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Phillip started the Mercedes. Before putting the car in gear, he called Bill.

“Bill, what the hell happened?” he shouted.

“Sir, someone tampered with the elevator.”

“What do you mean? Bill, are you telling me someone sabotaged the elevator?”

“Yes sir, it looks that way. They cut the cables and hosed the brakes. Someone wanted to be sure the elevator would fall.”

“How did someone get through security?”

“We’re not sure yet, but I have Jonathan reviewing the security disk now. By the way sir, Homeland Security is here.”

“Who in the hell called Homeland?”

“FBI, sir.”

“Lock the building down and meet me in the garage in thirty minutes. Bill, I want a full report when I arrive.”

“Yes, sir.”

Phillip pulled into the parking garage, a young buck from the FBI stopping him at the entrance. “Sir I’m sorry, but you are not allowed in here. This is a crime scene.”

“Get the hell out of my way, young man. I own this damn company, son,” Phillip growled.

“Sir, I have orders.”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about your orders; my daughter was in that elevator. Now, call your boss and tell him to meet me at the elevator.”

Phillip nudged the car forward, pushing the blockade out of the way with the nose of his car. The car came to a screeching halt a few feet away from the elevator.

Bill rushed to meet him, opening the door as Phillip exited in one smooth stride, forgetting that his leg was a constant source of pain.

“I want to examine the interior of the elevator. You can talk as we walk.”

“Yes, sir. Someone cut the cables three-quarters of the way through and the breaks were loosened just enough to ensure they would not catch. Sir…the security system was also tampered with. From what we have been able to gather, it looks as though the breach occurred between 6:00 and 6:30 PM this evening.

“Who was still in the building after five?”

“A few employees and the cleaning staff had begun to arrive.”

“Are they still here?”

“No, sir. Most everyone had left by six except for Brad, Alexis, and the cleaning crew.”

“Get them back in here now,” he roared.

“Yes sir,” as he stepped away to make a phone call.

Phillip stood in the doorway of the broken elevator. Glass covered the blood soaked floor. Alexis’s jacket and blouse were almost indiscernible among the debris. He sank to one knee as he realized his daughter had almost been killed.

He picked up one of the cables, inspecting the clean-cut. His mind raced with a million thoughts. Who were they after? Brad, Alexis—she would own the company one day. Me, perhaps? What the hell was all this about?

“Mr. Kincaid, my name is Agent Taylor. I’m with the FBI. You wanted to see me, sir.”

“Taylor, why the hell is the FBI here?”

“The local authorities reported the accident as soon as the call came through to dispatch. It’s protocol because of the security clearance for this facility.”

“What do you know?”

“We are working with your security team to gather all the evidence.”

“And….”

“Sir that’s all I can tell you right now.”

The switch flipped and Phillip reverted to full Marine combat mode before Taylor could step back. His orotund voice rang loud and clear as he stepped towards Agent Taylor. “Son, listen to me, my daughter’s blouse and jacket are laying on the elevator floor…covered in blood. Her soon-to-be fiancé is in critical condition, so you’d better start talking
now
,” he roared.

“Sir, please calm down. I understand you’re upset but you need to give us some time to complete our investigation,” his reply was a little shaky.

Agent Taylor started to walk away and then paused as if he knew he wouldn’t get far. He turned and added, “Bill is a smart man, he’ll have some information for you.”

“Bill?” Phillip roared, “what the hell are you not telling me?”

“It appears as though it might have been an inside job.”

“Get John Martin here ASAP!”

“Sir, the only people with access to the security feeds would be someone on the IT staff. It has to be one of them. We should be able to handle this.”

“I want Martin here before dawn. Call in additional security. I want the facility on complete lock down and no one enters without a full body scan. Add additional cameras and sound analysis throughout the facility. Oh and Bill, send two of your best to the hospital to keep an eye on Brad and Alexis and another to take Catherine home when she’s ready,” Phillip barked.

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ll be in my office. I want an update every thirty minutes.”

“Yes, sir.”

As Phillip sank down into his chair, he dialed Catherine’s cell. “How’s Brad?” he asked.

“Still in recovery,” Catherine said.

“How’s Alexis holding up?”

“She will be fine as soon as they allow her to see Brad.”

“One of the security guards will be there shortly to take you and Alexis home. I’ve assigned a security detail to Brad until we sort this out.”

“Honey, Alexis will not leave Brad, and I won’t leave her. You might as well call the car back.”

“The driver can wait, then. I don’t like you being vulnerable without a method of escape if needed.”

“Phillip, what’s wrong? What are you keeping from me?”

“I’ll explain later but do not go anywhere without security. Do you understand, Catherine?”

“Yes, honey. I will call you if anything changes. I love you,” as she hung up the phone.

Dr. Anderson entered the waiting room. “Alexandria dear, we’re moving Brad to room 314. If you will give me fifteen minutes to get him settled in, I’ll send the nurse for you.” He turned his attention to Catherine, “Catherine my dear, you know I can only allow one visitor in at a time.”

“Yes, of course. Mark, thank you for coming to care for Brad, I appreciate it,” she acknowledged warmly.

“Catherine, I’m glad you called me.” He sat beside Alexis as he took her hand. “Remember, Brad needs to rest so don’t push him. He will wake up when he is ready. I will check on him throughout the night, but if you need me, I will be in the hospital. All they have to do is page me.”

“Thank you,” Alexis’s tone was hollow.

Catherine put her arm around Alexis to comfort her. Alexis waited for the moment she could be with Brad. The desolate emptiness in her chest felt as though it would crush her. She had known that she wouldn’t be able to live without him but this pain was unbearable. The clock hanging against the far wall emitted a loud tick. It was the only sound as the second hand counted down the seconds before she could see Brad. The tick was painfully loud as each tick of the second hand resounded in her ears while she waited for the minutes to pass.

“Miss Saunders, if you will come with me,” the nurse called.

Alexis hopped out of the chair as if demons were on her heels as she rushed to follow the nurse.

They stopped just outside the room as the nurse turned to Alexis. “Miss Saunders, we believe Mr. Scott will be aware of everything said, so please guard your reaction,” as she pushed the door open, leading Alexis to her love.

Alexis quietly walked into the hospital room. She covered her mouth to hide the shocked rush of air escaping. The wrenching ache began in her stomach and spread to her heart at the site of his pale, lifeless body. Tears fell freely down her face. She stepped closer to him as her eyes drank in his frail appearance.

He looked worse now than he had in the elevator. Thick gauze hid his head injury. Dr. Anderson had wrapped his bicep from his elbow to his shoulder and stabilized his arm at the shoulder. Monitors, wires, IVs, and blood transfusion lines were everywhere. He was so still and helpless. The constant beep of the monitors was annoying but soothing—the beep meant he was alive.

She took his bruised hand as gently as possible into hers. Where had the bruises come from? She inspected his other hand and found the same type of purplish hue. Her mind played replayed the scene over-and-over, trying to remember. Bits and pieces filtered through the dull fog of exhaustion. He had put one hand under her head to protect her from the impact and the other under the small of her back. He had done everything possible to keep her from being hurt, and now there was nothing she could do to help him.

She leaned down and softly kissed his lips. “Sweetheart, I love you. Please keep fighting for me. I can’t live without you.”

She didn’t know how long she stood but the nurse invaded her now blank mind. “Miss Saunders, if you don’t mind stepping outside for a moment, I need to check his vitals.”

At her hesitation, the nurse repeated, “I’ll only be a couple of minutes, I promise.”

“No ma’am. I’m not leaving,” she stated quietly.

“All right then. Please step back.”

Alexis did as the nurse asked and as soon as the nurse finished, she took her place by Brad’s side, standing watch.

The nurse returned a few minutes later with a pillow and blanket. “I figured you would be staying the night, so let’s get you a chair.”