Part 2
When Hank arrived at Melvin’s apartment, a detective was briefing Roy and Meyers about some new information in the case. The stolen van had been found, and the location showed that the kidnappers had headed north.
“They could be anywhere,” Roy stated.
Melvin started to look up at his ceiling, wondering what could be done to find Johnny, when he caught Captain Stanley’s figure off to his left. The fireman/medic swallowed hard, his stomach doing flip flops. He looks very unhappy. . .
~*~*~
“So what’s this idea?” Ted wondered.
Johnny held up his right hand in a signal to wait a minute. He wanted to be sure he worded his answer exactly right. His life could depend on it.
I can do this. . .I just gotta stay cool like I did when Roy and I were hostages in that bank a long time ago. If I can make it sound like my main concern is them getting the best deal possible. . .
He cleared his throat as Wally made a suggestion.
“How about creating something that can make people invisible?”
Johnny shook his head.
“Miniature? That would be good.”
Again the paramedic shook his head. “That’s all been done before.”
“It has?” The two men asked, glancing at each other in surprise. Ted continued, “By you?”
“Oh, yeah,” Johnny nodded. “And trust me, man, being invisible or the size of a marble is not all it’s cracked up to be.” If memory serves me right, that is. . .
“So what’s better?”
The paramedic looked at Ted and forced a grin. “Human fly shoes.”
“What?”
“Human fly shoes. A friend of mine made a pair not too long ago, but he never did anything with them. There was a slight. . .uh. . .problem. But I can fix that since I know what not to do.”
“What are human fly shoes for?” Wally asked.
“You can walk up walls, on ceilings. Think about it. . .you could sell them to the fire department for rescue crews. You’d be heroes and rich.”
“No heroes,” Ted sat back, his arms folded.
“Oh, that’s right. You wanna stay low key. Okay, you could pull off a major heist with them some day and be rich.”
“And you can make these?”
Johnny nodded. “Sure.” C’mon, man, take the bait. . .
“Okay. You’ve got till tomorrow afternoon.” Ted got up and untied Gage’s left hand from the back of the chair. “Keep the gun on him, Wally. . .just in case he tries anything.” He then addressed Johnny. “I’m going to be watching you closely, Meyers.”
“Okay.” He looked around. “First of all, I need a pair of tennis shoes.” When Gage saw the men look at his feet, he sighed. Just play along. . .think freedom. . . “Well, now that we’ve got that problem solved. . .” He reached down, wincing at the ache still in his shoulders, and untied his shoes, stepping out of them. Dammit.
~*~*~
Darkness had fallen and there was still no sign of John Gage. Melvin was relieved that the police had only briefly searched his closet where the remaining chemicals and experimental equipment were stashed. Their main interest stayed with anything that would lead them to the missing man’s whereabouts.
The policemen left with what evidence of fingerprints they'd found, though it was possible they belonged to John Gage anyway. Another team was headed up north to search the area near the deserted van. After they'd gone, the firemen stood in silence until Melvin finally spoke.
“It’s good they found the van.”
“Only if it helps locate my partner.”
Hank shook his head. “It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
Meyers thought back to the spilled chemicals and what they might have done to John. If he knew just how true that statement could be... I'd be wishing*I* was missing as well. . .even if John’s his own size, what if he doesn’t know who he is? What if the kidnappers convince him he’s one of them? What—
“Okay, just what do you know that you aren’t telling us?”
Melvin startled at the sound of Roy’s voice. “Huh?”
“The expression on your face has changed about six times in the past minute.”
“Uh. . .I don’t know anything. . .Roy, I swear. . .I. ..” He looked at Captain Stanley. He looked doubtful as well. “Okay, okay. There’s one thing I forgot to tell anyone.”
“And that is. . .?”
“John was having more memory problems after that one incident. . .I think,” he lied again. They don’t need to know *why* he might not remember. “I think it’s possible he’s forgotten who he is . . .again.”
Both Roy and Hank looked at the man in disbelief.
“How could you leave that out?” Stanley demanded.
“I. . .Uh. . .it. . .”
“Never mind. I’ll call the police and let them know.” Hank’s tone conveyed frustration. He glanced at Roy. “You know, if this is the case, he may just be out wandering somewhere. . .he may not have been kidnapped at all.”
“I know. But what of it’s both?”
The captain sighed. “I guess we’ll have to assume it is, and hope it’s not.”
Roy turned to Melvin. “What else do you know that you haven’t told us?”
Meyers held up his hands in defense. “Nothing, Roy. I swear nothing.”
The senior paramedic shook his head. He hoped Melvin had spilled the last of his surprises. Things were bad enough without more complications.
Johnny, why didn’t you tell *me* you were having a relapse . . .?
~*~*~
After nearly a half hour of fiddling with his shoes at the kitchen sink, Gage stood back, his wet hands on his hips, and sighed.
“What’s wrong?” Ted wondered.
“Man, I don’ know. I thought I knew what I was doin’. But now I’m not so sure.”
Wally looked at his partner and then to their prisoner. “You’ve been working on this for twenty-five minutes. What have you been doing?”
“Tryin’ to figure out how to make the bottoms act like suction cups, man. I thought soaking ‘em in hot water while pressing on the soles in spots would work, but it’s no use.” He held up his sopping wet shoes. “They still look the same.” Except for the fact they’re probably ruined now.
“Well, hell. Even I could’ve told you that wouldn’t do anything. Don’t you need some sort of suction cups to attach?” Ted wondered.
Johnny shook his head. “What I need is to call the guy who made the other ones and see what I’m doin’ wrong.”
“No, no phone calls,” Ted stated. “No way.”
“You wanna be rich or not? Look, I won’t try anything. But I can’t do this without getting a few facts from him.”
“Wally shrugged as he looked to his partner. “If we stay right beside him, he can’t say anything we won’t hear.”
“True. Okay. One phone call, but make it quick and straight to the point.”
Bingo. Great, they took the bait. Now I just gotta hope Chet doesn’t let me down.
~*~*~
Hank Stanley slowly drove along the streets not far from Melvin’s apartment. After notifying the police that Johnny might possibly be wandering, not knowing who he was, the captain and Roy had decided to help in the search. Both men had insisted that Melvin stay put in the event Gage suddenly showed up, and to handle any possible phone calls regarding the missing paramedic.
“Where are you, John?” Hank wondered out loud. “You’ve vanished before and appeared out of nowhere. More than once. You can do it anytime now. . .”
Suddenly he spotted a man walking on a sidewalk up ahead. In the dim lighting it was hard to tell what the man was wearing. His back was turned to the car. Hank stepped on the gas a little harder and got just ahead of the man. Much to his disappointment, it wasn’t Johnny.
~*~*~
As Johnny listened to the phone ring on the other end, he began to get a headache. He rubbed at his forehead, hoping to ward it off. Must be from not eating.
“What the matter?”
“Head hurts.”
“Is your friend answering?”
Just as Johnny was about to reply, Chet picked up on the other end.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Chet.” Gage looked at his captors. “This is Melvin Meyers.”
“Yeah, right. And this is Hugh Hefner. C’mon, Gage, I know it’s you.”
“No, this is Melvin. . .really. Look, I need you to do me a favor.”
“Okay, John, sure.”
Johnny sighed. “You know those human fly shoes you made?”
“Are you gonna rub that in again? So I made a mistake; so they had a few complications. You can’t blame a guy for try--”
“Listen to me. I need you to--”
“Hey, I knew it was you. Meyers wouldn’t even know about those things. . .or if he did he would’ve been buggin’ me so he could play Spiderman.”
“Chet!” Johnny glanced at Ted and Wally. So far they didn’t know what Chet had said. “Just tell me how you got suction cup bottoms on the soles of the tennis shoes.”
“There weren’t any tennis shoes. You know that. They were rounded suction cup platforms with black lace-up shoes mounted on top. What’s with you, man?”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s right. I’ve got a pair of my own shoes here at the house and I can’t get it to work.”
“House? What house? You live in an apartment. And what’s with the fly shoes anyway? You said it was a dumb idea.”
“Okay, so I let them soak in that stuff all night. . .I’ll do that. Tell your dad, Roy, I said hi and I’m still around.”
“My dad. . .? Gage, what’re ya talking about? Oh wait. . .is Roy there with you? This is a prank, right? Well, tell Roy I’m not gonna--”
Ted pressed down on the buttons in the telephone cradle and disconnected the call. “You got your information.”
On the other end of the line, Chet stared at the phone receiver in his hand. “Gage!” He hung up on me. . .
~*~*~
After an hour and a half of fruitless searching, the captain and Roy headed back to Melvin’s to see if there was any news.
Once Melvin informed them the police hadn't called with any updates, the two left. They both had a full shift ahead of them the next day.
~*~*~
Melvin sat alone in his apartment with the instruction to call Captain Stanley or Roy if he received any word on Johnny. He couldn’t help but wish he’d somehow come clean about everything and never invited John over in the first place.
If he makes it back alive, I swear I’m going to do things differently. No more being a closet chemist. No more getting John involved in any wild experiments or ideas. No more lying to Roy. No more quests to be on any talk shows again. Once again, he rested his elbows on his knees and his chin on his palms. Just please let John be okay. The guilt ridden man slowly got to his feet and wandered down to his bedroom. I guess I’d better try and get some sleep. I doubt I’ll have much luck. After removing his contact lenses in the bathroom, he lay on his bed and stared up at the blurry darkened ceiling. Emotionally exhausted, he fell asleep without realizing it.
~*~*~
“So what’s that stuff called again?” Ted wondered.
Ignoring the headache that was becoming more persistent, Johnny answered. “I said I'd call it Shiftscupalopolis. It'll change the molecules in the soles of the shoes and form them into suction cups.” He handed the man a small piece of paper. "These are the two chemicals I need to invent it."
Wally picked up one of the jars they’d nabbed from Melvin’s apartment. “Can’t you use this one for anything?” He read the label to himself, wishing he could pronounce the name. No way was he about to look like a fool by messing it up. ‘Tnatropmignihton’?
Johnny shook his head. “No, that’s worthless right now.” He looked to Ted. “So, when can we go to my apartment to get what I do need?”
Ted was silent a moment as he gave the suggestion thought. He then reached for the rope that had been on the paramedic’s wrists. He motioned with his head for Wally to raise the gun that was still in the man’s other hand. His partner complied, setting down the jar.
“Put your hands behind your back.”
Johnny did as he was told, hoping this meant they were going for a ride in the car back to Melvin’s. If he showed up at the scene where he’d vanished, maybe being rescued or a chance to escape wouldn’t be far behind.
His hands once again secured behind his back, the dark-haired paramedic followed Ted, Wally right behind them with the gun. But much to Johnny’s dismay, he found himself in the closet again.
“I thought we were goin’ to get the stuff?”
“Not we. Us,” Ted said, pointing at himself and Wally.
“But I know--”
“Sit down with your legs out in front of you.”
“Bu--” Johnny shut up when he saw Wally wave the gun as a reminder. He quickly complied, though without the use of his arms for balance he plopped down on his bottom hard. Johnny winced and watched Ted tie his ankles together. “So you’re going there now? To my place?”
“Sure. Why not? No one’s home, because you’re here. If any cops are hanging around, then you'd better have another idea for making us rich.”
“Sure. Right.” Johnny scooted back against the wall as Ted turned out the light and shut the door. Oh man, what if Melvin is at his apartment and those two show up? We’ll *both* be in a big mess again, and this time it’ll be *my* fault. I hope Chet was confused enough to wanna call Roy to see what’s up. We may need them more than ever now. . .
He closed his eyes as the throbbing from the headache reached an intensity he hadn’t felt for a few weeks. I shoulda asked for some Aspirin.
~*~*~
Chet Kelly grumbled to himself as he got into bed. He didn’t appreciate the two paramedics trying to pull one over on him. Though he wasn’t sure what exactly they were trying to accomplish. None of what Johnny had said made any sense.
Shrugging it off, he lay down and closed his eyes. I’ll get it out of ‘em tomorrow before roll call. I can’t wait to see their faces when they realize I didn’t take the bait. . .what ever it was. . .
~*~*~
When they arrived at Melvin’s, the two crooks found it to be free of any policemen. There wasn’t even a squad car near the apartment complex. Smiling, the two men made their way over to Melvin’s apartment. The door was locked, indicating someone had been there since them.
“They must know. . .”
“Then we’ll have to be quick,” Ted explained.
Wally nodded and carefully picked the lock. Once the door was open, the men entered and went directly to the room that had had the chemicals in it.
~*~*~
Melvin Meyers woke to the sound of someone rummaging in the room next to his. He immediately sat up and started to get out of the bed.
That’s gotta be the guys who took John. There’s no way I’d be hit twice by different people. No way.
He stood up and took a step towards the door, when something he wasn’t used to stopped him – common sense.
I can’t go barging in there. Even if they *are* the guys who took John, what good will I do him if I get kidnapped too? But what kind of hero am I if I *don’t* go face-to-face with them? I wonder what John would do?
Suddenly an idea came to mind. He hid under the bed.
~*~*~
Not finding the right chemicals anywhere, even in the closet where the others had been moved to, Wally and Ted went into other rooms, ransacking the place. Fortunately, neither worried about looking under the bed. In a hurry and angry that it had taken so long as it was, the two decided to leave and deal with their prisoner when they got back to the house.
“He lied,” Ted stated. “That’s got to be it. He lied to get us to bring him here.”
“But what good would that have done him?”
“He creates a scene, neighbors hear. . .”
“Ah, right.”
“Let’s go.”
As Melvin heard them head for the front door, he crawled out from under his bed and to the night stand. Glasses, I need my glasses. It was then he recalled he’d left them in the livingroom.
The front door closed and the part-time chemist raced to the livingroom to grab his glasses. Not finding them anywhere there, he squinted out the window between the curtains and saw the headlights of a car come on. The vehicle started to pull away.
I can’t follow ‘em, not without my glasses or contact lenses, and I don’t have *time* to put *those* in. . .some kind of hero *I* turned out to be.
Meyers frowned when all he could make out about the car when it passed under a parking lot light was that it was red. With the vehicle out of sight, he let the curtains fall shut and sagged against the wall nearby.
Good thing Robin could depend more on Batman.
Disappointed in himself, he felt his way to the telephone and called the police.
At least they might be able to get better fingerprints.
~*~*~
Once back at the house, Ted flung the closet door open and yanked on the chain to turn on the light. The sudden brightness in addition to the severe headache caused Johnny to shut his eyes tight.
“Man, give a guy. . .warning, would ya?” he asked, still wincing.
“You’re lucky I didn’t shoot you!”
Uh oh. . .what happened? They found Melvin? They know? “Look, my head hurts. . .so bad I can barely. . . think straight. What’s wrong? Didn’t ya get the stuff?”
“The stuff wasn’t there. . .anywhere!”
Johnny grimaced at the loud voice adding to the ache. “Just. . .give me something. .to kill this headache. I can explain.”
“How’d you get a headache, anyway?”
“How. . .?” Is he serious? How does anyone get one. . . “I uh. . .guess it’s from. . .not eating.”
Wally’s eyes brightened. “I think I know what did it.” He took off a moment and came back, placing Melvin’s glasses on Johnny’s face. “Maybe these’ll help.”
Johnny blinked a few times, the blurry images making him dizzy. Man, Meyers is just about blind. Or maybe it’s my headache and his glasses combined. “This isn’t . . .helping.”
“Don’t worry. You won’t be feeling that headache soon.”
Johnny squinted, trying to make out what Ted was doing. But it wasn’t until a chloroform treated cloth came over his face that he realized what was going on. He tried not to breathe in the chemical, but soon had to give in. Before long, Gage slumped to the side, the eyeglasses tilted on the bridge of his nose.
“I thought we were going to give him longer to invent something before we did anything to him?”
Ted shook his head. “He’s not going to do anything, Wally. He was just buying time. And that phone call. . .I have a bad feeling about it now. There aren’t any human fly shoes. Somehow he was trying to drop clues.”
“Like what?”
“Saying he’s still around for one. Think about it. We basically let him know he was in Carson when we told him we checked out the possibility of the Land Rover being in the parking lot.”
“It was there, Ted.”
“What?”
“The Land Rover. I didn’t think about it until now. But there was one in the lot when we were just there.”
Ted looked disgustedly down at Johnny. “All the more reason to get rid of this guy. Chances are he ‘s not even Meyers after all.”
“But how come it wasn’t there when I went before?”
The other man gave it thought. “Maybe it’s a new invention by Meyers. Like ink that vanishes, he created a vehicle that does the same. . .and this guy ended up with it.”
“So. . .we steal it?”
“First we’ve got to dispose of him,” Ted motioned toward Gage.
~*~*~
Roy rolled over in bed and glanced at the alarm clock. It was only 5:00 in the morning.
I wonder how much sleep I actually got.
The paramedic could recall tossing and turning in an effort to get to sleep, knowing he’d have to be in shape for duty the following morning. But with his mind on his missing partner, it had proved to be a challenge. He slowly pushed back the covers on his side of the bed and being careful not to disturb his sleeping wife, sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Roy rubbed a hand over his tired eyes and got to his feet, heading for the shower.
~*~*~
Ted and Wally each had tried to shoot John Gage once they’d decided to get rid of him. But never having taken a life before, when it came time neither could pull the trigger. Instead they chose a less direct method to make it easier on themselves.
Thus the two men sat in their car across the street from the gates of a dump yard a few miles outside of town. Waiting impatiently for the business to open at 6:00, Ted glanced at the clock.
“Fifteen more minutes.”
Wally looked over his shoulder at a large beige gunny sack which held their soon to be departed guest who was sleeping on the back seat. Another dose of chloroform had assured them he wouldn’t be waking up soon. His wrists and ankles still tied, Johnny was oblivious to his impending fate.
“Where are we leaving him again?”
“In one of the bins. They have enormous dumpsters you back up to and drop garbage in. If we do it when the place first opens, by mid morning he’ll be buried by everyone’s loads. If the weight from those alone doesn’t suffocate him by then, being dumped in a hole and buried with the rest of the garbage will do the trick. No one will even know he’s there.”
The two conspirators also had two large black plastic bags of real trash in the trunk that would help camouflage Johnny as just another useless discarded item. But one problem remained. They wanted to be sure no one else was dropping off garbage at the exact same time just in case.
~*~*~
Finally an employee of the yard unlocked and opened the gates. He went into a booth nearby to monitor patrons entering and exiting. Ted and Wally observed as two trucks went through the entrance.
“I hope no one else comes.”
Ted shrugged. “I don’t see anyone else around.”
They waited until both trucks had exited, the preceded through to the enormous dump bins. Everything went according to plan. First they worked together to get Johnny out of the car and drop him down inside a bin, the gunny sack still covering him. Then the real garbage bags were added. Ted grinned and waved as another car arrived and parked beside them. Not wanting to say much, he and Wally got in their vehicle and casually watched while the other person tossed in three black bags filled to the maximum.
“See?” Ted asked. “We did it.”
They drove away at a slow speed until they reached the exit. Ted suddenly was in a hurry to get away from the place and stepped firmly on the gas pedal. The car shot out into the street, nearly colliding with Engine 18. The crew was heading back to the station after a run.
~*~*~
After leaving a worried wife at home with a promise to call if there was any news, Roy drove his car into the back lot of Station 51. The empty parking space where Johnny’s Land Rover would normally be was a reminder that things were not okay. He glanced at Captain Stanley’s Edsel nearby.
I hope Cap got some good news on Johnny this morning.
The senior paramedic made his way into the locker room to get into uniform before going in search of Hank Stanley. When he opened the door to the room and stepped over to his locker, he was greeted by a less than pleased Chet Kelly.
“So what were you and Gage trying to pull last night?”
“Whata you mean?”
“When he called and asked about the human fly shoes. . .I know they were a flop, so did you guys have to bring them up again?”
Roy had a hold of his locker door and absently let go, his eyes locked on Chet.
“Johnny called you? When?”
“I told you. Last night. It was late, but I don’ know what time it was for sure. You weren’t with him?”
Roy shook his head. “Did he say anything else like where he was or who he was with?”
Chet gave a wary look, wondering if this too was part of the trick. “Okay, what’s going on?”
“Johnny’s been missing since yesterday morning. No one knows where he is.”
Chet’s mouth dropped open, a look of disbelief in his face. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Chet, what else did he say?” Roy was exasperated.
“Okay, I’ll tell ya, but it doesn’t mean I fell for the prank. . .if it is a prank. . .it is, isn’t it?”
“Chet. . .”
“He said to tell my dad ‘Roy’ hi and that he’s still around. And something about having something at the house. Oh, and he hung up on me.”
Roy turned and hurried out of the room.
“Are you sure this isn’t some kind of trick you guys are pullin’?” Kelly called out toward the closing door.
~*~*~
Melvin Meyers rushed into the dayroom at Station 18 and reached for the pay telephone on the wall. He lifted the receiver and put a quarter in the slot when he overheard two crewmen from the engine talking about their near accident earlier in the morning. Melvin hung up and slowly walked to the table when one of them mentioned the red car.
“Did you say red?”
“That’s right. Why? Does it matter? We almost hit it, Meyers.”
“Did you get a look at who was inside?”
“Two guys.” The fireman turned to face Melvin. “What’s with all the questions? You a part time investigator now too?”
The paramedic recalled the two different voices in his apartment as the intruders had searched through it. Oh c’mon. What’re the odds? But if it *was* them. . .
He raced out of the room to find his partner and the captain.
~*~*~
Roy quickly approached Hank Stanley when he saw him come out of the dayroom, a cup of coffee in his right hand.
“Cap, you aren’t gonna believe this, but Johnny called Chet last night. Apparently around the time we were searching for him or leaving Meyers’ place.”
Hank stared a moment, not sure he’d heard right. “He what? Are you sure?”
DeSoto nodded. “According to Chet, Johnny called and asked about the human fly shoes. Then he told him to tell his ‘dad’ Roy that he was still around and at a house.”
“They didn’t head north. . .”
“Doesn’t sound like it.”
”But the van. . .”
“Maybe that had nothing to do with Johnny’s disappearance after all. Or they swapped out vehicles.”
“Well, it’s not much, but it’s more than we had before.”
“One thing though, Cap. Chet said Johnny hung up on him.”
Hank frowned. “Hopefully that doesn’t imply what it sounds like. Let’s call the police and let them know about the call. They’ll probably want to send someone over to talk directly to Chet.” He noticed the distraught expression on Roy’s face. “Hang in there, pal. We’ll get John back.”
“Alive?”
“We can hope.”
~*~*~
Johnny was still drifting in the slumber brought on by the chloroform. Unable to bring himself to any level of awareness, he lay still as garbage bags from a few other people joined him down in the dump bin, a couple compromising his breathing as they rested on his gunny sack covered torso.
Gage was lucky to land on his side when he was dropped in, and due to his body being completely relaxed, had only sustained some amount of bruising from the fall.
~*~*~
Melvin explained about Johnny’s disappearance as briefly as he could and still supply a few necessary details. Both his partner and the captain listened, neither expecting to hear what they were being told. It all sounded like something out of a weekly TV movie or cop show.
“. . .there’s a chance that car belongs to the kidnappers, and John is somewhere in that dump yard,” Melvin finished. He couldn’t shake the image of his friend tied up and gagged, and about to be compacted with the garbage.
The captain was quiet a moment as he sorted through his thoughts. He knew Meyers could be imaginative and eccentric at times, but he also knew the man was intelligent. If anyone could figure out a puzzle like the one surrounding John Gage, Melvin could.
“I can’t have you tying up the squad on a hunch. But I can see if Williams and Ashby can stay on duty until you two have a chance to check it out.”
“Great!”
“On two conditions.”
Both paramedics paused, waiting for what was coming next.
“We contact the police first, and you two report back to here in an hour if you don’t find him.”
Melvin was relieved. Those were conditions he could live with.
“Let’s make sure you have coverage,” the captain said as he stood and walked from behind his desk. He and the paramedics went in search of the C-shift crew.
~*~*~
Ted and Wally pulled into the apartment complex parking lot in search of Johnny’s Land Rover. Ted had taken the keys from the prisoner’s pocket before placing him in the gunny sack.
Wally looked around as Ted drove. “It’s not here anymore. Do you think it can really turn invisible at times?”
“I don’t know, but I have a bad feeling about this, too.”
“What’ll we do?”
Ted balled up Johnny’s keys in his shirt and wiped them off. He then used an old candy wrapper in the car to handle the keys again. He rolled down his window and tossed them out onto the ground.
“What did you do that for?”
“Because we’re kidding ourselves. If we get caught in that Land Rover, we’re history. Face it, it’s over. Our witness is gone, so all we have to do is play it cool for awhile, lay low and try something else later to get rich. Something easier, like robbing a bank.”
“You sure Meyers or whoever that was we had can’t get out of that dump yard alive?”
“No way. He’ll still be sleeping while stuff buries him. Someone else would have to know exactly where he was or it’d be like finding a needle in a haystack. He’ll be lost with the garbage forever.”
Wally smiled as Ted turned the car around and headed back for the house.
In a lot near a police station, Johnny’s Land Rover was parked as evidence in the on-going case.
~*~*~
After a somewhat lengthy conversation with Lieutenant Crockett of the police department, Hank Stanley hung up and looked at Roy.
“Seems they’ve come up with some more information since last night.”
“Like what?”
“You may want to sit down.”
“Cap, what happened?”
“They searched the area where the van was found and discovered fresh tire tracks of a car that drove onto the main road and headed the opposite direction the van apparently came from. Then in the middle of the night, Melvin Meyers called to report a break in. . .but he had to wait till the culprits left before calling the police. Unfortunately they must’ve worn gloves, as there were no new fingerprints to go on.”
“Someone broke into his apartment? With him home?”
“Wait. There’s more.”
“More?”
“Yep. Seems Melvin was able to see that it was a red vehicle leaving the parking lot right afterwards. Engine 18 nearly hit a red car that was making a quick exit from a dump outside of town.”
A dump. . .? “Do they think--”
“It’s being checked out as a lead. But there’s no guarantee. You know how Meyers can be.”
“Yeah, a little bit over imaginative.”
“They’ll call us if they have any more news.”
Roy glanced at his watch. It was almost 8:00. “I guess there’s nothing more we can do. . .is there?”
Hank gave a wan smile. “Go get changed. After roll call you and Thompson can take the squad and help search. Just be sure and keep the Handie Talky with you in case you get a run.”
Roy couldn’t hide the grin on his face. One thing for sure, Captain Stanley understood how close to each other the paramedics had become. They weren’t just co-workers; they were best friends. DeSoto hurried out of the office and into the apparatus bay, his destination the locker room again.
~*~*~
While two police officers searched through a two acre fenced-in area with old car tires piled high and wide, Melvin and his partner Dan Tibault took another section where two nearly full dump bins sat waiting to be hauled off and buried.. The chemist/paramedic stood with his hands on his hips as he looked around. “This is like looking for a needle in a haystack.” But if John’s normal size and here, it’ll be a lot easier to find him than if he was shrunken.
He eyed a truck backing up to the edge of a drop off. “What’s over there?”
“That’s where the dump bins sit till they get full. Everyone drops their own trash in them. Looks like that guy is getting rid of some old furniture.”
The two watched a few seconds as an older man struggled to push an old couch out of the back of his truck and onto the ground just in front of the bins.
“Let’s help. It’ll only take a minute or so.”
Meyers agreed and the paramedics trotted over to give the man a hand. Between the three of them, the couch was soon on the ground and ready to take the plunge into the garbage below. Melvin and Dan had just pushed the couch to the edge and were about to let go when something below moved. Suddenly the two men found themselves desperately trying to stop the forward slide of the heavy piece of furniture.
“It’s gonna fall!”
Melvin gritted his teeth and pulled back on it with all his might. “Just. . . don’t. . . let. . .go!”
The two men almost had the couch away from the edge when one end of it pivoted unexpectedly. Melvin and Dan watched in horror as the piece of furniture fell down into the bin.
Wasting no time, Melvin jumped down in right behind the couch. The stench seeping out of loosely tied black plastic bags was enough to nauseate a person, but the paramedic was so involved in his search, that he barely noticed. He got down on his hands and knees and peered under the couch that had landed upside down. There in the pocket of space was part of a gunny sack, something moving the edge of it from inside.
Meyers reached in and tugged on the bag. Most of it was buried under other garbage making it impossible to just pull out.
“I need help!”
Melvin’s partner didn’t hesitate to jump down in the bin, rolling as he landed.
“You think it’s him?” Dan asked as he got up brushing himself off and walked across the shallow mound of garbage.
“I can’t tell. But I think I hear groaning. Help me get this couch moved.”
The two paramedics lifted up on the furniture and moved to where it was completely away from the gunny sack. They then began to clear the black bags off. When the sack was cleared, Melvin opened it up, a worried look on his face when he was met with a sweaty John Gage; Johnny’s eyes were slightly open, his gaze distant. A familiar black-framed item was sitting crooked on his face.
My glasses! “Let’s get him out.” Melvin yelled up to the man at the edge of the bin, “Call for the fire department and an ambulance!”
~*~*~
The old man had been watching from above as Melvin and Dan got Johnny completely out of the gunny sack, the bystander’s mouth dropping open in shock at the third man being revealed. When Melvin hollered the directive, the man waved in acknowledgment and took off in his car toward the booth at the gate.
~*~*~
Johnny closed his eyes and groaned, not comprehending all that was taking place other than the fact he could breathe easier. He was already slightly nauseous from the chloroform, and as soon as he was cleared from the confines of the sack, the stench from the trash only increased the feeling. Unable to hold back, he vomited.
With shaking hands from the excitement of finding his friend, Melvin quickly pulled Gage away from the mess and cut the ropes off his wrists and ankles.
“John, can you hear me? C’mon, say something.”
Still extremely groggy, Johnny drifted back to a deep slumber.
“John? John!”
Dan did a quick check on the unconscious man. “He’s bruised up, has a few rope burns. He’s also pretty dehydrated. Look.” He pinched Johnny’s skin and watched as it slowly returned to normal. “Pulse is weak and rapid.”
In full paramedic mode, Meyers examined Johnny for any sign of a head injury. “Doesn’t look like there was any trauma to his head. I think he’s been drugged.”
“I can’t believe we found him.”
Melvin smiled. They had been the ones to find the missing man and were rescuing him. For that second, Meyers was Batman in his mind. But the heroic feeling went away as quickly as it had come when he remembered his entire problem surrounding his friend. It was possible Johnny was still hypnotized to forget everything at the ring of a phone, or that he would recall the antics that had gone on in the past with Melvin; it was even possible he had no idea who he was now at all. The answers wouldn’t come until later.
Why did things have to get so complicated?
~*~*~
Roy and Brad Thompson were en route to the junk yard when dispatch called over the radio, sending them to the location for a ‘man down’. Roy felt his heart beat faster, gut feeling telling him his partner had been found. But if Johnny was in need of paramedics, how bad off was he? The senior paramedic switched on the lights and siren, increasing their speed slightly as they headed for the yard.
Thompson glanced at DeSoto as he acknowledged the call. Hanging up the mic, he commented, “This’ll make the day a lot easier if it turns out to be Gage, huh?”
“If he’s okay.”
Brad just nodded. There was no guarantee the ending was going to be a good one even if it was the lost paramedic who had been found.
~*~*~
After hearing the latest update from Hank Stanley, Chet couldn’t shake the guilt over the thought that he let Johnny’s apparent attempt at dropping clues to his whereabouts go. And telling Mike and Marco about it had made it sound even worse. The two sat at the dayroom table with bewildered expressions on their faces when they heard about all that had gone on in the past twenty-four hours or so.
“Kidnapped? Again?” Mike wondered. “How does he find trouble so easily?”
“Melvin Meyers,” Marco reminded. “Until Johnny met up with him, his biggest problem on a day off was lining up a date with the latest nurse he was chasing. . .and finding a way to take her out without investing too much from his paycheck.”
After looking at Chet and seeing the guilt-ridden look still on his face, they tried to go easy on the fireman.
“Hey, forget about what happened with the call. The main thing is, they may know where he’s at now, and he might very well be on his way back to the station as we speak.”
“Mike’s right,” Marco agreed. “Besides, Johnny probably will say he would have reacted the same way you did if the situation was reversed.”
Captain Stanley took a seat at the table with the others and folded his hands together. “I think Mike and Marco are on to something, pal. I don’t think any one of us would’ve expected something like this to happen again. I know I would have gone with it being a prank idea first if I’d been in your shoes.”
“Really, Cap?”
He nodded, the other two quickly agreeing. It was bad enough something had happened to Gage. No sense making the situation worse by tossing more guilt onto Chet. Hank wanted to talk to Kelly alone, so he sent Mike and Marco out to hang hose.
“It’s okay, Chet.”
“No, Cap. It’s not. I shoulda known something was wrong. Man, John called me for help and what’d I do? Go to bed.”
“There was no way anyone could’ve found him on the information he gave you. Heck, we don’t even know for sure he’s where Melvin thinks he is now. It wouldn’t have changed anything, except we’d have known he was still alive.”
“Gage is never gonna let me live this down.”
“Now that you might be right about. But you know what? I’d say it’s a pretty good trade off if it means getting him back with us in one piece.”
Chet nodded as he stared ahead. “You’re right. Besides, a few pranks from the phantom’ll humble him again if he gets too carried away. After we know for sure he’s his old self again, that is.”
Hank shook his head. Some things never change. He knew it was more of a way for Chet to deal with the worry over John more so than anything else.
~*~*~
Roy drove through the gates of the dump yard and the employee at the booth pointed to where the cop car sat near the bins. His heart pounding, the senior paramedic hoped the recent find wasn’t going to lead to a murder investigation surrounding Johnny.
Once the squad was stopped, the two paramedics climbed out and hurried to the edge of the bins. Melvin was beside Johnny below, Dan nearby. Both looked up and waved.
“We need a stokes to get him out of here!” Meyers yelled. “But don’t worry, he seems to be okay!”
The words were all Roy needed to hear for now. He and Thompson got the stokes as requested and soon were lowering it down. They watched as Johnny was lifted and placed into it, his limpness resembling a rag doll. When he was secured, Roy and Thompson pulled on the ropes and brought Gage up to ground level. The two went to work on the man as the others quickly climbed up ropes to distance themselves from the stench below and get their feet on firm ground again.
~*~*~
Roy and Thompson placed Johnny on the stretcher when the ambulance arrived, being careful of the IV that was giving him the fluids he desperately needed. Roy noticed Johnny’s eyes flutter open to squints.
“Hey, partner. Glad to have ya back.”
The only response was a low groan, a wince and a low mumble, “Tired.”
DeSoto looked at the bandages they’d put over the rope burns on Gage’s wrists and the bruising that was visible here and there. He couldn’t get over the fact that the injuries hadn’t been worse. That said something about the kidnappers. Whoever they were, there had to be something in them somewhere that kept them from just killing Johnny and then dumping him. He thought back to when he and Johnny had been held as hostages in a bank hold-up. Gage had managed to get the robbers to become friendly with him. Maybe he’d come close to doing the same thing again.
Roy forced a smile. “Hang in there. You’ll be okay.” But his words went unheard as Johnny was once again unconscious.
Melvin watched from a distance. Now that John was in good hands and on his way to Rampart, what would any of the doctors find? No one was sure yet if Johnny would be his old self or have forgotten who he was.
If I get out of this easy, I’m tossing all my chemicals. Every last one of them. No more playing with that stuff for me.
~*~*~
Johnny was taken to Treatment Room Three where he was placed on the examination table. After a very thorough exam and lab tests, Kel Brackett discovered the main problems, which were the dehydration and chloroform. The former was still being treated with IVs, the latter, the paramedic would have to sleep off.
~*~*~
Later in the day, everyone concerned with Johnny’s well being was updated on his condition. He had finally come out of the drug induced sleep, though he was still groggy, nauseated and had a severe headache. He was no longer dehydrated, but due to the nausea, was kept on an IV since he couldn’t eat or drink much yet. The best news for Roy and the others at Station 51 was that Johnny seemed to recall everything.
Brackett stood beside Gage’s bed with a clipboard in his hands. He wrote down the paramedic’s latest vitals as he talked to the man.
“I’m keeping the police out of your room until you have some of your strength back.”
Sitting propped up against pillows, Johnny nodded. “Thanks, Doc.”
“How’re you feeling overall?”
“Tired, sore.” He looked at the bandages still on his wrists. “Man, what an experience. I sure don’t want one like that again.”
“Do you remember what the guys looked like?”
“Uh huh.”
“Good. Maybe they can catch them and get them behind bars.”
“I hope so. Listen, Doc, can you get a hold of Melvin Meyers and have him come see me?”
“You sure you want that? According to Roy, he’s been the root of most of your problems.”
“Yeah. . .I’m sure,” Johnny replied with a yawn. “He’s okay. A little bit crazy, but he means well.”
Brackett grinned. “I’ll see if I can get a hold of him and have him stop by when he gets a chance.”
“I don’t think you’ll have to persuade him much. He’s worried about me like a mother hen at times.”
“Well, he doesn’t have to worry too much this time. We should have you out of here and back on your feet by tomorrow morning.” Brackett hung up the clipboard at the foot of the bed and left the room. Johnny closed his eyes as he rested. Pain medication was helping to ward off the severe headache he’d had, but it was also adding to his drowsiness. Kel Brackett had assured him the ache was most likely caused by the lack of food, dehydration and the exposure to chloroform. All factors that were easily treatable now that he was out of the hands of the kidnappers, so it would soon subside and be gone.
It’s good to be out of that place.
~*~*~
Five minutes after Brackett left, the door to Johnny’s room slowly opened revealing the guest he’d requested to see peeking around the edge. The injured paramedic’s eyes opened at the slight sound.
“That was quick.”
Meyers stepped inside wondering what was in store. “I was waiting in the doctors’ lounge. The captain let Dan and I take responses from here. Dan says he’ll come up next time.”
“Good. I wanna thank him too.”
“Thank? So you’re not mad?”
Johnny shook his head. “I was for awhile. But you saved my life.”
A slight grin came over Melvin’s face. “Kind of like Batman, huh?”
“Kinda. Um, there’s more so I’m glad you came up alone.”
Here it comes. I’m doomed. I’m going to jail.
“I’ve been rememberin’ some things. Some involve you.”
“I know. I’m sorry, really I am. I didn’t--”
“You know?”
“Well, I think I know. . . that you remember, I mean. I kind of thought so. . .?”
“Look, Melvin, relax. Half the things I’m recalling don’t even make sense. Especially the ones with you, and I don’t think I even wanna understand.”
“Like what?”
“Man, I don’t even wanna say.”
“Oh.”
“I just want ya to know I’m not gonna say anything to anyone. Not even Roy.”
“You aren’t?”
“Are you kiddin’ me? No one would ever believe me anyway. They’d have me seein’ a psychiatrist. No way, man.”
Melvin sighed with relief and smiled.
“But you’ve gotta promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“Don’t get me in anymore messes.”
“I won’t.”
“And promise me no more middle of the night phone calls.”
“You’ve got it.”
“Good deal.”
“Can I ask you one thing?”
“Shoot.”
“Did the phone ring when you were at my apartment?”
Johnny thought a moment. “No, I don’t think so. Why?”
“Just curious. And you didn’t spill anything on yourself?”
“That’s two questions.” Johnny grinned. “But, no, I didn’t. Not while I was alone. I found some stuff though. Which reminds me, how’s the mouse?”
“Fine. He’s. . .he’s fine.”
Johnny could tell that Melvin was feeling a little uncomfortable. Good. Maybe it’ll keep him honest.
Meyers cleared his throat. “I guess I’d better go.”
“Take it easy, man,” Johnny said with a yawn.
“You too.”
Meyers walked to the door, then turned around to face Gage. He gave a quick wave. “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
Johnny watched the door close behind his friend. I hope he keeps his promises.
~*~*~
An hour after Melvin left, Johnny was visited by Roy. The senior paramedic stopped by while his temporary partner tried to meet up with a nurse he was currently dating.
“You look a little better,” Roy commented, sitting back in a chair.
“I feel a lot better. Man, Roy, I don’t know why I’m not dead right now. Those guys had a gun and should’ve killed me.”
“Did you soften them up?”
“I don’t think so. I think I ticked ‘em off.”
“Apparently not too bad. It’s just good to have you back. Brackett says you can identify them?”
Johnny nodded. “I can if I see ‘em again.”
“Good. Hey, Dix said Melvin was already here to see you. . .”
“Uh. . .yeah, he was. He just came by because I wanted to thank him for savin’ my life.” Johnny kept his eyes averted slightly in case they gave away that he wasn’t telling the whole truth.
“That’s it?” Roy wanted to ask Johnny about Melvin’s comment that he’d shown signs of losing his memory again. But he decided as long as things were okay, and Johnny saw no need in bringing it up, it wasn’t necessary for him to.
“Uh huh. And he promised not to call me at all hours of the night.”
“I hope he can hold up to that.”
“I think he will.”
“Chet’s feeling guilty.”
“Why? What’d he do?”
“It’s more what he didn’t do.” Roy shrugged. “He blew off your phone call as a prank. He went to bed.”
“He went to bed?”
“Go easy on him when you see him. He’s been kicking himself since he found out what was really going on.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll straighten ‘im out. Heck, I’d probably’ve done the same thing.”
Roy grinned. That’s my partner. Never holds a grudge.
~*~*~
A few days after Johnny was released from the hospital, he returned to work. When he walked into the locker room to get ready for duty, he saw Chet trying to hurry out the other doorway.
“It’s okay, Chester. You don’t have to avoid me.”
He fireman stopped and stepped back. “You sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. I heard what happened. You did what I probably would’ve done if you’d been in my shoes and called me.” Except I wasn’t *in* my shoes at the time, he thought to himself.
“Thanks. . .I think.”
“Well, who in their right mind would want you with them twenty-four hours a day by choice?”
Chet first showed surprise at the comment, then smiled when he saw a grin on Johnny’s face. He knew that was the paramedic’s way of letting him know things were really back to normal.
Johnny opened his locker, figuring next time it was liable to have a water bomb in it. Ah, who cares. The main thing is, I’m back.
~*~*~
Ted and Wally were arrested two weeks after the incident. The two were put back in prison when Johnny identified them in a photo line-up. They vowed once again to stick to plain old robbing places once they ever got out again.
~*~*~
Several weeks later, Johnny was taking a nap after getting off duty when the phone rang. Groggily reaching out for it, he picked up the receiver and mumbled, “’Lo?”
“Hi, John, it’s Melvin.”
The words made him more alert. “I thought I told you--”
“You said at night. It’s the middle of the day.”
“Okay, you got me there,” Johnny said as he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “Whataya’ want?”
“Carla had to go to her mother’s for a few days and I wondered if you’d come over later to watch a movie with me.”
“Uh. . .this is a little weird. . .”
“Oh c’mon. We can have a couple of beers and just kick back.”
“Okay. . .” Johnny replied hesitantly.
“See you later?”
“Yeah, sure.” He hung up and ran a hand through his hair as he yawned. What could go wrong just watching a movie?
~*~*~
Melvin had kept his promise to himself to get rid of all the chemicals and not play with them anymore. He’d gotten off the hook and didn’t want to risk anything happening with them again.
He’d never found out if Johnny still had the hypnotic suggestion buried in him somewhere. It was still possible it could surface, but the ex-chemist hoped it had faded from John’s mind.
Meyers’ only problem was that he was bored, and his main entertainment had become movies. As he and Johnny sat in the livingroom watching ‘The Time Machine’, the stifled creative man got a notion he couldn’t put to rest. He glanced at Johnny to make sure the paramedic wasn’t paying attention to him at all. With fascination, he turned his gaze back on the screen.
I could make something like that easily. And as long as John doesn’t find out. . .
Thanks to Jill Hargan for
the beta read! And to Liz T. for reading this to see if it flowed okay
*Note: This story was completed several weeks ago and the use of a landfill/dump
yard was already written in. In no way do I intend to be insensitive to a
disappearance case making national news wherein the victim is probably at a
landfill. My sympathies go to her family and friends.
*Click on the picture to send Audrey feedback
