Lise was tense. The elevator ride seemed to be taking longer than usual, and she hated hospitals. The artificial light, the antiseptic smell, and the worry. It had been almost a month, and Cooper remained in a coma. Lise was tired, and had come back to the hospital despite having left only a few hours earlier, because worry prevented her from sleeping. When she walked past the detail outside the room, and saw Cooper laying there, with his friend Rick talking to him about a party they had both attended many years before in Texas. Rick looked up at Lise, and asked “What are you doing here? You need to get some rest.”
Lise smiled, and “I couldn’t sleep. Besides, I like to hear some of these stories about the two of you when you were both younger.”
Rick shifted slightly in his chair and said “It was a long time ago, with friends, most of whom are long dead. Just an old guy reminiscing with a friend. But I swear, when I talked about how Fred was giving me the eye, and how Cooper told him that there was nothing to worry about as long as you could hear me talking, but it was time to worry when I got silent, I swear he smiled just a little bit.”
Lise paused, silently thankful for the friendship this man had with Cooper. Rick couldn’t ignore the concern she was concealing with her smile and said “Seriously, Lise. You look dead on your feet, and this is no place to get any rest, now is it, Agent Roy?” The agent, sitting quietly in a chair in the other corner nodded slightly and said, “No Colonel, it is not.” Although Roy was still recovering from his wounds, and not yet cleared to return to duty, he insisted on spending as much time in Cooper’s room as possible as soon as he was able to walk.
Knowing that he was right, and not wanting to give him the satisfaction of letting him know, Lise debated with herself before saying “Ok, Rick. I guess you’re right.”
Rick got up out of his chair, ad said “I’ll walk you to the elevator.”
The two walked out of the room, and when out earshot of the detail, Rick asked in a hushed tone “How’s Jake?”
Lise frowned, and replied “Better. It was a big shock for him, and he is still trying to process it. Having Cooper unable to communicate with him isn’t helping.”
Rick nodded. “For what its worth, Jake trusts you, and I think he loves you too. That has to help when you talk with him.”
Lise said “Only so much. Deep traumas in both these men, and they both lead right back to her. I’ll be back tomorrow morning. Make Roy go to bed in an hour.”
The elevator door shut, leaving Lise alone with the hum of the elevator and the sound of her own thoughts. When the elevator reached the ground floor, it didn’t stop, continuing to the sub-basement, where it chimed, and the door opened to a dark view punctuated by clutter and a silhouette. Teresa’s voice said “Major. Do come in. It’s time you and I had a long talk about my men.”
Taxes, Stupidity, and Death 