3DVictoria

The close circuit TV camera zoomed in on the three figures standing in the street. It was difficult to determine what the problem was, but if Jordan Tate had to guess it seemed as if the explosion had caused some damage after all. "Are you and your teams having problems Nash?"

"Boss?"

"Yes! What is it?"

"Do you want to go to the back up plan?" Steven waited patiently for his boss to answer. When no response was forthcoming he tried again. "It looks as if they might get to the third one before the deadline."

The wall of monitors set up in the control room flickered as the view was adjusted to provide a better view of the street scene. The video was mute but it was obvious that something was wrong.

"No. Now leave."

"Very good." Steven backed out of the room discreetly.

Nash helped Harvey into an ambulance. Jordan felt a surge of satisfaction when it became clear that one of the SIU detectives had indeed been injured in the blast. The camera zoomed in closer on the three men's faces, capturing the strain and pain in Nash's eyes. He scribbled something on a notepad. The words "hang in there" were clearly visible.

"Oh dear. It appears Inspector Leek is having difficulty with his hearing. What a pity."

Tate watched the screen for a few more minutes. The players had been reduced to four. "Ah, make that three. Very good Captain Bridges. You always take care of your people, don't you Nash?"

Jordan stood and walked around the room, arms outstretched. It was time for the final curtain to come down on Nash Bridges life. Grabbing a cigarette, Jordan settled into the plush chaise lounge and kicked off her shoes. "Checkmate."

~~~~~~~~~

Joe scrambled into the back of the ambulance. He smiled and patted Harvey on the back.

"Joe. Make sure you stay with him until Evan arrives."

"Sure thing."

"And call me as soon as the Doctor gives you a report on his condition."

"Right."

Nash turned to one of the medics. "Ok. Go."

"Yes sir." The EMT slammed the door and hoped into the passenger side seat next to her partner.

Nash watched helplessly as the ambulance raced away. Returning to the Cuda, he answered his cell phone. "Nash."

"It's Evan. I've got bad news..."

"Let me guess. The bomb went off."

"Yeah. Some guy ran inside before Michelle and I could stop him."

"Damn." Nash started the engine and headed downtown. "Are you guys alright?"

"Yeah we're fine."

"Good. Harvey's been hurt. I need you to take over for Joe at the hospital."

"What happened?"

"Joe will have to fill you in. I'm on my way to the third location. Have Michelle and Joe rendezvous with me as soon as they're free."

"Will do Nash."

~~~~~~~~

Harvey closed his eyes. The bright glare of emergency room fluorescent lights made it difficult for Harvey to stay focused. In some ways though he was glad that he couldn't hear anything at the moment. His past experiences with hospitals were not very pleasant. The din and commotion around him faded away as soon as his eyelids fell shut. Once the outside world was gone, however, he was left alone with only his thoughts for company. What was he going to do if he could never hear again? His career as a cop would be over. There
was no way he'd be content to drive a desk for the rest of his life. Harvey sighed deeply. He mentally played his favourite Grateful Dead tune over in his head. Jerry's words provided him some comfort as he waited for Joe and the Doctor to return.

Suddenly a terrible thought crossed his mind and the tune rolling around in his head came to a crashing halt. What if he could never listen to music again? Harvey's breath grew ragged as he tried to focus on the lyrics. Then the song disappeared from his head completely. He struggled to remember how it went. Why couldn't he remember?

Harvey jumped as someone touched his arm. His eyes flew open. Joe was standing next to him. Joe said something but Harvey could not understand. He tried to read his friend's lips but all he could make out was his own name. Everything else was jumbled. His brain couldn't make sense of what he was seeing. He closed his eyes again and shook his head. A tear formed in the corner of his eye and threatened to spill down his face. In his whole life, there were very few times when he felt this hopeless.

He felt a pair of hands on his shoulders. Someone was trying to reach him, but Harvey didn't want any help. He squeezed his eyes shut, tighter and tighter. He sat up and struggled against the hands grasping at him, trying to calm him down. He shoved them away until they were gone. Harvey felt ridiculous, but couldn't help himself. Knowing that he was acting like a child didn't make it any easier to deal the emotions tumbling around in his head.

Someone sat down next to him on the gurney. Harvey flinched, afraid to let anyone in. The figure leaned back against the wall. After a few more minutes Harvey too leaned back and opened his eyes. Evan. He smiled at his friend and partner.

"Hi bro." Harvey couldn't hear the words but he understood what Evan had said. He smiled, looked at Evan and mouthed the words "Thank-you."