Hours later at Llanview Hospital, RJ Gannon is sitting by the bedside of his wounded brother Hank. Not too long ago, Doctor Larry Wolek informed RJ that Hank’s condition is critical and the chances of him surviving are slim. When RJ heard the news from Wolek, he was feeling miserable. RJ felt so remorseful about Hank’s incident, he started to hear his brother’s voice reverberate in his head like a thunderclap in a stormy sky. RJ secretly wished that he was caught in the crossfire that landed Hank in the hospital room.The sight of seeing Hank connected to breathing tubes, an IV and a life support system had driven RJ to tears. RJ fought so hard to contain his sadness that his deepest emotions finally burst wide open like a broken water pipe. As RJ waited for Hank to regain consciousness, he used this time to reflect on himself. Throughout his life, RJ lived on three principles: getting by, getting even and getting over. In lieu of recent events, RJ seriously considered getting his priorities straight.
Meanwhile outside Hank’s room, a police officer is standing guard per the orders of Commissioner Buchanan. Since the perpetrator who shot Hank is at large, Bo saw to it that Hank was under around the clock protection in order to ensure his safety. Suddenly, a familiar face walks toward the door. It’s Nora Buchanan who had just heard on her car radio that Hank was shot. The police officer asks to see her ID and she complied.
After the officer finished checking Nora’s ID, he allows her to enter the room. RJ hears the door slowly open. He goes in his jacket and puts on his shades to cover his eyes. He didn’t want anyone to see that he was crying. RJ turns around and he’s surprised to see Nora. He gets up and greets her with a hug.
“Hi, RJ. How are you holding up?” Asked Nora in a soft voice.
“I’ve had better days. Unfortunately, this isn’t one of them.” RJ answered in a somber tone as he sat back down in his chair.
“I feel the same way.” She sniffed. “This is so awful.”
“Tell me about it. Hank’s a pain my neck, but I never wanted this to happen to him.”
“I ran into Larry out in the hall. He told me about Hank’s condition. God, I feel upset. The hardest part about all of this is telling Rachel.”
“Nora, if it’s alright with you, I would like to tell Rachel myself. After all, she should hear the news from the man who witnessed the occurrence .”
“I have no problem with that. Do you feel like discussing it right now?”
“Well, like I told Bo, a car drove right beside Hank and the gunman opened fire. I didn’t get a good view of the car or the license plate. It all happened so fast.”
“I’m so sorry about all this. You have my deepest sympathy.”
“Thanks Nora. It’s so welcoming to have your company. Too bad we’re seeing each other under these circumstances.”
“I know. Hopefully when Hank recovers, there will be more positive days to come.”
“From your mouth to God’s ears. Let’s hope he’s listening.”
“I hope Hank’s listening, too. He has so much to live for.”
“Tell me about it.”
Nora looked at RJ and noticed that he was crying. She immediately questioned RJ about his tears.
“If you’re crying, RJ, it’s okay. You don’t have to be macho and tough around me.”
“I’m not crying, Nora. At least I’m trying not to cry. It’s just that this is all my fault.”
“How is this your fault?” Nora curiously asked.
“Hank wanted to help me and I pushed him away. It was because of me that he was caught in a hail of bullets and lying here in this hospital bed.”
“Don’t blame yourself, RJ. You had no idea that this would happen to Hank.”
“What difference does it make? The point is Hank is hanging by a thread when I should be in his place. I can’t undo this. Lord forgive me for what I’m about to say, but I hope the bastard that shot my brother burns in hell.”
After Nora listened to RJ talk about the shooting, she became suspicious of him. She suspected that RJ might know more than he’s willing to reveal but then she had second thoughts about him. She realized that RJ’s emotions are clouding his judgement Nora knew that his anger was getting the best of him, so she decided to try and calm him down.
“Relax, RJ. I came here to offer my support and comfort you in your time of sorrow. Besides, you know right from wrong and I’m confident that you will do the right thing.”
“You know, Nora, that’s one of the things I admired about you. You’re ability to see that there are no bad people, only bad intentions.”
“What can I say? It’s the lawyer in me. You know who’s your greatest admirer? Your brother Hank.”
“Oh really? He had a funny way of showing it.”
“Hank wasn’t known for his directness when it came to certain things.”
“How true. When was the last time you had spoken to Hank?”
“About a couple of weeks ago. We had coffee and we were talking about several things.”
“Let me guess, my name came up in the conversation.”
“Hank was talking about you and he sounded worried about your well-being. He also mentioned that he wished that him and you were more closer as brothers.”
“Deja Vu. Hank, I wish you were awake to hear this. You just had to get your high blood pressure up over me. Are you happy now?” RJ said as he looked at Hank.
“When I saw your brother, RJ, he looked like he'd been through hell. It was like he hadn’t slept in days.”
“Poor Hank. I guess that vacation didn’t do much for him.”
" I thought the vacation would do wonders for Hank, but when I last spoken to him he was a total wreck. He was stressed out.”
“That’s Hank for you. All work and no play.”
“RJ, I just wanted to tell you that Hank loved you more than you’ll ever know, and he said if anything happened to him, to give you a gift that would hopefully heal the rift that exist between the both of you.
“What gift was this? His Negro League Baseball cards? I know he wouldn’t part with them.”
“It’s not that, RJ. Come with me, I’ll show you.”
“Lead the way, Nora.”
RJ and Nora make their way out of Hank's hospital room and head to parking garage and into Nora’s car. Nora drives RJ to her house where she hands him the mysterious present Hank gave her.
RJ opens it up and is shocked to see letters that were written to him by Hank. He notices the date and realizes that Hank wrote these letters during the time of his incarceration. He quickly asked Nora for answers.
"These are all old letters. Well I’ll be damned. Henry was thinking about yours truly the whole time I was in Joliet." RJ said with a surprise look on his face.
"I didn’t know about this either, RJ. I guess that’s why he stayed up all those nights when we were together. He was writing you, but why didn’t he bother to send any of them?"
"Only Hank knows the answer to that question. I doubt if I’ll find a clue in these old letters he wrote to me.”
“Well why don’t you read them anyway?”
“Gladly. I’ll even read them outloud.”
Nora and RJ get cozy on the couch and read Hank’s letters that he had written to RJ long ago. She never thought that she would be fulfilling Hank's request so soon. She knew that there was a chance that Hank will survive but she decided to show RJ anyway.
The scene switches to the Albion Hotel where John Sykes breaks the door down of Marco Dane. Dane was in the middle of doing the mattress mambo with some floozy he met named Roberta. Sykes scared Roberta away and grabbed Marco by his neck and threw him up against the wall.
“Did you or didn’t you shoot Hank Gannon?!” Exclaimed John in a angry voice.
“Hank who?” Gasped Marco.
“Don’t jerk me, Dane! Hank Gannon. Were you involved in the shooting that happened this afternoon?” Persisted John.
“Hell no! I was here all day. The young lady you scared away can vouch for my whereabouts.” Answered Dane.
“I’ll take your word for it. If I find out you’re lying to me, you’ll live to regret it.”
“Now I know where you’re getting at, Sykes. Hank Gannon is the D.A. He’s RJ’s brother. You thought I arranged for him to be shot as part of my plan? I wasn’t involved. Sorry I can’t help you with your case.”
“I’m curious. What is your plan to take care of RJ?”
“That’s on a need to know basis and you don’t need to know. What I will tell you is RJ will be so broken, he’ll begging for someone to take him out of his misery.”
“Now that’s music to my ears.”
“I thought you would like that tune.”
“Well our business is far from over. I’ll be in contact with you soon.”
“You do that. By the way, thanks for chasing Roberta off. I just love it when you cops burst a man’s love bubble.”
“Dane, a charming man like yourself shouldn’t have a problem finding your bed buddy. The way you work, you’ll probably find a new one.”
“Thanks for your vote of confidence. I’ll be seeing ya.”
John opens the door and leaves. Shortly after John’s departure the phone rings. Marco picks it up and it’s Sophia.
“Hey Sophie! What’s on your mind?”
“Listen, Marco, I’ve been having second thoughts about all of this. I’m not sure if I could go through with doing this to RJ.” Confided Sophia.
“What do you mean? Are you willing to let RJ get away with what he’s done to you?”
“I heard about what happened to RJ’s brother and I don’t think this would be the way to handle the problem.”
There’s no turning back, Sophia. The wheels are vengence are set in motion and there’s no stopping it. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.” Marco hangs up the phone.
Sophia felt bad for what she was about to do to RJ but the problem was out of her hands. Marco was handling this situation and there was no way she could talk him out of it. In the mean time, Sophia put all her focus into duties at the Crossroads Tavern.
Back at Marco’s hotel room, his phone rings again. He picks it up and he thinks it’s Sophia attempting to talk him out of the scheme.
“Listen, Sophie, this isn’t the time to wimp out.” He expressed.
“This isn’t Sophia, Marco.” The voice said correcting Marco.
“About time I heard from you. What have you been up to?
“I just been caught up with a few things. How’s the scheme.”
“It’s moving like clockwork. By the way, those photos you slid under Sophia’s door did the trick.”
“Well, Dane. keep up the good work and you’ll earn your freedom.”
“Anything for an expunged record. Thanks G-man.”
“My pleasure, Dane. Goodbye.”
The voice hangs up the phone. The person emerges from the shadows and mysterious voice Marco was talking to is none other than Agent Delmarco Delgado of the FBI. The sinister grin on his face was a clear sign that Delgado was happy that everything was going according to plan.
To Be Continued
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