The Portal

David Jones never fell asleep, but rather just kept calm and relaxed while keeping his ears open for any sound out of the ordinary. It was a habit he picked up while watching witnesses in safe houses that often fooled the bad guys into trying something assuming he was out like a light. This time when the door creaked, Jones sat up and instinctively put a hand on his gun, ready to draw. The nurse coming in to check up on his brother’s was startled by the sight, especially considering the patient was a gunshot victim. She looked at him, frozen in one spot, afraid to move.

“Who are you?” she whispered.

“US Marshal,” Jones said, showing her his badge.

“What are you doing here?” the nurse asked, confused.

“This is my brother,” Jones replied, relaxing back into the chair. “I didn’t mean to startle you, that move was force of habit.”

“That’s alright,” the nurse said as she walked in to start checking on his brother, “Just glad to hear you’re one of the good guys.”

“That I am,” Jones confirmed, as he slouched back into the chair.

It was at this point there was a soft knock on the door. Jones looked over to see that his boss, the director of his bureau was there at the glass and gesturing to leave the room to speak with him. Jones hopped up immediately and turned to the nurse who was working on his brother.

“Excuse me,” he told her, “I’ll be just outside.”

“Okay,” The nurse said, not even looking back.

Jones left the room and was greeted by his boss who was holding two cups of coffee from a shop down the street.

“How is he doing?” the boss asked.

“He’s still out, but he’s stable.” Jones replied, taking one of the cups from him. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” the director said as he looked in the window. “If he’s stable, then he should pull through.”

“I agree,” Jones concurred, “He’s tough too... runs in the family.”

“If he’s half as tough as you,” the director commented, “He’ll be walking out the damn door tomorrow.”

“Fair enough,” Jones said, looking back at his boss. “Am I going to get flack from Grace for you sneaking out on the holiday feast? You just wanted an excuse to bail didn’t ya?”

“You have to admit this is a good one,” the director noted, “It’s not like anyone else was going to check up on you.”

“Ouch,” Jones said, “Don’t hold back there, boss... tell me how your really feel about the situation.”

“And I was using it as an excuse to bail,” the director added, “But I’d rather stay home if it meant your brother not being shot.”

“I appreciate that,” Jones said, taking another sip. “I also appreciate the visit. Tell Grace that I’m very sorry about that, but it was helpful.”

“I’m gonna check in on the office,” his boss informed him, “I’ll update them on your brother.”

“Thanks again,” Jones said, “I’m gonna go hang with my bro.”

“No problem,” the director said, patting his shoulder, “I’ve given you three days off. If you need more, just let me know.”

“Thanks, Boss.” Jones said as he opened the door wand walked back into the room. The nurse was just finishing up so it was perfect timing.

“No change,” the nurse said, smiling back at him. “That’s a good thing. We want him calm, and recovering.”

“Thank you,” David said, walking back to his chair.

“No problem,” she replied, smiling back. “I’m Ashley. I’ll be right out here if you or your brother need any help.”

“Thank you,” Jones said as he sat back down on his chair and watched her leave. Nice girl, but now wasn’t the time to admire the view. Last thing he wanted was his sister in law to see him flirting with the staff when he should be watching his brother. Rather than keep peeking at the cute nurse, David leaned back into his chair and actually fell asleep that time. He hadn’t been asleep more than a few hours until someone was poking his arm. Realizing he was asleep, he slowly opened his eyes and did a quick look around to see who was prodding him. When he realized no one had entered in the room, the only other answer was the one David was hoping for; his brother has woken up. He lifted his cap and smiled when he saw his brother smiling back at him.

“Do you always fall asleep when protecting someone?” Ricky asked.

“I’m not on duty,” David corrected him. “I’m just here for the donuts.”

“What the hell happened?” his brother finally asked.

“Do you remember anything?” David asked him.

“Not really,” Ricky said, trying to think about it.

“Well, you must have hit your head when you fell down.” David said, gesturing to the bandage wrapped around his noggin. “It might not come back to you for a while, if it does at all.”

“I remember walking into an alley.” Ricky told him, “Some guy asked me for the time and then I blacked out. I don’t remember anything after that.”

“Well, the police think it was a mugging.” David informed him, “The guy cleaned out your pockets, took everything you had on you.”

“Not like I had much,” Ricky admitted, “I’m like the worst person to rob ever. He’s lucky if he had enough to buy a decent lunch.”

“Do you know what he might be looking for?” David asked him.

“Like I said, nothing of value.” Ricky replied, “Nothing worth making me a target, it was probably just some druggie trying to score a hit.”

“That’s possible,” David said, nodding, “But I’d be more comfortable if I poked my nose around and tried to see what’s going on.”

“That’s not necessary, David.” Ricky said, “You have more important things like keeping people safe, and catching bad guys.”

“They take the holidays off too,” David informed him, “I’ll be okay.”

“Alright,” Ricky said, deeply sighing. “Can you at least get my something warm to drink, like a coffee or tea?”

“I’ll check with the nurse first,” David said as he stood up. “Don’t go anywhere while I check, okay?”

“Alright,” Ricky said, sighing again.

David stepped out of the room and walked a few feet down the hall to the nurse’s station and grabbed Ashely’s attention.

“Did you know my brother is awake?” he asked her.

“Yes, I did.” She confirmed, “Sorry I didn’t wake you but you looked so peaceful.”

“It’s alright,” David said, “It’s the only time I am peaceful. Can Ricky eat or drink something? He appears to be begging for a cup of coffee.”

“Not yet,” Ashley said, “We need to wait for the doctor to check on him first, and that will be soon.”

“Good to know, thanks.” David said, winking at her as he left the table.

David hadn’t been out of the room for more than a few minutes, and something immediately caught his attention. There was a man in his brother’s room and he had his hands on Ricky and he was being forceful with him. The man was a little older and his hair was messed up as he looked upset about something. David immediately barged into the room just as the man was yelling something at his brother.

“I want the key!” the man yelled at him, “Give it to us!”

“I don’t have a key,” Ricky replied, “Help!”

“What the hell are you doing in here?” David called out, his hand already on the handle of his sidearm.

“Who are you?” the man called out as he turned to face the new person in the room.

“I’m a US Marshal,” David replied, “Show me your hands or this will be a blue Christmas for you.”

The man became angry and David could see the shiny barrel of the gun he was about to pull on him. David was a much more experienced shot, so he was able to draw his gun and fire two precise shots into the intruder’s chest before he could even finish drawing. The two shots boomed in the room and down the hallways. Before the man could drop the floor, David ran up to him and grabbed the barrel of the gun he was holding so that he couldn't fire off any shots while going down. Just as the body hit the ground, a uniformed officer came through the door with his gun raised.

“Freeze!” he called out.

“Don’t shoot,” Ricky called out, “He’s a fed! He just saved my life!”

David had his hands up and he gestured to the badge that was strapped to his belt. “Just look at the badge on my hip, son. I’m one of the good guys.”

“What about him?” the young cop asked, gesturing to the man on the floor.

“I suggest you get a nurse maybe a doctor before he bleeds out.” David suggested, “Dead men tell no tales, so chop chop!”

Moments later a doctor and a few nurses came busting through and put the man David had shot onto a gurney and then wheeled him out of the room. Ricky looked back at his brother with a look of absolute disbelief.

“Look at you,” he finally said, “You just shot a man and you’re not even shaken. You look like you just took out the trash.”

“If that’s who I think it was, then you bet I did.” David replied, “He was asking you something specific, was that the man that shot and mugged you earlier today?”

“What makes you say that?” Ricky asked.

“He was asking for a key, what was that about?” David countered with a question of his own.

“I have no idea what that is!” Ricky pleaded, “I swear!”

“Bullshit,” David said, “I’ve known you too long, so I know when you’re selling me a dung heap. That man was looking for something specific; that means your mugging wasn’t random. He was shaking you down!”

“I have no idea why, I’m just a teacher and a writer!” Ricky defended himself. “There’s no reason why anyone should target me.”

As if she had a talent for bad timing, Gail finally returned with a bag for her husband, and was elated to see that he was awake since no one had told her. She however almost screamed and pointed at the pool of blood beside Ricky’s bed.

“What the hell is that?” she demanded.

“Calm down, Gail.” David said, with a nonchalant tone. “It’s not his.”

“Whose is it them?” Gail cried out.

“I shot someone,” David informed her.

“With Ricky in the room?” Gail responded, shocked.

“He was attacking Ricky!” David explains, “I shot that bastard because he was hurting your husband!”

“Oh,” Gail said, sighing. “Thank you.”

“I’m going to get the police to test this,” David said, holding up the gun that he took from the mugger. “If it matches the slug they took out of Ricky then this is the same guy who attacked him earlier today.”

“Why?” Gail asked, confused.

“Ask him,” David said, smiling to his brother, “He’s not opening up with me. Maybe you’ll have better luck.”

David left the room, aware that Gail would be more effective getting her man to talk than he could. He put his own gun back into his holster, but put the thug’s gun in the backside of his jeans, hiding it from the authorities. He was sitting outside his brother’s room, when his boss had arrived for the second time that day and he had that annoyed look on his face.

“You shot someone,” he called out. “On Christmas!”

“I’m afraid so,” David replied, standing up to greet his boss. He also pulled the thug’s gun out and handed it to his boss. “I tend to do that when people try to shoot me with this.”

“Why are you giving this to me?” His boss asked.

“I want us to test it first.” David told him, “There’s something fishy going on here. I also need a round the clock uniform at my brother’s door.”

“I remember hearing you shot the guy... twice.” his boss reminded him, “So he’s not going anywhere, if he even survives.”

“Not the point,” David said, “He was looking for something specific, and when he was screaming at my brother he said give it to us.”

“He said that?” he bossed said, thinking about it. “He said us?”

“Yes, he did.” David confirmed.

“What were they looking for?” the director asked.

“A key,” David replied.

“A key?” His boss repeated.

“I have no idea,” David said, “Ricky says he doesn’t either. But this isn’t a random mugger, this is an organized group. They want something and assume my brother has it. ”

“Still not passing the smell test,” his boss concurred, “I’ll make sure we have a uniform at the door at all times. I’ll take this to ballistics, but they do work for the PD too. I’ll make sure we both get the results rushed. Try not to kill anyone while I’m gone.”

“No promises,” David said, smiling at his boss as he left.