Well hope you enjoyed the cliffhanger! Judging from all the emails I got, most of you probably swore and cussed at me when you got to the end of the last chapter! ;-) Sorry, just it felt where the chapter should end. Plus think of all the TV shows you've watched where they've had suspenseful endings. Made you come back to see what happened, right?
Seriously, thanks for all the emails, its nice to know people still are reading this and want it to continue.
First the dull, boring legal stuff:
Disclaimer: This story is not true. Its Fake. Pure Fiction. This never ever happened. I don't know anyone in N'Sync nor do I know the sexuality of Lance Bass or Joey Fatone or any of the NSYNC guys. What I do know is that this story is mine. Please do not steal it. Everything in the story is (c) 2003 Mark Quigley. You must be 18 or 21 depending on your local laws to read this as this story does deal with male-to-male sex at times.
That being said please enjoy the story and remember-Don't forget to write me and let me know what you think! I love feedback; it's what drives me to continue! ASUMark2000@yahoo.com is my email address and if you want to IM me on AIM/AOL, then my just email me and let me know and I'll give you my screen name!
In order to accommodate all the people who are asking me, about when the next chapter comes out, I've created a Yahoo Group (Oi, Yahoo is like the Borg!): http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Mark_writings This is the page of the group, If you would like to be notified when a new chapter gets posted please go join my group. {smile} I'll try and make sure there's fun stuff along with this.
Last time:
"Shit, Justin just popped his head into the room, they want us back in the studio so I have to go. I'll call you when you get off duty."
Mark sighed. "Okay, I love you and miss you."
"Love you too!" Lance hung up.
Mark continued on his patrolling for a few more hours. Things were pretty uneventful. He still had about an hour left when he started driving up the northbound side of Price Road. When he passed Southern Avenue he saw a car off to the side of the road with its hood up. Mark flipped on the patrol truck's light bar and pulled up behind it to see if he could be of assistance. Before exiting the truck he grab the mic on his radio.
"Victor-425" He radioed in to dispatch.
"Victor-425" Was the response.
"585 Mary, 3209 North Price. Tan Olds Cutlass, Arizona 972 Sam John Frank."
"Victor-425 acknowledged." With that Mark got out of the truck and walked toward the disabled car. He noticed that there was someone in front of the car and looked like there was someone under the hood on the passenger side as well. Something didn't sit right in his gut as he walked closer to the car but before he had a chance to respond to that feeling the guy on the passenger side stood up and had something in his hand.
In a split second Mark saw what he had in his hand and that's when he felt the first bullet hit him in the chest, forcing him back with a force he had never experienced before. Four more shots rang out and struck Mark, each one pushing him back and causing him to stumble towards the ground. By the time the last shot's sound faded Mark had fallen on to the street. The two guys from the car started to run away towards a local housing development. Mark could feel the warmth of the black asphalt underneath him and his energy drained from him. Groggily he reached for his hand radio, managing to depress the small red button that was located on the front, then he stumbled his fingers to the mic key and managed to gasp out into the mic. "Nine, Nine, Nine."
With that his world went dark.
And now Chapter 22!
Christian Bradshaw was sitting at his console in the dispatch office when he thought he heard the call every dispatcher and officer dreads to hear. The Nine-Nine-Nine call indicates that an officer is down and is the one call that every precaution is taken to make sure there is no misinterpretation. If someone is running a plate with those numbers theyread it off as nine-hundred and ninety-nine just to make sure that there is no confusion about what is being called.
Before Christian had the chance to call out on the radio to confirm what he thought he had heard his console alarm went off and red began to flash on all three of the computer monitors in front of him. This confirmed his suspicions, someone was in trouble. Reading the middle screen the call sign for Mark was flashing in red. Not only was an officer was in trouble but it was one of the volunteers. Christian quickly tried to raise mark on the radio to no avail. Time was of the essence, no time to try a second time.
Christian keyed up the hot tone, his sector was on C-channel, but this was going over every radio channel the police department used. "Attention all units, nine-nine-nine received from Victor-425. Last known location is responding to a 585-Mary at 3209 North Price. Units proceed with caution. Unable to raise the Victor unit and his emergency button has been activated. Responding units code three and acknowledge on this channel, all other traffic on channel A-Adam."
As Christian put out the call his supervisor ran the plate that Mark had last called in. He swore to himself as he read the results and messaged them to Christian's console, he then paged the watch commander.
Christian read the message and keyed up his mic. "Responding units, be advised the vehicle Victor-425 was assisting comes back as a 487-Victor out of Glendale, stolen report taken yesterday." Already there were three units that had called in to respond, the closest one was just 2 miles away.
Ian Williams was just finishing up writing a speeding ticket just a couple of miles away when the call went out. He hopped on to his motorcycle and rushed to the scene. He was the first to arrive. He could see the victor truck with its lights on behind another car, and as he pulled up he saw Mark lying on the ground in some sort of liquid. He pulled behind the truck, dismounted and drew out his gun, whoever did this could still be here. Moving up against the truck he slowly moved towards the car, doing a sweep around the perimeter he found no one around. Holstering his gun he moved over to where Mark was laying and he keyed up his radio mic.
"Four Edward Twelve, 10-23, scene is secure, victor unit is down, roll TFD."
Within a few minutes two other units arrived, as did the paramedics and ambulance. By the time they had stabilized Mark and placed him on the stretcher a news van had arrived and was filming as Mark was loaded into the ambulance and rushed to the hospital.
At the same time, watch commander Arthur Packard had just arrived at the main station. There were many unpleasant duties as watch commander, but what he was about to do was the worst. He had to stop by the volunteer coordinators office to retrieve the emergency information card. There were three individuals listed as whom to contact in case of emergency; One in San Diego and two in Orlando. One was listed as significant other, one as parents and one as family friend so Cmdr Packard picked up the phone.
Lance and the guys were in the control room listening to playbacks of some tracks they had just re-recorded for a special Christmas album they were planning to release when Lance's cell phone rang. Lance walked over to his pack and pulled out the cell phone. He smiled cause he recognized the area code that call was coming from.
"Hey!" Lance said with a grin. But the grin faded away once Lance heard the voice on the other end. "Yes, this is he." Lance's face began to turn as he listened to what the caller was saying. Soon his face became pale as a ghost and tears were welling up in his eyes. Joey just happened to look in Lance's directions and saw how Lance was looking.
"Lance, you ok?" The rest of the group turned towards Lance.
Tears had begun streaming down his face, his bottom lip was quivering. The guys had never seen Lance like this. As they moved toward him Lance cried out, dropping the cell phone and running out of the room.
"Lance! What's wrong?" JC started after Lance.
Chris walked over to the cell phone, picked it up and saw that the connection was still active. He put the phone up to his ear. "Who is this and what the fuck did you say to Lance?" Chris demanded.
"This is Commander Packard of the Tempe Police Department. Who is this?"
Chris had a sinking feeling in his gut. "This is Chris, I'm a good friend of Lance's."
"Chris Kirkpatrick?
"Yes."
JC stuck his head back in the room saying he couldn't find where Lance had gone. Joey and Justin had moved closer to Chris once they saw he was on Lance's phone.
"Ah, well, you're listed as an emergency contact as well, I was going to call you after talking with Mr. Bass. It is my sad duty to inform you that at 6:42 Arizona time Mark Quigley was shot five times in the line of duty attempting to render assistance to a disabled vehicle."
"Oh dear god." Chris stumbled backwards and landed against once of the consoles. "Is he still alive?" With that comment the other three exchanged looks at each other. This was obviously the conversation that Lance was having.
"Yes, as I was about to tell Mr. Bass before he left, fortunately Mark was wearing his vest and it absorbed four of the shots, the fifth one hit an artery in his upper left arm and he lost a considerable amount of blood. He is in stable but guarded condition at Good Samaritan Hospital in Mesa. Had he not been wearing his vest the doctors said he would have died on impact. The doctors say now that they've replaced his blood loss he should have a full recovery. I've also called his parents, aside from you and Mr. Bass they were the only ones listed on the emergency contact card. They are taking the first flight out of San Diego; we'll have an officer and car meeting them at the plane when they arrive. The press is already in a frenzy about this once they discovered that Mark is a volunteer. Shall I assume that the two of you will be coming out as well?"
"Yes! We'll be on the next available flight. As soon as I find out the flight info is there a way we can contact you to get you that information? Can I call this number that you're on now seeing how I have it in the phone already?"
"Yes, I'll make sure that this line is manned at all times."
"Thank you. And you'll let me know if anything changes?"
"Yes sir. And Mr. Kirkpatrick? I have two young daughters; it wasn't until I talked with you that I figured out who you were. Considering the relationship that Mark and Mr. Bass appear to have I want you to know that the Tempe Police Department has a policy to everything we can to protect an officer's family and loved ones at times like this. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to make this as bearable as possible."
"Thank you Commander, and as soon as I have that information I will make sure someone passes it on to you." With that Chris hung up the phone, took a deep breath and looked at the other three. "We have to find Lance fast."
"What the hell is going on?" Justin screamed. "First Lance acting the way he did and you asking if someone is still alive and that you'll be flying somewhere ASAP..."
Chris took another breath. "About an hour ago, Mark was shot five times as he was trying to help someone with a broken down car." All three gasped at once, it was something they never imagined.
Joey already had tears welling up, "Is he, is he..." He couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Yes, he's alive. Thankfully four of the shots hit his bulletproof vest. If he hadn't been wearing it he wouldn't have survived." Chris gave Joey a consoling hug.
Justin spoke up, "You said four of the shots hit his vest, what about the other one?"
"That one hit the artery in his upper left arm and he lost a considerable amount of blood. They have him in stable but guarded condition at the hospital but the docs say he should recover fully eventually. We just need to find Lance fast, they will have an officer and car waiting for us when we get there."
"Do you think that's wise? I mean I'm worried about Mark and all, but when a cop gets shot its usually big news. If you and Lance show up then questions will be asked."
"Justin, you saw how Lance acted, hell, look at Joey, he's trying so hard not to break down, you really think we're going to be able to do anything here, Lance is going to be a mess until he knows Mark is ok and you know he won't care what happens to him until that happens. If questions get raised about our being there then we'll just have to deal with that when the time comes, but Lance's boyfriend needs him and our friend needs us. Right now we have to find Lance and take care of him."
JC nodded and walked over to the phone on the wall, made a call and then turned back towards the guys. "Ok, he went out the lobby but he hasn't gone out any of the parking lot gates."
"Of course! His car, Lance left his bag here, so he must have left his key, which means we can still find him. JC, go find Johnny and let him know what happened and let him know that Lance and I are flying out there. Joey, if you could, get us seats on the next flight out to Phoenix, then call this number and give them the info so they know when we're arriving. Justin, we're going to need someone to go back to our houses to get some clothes for us. As for me, I'm going to find Lance and let him know that Mark is ok, he ran out of here before the commander could tell him that Mark is going to pull through so he doesn't know."
With that they guys left the room, Chris grabbed Lance's bag and headed out to the parking lot.
Chris saw Lance's SUV parked where it always was, and there inside slumped over the steering wheel was Lance. He walked over towards the car, as he got closer he could actually hear Lance crying. Chris sighed; this wasn't going to be easy. He walked up to the driver's side window and knocked on it. "Lance, its Chris open up." Lance didn't move, he kept crying. Chris reached into the bag and pulled out Lance's keys, unlocking the door he leaned in to pull Lance up.
"He's ok Lance,"
"No... no, you don't... don't understand, he was... he was..." Lance couldn't finish he just fell into Chris's arms crying harder.
"I know Lance, he was shot five times, and they told me. But he had his bulletproof vest on, only one got through and it hit his arm. He's ok. He's alive, you hear me - he's alive."
Lance looked up at Chris, his eyes were bloodshot red and were almost swollen shut from the puffiness from all his crying. "But how?" Lance was still sobbing.
"His vest, he had a bullet proof vest on and four of the shots hit the vest. The other shot only hit his arm. He's ok, they took him to the hospital, fixed him up and he's going to be ok." He pulled Lance up and out of the SUV and on to his feet. "And you're going to be by his side." Chris looked into Lance's eyes, he could see the pain in them, Lance didn't say anything, he just kept sobbing as the two walked back into the building.
They made their way to Johnny's office. Chris explained to Lance what the Commander had told him, about how mark lost a lot of blood and how the doctors said he would make a full recovery and how the Commander had promised to protect them when they went out to see Mark. When they arrived outside Johnny's office they could hear muffled shouting. Someone was yelling but they couldn't tell who or what he was saying. Lance pushed himself closer to Chris.
The two walked into Johnny's office. There, Johnny was standing behind his desk; JC and Joey were standing in front of the desk. The three looked over at the door as Lance and Chris walked in.
"Dear god." Johnny gasped as he saw the condition Lance was in.
Joey rushed over to the other side of Lance and put his arm around him, Both Joey and Chris moved Lance into one of the chairs in the office.
JC moved closer to Johnny. "There, you see Johnny, look at how messed up Lance is, you think keeping him here is going to help? He's got to fly out there to be with Mark. He's not going to get better until he sees him."
"Ok, look, I feel for you guys, and I can't even to begin to imagine what Lance is going through. I just want you to think about this a moment. Going out there could cause there to be serious questions. I mean look..." Johnny turned on the TV that was in the room to CNN. "The story is already on CNN. Mark just isn't a member of the police department, he was a civilian volunteer whose job is to help stranded motorist and he was shot performing this service. It's become big news today. You go there and are seen it will explode into a even bigger media circus dragging all of you into it."
Lance looked up at the screen and saw a photo of Mark in his police uniform and started crying again. Chris and Joey both moved in to try to console Lance.
JC stammered over to the TV and shut it off. "I don't give a fuck what happens to me or the band, this is tearing Lance up. Johnny, you've done so much for us, helped us become who we are, and you always encouraged us to be more like a family than a recording group. I can tell you right now that neither myself nor anyone else in the group cares about our image right now, all that matters to us is helping Lance. The love of his life was shot five times dammit, what that is doing to Lance I don't even want to imagine. He needs to be with Mark, he has to see for himself that Mark will be okay. Joey, Justin and myself will be staying here, Lance is definitely going to phoenix and Chris is going along. For one, Lance is in no condition to travel alone and two; Chris is listed as an emergency contact in Mark's police file. If the question comes up as to why they are they, then we can say that Mark is a close friend of the group, which is the truth and some of us were listed as emergency contacts. After that we'll play it by ear, but there's no way we can't do this. Lance's well being is what is important right now."
Johnny sighed and looked at Lance, and then looked at Chris and Joey who both just nodded their agreement to what JC said. "Good, I just wanted you to know about the severity. I knew I'd never be able to keep Lance here; I just had to make sure you all were behind him. I hate having to be the bad guy all the time. Just be careful. There's a flight leaving in an hour and twenty minutes, Lance and Chris are already booked on it, I had Sally make the arrangements as soon as you told me what happened. In fact there was only one seat in the first class cabin sold already so I went ahead and bought out the rest of the cabin. The fewer people you interact with right now the better."
Chris stood up and walked over to Johnny and hugged him. "Thanks man, I know you're just looking out for us and its appreciated. We'll do everything we can, you have my word. Hell, even the Commander with the Tempe Police Department has said they will do everything they can to protect Mark and his family and Lance since Lance is listed as Mark's significant other in their confidential files. Of which, I need the flight info so I can call and let them know. They said they would have a car and officer at the gate to meet us."
Johnny nodded and handed over the tickets to Chris.