Cowboy Ending - Overdrive: Book One by Adam Knight Page B

right at the base of my neck swelled
slightly. I cleared my throat and adjusted in my seat, trying to
calm my breathing down.
     
    “Fact;
five other members of the criminal organization referring to
themselves as the Native Posse were also arrested by police. Charges of assault and battery,
violating terms of probation and carrying concealed
weapons.”
     
    That gave me a
shudder I couldn’t hide. What if the others had drawn guns? How
many people could’ve been hurt? Killed? That could have gone very,
very badly.
     
    I kept my
breathing slow and deep, trying to keep my heart from picking up
speed again. That tingle stayed right where it was just out of
sight. A trickle of sweat was beading up in my hairline as I tried
to push it aside.
     
    “Fact;
paramedics arrived on scene at eleven forty seven according to
their logs. Upon arrival off duty police officers Parise and Mackie
were relieved of their duties for providing the victim CPR.”
     
    It was so
bizarre a feeling. Tangible yet erratic. It felt like I should be
able to see something just at the periphery. Right out of sight. I
stared straight ahead at Cathy and tried to appear focused on
her.
     
    I forced a
chuckle. “I feel for those guys. Think I forgot to brush before
work.”
     
    Cathy smiled
politely, though looked a little green as she continued. For the
first time I caught her trying to avoid looking at me, specifically
at where I had been shot. It was a subtle thing and one that she
tried very hard to hide. Until just then I hadn’t considered how
witnesses on the scene might have been traumatized by what they had
seen. Or how upsetting it would be to people who knew me.
     
    Shit.
     
    Tamara.
     
    The tingling
sensation swelled fractionally.
     
    Breathe. Deep
breaths. Keep cool.
     
    “Fact;
paramedics were unable to ascertain a sustainable heartbeat. Blood
loss was excessive. The victim was loaded into the ambulance within
minutes and en route to St. Boniface Hospital.”
     
    My breathing
technique seemed to be working. As we sat there the tingle in the
back of my head faded and eventually disappeared. It left behind a
chill sensation that I could only compare to when your leg falls
asleep.
     
    “Fact;
paramedics activated the portable Automatic Electronic
Defibrillator when CPR was shown to be ineffective.”
     
    “Guess I was in
for a shock,” I muttered sourly.
     
    Cathy stared at
me. Clearly not appreciating my gallows humor.
     
    She was really
upset.
     
    I felt like a
dick.
     
    “Sorry,” I
muttered glancing away as my face flooded with shame. “I’m just
trying … fuck it. I’m sorry.”
     
    Cathy stayed
quiet another moment longer, her dimples reappearing as the lips
pursed again. “Fact; paramedics applied defibrillators. The
equipment suffered a catastrophic malfunction.” I blinked at that,
meeting her gaze once again. “Reports since the incident blamed the
failure on faulty battery and equipment maintenance. The Fire and
Paramedics Union has filed a grievance against the hospital for
slander, providing regular logs of equipment maintenance. When
interviewed the driver of the ambulance described the incident as
the ‘craziest thing he’d ever seen in thirteen years on the job’.
Reporting sparks burst out of panels and the entire ambulance
stalled momentarily, nearly causing a crash.”
     
    I stared at
her. Still with pins and needles. My fingers clenched tighter.
     
    Cathy’s eyes
rarely wavered from my face. She was barely reading from her notes
anymore, trying to glean my expression. Searching for
something.
     
    Images raced
through my mind’s eye. Flashes of faces. Some remembered. Some
unfamiliar. Pain. Light. The tingle behind my eyes wanted to swell
up again. I clenched my jaw and gritted my teeth until it went
away.
     
    “Fact; doctors
on scene rushed the victim into the prepared emergency room as one
paramedic re-applied CPR, finding a faint pulse after the
defibrillation attempt.” Cathy put