Chapter 18: Go Ahead, Drink And Drive

 (Thursday 10:15 PM, Grey's house, Vallejo California)
         
           As Grey leaves the house, he yells at Ritchie reminding him to turn off the television before he goes to bed. Dressed in his hospital scrubs, he gets into his car and starts on his one hour drive to St. Martin's hospital in San Francisco where he is scheduled to work the "Graveyard shift", which is from midnight till 08:00 AM. Even though it was hard to get Samantha off his mind, he felt glad that he was able to get seven hours of sleep that day. He always made it a point in his career as a nurse to always have a well rested mind and body before he starts taking care of sick patients in the medical surgical ward where he was assigned to work.

          Having said a short prayer before he starts his one hour trip, he felt hopeful about his chances of reconciling with Samantha. Grey already bought a box of "Ensaymada", which is a Filipino pastry that he knows Samantha really likes, then in the morning, after he gets off from work, he plans to buy some flowers which he hopes would help end Samantha's anger towards him.

         As Grey's car enters the freeway, he notices a blue Chevrolet sedan swerving all over the freeway. It was being driven by a drunk off duty Vallejo detective named Ted Cross. Detective Cross was a twenty year veteran of the Vallejo Police Department. Three to four times a week after work, he would go straight to a bar and drink between six to nine shots of whiskey. An alcoholic for over ten years, he never gets reprimanded for driving under the influence of alcohol because of professional courtesy afforded to him by police officers whenever he gets pulled over for a sobriety check.

       As Grey looks to his left and watches the drunk detective's car in front of him swerve in between lanes, a mini-van to his right passes him by which had a family of five, with three young children whose ages were between five and nine years of age. Seeing that the drunk detective's car was starting to swerve dangerously close to the mini-van Grey decides to speed up and get in between the swerving car and the mini-van, as Grey was trying to signal the mini-van's driver to distance themselves from Grey's car, the drunk detective's car suddenly crosses into Grey's lane and rams into the side of Grey's car. Grey's car suddenly flips over and rolls several times across the freeway. The mini-van was able to drive away unscathed, while the drunk detective quickly pulls his car over on the shoulder of the freeway, he then turns on his police lights. Knowing he was at fault, the drunk detective quickly gets out of his car and starts to flash his police badge to the people who stopped their cars in order to give medical assistance. Detective Cross then tells the bystanders to back away. Seeing double, Detective Cross tries his best to walk as straight as he can, and when a man shouts asking why he was walking funny, the drunk detective lies and says that he hit his head on the steering wheel which made him dizzy, hiding the fact that he was severely drunk.

        As he was staggering to get to Grey's car, he grabs his cell phone and calls his police partner asking him for help. Upon reaching Grey's car, he see's Grey bloodied and unconscious. As smoke vents out of Grey's car's smashed hood, Detective Cross looks around, to try to see if there was anyone close enough to witness what he was about to do. Seeing that there was no one close enough, Ted Cross pulls out a bottle of whiskey from his inside breast pocket and screws off the cap, he then starts to douse the bottle's half filled contents all over Grey's clothes to make it look as if Grey was driving drunk. The drunk detective then quickly takes out a handkerchief and starts wiping off his finger prints from the empty whiskey bottle then carefully wraps grey's left hand around the bottle to get Grey's finger prints on the empty whiskey bottle. Glancing around one more time and not seeing anyone close, Detective Cross tosses the empty whiskey bottle on the passenger seat and unbuckles Grey seat belt. This was to give the impression that Grey was not only driving drunk but was also an irresponsible driver who never wears a seat belt.

     In less than a minute, Detective Cross police partner arrives at the scene together with an ambulance and two other police cars. As the paramedics were giving first aid to Grey, police officers starts to direct the slow flow of traffic. Then, after a few minutes, the paramedics starts to pry Grey out of the smashed car and into the ambulance. After another minute, the ambulance speeds away with it's loud siren sounding and lights flashing. Detective Cross police partner then starts making phone calls to their contacts who works in the crime lab and in Vallejo General Hospital's patient laboratory and orders them to falsify Grey's blood work, showing false lab values that has Grey having a blood alcohol level two times higher than the legal limit.

     Detective Cross quickly takes out a breath spray and sprays a mist of mint flavor inside his mouth to hide the scent of alcohol from his breath. His partner then quickly assists him in his car and drives him away before anyone suspects that Detective Cross was under the influence of alcohol.

        At around 03:00 AM the next morning, Dr. Peters gets a call from a nurse who works at Vallejo General Hospital Emergency Room, informing him of Grey's car accident but did not give any deeper details of the extent of Grey's injuries. After hanging up the phone, Dr. Peters quickly gets dressed to check on Grey's condition, he thought about waking up his daughter but he knew that she was terribly exhausted from her ordeals the day before. From assisting Betsy in managing CURE Corp to the numerous requests for help by different humanitarian agencies to having to assist and attend in Chase's medical transfer from the US Navy carrier, "Barack Obama", to the Naval hospital in San Diego California where she finally got to see him and spend time with him in the ICU ward.

     At about 08:00 AM the phone rings which wakes up Samantha, stretching in bed, she grabs the phone and answers it, "Hello?....", Samantha hears her father's voice on the other line, "Sam, try not to get too frantic....Grey got into a car accident last night on his way to work. I'm at Vallejo General Hospital right now in the ICU waiting room...". Samantha gasps, "What happened....Is he OK?....Why didn't you wake me up...". Samantha pants as she gets out of bed in her PJ's and walks barefoot towards the bathroom. "I'll explain later when you get here...", Dr. Peters says, "I don't want you to drive, our limo driver is ready and waiting to drive you here...". Samantha hangs up the phone as she heads straight to the shower, feeling panic-stricken and anxious remembering the last time that her father asked her to meet him in the hospital but telling her not to drive was the day her mother had passed away.

     After ten minutes, Samantha was on her way riding on the back of her limo, followed by two SUV's with a new set of secret service agents who just came on duty. With her heart rate racing, she took the time to call the nursing staff in San Diego Naval Hospital to get an update on Chase's condition. After learning that Chase was resting and was in stable condition, Sam quickly calls Betsy at work and informs her of Chase's injury and Grey's accident. Even though Betsy was still struggling with the demands of being the President of the company, she knew that Samantha needed this space to tend to the two men she cared for deeply. Betsy then tells Samantha that she'll try and manage the best she can then jokingly says, "Just don't blame me if we loose a couple of million dollars today, Ok?....", she then hears Samantha say, "Don't worry, money ain't everything...", as Samantha hangs up the phone.

      After an hour's drive, Samantha finally reaches Vallejo General Hospital and was dropped off at the hospital's front entrance. Rushing inside the hospital, she was able to get quick directions on how to get to the hospital's ICU waiting room. After reaching the seventh floor, she turns into a corridor and see's her father standing 20 feet away with his hands inside his pockets. She runs to meet him as they hug, "How is he?!...", Samantha asks looking up at her father, "We don't know yet, he was in the emergency room for seven hours, and they only just transferred him here to the ICU two hours ago...". Samantha looks around and see's Ritchie sitting inside the waiting room looking slumber. Dr. Peters sighs then says, "He sustained a neck fracture at the C4 level....there's a chance he can probably still breath on his own..", Dr. Peters then  starts looking sullen as he says, "But he'll be paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of his life....". Samantha gasps feeling emotionally devastated as her knees starts to weaken, she pulls away from her father's embrace and quickly takes a seat at the closest chair next to her. Ritchie walks over and sits next to her looking depressed while Sam bites down on her lower lip trying not to cry,  they all struggled in trying to get a grip of Grey's catastrophic predicament.

        After an hour of waiting, the doors to the ICU opens as Dr. Leo Leonard who is the Chief of Neurosurgery together with Dr. Noel Gucas who is his associate comes out and approaches Dr. Peters, Samantha and Ritchie. The neurosurgeon then confirms Grey's initial diagnosis of a C4 Cervical Vertebral Fracture. Dr. Peters then asks to speak to Dr. Leonard and Dr. Gucas alone to be able to objectively analyze the severity of Grey's injuries, prioritize surgical interventions that are needed and plan for his future rehabilitation phase as a "Quadriplegic". After a thirty minute discussion, the two neurosurgeons goes back inside the ICU as Dr. Peters approaches Samantha and Ritchie.

       Dr. Peters tells them both that Grey was on an induced coma due to the severity of his injuries. Besides the neck fracture, they also had to place a tracheostomy to maintain his airway. Grey was also intubated and is attached to a ventilator to help him breath. He was also in a continuous flow of IV Dilaudid to control pain and IV Versed to prevent seizures, for sedation and also to keep his muscles relaxed. Dr. Peters then continues to tell them the list of injuries Grey sustained, "Grey also had fractured ribs, collapsed right lung, a dislocated right shoulder with a torn rotator cuff tendon, deep facial lacerations, right broken femur, a left fractured tibia and a fractured skull....". Samantha looking fearful with her eyes misty asks, "Will he live?!...Please help him dad!...". Dr. Peters folds her daughter into his arms as Samantha sinks her face into her father's chest as she starts to cry. "We'll do everything we can for him honey..", Dr. Peters says,"They've got good doctors and surgeons in this hospital, he's in good hands...".

      After a few seconds, Samantha pulls away from her dad as she says, "Grey's foster parents!...we need to let them know, I need to call them!....". Dr. Peters and Ritchie glances eerily at each other as Ritchie says, "I'm sorry to tell you this Sam, but they passed away last year from a plane crash....Grey didn't have the heart to tell you.....It happened a week before your big ballroom dance competition, he did not want to let you know because he wanted you to be focused during the competition....", Samantha thinks and tries to remember, then sits back down as she realizes why Grey was not himself during the week of their, "California State Ballroom Dance Competition", and why he did not perform as well as she knew he could have performed, which led to their big fight which resulted in their first break up.

      After another hour had passed, two Vallejo police officers shows up. Sgt Nick Holt and his rookie partner Alan Francis. They informed Dr. Peters, Samantha and Ritchie that they needed to ask them some questions with regards to Grey's accident. "I know this is a tough time for all of you...", Sgt Holt says, "But because Grey was driving drunk we...", Ritchie quickly interrupts saying, "Driving drunk?!, what are you talking about?!...I was with him before he left for work, he wasn't drunk!....". Sgt. Holt then explains that Grey's blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit and that the emergency room staff smelled alcohol from his clothes when they were performing emergency treatment on him. "That's impossible!...", Ritchie yells, as Sgt Holt continues reporting, "We also found an empty whiskey bottle on his car's passenger seat, and it has his finger prints on it....He also wasn't wearing his seat belt...". Sam cries again, as her eyes fills with tears and her hands trembles as she says, "It's my fault....It's all my fault....If I didn't break up with him, he would not have gotten drunk...and now because of me he's paralyzed!...". Dr. Peters quickly sits beside her as he folds his arms around his daughter as she starts to sink into her father's embrace once again.

     Rookie cop Alan Francis tries to comfort Samantha saying, "If it makes you feel better, Detective Cross who's car was the one Grey hit on the freeway says that he's probably not going to press criminal charges because of the severity of Grey's injuries but I think that he does want to pursue civil charges for the damage done to his car...". Sgt Holt looked annoyed thinking that his rookie partner should have just kept his mouth shut. After a thirty minute interview, the two cops leaves the hospital and as they both entered their police car Sgt Holt says, "Something's not right with this case?....". Rookie cop looking puzzled asks, "Oh, yeah?!...". Sgt Holt squeezes the steering wheel as he looks off to a distance in deep thought, "This guy Grey, who they say never drinks and drives, has no history of arrests for DUI,  only drinks occasionally, doesn't keep any liquor in his house, even his best friend says that he left the house sober...gets into an accident for driving drunk?....". Rookie cop Alan Francis taps his hand on the roof of their police car as he replies, "Well Sarge, that's what happens when a guy gets dumped by his girlfriend....Wasn't that the same thing that happened to you when your family deserted you because you were working long hours as a detective, that's when you became an alcoholic, remember?!...". Sgt Holt looking agitated at his partner raises his voice saying, "That's not the point!....That guy he hit, Detective Cross, has a history of driving drunk, I know this guy, we used to go out for drinks years ago when we where still new to the force...". Officer Francis knew better and just kept silent, "The thing that does not make sense to me is how their path's crossed..", Sgt Holt explains, "This guy Grey who has no history of driving drunk, who's headed to work gets into a car accident with an alcoholic detective who was off duty and on a night he gets in an accident turns out to be sober....Something just doesn't feel right....".

          After Sgt Holt starts the car's engine,  he says, "We've got to look into this more, I want you to find out what brand of whiskey that was found in Grey's car, then check all the liquor stores near Grey's house within a ten mile radius, show the liquor store owners a photo of Grey and ask them if they've seen him last night between the hours of ten and eleven pm, or if they remember seeing him during the day, he could have bought it during the day....". Officer Francis nods after writing down everything Sgt Holt said, "And what about you Sarge, what are you gonna do?.....". Sgt Holt sigh's deeply then say's, "I'm gonna talk to Detective Cross friends and visit the bars that I know he frequently goes to, I need to find out what kind of whiskey Detective Cross likes to drink.....I'll also talk to Grey's co-workers at the hospital where he works at just to find out if they've ever noticed him drunk at work....".


         (Two hours later, Castro street, San Francisco California)

        "I can't believe we used our last $50.00 for cab fare yesterday, I could have used that money to buy men's clothes...", Sirha grumbles as he adjusts his long blonde wig, then says, "I also can't believe you had me sleep in a homeless shelter, and the food at that soup kitchen was crappy at best!...". Zhiad rolls his eyes in exasperation, as he uses his fingers to comb loose strands of hair from his wig as he says, "Master, stop complaining, would you  rather be sleeping in the caves of Afghanistan and eating grass instead?!....". Sirha was suddenly at a loss for words, and as they both continued walking, still dressed as women. They kept searching for the right address where their cargo containing their nuclear bomb was delivered to. "You've got to admit though, that homeless shelter did have nice public showers....", Zhiad says, "Those seven men showering even got excited when we started undressing in front of them, I just don't know why they quickly disappeared when we both took off our wigs and finally got naked?....". Sirha ignores his minion as he scans around searching for house numbers when suddenly he yells, "Zhiad!, look at those two men!, they're holding hands while walking!....", Sirha then turns around, centers his wig on his head, then yells once more, "And those two women are kissing!...". Zhiad sigh's deeply as he calmly says, "Oh!, just relax master, they're just practicing population control....". Sirha's eyes gets bigger asking, "Is this how Americans practice population control?!....". Zhiad trying to sound convincing replies, "Actually, the reason I brought you here at Castro street is because this is were all the "gay" and when I say "gay", I mean "happy" people live....this place is like the adult version of Disneyland....Do you know that of all places in the world, that this is the only place where they have a "Zero Pregnancy Rate"...". Sirha gasps looking surprised asks, "Really?!...how can that be?..". Zhiad looks up at the sky and lifts his arms up lazily as he says, "I don't know Master, it must be something in the air!....".

         As they continued walking, Zhiad, notices his master continually scratching around his chest, armpits and lower back from the rash that developed from wearing a laced bra. Zhiad looking perturbed says, "Master, must you always scratch?....It's not very lady like...". Sirha suddenly scowls at his minion saying, "Good!...". After another ten minute walk, they finally found the right address they were looking for. "This is where my friend Christopher lives, I called him last night and he said that our cargo did arrive yesterday....". Sirha looking relieved says, "Ahhh!, finally, I can borrow some men's clothes that I can finally wear....". Zhiad knocks three times, and after a few seconds the front door opens as a man wearing a pink dress comes out and greets them, "Zhiad!, you're finally here in America....I've been waiting so long!....". Zhiad then introduces his friend Christopher to Sirha, "It's a pleasure meeting you Sirha, but just call me "Crissy"....". As Sirha and Zhiad were ushered in, Zhiad lies and tells his master that his friend Christopher was also a terrorist and has to wear a dress as a disguise. Sirha ignores his minion as he quickly grabs the top of his wig making sure it doesn't slip off as he asks, "Is there any chance I can borrow some men's clothes?....", Crissy laughs loudly saying, "Zhiad, you're friend's so funny....Come with me to the bedroom Sirha, I've got a purple blouse, a mini skirt and some fancy heels that would look fabulous on you...". Sirha looking annoyed replies, "Forget it....".


          After having a late breakfast, Sirha and Zhiad were led to the garage where the wooden cargo was stored. After getting some tools, they finally were able to expose the nuclear bomb. Sirha looking relieved started laughing loudly as his spirit was filled with joy. "Now, finally....our sacrifices have paid off....Now is our time to strike at the heart of the infidels.... Go ahead Zhiad, activate the bomb!....We will destroy the city of San Francisco right now and we will die as heroes!....". Zhiad starts by grabbing his tools, having been trained as an expert nuclear bomb maker, he starts to attach different wires and click on different switches, but after a few minutes. "What's wrong Zhiad?!...", Sirha grunts as he stares at the confused expression on his minion's face. "Master, this nuclear bomb is made from North Korea....I'm only trained to build, activate and detonate nuclear bombs made in Iran, like the one that was confiscated from the cargo ship "Shin Lee Chin", from the port of San Francisco....". Sirha was so distressed that he could not breath for close to a whole minute, Zhiad seeing his master's face turn purple quickly slaps his face which brings him back to his senses. Sirha then starts to grumble like a little child throwing tools towards the wall in complete disgust.

         After Sirha's violent outburst finally subsides, Zhiad reassures his master saying, "Don't worry Master, I know this Al Queda guy who's name is "Mukhang Mahasim", he knows how to assemble, activate and detonate a nuclear bomb that's made in North Korea....". Sirha's eyes suddenly shows signs of hope as he tells his minion to contact him immediately. "But Master, there's one problem....He's in a Federal prison in Vallejo California....". Sirha suddenly becomes so frustrated that he starts kicking the nuclear bomb, as he tries to detonate it by himself.

    (Back at Vallejo General Hospital)

        It was about lunch time when Dr. Peters and Ritchie left Samantha by herself  in the ICU waiting room, while the two of them went to the hospital cafeteria for lunch. They encouraged Samantha to eat something but Samantha just did not have an appetite for food and instead wanted to standby the ICU just in case the doctor on duty decides to let her in so that she may be with Grey. While waiting, she decides to turn on the television then changes channels until she found some news to watch. "Good afternoon Bay Area, I'm Nancy Venderfield and you are watching USNN news....And now for our top stories. There are unofficial reports of a standoff between North Korea and the US Navy's seventh fleet which is headed by the US Navy carrier, "Barack Obama", 400 miles off the coast of North Korea. North Korean officials are alleging that our government had attempted a top secret military strike at Pyongyang's Central Nuclear Missile Command which failed. A North Korean military spokesman says that the US military had used a powerful flying superhuman winged soldier that managed to destroy 42 North Korean jet fighters and 68 UAV's. A spokesperson for the Pentagon denies these allegations and refuses to further comment on any other details involving this allegation. In other news, a memorial day of service has been scheduled for this coming Monday in Washington DC for the slain US Vice President and the other slain members of the President's cabinet. There's no news yet on when the President will start selecting replacements for his cabinet members. Meanwhile, the last three members of the Aryan movement called "The Disciples of Timothy McVey had finally been found and arrested for their terrorist plans of overthrowing the US government, the FBI and Homeland Security spokesperson refused to give any details of their arrest. In San Francisco, the sale of the high tech company "Vionix" to it's rival company "Macrostrength Industries" had been finalized, we spoke to Dr. Marcos who is Macrostrength's chief of operations and he says that CEO and owner John Layer has big plans for further developing and enhancing technical research in the hope of creating more advanced types of computerized smart bionic limbs for our US military amputees still in active duty. On other national news, the State of Washington  and the State of New York had followed California's lead in illegalizing smoking and the sale of cigarettes in their respective states, a California legislator said that since, smoking and sales of cigarettes had been illegalized in California, that the cost of health care had dramatically decreased with also a 93% drop in lung cancer cases. There has also been a dramatic decrease in heart attack cases, strokes and other vascular diseases resulting on less stress on California's health care system. Finally on some local news, there was another drive by shooting last night at the city of Vallejo due to an increasing crime rate. This time it was a nine year old boy who was the son of a gang member that was gunned down as retaliation for last week's gang violence, the fa.....".

         Suddenly, the ICU doors opened as a female nurse approaches Samantha telling her that she can now be with Grey but letting her know in advance that Grey would not be alert most of the time due to the sedating effects of his IV medications, and if awake, won't be able to verbally communicate due to his tracheostomy which was inserted by the paramedics during the scene of the accident.  He was also intubated and was attached to a ventilator that helps him breath which also prevents him from verbalizing his needs. Samantha nervously nodded in anticipation. After Samantha was escorted towards Grey's location, Samantha quickly sits by Grey's bed as she gently holds his hand. Grey was unconscious with multiple abrasions and cuts all over his face. His head was covered with a white bandage to cover the hole in his skull, the head dressing had some light stains of blood on it, he had a blanket covering his waist down to his feet. There were several monitors attached above his bed which automatically senses his hearts rhythm and pace and other vital signs and statistics which beeped from time to time. He also had Intravenous tubings attached to his arms delivering the much needed IV fluids he needed. As the minutes turns to hours, Samantha keeps vigil feeling teary eyed from time to time,  she kisses Grey's bruised hand and whispers her love and devotion to him in the hope that maybe he could still somehow hear her even in his unconscious state.

       The next few days were exhausting for Samantha, between guiding Betsy in her executive decision making to attending hours of video conferences with the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations to visiting Grey at the hospital every afternoon after spending time at CURE Corp. She would spend anywhere from six to eight hours by Grey's side and would usually get home by one in the morning. While spending time with Grey, Samantha would also call Chase who was still recovering at the Naval hospital in San Diego. They would talk every other day for about a few hours. The few precious moments that made Samantha's heart glad was knowing that Chase was recovering steadily as each day passed. Samantha had detailed the extent of Grey's horrific injuries to Chase and even confiding in him her true feelings for Grey, admitting to Chase that she still loves Grey. Chase on the other hand, with utmost sincerity gave Samantha his genuine support and even expressed the sadness he felt for Grey's devastating life changing predicament. Hearing Samantha cry from time to time over the phone overwhelmed Chase so much to the point that he wished that there was some way he could change places with Grey in order to prevent Samantha's heart from breaking. Chase always tells Samantha that he'll always be around for her and that he'll always love her even if they remain just friends forever.

      After another two days, Grey starts to regain consciousness, but because of his tracheostomy and still intubated, he is unable to verbally communicate, he would often stare at Samantha's face as tears would start to flow out of his eyes. He was at a loss and unable to understand why he couldn't move his arms and legs. Samantha and his doctors would often try and explain the details of his accident but he would just look away, still confused from the short term memory loss he sustained from the accident.

     After a whole week had passed, Grey's surgical team finally decided to operate on him with Samantha and Dr. Peters approval. The surgeons were able to implant rods and pins in order to repair Grey's fractured right femur and left tibia. They also repaired the torn tendon on Grey's right shoulder and for his fractured skull, the surgeon's had to do a surgical procedure called, "Titanium Cranioplasty", where they placed a custom made titanium plate over the hole in Grey's skull. The surgery lasted for twenty hours but was successful without any major complications.

    In the proceeding days that followed, Grey became more aware of his surroundings. After being taken off the ventilator, he was still unable to talk due to the tracheostomy which is a tube surgically inserted just under his adam's apple and into his trachea to create an airway for breathing. His inability to verbally communicate brought more frustration and apprehension to him due to the lack of control he had due to his paralysis.

    Grey's road to recovery was tough for him and for Samantha. After Grey's tracheostomy was removed, he was finally able to speak. Grey's first complaint was why he could not move. The nurses and doctors would often explain the extent of his paralysis but Grey would just often look away and shut them out. He was still in complete denial about his paralysis.

   During the times that he'd be sleeping, he would always dream that he was normal again. He would dream about camping trips with his friends, going on short hikes on state parks and jogging by the beach. But as soon as he wakes up, he starts hearing the continuous irritating weird electronic sounds coming from his bedside monitors and as he stares at the ceiling, he starts to helplessly realize the extent of his new state of living. He specially hated the times when the nurses had to clean him after he soils the bed which made him embarrassed, angry and helpless.

       Falling into a state of depression, he would make it a point to sleep during the daytime shutting out Samantha, his medical staff and other visitors and would purposely be awake at night when it was dark and quiet. The only thing that gave him a sense of comfort was  listening to soothing relaxing music coming from his television at night. He would often be awake from the hours of eleven PM until three AM, often trying to remember and relieve the moments that led up to his car accident. He would often cry when he realizes that he would never get to be normal again.

     The few times that Samantha was able to get Grey's attention, she would always voice out her love and support for him but was only met with Grey's indifference. There even were times when Grey's frustration would turn into anger which ended up being directed towards Samantha. Grey was angry at himself, at Samantha and angry at the whole world. Even though Samantha consulted with different doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists, it did not do much help for Samantha to make a connection with Grey. There were times when Grey would wake up angry and crying, unable to accept and adjust to his new predicament in life.

     As more days had passed, Grey started hallucinating from the effects of the IV Morphine he was taking for pain control which the doctors quickly changed into IV Dilaudid. He also developed pneumonia which gave him breathing problems but was quickly treated with IV antibiotics. Through Grey's ordeal, Samantha never left his side, always patient, caring and loving until a day came when Grey's anger and frustrations had finally taken a toll on Samantha. Feeling weary both physically, mentally and emotionally, Samantha was not able to absorb Grey's verbal assault towards her and had to abruptly leave him with tears in her eyes.

    On the days that followed, Ritchie and Dr. Peters took turns visiting him, but Grey was just as bitter and angry at his disposition in life. Dr. Peters waited for a time for Grey's anger to diminish, and after a few more days had passed, Dr. Peters was finally able to find an opportunity to communicate effectively with Grey in order to give him hope. Dr. Peters tells Grey about two possible ways on how to make him normal or as close to normal as possible. He explains that his first plan was to introduce Grey to Dr. John Kane or who's popularly known as "Dr. Kinesis". Dr. Peters explains that before he started researching cancer's cure, he used to work with Dr. Kane on ways to treat paralysis, but when his wife got metastatic cancer, Dr. Peters switched to cancer research instead and abandoned Dr. Kane to finish the research in finding a cure for paralysis by himself. "And at present", Dr. Peters explains, " Dr. Kane has finally perfected a serum that has a chance to connect two severed spinal nerves together". Grey listens with interest as Dr. Peters explains on, "I've already spoken to John Kane and asked for his help in trying his drug on you....".

               Dr. Peters pauses, then pulls up a chair and sits on it beside Grey's bed, "Now our second option is far more difficult to attain. As a collector of mysterious artifacts, like the piece of titanium metal which belonged to Lancelot's armor which I purchased at an auction, I've also heard of a legend about a, "Holy Flask", which has the capacity to heal any kind of disease, injury or ailment known to man. The legend actually starts in the Bible, on the book of Matthew chapter 27, verses 45 to 54. The Legend goes that right after Christ died on the cross, there was a sudden earthquake that occurred, the curtain inside the Jewish temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom, rocks split and tombs broke open....". Grey suddenly sneers saying, "That's starting to sound like an episode from that old movie, "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark...Doc?!....".

           Dr. Peters quickly held out his hand showing a "stop" sign as he says, "Now wait a minute son, hear me out first....". Grey sighs as he patiently listens as Dr. Peters continues, "And when the centurion and those who were close to him felt the earthquake and all that happened, they became terrified but were convinced that they had crucified the Son of God...". Dr. Peters crosses his legs and leans back on the chair as he see's Grey becoming more interested as he continues on saying, " Then, the centurion closest to the cross, took out his flask and poured out all the wine in it, he then slowly walked towards the cross and placed the empty flask right by the shin of Christ to catch the dripping blood from the lifeless body of Christ. After some time, the centurion added water to dilute Christ's blood inside the flask and used this to heal hundreds of sick people by placing a drop of Christ's diluted blood on top of a sick person's tongue. There were rumors that said that complete healing was instantaneous. And as time went on, they kept on diluting the contents of the flask over and over again to be able to keep on healing the sick. Unfortunately the legend also says that as the contents of the flask became more diluted, the effectiveness to cure also started to fade....". Dr. Peters stands up as he places his hands inside his pocket as he says, "And as far as I know, the Vatican has the "Holy Flask" within their possession. And maybe, just maybe....It's still has the power to heal you of your paralysis. I will schedule a flight in the next few days to meet with the Pope in Rome to ask for the "Holy Flask", as Dr. Peters smiles.

          Grey looking cynical asks, "And what makes you think that the Pope will just hand you this "Holy Flask?..". Dr. Peters snickers as he asks, "Didn't Sam tell you, we just recently cured him of his stage three liver cancer....".


            (Macrostrength Industries, Main Office, Treasure Island, San Francisco, California)


        It was nine in the morning when John Layer summoned Dr. Marcos into his office. "We're on thin ice, Dr. Marcos....It's been over a month since the Protector incident in North Korea happened and FBI agents are still going through our computer files looking for incriminating evidences to pin us down!....". Dr. Marcos wrings his hands as he stands nervously saying, "Don't worry Mr. Layer, I made sure that all evidence of a sabotage on the Protector will fall on Dr. Spain. Even though the Feds are trying to find ways to partially blame us for partial knowledge of illegal use of nuclear power to the Protector, I was able to delete all incriminating evidences against us and I diverted all the blame towards Dr. Spain, we just need to keep denying that we had any prior knowledge of using nuclear energy to power the Protector. Fortunately, only Dr. Spain and General Morris so far had been arrested. Admiral Rivera does suspect that we were behind the sabotage and he just assigned one of his most trusted Generals, "General Cheung", to be Pentagon's new military liaison to Macrostrength....". John Layer grabs a cigarette and lights it up as he inhales it's noxious fumes and blows it at Dr. Marcos face making him cough.

      John Layer rubs both hands as he asks, "So what's the best thing to do?...". Dr. Marcos sits across his boss while rubbing his chin then says, "First, we need to divert suspicion away from us by pouring our total support in the success of Captain Brassman, while the Protector technology is still  top secret, we need to slowly start leaking this technology out to the press in a subtle way. We need to make sure that the public discovers Captain Brassman as the Protector's one and only pilot making him the first ever American super hero. Doing this will prevent the Pentagon from over ruling us and assigning a colored pilot like Major Powers to pilot the Protector instead. If that happens that the first ever American super hero is a black man, we'll never get to succeed in making more money from future manufacturing of this Protector technology...".

    John Layer swivels in his chair looking at the ceiling as he says, "You're absolutely right doctor, I have the exact same views as you do.....so, doing this will be like shooting two birds with one stone...". The two men starts to laugh loudly when suddenly John Layer's demeanor quickly turns sour as he pounds his fist on his desk, "What about Samantha Peters?!...I want her to suffer!....Do you know that because of her, two more states had followed California's lead in illegalizing smoking and the sales of cigarettes, I'm loosing money left and right!...I want her to suffer doctor Marcos!...". Dr. Marcos stammers as he pleads for patience, saying, "But sir, we are on the hot seat, Macrostrength is being closely scrutinized by the Pentagon and the whole intelligence community and because of this I think it's best to lay off any plans to assassinate Captain Brassman for now.....For now, let's focus our energy on our newly acquired company, "Vionix", with it's technology in smart computerized bionic limbs, we can create a new super assassin with great strength and with super powers. We can then use this super assassin in killing Samantha's father, Dr. Peters....". The two men started to laugh loudly again at the birth of their new sinister plan. (End of Chapter)