eruption of metal on metal, and the Honda, now upside down, slid a dozen more yards and shrieked to a halt.
A flicker of light, and its gas tank exploded.
Behind the melee, drivers screeched to a halt and were scrambling toward the Honda, some with fire extinguishers in hand. The first to reach the girl was a middle-aged man who went to work putting out the fire that now threatened the driver's compartment. The Honda's whole rear chassis was an inferno, but the driver was momentarily protected by the jammed up front and back seats.
Unfortunately the fire extinguisher was pathetically small and it was empty within seconds. The fire continued to rage and the Honda's seats began to burn. Men had gathered and tried to get to the girl but the heat was too intense.
Screams erupted from inside the burning car as the inferno roasted the girl alive. The screams became continuous and horrifying. Like the shrieks of the damned being sucked into Hell itself. People nearby retched and turned away.
When the fire department finally arrived with the ambulance, the girl's body was already black from the chest down and smelled like grilled bacon. One of her feet was nearly gone, with just charred bone showing. She was conscious but confused, and in such shock, pain did not register.
Racing against time, the fire department finally extricated her, and the paramedics got her loaded in the ambulance and headed for Tucson Memorial. The radio squawked as they called in her condition.
"Sixty percent third-, twenty percent second-degree burns, left foot gone. Vital signs weak, BP eight over zero. She's tachycardic and hypotensive."
The second EMT was going through the victim's personal effects trying to find some identification. Her purse had been tossed in the ambulance at the last minute, and he finally found what he was looking for. He yanked the wallet open and found her drivers license.
Then the color drained from his face.
"Oh no!"
"What's the matter?" the other EMT asked.
He couldn't speak at first, he just handed him the license.
"Look at the name, do you know who this is?"
The other EMT gazed at the document for a second. "Oh man, we better keep her alive. Oh my God."
Chapter 12
Like an apparition, the dark clad figure glided through the patient's door and over to her bed. She was still groggy from her anesthesia, but lucid enough to realize someone was tugging on her IV line.
She watched as the visitor pulled out a syringe and injected the contents into her bag. The intruder seemed to have some difficulty in the dark as the bag swung against the IV pole. The patient watched as the visitor removed the syringe and slipped it into a pocket. She felt a twinge of pain, but assumed it was the medicine entering her bloodstream.
But the pain got worse. Quickly.
What's happening to me!
The patient jerked her arm upward and the intruder grabbed her wrist and held her arm down as he turned the IV line wide open. A steady stream of the milky fluid began to course into her vein. She could feel the stream of fire searing its way up her arm. Desperately s heied to free her arm from the intruder's grip. Unable to scream, she just stared straight ahead, her eyes frozen in panic.
At that moment there was an excruciating pain traveling through her chest. Her body experienced its first convulsion, arching violently off the bed. Her eyes rolled up and disappeared inside her head. Within seconds, her skull was trapped in a vise.
Her head rolled to the side and her last glimpse of life was the visitor as he slipped out the door. Then she felt a silent explosion from within her brain ...
Chapter 13
Arthur Hench was pleased to find the lower-level parking garage at the Marriott Hotel deserted, save a few scattered cars between the rows of cement pillars. As he parked his Mercedes in a far corner, he glanced at the dashboard clock.
3:15 A.M. Perfect.
The man with whom Hench was meeting was a stickler about punctuality. That didn't bother
A flicker of light, and its gas tank exploded.
Behind the melee, drivers screeched to a halt and were scrambling toward the Honda, some with fire extinguishers in hand. The first to reach the girl was a middle-aged man who went to work putting out the fire that now threatened the driver's compartment. The Honda's whole rear chassis was an inferno, but the driver was momentarily protected by the jammed up front and back seats.
Unfortunately the fire extinguisher was pathetically small and it was empty within seconds. The fire continued to rage and the Honda's seats began to burn. Men had gathered and tried to get to the girl but the heat was too intense.
Screams erupted from inside the burning car as the inferno roasted the girl alive. The screams became continuous and horrifying. Like the shrieks of the damned being sucked into Hell itself. People nearby retched and turned away.
When the fire department finally arrived with the ambulance, the girl's body was already black from the chest down and smelled like grilled bacon. One of her feet was nearly gone, with just charred bone showing. She was conscious but confused, and in such shock, pain did not register.
Racing against time, the fire department finally extricated her, and the paramedics got her loaded in the ambulance and headed for Tucson Memorial. The radio squawked as they called in her condition.
"Sixty percent third-, twenty percent second-degree burns, left foot gone. Vital signs weak, BP eight over zero. She's tachycardic and hypotensive."
The second EMT was going through the victim's personal effects trying to find some identification. Her purse had been tossed in the ambulance at the last minute, and he finally found what he was looking for. He yanked the wallet open and found her drivers license.
Then the color drained from his face.
"Oh no!"
"What's the matter?" the other EMT asked.
He couldn't speak at first, he just handed him the license.
"Look at the name, do you know who this is?"
The other EMT gazed at the document for a second. "Oh man, we better keep her alive. Oh my God."
Chapter 12
Like an apparition, the dark clad figure glided through the patient's door and over to her bed. She was still groggy from her anesthesia, but lucid enough to realize someone was tugging on her IV line.
She watched as the visitor pulled out a syringe and injected the contents into her bag. The intruder seemed to have some difficulty in the dark as the bag swung against the IV pole. The patient watched as the visitor removed the syringe and slipped it into a pocket. She felt a twinge of pain, but assumed it was the medicine entering her bloodstream.
But the pain got worse. Quickly.
What's happening to me!
The patient jerked her arm upward and the intruder grabbed her wrist and held her arm down as he turned the IV line wide open. A steady stream of the milky fluid began to course into her vein. She could feel the stream of fire searing its way up her arm. Desperately s heied to free her arm from the intruder's grip. Unable to scream, she just stared straight ahead, her eyes frozen in panic.
At that moment there was an excruciating pain traveling through her chest. Her body experienced its first convulsion, arching violently off the bed. Her eyes rolled up and disappeared inside her head. Within seconds, her skull was trapped in a vise.
Her head rolled to the side and her last glimpse of life was the visitor as he slipped out the door. Then she felt a silent explosion from within her brain ...
Chapter 13
Arthur Hench was pleased to find the lower-level parking garage at the Marriott Hotel deserted, save a few scattered cars between the rows of cement pillars. As he parked his Mercedes in a far corner, he glanced at the dashboard clock.
3:15 A.M. Perfect.
The man with whom Hench was meeting was a stickler about punctuality. That didn't bother
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