Tampa Star (Blackfox Chronicles Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

knowledge made him a valuable commodity and he was often rewarded for a little extra attention with a few bucks or a six pack of beer.
    He had to admit it was a pretty sweet deal for a newly released convict, but he felt something was missing. It took a while for him to realize that he longed for the danger, excitement and access to ready cash that he had during his days of robbing with his now dead cousins.

Chapter 4 - Jimmy
     
    Jimmy felt something hit his shoulder with the force of a sledge hammer and then felt nothing as his body was knocked back into the canal and he lost consciousness.  The water initially did not wake him and he first gasped for breath underwater, causing his lungs to be deluged with water.  That should have been the end for him, had not one of the deputies been a born again Christian and a first aid instructor for the Sheriff’s Department.  He dove in after Jimmy and with grudging help from two other deputies, hoisted his unconscious body back on shore over the steep embankment of the canal onto a newly plowed field that smelled of hay and cow manure.
    The cop placed him on his stomach, pulled him up to his knees by grasping him around his middle  and slapped him on the back a couple of times, the strength of the blows driving him back into a prone position.  Jimmy felt his body heave and a gusher of canal water burst from his lungs; he coughed again and other gusher spewed forth. This continued for what felt like an hour, but was probably no longer than a few minutes. He landed down river from where he entered the water, the current was strong; they must have opened a sluice gate or something.  He had regained consciousness enough to feel the pain in his shoulder, rolled over onto his back and looked at the officer, squinting he read the gold nameplate on his chest.
    “Givens,” he said.
    “Deputy Givens, to you,” the officer corrected him.  Jimmy nodded and tried to think of something to say. “Thank you” was all he could think of.  Givens just nodded and told Jimmy to lay still.
    Apparently, they had called an ambulance—Jimmy heard the low whine of the siren in the distance gaining in loudness as it approached and Jimmy faded from consciousness.
    Jimmy was in and out of consciousness for what seemed like a long period of time.  He awoke sometime later in the dark, tried to move and found that he was handcuffed to the bedframe.  He had been cuffed enough to know that it was easy to defeat them—just give him a paperclip, but not yet.  He explored further and felt tubes running into his left forearm.  After a moment, his eyes adjusted to the lack of light and he was able to see that he was in a hospital room.  He felt no pain in his shoulder, but felt a nice mellow warmth; painkillers, no doubt.  He figured that the IV in his arm was responsible for that.  He went back to sleep feeling strangely at ease. 
    The following morning he was awoken by a large black man dressed in a starched white shirt and pants, busily engaged in switching out the intravenous bottles containing various fluids. The nurse noticed that he was awake, but ignored him and went about his business switching out the empty bottle.
    “Where am I?” Jimmy managed to say over chapped lips and a mouth as dry as he imagined the Sahara desert to be.
    “Covington Memorial Hospital,” said the nurse curtly, not bothering to look at him as he tapped on the plastic drip chamber to make sure the IV drip was functioning.  Once he was satisfied that it was, he looked down at Jimmy and spoke.
    “I’ll be back to change that bandage in a few minutes,” and then as an afterthought added, “I’m not going to have any trouble with you, am I James?”
    Jimmy looked up at the man, who appeared from his angle of view to be well over six and a half feet tall, dressed in a  shirt that seem to barely constrain a muscular physique.
    “No,” Jimmy mumbled. “I am feeling too good to mess with anyone.” He smiled