chapter 183

word count: 1325

before ‘the salami’ had a chance to find the answers to any of his questions,, two burly interns rolled in a huge gurney,, and almost effortlessly moved his amazing girth from his hospital bed to the gurney, as they informed him that a private room had been located for him…

‘private room!!’ gloated ‘the salami’ to himself,, ‘the family is seeing to it that i am being treated like a king!! the big guys slot is so close i can taste it!!’

he closed his eyes,, to bask not only in the private relief of getting moved out of the double occupancy room he had momentarily shared with  ‘the detective buzz miller’,, but also to reflect briefly on how easily he could get used to this star treatment.. as the two ever so capable orderlies whisked him off to his private room,, ‘the salami’ allowed himself to be caught up in the self-gratification of the moment instead of paying any attention to where the orderlies were taking him..

you can imagine his surprise when he heard the whoosh of the automatic double doors open,, and a blast of cold night air hit his face.. he opened his eyes just in time to see himself being expertly loaded into the back of a waiting emergency transport vehicle..

“jesus christ!!” ‘the salami’ exclaimed. “where the hell did ya find me a private room?? jersey??”

***

back at the precinct,, two calls were coming in simultaneously.. as hank was on the phone with the hospital getting the low down on buzz’s latest twist of fate,, gil’s new partner, detective james (jimmy) dolan was busy taking down information as to the discovery of a headless, dismembered corpse that had been discovered in part, in a local low-rent district dumpster..

as each of them set out hank,, accompanied by his new partner, detective marisa wells,, once again to buzz’s rescue,, and jimmy on his way to pick up gil,, (who incidentally,, had spent the night with the as of yet undisclosed ‘good doctor’,, or ‘tory’ as she had come to be known to gil),, the two were none the wiser as to the connection that would arise between the two calls,, or that it would be the making or breaking point in the already tenacious relationship between hank and gil..

as jimmy pulled up in front of gil’s apartment and sounded the horn,, the gil machine was still running in overdrive just inside the entrance way,, clutching a still deliciously naked tory..

“man!! i don’t want to go!!” gil huffed noisily,, as tory nuzzled in close,, and gently kissed his still steamy neck in conclusion to what had been a long drawn out goodbye..

“i have a feeling this ain’t over yet…” tory breathed heatedly into the crook of his neck,, as she loosened her grip,, knowing full well what it was like to have to jump when the job called..

“i’ll call ya as soon as i can!!” gill said as he gave her a quick kiss on the lips,, realizing that anything else would make it near impossible for him to leave..

jimmy blew the car horn once again,, just as gil opened the door.. “i’m comin’ man!!” gill called out across the parking lot, as he heard tory gently close the door behind him, officially bringing to a close what was to be an ever so successful first union…

“what a fucking time for a murder!!” gil exclaimed as he threw his seat belt over him,, and jimmy slammed the crown vic into reverse.. “alright,, bring me up to speed..”

“dismembered, partial female remains found in several different trash bags in a dumpster over on the lower east side..  discovered by some kids that evidently neglected to read the ‘do not play on  or around’ sign posted on the container,, and in this case i guess it is a good thing that they did.. first responders, officers dennison and diaz, have cordoned off the scene,, that’s really all i got..” jimmy clicked of in a matter of fact style,, still reeling from the fact that he had been assigned as gil’s new partner,, as he had only three years actual homicide experience,, and had never even really even included himself as a candidate when the position came open..

“fuck!! and it has to be a nasty one too!!” gil remarked as he completed his transition between, ‘the gil machine’, lover extraordinaire,, and bettancourt seasoned homicide detective..

***

as promised once algie had been released,, winnie accompanied trudy to the reception desk in the emergency room.. since her true identity had been revealed to security in her efforts to get algie released, the ER staff got trudy out of the waiting room and into a triage almost instantaneously..

that situation having been diffused,, at least for the moment,, winnie got buzz’s room number from the  admitting desk,, and set a course for it directly.. she then waited patiently outside the door as the two muscle bound orderlies painstakingly guided the extra wide gurney containing a mountain of a man from the bed next to buzz’s and out into the hallway.. as she looked on at the contented smile and peacefully closed eyes of the patient as the orderlies slipped him past her and into the hall,, she was secretly grateful to have the room to herself with detective miller to fill him in on the most recent goings on..

“knock, knock!!” she sounded off in a jolly tone as she entered the room and approached the curtain that was drawn between the beds. “detective miller,, it is i,, winnifred dunn may i come in??”

“sure!! sure!!” buzz was glad to hear a familiar voice..

as winnie rounded the curtain,, she gasped aloud.. “detective miller!!! what on earth??” she exclaimed as she saw him all but swallowed up by an extensive neck brace and some additional cage type headgear.. 

“that little guy can sure pack a punch!!” buzz nearly giggled,, still woozy from the anesthetic they had administered to him in order to assess the extent of the damages he had incurred at algie’s  diminutive hand..

“he sure put the wallop on me that’s for sure.. i must say,, his looks are deceiving,, i had no idea he had it in him!!”

“algernon is carefully schooled in the art of self-defense.. something like that is key when one does not have physical size and strength that, for instance someone like yourself possesses..” mrs. dunn explained as she attended to detective millers comfort,, fluffing his pillow and tucking him in nice and tight..

“i assure you detective miller,, had algernon not properly assessed the situation,, and realized that you were in a very visually red zone in your approach,, he would not have made use of his gifts.. he is a very timid man,, really.. i have only seen him strike out in defense of himself on a handful of occasions.. all with similar outcomes i am afraid to say..”

“well all i hope, “ buzz mused with a silly smile on his face,, “is that he didn’t teach trudy too much of that.. i don’t think even i could handle a trudy that packed a punch like that..”

“speaking of which,” mrs. dunn continued,, “i have seen to it that mrs. hunt is receiving the care she needs after that unfortunate run in with your dresser,, and i can tell you from experience,, that had he imparted enough of his gift to be dangerous to anyone else but herself,, she would not be in a position to seek treatment.. it is fair i believe, to state, that you have no more to fear from miss trudy now than you did before the incident.. not that that was not formidable enough in itself..”

“yeah,” replied buzz as he drifted off to sleep.. “she is formidable.. if there is one thing in this world trudy is,, it is formida…..”