Race Against Time

I struggled to stand up.The pain was nearly too much for my body to handle. My ribs were hurting, my leg was pretty much bad now. Adams pointed the gun at my head. I knew him well enough that if he got started, he started to monologue. It gave me time to think of a plan. I had to get Lindsay out. Bruises were all along her neck, face, throat, and arms. If he took two more steps, I would tackle him. I was relying on my adrenaline to keep me safe. I'm avenging Aria's death, she died bravely.
"Look at you, you're so pathetic", Michael sneered. I held onto the couch for support.
"If I'm going to die, I'm not going down without a fight", I retorted. God, my leg was killing me. He smiled, pressing the gun to my forehead. I went for the gun, but Lindsay had knocked him down. She wrestled him for the gun, hitting him as hard as she could. Alexis pointed a gun at Lindsay, ready to fire. I grabbed a cushion, chucking it at Alexis' head. Lindsay had gotten the gun from Michael and pointed it at him.

"NYPD, you're under arrest", she said. Alexis fired her gun. I knocked Lindsay out of the way, feeling a pain like a thousand bee stings in my chest. I sank to the ground, everything going black.

[Flack's Point of View]

I heard the gunshot and kicked open the door. "Halt, NYPD!" I yelled. Everyone filed in, guns ready. Lindsay struggled to get to her feet. Alexis pointed the gun at me and Lindsay took a shot, nailing her in the chest. Alexis sank to the ground. Michael was too scared to move. I looked around the room for Isabella. Lindsay limped over to her.
"Izzy! Isabella! C'mon, wake up!" she said desperately. She patted her cheeks and felt her pulse.
"Flack, get an ambulance, she's not breathing!" she said to me. Her eyes were wild. Danny cuffed Michael Adams, shoving him to his feet. I bent down next to Isabella, feeling her pulse. It was barely there. I scooped her up and ran outside.
"Move, move, move!" I yelled. She was as limp as a doll in my arms.
"We have an officer down, we need an ambulance STAT", Mac said into a radio. Levi patted her face, trying to get her to wake up.
"C'mon, Cowgirl, you gotta lot of living left to do, don't leave us now", he was saying. No response.
"Tell them we need that ambulance now, we're losing her!" I yelled.
"Izzy, come on! Dammit, you can't quit now!" Levi yelled, shaking her. I felt her pulse. It was slowing down. Finally, ambulances rolled in, sirens blaring. Paramedics flooded out, picking her up. One looked at Levi and me.
"Either one of you family?" she asked. Levi raised his hand.
"You're coming with me", she said, waving him onto the ambulance.
"I'll be at the hospital soon as possible", I promised. I had a job to finish. Aria was barely alive, not dead like we thought. Alexis was dead. Lindsay blamed herself.

"I should've gotten in there sooner, this is my fault", she sobbed into Danny's chest.
"It's not your fault, Lindsay, she was protecting you, she was making sure you got back to me and Lucy in one piece", Danny soothed, rubbing her back.
"She was sparing me by taking all the fault in there. If she dies, I'll never forgive myself", she swore. It was heartbreaking. She was luckily almost completely unscathed, with the exception of some deep cuts that needed stitches and a bullet in the leg. Isabella definitely got the worst end of the stick.
"They weren't going to keep her alive", Mac said. He had an Italian man in handcuffs and was shoving him towards a squad car. This was one of the biggest raids in history. Scythe rested his hand on my shoulder.
"We've got everything under control here, go to the hospital", he said. I nodded, running for the car. I got in, putting the lights on and driving off as fast as I could. I pulled into the emergency driveway. I got out and ran in, holding up my badge.
"Where's Detective Pacino?" I demanded.

"Isabella Pacino was rushed into emergency surgery. Are you family?" a nurse asked. I shook my head.
"I'm a friend. How long will it take?" I said.
"About two hours, there was a lot of damage done, Detective. There's a waiting room around the corner if you want to wait in there", the nurse replied. I ducked around the corner, seeing Levi in one of the chairs. He looked horrified.
"She's stable enough for surgery", he said softly. I sat down and was forced to wait for two hours before a nurse came in.
"She's breathing on her own, which is good, but she's still unconscious from anesthesia. She has four broken ribs and a broken leg. She'll wake up in her own time. You can go and see her, one at a time", he said. He walked us to ICU and into a small room. Isabella was laying down, machines beeping everywhere. She looked almost childlike as she lay there. I let Levi go in first, as he was family. After ten minutes, he left the room abruptly. His eyes were red.

I walked in, sitting down on the chair next to her.
"Can she hear me?" I asked the attending nurse. She nodded.
"Yes, she can. It'll do her some good if you talk to her", she replied. I took her hand in mine, comparing the size. The heart monitor beeped rhythmically as she took each breath, her chest rising and falling. Her face was bruised, she had a black eye that seemed to be on its way to healing and a bruise along her cheekbone.
"Hey, you. Looks like you were right, you did make it out alive", I said softly. I rubbed my thumb along the back of her hand.
"Lindsay blames herself for what happened, but you kept your promise. You kept her safe", I continued. No response. I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed it gently.
"Don't you give up on me, Izzy. I'm not giving up on you, so you can't give up on me". Still no response. She was alive, at least. I heard someone hobble down the hall. I looked up, seeing a tall middle-aged man with a cane at the door.

"Who're you?" he asked. He had a thick Italian accent.
"Detective Flack with NYPD", I replied with a frown.
"I'm Armando Pacino Jr, Chief of Police with the Wilmington Police Department. If you're coming to interrogate her, can't you at least wait till my daughter is awake?" the man said, irritated. In the dim light, I could see the resemblance. They both had the same dark hair, same long eyelashes, same jerk of the chin. I stood up.
"I wasn't coming to interrogate her, sir", I said.
"Armando, don't be rude to him", a woman said. She was beautiful and petite, with strawberry blonde hair and bright, minty green eyes and a thick Irish accent. This had to be her mother.
"I'm Marni Pacino, Isabella's mother", she said, shaking my hand.
"Don Flack. I worked with your daughter while she was here", I said. She smiled. It was eerie to how similar their smiles were.
"Yes, Isabella told me all about her experiences here. She thinks highly of you", she replied. Her father was glaring at me with undisguised suspicion.

"I'll let you two alone to talk to her", I said, going for the door.
"It was nice meeting you", Marni called softly. I gave a shaky smile before walking out. Seeing the resemblances they had with their daughter made it hard to be there. The same dark hair, same fair skin, same mint green eyes, same smile. Isabella and her mother looked startlingly alike, it was easy to tell they were mother and daughter. I sat down in the waiting room outside of her room and rested my head in my hands. Mac came up.

"Any news?" he asked.
"She's breathing on her own, it's all in her own time to wake up. Her parents are in there now", I replied. He patted my shoulder.
"Isabella's a fighter, Don. She'll be alright", he said.
"She broke four ribs and her leg", I replied. Mac raised his eyebrows.
"She's lucky to be alive. She made sure Lindsay made it out alive", he said. I heard someone clear their throat. It was Marni, Isabella's mother.
"Will someone tell me how this happened?" she asked, almost shyly.
"She went undercover with Aria De Luca and one of my detectives. Your daughter fought bravely to save their lives, she didn't go down without a fight", Mac replied. Marni smiled.
"That sounds like her. There's no such thing as doing anything halfway with my daughter", she said fondly.

"She saved Lindsay Messer's life", I replied. Marni shook her head, looking down.
"That also sounds like her", she sighed.
"She didn't go down without a fight, Mrs. Pacino. Isabella is a very brave woman and we owe her here in New York", Mac said. He shook hands with her.
"I remember you worked her case when she was attacked all those years ago", Marni said. I raised my eyebrow. The special hadn't said anything about who the lead detective was.
"Yes, I remember. A fighter even then, if I remember correctly", Mac replied. Marni smiled.
"I'm going to go check on Aria. Armando's with Isabella now, but he'll be done soon if you two wanted to go back in", she said. I nodded. This had to be tough on the parents.
"Go, binn milis dtrioblóid-beag maighnéad", I chuckled.
[That sweet, sweet little trouble-magnet]

"Labhraíonn tú Gaeilge?" Marni said, obviously surprised.
[You speak Gaelic?]
"Tá mé ag Gael-Mheiriceánach. Níl mé díreach mar an chuid is fearr, ach tá a fhios agam go leor de", I replied.
[I'm Irish-American. I'm not the best, but I know a lot of it]

She smiled. Armando limped in. "Let's go check on Aria, Marni, then we'll go to the hotel. The hospital will call us with updates", he said to his wife. He shook hands with Mac before walking off.