"Stop that man."
He immediately found himself surrounded by several officers. He started to turn back to yell down the street at Bo only to find himself grabbed roughly by two of the officers They pushed him up against the wall of the building and started to pull his arms behind his back.
Todd hissed as he felt his shoulder hit the wall and start bleeding. His legs were going to get better faster than his shoulder at this rate. "Hey, can't you see I'm injured? I'm the victim here, what are you guys doing?"
"Who do you think you're talking to mister? We know you're part of O'Brien's syndicate. Did you really think you could just walk out of here?" The young cop cuffed him and turned him roughly around to face them. "You're under arrest. You have a right to remain silent. If you choose to wave this right, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney if you can't afford one, one will be appointed for you. If you wish you can wait until your lawyer is present to be questioned. Do you understand these rights as I told them to you?"
Todd stared dumbfounded at the two cops. "Are you kidding me? You really don't know who I am? You must be new to Llanview. I'm Todd Manning. Damn It! Let me talk to Bo."
The cops laughed. The young one looked Todd up and down. "We don't care if you're Santa Claus, Using the name of the poor guy who was recently kidnapped won't get you anywhere. We all know Todd Manning can't walk. Heck, I processed his braces when they came in. It's been all over the station. Besides, the commissioner won't want to talk to a lowly mob lackey."
Todd leaned back against the wall behind him. His legs were beginning to get really rubbery and he wondered how much longer he could remain standing. He looked over the young cop's shoulder to see Bo and Vega walking up. He saw McKinney being taken out on a stretcher and turned his attention back to Bo. "Bo, who does the hiring at the LPD lately. These two morons think I work for O'Brien."
"That's enough Manning," He looked at the younger of the two cops. "Uncuff him. I said stop him not arrest him. Looks like you two need a refresher course in victims and perps. I'll be talking to your sergeant tomorrow." Bo frowned as he noticed Todd's shoulder was bleeding. "Did they do that?"
Todd grabbed his shoulder as his arm dropped loose from the cuffs. "It pains me because I would love to blame these two but this was all McKinney." He looked at Bo again. "Why did you stop me, I said I would press charges? All I want to do is get home to Blair."
"The only place you're going is to the hospital. Look at you, you can hardly stand up. I'm amazed you made it this far on those legs. How long have they been working?"
" Long enough for me to get myself out of this joint. I figured Vega, there, forgot about me and thought I would have to rescue myself. but when I heard the gunfire I knew I needed to find an alternate way out of there and found the fire escape. I was just getting to the bottom when McKinney saw me and started shooting. Luckily for me, he leaned on the wrong rail and ended up where you guys found us. Look if that's all you wanted to know I'm out of here." He pushed away from the wall with his good arm and started to pass Bo and his men, after about three strides, his legs gave out and he once again found himself on the ground looking up. "Damn. I can't even make a decent exit anymore,." He slammed his fist down on his legs and winced at the pain, then saw Bo and Vega head over to him.
Bo and Vega reached down and helped him up and led him to a box in the alley setting him down. "Now you can see why you're going to the hospital. Look, you've been missing for weeks. Obviously, there is a problem with the shoulder wound and you're as pale as a ghost. Now sit there until the paramedics get here and then Vega will take your full statement at the hospital."
Todd had no choice but to sit where he had been placed and to tell the truth he felt like he had run a marathon and had hit a wall. Vega kept him company until the paramedics arrived.
Vega looked at Todd and nodded at him as he was placed in the ambulance. "I'll see you shortly, Manning."
Bo had just finished dressing down his two officers for not recognizing Manning and ordered them to go help with the clean-up. "I've got a couple of calls to make. Get yourself out of here before your gang sees you. O'Brien was caught with his pants down but he can't know it was you who upset his little operation here. I'll call Larry and get you an appointment for some facial surgery as soon as possible. Did McKinney get a good look at you down in the alley?"
"I don't think so he passed out just as I got to him and Manning."
"That's good, we'll say that Antonio Vargas was killed in the fire-fight. Just go into hiding after you get Manning's statement. Remember stay out of sight of any of the prisoners at the hospital."
"Don't worry I have no intention of letting myself be seen. I know the stakes." Antonion slipped into the shadows and made his way to the hospital.
Bo stood for a moment thinking about the whole night. He pulled his phone out and made a call to Larry and then sighing, called Blair.
****
Todd was fit to be tied. He was lying in another bed and once again had an IV attached to his arm. On top of that Larry had also ordered a blood transfusion. Vega had come and gotten his statement and then disappeared. He reached for the phone and debated calling Blair. He desperately wanted to see her but he had been hoping to surprise her by showing up on his feet. Now that wasn't going to happen. He dropped his arm to his side and laid back in the bed. Maybe it was for the best. Now he could go back to his original plan of surprising her. He closed his eyes to rest, seeing his plan unfold in his mind's eye.
He put on the finishing touches to his black tuxedo and waited at the top of the stairs for Blair to enter the penthouse. He had invited her over for a romantic dinner and she had been instructed to dress up and wear red. He listened carefully and hear d her use her keys and entered the penthouse.
Blair looked around not seeing Todd anywhere. "Todd, I'm here where are you?"
He stepped out at the top of the stairs and started to go down.
Blair looked up in amazement. "Oh My God, Todd!...
Just then Blair burst into Todd's hospital room and saw Todd all hooked up to IVs and a transfusion. " What did those monsters do to you?"
Todd's eyes snapped open. Standing over him was his beautiful and obviously upset wife. "Hi, Blair." He was totally unprepared for her as she flung her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "It's nice to see you too." he gasped as she cut off his air and he was grateful she couldn't see him wince at the pressure she was putting on his shoulder. He lifted his hand and gently patted her shoulder. "I'm alright you know, but I am having a little trouble breathing."
Blair immediately jumped back from him. "Oh God, I'm so sorry."
Todd grabbed her hand before she moved too far away and began rubbing his thumb gently against her palm. "Hey, I didn't mean you needed to stop, just give me some air to breathe. Although, I think my lips could use some attention."
Blair smiled and leaned down and captured his lips. With his good arm, he pulled her closer and returned her kiss with passion. A few moments later they both came up for air. Blair stood back up and moved some of Todd's hair out of his eyes. "Todd, I was so worried especially after I saw the abandoned handicap limo. There was so much blood. When your braces arrived and they were also covered in blood, I'm afraid I feared the worst."
"Babe, you should know I'm pretty hard to kill. Now, will you believe me when I say it isn't smart to take on a syndicate?"Todd smiled and pulled her back for another kiss.
From behind them came a discreet cough. "Sorry to interrupt. Todd, I'm going to insist that you stay the night. I don't know who fixed your shoulder but whoever it was neglected to give you any antibiotics. That's why it doesn't want to heal. You're dehydrated and I don't want you getting septic."
"Seriously, Larry? I need to get out of here. I have people to be with, things to do." He looked over at Blair and winked.
Blair felt herself blushing. "Todd, I think Larry is right. After everything you've been through, one more night won't hurt. I'll stay and keep you company/"
"Blair, you don't need to do that. I'm a big boy. You need to go and get on top of the story about the raid. Hell, I'll even give you an eye-witness account. We need to capitalize on this before the Banner gets the news. After all, this is your story, go get your reward." He looked over at Larry. "Okay but only one night. I'm going to get bedsores at this rate."
Larry laughed and left to order the antibiotics.
"Blair, pull up a chair. Have I got a story to tell you!"
An hour later, Blair stood up and gently kissed a sleeping Todd. She turned off the light and walked to the door looking back and touched her hand to her heart. He was safe and she hadn't lost him again.
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