========================================================================= Date: Sat, 13 Apr 1996 22:03:00 PDT Reply-To: Mike Goldman Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Mike Goldman Subject: "A Dangerous Game" (2/22) HL Story "Where is that fine line where sanity melts?"..... Once inside the room, Rory began loudly insisting that they get her out of here *now*. Before anyone else could say anything; however, a male nurse walked in holding a syringe. All of them looked blankly at him, except Rory, who kept her arms flat on the wheelchair armrests. "Come on," he said to Rory. "You know the drill." Joe made a disgusted sound. "You don't need that." The male nurse looked at him. "The admitting doc says she needs it, she gets it." "Wait." Anne tried. He looked at her. "You got a problem with it, go talk to the doc." He turned back to Rory. "You want me to get the restraints again?" Rory looked daggers at him, but held out an arm, looking at a point on the other side of the wall. Finesse not being part of the male nurse's vocabulary, he simply jammed the needle in and then yanked it out. Rory pulled her arm back and rubbed it. "You wouldn't have been in Germany in the '40's by any chance, would you?" Duncan decided this was a good time to step in before Rory decided to really let loose. "Thanks." he said and ushered the nurse out the door. "We'll let you know if we need you again." He shut the door and leaned against it. "We gotta get you out of here." Joe decided. "Thank you, o voice of reason." Rory agreed. "It's not that easy, guys." Anne tried to explain again. "She won't be released by the hospital." "Then we get her out without their permission." Joe said. "And how do you propose we do that?" Anne snapped back, pitching her voice in order to be heard over a rumbling noise in the hall. Macleod, curious, pulled open the door a crack to see a large maintenance cart being rolled down the hall by a janitor. He shut the door again and turned to grin at the others. "I think we've found our way out." He explained what he'd seen. "A *garbage* cart?" Rory said incredulously. "You're the one that should be in here!" Mac shrugged. "You've been talking about needing a vacation..." Rory jumped out of the wheelchair, staggering slightly. "Damn Thorazine." she muttered. "Let's go." The four of them walked out of the room towards the elevators, noticing that the petite nurse was back at her station and that the maintenance cart was sightly behind them. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you later." Rory said loudly for the nurse's benefit. Suddenly Anne bent over and began groaning loudly and holding her stomach. Duncan grabbed her arm. "Are you OK?" he asked, looking out of the corner of his eye at the nurse, who had ventured around to the front of the desk. Anne mutely shook her head. "Here, let me get you to a chair." Mac offered solicitiously and began guiding her towards the chairs that were close to the nurses station. As he did so, he put a hand behind his back and waved it furiously at Joe. Joe positioned himself so that the nurse's view of the hall was cut off and nodded slightly to Rory, who backed up a few paces and then quickly jumped into the trash can on the maintenance cart, pulling pieces of trash over her. With one eye still on the nurse who was now assisting Anne and Duncan, he reached over and smacked the down button on the elevator. It dinged, the door opened and Joe shoved the maintenace cart into the elevator so hard it bounced off the back wall. An Irish curse floated out to him. "See you downstairs." he risked whispering, then quickly punched the button of the other elevator and stepped inside, the doors shutting behind him. Inside the maintenance cart, Rory heard the elevator door shut. Thanking whatever deities might be listening, she started to dig herself out, but froze as she heard the doors open again. "Ah, would you look at this?" said a disembodied voice. "Those maintenance guys are getting so sloppy. Look, one of them just shoved their cart in here." "I can't believe they get paid for this kind of crap." said another voice. Inside the cart, Rory could hardly believe her ears. , she thought furiously, "Well, I guess I'll take it down to housekeeping." "OK, I'll meet you at the cafeteria." *************************************** Back on the psych floor, Duncan saw both elevators shut. "You look like you're starting to feel better." he said to Anne. Anne slowly straightened up. "I think I am. Must have been some gas or false labor pains." "I should get a doctor." the nurse said. "No!" Anne said, panicking. "I'm a doctor, it's OK." Duncan, sensing something was about to go wrong, quickly "helped" Anne out of the chair and begain steering her towards the elevator. The nurse turned from her trip back to the nurses station just in time to see Duncan and Anne begin moving rather quickly towards the elevators. Realization that she'd been had started to dawn on her face. "Wait a minute--where's the other two--the patient and your uncle?" When no answer was forthcoming, she quickly walked back to the nurses' station. "I'm calling security." "That's our cue." Mac said, "Gotta go." He punched the down button and mercifully the elevator opened as security guards began to run down the hall towards them. Just as the guards skidded to a stop in front of the elevator, the doors shut and cut off the excited voices like the stop button on a cassette player. "Beam me up, Scotty." Mac muttered as the elevator began its descent. ************************************************************************** Down in housekeeping, Rory was quietly seething while she waited for the disembodied voice's random act of kindness to be completed. She felt someone take the cart and push it for what felt like hours. Then, her head thwapped against the side of the cart as whoever was pushing it gave it a final shove into the caged area where the other carts were kept. Muttering curses and imprecations to herself, she listened as the footsteps faded away. She waited a few more moment and then, using her hands, she shoved off the layers of garbage that had been dumped on top of her. She stood up in the cart and took her first deep breath in fifteen minutes. Placing her hands on the sides of the cart, she hoisted herself out and jumped to the ground. As she dusted her hands off, she took a look at the garbage spread out on the floor around her. . "Hey, you!" came a strident voice. "What are you doing down here?" Rory looked up to see a janitor walking towards her. She walked quickly out of the cage and walked up to him. "Sorry, isn't this the rec room?" "You know it's not." the janitor replied. "I'm calling Security." "That wouldn't be a good idea." said Rory, grabbing the janitor by the shoulders and kneeing him in a most sensitive area. As he dropped to the ground, another janitor appeared in the doorway. "Get her!" the floored janitor groaned. Rory took a look at the janitor blocking her exit and realized the only way out was through him. She grabbed the nearest thing to her and held it between them to keep the janitor at bay as he came closer. Looking down at what she held, she thought, She jabbed at the janitor as they circled each other, Rory manuevering so that her back was towards the door. "Come on, girlie," the janitor lisped. "Give uth the mop." "I don't think so." "Come on," he wheedled. "We'll go talk to the nith doctorth." Rory jammed the mop into his stomach. "Maybe another time." she said, then took off. As she started to run down the corridors, she took a last look back to see the janitor crawl over to the phone and press a button, shouting "Thecurity!!" *************************************************************************** Down in the parking lot, Joe was waiting in the Forerunner with the engine running. What was taking so long, he wondered, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel impatiently. His hand hovered over the ignition as he debated whether to turn it off and go back into the hospital or wait. He finally decided to leave the car running and walk back towards the hospital to see if he could see anything. He got out of the car and walked towards the back of the hospital. As he turned the corner, he saw Rory sidle around a corner, looking back as if she expected someone to be following her. Suddenly, she took off towards him at a dead run, a security guard behind her. "Get back in the car!" she yelled. Joe, however, had other ideas. He placed himself against the wall so that both Rory and the guard would have to run directly past him. Rory came by and then, as the guard came huffing and puffing towards him, Joe casually stuck his cane out around the knee level. The guard, moving to quickly to stop in time, tripped and landed gracelessly on the ground, out cold. "Rory, stop!" Joe yelled. She turned around, hands on her knees, and breathing hard. He walked up to her as quickly as he could as she stared at the guard. "My knight in shining armor." she said. Joe shrugged and took her arm. They hurried back to the car, eyes out for any other trouble, and found Duncan and Anne already there. "Where have you two been?" Anne nearly squeaked in her nervousness. "Slight problem with the plans--but now is not the time to explain." said Rory. "Drive, Joe." Joe pulled the Forerunner quickly out of its parking space and burned rubber into the street. Lori mgoldman@cts.com Bass Player/Musical Director for the SJD Kick-Ass House Band CFW/WAR Chief for Smokin' Joe Dawson in the first HL WAR