Mac left the hotel, the case almost over. Only the autopsy of Santana remained and Holly was already in Phoenix ready to perform it. Mac was still worried though Santana’s apprehension had cost the lives of some good men and three of the unit now rested in hospital. Clearing out his own room and Bond’s, Mac had found it hard not to look at Bond’s last entries on his laptop computer. The computer had been left on, obviously he had been in a rush or expected to return shortly. However, the last entry was still on screen and was a memo to the Assistant Director of the Washington Office, their immediate boss. Subject: Special Agent Richard McIntire.
I wish to update you with the progress of the latest addition to my team. So far he has proved to be a worthwhile team player and has been accepted by his fellow team members. He provides positive input to the team briefings and within the field.
I know the work he his given will be carried out to the best of his ability and that I can leave him in charge knowing the rest of the team will respect his decisions and will continue to function as a team.
Reading those few words had bought a warm feeling to him, he had only been with this unit for just over a week. With a review hanging over his previous unit, words like these could only help his cause.
Leaving Knight and Lee clearing out the rest of the rooms, Carter and Hammond were about to be released from hospital, Holly was in Phoenix about to perform the autopsy Mac was left to clear up the odds and end.
Picking up his mobile phone, he dialled Holly’s mobile.
‘Holly’ She sounded tired and almost irritable.
‘Its McIntire, I’m just leaving the Motel now I should be with you about 1545. How’s it going your end?’
‘The body has arrived, I’m just sorting some of the preliminaries before I get really started.’ She stated keenly.
‘How’s Bond?’ Mac enquired casually. Holly had already iterated Bond’s state to McIntire after she had packed him off in the helicopter and he had sounded bad.
Holly sounded confused. ‘How should I know?’
‘But I thought he was in the hospital your in now.’ Everybody from the operation were taken to the same hospital, so he thought. ‘Can you check to see if he was admitted there and if not check the other hospitals in the area.’ Mac was calm, there was not any need for panic. It was a massive operation with over three hundred heads involved from at least four different agencies, communications had broken down several times and someone may have forgotten to inform them of his whereabouts.
Holly knew that the one of the other injured had suffered spinal injuries that were very severe and he may have gone to a specialist unit. ‘It may be that due to the extent of their injuries they were flown to a hospital with a specialist treatment unit.’
Mac thought it was probably an oversight of the hospital and the guy with spinal injury would help locate Bond quicker as the extent of his wounds were pretty rare and he had shared the Marshall’s helicopter with Bond. He tried to sound convincing and thought that was probably the most logical explanation. ‘I’ll phone Marshall Oxford and see if he can find out were his helicopter dropped them off.’
As soon as he had hung up on Holly, he was calling the U.S Marshall who had been in charge of the hunt. ‘Oxford, its Agent McIntire, I’m trying to find the destination of one of your helicopters, it had the guy with the spinal injury, Agent Bond and two others. It didn’t drop them at the same hospital as the others.’
‘I’ll find the pilots and ask them. I’ll get back to you.’ Mac felt a bit more at ease, Oxford had shown he was more than competent and he would know soon of Bond’s whereabouts.