The Interstellar Police Force, Book One: The Historic Mission by Raymond Klein (ebook reader 7 inch txt) 📕

Trent just stood there. He could do nothing but stare, worrying more and more about Jennifer.

Then he saw her.

“Genghis! There she is.”

Jennifer was sitting on a gurney in the back of one of the ambulances with a paramedic by her side. Another one was climbing into the driver's seat. She had a clear plastic mask over her nose and mouth. She saw them too and raised a hand and gave them a weak little wave. They both approached.

“Twinkie, are you alright? Are you hurt?” Genghis hopped up and placed his front paws onto the bumper of the ambulance to get a better look at her. She was slightly hyperventilating and just shook her head no. Jeff turned to the paramedic, “Madam, how badly is she hurt?”

The paramedic was taking a blood pressure cuff off of Jennifer, “She’s got very minor burns on her hands and feet and possible smoke inhalation. I’m going to be taking her in and have her held overnight for observation.”

Jennifer looked at the paramedic and in between deep gasps of air, “No! I don’t want to.”

“Twinkie,” Trent said softly. She looked at him with eyes that were ringed in red. He saw black soot around her nose and the corners of her mouth. The ends of her hair were singed, her clothes were reeking of smoke. “Twinkie, you do what this doctor says.” He reached up and gently pushed her hair off her eyes. “Okay?”

Jennifer pulled the mask a little away from her face so she could talk. “It started so fast.” She took a big gasp of air. “People were running and screaming.” Another big gulp of air. “I was going down the stairs with everybody else, and somebody pushed me and knocked me down.” She absentmindedly rubbed her right knee that had a light purple bruise on it. Another big inhale. “That’s when I remembered my picture and ran back to my apartment.”

Genghis looked. Leaning against her on the gurney was the framed picture of Jennifer and her dog. The glass had a crack running through it.

Another big gasp of air. “The fire alarm was so loud and there was so much smoke.” She started hyperventilating again. “I was so scared,” and she started to cry.

“Okay, Jennifer. That’s enough,” the paramedic gently said, readjusting the oxygen mask. “Jennifer, I’m going to lower the back of the gurney now, and I want you to lie back, okay?”

“Okay,” Jennifer said, in between sobs. As she was lying back she looked up at Jeff. “Will you come and get me tomorrow?”

Trent reached in and took Jennifer’s hand, “Of course we will.”

The paramedic reached for the doors of the ambulance, “Let’s move out, Mickey,” she said to the man behind the wheel. She looked at Trent and said, “She’ll be at Saint Mary’s.”

Trent looked at her and said, “Thank you, Doctor.” The paramedic smiled at that and gave Trent a wink and closed the doors.

Genghis Khan and Jeff Trent stood and watched as the ambulance drove down the road and over a small rise two blocks away and disappeared behind it, flashing lights slowly surrendering to the darkness.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Genghis was standing on the back bench seat of the Thunderbird, eyes glued to the large double glass doors of Saint Mary’s. The top of the cruiser was down as always, and Trent had parked it about twenty yards from the hospital, the only spot he could find. The doors slid open and Genghis’s ears perked up. A male and a female with a small child in tow came out to a waiting car by the front curb. There were three news trucks parked in front of the hospital. Reporters stood in front of cameras on tripods.

“My! Aren’t you a handsome dog?” a lady said to the Doberman, as she passed the Thunderbird. This broke Genghis’s concentration on the door as he turned his head to see who was talking to him. “Bug off!”

The apartment fire of Building C of the Compton Apartments finally came under control around seven that morning when it completely collapsed into itself. Twenty-five people were injured with everything from minor cuts and scrapes to smoke inhalation to third degree burns. Seven were dead, with two still missing.

Genghis fixed his eyes again on the glass doors of Saint Mary’s, not knowing why he couldn’t turn away. He stood there and stared. The doors automatically slid open, and Genghis was fixated on them. Then, Jeff emerged. He stopped and turned, looking into the lobby of the hospital. An orderly came out pushing a wheelchair with Jennifer. Jeff reached into his trench coat pocket and put his Wayfarers on as the orderly locked the wheel chair and helped Jennifer to her feet. Genghis’s tail started vigorously wagging back and forth. “There it goes again!”

Jennifer was walking gingerly with her arm hooked around Trent’s elbow wearing cheap hospital slippers and light green hospital scrubs. As they got closer, Genghis heard her say, “Oh, it’s so nice being outta there.” Trent opened the passenger side door for her and she sat down. Genghis couldn’t help himself and he wasn’t sure why, but he leaned over and started licking Jennifer’s face, ears folded back on his head. “Okay, okay, I missed you too, Genghis.” She took both hands and cradled his head and gave him a kiss on his nose. Which made him sneeze loudly.

Jennifer’s injuries were not serious enough for bandages. She had a small white bag with prescription pain medication just in case and a cream that she was told to put on her hands and feet twice a day. Her lungs were clear. Trent sat behind the wheel and started up the Thunderbird.

“Twinkie, are you hungry?” Jeff asked, as they pulled from the parking spot.

“Yes!” she replied. “Hospital food sucks!”

They drove onto the road, and Jeff replied, “I know of a great French restaurant with very nice outdoor seating.”

Jennifer didn’t realize how hungry she really was. It was 6 pm, and the three of them