The Imposter

When Sal finally came to, all he could see was darkness. In trying to figure out what was going on, he had a heartbreaking flashback of his mother being shot in the head and him being kidnapped by his boss. "I'm so sorry mom. I didn't mean to kill you," Sal said, as tears rolled down his face. He suddenly smelled blood, and as he wondered where it was coming from, the boss snatched the bag from off his head. Sal winced in pain from the pounding in his head and from the brightness of the light. "Oh you're awake," he says, as he laughs sinisterly. When Sal's eyes finally adjusted, he could see that he was hanging upside down, with his arms and legs bound, with his mouth covered, and he was in HappyLand.

HappyLand was what their mafia gang called their torture building. The boss came up with the name for the building to help evade detection from the police, if they were ever to get caught. Because no one would ever suspect a place with that name to be where his mafia gang does most of their murders. The name also fit, because the boss found enjoyment in torturing and killing people. "You know I never thought I would bring you here under these circumstances," the boss said, as he sat down and leaned back in his chair, "but you betrayed me Sal." Sal struggled against his bindings, "Mhmmm mmmmm," Sal screamed through the mouth covering, trying to speak. The boss chuckled to himself, as he squatted down to get closer to Sal. "I guess you want to speak. Hmm?" Sal shook his head yes. He then took the knife out that he had in his back pocket, to rip the mouth covering off, cutting Sal in the process. "Oops," he laughed, as Sal screamed in pain, while blood trickled down his face.

"Boss I'm sorry, I promise to make it up to you. Please don't kill me!" Sal pleaded. The boss walked over slowly, as Sal's heart pounded in anticipation. "Sorr-" he paused, as he viciously kicked Sal in the head like he was punting a football. "Sorry. You're sorry?" He cruelly laughed, while he watched Sal swing from side to side. "Sorry isn't going to fix this Sal. I gave you 48 hours to deliver me that bitch or Harrington and you didn't. Now you have to deal with the consequences," he said, as he aggressively re-covered Sal's mouth. Sal watched in horror, as he saw his boss walk over to his torture table. On the table there were saws, shears, knives, teeth extraction tools, a sledge hammer, and other items to be used as torture devices. He picked up the shears and walked towards Sal, with a sinister grin. Sal's eyes bulged out of his head in fear.

He walked behind Sal and stared down at him smiling mischievously, as he placed one of Sal's fingers in the shears, and cut it off. Sal wailed, as he violently jerked his body, causing him to swing back and forth. The boss proceeded to cut off all of Sal's fingers and toes, he then walked back over to place the shears down and pick up another tool. The blood began to seep into Sal's clothes. The boss picked up the sledge hammer, swinging it at his side, as he watched Sal squirm, before bashing Sal in his side with it. Sal vomited from the pain, causing him to start suffocating on his own vomit. The boss leaned down, ripping the tape off Sal's mouth, causing the vomit to fly out. "Oh no! You can't die on me yet. I'm just getting started," he said, as he smiled wickedly. He turned around and placed the sledgehammer against the wall. He then took out his knife to stab Sal in non-lethal places all over his body, while also proceeding to deeply cut into both of Sal's achilles heels.

Sal's torture went on for hours. He was beaten, stabbed, brutally sodomized with tools, his limbs were cut off, he was repeatedly kicked, and more. Sal was barely hanging on to his life, as the boss prepared for the last and final torture session. "Because I have love for you, and you were my second in command, I think imma end it here-" "you know as a sign of respect," he psychotically laughed. He pulled up a large tin bucket placing it right under Sal's head. The boss then took a scalpel and slit Sal's throat. He watched as the blood squirted out his neck, and into the bucket. He looked on with a smile, as he watched Sal's body violently twitch. Before Sal took his last breath, he turned around to pick up the sledgehammer and bashed his head in, killing him instantly. The boss sat down in the chair, coldly laughing and lighting up a cigar, as he admired his work. He then walked over to his torture table and picked up a handsaw. He then proceeded to walk back over to Sal, "I need a souvenir to add to my collection," he said as he kissed sal on the cheek and smiled.

He began to saw off Sal's head, and when he was done he picked it up and smiled. "Isn't this such a beautiful site Sal," he said with a hearty laugh, as he turned Sal's head to face his own lifeless body. "Phew. I worked up an appetite," he said, as he blew out a cloud of smoke and walked over to press a button, to call a few of the other DTS members. "Take him down and burn his body in our cremation oven," he told them. The DTS members stared in horror and sadness, as they watched their other leader's lifeless body swing back and forth, with blood everywhere, and the boss holding his head in his hand, that was now unrecognizably destroyed. "Move before you be next," the boss shouted, his voice so deep, it reverberated off the walls, causing them to jump out of their skin. "Oh! and there better be food waiting for me when I get back to my office, or your families will be hosting multiple funerals," he said as he left, taking Sal's head with him. "Please have food waiting for the boss pronto. Before we all end up dead today," one of the men said through his radio. The men quickly got Sal down, burned his body, and scattered his ashes into the ocean.

Back at the hospital Mike, Ashley, Jack, and Johnson all sat waiting, on pins and needles for the doctor to come in and tell them about Sarah's condition. "I'm going to go find a nurse to see what is going on, and to let them know we are in here, so the doctor knows where to find us," Jack said, as he quickly got up, unable to sit still anymore. Jack left the room and walked to the nurse's station, just down the hall. "Hi ma'am, I am trying to get an update on Sarah Jenkins' condition," Jack said, as he tried to calm his nerves. "Yes sir, let me check that for you," the nurse said with a smile. "Mrs. Jenkins is still in surgery, but the doctor will be out soon to give you an update on her condition," she explained. "Uhm okay thank you. Please let the doctor know that I am in room 302," he replied. "Will do, sir." Jack walked away, his nerves shot, as it's been over two hours now, and all his mind could do is think of the worst case scenario. "What if she is dead and they just don't want to tell us," he said to himself, as he walked back into Mike's room.

"What did they say?" Mike immediately asked. "She is still in surgery and the doctor will be here soon to update us on her condition," Jack said, as he hung his head low and he dragged his feet back to his seat. "Man this shit has been taking forever. It's been almost 3 hours," Mike said angrily. "I know, but there is nothing we can do about that, at the moment. All we can do is wait," Ashley interjected. Jack sat in silence, as Mike huffed and puffed. They all sat and waited for another hour, but it seemed like an eternity.

The doctors in Sarah surgery walked out of the surgery room exhausted. Taking off their mask and smocks, and throwing them into the waste bin next to the door. "Doctor Lee," the nurse said, as he walked past the nurses station. Dr. Lee looked up, "how can I help you?" "The family of Sarah Jenkins is in room 302 and they are waiting for you," the nurse explained. "Ok. I'll be there in a few," he said. Dr.Lee went back to his office to put on his lab coat and got himself ready, to tell the family the news. He took a few minutes to compose and fixed himself up, before heading over to where her family was waiting.

*Knock* *Knock* "Yes?" Mike says. Dr. Lee proceeded in, walking over to everyone. "Hello I'm Dr.Lee, and I was one of the surgeons working on Sarah's surgery," he began to say, but before he could finish, Jack quickly hopped up, cutting Mike off before he could speak, and bombarded the doctor with questions. "Is she okay?" "Did she die?" "What took you so long?" He asked, urgently needing answers. "Ok. I understand your sense of urgency, but please have a seat and I'll explain further," he replied. Jack quickly sat down, as Mike looked at him sideways, but began to speak, "no seriously is she okay?" Mike asked, very concerned. "Sarah's surgery was very complex. There was a lot of internal bleeding, scar tissue, and the bullet did puncture her stomach. While working diligently on her and trying to stop the internal bleeding, she flatlined-"

Ashley and Johnson gasped loudly, causing the doctor to pause momentarily. Jack sat quietly shaking and Mike began to cry. "So she died," Mike said, his voice cracking. "No she isn't dead. We were able to revive her, but unfortunately she isn't waking up. The trauma on her body was so severe, that I believe this is her body's way of healing itself," he explained. "So when can we see her and how long will it take her to wake up?" Jack asked cutting right to the chase. "We are running a few more tests on her, but it could be a few hours, days, weeks, months, or even years before she wakes up, but it's ultimately up to her, to fight her way back to life." "And when can we see her," Mike asked again. "I'm sorry I thought I answered that question, you can see her in about 30 minutes after we are done running a few tests."

"Thank you," Jack said. "You're welcome," Dr. Lee replied, as he took his leave. They all sat in stunned silence, trying to take it all in. "She will be ok. she is a fighter," Johnson said, breaking the silence. Jack just looked at him with tears in his eyes, and prayed for Sarah's recovery. Jack sat down, as he nervously shook his leg up and down, counting down the minutes and seconds until he could see Sarah again. Time moved so slowly for everyone in that room. It was as if time was frozen in place. One of the nurses finally came in to escort them over to Sarah's room. When Jack walked through Sarah's hospital room door and saw her hooked up to all those monitors, it was like the wind was knocked out of his lungs and his heart shattered. Trying to be strong, he forced his legs to move, and didn't let the tears fall, that welded up in his eyes. He pulled up a chair and held her hand. Despite everything she still looked beautiful to him. "Sorry I couldn't protect you. Please come back to me, to us. I promise if you make it through this, I will protect you with my entire life. Sarah this can't be how your story ends," Jack said, as he held her hand and silently cried.

Johnson helped Mike over to Sarah's room, pushing him in a wheelchair, as Ashley followed closely behind them. When they finally reached her room, Ashley held the door open for them, as Johnson pushed Mike through. When Johnson pushed Mike up to Sarah's bed, Mike looked at everyone confused. "What in the fuck is this shit?" He asked angrily. Johnson looked at Ashley confused, as Jack lifted his head up. "Mike, I don't have time for your bullshit. What the fuck are you going on about now," Jack said, through gritted teeth. "Who the fuck is this?" Mike yelled. Jack pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to calm down. "One of y'all better tell me what the fuck is going on," he yelled. A nurse came rushing in the room after hearing all the commotion. "Is everything alright in here?" She asked, concerned. "Yes everything-"

"No everything is not alright," Mike interjected. The nurse's eyes shifted between Jack and Mike. "What's wrong?" She asked nervously and unsure what to do. "It's alright ma'am. He is just overwhelmed by her condition," Jack said, as he walked over to the nurse, while shooting daggers at Mike. "Are you sure?" She asked. "Yes I'm sure, everything is fine, no need to worry," Jack smiled. The nurse said, "okay well if you need anything just let me know," as she turned around and left. Jack quickly turned back around and walked over to Mike, towering over him. "This is Sarah. We needed to reconstruct her face to keep her safe from the police, mafia, and the Russian spies," Jack angrily whispered. Mike, understanding the situation, immediately apologized. As Jack walked back to his seat to sit down, he saw the door slightly cracked open. He slowly walked over to it. "Is the govern-" "quiet," Jack said to Mike, cutting him off, as he walked closer to the door to see if anyone was listening. The nurse that was just in the room panicked, as she didn't want to get caught eavesdropping and ran in to the room next door.

When Jack finally reached the door he snatched it open and popped his head out, scanning both sides of the hallway to see if anyone was there. "What is it Jack?" Ashley asked. "I thought I saw someone and they were eavesdropping on our conversation, but I guess I was wrong," he said, as he went to sit back down. When Jack sat back down, he quietly explained to Mike, all that transpired after he was kidnapped, all the way up until now. "That's some crazy shit. I can't believe you had to do all this to keep her safe," Mike said, as he held Sarah's other hand. "Thank you Jack and the both of you two as well for doing everything in your power to keep Sarah safe." "No problem," both Ashley and Johnson say simultaneously.

The nurse quietly exited the room and quickly walked back to the nurse's station. She got back to her desk, breathing a sigh of relief. "What's wrong with you?" One of the nurses asked. "I think there is something more going on with that Sarah Jenkins patient," she said, as she leaned in and whispered. "Like what?" The nurse asked. "The patient in room 302 freaked out when he saw her." "Okay and? Maybe she is just badly injured," the nurse said. "I thought that too, but I overheard that guy who came to the nurse's station earlier, say that they had to change her face to protect her from the police, mafia and something else," she explained. The other nurse's mouth dropped. "Exactly. That was my same reaction," she added. "What are you so shocked about," another nurse chimed in. "Brittany was just telling me about what's going on with this Sarah Jenkins patient," the other nurse answered. "Sarah Jenkins?" nurse Jane rhetorically asked. "Do you know her?" Brittany asked. "No, but that name sounds very familiar," Jane replied.

As nurse Jane went and sat down at her desk, she began to rack her brain on where she heard that name from. She pulled out her phone, to search the name and to see if anything popped up. Just as Jane typed in Sarah Jenkins, an article popped up titled "WOMAN WANTED FOR MURDER" with Sarah's picture on it. Jane jumped out of her chair, dropping her phone and gasped, while she covered her mouth with her hands. Both Brittany and the other nurse turned around to see what all the commotion was about. "Jane, are you okay? What's wrong?" Brittany asked. "Tha.. tha.. that's the woman I was caring for a while back, that escaped from the hospital and she is wanted for murder," Jane said trembling. "Who? Sarah!?" Brittany asked, shocked at her response. "Yes!" Jane shouted, causing everyone to look over at her. "Okay let's calm down," Brittany said. "We need to call the cops now," the other nurse replied. Brittany walked over to pick up Jane's phone from off the floor, and help her sit back down in her seat. "Yes, call the cops, but make sure no one informs the people in room 320, so they won't try to escape," Brittany said to the other nurse as she comforted Jane.

"What if they find out and kill me because I remembered her," Jane said, scared. "That's not going to happen, we will make sure that they don't suspect anything," Brittany responded. The other nurse picked up the phone and called the cops. "911 what's your emergency?" The 911 dispatcher said. "We have a wanted murderer here in our hospital by the name of Sarah Jenkins, please send police immediately," the nurse said. "What hospital are you at?" The dispatcher asked. "I am at Foothill Hospital. Please send someone quickly please," the nurse begged. "Police are on their way and will be there soon," the dispatcher said, before ending the call. "They said the police are on their way and should be here soon," the nurse turned to say to Brittany and Jane. "Ok good. Call the front desk downstairs and let them know to immediately let the cops up and it quietly, when they get here. I will take Jane to the break room and let the director of nursing know what's going on," Brittany said. "Ok I'm on it," the nurse replied. Brittany escorted Jane to their break room and got her some coffee, she then left to go to the director of nursing's office, to let them know what was happening. The other nurse called down to the front desk and to give them a heads up on what was going on.

At the police station detectives James and Jones were sitting at their desk having a conversation about their cases, when a call came through. "Detective James speaking, how can I help you?" "There was just a call that came in from Foothill Hospital stating they have a wanted murderer in one of their hospital rooms," the person on the other end said. James gestured at detective Jones to get his things so they could head out. "We're on our way," James replied. "Oh I forgot to tell you the name of the wanted murderer is Sarah Jenkins," they stated. Detective James stopped in his tracks, "What.. What did you just say?" "The murderer is Sarah Jenkins." Jones turned to look at James, and saw confusion written all over his face. "What's wrong," he mouthed. James put his hand up, to signal to Jones to wait. "Okay thank you we will be right over," James said, as he hung up the phone.

As soon as he hung up the phone, Jones asked him "what was that all about." "That was a call from police dispatch and they said there is a wanted murderer at Foothill Hospital," James stated. "Okay... why do you look confused?" Jones asked. "Because that wanted murderer is Sarah Jenkins," James told him. Jones cocked his head to the side confused, "How is that even possible? Sarah Jenkins is dead," Jones replied. "I know, but we are about to find out," James said, as he got his things and headed out to his car, with Jones following right behind him. "I hope this is a case of mistaken identity, because if not this is going to be some shit," Jones said, as he ran to catch up to him.

James and Jones drove over to the hospital together. When they pulled into the parking lot, they quickly walked into the hospital and up to the front desk. "Hello we are detective James and detective Jones," James said, as they both showed their badges. "Oh yes the nurses upstairs informed me that the police were coming," the receptionist said. "They are on the third floor." "Thank you," James said, as he and Jones walked over to the elevator, to get up to the third floor. Once they stepped off the elevator, they walked over to the nurses station. "Hi sir, how can I help you?" Brittany asked. "Yes we are here to follow up on a call about a wanted murderer," Jones said showing his badge. "Oh yes. They are in room 320," Brittany stated. "Thank you," Jones said, as they walked away. "Oh detective Jones!" Brittany yelled out.

Jones turned around, walking back to the nurses station to see what she needed. "Yes," he said. "I forgot to tell you. I overheard them saying that they changed her identity to protect her from the police, mafia, and something about Russia I believe," Brittany said. Jones was shocked at what he just heard, but he didn't let it show. "Thank you for the additional information," Jones said, as he walked back towards detective James. "James," Jones said, as he got closer. "Hm," James replied. "That nurse back there just told me that she overheard them say that they changed Sarah's identity to hide her from the police, mafia, and something about Russia," Jones stated. James looked at Jones, and smirked, as they approached the room door.

James opened the door and walked in, as Jones followed. Everyone looked up at them, confused. Jack got up from his seat, as he walked over to see who just walked in. "Hello. Can I help you," Jack asked. "Yes we are here to see Sarah Jenkins," James said, as he looked over at the woman lying in the bed unconscious. "Uhmm who are you?" Jack asked. "Oh we're just acquaintances," James said, as he moved in closer to Sarah's bed. Mike, Ashley, and Johnson all nervously looked at each other. "Well as you can see she is sleeping right now can you come back later," Jack said. "Sure thing. We are sorry for intruding. We will come back another time," James said, as he signaled to Jones for them to leave. As they left, James stayed back to eavesdrop. Jack rushed over to the bed, "what the fuck was that?" He whispered. "Do you think they are cops?" Ashley asked. "I don't know, but we can't blow Sarah's cover before we get everything situated. We still need to clear her name in the murder investigation," Jack stated. "I got you now," James said, as he smiled and walked away.

James walked up to the nurses station. "Excuse me, I have a question about the patient in room 320," James said. "Yes, what is it that you need to know?," Brittany asked. "What is her condition?" James asked. "Unfortunately she is in a coma, but we don't know when she will wake up," Brittany stated. "Hmm that's unfortunate. Well when she wakes up, you need to call me immediately," James said, as he handed her his card. "Will do, sir," she said. James headed back over to Jones, as they both left the hospital to head back to the precinct. "So the coroner was right about her suspicion that the woman we found isn't really Sarah Jenkins," Jones said, "I wonder who's body we just have sitting in our morgue. We need to find out so we can notify their family," Jones added. "We need to get a warrant for her arrest," James said, as they walked to their desk. "Yes we do, but how when she is in a coma," Jones questioned. "I don't know, but I'll talk to the chief and see what he says," James said. "I also told one of the nurses to give me a call when she wakes up," he added. "Hope it's soon," Jones responded.

James headed over to the chief's office, to get his advice on the situation. *Knock* *Knock* "Come in," the chief said. "Hey chief I need your take on one of my cases," James said, as he walked in and sat down. "What's going on," he said, as he looked up from his paperwork. "Remember that woman Sarah Jenkins," James said. "Yes she died over a couple weeks ago," the chief stated. "Yes.. well... she never died. She just faked her death and changed her face, but now she is in the hospital and in a coma. I need to know how to go about getting an arrest warrant for her, since we don't know when or if she will ever wake up," James explained. "Hm that's a tough one, because we can issue an arrest warrant and not even be able to arrest the suspect," the chief said. "I did inform the nurses to call us when she wakes up," James added.

"Well unfortunately this will be a waiting game, as we need her to wake up from her coma before we can do anything," the chief says. "Ugh ok. I figured that would be the case," James retorted. "Well, keep me updated and if she wakes up soon, I'll immediately get the arrest warrant issued, so we can take immediate action," the chief said. "Thank you sir," James said, as he took his leave. James walked back to his desk trying to rack his brain on any other options he could find. "What did the chief say?" Jones asked. "He said we can't do anything until she wakes up," James said. "Damn, well hopefully it's soon and we can arrest her and close this case. "Yea. I hope so," James said. "Well while we're at it, let's figure out the identity of that woman that we have sitting in our morgue, so we can get to the bottom of this," Jones replied.