Smash

Chapter 1 Joe “There’s three already dead. We should get over there and see if some of the witnesses went into the hospital with them. If they were at a party or something, we may be able to get an id on a dealer,” Dru said to the clan. “I’m going to stay behind. Once you all are there, I’m going to start tapping into the cell signals around you and see if I can link up to anyone’s cell phone,” Terrell decided, already typing away on his laptop. The rest of the men loaded up into Dru’s truck and headed over to the local hospital, Wheeling General Hospital. The hospital had a steady stream of overdose victims rolling in and the Chief of Staff working the emergency room called the Z.P.O. as soon as the third one died. The men were silent in the truck ride over. The organization had been fairly quiet since closing their last case where Jake’s mate, Stephanie, was involved. A string of overdoses sounded like they were about to be back in full chaotic motion. Once they arrived at the hospital, Dru, their alpha, sought out the Chief of Staff, Mark. The rest of the guys split up and started searching for any witnesses that would possibly be lingering in the hospital waiting rooms. Joe came up empty on the wing he had selected, but he was glad. He had chosen the maternity ward. The amount of times they had been called to question a strung out expectant mother was an absolutely disgusting number. As Joe met back up with Jake and Rocky, he shook his head, causing both men to release a breath they had been holding. Then Rocky nodded his head towards the wing he had went down. Dru caught up with them and silently fell in step with them. “I’ve got a handful hanging out in one of the cardiac unit waiting rooms. I haven’t approached them, but from looks alone I’d say they’re druggies for sure.” Jake, Joe, and Dru nodded as they followed Rocky down the halls. The hospital was one of the largest in the area, but the different towers were laid out well. The men could easily navigate through the different units. If one of their so-called witnesses decided to run, they would easily be able to corner them. When Rocky motioned towards a small cardiac waiting room, Joe took one look and instantly agreed with Rocky. The small group of renegades were definitely strung out. More than likely they were waiting for either their turn on the gurney or an update on one of their coked-out friends. Dru stepped up and took the lead. “Hello. My name is Dru and I’m with a local drug task force. I’d like to ask you all some questions,” he said, his voice stern not giving the junkies an option. One of the men started to stand up, but Joe and Rocky quickly flanked the doorway. The man turned and took a quick look around the waiting room, soon realizing he wasn’t going to be able to exit anywhere except past them. He slumped back down and proceeded to glare at Dru. “There’s been a string of overdoses tonight, some of which have resulted in fatalities. Can you all give us a timeline of what went down tonight at your party?” Dru asked. Dru laid the blame on the group by suggesting it had been there party. When people felt backed into a corner, they had a tendency to start talking. The thought of being pinned with the blame usually scared them into giving up the guilty party’s name. Sometimes though it would just piss them off. “Listen, were not snitches. We’re just here waiting for updates on our friends. We don’t have to answer your questions anyways,” one of the young women scoffed. Dru shrugged and then looked at the young man that had tried to bolt. “So, did your usual dealer sell you all the drugs tonight or was it a new guy?” Dru asked. The young man was obviously nervous. Joe could smell the fear all over the kid. He could also smell a fair amount of drugs and beer. Dru was homing in on the guy’s instincts to run. A lot of times those who want to run are the first ones to start giving names. “Umm,” the guy started to say, but was interrupted when the mouthy woman elbowed him in the side. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but did you just assault that young man?” Rocky asked, taking a step forward. “I didn’t assault him. My elbow slipped off the arm of the chair. Listen, we don’t know anything about dealers or drugs, or any of that. We’re here as worried friends. You all should be ashamed of yourselves, harassing us like this.” The woman had stood up during her vehement speech. If her slurred words weren’t a good enough sign, the fact that she could barely hold herself upright was another good indicator. Dru remained seated, but Joe had taken a step forward. It was his bears natural instinct to defend his alpha, even though his alpha didn’t really need the back up. One of the other men that had been quiet throughout the entire situation finally stood up. His eyes were bloodshot, and his clothes were tattered and dirty. He looked like he had been living outside for weeks. His overall calmness pricked at Joe’s bear’s adrenaline. Joe took another step forward as he continued to hold the glazed over eyes of the man. “Do you need something, guy?” Joe asked. The man didn’t say a word, but he took several more steps forward. Joe was just about to reach out and grab the man when the man suddenly fell face down on the floor. Dru jumped up and into action. He swiftly checked the man’s wrist for a pulse. He apparently hadn’t found one, so he flipped the guy over and began to do chest compressions. “Go get help, he’s overdosing,” Dru yelled. Joe turned and ran down the hallway with Rocky and Jake. They were all yelling for help. A group of nurses came around the corner then and immediately hit a run when Rocky yelled they had another overdose. The nurses took over and eventually lifted the body, talking to each other the whole time in what seemed like gibberish to Joe. They disappeared down a corridor of doors, leaving the four shifters behind. At that moment, Joe decided he’d had enough of the small group’s s**t. He turned and went back into the room. The two women were crying while the other young man was giving his hands a thorough once over, obviously still torn between telling the truth or losing his friends. Joe slammed his fist down on one of the coffee tables, grabbing everyone’s attention. “I want to know who the f*****g dealer was tonight. I also want a play by play of what went down at that party, and I want it now,” he growled. The mouthy woman’s back went ramrod straight, and he could tell she was about to spew more jargon. He let his bear slightly take over, then. Just enough so that his eyes glowed and his canines lengthen. He let out a bone chilling growl then, making the group aware of just what he was. After a few more seconds of his scare tactics, he reigned his bear back in. “Now, who was the f*****g dealer?”