Return to Red Hook

[Gaffer]

Delores sprawls flat on a hard, rough surface. There is a cacophony of sound, too reminiscent of the processions she has fled. She gazes into the darkness, seeking a refuge. Even though she feels the heat of leaping flames on her face and hears their roar, the blackness is absolute.


Dex stumbles forward a few steps and drops to one knee. Looking about, he thinks for a moment that he is in Hell. The darkness is lit by raging flames and pierced by banshee shrieks. Shadowy figures dash about chaotically with shouts and exclamations. nearby he sees Hirt writhing on the ground, arms pressed to his abdomen. Delores crouches, her hands still pressed to her eyes, weeping.

Then he realizes that the ground he kneels on is asphalt, with a manhole cover reading 224 BAY ST * BK'N at his feet. Looking about, he sees firemen running about, cops keeping crowds away from the blazing rowhouses behind him -- the cult headquarters! More firetrucks pull up, sirens ceasing their unearthly wail.

[Dexter Ford]

Dex gets to his feet. He looks around for both Hirt and Delores, likely spotting Delores first.
He runs or hobbles as the case may be, to Delores, helping her to her feet and wrapping her in his arms.
"We are home. Home in the city, back in Gotham, actually near that damn cult's hideout."
Dex searches his pocket to see if he still has his ID, including his expired badge as a Prohibition Agent.
If he still has his ID, he will look for some medical assistance. Whatever happens, he won't let Delores out of his sight.
He'll hobble over to Hirt with Delores in tow and wait for someone to come help both Delores and Hirt.

[Delores Brown]

Delores allows herself to be pulled across to Hirt, sliding again to the floor as they near him. Through tears, she studies him intently, reaching out a hand to try to touch his face.

[Gaffer]

As Dex pulls Delores to her feet, he looks into her eyes. They are wide and unfocused, but the pupils expand and contract with the changing light. As they get to Hirt, Dex sees blood pooling under his writhing torso. Delores, blindly groping, touches the front of his blood-sodden shirt.

At that moment, Franky Esposito is there, helping Delores to her feet: “Hang on, sweetheart, help is coming.

“Hey! Doc! We got some injured people here.”

As Franky holds Delores, a doctor hurries over, squatting by Hirt to take a quick look at his wounds. He calls for an ambulance and starts applying pressure to the long gash across his abdomen. In a few moments the ambulance is pulling away, siren growling, the doctor shouting “New York Methodist and step on it!”

“That’s where they took Marlene Hirt,” Franky says, “Maybe we better get you two over there. I got a car over here.God! I'm glad to see you two.”

[Delores Brown]

Delores says nothing, staring wildly around her, trying to rub Hirt's blood from her hand, rubbing harder and harder as it refuses to come off... ...

[Dexter Ford]

Dex looks at Delores and shakes his head. He's seen shock before on the faces of young officers who had been shot at. Dex, not much for psychology, knows they either come out of it or they fall deeper into depression. He nevertheless steers her over to Franky's car. "Alright, lets see this out to the end." He doesn't say much, but sits in the back with Delores. He takes one of her hands and squeezes it, holding onto it for the drive to the hospital.

He looks about, realizing he isn't wearing a shirt, just his leather jacket and that his empty shoulder holster flaps against his armpit. (Did he lose his .45 in the return?)
"Franky? What the hell happened while Delores and I were elsewhere getting Hirt back."

[Gaffer]

Franky talks as he whips the car through the streets of Red Hook.

"Jerry and I got Pat up to the street just as reinforcements started arriving, including an ambulance. We got Pat off to the hospital about the time Heinie came out, blasting at a bunch of guys following him. The uniformed boys pitched in with revolvers and shotguns and drove the rats back into their holes.

"That's when the fire started and we called for the firetrucks. They're just trying to contain the blaze. Not many cultists came out. Where's Two-gun?"

About then, Franky pulls up at the hospital and helps Delores out of the car.

As the enter the emergency clinic, Jerry O'Donough is leaning against the wall, tears streaming down his red cheeks. Pat Corydon isn't going to see his grandchild.

[Delores Brown]

Delores allows herself to be led into the hospital absent-mindedly. She sees the ladies cloakroom and steers towards it. "I wanna wash my hands," she says in a childish tone.

[Gaffer]

Delores,I don't seem to have made it clear that Delores cannot see. She is blind.

[Dexter Ford]

Dex follows into the hospital, his arm gently steering Delores when he realizes she cannot see. He had noticed earlier that her pupils seem to contract and respond to light, but her lack of vision...hysterical blindness was something he had seen a young rookie Prohibition Agent suffer from after a gangland shooting in Chicago. He was patient, helping her to avoid the worst travails as they enter into the hospital as he and Franky help her into the hospital.

Dex sees Jerry's look and shakes his head. "Franky, have we seen any sign of that nut job Marlena? Delores and I thought we caught a glimpse of her, but we lost all track of her in the chaos inside the building." He watches Delores wander off, and he grabs her by the elbow, gently. "Delores, it's Dex. What do you need?" He realizes she still can't see. "Delores, it will be okay. We need to get you cleaned up, see a doctor, and then home for some rest if they will let you out of the hospital."

He wasn't going to tell her about the others, not now, not yet. In time, however, he would.