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with the flash-bang he threw.  Maybe this is my fault.
    “No, no, Steve Woods is okay.  From what I understand, you somehow ended up on top of him and that kind of protected him.  He caught some of the nails in his left arm, but nothing major.  He spent the night,” Cartwright nodded at the empty bed.  “Home now.  So is the detective.  The female officer is still here, though.  Don’t know her name.  She’s pretty messed-up from what I gather.  Already had surgery twice.”
    “Nails?  I don’t understand.  What do you mean Steve caught some nails?”
    “Man, you really did get your bell rung.  They were from the bomb; the suspect was wearing one of those suicide vests.  It was packed with roofing nails, that kind of stuff.  That’s what got you.  They said if you hadn’t dove into that little alcove, you’d be dead; you’d both be dead.”
    “Shit.”
    “Yeah, tell me about it.  They called everyone in.  Thirty three dead, another twenty or so injured.”  He held up a hand and started counting off on his fingers.  “Same thing in Miami, L.A., New York, Dallas, Chicago,” he ran out of fingers but continued anyway, “Seattle, and Phoenix, I think.”
    It was almost too much for Max to comprehend.  “And you said Steve’s okay?”
    “Oh yeah.  He and his wife stopped by earlier, right before that Myra chick showed.  Said he’d be back later.”
    “How long have I been here?”
    “This is your second day.  They did surgery on you the day you got here.  You were out of it yesterday and, well, until just now.”
    “…we go to our affiliate in Dallas for coverage …”
    Max looked down at his feet and was relieved to see two of them there.  He wiggled them back and forth; pain, but they worked.  “So, what’s wrong with me?”
    “From what I hear, nothing much except one of your lungs was punctured and you had a bunch of metal in you.  They were more worried about your head.  I guess you were wearing a ballistic helmet and that protected you somewhat.  So concussion I guess, but don’t quote me on that.  You know what, you better ask the nurse.  That’s only what I heard.”
    “…eyewitness reports that the three gunmen moved methodically through the mall killing anyone …”
    Max tried to pull the sheet off the left side of his body, but couldn’t completely manage it.  “Help me out here.”
    From the waist down, he was black and blue and awash in Betadine.  Stitches crisscrossed his thigh.  He moved his hand down to his butt and felt more there and then to his ribs.  A thought suddenly occurred, and he moved his hand between his legs.  It was still there although there was a tube in it.  Jesus.  Thank God.
    He nodded at Cartwright and together they put the sheet back in place.
    “…the Superintendent of Dallas Independent School District has just announced all schools will be closed through Friday so security arrangements can be finalized.  …”
    “What about down at the Department?  What’s going on?” Max asked.
    “Well, it’s twelve on, twelve off.  All the Reserves have been called up.  They got teams of twos patrolling areas where people congregate; shopping malls, City Hall, you know, places like that.  Word has it Homeland Security is sending in some people to cover federal buildings and a few other places we can’t watch full time.  To make matters worse, I guess calls for service have gone up, way up.  The gun stores have been swamped and some fights have broken out.  Then a bunch of idiots beat up some Sheikh guy at that stop ‘n rob on Keyes, thinking he was a Muslim.  And now, because a lot of people are staying close to home, the domestic violence calls have gone up.  Everyone’s pretty much just responding to in-progress stuff.  Hey, people are afraid.  Can’t blame ‘em either.  The wife and kids are afraid to go outside. ...You know what, I better get back out there,” Cartwright said, nodding toward the door.