Part 12
Travis was waiting for his men to kill Caine and Kermit. He heard some fighting outside, and knew that his men had failed. He turned and pulled out his gun and pointed it at Peter. Peter watched as Travis pointed the gun at him. He knew that this time Travis was going to kill him.
"Pop, I think this is it. I am sorry I didn't get to say good-bye to you." Peter heard the gun cock. He closed his eyes and waited. "Good-bye Peter. Too bad I couldn't have more fun with you." Travis pulled the trigger. Peter felt the bullet enter his body and cried out in agony as it burned through his flesh. He felt his life slowly ebb away.
Now I must leave before everyone gets here."
"Too late. Make one false move and I will blow you away."
Travis turned and saw Kermit and Caine standing in the doorway. Caine rushed past Travis to his son. He looked at Peter and knew that if he wasn't rushed to the hospital immediately, he would die.
"Caine, how is he?"
"He is dying. He must get medical attention soon or he will not live."
Kermit paled at hearing the news. He felt his finger tighten on the trigger of the gun. Travis saw this as well.
"Go ahead and shoot. Then you will be going to jail for murder. Go ahead and try it." Travis said with a smile on his face. Kermit loosened his hold on the trigger. No, Travis would not get away that easily.
"Pop?"
"Yes, my son."
"I knew you would be here. Is Kermit here?"
"Yes. He is handcuffing Travis right now."
"Then you caught him. Good. Guess I don't have much time left. I wish we could have spent more time together. Tell Mom that?.." Peter stopped and gasped in pain.
"Hush. You must rest now my son. Save your energy. You will be fine."
" I love you, Pop." Peter said as his eyes closed.
"I love you to, my son."
Kermit rushed over after calling for an ambulance. He made sure that Travis was not going anywhere. He had also called the precinct to tell them what happened and that he needed back up. Kermit saw that Peter was in bad shape. He could see that he was losing a lot of blood.
"Is he going to make it?"
"I do not know. " Caine felt helpless. He could do nothing to help save his son. He was still too weak from the search. Caine could only sit and watch as Peter slowly slipped away from him. "Please, my son, do not leave me. I need you. Please fight this. I do not know if I can handle losing you again." As Kermit watched, Caine began to cry.
"Where are those damn paramedics? Come on kid hang in there. You can't die just yet. You and I need to have our little talk about you staying out of trouble. I thought I told you I didn't want you to have to go back to the hospital again. Now stay with us." Jody and Blake came in with the paramedics right behind them. The paramedics quickly began work on Peter to stabilize him.
"God, this guy is in bad shape. He has been shot, and his back is covered with welts that are still bleeding. The bullet may have damaged his lungs. I want him to be given oxygen until we get him to the doctor. He may stop breathing. I am not going to lose this one."
They placed Peter into the ambulance and sped away. Kermit and Caine followed it to the hospital. Jody and Blake went and put Travis in jail, and to get the paper work started. Kermit said that he would be in later to finish it up.
They all sat waiting for any news. Kelly had brought Annie. Caine sat there trying to see what was going on with his son. But he could feel nothing. Just then the doctor came out. The expression on his face was not very encouraging.
"We have managed to get the bleeding stopped. But he is still in critical condition. We may still lose him. The next couple of hours will be the turning point. We are moving him to ICU right now. I wish I had better news. You will be able to see him once he is settled in." Caine and Annie entered in slowly. Caine saw that Peter was attached to many different machines. Each one was monitoring his condition. Suddenly Peter gasped. Then the heart monitor began to beep. His heart had stopped
beating.