There was the smell of blood, smoke, and a faint fragrance. Was it the smell of detergent? Bruce's head was leaning on Hotch's shoulder. They were so close that Bruce could feel the warmth of Hotch's body under his thin shirt. His mind went blank for a moment.
"What happened over there? I heard gunshots. Are you … okay? "Garcia's anxious voice came from the phone.
Bruce came back to his senses and realized that Morgan had fired two shots at the shooter. Then, he ran in the direction that the shooter had fled with his gun. His phone was in Hotch's hand.
Oh my god, what was he doing?! How could he be in a daze in this place without any cover after getting shot? If he was still in the dimension, he would have died ten times over.
"Are you okay?" Hotch supported him with one hand.
"I'm fine." Bruce felt a little dizzy. He forced himself to stand up straight. He felt an inexplicable sense of regret. Then, he felt the pain. He frowned. The bullet had hit him from behind. It was around the right side of his chest. Although he couldn't see the situation behind him, his experience allowed him to judge the severity of the injury based on his own body.
Bruce's body swayed. The dizziness and the wet shirt sticking to his body told him that the situation wasn't good.
"Oh my god, Bruce, are you shot?" Garcia's voice sounded beside Bruce. It was so sharp that it made him feel dizzy.
"It's nothing, Garcia. Call me if you need anything." Bruce took the phone back from Hotch and hung up the call.
However, with the loss of blood, Bruce's strength gradually disappeared from his body. The phone fell from his hand. He fell on the ground and brought Hotch down with him.
"Jones?" Hotch immediately supported him with both hands. "I need to take a look at your wound." Then, he unbuttoned his suit with one hand.
Bruce's vision of Hotch was a little blurry. He blinked and tried to see clearly. Hotch had one hand on his shoulder and the other hand on his jacket. His brows were furrowed so tightly that the scar between his brows could be seen. There were traces of blood on his anxious face.
Indeed, Hotch had experienced the explosion as well. How could he be unscathed? He didn't even manage to catch him. Both of them had fallen to the ground.
Bruce suddenly realized that he couldn't go on like this. He would soon go into shock due to blood loss and lose consciousness.
Using all his power to heal the wound? No, no, no. It was too obvious. The bullet was still in his body. Perhaps he could carefully repair only the artery that was hit? But how could he explain the loss of so much blood?
What was there to explain when he was going to lose his life? Bruce showed a self-deprecating expression. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind – he might be able to use his talent to freeze the damaged part of the artery and temporarily stop the bleeding.
Bruce closed his eyes and concentrated. Although he had never tried this before, his experience in the dimension made his mental strength much stronger than ordinary people. This was also one of the reasons why he had such a strong perception. Very soon, he succeeded in doing so.
"Jones, don't close your eyes. Hang in there, Jones." Hotch patted his face.
Bruce opened his eyes and saw double. He blinked hard to feel better. Although the bleeding had stopped for the time being, the effects of the massive blood loss were still there. He still felt dizzy.
"Look at me. Hang in there." Hotch looked straight at Bruce. After seeing Bruce nod slightly, he said, "I need you to take off your jacket."
With Hotch's help, Bruce cooperated and extended his arm to let Hotch take off his jacket.
Hotch came behind Bruce. Bruce could clearly hear his heavy breathing. He did not need to look to know that his entire back was drenched in blood. His shirt was dyed red and still dripping with blood.
"You need to stop the bleeding." Hotch supported Bruce with one hand and opened the first aid kit beside them with the other.
Bruce felt the hand on his shoulder seemed to be trembling. "A bandage will do. The bleeding has basically stopped." He could not control himself and held the hand on his shoulder.
He blamed himself and hated himself for being weak. For the first time since he came to this world, he wanted to be strong. It was not to survive like in the Reincarnation Space, but for some other reason.
But before he could figure out the reason, an ambulance appeared around the corner and drove towards them.
Where did the ambulance come from? Bruce and Hotch looked at each other and saw the confusion in each other's eyes.
"Is the investigation done?" Bruce saw the police cars and ambulance lights gathered not far away and asked the uniformed paramedics who got out of the car.
"You called for help. I couldn't sit by and do nothing. My partner was too scared to come." The paramedics had brought a first aid kit. They first checked Joyner's condition on the ground and then walked towards Bruce. "Good first aid. You saved her life. Why is your body temperature so low?"
Indeed, Bruce used his ability to freeze the bleeding part of the artery. However, the blood flowing through the blood vessels would cause the temperature to rise. The frozen part would melt and he would have to keep freezing it. Even with Bruce's shallow biological knowledge, he knew that his body temperature was slowly dropping. If this continued, there would be problems.
He felt a chill in his body. It was not just because of the blood loss. Bruce stopped using his ability. Soon, red marks appeared on the bandage again. Fortunately, the paramedics were competent and helped Bruce stop the bleeding.
Bruce closed his eyes slightly. He was very weak now and could barely stand with Hotch's help.
"Both of them have lost a lot of blood. They need blood transfusions as soon as possible," the paramedics said.
"Send them to the hospital immediately." The paramedics placed Joyner on the gurney and helped her into the back of the ambulance. Bruce was also helped into the ambulance.
Hotch sat in the driver's seat and prepared to drive. Their destination was the nearest emergency center, St. Barclay's Hospital.
"Hey, look who's awake." The paramedics smiled. "Hello?"
Bruce looked at Joyner on the gurney. She opened her eyes.
"Is she awake?" Hotch looked back.
"Is it Aaron?" Joyner's voice was very weak.
"Are you Aaron?" The paramedics repeated.
"Yes, Kate. We did it." Hotch's voice was a little louder.
"Thank you." Joyner smiled.
"Don't thank me. Thank your partner. It's their work."
Bruce's face puffed up and he looked away gloomily. He hadn't been noticed by the woman until now. If he hadn't arrived with the first aid kit, the woman would have been dead. What was more annoying was the atmosphere between her and Hotch.
Then Bruce's gaze inadvertently passed by the paramedics. He paused. From the moment the paramedics appeared to the way they spoke, he felt that something was wrong.
This feeling of uneasiness reached its peak when Bruce learned that St. Barclay's Hospital, which they had arrived at, was under martial law. They finally entered the hospital with their identities as senior FBI agents and the possibility that they might not be able to make it to the next emergency center.
Joyner's gurney was pushed into the emergency room by the hospital's paramedics. Bruce struggled to stand up by holding onto the wall of the car. He reached out to the paramedics who had followed them all the way here. "Excuse me, can you help me up?"
A few seconds later, Bruce struggled to walk out from the back of the ambulance. The paramedics collapsed in the ambulance with a dagger in his hand. Regardless of whether he had a motive or not, the anesthetic on the dagger was enough to make him immobile for more than ten hours.
Unlike his team members, they would never lay their hands on a person if they did not have any evidence. However, for Bruce, suspicion was enough.
As soon as he got out of the ambulance, he saw Hotch, who had watched Joyner enter the emergency room, heave a sigh of relief and then faint. Bruce quickly took two steps forward and caught Hotch.
However, he obviously didn't have enough strength to support the weight of two adult and strong men. The two of them fell back at the same time.
Ouch, it hurts. The wound must have split open again. Bruce's eyes welled up with tears. Looking at the person in his arms, his gaze softened and he tightened his arms slightly.
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