Page 29 of The Session

Byron Martinez entered with a man Mark recognized as his fishing buddy and attorney, Henry Thorpe.

Byron glanced over at his stepson as he approached.

“Well, you don’t look too worse for wear,” he remarked, reaching out to pat Mark on his good shoulder. “How are you doing, Holly?”

“I’ve gotten better phone calls.”

“I can imagine. I spoke to Devon. He said to let him know when you all head home, and he’ll drop by with a six-pack.”

Henry Thorpe glanced at the police officers talking to Dr. Ruten, then asked Mark, “How is she doing?”

“The doctor says she’s stable and going to make it. We’re just waiting to make sure she isn’t saying that to get us out of her hair,” Mark joked.

The truth was, Mark didn’t feel like going home; he didn’t feel like doing anything. He just wanted to sit there forever.

The lawyer looked at Byron, then back to Mark. “That’s great news. Fantastic.”

“Good job, kid. I’m proud of you,” Byron told him.

“Absolutely. Holly,” said the attorney, “if you don’t mind, could we borrow Mark for a few minutes? We just need to go over a couple of details. We can all meet in the cafeteria in a few, if that’s okay.”

“Are you going to be okay, Mark?” Holly asked.

“Yeah, all good. I’ll see you in a few, okay?” he replied.

Byron waited for Holly to leave the waiting area. Then both men sat down on either side of Mark.

“I couldn’t be more proud of you, kid. You did exactly what I’d like to think I would do in that situation. That was brave,” Byron said. He nodded toward Mark’s shoulder. “Taking a hit like that to save somebody—that was selfless.”

“You’ve got a big set of balls on you, kid,” Thorpe agreed.

Byron gestured toward the police officers at the other end of the room. “They’ll be thanking you soon enough. Don’t worry.”

Other than being asked for statements, Mark had had very little interaction with the officers. It wasn’t something he’d thought about until now.

“What do you mean, ‘soon enough’?” Mark asked.

“Thorpe can explain it better than I can,” Byron replied.

Thorpe lowered his voice. “To be completely honest with you, they fucked up. They handled the situation poorly. They didn’t respond the right way. And it’s a shit show. I just spoke to the city attorney, and he’s getting an earful from the police department and the police union. The bystander who got grazed already has an attorney.”

Mark nodded at one of the detectives. “Well, I already gave him my statement. Hopefully things will clear up.”

“I’m sure they will, but in the meantime, I recommend you don’t give them any more statements without an attorney present,” Thorpe advised.

“Should I just refer them to you?” Mark asked.

Byron looked uncomfortable, staring at the floor.

“Here’s the problem—and we’ll work it out—but you’ll probably need a separate lawyer for now. And nobody here is blaming you. We know you acted with the best intentions, but the situation is complicated. The transaction for the sale of the company already went through, and when you and Devin ended your shift this morning, the insurance stopped. That means if the lawyers come after anyone, things are going to get very messy. FirstMed could void the sale. And that could put your dad and your family in a difficult situation, because it means they’re exposed to legal action,” Thorpe explained.

It wasn’t lost on Mark how Thorpe now referred to Byron as his “dad” and the family as his family—while also explaining that they had to distance themselves from Mark.

“What are you saying?” Mark asked.

Byron answered. “It’s a . . . not an ideal situation. I’ll make it right.”

“I can speak to your attorney and try to ensure that any statements you made that don’t accurately reflect what happened are discounted, given that you’re being treated in a hospital and in considerable pain. But we need to make it very clear that you were not acting on behalf of the ambulance service and that this was unauthorized,” Thorpe said.