Report #3270, Transcript Section #2
(Operation SANDMAN)
©1998 Shane Ivey

KEEPER:  I can give you a summary of Anton Royce's medical chart while we wait, since you're the doctor and all.

ROGERS:  Thanks

KEEPER:  He's loaded with symptoms. Agitation and arousal (physiological, not sexual) alternating with blunted affect; constant pain and nausea.

KEEPER:  He seems susceptible to unpredictable hallucinatory states.

KEEPER:  They have kept him on a mostly liquid diet so far, with vitamins and extra oxygen fed intravenously.

ROGERS:  nice

KEEPER:  They also have him on a regimen of non-narcotic painkillers. Doctors' notes indicated the patient displays great irritability. The aforementioned symptoms seem related to withdrawal from the drug, though they have been much more persistant than other physiological withdrawal cases.

ROGERS:  Am I correct in assuming that North is the top of the maps?

KEEPER:  Yes.

KEEPER:  OK, Barrymon, have you read all the briefing info on the wbesite?

KNIGHT:  Who, me?

KNIGHT:  Yeah.

KEEPER:  Good. There's also an area map off the sandman.htm page now.

KNIGHT:  OK.

KEEPER:  Now, a brief intro for you.

KEEPER:  This is a black op. That's not too big a deal; you contract for that kind of business with govt. factors pretty regularly.

KEEPER:  But usually you deal with CIA and other intelligence types. The weird thing about this one is that it seems to mostly be DOJ.

KNIGHT:  OK. Who's hiring me?

KEEPER:  Your initial contact was with a DEA supervisor, Andre Jones, an old-line special forces type. His instructions were to meet with a DOJ lawyer, Brian Lundquist, who was doing the investigation with a government medical liaison.

KNIGHT:  I mean, like, the actual person.

KNIGHT:  Not a problem. I'll listen to them.

KEEPER:  Jones did not tell you much: just that this case involves some new weird drug that's cropped up, and his people want some "unattached" help "Just in case."

KNIGHT:  With incredible intensity.

KNIGHT:  I',m listening hard.

KEEPER:  So, today is May 31, 1998, and you've gotten the word to meet your contacts at Faith Hospital, Detox ward.

KNIGHT:  I'm charging out the door to get a cab.

KNIGHT:  No, the subway. No, a cab.

KNIGHT:  I'll get the cab.

KEEPER:  Faith Hospital is in Queens, NY, right on the edge of the village of Harfleur. Harfleur is bad news, from all you've seen. Run down, heavy crime.

KEEPER:  That's where the new drug has cropped up.

KNIGHT:  Whatever. I'm muscle I guess, so I'm going to have to deal with that later.

KEEPER:  The contacts are Lundquist, DOJ, and Doctor Thomas Rogers.

KNIGHT:  Am I there yet?

KEEPER:  The cab drops you in front of the hospital, no problems. It's late afternoon on a Sunday.

KEEPER:  The hospital is taller and more sprawling than any other buildings in the vicinity, and in better shape.

KNIGHT:  I get the paging operator's number from the receptionist, call it and page Dr Rodgers to my call #.

KNIGHT:  Cell#, sorry.

KEEPER:  Inside you find a cop standing security near the front desk, where a pair of nurses work on charts. The cop gives you a bored once-over. The receptionist gives you the number.

Rogers whispers to Keeper:
Wanted to know if we are still evaluating Barry for DG cleareance

KNIGHT:  As above.

KEEPER:  Rogers, you hear the intercom as you are looking at the chart and walking toward Royce's room. "Paging Doctor Rogers..."

ROGERS:  "Just going to answer the page John, hold on a second."

ROGERS:  phone the desk "Hello"

KEEPER:  One sec, Knight's gotta go already.

KEEPER:  Barry, just introduce yourself to Rogers as Jones' PI or something, so they can call you later on to get you into things when you're available...

Keeper whispers to Rogers: Barry is considered a DG Friendly at this point--he's cleared for necessary info, but he's not a full agent.

KEEPER:  Oh well, let's move on. Consider the information imparted, a couple of minutes later Rogers & Lundquist are following the orderly again.

KEEPER:  The orderly pushes open the door to Royce's room. It stinks, worse than that of most withdrawal cases.

KEEPER:  Royce is short and thin, almost withered after the days he has spent here, his dark skin now greyish. When the door opens he can be seen staring with bloodshot and blank eyes up at ceiling tiles.

KEEPER:  The orderly nods you inside. Lundquist lets you take the lead, deferring to your background.

ROGERS:  walk in start to read the notes on his chart

KEEPER:  As I said earlier: pain and nausea, occasional hallucinations, symptoms lingering longer than in typical withdrawal cases.

ROGERS:  "Hello , Anton."

KEEPER:  Mood alternates from agitation to depressed affect.

KEEPER:  He does not respond.

ROGERS:  start to examine him

KEEPER:  His skin is dry and hot. Tubes lead into his arm and nose with oxygen and nutrients.

KEEPER:  As you inspect him he turns his head to regard you.

ROGERS:  Look in his eyes

ROGERS:  "Hello Anton."

KEEPER:  After a few seconds his eyes drift slowly to look you over. His eyes seem like he is slowly putting the situation together.

ROGERS:  Pull up a chair and sit down.

KEEPER:  He rasps out , "You ain't th' doct'r."

ROGERS:  "No, but I am a doctor."

KEEPER:  "Where's your coat? I thought doct'rs had coats."

ROGERS:  "I'm not working here so I don't wear one."

ROGERS:  "My colleague is looking into the drug you took."

KEEPER:  "Yeah? Good... he gonna get me some?"

ROGERS:  "I'm afraid not."

ROGERS:  "We don't know where to get it."

ROGERS:  "Can you help us out?"

KEEPER:  "Ain't illegal! Jus' ain't in the stores yet... If you don't know, you gotta let me out. You want some, I'll get you plenty. Let me up."

ROGERS:  "We may be able to help you in exchange"

ROGERS:  "I can't discharge you, and neither can you in this unit I'm sorry."

KEEPER:  He seems to be getting more excited by the second. He even rises up slightly.

ROGERS:  "Anton, who sold you the Drug we could get some for you perhaps"

KEEPER:  "You're the doct'r... you can get me out. I get you plenty of it, good stuff. You can try it out, ain't illegal.."

ROGERS:  "Just because it's not illeagal doesn't mean it legal"

KEEPER:  "Nah, man... you get me out, I'll get some for you. I know where, but he don't talk to doct'rs."

ROGERS:  "We can get you some but need the information first"

ROGERS:  "I won't be getting it I have a man who does my errands"

ROGERS:  "He can be very persuasive."

KEEPER:  "Yeah? Who, th' nurse out there? Nah, man... I know where, you let me do it, I'll get you plenty!"

KEEPER:  He starts to lean forward, and stretches the nose-tube. He gags and coughs reflexively but weakly.

ROGERS:  "How about a compromise, we let you do it but under controlled circumstances, in the hospital."

ROGERS:  "Or we leave you here to suffer though the withdrawal symptoms"

KEEPER:  He leans back again panting and looks up. "I gotta go... wait.. you gotta help me."

Rogers whispers to Keeper:
Get ready to dodge

ROGERS:  "What do you need?"

KEEPER:  "DM... gotta get some. I'm weak, real weak."

ROGERS:  "How do I get it for you?"

KEEPER:  He winces and looks up, and his eyes begin to unfocus.

KEEPER:  "Gotta..."

ROGERS:  Check his pulse etc

ROGERS:  ensure he isn't choking

KEEPER:  Pulse and respiration are fine, though both are a little fast. His pupils have dilated, though, and seem to focus very sluggishly.

ROGERS:  "Anton," "ANTON!"

ROGERS:  try to focus his attention click fingers in front of his eyes

ROGERS:  "Anton, focus on my voice stay here if you can."

KEEPER:  There's nearly no reaction, as if the movement fails to register in his vision.

ROGERS:  keep trying

KEEPER:  His head lolls toward you slightly. He blinks. Then his eyes refocus slowly.

ROGERS:  "Anton, do you remember me?"

KEEPER:  He smiles a bit. "Felt like the DM again. I thought you gave me some. You give me some?"

ROGERS:  "Yes Anton, just a little."

ROGERS:  turn to Lundquiest "Can you get this hospital checked for another DM case."

KEEPER:  "Tha's good... You go see Peppy, get some more for me..."

KEEPER:  Lundquist nods and heads out the door.

ROGERS:  "Where can I find Peppy, Anton?"

KEEPER:  "Yeeah... Peppy's got it. Gotta get some more. Feels like it's going already, man... you got some more for me, right?"

ROGERS:  "Anton, you just got what little I had, if I'm going to get you some more, I need to fin Peppy."

ROGERS:  "Is he in Harfleur Anton?"

KEEPER:  He grimaces. "It's bad, man... you gotta go find Peppy... yeah, whatever, he's around, you know... go get some for me, tell him it's for Tony..."

ROGERS:  "OK Anton, we'l try and get some but it could take a few days, not knowing Peppy and all"

KEEPER:  "Man... tha's why you gotta let me out, I'll take you right over... come on..."

ROGERS:  "Anton, I don't have the authority in this hospital, I'm not staff here." "Just give me a rough location for Peppy and we'll get some DM for you, that's a promise."

KEEPER:  He looks up at you, frustrated. "AuthOR'ty? Man, what you doing here? Shit... shit, you a cop, right?"

ROGERS:  "I'm not a cop Anton, I'm a doctor but as I don't work in this hospital I can't sign you out"

KEEPER:  He squirms away from you, but the bed only lets him move hardly an inch. "Man... I shoulda known, lyin' cops... Shit, you keep off a me..."

ROGERS:  "I'm just trying to understand the DM a bit better"

KEEPER:  Lundquist opens the door and steps in again.

ROGERS:  "Excuse me Anton."

KEEPER:  "Und'stand? You GET some, give ME some, you TAKE some, then you'll understand, Doctor Cop!"

ROGERS:  go over to Lundquiest whisper "Any new patients taking DM?"

KEEPER:  "No, he's the only one here at the moment."

ROGERS:  "where is this room in relation to the outside of the Hospital, can we check the floor plan, someone may be interacting with our boy via DM"

KEEPER:  Lundquist frowns. "We can get a floorplan, I think. Where should I look, once we get it?"

KEEPER:  Anton's voice rises shrilly: "You tellin him to get me some, Doctor Cop? I NEED it!" Then he coughs weakly again.

ROGERS:  "See if this room is close to the outside 6ft or less in any direction, check all the rooms that close as well, and be careful."

KEEPER:  Lundquist nods and steps out again.

ROGERS:  "Anton, have you calmed down now?"

KEEPER:  He lies panting on the bed. He looks up with wide eyes. "You get me some," he breathes, "an' I'll get calm as you want, Doctor Cop."

ROGERS:  "He is going to see if we can get some quickly, but I doub't if he will succeed as we don't know where to get it"

ROGERS:  "Anton, can we talk about DM and your experiences while using it?"

Rogers whispers to Keeper: Can you describe the room a bit?

Rogers whispers to Keeper: esp. is he restrained?

KEEPER:  He breathes raggedly. "Yeah, you wanna know? Okay, I'll tell it. It's like big dreams."

ROGERS:  "Dreams about what?"

KEEPER:  The room is small, no more than ten feet square, looking almost like a closet which they outfitted for medical care as an afterthought.

KEEPER:  Royce is restrained only superficially, with a tie around his midsection to fasten him to the bedframe and keep him from thrashing too violently.

KEEPER:  "Dreams... man, can't say... big dreams, big ole cities sometimes, big oceans and stars... you never seen it..." He looks up dreamily as he speaks, and his voice becomes gradually less ragged.

ROGERS:  "Any sense of being in more than one place at one time, or more than one person, Anton?"

KEEPER:  "It's everywhere..." He breathes in and takes on a strange smile. "Man, I feel it already... like talkin' to God..." His head drops back to the pillow, then lifts, then falls again, repeating the motion reflexively.

ROGERS:  "It's Everywhere" "you or the DM Anton?"

ROGERS:  "What is everywhere?"

KEEPER:  "God, y'know, big and EVERYthing..." His breath quickens. He licks his lips. He laughs weakly. "Got it all in his hand...."

KEEPER:  His hands clench tightly. The IV in his wrist colors dark red with a backflow of blood.

ROGERS:  "What does God, look like Anton, a person or different in some way?"

KEEPER:  He shakes his head back and forth. "Like you don't know, man, can't know. Like..." He exhales sharply. "Like..."

KEEPER:  He makes a strange gurgling noise and seizes up, his torso rising rigidly off the sheets, as if every muscle strains at once.

ROGERS:  "Just give me your impressions Anton, good, bad, happy, Sad?

ROGERS:  check his restraint

KEEPER:  His eyes are wide and bulging, then he collapses again and shakes, his hands and legs flailing in place.

ROGERS:  Check his vitals

KEEPER:  "Guhkkk.... I.... "

KEEPER:  Heart rate and respiration have skyrocketed.

ROGERS:  Call a nurse with a sedative quickly

KEEPER:  His head twists to a strange angle. Then the electronics show strange signals.

ROGERS:  Get them to record

ROGERS:  or write the symbols down

KEEPER:  "I... unnngh...."

KEEPER:  Somehow you can't quite find the right button. Things seem very dizzy.

ROGERS:  "Anton, focus on my voice, calm, calm, calm a rock in the rain Anton its a minor irritation which will soon pass but the rock is still there"

KEEPER:  Anton looks to his side, staring at the empty closet.

ROGERS:  Check the closet

KEEPER:  "I..." He inhales with a hiss.

KEEPER:  From his bedside you see nothing in the closet.

KEEPER:  Again vertigo washes over you.

ROGERS:  Re call the nurse

ROGERS:  Vertigo?

KEEPER:  "Nnnnggg... Talkin to God, man..."

ROGERS:  "What does God say Anton?"

KEEPER:  Vertigo--dizziness.

ROGERS:  Get the machines to record

KEEPER:  "Talkin..." He begins to grunt out strange syllables and sounds.

ROGERS:  Do I have a tape recorder on me?

ROGERS:  In which doctors make case notes?

KEEPER:  Sure. Standard DG issue. ;-)

KEEPER:  The closet seems to be very dark, now.

ROGERS:  Record the conversation

ROGERS:  move to the other side of the bed putting it between me and the closet.

KEEPER:  You hit the buttons, but again things don't seem to work right. They SHOULD be recording... you SHOULD be hitting the right buttons... but it's not.

ROGERS:  "Anton, what does god want you to say?"

ROGERS:  Make a big effort to concentrate.

KEEPER:  As you rise you seem to stumble, as if gravity is thrown off and coming from the wrong direction. From the closet, in fact.

ROGERS:  Get to the door and call for an orderly

Rogers whispers to Keeper: Can I get anton out does the bed wheel

KEEPER:  You stumble to the door, half-crashing into it. In the hall you see the orderly and nurse running toward you. "All right, all right," the orderly says, in a voice which seems slurred and slow.

Keeper whispers to Rogers: The bed does have wheels, if you want to go back and get it.

ROGERS:  "Help me get the patient out."

Rogers whispers to Keeper: Yep I'm that dumb;-)

KEEPER:  They both look irritated. It seems like minutes pass before they reach the room.

ROGERS:  Check the closet

Rogers whispers to Keeper: from the door visually that is

KEEPER:  Going back in you see Anton striving against the brace, and stepping closer you again feel as if you might stumble toward the closet. The closet itself is black as pitch now.

ROGERS:  Try and get him out asap

ROGERS:  where are the orderlies?

KEEPER:  Are you pushing the bed itself?

ROGERS:  I'm assuming it will fit through the door and will be quicker than unstrapping and trying to move a drug addict against his will.

KEEPER:  Yes, to both. What about the IV tree and oxygen machinery?

ROGERS:  Ditch them just get out fast then try to find Lundquiest via pager don't leave Anton.

ROGERS:  Get some new oxy / iv equipment and set it up fast.

ROGERS:  What's the closet doing? (without getting to close;-)

KEEPER:  You yank the connections off of Royce, freeing him from the oxygen and IV tree. The vertigo is returning and getting worse. The closet, when you look at it, seems big. Or maybe it's only your perception of it; it seems to fill your sight. Clinging to the bed you keep from falling toward it. But it feels already like the bed is beginning to drift in that direction.

ROGERS:  Get the hell out of Dodge!

KEEPER:  The orderly and nurse enter the room, finally. Their every movement seems terribly slow.

ROGERS:  Get them to pull the bed out while I push

KEEPER:  You haul the bed back, only find yourself shoving it toward the black gaping closet.

KEEPER:  The bed's wheels roll easily, with hardly a squeak.

ROGERS:  Stop it

ROGERS:  Get the orderly and the nurse to help

ROGERS:  Is pulling actually moving the bed towards the closet?

KEEPER:  You hear the orderly's voice as if from a distance. "What are you doing?? What are you doing?"

ROGERS:  If so try and push (very gently to see what happens)

KEEPER:  Well, you THOUGHT you were yanking the bed to get to the door, but that's not the direction you moved.

ROGERS:  "Help me get this patient out stat"

KEEPER:  You push the bed gently toward the closet.. and that's exactly where it goes. The closet seems to expand again, its frame swelling, its darkness looming out hungrily. You catch a faint but revolting wet stench.

ROGERS:  Can the orderly / nurse see the closet / whatever?

KEEPER:  The orderly and nurse comply. They grasp the bed and pull it, and find themselves pulling it against your tugging. The orderly glares at you. You hear slurring echoes of his voice: "Help or get out of the way, then!"

ROGERS:  try to help but don't let the bed go towards the closet put on the brakes if need be.

KEEPER:  You do so when they begin to push the bed toward the closet. The orderly looks at you angrily again. The nurse curses in Spanish and turns to rush out of the room. Knowing some Spanish, you hear her say something about a sedative.

ROGERS:  Right time to be decisive, know Anton unconcious (block the carotid artery for 6 seconds no more death in 12) then unstrap him and carry him out.

KEEPER:  You press your fingers against Royce's throat. The orderly slowly shouts, then hauls back, aiming a punch toward your body.

ROGERS:  dodge the punch

KEEPER:  You stumble away from the bed and avoid the orderly's fist. Then you find it very hard to stop stumbling, like staggering down a steep hill, but into the room...

ROGERS:  Explain what I'm doing to the orderly

ROGERS:  Bugger just try and get out

KEEPER:  The nurse appears with a hypodermic and steps toward Royce.

ROGERS:  Get out of the room

KEEPER:  You finally stop your slide toward the closet only a yard from the darkness by grasping the jutting corner of the adjacent wall.

KEEPER:  You can hear Royce breathing heavily, as if very close by.

ROGERS:  Can I reach the bed and climb up it?

KEEPER:  You shove away and move vaguely toward the bed. The nurse has the needle in Royce's IV connection.

ROGERS:  Keep trying to get out of the room at least 6 ft from Royce

KEEPER:  Things tumble crazily as you lurch away from the closet. Somehow you stumble toward the door and out into the hall.

ROGERS:  Get another Doctor to examine me quickly

KEEPER:  Then things stop spinning quite so badly... Inside you can see Royce going limp on the rolling bed, as the sedative takes effect.

ROGERS:  Staying within 12 ft of the room with Royce though

KEEPER:  You see a hospital doctor jogging toward you from the elevators. "What the hell is this," he nearly shouts as he approaches you.

ROGERS:  "I've been talking to Anton Royce, and started to suffer vertigo, can you check me out please, especially for the drug he was using"

ROGERS:  check I've got my notes

KEEPER:  He looks at you incredulously. "You WHAT? And who the hell are you?"

ROGERS:  Identify myself and give him the cover story we gave the nurse on reception

KEEPER:  He lifts a light to check your eyes. He does not look impressed with your story. "Justice Department, is that right? Look. I already talked to Agent Morgan. If you want to talk to my patient, you talk to me first, all of you! Your eyes are fine. Pulse is a bit quick. Looks to me like a panic attack."

ROGERS:  "Dr Allen?"

KEEPER:  The orderly steps out of the room. He looks angry.

KEEPER:  "That's right," says the doctor.

ROGERS:  "We were going to contact you but you'd gone to lunch"

ROGERS:  "My colleague has gone to look for you but obviously didn't find you"

KEEPER:  "I didn't see any colleague."

KEEPER:  The orderly joins in. "The patient had a seizure. This guy tried to keep us from treating him."

ROGERS:  "Actuall I was trying to get help for his seizure I called the nurse and the orderly"

ROGERS:  "How is Mr Royce?"

KEEPER:  "Help? You were trying to drag him out the door, then you got in the way like..."

ROGERS:  "Dr Allen can we talk somewhere more private?"

KEEPER:  Allen butts in: "That's enough! I have a patient to check on."

KEEPER:  "You," he says to you, "can meet me in my office in an hour."

KEEPER:  "Mister Swank, come with me."

ROGERS:  "Mr Swank can you be in the office as well please"

KEEPER:  Doctor Allen shakes his head. "He has other duties. One hour." He turns toward Royce's room.

ROGERS:  "Ok"

ROGERS:  Go and Find Lunquist

ROGERS:  Check with the desk, and page him

KEEPER:  You meet him in the elevator, as he is coming back to the floor.

KEEPER:  He has a sheaf of papers that look like floorplans.

ROGERS:  Fill him in on the details and sort out the cover so that Dr Allen won't catch us out.

KEEPER:  "Took a few minutes to find maintenance," he says.

ROGERS:  "Any success in finding anyone within 6ft?"

KEEPER:  He's intrigued (I'll presume). Discussing it you note that less than five minutes passed during the incident, much less than it seemed.

ROGERS:  "At the moment I'm assuming that Royce's DM experience was affecting me"

ROGERS:  "Does Dr Allen know about this efffect of DM?"

KEEPER:  "Nothing within six feet. The rooms next door have patients, but both of them are more like ten to twelve feet away. Upstairs it's the same. Downstairs from Royce is a supply closet. I checked, It's empty."

ROGERS:  "Probably not someone else then."

KEEPER:  ou saw no mention of such an effect on Royce's medical charts.

ROGERS:  Does Dr Allen have any experience with this drug apart from with Royce?

KEEPER:  Lundquist doesn't know.

KEEPER:  Neither do you, off-hand.

ROGERS:  "When we talk to Dr Allen, you give him the facts about the drug and explain my presence as an advisor to the DoJ"

ROGERS:  "He's more likely to understand my actions then."

ROGERS:  "Well accept them at any rate."

KEEPER:  "Okay."

KEEPER:  Hmmm... want to wrap things up there?

ROGERS:  Yeah not much else we can do and I'd hate to think what questions I've misssed that Keith / Lundquiest would have asked

ROGERS:  Just one thing can we contact Brians character and get him investigating this Peppy guy.

ROGERS:  Trying to find hangouts that sort of thing, tell him to be carefull though don't want Mogan finding out about our interest yet.

ROGERS:  That should have been Morgan from the DEA.

ROGERS:  I want more info on Peppy and the drug before I go near her.