The
I said breeze.
All right, who's got what?
You're low gauge. You've got the dishes again.
Now, wait a minute.
Forget it. We said we played one hand to the first bell and you lost.
So start washing.
I don't suppose anybody would like to help me dry.
Squad 51. Unknown rescue. Serrano Airport.
That's Serrano Airport. Timeout 1241.
LA Squad 51, 10-4, KMG 365.
Bell ain't clear. KMG 9-4-1.
What have you got?
I'm in trouble. Why do you think I called?
Where?
This kid called in on the Unicom, said he's flying with his dad and the old man collapsed.
Now the kid's flying the plane.
How old's the kid?
Hey, you better talk to him.
Serrano Unicom. Serrano Unicom.
Do you read me? Serrano Unicom.
Serrano Unicom.
Serrano Unicom. Do you read me? Serrano Unicom.
Answer me. Tell me what to do. Serrano Unicom.
06 Golf. Go ahead. We read you. This is Serrano Unicom.
What are you doing down there?
06 Golf. This is Fireman Roy De Soto. I'm a rescue paramedic with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Get us down. Please get us down.
We will. We will, son.
What's your name?
Frankie. Frankie Pierce.
Well, Frankie, why don't you tell me a little bit about your father?
I don't know. He just collapsed.
How long ago?
About 15 minutes. You gotta get us down. My dad is dying.
He seems to be gasping for breath. His lips are blue.
Feel his skin and tell me how it feels.
Hot and dry or cold and damp?
It seems to be cold and damp. Can't you do anything down there?
We will. We're working on it.
Cardiac?
Probably.
Frankie, do you have any oxygen equipment aboard?
Yes, sir.
All right, Frankie. I want you to adjust an oxygen mask on your father.
Put it on full flow. You understand? Full flow.
I'll try.
All right.
As soon as we get the father set up, you're gonna have to talk the kid down.
Who, me?
Why not you?
All I do around here is pump gas. I've never been up on one of them little airplanes.
There must be other pilots on the field.
Do you see any around?
We're gonna have to get him to another airport where he can get some professional help.
What's the nearest airport with a control tower?
Don't you know anything?
There might be one in the valley. Van Nuys or Burbank or something.
No, no dice. The last one where the report had a bull socked in.
Now the only thing to do is keep him up there till the cover burns off.
Shouldn't be more than an hour.
With his symptoms in an hour, his father could be dead.
The kid doesn't sound like he has an hour left in him. He's already on the edge.
Threatening Unicom. Threatening Unicom.
We're standing by, Frankie.
Tell me what to do.
We're working on it, Frankie.
Are there any planes of the same type on the field?
Yeah, there are a couple around.
Well, can you go out there and get me an owner's manual from one of them?
Hey, I can't just go around opening up other people's airplanes.
Johnny.
Come on, mister.
There's a log, it's that kind of thing.
Frankie, what did your dad teach you about flying an airplane?
Well, just a bunch of turns and climbs and mostly straight and level.
Straight and level.
Say it again.
I said that's fine. It's real fine.
You know, one of the hardest things about flying a plane is flying straight and level.
Stand by.
Well, this should give us some performance data.
You know so much about airplanes.
I used to be a real hot pilot.
Really? I didn't know that. How many hours?
Twenty. I almost had my license, too.
Why don't you make yourself useful, get on the phone of the weather bureau,
find what the cloud ceiling is at the other airports.
Frankie, how you doing?
Okay, but I can't stay up here much longer, can I?
Take it easy. We'll get you down in a minute.
No luck. Cloud base is too low. Everywhere but here.
All right, Frankie, we're going to start to bring you down.
What's your air speed?
A hundred and twenty.
All right, Frankie.
Maintain a speed of one hundred miles an hour. You got that?
I'll try.
How do you figure his chances?
If he doesn't panic and spiral on the ground, the twenty to one against him.
Is there any way that I can get to a transmitter outside?
Yeah, you could use one of the radios and one of the planes out on the line.
Why don't you warm it up?
Please.
All right.
I'm straight and level in a hundred miles an hour.
All right, Frankie. Now we're going to start bringing you down.
Did your father teach you any instrument procedures?
Not really. I just know the instruments.
Well, Frankie, your primary instrument is your artificial horizon.
Keep your wings level.
When you're ready, ease your throttle back.
Watch your rate of descent.
Drop your flaps twenty percent.
Reduce your speed to eighty miles an hour.
Maintain descent at five hundred feet per minute.
You got that?
I'll try.
Good boy. Now you let me know when you're ready to come down.
I'm going to go outside to the transmitter.
You better get on the phone to L.A.
Tell them we're going to need rigs and an ambulance.
All right.
I got him up here on the set.
Good.
Frankie, do you read me?
Yes, sir. I guess I'm ready to go down now.
Ease your throttle back and maintain eighty miles an hour.
Yes, sir.
You get your eyes on your instruments right now.
Yes, sir.
Don't look out until I tell you.
Frankie, you're diving. Frankie, you're diving.
Get that throttle back and nose up. Frankie, keep your nose up.
Ease it up.
I'll try. I'll try.
Now keep your eyes on those instruments. Don't look out. Watch those instruments.
What happens if he looks out?
Just hope he doesn't. Frankie.
I think I got it.
Watch those instruments. Eighty miles an hour airspeed.
Five hundred feet per minute descent.
I'll try.
All right. You've gone through the worst of it. The rest is a piece of cake.
You maintain runway heading. Continue descent at five hundred feet per minute.
Watch your airspeed, Frankie.
Don't let it fall.
And when I give you the word, I want you to drop your flaps full.
Reduce your speed to seventy miles an hour.
Frankie, full flaps.
Now ease your wheel back.
You're looking good. Looking good.
Oh, you're too high.
You're too high. Go around again.
Do you read me, Frankie? Gun it and go around again.
Yes, sir.
Good boy.
Now this time, take it easy.
You're looking good, Frankie. You're looking good.
Now don't flare out until I tell you to. You got it?
All the way back, Frankie.
Chop your throttle.
Let's go.
My dad. We've got him.
It's okay. You got him down in time.
Can I have a doctor in treatment one? Can I have a doctor in treatment one?
Roy, is this the young man who landed the plane?
This is Frankie Pierce.
Hello, Frankie. I'm Dr. Brackett.
Is my father going to die?
We'd be letting you down pretty badly if we let that happen. You hang tight, huh, Frankie?
Pressure?
100 over 60.
Pulse and respiration?
Pulse weak. Restoration 30 with rals.
He's gone into V-Fib.
400.
Clear.
He's back.
Great thing, electricity. What they did before it was invented.
All right, let's start a xylocaine drip.
Right, Cal. 2% xylocaine, 500 cc's.
Dr. Allen, 63.
Hey, what's everybody so glum about? Let's see some smiles around here, huh?
What about my dad?
Well, he's over the first hurdle and running easy.
Go ahead and cry, Frankie. You've earned the right.
That was one fine job you did out there for 20 hours flying time.
It wasn't just the flying time. I saw the whole thing done in the movie once.
You know, Roy, I've been thinking about what a lousy card player you are.
Right?
Do you know how many times I've been stuck with the dishes in the last eight shifts?
Exactly 15 times.
15 out of 16 is enough to depress anybody.
Yeah, well, it depresses me.
Squad 51, available. Returning to quarters.
Squad 51.
Well, maybe you just don't have any cards since. A lot of people don't.
No, no, that's not it. It's the kind of games we're playing.
What about them?
We keep changing the rules.
So?
So, by the time I get the game figured out, we're playing something else.
Right.
Why don't you just make up your own game?
Utility 8, call Station 49, your next stop.
Well, that's not a bad idea.
You know, I was thinking about a kind of poker game.
What are you talking about?
About inventing a new kind of poker game. You know, what we were talking about this afternoon.
Oh, that. There aren't any new poker games. I've played them all.
Five cards, seven cards, you name it.
What about 13 card?
Johnny, sometimes you positively...
Squad 51, attempted suicide, 1127 North Moore Park, apartment 2A.
1127 North Moore Park, apartment 2A.
Crossbeam, Proctor, time 23.
Second floor, apartment 2A.
Not gonna believe this one.
I'll take this, huh?
It's about as bad as I've ever seen.
What happened?
Guy tried to kill himself, slashed his wrists.
Clear the hall, please, please.
Then turned on the gas.
I turned it off.
I think he took some poison, too.
Is he still alive?
Just barely, but I sure don't know why.
There's an ambulance on the way.
Dr. Allen, 63.
Stat, I did. Dr. Trink, 3.
Dr. Allen, 63.
Paperwork.
Yeah, tell me about it.
Well, how is he?
Still breathing.
Well, that guy, it's a major accomplishment.
Hi.
Dr. Hoffman, 64, please.
Nice kid.
Took her out last Friday.
Had a great time.
Her opinion or yours?
Yeah.
Do we know who he is?
His name is Dave Morgan, age 44.
He did quite a job on himself.
The question is, where are we beginning to repair the damage?
Well, the boy stopped the bleeding,
and we've pumped out his stomach.
Cut.
And with any luck, he'll be up and around in a week
ready to try again.
Frankie.
Oh, Doctor.
How's my dad?
He had the last report. He was resting comfortably.
Is your mom here?
No, my mother's dead.
There's just the two of us, Dad and me.
How bad is it, Doctor?
Well, that's pretty serious, man.
Dad's gonna have to take it easy for a long time
after he leaves the hospital.
Take it easy?
My dad isn't gonna like that.
I mean, he always says you only got one life to live,
so you should make the most of it.
He sounds like quite a guy.
Yeah, he's the greatest.
Well, you can tell him from me his kid isn't half bad either.
Hey, we gotta get you some rest. Come on.
Fran?
Yes, Dr. Brackett?
Oh, this is Frankie Pierce.
You think you could find a spare bed for my young friend here?
For a friend of yours, Dr. Brackett, anytime.
Thank you. Hey, I'll see you later.
Okay.
Miss Jones, receptionist, please.
Miss Frankie, come on in.
Kil.
Hi.
Can you spare a cup of coffee for a weary man?
Come on in.
You do look tired.
Not tired. Discouraged.
Would you believe a man trying to commit suicide three different ways?
Guy named Dave Morgan.
Cut his wrist, dropped some rat poison, and then turned on the gas.
And then?
We pulled him through.
He'll be up and around in a few days, ready to try again, I guess.
Well, we've all seen some pretty bad ones like that.
Yeah, but this one tried so hard.
What's really bothering you?
You're out of character, Kil.
I suppose it's running into young Frankie Pierce after sewing up Morgan.
Kid's been at the hospital since they brought his father in this afternoon.
How's his father doing?
50-50.
If he lives, he'll have to change his old style of life.
I guess that's what's got me, Dix.
Here's a man with a great son, a great zest for life,
and chances are he won't make it.
All I can do for him won't help him face the life he'll lead if he gets through this attack.
And a guy like Morgan wants to die, tries desperately to die.
And I can put him together so he'll walk out of the hospital a well man.
Don't take it so hard, Kil.
You're not God.
The kind of crazy mixed-up human race he has to deal with, I wouldn't want to be.
Are you still working on your new game?
Yeah. I've been working on it for two days.
Let's see.
Now what are you doing?
Figuring the odds against getting a bagel.
What's a bagel?
Well, it's like a straight, but only ever in the middle.
It's a straight, but only ever in the middle.
It's a bagel.
What's a bagel?
It's like a straight, but only every other card counting like 3, 5, 7, 9, jack.
Is it good or bad?
It beats everything, except a super bagel.
That's the same thing, only all the cards are the same suit.
Then you've got wild cards, like 10s, 2s, 4s are wild.
Engine 51, squad 51, truck 127, foam 127, engine 127, traffic accident with injuries, tank truck involved, 8100 Block Commerce Street, 8100 Block Commerce Street, timeout 1550.
Get those people back!
Bill!
Start clearing that area out back there.
If that stuff blows, this whole place might go.
170 Sam 1.
170 Sam 1, request ambulance. My location.
170 Sam 1.
170 Sam 1, request ambulance. My location.
170 Sam 1.
170 Sam 1, request ambulance. My location.
There's only one man in there, we tried to get him out, but we don't have the equipment.
According to witnesses, he was driving erratically, he missed the curve, then wham.
Well, it looks like he's trapped in there. We'll need the port of power and jacks, I'll get him.
We'll need the port of power and jacks, I'll get him.
LA, engine 51, we have an overturned tanker here at this location.
Spilling gasoline, we'll need a power company.
We'll hold all units at this scene.
Engine 51.
Gasoline fire is all we need around here.
Give him 150 pounds.
He's still alive.
Engine 34, engine 35, station 45.
Lumberyard, 16980 Levinson.
16980 Levinson, cross street shoemaker, time 1600.
Engine 18, see the man at first in cabin regarding a hazardous situation.
Assistant 1, repeat the phone number.
10-4, assistant 1.
Engine 18, squad is not available, do you need any other assistance?
Assistant 1 has been notified and is responding.
Better go on top, see if that door will open.
It's still jammed.
I think it's loose now.
I'll go up and help him.
Engine 95, station 36, station 47, time 7, voice call.
14611 Midwell.
Time is 1615.
Okay, get his back, I got his head.
We're gonna need a third man, we need a structure back here now.
We need a man on the back.
Okay, get his back, I'll get his head.
We got him, take him easy.
Hold it!
Utility 1, call station 38.
10-4, copter 2, lead division 4 in the parking lot.
Rampart, this is rescue 51.
Go ahead, 51.
Rampart, we have an accident victim, his name is James Thompson, a Valley address, he's 45 years old.
He's unconscious, no apparent injuries except for a superficial head wound.
Vital signs, pulse 56, respiration 28.
Do we have a pressure?
120 over 70.
Blood pressure 120 over 70.
His left eye is badly dilated, plus his neck is like a board.
This isn't a raid ride.
51, this is Rampart base, I'd like an EKG readout.
10-4.
51, can you give me any more information?
Rampart, victim regained consciousness briefly, he said something like his head exploded.
51, start him on D5W and get him in here as soon as you can, Rampart out.
51, 10-4.
Dix, find Jewelry for me fast.
And I want everything set up for a skull X-ray as soon as they bring him in.
Dr. Marcus, admission test.
Thanks, Torey.
Oh, excuse me.
Doc, is his condition the result of the accident or was the accident the result of what's wrong with him?
I wish I knew.
Let's go.
Hi.
Dr. Cantor, go to the emergency entrance.
She's barely breaking her down, she almost smiled.
Yeah, well, wait till next time.
Temperature?
100.3.
How's his blood pressure?
Normal.
EKG normal.
No blood behind the eardrums?
I know that's some evidence against a fracture.
What about an X-ray?
They're standing by, Joe.
Let's get him down there.
And while we're at it, let's get an echo encephalogram.
Will do.
No hematoma, EKG normal, blood pressure normal, slow pulse respiration, and a slight temperature.
What does it read to you?
A fracture.
Something inside.
Patient's vomiting, seems in pain.
Stiff neck, left eye widely dilated.
Brain hemorrhage?
Yeah, but where?
Subdural.
Covers a lot of brown.
Let's wait for the encephalogram and try for a spinal tap.
No sign of fracture.
What does the encephalogram show?
There's been no shift in the middle line structure.
I'm betting there's some arachnoid blowout.
Let's see what the spinal tap shows us.
Kel, Mr. Thompson's wife's here.
Thanks, Dix. I'll be right there.
What are you going to tell her, Kel?
Oh, what we always say at times like this.
We're doing everything possible for your husband, Mrs. Thompson.
Stat, ident doctor, treatment room 3.
Between me and you, Chip.
Remember, 10s, 2s, and 4s are wild.
Make your best five-card hand out of 13 delt.
Wheel and deal, Gage.
Don't you want to know what the rules are?
Oh, I'm sure you'll be fair with a beginner.
Squad 51, possible overdose, 1041 Viennlund.
1041 Viennlund, Cross Street, Wilson, timeout 19.30.
LA Squad 51, 10-4.
This kind of thing is happening too often.
Oh, don't worry, Cap. We'll finish when we get back.
What have you got?
I don't know. I just got here myself.
It looks like a trip to me.
Yeah, some trip.
Does anybody know who she is?
Donna Melvin.
Yeah, go on.
Oh, that's her name.
I don't know anything about her.
I mean, she just comes around sometimes to visit my girls.
How'd this start?
I don't know. She was all right, and then she flipped.
Where does she live?
Down there. He's her brother.
Did she take any pills?
I wouldn't know what she took.
I didn't ask you what she took. I asked you if you saw her take any pills.
You don't have to tell him anything, honey.
Did anyone see what she took?
Anything?
Is she your sister?
Yeah.
In the bungalow court.
Don't hurt me.
Listen to me. Your sister is sick. It may be serious.
Don't you think you should pedal that bike home and tell your mother?
I can't go home.
Why can't you?
She's got company.
She's no deed all right. Probably acid.
What do we do?
Well, her mother won't be coming. She's entertaining.
She's in a bad way. We better call Rampard and get an okay on an IV.
What for?
I need a parent's consent at the hospital before we can treat her.
What do we do? Just let her lie here?
What else can we do?
Except take her in. Hope the mother shows up before it's too late.
Yeah. Maybe the deputy can locate her in time. I'll ask him.
Let's take her in. I'll ride in with you.
That tells us something.
Subarachnoid.
That third stage.
That still covers a lot of ground.
We'll need a bilateral angiogram to pinpoint the blowout.
Care to make an educated guess from what we know already?
Come on, Kel. You've seen these things before.
Probably a ruptured aneurysm.
In which case we have to go in there fast and tie it off before there's another blowout.
Yeah, but we're only guessing, Joe.
You'll have to stabilize it before getting the angiogram. Delay can kill him.
Yeah, and a wrong guess can kill him, too.
We'll try him on hydroxyzenin, Miss Edison.
Nothing to be administered orally. All in chloral hydrate.
Hydro-wing?
Well, that's it, Joe. We'll get him settled down and try for the angiogram.
You're the boss.
Yeah.
Calling Dr. Alex Lopez.
Dr. Brackett.
How is my husband? Nobody will tell me anything.
Mrs. Thompson, won't you please come and sit down?
Now, I'm going to tell you exactly what's happened.
Your husband has suffered a form of cerebral hemorrhage.
He's gonna die.
No, now, that's not necessarily true.
He'll be sick for a while, and he may suffer some impairment.
But we won't know about that until later.
We may have to operate.
What are his chances?
I can take anything you tell me.
You see, in my mind, I've already given Jim up.
Now, right now, I'd say his chances are 70-30.
For or against.
I see.
All I can tell you is every day he lives better is his chances.
In ten days, he'll be out of the woods.
Ten days? Oh.
Oh, that's a long time to hold your breath.
Dr. Dewey's over red.
Treatment two.
You're off duty, Dix. Why don't you go home?
In my own time, Doctor.
A little tea and sympathy?
Coffee.
I think you might be able to stagger through another hour or two with enough caffeine in you.
Hm.
Stop being surly with me, Cal.
One of those days, Dix. One of those days.
What do they use that stuff for in bombing fluid?
Pretty awful, isn't it?
Say, how would you like a good cup of coffee and a steak to go with it?
Hm. You know, I couldn't write a better prescription myself, Nurse.
Shall we?
Let's do it.
By the way, your favorite patient's being discharged tomorrow.
Who's that?
Morgan. The one that tried to suicide so many different ways.
Oh, that one. He ought to be locked up for his own protection.
How do you describe a guy like that, Dix?
Inefficient.
What do you want to hear?
Something soothing and healthy.
Okay.
There you go.
Want some more coffee?
I gotta get back to the hospital.
It's not gonna fall down, Cal.
They can get along without you, you know.
That's a lousy thing to say.
Well, why is it lousy?
You're deflating my ego.
Just a one-man band, aren't you?
Is that what you think?
No.
But I do think you're spreading yourself too thin.
You're just plain shot.
Tell me, what do those sick people over there?
Patience, Cal.
Not people, patients.
Some will live and some will die.
You can't expect to win them all.
Is that a fact?
Oh, come on, Cal.
We only have so much energy.
We can't afford to waste that energy
and emotional ties.
I suppose that sounds heartless.
Completely.
But you're also absolutely right.
I'll tell her to go away, Cal.
No way.
Hello?
Speaking.
When did it happen?
All right, I'll be right there.
Franklin Pierce.
He's had a second attack.
Pressure reading.
70, Sister Ellen.
Give it IV.
V fib.
Hattles, Mike.
Stand clear.
Hit it.
Clear.
That's a jack.
Dr. Alan Lopez.
I just saw Thompson.
He's stabilizing beautifully.
I hate to admit it, but I think our educated guess
was just that.
Lucky we didn't go in after internal carotid aneurysm.
Must be something else.
He wouldn't be holding out like this if it weren't.
I guess this proves something, eh, Cal?
What?
I mean about guesses.
Guesses and instincts should always be a last resort.
I'm sorry, Joe.
What are you talking about?
Thompson. Can you hear me?
I think he's going to make it.
Hmm.
His wife will be glad to hear that.
Dr. Alan, outside call, please.
Outside call, please.
Dr. Parker, outpatient area.
Are you leaving, Mr. Morgan?
Yeah.
They're turning the old nut loose.
You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to get a lawyer on it.
I'm going to sue this joint three days of poking
and probing, poking and probing.
That's what you did to me for three days.
Why did you have to interfere in the first place?
I'll sue for a million.
Why don't you?
Don't.
Dr. Dewey's, Alvarez.
Honest, you think you didn't have anything better to do
but have me dragged down here?
I'm sorry, Mom. It was the other kids who gave me the stuff.
I didn't know what to do.
Sorry? You're always sorry. How do you think I'm here
when I've got company and the police come and say my daughter's in jail?
What do you think my friends are going to say?
Well, I guess I'll see you on Saturday.
Yeah, take care.
Hey.
Why the depression?
So you lost again last night.
Yeah.
At my own game, too.
Well, you know how it is.
You win a few, you lose a few.
You'll think of another game.
No, I've already given up on that.
I've got a whole new idea going.
You do?
Yeah.
One way or another, I'm promoting a dishwasher for this station.
See ya.
You