Going Under_ A Bill Roberts Thriller - Silas Payton Page 0,2

he noticed emblazoned all over it was the brand name "LifeSpan". Bitter about the burning in his lungs and his aching muscles, he thought...

Lifespan! It feels like I'm shortening my lifespan running on this damn thing.

Bill was more than a little frustrated that he had gotten this out of shape. At a height of six feet, he had kept his weight at one ninety but there had been a dramatic shift from muscle to fat, at least in his eyes. Five months prior, a serial killer he’d tried to apprehend did some fancy ninja moves on him, breaking the femur in his right leg before getting away. The injury bothered him more mentally than physically though. The curse of the homicide detective -- when they get away, you always blame yourself. But today he was turning the corner. It was his first day back at the gym.

He started with the weight machines, doing chest and legs. It came as no surprise that he had to lower the weight compared to before the injury, but he didn't expect it to be this hard. The muscle fatigue came on faster, but he wanted to push it anyway -- a decision he now questioned while on the treadmill.

If the rubber legs and the mind numbing fishing show weren't enough, he was getting hot. He had forgotten to take off his sweatshirt before he started running and now, ten minutes in, he was dripping in sweat. Before his injury, he had been running eight miles, four times a week. He was not about to stop now, after only ten minutes.

Bill decided, against his better judgment, to take off his sweatshirt while still running on the treadmill. He pulled his right arm through the sleeve, following carefully with the left. Painfully aware that behind him, were two rows each of stationary bikes and treadmills, he was now committed. He started lifting the bottom of his sweatshirt up and was able to get it around his neck. He only had to lift it over his head and he was in the clear. With a quick tug, he slipped the front of his sweatshirt up to pull his head through the hole, forgetting the huge role vision plays in balance. He lost sight of the visual cues around him. His balance began to fail and his foot went off the belt, hitting the stationary edge beside it.

Before he knew what had happened he was in a ball on the floor at the end of the treadmill. He'd skinned his knee and elbow, but worse -- the treadmill was still running.

He always thought those emergency brake cords on treadmills were silly. Now, sitting on the floor, he watched it dangling from the front panel of the treadmill, taunting him.

This is truly one of life's most embarrassing moments.

In what he would look back at as a split second lapse in common sense, Bill Roberts tried to get back on the treadmill -- while it was still running.

Finding himself back on the floor with a sore head and wrist, he realized going from zero to six miles an hour in two steps, was not such a good idea. He approached the side of the treadmill and hit the stop button. He'd had enough for his first day back at the gym. Heading to the change room, curiosity overpowered him and he quickly glanced back. He saw about ten people, all quickly look away. One man looked like he was holding his gut.

In the change room a large screen TV was tuned to the 6 o'clock news. "According to one of the neighbours, it sounded like a gun shot. Police, fire, and ambulance are on the scene now," the reporter said. "Someone from the Criminal Investigation Department has also arrived."

"Thanks Edward," said the newscaster. The live screen of the reporter on the scene disappeared and the newscaster turned to the audience. "That was Edward Lyons, who's live at the scene on Sycamore Street, at what appears to have been a shooting roughly 45 minutes ago, in the Leaside area of Toronto. So far, police aren't commenting. Tune in tonight at eleven for the update on this story."

Bill was putting on his jacket when his cell phone rang. He answered it and said hello.

"Bill, it's Cathy. I've been trying to reach you. There's been a shooting in Leaside." Bill's assistant Cathy had been working for him since he became an Inspector with the Toronto Police Department five years ago.

"I'm at the gym.