It had been over six months since his brain tumour. Months since everything Tony thought he knew about his life turned out to be only surface information. As he walked the halls of Bradfield University it struck him that his life had not been this confusing since he muddled his way through puberty as a teenager.
Normally when he found himself puzzled about something, he would get in his car and drive until he found Carol Jordan, but he couldn't do that this time. Carol had left, disappeared without a word; gone to the other side of the planet. Before he got the chance to sink into an internal quandary about his friends unusual disappearance his cell phone rang. Checking the caller ID he saw that it was DI Alex Fielding.
"Alex, how are you?"
-- "Hi Tony, sorry to bother you, but I have something I need your opinion on."
"Oh what's that Alex?"
-- "It would make more sense if you just come here and see for yourself, I'm at the apartments near Manning Warehouse, Number 21. Get here as soon as you can."
Before he had a chance to reply, Tony heard the dial tone in his ear. Without stopping to think he turned back down the hall and made his way to the car strangely exuberated by the fact that somebody needed him.
As he was pulling up to the apartment block, Tony could see a gathering of police officers to one side of the yard. It was obvious, that whatever went down had been big. Stepping out of the car he saw Alex wave, calling him to her side.
-- "Thanks for coming Tony"
"Not a problem Alex, what's going on… it looks like someone sent out invites to the entire Bradfield Police Force"
Looking around her surroundings Alex sighed heavily. This night would remain in her mind for a long time to come.
-- "Come with me its better if you see for yourself"
The pair ducked under the yellow taped and headed towards the charred remains of a building. On the ground in front of them were three body bags, each filled with remains that if weren't for the clothing you wouldn't believe that they were human. While the scene was disturbing to look at, Tony couldn't understand why this crime had brought out a large number of the BPD.
"Alex, what's going on? Why are there so many police officers here?"
For the first time since he met her Alex looked disheartened, as if the fight were just too much for her anymore.
-- "They were us Tony. These three people, were cops… and we killed them"
"What do you mean Alex, how did you kill them, what happened?"
-- "We received a tip on the drug hotline telling us that a deal was going down tonight; a big deal. Eden heard and insisted that we gather a SWAT team and make the bust as soon as possible. When we got here there were cars outside, we watched for a while and saw people coming and going. Something was definitely going on. By the time the fifth person had came and gone Eden was in a hurry for us to stop anyone else from going in… He ordered us to ram the building, to hit it full force. So we did…….."
"So you did your job, what's the problem Alex?"
-- "It was a safe house Tony. This apartment was a safe house."
"How did you not know it was a safe house? Shouldn't you have a list of these things locked away in a file somewhere?"
Before she had a chance to respond Kevin and Paula walked up to the pair. Both looked shaken. At closer glance Tony could see tears in their eyes.
"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going has everyone so rattled?"
Kevin lifted his hand, in it a plastic evidence bag containing what appeared to be a police ID. On closer inspection Tony could see the outline of a face.
"Oh my god… it can't be, it doesn't make any sense. How can this be real?"
There in his hand was Carol Jordan's Police identification card.
-- "I did some checking, it turns out that Carol never went to South Africa. Apparently she was recruited for an under the radar job. She wasn't able to tell anyone what she was really doing."
Tony lowered his eyes, he couldn't believe that the women he had known for ten years, had been so close to him all this time.
"Where is she now? I want to speak to her"
-- "She's not here, we've looked everywhere and no-one has seen her."
"Well then that's it… there's nothing to say that she was even here when the raid went down, just because her badge is here it doesn't mean anything. Now I'm sorry but there's clearly nothing here that you need me for so I'm going, I'll be at home if you need to find me."
The drive home was a blur to Tony, streets passed by but he didn't notice until he had pulled up outside his building. Gathering his belongings Tony walked up the steps to his home, his actions almost robotic in nature. Entering his flat Tony threw his keys onto the coffee table and dropped the rest of his belongings onto the floor. At first he didn't notice the person sitting at his kitchen table. Tony proceeded to scan through his mail, as he walked towards the kitchen. The person sitting there
straightening in his seat. It was then that he looked up and his unread mail fell to the floor. There at his kitchen table sat Carol Jordan.
"Carol?"
-"Tony… I um… I didn't know where else to go"
"What are you doing here? Half of Bradfield Police is out there looking for you; Kevin and Paula think you're dead. What the hell is going on?"
-"I don't know what happened… I was in the bedroom when I heard someone at the door, next thing I know I'm here… how did I get here? I don't remember anything. Oh god…. What happened to them? Sean, Peter and David, are they ok?"
Tony took a step forward and Carol stood. It was then that he was able to see all of her. She looked a lot thinner than the last time he saw her. Her face showed her lack of sleep, as did her stance. Tony knew that telling Carol that the three men who were with her in that apartment were dead was going to hit her hard.
"Carol…. the people at the door, they were the Police. They were sent there because they thought they were breaking up a drug ring. I don't really know the details, but I'm guessing they went in heavy. Carol there was three bodies found at the apartment. I'm guessing they were the people that were with you there. Carol I'm sorry"
"Oh my god… this can't be happening, how is this happening… oh god."
The next thing he knew, Carol was unconscious in his arms. She had collapsed.