Category: Angst
Date: 10.11.2000
Summary: A young waitress is take hostage by a gunman, then violated in ways to make even the most hardened cop squirm. But what happens when the victim is closer to the cop than she thinks?
Rating: M15+ Contains violence and sexual references.
Disclaimer: Whatever you have to say, I don't bloody well care. I'm broke so you can't really sue me, and I'm not doing this for personal gain. I'm making no money out of it. The characters are not mine, with the exception of the guest stars of this story. This story is purely fiction, and I take no responsibility for any legal or other action arising from it or any of my other stories, so there.
Dedication: To Esme, Julesmonster, Rachael W, Kat, Sonni and the others who give me feedback! Thanks so much, I love feedback! Please send me feedback?!
Author's notes: I'm celebrating the end of a bloody long week. Test galore, stress galore, and my head is pounding. I have another Maths Test on Monday, and two assignments due in on Tuesday, and then I get to wear mufti to school for three days because I'm taking a business course. Then I get to bum around and do nothing until the 22nd, then do Peer Support Training. I love the end of the year! So I figured it was time to take a break from study and homework, and time to enjoy a Friday night, just me and my computer. Heh heh heh. Anyway, I would REALLY love feedback, and this story may be a bit eewee for a few readers, but I hope not.
*****
Sisterly Love
By Nikki Kirk
*****
"Hey! *Excuse* me, my milk jug isn't full! I expect a full jug of milk with my Earl Grey tea! Are you listening to me?" I turned to face the middle-aged, balding pipsqueak who was so vocal.
Divorced, no kids, bitter, Lawyer and stinking rich was my diagnosis after looking at the Italian suit and leather shoes on the short skinny dude. "Sir, if that jug was more full it would overflow." I tried to calm the little wiener down, put an end to my horrid day, but I knew already that wasn't about to happen.
"Rubbish! Look, you fill this up right now." The little shit snarled.
Someone called me from the other side of the busy restaurant. "I'm kind of busy, sir, I'll be with you in a minute." I tried to finish giving my nice, polite, grateful customers their nice meals.
"No! Look girl, do it now or I'll get you fired!" He stood up, his comb-over glistening with sweat.
I noticed with amusement that he was about an inch shorter than my 5 foot 9 inches. "I am *far* from a girl, *sir*, now please take your seat as I have other customers to serve. I will get to you in a minute!" I tried to avoid a scene noticing that most of the patrons were now staring at us.
"You do what I say!" He bellowed, grabbing me by the arm, hard.
"Get your hand off me NOW and please leave the premises at once or I will call the police!" I stuck my extra long nails into his hand, pulling the clammy, unpleasant thing off me.
"You stupid bitch." He hissed.
I felt cold metal through the back of my blouse and heard the restaurant patrons gasp in horror. I didn't know what to do. I had a gun to my back with a madman breathing down my neck. Andy, my boss, had been coming over to help me throw the guy out, but was now busy on the phone, presumably to the police, an anxious look on his honest face. I felt his breath on my neck and squirmed, only to receive a sharp jab from the gun. "Sir, we'll get you more milk if you'll just let me go."
"Nope, too late bitch." His hand ran across my waist and moved onto my hip.
"Please get your hand off me." I gritted my teeth.
"I should shoot you. I could shoot you." He squeezed my backside.
I watched the other staff members usher the other customers out, moving myself so my back was at a wall to allow them to escape without his knowledge. I glanced at Andy who was whiter than a sheet.
"Cops?" I mouthed.
"Yes." He signed back.
I heard the sirens over the heavy breathing in my ear. "Bitch!" He yelled, hitting me with his gun. I could no longer see anything, I just fell and fell, then hit the floor harder than I could've imagined...
When I woke I was in a car boot. My head ached and wet sets of dribbles were running down my face. Blood. The car smelled new. I reached up, feeling for a switch where I estimated the boot light to be. I found it on the left side above the lid beams. I turned it on and looked through my one open eye. Nothing. I looked over the other side. Bingo! A tool compartment was behind the right light case. I opened it to find a mini crowbar and a few screwdrivers. I put them into my black trouser pockets thinking they'd be useful, then looked for the lock. I silently thanked God for modern cars and triggered the lock, the lid flying up. We were near the Mosman off ramp according to the sign on the opposite side of the road. I looked at the driver behind, trying to look as pained as possible, mouthing "Call 000!"
I decided that 110kmph would kill me if I were to jump. The car turned down an off ramp.
The car pulled into a carpark by the harbour and I jumped out and ran. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my back and stomach and heard a bang. I fell. I'd been shot, and I was bleeding - a lot. "You stupid little girl." The gunman snickered, raised his gun and swung it, knocking me out cold.
I felt something wet. Maybe I was in a puddle. I opened my good eye. Yeah, I was in a puddle alright, a puddle of my own blood. The madman was steering the boat we were on. It hurt so badly... oh, it hurt. I felt dizzy and just as everything faded to black I heard a siren - the sound of hope.
*****
"Alex, Mick, Jack, a waitress has been kidnapped from a Circular Quay Restaurant, Marlow's. The suspect is armed and dangerous. The suspect carried her out to a car, a dark blue Falcon with mags, rego XGF453, after he KO-ed her with his gun. I don't know her name, but the suspect is Don Vynam, a Lawyer from Melbourne. A driver heading out to Beauty Point saw her open the boot just past Neutral Bay on State Highway 14, the vehicle turned off at the Mosman turnoff and he's now on a boat heading to the Heads from the marina near Taronga Zoo." Helen gave the Sydney Water Police Detectives the brief.
"Got it. Descriptions?" Alex St Clare jotted down some notes.
"She's five nine, straight bum-length dark brown hair, slim, wearing a red company shirt, black trousers and black sandals. He's five seven, middle aged, balding, black Italian suit, here's his picture."
"Great, thanks Helen." Mick took the printout and the three quickly headed out of the Goat Island HQ.
*****
I groaned. It sounded more like a squeak. It hurt so badly. I couldn't move, I was so tired. My head hurt. I was dying for a drink. And I was dizzy. I couldn't die now, no, not yet. I took a painful breath and passed back into blissful unconsciousness.
*****
The Harpy and the Nemesis skipped across the bumpy harbour towards Rose Bay. "That it?" Alex pointed out a jetboat to Jack and Mick.
The jetboat was drifting, engine off. A man fitting the suspect's description was on board, though there was no sign of the woman. "Nothing? Oh shit!" Jack, Mick and Alex saw the blood spattered interior as they came closer and saw the young woman lying in a pool of her own blood, seemingly lifeless.
"No..." Alex went pale.
"Alex?" Mick and Jack looked at her.
"Get her in close Lance! Shit! Liz? Liz! Police! Put your gun down, hands behind your head!" Alex roared at the guy standing above the woman.
He obliged, throwing the pistol to the floor. Mick and Jack leapt onto the boat after Alex who dropped down beside the woman.
"You know her?" Jack asked cautiously.
"She's my sister..." Alex was on the verge of hysterics.
"Alex, she's got a pulse." Mick pulled her back as Jack radioed for a helicopter for the critically injured 18-year-old.
"Liz..." Alex whispered, stroking her little sister's hair.
*****
"Liz..."
Why was that voice familiar? Was I dead? I felt weird. I wasn't there, really... Ouch, it really hurt. I forced my good eye open. Alex. My big sis. "Alli?" I whispered, my strength basically non-existent.
"I'm here sis, I'm here for you. It's okay sweetheart, hang in there." They were the last words I heard.
*****
"Liz? Liz?! Oh shit, she's out again. Where's the bloody chopper?!" Alex paced as best as she could in the small boat in frustration.
"There." Mick replied, watching it buzz toward them from the city centre.
"Thank God!" Alex brushed a hand through her light brown hair before kneeling beside Liz. "Liz honey, we're taking you to the hospital now, okay? Can you hear me Liz?" Alex didn't receive a reply.
*****
I could smell leather. And a familiar perfume. And aftershave of two different kinds. No, make it two and another perfume. And funnily enough I was still in agony. Real agony. I struggled to open my good eye, noting that my other one was still swollen, sore and stiff. I focussed on a face above me and felt a hand grip mine tightly. It was Alli, my big sister who worked for the Sydney Water Police. She had tears in her eyes and was grinning like an idiot. I don't know why, I must have looked like I'd survived a torture session... oh hang on, I had. I groaned, feeling a twang of pain through my back and stomach. I reopened my eye and looked at the others outside the room. The two guys who were with Alli on the boat were there, standing outside the ICU room's window, along with a female uniform cop. "Alli..." I tried to say but it came out as a whimper.
"It's okay little sis, you're okay." Alli's voice faded as I fell into a dream.
*****
Elizabeth St Clare's unblack eye fluttered. Alex leapt to her feet and took her sister's limp hand. Mick, Jack and Helen exchanged glances and watched through the window as the critically injured woman opened her eye and stared up at her sister with a pained expression. She groaned quietly, squeezing her eye shut in obvious pain.
The bullet had gone right through her lower back and upper abdomen, just missing some major internal organs, thankfully not touching her spine or any vertebrae. The suspect had beaten her with his gun causing her to be covered in deep bruises and suffering from two fractured ribs. And according to the doctors, Alex's little sister had been raped.
Alex's eyes filled with tears of relief as her sister looked at her again. She whimpered gently, so Alex stroked her hair as her eye closed again and she fell unconscious. "Liz? Liz? Oh, Lizzy..." a single tear snaked down Alex's cheek. She hated seeing her headstrong, fit little sister so vulnerable. Mick entered the room through the open door and put a supportive hand on her shoulder, then led her out of the room. Helen gave her a bear hug as Mick brought her outside. "Alex, she's a fighter. She'll be fine."
"Yeah, yeah, you're right." Alex sniffed, fiercely wiping a tear away.
"And just to let you know, we've got him on everything, you don't have to worry." Alex knew what Jack was talking about; the bastard that hurt her little sister would be going away for a *very* long time.
"Hey, you wanna grab a coffee? My shout?" Jack suggested, noticing how tired she looked.
"Hospital coffee? Pff, no thanks!" Alex chuckled, composing herself, "Besides, I'd better stay here till Mum gets here in case she wakes up."
"You want me to stay?" Helen asked, even though they were pushing it, being non-relatives in the ICU, already.
"Ah, no thanks Helen, I'll be fine." Alex smiled gratefully, "And you lot had better get back to work." She added to the boys, watching the boys wave as they turned down the end corridor.
"Okay, give your Mum our regards." Helen headed off down the hallway to catch up with the guys.
"Will do." Alex nodded before heading back into the room to sit with her sister.
*****
I felt myself become conscious again. A warm hand was holding mine. I tried to move, but as a result I suffered excruciating pain. I groaned loudly through clenched teeth and sobbed, wondering what the hell I'd done to deserve this. "Hey sweetie! It's okay honey, just lie still, okay?" Alli's soft, cooing voice echoed in the small room.
"Alli... Mum?" I whispered, hardly able to do much else.
"She's on a plane down from Melbourne. She'll be here soon."
"Stay..."
"Course I will! You should sleep, I'll be right here, right beside you, okay?" Alex stroked my hair, being the best big sister I could've asked for, as I calmly fell into a deep sleep.
*****
"Mum!" Alex grabbed her mother in a bear hug as she walked in the door.
Veronica St Clare was the same height as her daughter, Alex. She had the same blue eyes, but blonde hair. She'd just returned from a Melbourne business trip, cut short by the distressing news about her second youngest child. The 52-year-old looked very stressed and worried. "Oh Alli, what happened?" Veronica sat by Liz's bed as she slept peacefully.
"She was taken hostage at gunpoint at the new restaurant. The guy KO-ed her... knocked her out, threw her in his boot and drove to a marina. She tried to escape but he shot her... Before we could find them he... he raped her Mum!" Alex burst into tears and grabbed her sobbing mother.
"Is she gonna be okay?" Veronica sobbed.
"Don't know." Alex whimpered, lowering herself into the chair beside her mother.
*****
When I woke again I heard quiet talking. I recognised the voices as Alli's and Mum's. "Alli?"
"I'm right here Liz, so is Mum."
"Hi Lizzy! I've been so scared!" Mum patted my arm.
"It h-hurts." I moaned weakly.
"I know honey, I know." Mum whispered.
"You're gonna be fine Lizzy, and when you get outa here, we're gonna go to my favourite Italian Restaurant." Alli was a damn good actress, especially after she'd been an undercover cop, but I know her too well. Along with all of the monitors attached to me, she wasn't as sure of my survival as she sounded.
"What... what are my in...injuries?" it even hurt to talk. Great.
"You should get more sleep Lizzy." Alli tried to avoid answering my question.
"Alli..." I growled with my remaining strength failing fast.
Alli groaned, paced at the end of the bed a few times, sighed, came up to me and took my hand.
"He shot you at point blank range, just missing any internal organs. He beat you severely and you lost a lot of blood." Alli said, sounding more like a Detective than my big sister.
"Then why does... does it hurt in..." I weakly gave up trying to talk and dragged my hand onto my swollen, bruised abdomen.
Alli was silent, Mum sobbed. I knew why.
*****
Alex woke, holding her sister's hand, her head resting on Liz's relatively unscathed shoulder. Liz was shaking and whimpering in her sleep, obviously having a nightmare. She was sweating bullets. Alex pulled her heavy head up and stroked her little sister's hair. "Lizzy? Lizzy! Wake up! It's just a bad dream, that's all..." Alex woke her up.
Liz stared at her with her unblack eye. She looked so weak and terrified. Helen chose that moment to walk in. She saw Alex trying to calm the poor kid who had tears streaming down her face, terror in those blue eyes. "Alex." Helen announced her presence.
"Helen, great timing! Can you give me a hand will you? Liz, we're just going to move you back to the middle of the bed, okay?" Alex wasn't keen on the precarious position her sister's thrashing about had put her in on the edge of the bed.
"Yeah, sure." Helen went on the opposite side of the bed.
"One, two, three, lift. Careful, gently does it." The two women gently moved Liz back into position, both glad she was quite light.
"Hey babe! There ya go, it's okay." Alex wiped tears off Liz's pale cheeks and held her face gently.
"Ouch." Liz sighed.
"Yeah, ouch is right!" Alex grinned, exchanging a glance with Helen.
"I brought you two a few things... oh, by the way Liz, I'm Helen Blakemore, I work with Alex... Anyway, I brought you a coffee," Helen handed Alex a polystyrene cup full of hot coffee, "and I brought you these," putting a bunch of cheerful flowers next to the hospital bed for Liz, "and this for when the hospital food gets too much!" Helen placed a large block of chocolate on the bedside cupboard.
"Thanks." Liz grinned weakly, knowing she'd appreciate them more later on when she could actually eat.
"Do you guys need anything else? Oh, Jack and Mick send their love, and so do the others, Donna told me to put this under your pillow," Helen put a piece of polished Rose Quartz under Liz's pillow, "and Jeff should be in around about... now, gidday Jeff!"
Chief Inspector Jeff Hawker walked in, hat in hand, looking as official as ever. "Hello Alex, Helen... And you must be Elizabeth?" Jeff grinned kindly at the pale wee thing propped up on pillows in the bed.
Liz smiled weakly in reply, wondering if he was the tyrant Alex said he could be at times. "Uh, I'd better get going..."
"Yeah, thanks Helen, we really appreciate everything." Alex gave her a hug before she left.
"Just give me a yell if either of you need anything."
"Will do." Alex grinned gratefully as Helen exited the room.
"Sir, what can I do for you?" Alex was hoping he didn't want her back at work.
"I just popped in to tell you to take your time coming back to work, the Christey and Reilly are coping fine, despite the fact they have no female to keep them under control, apart from Helen." Jeff gave Alex a reassuring smile.
"Thanks Jeff, I should be back soon, just depends how long it takes for missy to get well again." Alex looked fondly at her sister.
"As long as it takes, there's no rush."
"Okay, great. Thanks so much sir, if you need me just give me a call." Jeff was eager to get going, work to do, people to arrest, so Alex gave him an opportunity to exit.
"I'll do that. Look, I've got to head off, so I'll get Helen to catch up with everything later on, all right?"
"Sure." Alex sighed a sigh of relief as Jeff walked out, relieved that she could spend as much time at her sister's side as she needed.
*****
*****
"Alli, I'm fine... No, don't do that, you're getting in the way." Liz hobbled out of the hospital on crutches a week later, Alex fussing over her.
"All right, all right!" Alex gave up trying to help her sister up a step.
"Oh, geez..." Liz screwed up her face in pain for a second.
"What?"
"Just kidding. Quit it Alli! I'm not going to cark it on you!" Liz chuckled, a mischievous grin sweeping across her face.
"You're staying with me by the way."
"Yeah, trust Mum to bugger off to a conference as soon as I'm out of the woods and the guy's in prison!"
"How did you find that out?!"
"The art of eavesdropping."
Alex rolled her eyes. Liz was most definitely back to almost normal, and knowing her she'd shed the crutches before she was supposed to as well. "Do you want me to..."
"Go get the car? No."
"Do you need..."
"Any help? No."
"Are you..."
"Sure? Yes."
"Stop...!"
"Doing that? Why?" Liz knew her big sister too well, and knew just how to piss her off. She had so much catching up to do!
The pair got into Alex's freshly repaired Mitsubishi Galant which she's picked up from the panel beaters a few days beforehand. Her little brother, and Liz's older brother, James, had been run into when he'd borrowed it. And he was paying for the repairs if Alex had her way, seeing as it was his fault. "Oof." Liz slowly lowered herself into the front set which was as far back as possible.
"You okay?"
"If you keep saying that I'm gonna attack you with one of my crutches." Liz pretended to be annoyed.
Alex grinned and started the car.
*****
"Morning Alex! You're back!" Helen greeted her as she walked in a couple of days later.
"Yep, Liz threw me out. She's impossible sometimes!" Alex grinned, signing in.
"She's better then?"
"Much!" Alex replied, trotting up the stairs to the D's office.
"Morning boys!"
Mick and Jack looked up. "Hey! How's Liz?" Mick gave her the famous grin.
"Much better, she threw me out, told me I had to go to work because I was pissing her off." Alex chuckled, reclining behind her desk.
"Yeah?"
"Yep. What have I missed?" Alex asked.
"Uh, not much. Opened and closed a case, closing another one, just waiting for a new one to come in." Jack summed up the week's activity.
"Oh. Do you think I should call Liz?"
"You just got here!" Mick pointed out.
"Yeah, I know..."
"Go on then." Mick chuckled at Alex's worried and confused look.
She dialled her home number and listened.
"Hello?" Liz answered.
"Liz, it's me." Alex put her on speakerphone.
"Before you ask, I'm absolutely fine, and if you don't get on with your work I'm going to come over there and attack you with my crutches." Liz grumbled.
"Okay okay! Just checking!"
"Go back to work Alli."
"Yes mother."
"Good daughter."
"Bye Lizzy."
"Bye Alli." The phone hung up and Alex looked at the boys.
"Back to normal you reckon?" Jack asked.
"Yep." Alex agreed whole-heartedly, grabbing a case file off him and getting back to work as she'd been told to.
*****
*****
THE END!!! Yay. Feedback would be greatly appreciated! Send it to sydneygirl2b@hotmail.com please!
Date: 10.11.2000
Summary: A young waitress is take hostage by a gunman, then violated in ways to make even the most hardened cop squirm. But what happens when the victim is closer to the cop than she thinks?
Rating: M15+ Contains violence and sexual references.
Disclaimer: Whatever you have to say, I don't bloody well care. I'm broke so you can't really sue me, and I'm not doing this for personal gain. I'm making no money out of it. The characters are not mine, with the exception of the guest stars of this story. This story is purely fiction, and I take no responsibility for any legal or other action arising from it or any of my other stories, so there.
Dedication: To Esme, Julesmonster, Rachael W, Kat, Sonni and the others who give me feedback! Thanks so much, I love feedback! Please send me feedback?!
Author's notes: I'm celebrating the end of a bloody long week. Test galore, stress galore, and my head is pounding. I have another Maths Test on Monday, and two assignments due in on Tuesday, and then I get to wear mufti to school for three days because I'm taking a business course. Then I get to bum around and do nothing until the 22nd, then do Peer Support Training. I love the end of the year! So I figured it was time to take a break from study and homework, and time to enjoy a Friday night, just me and my computer. Heh heh heh. Anyway, I would REALLY love feedback, and this story may be a bit eewee for a few readers, but I hope not.
*****
Sisterly Love
By Nikki Kirk
*****
"Hey! *Excuse* me, my milk jug isn't full! I expect a full jug of milk with my Earl Grey tea! Are you listening to me?" I turned to face the middle-aged, balding pipsqueak who was so vocal.
Divorced, no kids, bitter, Lawyer and stinking rich was my diagnosis after looking at the Italian suit and leather shoes on the short skinny dude. "Sir, if that jug was more full it would overflow." I tried to calm the little wiener down, put an end to my horrid day, but I knew already that wasn't about to happen.
"Rubbish! Look, you fill this up right now." The little shit snarled.
Someone called me from the other side of the busy restaurant. "I'm kind of busy, sir, I'll be with you in a minute." I tried to finish giving my nice, polite, grateful customers their nice meals.
"No! Look girl, do it now or I'll get you fired!" He stood up, his comb-over glistening with sweat.
I noticed with amusement that he was about an inch shorter than my 5 foot 9 inches. "I am *far* from a girl, *sir*, now please take your seat as I have other customers to serve. I will get to you in a minute!" I tried to avoid a scene noticing that most of the patrons were now staring at us.
"You do what I say!" He bellowed, grabbing me by the arm, hard.
"Get your hand off me NOW and please leave the premises at once or I will call the police!" I stuck my extra long nails into his hand, pulling the clammy, unpleasant thing off me.
"You stupid bitch." He hissed.
I felt cold metal through the back of my blouse and heard the restaurant patrons gasp in horror. I didn't know what to do. I had a gun to my back with a madman breathing down my neck. Andy, my boss, had been coming over to help me throw the guy out, but was now busy on the phone, presumably to the police, an anxious look on his honest face. I felt his breath on my neck and squirmed, only to receive a sharp jab from the gun. "Sir, we'll get you more milk if you'll just let me go."
"Nope, too late bitch." His hand ran across my waist and moved onto my hip.
"Please get your hand off me." I gritted my teeth.
"I should shoot you. I could shoot you." He squeezed my backside.
I watched the other staff members usher the other customers out, moving myself so my back was at a wall to allow them to escape without his knowledge. I glanced at Andy who was whiter than a sheet.
"Cops?" I mouthed.
"Yes." He signed back.
I heard the sirens over the heavy breathing in my ear. "Bitch!" He yelled, hitting me with his gun. I could no longer see anything, I just fell and fell, then hit the floor harder than I could've imagined...
When I woke I was in a car boot. My head ached and wet sets of dribbles were running down my face. Blood. The car smelled new. I reached up, feeling for a switch where I estimated the boot light to be. I found it on the left side above the lid beams. I turned it on and looked through my one open eye. Nothing. I looked over the other side. Bingo! A tool compartment was behind the right light case. I opened it to find a mini crowbar and a few screwdrivers. I put them into my black trouser pockets thinking they'd be useful, then looked for the lock. I silently thanked God for modern cars and triggered the lock, the lid flying up. We were near the Mosman off ramp according to the sign on the opposite side of the road. I looked at the driver behind, trying to look as pained as possible, mouthing "Call 000!"
I decided that 110kmph would kill me if I were to jump. The car turned down an off ramp.
The car pulled into a carpark by the harbour and I jumped out and ran. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my back and stomach and heard a bang. I fell. I'd been shot, and I was bleeding - a lot. "You stupid little girl." The gunman snickered, raised his gun and swung it, knocking me out cold.
I felt something wet. Maybe I was in a puddle. I opened my good eye. Yeah, I was in a puddle alright, a puddle of my own blood. The madman was steering the boat we were on. It hurt so badly... oh, it hurt. I felt dizzy and just as everything faded to black I heard a siren - the sound of hope.
*****
"Alex, Mick, Jack, a waitress has been kidnapped from a Circular Quay Restaurant, Marlow's. The suspect is armed and dangerous. The suspect carried her out to a car, a dark blue Falcon with mags, rego XGF453, after he KO-ed her with his gun. I don't know her name, but the suspect is Don Vynam, a Lawyer from Melbourne. A driver heading out to Beauty Point saw her open the boot just past Neutral Bay on State Highway 14, the vehicle turned off at the Mosman turnoff and he's now on a boat heading to the Heads from the marina near Taronga Zoo." Helen gave the Sydney Water Police Detectives the brief.
"Got it. Descriptions?" Alex St Clare jotted down some notes.
"She's five nine, straight bum-length dark brown hair, slim, wearing a red company shirt, black trousers and black sandals. He's five seven, middle aged, balding, black Italian suit, here's his picture."
"Great, thanks Helen." Mick took the printout and the three quickly headed out of the Goat Island HQ.
*****
I groaned. It sounded more like a squeak. It hurt so badly. I couldn't move, I was so tired. My head hurt. I was dying for a drink. And I was dizzy. I couldn't die now, no, not yet. I took a painful breath and passed back into blissful unconsciousness.
*****
The Harpy and the Nemesis skipped across the bumpy harbour towards Rose Bay. "That it?" Alex pointed out a jetboat to Jack and Mick.
The jetboat was drifting, engine off. A man fitting the suspect's description was on board, though there was no sign of the woman. "Nothing? Oh shit!" Jack, Mick and Alex saw the blood spattered interior as they came closer and saw the young woman lying in a pool of her own blood, seemingly lifeless.
"No..." Alex went pale.
"Alex?" Mick and Jack looked at her.
"Get her in close Lance! Shit! Liz? Liz! Police! Put your gun down, hands behind your head!" Alex roared at the guy standing above the woman.
He obliged, throwing the pistol to the floor. Mick and Jack leapt onto the boat after Alex who dropped down beside the woman.
"You know her?" Jack asked cautiously.
"She's my sister..." Alex was on the verge of hysterics.
"Alex, she's got a pulse." Mick pulled her back as Jack radioed for a helicopter for the critically injured 18-year-old.
"Liz..." Alex whispered, stroking her little sister's hair.
*****
"Liz..."
Why was that voice familiar? Was I dead? I felt weird. I wasn't there, really... Ouch, it really hurt. I forced my good eye open. Alex. My big sis. "Alli?" I whispered, my strength basically non-existent.
"I'm here sis, I'm here for you. It's okay sweetheart, hang in there." They were the last words I heard.
*****
"Liz? Liz?! Oh shit, she's out again. Where's the bloody chopper?!" Alex paced as best as she could in the small boat in frustration.
"There." Mick replied, watching it buzz toward them from the city centre.
"Thank God!" Alex brushed a hand through her light brown hair before kneeling beside Liz. "Liz honey, we're taking you to the hospital now, okay? Can you hear me Liz?" Alex didn't receive a reply.
*****
I could smell leather. And a familiar perfume. And aftershave of two different kinds. No, make it two and another perfume. And funnily enough I was still in agony. Real agony. I struggled to open my good eye, noting that my other one was still swollen, sore and stiff. I focussed on a face above me and felt a hand grip mine tightly. It was Alli, my big sister who worked for the Sydney Water Police. She had tears in her eyes and was grinning like an idiot. I don't know why, I must have looked like I'd survived a torture session... oh hang on, I had. I groaned, feeling a twang of pain through my back and stomach. I reopened my eye and looked at the others outside the room. The two guys who were with Alli on the boat were there, standing outside the ICU room's window, along with a female uniform cop. "Alli..." I tried to say but it came out as a whimper.
"It's okay little sis, you're okay." Alli's voice faded as I fell into a dream.
*****
Elizabeth St Clare's unblack eye fluttered. Alex leapt to her feet and took her sister's limp hand. Mick, Jack and Helen exchanged glances and watched through the window as the critically injured woman opened her eye and stared up at her sister with a pained expression. She groaned quietly, squeezing her eye shut in obvious pain.
The bullet had gone right through her lower back and upper abdomen, just missing some major internal organs, thankfully not touching her spine or any vertebrae. The suspect had beaten her with his gun causing her to be covered in deep bruises and suffering from two fractured ribs. And according to the doctors, Alex's little sister had been raped.
Alex's eyes filled with tears of relief as her sister looked at her again. She whimpered gently, so Alex stroked her hair as her eye closed again and she fell unconscious. "Liz? Liz? Oh, Lizzy..." a single tear snaked down Alex's cheek. She hated seeing her headstrong, fit little sister so vulnerable. Mick entered the room through the open door and put a supportive hand on her shoulder, then led her out of the room. Helen gave her a bear hug as Mick brought her outside. "Alex, she's a fighter. She'll be fine."
"Yeah, yeah, you're right." Alex sniffed, fiercely wiping a tear away.
"And just to let you know, we've got him on everything, you don't have to worry." Alex knew what Jack was talking about; the bastard that hurt her little sister would be going away for a *very* long time.
"Hey, you wanna grab a coffee? My shout?" Jack suggested, noticing how tired she looked.
"Hospital coffee? Pff, no thanks!" Alex chuckled, composing herself, "Besides, I'd better stay here till Mum gets here in case she wakes up."
"You want me to stay?" Helen asked, even though they were pushing it, being non-relatives in the ICU, already.
"Ah, no thanks Helen, I'll be fine." Alex smiled gratefully, "And you lot had better get back to work." She added to the boys, watching the boys wave as they turned down the end corridor.
"Okay, give your Mum our regards." Helen headed off down the hallway to catch up with the guys.
"Will do." Alex nodded before heading back into the room to sit with her sister.
*****
I felt myself become conscious again. A warm hand was holding mine. I tried to move, but as a result I suffered excruciating pain. I groaned loudly through clenched teeth and sobbed, wondering what the hell I'd done to deserve this. "Hey sweetie! It's okay honey, just lie still, okay?" Alli's soft, cooing voice echoed in the small room.
"Alli... Mum?" I whispered, hardly able to do much else.
"She's on a plane down from Melbourne. She'll be here soon."
"Stay..."
"Course I will! You should sleep, I'll be right here, right beside you, okay?" Alex stroked my hair, being the best big sister I could've asked for, as I calmly fell into a deep sleep.
*****
"Mum!" Alex grabbed her mother in a bear hug as she walked in the door.
Veronica St Clare was the same height as her daughter, Alex. She had the same blue eyes, but blonde hair. She'd just returned from a Melbourne business trip, cut short by the distressing news about her second youngest child. The 52-year-old looked very stressed and worried. "Oh Alli, what happened?" Veronica sat by Liz's bed as she slept peacefully.
"She was taken hostage at gunpoint at the new restaurant. The guy KO-ed her... knocked her out, threw her in his boot and drove to a marina. She tried to escape but he shot her... Before we could find them he... he raped her Mum!" Alex burst into tears and grabbed her sobbing mother.
"Is she gonna be okay?" Veronica sobbed.
"Don't know." Alex whimpered, lowering herself into the chair beside her mother.
*****
When I woke again I heard quiet talking. I recognised the voices as Alli's and Mum's. "Alli?"
"I'm right here Liz, so is Mum."
"Hi Lizzy! I've been so scared!" Mum patted my arm.
"It h-hurts." I moaned weakly.
"I know honey, I know." Mum whispered.
"You're gonna be fine Lizzy, and when you get outa here, we're gonna go to my favourite Italian Restaurant." Alli was a damn good actress, especially after she'd been an undercover cop, but I know her too well. Along with all of the monitors attached to me, she wasn't as sure of my survival as she sounded.
"What... what are my in...injuries?" it even hurt to talk. Great.
"You should get more sleep Lizzy." Alli tried to avoid answering my question.
"Alli..." I growled with my remaining strength failing fast.
Alli groaned, paced at the end of the bed a few times, sighed, came up to me and took my hand.
"He shot you at point blank range, just missing any internal organs. He beat you severely and you lost a lot of blood." Alli said, sounding more like a Detective than my big sister.
"Then why does... does it hurt in..." I weakly gave up trying to talk and dragged my hand onto my swollen, bruised abdomen.
Alli was silent, Mum sobbed. I knew why.
*****
Alex woke, holding her sister's hand, her head resting on Liz's relatively unscathed shoulder. Liz was shaking and whimpering in her sleep, obviously having a nightmare. She was sweating bullets. Alex pulled her heavy head up and stroked her little sister's hair. "Lizzy? Lizzy! Wake up! It's just a bad dream, that's all..." Alex woke her up.
Liz stared at her with her unblack eye. She looked so weak and terrified. Helen chose that moment to walk in. She saw Alex trying to calm the poor kid who had tears streaming down her face, terror in those blue eyes. "Alex." Helen announced her presence.
"Helen, great timing! Can you give me a hand will you? Liz, we're just going to move you back to the middle of the bed, okay?" Alex wasn't keen on the precarious position her sister's thrashing about had put her in on the edge of the bed.
"Yeah, sure." Helen went on the opposite side of the bed.
"One, two, three, lift. Careful, gently does it." The two women gently moved Liz back into position, both glad she was quite light.
"Hey babe! There ya go, it's okay." Alex wiped tears off Liz's pale cheeks and held her face gently.
"Ouch." Liz sighed.
"Yeah, ouch is right!" Alex grinned, exchanging a glance with Helen.
"I brought you two a few things... oh, by the way Liz, I'm Helen Blakemore, I work with Alex... Anyway, I brought you a coffee," Helen handed Alex a polystyrene cup full of hot coffee, "and I brought you these," putting a bunch of cheerful flowers next to the hospital bed for Liz, "and this for when the hospital food gets too much!" Helen placed a large block of chocolate on the bedside cupboard.
"Thanks." Liz grinned weakly, knowing she'd appreciate them more later on when she could actually eat.
"Do you guys need anything else? Oh, Jack and Mick send their love, and so do the others, Donna told me to put this under your pillow," Helen put a piece of polished Rose Quartz under Liz's pillow, "and Jeff should be in around about... now, gidday Jeff!"
Chief Inspector Jeff Hawker walked in, hat in hand, looking as official as ever. "Hello Alex, Helen... And you must be Elizabeth?" Jeff grinned kindly at the pale wee thing propped up on pillows in the bed.
Liz smiled weakly in reply, wondering if he was the tyrant Alex said he could be at times. "Uh, I'd better get going..."
"Yeah, thanks Helen, we really appreciate everything." Alex gave her a hug before she left.
"Just give me a yell if either of you need anything."
"Will do." Alex grinned gratefully as Helen exited the room.
"Sir, what can I do for you?" Alex was hoping he didn't want her back at work.
"I just popped in to tell you to take your time coming back to work, the Christey and Reilly are coping fine, despite the fact they have no female to keep them under control, apart from Helen." Jeff gave Alex a reassuring smile.
"Thanks Jeff, I should be back soon, just depends how long it takes for missy to get well again." Alex looked fondly at her sister.
"As long as it takes, there's no rush."
"Okay, great. Thanks so much sir, if you need me just give me a call." Jeff was eager to get going, work to do, people to arrest, so Alex gave him an opportunity to exit.
"I'll do that. Look, I've got to head off, so I'll get Helen to catch up with everything later on, all right?"
"Sure." Alex sighed a sigh of relief as Jeff walked out, relieved that she could spend as much time at her sister's side as she needed.
*****
*****
"Alli, I'm fine... No, don't do that, you're getting in the way." Liz hobbled out of the hospital on crutches a week later, Alex fussing over her.
"All right, all right!" Alex gave up trying to help her sister up a step.
"Oh, geez..." Liz screwed up her face in pain for a second.
"What?"
"Just kidding. Quit it Alli! I'm not going to cark it on you!" Liz chuckled, a mischievous grin sweeping across her face.
"You're staying with me by the way."
"Yeah, trust Mum to bugger off to a conference as soon as I'm out of the woods and the guy's in prison!"
"How did you find that out?!"
"The art of eavesdropping."
Alex rolled her eyes. Liz was most definitely back to almost normal, and knowing her she'd shed the crutches before she was supposed to as well. "Do you want me to..."
"Go get the car? No."
"Do you need..."
"Any help? No."
"Are you..."
"Sure? Yes."
"Stop...!"
"Doing that? Why?" Liz knew her big sister too well, and knew just how to piss her off. She had so much catching up to do!
The pair got into Alex's freshly repaired Mitsubishi Galant which she's picked up from the panel beaters a few days beforehand. Her little brother, and Liz's older brother, James, had been run into when he'd borrowed it. And he was paying for the repairs if Alex had her way, seeing as it was his fault. "Oof." Liz slowly lowered herself into the front set which was as far back as possible.
"You okay?"
"If you keep saying that I'm gonna attack you with one of my crutches." Liz pretended to be annoyed.
Alex grinned and started the car.
*****
"Morning Alex! You're back!" Helen greeted her as she walked in a couple of days later.
"Yep, Liz threw me out. She's impossible sometimes!" Alex grinned, signing in.
"She's better then?"
"Much!" Alex replied, trotting up the stairs to the D's office.
"Morning boys!"
Mick and Jack looked up. "Hey! How's Liz?" Mick gave her the famous grin.
"Much better, she threw me out, told me I had to go to work because I was pissing her off." Alex chuckled, reclining behind her desk.
"Yeah?"
"Yep. What have I missed?" Alex asked.
"Uh, not much. Opened and closed a case, closing another one, just waiting for a new one to come in." Jack summed up the week's activity.
"Oh. Do you think I should call Liz?"
"You just got here!" Mick pointed out.
"Yeah, I know..."
"Go on then." Mick chuckled at Alex's worried and confused look.
She dialled her home number and listened.
"Hello?" Liz answered.
"Liz, it's me." Alex put her on speakerphone.
"Before you ask, I'm absolutely fine, and if you don't get on with your work I'm going to come over there and attack you with my crutches." Liz grumbled.
"Okay okay! Just checking!"
"Go back to work Alli."
"Yes mother."
"Good daughter."
"Bye Lizzy."
"Bye Alli." The phone hung up and Alex looked at the boys.
"Back to normal you reckon?" Jack asked.
"Yep." Alex agreed whole-heartedly, grabbing a case file off him and getting back to work as she'd been told to.
*****
*****
THE END!!! Yay. Feedback would be greatly appreciated! Send it to sydneygirl2b@hotmail.com please!