Unlawful Past


Summary: Lawson's unlawful past comes back to haunt him in the form of a person who he would least expect.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Rush (obviously).
A/N: I wasn't going to write anymore fics, I kinda had a moment there where I had given up writing, but something motivated me (I guess) into continuing to write this. Hope its ok, and somewhat realistic. lol
Rated: As a whole, T - for some coarse language and possibly a hint of drug references.

Chapter 1

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"What are we going to do?" she cried out as he pushed a lifeless body that was lying on the cold, tiled floor.

"Maybe he'll wake up?" he answered in naive hope.

She gave him a glare from her position in the doorway, folding her arms across her chest, "I know I'm pissed, but wake up? Yeah right."

He shrugged half-heartedly, standing up, trying to gain his balance by holding onto the bathroom sink, as his legs wanted to give way beneath him, "I reckon we should just leave him here. Forget we ever saw anything. Forget the whole damn thing!"

Lawson gasped, as he woke up shivering. A pool of cold, sticky sweat surrounded him. Beads of it were dripping down his face, down his neck. He wiped his hand across his forehead, rubbing some of the sweat onto his hands.

Why the hell had he been dreaming about something that happened 15 years ago?

-----

Lawson walked into work, lacking his usual energy and enthusiasm at 7.30am, half an hour before his 12 hour shift started. His eyes half shut from hardly any sleep. If he walked into a wall or any other free standing object at that point, he would not have been surprised. He was certain that the first person who saw him would think he was hungover. And he may as well have been, because he sure did feel like crap.

"Jeee-sus Christ dude," came the voice of Leon, as he spotted Lawson walking in like a man double his own age, "You look like sh-"

"Yeah whatever," he replied, not in the mood for Leon's 'cheery' personality, "I didn't sleep much last night, okay?" as he sat down at a desk he called his own, he started to think more and more about the dream, or rather nightmare, he had. Was it a sign of something more to come? Or was it just some stupid coincidence that the actual date that that had happened was approaching?

"God Lawson, you look terrible. Tough night ey?" Josh soon exclaimed, knocking on the desk a couple of times to get his attention.

Lawson realised that he must have got so caught up in his thoughts and started to drift off, "Something like that," he replied, lifting his head off the desk, "Got about an hours sleep last night. If that I reckon."

"Wonderful. What happened?"

He sighed and decided not to tell him anything more than he needed to know, "Just restless I guess."

Josh looked at Lawson like it was as if he didn't believe him, "Okay well whatever it is, maybe you should take it easy today. You know, if there's any negotiating to do, let Shannon do it. That kind of thing."

Lawson screwed up his face – the day that he 'takes it easy' at work will be the day he retires from the police service or becomes Commissioner.

-----

Half way through the so far quiet day, Lawson realised that what Josh had said was probably right. There was no way that he was going to be able to be 'normal' today. Not the way he was feeling, and he wasn't that good an actor. Drawing his gun from his holster and keeping it steady in his hand was a problem. He couldn't stop it from shaking and before he knew it, his entire body was shaking. And all of this happened while he was standing in front of a mirror in the change room. Lawson could see the look on Josh's face now – it was not a good one.

"Lawson? You know you're not gonna get anywhere by pointing your gun at a mirror."

He turned around and saw Kerry standing in the doorway; a small smile on her face that told him she was messing with him, "Yeah, yeah."

"What's wrong?" her voice turned serious quickly.

Lawson was about to open his mouth and say something when Leon rushed in, "Guys, there's a robbery in progress at the Victoria Inn in Williamstown. Possibility of multiple hostages."

Kerry glanced across at Lawson as Leon took off again, "Are you right to go?"

"I'm fine," he replied, trying to make it sound like he was.

Kerry nodded, though she wasn't entirely convinced by his words or body language.

Lawson trudged off to the car, copping a slightly menacing glare from Josh along the way. It was the exact type of look he had seen in his mind, "I'm fine," he repeated for what felt like the hundredth time.

Josh raised his hands to the height of his chest, "I wasn't asking."

"No, but I know what you were thinking," Lawson replied as he got into the car, slamming the door behind him. Josh followed with a sigh, before getting into the other car with Shannon and Michael.

-----

Outside the Victoria Inn, there were already a number of police cars parked along the middle of the street. They had cornered off the street in both directions and only let the two TR cars through upon seeing both Michael and Dom's police IDs. Lawson looked out his window as they then continued on towards the scene, thinking that it looked like the few officers there were all ready to ambush the building with their shot guns.

Kerry followed them in her unmarked police car, also having to show her I.D.

Lawson got out of the car, leant against its door and rubbed his fingers over his forehead without realising what he was doing or how he looked doing it. Josh wasn't going to say anything else to Lawson about it then and there, but decided to tell Shannon that if any negotiating was needed, she may have to do it alone. Shannon didn't mind this however; in fact, she was looking forward to the challenge if it arose. It was almost like her chance to prove herself to the team, having only been there for a few weeks.

"Josh!" Kerry's voice suddenly cried out, and he turned around, wondering why she had called his name. But then he saw the reason. Lawson was slumped on the ground, shaking from head to toe. His hands were covering his face, as he rocked back and forth.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed as he ran over to them; he had never seen Lawson like this before, and something told him that whatever it was that was wrong, had every bit to do with him not sleeping the night before.

Kerry in the meantime, was trying to get Lawson's attention. She was crouched down on the ground, saying his name a few times, clicking her fingers together in front of his face. But he didn't respond to anything she did. Kerry looked up at Josh with a distressed expression on her face. A million questions were running through her mind. She had never seen him like this either and it was quite scary because he was always so in control of everything.

Seemingly.

Josh and Kerry helped a lethargic and pale looking Lawson get up off the ground and walked with him over towards Kerry's car, where they sat him in the front passenger seat, "I'll take Lawson back to base, are you guys right here?" she said in one fast breath.

Josh glanced over his shoulder at Shannon, who nodded at him, "Yeah we'll be fine."

-----

On the way back to the Tactical Response station, Lawson was swaying his head from side to side and groaning a little, like he was having a bad dream. His eyes were shut tight, and sweat was slowly making its way from his temples and down his cheeks. Kerry quickly glanced across at him worriedly, wondering what on earth was going on with him, "Lawson?"

He opened his eyes suddenly, almost as if he had fallen asleep in that short amount of time and was woken up by the sound of her voice. He glanced around, realising that they were travelling in the car, "Kerry? What the hell happened?"

She raised an eyebrow at his question, "I was hoping you would be able to answer that!"

Lawson frowned, turning his head towards the passenger side window, deep in his own thoughts.

"Leon, I'm bringing Lawson back to the station, okay?" Kerry then said into the radio.

There was an odd static silence on the other end. It was unusual for Leon to be so quiet.

"Leon? Are you there?"

More silence.

Lawson looked across at Kerry, who had briefly glanced over at him, the same question written in her eyes. What is going on?

-----

Upon walking into the TR station and opening the door to the operations room, Kerry and Lawson immediately noticed that something was different with the way the room looked. It was not quite right; paper and various documents were scattered all over the ground. They both reached down to grab their guns at the same time.

"What the f-" Kerry was knocked to the ground before she could finish the sentence. Lawson went to cry out as he saw her fall, but was cut off as he too hit the ground himself. A pair of bony hands then reached down, grabbed them by their clothes and one at a time, dragged them across the room.

-----

Kerry woke up feeling groggy, her head seeming to be as heavy as a brick, as she did her best to sit up. Looking to her right she saw Lawson lying on the ground a couple of metres away from her. A quick glance to her left, and she saw Leon also lying on the ground, though he was about ten metres away.

"Ah, someone's awake," came a slurred voice from behind her.

Kerry tried to turn her head around a little but couldn't. She didn't have to bother however, as the person soon revealed their face. It was someone who Kerry did not recognise; a woman with long, tussled dark blonde hair, quite possibly a few years younger than herself, but physically looking much older. She glared down at Kerry, "I was hoping it would be Lawson who was awake. But not much I can do about that," she then said cheerily, locking the entrance to the operations room and double checking every room in case there was other police officers in there, "So, who are you?"

"I was just wondering the same thing about you," Kerry responded, rubbing the back of her head where it was still hurting. The woman simply smiled at her coldly. "Obviously you know Lawson though."

"Knew Lawson yes. So, you didn't answer my question," when Kerry told the woman her name, she began to nod slowly, "Are you a cop?"

"Yes."

"Don't see you wearing a uniform."

"I don't wear a uniform," Kerry answered with a meaningless shrug.

The woman pointed over at Leon, "Neither does he by the looks of it."

"He's not a cop," she replied flatly, before Lawson finally stirred in his position near Kerry, moving his head to one side. The woman's eyes lit up as she saw him move and she pulled a gun from her jacket pocket. Kerry felt her body stiffen, looking down at the empty holster on her leg and then at Lawson, whose gun was also missing from his holster.

"Hi Lawson," the woman said to him, as his eyes slowly opened. He rubbed his head, wondering what was going on. No, it couldn't be, his heart started beating fast in his chest as he recognised the woman who was staring him in the face. He also recognised her voice as being the exact same shrilled one from his dream. The one that cried out:

"What are we going to do?"

-----

The next few minutes became a staring match between Lawson and the woman. Neither looking away from each other; everything about the whole 'charade' started to play on Kerry's nerves and she found herself getting very anxious. She was the kind of person who hated waiting around in the emergency room of a hospital; keeping still for long periods of time was not one of her fortes.

"Jenny?" Lawson was the first to look away, as he glanced to his left and saw Kerry looking at him through slightly hazy looking blue eyes. The woman seemed pleased that he recognised her after all the years that had gone by, and to top that off, he remembered her name as well. As Leon started to move from just below a desk, Lawson diverted his eyes back to Jenny, "What are you doing here?"

A cold and rather evil smile appeared on Jenny's face. She had waited a long while to see Lawson again and now the opportunity had arrived, she couldn't help but be proud of herself for what she had done. Smug was a word to describe the feeling, "I've been thinking about you a lot lately. And then I found out that you were a cop and that you worked here ... Tactical Response!"

"How?"

"I just couldn't resist," she continued, ignoring his question.

Kerry raised her eyebrows. She had no idea what was going on, or who the hell this woman was in relation to Lawson, but she got the feeling that she was going to find out sooner rather than later.

Leon, confused and alarmed by what was going on, having only just woken up, jumped up from his position and onto his feet. A move that surprised everyone.

Jenny turned the gun on him, "Sit back down," she told him through clenched teeth, the yellow, somewhat rotten look of them appearing in between her thin pale pink lips, "NOW."

Leon did what he was told, scared of the gun that was being pointed at him. He gazed over to his right and saw Kerry and Lawson looking at him meaningfully, both had looks on their faces as if to try and reassure him – to tell him that it was okay. But in the back of his mind he knew that it wasn't.

-----

In contrast to what was happening at base, the hostage situation at the Victoria Inn was being quickly and efficiently resolved by Shannon and a negotiator from another squad. Stella walked over to Josh, "Why isn't Kerry back yet? How long does it take to get to the station and back again?" she asked in a whisper, as they all watched on from their cars.

"Maybe she's staying back there," Josh replied with a shrug, "I don't know. I'll check with Leon," he flicked the button on his lapel and said into it, "Hey Leon, is Kerry staying back there with you and Lawson?"

No answer.

"Leon?" Josh said after a couple of seconds. Stella watched him with intent. Josh glanced over at her and shrugged, "I think Leon's being a dickhead."

"Wouldn't be the first time."

-----

Lawson watched through slit eyes as Jenny walked up and down the room; wondering what on earth she was doing, he couldn't help but ask, "What's going on? Why are you here?"

She smiled coldly at him, and offered no meaningful reply, "You're the cop. You figure it out."

He rolled his eyes, fed up with what was happening, fed up with her little mind games that she was playing, "Okay, well I'll figure it out once you let those two go," Lawson gestured in the direction of Kerry and Leon.

Kerry mouthed 'no' at him, as Jenny answered, "I don't think so. They'll go and get more cops to come here. And I can't have that, can I?"

"Well this is a police station. Have you considered that?"

Jenny frowned at his words. Why hadn't she thought about that earlier? She was caught up with the excitement and elation of seeing Lawson again, that she forgot that she was holding them hostage in a police station, "Okay, get up. All of you."

Lawson, Kerry and Leon all glanced at one another.

"Come on, get up!" she said angrily, waving the gun at each of them, "I have no hesitation in shooting someone."

Lawson started to dread mentioning the police station. He should have kept his mouth shut.

-----

Josh got himself ready and seated in the drivers seat of TR1, though still keeping a firm eye on what was happening around him. He thought about trying to get through to Leon again, but decided not to. The 'civilian' sure knew how to play games with them; and Josh was certain that this was another little one of his pranks.

As people starting swarming out the front doors of the pub, anxious looks on their faces, Stella and Michael got into the car, happy that it was over. They were also happy that they didn't really have to do anything – it was pretty much all left up to Shannon.

"Let's go," Stella told Josh, "I need to have a shower, get out of this stinkin' uniform and -"

"Party like it's 1999?" Michael grinned from the back seat.

"That is exactly it Sandrelli."

-----

Walking down the hallway, towards the back, almost uninhabited exit of TR's base, Leon kept whispering in Kerry's ear hyperactively, "What's going on? Who is she? Where are we going?"

"Shut up Leon, how am I supposed to know?"

Jenny was walking closely behind the three of them, gun in one hand, pointed towards their backs. She was beginning to get fed up with Leon, who was still asking quiet questions, "Alright that's enough," Jenny got in front of them, forcing them all to stop, "Geekazoid, you can go. Piss off," she used the gun to point back to the direction in which they had come, "I can't stand your frigging voice anymore. Go away. I don't care if you tell any other cops. They won't be able to find us. Not where we're going."

Kerry and Lawson watched on in slight bemusement. She was very naïve this woman.

Leon was a little hesitant in leaving them with her, looking over at his 'bosses', who both nodded at him. Jenny shoved Lawson and Kerry forward, telling them in a brash manner to get a bloody move on. To her, they were wasting valuable time by standing still.

When they were out of sight, Leon ran back into the operations room and sat down on his chair. Clipping his headset onto his ear, he said, "Josh?"

"Ah Leon. There you are. Finally decided to talk to us ey?" came the sergeants voice after a few seconds.

"Huh? Have you finished ... whatever it is you were doing?" Leon struggled to remember what had happened before he was knocked out, "You gotta get back here as quickly as you can," he continued to tell Josh, as he tried to bring up some CCTV footage from cameras monitoring the building. He was hoping that he would somehow be able to find Lawson and Kerry on one of them.

Josh glanced over at Stella. There was a seriousness in Leon's voice that he did not like, "Why, what's going on?"

"I don't know exactly. There was a woman here. She is nuts. She wants something with Lawson I think," he did his best to explain, "She's got him now. Kerry too."

"Where?"

"I don't know! They went ... somewhere. She had a gun. Lawson's maybe, I can't be sure. May have been Kerry's ..."

"And where are you?"

"Where do you think I am?"

Josh quickly started the car, the engine roared into life, "So ... she ... let you go?"

"I think I was annoying her."

"Oh now that's nothing new is it," he mumbled.

-----

In the back of both Kerry and Lawson's minds, they wondered why they were letting this woman take them wherever it was they were going. But figuring out how they were going to overpower her, given she had (possibly) both of their guns, was going to be a challenge. They couldn't talk about it, unless at one stage or another, they were by themselves. But neither of them could really see that happening. Not at that moment anyway.

Jenny forced them down an alleyway situated behind the TR building, where she spotted an old, quite dingy looking car. Conveniently for her, it was unlocked. She opened the drivers side door and flicked the button up for the boot, "Get in," as Lawson and Kerry glanced at each other, she pointed the gun at them, "Did you not hear me before? I have no hesitation in shooting either of you."

They reluctantly climbed into the boot, lying down, breathing in the stuffy and dust filled air inside it. The boot was slammed shut and darkness engulfed them. A few minutes later, they heard the car start, and began to feel all the bumps and twists and turns in the road as Jenny was driving.

Now was their chance to talk.

Kerry turned her head to look in Lawson's direction, despite not being able to see him that well, "Got any idea about what we should do?"

"Don't know, but I'm thinking about trying to get her to let you go. After all, she let -"

"I don't think so," she interrupted him, "If you're staying, I'm staying. Any other ideas? Know some kung fu?"

Lawson chuckled quietly at her last question, "Ah no. Unfortunately."

"I don't mean to pry, but who the hell is this woman anyway?"

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