Chapter 4

Early the next day.

Chris, Pete, and Andy barrelled their way into Barry Hospital. Sally had seen the early TV news and the report of a shooting and home invasion. She went pale when she'd recognized the Mike's address and immediately had woken Chris up. A couple of hurried phone calls later and soon Pete had picked Chris and Charge up and they'd raced to the hospital.

"Could please you tell me where Mike Flynn is?" Andy asked the receptionist.

"Ward 2, room 13."

"Thank you." Andy followed Chris and Pete in to the lift.

Pete knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

None was forth coming.

"Swain?" Pete asked.

Chris nodded and opened the door.

The bed was empty although it had been slept in. An IV stand and monitor and all the lines and leads were left dangling.

Andy shook his head, after he checked the en suite. "Where's the boss?" Charge wondered aloud.

Chris checked Mike's chart. His last check had been at 0500, two hours earlier. "He seems to be okay." Mike's vitals had been normal.

"Let's go and ask a nurse," Pete suggested.

"Nurse, do you know where Mike Flynn is?" Chris asked.

"No. He's down in ICU," the nurse replied.

Chris looked incredulously. What was going on?

Mike watched Kate sleep as he sat uncomfortably in a wheelchair next to Kate's bed, his thigh heavily bandaged, one eye was swollen shut, and his nose taped together. His hand rested lightly on hers; just like she'd done when he'd been lying in this hospital a fortnight earlier. He'd remembered waking up and she being there holding his hand. It had comforted him and he hoped to do the same.

"Kate," Mike kept repeated her name. She looked pale but battered and bruised. He reached up to caress gently the red welt on her cheek. It sickened him that she'd been hurt, again, in his house, and he couldn't protect her. However, he wouldn't tell her that, he smirked, she'd have his balls for saying that. Kate was capable of looking after herself.

Kate stirred, her head rolled back and forth slowly. She was coming around.

Sighing, Mike sat up straighter. "Kate, I'm here. You're all right." He'd been reassured by the head nurse and the doctor that she'd been lucky in that the bullet missed everything major. She was still serious but it could've been a lot worse.

Kate rewarded him with squeeze from her hand and he smiled broadly. "C'mon, Kate, wake up."

Fully awake now, Kate's eyes flew open. Where was Mike? Confusion reigned. She had to know if he was all right. "Mike?"

"I'm here, Kate." Mike struggled to stand up, balancing on one foot, and then spun around so could sit on the edge of her bed. It felt so good to see those eyes, sparkling back at him. He clutched her hand tightly.

Kate groaned, in pain from the sudden movement. After a deep breath, she took in her surrounds, analysing quickly that and her condition. Unfortunately, she also remembered everything that happened, but Kate couldn't hide the shock of seeing Mike bruised and bandaged up again. "Mike, are you okay?"

"Yeah, he just reopened my thigh and I'm bit sore, that's all. You'll be okay, too." Mike caressed her face before leaning over to kiss her forehead. "Thank you." He thanked Kate for coming back to him; the relief was beyond words, and Mike felt elated, but exhausted. He hadn't slept a wink.

Kate sighed, enjoying the feeling of his soft lips on her. "Mike, love you." Raising a hand up, she cupped his face, carefully avoiding his nose and shut eye, and drew him to her, kissing him tenderly.

Mike lingered close to Kate, unwilling to break their connection. He whispered sincerely, "I love you too."

A smile grew on Kate's face, and any pain she felt disappeared with his declaration. "I know."

Mike finally gave into the growing pain in his leg. "Sorry, I got to sit down. My leg is killing me." Mike returned to his wheelchair, and then manoeuvred his leg back onto the horizontal panel that kept it straight out.

The nurse and the doctor came over when she saw her patient was awake, telling her everything that had happened, her treatment and prognosis.

The nurse took her vitals and wrote them on her chart. "Ms McGregor, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

"Pain?"

"It's okay."

The nurse scoffed and then turned to Mike. "And you, Mr Flynn?"

"I'm all good."

"Liars,' the nurse muttered to herself as she left to attend the less recalcitrant patients in the ward.

Kate and Mike heard the rushing footsteps coming toward them. Then they heard the nurse direct the herd of elephants toward them.

"XO?" Chris was expecting the boss to be the one in a hospital bed. They'd assumed the boss had been shot.

They were not expecting to see the XO, lying in the ICU.

Looking back and forth between the Boss and the X, they all looked worried. Both looked like they'd been used as punching bags and a lot more. Just what had happened? Chris had tried his police contacts on the way to hospital, but his contact couldn't tell him much. It hadn't been logged in yet.

Pete butted in, "It was on the news …."

Charge felt compelled to get to straight to the point and interrupted, "What happened?"

Kate looked at Mike and shrugged, allowing him to answer.

"A bloke barged into my apartment, there was a struggle, and then Ka … the X was shot."

They ignored Mike's slip of tongue.

"X?" Pete stepped forward, concerned.

"I'm okay."

Charge's eyebrow nearly connected with the ceiling.

"Really," Kate reiterated.

Chris read her chart to be sure. She'd been telling the truth. She seemed okay.

Pete recognized that Kate wasn't going to elaborate so he turned his attention to his CO. "Boss?"

"Just a few bruises. Nothing serious." Mike was also reticent to go in to details.

It was Chris's turn for his eyebrow to rise, not believing a word. They'd nearly lost the CO and the X in the Samaru Islands and didn't care to repeat that experience.

After receiving the call from Ms McGregor's doctor to say that she was awake, Detective Inspector Waite and Detective Sergeant Don Knolls entered the ICU and Kate's room.

"Inspector?" Mike asked.

"Ah, Mr Flynn, hello again," DI Waite replied, not expecting to see the man up and about so soon after his ordeal.

Mike explained, "X, guys, the police."

Kate looked at Mike. She knew she'd have to talk to the police at some stage and it appeared Mike had already done so.

DI Waite introduced himself to Kate, and then asked, "Ms McGregor, are you ready to answer a few questions?" Paul looked at the four men. "Alone."

"Yes." Kate didn't want Mike to go but understand why he had to. "Sorry, sir, guys, can you give us a minute?"

Mike didn't want to go but knew he had to, but it didn't stop him giving her a look that meant he'd be back. "Swain, can you give me a hand?"

"Yes, sir." Chris wheeled Mike out of ICU and back to his room, with the Charge and Buffer following behind him.

Paul opened his notepad and began to write as he questioned her. She confirmed Mike's version of events and description of their attacker. It seemed Kate had been very lucky. Some home invasion ended up in sexual assaults, when the perpetrator took advantage of the situation. If it hadn't been for Flynn, Paul knew exactly what the man could've done to her. Having a gunshot wound was bad enough but it could've been a lot worse.

The only thing she added was that the man had spoken only a few words, mostly threats, but when Paul had asked if the attacker had had an accent, she'd shifted uncomfortably. She seemed distracted and Paul surmised she was in pain from her injuries.

Paul cut the interview short. "We have enough to start. As I told Mr Flynn, I think this was a home invasion by some drug user. I'm sorry but unless his DNA is on file, the chances of conviction are slim."

She shrugged. "All right." She ignored the inspector's theory; there were far more important things for her to worry about.

The detectives left.

The nurse came back in and asked, "Everything all right"

"Yes," Kate answered, "Could you please send for Mike Flynn?"

"Okay." The nurse smiled, knowing how much they were in love just by the looks they shared.

Soon, Mike was wheeled back in to her room.

"X?" Mike wondered what was going on. The DS hadn't said anything.

Kate said, "Mike, I know who did this."

Mike saw Kate's eyes. He understood. The ICU was hardly secure. He bent down toward her so she could whisper it into his ear.

Mike's fist clenched when he heard what she had to say.

She'd told him that the attack bore all the hallmarks of the people that had dogged them for the last few months and the hidden hand behind their attacker.

Kate whispered, "Eastern European mercenaries means …"

"Ray Walsman." Mike finished Kate's sentence.