Chapter 7 –

Zoe was in shock as Tess relayed the information to her, two critically injured people being rushed in and one of them was Dixie, Zoe knew that she needed Sam in resus with her and Tom.

"Linda!"

Zoe ran over to her friend who was still dressed in her jeans having just arrived for her shift.

"I heard Zoe I'll be there right away!"

Zoe shook her head as she grabbed a hold of Linda's arm causing her friend to look at her, her face full of concern.

"I need you to sit in with Rachel I need Sam with me and I don't want to leave the girl alone."

"You think she is in danger?"

"DI Parker does and I don't want to take any risks."

Linda nodded as she adjusted the bag on her shoulder.

"Ok I'll go right on in, do you want me to send Sam into resus."

"Yes please but don't say anything to her I don't want Rachel to know what's going on."

Linda gave a small nod of her head in acknowledgement before she watched Zoe heading off towards the ambulance bay, she quickly decided not to waste any time and went to relieve Sam.


"Stay with me Dixie we're almost there!"

Jeff shouted to the back as he just about heard an audible mumble in reply which was a good sign as she was still conscious. Driving as fast as he could Jeff made the journey back to the hospital in record time, breathing a sigh of relief as he saw Sam, Zoe, Tom and Tess standing outside waiting for him.

"Right Sam and Tom you take the male, Tess you and I are with Dixie."

Zoe spoke quickly as she opened the doors and allowed Tom and Sam to take the badly injured man out and quickly into resus while Jeff leapt out and ran around to check on Dixie.

"Hey Dixie its Zoe, can you hear me?"

"Uh huh."

"That's good, right I'm going to help you out and into the wheelchair then we can sort out that arm for you."

"I'm fine its just a little scratch."

Zoe raised an eyebrow and frowned at Dixie as she helped the woman sit in the wheelchair before Jeff quickly pushed her inside, the blood had already seeped through her thick jacket.

"Well we're going to have to have a better look just to be safe."


Linda watched Rachel as she slept, she had picked up the notes attached to the end of the bed and saw that Zoe had administered some morphine. It broke Linda's heart to watch the frail girl sleeping, her body had taken so much pain and suffering at such a young age Linda wondered if she would ever fully recover especially with further threats to her safety hanging over. Quickly she was pulled from her thoughts as Linda heard rapid footsteps approaching the cubicle, throwing the notes to the end of the bed Linda stood firmly as the curtain opened.

"Oh it's you."

Linda breathed a sigh of relief as she saw DI Parker walk in, but the detectives face was pale and showed signs of extreme tiredness.

"You're here alone with her?"

The anxious tone was evident in Alice's voice as Rachel quickly opened her eyes due to the loud interruption.

"Well yes we've got a bit of a situation here at the moment and all the doctors are needed in resus."

Linda couldn't help the sarcastic tone in her voice as Rachel struggled to sit up and watched the exchange.

"Exactly so we need to move her now!"

Rachel's eyes opened wide as she watched Linda sigh heavily and shake her head before she turned around and faced her, a warm smile evident on her face.

"It's ok Rachel just relax, there's nothing to worry about."

Rachel just nodded her head, her body was still feeling the effects of the morphine and she instinctively trusted Linda far more than the detective.

"I think we ALL need to just calm down a little bit."

Linda glared at Alice who reluctantly nodded her head before she stood at the end of the bed, her back turned to Rachel and Linda, ready to intercept anyone who dared to enter.


"Tom?"

Zoe called out over the screens as she examined the wound on Dixie's arm.

"He's heading to surgery, ruptured spleen we've got him stabilised."

"Ok good."

Zoe took a breath as she turned her attention back to Dixie while Jeff stood protectively beside her.

"What happened?"

"Police called us in because of that guy's injuries then as we started to treat him it turned into the OK Corral."

"Do you know who the guy was?"

Zoe looked at Jeff as she pressed down hard on Dixie's arm.

"Some local gang member that the police wanted to interview."

The look on Zoe's face instantly changed and she turned around to see if Sam was still in resus.

"Zoe? What's wrong?"

Dixie spoke quietly, the pain had eased considerably and she had been lucky that the bullet had only grazed her arm, the blood loss looked worse than it actually was, the shock of the whole incident the most damaging injury.

"Nothing, I just need..."

"It's that girl isn't it?"

Tess spoke worriedly as Zoe caught her breath and turned her attention back to them, just able to nod her head.

"I'll get security down here."

Tess moved to phone them but Zoe waved her hand.

"I'll get them I need to sort a few things out, are you ok to finish off for me Tess?"

"Of course."

"I'll be back to check on you shortly Dixie I promise."

"Not a problem Zoe."

Dixie called out as Zoe walked past the screens and saw Sam peeling her gloves off.

"With me Sam."

Sam just nodded her head as Zoe rapidly moved towards CDU, her heart beating fast as they reached Rachel's cubicle. Zoe didn't waste any time in opening the curtain and was unsurprised to see that Alice was already in there.

"My office now!"

Alice went to open her mouth but Zoe had already walked out with Sam following her close behind, leaving Alice with little option other than to follow them.


Zoe closed the door firmly, a look of anger and concern on her face as she looked hard at Alice, Sam was confused before Zoe launched into a tirade.

"So that's two of the men who brought Rachel here that have been attacked, what aren't you telling us Detective? One of my friends has been shot, how much danger are we in?"

Sam looked at Zoe, her mouth open, she hadn't been fully aware of the situation just that she was needed in resus and her thoughts immediately turned to Rachel before she stared at Alice.

"Honestly I don't know, I've never come across a situation like this, I need to talk to Rachel again and get some clearer answers about how long she was with the group and if we can get a handle on her real identity. I never expected that they would target us or the paramedics."

"Well they did and I want to ensure that my staff and Rachel are safe."

"I want to move Rachel to a safe house."

Zoe nodded her head before she looked at Sam who shook her head.

"She's not well enough plus she doesn't exactly trust you detective, you move her into a safe house and you are going to damage her physically and mentally."

"I know Sam that's why I want you to come with her."