A/N: And the next instalment arrives! This chapter is more or less setting the scene for the final instalment to come (probably by the weekend!). Once again, I'd like to thank you all for your support and reviews! Please keep them coming; they truly do help with the strive to write and are very valued; no matter how long or short they may be. I hope you like the instalment. In addition, seeming as though we are rounding to an end; let me know if you guys do want a Book 2! I'd be more than willing to oblige, and hopefully it can fill the space for Rush when it finishes up at the end of this year for its fourth season. :)
Enjoy!
Chapter 9 – The Politics
Her mind trained completely on the task of securing a sense of calm over the residents of Melbourne, Kerry contemplated on what she'd made sure was accomplished the moment that the explosives were discovered. She'd pushed and secured the cancellation of the New Years gathering that was an annual celebration. These bombs that Venture had put into play; they were causing a hell of a lot of trouble for the police force and most prominently, for Kerry Vincent. She was the figure of TR that had to address the media, the one that had to assure the world that nothing bad would come out of any of this and that tactical response would comply with their obligation to bring a secure and sound resolve. Pulling a hand through her hair and pushing her draping curls behind her ears, Kerry heaved in a deep breath and stood from the park bench she'd been seated on. The channel ten news crew was straight ahead and they'd signalled her over indicating that the studio was going to cross over. It was show time. Wiping a look of freight off her features, the Inspector put her game face on and marched directly into the central camera's line of sight. It was there that she saw the red light flash on the camera and her cue to start talking was given.
"Joining us now is Inspector Vincent, the heading officer of Tactical response." The news reporter on the opposite end spoke simply, a controlled voice present. "Inspector; thank you for joining us. What can you tell the Australian community about the situation at the moment?"
Kerry's eyes narrowed in on the camera and her mouth twitched. She didn't want to go into any detail about any of this. The less the public knew, the better – but the fact of the matter was – the higher ups and the police commissioner himself wanted results He wanted Kerry to dictate exactly what the tactical squad was able to discover with little to no assistance from criminals or interrogations, displaying extraordinary police work. He wanted Kerry to tell the public that everything was going to pan out perfectly, and no lives would be lost. However, it was Kerry who was making the promises – and – Kerry who would be the direct figure of blame if anything went wrong and she made such assurances. No less – her position was set. She couldn't deny the commissioners direct instructions and so she pulled her serious features tight and lied through her teeth.
"We can tell the public that we've found eight bombs in total – four of which have already been disarmed by one of out bomb techs." Inspector Vincent spoke with a sincere nod, "Currently, there are four more bombs to be diffused and the diffusions will be undertaken in undisclosed times." Kerry said; holding everything and anything she could from public ears. Who knew what would happen, but worse, who knew if Venture and his associates were out there watching, just looking for the perfect and opportune moment to lead a team to sabotage TR.
"So, Inspector – what are the odds that an explosion will be triggered?" the hard questions; the questions that the news reporters knew Kerry couldn't answer without lying and giving them free ammunition for a new story if things were to go sour.
Suppressing her feelings, Kerry calmed herself and shook her head dismissively, "Look, there's not much more we can disclose at this point. I'm sure the commissioner will keep you up to date with all you need to know."
"Thanks for your time again, Inspector."
"Yeah…" Kerry tried.
...
Lawson was sitting slouched over the dining table in the team meeting room, his eyes playing at the lid of his coffee. He was early again; the thought of failing this whole thing playing testily at his mind. He couldn't deal with failure, but most importantly, he couldn't deal with putting his team in harms way like this. Stella, Dom, Shannon and Christian; they were all going to be in a direct line of fire. These explosives were live, and only one of his current team members was legitimately trained to handle this situation and that was Dom. Every instinct in the Senior Sergeant told him to dismiss his team and tell them, the mission wasn't going to be going ahead tonight. No way, no how. He was their leader and it was his distinct and known duty to keep his team safe; to keep his friends – no – his family – safe. The sound of boots stopping at the entrance snapped Lawson out of his thought, his eyes meeting with Shannon who had a concerned look on her features.
"You left early again." She stated, making her way to a seat opposite her boss and partner.
"Yeah – I know. I didn't want to wake you Shan." Lawson uttered truthfully, his tired but nonetheless caring tone breaking the air between them.
"You're worried aren't you? About tonight?" Shannon offered in her usual well handled voice. Lawson nodded; Shannon was the only person in TR he felt that he was going to be able to counsel in with this issue. With Josh still behind bars and Kerry not even have had a chance to head over and work her current favouritism in the commissioners eyes – Lawson didn't have his best mate to give him a pat on the shoulder and a 'it'll be right mate' spiel.
"What's up?" the sergeant asked, sliding her hand across the table to meet with Lawson's. The touch and the warmth of her hands gave him the courage to pipe up; the will power to overcome that stubborn hold-it-all-in attitude that Lawson knew all too well.
"I'm leading you guys in there without any of the proper training. It's not right. I've failed TR more than once. I failed Michael, I failed Stella…. Shan – I failed Grace." He spoke, tenderness to his tone. There was no doubting he felt responsible for Stella's firearm discharge earlier this year. There was no doubting Lawson felt partially responsible for Michael's job loss. He could've done more – he could have forced Kerry's hand, but he didn't. He was the good little soldier; the father-figure that didn't have the courage to defend his family because of where he was standing. How vulnerable he was feeling. Then there was Grace. He'd allowed her to go into the car park where he knew there was an explosive…. He'd allowed Dom too. And here they were, dealing with explosives yet again, and he was willing to send his team into a scenario where he'd lost one member of his family, and came near to losing the other. He'd destroyed his best friend with the loss of Grace, and, whether he liked it or not, Lawson had proven to himself that he wasn't a leader. He was self driven and wasn't willing to set the law aside to ensure his families safety.
Shannon's eyes lingered onto Lawson's and she clenched firmly onto his hands, squeezing it as if to promise him that everything would be okay. As if to tell him what was done in the past, wasn't his fault.
"Lawson, you can't blame yourself for any of that. You did what you could. You need to just think about there here and the now and make sure Dom, Christian, Stella, Michael, you and me all do what we've been trained to do. To respond under the circumstances we're expected too." Shannon pushed truthfully. But as much as Lawson wanted to accept her words of wisdom – to simply disregard his responsibilities in the previous terrors that had struck TR; he just couldn't do it.
"I love you, Lawson." Shannon struggled, her voice trembling with emotion at the sight of her partner breaking under the sheer guilt and pressure of his past.
"I love you too." He replied, a sad smile pulling at his mouth. The Senior Sergeant felt his stomach tingling with emotion, his heart beating at a hundred miles and hour, and his mind – ticking away in thought about Josh, the diffusions approaching tonight and his undying and complete love for Shannon.
The two officers sat in silence, hand in hand as they exchanged longing looks into one another's eyes. Lawson simply indulged in Shannon's pure eyes, while Shannon, she searched for the man she loved; the soft, unhardened and loving man that Lawson did his best to shell over. She looked for the happiness and upbeatness that he had when they'd first met – before the pressure; before the guilt started to settle in with the ongoing issues that TR had been having. What was clear in those moments in silence however was, the undying, pure and complete love that the two had for one another.
"That's beautiful, guys!" Dom piped, advancing into the meeting room, an enormously comical smile pulled across his overly bouncy character.
"Don't worry; not a word to, Kerry." Dom assured them both. There was no way that he'd be getting his superior kicked out of TR the same way that Michael had been. After all, Lawson and Dom may not have seen eye to eye very often, but they were like competing brothers; undeniably loyal, but both stubborn to no-end.
"Dom – try not a word to anyone, yeah?" Lawson advanced further, slowly retracting his hand from Shannon's.
"Done, mate. Have a good one you two; I'm gonna' go drop Sandrine and the bub off at her mums. It's Sandrine's birthday, and mum's almost forced me to bring her round to spend the day with some family if I've got work." Dom chuckled.
A frown pulled at Lawson's mouth and his eyebrows furrowed, "Dom," he began, "Go spend the day with them, mate. We don't need you here 'til later on, anyway. Wouldn't mind having you off my back; you're a pain in the ass." Lawson joked in his usual tone, still seeming professional somehow.
"Lawson, its fine. I told Sandrine what's going on. She doesn't mind." Dom nodded, a promise filled smile spreading across his face.
Eying Dom up for a moment, the team leader allowed a moment or so to pass and offered his approving nod, "Alright. Go make yourself useful then." Lawson directed with a quick side-tilt of his head. Without even a second guessing, Dom gave Lawson a cheerful grin and bounded off towards Leon's office. With one last look offered Shannon's way, Lawson slowly helped himself out of his seat and finished the last mouthful of his coffee, discarding the paper cup into a bin.
"Come on; let's go have some brekky." Lawson smiled toward Shannon, offering her a friendly wave.
...
The clock chimed nine in the morning and Lawson and Shannon had been able to experience sometime to themselves, indulging in the marvels of bacon and eggs and their company. Dom, Leon and Audrey had been playing at possible scenarios for tonight's mission and Kerry had just downed her fifth cup of coffee for the morning. Hands firmly placed on either side of the steering wheel, Kerry rounded a corner and pulled into the D's car park. The sound of her tires crunching along the road stopped as she parked neatly in line with the variants of other vehicles and she weaved her way out of the car and made her way into the building Josh was being held at. Kerry hadn't forgotten what Lawson had asked her; 'we need Josh back, go get him.'
It was plain, simple and straight to the point and so in other words, it was completely true to Lawson. Eyes scanning the unoccupied office desk, Kerry rolled her eyes at the unprofessional nature of the officers that were on premises. Anyone could walk in, score themselves a hit or two and make off with it and no one would ask a thing. The evidence room was wide open and the cameras that had been specifically placed before the building was furnished were now over covered by pointless decorative features. Pulsing down the halls and passing back a few desks occupied by some of the youthful, aspiring officers willing to tend to their work, Kerry made her way to Josh's holding room and opened the entrance door. Her eyes locked on the dozing Sergeant, Kerry gave him a teasing smirk, "Oh, Josh – you look like shit." She spoke truthfully. Josh's hair had grown in a matter of days and the stubble that had formed on his face was making him look more like Lawson's age than his own. Offering him a quick summon with her hand, Kerry piped, "Come on. We need ya'. Heard the news? Your little hunch was spot on." Kerry informed as Josh eased his way off the bed, a confused and bewildered look crossing his features.
"Kerry…. There's no way I'm cleared. The D's said they'd need at least -…"
"Stuff the D's, Josh. I can secure whoever's release I want with my new found connections." Kerry winked. "Come on before I change my mind and leave you here. Lawson wants you!" Kerry piped, watching Josh rush to attention, grab some of his personal thing and shuffle out the door. A youthful officer tending to his things at his desk was quickly at attention as Josh came springing out of his confounds.
"Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing!"
Quickly strolling out, purpose to her steps, Kerry intercepted the offense of the officer, her striking eyes locking directly onto the loud-mouthed officer.
"If you've got a problem with Sergeant Brendan Joshua's release, you can take it up with the commissioner. He's needed out on the field – you know – to do real police work?" the inspector stirred, eyeing the young officer up and watching as he fell right back into line.
"Do me a favour, Constable? Tell detective Peter Stefanovic to go fuck himself would you? That shitheads been a pain in my ass lately." Kerry shot, a full-hearted emotional and personal attack clear in her tone. Stefanovic was the one that thought he'd had more than enough evidence on Josh to bring him down – and the fact that he didn't have anywhere near enough incriminating evidence simply meant, Kerry had one of her best off field for no apparent reason. In Inspector Vincent's eyes, if you wanted to see shitty policing, the drug squad was the perfect place to go; where the cops were more crooked than the people that they tried to arrest.
Strutting off to meet Josh at her car, Kerry instructed him to get in as she took to the drivers seat. Eyes trained on the mirrors as she reversed out of her parking spot, Kerry effortlessly informed Josh of just what was going down tonight. The plan to diffuse the bombs, all the previous need to knows of the case that TR had been working; everything.
By the time that Kerry and Josh had arrived back at base, all of the team were assembled for their teammates welcome back. A proud smile was spread across Kerry's face, triumphant and self-appreciative for her efforts.
"Didn't think I'd be seeing you misfits again." Josh snickered teasingly, his charming, old smile flashing over his features.
"Same goes for you. What's with the beard? Think the ladies like it or something?" Stella offered back, a cheeky smile as per usual.
Josh had been filled in on the whole Michael ordeal by Stella days ago, simply due to the fact that she knew that she'd have to see Josh at some point or another, and what better time when they have something decent to talk about? It was probably a good thing. Returning to a half manned squad was always an unnerving thing.
Lawson's confident persona pulsed as he advanced to the front of the group, arms folded, and a welcoming smile still filling his features – much like the rest of the team.
"Bout time you showed up." Lawson stirred.
"Had better things to do, Lawson." Josh retorted, still a pleasant smile spread from ear to ear.
"Well, go get suited up. You're not back in TR until you've got your shit on." Lawson shoved Josh as he passed by playfully, watching as the Sergeant made off for the change rooms. Though as Josh rounded the corner, Lawson raised his voice.
"And Josh!"
"Yeah?"
"Have a shave, yeah? We don't want you looking like you're from Castaway."
Surprisingly it only took Josh a few moments to get geared up and tended to his stubble. He was looking like his old self again and finally, he'd secured control of TR2 once more and Dom was able to settle back down into a more back-seat role in command. With everyone grouped in the general garage area, Kerry clicked her fingers and summoned the teams attention to her.
"Alright, guys," she began, "Today's the day. We've got one hell of an op to do and we're not going it alone." Kerry began, her hands rested easily on her hips. "Dom's been able to get some of the best bomb techs from his old unit on our side for this and so he won't be going the diffusing alone. In addition, the commissioner has advised that a task force be put together consisting of some of the most extensive young police talent we have – and so – you'll be working on coincidence with them." Kerry offered Lawson a glance, as if checking to see that he was okay with being in a co-relation with several other squads. He simply gave his superior a nod, but the look of disapproval was present on his face. Lawson was a man who liked to know the people he was working with; trust and loyalty. The sound of two cars pulling up just outside TR's garage caught the squad's attention and the sound of the car doors opening and closing only meant one thing. The taskforce that had been assembled had arrived. Four suited officers entered and they offered Kerry a respective nod, and the original four were followed by another four – one of which who shared a vast similarity to someone that TR knew well; Michael.
"So here's the Foxtrot taskforce." Kerry introduced, signalling over to the eight officers advancing, "Michael was appointed to it after his leave from TR." Kerry spoke simply. No one had to know that it was Kerry herself that had suck him out and offered him the second chance; almost as an apology for dismissing him from TR.
The broad smiles of everyone in the team were clear. Dom was even more pleased than he had been earlier in the day, and Stella and Christian were booming with excitement.
"So this is why you said you couldn't come back to TR is it Michael?" Stella offered. The constable simply gave her a smile, "Maybe." He tried to agree.
It was Lawson however who broke the happy meet and greet.
"Kerry, what is it exactly that the taskforce are going to do? We've done the leg work on this and we're doing the op. They're going to get in the way." He spoke truthfully, and Josh offered him a reasonable nod with a medium toned, "He's right."
Kerry narrowed her eyes almost as if pondering the Senior Sergeant and Sergeant's input, but she shook her head dismissively, "They're going to be making sure Venture and his boys don't try anything. You can't be too careful, Lawson."
"We've got three hours. Finalize your plans and make any last adjustments. I'm going to make the call to uniforms to evacuate the central area of the city the best they can and start barricading the area. Lawson; fill the taskforce in, yeah? We all need to be on the same page or this is gong to go to the shit." Kerry nodded
