True enough we were both on some painkillers in the morning but decided to go for a quick jog to help burn off the muscle spasms, we hit the main track outside the park and decided to go for the four mile route across the bottom of the hill and across the bridge where the river was. We got to that point relatively quickly and found a group of people screaming at someone in the river, we both dashed over to the group and watched in horror as two people were trying to stay afloat on the rocks while the current was trying to overpower them.
"Spike, call it in, I'm going down!" I yelled.
"Not without safety equipment you're not!" he said grabbing my arm.
I pointed down to the rising flood waters and the stranded men.
"Don't have time, the river is rising because of the weather in the mountains and the tide coming in – this is a salt water river and once it reaches the rocks they are dead. I've done this before with Sam, more or less!" I replied looking over the railings.
He looked at the men and then at me, he knew I was a strong swimmer and would do everything safely that I could, but this was dangerous as fuck and he was not happy; he ripped out his phone and gave me a deep kiss as he started to dial.
"Keep your Bluetooth on at all times, anything goes sideways then you get the hell out of there alright and that's an order!" he demanded.
People just looked at me and a couple had lots of rope that was all knotted together to be used as a guide rope; I got them to tie it securely to the fencing and to pass it down to me once I reached the riverside. They nodded to me and Spike had finished calling it in and tried to stop me due to the seriously dangerous swim I was going to have to take, I pulled him to the side and told him to keep control of the rope and remember his scuba signals – they were getting pulled up and swung across the water to the bank where support can pull them in. He nodded and with a swift kiss I headed down the hill and into the deep woods where I was slipping and sliding due to the mud and thorn bushes, definitely was going to need a tetanus booster after this! I managed to get to the side of the river and the two men were clinging onto the rocks as hard as possible when they needed to relax and let their bodies move with the current while securing their hold; I shouted over to them and they did as I commanded before I got Spike to lower the rope and I wrapped it around under my arms and dove into the water. The river wasn't going full tilt but the current was seriously taxing my strength and I just managed to snag the rocks and climb onto the boulders beside the two men.
"What the hell are you both doing down here?" I demanded.
The younger man pulled out a weapon and aimed it at the older man and myself, I rolled my eyes internally and got into a more stable position as training kicked in and I defended the older man who was clearly terrified.
"Easy Sir, probably not the best choice you're going to make in the next 90 seconds and its getting a little dicey down here on the river." I stated calmly as I stood in front of the older man.
'What the hell are you doing?' a voice hissed in my ear.
"Sir, I'm not here to interfere in your business but we need to get you guys off this rock and back onto the bridge before the river sets, can we agree that no-one here wants to die?"
The older man nodded and I could hear the rescue teams above me arrive and talk to Spike who was co-ordinating the local PD and SRU team who had arrived on scene; it was Brian from team three who must be in the truck as I heard his voice in my ear giving me a berating for being worse than Sam when it comes to rescues. The river began to swell again and the waters were becoming very muddy from the passage along the mountains, this could be really bad if we don't get off the rocks shortly as the added mud is a massive swimming challenge; I looked at the two men again and pointed to the water.
"Sir the waters are speeding up and I don't even want to go swimming in this and I'm a trained diver, we need to get you guys lifted off the rocks with the winches and then you can air all your grievances in safety. Both of you are soaking wet and have been down here for a while by my guess, do you want hypothermia to set in – trust me it's not fun!" I stated trying the old reality check on him.
He glared at me and continued to point the weapon at us both as his eyes darted around the place, I could tell he was trying to figure out how to get out of this one but it was a no-go due to the sudden increase in water from the mountains.
"Fine, put the old cripple up first – hurry up!" he demanded.
I nodded and clicked my headset.
"Guys, lower the winch with a support bracket, the guys are coming up!" I called.
Two minutes later the bracket arrived and I was helping the older man into the harness, I whispered to him about who I was and what the plan was when he reached the top of the bridge, he nodded and as I knelt down to secure the lines around the bracket the other man pulled the trigger point blank into the guy's head. I was forced to my stomach by the guys weight and felt the blood run down my back from the head wound inflicted by the bullet; I managed to pull out from under him and checked for a pulse – half his head was gone.
"Why the hell did you do that – what had he ever done to you?" I demanded angry.
I could hear the teams on the bridge fall back and knew they had taken aim from their locations on the bridge and were all locked onto the younger man's body – I glared at him as I got to my feet and wiped off the blood across one side of my face.
The man in front of me was whooping in joy and laughing his head off.
"Oh man that was a rush – seriously thought you would be freaking out about seeing someone being murdered! Oh well, tie your hands up as I want to play with your buddies on the bridge, see if they can play Russian roulette as well as I can?" he stated.
"Bite me!" I hissed, lunging for the weapon as he was distracted.
He dodged out of the way and back handed me across the base of my neck and I slid on the blood running from the dead man, I landed heavily on my back across the ragged boulder and hissed as my hip took the brunt of the impact.
I saw it then, the change in his personality from a submissive to a dominant to a crazy assed gun wielding lunatic! I could hear Spike whispering into my ear, telling me to keep calm and not do anything rash, I looked up and signalled to them with a flick of my hand. The response was instant and firm negative and if I attempted it I would be hung when I was recovered.
"Sir I don't know what your plans are but the water isn't your major problem here; you have just killed someone in front of witnesses, the SRU team and I - there is nowhere for you to go apart from up and into custody. Give me the weapon and I can get you out of here, get you secured and deal with whatever problems you're having; you're other options are about to be exhausted by one single word if that weapon is raised again towards me."
He had finished tying my hands tightly with the rope I had brought with me and I knew that I was going to be screwed for climbing out of here if the need comes; the knot was old school and secure. The man looked at me and within seconds the demeanour changed and the other personality was back in play.
"Sir your options are limited here, the SRU don't mess about when lives are at risk and considering you just took an innocent life in front of them – they want this resolved," I stated clearly.
The man looked at me and back handed me across the face, I went down on my knee and spat out the blood from the cut his ring caused across my lower lip; I glared at him and looked up at the top right corner of the bridge and saw Sierra.
"Hate to tell you this but you have a sniper on you for that and since I know him, he doesn't miss his targets; hit me again and the last thing you will see is a bullet going into your brain!" I hissed back.
"Who the hell are you, how the hell do you know so much about what they do?" he said trying to listen in on my Bluetooth he had ripped out my ear.
"I'm SRU dumbass, why the hell do you think I was trying to negotiate with you, to end this without bloodshed so you had at least a chance of seeing outside prison again in your lifetime. Trust me, at any moment the teams Sergeant will give the order and you will be history, drop you weapon and surrender yourself, it's the only way you can live!" I replied calming down.
I could see the others on the bridge, could see Spike with the binoculars staring at me and making the sign for 'OK', I nodded and then it went pear shaped again as I was spun around in front of the man and grabbed by the neck. I could see every firearm on the bridge being aimed at the man and heard the shuffle of another sierra to my left – I glanced at the woods and saw a shock of blond hair and a flash of a badge – Sam!
"LOWER YOUR WEAPONS AND GET RID OF THE SNIPERS – ONE WRONG MOVE AND SHE IS FISH FOOD – DO IT – NOW!" the man yelled.
I saw the men being signalled to stand down and clocked that the bridge was still fully trained and armed on both of us, I looked down at the water that was now coming over our shoes and I could see the man trying to figure out what to do – he was panicking.
"Sir, let them send down the harness for you, you know there is no way out of this unless it's by handcuffs or a body bag – surrender to me and I'll make sure they understand what is going on with you; make sure that they realise you are struggling," I whispered clearly.
The man's personality had switched again to the submissive, he looked around kindly and saw my hands that were tied in front of me, he looked at me and he looked afraid; I moved away from him gently and held up my hands in peace.
"It's alright I understand what's going on and I want to help – are you willing to surrender and let me get you the support you need?"
He nodded and handed me the weapon, I unloaded it and threw the weapon to the riverside in the direction of Sam, I then got my headset back off him and looked up at the harness that was halfway down the height of the bridge.
"Guys send it down, situation resolved!" I called.
"Copy that Fraser, your ass is in a heap of trouble!" replied a voice.
'Oh shit, Ed and Sam must be covering today!' I thought.
The harness lowered and I got the man to step in and I secured him to the rope lines and into position to be raised, he was terrified but I calmed him down and turned my back to unlock the dead man from the ropes.
I was yanked up by my hair and felt a sharp blade against my throat, I could hear the call from the team, could hear the frustration in their voices as the order was delayed due to the man not being mental fit – in these kind of calls it was a medical decision not to be taken lightly since it can have massive repercussions for the public response. The blade went slightly deeper and I felt the warm trail run down my neck; I hissed at the bite and the fear now kicking in since the water was pushing us backwards off the rock as it hit our knees.
"Get the men off the bridge and get them to lower their weapons – I want out of here!"
I nodded and clicked my headset while I looked at the left side and signalled to Sam to be prepared to take the shot if he saw it; I looked up at the bridge and swallowed as I saw Spike gripping the railings and beside him was Parker who had been called.
"Officer Johnson – you there buddy?" I called loudly over the river.
"I'm here Mac, Sierra in position and we have your back!" he replied.
"Sir, I'm going to contact the snipers and get them to fall back, I'm just letting you know in case you see movement on the right hand side ok?" I informed the man.
He nodded and moved me as a human shield as he dug the knife in slightly deeper, I winced and growled at him as he gripped my neck and faced the right side of the river.
'Good girl Mac! Give the order when you're ready!'
"Sir the snipers are out of position and the only people left on the bridge are the winch man and emergency services; it's on my order they will raise you up and get you to safety."
He nodded and I suddenly dropped to my knees and screamed.
"SCORPIO!" I commanded.
The bullet hit the brain stem and I heard the body splash backwards into the river, I also felt the pull of the rope catch onto my half undone wrists and I got pulled waist deep into the river and grabbed a hold of the rocks as the current overtook my strength and I was pulled away in the water. I took multiple deep breaths and aimed my feet downwards, trying to find a bank that was further out so I could catch onto a large tree root and climb on board – thankfully after a few moments I found one and hauled myself onto it after making sure it was stable and solid.
The Bluetooth was dead and I dragged myself onto the embankment and crawled up onto the higher ground though the tree line and onto the old pathway; I lay there like the dead as I caught my breath and stretched off the adrenaline rush and laughed – which quickly turned into crying and dragging myself against a tree and curling up with my knees to my chest and having a panic attack.