Disclaimer: I don't own 'The Bill'

A/N: It's been a while between drinks but no, I haven't forgotten this piece, so here's the second last chapter before a hiatus…

Chapter Eleven;
Hold All

Max frowned as the truck gave one final, lurching stop and his cuffs pulled tight on his wrist. For a few seconds he felt bad for the people that had to endure these, then remembered they deserved it where he didn't, and the feeling quickly dispersed. He frowned at Beth's new muscled friend who gave them all one stony look, a growl that Max barely deciphered as 'stay still' then pushed on the back doors of the van. They burst open, the dark night sky still beyond. What wasn't beyond however was Beth's street. In it's place stood fields of grass as high as Max's knees. He officially had absolutely no idea where they were. Beth didn't seem to know either, just giving the land beyond a glare, blaming it for their situation. Well, at least she didn't seem to be blaming him anymore, Max thought with a silent sigh.

The men from earlier returned, their faces now covered by balaclavas, Max deduced as he was dragged out of the van (strangely enough still cuffed to the crate which one of his captors carried with them) that this was less about recognizing them and more about the weather. As dark had fallen here the hot summer's day had turned bitterly cold. A soft breeze from the west, or what Max assumed was the west, hinted they were near water and that was where the sudden cold snap had come from. Where they were in London however didn't become clearer, even when his eyes took in the area. There were lights in the distance, lights of civilisation, but before them stood a small house surrounded by plotted land. They were in the centre of some large cultivated land, likely on the outskirts of London, far enough away to avoid suspicion.

Max scowled. Whoever they were dealing with knew their stuff and as they released Max from his cuffs and pushed him roughly inside the house, ushering him towards a downstairs area, he noticed they seemed to have come prepared too, stacks of food and two small handguns lying on the table nearby.

This was going to be a long ordeal.

*

Beth shifted to try and remove the implement sticking into her spine. There wasn't a lot of room to move, but enough for the three of them to sit comfortably, save for the fact that when Beth was pushed unceremoniously inside she hit the wall and was knocked for six. Waking with something sticking into her back was just the start of the trouble.

"Oh, you're awake," Max muttered, disconcert evident in his voice. She glanced at him and found him facing Jess, the teen curled up in a small ball, protecting herself from some unseen force. It didn't take long for Beth to work out why Max sounded so caught out.

"Have you been interrogating her?" The PC snapped, glaring at the senior officer. Max seemed to attempt at protest, but Beth cut over him. "No, don't tell me you were 'just talking' because you don't 'just talk' sergeant, you interrogate every single person you talk to, even if you don't mean to."

"It's okay Beth, we were just talking." Jess' voice was small, the character Beth was so used to lost in the darkness and situation.

"Don't talk to him Jess, he's the reason why we're in this mess." Beth glared in Max's direction and the DS shook his head. "Don't act like this isn't your fault. Why the hell are you here anyway?"

"An investigation into a group of drug dealers on the Holbeck Estate." Jess glanced up. "Yes, the Taggarts, heard of them?"

Jess said nothing but Beth frowned. "Look, if you're insinuating that Jess is some kind of drug dealer you can stop right now bec…"

"Apple doesn't fall far from the tree Beth, let's get realistic here. Her entire family are drug dealers and right now looking at a long stretch for a very large shipment coming in soon from the European mainland, except one is missing, hiding in witness protection. Does that not sound suspicious to you?"

"Suspicious! She's a witness whose life was in danger herself, how suspicious is that?" She rounded on Max with a steel finger threatening to prod him in the chest or maybe even the head. "You know what's bloody suspicious, how we ended up in this mess barely minutes after you turned up. How did you find us Max? Who else have you told?"

"I didn't tell anyone! I have connections inside witness protection."

"Who?" Beth's glare cracked him.

"Derek O'Reilly, his nephew Pete Doyle works for your lot." Beth growled, remembering her boss mentioning something about Doyle being accused of not logging in properly. They'd passed it off as a mistake, but really it was Max bloody Carter. Beth just glared harder. "Derek O'Reilly was my sergeant when I first joined SO19 as a PC. He was a mentor."

"Touching, I have tears in my eyes at how beautiful that story is," Beth muttered as spitefully as she could, "but it's still not answering the question of which major stuff-up led to this, who the hell is behind this and how we get out of this alive."

"I didn't cause this okay so don't look at me like I'm the instigator of evil and in someway responsible for every problem you've ever…"

"Oh stop being so bloody dramatic Max, this isn't about making you fe…"

Their growls and yells drowned out one-another's points, both ignoring the figure in the corner who gave a polite cough, a louder cough then gave up trying to be nice about it. "Would you two just shut up, it's not helping and you're giving me a headache." The two adults looked at Jess, surprised by the outburst, then fell into their own cold, stony silences. Max turned away from the women as Beth fell back against the wall, tired and her head throbbing from the bump earlier. Jess just stared at the ground and sighed.