Chapter 18a

Maggie squinted into the lens of the binoculars, watching as the drug squad from St Davids moved into position around the abandoned shed. She continued to scan the area, aware that he was down there. Possibly in danger. And she was miles from him, on watch but out of harms way. She bit her lip in frustration, that was not how it was suppose to be. She should be down there, with him, watching out for him, not stuck on a hilltop. She knew she was being ridiculous, but she was convinced if he stopped watching for a single second, something would happen.

She observed the officers as they gave a quick hand gesture, signaling the all clear and watched as Nick, Adam, PJ and Harris moved closer to the shed, positioning themselves for the raid. She clenched her jaw in frustration, Harris was the reason she was up here, with Dash, keeping surveillance on the other side. His opinion of female police officers becoming more apparent as the days wore on.

She caught a ray of light and closed her eyes instinctively from the harsh rays, dropping the binoculars by accident. She cursed as she frantically wiped the lenses clear, before bringing them up to her eyes to see if they were clean. The random angle, however, allowed her to view the surrounding bush land that had been deemed as secure, and she frowned as she saw something glint in the light. She surveyed the area again, but if there was something there, she was too far away

"Dash" she called into the radio, waiting patiently for her colleague's answer.

"Yeah Maggie" she replied a sense of wariness in her voice.

"Can you see anything about 40 degrees from your assigned position?" she asked, hoping Dash had a better view then her.

"Maybe" she replied, "I can't really make anything out but there is something moving" she admitted, voice unsure. "I'm going to move down a few meters," she replied, "I'll keep you posted," she added as she clicked off the radio.

"Dash" Maggie responded warningly "Dash" she tried again and cursed at the recklessness of her colleague. She let out a frustrated growl as she surveyed the raid and the surrounding area. Everyone was in position, everything seemed clear. She scanned quickly for Dash and felt somewhat relieved that she had obviously stayed close to the boundary as to not interfere with the positioning. She saw the officer in charge of the drug squad raise his arm in warning to move and she knew that she would potentially risks their lives if she called them now. She watched, as he gave the signal and held her breath as PJ entered the shed, gun raised.

Maggie wrenched her attention from the raid to do another quick scan for Dash, when a larger glint caught her eye. She adjusted the binoculars trying to gain a better look and she saw the flash again. She cursed as she made her way over to the radio, dialing the number to connect her to both PJ's and Harris' radios and cursed again when she only received static, the surrounding bush land interfering with the signal. Concerned she patched herself through to the station.

"Boss" she stated quickly "Dash has moved from her position to secure the area, I think there may be something in the distance, I'm going to take a quick look" she informed him. "I can't raise PJ or Harris, I'm moving along the eastern boundary, request backup when they are available"

"Doyle, wait for backup" he replied sternly and she shook her head even though she knew he couldn't see her "Its probably nothing boss, I just want to be sure" she stated, concern for her friend overriding her constant professionalism as she clicked off the radio.

She moved down the side of the hill cautiously praying that PJ was ok, reminding herself that he had almost twenty trained police officers watching his back. She had covered almost 200 meters when she eyed a movement in the shadows and she ducked behind the thick trunk of a tree as she slowly moved, positioning herself so that she could survey the surrounding area. Her breath hitched as she saw Dash, gun aimed at her chest, the gunman having backed her against the opposite tree, shielding her from outside view. She inwardly cursed as she noticed Dash's gun lying empty across from her, out of arms reach.

The moment froze in time as she slowly unclicked her gun from its holster, pulling back the safety mechanism. She met Dash's eye in reassurance and she saw the flicker of acknowledgment before she hid it, not wanting her attacker to be aware of Maggie's presence. She took a quiet breath before allowing her training to take over.

"Police. Drop the gun now!" she demanded her voice strong as she pointed the gun towards him, moving out from behind the safety of the tree "Drop the gun now!" she repeated.

The gunman turned his attention on her surprised and Dash took the opportunity, elbowing him hard under the rib cage, shortly winding him. Then, suddenly, all hell broke loose. The deafening blast echoed in the silence of the country and Maggie felt as if her eardrum was being ripped to shreds by the noise, a sudden gust of heat racing pass her. Dash however managed to recover faster then the gunman and her colleague as she took the opportunity to knock her solid knee into his side as he scrambled closer to Maggie. He was strong however as he tossed her off him effortlessly, lurching toward Maggie and grabbing her wrist as he forced her to drop the gun, chiseling bruises into her skin as he did so.

It was that moment when the other officers burst onto the scene, yelling unintelligibly for the gunman to drop to the ground. Knowing there was nothing he could do, he released her and lifted his hands in defeat, one of the St Davids officers moving forward to cuff him as he pulled him up, followed by one of his colleagues as he informed him of his rights.

Suddenly, just like that, it was over.

"Are you two ok?" the remaining officer asked as he helped pull both Maggie and Dash to their feet. Dash gave a small nod as Maggie moved instinctively closer to her "Yeah, we're ok" she confirmed as she walked out of the clearing with Dash by her side.

"Maggie!" PJ yelled, panic obvious in his voice as he approached the two girls "Are you alright, what the hell happened!" he demanded, eyeing her worriedly, obviously fighting the urge to pull her to him.

"We're ok," she replied weakly, her breath coming back to her in ragged gulps. Dash nodded in response as the paramedic came up to them, guiding them towards the ambulance. She threw a reassuring glance over at PJ, brushing past him slightly, before moving into the ambulance with Dash.

It was hours later when Maggie heard a soft tap against the side doorway to her kitchen and she let a small smile tug at her features, knowing that he was the only person to use that entrance. She clicked the lock open softly as she opened the door moving out of her house rather then inviting him in.

"Dash is home," she explained at his questioning look, "She's a little jumpy, I don't think having unannounced guests is a good idea," she added warily.

"Are you ok, really" he asked again, concern etched on his features, as he moved towards her, reaching his hands up to rub her arms reassuringly.

She gave him a small nod, her eyes displaying her exhaustion "Just really tired" she admitted, rubbing her eye warily "Dash and I have talked, we've been debriefed, everything fine" she added, feeling the need to reassure him.

"It's not your fault," he stated, knowing that she would be blaming herself. She met his gaze steadily before replying, "It's not your fault either"

He nodded his head solemnly and she pulled him into an embrace, his strong arms enveloping her, protecting her, keeping her safe. He placed a small kiss on her forehead as she slowly moved back from him, running his finger down her arm reassuringly, needing to touch her. He stopped, however, as he reached her wrists, dark blue bruises evident against her milky white skin. He looked up to meet her eyes and she yanked her hands away self-conscious. He connected his gaze with her, holding it as he moved her arm closer to him, bringing her wrist up as he gently placed a kiss on the marks. He watched a small tear slide down her cheek and he felt himself inwardly cursing the entire universe for making her cry. She shook the tear away before giving him a small smile as she reached up to place a small kiss on his cheek.

"I have to get back inside" she whispered and he nodded knowing that she felt an obligation to Dash after the days events.

"You have formal debriefing tomorrow?" he asked knowing full well the procedure for such events and she nodded her head. "I'll give you a call," she offered meekly and he nodded in response. "Good night Mags" he stated as he gave her a soft peck on the lips before turning down her driveway.

"Goodnight PJ" she whispered back before heading back inside to check on her housemate.