"Sarge?" DC Ellis called, glancing up towards where the DS was pacing backwards and forwards in agitation. It had been almost a week since the three women had left London and returned to Manchester. There had been no new sightings and no new leads to help them find Hollie and Natalie in that time and all three were getting desperate. Hollie had been missing for almost three weeks now and it was getting more and more difficult to stay positive that they would find her alive. "Nikki Boston's had another call from an unknown mobile. It was just a lot of muffled noise, but she could hear her daughter's voice clearly in the background. The boys from TIU are tracing it now."

Jo shook her head and grinned, despite how concerned she was. "That's my girl. I knew Hollie would think of a way to help us find her."

"What's going on?" Sam asked, poking her head around the door of her office.

"Hollie's phoned Nikki again. They're tracing the call now."

Grabbing her jacket, Sam picked up her car keys. "Let's get on the road and make sure they don't get away again." She suggested. Jo didn't need persuading, grabbing her own jacket and mobile and heading through the double doors. As the blonde followed, she turned to look at the DC at his desk. "Phone us the second you get a location."

"Guv."

Jo was waiting impatiently by the car when Sam left the building. The DI had cornered several members of Uniform on her way out and put them on alert that they would be needed sometime soon. Throwing her girlfriend the keys, Sam got into the passenger seat and fastened the belt as Jo pulled the car onto the road.

As her mobile began to ring, Sam snatched it up and held it to her ear. "DI Nixon."

"Guv, there's been a report of gunshots on the Arrow Trading Estate in Audenshaw. It's on Corporation Road, opposite the Reservoir. Uniform are attending, but I thought seeing as you and Jo were already out and about…"

"You know why we're out and about, Kevin." Sam reminded her DC snappily. She sighed. "Fine, we'll head in that direction now. But the second you get a location on Natalie's phone you let us know, understand?"

Glancing sideways, Jo raised an eyebrow. "Where to?"

"Reported gunshots on the Arrow Trading Estate in Audenshaw."

Jo nodded and skilfully turned the car round. "I know it. Any news on the girls?"

"Not yet, but they'll let us know when there is." Sam assured her with a smile, squeezing her knee.

They were almost at the trading estate when Sam's mobile rang again. Once more, she snatched it up, answering the call before it had rung twice.

"Yes?"

"Sam… you're heading to the estate, right?" DC Ellis asked. Something in his voice put Sam instantly on edge.

"Yeah, I said we would. Why? What's happened?"

"You might want to put your foot down. The trace on the mobile used to call Nikki Boston is placing the girls on the trading estate and the members of Uniform already on site are reporting continued gunfire. SCO19 are on their way."

"Shit!" The blonde DI hung up at once, turning to her girlfriend seriously. "Jo… they've traced the signal from Hollie's call to the Arrow Trading Estate. Uniform are on the scene, but they're waiting for SCO19 to arrive."

Jo didn't make any sign that she had heard what Sam said, apart from the rapid increase in speed of the car. She threw the vehicle round corner after corner, before a sea of police cars and vans seemed to appear from nowhere round a bend and she was forced to break quickly.

Throwing open the door before she'd even come to a halt, Jo parked and leapt out of the car, heading straight for Inspector Harris who was organising his crowd of Uniformed Officers. Sam was hot on her heels, almost jogging to keep up with the taller woman.

"Roger?" Jo almost snapped, reaching the Inspector. "What's happening?"

"You two need vests before you go anywhere near that building for a start." He commanded, motioning for one of his officers to provide the necessary protection. Harris waited until the women were replacing their coats over the recently fastened stab vests before speaking. "We think there are at least eight people inside the building and therefore at least eight firearms."

"A trace on the mobile used by one of the missing teenagers we've been searching for showed that they're in the building too." Sam informed him, keeping a tight grip on Jo's arm just in case she decided to do something stupid. "Any sign of them?"

"Not as yet, although at the moment any attempt to go in would be suicide."

Another round of gunshots sounded at that moment and everyone's attention focused on the building once more. Jo went cold at the knowledge that Hollie could be inside. Beside her, Sam slipped her hand into the brunette's, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Watch out!" A young PC shouted as something dropped from above, hitting the concrete floor with a loud slap and bouncing slightly.

"That's Hollie's shoe…" Jo murmured, staring at the object with wide eyes.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked her in a low voice, not wanting Jo to get her hopes up.

The brunette nodded, pointing at the left trainer which was being bagged up by the closest PC. "Remember what Nikki said she was wearing when she went missing; black converses." Her gaze moved upwards quickly and she let out a small shout, spotting a figure leaning out of a window about five floors up. Without warning, the face vanished inside. "That was Hollie… I know it was. She was giving us another message. She was letting us know they're there."

"Jo, even if that was your niece," Inspector Harris said firmly and Jo didn't bother to correct him on her relationship with the teenager, "we can't get into the building until SCO19 have cleared the threat of firearms."

Nodding distractedly, barely having heard a word he said, the brunette moved away and pulled out her mobile. She wasn't sure whether she was about to do the right thing, but she knew that Nikki would want to know what was happening. Hitting her number in the speed dial menu, she waited two rings until her cousin picked up the phone.

"Nikki, we've found them." She informed her at once. "I've just seen Hollie, so we know she's definitely alive."

"How…?" Nikki didn't seem to be able to form a coherent sentence, but Jo knew what she was trying to ask.

"We traced the signal from the mobile to a warehouse next to the Audenshaw Reservoir. Uniformed Officers were already here, responding to reports of gunfire and we're waiting for the Specialist Firearms Team to come and secure the area before we can... Nik? Nikki?!" Jo was suddenly aware of the silence on the other end of the phone. "Nikki are you there?"

"Joanne, love?" Another familiar voice said down the phone. "It's Mum. What's happened?"

"We've found them. What's happened to Nikki?"

"She dropped the phone, grabbed the car keys and left." Alice explained warily.

Jo's heart dropped as she realised that Nikki would be able to work out where they were from what she'd said and was obviously on her way over. "Damn it! And she's left her mobile." She took a deep breath. "Alright, don't worry, we'll sort this out."

"Be careful, Joanne." Her mother said, the words sounding more like a request than an order.

Hanging up, Jo strode back towards Sam and the Inspector who were watching her carefully. Spotting the slightly uncomfortable expression on her girlfriend's face, the blonde DI sighed, realising that Jo must have done something stupid.

"What?" She demanded.

"Nikki's on her way over. I told her that we were at a warehouse by the Reservoir and I forgot that she has enough local knowledge to be able to work out exactly where we were from that."

Letting out a deep breath and closing her eyes, Sam nodded. She couldn't blame Jo for letting her cousin know what was happening and neither could she blame Nikki for wanting to be there. If it had been her in either situation she would have done exactly the same. Sending a couple of Uniformed Officers to go and wait for Nikki so that they could keep her out of harm's way, Sam gave strict orders that she was to be informed the second the woman appeared. Then she walked a little way off and pulled out her mobile, intending to hurry up the gun squad.

"Jo!" The Inspector shouted suddenly, causing the DI to whirl around to see what the brunette had done.

For a moment Sam couldn't see Jo. Then, following Harris' gaze, she realised that the Detective Sergeant was on the other side of the courtyard area, wrenching open a heavy metal door. Before she could even take a step towards her, Jo had disappeared inside and out of sight. Growling in annoyance, Sam started barking orders at the PCs around her to cover the extent of her concern, before she hit speed dial on her phone, hoping that Jo had had the sense to put her mobile on silent.

Jo crept cautiously through the sudden darkness inside the warehouse. It was freezing cold and the air was damp. A strong musty smell hit her forcefully and she almost gagged. Feeling her way along the wall, the detective peered around a doorway, before moving through into a larger room on the other side. Opposite was a flight of metal stairs, which she immediately headed for.

As she reached the top, cursing the soft clicking of her heels on the metal beneath her feet, Jo jumped as her mobile started buzzing in her pocket. Thankful that she'd thought to turn the sound off, she pulled it out and clamped it between her ear and her shoulder, feeling her way towards the next set of stairs.

"Yeah?" She hissed, her eyes darting around anxiously. From somewhere a little way off she heard a fresh round of gunfire. Jumping slightly, she sped up. "What?"

"What the hell are you thinking?" Sam raged, her voice deafening in the silence. "As your DI I'm telling you to get your arse out here right now."

"And as my partner?" Jo asked, smirking slightly as her eyes scanned the corridor.

There was a pause and then a deep sigh. "Be careful, sweetheart. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

"I'm not going anywhere." The brunette promised softly. She smiled, her tone turning jokey. "Now get off the phone and do something useful."

Pushing the mobile back into her pocket, Jo hastily mounted the second flight of stairs onto the second floor. By her calculations she had another three flights to climb before she was on the correct level.