Nowhere to Run
Chapter 9 of 10
by Vanessa
[nemesis@graffiti.net]
6 August - 5 September 1999
Not far away, Simone Wolski was curled up on a similar mattress, dreading pretty much any scenario she could imagine. He'd been away all day, and part of yesterday -- he'd be coming back soon, she feared. And every time he came to her, he made her do something. He never did anything to her, he just watched. She was too terrified to experiment and see what would result if she refused to comply.
The door creaked open, and Simone shrank back into the corner, as if that could do anything to stop him. The man stepped inside the room, and suddenly Simone frowned.
"Who are you?" she asked, a temporary feeling of relief washing over her. It wasn't her torturer. This man was older, early 40s perhaps, and his hair was a slightly lighter shade of brown. He was shorter and at first she didn't know whether to trust him or shy away.
"I'm your knight in shining armour," he quipped. "Assuming you're Simone."
"How'd you know that?" She sighed softly, throwing her head back. Thank God, she was getting out of here...
"I'm a cop," he answered. "Come on." She stood, but wobbled unsteadily at first and he put an arm around her for support.
"Thanks," she said gratefully.
"All part of the service." When they were in the hallway, he released her, going to try another door handle. There were four rooms, and he'd already tried two before he found Simone, so in the next one must be... Oh, please let it be...
"Rachel." He swung the door open, and a huge feeling of relief came over him.
"Frank!" She gaped at him, unable to believe that it was really him. What was he -- how was he--? Simone looked from one to the other, trying to comprehend the situation.
"Jack seemed rather incapacitated, so I took over," Frank said, by way of explanation for his presence. He grinned, and knelt down next to her, fiddling with the bindings at her wrists.
"Ohh, Jack... He won't be happy with me tomorrow."
"You? You tied him up? I didn't know you had it in you!"
"Dawson got his gun... I think he must have jumped him or something, but he got Jack's gun, then he took mine and made me tie Jack up... There wasn't anything I could do. Frank, I... Oh shit, I thought..."
"No, you're fine now," Frank reassured her. "We've just gotta get out of here."
"Yeah, can we please?" Simone interrupted. "I'm grateful and all, but he'll be coming back..."
"How did you get here?" Rachel asked Frank. "And where are we?"
"I followed you -- we're in the bush, and this place is under a shed out the back of his house... I waited until I saw him go back to the house before I came in."
"Can we please get out of here?" Simone begged, more urgently now. The other two looked at her. "I'm sorry, you just... You don't know what he's like."
"Yeah, but we know his type," Rachel replied sympathetically. "We've been trying to get him for weeks -- God, I'm sorry we didn't find you sooner."
Simone just nodded, and Frank led them to the trapdoor where he'd come down. He helped the two women up, before climbing up and carefully replacing the flap as it had been.
"Right, where's the car?" Rachel asked.
"About a k from here, if you cut straight through the bush," Frank replied. Rachel just shook her head. "Hey, I didn't want him to see."
"Are you going to arrest him?" Simone asked, nodding towards the house.
Frank shook his head. "Nah, gotta get you two safe. Besides, our backup will take care of that." Goldie raised an eyebrow at this, wondering if there really was backup, or if he was just bullshitting to put the girl at ease. It seemed to work, at least. He motioned to them, "C'mon, let's go."
The trio sprinted across the small clearing behind the shed, and into the cover of the trees. When they slowed up, Rachel took the opportunity to glance back at where they'd come from.
"Uh, Frank, I hate to bring down your whole rescue plan, but Dawson's headed back out to the shed, and it's not going to take him very long to work out we're not there..."
"That means we run like hell," Simone decided.
Sensing she was about to do so, Frank grabbed her hand in his. "We stick together. Come on." Taking a firm grasp of Goldie's hand also, he began leading them as fast as they could go, winding through the gum trees in what he hoped was the direction of the car. Most of the time, though, they were just running blindly, barely glancing at their surroundings. They must've been making a helluva lot of noise, Rachel thought, but they'd been running for long enough, the car must be nearby...
Suddenly, Frank fell.
It happened so quickly that he didn't have time to release their hands, and pulled them down with him. Landing heavily, Rachel grunted, and was about to make a rude comment when she realised *why* Frank had fallen.
He was trapped.
It was an old rabbit trap, rusty as hell. Who even used these any more, she wondered. Frank had placed his foot squarely in the middle, and it had snapped up around his ankle. It must be hurting like hell, she thought, shuddering.
"I'm fine," he said feebly. "But this thing's a bit heavy -- if you pry if off, I can keep going."
"We can't pry it off!" Rachel replied in exasperation. Nonetheless, she tried pulling and wrenching at the device and only succeeded in making Frank wince in pain. "Shit, I'm sorry," she apologised. "It's not coming off... And you've probably got tetanus from it or something -- look at it!" She put her arm around his shoulders, trying to help him up into a sitting position without moving his leg too much. He groaned softly and she apologised again.
"You've got to keep going," Frank said firmly.
"No," Rachel was determined. "I'm not leaving you, not like this. If Dawson comes after us and finds you, who knows what he'll do to you?" She looked up, trying to find the car - she still couldn't see it. How far away were they? Could she and Simone carry him, perhaps? She didn't know what to do!
"Yeah, and if he comes after you and finds you, he'll take you back."
"I'll take that risk."
"We need to get help," Frank said. "No one knows where the hell this place is... I didn't have a radio in the car." And probably wouldn't have thought to use it anyway, but that was beside the point.
"I'll go," Simone volunteered, reminding them that she was there.
"You can't go alone," Frank protested.
"No, I'll be fine," she insisted. "And she should stay with you, in case -- in case something happens. The car can't be too far away now."
"It's not," Frank confirmed, though he really wasn't all that sure. He handed Simone the car keys. "If you're sure... there's a town about 20 k's back down the road -- just follow the signs. Go straight to the police station there, get them to come out here, and get them to call the Sydney Water Police. Sergeant Blakemore, okay?"
Simone nodded. "Water Police, Blakemore," she repeated. "Got it. I'll see you two later," she promised.
"She's a brave kid," Rachel commented, watching her disappear from their view.
"I just hope she's brave enough," Frank replied. He still thought she should have gone, too.
Rachel sighed. "Frank... I can't leave you. You need me." Double entendre, she thought. But it was true.
She sat down behind him, wrapping her arms around his chest protectively and allowing him to lean back comfortably against her. And they waited.
when your speech is slow,
when your eyes are closed,
when you feel betrayed,
when your heart is frayed,
when your feet are cold,
when your sights are low...
I'll be the one to pick you up again,
when you decide you've had enough of it,
I'll be the one,
I'll be the one...Water Police HQ
"VKG Sydney Water Police to Water Police 200. Come in, Water Police 200," Helen Blakemore's voice was laced with a sense of desperation and grave worry. Rachel and Frank had been missing for over two hours now. Helen had already sent a pair of officers over to Dawson's house, and they'd returned with Jack Christey, but that still gave no clues as to where the other two were. She tapped her fingers in a rapid, unconscious rhythm and stared ahead into space. Where the hell could they be?
"Hey, they'll be okay," Tayler assured her. "Frank won't let anything happen to her, you know that."
Helen flashed her niece a grateful smile, although it wasn't much of a comfort. Surely if they were okay, they'd have heard from them by now.
A phone rang beside them, which Tayler answered with an admirable reflex reaction. "Hello, Sydney Water Police, Constable Johnson speaking. Yes, yes, she's right here... Please hold." She reached out and tapped Helen on the arm.
"Huh?" Helen snapped back and looked up.
"It's for you," Tayler said, a slight grin on her face. "Something about some missing detectives of yours..."
Helen practically snatched the phone from her, and Tayler watched excitedly as the conversation developed. Good news, she hoped.
Finally, Helen hung up the phone. Tayler looked at her searchingly. "Frank followed Dawson to some hide out of his up the bush, and managed to get Rachel and the other girl out, but apparently injured himself on the way back to his car." Tayler grinned at this, only Frank. "The police station up there is rather under-staffed, due to the population of the local town, but when they called me Joe Dawson had just been apprehended, and once they bring him in they'll go and fetch our two."
"They're still out there?" Tayler was surprised.
"They're still out there," Helen affirmed. "But not for long."
A slight breeze wafted through the trees and Frank shivered, prompting Rachel to wrap her arms around him more tightly. "How're ya doing?" she asked gently.
"Bit sore," he admitted. "But otherwise..." He couldn't help it, he grinned. Things could be worse, and this position definitely had its advantages.
She stroked his hair, feeling his forehead. "You're warm."
"I'll be fine. Just talk to me, keep my mind off it."
"What do you want me to say?" She detested being put on the spot, but given a nice, safe topic, she could comply.
"Anything," Frank replied. "Doesn't matter. Tell me what's been happening on telly, I dunno, anything really earth-shattering happen while I was away?"
"What program?" Rachel asked, knowing their tastes were fairly different.
"Hell, I don't know," Frank shrugged, as best he could in his present position. "How 'bout that hospital one, where Georgie Parker plays a nurse?"
"'A Country Practice'?" Rachel replied. "That finished seven years ago, Frank."
"Nah, she's in a new one."
Rachel racked her brain for a minute before concluding that he was right. "Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I know the one you mean -- but nobody watches that show."
"Why not? I like Georgie!"
"I don't know why not," she replied. It wasn't as if she'd ever given the matter much thought. "I guess there's just something better on then."
"Oh. Well... Tell me about the latest scandal on 'Blue Heelers', then," he suggested.
"You don't watch that show, Frank," she reminded him.
"Yeah, but you do. Go on, fill me in on what Tom and the gang have been doing."
Rachel grinned. "Well, since you asked... You have missed some major plot developments. Tom found out about Maggie and PJ."
"You're kiddin'!" Frank exclaimed in genuine disbelief. "It took him four years to figure out about Maggie and PJ?"
"Yeah, well, you know, some people are just slow," Rachel replied.
"Aren't they just?" he agreed, and they lapsed into silence. Time passed, and she just held him. She wondered how far away help was, whether Simone had managed to contact Helen and the Water Police -- or anyone, for that matter. Involuntarily, her earlier conversation with Helen sprang to Rachel's mind, and she wondered....
"Frank..." she broke the silence tentatively. "If I'd gone with you, on your trip, well -- what would we have done? What would you have done?"
Frank considered that for a moment. "I dunno. I never thought that far ahead -- never had the need to, unfortunately," he added. "But... Well, if we'd made it as far as Brisbane without strangling each other... I probably would have proposed."
She felt like someone had just socked her in the gut, completely winding her. He was being totally serious. Rachel struggled to find her voice again. "You've never even kissed me," she pointed out, unsure whether it was a complaint or a reason why he shouldn't feel that way.
"Doesn't matter," Frank replied, certain of this. "Sex isn't everything, Rachel. All I know is that if I could start my life over, and spent it all with one person... well, that person would be you."
Rachel was stunned into silence, trying to get her head around this revelation. Misinterpreting her silence, Frank quickly apologised.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. It wasn't fair, just forget it."
After another pause, Rachel answered slowly, "No."
"What?"
"No, I won't forget it." She grinned suddenly. "Let's do it, Frank, you and me -- let's leave all this crap behind and go sailing off into the sunset, if only for a holiday..." Even as she spoke the words, she was terrified -- she'd never done anything so impulsive in her life.
"Really?" he asked hopefully. "You want to do that?"
"Yeah... Yeah, I think so. I need a break, you know? Same as you did, maybe you still do. After everything that's happened, you know, in the last couple of years, it's too much... This job... I love it, but I've lost count of everything I've given up because of it, and... and..." she paused, then admitted, "I just don't want to lose the best thing I gained from it... Not again, Frank."
Him. She was talking about him, and the knowledge of that was an utterly awesome feeling for Frank. "David?" he reminded her, not wanting to get his hopes up yet. "What about him?"
"He'll cope. I'll cope, too. I'll miss him... And he'll probably be relieved to be rid of his over-protective mum for a while." She grinned, recalling the way he always tried to act so grown up around her now. Her little boy. "But I can write to him and, you know, when I -- when we get back, maybe I can regain custody. Who knows?"
Frank nodded, then asked a second question more hesitantly. "What about Jack? I mean..."
"That's over. For good, now -- he realised it before I did."
"Realised what?"
"That... That..." she struggled for the right explanation. "That no matter how much I cared for him, he could never have all of me."
"So..."
"So..." she echoed.
"You and me, huh?" he grinned happily, still unable to believe it. If it wasn't for the throbbing pain in his foot, he might be dreaming. Or it could be a macabre nightmare-dream amalgamation. Except that his nightmares never were this good.
"You and me, on the big wide sea," Rachel quipped, confirming his fantasy as reality. She took his hand, squeezing it tenderly. "I want to do this."
"Sure? You won't get seasick on me? 'Footloose' isn't the Nemesis, y'know..." he teased her lightly.
"I thought Footloose carked it," she countered.
"She did, yeah," Frank lamented. "Damn, we can't go, after all."
"Oh, no, we're going," she insisted. "You had insurance, yeah? Well, just use that money, we can dig up some more, maybe, and we'll buy another boat..."
"Our boat, hey?" He liked the sound of that. "What'll we call it? 'Goldie'?"
She cuffed him lightly across the head. "Get real! If this is gonna be our boat, right, we're *not* naming it something I don't agree to," Rachel said firmly.
"Gee, you're a hard woman to please, Goldstein," he complained.
"No," she disagreed. "I'm not, really. Not any more..." She stroked his head softly and wondered whether time could stop and if it would, just for them. She wanted to remember this moment for awhile, it was definitely worth keeping.
lay me out with your heart
now we're getting somewhere
push me back to the start
now we're getting somewhere
take me out, let me breathe
now we're getting somewhere
when I'm with you I don't care
where it is I'm falling
End Chapter 9