"It's Monday night, pickup night," Jeff announced. "Ax
will make the drop as usual, only this time we'll be there."
"Look Jeff, we don't even know where this location's gonna
be," Alex complained.
"If it's on tonight, Jeff, there's not much time to set
it up," Jack added.
"This guy's the only link we've got," Jeff told them.
"I want him to know that you two are just *this* far behind him all the
way," he ordered. Alex nodded.
"We're gonna need Mick for this," Helen added, "I'll call
him."
"Right."
~~ * ~~
Rachel shifted uncomfortably, as she felt another twinge.
She'd been having them on and off for a couple of hours, and they were
definitely getting stronger. She put her book down and levered herself
out of the chair she was sitting in. Picking up the phone, she dialled
her father's number.
"Dad? Yeah, it's me. Are you busy? Can you drive me to
the hospital?"
"I'm on my way, Rachel," he told her, and she hung up,
going upstairs to pick up her already packed overnight bag. She paused
for a moment, seeing the photograph of her and Frank in the frame Helen
had given her, and then picked it up and put it in the bag as well.
~~ * ~~
Ax's mobile phone rang.
"You just remember what I told you," Jack warned.
Ax answered the phone. "Yeah? Yeah, it's Ax. OK, five
minutes." He hung up
"Ok, it's the end of the Glebe Island Bridge," Jack told
Alex, "I couldn't pick the sex, the voice was muffled."
Alex relayed the information back to Helen.
~~ * ~~
It wasn't until they pulled into the hospital car park
almost half an hour later that the contractions became painful. Rachel
grimaced, waiting for the latest one to pass. Her father looked at her
worriedly, as he opened her car door for her and helped her out of the
car.
~~ * ~~
"Where on earth is he?" Helen wondered aloud, as she tried
Mick Reilly's mobile for the seventh time. "He knows he's on call!"
She kept trying, but it was still switched off.
~~ * ~~
"I need the phone," Ax said suddenly.
"What are you talking about?"
"Well I get another call after I arrive!" Ax told them
"Yeah, sure mate, sure you do," Jack scoffed, as his partner
got back into the car.
"Look, I gotta wait for the phone to ring before I can
go in, honest! I'm serious!" Ax protested.
"Come on! Get in the car!" Alex complained.
"Look if they don't go for it, that's your problem!" Ax
stormed back to his car.
"Hey, hey, why didn't you tell us this before?" Jack asked,
suspiciously.
"I didn't think of it!" Ax replied.
Jack gave him the phone back, reluctantly. "You better
play this straight with me, you bastard," he warned.
"What's going on with the phone?" Alex asked, when he
finally got into the car.
"Oh, he's waiting on another call. Let's go."
~~ * ~~
Rachel bit her tongue as another contraction hit. They
were definitely getting worse. She was beginning to regret refusing the
gas, but she felt she needed a little pain to keep her mind on things.
She'd also told her Dad he didn't need to stay with her.
She wished desperately for Frank.
~~ * ~~
Jack and Alex followed Ax's car through the streets of
Sydney.
"What if he tips them off?" Alex asked.
"Well, if he does that, we hear him on the wire, and we
have his balls for breakfast."
"I just lost my appetite," Alex replied.
The sound of a ringing phone emitted from the wire. "He's
pulling over," Alex said unnecessarily, driving in unobtrusively a few
metres behind.
They waited.
"C'mon, how long does it take to say g'day?" Jack complained.
"Not this long," Alex agreed.
Jack opened the car door and was about to step out when
suddenly Ax took off.
~~ * ~~
Rachel closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down.
She couldn't shake the feeling something had gone wrong, although she couldn't
pinpoint it either.
The doctor carefully felt her stomach and frowned. Rachel
felt a chill shoot down her spine.
~~ * ~~
Alex concentrated on staying on Ax's tail, as the radio
crackled to life with questions, and Jack swore.
"We don't know where they are, they're not talking," Jack
told Helen. "Yeah, when we know, you'll know." He informed them of their
heading and signed off again.
Then they found Ax's car, parked in front of the disused
power station. The lights were still on, and the driver's door was left
open.
Jack radioed their location in, and Alex checked out the
car. The phone was on the dash, and the keys were in the ignition.
~~ * ~~
"What's going on?" Rachel demanded.
"Nothing to worry about," the doctor soothed, with a smile
that worried her even more.
Rachel summoned her best glare. "Tell me what's wrong,"
she demanded again.
The doctor sighed. "Your baby is presenting in the breech
position. Posterior first," the doctor explained.
In any other circumstances Rachel would have laughed.
"What does that mean?" she asked worriedly.
"Well, obviously head first is preferable, but there isn't
really any cause for alarm. We'll monitor you both carefully to make sure
there are no complications. You'll be fine," the doctor assured her.
~~ * ~~
The power station was silent, except for an eerie hum.
There was no sign of Ax, or anyone else, for that matter. Jack and Alex
looked at each other, silently agreeing. Each drew their gun and carefully
checked all the nooks and crannies. Finding nothing, each searched one
side of the building, before climbing opposite flights of stairs to a second
floor platform. Both Alex and Jack padded silently along their half of
the platform, looking this way and that, until they bumped into each other
in the middle.
~~ * ~~
Despite the doctor's reassurance, Rachel couldn't shake
the feeling of impending doom. The contractions were coming closer now,
and were much more painful, although not unbearable.
"You're fully dilated now," the doctor told her. "Next
contraction you can start bearing down for me."
Rachel did as she was instructed. It was such a relief
to be finally doing something.
~~ * ~~
Both detectives sighed in relief and holstered their guns.
"C'mon, let's go and have a drink," Jack suggested.
Alex smiled, "Maybe the dogs'll pick him up outside,"
she suggested.
"Now maybe Ax, maybe he's not as stupid as he looks,"
Jack theorised, leading the way down the stairs, "Maybe there never was
a meet. Maybe he's the supplier. Maybe this was all a set-up. I tell you
what, I find the little bastard, I'll kick his ass for him."
Alex laughed, and turned to follow him down the stairs,
but out of the corner of her eye, she saw a movement. She turned to see
what it was, and spotted a man, huddled in the shadows, staring at her
in fear. It took her a bare moment to place the features.
Graham Denton.
They'd met him that morning, along with another immigration
employee. She was so surprised to see him there that she was slow to react
when he flew at her.
Too slow.
~~ * ~~
An alarm went off on one of the monitors, and Rachel had
to force herself not to panic.
"What's that mean?" she demanded, wide eyed.
"The baby isn't getting enough oxygen," the doctor informed
her. "The cord may be obstructed in some way. I think we're going to have
to perform an emergency Caesarean section."
"Do whatever you have to," Rachel told him.
~~ * ~~
White hot pain shot through Alex, and she crumpled, trying
to call for Jack, but she couldn't seem to find the breath.
She must have made some sound though, because he turned,
calling her name. He fired his weapon, but she knew the bastard had gotten
away.
Alex groaned and fought for breath as Jack found her,
and the look on his face told her that it was bad. He called for an ambulance,
a tear escaping from his eye.
~~ * ~~
A thin but piercing cry echoed through the night air.
"It's a girl!" announced the doctor, smiling. Rachel watched
him tie off and cut the umbilical cord, and then the nurse put her daughter
in her arms. The baby, red faced and bald, studied her for a second, and
then promptly fell asleep. Rachel would have laughed, if she hadn't been
so tired herself. The nurse gently took the baby away again, and Rachel
felt her eyelids get droopy.
Exhausted, she fell asleep.
Lightning crashes, a new mother cries Her placenta falls to the floor The angel opens her eyes The confusion sets in before the doctor can even
close the door
~~ * ~~
"It's okay, Alex, it's okay," Jack repeated over and over,
trying to convince himself as well as her. "You just hold on, it's okay."
Alex couldn't think of anything but pain. She writhed
on the ground, feeling his arms around her. They helped, somehow, but oh,
the pain! Take it away, Jack, please! she begged silently.
Jack forced himself to stay together, for her sake. They
were out of the way here, so he carefully picked her up and carried her
down the stairs, and outside. There was no sign of the dogs or the ambulance.
Alex's groaning had degenerated to a quiet whimper.
"Alex? Hang on, Alex, just hang on," Jack cried, feeling
more and more desperate. Where was the ambulance?
Finally, he heard sirens. Alex looked up at him, seemed
to be trying to say something.
"Jack? I'm..." she drew another shuddering breath. "I'm
dying, aren't I?"
Love I leave, but only a little, Try to understand I've put my soul in this life we've created With these four hands
Jack shook his head, refusing to believe it. "You can't
die, Alex, I love you," he sobbed. "Can you hear me, Alex? I love you,
I love you!"
Alex tried to focus her eyes, but everything was blurry.
She knew she was dying, but all she could think of was the baby... the
baby would be dead too. If it wasn't already. She was so tired... She closed
her eyes, just for a second...
"Alex! No, Alex, stay with me, stay with me, please!!"
Jack begged.
With great effort, Alex forced her eyes open once more.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
And she died.
Lightning crashes, an old mother dies Her intentions fall to the floor The angel closes her eyes The confusion that was hers belongs now to the
baby down the hall