Casey scowled out at the street. The scenery was decidedly dull, not
helped by the fact it was one of those grey, cold days that Britain does so
well. It was not quite raining but there was moisture in the air and by
the way people were huddling into their coats and scarves, the wind was
being equally annoying. But then it always seemed to rain in this
godforsaken place. It wasn't as if she'd ever had a burning desire to
visit Scotland anyway.
It could be worse, she thought, I could be out in that weather. Instead of which, I'm in a nice, warm car. Right.
"I'm bored," she announced to the world in general, which at the moment consisted of her long-suffering colleague, who was sitting in the driver's seat. Unlike Casey, who was slumped down about as low as she could get, Ailen was upright and alert, her eyes never leaving the street or the one building in particular they were watching.
"So you've said. The snoring was a tip off too."
Grousing, Casey tried to sit up a bit straighter. She studied her partner out of the corner of her eye. The woman never slept, as far as she could tell, but then given the amount of caffeine she consumed, perhaps that wasn't a big surprise. She was in what Casey called her "working grunge" look - hair in dreds, lots of baggy torn black clothing under a long coat that, although grimy, kept the cold out more than adequately. It was hard to remember that, although she currently looked like the poster girl for Street Person of the Year, she was actually a highly trained and very lethal agent of a black ops division of the British Government. Or rather, she used to be. She was still lethal and highly trained, just her job title these days defied easy classification. Casey's suggestion that she put "Random Agent of Chaos" on her CV hadn't been appreciated. There was never anything random about Ailen.
Casey refocused on the street and idly wondered what her job title was - Agent in Training sounded good but it wasn't a job title that carried much longevity with it. Take this stakeout for example. Two people to watch a building that probably had a dozen exits in order to try and talk to a man who might have information that might be useful in regard to a number of incidents involving demon worship. Or whatever it was that had caused three young men to be ripped to bloody shreds in a London suburban house in an otherwise good neighbourhood. Officially, it was down to a drug deal gone wrong. Unofficially, they were here because Ailen had a source who claimed to know what had actually happened. Casey had seen crime scene photos and frankly, if it wasn't a drug deal gone wrong, then she didn't really want to know what had and thought it was none of their business anyway. Unfortunately she was in a minority of one.
"He's probably passed out in a pub somewhere," Casey grumbled. "Which is where I'd like to be instead of dying of boredom in this damn box."
"He doesn't drink," was the only response.
"Look, he was supposed to have been here three hours ago. Let's go up and see if he's in!"
"We're waiting here." This time there was an edge of impatience to Ailen's voice. "He's a good source. I won't blow his cover by being seen with him. Yes, even in this get up. We've had this conversation Casey, it's not open for debate."
Casey subsided again, trying not to doze off. The dig she'd got in the ribs to stop the snoring last time had hurt and she didn't want to piss Ailen off any further. So she slumped there, mentally listing all the pros and cons of going back into crime, and wishing Ailen's source in Hades.
Suddenly Ailen stiffened in her seat, gaze riveted to the rear view mirror.
Casey restrained herself from twisting round to see what was alarming her. "What is it?"
The answer came pelting past the car, running as if all the hounds of hell were after him. Which wasn't far from the truth, because following the snitch were four men who clearly didn't have his well being in mind. Casey quickly slammed open her door, just in time to catch the last pursuing thug. The sound of the crunch he made as he bounced off the frame brightened her day considerably.
Leaping out, she pelted after Ailen, who was just about to pounce on another thug, which left two chasing their would be source. She veered round Ailen and her dancing partner and raced after the others. One heard her pursuit and stopped to meet her, over-confident that this woman was no threat to him. Big mistake. Casey wasn't the best street fighter in the world but she'd been taught enough dirty tricks to more than compensate. The two footed slam into his stomach, that had all the momentum behind it of a headlong sprint, knocked him flying for some considerable distance. Her landing wasn't one of her better ones but she managed to get to her feet and scramble after Ailen, who had caught up and was now in pursuit of their quarry.
"They took a left up there!" Casey said, in between puffs and the two of them shot up the alley. But they were too late. The last thug had caught the terrified snitch and the wet sound as he removed his knife from the man's body made Casey's stomach give a lurch. The thug turned to them and grinned evilly.
"Yeh not on yeh own turf, now, ladies. Shoulda stayed 'ome, done yeh knittin'. Yeh cannae just waltz up 'ere an' expect a warm welcome yez know."
Footsteps behind them made Casey spin round just in time to see the thug she thought she'd knocked out with the car door drawing a gun. Yelling a warning, she drew her own gun, firing wildly as she did so. It was enough to put the other man off so that the bullet that was aimed at Ailen's back went wide. Too wide: there was a dull thump in her right shoulder, like she'd been kicked and then there was a searing heat and pain that made her gasp aloud. She staggered back but her training held. Steadying herself she aimed and shot again, seeing the other man go down, gun dropping uselessly from fingers that couldn't grasp it anymore. Dimly she registered that there was a gun going off somewhere to her right but she had more to think about as she looked down dumbly at the spreading red stain on her jacket.
"Shit."
She staggered over and managed to prop herself up against the wall. Ailen looked over at her briefly and then did a double take, her expression fleetingly moving from alarm to cold, calculated resolve. Seeing that Casey was still upright, she moved swiftly to check that both assailants weren't going to be bothering them any time soon and then she was back at Casey's side.
Gently she took the gun from Casey's hand and put it in her pocket, then considered her critically. She made no effort to remove the already bloodied jacket but she did lean her forward so she could look at the back.
"In and out. Lucky. We have to get to the car and get out of here, understand? So move."
Casey managed to nod and struggled to stand upright, but needed Ailen's arm around her waist to keep her that way. Slinging her left arm round Ailen's shoulders, she started to concentrate on the necessary business of putting one foot in front of the other, as fast as possible.
Left, right, left, right, ignore the shoulder that's hurting so badly you just want to curl up and moan. Left, right, left, right, good soldier. The sweat was pouring off her by the time they made the car and her face had gone a waxy pale. Ailen opened the rear door and Casey more or less fell in onto the back seat, grunting as the impact sent waves of pain through her body. Ailen had to go round the other side and tug her fully onto the seat so that she could shut both doors before she threw herself into the driver's seat and took off, leaving a fair amount of rubber on the tarmac.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Ailen cursed inwardly, working her way up through the collection of swear words and phrases she'd accumulated through the years. This was the situation she dreaded. No back up in reach, off their own turf, not an area she knew and to make it worse, it was the middle of fucking nowhere. Too open, too exposed. She hated the country, give her a big, noisy, dirty city any day of the week. It was easy to be anonymous in a city and you had lots more places to hide and there were fewer ditches that your car could be rammed into...
She swerved violently to avoid the van that was intent on doing just that, felt the car skid, corrected, hauled on the steering wheel and wrestled the vehicle back into control and heading in a direction she wanted to go. The attack hadn't been unexpected, she had only counted three bodies on the way to the car. The one that got his stomach kicked through his spine must have crawled off out of sight and put out an SOS. It really wasn't their day. She looked in the rear view mirror and noted with grim satisfaction that at least the van wasn't going to be bothering them again, given that it had just developed a meaningful relationship with a tree.
"You still with me, Casey?" A mumbled response reassured her that she still had a little bit of time. All right, she had an emergency kit in the car, she could patch Casey up enough to stop her bleeding to death and buy time to get her to medical help. She dare not use her mobile phone when they were in one place but while she was on the move, she could at least tap one or two sources of information. Checking the road was clear front and back, she fished her mobile out of her jacket and dialled a number without looking.
"Jarret? It's Sam. Listen, you know a safe place in Scotland, around the area of Aberdeen? No, I can't be more specific than that so don't be specific in your answer. I want to ring this number again and be given a map reference and I need it in ten minutes." A pause. "I know where you live." Another pause. "Good. Ten minutes." She hit the off button and shook her head. He always had to argue, just on principle, even when he was willing to help her.
"How you doing, Case'?"
"The view sucks," came a weak voice. "But otherwise it's ok. Who were you calling?"
"You remember Whiskey Jarret? Tall thin guy, looks like a ferret? Think you saw him at the Crown once."
"Yeh, I remember. Didn't you break his fingers that time?"
Ailen tried to sound innocent, something Casey usually tried on her with about the same amount of success. "Certainly not." She paused. "It was the time before that I broke his finger."
"Ah." A breathy chuckle came from the back seat but broke off with a gasp of pain. Ailen's expression tightened again and she dialled another number on the phone. This time the conversation was even more cryptic.
"'s me. I need a name, I need it in five minutes. Can't have any connection to McGuire, understand? Yes, that McGuire. Yes," a flicked glance down at the map "that kind of area. Good." She hung up and risked another quick glance at the map. Right, there seemed a good a spot as any. Two minutes later and she saw the farm track off the main road, leading across some fields and towards a wood. Slowing down for the first time, she steered the car up the track - it was too primitive to be called a road - her expression blank as she focused on not jolting the car too much. Even so, she could hear the odd whimper from the back seat but she couldn't slow down, time was precious.
Nevertheless she only went as far into the wood as to be sure she couldn't be seen from the road before she stopped and got out. Opening the boot, she tugged out the first aid box from her holdall and unearthed the car blanket she'd flung into the boot on collecting the car from the agency garage in Edinburgh.
Casey was pale, most of her right side was soaked in blood now but she was still conscious, if barely. She blinked in recognition as she saw Ailen looking down at her.
"Sit up, that jacket has to come off."
A nod and Casey let Ailen push her upright. The jacket slid off and Ailen used a knife to cut away the shirt and examined the wound critically. "Bit further down or over and we'd have a real problem."
Casey managed a faint grin. "As opposed to what?"
"Nothing that we can't handle," Ailen said.
When they drove out of the wood and back down the track, Casey was no longer conscious but she was at least bandaged up and wrapped up warmly in her jacket and the blanket..
As a result of two short, pointed conversations Ailen was now driving with a clearer direction in mind. She'd studied the road map and mentally planned her route. Now they were heading directly west, towards some scenic area where Jarret knew of a cottage that would be empty and suitable for hiding in for a night. Her other contact had come up with a phone number, which she rang at once, leaving the message she'd been instructed to leave. She called the number every fifteen minutes until, over an hour later, there was a terse note on the answering machine that was another phone number. Now she pulled over and dialled it, waiting tensely.
"Yeh?" The voice was gruff and not reassuring.
"The password is sparrowhawk."
"And the name?"
"Samantha"
"On the B678, there's an abandoned garage. Be there in an hour. I see any cars with you, any sign of trouble, I keep on driving and you're on your own, got it?"
"Yes."
There was a snort and the call was terminated.
She found the garage without any trouble, having taken the most circuitous route she'd been able to plan and still ensure she got there early and without any sign of a tail. Pulling in behind the garage, she drew her gun and scouted the place thoroughly before going back to the car and checking on Casey. The other woman was breathing shallowly but steadily, although clearly not in a comfortable sleep, because she moaned and twitched a little from time to time. Ailen muttered to herself. "Nothing we can't handle."
Casey came to a sensation of movement. It felt like she was floating through the air, her feet were no longer touching the ground and she felt oddly disassociated. A brief moment of awareness revealed that she was being carried by a man she didn't recognise and she felt a faint stir of fear. She tried to struggle and then she heard Ailen saying "You're fine, Casey, relax." She was confused but stopped trying to kick free. She tried to figure out where she was but it was too much effort and she faded out again.
Now there was a sensation of a stronger pain and she could hear moans. She opened her eyes and looked into Ailen's face again. She was being held down and the moans were coming from her because when she bit her lip, the sound stopped. She focussed on Ailen's gaze, which was rock steady and unyielding, and tried to ignore whatever was being done to her shoulder. It went on for a while and then she was turned on her side so that whatever needed to be done to her back was done. At some point she must have lost consciousness again because when she came to for the third time, she was back in the car.
Ailen's face appeared above her again and then disappeared. The door behind her head closed and the car tilted as someone climbed into the driver's seat. The usual sounds of someone getting ready to drive came to her and then the engine was started and the car began to move.
Casey lay there for a while, taking stock and assessing the damage. She was in a clean shirt and jumper at least and judging from the pulling sensation she could feel on the skin of her shoulder and back, she was pretty well taped up underneath. She wasn't in as much pain either, so she must have been given a shot at some point, though she didn't remember that bit at all. She was glad of it though, it dulled the pain just enough so that she could keep it at a level she could cope with. It was like walking across gravel without making a sound. Slow breaths, slow movement and it was fine. Try to move too fast and your foot would slip, crunching the gravel loudly and then Harris would be in your face, yelling something about you being the most incompetent little worm he'd had the misfortune to train in his life.
She awoke with a start. Wow, she'd managed to doze right off. She wondered how long she'd been asleep and was about to try and speak when she realised that the car wasn't moving any more.
"Ailen?"
Nothing. Then she heard footsteps on a gravel path and she was reaching for a gun she didn't have any longer when the door behind her head opened and, to her relief, Ailen said "Shoot me and you'll have to figure out how to get up on your own."
Casey managed a snort but when she tried to get up, it took all her strength and it was only with Ailen's help that she was able to get out of the car and walk unsteadily into what appeared to be a small cottage.
"Where are we?"
"Safe house. Safe for tonight."
Casey nodded and saved any further questions until she had been helped into the small bedroom and onto the bed, which was covered with a sleeping bag and a blanket.
"Where'd you get the sleeping bag? We didn't bring that sort of gear with us."
"Made a brief stop." Casey looked at her and worked out that there would have been a lot more to any stop than her airy reply was suggesting but said nothing. She let Ailen unlace her boots and pull them off before sinking gratefully down onto the mattress. The sleeping bag was zipped up and the blanket tucked round her with brisk efficiency.
"Water? Anything else?" Ailen asked.
Casey nodded and Ailen disappeared. Casey could hear the rustling of a plastic bag and then she was back bearing a water bottle, the sort that bikers used. It had a long straw in the top so that Casey didn't have to sit upright to drink for which she was very grateful. The cold water was wonderful and she felt better for the drink.
"That must have been quite a pit stop."
Ailen shrugged. "It's camping country," she said, by way of explanation.
"Right. And some poor biker sap is now missing his bedding and his water bottle right?"
"It's a virtue to give to others. Soup? Coffee?
Casey shook her head. "I'm fine thanks."
"The doctor left painkillers. You can have another in three hours and," she glanced at her watch "fifty six minutes."
"I'm good for now."
"Extra pillow?"
Casey eyed Ailen with interest. Ailen wasn't one for the emotional - well, ok, she had all the emotional range of a carrot - but it seemed she was going to look after Casey with the same caustic efficiency she used for her work. It was kind of sweet, in a scary kind of way.
"Ailen, I'm fine. I'm just really tired."
"Yes, you should sleep. The doctor's ordered complete bed rest for about a week or so."
"Did you manage not to laugh in his face?"
"I was extremely polite to him."
"Didn't like him much, huh?"
A quick grin. "Not much, no. But he did good work."
Casey was about to reply but a yawn cut her off. Ailen promptly tucked the blanket round her a bit tighter. "Go to sleep. Call if you need anything."
A sleepy nod and Ailen was gone, leaving Casey to enjoy the silence and the comfort of the bed. It wasn't long before she fell asleep.
Ailen sat in the dark room, listening to the snores coming from the bed. If she'd allowed herself to think about it, she would have felt exhausted, but she had things to do so she ignored the tiredness deep in her bones and continued to guard her ..friend.
It was an odd word to pop into her skull and Ailen examined it for a minute before shaking off any possible descent into introspection and continuing to assess their situation. She'd wanted to leave before now but Casey had developed a fever and Ailen had spent most of the night trying to stop her flinging the blanket off the bed or attempting to get out of the sleeping bag. Her caring skills were minimal and she wasn't comfortable with the role but threatening to shoot the patient if she didn't lie still when she had a temperature of over a hundred didn't seem the right approach either. In the end, she'd settled for persistently replacing the covers, and occasionally holding Casey's hands to restrain her from thrashing about.
The fever had finally broken about an hour ago and Casey was sleeping a little easier now. Ailen had debated waking her to give her a painkiller but decided as long as she was getting some rest, it would be doing her more good than a tablet. She could take one when she woke up, which worked well as it would kick in during the time she'd have to be moved to the car.
What preoccupied her thoughts now was the best direction to take when they left here. She spent a little while carefully perusing the maps of the area, using a tiny torch that Casey would recognise as one usually used for nefarious purposes. The problem was this part of Scotland really didn't have a lot of roads and she was willing to bet that McGuire had eyes watching most of them now. He would assume, she thought, that she'd bolt to the South and maybe try for Dundee or Perth, two big enough towns where she might lose herself in a crowd. However, that would be fatal as big or not, McGuire had eyes and ears in every place and the odds of them being found increased exponentially the closer they got to Edinburgh. So she considered the map and made her plans.
Some hours later, a faint sound came from Casey's bed that wasn't quite the normal movements made in sleep.
"You awake, Case'?"
A mumble and then a faint "What time is it?"
"Nearly 3am."
"How long was I out?"
"About nine hours. Water?"
There was an affirmative croak from the bed and Ailen moved over and supplied the water bottle. Casey tried to gulp it but the straw foiled that and she was forced to sip it at a sensible speed.
"Thanks," she said as she sank back, the exercise having exhausted her. Ailen examined her critically. There was no way she should be moved just yet but they really didn't have a choice.
"Soup and a pain killer and then we have to move." A nod of the head was the only response as Ailen headed to the kitchen to nuke the soup she'd bought earlier. She carried the soup back to the bedroom and put it on the table. "Sit and eat, you'll feel better," she informed the nearly-asleep again Casey. There was the beginnings of a whine but Ailen didn't brook any objections and Casey was soon sitting up and taking mouthfuls of the soup. She wouldn't let Ailen feed her but she did let her hold the bowl while she used her left hand to wield the spoon. Even that was tiring her, though and she quit about half way through the soup.
Ailen made her take a painkiller and then left her to recover a little while she gathered things and stowed them in the car. The blanket was spread out over the back seat to hide the dried blood, and then the difficult process of getting Casey back into the car began.
They did it in stages, getting Casey upright, then sitting on the edge of the bed with her feet on the floor. Then, finally, she stood up, swaying and clinging to Ailen while she got her balance and then gingerly walked to the car. Once she was finally laid out on the back seat, white faced and sweating, Ailen cocooned her in the sleeping bag, tucking her in sufficiently tightly that it brought a faint complaint.
"I can't move!"
"Good."
Ignoring the faint grumbles, Ailen closed and locked the cottage, dropping the key back into the flowerpot it had been hidden in and got into the car. Within minutes, they were on the road, heading west.
Casey broke the silence, finally, to ask "Where are we going?"
"We're heading for the west coast and then south for Glasgow." She flashed a quick smile in the rear view mirror. "It's not the quickest route but it's probably the safest. Once we get to Glasgow, we're safe enough, that's not his area and we're not so important he'll risk a war to come in after us."
"Sounds like a plan."
"How are you feeling?"
"Like I was shot. It's a whole new and unpleasant sensation."
"I've always preferred getting stabbed myself," Ailen nodded.
There was a snort and then it went all quiet again, except for a certain amount of rustling that indicated Casey might be trying to wriggle free from the sleeping bag a bit.
"Don't make me tie you into that sleeping bag," Ailen warned.
"I have to be able to breathe!" Casey complained.
"You can breathe. Sleep. It's going to be a long drive."
Casey subsided but Ailen could tell she wasn't sleeping. Nor was she making the sort of small talk that sometimes drove Ailen crazy although she missed it now, something to break the silence would be nice. Of course, she probably didn't feel like talking, she was pretty wiped out.
As the journey went on and Casey stayed awake but silent, Ailen was finally moved to comment. "You all right?"
A grunt. "Apart from being shot, you mean?"
Ailen didn't respond to the bite, just let it lie. Within a few minutes there was a restless movement from the back seat and a mutter of "I'm ok. Just can't sleep any more. 'm tired though."
"Are you warm enough? There's another blanket in the boot, I could stop."
"I'm fine, Ailen, honestly. Well, I'd prefer lying in a real bed but seeing as that's not an option right now, this is fine."
"OK," Ailen said. Silence descended again and the journey continued.
It was a couple of hours later that Ailen suddenly became even more alert and tense.
"Wha' is it?" Casey asked.
"Company," Ailen said, briefly.
Casey became more alert and stopped brooding. "How many?"
"Just the three cars so far."
"Oh is that all? For a while there, I thought we were in trouble."
Ailen reached into the glove compartment and got Casey's gun. "Here. Don't use it unless you have to and if you lift your head up above the seat, I'll hurt you."
Casey muttered but took the gun. She held it in her right hand, which hurt, but she found if she gripped her wrist tightly with her left, she could control it enough to be moderately sure of hitting something if she fired. She relaxed her grip and waited to see what Ailen would do.
"Hold tight," Ailen said suddenly and Casey felt the car lurch forward as the accelerator was stomped to the floor. She was suddenly very glad she couldn't actually see the road ahead, a feeling that was reinforced when the car swung so violently round a bend that Casey was nearly pitched to the floor. What saved her was the sudden violent swing in the other direction that slammed her back onto the seat.
"Jesus!" She swore between clenched teeth as her shoulder announced it didn't like the current mode of travel and would she please stop that sliding around thing? The only good thing was the sliding had loosened the sleeping bag enough that Casey was able to let it slip to the floor, giving her some freedom of movement, not to mention something soft to land on. Ailen had that dangerously blank look on her face that Casey distrusted so much. The last time she'd seen it with quite that level of unholy determination, Ailen had just flattened two bodyguards twice the size of her and proceeded to shove their boss's beautiful car into the River Thames. She could almost feel sorry for the poor saps in the cars behind. Almost.
The car lurched suddenly as something slammed into the boot. Ailen corrected the swerve, dabbed the brake a touch and Casey could see the pursuing car out of the side window, just starting to overtake. Then Ailen cramped the wheel of the car over hard to the left, braking harder as she did so and causing the back of the car to fishtail across the road and slam into the front nearside of their pursuer. Casey blinked as the car suddenly vanished from view and she faintly heard the sound of metal impacting on something a lot more solid that itself.
Ailen flicked a look in the rear view mirror and Casey saw her eyes crinkle slightly in satisfaction. She spared a quick glance at Casey, who was hanging onto the edge of the seat with her good arm for dear life.
"He took out the guy behind him. Just one left."
Casey felt almost cheerful. Ailen had that air of assurance about her when the odds were even that meant that somehow there never seemed any doubt that she would prevail. Casey's faith wasn't unjustified as Ailen poured on the speed. She was willing to bet whoever was driving the car behind them didn't have Ailen's skill, training and sheer bloody mindedness. And so it proved as they entered a vicious slalom of corners that flung Casey violently around the back seat, before Ailen suddenly slowed and then stopped.
"He didn't make that last corner," she said, conversationally. There was a dull thwump noise behind them. "Or those trees." Casey winced and then felt her stomach churn. She must have gone green because Ailen was suddenly at the door, pulling her far enough out of the car that she could just lean over the ditch and be violently sick.
"Sorry," she muttered, after she'd finished heaving and had crawled back onto the seat.
A shake of the head and the water bottle appeared which she drank from gratefully. "Nothing to be sorry for." Ailen leaned in and tried to see if there was any fresh blood stains on Casey's clothes where stitches might have torn loose but Casey fended her off a little fretfully.
"I'm fine. C'mon, let's get out of here."
A look, a shrug and Ailen climbed back in and they headed off. Casey drank some more water and then thumped the back seat in frustration. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap. I just feel so helpless."
Ailen looked faintly puzzled. "Even if you weren't hurt only one of us could have driven the car," she said, mildly.
"That isn't what I meant," Casey said, trying to find the words. "It's just.oh never mind, it's just me. Ignore me."
A shrug was the response but a minute or so later, Ailen prodded. "You may as well tell me, you will eventually anyway."
Casey acknowledged the truth of that with a wry smile. "I guess. You got shot, but you weren't helpless. You still got me and the others out and to safety, hell you drove a car to a safe house before anyone realised you were hurt! Me, I'm just lying here being driven around."
Ailen blinked. Twice. "Case', I've been shot before, more than once. I react differently when I'm hurt, I can shut down, focus on other things. You don't have that ability but that doesn't make you a liability, if that's what you're saying."
"Yes, yes it is. Ailen, the guy that shot me should have never been able to get up! I didn't stop to check he was down for the count!"
"You will next time. You get to learn from any mistake you walk away from, so learn. Blaming yourself isn't productive."
"I guess so," Casey said, wanting to change the subject. "So, anyway, how far from Glasgow are we?"
Five hours later, they'd reached Glasgow and its safe house.
Ailen didn't see much of Casey for the next three days, as she was out and about with the back up Harris sent, dealing with McGuire and tracking down what the source had found that was so interesting. On the two occasions she did visit, Casey had been asleep and she'd left without waking her up. The doctor (a legal one provided by Harris) said she'd make a full recovery and that mostly what she needed was sleep and Ailen was determined to see that that's what she got. So she was surprised to find Casey sitting up in an easy chair in front of the TV one evening when she returned from tidying up some loose ends.
"Are you allowed to be up"? she inquired.
Casey grinned. "Yes Mum, the doctor gave me permission this morning to get up for a little while. Look, I'm being good!" She indicated the blanket she was tucked in. "I'm keeping warm and not moving around too much."
Ailen took her coat off and headed for the kitchen. "Good. I'll make coffee." She returned presently with two steaming mugs and handed one to Casey.
"You know, you should never get shot in your dominant side," Casey observed as she concentrated on using her left hand to take the mug from Ailen. "It makes life flippin' awkward."
Ailen kept her expression annoyingly neutral. "Think of it as practice for your off hand."
Casey grinned over at her friend. "So, have you put the world to rights and found the cure to cancer while I was indisposed?"
"No, but I did manage to finger McGuire for murder. The local constabulary picked him up yesterday."
Casey considered. "Well that's gotta count towards world peace. How did you get him?"
"Robert, the source he killed? He left a friend with an envelope full of useful information. Took us a while to trace the friend but once we did, it was fairly straightforward. Turns out that killing in London really was a drug deal gone wrong. They were all high as kites, went crazy. So McGuire had the bright idea of making it look like the work of some occult group in a bid to throw us off the scent."
"What did Robert leave that was so good?"
"A taped phone conversation he had with McGuire. Seems he set McGuire up with some people in London who dressed the scene as it were. One of the killers is McGuire's cousin, so there was a family interest."
"We get the killers too?"
"In a manner of speaking. One of them was in one of the cars that went boom on the highland road. Very boom, not much left of him. The other two were picked up in Dundee yesterday. McGuire's cousin was dead when they found him - overdose."
Casey shook her head. "What a waste."
Ailen shrugged, probably a bit more inured to this sort of thing. "I'm heading back to London tonight, have to report to Harris. I'll be back at the weekend. We have to go back to Edinburgh to drop the car off then we can fly home."
Casey had tensed at the mention of the word report. "What are you going to report to Harris? I mean, he's not going to be too pleased I screwed up."
Ailen looked at her with the flat look that, as usual, made Casey squirm under its gaze. She began to recite as if from a report. ""Despite having only fractions of a second to react, Miss Robbins was able to draw and fire with sufficient accuracy that she caused the assailant to fire wildly, thus saving her colleague from being shot in the back. Despite being wounded by the stray bullet, Miss Robins was able to fire a second shot which terminated the assailant." Doesn't sound so screwed up, really, does it?" She got up and looked down at Casey. "I'll see you in a couple of days time."
After she left, Casey sat thinking for a while. Well, when she put it like that it didn't sound so bad. But she HAD screwed up, she'd not made sure their backs were secure. But .but she wouldn't do that again, just like Ailen said. She sighed. Learning had come at a high price but she'd paid it and was still alive. That was more than many in their profession could say.
Maybe one day she'd actually feel like she knew what she was doing instead of floundering in Ailen's wake. In the meantime, she'd get by somehow. She nodded determinedly and put the sound back on the TV. She just had to believe there was nothing she couldn't handle.
It could be worse, she thought, I could be out in that weather. Instead of which, I'm in a nice, warm car. Right.
"I'm bored," she announced to the world in general, which at the moment consisted of her long-suffering colleague, who was sitting in the driver's seat. Unlike Casey, who was slumped down about as low as she could get, Ailen was upright and alert, her eyes never leaving the street or the one building in particular they were watching.
"So you've said. The snoring was a tip off too."
Grousing, Casey tried to sit up a bit straighter. She studied her partner out of the corner of her eye. The woman never slept, as far as she could tell, but then given the amount of caffeine she consumed, perhaps that wasn't a big surprise. She was in what Casey called her "working grunge" look - hair in dreds, lots of baggy torn black clothing under a long coat that, although grimy, kept the cold out more than adequately. It was hard to remember that, although she currently looked like the poster girl for Street Person of the Year, she was actually a highly trained and very lethal agent of a black ops division of the British Government. Or rather, she used to be. She was still lethal and highly trained, just her job title these days defied easy classification. Casey's suggestion that she put "Random Agent of Chaos" on her CV hadn't been appreciated. There was never anything random about Ailen.
Casey refocused on the street and idly wondered what her job title was - Agent in Training sounded good but it wasn't a job title that carried much longevity with it. Take this stakeout for example. Two people to watch a building that probably had a dozen exits in order to try and talk to a man who might have information that might be useful in regard to a number of incidents involving demon worship. Or whatever it was that had caused three young men to be ripped to bloody shreds in a London suburban house in an otherwise good neighbourhood. Officially, it was down to a drug deal gone wrong. Unofficially, they were here because Ailen had a source who claimed to know what had actually happened. Casey had seen crime scene photos and frankly, if it wasn't a drug deal gone wrong, then she didn't really want to know what had and thought it was none of their business anyway. Unfortunately she was in a minority of one.
"He's probably passed out in a pub somewhere," Casey grumbled. "Which is where I'd like to be instead of dying of boredom in this damn box."
"He doesn't drink," was the only response.
"Look, he was supposed to have been here three hours ago. Let's go up and see if he's in!"
"We're waiting here." This time there was an edge of impatience to Ailen's voice. "He's a good source. I won't blow his cover by being seen with him. Yes, even in this get up. We've had this conversation Casey, it's not open for debate."
Casey subsided again, trying not to doze off. The dig she'd got in the ribs to stop the snoring last time had hurt and she didn't want to piss Ailen off any further. So she slumped there, mentally listing all the pros and cons of going back into crime, and wishing Ailen's source in Hades.
Suddenly Ailen stiffened in her seat, gaze riveted to the rear view mirror.
Casey restrained herself from twisting round to see what was alarming her. "What is it?"
The answer came pelting past the car, running as if all the hounds of hell were after him. Which wasn't far from the truth, because following the snitch were four men who clearly didn't have his well being in mind. Casey quickly slammed open her door, just in time to catch the last pursuing thug. The sound of the crunch he made as he bounced off the frame brightened her day considerably.
Leaping out, she pelted after Ailen, who was just about to pounce on another thug, which left two chasing their would be source. She veered round Ailen and her dancing partner and raced after the others. One heard her pursuit and stopped to meet her, over-confident that this woman was no threat to him. Big mistake. Casey wasn't the best street fighter in the world but she'd been taught enough dirty tricks to more than compensate. The two footed slam into his stomach, that had all the momentum behind it of a headlong sprint, knocked him flying for some considerable distance. Her landing wasn't one of her better ones but she managed to get to her feet and scramble after Ailen, who had caught up and was now in pursuit of their quarry.
"They took a left up there!" Casey said, in between puffs and the two of them shot up the alley. But they were too late. The last thug had caught the terrified snitch and the wet sound as he removed his knife from the man's body made Casey's stomach give a lurch. The thug turned to them and grinned evilly.
"Yeh not on yeh own turf, now, ladies. Shoulda stayed 'ome, done yeh knittin'. Yeh cannae just waltz up 'ere an' expect a warm welcome yez know."
Footsteps behind them made Casey spin round just in time to see the thug she thought she'd knocked out with the car door drawing a gun. Yelling a warning, she drew her own gun, firing wildly as she did so. It was enough to put the other man off so that the bullet that was aimed at Ailen's back went wide. Too wide: there was a dull thump in her right shoulder, like she'd been kicked and then there was a searing heat and pain that made her gasp aloud. She staggered back but her training held. Steadying herself she aimed and shot again, seeing the other man go down, gun dropping uselessly from fingers that couldn't grasp it anymore. Dimly she registered that there was a gun going off somewhere to her right but she had more to think about as she looked down dumbly at the spreading red stain on her jacket.
"Shit."
She staggered over and managed to prop herself up against the wall. Ailen looked over at her briefly and then did a double take, her expression fleetingly moving from alarm to cold, calculated resolve. Seeing that Casey was still upright, she moved swiftly to check that both assailants weren't going to be bothering them any time soon and then she was back at Casey's side.
Gently she took the gun from Casey's hand and put it in her pocket, then considered her critically. She made no effort to remove the already bloodied jacket but she did lean her forward so she could look at the back.
"In and out. Lucky. We have to get to the car and get out of here, understand? So move."
Casey managed to nod and struggled to stand upright, but needed Ailen's arm around her waist to keep her that way. Slinging her left arm round Ailen's shoulders, she started to concentrate on the necessary business of putting one foot in front of the other, as fast as possible.
Left, right, left, right, ignore the shoulder that's hurting so badly you just want to curl up and moan. Left, right, left, right, good soldier. The sweat was pouring off her by the time they made the car and her face had gone a waxy pale. Ailen opened the rear door and Casey more or less fell in onto the back seat, grunting as the impact sent waves of pain through her body. Ailen had to go round the other side and tug her fully onto the seat so that she could shut both doors before she threw herself into the driver's seat and took off, leaving a fair amount of rubber on the tarmac.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Ailen cursed inwardly, working her way up through the collection of swear words and phrases she'd accumulated through the years. This was the situation she dreaded. No back up in reach, off their own turf, not an area she knew and to make it worse, it was the middle of fucking nowhere. Too open, too exposed. She hated the country, give her a big, noisy, dirty city any day of the week. It was easy to be anonymous in a city and you had lots more places to hide and there were fewer ditches that your car could be rammed into...
She swerved violently to avoid the van that was intent on doing just that, felt the car skid, corrected, hauled on the steering wheel and wrestled the vehicle back into control and heading in a direction she wanted to go. The attack hadn't been unexpected, she had only counted three bodies on the way to the car. The one that got his stomach kicked through his spine must have crawled off out of sight and put out an SOS. It really wasn't their day. She looked in the rear view mirror and noted with grim satisfaction that at least the van wasn't going to be bothering them again, given that it had just developed a meaningful relationship with a tree.
"You still with me, Casey?" A mumbled response reassured her that she still had a little bit of time. All right, she had an emergency kit in the car, she could patch Casey up enough to stop her bleeding to death and buy time to get her to medical help. She dare not use her mobile phone when they were in one place but while she was on the move, she could at least tap one or two sources of information. Checking the road was clear front and back, she fished her mobile out of her jacket and dialled a number without looking.
"Jarret? It's Sam. Listen, you know a safe place in Scotland, around the area of Aberdeen? No, I can't be more specific than that so don't be specific in your answer. I want to ring this number again and be given a map reference and I need it in ten minutes." A pause. "I know where you live." Another pause. "Good. Ten minutes." She hit the off button and shook her head. He always had to argue, just on principle, even when he was willing to help her.
"How you doing, Case'?"
"The view sucks," came a weak voice. "But otherwise it's ok. Who were you calling?"
"You remember Whiskey Jarret? Tall thin guy, looks like a ferret? Think you saw him at the Crown once."
"Yeh, I remember. Didn't you break his fingers that time?"
Ailen tried to sound innocent, something Casey usually tried on her with about the same amount of success. "Certainly not." She paused. "It was the time before that I broke his finger."
"Ah." A breathy chuckle came from the back seat but broke off with a gasp of pain. Ailen's expression tightened again and she dialled another number on the phone. This time the conversation was even more cryptic.
"'s me. I need a name, I need it in five minutes. Can't have any connection to McGuire, understand? Yes, that McGuire. Yes," a flicked glance down at the map "that kind of area. Good." She hung up and risked another quick glance at the map. Right, there seemed a good a spot as any. Two minutes later and she saw the farm track off the main road, leading across some fields and towards a wood. Slowing down for the first time, she steered the car up the track - it was too primitive to be called a road - her expression blank as she focused on not jolting the car too much. Even so, she could hear the odd whimper from the back seat but she couldn't slow down, time was precious.
Nevertheless she only went as far into the wood as to be sure she couldn't be seen from the road before she stopped and got out. Opening the boot, she tugged out the first aid box from her holdall and unearthed the car blanket she'd flung into the boot on collecting the car from the agency garage in Edinburgh.
Casey was pale, most of her right side was soaked in blood now but she was still conscious, if barely. She blinked in recognition as she saw Ailen looking down at her.
"Sit up, that jacket has to come off."
A nod and Casey let Ailen push her upright. The jacket slid off and Ailen used a knife to cut away the shirt and examined the wound critically. "Bit further down or over and we'd have a real problem."
Casey managed a faint grin. "As opposed to what?"
"Nothing that we can't handle," Ailen said.
When they drove out of the wood and back down the track, Casey was no longer conscious but she was at least bandaged up and wrapped up warmly in her jacket and the blanket..
As a result of two short, pointed conversations Ailen was now driving with a clearer direction in mind. She'd studied the road map and mentally planned her route. Now they were heading directly west, towards some scenic area where Jarret knew of a cottage that would be empty and suitable for hiding in for a night. Her other contact had come up with a phone number, which she rang at once, leaving the message she'd been instructed to leave. She called the number every fifteen minutes until, over an hour later, there was a terse note on the answering machine that was another phone number. Now she pulled over and dialled it, waiting tensely.
"Yeh?" The voice was gruff and not reassuring.
"The password is sparrowhawk."
"And the name?"
"Samantha"
"On the B678, there's an abandoned garage. Be there in an hour. I see any cars with you, any sign of trouble, I keep on driving and you're on your own, got it?"
"Yes."
There was a snort and the call was terminated.
She found the garage without any trouble, having taken the most circuitous route she'd been able to plan and still ensure she got there early and without any sign of a tail. Pulling in behind the garage, she drew her gun and scouted the place thoroughly before going back to the car and checking on Casey. The other woman was breathing shallowly but steadily, although clearly not in a comfortable sleep, because she moaned and twitched a little from time to time. Ailen muttered to herself. "Nothing we can't handle."
Casey came to a sensation of movement. It felt like she was floating through the air, her feet were no longer touching the ground and she felt oddly disassociated. A brief moment of awareness revealed that she was being carried by a man she didn't recognise and she felt a faint stir of fear. She tried to struggle and then she heard Ailen saying "You're fine, Casey, relax." She was confused but stopped trying to kick free. She tried to figure out where she was but it was too much effort and she faded out again.
Now there was a sensation of a stronger pain and she could hear moans. She opened her eyes and looked into Ailen's face again. She was being held down and the moans were coming from her because when she bit her lip, the sound stopped. She focussed on Ailen's gaze, which was rock steady and unyielding, and tried to ignore whatever was being done to her shoulder. It went on for a while and then she was turned on her side so that whatever needed to be done to her back was done. At some point she must have lost consciousness again because when she came to for the third time, she was back in the car.
Ailen's face appeared above her again and then disappeared. The door behind her head closed and the car tilted as someone climbed into the driver's seat. The usual sounds of someone getting ready to drive came to her and then the engine was started and the car began to move.
Casey lay there for a while, taking stock and assessing the damage. She was in a clean shirt and jumper at least and judging from the pulling sensation she could feel on the skin of her shoulder and back, she was pretty well taped up underneath. She wasn't in as much pain either, so she must have been given a shot at some point, though she didn't remember that bit at all. She was glad of it though, it dulled the pain just enough so that she could keep it at a level she could cope with. It was like walking across gravel without making a sound. Slow breaths, slow movement and it was fine. Try to move too fast and your foot would slip, crunching the gravel loudly and then Harris would be in your face, yelling something about you being the most incompetent little worm he'd had the misfortune to train in his life.
She awoke with a start. Wow, she'd managed to doze right off. She wondered how long she'd been asleep and was about to try and speak when she realised that the car wasn't moving any more.
"Ailen?"
Nothing. Then she heard footsteps on a gravel path and she was reaching for a gun she didn't have any longer when the door behind her head opened and, to her relief, Ailen said "Shoot me and you'll have to figure out how to get up on your own."
Casey managed a snort but when she tried to get up, it took all her strength and it was only with Ailen's help that she was able to get out of the car and walk unsteadily into what appeared to be a small cottage.
"Where are we?"
"Safe house. Safe for tonight."
Casey nodded and saved any further questions until she had been helped into the small bedroom and onto the bed, which was covered with a sleeping bag and a blanket.
"Where'd you get the sleeping bag? We didn't bring that sort of gear with us."
"Made a brief stop." Casey looked at her and worked out that there would have been a lot more to any stop than her airy reply was suggesting but said nothing. She let Ailen unlace her boots and pull them off before sinking gratefully down onto the mattress. The sleeping bag was zipped up and the blanket tucked round her with brisk efficiency.
"Water? Anything else?" Ailen asked.
Casey nodded and Ailen disappeared. Casey could hear the rustling of a plastic bag and then she was back bearing a water bottle, the sort that bikers used. It had a long straw in the top so that Casey didn't have to sit upright to drink for which she was very grateful. The cold water was wonderful and she felt better for the drink.
"That must have been quite a pit stop."
Ailen shrugged. "It's camping country," she said, by way of explanation.
"Right. And some poor biker sap is now missing his bedding and his water bottle right?"
"It's a virtue to give to others. Soup? Coffee?
Casey shook her head. "I'm fine thanks."
"The doctor left painkillers. You can have another in three hours and," she glanced at her watch "fifty six minutes."
"I'm good for now."
"Extra pillow?"
Casey eyed Ailen with interest. Ailen wasn't one for the emotional - well, ok, she had all the emotional range of a carrot - but it seemed she was going to look after Casey with the same caustic efficiency she used for her work. It was kind of sweet, in a scary kind of way.
"Ailen, I'm fine. I'm just really tired."
"Yes, you should sleep. The doctor's ordered complete bed rest for about a week or so."
"Did you manage not to laugh in his face?"
"I was extremely polite to him."
"Didn't like him much, huh?"
A quick grin. "Not much, no. But he did good work."
Casey was about to reply but a yawn cut her off. Ailen promptly tucked the blanket round her a bit tighter. "Go to sleep. Call if you need anything."
A sleepy nod and Ailen was gone, leaving Casey to enjoy the silence and the comfort of the bed. It wasn't long before she fell asleep.
Ailen sat in the dark room, listening to the snores coming from the bed. If she'd allowed herself to think about it, she would have felt exhausted, but she had things to do so she ignored the tiredness deep in her bones and continued to guard her ..friend.
It was an odd word to pop into her skull and Ailen examined it for a minute before shaking off any possible descent into introspection and continuing to assess their situation. She'd wanted to leave before now but Casey had developed a fever and Ailen had spent most of the night trying to stop her flinging the blanket off the bed or attempting to get out of the sleeping bag. Her caring skills were minimal and she wasn't comfortable with the role but threatening to shoot the patient if she didn't lie still when she had a temperature of over a hundred didn't seem the right approach either. In the end, she'd settled for persistently replacing the covers, and occasionally holding Casey's hands to restrain her from thrashing about.
The fever had finally broken about an hour ago and Casey was sleeping a little easier now. Ailen had debated waking her to give her a painkiller but decided as long as she was getting some rest, it would be doing her more good than a tablet. She could take one when she woke up, which worked well as it would kick in during the time she'd have to be moved to the car.
What preoccupied her thoughts now was the best direction to take when they left here. She spent a little while carefully perusing the maps of the area, using a tiny torch that Casey would recognise as one usually used for nefarious purposes. The problem was this part of Scotland really didn't have a lot of roads and she was willing to bet that McGuire had eyes watching most of them now. He would assume, she thought, that she'd bolt to the South and maybe try for Dundee or Perth, two big enough towns where she might lose herself in a crowd. However, that would be fatal as big or not, McGuire had eyes and ears in every place and the odds of them being found increased exponentially the closer they got to Edinburgh. So she considered the map and made her plans.
Some hours later, a faint sound came from Casey's bed that wasn't quite the normal movements made in sleep.
"You awake, Case'?"
A mumble and then a faint "What time is it?"
"Nearly 3am."
"How long was I out?"
"About nine hours. Water?"
There was an affirmative croak from the bed and Ailen moved over and supplied the water bottle. Casey tried to gulp it but the straw foiled that and she was forced to sip it at a sensible speed.
"Thanks," she said as she sank back, the exercise having exhausted her. Ailen examined her critically. There was no way she should be moved just yet but they really didn't have a choice.
"Soup and a pain killer and then we have to move." A nod of the head was the only response as Ailen headed to the kitchen to nuke the soup she'd bought earlier. She carried the soup back to the bedroom and put it on the table. "Sit and eat, you'll feel better," she informed the nearly-asleep again Casey. There was the beginnings of a whine but Ailen didn't brook any objections and Casey was soon sitting up and taking mouthfuls of the soup. She wouldn't let Ailen feed her but she did let her hold the bowl while she used her left hand to wield the spoon. Even that was tiring her, though and she quit about half way through the soup.
Ailen made her take a painkiller and then left her to recover a little while she gathered things and stowed them in the car. The blanket was spread out over the back seat to hide the dried blood, and then the difficult process of getting Casey back into the car began.
They did it in stages, getting Casey upright, then sitting on the edge of the bed with her feet on the floor. Then, finally, she stood up, swaying and clinging to Ailen while she got her balance and then gingerly walked to the car. Once she was finally laid out on the back seat, white faced and sweating, Ailen cocooned her in the sleeping bag, tucking her in sufficiently tightly that it brought a faint complaint.
"I can't move!"
"Good."
Ignoring the faint grumbles, Ailen closed and locked the cottage, dropping the key back into the flowerpot it had been hidden in and got into the car. Within minutes, they were on the road, heading west.
Casey broke the silence, finally, to ask "Where are we going?"
"We're heading for the west coast and then south for Glasgow." She flashed a quick smile in the rear view mirror. "It's not the quickest route but it's probably the safest. Once we get to Glasgow, we're safe enough, that's not his area and we're not so important he'll risk a war to come in after us."
"Sounds like a plan."
"How are you feeling?"
"Like I was shot. It's a whole new and unpleasant sensation."
"I've always preferred getting stabbed myself," Ailen nodded.
There was a snort and then it went all quiet again, except for a certain amount of rustling that indicated Casey might be trying to wriggle free from the sleeping bag a bit.
"Don't make me tie you into that sleeping bag," Ailen warned.
"I have to be able to breathe!" Casey complained.
"You can breathe. Sleep. It's going to be a long drive."
Casey subsided but Ailen could tell she wasn't sleeping. Nor was she making the sort of small talk that sometimes drove Ailen crazy although she missed it now, something to break the silence would be nice. Of course, she probably didn't feel like talking, she was pretty wiped out.
As the journey went on and Casey stayed awake but silent, Ailen was finally moved to comment. "You all right?"
A grunt. "Apart from being shot, you mean?"
Ailen didn't respond to the bite, just let it lie. Within a few minutes there was a restless movement from the back seat and a mutter of "I'm ok. Just can't sleep any more. 'm tired though."
"Are you warm enough? There's another blanket in the boot, I could stop."
"I'm fine, Ailen, honestly. Well, I'd prefer lying in a real bed but seeing as that's not an option right now, this is fine."
"OK," Ailen said. Silence descended again and the journey continued.
It was a couple of hours later that Ailen suddenly became even more alert and tense.
"Wha' is it?" Casey asked.
"Company," Ailen said, briefly.
Casey became more alert and stopped brooding. "How many?"
"Just the three cars so far."
"Oh is that all? For a while there, I thought we were in trouble."
Ailen reached into the glove compartment and got Casey's gun. "Here. Don't use it unless you have to and if you lift your head up above the seat, I'll hurt you."
Casey muttered but took the gun. She held it in her right hand, which hurt, but she found if she gripped her wrist tightly with her left, she could control it enough to be moderately sure of hitting something if she fired. She relaxed her grip and waited to see what Ailen would do.
"Hold tight," Ailen said suddenly and Casey felt the car lurch forward as the accelerator was stomped to the floor. She was suddenly very glad she couldn't actually see the road ahead, a feeling that was reinforced when the car swung so violently round a bend that Casey was nearly pitched to the floor. What saved her was the sudden violent swing in the other direction that slammed her back onto the seat.
"Jesus!" She swore between clenched teeth as her shoulder announced it didn't like the current mode of travel and would she please stop that sliding around thing? The only good thing was the sliding had loosened the sleeping bag enough that Casey was able to let it slip to the floor, giving her some freedom of movement, not to mention something soft to land on. Ailen had that dangerously blank look on her face that Casey distrusted so much. The last time she'd seen it with quite that level of unholy determination, Ailen had just flattened two bodyguards twice the size of her and proceeded to shove their boss's beautiful car into the River Thames. She could almost feel sorry for the poor saps in the cars behind. Almost.
The car lurched suddenly as something slammed into the boot. Ailen corrected the swerve, dabbed the brake a touch and Casey could see the pursuing car out of the side window, just starting to overtake. Then Ailen cramped the wheel of the car over hard to the left, braking harder as she did so and causing the back of the car to fishtail across the road and slam into the front nearside of their pursuer. Casey blinked as the car suddenly vanished from view and she faintly heard the sound of metal impacting on something a lot more solid that itself.
Ailen flicked a look in the rear view mirror and Casey saw her eyes crinkle slightly in satisfaction. She spared a quick glance at Casey, who was hanging onto the edge of the seat with her good arm for dear life.
"He took out the guy behind him. Just one left."
Casey felt almost cheerful. Ailen had that air of assurance about her when the odds were even that meant that somehow there never seemed any doubt that she would prevail. Casey's faith wasn't unjustified as Ailen poured on the speed. She was willing to bet whoever was driving the car behind them didn't have Ailen's skill, training and sheer bloody mindedness. And so it proved as they entered a vicious slalom of corners that flung Casey violently around the back seat, before Ailen suddenly slowed and then stopped.
"He didn't make that last corner," she said, conversationally. There was a dull thwump noise behind them. "Or those trees." Casey winced and then felt her stomach churn. She must have gone green because Ailen was suddenly at the door, pulling her far enough out of the car that she could just lean over the ditch and be violently sick.
"Sorry," she muttered, after she'd finished heaving and had crawled back onto the seat.
A shake of the head and the water bottle appeared which she drank from gratefully. "Nothing to be sorry for." Ailen leaned in and tried to see if there was any fresh blood stains on Casey's clothes where stitches might have torn loose but Casey fended her off a little fretfully.
"I'm fine. C'mon, let's get out of here."
A look, a shrug and Ailen climbed back in and they headed off. Casey drank some more water and then thumped the back seat in frustration. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap. I just feel so helpless."
Ailen looked faintly puzzled. "Even if you weren't hurt only one of us could have driven the car," she said, mildly.
"That isn't what I meant," Casey said, trying to find the words. "It's just.oh never mind, it's just me. Ignore me."
A shrug was the response but a minute or so later, Ailen prodded. "You may as well tell me, you will eventually anyway."
Casey acknowledged the truth of that with a wry smile. "I guess. You got shot, but you weren't helpless. You still got me and the others out and to safety, hell you drove a car to a safe house before anyone realised you were hurt! Me, I'm just lying here being driven around."
Ailen blinked. Twice. "Case', I've been shot before, more than once. I react differently when I'm hurt, I can shut down, focus on other things. You don't have that ability but that doesn't make you a liability, if that's what you're saying."
"Yes, yes it is. Ailen, the guy that shot me should have never been able to get up! I didn't stop to check he was down for the count!"
"You will next time. You get to learn from any mistake you walk away from, so learn. Blaming yourself isn't productive."
"I guess so," Casey said, wanting to change the subject. "So, anyway, how far from Glasgow are we?"
Five hours later, they'd reached Glasgow and its safe house.
Ailen didn't see much of Casey for the next three days, as she was out and about with the back up Harris sent, dealing with McGuire and tracking down what the source had found that was so interesting. On the two occasions she did visit, Casey had been asleep and she'd left without waking her up. The doctor (a legal one provided by Harris) said she'd make a full recovery and that mostly what she needed was sleep and Ailen was determined to see that that's what she got. So she was surprised to find Casey sitting up in an easy chair in front of the TV one evening when she returned from tidying up some loose ends.
"Are you allowed to be up"? she inquired.
Casey grinned. "Yes Mum, the doctor gave me permission this morning to get up for a little while. Look, I'm being good!" She indicated the blanket she was tucked in. "I'm keeping warm and not moving around too much."
Ailen took her coat off and headed for the kitchen. "Good. I'll make coffee." She returned presently with two steaming mugs and handed one to Casey.
"You know, you should never get shot in your dominant side," Casey observed as she concentrated on using her left hand to take the mug from Ailen. "It makes life flippin' awkward."
Ailen kept her expression annoyingly neutral. "Think of it as practice for your off hand."
Casey grinned over at her friend. "So, have you put the world to rights and found the cure to cancer while I was indisposed?"
"No, but I did manage to finger McGuire for murder. The local constabulary picked him up yesterday."
Casey considered. "Well that's gotta count towards world peace. How did you get him?"
"Robert, the source he killed? He left a friend with an envelope full of useful information. Took us a while to trace the friend but once we did, it was fairly straightforward. Turns out that killing in London really was a drug deal gone wrong. They were all high as kites, went crazy. So McGuire had the bright idea of making it look like the work of some occult group in a bid to throw us off the scent."
"What did Robert leave that was so good?"
"A taped phone conversation he had with McGuire. Seems he set McGuire up with some people in London who dressed the scene as it were. One of the killers is McGuire's cousin, so there was a family interest."
"We get the killers too?"
"In a manner of speaking. One of them was in one of the cars that went boom on the highland road. Very boom, not much left of him. The other two were picked up in Dundee yesterday. McGuire's cousin was dead when they found him - overdose."
Casey shook her head. "What a waste."
Ailen shrugged, probably a bit more inured to this sort of thing. "I'm heading back to London tonight, have to report to Harris. I'll be back at the weekend. We have to go back to Edinburgh to drop the car off then we can fly home."
Casey had tensed at the mention of the word report. "What are you going to report to Harris? I mean, he's not going to be too pleased I screwed up."
Ailen looked at her with the flat look that, as usual, made Casey squirm under its gaze. She began to recite as if from a report. ""Despite having only fractions of a second to react, Miss Robbins was able to draw and fire with sufficient accuracy that she caused the assailant to fire wildly, thus saving her colleague from being shot in the back. Despite being wounded by the stray bullet, Miss Robins was able to fire a second shot which terminated the assailant." Doesn't sound so screwed up, really, does it?" She got up and looked down at Casey. "I'll see you in a couple of days time."
After she left, Casey sat thinking for a while. Well, when she put it like that it didn't sound so bad. But she HAD screwed up, she'd not made sure their backs were secure. But .but she wouldn't do that again, just like Ailen said. She sighed. Learning had come at a high price but she'd paid it and was still alive. That was more than many in their profession could say.
Maybe one day she'd actually feel like she knew what she was doing instead of floundering in Ailen's wake. In the meantime, she'd get by somehow. She nodded determinedly and put the sound back on the TV. She just had to believe there was nothing she couldn't handle.