Hohenbruck Army Base, Germany
Day 6
00:17 hrs, Saturday
"Why the bloody hell didn't you stop her?" The car door opening, Bruce's voice, startled Roper, making him jump.
"Where the bloody hell did you come from?" Cross asked as he and Roper twisted around in the front seat of the car. Bruce lumbered into the backseat. Bruce closed the door softly, glaring at Roper.
"Why didn't you talk her out of it? She listened to you." Bruce accused. Roper slumped down in his seat.
"She wouldn't listen," was all Roper said. He was tired. He had been up for two days, staring at the constant pictures on the telly of burning vehicles, bodies lying on the streets of Basra, trying desperately to keep alive some hope that the next pan of the camera would not bring a glimpse of her blonde hair.
"Well, hello, Bruce." Cross said, breaking the tense silence.
Roper stared at the sparse grass and hardened dirt on their side of the perimeter fence. He tried to keep the ache in his heart from overwhelming him, tried to maintain his composure, tried to keep the pain, the fear at bay.
"Come to help us capture the bad guys, eh?" Cross' joviality seemed rashly out of place.
"What are you doing here, Bruce? You and Angie were supposed to be away another week?" Roper asked.
"Burns called us back." Bruce relented. "Command is recalling everyone."
The three of them sat silent. The refuge of the car had turned into another kind of prison with Bruce's accusation hanging in the air. Roper had been desperate to get out of the office, to do something.
"What have we got going here?" Bruce finally asked.
"Criminal masterminds at work." Cross joked. "They're bringing cars off the base just ahead." Roper snorted, rubbing his forehead. This was Jo's case, her ludicrous theory.
"We know who 'they' are?"
"Not sure." Roper told him.
"Right. Of course. It wouldn't be that simple, would it?" Bruce muttered.
Roper struggled to keep his eyes open as they waited. A minute turned into an hour. He could hear Bruce breathing in the backseat. Cross moved about next to him, his knees cracking. Roper concentrated so hard on the spot where the fence stood that he gave himself a headache.
A truck lumbered past their concealed position just inside the tree line of the opposite side of the street from the fence. The truck's brakes squealed in the dark as it came to a stop in front of them. They all sat up. The truck pulled into the grass on the other side of the road. A shush sounded as it came to a stop.
The radio crackled.
"Heads up, sir." One of the border guards whispered into his radio. Roper stared through the trees, trying to find some sigh. "A car is coming through. White. Looks like a BMW."
A man, tall, big, got out of the driver's side, coming around the back of the truck. The man opened the doors of the truck, pulling out a set of ramps. Sounds of a motor running reached them from the trees beyond. The man in front of him stopped, facing the tree line where the car was coming through. Roper leaned forward. The fence rolled away, rustling the ground brush. Roper tensed as a white car came through.
"Ready?" Cross asked.
"Wait." Roper whispered. The car turned around in the road, pulling up to the back of the truck. "Wait." He could feel Cross tensing next to him. "Tell your boys to hold." The car pulled into the back of the truck. He heard the car door slam, echoing in the back of the truck. The driver of the car jumped down out of the truck. The moonlight illuminated his face for just a moment before he was shadowed again.
"Christ." Roper muttered to himself.
"What is it? You want us to take them?" Cross asked.
"Its Shane." Roper murmured.
"Who the hell is Shane?" Bruce asked as the truck driver closed the doors of the truck. "Are we going to take them or what?"
"Sir?" someone whispered over the radio. Shane was headed back into the trees. The driver got into the truck.
"What do you want me to tell them?" Cross asked insistently.
"Roper?" Bruce prodded him.
"Tell them to follow him and stay on him until I can get someone over there." Roper made a decision. The truck started up, pulling away.
Roper waited until the truck had pulled off before starting the engine. He left the lights off, pulling out onto the road.
"What are you doing?" Cross asked as they followed the truck down the country road.
"Bruce, get Burns on the phone."
"Yeah, Boss, something's gone wrong. Here's Roper." Bruce handed the phone to him over the seat.
"Boss?"
"What is it, Hippy?" Burns sounded as tired as Roper felt.
"The thief, its Corporal Shane. He just delivered the car to a truck."
"Where are you now?"
"Following the truck, west of the base, along the perimeter road. We've got the border guards following Shane. He headed back onto the base."
"Right." Burns was silent for a moment. "I'll get the RMPs to relieve the guards. You follow the truck. Get Strauss on the phone and let him know what is going on. Keep me appraised of the situation."
"Right, Boss." Roper clicked off the phone, tossing the phone back to Bruce. "Get Strauss on the phone."
"Thomas, its Bruce Hornsby." Roper concentrated on keeping back, not giving their presence up to the truck driver. He flipped on his lights as the truck proceeded around a curve. A drive opened out onto the road, giving them cover as to where they had come from. "Yes, I know what time it is." Bruce joked. "Roper wants to talk to you." Bruce handed Roper the phone again.
"Thomas, its Roper."
"Hippy, do you know what time it is?" Thomas joked.
"Yeah, Thomas, I know." Roper felt himself smile, for the first time in days. "We're following a truck that picked up another stolen car from the base." He heard Thomas moving around.
"Where are you?"
"I don't know the name of the road. It runs along the west side of the base. We're heading north. Wait a minute." The truck disappeared from in front of them. Roper slowed down as they came to an intersection. He looked both ways. The trucks lights were visible down the road heading along the north end of the base. "The truck just turned. It looks like we might be heading back into town."
"All right. Let me contact my colleagues. We will come out to help you. Call me back if something happens."
"Thanks, Thomas." Roper clicked off the phone, tossing it back to Bruce.
"Bit of a round about route back to town." Cross told him. "If he was headed back to town, why didn't he just go back the way he came?"
"You should know. He had to come past the main gate. We've got cameras trained on the road outside the gate." Roper told him. "Why would he go back the way he came after only a few minutes? We might not notice but we just might."
"Clever bastard." Cross murmured.
"Sometimes they're not as stupid as we wish they were." Bruce put in as they followed the truck as it turned along the east side of the base. "Who's this Shane fellow?"
"I'm working a case with the drugs team. Shane is a possible suspect in some drugs that are coming through the base." Roper told him.
"Do we have anything on him?"
"No. It's all circumstantial at this point. On that case, at least. Some things he was telling us weren't exactly adding up. Turns out his car was the first one that was stolen."
"He stole his own car?"
"He missed a payment on it a couple of months ago. He's also been taking couple hundred quid out of his account every week. He said he gave the insurance money to his mum. We're going to check it out."
"How's he connected to the drugs case?"
"He's a regular in one of Danny Johnson's clubs, the Blaue Tür, despite his statement that he's not. We've got him on the CCTV tapes…" Roper trailed off.
"What is it?" Bruce prodded him.
"We have him on tape last Sunday before when we think the car was stolen last week." Roper tried to reach around and grasp the situation. The truck turned onto the main road, leading into town. Roper waited a moment before turning after it. He kept his distance as they covered the distance, crossing into the town itself. He kept one hand on the wheel as he pulled his own mobile from his jacket pocket, dialling Donnell's number. Donnell did not pick up right away.
"Yeah, Donnell." Mike answered, sleepily.
"Mike. Its Roper."
"Yeah, what's happened?"
"We've just witnessed Shane handing off a stolen car to someone. We're following the truck with the car now, into town."
"Stealing cars? What the bloody hell?" Mike swore. "How's this connected to my case?"
"I don't know but we have Shane on tape in the Blaue Tür last week right before another car was stolen. Can you get the surveillance team on and find out if he was in there tonight?"
"Yeah. What the hell?" Mike muttered.
"Call me back on my mobile." Roper told him before hanging up.
The darkened town opened up around them. The truck slowed down on the narrow streets. Roper shifted down, pulling to the side of the road, watching as the truck moved ahead. Bruce nearly hung over the seat. Roper pulled back out onto the street as the truck turned down a side road. He drove up to the side street, peering around the corner. The truck was slowing down. Roper switched off the head lamps, turning slowly along the street. He stopped as the truck pulled into a driveway. Roper pulled the car to the side of the road, shutting the engine off.
"What do we do now?" Cross asked. Roper looked up and down the street. They were shielded from the house where the truck had pulled in by several cars parked on the street. The street was lined on either side by neat houses, all dark. Roper checked his watch. At this hour, the residents would be asleep in their beds.
"What the name of this street?" Roper asked.
"Michaelisstrasse." Bruce told him.
"We need to know what number that house is." Roper mused. The car leaned as Bruce got out. He lumbered down the pavement, stopping and looking about every few steps. The lights in the house turned on. Bruce hunkered down in the front yard of the neighbouring house. After a few moments, he headed back to the car.
"One nine seven." He reported. Roper dialled Thomas' number.
"Yes, Hippy." Thomas sounded a little more awake now.
"197 Michaelisstrasse."
"It looks like he pulled the truck into the garage in back." Bruce told him.
"The truck is in a garage behind the house."
"Right. I'll inform my colleagues and get a car to you."
"Can you find out who the house belongs to?"
"Yes. I will find out right away." Thomas hung up.
"Now what do we do?" Cross asked.
"We wait." Bruce told him. Roper dialled Burns' mobile.
"What have you got, Hippy?" Burns answered.
"We're in town. The truck's parked. Thomas is sending someone down."
"Right. Well, Shane's back in his barracks. I've got a couple of RMPs watching the place to make sure that he doesn't go anywhere. Do we want to pick him up?"
"No. Not yet. I want to talk to Mike before we do anything."
"All right. I'll talk to Thomas. Wait for his men to show up and then get back to base." Burns clicked off just as a car turned onto the street from the opposite end. The car came down the street slowly, stopping next to them. Roper rolled the window down, recognizing one of the investigators working with Thomas.
"Good morning." The man greeted them.
"Its 197." Roper pointed. The investigator, Roper could not come up with his name, turned around, eyeing the house. "He's inside. The truck is in the garage behind the house."
"All right. Will you be staying as well?" Roper shook his head.
"We need to get back to base. Figure out how this is connected to the drugs case."
"All right. We will contact Herr Strauss if the truck or the resident moves."
"Thanks." Roper started the car, pulling away. As he pulled down the street, the Germans pulled into the space they had just vacated.
Howard had walked in. No one remembered to stand to attention. He did not seem to notice.
"Sir?" Burns asked. Howard looked at all of them.
"Sgt. McDonagh has been found. She's in hospital." As one, they all took a deep breath of relief.
"How is she? Is she all right? What happened? How did they find her?" They were all talking at once. Howard held up his hands to quiet them.
"Working on some intelligence, they raided a house in the outskirts of the city. They found both Sgt. McDonagh and Sgt. Sowden, the one who was driving the jeep, as well as an RMP who was all ready dead when they arrived."
"Is she okay? Is Jo okay?" Bruce asked.
Roper sat down heavily in the nearest chair. He almost cried in relief.
"She's in serious condition." Roper looked up. "She was shot in the head." Someone started sobbing. "She was conscious when the insertion team found her. Gave them quite a shock, from what I heard. She was trying to fight them off while they were getting her moved." Burns chuckled.
"That's our McDonagh."
"She's all ready been medivac'ed back to the UK. Northallerton."
"Christ." Roper murmured to himself, rubbing his face. He looked up when he realized everyone was watching him. "Sorry."
"Did they find out what happened?" Frost asked.
"It looks like it has to do with the artefacts being smuggled. They have two men in custody that are talking. They thought the army was coming after them. They wanted to know where their operation was compromised."
"And what? They didn't think we'd notice a couple of our sergeants missing?" Bruce asked sarcastically.
"Or a couple of burning trucks? Dead bodies of our RMPs lying in the street?" Frost added.
"I'll keep you informed if I hear anything else." Howard told them, bestowing a kind smile. He nodded to Burns before heading back to his own office.
"Bloody hell." Bruce muttered, sitting down at his desk. Angie rubbed his shoulder.
Roper flipped his mobile closed.
"It was Burns. Shane's on his way to the main gate."
"Burns wants us to pick him up there."
Bruce turned the car around, heading south to the gate. He pulled up beside the gate house.
"Roper." Cross stepped out. "Hear our boy is on the way."
"So, what's the plan?" Roper smirked at Bruce while Cross rubbed his hands together like a child.
"We stand here and then we arrest him. Sound good to you, Hippy?" Roper chuckled.
"Heads up, car coming." The RMP called out the door of the gate house.
"Keep your heads." Roper cautioned.
The car heading up the road, a beat up saloon was a far cry from his previous car. Roper stood easily, as if he were merely carrying on a conversation as the car approached the gate. He could see Shane looking at him through the windshield. Cross motioned him to pull up to the gate, taking a step around as if to check his identification.
Shane hesitated, looking straight at Roper. He reached down. Roper tensed.
The car sped straight for them. Roper sprinted past Cross after it.
"Shit." Bruce growled, rumbling towards the car.
Shane looked terrified as Roper chased at him. Shane could not keep the car straight on the road in reverse. Even as the car sped up, it began to fishtail on the pavement, crashing through the gate. Roper pounded on the hood as he caught up. Shane nearly ran him over as the car suddenly jumped forward, spinning in a circle. Roper tumbled backwards, loosing his footing, tumbling. Shane spun the car all the way around, taking off back down the road.
"Get in!" Cross shouted, screeching the jeep to a stop. Roper hobbled in as Cross squealed the tires, taking off. Roper held on, looking behind to see Bruce in his car right behind.
"Don't let him get away." Roper ordered as Shane's car disappeared around a curve.
"Bloody hell." Cross muttered as they nearly careened right into Shane's car, half still on the pavement, half off. The driver's door stood open. Shane was gone.
Roper bolted out of the car, jumping over the drainage ditch, into the trees. He could hear Cross yelling for reinforcements as Bruce barrelled into the trees behind him. Roper stopped quickly to get his bearing and listen for Shane's escape.
"Which way did he go?" Bruce was all ready breathing heavily as he came up.
The trees stood quiet.
"Boss…" Roper did not want to ask.
"What is it?" Burns looked at him sceptically. "Well? Out with it." Roper really did not want to ask.
"I need some time."
"To do what?" Burns pushed.
"Its personal." Burns gave him a questioning look. Roper shrugged.
"Anything I should know?" Burns pressed. Roper shook his head. Burns waited.
"I'd rather not say."
"Where are we on locating Corporal Shane?"
"We've notified the locals and border. We've also contacted the local nick where his mum lives, just in case."
"I can reach you on your mobile if I need you?" Roper nodded. Burns sighed. "All right then."
"Thanks, Boss." Roper felt Burns watching him as he grabbed his jacket from his desk chair before leaving.
Roper got into his car and headed out. The drive was one that he had taken many times before. He could drive it in his sleep. He took no note of the passing countryside, intent on his destination.
Roper did not kid himself. His solicitor had been gentle but truthful. Nothing really had changed since the divorce, outwardly anyway. He was still in the army, though why that counted against him when thousands of irreproachable parents served, was a bit beyond him. He still worked long hours and odd days. He still lived in Germany. He would soon be living alone with no one to provide a stable home and schedule for his children. He was still the man that had hit his wife.
During the divorce, he had wanted to escape. He had the nagging feeling that he was letting his children down, not doing enough, giving in too easily, not putting their best interests first, no matter what he had told himself at the time. He had wanted out of the marriage, did what it took, which was essentially abandoning his children. Roper tried not to dwell on the negative points.
He had changed too much since the divorce. He was older, wiser, more sure of what he wanted in life. Now he understood that what he wanted in life was his children, and a life that was living. He did not want to go through each day just like every other day, as if in a fog, getting through one day to the next with no thoughts on the future. This time he was not going to give in. This time he was going to keep on fighting. He was not going to give in so easily.
Roper had another reason for keeping close to his children that had less to do with his own wants as much as his own fears. He had always known Sas was expert at manipulation. What frightened him more were the depths she was willing to sink to when her manipulations failed. This recent round of fighting had shown him a side of her that he had always hoped did not exist. Roper understood her anger towards him over Jo. He could not understand her throwing it in his face in front of Andrew and Claire, who were too young to understand the difficulties between their parents, especially Claire. To use the language she used, to insinuate that he did not love them, it was too much, even for Sas. Saturday morning had shown Roper for the first time that to Sas, the children were just another weapon in her arsenal. He did not doubt that she loved them in her own way but she was not above hurting them to hurt him and that he could not tolerate. For the first time, he was frightened by what she might do to them, if not physically, then surely emotionally.
Having set the whole ugly mess in motion, Roper sat in the car park not sure what to do next. He had done the hardest part, told Sas. He had done the messy part, getting his solicitor involved again. He had set the whole situation on his ear. He could not back out now, run back to Sas to forgive and forget. He felt terrified, and strangely liberated. He started driving north.
The guard at the gate directed him to the hospital. The night was well on its way when he parked outside. Though the air was chilled, he did not feel it. He was working on pure adrenaline now. The desk clerk hesitated when he asked. His credentials got him her room number and through the doors despite the time. His shoes clicked through the quiet wards, echoing. When he reached the room though, he hesitated but could not stop himself. He pushed open the door.
The room lay dim as he stepped inside. Soft, mechanical beeps and clicks shushed through the room. He could see the outline of the bed, a body lying motionless, tubes emerging and hanging to bags on hooks. He stepped closer, not knowing at all if he was ready for what he was about to see.
Roper searched for Jo some place in this battered face. He could only catch a glimpse of her among the ugly bruises, a trace of a cheekbone, a hint of a brow line, her dark lashes. He choked back a groan as he leaned down. A portion of her head was shaved, a long ghastly wound, stitched up, cut through the whole side of her scalp. He could not look at her face, not with her ordeal, her pain, written so clearly there but there was no other place to look. Her neck looked as though she had been strangled; he could see the outline of fingers bruised into her flesh even in this dim. The bruises followed her fluid lines all the way down to the gown, reappearing on her bare arms where blue stitched gashes added themselves on top the blackening bruises. Tubes disappeared under the discoloured flesh of her arms; even her fingers were taped, splinted, broken.
He had to sit down. Then he had to get up. He smoothed what was left of her hair away from her face, pressing his lips against her forehead so lightly so not to hurt her even more. He did not know what he was murmuring, anything, any thing at all to comfort her. He wanted to hold her but was terrified that if he touched her, he would cause her more pain. He caressed her poor arm, running his fingers down to hers, rubbing her thumb, the only one not splinted. He reached back, pulling the chair closer so he did not have to let go of her, afraid if he did, she might slip away. He buried his head in his free hand. Roper did not know how long he had been sitting there, her thumb clasped in his hand. He could feel her warmth, her life, just in that bit of her that he held.
He felt more than anything else when he was no longer alone with her. He looked up, not letting go of her. A tall masculine form stood in the doorway. A voice, softened, somehow familiar reached him.
"Who are you?" The man stepped into the room, standing in the moonlight streaming in the window. Tall, rangy even in the dim, he looked strangely familiar while being a complete stranger.
"Staff Sergeant Phillip Roper, SIB." Roper whispered, not to disturb her. The man nodded, coming closer. He stood at her bedside, looking down at Jo with a softness that seemed out of place in his scarred face, like that of a boxer.
"I'm back, Josey." The man whispered to her, repeating the comforting motion of brushing her hair back. Roper watched her. She did not respond. "I didn't want to leave her alone but I needed a cup of tea." He noticed Roper watching him. "Jason McDonagh. I'm Josey's older brother." He held out his hand. Roper did not want to let go of her. "You're not here to investigate, are you?" he asked when Roper did not shake his hand.
"No. No, I'm not. I'm posted to Hohenbruck." Jason nodded.
Jason walked back into the darkness, reappearing with another chair. He set the chair down next to Roper's, sitting down heavily. They sat there, silently, staring at the bed. Jo never moved. A nurse came in at some point, checking the bank of monitors by the bed, checking Jo carefully.
"How's she doing?" Jason asked. The nurse, a pretty young woman, smiled, nodded before leaving. Jason waited until her footsteps moved on down the corridor. "Do you know how it happened?"
"Not really, they're holding it pretty close. It had something to do with a case." Roper rubbed his finger along the length of her thumb, the only thing he could do. He could feel Jason watching him.
"Mum was hoping she'd stay in Germany, that she wouldn't be called up to go to Iraq. But not our Josey. Always has to be in thick of it."
"Yeah."
"You worked with her?" Roper nodded. "Is she good at it?" Roper smirked.
"Yeah, yeah, she's good at it. Much to the chagrin of our Sgt. Major." He laughed. Jason chuckled.
"Tweaks his kettle, does she?" Roper nodded, laughing. "When she was a kid, she used to pick out the biggest kid and have a go at him, just to prove her point."
"A couple of colonels and captains. Got herself busted down to corporal a couple years ago." Roper looked over at him.
He could see now why Jason looked so familiar. He had the same blonde hair, same brown eyes. Roper could even see that intangible strength in his expression, the set of the jaw, pretending ease in the face of adversity. His face was battle scarred, prominent broken nose, grooves gouged out of his cheeks. The traces of violence seemed out of place in the man who looked at his sister so tenderly.
"How is the family handling this?" Roper asked. Jason set his mouth.
"Mum's upset. She had to go home. She couldn't stand looking at her like this anymore. Joe is minding the shop while I'm gone, keeping busy. Jack's catching a flight back from America. He should be here tomorrow." He went silent for a moment but Roper could tell he was not done. "You always know this is a possibility. She's a soldier. Soldiers get hurt but you never think it's going to happen. Pray it doesn't happen. When she transferred to SIB, I thought, maybe…you know?" Roper nodded. "But not Josey. She has to go out looking for trouble. I wished she'd come home, maybe help out at the shop but she'd never be happy. She's still looking for something."
"Did they tell you how…" Roper did not want to make Jason relive any of this.
"They beat her up. Broken ribs, broken fingers." Jason strangled a sob. "Shot her twice, once in the side, once in the head. But she's good. She's stable. The bullet didn't enter her skull, just sort of bounced off the bone." Roper laughed, knowing it was inappropriate but could not help himself. Jason frowned at him.
"When we found out, Burns tried to cheer us up by telling us she had a really hard head." Jason stared at him, making Roper feel like a chastised schoolboy then broke into a smile, Jo's smile.
"Doesn't she just." They both chuckled then went silent. "They say none of her injuries are life threatening. They're just worried about her brain. Something about bruising from the headshot, her brain sloshing around or something. I didn't quite understand what they were saying. They say we won't know how bad it is until she wakes up."
"She hasn't been awake yet?"
"She's opened her eyes but she wasn't really there, you know? You could just tell." Jason looked over at him. "Do you know this other fellow that was with her? Sowden, I think his name is." Roper shook his head. "What about the rest of her section?"
"I know one of the Staff Sergeants but none of the others."
"How are they? I heard the police took a toll but nothing about her team." Roper grimaced to himself.
"Staff Haith is all right, escaped without a scratch. Everyone else is dead.
"Christ." Jason muttered.
Roper did not know what to say to make him feel better. They lapsed into silence again, watching Jo lying there, waiting. There was nothing else they could do.