Shattered

By: Abellen

Chapter Seventeen: Fight

She'd kissed me. It was nearly twenty four hours later, and I was still thinking about it. I didn't care that the morning was going to full of exams, and I didn't care that I hadn't studied as much as I should have. All I cared about was the fact that Ingrid had kissed me because she wanted to. All I could think about was how good it would feel to kiss her again.

Mom had known something had happened as soon as I walked in the door at home. Dad had just grinned and nodded, while Mom seemed torn between being stern and being thrilled. I grinned again and scuffed my feet through the leaves that littered the sidewalk, but it didn't take long for the grin to fade.

It was easy to forget that Ingrid had lost her parents, and that she was being threatened at school. It was difficult to remember that a kiss didn't really mean anything, except that she liked me in that way. A kiss didn't mean that she was safe, or even that she was happy. I'd be glad when today was over. I still didn't know how this was tied into the exams, but Ingrid had hinted that it was. I hadn't been able to get her to talk about it on the phone, but at least she'd got home all right last night, and she'd given her report to Folsom.

Maybe by the end of today it would be over, and life could go back to normal, or as normal as it could be.

I leant against the pole of the stop sign and looked at my watch. I'd had experience of Ingrid on exam days before, and it wasn't one I enjoyed. While most kids got worked up and let it out by being boisterous and noisy, Ingrid tended to fold in on herself. She was normally in the office an hour or more before the start, up to her eyes in books. She could already be in the school, but I decided to wait for five more minutes, just in case.

'Hey, Fillmore!'

I looked towards the school and saw Anza and Danny walking towards me. Danny was looking smug, and Anza was grinning like a fool.

'What's up?'

'We heard this amazing rumour on the bus, and we thought we'd check it out and see if it was true,' Danny said.

'Probably not,' I muttered, trying to school my features into something resembling a neutral expression.

'We heard that you were seen kissing Ingrid in the library, and not just little kisses either,' Anza nudged me with his elbow meaningfully.

'Where'd you hear that?'

'Vanessa Colson said that she and a friend of hers saw you. She asked us if you were a couple!' Danny replied, excitement bubbling in his voice.

'So?' Anza asked.

'So what?' I grinned as he scowled in annoyance.

'Are you a couple?'

I shook my head mutely and began to walk towards the school. There were a lot of kids hanging about outside, no doubt relishing the fresh air before the exams started. Danny and Anza followed me, pushing their way through the crowd until they were at my side.

'So you didn't kiss, Ingrid?'

'I didn't say that.' I grinned when Danny's mouth fell open and reached out to open the door, before noticing the sign stuck up outside.

"By order of the Principal: Today's exams have been cancelled. Please return home and prepare for lessons as normal tomorrow morning.

All members of the Safety Patrol report to the Safety Patrol office immediately."

'Cancelled?' Danny asked, 'but I studied for hours!'

'What could have happened to make her cancel the exams?' Anza demanded, a worried frown settling on his face as all thoughts of myself and Ingrid fled his mind.

'She was arguing with the Superintendent yesterday,' I answered, 'and Ingrid gave her report in. maybe it was something about that?'

'Ingrid got the exams cancelled? Cool!'

I couldn't share Danny's enthusiasm as I opened the door and made my way to the office, hardly hearing Danny and Anza's debate as they followed. I had a bad feeling, as thought something had gone down and no one had told me. The feeling only worsened when I opened the door to the Safety Patrol office. Vallejo's high backed leather chair was in the middle of the room and the Principal was sitting in it. She was sipping a cappuccino and sitting with her legs crossed demurely at the knee.

Vallejo was leaning against a nearby desk, his face pale and two flags of colour on his cheeks. He kept rubbing his temples, a sure sign of an approaching migraine. 'Fillmore, it's about time you got here. Where are Karen and Ingrid?'

'Not here yet,' I said quietly, my eyes not leaving the principal's face. She looked pale under her makeup, and it didn't look as if she had slept much.

'What's going on?' Anza asked, as the door opened and Karen walked in, looking baffled.

'Ingrid's not with you?' I asked her.

'No, I didn't see any sign of her walking to school. Is something wrong?'

'I dunno.'

'Miss Third came to me yesterday evening,' the Principal began. 'Her report contained compelling evidence that the top five students had been blackmailed into deliberately failing the exams today. The motivation is believed to be to force reallocation of the scholarship fund money to different areas within the school.'

'That's why the exams are cancelled?' Vallejo asked.

'Partly, yes. The whole purpose of the exams is to assess the school, and if the results are influenced then they are useless. However, the main reason was that the nature of the threats was considerably vicious, including physical harm to the students themselves.'

'Who's the suspect?' Anza asked.

'Miss Tanja Rossi. I have security personnel positioned at the entrance of the school to apprehend her when she arrives.'

The Principal rose to her feet and checked the clock above the door. 'At this time my key concern is for Ms. Third's safety. She did say that there was a piece of evidence she hadn't included in the report. It was an answering machine tape, a recording of the threat that she received. It is a very compelling piece of evidence for the involvement of Harris in the case, although he is not the male accomplice.'

'Harris?' I demanded, my voice harsh. 'What have they threatened her with?'

The Principal licked her lips nervously, her blue eyes fixed on my face. I'd never seen her look so unsettled in my life. I looked over at Vallejo, who now looked rather green. 'Vallejo?'

'The tape's in my office, Fillmore. You'd better listen to it yourself.' Vallejo dragged a handkerchief across his sweating brow. 'You all should know.'

I brushed passed the junior commissioner and opened his office door. The tape player was on the desk and I hit play forcefully, not giving myself a chance to have second thoughts. The machine clunked and whirred to life as the others filed into the room, all looking scared and uncertain. I heard Ingrid pick up the phone, and a slightly tremulous "Hello?" before the male voice filled the room. It was heavily disguised, and was instructing her to throw the exams. I barely had time to analyse the sound before the enormity of what was being said penetrated my mind.

"You will throw the exams on Thursday. Ensure that you do not pass, even by accident."

"Or what?" That was Ingrid's voice, now sounding angry, rather than afraid.

The voice laughed and I heard Tehama gasp at the sound. She was staring at the machine in horror, as though she didn't want to hear what was about to be said. "We have been restraining someone who is quite desperate to get to know you better. We suggest that you don't tell anyone in authority, or we will punish you regardless of the outcome of the exams. Fail, Miss Third, or we will let Michael Harris have exactly what he wants. You."

The tape player switched of with a click. The sound was like a gunshot in the shocked silence of the room. I felt physically ill as the numb silence in my mind was filled with the clamour of panic. Karen had tears in her eyes and Anza and Danny both looked like they were trying not to be sick.

'Where is she?' I whispered hoarsely, trying to ease the acidic terror that was winding through me. 'Where is she?' I hurried to the door and back out into the office. The Principal was talking to someone on the radio and I ignored her, turning instead to the phone and dialling Ingrid's home number. It rang several times before Ariella picked up the phone, sounding sleepy.

'Hello?

'Ariella, it's Fillmore. Is Ingrid there?'

'What? No, of course not. She left for school over an hour ago.' Ariella's voice suddenly became cutting and edged with fear. 'Why, what's going on Fillmore?'

'She's not here yet.'

'Oh my god. She - she was worried about that boy Harris getting hold of her. Fillmore, what if -?' I heard Ariella take a deep breath, and heard the tears in her voice. 'I need to speak to the Principal.'

'She's right here. I'll go out and look for Ingrid.'

'Thank you.'

I handed the phone to Principal Folsom before turning to the others. 'Ingrid left home over an hour ago, and she's not here yet. It's only a twenty minute walk from her place.'

Vallejo swore and rubbed his temples again, before looking up at the door. Two burly men stood there, and between them was a harassed looking Rossi.

'I demand you let me go!' she shrieked, stamping her foot.

'No chance, love,' one of the men said amicably. 'Where do you want her?'

'Through there,' Vallejo said, pointing to one of the interview rooms. 'Tehama, you're with me. Anza, Fillmore, you two look for Ingrid. As soon as you find her let us know.'

'You got it. Keep us updated. If she squeals on her accomplice let us know.'

'Will do,' Vallejo said, his face grim.

'Wait, what do I do?'

'Danny, I want you to go and wait for Ingrid's sister at the front of the school,' Folsom said, her voice carefully calm. 'When she arrives bring her straight here. I'll call the police.'

'The police?' I asked. 'Will they come here for this?'

'If they know what's good for them they will,' the Principal growled. 'We have a great deal of evidence to indicate that a young woman is in a lot of trouble. No police chief in his right mind would want to admit that he sat back and did nothing for forty eight hours in a case like this. Besides, he's my brother-in-law.'

I felt a ghost of a smile despite myself before I grabbed my radio and made my way out of the door, Anza just behind me.

'Where do I start?' Anza asked.

'Take the upstairs floor. Check every door that you can. Harris is – he'll -' I stammered to a halt and took a deep breath. 'He's a predator. He'll want peace and quiet for what he's got in mind.'

'Got it.'

'I'll check the ground floor, and do it quickly.'

'I know, Fillmore. Every minute counts.'

Anza sprinted up the stairs, leaving me to run along the corridor, opening one door after another. Lines of tables and chairs greeted me at every portal. There were empty classrooms, full of pot plants and school displays. The blackboards were all wiped clean, blank canvases for the next lesson. There wasn't any sign of a living soul, except the various class pets.

I tried desperately to think over the cacophony of panic. I made sure I left the door of every classroom I checked open, so that I wasn't wasting time checking everything twice. I searched the toilets, the science labs and the maths rooms before a thought exploded in my mind. These rooms all had windows. Harris wouldn't want any potential witnesses, and the chances were he'd be looking for somewhere dark. In a flash of inspiration I ran towards the dark room, only to feel my heart sink as I flung the door open. The hazy red light showed nothing but developing equipment. There was no sign of Ingrid.

My radio crackled to life and I snatched it from my belt. 'Have you found her?'

'No, nothing yet,' Anza replied, his voice hissing and distorted. 'But I've just seen Antony Flint walk past below. I think he came from the playing fields.'

'Meet me at the front doors,' I instructed.

'Why?'

'We're going to bring him into the office.'

'Fillmore, we don't have any charges!'

'It doesn't matter. He's still a suspect in the case, and if we tell him that Rossi confessed, he might crack.'

'Is that allowed?'

'I don't care,' I growled, turning around and sprinting towards the front door. Distantly I heard Anza's clattering footsteps as he hurried down the stairs and ran in the same direction, panting as he tried to match my pace.

Flint was standing on the other side of the doors, his face grey with worry as he read the sign pinned to the doors. He looked up and saw Anza and me sprinting towards him. An innocent man would have stayed still, or perhaps just backed away slightly, but Flint turned and ran as though his life depended on it.

The doors banged back against the walls of the school as I burst through them and jumped down the steps, landing heavily at the bottom before racing after him. Some kids were still hanging around outside, cheerfully oblivious to the drama that was unfolding inside the school. They leapt out of the way as Flint came barging through and then turned to watch me and Anza following him. I cursed them in my head. Why didn't any of them try and stop him?

Flint ran out of the school gate and turned left, towards the park. I winced at the stitch in my side, but ignored it. For a skinny bloke he could run fast, and he darted across the road, dodging traffic before slipping into the quiet park. I dodged across the road a moment later, instructing Anza to run around the block and get to the other side of the park. He gave a grunt of acknowledgement and did as he was told, leaving me to track Flint through the mini paradise in the middle of urban America.

The park was a little haven. It was the same one that Ingrid had sat in, weeping over her parents. That memory brought another painful welt of emotion to the surface and I felt my face twist into a snarl. If she was hurt and Flint had anything to do with it, I'd kill him.

I could see him, limping now, as he tried to get away. The park wasn't very large, and he was already half way across it. I cursed my legs, which burned from the unexpected exercise. I wasn't unfit, but long distance sprinting really wasn't my thing. Ingrid seemed better at the longer chases. Actually, that wasn't true. She was better at herding suspects into a trap. I just ran and hoped they got tired before I did.

I grinned when I saw Anza skid to a halt at the other exit. Flint saw him too and slid to a halt on the damp grass. He turned to run the other way and saw me coming at him. In a matter of moments I had him pinned to the ground. Flint spat out grass and shouted, 'This is police brutality. I haven't done anything wrong!'

'Oh yeah,' Anza said, his voice low and threatening. 'Tanja Rossi told us all about the plan, and your involvement.'

'You're bluffing,' Flint muttered, but he didn't sound so sure.

'She's been saying about her brilliant plan, and how it only failed because of you,' Anza added quietly, and I felt Flint try and struggle.

'Her plan!' he yelled as I hauled him to he feet. 'It was my plan! She's nothing without me.' His face was flushed from his outburst, and it took him a moment to notice the smug look on Anza's face.

I shook my head and grabbed his collar, spinning him around to face me. 'Where's Ingrid?'

Flint's eyes darted around, but he shook his head. 'I don't know what you mean.' He made a strangled noise as I tightened my grip. Flint looked beseechingly at Anza, who just shrugged.

'Tell me!' I shouted.

'I – she - '

'Fillmore, maybe she's somewhere near the playing fields. That's where I saw Flint.'

'Is that right?' I demanded, wishing I could throttle Flint.

Wordlessly Flint nodded, and then gasped in air when I let go of his collar. 'Hey, you're going to go easy on me, right? I helped you!'

'Whatever gave you that idea?' Anza said coolly, grabbing Flint's arms and hauling him off. 'Get to the playing fields Fillmore. Find her.'

'I'm on it.'

I forced my legs back into a sprint and distantly heard Anza telling Vallejo that he had the accomplice, and to send back up. I could hear sirens approaching, and smiled grimly to myself. It sounded like Folsom had kept her promise and got the police involved.

I ran across the road again, grateful that the streets were quiet at this time of day. It took a few minutes to reach the playing fields, and once there I looked around. There were several buildings littering the periphery, most of them new and brightly lit, even during the day.

I looked along to the far end, beyond the goal posts, and saw three old, dilapidated sheds. They had been equipment sheds once, and Folsom was always saying that she was going to knock them down. It wasn't their tired, tumble-down appearance that caught my attention, but the light showing out through the cracks in the wood of the one on the right. There were no windows, but age and weather had made the wood swell, creating splits and gaps.

I ran towards the sheds, only slowing down as I drew near. There were no sounds except the soughing of the wind in the hedgerow and the distant twittering of birds. Creeping closer I pushed the door open carefully, fully expecting someone to rush at me.

When no threat came I walked slowly into the grimy little shed. There was a dark pool of liquid on the floor and I stared at it in confusion before the scene in front of me registered in my mind. Harris was slumped, either unconscious or dead, by the far wall, but I didn't give a damn about him. It was the petite figure, prone in the middle of the floor that I stared at in horror.

The dark fluid was blood slowly collecting on the floor. Ingrid was lying on her right hand side while a knife handle was sticking out obscenely from her left, just below her ribs. Her eyes were closed and her face was void of any colour. I gasped around the breath that was locking in my throat and felt my chest tighten in fear as I reached for my radio. 'Vallejo!' I practically shouted, 'get an ambulance, now!'

'Fillmore? What's going on?' Vallejo's voice sounded distant.

'Just do it. It looks like Harris stabbed Ingrid.'

'WHAT?' The radio speaker fizzed and crackled at the volume of the exclamation, but I ignored it. There was the brief sound of a scuffle at the other end and I heard Folsom's voice. 'Fillmore, where are you?'

'The old equipment sheds.'

'The police are on their way. Are you in any danger?'

'No, Harris is unconscious, I think.'

There was another sound of confusion and Ariella's voice came over, full of tears and terror. 'Fillmore, is she alive?'

Carefully I knelt next to her, not caring that the blood was soaking into my trousers. I reached a shaking hand to her neck and felt for a pulse. Her skin was still warm and soft, and I finally found a faint throbbing in the hollow of her throat.

'There's a pulse, but we need an ambulance quick. There's a lot of blood.'

'I'm on my way,' Ariella said, gasping around her tears. I thought about protesting, but I realised it would do no good. Ariella needed to be here. In case – in case it was the last chance she got to see Ingrid alive.

'Ingrid? Can you hear me?' I asked softly, my voice cracking as I tried to push the last thought out of my head. 'If you can, squeeze my hand.' I waited vainly for some sign of life, but none came. Gently I touched her cheek, and moved my fingers back down to her pulse.

I heard a little gasp of breath, and saw her eyelashes flutter. 'Ingrid?' I asked again, and this time she opened her eyes. They were clouded with pain and confusion, and her face twisted in agony.

'Hurts,' she whimpered softly.

'I know; an ambulance is on its way.'

'Harris?' she asked quietly as I put my left hand in hers, keeping my other fingertips on her pulse.

'He's out of it. What did you hit him with?'

Ingrid's hand tightened weakly on mine, and she frowned in confusion. 'Can't remember. I'm really tired.'

'Can you stay awake? Come on Ingrid, keep talking to me.' I searched around desperately for something that might keep her conscious. 'Ingrid, recite the table of elements.'

'No, Fillmore. I'm sleepy.'

'Please?'

Ingrid just sighed softly, and I knew she'd fallen unconscious again.

I felt desperate tears sting my eyes and cursed out loud. Where was the ambulance? Outside I heard the police and Ariella approaching, but I didn't pay them any attention until the door was opened wider and Ariella sprinted in, weeping openly at the sight of her sister.

The police grabbed Harris and checked his head. It didn't seem serious and I watched dispassionately as three officers stationed themselves around him, guns drawn, waiting for the paramedics to arrive and say it was okay to move him.

Distantly I heard the wail of different sirens approaching. Ingrid's pulse weakened further beneath my fingertips and I prayed that they would get here before it was too late.

I had promised that I would keep her safe, and I had failed. Now I could do nothing but watch and wait while she fought for her life.

I wouldn't let myself consider the possibility that she might lose.

End of Chapter Seventeen

A/N: My absolutle massive thanks to all reviewers, who variously praised and threatened me to get this next chapter out on Sunday... or else. Well here it is. The next one will probably be on Thursday, unless real-life really gets in the way.