"He's bluffing, that's not Hugh's style." Sam refused to entertain the notion of leaving Jo's bedside, especially not for a man who had already caused untold damage to her family.
"Maybe not when you knew him, but prison can change people in all sorts of ways. These are family men he's holding hostage and whilst he might not actually kill them, by all accounts his comrades won't have second thoughts. Most of them are serious lifers, one more death won't add much to their sentence anyway so they've got nothing to lose." Jack persisted. "I know you don't want to leave Jo and under any other circumstances I wouldn't ask you to. I'll drive you straight there, you can show Hugh that Joey is fine and I'll drive you straight back, no hanging around we can let the prison authorities deal with him."
"You really think it'll be that simple, Jack? Come on, this isn't about some sudden rush of paternal concern, we both know this is just an excuse to get me dancing to his tune again." Sam growled at her boss, conscience pricked by the thought of the guards' fates resting with her.
"At the end of the day, whether you like it or not, Hugh is Joey's father. Maybe seeing him behind bars will help you put the matter to bed, give you some sort of closure. Isn't he appealing his sentence? This isn't going to look too favourable on that application is it? Sam, please, Jo wouldn't want you to risk the lives of others, that's not what she's about."
Rising from her seat, ignoring the loud and lengthy protests of her muscles, Sam shoved her face in Jack's, hissing at him, "don't you dare try and use my feelings for Jo in this. I will go to the damned prison only because I can see I'll get no peace until I do, but only if my daughter agrees to it." Stalking from the room with Jack in her wake, Sam marched through the deserted corridors to the ward where her daughter and grandson slumbered soundly.
"Abi…Abi sweetheart, wake up."
Sam stroked a stray strand of hair from her daughter's angelic face, smiling in spite of the situation as she murmured sleepily, "just a few more minutes Mum, then I'll get up."
"No, now Abigail." Using her best authoritative motherly tone, as she had done so many times in the past, Sam instructed her daughter. "Come on Abi, I need to talk to you." As the young girl's focus slowly swam to her mother's concerned face, memories flooded her mind.
"Did you find Jo? Is she ok? Where is she, can I see her?"
"I'll fill you in soon, I promise. For now, I need you to listen to Jack." The DCI stepped forward, outlining the situation as thoroughly as he could in as short a time as possible.
"You've no choice Mum, you have to take him. We can't let Hugh hurt anyone else." Abi looked over to the cot where her son was sleeping, oblivious to the fact his existence was causing such a ruckus. "So what about Jo? Mum, at least tell me if she's alive!"
"She's hanging on, just. She's in ITU suffering from hypothermia, fractured ribs and a fractured skull. Her heart stopped a number of times and whilst they managed to get it going again, they're being pretty guarded about a prognosis. There's every chance she may have suffered some sort of brain damage either from the head injury or from the lack of oxygen, we won't know until she wakes up – if she wakes up." Sam's words trailed off as fresh tears sprung unbidden to her puffy, tired eyes, trickling over her cheeks made sallow by stress and lack of sleep.
"I'll get one of the nurses to wheel me down there, I can sit with her until you get back. She's a tough cookie, Mum and as long as she knows you're breathing she'll fight with everything in her to stay around. Now go, the sooner you get down to the prison, the sooner the situation will be resolved and you can be back by Jo's side, where you belong." Abi squeezed her Mum's hands in her own before summoning a nurse and asking to be allowed to sit with Jo for a while.
Jack and Sam both showed their badges at the gatehouse marking the entrance to Longmarsh prison, waiting for the guard to radio ahead to confirm their presence was authorised.
"Thank you for coming down so late, we really appreciate it. He's got some of my best officers in there, their families are frantic waiting for news." The governor a short balding man handed the two police officers visitor passes, instructing them to keep them visible at all times. He was not at all what Sam had expected, but then she surmised, it took all sorts and he seemed genuinely concerned about his staff.
"Where is Hugh Wallis? Let's just get this done shall we." Sam looked around her at the dismal prison, trying not to breathe too deeply as the scent of stale air and body odour assaulted her nostrils. She shifted Joey's weight a little, wondering if there was any change in Jo's condition.
"Of course, this way." The little man led them through a series of gates, a slow and arduous journey as each was unlocked and then re-locked in their wake. They arrived at the back of a large gathering of officers garbed out in riot gear, the governor asking for a path to be made so that Sam could move to the front. "They're all in there, the door's barricaded from the inside.
"So how is he supposed to see his son? Jack, I told you this was a waste of time." A bad feeling gnawed at the edge of Sam's mind, lurking in the shadows too slippery to grasp and put a name to.
"We're hoping, if he hears your voice, he'll come to the door and open it enough to see through, give you a chance to talk him into giving himself up."
"I'm not here to do your job for you Mr…" reading his identity badge, Sam continued, "Sandford, I'm here to do as Hugh asked, that is all. Once he has seen his son, the rest is down to you, I have somewhere else I need to be." Governor Sandford looked to Jack, a little taken aback by Sam's brash attitude.
"Is that the great Samantha Nixon I hear?" Hugh's voice sounded muffled and distant through the solid wooden door.
"I'm here Hugh, just like you asked. I have Joey right here with me. Come and take a look, see for yourself and then all this can be finished." Sam stepped forward towards the door, ignoring protestations from those around her.
"Just let me clear the door so you can come in." There were sounds of heavy objects moving in the room.
"That's not going to happen, Hugh." Jack's voice cut in, his stern look at Sam urging her not to go against his orders this time. She shook her head slightly but Jack was unsure whether she was admonishing him for interfering or reassuring him that she wouldn't put herself in danger. He could only hope that with her grandson's life also at stake, she would be more prudent in her decision making.
"Why don't you come out here and see him? No one is going to try anything while your mates have the guards in there." Sam reasoned, heart pounding as the door slowly opened wide enough for a slim person to sneak through. One of the hostages was thrust into view in the opening, a crudely made knife held to his throat.
"We've been trying to get hold of a trained hostage negotiator but so far no luck. Anyone you can recommend?" Sandford whispered to Jack, hoping he had some contacts who could be pressed into action.
"Ordinarily, I'd say yes. One of my officers, she's the best I know," Jack began.
"Well can't we bring her here?" Sandford interjected.
"If you know someone capable of performing miracles, yeah." At the man's bemused expression, Jack explained, "she's fighting for her life in St Hugh's after taking an impromptu swim rescuing Joey from the woman who abducted him earlier today." Glancing at his watch, Jack muttered, "technically yesterday now."
"At least meet me halfway. I'll come right to the door this side, you come to the door that side, you can see Joey through the gap here." Sam approached the door cautiously, muscles in her legs coiled ready to leap back if he made a grab for her or the baby.
"I need you to talk to Abi for me Sam, get her to agree to bring him in more often to see me."
"Hugh, will you agree to let the hostages go if I promise I will talk to you, one on one, tonight about getting Abi to bring Joey to see you regularly?" Sam looked into the eyes of the man she had once admired and trusted, seeing him looming so close making her heart thud wildly in her chest.
"How do I know I can trust you?" Hugh snarled at her, pushing his face right into the crack in the door.
"I've left someone I care very deeply for fighting for their life to come down here and talk to you because you asked me to be here." Echoing Jack's words from earlier, Sam stated, "your Joey's father, you have a right to see him." The blonde DI held her position against her every instinct as Hugh reached one hand out to touch his son's cheek. "Think about your appeal if nothing else, how will this look if you don't co-operate?" She implored him to consider his actions and their full implications carefully. The sound of a mobile ringing shattered the silence, Jack retreating around the corner as far from earshot as he could before answering the call.
"Ok, fine, I'll let them go. Tell them to back off, I'll clear the door and send the guards out one by one. Any sign of them pushing their way in and the deals off." Hugh retorted slamming the door closed making Sam step back to avoid being hit by it.
"You heard the man. Now we wait." Sam stood back allowing room for the guards to exit their prison once the doorway had been cleared. Jack appeared at her elbow, leaning in close to talk to her.
"That was the hospital on the phone…"
Sam spun on the spot, pinning him with a look filled with hope and fear in equal measures. "Jo?"