"Quieten down everybody. Let's get started." Jack cleared his throat, inviting his team to take their seats around the briefing table so that the morning conference could start. "Ok what's the latest from the prison, do we have anything on Hugh Wallis yet?"
"Nothing Guv, not so much as a hint that he's arranging anything dodgy. In fact, he's been too quiet if anything, not a single phone call or email sent out since I saw him. And no letters or visiting orders sent out since the one to Abigail Nixon. If he is making plans, he's got help from someone on the inside." Phil voiced the suspicion which had been growing amongst the team since his visit to Hugh three days ago.
"Is there any chance of someone getting into the prison, going undercover, Guv?" Mickey asked.
"Governor Sandford is already wary of our monitoring incoming and outgoing mail, I doubt he'd be too keen to extend that to having an officer posing as an inmate in his prison. The first whiff of digging around for signs of corruption and I suspect he will withdraw his support altogether. Now whether that means he has something to hide or he's just an eternal optimist determined to bury his head in the sand and refuse to accept anyone in his employ could be bent remains to be seen. But I'd like to keep him onside for as long as possible either way. If he shuts us out, we've no hope of keeping track of Hugh and any plans he might be making." Jack explained.
"If he doesn't make his move soon, he'll miss his chance anyway." Sam interjected from the doorway having arrived unnoticed after the briefing had begun. "Jo is looking at being discharged in a few days time if she keeps improving as she has been doing. As far as I know, she still plans to spend some time at her parents' home in Manchester. I'm seeing her later so I can confirm that."
"Ok people, I want a real drive over the next 24 hours to find any evidence that Hugh is plotting something. I'll talk to Sandford see if he'll let an officer go undercover but don't put too much emphasis on that front. Ramani, Terry, do some digging into the officers on Hugh's wing, see if any of them have anything to offer but be discreet, we don't want to tip anybody off that if they are in Hugh's pocket. Mickey, I want you and Suzie to concentrate on three other inmates on that wing; Jack Mitchell, Michael Li and Bruno M'bassa. All three have been seen spending a lot of time with Hugh since he arrived at Longmarsh, I want detailed histories on each of them, everything that you can possibly find, including who their known associates are. Phil, James King is asking to speak to you. Go see him, see if he has anything useful to offer now he's had time to consider his options. I hear he's not too happy at being on remand, the realities of being back inside have taken on a less rosy glow." Jack issued the orders, Sam happy to let him take charge for once.
"What about me Guv?" Zain asked, perturbed to be the only one not tasked with anything specific.
"I want you to keep a low profile, I don't want anyone involved seeing you in case we can get Sandford to agree to having an officer undercover. If he does, you'll be spending a few nights in Longmarsh if you're up for it?" Jack hoped to use Zain's experience of undercover work, along with his passion for dancing on the edge of the boundaries, to the benefit of the investigation. Zain allowed himself to feel the same thrill of anticipation he always felt at the prospect of getting to play the bad guy.
"Course Guv."
"Hugh Wallis doesn't know you so he won't associate you with Sun Hill. The last thing we need is for him to get wind of our investigation."
"With all due respect Guv, how are you going to sell the idea of someone going undercover to Superintendent Okaro? All we have to go on is supposition, no real hard evidence that Hugh is interested in plotting anything. There are no phone calls, no letters, no contact with anyone outside of the prison that we're aware of." Sam played devil's advocate, trying to distance herself from the reality that they were discussing a possible threat to Jo's life. "From his point of view, we have no reason to suspect Hugh is a threat to anyone."
"Let me worry about that if and when the time comes." Jack answered non-commitally.
"I hear they're letting you out in a couple of days, all being well?" Sam approached Jo's bed speaking quietly not wishing to startle the brunette who was gazing in the general direction of the window with unseeing eyes. Jo's head spun round at the sound of a familiar voice.
"Hi Sam. Mum said you hoped to call in this evening. Has she taken over your house yet? She has a tendency to stamp her mark everywhere she goes." Jo smiled as Sam laughingly brushed aside the light-hearted teasing at her mother's expense. "How's things at the station?" Cabin fever had started to set in after five days in bed and Jo was restless, desperate for news of the outside world. "I can't wait to get out of here!"
"I'll bet, you've never struck me as the type to take to lying around doing nothing for too long. Everything's just… well normal really. Nothing much to report apart from Terry finally working up the nerve to ask Ramani out to dinner." Sam perched casually on the edge of Jo's bed, feeling the pangs of desire at being so close to her, their embryonic friendship giving her hope that something may yet be salvaged from the whole disaster, with or without Jo's memory returning.
"You're kidding me! I never thought I'd see the day he got around to that. So what did she say?" Jo's eyes lit up at the gossip, it being just what she needed to distract her from her incarceration.
"Yes, of course! So now I have to keep reminding them they're to act like adults at work and not dissolve into pools of mush whenever they're together." Sam smiled remembering how she had had to fight the urge to do just that every time Jo looked her way before the accident. "We had a whip-round for you and I thought this might help to pass the time while you recuperate." Sam pulled the compact package out of the carrier bag she had brought with her.
Jo silently peeled the wrapping paper away from the small oblong package, revealing a hi-tech MP3 player and feeling a broad grin settling on her face. "Your choice?" She asked, wondering how much of a hand Sam had had in the choosing of the gift.
Sam nodded, adding, "I took the liberty of downloading some of the tunes I know you like onto it too so that you could use it straight away. I've even brought a supply of batteries in case you wear these out! There's one song on there, 'Fix You' that has a pretty special meaning to me, hope you don't mind me including it?" Sam fidgeted with the edge of the blanket covering Jo's bed, worried at her decision to download that particular song as much as she hoped it would trigger a memory in the brunette.
"Course I don't mind, it's a brilliant song. I'm touched you put so much thought into what to buy me, especially since I haven't exactly always been pleasant to you this last week. Thank you Sam and can you pass on my thanks to everyone who put money to this," Jo held the player aloft examining the numerous functions eagerly like a child on Christmas morning.
"You're welcome. Hope it beats the boredom a bit." Sam paused unsure whether to comment on Jo's attitude towards her, the softening of the brunette's mood contributing to her bravery but reservations still holding her back. "I can't even begin to imagine how hard it's been for you and continues to be. Knowing what we did, who we are… it's something we're all guilty of taking for granted. I understand that you acted towards me based on what you knew to be true, from what you could remember. I just hope that we can put that behind us again and move on more in this vein."
"I hope we can too. I promise to try as long as you don't send any more of my informants running for the hills." Jo smiled to take the sting out of her words, displaying her trademark dry sense of humour.
"You drive a hard bargain Jo Masters but you've got yourself a deal." Sam held her hand out to shake on it, feeling muscles clench in her abdomen as Jo's slender fingers slid over her palm. It took all of her self control not to lean forward and kiss Jo as she watched the brunette visually trace the outline of Sam's own lips, Jo blushing and shrugging slightly with a rye smile as she realised she'd been caught. "Are you still going to stay with your parents for a few days when you're out of here?" Sam broached the subject of Jo's impending departure, fearing her heart would implode without being able to see her lover each day. The contact was bittersweet but so much better than a void that could not be filled, which was what Sam was sure Jo's absence would create.
Nodding, Jo confirmed her plans, "I think it'll be for the best, give me some time to recover physically before I have to deal mentally and emotionally with what happened. I thought I might call in on Gary Best while I'm up there too, catch up with him. To me it only seems like yesterday that I was visiting him in his hospital bed, sending him back off to be with his family. It seems strange to think we've got months of catching up to do."
"That's a good idea. I'm sure he'll be delighted to see you, he was always very fond of you." Sam smiled genuinely at her lover, knowing that she mustn't let her see how much it pained her to encourage her to go. "Any idea how long you plan to stay yet? The DCI asked me, he needs to know so he knows whether we need to arrange longer term cover in the department."
"My Dad's told me I'm welcome for one or two weeks and no longer! So I guess I'll be back here in a couple of weeks. Can you not just draft someone in from uniform temporarily?" Sam fought a mental battle as to whether to admit to Jo that no uniformed officer could cover her post.
"Jo, I don't know whether I'm doing the right thing telling you this… but you'll need to know before you come back to work anyway. You're a DS now. You were my replacement when they gave me DI permanently. Ramani and Phil are holding the fort in your absence but I'm sure they'll be relieved when you're back on board. Suzie's itching to get her foot in the door to fill your shoes, I keep slapping her down as gently as I can but she's very persistent." Jo surprised Sam by guffawing with laughter.
"Me a DS? Wow, I never thought I'd make that at Sun Hill, not with Suzie there and Mickey too. Surely he'd be the ideal candidate to act up in my absence?" Jo suggested, "I know it's not that long since he was busted down to DC but surely he can be an acting sergeant since he'd still have to run everything by you or DCI Meadows? The doctors have said that it'll be at least three weeks yet before they're happy for me to go back to work, even on restricted duties. With the infection and fractures and my Swiss cheese memory, I think they're erring on the side of caution."
"I'm glad to hear you're planning on taking medical advice and not trying to push yourself too hard too soon. And I'll be sure to let Mickey know he has your backing over Suzie! Jack'll do whatever he thinks is best for the team but between you and me, I think he'd rather give the job to Zain than let Suzie loose as a sergeant. She'd terrorize everyone, including Jack himself!" The two women laughed conspiratorially, feeling more at ease in one another's company the longer they were together.
"Guv, it's Mickey. Sorry to ring you at home so late but I thought you'd want to know as soon as we heard. Hugh Wallis is being transferred to another prison at first light. Sandford just called to let us know, said it's for the best given the level of hostility Hugh faces from the prison officers following the death of their colleague." The blonde DC spoke rapidly into his phone as he grabbed his jacket and headed out of the door for the night, knowing an early start would be on the cards.
"What the hell…? And he only informed us now? These things take time to organise and he's letting us in on the last minute. Either Sandford is involved in something he doesn't want us to know about or else he's too big for his boots. Meet me outside the prison tomorrow morning, we're following that van whether they like it or not. Something fishy's going on here and it stinks of a plot to escape to me."
"You going to arrange for SO19 to be on hand?" Mickey asked, already in his car, heading home to get some sleep.
"Adam won't agree to that. It'll have to be a very low-key thing, just you and me I'm afraid." Jack conceded before instructing Mickey to get to bed so he would be sharp and alert the following morning.