Apologies for the delay in updating - real life went and got in the way but I managed to chain my muse to the keyboard long enough to get another chapter written. I'll update again when I get the chance, hopefully it won't be too long... Thanks to everyone who has given me feedback on this story so far, feel free to keep it coming and let me know what you think.
"This is the place." Jo commented as they drew up outside the lockup Jack had stipulated, trying to coax Phil out of his sullen stupor in the passenger seat.
"Ok, promise me before we go in there that you'll let me know if it's too much for you?" Phil's voice was softer than it had been when he had spoken to her earlier.
"I'm fine Phil, but if it makes you feel better I promise to let you hold my hand if I feel bad at any time, ok?" There was a slight trace of irritation in her voice as Jo replied, memories of his behaviour earlier still rankling her.
"Look, Jo, I'm sorry for what I said before and for behaving like a prick these last few weeks. I suppose you've heard that Cindy left me cos I couldn't give her the kid she wanted? I haven't been sleeping too well since she left, the house seems so empty without her. I guess… well I guess I'm just jealous at the bond you have with Sam. I could never hope to have that with anyone."
"If you go around with that attitude, then no, you will never have the sort of bond that Sam and I are lucky to share. It's not a God-given right Phil, it's something that you work at, by supporting one another through the bad times, rejoicing in the good and just plain sharing each and every day being thankful for the chance of being together." Jo snapped at her colleague before turning her attention back to the scene before her. "Where's Zain's car? The DCI said it would be around here." Hastily unfastening her seatbelt, Jo climbed out of the car, scanning up and down the quiet street for any sign of the DC's vehicle but finding none. Tentatively, she approached the garage in question, searching the area visually for any signs of a struggle. Phil followed her, grasping her elbow and spinning her around.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? For all we know, there's an armed man around here willing to take potshots at any copper who strays into his sights. Is hospital food so good you're that eager to get back there?" The brooding DS hissed, attempting to lead Jo into a shadowy gap between the garage Zain had been investigating and its neighbour.
"I think it's fairly safe to say that the gunman is long gone. If it is Hugh, he's not going to stick around after speaking to Jack on the phone and wait for us to arrive to arrest him is he? His priority is and always has been Joey. If it isn't him that Mickey spotted then he's on his way there, I'm willing to stake a month's wages on it." Phil was sorely tempted to take Jo's wager seriously but knew Sam would have his head on a plate if he was caught betting on her grandson's life and whilst he had issues regarding Jo's closeness to Sam, he didn't want to be the cause of any more pain for either of them. "Wait, Phil, what's that behind you?" Phil followed Jo's line of sight, eyes falling on a dark patch of liquid on the ground below a high, narrow window into the lockup.
Crouching next to the stain, Phil reached into his pocket for a pair of latex gloves snapping them on before dipping a finger into the drying pool. He rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, testing the consistency of the liquid before cautiously sniffing at it, breathing in the unmistakeable metallic scent of blood. His expression confirmed what Jo feared as he spoke, "we need to find Zain." Jo let her gaze rise to the window that Zain had obviously been trying to look through when he was discovered wondering what they would find inside the lockup and hoping that her nerve held. Phil rose from his crouch stretching himself to his full height and peeking over the ledge, satisfying himself that there was no movement from inside the lockup. He indicated for Jo to follow him as they edged towards the back of the lockup towards the door he had spotted along the far wall, partially hidden from view by a large tarpaulin covered workbench.
"Where the hell is Mickey?" Jack sounded agitated as he tried to raise his young DC on his mobile and failed to get any answer.
"Maybe he went around the back, we should take a look." Sam answered in a flat monotone that did little to assuage Jack's fears that bringing her along would prove to be a big mistake.
"No. We stay put until the Trojan unit get here, I'm not risking any more officers lives – and that includes your Sam. Don't make me pull rank on you, just sit tight. It might all be a false alarm but we're not taking any risks." Jack watched his DI's profile, saw the muscles bunching along her jaw-line as she fought to reign in her desire to rush to her daughter's side, knowing that she was just across the street and potentially in grave danger. "We'll make sure they're safe Sam." Jack reassured the tense blonde officer beside him, his attention snapping back to the world outside of the car as he spotted movement in front of the safe house.
Mickey dashed back across the road, pulling his mobile out of his pocket as he went, pressing buttons as Jack's number displayed on his list of missed calls. Jack opened his car door trying to catch the young man's attention, beckoning for him to come and join them. Mickey slid breathlessly into the backseat, doing a double take when he saw Sam sitting in the front of the car, wondering if he should really be reporting what he had seen in front of someone so emotionally involved.
"I know you said to stay put Guv but I thought any information we could get would help the Trojan Unit since we do have three citizens inside." Mickey pre-empted Jack's fury, offering what he thought to be a reasonable defence.
"I'll have words with you later about your wilful dismissal of my orders. Right now, I need to know what's going on? Who was the man you saw and where is he now?" Jack watched Mickey's eyes flicker towards Sam once again, sensing his apprehension. "Sam's here as a police officer, she needs to know as much as I do so that we can help resolve this situation."
"I'm fairly sure it's Hugh Wallis. I didn't get a clear look at him but the man I saw fit his description; similar height and build. There's no sign of a motorbike anywhere in the vicinity so if it is him, I don't know how he got here. I followed him after he went round the back of the house, he seemed to be checking the place out, peering through the windows trying to see in, testing the doors to see how secure they were. He's not inside the house yet, he's set up camp in the bushes at the end of the garden for the time being." Mickey relayed the information he had gathered in as dispassionate a manner as he could muster, his own adrenaline building as the strobing lights of the Trojan Unit appeared at the end of the road in the rapidly fading light. All three officers climbed out of the car, shutting the door as quietly as they could and approached the now stationary vehicle from which armed officers poured out awaiting instructions just out of sight of the safe house. Jack and Mickey involved themselves with providing information and answering the questions fired at them by the commanding officer, paying little attention to Sam's whereabouts until the officer in charge of the armed unit asked where she was, having seen the three officers approaching and only aware of two present after the short briefing. Jack and Mickey spun around, both pairs of eyes immediately focusing on the safe house, knowing there would be only one place Samantha Nixon was likely to go. Sure enough, in the twilight, they could just about make out her dark outline disappearing down the side alley towards the back of the house and towards the unidentified man lying in wait.
"It's ok, think it was a false alarm." Gary reassured Abi who cowered in her bedroom, clutching her son tightly in her arms. "Probably just a fox or something." He added in the hope he could convince himself as much as the young mother. He could have sworn he saw the handle of the door move ever so slightly in the back room that had been adapted for use as a makeshift bedroom for him during their stay, but when no further assault was forthcoming, he had convinced himself he had imagined it. "You look exhausted, why don't you try and get some sleep?" Gary coaxed Abi to relax, knowing he would be pacing the bottom floor of the hellhole they had landed in all night, the threat of nocturnal visitors sending his adrenaline levels rocketing. He watched animatedly as Abi laid her slumbering baby back in his carry cot before stretching out on the bed, lying on top of the covers fully clothed, her eyes silently imploring him to keep them safe. He turned to go, thinking that she would want some privacy if she hoped to get any sleep that night.
"Please don't go…" Her voice was quiet in the eerie hush of the still house, her pleading tone stopping Gary in his tracks, "I don't want to be alone right now." The young DC turned on the spot, his feet feeling as though they were weighed down by lead weights with the effort it took not to take flight and run from the room. Abi was an attractive young woman, a woman to whom he had been growing closer all day but who was vulnerable and Gary was terrified that he would ruin everything if he stayed. He swallowed hard, eyes as wide as saucers as he watched Abi pat the bed beside her, inviting him to lie with her.
"Abi…" Any words of protestation died on his lips at her crushed expression as she perceived his rejection of her. Crossing to her side of the bed, he perched on it's edge, watching helplessly as she turned away from him. He sat for a short while with his back to hers, wondering how he could make her understand that he had grown too fond of her to be able to offer the kind of platonic comfort she was wanting, how to make her see that he wasn't rejecting her but sparing her from being taken advantage of at a time when she needed protecting from any more hurt. 'I can't lie next to her without thinking about how much I want to take her in my arms and shield her from this delusion she has that she's not special and gorgeous and desirable.' Gary felt the bed move behind him, a hand tentatively reaching for his shoulder. When she spoke, he realised he had muttered his thoughts aloud and immediately wished the ground would open up and swallow him.
"Gary, you idiot, you wouldn't be taking advantage of me… not when it's all I can think about too. I had an inkling of what you meant to me at the engagement party, why do you think I tease you so much? I thought it was the only way to get your attention! If I'd had any suspicions that you saw me as anything other than that annoying brat who wrecked obbo's you'd worked so hard on and the obnoxious daughter of your superior officer, I would have tried harder to make you see how I felt. But you never gave me anything to go on, I thought you saw me more as a sister, an irritating little sister at that!" Abi swivelled on the bed sitting beside Gary so close that their thighs were just barely touching. Leaning on one hand, she reached around his face with the other, drawing his gaze to her, tenderly caressing his cheek as she did so. "Stay with me? I'd feel safer with you beside me."
"Ready?" Jo nodded to Phil, taking a deep breath as he grasped the doorknob and gave it a swift yank, almost losing his footing as the door gave way easily to his probing. Jo entered the dark space, wishing that they had thought to bring flashlights with them as her nostrils were assaulted by the unmistakeable scent of blood. She groped along the walls hoping to find some sort of switch for the overhead bulbs she had spotted from the dim light seeping in through the open door. A groan nearby made her heart leap into her throat, hammering against its constraints, battling to flee her body and the tiny, dingy garage. Connecting with a switch on the wall behind her, Jo pressed it, her stomach rolling as the garage was thrown into harsh luminescent light.
"Jesus… Zain, can you hear me?" Jo crossed the area to where their colleague lay bleeding profusely from a stomach wound, his face a worrying shade of grey, hands bound by his own cuffs behind his back and his eyes dull and glassy. As she examined him, she tried to ignore the other casualty present – one who had been killed ruthlessly and mercilessly, shot in the head numerous times. "Phil get an ambulance here – now!" Phil stood by the open door already speaking hurriedly into his mobile, arranging for a medical team to attend as a matter of utmost urgency, before redialling Jack's number.
"Phil, it's not a good time right now so make it quick." Jack barked into the phone, pacing up and down the pavement as he watched armed officers position themselves in readiness to begin their assault on the safe house.
"We've found Zain, he's alive but only just. There's another body here too Guv, executed in the same style as O'Rourke and judging by the amount of blood in here, I'd say this is where he was shot. No ID on him so we've no idea where he fits into the equation but even with half his head missing, I can tell you it ain't Hugh Wallis lying here. So what's going on there?"
"They're just getting set to go in hard. Whatever you do Phil, don't let Jo know, but Sam's in there as far as we know. She disappeared while we were briefing the Trojan Unit, she's gone round the back of the house. One of the officers took a quick look but there's no sign of her… but the back door has been forced open. I've got to go." Jack hung up before Phil could say anything more, turning his attention to the developing scene before him.
Sam crept into the house, following Hugh's path after giving him a few moments' lead. She trod carefully, avoiding the shards of wood that had showered the carpet from where Hugh splintered the doorframe in his brutal entrance. She froze as she saw Hugh approaching the stairs, knowing she was in plain sight and had no time to find cover before he turned around without alerting him to her presence. For the first time, she questioned the wisdom of taking matters into her own hands, thinking of how much she stood to lose. Willing her voice not to tremble, she spoke loudly into the quiet house. "Stop right there Hugh, I'm not letting you anywhere near Abi or Joey." The man she had once revered spun on his heel, gun drawn and pointed steadily at Sam's head instantly.