Chapter 6

Jack stood, his back roughly pressing against the wall. He felt his body shaking with fear, as he thought back to the fateful incident that brought him to Summer Bay in the first place. Memories overshadowing his growing fear and anger. Hating himself all over again for the one thing he was learning to move on from. He hated knowing what he'd put that young girls family through. He hated that he'd agreed to do this undercover challenge when things were going so well with Martha. He'd punished himself many times for waiting so long to be with her. Now he was so close to being parted from her again.

"Mr Stewart?" a voice interrupted Alf from his daydream. He looked up and saw a doctor stood over him. He quickly stood up. "Doc? What is it? Is Martha ok?" he asked, The Doctor took a deep breath. "I think we'd better step into my office" he said, as he nodded towards where his office was. Alf threw him a worried look, but did so all the same. He sat on the chair in front of the Doctors desk and watched as the Doctor closed the door and sat opposite him. "I'm Doctor Smith. I'm treating your granddaughter" he informed Alf. "How is she?"

"We've ran some routine blood tests and scans and we it appears the problem is in her kidneys. We can't say much more until the results from the latest tests have come back"

"So what happens now then? How long will it take to get them back?"

"A couple of hours. I'd like to keep Martha in overnight. To keep an eye on her condition" Alf nodded to show he understood. "Can I see her?" he asked. Doctor Smith nodded. "Of course" Alf stood up, shook the Doctors hand and headed towards to hospital room where his Granddaughter was lay, sleeping on the bed. He walked over and sat down on the chair next to her bed. Without saying a word, he simply placed her hand into his and gripped it tightly.

Meanwhile, Jack, who was still pinned against the wall, was now face to face with the thug. He could smell cigarette smoke on his breath. "Who are you?" asked Jack. The thus looked at him. "I ain't telling you" he grumbled. Jack slowly moved his arm from his throat and backed away. "See, I'm not going to hurt you" he said. The thug looked at him. "I've seen you before. Who are you?" Jack felt his heart race. "You're that policeman, the one from the local station aren't you?" Jack looked towards where Laurence was stood. He had learnt from training that if a fellow officer was in danger not to interfere, as they could put them both in further danger. He looked at Jack. Jack knew what he had to do. Use self defence, but with the gun still in the thugs' hand, he knew that wouldn't be a good idea. "Let's talk about thi..."

"SHUT UP!" snapped the thug, who was now becoming more aggressive. The rest of the hostages let out cries as they feared for their lives. The young girl Jack had been protecting was crying. He tried to smile at her, yet he couldn't seem to. "I'LL DO IT!" said the thug, with the gun poised back towards Jack. The young girl let out another cry. "SHUT HER UP!" he snapped. Laurence was still staring at Jack, who had now realised her was in serious danger. "Don't do this. You know..." cried Jack, the sound of a shotgun, and Jack collapsed to the floor, clutching his stomach...