Back at the Lyell centre...
"Connor Hodgson – Jack's dad" The older man shook Thomas and Chief Inspector Cooke's hands, before nodding at the friend of old, he shared with Jack. "Hello Clarissa."
"Connor" she greeted him.
He turned back towards the men as well - involving everyone present in the conversation. "Do you have any idea where my son is? – or Nikki – I'm here for her too."
"Anything, Clarissa?" Thomas pressed her anxiously.
She shook her head. "No. Nothing since that gunshot when both their cameras and mics went dead. Others at the scene reported that they both collapsed when the shot went off, before getting to their feet and running for cover into the house."
Thomas scratched his head. "And that's their last known movements? Where on earth are they?"
"Yes, that's the last time they were seen." Clarissa agreed, "The cameras and mics might have broken on impact with the ground – apparently, they went down quite hard initially."
"After the assailant was apprehended, we entered the house and found the remaining McMorris family members – deceased" Cooke continued "There was no sign of either Nikki or Jack in the building. They went in the house and disappeared." He finished – unhelpfully.
"There was a trail of blood" Clarissa added "Which doesn't appear to tally with the positions of the other bodies – it seems they were more or less shot dead where they were at the time, so unless it is from the assailant who was found to have injured herself, the blood either belongs to Nikki, who we know was shot when she was helping Gibbs, or it belongs to Jack. It's been sent for DNA testing. Nikki and Jack's DNA is on record here, so we should know soon."
"Nikki's been shot and Jack might have been?" Connor stammered in horror.
Thomas gently manoeuvred him towards one of the chairs in Jack and Nikki's office.
"Clarissa..." He warned over his shoulder.
"I know, Thomas." She responded. "I told them it's urgent and they're pushing it through."
"We know that Nikki was shot in the arm, the blood could be from that." Thomas explained calmly to Jack's upset father. "We don't know about Jack – but it is possible that one or the other of them got hit when they fell down – no one had a clear enough view of it. They did both get up and run into the house afterwards."
"Thomas, I can see some movement!" Clarissa announced suddenly. "I think one of their cameras is working again."
"Sound?" He questioned hopefully, rejoining her.
She shook her head. "Just one camera – it's dark but I definitely can see movement. I think there's torchlight."
"Where did they get a torch from?!" Cooke retorted loudly, making Thomas jump. He had forgotten the other man was there.
"Jack always has one in his pocket." Clarissa waved her hand dismissively. "Anyway-"
"Does he?" Thomas exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes" she answered impatiently, annoyed at the interruptions. "Anyway, it looks like Jack's camera is working again – you can see Nikki just at the side there."
"Well, they both seem to be moving so at least we know they're alive." Thomas confirmed to the relieved room.
"Torchlight...a dark place..." Connor muttered to himself. He got up and joined them at the screen. "The first case you and Jack worked on with Nikki, Clarissa..."
"The bloke who owned the confectionary firm? What about it?"
"Jack was in awe of Nikki because she worked something out that he couldn't. They were looking for something...that was down a sewer, wasn't it? He was surprised she agreed to go down there with him."
"Yes – it was a sewer – well done, Connor!" Clarissa agreed.
"A sewer?!" Cooke remarked in disgust, whilst Connor didn't seem at all shocked that his son appeared to be down a sewer again. Clarissa made a point of ignoring Cooke, until eventually; he decided to be helpful by adding:
"The blood trail led outside and seemed to stop near a drain cover..."
The phone started ringing interrupting the Chief Inspector and as Clarissa went to pick it up, Thomas gave a resigned sigh.
"They're down the sewer!...We don't know it's their blood though" He added a little defensively. "We don't know"
Clarissa put the phone down. "Yes we do, I'm afraid," she told the room quietly. "DNA tests confirm a match to both Nikki and Jack from the blood trail. They both got shot."
"Oh God." Connor mumbled, leaning on the table.
Thomas motioned at Cooke to wheel Jack's office chair over and lowered Connor into it. "Right, what do we know? They are both injured but still well enough to be moving." He commented, eyeing the screen – on which the faint outline of Nikki and the actual camera did indeed confirm that they were both still conscious and moving. "...and we know where to look for them now..." He sighed reluctantly. "Ok, Chief Inspector Cooke and I will go to the scene-"
"You're going down the sewer, Thomas?" Clarissa's delight was evident, despite the circumstances.
Thomas huffed a bit. "What choice do I have, Clarissa? They're both injured – we don't know how badly . It's cold and wet down there so hypothermia is a high probability – plus a sewer is not exactly an ideal place for open wounds, is it? We have to find them as soon as possible."
"Are they going to die?" Connor asked, terrified.
"Not if I have anything to do with it." Thomas stated firmly. "Clarissa, I want you and Connor to stay here and keep an eye on that screen. We'll put mics on at the scene. I want to know if anything happens, ok?"
At the scene, Thomas, Cooke and three uniformed officers donned protective gear, head torches and mics.
"Blood on the rails down – mind yourselves – it could be slippery" The uniformed man at the bottom called up as they made their way down into the dark, smelly depths.
"Oh, this could go on for miles in all directions!" Thomas lamented upon reaching the bottom. "How are we going to find them down here?"
"Oy! Blood on the wall!" An officer yelled from somewhere ahead.
"Just follow the blood!" Clarissa chuckled over the mic.
"Clarissa – do you have to! This is enough like a horror film without you adding comments like that!" Thomas scolded her. "What's happening on the screen?"
"They're moving and we saw Nikki laughing a few minutes ago, so their doing ok." She responded cheerfully.
"Well, that's a good sign anyway." Thomas agreed, as Cooke irritatingly chuckled behind him:
"Follow the blood!"
The rescue party moved along slowly guided by the intermittent marks on the side of the tunnel, hoping against hope that Jack and Nikki's newest ordeal would soon be over.
At least they were together this time, Thomas thought.
Small mercies.
