"Frankie bloody Doyle... how the hell did you find me?" Fletch asked as he entered the country pub he had spent the last few months becoming a regular of.
"I have my ways Alex" Frankie grinned cheekily as she watched the large man nod at the bar tender before pulling up a seat at Frankie's table.
"So... why are you here? And who else knows where I am?" Fletch asked grumpily.
"As far as I am aware, the only people who know where you are is me and Bridget Westfall, and of course anybody that you have told" Frankie answered seriously, she didn't want her ex jailor to think she was here to mess him around.
"Why the hell does they psych know where I am?" Fletch asked in confusion.
"I'm guessing that she wouldn't be happy if her girlfriend just disappeared to a different state for a few days with no explanation" Frankie grinned cheekily as she watched him coming to terms with what she had admitted.
"You and Westfall... no way!" He stated eventually after several moments of silence, he nodded his thanks to the bar tender who had brought over his pint and waited for him to disappear to fetch Frankie a fresh drink.
"Yep, we have been together since I got out of the slammer a few months back" Frankie admitted seriously, knowing that this close to the end of her probation, she didn't feel the need to be quite so secretive anymore.
"Ok, so why are you here... why now?" Fletch asked in confusion, if Frankie had been out for a few months and was here to settle some old score, surely she would have done it months ago if she had been out that long.
"Because I think we can help each other... Bea Smith asked me to look into her case to get her sentence reduced" Frankie began to explain, only pausing as the bar tender arrived with her own pint. She nodded her thanks to him and waited until he was out of hearing distance.
"So what does that have to do with me? And why is she asking you to look at her case?" He was beginning to lose his temper at the frustration of trying to work out what the hell was going on and why he was being dragged back into it.
"Ok look, I'm going to be 100% straight up with you and I'm just going to have to trust that if you decide that you want nothing to do with this, that you will keep your mouth shut, in the same way that I will keep my mouth shut about ever having seen you or knowing where you are, deal?" Frankie asked and waited for Fletch to nod his agreement.
"So I now work as a paralegal and am waiting for my bar results, I'm looking into Bea's case, and by the time I'm ready to take it to trial, I will hopefully be a legally practising lawyer. I have quite a few people helping me out in various ways, but we are keeping it as quiet as we can so that nobody has anyway to tamper with the evidence, I even have a big arse safe I just installed in my house which I keep all files in so that there is no chance that anybody could tamper with it, that's how serious I am about this" Frankie paused as she took a swig from her glass, she could tell that she was hooking Fletch in from the interested spark in his brown eyes and she wanted to be clear from the start about how protective she was being over the information she had already amounted.
"Again... how does this concern me?" He asked cautiously as her stared intently at her, trying to read any form of deception from her body language.
"Right, the further I dig into this, the bigger the shit storm is getting... and right now the shit storm is pretty damn huge. Remember the name Nils Jesper? Well I can now place him at the prison, not only on the day he attacked Bea, but on several other days which show him taking payment from the freak, which date stamps link in to the attack on you. Now as you probably know, Nils was murdered before he was able to testify against Ferguson, and despite the fact that I have yet to get to the bottom of who her lackey was on that occasion, I have been able to stumble across evidence in which he not only admits that he attacked you and tried kill you, but that the orders came directly from Fergusson and she paid him to do it... now as part of Bea's case, I have to go after Fergusson, I'm taking that bitch down, and I'm not trying to get her put in prison, I'm going the whole way, I want her locked up in a mental institution where she cant be a danger to anyone but herself... the reason I'm here is because I need your help doing that" Frankie admitted, she let the conversation settle as she enjoyed her cold beer and watched as Fletch processed everything she had said.
"And she will definitely be locked away for good?" Fletch asked almost hopefully.
"I cant promise anything, but I'm going after her and will be doing everything I can to make sure the sick bitch ends up getting what she deserves, the more people I have to testify against her, the better chance I have of getting her locked up and the key thrown away... that's why I need your help, she did two hits on you... she clearly had something against you, and I want to find out what it was and get your side of the story out there. Now I'm prepared to do everything in the dark, If you would be prepared to help. But it would mean that you would need to come to the city for the trial, I would need you to be there in person" Frankie said honestly.
"I just don't know if I can do that Frankie, I have a new life here... I have a woman that I'm going to ask to marry me, I'm happy, and I have put all of that shit behind me" Fletch frowned.
"Look, I'm not going to force you to do anything, this has to be your decision... but if you really want that future you were just talking about... if you want to have a few kiddies running around that big ass farm of yours one day, surely you don't want to be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life waiting for Fergusson to make her next move?"
"No... your right, it's just a huge ask. Right now I'm hidden, I'm guessing the only reason you found me is because of bloody Vera" Fletch glared.
"No comment, my sources are private" Frankie grinned cheekily.
"I don't know Frankie... I really don't know" Fletch put his head in his hands and sighed.
"Look like I said... I cant force you, I want your help, but its up to you if you want to give it. I'm going to give you my number, and I'm heading back to Melbourne tomorrow now that I have found you. Take your time to decide, and if you want in, call me or email me. I swear I will do everything I can to protect your enmity and no one will even know you're a part of this until you walk into that courtroom, If that's what you want. But I swear to you I'm serious with this, the more I dig into the freak, the more sordid details I discover about her" Frankie slid her private business card over to Fletch containing her throw away mobile number, her personal mobile number and her private email address.
"All I can do is promise to think about it, that's all I can give you right now" Fletch said as he drained the remainder of his beer and placed the empty glass back onto the table.
"That's all I'm asking, and thanks for meeting me, I know it cant have been easy finding out I was here sniffing around, thanks for trusting me enough to give me the opportunity to talk to you" Frankie smiled as the huge man rose from his chair, he threw her a warm smile as he towered over her"
"The outside has changed you Doyle, it suits you... you look better with a smile than a shiv" He grinned, nodding his head and leaving a smirking Frankie behind.
Frankie drained her own drink and left the bar for her hotel room, it wasn't much to write home about, but it had a large double bed and a tv... oh and a shower and toilet. She had spent hours sat in the bar working on her laptop and waiting to see if Fletch would appear, and now being in the privacy of her room without any background noise felt almost heavenly.
She jumped in the shower to remove the long day from her skin, frowning in the mirror when she realised she didn't have any of Bridget's make up remover, toner or moisturiser to use, she did the best she could with some tissue paper then threw on a Foo Fighters t-shirt and a pair of knickers and snuggled into the cold bed.
'Hey Beautiful, just gotten into bed and its very cold and lonely... not sure how I'm going to sleep without your snoring tonight' Frankie typed to Bridget, before laying her phone down on the bed and staring up at the ceiling in an attempt to let her mind unwind.
Picking her phone up after it vibrated, she opened a picture message from her girlfriend, hoping it would be another bath shot, but was disappointed to find it a picture of Bridget and Vera snuggled under a blanket on the couch with a glass of wine each and a huge pizza between them half eaten. She laughed softly to herself as she thought about how bizarre her life was now and began typing back. Here she was in South Australia having just visited one ex prison guard who was practically in witness protection, and her girlfriend, the prison psychologist was sending her a picture of her hanging out with Frankie's ex governor on their couch.
'it's like that is it? not even gone 24 hours and I have been replaced...' Frankie grinned as she hit send, then went back to inspecting the photo, her thumb rubbing softly over Bridget's smiling face.
'Ha! You're the one with a crush on her!' Bridget replied, a little winking emoticon at the end of it causing a laugh to escape Frankie's lips, Bridget only ever used emoticons when she was in a playful mood.
'I only have a crush on you Miss Westfall' Frankie sent with a smirk, she was happy to admit that her favourite hobby was flirting, especially when that flirting was with the beautiful psychologist.
'Miss Westfall hey... want me to ask Vera to steal you a set of teal trackiedacks? I'm sure they will help spice things up in the bedroom' Frankie laughed out loud as she read it and imagined her girlfriend and friend sat plotting comical messages to send her as they sat getting pissed.
'You two are going to regret all that wine when you have to get up for work tomorrow' Frankie sent and waited impatiently as the three little dots flashed across her screen to let her know that Bridget was already typing a reply.
'absolutely, but sometime there is pleasure in pain... someone really wise once told me that' Frankie grinned, Bridget was on fire tonight, and was obviously having too much fun with the Governor.
'someone wise? I will remind you of that next time your telling me off. Gonna get some shut eye soon, I have a 3 hour drive and a flight to catch tomorrow'
'Your coming home tomorrow?' Bridget asked with several smiling emoticons.
'only If it doesn't get in the way of your illustrious affair with my ex governor' Frankie grinned as she knew there would be a jibe coming back.
'OMG you wont believe what Vera just told me to write... oh shit I'm going to die from laughter and shock' Bridget typed, and a second message quickly followed it. 'Vera - it doesn't have to be an affair if you want to join in' Frankie almost choked.
'Jesus take the wine off her quick! Tell her I don't like to share!' Frankie grinned as she received another photo of Vera wrapping her arms around Bridget's shoulders and laughing as Bridget looked like she was screaming and laughing.
'you two are crazy... please behave... sweet dreams babe' Frankie typed out as she felt her eyes starting to get heavier. She locked her screen, put her phone on charge and closed her eyes, a smile playing on her lips as she ran over the conversation in her mind, loving seeing the playful side of Bridget and happy that she wasn't alone tonight. Her eyes popped open as her phone vibrated noisily on the bedside table, picking it up she saw Bridget's name and a picture of the two of them that she had saved as her contact image. The second she answered the phone she could tell Bridget was already drunk by the laughter and calamity coming through the phone.
"Oh your really going to be suffering in the morning" Frankie grinned.
"Probably, but knowing your coming home will help me make it through the day" Bridget cooed as she walked into a wall and cursed causing Vera to burst out in laughter whilst Bridget giggled at herself.
"Having fun baby?" Frankie laughed.
"Yeah, I miss you though. I just wanted to say goodnight before you fell asleep, I couldn't last another minute without hearing your voice" Bridget admitted as she closed her bedroom door to get a few minutes of privacy.
"Well I'm glad you called because I miss you like crazy. I cant wait to see you tomorrow" Frankie grinned, she couldn't believe how lucky she had gotten, she was laid in a motel in South Australia and here was her stunning girlfriend calling to say goodnight and tell her how missed she was.
"What present did you buy me?" Bridget asked suddenly with the excitement of a young child.
"Present? I'm in the middle of nowhere Gidge... what do you want me to do, bring you back a cow or a sheep?" Frankie laughed.
"No presents? But when you go away for work you have to bring back presents... it's the law" Bridget pouted.
"I'm bringing back myself, isn't that the best present?" Frankie flirted.
"Best present ever... especially if your naked and in our bed waiting for me when I get home" Bridget whispered loudly.
"Babe, your whispering but I'm pretty sure the whole street can hear you" Frankie laughed at her girlfriends antics.
"I don't care, I'm pretty sure they know by now what we get up to Frankie" Bridget grinned sexily.
"Probably... someone is unable to be quiet after all" Frankie laughed.
"Hey, that's not my fault, it's your fault for being such an incredible lover" Bridget practically shouted.
"Ok baby, I'm going to bed, I'm exhausted, but I will speak to you in the morning and see how your feeling, have a good night yeah?" Frankie gave up, knowing she would never get a serious conversation with such a drunken Bridget.
"Night baby, I love you so so much" Bridget said and promptly hung the phone up before Frankie could reply.
"Oh holy shit" Bridget groaned as her mobile alarm began ringing loudly, she threw her hand out to grab the phone, quickly pressing the screen to turn it off before snuggling her head back into the cushion to dull the throbbing in her head.
"Why so loud" Vera mumbled from the opposite side of the couch where she had fallen asleep, her legs tangled up with Bridget's.
"Why did you make me drink so much" Bridget grumbled as she tried to wake herself up, but pounding in her head forced her to close her eyes again.
"You started it" Vera stated as she sat up and threw her head in her hands in hope to help to the room from spinning.
"Oh Jesus, I feel terrible... do you reckon my boss would let me take the day off" Bridget asked hopefully.
"If I have to work then so do you!" Vera stated with a slight smirk, she felt terrible and knew that she was probably still over the limit. Both women grimaced when Bridget's phone began making loud noises again, Bridget grabbed it quickly and when seeing it was Frankie, she answered it quickly with a grumble as Vera shouted at her to make the sound stop.
"Good morning sunshine, I just wanted to make sure you were awake and hadn't gone back to sleep, you feeling good this morning?" Frankie asked cheerily from her drive to the airport knowing fine well that her cheeriness would annoy Bridget.
"I hate you" Bridget frowned as she forced herself off the couch and made her way to put the kettle on.
"I love you too sweetheart, but are you actually out of bed?" Frankie laughed softly.
"I never even made it to bed, we both fell asleep on the couch at about 3am" Bridget moaned tiredly.
"So your telling me that the first night without me, you literally slept with another woman" Frankie grinned.
"Jealous are you... that I spent the night with your crush" Bridget grimaced as she clattered around the kitchen, finding two cups and making coffee for them both whilst she threw some bread in the toaster.
"oh totally jealous... you know what I'm not jealous of?... your hangover right now, you sound terrible!" Frankie giggled as she listened to the groans emanating through the phone.
"Your meant to be sympathetic not mean" Bridget pouted as she handed Vera her coffee and set to buttering the toast.
"Poor baby, I will look after you tonight... promise. Cant wait to see you Gidge" Frankie cooed finally taking pity on her partner as her listened to her trying to eat the toast with a dry mouth.
"Take a cab to work today yeah, I don't think either of you are in a fit state to drive, I will pick you both up after work and Vera can pick up her car, ok?" Frankie suggested.
"and that's why I love you... Thanks babe, I don't think I'm even in a fit state to be awake, but my boss is horrible and wont let me take the day off" Bridget frowned at Vera playfully, who motioned that she was going to go jump in Bridget's shower and get more presentable whilst she finished talking to Frankie. Bridget followed her through as she listened to Frankie and grabbed a clean towel for her before she collapsed on the bed and rolled over into Frankie's pillow, inhaling her scent sadly.
"I wish you were here already" Bridget announced.
"I will be back in a few hours honey, before you know it" Frankie grinned. "Hey don't fall back asleep Gidge, you need to wake up" Frankie laughed as she listened to Bridget's breathing even out.
"Gidge!"
"Yeah?" Bridget groaned after receiving a shout from the phone.
"Stay awake, if you go back to sleep it will just make it harder to get up and started" Frankie grinned, her poor girlfriend was going to struggle today.
"I don't feel great" Bridget moaned.
"I know baby, but once you've had a shower, and gotten your fancy pants on, and gotten another couple of coffee's in you and some Panadol, you will start feeling better ok?" Frankie soothed lovingly.
"Kay" Bridget spat petulantly.
"Now if I hang up, do you promise to not fall back asleep, or do you want me to keep talking until you get in the shower?"Frankie asked softly.
"No I'm getting back up, I need to find Vera something to wear, she cant go into work in last nights clothes she slept in" Bridget sighed as she forced herself to get up.
"Ok babe, go steady yeah, I will message you when I land, and I will see you after work ok? I love you"
"I love you too Frankie, and I miss you, and your forbidden to ever go out of state without me ever again, I want to go everywhere with you" Bridget smiled as she glanced lovingly at a picture of the two of them that had been taken the day they did a road trip to a couple of wineries which sat proudly in a frame on Frankie's bedside table.
"Promise, I hated waking up without you... for a second I actually thought I was back inside and all of this had been a dream" Frankie admitted.
"Oh babe, that must have been awful for you..." Bridget asked worriedly.
"It wasn't the best, but then I heard the cockerel cooing, and I just laid there thinking... what the fuck, how did someone smuggle a cockerel into prison... and then I realised where I was... I have to say, it would have been the best dream ever if it had just been a dream" Frankie confessed.
"Well it's not a dream, this is your life now sweetheart, and pretty soon you will be doing the job you want, and your parole will be over, and we can look at going away somewhere, just the two of us..." Bridget trailed of dreamily, she smiled as Vera excited the bathroom dressed in a towel, and motioned to the clothes she had laid on the bed for her before creeping into the bathroom so that her movements didn't cause her any nausea.
"Well I'm going for a shower, so I had better say goodbye" Bridget sounded sad, but she couldn't control the smile that poured onto her face when Frankie called her a tease.
"Love you baby, drive safely and let me know when you land" Bridget cooed.
"Love you too gorgeous, feel better soon" Frankie hung up with a grin, she really couldn't help but feel like the luckiest person alive.
Finally arriving at the airport, Frankie checked the hire car back in, checked herself in and made her way through security, rolling her eyes again as she received a full inspection as if she was a terrorist. She grabbed a chicken and salad wrap and a coffee from a café, then sat down at a vacant table, pulling her laptop out to check her emails.
She flicked through a few emails, deleting ones that were rubbish and storing others in their correct folders when she came across an email from an unknown sender with a blank title. She opened it up curiously to find a picture of a man she didn't know stood at an ATM, the picture was taken from in front, so had obviously come from the ATM's security footage. After inspecting the photo for a few moments, she scrolled down to see if the email held any information that would tell her what exactly she was looking at.
'I cant help but wonder why there has been several transfers from Ferguson's lawyers account into this guys account... if your as interested as I am, meet me at the Winchester Hotel in St Kilda on Thursday at 8.30pm. come alone. I will introduce myself to you'
Frankie frowned as she read over the message a few times before scrolling up to inspect the picture once more, shaking her head in frustration and deciding that there was nothing that she could do about any of this until Thursday night, she closed and saved the email and proceeded on down her list.