Chapter 19

Jack had always wondered what he would do if anything was to happen to Sue. When he had discovered Simon trying to strangle her with a scarf his adrenaline and FBI training had kicked in allowing him to shoot with a calmness and precision that followed all the rules in the handbook. When Dan Malone had driven off with her in his car he felt responsible; guilty because he had put her there thinking she would be safe. Those emotions prevented him from sleeping, from barely eating, caused him to snap at his friends and colleagues without reason and drove him relentlessly to find her. This time it was different, time slowed down and he saw everything that happened as if he were watching a film. Ana had made it to the station waiting room and he could see her getting the two travellers in there to lie down on the floor and hide behind the benches. He saw Alex and Will pull their weapons, Will targeting Lionel and he saw Sue moving away from him down the stairs to the platform. Terror gripped him and he turned towards Dessa pulling out his own weapon. But where was Dessa? Another shot rang out and he saw a figure fall to the ground. Shaking his head in disbelief he saw Arif Dessa, the Prince of Terror, slowly sink to his knees a look of surprise on his face. Noises began to come back into focus, people were shouting, a train was coming slowly down the track, an owl hooted in the dark and then he looked around for Sue. She was scrunched over at the foot of the stairs, blood seeping through her fingers. Uttering a cry he ran down the last few steps and grabbed her, holding on as tight as possible. Then he heard a gentle voice.

"Jack, I'm alright. It isn't my blood." Sue had to say it twice more before the meaning registered with Jack.

"Then whose…?"

"Frances', she saved my life!" Jack looked down and saw that Sue had removed the two handkerchiefs from around her wrists and was holding them against Frances' shoulder. Blood had already soaked through them and he stood mesmerised at the image until Ana pushed him out of the way and produced a first aid kit.

"I thought…" he began, but could not continue he just held her thankful that she was alive. He wasn't aware of how long he had sat there holding onto her, thanking God for saving her but eventually his thoughts began to clear and he began to focus on what was happening around him. Dessa was still alive and receiving first aid treatment from Ana. Lionel was in handcuffs and under armed guard courtesy of Will. Frances was comfortable and awaiting the arrival of an ambulance. The travellers had missed their train as they were required to stay and give their statements to the police once they had arrived. Alex relieved Jack of his gun, pleased that he hadn't used it, then sent both he and Sue to sit in the waiting room whilst everyone else dealt with the police, the ambulance and the air ambulance. Frances was flown away to hospital and Dessa was taken by road, under armed guard, to a different one. It took a lot of persuading before the police would allow Alex to take Lionel back to the house for interrogation, indeed it wasn't until Alex's superiors got involved that permission was reluctantly given. Finally, they were allowed to leave, electric buggies had been brought down to the station so that they wouldn't have to walk back up the long drive to the house much to everyone's relief.

Back at the house the party was winding down, so it wasn't difficult to get back inside without anyone spotting them.

"I wonder where everyone thought you had got to?" mused Ana. "You weren't there to say 'goodbye'. A bit like five years ago. Do you remember that, when the SAS parachuted in because they needed you?"

Alex grinned, "Or eight years ago when we chased those jewel thieves across Bodmin Moor and ended up in Dozmary Pool. Perhaps I need to rethink the Bluebell Ball it seems to be jinxed"

As they entered through the front door, Mrs Roseveare appeared and whisked Sue off to bed. Sue, for once, made no argument. Jack and the others returned to Alex's study to hand in their weapons and were met by Jason, Ted and Brian. The 'waiters' had been taken into the basement and locked in the old wine cellars where Lionel had joined them. They had had instructions to leave them alone until the interrogation experts had arrived from London. No one was particularly pleased with that as they all had a lot of questions which they needed to be answered however, no one protested too much. They set up a surveillance rota and went upstairs to bed. Jack popped his head around Sue's door and saw Mrs Roseveare bustling around tidying clothes away. She picked up an empty mug and left the room, "She'll be alright now. Sleep is the best thing for her. I've checked her wrists and put one of my lotions on them. Don't spend too long looking at her, you need your rest too." She smiled warmly and Jack thanked her then turned back to Sue who was sleeping peacefully with Levi at her feet. Quickly he returned to his room grabbed a pillow and quilt and went back to Sue's where he settled himself down on the sofa. It wasn't long before he too was asleep.