HEY :)
JUST WANT TO SAY. . . I'M SORRY I'M NOT GETTING MY CHAPTERS UP MORE QUICKLY. I'VE STARTED WORKING MORE HOURS AT THE COMMUNITY CENTER IN THE LAST FORTNIGHT.
WHEN I FIRST STARTED WRITING STORIES ON THIS SITE I WAS ONLY WORKING ABOUT 10 HOURS A WEEK. NOW I'M WORKING 25 HOURS. LOL!
THIS IS THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF HOURS I'M WILLING TO WORK THO, SO I'LL STILL CARRY ON WRITING THE STORIES :)
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OH . . . AND AS YOU CAN SEE I'VE HAD TO CHANGE THIS STORY TO AN 'M' RATING. THE FOLLOWING CJAPTERS WILL HAVE VIOLENT SCENES AND I'VE PUT THE 'F' WORD IN THIS CHAPTER WHICH I HARDLY EVER DO.
THANKU FOR YOUR REVIEWS :)
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What happened at the end of the previous chapter.
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Jo fought harder when Alex removed a dirty white cloth from his pocket. She'd smelt it immediately. 'Chloroform.'
"No!" She managed to get an arm free and frantically clawed at his hands and face.
Rage tore through him. "Stay still!" He shouted. He grabbed her arm, slammed her back on the hard ground and covered her nose and mouth with the Chloroform soaked rag.
She tried to fight him off once again, but what little strength she had, started to sap away.
Her legs went limp first, followed by her body, her arms, her neck. Darkness settled in, easing the fear and panic and finally she sunk into unconsciousness.
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CHAPTER 9.
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Aran stumbled up to Alex, clutching painfully at his shoulder. "The bitch shot me." he shouted.
"Stop being a damn baby. It's only a scratch." Alex stared back down at Jo with a look of savage satisfaction on his face. He grabbed his radio. "Carl! You got rid of that sonfabitch Taylor yet?!"
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Carl scanned the perimeter and brought the radio toward him. "He's just . . . disappeared."
Alex glared furiously down at his radio. "Well find him! I want him dead! You hear me?!"
Suddenly Carl heard Police Sirens in the distance.
Alex heard them too. He cursed loudly. "Get out of there!" He shouted.
Carl muttered under his breath and whirled back around to the other Agents. "Move out Now!" he shouted.
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Alex turned quickly to Aran. "Pick her up and follow me."
Aran swore inwardly. "What about my shoulder?"
"For God sake quit your moaning. I brought the car round."
Aran muttered under his breath. He leaned forward, grabbed hold of her and lifted her over his good shoulder. He cursed again as the hot, searing pain shot through his arm, straightened up and precariously followed Alex to the car.
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Don was flooring it up Crotona Road, when he saw Carl Bertrum and several other Agents burst out from the tree line and jump into the black van up ahead.
He grabbed his radio. "Brandon! Steve! Stop that Van!" He steered to the side of the road and watched the two Police Vehicles tear off after them, then he hit the brakes and skidded to an abrupt stop behind the black car.
Drawing his weapon, he dived out of his vehicle and waited as Lindsay, Danny and the rest of the back up moved quickly across the road toward him.
He signalled to the Officers on his left. "I need you five to stay, just in case any more of these goons come back here! The rest of you are with me! Let's go!"
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Mac slowly opened his eyes. He tried to move, but he felt a terrible, burning pain rise through his chest. "Ahh God. What the hell? . . ." His mind started to race and Immediately fear soared through his heart. "Jo!"
Ignoring the intense pain and dizziness, he started to pull himself out from behind the overgrown bush. "Jo!" He called louder. He cursed and rolled onto his back as a severe stabbing pain throbbed through his chest once again.
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The team split up and Duncan's group were now searching the East side of the woodland. Duncan pushed through the dense trees and came to an abrupt stop, his eyes widening. "Mac!"
Along with the other Officer's, he raced across the rocky, uneven terrain and sunk to his knees beside him. He quickly grabbed the radio. "Don. I've found Mac. He's alive!"
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"Thank God." Lindsay whispered breathlessly.
A wave of relief swept through Don. He brought the radio toward him. "Where are you?"
Duncan glanced quickly around. "I'm just South East of you, a couple of miles from the river. Call a bus. It looks like Mac's hit his head!" He chucked the radio on the grass beside him and started checking him for injuries. "It doesn't look like you've been shot. Are you in any pain?"
"I don't need . . . the Paramedics. I'm fine. We . . . have to find Jo." Mac tried to move forward, but ended up falling back onto the grass as the agonising pain clawed through him once again.
"It's his chest!" Will replied anxiously, from behind Duncan.
Quickly, Duncan checked him again. Suddenly he noticed it. Nasty purple bruising was covering his chest. "Wait a minute." He quickly looked back at the front of Mac's Jacket and saw a small hole in the material. He put his hand in the pocket and pulled out a Pen Knife.
Don, Danny and Lindsay came crashing through the trees toward the team. They ran up to Duncan and stared anxiously down at Mac.
"You okay?" Danny asked, his voice slightly shaky now.
"He's damn lucky to be alive." Duncan pointed to the rip in his jacket and held out the Pen Knife.
Lindsay took the knife from him and noticed a small dent in the handle. Her eyes flashed back at Mac's jacket. "A bullet ricocheted off this knife. My God. You could have been killed."
"Yea well . . . I wasn't," Mac stammered, "so for God sake help me . . . get up so we can go and find Jo."
Don pressed his phone to his ear. "Mac you need the paramedics to check you over first."
Mac glared fiercely at Don. "I'm telling you I'm fine." he said, staggering slightly as he got to his feet.
Lindsay reached out to steady him. "We'll go and find Jo. You need to stay here."
Mac ignored her and started moving unsteadily forward.
Don caught up to him and scanned the perimeter. "Do you know what direction she went in?"
Mac sighed inwardly. "No."
Danny noticed something on the narrow dirt path to his right. He started walking quickly toward it. "Over here," He pointed.
Mac barged passed Danny and crouched down next to several foot prints. "These prints belong to Jo. I'm sure of it."
Don got back on the radio and reorganised the teams. They managed to make out several more prints as they followed the path. They walked another half a mile, before Mac noticed something else up ahead. He quickened his pace toward it.
Danny caught up to him and grabbed his arm. "Wait." He pointed to the undergrowth, just a few feet in front of them. "See how those branches have been snapped? and this section of grass has been pressed flat . . ."
Lindsay and Don moved up beside them and looked down.
Don swallowed back the lump in his throat. "It looks like someone's been held down here."
Careful, not to disturb the area, Mac quickly pulled out a latex glove from his pocket and reached for the silver bracelet which had been caught up on a bramble bush.
Lindsay crouched down beside him. "That's Jo's isn't it?"
He said nothing for several seconds. He just went very still, the muscles of his Jaw working, his shoulders stiff, heavy with the weight of his perceived transgressions. He was damn good at laying the sins of the world on his shoulders.
"Yea . . . It is." He answered finally.
Lindsay noticed the guilt flicker in his eyes. "Mac. You did everything you could."
Mac shook his head and glanced back through the woodland. "Yeah. Everything but stop him from taking her. If anything happen's to her I . . ." He stopped abruptly and gazed back at her bracelet.
"She's going to be okay Mac. We will find her." Lindsay assured him.
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Don grabbed his radio and brought it toward him. "Layton. Have you got anything yet?"
Layton and his team broke through the tree line and slammed to a stop at the edge of the narrow road. "Don. We're beyond the river. We've reached Magpie Lane."
Noel walked onto the road and turned back. Immediately he noticed some tyre markings several feet from his position. "Layton! Over here!"
"Hang on Don." Quickly, Layton and Noel moved up to the dirt track at the side of the road and gazed down at the tread patterns. He cursed inwardly and brought his radio back toward him. "We've found fresh tyre impressions at the side of the road . . . They could be from a Lamborghini."
"Dammit!" Reluctantly, Mac handed Jo's bracelet to Lindsay, then pushed to his feet and took off at an unsteady run.
"Mac wait!" Don swore loudly as he watched him disappear behind the trees.
Danny and Lindsay bolted off after him.
Don gazed back at the four Officers. "Stay here and cordon off the area."
He turned quickly and took off after them.
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Five minutes later Mac, Don, Danny and Lindsay had found Layton and his team.
A few minutes after that, Danny discovered a black button laying on the grass verge. It had come off Jo's coat.
Immediately, Don sent out an APB on Alex Cole and Police blocks were being set up within a ten mile radius. He was now on the phone to Gary Winters who'd just turned up and joined the other Officers at the far side of the park.
Gary glanced back along the road. "Don. We've managed to round up Gareth Southgate, Cameron Webb, Kelvin Price and Nigel Booth. We've found Mike Dalton dead in the woods. There's no sign of the others and . . . Brandon and Steve lost the Van," he sighed.
Don released a frustrated breath. "Well that's just great." He muttered sarcastically.
Clutching at his chest, Mac jumped unsteadily out of the ambulance.
One of the paramedics followed after him. "Mac. I really think it will be a good idea to get you checked out at the hospital."
Mac spun around and fixed him with a hard glare. "I'm not going to the damn hospital!"
"I'll call you back." Don hung up and rolled his eyes at Mac as he walked toward him. "What are you doing?"
Mac ignored his question. "What's the update?"
Don sighed inwardly. "Well the good news is, five Agents have been arrested. Unfortunately, we've lost Carl Bertrum, Lucas Richardson, Aran Barnes and of course . . . Alex and Jo." Don answered quietly.
Mac swore under his breath and kicked at the rotten fencing. He gripped his chest as the intense pain shot through him.
Don laid a hand on Mac's shoulder. "Calm down okay? We'll find her."
Mac breathed in, gave himself a couple of seconds, then glanced back at Danny and Lindsay. They already had their kits open and were searching for evidence at the side of the road. "I need to get the rest of the team down here."
Don's phone started ringing in his pocket. He brought it to his ear. "Flack here."
" . . . . . . "
"Gezuz. Is he all right?" he asked, gripping the phone tighter in his hand.
" . . . . . . "
"Crap." Don closed his eyes and dragged a hand through his hair. He sighed heavily. "Okay. Keep me updated with his condition. He hung up and glanced anxiously back at Mac. "Russ has just been found in his car down an alley off 2nd Avenue. He's been shot. He's alive, but barely. He's being transported to St Thomas Hospital as we speak."
Mac sunk back against the tree trunk and rubbed at his forehead. "My God." he whispered.
"They haven't found Steven Evans or Ben Anderson yet, and several other agents are also missing."
Mac brought out his phone and pressed speed dial. "Adam. I need you and Sheldon to come to Crotona Park. We have . . . a Crime Scene."
Adam stood in the conference room and stared nervously across at the TV Screen. "Mac. A news bulletin's just coming in."He grasped his phone tighter in his hand. "News reporters have just turned up at your location. What's going on up there?"
Mac turned quickly and saw several Police Cars speeding down the road toward them. Then he noticed the three News Van's following close behind. He cursed inwardly. "Adam. I'll explain everything when you get here." He hung up and stepped in front of the Crime Scene, as the vehicle's screeched to a stop and the noise and chaos started around him.
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Consciousness slowly returned for Jo. The first thing she became aware of was the pain hammering in the back of her skull.
She rolled onto her side and blinked several times in an attempt to clear her vision.
She could smell the dust, the vague sense of dampness. Could feel the cold.
A basement?
Slowly she opened her eyes. It was so dark, she could hardly see a thing.
She eased herself into a sitting position, but ended up sinking backwards and hitting the hard wall behind her, as the nausea rose in her stomach.
She swallowed back the bile in her throat and tried to pull her mind together. What happened?
She inhaled sharply as her memory slowly returned.
Mac!
She forced herself to her feet and spent the next few minutes stumbling around, searching the small, dark basement for him.
She was relieved to discover he wasn't with her and hoped to God, that meant Don found him before Alex's gang had.
She was torn from her thoughts by a trap door being unlocked above her.
She was desperate to make a run for it, but it was impossible to find a means of escape in the darkness.
The door was opened and she staggered back and shut her eyes tightly, the sharp stabbing pain clawing through her skull as the blinding light descended into the basement.
Alex Cole along with Nolan Garrett and Carl Bertrum descended the steps and when Alex reached the bottom, he turned toward her and shot her a steely glare. "Hey Jo."
She stared defiantly back at him and stayed silent.
They started to walk toward her, but she stood her ground and refused to move. Refused to show any fear. "Where am I? Why have you brought me here?"
He circled around her, his smile hard, his eyes bright. "Isn't it about time me and you got to know each other? We are family after all."
She kept her eyes steady on his. "I don't think so."
Rage slammed his chest. He turned to Nolan and Ed and nodded.
They strode towards her.
She ducked, eluding their grasp and tried to run from them, but suddenly her legs felt like jelly and the steps leading toward the trap door felt like a mile away.
Alex let out a roar. "Get her!" He screamed.
Ed tackled her from behind. She hit the floor hard and cried out as the pain swept through her like fire. She ignored it as best she could and tried to kick free of him, but soon both Ed and Nolan were lifting her up off the ground. She knew she didn't have a chance against both of them. They dragged her back across the room and slammed her up against the wall.
Alex wrapped a fist in her hair and jerked her forwards. "Some killers are born Jo. Some are made. And sometimes the origin of desire for homicide is lost in the tangle of roots that make an ugly childhood and a dangerous youth, so that no one may ever know if the urge was inbred or induced. It took me sometime to understand, but now I know I fall into the first category. I have spent many years studying my compulsion and I embraced the truth," He grabbed her tighter, as the fury swept through him. "but you took everything from me! You ruined it all! And now you will pay dearly!"
He kicked her hard, too immersed in his ranting to hear her cries of pain. His boot connected with her hip and she fell to the ground.
He crouched down beside her. "Where's the Hard Drive?!"
She winced in pain and met his fierce, dark gaze. "The . . . FBI . . . have it now." she stammered.
He swore loudly and pinned her to the ground. "THE BOX? TELL ME WHERE IT IS?!"
Why did he want the box? All she'd found in it was the DNA record. She glared defiantly up at him. "They . . . have that too . . . I guess that makes you a loser Alex."
"YOU BITCH! YOU BITCH!"
Nolan and Ed stood back and watched as Alex wrapped his hands around her throat.
She fought frantically, clawing at his hands as his screams started to fade from her head. Alex continued to squeeze for seconds that seemed like an eternity, then he slammed her head down on the floor and the blood roared back up to her brain.
"You think you're better than everyone!" He shouted furiously. "You think I'm nothing!"
Jo sucked in the oxygen she so desperately needed.
She swallowed back the fear and gave him a long, venomous stare. "I . . . know you . . . raped my mother. . . That makes you nothing."
He snarled down at her. "That makes me evils fucking Angel!" He drew back his fist and slammed it in her face.
Despite her bravado, tears stung her eyes and escaped. She clenched her jaw shut to keep from screaming and tried to roll away.
He gripped her arm tightly and pulled her back to face him.
A leering, evil look flickered in his eyes, a maddening look that made her heart thunder.
"I'm gonna enjoy making you suffer Jo." he spat bitterly. "And soon enough, you're gonna be begging me to kill you."
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With grim faces, Adam and Sheldon walked towards Lindsay and Danny.
Danny glanced up at them and sighed inwardly. "I take it Mac's filled you in?"
Sheldon released a long, heavy breath."Yea."
Lindsay glanced across at Adam as he walked to the edge of the verge and stared up the road, the anger evident in his features.
"So," Sheldon added when the silence thickened around them. "Adam and I are gonna search the woods."
Lindsay tore her eyes from Adam and swallowed back the emotions. "We'll come find you, when we've finished here."
"Sure." Sheldon replied quietly.
Adam whirled back around. He marched passed the three of them and disappeared back into the woods without uttering a word.
Sheldon turned back to Danny and met his concerned gaze.
"Keep an eye on him okay?"
"I will." Sheldon replied.
Lindsay watched Sheldon disappear through the trees and released a long, weary breath. "This is the worst day ever."
Danny glanced back at the ground and took a deep breath. "I couldn't agree with you more."
Suddenly Lindsay caught sight of what looked like a small metal object, lying several feet away. She reached across the grass and picked it up.
Danny looked over her shoulder and his eyes widened. "My God. You've found a key."
A faint smile appeared on her face. "Yes I have."
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Martin Howell, the head of Violent Crimes Division hung up and chucked his phone back on the desk.
He rubbed at his forehead, pushed out a long, weary breath and sank back into his chair.
He'd just been on the phone to a Surgeon at St Thomas Hospital. The bullet had damaged a major Artery, millimetres from Russ's heart. He was currently in intensive surgery and things weren't going too well at the moment. The surgeon had told Martin there was around a forty percent chance, Russ was going to survive this.
Martin glanced across at the box Jo had found at Colin Smith's apartment, and guilt tore through his heart.
Why the hell hadn't he just checked into Alex Cole a little more thoroughly in 2007?
Maybe if he'd done that, Cole would be in a damn Jail Cell, Instead of getting away with committing despicable acts, for the last five years, Russ wouldn't be fighting for his life in a damn hospital right now and Jo would be safe from that monster. . . And where the hell was Kye Simmonds, Ben Anderson and Steven Evans?
Martin glanced out of his office and watched several Agents walk by.
He could trust no one in this building any more. He hadn't seen Nolan Garrett, Ed Hughes, Sid Bryans or Matt Osbourne for the last 24 hours. Those bastards had got nervous and had done a runner, because the truth was, they had covered for Cole that night back in 2007. My God. Those four been working for Alex Cole all these years and the very thought, there could be more Rogue Agents walking around this Department right now, made Martin sick to his stomach. He leaned forward in his seat, and in a fit of rage, slammed his fist into the desk. He released a long, pent up breath and reigned in his temper. Just hang on Jo. . . just . . . hang on . . .
Martin swallowed back his emotions and stared across at the box for several seconds.
He frowned slightly, reached forward and slid it towards him.
He opened the lid, removed the DNA Record and took a closer look inside.
Suddenly he noticed, that part of the velvet lining had been stitched up around the back. He quickly took a pair of scissors from his desk and cut the fabric, then dropped them quickly and dug his fingers beneath the material.
He pulled out a folded scrap of paper and unfolded it. His frown deepened, as he gazed down at a set of coordinates. "A Location." He whispered.
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I JUST WANTED TO SAY, I'M SORRY TO YOU GUYS THAT WANTED MAC TAKEN ALONG WITH JO. BELIEVE YOU ME! COLE WILL CATCH UP WITH MAC AND HE'LL BE IN A WORLD OF HURT VERY SOON. (My God. That sounds soooo nasty. lol)
"Stay the hell away from me."