HEY THERE MY LOVELIES. ;)
I HOPE YOU ALL HAD A GREAT CHRISTMAS. OURS WAS BRILLIANT, BUT VERY HECTIC AND I'M GLAD EVERTHING'S CALMED DOWN NOW SO I CAN GET BACK TO MY WRITING.
I'M NOT QUITE SURE HOW I FEEL ABOUT THE NEXT CHAPTER, BUT I WANTED TO KEEP IT REALISTIC, SO THIS IS WHAT I CAME UP WITH. I HOPE YOU LIKE IT.
PLEASE R&R ;)
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What happened at the end of the previous chapter.
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CHAPTER 17.
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Mac had watched on anxiously as Jo somehow managed to snatch the car keys from Gary and push him backwards. It would have given her that split second she'd needed to dive back in his car and get the hell out of there, and she would probably have made it if Ed hadn't of ran out of the bunker closely followed by Carl, Sid and Carlton and shot a hole in Gary's front tyres.
Mac cursed silently, pushed himself back against the tree trunk. He heard Don yelling frantically down the phone and he pressed it back to his ear. "Don. I haven't been shot. I'm fine."
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"Where do you think you're going Jo?" Ed snarled.
She swallowed back the fear and slowly turned to face him. "You're not gonna get away with this. The NYPD and the FBI will catch up with you. You know that."
Ed shot her a furious glare. "Just shut up you bitch!"
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Mac continued to watch the scene unfold, the fear and rage intensifying within him as Ed started to move quickly toward Jo. He wanted nothing more, then to bury a bullet in his chest,
but then what would happen?
He'd have Carl and the other two to take down, and God knows what Gary would do. He might come after him as well. That would make four.
He was hopelessly outnumbered.
He couldn't risk it.
Not when Jo was right in the middle of all this.
Damn it! He was gonna have to sit tight for now.
He forced himself to take a deep, steady breath willing himself to stay calm as he watched Ed jerk Jo violently from the car. "Don where the hell are you. I need back up now."
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Don cursed loudly and floored the gas pedal up the muddy bank onto New Road. "Mac. Just stay put and wait for us."
Suddenly he heard Danny's frantic voice. He grabbed the radio and brought it towards him.
"Don! Adam's traced the phone! Mac's a couple of miles South East of our location. We need to take Coyle Lane!" Danny shouted.
A wave of relief swept through Don. "Thank God."
He slammed his phone back on the hands free device. "Mac! We're only a few miles from you. We're on our way so just hang on!"
He turned a sharp left and skidded onto Coyle Lane. He looked out the rear view mirror and was glad he didn't need to get on the radio to the rest of the back up team. The half dozen patrol cars were already following behind Danny.
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Gary Winters charged towards Ed. "Where's Cole?!" He shouted frantically.
Ed watched him pull the rucksack from his back. "You have the vase?"
"Yes." Gary answered in a regretful tone.
Jo yanked herself free of Ed's grip and stared across at Gary in disbelief. "You have the vase in there? What the hell are you doing?!"
Gary met her gaze and immediately she saw the shame and guilt flicker in his eyes. "I . . . I had no choice . . ."
"Very good. You brought me Jo and the vase." Alex Cole interrupted, his voice low and fierce as he walked out of the bunker towards him.
Gary's eyes flashed to Cole. He started toward him, but Sid and Carlton grabbed him and held him back.
Gary frantically tried to get free. "I did what you asked. Now let my wife go!"
Mac's eye's widened. Oh God. He ducked lower behind the tree and quickly got back on the phone to Don.
Jo stared angrily at Cole as he walked up to Gary and snatched the ruck sack from his hand. "Get your hands off that vase!" She tried to reach for it, but Ed pulled her back towards him.
Cole slammed his fist into Gary's face with so much force, he flew backwards, hit the ground hard and faded into unconsciousness.
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Jo saw Alex grin maliciously down at Gary and draw his weapon.
"No!" She screamed.
She kicked out at Ed. He grunted in pain and loosened his grip on her and she got free once again.
She went to charge at Cole, but ended up slamming to an abrupt stop, the terror suddenly rising up in her paralysing her completely as she came face to face with Lucas Rohr.
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Mac gripped the phone in his hand and aimed the gun at Cole. "Don. I can't stand by and watch this any longer. If I don't do something now, Gary's gonna be dead and. . ."
He shifted his eyes to Jo and tried to push back the tangled emotions that raged through him as Lucas violently grabbed her and started dragging her back to the bunker.
He could see the fear and pain in her expression, but she was doing a damn good job trying to hide it.
He swallowed into an aching throat. ". . . Lucas Rohr's got Jo. I have to get her away from him."
He tore his eyes from hers and forced his attention back on Cole.
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Crap! Don gazed fearfully back at the road. " . . . You're to do nothing until we get there! You hear me? . . . Mac! . . ."
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Mac had already shoved the phone in his pocket and was taking a final glance around the perimeter trying to come up with a quick plan of action.
Damn it! He couldn't plan this.
He was just gonna have to go all out, guns blazing and hope to God Jo would stay unharmed.
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Cole continued to grin maliciously as he aimed his weapon at Gary's head. "This has been a lot of fun, but I'm not in need of this idiot any more."
Suddenly Jo heard the distant sound of sirens. So did Lucas. He slowed to an abrupt stop and momentarily distracted, he loosened his grip on her.
Cole looked up nervously and shouted for his men to fall back.
Mac aimed his gun at Cole and started to squeeze down on the trigger.
Jo wrenched herself free of Lucas and tried to run, but she wasn't fast enough. A scream escaped her lips as Lucas slammed into her from behind and knocked her to the ground.
Pure terror soared through Mac's heart when he heard her cry out and automatically he swung his weapon back to Lucas Rohr.
Lucas grabbed Jo and yanked her viciously onto her back. "You'll never get away from me Jo." he snarled. He drew back his fist and went to hit her across the face.
Suddenly a gun shot resounded in the air and Lucas froze for several seconds, before slowly slumping to the ground beside her, his eyes turning glassy as he breathed his last breath.
She quickly rolled away and stared at the blood as it started seeping through his shirt.
My God. He'd been shot in the chest.
She staggered to her feet and continued to gaze down at him in stunned shock as all hell broke lose around her.
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Mac quickly aimed the weapon back at Cole and was met by his furious glare.
Damn it. He's seen me.
He cursed under his breath and pressed down on the trigger, but just as he fired the gun, Cole pulled Sid in front of him. The bullet hit Sid square in the stomach.
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Cole started to move back screaming again for his men to get inside as he continued to use Sid as a human shield.
Mac fired at Cole a couple more times, but he couldn't get a clear shot. The bullets just hit Sid instead.
Cole shot at Mac but missed both times. He swore loudly and increased his pace toward the bunker.
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Several more bullets were flying towards Mac now and he had no choice but to move from his current position before he ended up getting shot himself.
He caught sight of Carlton behind an old dilapidated shed pointing his weapon right at him.
Crap!
Mac ducked back as the shot went off and he narrowly missed another bullet. He pushed out an unsteady breath turned back to Carlton and fired. The bullet hit him in the thigh and he went down screaming in agony.
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Slowly, Gary surfaced out of unconsciousness and glanced around in shock as the gun fire resounded in all directions. He went to grab his weapon but his holster was empty.
Shit!
He rolled onto his front and searched around for several more seconds, before finally giving up and crawling to relative safety behind some overgrown scrub brush.
He lay back on the cold wet grass, the gun shots continuing to echo around him as Images of Susanna filled his mind and grief clawed through his heart.
Alex Cole had called him on his phone a couple of hours ago. He'd told him that several of his men were at Gary's home holding his wife at gun point and that if he didn't follow Cole's orders she would die immediately.
Cole was out of control, desperate. He'd had no intention of letting him or Susanna go.
Not alive.
Gary had been in the law enforcement long enough to know that for God sake.
He cursed inwardly and swiped away the moisture from his eyes. He'd let his emotions get the better of him. There was a strong possibility that Susanna was probably dead and now he'd gone and put Jo and Mac's life in danger.
My God. What have I done?
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A wave of relief swept through Jo when she heard the faint sound of car engines in the distance. Police Cruisers, but she still couldn't make out who Cole and his men were shooting at behind the small tree line.
She ducked back down and tentatively pulled Lucas gun from his jacket pocket.
Suddenly she heard footsteps behind her and she whirled around. Her breath stalled in her throat when she saw Ed surging towards her.
She dived behind a tree stump as a bullet from his gun whizzed passed her ear.
She thought she might throw up any second, but she swallowed back the nausea. The fear. And tried to ignore the pain that was now clawing it's way through her body.
C'mon Jo. Focus.
She forced out a shallow breath, jumped to her feet and fired.
Both bullets hit Ed clean in the chest and he collapsed to the ground less than 3 feet from her.
Releasing another shaky breath, she tore her gaze from him as he sank into unconsciousness, and quickly glanced back toward the small woodland.
Her eyes widened when she saw someone appear from behind the tree line.
She blinked back the tears.
Mac?. . . My God It's. . . Mac!
Her heart froze when she caught sight of Carl aiming his weapon at him.
"No!"
She swung the gun at Carl and fired at him so fast, he didn't have a chance to get off a shot.
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Cole stopped dead in his tracks when Carl went down. He whirled around and saw Jo. "So that's where you were hiding?" he growled.
He threw Sid's lifeless, blood soaked body to one side and carefully started to move around the old log hut towards her.
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Mac spun around and saw Carl stagger several steps toward him, before finally falling face down on the ground.
He turned back quickly and saw Jo clutching a gun tightly in her hand and aiming it shakily at Carl's body.
Gezuz. He hadn't even seen him. She'd just saved his life . . . again.
He met her gaze and immediately noticed that she was in a lot of pain. She wasn't hiding it well now . . . and she looked so damn pale.
His eyes widened in fear when she staggered backwards.
My God. She's still . . . really sick.
He took off and started sprinting towards her. "Jo! Just hang on! I'm coming!"
Suddenly, there was a flash of movement to his left.
Quickly, he glanced around and saw Cole moving toward her.
Terror and rage ignited like a fireball within him. Cole was barely 30 metres from her position. "JO! GET OUT OF THERE!" He shouted frantically.
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She followed Mac's gaze and froze when she saw Cole charging toward her, but Mac's frantic shouts forced her into action and she took off running as fast as she could toward several old Oaks.
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Mac pointed his gun at Cole and fired another shot. It went wide. He went to shoot again but realised he was now out of bullets. He cursed loudly, threw the gun to the ground and started to run towards Cole.
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She was only half way to the Oaks when her legs started to turn to jello, threatening to fold under her.
She staggered to a stop unable to go on and turned unsteadily, grasping the weapon in both hands.
All she could see now were the little white dots circling in front of her eyes, but she aimed the gun in roughly the same direction she'd seen Cole seconds earlier and fired the shot.
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Mac saw Cole dive behind some rocks. Damn it. The bullet had missed, but at least it had slowed Cole down giving him a chance to catch up to him.
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In pure, focused rage Cole charged around the next boulder and raced off after Jo once again, not realising that Mac was close behind.
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The sun had faded and night had now crept onto the rugged terrain. Don turned a sharp left, the sweat beading on his forehead as his vehicle bounced over the ruts and ridges.
He skidded to a stop at the end of the isolated dirt road, yanked on his vest and jumped out of the car, his weapon already drawn and trained straight ahead.
He sighed inwardly as he scanned the woodland. What he wouldn't give for a pair of night vision goggles right about now.
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Danny skidded to a stop behind Don and dived out of his vehicle. He moved quickly toward him, not taking his eyes off the tree line for a second.
Suddenly he heard the sound of gun fire. He dashed passed Don and pointed to his right. "This way!" he shouted.
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Gary released a long, shuddering breath. He swallowed back the regret. The heart ache. Tried to push the taunting images from his mind.
Suddenly becoming aware of the silence around him, he forced himself to sit up and quickly and glanced through the brush.
Gezuz Christ. Carl and Carlton were laying dead just several feet from him.
His eyes flashed across to his car. Jo was nowhere to be seen, but Ed and that bastard Lucas Rohr had also been shot.
Ignoring the throbbing pain in his head, he forced himself to his feet and staggered out of the brush. He came to an abrupt stop, his eyes widening when he saw Mac chasing Cole across the large opening toward the furthest stretch of woodland.
He noticed the weapon in Cole's hand and gazed anxiously back at Mac. He was unarmed. What was he trying to do? Get himself killed?
Then Gary caught sight of Jo lying in the overgrown grass and fear tightened his chest when he realised that Cole was heading straight for her.
"Shit!" Gary spun around and cursed several more times as he frantically started searching for a gun.
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Cole was less than 10 metres from Jo, when he heard footsteps behind him. He spun around and managed to block the blow just in time, but Mac got his foot under Cole and threw his weight into the move sending them both tumbling to the ground.
Mac ignored the eye searing pain as he fell on his bruised and battered body, and slamming his fist up he connected with bone, but he'd miscalculated the strength rage would bring Cole and it was he who screamed out in pain when Cole's fist slammed into his broken ribs.
When Mac's vision cleared Cole was standing above him, his weapon aimed at Mac's chest.
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"That's a very clever stunt you played, escaping the bunker Mac. Very impressive and I have to say, it's been fantastic taking you down once again. Reminds me how superior I am."
The smile vanished from Cole's face and fury burned in his eyes. "But I've had enough of you now. You try to spoil everything. Everything! Well that's not gonna happen any more. . ." He spat bitterly. ". . . because I'm gonna send you to hell!"
He started to squeeze down on the trigger and the evil, perverse smile returned to his lips. "I'm taking Jo Mac, and you can't stop me. No one can. So say goodbye to . . ."
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"NO!" Mac yelled out, the fear and rage consuming him as he kicked upward with what strength he had left and knocked the gun out of Cole's hand.
Cole hesitated for a split second and it gave Mac enough time to kick out again.
The second blow caught Cole at the knees and he staggered backwards.
Mac pushed himself up and dived for Cole's weapon, but before he could grab it a gun shot rang out.
He whirled around just in time to see Cole scream out in agony and collapse to the ground clutching at his leg.
Mac turned back quickly and found himself staring across at Gary who was now standing above Cole aiming a gun at his chest.
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Don, Danny and the rest of the back up come charging through the tree line. Don skidded to a sudden stop and Danny nearly slammed into the back of him.
"Don, for God sake . . ." Danny stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the four bodies scattered around the small opening in the trees directly in front of him.
He quickly started scanning the perimeter and fear tightened his chest. "I don't see Mac . . . or Jo."
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Don pointed to his left. "That's Gary's car and I can see Lucas Rohr. He looks dead to me, but where's that sonofabitch Cole?" He growled.
Danny's eyes widened. "Jesus. That's his base?"
Don followed Danny's gaze and muttered a curse when he caught sight of the bunker. "Cole must have taken Mac . . ." He stopped mid-sentence and looked up quickly when a scream of rage ripped through the air.
He released a long, relieved breath when he saw Mac and Carl a couple of hundred metres away standing in the middle of another larger, more open expanse of rough terrain up ahead.
Danny moved passed Don. "I can see Cole. He's down. It looks like he's been shot."
Don tore his eyes from Cole and watched Mac stagger forward several metres, before sinking to his knees.
He frowned, grabbed the binoculars and peered through.
His throat suddenly constricted to the size of a very thin straw when he managed to make out Jo in the darkness lying motionlessly in the long grass. "Crap! We need Paramedics here now!"
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Danny saw the fear and panic in Don's eyes. He snatched the binoculars off him and stared through them, the shock intensifying on his face, as Don quickly got on the radio to the ambulance and started shouting off orders at the back up teams.
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Jo barely saw his face as he dropped beside her but she knew it was him. She could feel his warm body as he gathered her up and rocked her in his arms. "Mac . . ." her voice trailed off and she closed her eyes, too tired to say another word.
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Gently, Mac lifted her higher so that he could sit down with her resting against him. He lowered his lips to her brow. "Shh. It's okay. Everything's gonna be okay." he soothed.
She tried to move but the pain soared through her and a moan escaped her clenched teeth. "Where's . . . Cole?"
"We got him Jo. It's alright. It's over." He held onto her and stroked her hair back from her damp face. "Don't squirm. It'll only cause you more discomfort."
She slowly opened her eyes. Her vision had cleared slightly and she stared up in shock when she saw Mac's bruised and bloodied face. His shirt was also soaked in blood.
A tear escaped her eyelid. "He hurt you . . . He could . . . have . . . killed you."
"But he didn't." Mac cut in quickly.
"This is all my fau. . ."
Quickly, he pressed his finger gently to her lips and shook his head sternly at her. "I don't ever want to hear you say that again." he whispered.
She felt Mac's lips brush over her hair and she closed her eyes as the pain eased away into numbness. "I love you."
Mac released a long, shuddering breath. My God. I could have lost her today.
The thought terrified him and he drew her closer, too afraid to let her go as moisture filled his own eyes.
"I love you too Jo. . . I love you so much."
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HMM! WILL THEY FIND KYE? AND WILL HE BE ALIVE IF THEY DO?
IS GARY WINTERS WIFE SUSANNA STILL ALIVE?
AND OF COURSE WE STILL HAVE ALOT OF THIS STORY TO GO. I'LL BE DEALING WITH HOW EVERYONE TRIES TO MOVE ON FROM THIS;
HOW IT EFFECTS MAC AND JO'S RELATIONSHIP. . . AND CHRISTINE WILL BE BACK. AND EVEN IF TURNS OUT GARY'S WIFE IS SAVED FROM THE BAD GUYS, HE'LL STILL HAVE TO COME TO TERMS WITH HIS ACTIONS.
WE'LL ALSO HAVE SOME JO AND COLIN SMITH/BAXTER SCENES, SO STILL LOTS TO COME. :)
NEXT CHAPTER UP TUESDAY OR IT MIGHT END UP BEING WEDNESDAY NIGHT BECAUSE WE'RE PARTYING AT NEW YEAR AND I MIGHT NEED A DAY OFF WRITING ON TUESDAY IF I'M NURSING A HANGOVER LOL!