Disclaimer - still not mine
Battleground
Harry ducked as a bullet whizzed past his ear. Swearing profusely he dragged his own gun from its holster. He could see the apparently dead body of Hans Linnerman feet away from him. He looked back to see Lucas looking around the dockyards. The area was too big, with too many hiding spaces. Lucas had his gun drawn. Harry didn't like it. Cursing quietly he spoke in to the comms.
"Who's firing?" He was leaning against the side of the Renault Megane as Tariq took a few seconds to answer.
"Not one of ours" Tariq hated being so far away from the docks to see what was going on. He was only able to follow events on his palm pilot. He hated being so far away from everyone. He had no idea who was safe and who was in danger. Sighing he moved closer to the van where Ruth and Malcolm were trying to relay comms and read the information the various bugs and sensors they had set up around the docks provided. He banged heavily on the side of the van as Malcolm dragged the sliding door open.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack" Ruth glared as she replaced her head phones, happy for the moment that Frankie hadn't been trying to get in to the van.
"Anything?" Tariq didn't apologise. He was breathing too hard to talk in anything more than single words. Malcolm shook his head.
"Nothing of any real value. I think we can safely say Hans Linnerman is dead. I think he was shot by one of his own. However the trajectory of two shots, the ones which hit the tyres of his van means we shot it. I think Zoe took the van out of operation" Tariq nodded slowly.
"Nice one Zo"
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Harry didn't want to fire his gun. He was unsure of the exact location of any members of his team. He could only say with certainty that Lucas was with him, he had no idea where Adam, Zoe or Zaf were and had not spoke to Ros since they had left the Grid. He felt decidedly uneasy about the situation. A third shot ran out, followed by a scream as Lucas swore next to him. Harry shot him a warning look as Lucas checked his gun was fully loaded before running off in the direction of the scream. Harry chanced a look at Hans Linnerman before running across to the body of the older, larger man. He had to check. He had to know if Hans Linnerman had been killed by one of his own. He ran from behind the black Renault as another gunshot rang out through the air. He crouched next to the bulky man as he saw the dark red blood ooze out across the tarmac.
"What the hell were you involved with? What the hell was worth dying for, you old fool" Harry felt for a carotid pulse aware that it was unlikely he would find one. He doubted the kill shot had come from any of his team as they knew they weren't able to fire until someone had shot at either them or a member of the public. Hanging his head he said a silent prayer that the scream hadn't come from one of his team. He still had a sense of unease where his Section Chief was concerned.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Lucas and Zoe ran towards the sound of screaming. Lucas pushed the terror he felt away as he approached the figure of a blonde man roughly the same height as him. Ros could be seen about a foot away from the stranger, holding her left arm. She looked furious as she either didn't see or ignored Lucas' presence.
"You bastard!" The man yelled as Ros held his gaze. The gun he was holding pointed directly at her head.
"Yeah, well" Ros was breathing heavily "We both know that's not true Philip. We both know who our father is, mores the pity" Lucas watched as Ros remained defiant. He could see Zoe arrive behind her. She stayed in the shadows as Philip continued to rant.
"You are no Myers"
"Thank God, Phil I'll take that as a compliment. You really are going to kill me? Your precious Daddy controls you that much?" Ros shook her head sadly. She wasn't scared, more resigned to her fate.
"You brought this on yourself Roslyn"
"Really? Why does Daddy want Andrew Lawrence dead then? Why Ruth Pearce? Me?" Ros held his gaze as Lucas stepped out of the shadows. He wanted to kill Philip Myers where he stood.
"He doesn't know Ruth Pearce. I don't know who you are talking about. Stop trying to stall me." He raised his arm to shoot as Ros stepped forward. "I have to do this"
"No, no you don't. You don't have to do anything our father says" Ros could hear gun shots and men shouting in the background. She could make out Adam and Zaf yelling for back up as she held her brother's gaze. She knew that Hans Linnerman had been hit but she also knew Andrew and Ruth were in danger too. Frankie was still somewhere on the Docks. She hardly breathed as she watched her brother point the gun at her head.
"You ruined everything Ros"
"Oh grow a set Philip. He was going to kill hundreds of people. Tell you can see how wrong he was." Ros had all but given up trying to reason with him, even as a child Philip had been the bully, the one none of them could talk to. Only their father had been able to get through to him, her and Sally had never stood a chance.
Suddenly a third voice joined the conversation as Lucas and Zoe emerged from the shadows. Lucas dug his gun into the back of Philip's neck.
"You fire that gun and three seconds later it's your brains all over your sister" He cocked the safety off the gun as if to make his point as Ros met his gaze. Zoe removed the gun from Philip's hand as Lucas shoved him forward slightly. Ros smiled slightly. "You ok?" Zoe looked at her senior officer.
"Yes" Ros held her brother's gaze one more time as the docks fell silent.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"No, no no" Malcolm tapped his computer screen as Tariq began to run the comms again.
"Calm down, it'll work. It's just a glitch" Tariq tried to reassure his senior officers as Ruth shot him a look.
"We can't afford any glitches" Ruth was trying not to panic. She tried to suppress the knowledge her husband and her friends were being shot at while they couldn't help them.
"I know Ruth!" Tariq snapped as he tried to get the monitor to work. He was terrified something may go wrong and they wouldn't be able to help.
"Well what's wrong? Why can't we hear anything?" Ruth hissed as Tariq began to look more and more worried. It wasn't like him to panic, but then he was used to computers and gadgets, not the life and death scenarios he was now finding himself in more and more often.
"If I knew that, I'd have fixed it by now" He hissed back as he tapped more keys on the computer.
"We need more signal. I'll drive up the road a little" Malcolm knew he had to be the one who stayed calm. It seemed neither Ruth nor Tariq were in the best of moods. He glanced briefly at Ruth who nodded as she bit her lip. A sudden bang on the roof of the van startled them all in to silence as Ruth's mobile began ringing. She glared at the offending object as she picked it up and answered it, praying it was Harry calling them to go back to base.
"Hi Ruth" Ruth's blood ran cold as she looked up. The bang on the roof had left a dent. Ruth swallowed hard as Malcolm frowned at her.
"Hello" She closed her eyes slowly as Malcolm gestured to Tariq to trace the call. Ruth shook her head as her eyes grew wide with fear.
"Tell your friends not to trace the call. There is no point. Leave the van now. If you do not do as I say I will kill them" Frankie stated as a matter of fact as Ruth silently begged Malcolm to work out what was being said.
"OK" She whispered.
"Leave the van and walk towards the water. We have much to catch up on Ruth" She cursed silently as she pulled the sliding door of the van open. Malcolm grabbed her arm as Tariq continued tapping at the computer.
"Let me go Malcolm" Ruth blinked back a tear as Malcolm gripped her arm harder. He nodded in understanding.
"I'll get hold of the others" Ruth shook her head, brown curls bobbing around her face.
"No" She looked briefly towards Tariq, her heart breaking as she saw the tears in his eyes. They knew what she was doing. What Frankie had told her to do.
"Find out if Andrew is safe. Find the others and return to the Grid. I'll be fine." She sounded more sure of herself than she felt. "Please don't tell Harry. Tariq I think you'll find the comms work perfectly well now." She pulled her arm out of Malcolm's grasp as she left the van without looking back.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Adam dragged Andrew away from the fighting as he did his best to keep the errant politician alive. Andrew was breathing heavily as he tried to keep up with Adam.
"Adam" He breathed heavily. "Someone shot Hans Linnerman""Yeah I spotted that - think the great big hole in his chest gave it away" Adam yanked the door of his car open as he pushed Andrew into the passenger seat. "Do me a favour and try no to get shot" He drove back in to the centre of the docks intent on picking up Zaf who had been covering them on their run. It wasn't until he was almost level with Zaf that he saw a small figure in the moonlight. Pulling the car to a halt he waited while Zaf jumped in.
"Frankie just threatened Ruth" Zaf began tapping his comms. "Tariq just said she left the comms van after getting a call. The moment she left the comms began working again"
"Shit" Adam glared at Andrew.
"Why would he want Ruth now? He thinks he's here to kill me" Andrew looked at each man.
"Harry" Adam stated as he put his foot to the floor.
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Ruth was terrified. The darkness encroached on her as the cold hit her bones. She knew he was there watching and waiting for her. She stood at the waters edge and listened. The sounds of car tyres squealing and people shouting were interspersed with gunfire. She closed her eyes as she thought of Harry. She had kissed him goodbye when they had been alone in his office. She cursed herself for all the time she had wasted, all the time she had hid her feelings. Now their time had run out. She squared her shoulders as she felt someone approach.
"Get in the car Ruth" Her jaw hung open in shock as she did as she was bid.
author's note. Ohh I'm so nit sure about this chapter, so all reviews gratefully recieved. Who told Ruth to get in the car? Will they all get home in one piece? Please review - I promise this is still the happy fic, more fluff soon.x
