Okay I know I said this was going to be the last ever chapter but...when I was writing it all up, the bit I've ended on seemed like such a great cliffhanger/perfect ending so this has now become the last but one chapter. The next one really is going to be 'The End'.
I do not own the song in this chapter. It's called The Final Goodbye and is sung by Rihanna.
P.S: (I'll warn you this time)
* GET THE TISSUES READY! *
Hope you enjoy!
"Oh morning Smithy are...are you okay?"
Smithy looked up, gave a faint smile at his friend and nodded. Looking down at the bouquet of flowers in his hands, Smithy bent down and delicately leaned them against the wall of the station. A little handwritten card was in with the flowers and it read
Dear Rebecca
I can never replace such a loving and kind
friend
Smithy
X
"They were Rebecca's favourite and Kerry's actually" the young Sergeant informed his friend.
"Yeah lilies are quite popular. They're beautiful Smithy. I can't believe Rebecca's been gone a year already. Anyway I'll give you some time by yourself and I'll catch you in a bit" the Sergeant's colleague replied.
Smithy raised his head and called out
"Reg...Thank you!"
Reg Hollis smiled before opening the front door and heading inside the station.
"Good morning my lovely lot. Okay here's the rota for today..." Inspector Gold started.
Sergeant Smith slipped into the briefing room a few minutes late so stood at the back until Gina had finished her part and it was time for him to take over.
"Okay Sergeant Smith, I'll hand over to you" Gina informed, taking a step back and letting Smithy stand at the front and discuss the latest crime updates.
Ten minutes later, Smithy was wrapping up his part of the briefing.
"Okay and PC Hollis, you're going to be working with me today, we're heading down to the Larkmead Estate to sort out this gang crime situation. Okay thank you Marm"
Gina nodded and swapped places with Smithy before dismissing everyone from the room.
"Serge, I'm just popping to the gents" Reg informed Smithy who replied that he'd wait in the back yard.
Smithy picked up some files to take to his office and was just about to leave the room when Gina stopped him.
"Oh Smithy...how are you feeling today?"
Nodding, Smithy replied
"Fine thanks Marm"
Gina knew Smithy too well and wasn't at all convinced but told him that he knew where she was if he wanted a chat. Thanking his good friend, the young Sergeant walked up the corridor to his office, placed the files inside and headed towards the back yard to wait for Reg.
"So where are we going to start then Serge?" Reg Hollis asked his Sergeant as they drove towards the Larkmead Estate.
Smithy sighed before explaining
"To be honest Reg, I don't really know. You know what London is like with its gangs right. Well there are these two gangs the 'JSS' and the 'LMO'..."
"What do the letters stand for?" Reg asked curiously.
Smithy shook his head and replied
"I haven't a clue what JSS means but LMO, they are the Lark-Mead Owners'
Smithy caught glimpse of the look on Reg's face and nodded
"Exactly!" he replied "That's enough to cause a riot on its own. So obviously the LMO gang is full of people who live on and have lived on the Larkmead estate for many years and the other gang is made up of people from the Bronte. But a few months ago a gang fight broke out and a lot of the Bronte gang died. Many of the LMO's got arrested and one of them, Leo Taylor was found out as the leader and was arrested but due to lack of evidence, the case was closed"
Smithy stopped the patrol car at a red light.
"And we've been handpicked to go down and keep an eye on then? Lucky us!" Reg exclaimed sarcastically.
Ten minutes later, Smithy was still informing Reg all about the gang war and finished explaining just as they drove into the Larkmead car park. Pulling into an empty space, Smithy turned off the engine and jumped out of the car, followed by Reg.
"Oh hello Ummm, I was wondering if I could talk to Sergeant Smith please?"
PC Honey Harman, who was covering the front desk, looked up from reading her 'Take a Break' magazine and smiled at the old age pensioner standing in front of her.
"I'm sorry madam, Sergeant Smith is out patrolling, can I take a message?"
The lady shook her head and instantly replied
"Oh no, I can't do that, I need to speak to him personally. Tell him it's Mrs Taylor and I have some very important information. Please"
Honey nodded and sighed as she opened a hardback book, scrolled down until she found the young Sergeant's mobile number, picked up the station phone and dialled the number.
"Oh hello Madam I'm PC Hollis & this is Sergeant Smith from Sunhill police station. We're just letting you know that we're around the estate if you have any worries or queries about anything"
The middle aged woman smiled and asked
"Are you here because of the gangs?"
Smithy took a step forward as he replied to the woman.
"That's one of the reasons, but apart from that, we just want the occupants to know that we're around if they need anything. Is there anything we can help you with today Marm? Any worries or queries?"
The woman paused before nodding and signalling for the two officers to enter her third floor flat where Reg and Smithy had decided to start knocking. The two male officers declined a cup of tea and asked the female what she wanted to ask them.
"Well, I was just wondering what was happening with the whole...gang crime thing. You know, with Leo Taylor and the rest of the LMO's. A lot of the Bronte lot died because of that Taylor boy and you lot let him go. Is there going to be any more riots between them and the Bronte lot? Are we even safe in our own homes?"
Reg glanced at Smithy and could see he was trying to find the right words to say.
"Mrs..."
"Monahan" the lady replied
"Mrs Monahan. One of the main reasons PC Hollis and myself are here today is to see if any of the residents on this estate have any queries, worries or questions. As you know, the case on Leo Taylor got dropped due to lack of evidence so we had to let him go but that doesn't mean we're not going to keep an eye on him and the rest of his gang. The moment we think something's going down, we'll be here to stop it, so you have nothing to worry about" Smithy reassured the lady.
The lady thanked the officers and watched as they left her flat and knocked on the one next door.
There was no answer so as they made their way through the top floor flats, Smithy's mobile phone started vibrating. Slipping his hand into his trouser pocket, Smithy pulled out his phone and pressed accept as he saw the words 'Station Front Desk' flashing on the front.
"Hello, Sergeant Smith" Smithy spoke.
"Oh hi Serge, It's Honey. Sorry for disturbing you but I have an elderly lady here who's asking to speak to you. Her name is Mrs Taylor. Yes Serge. Okay will do, see you soon. Bye"
Honey placed the phone back down on the handset and closed the book containing all the officers' personal phone numbers. Opening the office door, Honey walked into the corridor, took a plastic cup and filled it with cold water and walked through the door into the front of the station.
"Mrs Taylor, I've just spoken to Sergeant Smith and he's on his way back to the station to speak to you. He shouldn't be long. Here's some water for you"
Mrs Taylor took the cup of water off the young female officer, smiled and thanked her for helping.
Fifteen minutes later, Smithy drove into the back yard and parked up. After finishing the conversation with Honey, he had forwarded the conversation to Reg, explaining that they'd have to head back to the station to speak with the elderly lady as she was Leo Taylor's grandmother and any information on Leo Taylor could be crucial. After walking into the station, both Reg and Smithy headed for the front office, only stopping to inform Inspector Gold where they were going and why.
"Mrs Taylor" Smithy called as he walked into the front of the station.
Reg helped Mrs Taylor up from the seating area while Smithy opened the door to the small front room so that they could talk in private.
"Thank you for coming back to the station Sergeant Smith. I know you were out working"
Smithy smiled at the elderly lady.
"It's no problem Mrs Taylor. Oh this is my colleague PC Hollis but, I'm sure you can call him Reg" Smithy added, smiling at Reg who nodded at the Sergeant's remark.
"So Mrs Taylor, what can we do for you today?"
Sighing, the old lady started explaining to the two male officers.
"Well, I have some information for you on my grandchildren..."
Suddenly remembering that Leo Taylor had a younger sister, Smithy informed Reg of this, so that he didn't get confused.
"Okay...tell me what you can" Smithy told Mrs T.
"Well Jess has done something very stupid. She told me last night that she's fallen pregnant by Mason Craddick!"
Confused, Reg asked
"Who's Mason Craddick?"
Before Smithy could answer, Mrs Taylor explained
"He's the leader of that JSS gang, the ones from the Bronte. Leo overheard Jess telling me and went mad. He stormed over to the Bronte but returned about an hour later shouting that Mason had gone away but was due back soon. Sergeant Smith, he's due back today so it's due to kick off anytime soon. Leo is a very silly boy and not that he needs one but he now has a new reason to start a gang fight with the Bronte lot. I'm worried that he'll kill Mason Craddick!"
Smithy looked horrified and shot a look at Reg who looked just as worried.
Mrs Taylor was friendly with Mason Craddick's Grandmother even though their grandsons were in two gangs at war and Smithy knew this so he asked
"Mrs Taylor, do you know exactly when Mason is due back?"
Pushing up the sleeve of her red cardigan to check the time on her gold strapped wrist, a worried look suddenly spread across Mrs Taylor's face, which didn't go amiss by either male officer.
"Mrs Taylor?" Smithy asked.
Looking up, the elderly lady looked straight into the young Sergeant's eyes and replied
"A booked taxi picked him up from the station ten minutes ago"
Without hesitating, Smithy jumped up, told Mrs Taylor to stay put, signalled for Reg to follow him, flung open the door and called out to Honey.
"PC Harman, look after Mrs Taylor. Keep her at the station; don't let her go back to the Lark Mead!"
Honey nodded and buzzed open the door to let Smithy and Reg into the station corridor.
"Reg, go start the car mate!" Smithy ordered and Reg rushed off down the corridor.
"Marm!" Smithy called down the corridor as he spotted the Inspector walking the opposite way.
In a matter of seconds, Smithy explained the whole situation to Gina and she stood there overwhelmed by all the information flying towards her. Smithy jogged down the corridor, heading towards the back yard but stopped when he heard Gina calling out his name.
"Smithy"
Coming to a stop, Smithy spun around to face his best friend who was at the top of the corridor.
"Be careful"
Smiling in his usual handsome manner, the young Sergeant called back
"Don't worry Marm, I will" and rushed through the double doors into the back yard.
"Will he definitely come back here?" Reg asked Smithy as they pulled into the car park on the Bronte estate.
"I'm guessing so. Like Taylor, Mason has been brought up by his grandmother and she's the most important person to him. He's been away for a week so I'm guessing she's the first person he'd wanna see" Smithy explained.
Ten minutes later, there was still no sign of Mason.
"It shouldn't take this long to travel from the train station does it?" Reg questioned.
With a worried look, Smithy shook his head.
"Shall I go knock on the door to check he's not already inside? He might be"
Smithy sighed.
"Well that's the thing. Mason's grandmother isn't in the best health and she's quite fragile so the last thing we want to do is worry her. But, he should be back by now"
Pausing for a moment to make a decision, Smithy finally added
"Go on then Reg, go see if he's home but try not to look suspicious or worry Mrs Craddick"
Just as Reg opened the passenger side door to jump out of the car, Smithy's phone rang and, after noticing who was ringing him, he reached for Reg's arm.
"Wait!"
Reg closed the door and looked at his colleague who had now answered his mobile.
"Hello Mrs Taylor?"
"Oh hello Sergeant Smith, are you outside Mason's house?"
"Yes we are but he's not home yet. Do you know where he is? Where's Leo?"
"Ummm, I'm not sure where my grandson is but I know he's not in my house. I'm still at your police station. My granddaughter Jess just phoned me to tell me that Mason is on his way to our house to see her because she told him about the baby."
"Okay thank you Mrs Taylor, stay at the station okay. We'll keep you updated!"
With that, Smithy threw his phone down on to the back seat, turned the key and drove out of the Bronte car park, down the road towards the Lark-Mead estate, making sure to update Reg on the way.
"Have you seen all the flowers out the front?" Steve Hunter asked Honey and Dan as she joined them at a table in the canteen.
Looking up from staring into her mug of tea, Honey replied
"I know they're lovely aren't they. I bought a small bouquet of pink flowers for Bec on the way to work this morning and put them outside before I came in. Smithy brought some lovely white lilies there too, Bec's favourite. They were Kerry's favourite too actually"
Suddenly, Honey started crying and put her head into her hands. Steve watched as Dan placed his arm around the emotional Honey's shoulder and held her tightly.
"I can't believe I'm crying, I feel so stupid"
"Hey shhh, it's alright. You're bound to be upset babe, Both Bec and Kerry were good mates" Dan said gently to Honey, passing her a napkin from the pile on the table.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Honey smiled gratefully at Dan.
"Both girls were great friends of mine and meant a lot to me, even if I didn't always show it. In the past few years, so many people have left this station, most of them died. Too much has changed. I just hope that...that no one else leaves, gets hurt or dies anytime soon"
Drinking up the last of her tea, Honey stood up and walked out of the canteen to head back to work, followed by Dan and Steve.
"Smithy STOP!" Reg shouted as a teenage girl ran out in front of the patrol car.
The car screeched to a halt and both officers jumped out to see if the girl was okay.
"Are you alright love?"
The girl looked terrified and was shaking.
"It's my best friends brother...he's fighting with another boy on the estate" the girl explained.
"Who's fighting? What are their names?" Reg asked to which the young girl replied
"Leo Taylor is fighting with Mason Craddick. Leo's got a knife"
Reg asked the girl to show him where the fight was and they both ran off while Smithy parked the patrol car at the side of the pavement before rushing after them. Just as the girl and Reg arrived at the scene, Mason Craddick fell into a slump on the tar marked floor and blood poured out of him while Leo Taylor quickly scampered away. Jess Taylor let out a high pitched scream and on hearing this, Smithy ran over to see what was happening. On seeing Mason Craddick lying on the floor with Jess Taylor crouched on the floor next to him, Smithy raced after Leo Taylor as Reg pointed the way.
"Sierra Oscar from 171, assistant and ambulance required on the Lark mead estate for an IC1 male with a serious stab wound to the chest. He's losing a lot of blood. Sergeant Smith is chasing Leo Taylor; think they're heading towards the playing fields"
"Sierra Oscar 171, received. Ambulance and backup on way" Dean re-assured from the CAD office.
"Don't come any closer or I swear blud, I'll finish ya!" Leo Taylor threatened.
Not listening, Smithy continued to approach him but stopped in his tracks when Leo started waving the knife around.
"Come on mate, don't do anything stupid. Give me the knife" Smithy called out.
"Do you fink I'm stupid! Mason and his gang deserved everything they got, they're waster's man! I aint going down for trying to sort the block out, no way!"
Leo was panicking and Smithy instantly picked up on this.
"Look, Leo. If you give me the knife, we can talk about it yeah. No one else has to get hurt" Smithy tried to persuade him but he wasn't having any of it.
Just then, the sound of a mobile vibrating was heard and the armed boy realised it was his phone. Not wanting to take his eyes off the uniformed Sergeant, Leo ignored it and it eventually stopped until a few seconds later when it started vibrating again. Holding the knife in one hand, Leo looked down and slipped his free hand into his tracksuit bottoms to pull out his phone. Smithy realised this was his only opportunity and charged towards the boy, just as Leo looked up. Panicking, Leo dropped his phone onto the ground and without hesitating, plunged the silver bladed knife into the Sergeant's chest. Smithy stopped still, let out a gasp and fell to the ground. Realising what he had just done, Leo legged it without a seconds thought, leaving the young Sergeant bleeding to death on the ground.
"Charging 360 and...no output. I'm sorry. Time of death..."
For the second time, Jess Taylor let out a scream as she realised that her own big brother had murdered her secret boyfriend and father of her unborn baby. The paramedics put Mason's body in to a black bag and placed him into the back of the ambulance before driving off. Just then, DS Phil Hunter's car pulled up and he stepped out, along with PC Honey Harman and Mrs Taylor. Just behind them, Superintendant O'Karo pulled up and he stepped out followed by Inspector Gina Gold.
"Come on darling, let's get you home" Honey Harman said as her and Mrs Taylor approached the very emotional Jess Taylor.
"Reg where's Smithy?" Gina asked with a very worried look across her face as she stepped out of the patrol car along with Superintendant O'Karo.
"Umm I'm not sure Marm. I tried phoning him but his phone kept ringing, then I remembered he left it in the patrol car. He chased Leo Taylor, they went that way" Reg explained, pointing in the direction that Smithy and the murdering teenager headed.
Without a seconds thought, Gina scurried in the direction that Reg had pointed to, hoping that she'd find her good friend alive and well, accompanied by a handcuffed Leo Taylor.
Smithy could feel the grass tickling his fingers as he lay on the playing field, bleeding to death. When he moved his hand up to his chest, it turned cold as it touched the thick blood that was seeping through his uniformed jacket. There was no one around and all Smithy could hear was the sound of his own heart, beating extremely fast. His stinging eyes were getting really heavy and the dying Sergeant was in a tremendous amount of pain. Smithy blinked a number of times, trying to keep his emerald green eyes open but decided that it wouldn't harm to rest them for a moment or two, which he did.
"I never should of waited so long to say
What I've always known since the very first day
Thought that you would stay forever with me
But the time has come to leave
Before we turn out the lights and close our eyes
I'll tell you a secret I've held all my life
Its you that I live for, and for you I die
So I'll Lay here with you til the final goodbye"
A few moments later, Smithy re-opened his eyes but had to shade them at the sight of a very bright light. Squinting, he looked around and realised that he was no longer in Sunhill but somewhere very different. Through the bright light, Smithy could just make out a figure walking towards him and was stunned when he saw who it was.
"Kerry?"
Standing in front of him was indeed, Kerry Young. She was dressed in a beautiful flowing white dress and her blonde hair was curled. Placing her hand onto Smithy's face, Kerry whispered lovingly.
"Hello Smithy. I've missed you so much"
"Hold, draw me close, close to my lips
Listen intently as I tell you this
Outside the world wages its rewards, I'll rest in peace as long as you know"
Overcome with emotions, Smithy didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so instead asked
"Is this heaven?"
Kerry glanced around at the beautiful scenery before shaking her head and exclaiming
"Not exactly"
Feeling very confused, Smithy nervously asked
"Where are we Kerry?"
Flashing the exquisite smile that Smithy loved, Kerry explained
"Well, this is the place that Rebecca told you about Smithy. This is the place that we all made together so that we could find one another. Everyone's here...and we're waiting for you, when the time is right. That time is very close. I know you're scared and you don't want to die but, it's time for you to let go Smithy"
With tears rolling down his cheeks, Smithy shook his head.
"I can't Kerry"
"Before we turn out the lights and close our eyes
I'll tell you a secret I've held all my life
Its you that I live for, and for you I die
So I'll Lay here with you til the final goodbye"
A sad look spread across Kerry's face as she turned around and walked a few steps away from Smithy. Turning around, she announced
"I really hope you change your mind Smithy but if you don't, then I'll be waiting for you, when you're ready" and with that, she disappeared just as another bright light shone.
"Promise you our love will carry on
Until you turn eternal, we belong"
Smithy quickly shut his eyes to protect them from the light but when he opened them again, the young Sergeant found himself back on the field, in pain and bleeding to death.
"Kerry!" he called and was surprised to hear a response, although it wasn't the one he'd wanted.
"No Smithy, its Gina. You're going to be okay, we're going to get you to hospital!" she explained, flustered and panicking at the state of her Sergeant.
Smithy was finding it increasingly harder to breathe and knew Kerry was right when she'd said that he didn't have much time left. Smithy noticed Gina reaching for her radio to call an ambulance. With all his might, he reached out and grabbed Gina's hand. As he did, the Inspector let go of the radio and looked at the young Sergeant.
"No..." he ordered. "I don't want to go to hospital. It's my time Gina; it's my time to go" Smithy managed to mumble.
Looking at her injured friend, Gina could see how much pain he was in and was feeling scared because she didn't want to lose him. Fighting back the tears and gulping, Gina said in her bossy voice
"Smithy don't be silly, you're going to be fine!"
"Before we turn out the lights and close our eyes
I'll tell you a secret I've held all my life
It's you that I live for, and for you I die
So I'll lay here with you till the final goodbye"
Smithy flinched as the pain in his chest became sharper and he knew he needed to speak to Gina quickly, before it was late.
"I saw her Gina. Kerry...I saw Kerry. The place that Rebecca told me about is true. They're all waiting for me there, so we can all leave together"
A confused Gina looked at Smithy and asked
"Leave and go where?"
Smithy opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. His chest had become intensely tight, blood uncontrollably seeping through his jacket and he was in so much pain. Struggling to breathe, Smithy tried to speak again, this time, blurting out everything he had left to say, knowing that his time to leave was just moments away.
"That's what I'm going to find out. You've been an amazing friend Gina, a real and irreplaceable one. I'll never, ever forget you. Take care. I'll see you in another life Gina"
"His respectful lips for the last time
And spell out the lyrics to love in the sky
Its you that I live for and for you I die
So I'll lay here with you till the final goodbye
Goodbye"
Reaching out to hold his best friend's hand, Smithy flashed Gina a weak smile but then, let out a painful, emotional whimper as he lost his fight to stay alive and slowly closed his emerald green eyes.