Joyce gave Makepeace a cup of tea and her gaze ran over her senior officer's face she looked exhausted. Instinctively she looked over at Dempsey, he was watching Harry and his eyes were dark and determined. Oh dear, when the two officers had a falling out everyone felt the reverberations and this looked like a doozy.

Spikings erupted out of his office with Chas at his heels. 'Hostage taking at the airport; Heathrow's closed down, sounds like a nutter. Harry go and find the wife, Dempsey come with me.' A file was slammed down on Harry's desk and the men moved out of the office checking their guns on route.

'Ah the wife, then that must be my job,' Harry said in a mildly pissed off tone. In truth, she got enough excitement so she was just going through the motions of complaining. 'Joyce perhaps you and Watson could find Mrs. McIntyre and bring her in for questioning.' She got up and stretched and then got a call on her mobile as she walked into her office.

'You look tired are you okay,' Dempsey's warm voice caressed her ear. He was determined to lay siege to Harry.

'I'm fine why did you call,' the female detective responded too tired with all the emotional pressure she was under, to be more than civil.

'I called cos I wanted to talk to you and besides it's boring here as the boss is insisting on talking to the guy rather than going in. Heathrow's been evacuated the place is dead.'

'Well I'm sorry you're bored Dempsey but as far as I'm aware I haven't been hired to entertain you; look I'm sorry I have to get on. When Mrs McIntyre has been brought in I'll be in touch, bye.' Harry killed the call and rested her head in her hands. It felt as if he was pushing her all the time, nudging her into life and it was wearing her out; her resistance and his constant unspoken demand.

Her resistance was based on fear of what James could do to her if he got too close; he was already too close she could feel his breath on her neck. I'm getting whimsical she thought with a deep sigh. Maybe I should just give in and then maybe I could get a good night's sleep. Her nights were peppered with erotic dreams all featuring her ex-partner and it was driving her insane. Worse than that she missed his company and it had taken all her willpower to cut that call today. She loved the sound of his voice, God what had she become; some weak wimp of a woman cursed with longing for a man.

'Everything okay Harry,' Fry asked with concern. 'Hargreaves has Mrs. McIntyre and she's bringing her in so I've got the interview room ready, she should be back in about thirty minutes.'

'Thank you Fry, and yes I'm fine,' she looked back at her computer to indicate the conversation was over. He was hovering and this would be a really bad time for him to hit on her she'd had enough of male gallantry, an overdose in fact although it was difficult to call Dempsey gallant.

'I er… I have tickets for the opera if you would like to go,' Fry offered going a bright beetroot colour. 'I know I'm younger than you and of a lower rank but I'd just like to…

'I'm sorry Fry it wouldn't be appropriate, you are my subordinate in rank and as a female in a male dominated institution I have to be very careful to abide by the rules on social engagement. Thank you for asking me it was kind of you,' she added to soften the blow. Her head was aching with exhaustion but she still tried to put the necessary effort in so that the young man didn't feel humiliated.

'Okay, I just thought it was something you would enjoy and that Dempsey would never think of taking you to,' Fry did know she saw the D.I. socially.

'Very true,' she was losing patience now. 'I'd be grateful if you would tell me when Hargreaves and Watson return,' her phone rang and she picked it up signalling an end to the conversation.

'Harry, you got Mrs hostage-taker in the interview room yet; the boss is getting a bit uptight, the guy won't release the hostages until his wife gets here and he's a wack job so we need some kind of angle.'

'Hello D.I. Dempsey,' the female detective responded sarcastically as Dempsey always entered a conversation like he was already in the middle of it. 'Mrs McIntyre should be here any minute do you want me to bring her straight there or interview her first, we don't know her take on the situation she may refuse to co-operate.'

'Don't give her that option Makepeace, currently she's all we've got. Oh, crap! A gun's just gone off, I'll get back to you.'

'Be careful,' Harry said to dead air as he'd gone. She looked up as Hargreaves and Watson came in with a fairly belligerent looking Mrs McIntyre.

She went out of her office to be greeted by the woman with a disclaimer as to any involvement with her husband. 'I've split up with him, officially separated and whatever he's doing has nothing to do with me and I have no intention of going to the airport to talk to that git.'

Harry took a deep breath and pulled out her patient expression and voice tone. 'I appreciate your feelings Mrs McIntyre but you are the only hope those hostages have.'

'Yes well it's me he probably wants to take a pop at and I don't fancy volunteering for my own funeral,' Courtney was pretty sure they couldn't make her go to Heathrow as she hadn't done anything wrong except marry the wrong man and as far as she knew that wasn't a crime.

'You will have police protection; we will not allow Mr McIntyre to harm you in any way. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to accompany me to Heathrow, Mrs McIntyre.'

'I want a lawyer; I want legal advice I don't want to go and I don't see how you can make me.'

Harry sighed heavily as she was well aware that legally they couldn't make the woman go to the crime scene. 'There are people's lives on the line, please will you consider that.'

After a trying half an hour Makepeace convinced Courtney to go with her to Heathrow and she had Fry contact Dempsey to tell him they were on their way.

What followed was farcical. Brian McIntyre insisted on swapping his wife for the hostages and Courtney McIntyre point blank refused. Makepeace didn't really blame her as the man was clearly unbalanced. In the end Harry dressed in Courtney's clothes as they were a similar build and put on an auburn wig from one of the mannequins in the retail area; the act of which had tinges of a past case with a serial killer.

Dempsey then turned up and refused to let her take the place of Courtney McIntyre. 'Look we ain't sacrificing D.I. Makepeace in order to get the hostages back, when he finds it ain't his wife he's likely to shoot Harry. You ain't doing it,' he thundered at his ex-partner.

'I think you'll find I'm the senior officer here Dempsey,' Spikings looked like he was going to internally combust. He had the top brass on his case as anything to do with airports was high profile. 'Dempsey's right though it's an unacceptable risk.'

'There are twenty hostages' sir, I'm one person it's a numbers game,' Harry protested infuriated at the American's interference.

'It ain't a numbers game there's only one Harry Makepeace and you're not doing it,' he rounded on Spikings. 'I think we should go in if the wife won't play ball. Or what if we arrange an interview room for him to talk to his wife if he lays down his arms and releases the hostages.'

'We can try that,' Spikings went back to the room where he had comms set up and started the conversation.

The American glowered at his ex-partner who in her turn was glaring at him. 'Funny you'll sacrifice yourself for people you've never met, that's brave Harry.' His dark gaze told her that he didn't think much of her courage on other issues.

'Shut up Dempsey,' she was beyond frustrated with the situation she'd found herself in. He was right of course which didn't really improve her mood.

'I'll dress up in the damned wig and dress rather than let you go in there and I damn well know if I volunteered for it you'd be against it.'

'I agree, I don't think you'd be very convincing Detective Inspector,' Makepeace's sarcasm set Courtney of in a paroxysm of laughter which lasted longer than appropriate as she was as stressed as the rest of them.

'The dress isn't your colour,' Courtney guffawed and the irritation of the two detectives made the whole situation even funnier.

Spikings came back, 'he's willing to have a conversation with Mrs McIntyre over the comms system but refuses at this point to give up arms or the hostages.'

Courtney shrugged. 'What am I supposed to say to him? I'm not having him back,' she looked horrified at the thought.

'Perhaps you might pretend there is a chance of reconciliation,' Spikings offered in laboured tones, 'he will be arrested anyway as he's taken hostages and he's bearing arms illegally.

'Lie to him you mean,' Courtney bristled. 'I'm not a liar, I've never lied to him….

Whilst not lying in principle was a good thing the SI10 team felt that in this particular situation a couple of white lies couldn't hurt.

Harry could see Dempsey ready to give a few brutal home truths to Mrs McIntyre and quickly stepped in. 'I appreciate it goes against the grain to not be entirely truthful Courtney but those people who are currently your husband's hostages really need your help and in fact your husband needs your help because if he kills any of them he will never leave a prison cell.'

'We're separated,' the woman seethed. 'Oh all right, I'll see what I can do. He's mentally unstable that's what he is, thank God we never had kids.'

'Amen to that,' Dempsey remarked sotto voce. He took the icy glare from Makepeace as his due. He wasn't as sympathetic to the low life scum as she was and whatever Courtney said she'd in some way contributed to this situation.

Spikings led the woman off and asked Makepeace to accompany them.

Dempsey lit a cigar and caught Hargreaves sarcastic appraisal. 'What, I got dirt on my face or something?'

'I was just thinking that the diplomatic core was never your calling Detective Inspector,' she accepted a cup of coffee from Fry. 'And the thought of you in a dress has its amusing aspects.'

'Yeah well laugh it up at least Makepeace didn't get to do the switcheroo, what's she think's gonna happen when McIntyre realises he's been conned. On the other hand, maybe he'd think he got an upgrade cos Courtney ain't all that.'

Hargreaves loved to hear the male point of view on female attractiveness it was so illuminating.

Dempsey hadn't finished as he was annoyed with the whole situation. 'I mean what makes a guy get an illegal firearm, take twenty people hostage and shut down a whole airport just to have another chance with a dame who's dumped his sorry ass? I mean where's his pride it's pathetic.'

'Maybe he thinks it's a grand gesture,' Joyce responded airily. 'He's obviously mentally unwell as he can't have thought through the consequences. Maybe he thinks she'll visit him in prison or maybe he's going to bargain for a free flight to sunny Spain with Courtney as his companion.'

'You forgot the luncheon vouchers, got to eat while they're there,' Dempsey added sarcastically.

Spikings came out rubbing a hand over his hair. 'He's asked for a flight to the Costa del Sol; the honeymoon destination apparently. Mrs McIntyre agreed to go with him on the basis that Makepeace goes with them, the D.I. is willing to go. The Spanish authorities are being contacted. In that way, we take the problem away from Heathrow and the hostages will be freed. As the Spanish authorities are unlikely to agree to our exporting the problem I suggest we make an intervention before the plane takes off so Dempsey go suit up as a pilot and Hargreaves you're an air hostess and Fry can be a steward.'

'My childhood dream,' Hargreaves returned sarcastically.

'They had planes then huh,' Dempsey responded in his usual style as they all made for the crew's quarters where they could change.

Harry observed James in the pilot's uniform and looked unsettled, 'I suddenly feel rather unwell, deja vue I think it's called. No jumping out of the plane this time Dempsey, give me your word.'

The American shrugged nonchalantly as he pulled on the pilot's jacket, 'the idea is we don't take off, has he still got the gun in our sunny, Spain scenario or can Courtney here persuade him to give it up?'

'He's insisting on keeping the gun, he's willing to let the hostages go however so that's a win.' Spikings was very keen to get the hostages out of it and have his team deal with the lovelorn, mentally challenged male.

'Hargreaves you need to get busy with pre take-off drinks, make him think he's going on his holidays,' Dempsey growled as he fastened up his jacket whilst Hargreaves straightened the seams of her stockings in her little outfit and Makepeace changed back into her own clothes. 'Harry you got your gun?'

'Yes,' the blonde officer answered tersely and then stiffened as the Met psychiatrist Suzanne Leyton joined the party. It was ridiculous she shouldn't react so negatively after all she'd met plenty of Dempsey's 'friends,' in her time.

'Superintendent Ball asked me to be on hand,' the woman explained her presence. The psychiatrist was used to the general irritation when she turned up as the gung-ho operational units rarely enjoyed having a 'shrink,' on the scene to complicate matters.

Spikings looked beleaguered. 'Very well, Dr Leyton, if we manage to get the hostage taker off the plane in one piece it will be very helpful to have you evaluate his mental state.'

'He's a wack job and a dangerous one at that, already fired bullets around so we're into damage limitation here not a counselling session,' Dempsey added his ten cents worth.

'Can you take me through the situation so far,' Suzanne asked in her patient, professional tone.

'Makepeace,' Spikings yelled as she was the only one who had the patience to deal with this kind of situation.

Harry was feeling low on patience but dutifully led Suzanne over to a seated area and quickly briefed her.

After listening patiently to the female officer Dr Leyton followed her team's procedure in cases like this although she had very little hope of her request being acceded to. 'I'd like to talk to him and assess his mental state,' the psychiatrist insisted. 'I don't think telling him lies is the best way forward.'

'Chief Inspector Spikings,' Harry clearly bit out her senior officer's name to get his attention. 'Dr Leyton has some concerns.' Makepeace took some guilty pleasure from her commanding officer's suppressed irritation at dealing with this latest intervention from the Met's medical representative. The Chief Inspector over-ruled the doctor's concerns as he needed to get the hostages out and operational matters took precedence but he could see a lot of form filling on the horizon.

Spikings gave the faux crew the order to get on board and then Harry and Courtney walked onto the tarmac to await Brian McIntyre, who came out of the airport wielding his gun. It was a heavily fraught moment as Courtney wasn't too sure he wouldn't fire.

Brian grabbed his wife and told Makepeace to back off and wouldn't allow her on the plane even though Courtney insisted she come along.

Harry re-joined Spikings and Dr Leyton. 'Shame I was looking forward to a bit of sunshine,' she remarked trying to lighten the atmosphere.

'Dempsey will deal with it,' the Chief Inspector growled and didn't add more as the doctor was present. He didn't add his misgivings on the body count in a confined area from the Yank with his cannon.

The plane took off which wasn't in the main game-plan but was a backup scenario and then it did the usual holding pattern around Heathrow as agreed with air traffic control.

'No silly buggers going on I hope,' Spikings said in an undertone to Makepeace as they stood on the runway watching the aircraft gain altitude.

'Well he does like planes,' Harry responded dryly as they watched anxiously for their colleagues return.