Title: Intimidation
Chapter: 3 - Liberation
Fandom: The Doctor Blake Mysteries
Author: Ceindreadh
Type of Story: Multi-part
Characters: Matthew Lawson, Lucien Blake, Mattie O'Brien
Rating: 15
Spoilers: Seasons 3
Summary: Lawson finds some allies in his conflict with Munro
Word count: ~ 1,400
Disclaimer. I don't own the characters, I'm only borrowing them, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Previously: Lawson was abducted by men working for 'Froggy' Morgan and forced to write a retraction to his accusations against Munro. After Morgan left with the retraction Lawson managed to turn his men against each other. One was killed in the resulting shoot-out and the other made a run for it, leaving Lawson to make his way to safety.
"It's going to be a long walk back to Ballarat," Lawson told himself as he finally stepped out into the night.
"Lucien!" The insistent voice and the accompanying tapping on the door broke through Blake's sleep and he forced his eyes open, blinking slightly as he tried to focus. To his surprise, Mattie was standing there, dressing gown wrapped tightly around her as she moved into the room.
"Mattie?" Blake sat up in the bed, "Is everything all right? Did I sleep through the phone?"
Mattie shook her head, "No, but I think there's somebody at the door. I was up getting a drink of water and I heard a noise." Even as she spoke, Blake could hear a slow repetitive banging on the door.
"Thank you Mattie," said Blake, pushing back the bedclothes and getting up. "I'll deal with whoever it is." He pulled on his dressing gown as he went, switching on the light as he walked down the hall to the front door. "Yes, I'm coming," he said as he pulled back the bolts. "Now what can I do...bloody hell, Lawson, what sort of time do you call this
"Don't know," muttered Lawson, "My watch is broken..." He took a deep breath, grimacing slightly as he stepped forward into the hall. He heard a sharp intake of breath from Mattie as the light fell on his bruised and battered face.
"What on earth happened to you, Inspector?"
"I need to speak to Davis," said Lawson, ignoring the question as he focused on staying upright.
"Charlie's not here," said Blake, "He went down to Melbourne last night."
Lawson groaned as he remembered Davis telling him that earlier in the day, no, he corrected himself, yesterday. He'd been so intent on getting back to Ballarat that he'd completely forgotten that Davis had planned to stay with his mother that night, not wanting to take any chances on being delayed the next morning. "Then I need to get to Melbourne as well."
"Hold on a minute," said Blake, as Lawson started to turn away. "You don't look in any state to be going anywhere. Come inside and let me take a look at you."
"There's no time," growled Lawson, "If I don't get to Melbourne in time..." His voice trailed off and he clutched at the doorframe as a wave of dizziness swept over him.
"All right, that's it," Lawson heard Blake say, "Mattie, give me a hand to get him into the surgery." Lawson felt two pairs of hands supporting him and guiding him as he limped slowly through the house.
Half an hour later, Lawson was sitting on Blake's examination table and feeling much more like his old self. Mattie had brewed a pot of tea and Lawson was sipping from a steaming cup as Blake gently probed the hand which Eddie had stamped on. As Blake had been checking him over and patching up his various injuries, Lawson had related the events that had taken place. Blake had been understandably furious at what had transpired.
"That absolute bastard," said Blake.
"Blake!" snapped Lawson, glancing at Mattie.
"Ah, Mattie, I do apologize for letting my language get away with me," said Blake, "But honestly, I can't believe the lengths that Munro is prepared to stoop to in order to save his skin." He let go of Lawson's hand. "I don't think you've done any permanent damage but I'll need to bring you to the hospital to get it x-rayed. Some of the smaller bones could easily be broken. I'll strap it up and then we can be on our way."
"No," said Lawson, shaking his head. "Just patch me up enough so I can get behind the wheel and then I'd appreciate it if you could drop me back to my car."
Blake and Mattie exchanged glances before Blake spoke again, "Matthew, be sensible. You're in no condition to be going anywhere. And you certainly won't be driving anywhere for a while."
"I've got one good hand," snapped Lawson, "I'll be fine." He put the cup of tea down with such force that the contents splashed into the saucer. "So if you're not going to help me, then I'll be on my way," he said, scowling. He started to stand but swayed slightly and sat down heavily.
Blake was by his side in an instant, taking Lawson's good hand and checking his pulse. "At least have another cup of tea before you go," he said quietly. "Mattie, would you mind? Matthew, give her your cup."
Gritting his teeth, Lawson picked up the cup and saucer. His hand was shaking slightly as he held it out to Mattie, but to his surprise, she didn't take it from him. Instead, and with an almost apologetic expression on her face, she reached out and tapped the cup, hard. The resulting vibration sent tremors through Lawson's hand and he gasped in pain as he lost his grip and both cup and saucer went crashing to the ground. "That was a dirty trick," he growled as Mattie crouched down and started to pick up the pieces.
"But an effective one, thank you Mattie," said Blake. "There's no way you'll be able to hold a steering wheel." He let go of Lawson's uninjured hand and sat down beside him on the examination table. "Look, if you won't let me take you to the hospital, at least let me drive you to Melbourne. Then once you've done what you need to do at the hearing, I can get you treated there."
"No," said Lawson, shaking his head. "It might not be safe. Morgan thinks that I'm safely tucked away and not in a position to kick up a fuss. But if Eddie went running back to him and he finds out that I'm on the loose, well, he could easily send a few more of his goons out to make sure I don't get to Melbourne in one piece."
"All the more reason to for you to have a responsible person by your side to keep you out of trouble," said Blake with a smile as he patted Lawson on the back.
"Yeah, but where am I going to find somebody like that at this hour of night," said Lawson. His smile turned into a grimace as the stitches tightened in his cheek.
"I'll give you another shot before we go, just to take the edge off," said Blake. Standing, he looked at his watch. "In fact, we probably have some time to spare. How about I rustle up a spot of early breakfast before we go."
"We don't have time for that," said Lawson.
"What's the rush?" asked Mattie, the pieces of the cup and saucer in her hand. "The committee won't sit before nine and surely all you have to do is explain the situation to them once you get there."
Lawson sighed, "It's not going to be that simple. My original report accusing Munro will be already on record, but his cronies will see to it that my signed retraction gets placed into evidence first off the bat. Then it'll only be my word for it that it was signed under duress. If Morgan is to be believed, then at least one of the committee is in his pocket and they're looking for is an excuse to dismiss the charges."
"But that's terrible," said Mattie, "There must be something we can do."
Blake saw a satisfied smile on Lawson's face, "You're found another rabbit to pull out of the hat, haven't you?" he said.
"I've found another hat," said Lawson "Won't be any use if I can't pull the rabbit out of it. But for that, I need time in Melbourne."
"Well I'll go and get changed then," said Blake. "Mattie, would you be so good as to make up a thermos of tea and some sandwiches. If we can't have breakfast here, we can at least have something along the way."
"Of course," said Mattie, "I'll just get dressed first and then we can be on our way."
Both men exchanged glances. "Mattie," said Blake, "I really don't think that's wise. If as Lawson says, Morgan has men trying to intercept him, I don't want to put you in danger as well."
"And if there is somebody looking for the Inspector, he's just as likely to start in Ballarat and it wouldn't be too long before he'd look here."
Blake started to protest, but to his surprise, Lawson interrupted. "She's not wrong," he said. Clearing his throat, he added, "And I'd never forgive myself if something happened to Mattie because of me."
"Well, it looks like we're going on a field trip then," said Blake.
To be continued