Chapter Two Hundred and Nine
"Charlie, we have to work together on this," Hugo said urgently, very aware that she was still pointing a gun at him.
"I'm not helping you with anything," the police officer replied.
Her hands were shaking from fear and she had no idea what to do or how to handle the situation.
"Then we're both going to die," Hugo said.
Keeping her gun trained on the man who had nearly killed her, Charlie glanced at the approaching boat. Suzy was getting ever closer.
"Okay, what's your plan?" Charlie said, turning back to Hugo.
She had no desire to save him but right now, she was trapped out on the ocean with no other option.
Watson and Joey arrived down at the docks to find, as Joey had suspected, Hugo's boat was missing.
"What do you suggest we do now?" Watson asked anxiously.
"I suggest we go sailing," Joey said.
"I don't have a boat licence," Watson pointed out.
"I do," Joey said.
"Joey, I can't take you out on police business. I can't..."
"Watson, Charlie could be in danger!" Joey said urgently. "I'm not sitting around waiting for a miracle. If she's in trouble, if she's scared... we have to help her."
Watson glanced at her and then out to sea again. Sighing heavily, she relented and led the way towards the police boat, stationed for emergencies.
Alf had brought Romeo and Xavier home. Having given their statements to the police, they'd been told they could go. With Xavier still stressed and worried about his brother, and with the images of the dying illegal immigrants burnt onto his brain, Alf hadn't thought returning to the party was a good idea. Not wanting to worry his mother just yet, Xavier had agreed to come back to the house with them, although he was still in a state of distress.
"What do you think we should do?" Romeo asked as they three men sat on the sofa together.
"There's nothing we can do," Alf said firmly. "We just need to wait."
"But what about Hugo?" Xavier asked. "What if he's in trouble?"
"There's nothing we can do," Alf said again. "We just have to wait. It sounds like Hugo and Charlie could be together so hopefully Joey and Watson will find them soon."
Xavier sighed heavily and sank back into his chair, rubbing his temples.
"What happened to those people they took to the hospital, Alf?" Romeo asked.
"That's a question I don't want to answer," Alf replied honestly.
Martha and Angelo sat in the ambulance, on their way to hospital. Silence filled the air as both of them tried to come to terms with everything that had happened that night. Derrick had been in a bad way by the time they had reached him. He'd been taken to hospital in the first ambulance to arrive but nobody was sure if he'd make it. Nobody was sure of anything.
The party had broken up prematurely. Rachel and Tony had left to go to the hospital in order to meet Martha. Gina had panicked and desperately tried to phone Xavier. Geoff had gone back to Ruby's house with her and Leah where they were all waiting desperately on news of Charlie and Joey, neither of whom they could contact.
"Where's that cop?" Suzy demanded.
She'd pulled up beside Hugo's boat, weapon in hand.
"What cop?" he asked, trying desperately to be nonchalant.
"I saw her!" Suzy snapped. "And what are you playing at by being out here? You're meant to be on your way to the airport."
"I told you I had some things to deal with," Hugo said, trying not to glance out at the water where, in theory, Charlie was creeping beneath the surface of the water in order to get behind Suzy and overpower her.
He swallowed uncertainly, trying to overcome his own sense of panic. He wondered how everything had gone so badly wrong.
"What things?" Suzy asked. "Because it looks to me very much like you're running away. And I have to say that I'm shocked that you would leave Martha to die like that."
"I'm not leaving her!" Hugo insisted. "I just had to get rid of some evidence and then I was going to come and meet you. I was going to save Martha from whatever you've got planned for her."
"You're too late," Suzy said, raising her gun.
She cried out in surprise when someone attacked her from behind.
Joey concentrated on the water ahead of her, hoping that she might spot some sign of life on the dark ocean. She had no idea where she was going or what she hoped to achieve but she had a strong feeling that Charlie was out here somewhere, that she was in trouble and that she needed help. Her heart pounded in her chest and she felt like it was going to burst. It had taken her this long to meet her soul mate; she was terrified of losing her now.
Xavier pulled his phone out of his pocket, having not heard it ring until now.
"Mum?" he said.
"Thank God you're alright!" Gina gasped. "Where are you? What on earth have you been doing?"
Taking a breath, Xavier tried to explain the little information he had.
"Where are they?" Ruby asked desperately.
Leah had made hot drinks for all three of them in a bid to find something to distract her.
"They'll be fine," Geoff said, although his words were hollow.
Ruby resisted the urge to snap at him. He was only trying to help and stay positive, after all. The fear that her mother and step-mother were in danger made her feel sick.
Having been given the all clear, Martha sat in the hospital waiting room with Tony. With Derrick in critical condition, Angelo needing treatment and the influx of Hugo and Suzy's dying victims, it was a case of all hands on deck so Rachel had started work hours earlier than she was meant to.
"What happened, Martha?" Tony asked worriedly.
"To be honest, I don't even know," Martha replied sadly.
Suddenly she was filled with panic.
"Where's Bambang?" she asked.
She had left him to enjoy the party with Tony and Rachel.
"Gina's got him," her father in law said calmly. "She'll keep him for the night. He's fine."
Martha nodded and sank back in her chair, feeling sick.
"How did you end up in a car chase?" Tony asked, desperate for information. "And what on earth were you doing with Angelo of all people?"
"That man... Derrick," Martha ventured. "He abducted me. I think he was going to kill me. And Angelo saved my life."
"Why did he want to hurt you?" Tony wondered.
"I don't know," Martha said. "The only thing I do know is that all of this is Hugo's fault."
Tony continued to stare at her, uncomfortable with the way her jaw was set and her eyes turned cold. He dreaded to think about what his nephew might have got them all caught up in.
Hugo watched Charlie and Suzy struggle with each other. Both guns had been lost and Suzy was dishing out as much violence as Charlie was. Realising that he could escape, Hugo whispered an apology to Charlie before heading back to the wheel. One or both of them was likely to end up dead. This was his one and only chance to escape. Starting up the engine again, Hugo turned to leave, to steal away into the night.
"Don't even think about it!" a voice yelled through the dark.
He paused as a police boat came charging towards him, steered by Joey. Watson's gun was pointed firmly in his direction.
Next time... Joey and Watson save the day, Martha and Angelo make peace and someone dies...
