Chapter 34 – A Night Time Raid

*.*.*.

Jack's whole attention was on the ship before him. The entire crew, including Fletcher and De Vere were stood by the gangplank. There had been a standoff between the two sides. Jack knew the crew were waiting for Sanderson but he was itching to get on that ship. He knew Phryne was on there somewhere and he didn't like the way Fletcher kept grinning at him.

He looked over at the sound of a car approaching. Sure enough, George Sanderson stepped out and made his way over to Fletcher, looking over the assembled policemen before him. "What is this?"

Hall stepped forward. "We have reason to believe that this ship is involved in human trafficking and are here to search the ship before it sets sail."

Sanderson walked over to him. "Hall, I assure you, this ship is carrying sugar and nothing else."

"Then you won't mind us checking." Hall nodded at the policemen and Jack lead as the men made their way towards the gangplank. De Vere and the crew moved to intercept them.

Sanderson smiled as if ignorant of what was going on beside the ship. "I have great respect for you, you know that, but you have no jurisdiction here and if any serving officer sets foot on board their careers will be in question, with the exception of Inspector Robinson who, considering that he is currently suspended from duty, will be instantly dismissed with no further investigation."

The sound of a second car interrupted proceedings and Jack watched as his ex-wife exited it with Janey Fisher and Dot Williams.

"Hugh!" Dot called out in warning.

"It's OK, Dottie!" Collins called back. "We'll sort it out."

For a moment both Fletcher and Sanderson looked concerned to see Rosie there and Jack found himself strangely relieved to work out that Rosie had been kept out of all this by the pair of them.

"Rosie, darling, I'm afraid that Miss Fisher and her cohorts have made a mistake," Fletcher called over to her. "Why don't you three lovely ladies go to the police station and wait for us there and we'll sort it all out."

Jack looked over and realised that Janey was looking at him for guidance. He nodded in agreement. "Fletcher's right, Miss Fisher. One way or another, I suspect this will end with us all there."

"But what about Phryne?" Janey asked him.

"Who's Phryne?" Sanderson snapped.

That insufferable smirk was back on Fletcher's face. "Ah, the lovely Miss Fisher's much wilder sister I believe. She and Inspector Robinson are rather close, isn't that right, Jack?"

Jack couldn't take it any longer. He strode up to Fletcher and grabbed him by the throat, not all put off by the tough looking sailors that flanked him. "Where is she?"

Jack held him a little too hard so Fletcher simply pushed at him to free himself as both sailors and policemen pushed and pulled at Jack until he had no choice but to let Fletcher go. The man fell to the floor, gasping for breath. "I'm afraid I have no idea where your whore is. Probably with her legs wrapped around another man."

Jack glared at the man as he struggled back up onto his feet, knowing he was just trying to bait him. "You haven't worked it out yet, have you, Fletcher? She didn't let you hurt that girl in the club and she won't let you hurt those girls on that ship."

"But she wouldn't wait for the men with guns?" Fletcher finally pushed himself back up to standing straight.

Jack shook his head. "No. She'd think it more important to save them than to do it the right way and she's not wrong, is she?"

Fletcher turned his attention to Sanderson so Jack likewise glanced at the man who had been his boss and his father-in-law. He looked angry and confused.

Jack glared at George, not wanting to waste any more time on Fletcher. "You can dismiss me if you like, but I am searching that ship."

With that, he turned and walked up the gangplank onto the ship. He dimly heard Hall barking out orders behind him and glimpsed a couple of sailors start to follow him but he already considered himself unemployed. All that he had left now was to find Phryne and rescue those girls.

As he reached the deck of the ship her name fell from his lips as he called for her, hoping that wherever she was she'd be able to hear him and let him know where she was so he could rescue her.

*.*.*.

Fletcher and his cronies hadn't been too thorough in disarming their captives. They thought leaving Phryne bound and gagged with Bert, Cec and Joan treated likewise would be enough. They had foolishly left her with her knife. Bert's hands were loose enough that he was able, with a little fumbling and embarrassment, to get her knife from her garter and place it in her bound hands.

She cut through his wrist restraints first in gratitude, constantly worrying her gag as she did so until it started to fall loose. She heard the thud of footsteps and her heart started thudding in time as she feared it was Fletcher or a member of the crew coming to deal with them. Then to her utter delight in the distance she heard Jack calling her name.

She tried to call his but the gag still muffled it too much but in that instant her knife suddenly fell through Bert's ropes. The cabbie immediately pulled down her gag and as she called out Jack's name with all the force she could muster he undid the ropes at her wrists before they each worked on their own ankles and freed the other two beside them.

"Y'know, Cec," she heard Bert mutter to his mate as he untied him. "Next time we find ourselves with a regular and we notice her upset, rather than making friends we should just drop her off at the bloody address she gives us and say nothing."

Phryne smiled slightly and whispered to Joan to stay hidden and to only try to get off the ship before they returned if she was absolutely certain it was safe to do so.

She heard Jack call her name again, closer this time. Well, they hadn't exactly been thrown into the first room that was likely to be searched. Fletcher's cronies were at least that smart.

"Jack!" she yelled, running out of the room, clutching her knife in case she met Fletcher again.

*.*.*.

"Phryne!"

The whirlwind that was his lover flung herself into his arms, narrowly but expertly avoiding stabbing him with her ready knife he realised.

"Jack!" she cried in what he realised was relief as she briefly hugged him. She smiled over his shoulder and he glanced back to see that the ever faithful Hugh had stuck to his side. "Jack, the rest of the girls are locked in the front hold. Joan escaped but got put back in with me, Cec and Bert."

"Cec and Bert?" For a moment Jack was confused as he tried to place the familiar names. "Yates and Johnson? You got your cabbies involved?"

"Not exactly. I got them to drive me here and when I explained why they insisted on helping."

"God help us!"

"Well, yes, he probably would have been more useful but I don't think he's a big fan of mine."

"Sir," Hugh interrupted urgently.

Jack and Phryne turned to see what Hugh was shouting about and all three ducked as a bullet flew at them. The crew had made it on board.

"We've got to get to the girls before Fletcher does!" Phryne insisted.

Without a second thought Phryne started down a nearby set of stairs. As she knew where she was going Jack instinctively followed her, knowing that Hugh was going to be right behind as well.

The captain suddenly came out of nowhere and nearly made it to Phryne but the red raggers pulled him back away from her. They looked shocked as they recognised Jack and realised that he was on their side for a change. In response Jack merely tipped his hat at them. Phryne, meanwhile, seemed oblivious to the fact that the men already knew each other. She took a moment out of her journey to punch De Vere and then carried on with Jack right behind. He paused as he became aware that he could no longer hear Hugh behind him and turned to check on his constable. That was when he heard Phryne call out "Fletcher!"

Jack looked forward again, caught a glimpse of Hugh in his peripheral vision and watched Phryne follow Fletcher through a far hatch. Jack took a step forward to follow them, not entirely which one was a bigger risk to the other however Hugh waved him over to a closer hatch instead.

When they made it on deck the sight that greeted them made Jack's blood run cold. Phryne was lying on the deck, her knife fallen just out of her reach and Fletcher was pointing a gun at her at point blank range. After all this, Fletcher was going to kill her and Jack, and Janey, were about to lose her for good.

Jack didn't even think. He pulled his gun from its holster and shot. He somehow got Fletcher in the shoulder, however he realised that he wouldn't have cared if he had killed the man and he hadn't actually been aiming to wound him, but instead of dying Fletcher howled in pain as he toppled over the railings into the water below.

Phryne scrambled to her feet and ran up to the railings where Fletcher had been standing and stared down at the man thrashing in the water as Jack and Hugh raced over to join her.

"Shall we fish him out, sir?" Hugh asked.

Despite everything, Jack smiled briefly at his unofficial reinstatement as he reached out and pulled Phryne into his arms, no longer caring who saw them or what they thought. "I suppose we'll have to."

"Make sure you take your time," Phryne sneered and Jack was delighted to realise that she hadn't pushed him away.

*.*.*.

Janey stood up as she heard the cars pull up outside the police station. The women hadn't really been talking so in an instant it changed from stillness and silence to a flurry of activity and to her utter relief it was Commissioner Hall barking orders, not Sanderson. A moment after her relief, she glanced down at Rosie. She and Dot had told her everything on the drive to the station. She had sat in shocked silence then entire time they had waited. Now, as her father was brought into the station in handcuffs, she glared at him as he passed but she still said nothing.

Janey watched as Jack entered and was relieved to see Phryne in step beside him. She couldn't help herself; Janey ran over to her sister and hugged her tightly. Phryne hugged her back.

"Don't you ever do that to me again!" Janey scolded her.

"Do what?" Phryne asked mystified.

"Go missing. What, once wasn't enough for you?!"

"Oh, I um, I didn't think you'd see it like that. I just wanted to save those girls, Janey."

"Did you?"

Phryne grinned broadly and glanced up at Jack. "We did."

Jack briefly returned Phryne's smile and Janey wondered in that moment if they'd both completely forgotten that other people even existed. Then Jack leant on the reception counter and called out in his strong, authoritative voice. "Grossmith!"

His replacement came out of his office and looked around surprised at all the activity. "What is all this?"

"This, Grossmith, is the missing girl case Miss Fisher tried to raise with you."

"Nah, she'd just run away."

At that point Hugh entered with Joan wrapped in a blanket. "Sir?" he asked Jack.

"Put the girls in the interview room for the moment, Collins. Commissioner Hall, you can use my office," Jack instructed.

Commissioner Hall nodded and went into the office, walking past Grossmith as if he hadn't even seen him. Grossmith was clearly not happy with Jack turning up and taking charge. "It's not your office, Robinson, it's my office, and Hall is no longer Commissioner."

"Officially," Jack agreed, "and if you'd been looking into the missing girl case you'd know exactly what is going on. Commissioner Hall is going to report what Commissioner Sanderson has been up to, how he blackmailed Commissioner Hall into stepping down and I suspect, by the end of tomorrow, that office will once again officially be mine. So, you can try and stand in our way if you like, or, you can step aside and let Commissioner Hall and I do our jobs."

Grossmith looked around. Janey didn't think he looked like he wanted to take Jack on. "This is mutiny."

"That depends on who's proven right, Commissioner Hall or Commissioner Sanderson," Jack agreed.

"Pah," Grossmith spat. "You do what you like. My missus will be waiting for me at home."

"He's married?" Dot asked Janey in a low voice, confused and amused.

"Apparently," Janey replied with a grin, not quite able to believe it either.

As Hugh and the other officers moved their charges into the station, Jack walked over to the women, with Phryne still staying by his side. "You can go home, there's not a lot more you can do now."

From out of the corner of her eye, Janey noticed Rosie staring up at him. Jack seemed to be desperately avoiding looking at her.

"Probably for the best," Janey agreed and she and Dot stood up.

Rosie stayed sitting down. "Where's Sidney?"

"Oh, erm," Jack finally looked down at her. "He's in the hospital under police guard."

"Why's he in hospital? What happened?"

"I had to shoot him," Jack replied in a curious mixture of bluntness and nonchalance, "in the shoulder. He'll be fine. Medically speaking"

Phryne's eyes widened in worry at what Jack said and she took Janey's arm. "Let's go."

"Oh, not you, Phryne," Jack interrupted before the sisters even had a chance to take a step.

"Why not? I'm tired."

"Well, you put yourself right in the middle of everything so we will need a statement from you."

"But you know everything I know."

"We still need it from you."

"Can I see my father?" Rosie interrupted the pair quietly, still remaining seated.

"Not right now," Jack told her sympathetically, "but I can let you speak to him after his interview if you like."

"Thank you."

Janey finally let go of her sister and sat down next to Rosie. "Looks like we'll wait out here, then."

Dot sat down too and all three watched as Jack shepherded the uncooperative Phryne into the main body of the station, with her complaining the whole time and him meeting every complaint with a firm and reasonable response.

*.*.*.

A raid on Fletcher's home proved what Phryne had long suspected. There, laid out on Jack's desk were the familiar contents of the Imperial Club's box. A small part of Phryne wanted to grab it and take it back to Madam Lyon and get everything back to normal, but that was a very small part of her. The life of Peony had somehow now been lost to her and all she had left was some form of automatic impulse. She knew Jack was never going to let her have the box back and even if he did, she had no wish to take it to the club, she'd just keep it safe for them.

Sanderson was no help, he admitted nothing, but Commissioner Hall had told them that temporarily pending the result of the case against Sanderson, they would both be reinstated in the morning and if Sanderson was found guilty, that reinstatement would be permanent.

Commissioner Hall had left then with his loyal officers, all of whom wanted to get home to their wives. That left Jack and Hugh to finish wrapping up the case on their own. Sanderson had been the last one they spoke to and once it was over, Phryne left Jack's office.

Dot and Janey were still sitting in reception where she had left them but Rosie was pacing the foyer in tears. She had stopped at the sound of the office door and she glared hatefully at Phryne. One look at the other women's guilty faces told Phryne all she needed to know. They'd told Rosie everything.

Janey stood at the sight of Phryne. "Are we done?"

Phryne nodded. "We can leave."

"Cec and Bert are waiting for us outside as they've given their statements too. They dropped Joan back off at home earlier but came back for us," Dot announced, happy to be leaving. Phryne knew that Hugh had already managed to find a couple of minutes to speak with his sweetheart, presumably they'd already said their goodbyes knowing that Hugh was still going to be at work for quite some time. She and Jack had not had a similar conversation but Phryne was already well aware that this case would keep him away from her tonight. Still, it would be nice if they could likewise get a moment to themselves to say goodnight before she left.

Phryne walked over to them and caught Janey's arm. "I'll be with you in one minute, Janey. You two go and wait in the cab, get Cec and Bert to start up the engine ready."

Her sister looked over at Rosie for a moment, nodded, and left with Dot.

Both of the remaining women's attention was taken by the office door opening again and Jack and Hugh bringing Sanderson out. Phryne supposed she had heard Jack promise Rosie that she could speak to him.

"I didn't know what Fletcher was up to, Rosie, I swear," Sanderson insisted as Rosie went over to him.

"How could you not know? Those poor girls!" Rosie was understandably distraught.

"Please, please try to understand."

"How could you? How could you! I can't look at you."

Rosie turned to the wall but couldn't hide her tears. Phryne watched as Hugh took Sanderson down to the cells, leaving her alone with Jack and Rosie. She wasn't even sure if Jack realised that she hadn't left yet, all of his focus was now on his ex-wife as she sobbed in his police station. Slowly and surely, Phryne watched in horror as her lover walked over to the woman he'd vowed to love forever to comfort her.

"I'm sorry," he said softly to her.

Rosie turned and glared at him, almost as hatefully as she'd glared at Phryne. "Oh, don't, don't!"

He reached out to her and Rosie stopped fighting him and went into his embrace, clutching at him as her emotions overtook her. "Oh, Jack! Oh, God!"

He just shushed her and held her in his calm, compassionate way. Phryne realised this was the first time she had actually seen them together and they worked as well together as she had feared. Rosie had slotted into his arms so naturally that it was almost as if those arms had never held Phryne as well, could never have held another woman quite in the way that they did Rosie.

Phryne realised that despite it all, Rosie believed Jack. She could have taken her father's side, Fletcher's side, insisted it was all a mistake or Jack making it all up to try to get even with them after suspending him and taking Rosie from him. Jack had told her that he had been the one to put Fletcher in a hospital and there were so many reasons for Rosie to try to cling to the hope that they would still be proved innocent but she didn't believe it. She believed Jack above her fiancé and even above her own father. She needed Jack and Phryne realised in that moment that Jack needed Rosie too. He needed to be with a woman he didn't have to worry about, that didn't anger and frustrate him, a woman who could settle down and be a wife for him, maybe even a mother to his children. Phryne would never be that woman but Rosie would and they looked so good together, like they had been made for each other.

Phryne turned and left the station. She knew her relationship with Jack was finally over now that he had his wife back.

TBC...