This story is dedicated to Betty – with grateful thanks for all her help and support both in beta reading my stories and for being a friend. Thanks are also due to Betty for providing me with the medical information.

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Running
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Steve Sloan wasn’t quite sure just when it was that the bus had hit him - because that was surely what must have happened to account for the pain he was in; his entire body hurt and no matter how often he shifted position in his large, comfortable, bed, he wasn’t able to derive any relief from the constant ache that pervaded every muscle, bone and joint in his beleaguered body.

And, as if that cacophony of discomfort weren’t bad enough, his head felt as though a brass band had taken up a permanent – and unwelcome - residence inside his skull; his throat was on fire and someone – no doubt one of his countless enemies or maybe one of his disgruntled colleagues - was stabbing him in the back with a very blunt knife.

??????????????? But, since he couldn’t remember either the bus or the ensuing collision, he reached the inevitable – the only – conclusion - he was able to under the fevered circumstances; he’d caught the flu, becoming yet another victim to the viral infection that had, if the media was to believed, already decimated 85% of the populace of LA.

??????????????? Well he wouldn’t give in he vowed as – on legs that felt too shaky to support him, he rose from his bed and staggered towards the bathroom where he hastily splashed cold water on his burning forehead.?? There was simply no way he was staying in bed, not with most of the precinct off sick.?? He would fight this thing.?? It was only a virus and he had, after all, survived far worse.?? During the course of his long career in the LAPD he’d been stabbed, concussed and shot, not to mention having suffered more broken bones than he cared to remember and he’d survived them all; so a measly virus wasn’t about to stop him in his tracks.?? Thus decided, he crawled back to his bedroom and began to slowly – very slowly, given that the room kept spinning – get dressed.

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7 AM

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??????????????? “Hi son.”?? Steve winced as his father’s cheerful greeting spiked through his aching head.?? Grunting a reply which, given that he wasn’t exactly a morning person, thankfully didn’t attract his dad’s attention – he sat down at the kitchen table and only hoped he could eat the breakfast his father was busily preparing.?????????

However, as soon as the plate containing a generous helping of bacon and eggs was placed in front of him he knew there was no way he would be able to put even a forkful of food into his mouth without losing the contents of his stomach.??? Somehow he managed to fight down the hot tide of nausea that threatened to overwhelm him, but he knew that he couldn’t do anything to disguise his pallor which, given how sick he felt, he imagined was a very heavy shade of green!?? And if his father noticed THAT, then he wouldn’t get to set one foot outside the house because he’d find himself – grown man that he was - sent straight back to bed.????

??????????????? Which left him with only one solution.??? To flee.

??????????????? “I’ve got to go,” he announced and, before Mark had a chance to protest, he stood up and did just that.

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THE PRECINCT – TWO HOURS’ LATER

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“You look like HELL Sloan,” Captain Newman commented as, passing by the detective’s desk, he observed the man’s ashen pallor. “Go home, right now.?? The last thing I need is you dropping dead at your desk.?? I couldn’t face the extra paperwork,” he added in an attempt at levity; an attempt that failed miserably, which was hardly surprising given that they – all of those officers still remaining on their feet at least – were totally exhausted, only surviving on endless injections of caffeine and steer, stubborn, cussedness.

He took solace – brief as it was – in the fact that it wasn’t just the LAPD that was suffering; as each new day dawned, hundreds, thousands, more people were succumbing to the flu epidemic.?? Many businesses were operating on a skeleton staff, some having to close down completely because their entire workforce was affected.? Perhaps the most frightening thing of all was that people – young, healthy, fit people who would normally be expected to throw off such an infection, were dying in droves as a direct result from respiratory problems arising from the virus.??

And it wasn’t a problem that was confined specifically to LA, nor was it something affecting only the US; from what Newman had been able to glean from the news, the virus was rampaging through every major city in the world and, thus far, showed little or no sign of abating.?? If things carried on the way they were for much longer, a state of emergency would have to be declared.

?“I’m fine,” Steve’s voice interrupted Newman’s gloomy musings.

?“No,” his voice was uncharacteristically soft, in deference both to his own head which felt like it was about to split apart, and to Sloan who looked like he was going to slide right out of his chair on to the floor.?? “I’ve seen corpses in better shape than you are. Now please do as I ask detective, because I simply don’t have the energy to argue with you any further on the matter.??? Go home.”

Newman barely made it to his office before his legs gave way underneath him and he slumped into his chair, wondering if it might just not be quicker – and kinder,? – if he shot himself right then and there!

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*****

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Somehow – miraculously – Steve made it to his car in the precinct parking lot, crawling behind the wheel where he was sorely tempted to remain because, if he were honest, it hurt to move, hurt even to breath.?? Coupled with that his entire body felt as though it were on fire, his clothes clinging to him unpleasantly.?? It was only the thought of a cool bath once he’d reached the sanctuary of home that provided him with sufficient motivation to slide the keys in the ignition and start the engine.

??????????????? But by the time he’d actually reached the welcome oasis of the beach house, had switched off the engine, opened the driver’s door and taken the first few tentative steps towards the steps leading up to the front door, he had no reserves left with which to drag himself the requisite distance.?? The steps had taken on the proportions of a mountain climb and he couldn’t – simply wasn’t able – to? push his beleaguered body any further.? He? needed to rest, to gather his strength and then, when he’d achieved that, maybe he would be able to tackle what, for now, was an insurmountable problem.

??????????????? As he sank down, feeling the cold embrace of the pitiless stone, a heavy drizzle began to fall, its eager embrace reaching out with grasping fingers to envelop his fevered frame.

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THE DOCTOR’S LOUNGE - COMMUNITY GENERAL

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??????????????? “Hi guys,” Amanda Bentley greeted Mark and his omnipresent sidekick, Jesse Travis, wearily.??? “We had six more deaths last night,” she informed them as she poured herself a mug of steaming hot coffee, lacing it liberally with sugar, overcoming her guilt at the calories by persuading herself that she needed the boost simply to keep herself going.?? “All victims of the flu,” she added sombrely.?? “I’ve never seen anything like it,” she continued, shaking her head in despair.? “I’ve never encountered anything so virulent nor so fatal.??? All of the victims were so debilitated by the sickness and vomiting they simply didn’t have the reserves left to fight the upper respiratory infection that set in at the same time.?? You’d be astonished at the number of fit and I mean really fit, and healthy people, I’ve had to perform autopsies on in the past two weeks.?? People who should have led long lives, married, raised children…” her voice tailed off as she reflected on such a tragic waste.

??????????????? There seemed to be little – if anything – to say and so the trio sat in silence until it was time to resume their duties, each reflecting on how lucky that they and their loved ones had, thus far, been lucky enough to remain unscathed.

??????????????? But, as he began his rounds, Mark couldn’t help dwelling on his son’s precipitate exit from the beach house that morning and he knew that, until he spoke to his son – heard Steve’s voice confirming that he was, indeed, okay - he would never be able to settle.?? Making a swift detour he headed for his office where he snatched up the phone and punched in Steve’s direct number at the precinct, working himself into a fever of anticipation as the number rang and rang until finally, it was answered.

??????????????? “Newman,” a husky voice he barely recognised as the irascible Captain, announced.? “Oh, hello Mark,” he croaked after Mark had apologised for calling, explaining that he needed to speak to Steve.??? “I sent your son home.?? He’s sick with the flu.? He left…” there was a brief pause as Newman consulted his watch, “about an hour ago.”

??????????????? Carefully replacing the receiver, Mark dialled the beach house.?? Once again the phone rang and rang – and rang – only this time there was no answer.??? Steve had left over an hour ago, therefore he’d had plenty of time to get home and so he should have picked up the phone.??? The fact that he hadn’t… Fighting down the panic welling up inside him, Mark sought out Jesse, finally locating the young intern in the on-call room where the exhausted blond was trying to grab some much needed sleep.?? Once he’d explained the situation, Jesse was wide awake.

??????????????? “Of course I’ll cover for you,” he readily agreed.?? “I’ll come with you if you like,” he volunteered.

??????????????? It was a tempting offer and one that Mark would have, in ordinary circumstances, have taken up but these were not, he acknowledged, as he headed for the elevators, ordinary circumstances.??? Jesse was needed at the hospital, as indeed was he, but until he could be sure that Steve was okay, wild horses weren’t about to stop him going home.

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THE BEACH HOUSE

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Any hopes he’d had of discovering Steve – if not well, then at least safe in bed – were quickly dispelled as, upon sweeping into the driveway, he was confronted by the sight of his insentient son, sprawled on the front steps of the house.?? Killing the engine he was out of the car and at his son’s side in seconds.

“Hey dad,” Steve mumbled, roused from his delirium by his father’s tender hands, his dad’s gentle voice coaxing him to stand.??? Slipping one arm around his son’s back, the other firmly around Steve’s waist, Mark managed to get them both inside and over to the couch.

“Dad, please don’t fuss,” Steve protested as Mark began swiftly divesting him of his sweat-soaked clothes.?? “I’m…”

“You are NOT fine,” Mark said grimly, “dammit, Steve, how could you have been so negligent where your health is concerned???? Don’t I have enough problems to worry about without adding you to the list?”

He didn’t mean to sound so impatient, so unkind, but he was caught up in a fever of panic and relief; panic that he’d found his son in such a precarious state of health, relief that he now had him safe and warm, although he knew only too well that the worst was yet to come.

“Sorry,” Mark’s heart skipped a beat both at the apologetic tone in his son’s voice, not to mention the little boy lost look in those fevered cerulean eyes.?? Swallowing down any further admonishments – time enough for that later when Steve was back to full, fighting fitness, he concentrated on the task in hand, making his son comfortable and getting him through this.

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LATER THAT EVENING

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??????????????? Opening his eyes was an action he very swiftly regretted, given that the room started spinning so hard that he was forced to hold on to the bed simply to prevent himself from being thrown out of the same.

It must have been SOME party, he thought, as he fought down the waves of nausea that were sweeping over his body.?? It might even have been worth the way he was feeling, he thought, if he could just remember what he had actually been celebrating.

??????????????? “How are feeling?” A soft voice – his father’s voice – enquired.?

“I…” He got no further, the simple action of opening his mouth to speak proving too much for his beleaguered body.?? To his eternal shame he threw up where he lay.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, tears of mortification pouring down his face as he was gently lifted out of the bed, his soiled sweats removed, his body bathed, dried and re-dressed, before he was placed back into bed where the smell of fresh, clean, sheets was like a welcome embrace.

??????????????? “Don’t worry about it big guy, you just concentrate on getting well.”??

??????????????? “Jess?”? The detective’s floundering hand was caught – and held – by the young doctor.

??????????????? “You’re going to be just fine,” he soothed, only grateful that his friend was too out of things to pick up on the blatant lie because one thing Steve Sloan most definitely was not – and that was fine.??? In the past few hours they’d changed the bedclothes – and Steve’s sweats – three times, as rivers of perspiration streamed off the detective’s body.? During that time their fevered patient had started coughing: a dreadful, painful cough that had shaken his whole body.? That, coupled with the constant vomiting, which necessitated further changing of clothing and bedding, kept them busy until well after midnight when finally – thankfully – Steve fell into an exhausted sleep.

??????????????? “I can’t thank you enough Jesse,” Mark informed the slender blond, as both men settled into the easy chairs Mark had provided.

??????????????? “What are friends for?”?? Jesse managed a brief smile before his eyes closed and his gentle snores formed a quiet chorus with those of his best friend.????

??????????????? Smiling benevolently Mark drew his chair closer to the bed and, his eyes never leaving Steve’s face, settled down to keep watch over his son’s insentient form.

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TWO DAYS’ LATER

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??????????????? This time when he opened his eyes the room – thankfully – remained motionless and, while he would have liked nothing more than to have remained there for the indefinite future, with returning consciousness, came the pressing need – the overwhelming urge – to visit the bathroom, and it was one that couldn’t be ignored for very much longer.

??????????????? Glancing either side of the bed he noticed that the chairs that had, until recently, housed his constant companions were empty.?? For a moment – a moment only – he considered calling for assistance and then figured that, hell, he was a grown man who was – after all - perfectly capable of visiting the bathroom on his own.

??????????????? But as he threw aside the covers and levered himself into a standing position he realised just how frighteningly weak he was.?? Nevertheless, he persevered because he really REALLY needed the bathroom.

??????????????? Somehow he made it, albeit bouncing off several pieces of furniture in his efforts to achieve his aim.??? Overwhelmed with the need for privacy – he had, after all, been subject to the most personal attentions from his father, from Jesse and, to his burning shame, Amanda, over the past few days, he closed and locked the bathroom door behind him.

??????????????? His ablutions over he headed back, on feet that were becoming every more unsteady to the door, whereupon a sudden wave of dizziness overwhelmed him.???

??????????????? The ground rushed up to meet him.

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*****

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Having left his son alone only for the length of time it took to heat up some soup, Mark was concerned to note that, upon returning to the detective’s apartment, Steve’s bed was empty; was more than concerned to note that the door to the bathroom was closed.?? To his consternation, upon crossing over to check, he discovered the door was also very firmly locked.

??????????????? “Steve,” he called out, even as he rattled the door handle.? “Son, I need for you to open the door.?? Steve,” he thundered upon receiving no response.

??????????????? “What’s wrong?”

Having heard his friend’s anxious voice, Jesse had paused just long enough to fasten a towel around his waist before heading downstairs whereupon he’d discovered Mark hammering frenziedly on the bathroom door.

??????????????? “The door is locked and I can’t get Steve to answer,” came the terse reply from a now extremely fraught Mark.

??????????????? Both men tried calling again before realising that their efforts were futile.??? Realising that there was only course of action left open to them, Jesse took a firm hold of the towel around his waist, backed up a few steps and then launched himself at the door, delivering a swift, sharp to its mid-section.?? To his surprise, given that he’d only seen such a thing done on TV before and never believed it to be that easy – the door sprang open.

??????????????? “Oh, God,” Mark groaned, as he knelt beside his son’s inert form. “Well that’s it as far as I’m concerned,” he firmly announced.?? “I don’t care how much Steve hates hospitals.?? I’m admitting him to Community General.”

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ONE WEEK LATER

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??????????????? “No, dad!” Steve’s tone was resolute, his look obdurate.?? “I’m perfectly fine.?? I’ve had the best of care and,” he grinned to take the sting out of his words, “sampled the finest cuisine Community General has to offer, but now I really,” he stressed the last word, “have to be getting back to work.”

??????????????? “And I say you still aren’t ready,” Mark regarded his son with rising exasperation.? “You’re not over this virus, Steve and – for my own peace of mind - I’d really like you to recuperate at home for another week, minimum.”?? Even as he said the words he realised the futility of them because once Steve had made up his mind there was simply no changing it.

??????????????? “No!?? Dad,” Steve gentled his tone, “the department is in total chaos.?? I can’t justify taking so much time off.? I’m going back to work tomorrow ‘and you can’t stop me’,” he added silently.

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THE NEXT DAY

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??????????????? “Glad to have you back with us detective,” Chief Master’s cool, appraising gaze swept over the detective.?? “I wonder if I might have a word with you in my office?”

??????????????? Which question, while couched as a polite request was actually an order and one Steve readily acceded to.

??????????????? “Close the door Sloan,” Masters instructed as Steve entered his office, which command the detective complied with.

??????????????? “I’m taking you off all your current assignments,” Masters informed him, once they were assured of their privacy.?? “I need you on a protective custody case. Hear me out Sloan,” he continued, as Steve let out an agonised groan.?? “This case is important.?? This witness is important.? They’re testifying against Scott Cooper.”

??????????????? He paused for a moment to let the taciturn detective absorb that piece of information.

??????????????? “Scott Cooper, as you know,” he continued, once he was sure he had the man’s full attention, “is a high profile gangland boss operating on the East Side of LA.?? He’s reputed to have a finger in every pie: drugs, prostitution, corruption, both of politicians and the police. And the man is only 32. What heady heights he might aspire to as he grows older is anyone’s guess,” he added sardonically.?? “That’s where we’ve gotten lucky.??? The witness is Cooper’s girlfriend, Shelley Adams” Newman continued.?? “She’s under 24 hour guard at a safe house in Venice but, thanks to the flu epidemic, all my men have been working double shifts and they’re getting tired.? I need to replace them.?? But,” he levelled Steve with a steely glare, “I won’t consider putting you in there detective, if you’re not fit.”

??????????????? “I’m fine,” came the resolute response.

??????????????? “Good man,” Masters nodded approvingly.?? “Then let’s discuss the basics.”

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******

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There would be two men on guard at all times, Masters informed Steve and the entire operation involved only himself, Captain Newman and the officers assigned to the case; all of whom were known – and trusted - for their integrity.

??????????????? “I can’t stress how important this witness is,” Masters’ words echoed in Steve’s ears as he prepared to leave for the safe house. “Shelley Adams is the best – the only – chance we have of convicting Cooper. Without her …” his voice tailed off but his meaning was clear.?? Without Adams’ evidence, Cooper was a free man, ergo her well-being, her safety, was of paramount importance.?? The LAPD couldn’t afford to screw up on this one.

His arrival at the safe house was greeted with nothing short than an ecstatic response from a grey faced detective, who introduced himself as Todd Johnson and who looked, to Steve, as though he were on the very verge of collapse.

??????????????? “Thank God,” the man sighed with relief, after Steve had introduced himself and been granted access into the tiny apartment, “I’ve pulled a 36 hour shift and I’m exhausted. I need to get home and get some sleep. I’ll leave you with Detective Taylor,” he nodded in the direction of his colleague, a fresh-faced young man with a bright shock of thick, red hair and an equally bright smile that seemed somewhat out of place in the drab, dreary apartment.

??????????????? “So, where’s the witness?” Steve enquired as the door clicked softly shut behind Johnson.

??????????????? “I’m right here,” a husky voice announced.

Steve turned abruptly, regretting the sudden movement as his head reeled at the sudden displacement of his equilibrium, and found himself face to face with Shelley Adams.??? Despite himself, he couldn’t help but admire the view.

??????????????? Tall, around 5’12, Cooper’s girlfriend was certainly impressive from top to toe; from the long, thick, black hair, which hung like a shimmering curtain to the woman’s shoulders, to her skin, which was as white and smooth as alabaster, to her lean, wiry frame, encased in a figure hugging cropped top and equally impossibly tight pair of white shorts which displayed her body to perfect advantage.??

??????????????? ?“Can I see some ID?” The vision snapped, the cold voice, coupled with the steely black eyes, dragging him out of his reverie.??? Reaching into his inside pocket he dutifully retrieved and handed over his ID.?? Shelley Adams studied it for the longest moment before handing it back.

??????????????? “I guess you’re okay,” she said dismissively.?? “Just keep out of my way and there won’t be any problems.? Step in my face and …,” she let her voice tail off but the implication was clear, step in her face and there would be a whole world of pain.

??????????????? “Just do as she says,” Taylor whispered? conspiratorially after Shelley had turned and stalked back into the living room.

??????????????? “Is she really that bad?” Steve enquired, reaching up to rub his head which had begun to ache - badly.

??????????????? “I once saw a rabid dog when I was a kid,” Taylor replied, by way of explanation.??? “The damn animal was frothing at the mouth and barking fit to go crazy. That dog was meaner than a rattlesnake Lieutenant, but it was,” he paused, glancing nervously over his shoulder, “a pussycat compared to Shelley.”

?“I HEARD that Taylor,” at which caustic comment the man rolled his eyes at Steve as though to prove his point and escaped to the relative safety of the kitchen.

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ONE WEEK LATER

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Protective custody is a tough assignment; hard on those protecting and even harder on those being protected because, while the police guard are able to leave, the witness is trapped inside the same set of walls for days, weeks, sometimes even months at a time, as a result of which they can - understandably - become fractious.

Shelley Adams had been living in various safe houses for almost twelve weeks and it had done nothing for her temperament which was now bordering on murderous.?? Steve had tried - very hard - to make allowances for the woman but, as he pulled up outside the apartment building which housed their volatile witness, he was forced to admit that he’d reached the limits of his endurance, both mental and physical.?? Just as soon as his shift was over he determined that he would call the Chief and ask - beg if he had to - to be removed from the assignment.?????

Passing a weary, shaking hand over his sweat-soaked brow he hauled himself out of his car and entered the apartment building with all the appearance of a man about to face a firing squad.

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*****

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?“I sent Taylor home sick half an hour ago,” Johnson informed Steve when the detective queried why the man was on duty alone.??? “The kid looked pretty green.??? A bit like you in fact,” he commented, frowning as he noticed Steve’s unhealthy pallor.?? “Are you feeling all right Sloan?”

The simple answer to that question was that no, he was not; he felt weak, sick and dizzy, but most of all he felt as though his body were being consumed by fire, rivulets of sweat pouring down his ashen face.

“I need ...” he gesticulated in the direction of the bathroom and, before Johnson had a chance to speak - or deter him - turned and lurched into the small room.

“What the HELL are you doing Sloan?”

At the sound of that harsh and oh, so terribly familiar voice, Steve froze to the spot; his fever-ridden body now ice-cold with horror, all thoughts of illness forgotten.??? Turning slowly, he found himself impaled by a pair of baleful green eyes, the owner of those malevolent looking orbs, sitting bolt upright in a bath full of foaming bubbles.??

“I ... uh ... didn’t realise you were in here,” he stammered.?? “You should have locked the door,” he pointed out as calmly as he was able, ducking just in time to avoid the sponge that was hurled in his direction.

“The bathroom door lock is broken,” Johnson grinningly informed Steve when the white-faced detective entered the kitchen and sank down shakily in a chair.?? “I did try to warn you,” he added sympathetically, placing a glass of water and two aspirins on the table.?? “Take those, they should help,” he said kindly.

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*****

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??????????????? Stalking into the kitchen some 40 minutes later, Shelley smiled sweetly at Todd Johnson, levelled Steve with a withering glare and crossed over to the sink where she proceeded to help herself to a cup of coffee from the percolator that was in action 24 hours a day.?? But, as she poured out a cup of the hot, aromatic, brew some of the boiling liquid splashed on to the back of her left hand.

??????????????? “Dammit,” she hissed, slamming the mug down - hard - on the kitchen counter.

??????????????? “Run cold water over it.”

??????????????? Even as he issued the instruction, Steve rose and turned on the cold water faucet, whereupon Shelley obediently placed her hand under the cool, soothing, flow.??

??????????????? “Shall I get the first aid kit?” Johnson enquired.

??????????????? “Please,” Steve replied as, turning off the faucet he inspected the slightly reddened patch of skin.??? “It’s not a bad burn, but you should keep it dry and covered for a while just to be on the safe side.”

??????????????? When Johnson returned with the first aid kit, Steve gently dried Shelley’s hand with a clean towel, before applying a patch of gauze and then, finally, deftly bandaging her hand.

??????????????? “Nice job,” she grudgingly admitted

??????????????? “My father’s a doctor at Community General,” came the cool response.

??????????????? “Well I hope his bedside manner is better than yours,” she retorted before stalking into the living room where she hurled herself down on the battered couch and switched on the TV.

??????????????? “She’s not so bad really.” Johnson whispered.??? “Underneath all that bravado, she’s a nice girl.?? Honestly,” he added, noting Steve’s doubtful expression.??

?

MIDNIGHT

?

??????????????? “Well that movie stank,” Shelley declared, stabbing viciously at the remote to change channels.

??????????????? Steve winced at such a harsh - and he felt totally unwarranted - criticism of “Jack Blood, Action Fist,” one of his all-time favourite movies.?? He was about to leap to its defence before he realised that he simply didn’t have the strength to engage in a war of words with the feisty Ms. Adams.??

??????????????? “Since I was good enough to sit through that piece of garbage without complaint, I figure you two owe me.?? I hope you like horror films,” said Shelley, as the opening credits to “Alien Resurrection” came up on the screen.

??????????????? Steve didn’t and he guessed from the expression on Johnson’s face, the detective was none too keen either.?? However, since Shelley appeared to be in a reasonably amicable mood neither man was about to argue with her and upset the status quo.

??????????????? “I think I’ll just ...” Johnson started to say, just as the power went off, plunging them into total darkness.

??????????????? In the next instant the door to the apartment didn’t so much open, as implode.??? Reacting instinctively, Steve pulled Shelley from the couch and pushed her to the ground covering her body with his own.

??????????????? “Don’t move,” he murmured into her ear as, satisfied that she was safe - for the moment at least - he pulled himself up, at the same time that he extracted his gun from its holster.?? It was quite obvious to him, and no doubt to Johnson also that, given that their assailants were moving around quite freely in the dark, checking out the bedroom and bathroom, they obviously had the benefit of infra red vision.

??????????????? To his left Steve could hear Johnson slowly, cautiously, negotiating his way around the couch.??? He was about to do the same when the room was lit up by the blinding flash of gunfire emanating from the hallway.?? Swivelling round, he squeezed off three rounds in that direction; his aim both true - and deadly.?? In the ensuing silence there was a muffled groan followed by a loud thud as one of their assailants fell - wounded, or dead - Steve fervently hoped it was the latter, to the ground.

“I’m hit Sloan,” Johnson murmured faintly.?? “Bleeding badly,” he added, gasping raggedly as a white-hot bolt of pain lanced through his abdomen.?

“Hold on,” Steve commanded as he tilted his head, trying to locate their other assailant.

“I’m not going to make it,” this last statement was issued with a dreadful kind of finality and Steve knew that Johnson was dying, bleeding to death in the velvet darkness.?? Well he would be damned if he was going to just sit there and allow that to happen.

But, even as he began to straighten up, he heard Johnson grunt with pain and realised that the detective had somehow managed to get to his feet and was blundering in the direction of the hallway.

“Todd, NO!”? Steve knew what the man was doing the moment he heard him moving; the grievously wounded detective was going to make himself an open target for the other gunman so that Steve could take him out.??

“Take care of the girl.”

Even as the words left his mouth, a bright flash of gunfire illuminated the room, snuffing out the detective’s life just as Steve, returning fire, extinguished that of the killer’s.

A heavy silence ensued during which no sound was heard, save the quiet breathing of the only two people left alive.

Moving cautiously, Steve made his way towards the kitchen, his progress abruptly halted when his left foot came into contact with an immovable object; the body of the first intruder.?? Crouching down he ran his right hand over the inert form, checking for a pulse.?? There was none.??? With both of their assailants lying dead he and Shelley were safe, for the moment at least, but that situation could change in an instant.?? Therefore they had to get out - get away - now.

First though, he needed some light.??

Stumbling into the kitchen he made his way over to the counter and began fumbling at the cupboard doors.?? He knew there was a flashlight in one of them but, in the inky velvet darkness, it was going to be very much a matter of searching each cupboard until he found what he was looking for.?? Finally, after five long and tortuous minutes he finally located the elusive item, switched it on, and then hastened over to where Shelley still lay, face down, on the floor.

“Come on,” he murmured, reaching down to touch her gently on the shoulder.?? “We have to get out of here.

“Johnson?” She anxiously enquired as she stood up.

Crossing over to the detective’s prone form Steve searched frantically for a pulse even though he knew, in his heart, that the man was dead.

“He’s gone,” he said quietly, his voice laden with regret.

“Oh, no.” Crouching down next to the detective’s lifeless form, Shelley tenderly stroked a stray lock of hair back from the dead man’s forehead and leant forward to kiss him gently on the brow before getting swiftly to her feet.

??????????????? “Let’s go,” she said curtly.

?

*****

?

??????????????? Once outside, the cold night air hit Steve like a physical blow and he realised, for the first time, the severity of their situation.??? He had to protect Shelley, take her someplace safe and then call Chief Masters to apprise him of what had happened, but he didn’t know how he was going to manage any of that when he could feel his strength rapidly draining away.

“My car ... over there,” he managed to gasp as he felt his legs beginning to buckle.

??????????????? “Are you crazy?” Shelley regarded him incredulously. “We can’t take your car.”

??????????????? No they couldn’t, of course they couldn’t - and he should have thought of that himself; except he couldn’t think, couldn’t - in fact - seem to breathe very well.???

??????????????? “What’s the matter???? Sloan?”? Shelley’s voice was tinged with more fear than anger as she watched, in disbelief, as the detective slumped back against the wall of the apartment building before slithering bonelessly to the ground.??? “Dammit Sloan,” she snarled, squatting down in front of him and cupping his fever-flushed face in her cool, slim, hands, “don’t do this to me.?? I need you.”

??????????????? “I’ll ... be okay in a minute,” somehow he managed to force the words out.

??????????????? “Yeah right!” Came the caustic response, followed swiftly by an authoritative, “wait here.”

??????????????? “Where are you ...?”? He got no further and could only sit and watch, helplessly, as Shelley took off as though the hounds of hell were pursuing her, wondering how he was going to explain to the Chief how he had allowed the chief witness in the case to get away!?? Reaching into his jacket pocket to extract his cell phone he remembered, with dreadful clarity, that he'd taken it out and left it on the kitchen table when he’d arrived for his shift earlier that evening.??? Wondering how - if - he would be able to make it as far as the front door of the apartment building, much less the elevator, he nonetheless had to try.???

??????????????? Somehow he succeeded in getting to his feet where he stood for a moment swaying precariously, only peripherally aware of the anguished shriek of tyres as a black VW came hurtling around the corner and screeched to a halt beside him.??? The drivers - Steve shook his head, wondering just when it was that Shelley had acquired a twin - leapt out of the vehicle and strode towards him where they wavered for a moment and, finally, became one.

??????????????? “Come on.”

??????????????? Slender, but surprisingly strong arms, guided him towards the open passenger door where he slid gratefully into the seat, even that small effort causing him to gasp for breath.????

??????????????? “You ...?”

??????????????? “Stole a car?” Shelley finished the sentence for him, fastened the seat belt over his shivering frame and then ran around and jumped back in the driver’s seat.?? “Relax Sloan, I think auto theft is the least of our worries right now don’t you?”

?

1 AM - THE BEACH HOUSE

?

??????????????? The shrill ringing of the telephone roused Mark from a deep, dreamless, sleep.?? Flicking on the bedside lamp he reached fearfully for the receiver; only too well aware that phone calls at that late hour rarely conveyed good news.

??????????????? His fears were confirmed when he heard Chief Masters’ voice at the other end of the line.

??????????????? “Is it Steve?” He enquired in a voice barely above a whisper. “Has he been hurt?”

??????????????? “We don’t know Dr. Sloan,” came the calm reply.??? “As I’m sure you’re aware, your son was assigned to a protective custody case.”

“Yes,” Mark croaked.

“I’m afraid to have to tell you that the safe house came under attack this evening,” the Chief continued.?? “One detective was killed as were two intruders.?? Your son and the witness are missing.?? I need to know whether he’s been in contact with you.”

??????????????? “No,” Mark replied quietly.

??????????????? “I see.”?? The disappointment in the Chief’s voice was evident.?? “Well, if he does contact you Dr. Sloan, please let me know immediately.??? Both he and the witness are in serious danger.?? It’s imperative that we locate them.”

?

*****

?

Shelley wasn’t even sure where they were heading until she found herself pulling on to the US-101N ramp heading on to the Hollywood Freeway. Traffic was light, but she resisted the urge to put her foot to the floor because the last thing they needed was to be pulled over by a traffic cop in a car which, by now, must have been reported stolen.?

??????????????? Glancing worriedly over at Steve who dozed fitfully beside her, his body alternately assuaged with hot and cold chills, his breathing harsh and laboured, she realised that they had to find some place to stay while she thought through what to do next.???

??????????????? About an hour out of LA Shelley pulled the car into the Tejon Pass Safety Rest Area and killed the engine.??? As her gaze travelled over the several large trucks parked there an idea began to formulate in her mind.? Turning to Steve, she shook him roughly awake.

?“Listen to me, Sloan.??? I need you to pull yourself together because if you don’t help me out here, then we’re both dead.”

??????????????? When there was no discernible response, she shook the detective again - harder this time - relieved when he finally opened his eyes.

??????????????? “Listen to me very carefully,” she commanded, “this is what we’re going to do.”

?

*****

?

He had to hand it to Shelley, Steve mused, as the truck in which they were travelling hurtled along CA-99N.??? As they’d stumbled into the rest station she’s loudly enquired if anyone could give them a ride, since her drunken bum of a husband, not content with gambling away their remaining spare cash, had also thrown their car into the pot, leaving them well and truly stranded.

Fifteen minutes later they were on their way with their escort, a trucker called Chad Brown who, as they’d climbed into the cab, had grabbed Steve by the scruff of the neck, and muttered.

??????????????? “If I had a wife like yours, I would treat her a darn sight better.”

??????????????? After that, he didn’t utter another word.

?

BAKERSFIELD

?

While Shelley would have liked to put more distance between themselves and LA, it was more than apparent that Steve wasn’t going to be able to travel for very much longer before he collapsed.??? Thus, when Chad Brown pulled up to re-fuel his truck in Bakersfield, she opened the passenger door of the cab and, supporting Steve as best she could, dragged the detective into a nearby coffee shop where he more or less collapsed into a corner booth.

??????????????? “Husband under the weather honey?” The waitress who came to take their order enquired sympathetically.

??????????????? “Drunk more like,” came the curt response. “I need to find us a place to stay so he can sleep it off before we can even think about going home,” she added to the lie.

??????????????? The waitress, whose own husband had a drinking problem, and who was the reason she was working double shifts at the café just to keep their heads above water, felt an immediate kinship with the fraught looking young woman.

??????????????? “My cousin runs a motel on East Brundage Lane,” she informed Shelley. “It’s clean and it’s cheap. You can call a cab from here. Tell the owner that Sheila sent you and he’ll give you a good deal.”

??????????????? “Thanks,” Shelley’s voice was soft; her touch grateful as she reached out to squeeze the careworn woman on the arm. “I really appreciate your help.”

??????????????? As the waitress scurried off to serve another customer, Shelley turned to Steve and, none too gently, began to go through his pockets searching for his wallet, only hoping that he had sufficient cash to pay for a room since using a credit card would be like putting a sign up saying “here we are, come get us,” immeasurably relieved to discover that, while the detective’s wallet wasn’t bulging with cash, there was at least enough to last them a couple of days.

??????????????? The desk clerk at the motel smiled when Shelley mentioned his cousin’s name, took her cash, handed her a key to the furthermost unit, and then turned his attention back to the TV which was blaring away mindlessly in the corner.? Clutching the key as though it were a lifeline, Shelley headed back outside, peeled Steve off the wall he had slumped against for support and, together, they stumbled to the unit where, once inside, he collapsed unconscious on the bed.

?

*****

?

??????????????? While Shelley was no nurse, she knew the rudiments of basic first aid; knew that the first thing she had to do was bring down Steve’s fever, which was now raging out of control.

??????????????? By mid-afternoon, however, it became quite apparent that her ministrations were hopelessly ineffectual and that the detective’s condition was rapidly deteriorating; her patient alternating between bouts of fever when his body poured rivers of endless, scalding, sweat, to extreme chills, which shook his long, lean, frame not to mention his tortured breathing; a hoarse, rasping, wet noise that was painful to her ears.??? Much as she hated to admit it, she knew that she was going to have to seek help - and soon.

It was as she once again patiently laved a sponge over Steve’s face, that she recalled something he had said back at the apartment when she had scalded her hand.

“My father is a doctor at Community General.”

?

COMMUNITY GENERAL

?

??????????????? He hadn’t wanted to come to work, preferring to stay at the house and wait for Steve to call.??? His conscience, however, wouldn’t allow him to place the additional burden of his rounds on Jesse’s slender shoulders when the young doctor was already so very badly over-stretched.?? Thus, he’d attended to his duties, consoling himself with the fact that if Steve rang the house and didn’t get an answer he would simply call the hospital or Mark’s cell phone.?? It wasn’t as though, thought Mark, as he attempted to digest the contents of the financial report on his desk, his son wouldn’t be able to reach him.

??????????????? However, with every hour that passed with no news, Mark’s anxiety grew.? Steve knew how much his dad worried about him and, if he could, he would have found some way to put his father’s mind at rest. The fact that he hadn’t didn’t bode well.

??????????????? The shrill ringing of the phone interrupted his worried thoughts.??? Sending up a silent prayer that the caller was his son, Mark snatched up the receiver.

??????????????? “Dr. Sloan?” A woman’s voice tentatively enquired, dashing his hopes.

??????????????? “Yes.”??

??????????????? “I need your help,” the woman continued. “Your son is with me,” Mark’s heart leapt at that piece of information, “but he’s very sick,” the caller continued, “and he’s getting worse.?? I need for you to listen to me very carefully.”

?

*****

?

It was a two hour drive to Bakersfield; Mark made it in just over an hour and 20 minutes.? As instructed he pulled up outside the 7/11 on Kimber Avenue, killed the engine and got out of the car, looking around him anxiously for any sign of his mysterious female caller.??? From what he’d been told over the phone, he surmised that Steve had contracted pneumonia, which was quite common in victims of the flu, especially in Steve’s case, when patients stubbornly refused to listen to medical advice and went back to work too early without giving their body sufficient time to recuperate.

“Dr. Sloan?”

A woman had emerged from the store and was walking towards him with strong, confident steps.???

“I’m Shelley Adams,” she announced as she drew level with him.??? Her right hand, he noticed, was covered with a jacket; Steve’s jacket.?? He guessed that, in it, she also held Steve’s gun and he had little doubt, from the determined look in her eye, that she wouldn’t be afraid to use it if things went wrong.???

“How’s Steve?” He anxiously enquired.

??????????????? “No better but, thankfully no worse,” came the cool response.?? “Get in the car doctor and I’ll give you directions to the motel.”

?

*****

?

??????????????? “Dad?”? At the sight of his father entering the motel room, Steve attempted to sit up.?? The effort, however, was simply too much for him and he fell back on the sweat-soaked pillows and lay, quiescent, while Mark conducted a swift, but thorough, examination.

??????????????? “You shouldn’t have gotten him involved,” he growled, fixing Shelley with a baleful glare.

??????????????? “Oh, button it Sloan,” came the testy response.??? “What was I supposed to do??? I don’t want another death on my conscience.?? How is he?” She enquired of Mark who, having finished his examination, had turned to rummage in his medical bag.

??????????????? “He has pneumonia,” Mark replied.??? “Your right lung is full of fluid,” he continued, turning back to address Steve, “and the left one isn’t much better.?? I need to drain the fluid away before we can even consider moving you.”

??????????????? “Drain the fluid o ...” Steve’s voice tailed off as he realised the full implications behind his father’s words.?? “That’s gonna hurt, right?”

??????????????? “I’m afraid so,” Mark replied regretfully.?? “And I don’t have anything to give you for the pain son so ...”

??????????????? “It’s okay dad,” Steve sighed.

“I’ll need your help,” Mark turned back to face Shelley.

??????????????? “Sure,” she came to stand beside him.??? “Just tell me what it is you want me to do.”

“I want you to hold Steve’s shoulders,” Mark instructed, “press down on them as hard as you can and try and keep him as still as possible.?? Steve,” he smiled gently, his heart aching at the pain he knew he was about to inflict on his precious son, “it would really help me a lot if you tried not to move.”

“I’ll do my best,” Steve smiled wanly, only hoping that if the pain got too bad he’d be lucky and pass out.

??????????????? Thankfully - for all of them - that’s exactly what happened.?? No sooner had Mark made the initial incision in Steve’s side, than the detective emitted a long, deep, groan, struggled ineffectually against Shelley’s iron grip for a few tortuous seconds, before promptly passing out.??? Mark worked swiftly and efficiently and, half an hour later, Steve was bloodied, but breathing more comfortably.

??????????????? “We need to get him admitted to Mercy Hospital as soon as possible,” he said as Shelley busied herself tidying up, balling up the bloody sheets ready for disposal.?? “I’ll need your help though,” he added.

??????????????? “I thought you probably would,” Shelley smiled wearily.??? “And of course I’ll help you, but I’ll need you to do something for me - for us,” she looked over at Steve’s insentient form, “in return.”

?

MERCY HOSPITAL

?

“Quid pro quo doctor,” Shelley reminded him, after Mark, extremely reluctantly, relinquished his son to the care of the doctors in the ER at Mercy Hospital. “I helped you.? Now it’s your turn.”

Casting one last look at his son as he was wheeled into a treatment room, Mark headed off to find the nearest pay phone.

?

ONE HOUR LATER

???????????????

Less than an hour later, Mark, Shelley and Steve were safely ensconced in an isolation ward on the top floor of the hospital with two armed policemen guarding the entrance to the room awaiting the arrival of Chief Masters.

The suitably grave-faced Chief of Police strode into the room a little after two hours after Mark had called him, accompanied by a stern-faced Captain Newman, shook hands briefly with Mark, enquired after Steve; looking visibly relieved when Mark assured him that his son would make a full recovery and then turned to face Shelley.

“Miss Adams I ...”

“Don’t you Miss Adams’ me,” snapped Shelley.?? “Dammit Masters, we had a deal.?? I would testify against Scott and, in return, you would keep me safe.?? So what went wrong?”

“I don’t …” Newman attempted to intercede.

“And just what the hell were you doing Newman?” Shelley turned on him in a fury.??? “Sitting on your butt while I had to run for my life, not to mention look after one of your detective’s as well?”

“Shelley,” Mark’s voice was as gentle as the hand he placed on her arm, a hand that was shrugged off impatiently as Shelley stepped up to stand directly in front of Chief Newman, tilting her head up to look him straight in the eye.

??????????????? “You have got to get us out of here Masters, and soon.”

??????????????? “Shelley,” at Masters’ placatory tone the woman visibly bristled. “This floor is completely locked down.? You, the Lieutenant and Dr. Sloan are its only occupants.? ?There will be a 24-hour police guard on the door at all times. No one, but no one, can get in.”

??????????????? “That’s a crock,” Shelley retorted. “The safe house was supposed to be impregnable as I recall Chief Masters, but someone found us, someone got in.?? So who leaked the details? Was it Taylor??? I can see from your face that it was.?? I wonder how many pieces of silver he got for selling out his colleagues?” She mused.

??????????????? “However much he received, he didn’t live long enough to enjoy it,” Newman said quietly.?? “His body was found downtown in the early hours of this morning.? He’d been shot in the head, three times, at point blank range.”

??????????????? “Don’t ask me to feel sorry for him,” Mark tried not to be appalled at the coldness of Shelley’s words and then he reminded himself that Taylor’s perfidy had almost gotten his son killed.

??????????????? “Anyone can be bought Newman,” Shelley’s voice was so full of despair that Mark felt himself wondering just what had happened to the woman to have given her such a jaundiced view of life.

??????????????? “Not Steve,” he said emphatically, at which comment she turned to face him.

??????????????? “No,” she conceded, smiling gently.? “Not Steve.”

?

*****

?

??????????????? “Dr. Sloan.”? Taking Mark very firmly by the elbow, leaving a white-faced Newman with the tenacious Ms. Adams, the Chief of Police led Mark out of the room, past the two impassive armed police officers, towards the end of the corridor, where he halted and turned to face the older man.

“How soon before your son fully recovers?” He enquired.

??????????????? “Five days at the absolute minimum,” at which answer Masters’ visibly winced, “although I’d prefer a full week,” Mark continued. “He’s very sick. He went back to work far too early.?? He’s too conscientious for his own good,” he added.

“I think the term stubborn would be a better term,” said Masters, a flicker of a smile crossing his face. “That aside,” he continued briskly, “security around this hospital has been stepped up.?? No one will be allowed to enter this floor without clearance and, as I said to Ms. Adams, there will be two men on the door at all times. Until your son is well enough to travel you and Miss Adams will remain here.”

??????????????? “But I have to get back to Community General,” Mark protested.

?

“Dr. Sloan,” Masters fixed Mark with a stern glare.?? “I don’t think you realise the seriousness of the situation we’re all facing.??? Scott Cooper might be incarcerated in prison but that hasn’t stopped him thus far.???? His first attempt failed …”

“A detective was killed,” Mark said quietly.

“Yes, I’m sorry,” Masters looked suitably abashed at having to be reminded of the fact, “the point I’m trying to make Dr. Sloan is that you are now, whether you like it or not, very much involved.?? I’m afraid you’re going to have to accept the fact that, until the trial takes place in two week’s time, you’ll be staying very firmly put.?? Not here obviously,” he continued swiftly, noting Mark’s astonished expression, “obviously we’ll move you all to another safe house just as soon as your son is well.”

?

FIVE DAYS LATER - 2.30 AM

?

The makeshift cot on which she had spent the last five nights had all but wrecked her back, Shelley ruefully reflected as she threw back the covers and stood up, stretching and twisting in an attempt to alleviate the miserable ache in her lower back.?? As she quietly paced the tiny room her gaze fell on the slumbering forms of Mark and Steve and she smiled, despite her discomfort.??? The detective was now almost fully recovered; not back to 100% fitness but most definitely over the worst and in the next day or so they were being moved to a safe house in Willow Springs although just how ‘safe’ it would be, given what had happened previously, remained to be seen.

Crossing over to the door, Shelley glanced idly through the window, expecting to find the reassuring presence of the two police guards posted either side of the door.

??????????????? Only to discover that there was no one there.

As she crossed over to rouse the others, Masters’ words “There will be a 24-hour police guard on the door at all times. No one, but no one, can get in,” echoed over and over in her head.?? Yeah right, she thought caustically as, covering Mark’s mouth with her hand to prevent him crying out, she shook him roughly awake.

??????????????? “The police guard has gone,” she informed him before crossing over to wake Steve and impart the grim news to him.????

??????????????? With trembling fingers Mark reached for his cell phone and called 911.?? No sooner had he finished the call, and before he had a chance to ring Chief Masters, they heard footsteps approaching the door.

?

*****

?

Slowly, slowly, the door to their room opened and two shadowy figures slipped quietly inside where they separated; one heading for the cot in the corner, the other to the hospital bed, and the cot beside it.??? Raising their weapons, the intruders cold-bloodedly discharged the contents into the sleeping forms, before pulling back the covers to ensure that they had achieved their murderous mission; only to discover that their “victims” were, in fact, neatly rolled blankets.??

Before either of them had a chance to react, Shelley and Steve rose up from their hiding places either side of the door, one assailant promptly felled by a blow from the fire extinguisher Shelley had pulled from the wall, while Steve neatly despatched the other by tapping him on the shoulder and, when the man whirled around in surprise, delivering a stunning left hook that knocked the man senseless.?? He joined his inert companion on the floor.

“Nice work Sloan,” Shelley nodded approvingly.

In the next moment, the door burst open and what seemed like half the Bakersfield police department exploded into the room.

?

*****

?

The safe house in Willow Springs was located in a quiet residential road, the property? backing onto a wide expanse of forestland, as well as being screened by a 6’ wooden fence.? It was, Chief Masters assured the trio as they pulled into the driveway, totally safe.

??????????????? “You’ll excuse me if I don’t believe you,” Shelley’s voice dripped sarcasm. “After all, as I recollect, Masters, you gave me the same assurance about the first safe house and the hospital.”

??????????????? “How was security at the hospital breached?” Steve enquired after they were swiftly ushered inside the property.

??????????????? “One of the nurses who worked on the isolation ward,” came the sombre reply. “She failed to turn up for her shift earlier this evening and, when we checked her apartment, it was obvious that she’d left in a hurry.?? We picked her up at the airport an hour ago.?? It turns out that her boyfriend is a petty criminal; auto theft, robbery, all minor crimes.?? When she told him what was going on at the hospital and all the extra security that was being brought in, he got curious and did some digging.?? It didn’t take him long to find out what was going. He made a few phone calls and … the rest you know.”

??????????????? “What about the police guard?” Mark queried.

??????????????? “Let me guess. They were bought, just like Taylor was,” Shelley interjected bitterly. “Dammit it Masters, why don’t you just take your gun out now and shoot me because it’s only a matter of time before Cooper’s men catch up with me.?? Let’s face it, there’s no way I’m going to live to testify,” she snapped, fixing the man with a hostile glare, before stalking off to the bathroom, where she slammed and locked the door.

?

*****

?

?“How are you feeling?” Mark enquired of Steve, after the Chief and Newman had left, leaving behind six burly detectives, two at the front door, two at the rear, the other two firmly ensconced in the kitchen drinking coffee.

??????????????? “Fine,” Steve replied.

??????????????? “Tell me about Scott Cooper,” Mark requested as he sat down next to Steve on the leather couch.??

??????????????? “All right.” Steve nodded.?? “He’s a violent criminal, dad.???? He moved here from New York three years ago and began muscling in on the organised crime network. Anyone who opposed him simply disappeared.?? He’s responsible for at least a dozen murders that we know of but, until now, no one’s dared to stand up to him.”

??????????????? “Shelley?”

??????????????? “She is ... was,” he corrected himself, “Cooper’s girlfriend.?? They grew up together. She moved here with him from New York.??? She’s lived with him, slept with him and witnessed God knows what, over the years they’ve been together.”

??????????????? “So why choose to turn State’s evidence now?” Mark was genuinely puzzled. “If she’s lived with the man for so many years, and witnessed so many dreadful things, what could have happened to make her go to the police?”

??????????????? “I don’t know,” Steve admitted.?? “But what I do know is that Shelley has been in the bathroom for an awfully long time,” he added as he stood up.?? “I’m going to go check that she’s okay.”

??????????????? He wasn’t surprised to find the door locked, smiling ruefully as he recalled the last encounter he’d had with Shelley in a bathroom, but when his enquiries failed to elicit any response he grew concerned and when, after more frantic knocking and shouting still produced no results, he backed up a few paces before launching himself at the door and delivering a short, sharp kick, whereupon it obediently burst open.??? Stepping inside the room he was alarmed to see Shelley huddled in the far corner of the room, her legs tightly tucked under her chin, head resting on her knees, her arms wrapped tightly around her body as though trying to make herself as small and unobtrusive as possible.

??????????????? “Go away,” she mumbled as he knelt down beside her.

??????????????? “I can’t do that,” he said quietly as he reached out and pulled her gently, but firmly, into his arms and held her until the tears she’d been holding back for a long - too long - time had all been shed.

?

*****

?

“Scott and I grew up together,” Shelley informed them as, the two detectives having been banished to the living room, the trio sat around the breakfast table eating the eggs and bacon Mark had cooked although Shelley, Mark noticed, merely picked at hers.?? “Neither of us had parents who gave a damn.?? It gave us a common bond and we started going out together.?? ??I got work wherever I could, 7/11’s, movie theatres, anything that would pay well enough to keep a roof over our heads but Scott,” she shook her head, “he was never interested in work, legitimate work that is,” she added, smiling sadly.??

“We moved to LA three years ago,” Shelley continued as, breakfast over, they did the dishes; Mark washing, Steve and Shelley drying. fresh start.??? “Before long Scott had successfully ingratiated himself and then started to muscle in, on some of the major crime lords.?? He started to change; he became cruel and intolerant. Almost brutal.?? You’re wondering why I stayed with him,” she said, noting their expressions.? “I don’t really know the answer to that question myself,” she admitted.

“What happened to make you change your mind?” Mark gently enquired.

“Last year Scott recruited a young man to handle the financial side of his organisation,” Shelley replied.?? “His name was Tony Dodds,” she smiled as she gave voice to the name.?? “Tony was everything Scott wasn’t; tender, compassionate, loving, kind, most importantly of all he was kind.?? We fell in love and we were planning to leave LA and start a new life together.”

Abandoning the dishes, she sat down wearily at the kitchen table; the two men coming to sit either side of her.

??????????????? “Scott found out of course,” she continued.? “He had Tony and I picked up by two of his men and driven out to an old deserted warehouse he owned down by the docks. They …” for a moment her voice failed her.?? “Scott held a gun to my head while his men beat Tony to death in front of me.??? I hear his screams every night in my sleep,” she said quietly, tears welling up in her eyes and spilling, unchecked, down her face.?? “I vowed then I would make sure that Scott paid for what he did, not just to Tony but to all of the other people he killed, or had killed.”

?

1 AM

?

??????????????? Mark having retired a little after 11 PM, Steve and Shelley sat together on the couch and talked long into the night, having been tactfully left alone by the two detectives on watch who sat huddled in the kitchen playing cards and drinking endless cups of coffee.

??????????????? “I keep trying to imagine what my life will be like when all of this is over,” said Shelley, leaning companionably against Steve.??? “Always supposing I survive to testify,” she added.

??????????????? “I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” Steve said firmly.

??????????????? “My hero,” Shelley smiled and rested her head on his shoulder.??? They sat in silence for a long time, each lost in their own thoughts.

??????????????? “A white picket fence,” Shelley murmured, eventually breaking the silence.

??????????????? “Excuse me?”

??????????????? “I told Masters that, when this is all over, I want a house with a white picket fence and a back yard full of kids.”

“Yours presumably?”? Steve’s jocular remark earned him a sharp elbow in the ribs.

“I want to be an ordinary wife to some nice, ordinary guy, raise my kids, hold barbecues every Sunday, but most of all ...” she stopped abruptly.

“Most of all?” Steve gently prompted.

“I want to stop hearing Tony screaming in my sleep every night,” came the pensive response.?? “It’s late,” she added, uncurling her long legs and standing up swiftly.

Steve rose with her and for a moment they stood silently regarding one another.

“We can’t,” she murmured, even as she moved into the safe circle of his arms.

“Can’t we?” He teasingly enquired, bending forward to place the softest of kisses on her forehead before taking her hand in his and leading her into the bedroom.

?

THE NEXT MORNING

?

??????????????? “Morning dad,” Steve greeted his father cheerfully, before crossing over to the kitchen counter where he busied himself pouring two cups of coffee.

??????????????? “Steve ...” Mark hesitated for a moment before continuing; it not having escaped his notice that Steve had emerged from Shelley’s bedroom rather than his own.???? “Son, your private life is your own and I don’t want to interfere but ...”

??????????????? “What am I thinking of ...?” Steve finished the sentence for his father.

??????????????? “Well I wouldn’t have put it quite that bluntly,” Mark smiled and then his face grew serious.??? “You know that nothing can come of your relationship don’t you?” He enquired, hating himself for having to ask the question; nonetheless needing to know that his son recognised that harsh fact.

??????????????? “Yes,” Steve turned back to the counter, but not before Mark had seen the look of anguish on his son’s face.

??????????????? There was nothing he could say that would ease the pain in Steve’s heart, and so he stood up, briefly squeezed his son on the arm and then headed for the bathroom to take a long, hot, shower.

???????????????

TWO DAYS’ LATER - THE START OF THE TRIAL

?

??????????????? As he sat, flanked by his team of obscenely expensive lawyers, Scott Cooper wondered how it had come to this; wondered how, with all the money at his disposal and the people in his pocket, his perfidious girlfriend was still alive.??? He’d been so confident that she would be eliminated he’d already planned a party to celebrate his release, a party he now knew would - in all probability - never take place.

??????????????? If he could have reached her, he would have killed Shelley himself, leaping over the desk that separated them, crossing the few short feet to the witness box where he would place his strong hands around her throat and choke the life out of her, but he was not only handcuffed, he was also shackled; the restraints an incongruous and ugly contrast to his Armani suit.??

So he did the only thing he could in an attempt to intimidate and unnerve her as she took the witness box on the first day of the trial; he sat and stared at her unwaveringly, his coal-black eyes never leaving her face.

?

*****

?

“That was tough,” Shelley announced after they’d returned to the safe house.

“It will get worse,” Masters commented, narrowing his eyes with displeasure as he saw the way in which Steve’s eyes were following the woman.

“Gee thanks Masters, you’re a real ray of sunshine,” came the sharp retort.

“I’d like a word with you Lieutenant,” Masters’ voice was as cold as ice.?? He stalked from the kitchen into the living room, where he turned to face the detective, his eyes blazing with fury.

“Tell me I’m wrong and that you are not involved with Ms. Adams,” he angrily demanded.

“I ... uh,” Steve suddenly found something very interesting to look at on the carpet.

“Are there not enough single, available women in LA for you to choose from Lieutenant?” Masters’ snarlingly enquired.?? “Look at me when I’m talking to you detective.? And you can take that expression off your face too,” he added, noting the defiant jut of Steve’s jaw, not to mention the anger in the detective’s cerulean eyes.

“Leave him alone Masters!” Shelley’s rebuke was both sharp and loud, causing the two detectives on guard duty to seek refuge outside where they figured it would be a lot safer!??? “It’s none of your business,” she added as she strode into the living room to stand next to Steve.? ?

“When one of my officers ...”

“Steve didn’t seduce me, it was reciprocal,” Shelley interrupted, “so you can just butt out and leave us alone.??? I’m your witness,” she reminded him forcefully, “not your property.?? And Steve is a grown man; you might try and remember that when you talk to him and not at him.”

For a moment Steve thought his superior officer was about to lose the cool aplomb for which he was famous and he braced himself for the explosion, immensely relieved when, instead of excoriating them both with his tongue, Masters turned on his heel and stalked out of the room.

“Well that’s me busted back to uniform for certain,” he said ruefully as the front door slammed shut with such force the whole house trembled.

“You’ll be okay,” Shelley soothed, smiling reassuringly at the two detectives who crept tentatively back into the house.

“That’s easy for you to say,” Steve said gloomily, already envisaging himself back on foot patrol.

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*****

?

Cooper’s trial lasted five days; during which long and tortuous time it was often difficult to distinguish just who was on trial: Cooper or Shelley, since her life was microscopically examined and her reputation and integrity torn apart.?? And yet, throughout the whole arduous process, she never once wavered or lost her cool as she answered question after question after question.

On the fourth day, the lawyers reached the apex of the case against Cooper: his involvement in the death of Tony Dodds.? A hushed silence fell over the court room as, in a voice hoarse from answering constant questions, Shelley related the terrible events of that day, culminating in the death of her lover; the trial halted for a brief time after one of the female members of the jury fainted upon both hearing, and seeing, the evidence.

??????????????? And then it was over, the jury retiring to deliberate on a verdict.

??????????????? Less than two hours later they filed silently, and solemnly, back into the court room.

?

*****

?

“In the matter of the State versus Scott Cooper, do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty?” the court of the clerk asked the foreman of the jury.

??????????????? The entire room drew a collective breath as it anxiously awaited the answer.

“Guilty,” came the brusque reply.

??????????????? “NO!” Cooper roared, standing up so abruptly that he knocked his chair over.? His eyes blazing with hatred he turned to face Shelley, who was seated by Mark and Steve, and snarled, “You’ll pay for this.?? I won’t rest until you’re dead and rotting in hell.”

??????????????? All eyes turned expectantly to the woman who had conducted herself with such dignity throughout the entirety of the proceedings and who now stood up and coolly, coldly, replied, “Hell is where we’re both going Scott.?? So don’t think you’ll ever be free of me, because you won’t.”

?

*****

?

The Judge sentenced Cooper to death by lethal injection and he was led away to begin a lonely incarceration in a cell on death row where he would remain for weeks, months, even years, while his lawyers appealed against the sentence.

In the meantime, once the verdict became known a gang war erupted between rival factions struggling for control of Cooper’s organisation.

??????????????? “You’ll have your hands full for a while Chief Masters,” said Shelley as they drove away from the courthouse.

??????????????? “I like to keep busy,” the Chief replied wryly, turning round in the passenger seat to face her, choosing not to comment on the fact that she and the Lieutenant were holding hands.

?

*****

?

Shelley knew; had always known, that once her part in the trial was over she would be given a new identity, a new life, far away from LA, maybe in another country but, until the moment they pulled up at a small, privately owned airfield, she hadn’t given the matter very much thought because, if she were honest, she’d never expected to live to see this day.?? Now that it had ...

??????????????? “I’ll leave you two alone for a few minutes,” the Chief said quietly, nodding over at Newman.?? Both men got out of the car and strolled over to talk to the pilot of the plane.

??????????????? “This is where we say goodbye,” said Shelley, reaching out to run her fingers gently down the side of Steve’s face. “I can’t even say that I’ll see you around,” she added as she began crying unashamedly.

??????????????? Steve tried to speak, but found that he couldn’t.

??????????????? “I’ll miss you,” she said huskily, leaning forward to kiss him gently on the lips.

??????????????? And then, in one swift movement, she was out of the car, and running towards the small plane.?? Steve got out of the car and watched as the small aircraft taxied to the end of the runway, before lifting, gracefully, into the air.

??????????????? “I’ll miss you too,” he whispered.

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The End
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