Any Opportunity Will Do

No person is an Island, and as Kat and Josh lay in hospital, others lives are touched and they react.

This is a story full of Characters, with two lovers at its centre. As in life nothing is sure, and I have not yet written the end, so if you have suggestions on what should happen to the people in my story, please let me know and I will try to incorporate some suggestions in the story.

*

In the scuffle with Alexei, the grey haired portly man, still wearing his pyjamas gritted his teeth and with both hands around the Alexei's wrist, tried to take the gun away from the struggling man, On his knees, and leaning over the Russian the two men thrashed about, each trying to get the upper hand, but eventually because of Alexei's weakness due to loss of blood he was able to get the upper hand over the wounded Russian. Scrambling back the gun now in his hand, his blood boiling in anger, he pointed it at the panting and sweating maniac responsible for the bloodbath in his lounge, and screaming with rage pulled the trigger.

The gun just clicked, no bullet came out, and his chest heaving he listened as Alexei laughed hysterically.

"You fucking bastard." Was the last thing Alexei heard as the end of the gun hit him over the head, knocking him senseless.

*

Behind the parked limousines where they knelt, the Negotiator and the others watched as a grey haired overweight man, his arms up in the air, staggered out into the sunlight, his blue pyjamas streaked with blood, his face ashen.

"Help....they need help in there." He shouted, "Their all injured or dead." and with that he fell down to the ground to his knees.

*

The medics swarmed around the bodies in the lounge, gently moving the still body of the naked man off the injured woman, who lay moaning in pain. Checking his pulse they worked on him to save his life, his blood loss had been heavy, the bullet hitting him in his chest missing his heart, but doing a lot of damage.

Placing the man on a stretcher with drips and oxygen mask over his face, they hurried him out to the waiting ambulance, while others worked on the woman, covering her naked body, and placing her also on a stretcher before taking her out through the door and into the glare of the day and prying eyes. Alexei's unconscious body had been removed, and accompanied in the ambulance by Police, waiting to interview and then charge him as soon as it was humanly possible.

The ringing of the ambulances sirens could be heard from miles away, and as they left the scene of the carnage they drove past the news teams whose camera's captured the procession for posterity and the ever hungry news slots on TV.

In her ambulance Kat, scared and her body on fire wherever the vicious crop had hit her, kept asking for news about Josh, but got no answer, just told to rest, that everything would be alright. But how, she thought through her pain, would everything be alright if he should die or was already dead. How could she bear to carry on living after all she had been through and to then lose the one man she felt safe with and wanted.

Sitting in the back of a Police car, shaking, a blanket around his shoulders, John's cousin waited to be taken to the Station to give his account of what had occurred. Or at least an edited version of what had occurred, he was going to leave out the bit about almost shooting Alexei and there being no bullets left in the gun. That was something he was going to keep to himself, and thank the gods for.

*

Up in Nottingham John heard that survivors of the Hostage Siege in the Isle of Wight had been rescued, but that there was one dead amongst the hostages, still to be confirmed. Frantic with worry he stormed into Chris's office, interrupting a meeting with one of the Partners of the Practice, and requested to borrow his car keys so he could drive down and be there for his friend, whatever the outcome.

Throwing his car keys at his friend, Chris said, "Keep in touch and let me know what is happening and where you are. The Police still want more statements from you."

Catching the keys, "Thanks Chris, I owe you."

"Yes you do, and I'll send you a bill as soon as I know where to send it!"

Smiling John left, running down the stairs and towards the parked car, heading himself for the Isle of Wight and Kat and Josh, and whatever he would find there.

*

It had been hours since the two security men had grabbed her from the balcony and manhandled her back up to the attic to place her chained and bound on the bed. Since then there had been no sign of life, and she lay, her arms fixed by the leather cuffs behind her, her ankle chained to the bed frame, waiting, naked and tired, starving and thirsty, scared and hurting.

Her whole world the wooden wall across the room from her, and her thoughts.

Drifting in and out of sleep she dreamt of home and her family, of when she was young and free, of her pet dog and her friends, her mind trying to escape her reality.The reality of not knowing what was to happen to her, and how painful it was going to be.

*

In the woods surrounding the house the surveillance team had been removed and replaced with a SWAT team and Detectives getting ready to raid the big house, to rescue the girl and gather evidence on how Alexei ran his empire, names, places, dates, accounts and links to other known criminals.

Radio's crackled as they waited and got instructions, watching as the SUV moved up to the Iron Gate and then as it started to swing open, allowing the two fleeing security men to move the big black car out and turn right onto the small country tree lined road, towards what the two men thought was freedom.

Three hundred yards up the road they came to the roadblock, and sitting defeated in the car they waited as the cops walked up to the side windows before lowering them, and hearing the request to "Please step out of the car Sir."

Back at the house the team was assessing the situation before making a move, when the crackle came over the radio from the roadblock team that the security men had told them that the only person still in the house was the girl up in the attic.

"Not falling for that one." A gruff well built man in protective gear said, "Could be a trap." and the SWAT team waited and discussed the best way to do the swoop for another hour.

*

Katrina lay on the hospital bed, the saline drip in her arm, her wounds tended to, and pumped full of pain killers, a Policewoman at her side.

"Please can you find out for me how he is?"

Looking down at the young girl, her black hair spread around her pale face, eyes red rimmed from crying, she tried to re assure her, "Don't worry Miss, he's in good hands."

"Please I need to know."

"Just get some rest." Looking towards the door of the private room, she wondered herself if the shot man was alright. Last she had heard he had been taken down to surgery and they were fighting to save his life.

*

Back in the village everyone stood quietly as the body of the dead man was placed in the Hearst and respectfully watched as it was driven away. Even reporters stood quietly, the only sound camera's clicking, filming the scene, but everyone in silence, aware that a young Policeman's life had been taken whilst in the duty of doing his job.

The long black vehicle made its way slowly over the Island towards the main town of Newport and the mortuary, and as it passed village people watched, still and sad. One of their own had been killed, and it hurt.

Back in their small terraced house his parents had been broken the news, and his mother sat sobbing on the sofa, clutching the picture of her son in his uniform, looking so proud on the day he graduated from Police College in Hendon. Outside the reporters waited, wanting a statement. Anything they could put on the news, something their editors could use, anything, just anything, but aware that this was going to be a difficult time for the devastated couple shut up in their house, their only child now dead.

*

In the operating room of the hospital Surgeons battled to remove the bullet lodged deep in Josh's body, their skilled hands moving fast and sure as they cut him open and took out the remains of the misshapen lump of metal, repairing damaged organs and his ravaged flesh, before sewing him up.

After the surgery he was taken up to Intensive Care where he lay, tubes and wires attached to his body, his vital signs monitored, and the white bandage around his body stark against his skin. Fighting for his life, he lay tended by nurses, while the papers reported his condition to the waiting world.

*

Hearing on the news the name of the injured man, now considered to be a hero, his ex wife looked across at her lover, as he sat there drinking his beer, and told him, "This could be a nice little earner for us. They'll pay good money for a picture of Josh, and maybe a story in the papers about him." Picking up the phone she asked Directory Enquiries to put her through to The News of the World, and then asked for the Editor, telling him she was Joshua Morrison's ex wife and would they like to discuss a possible deal for information and photo's of him.

The Editor sitting in his news room raised a hand over to one of the best on his staff and beckoned him over. "Of course Mrs Morrison, we'd be delighted to meet with you, I'm sending over my people who will collect you and bring you to a small Hotel we use outside of London so that we aren't disturbed. Do you have an agent we can deal through?" smiling as he heard her say no, "Well no matter, we can deal direct and save you money. Agents take a big cut and don't do much anyway."

Listening to her down the phone, he assured her that depending on what kind of information she was willing to give the payment would be a lucrative one.

Putting down the phone, she turned to her lover and told him, "At last I'm going to make some decent money, I'm sure Josh won't care if I give them some photos and some stories about when we were married."

Her lover just shrugged, not caring about Josh's feelings anymore than he did whilst Josh was fighting away in Iraq and he was screwing his wife here back in England.

*

John heard on the car radio that the dead man was the young Policeman, and that others were wounded, one of them seriously and was out of surgery and in intensive care. Breathing a sigh of relief that it wasn't Josh or his cousin who was dead he pushed down on the gas as he sped along on the long journey down to the South.

His thoughts meandering as he thought about Kat and Josh, worrying about them, not caring that his own life was on hold, his home destroyed, and the Police wanting to question him about the arson attack and his role in the whole debacle that had been played out over the last forty-eight hours.

*

Sitting in the small apartment he had secretly shared with his dead lover, the blond surfer cried, mourning the death of his love. In the two years they had been together they had kept it a secret from all but their closest friends, due to Clive's job in the force and not wanting to hurt his parents. Now with his death he knew he had to preserve the illusion that Clive had so carefully made for his parents and superiors, and started to pack up his things, for he was an honourable man who really loved his sweet lover, and he now had to mourn for his loss all alone.

*

Konstantin was spilling his guts, giving names and places that the girls were being held in around the country and just who was on the take amongst the Police. Deals had been done, and he was being charged with a lesser crime that would not give him such a long protracted sentence in a maximum security prison.

Sitting back in the hard uncomfortable chair, a plastic cup of coffee in one hand, the half smoked cigarette in the other he told them about Alexei's sexual preferences with a procession of girls taken from the houses for the Russians exclusive entertainment, and where their battered and broken bodies could be found.

All except the one body in the freezer. That one they could find themselves. That one he was going to have to think of a way out on, as the bullet in the man's head would match the ballistics on the gun taken from him at the siege earlier that day.