‘How are you feeling after your ordeal, sergeant?’ Murphy asked Brad. ‘Has this siege situation got something to do with the bombing at the Assassins’ clubhouse?’
The mention of the bombing sparked a memory. Murphy had been one of the first on the scene, as usual. He’d screamed questions at Brad, at the emergency workers, the victims, from behind crime scene tape. Brad made a mental note to delve further into the reporter when he got back to the office.
Murphy continued to throw questions at them. Brad and Dani ignored him, kept walking. Behind them they heard him mumble, ‘Arseholes.’
‘Prick,’ Dani hissed under her breath.
‘You got that right,’ Brad replied, flashing his badge at the uniformed officers guarding the outer perimeter. ‘Detectives Sommers and Wallace from Strike Force Lister. I need to speak to the negotiator team leader.’
The young guy nodded. ‘The house where the siege is happening is a fair way down the street. The negotiator truck is out of view; about two hundred metres that way.’ He pointed straight ahead. ‘I’m not sure if you’re aware the tactical response team are set up inside the inner perimeter and snipers are in place.’
‘Good to know,’ Brad said. ‘Thanks.’
Brad held the crime scene tape up for them to stoop under and, after a short walk, they found the negotiator truck easily. It was hard to miss even in the dim light. Brad knocked on the open door. A tall, slim guy with a seriously pock-marked face appeared.
Brad quickly made the introductions while holding up his badge for verification. ‘Brad Sommers and Dani Wallace from Strike Force Lister. We’re investigating the bombing of the—’
‘Yes, yes, I’ve been expecting you,’ the man cut Brad off. ‘I’m Sergeant Jim McDonald, negotiator team leader.’
Brad shook his hand, Dani did the same. McDonald motioned them into the truck.
They entered a space with a desk and a chair, electronic equipment and a whiteboard. A transparent wall divided the space from another area where three officers – two male, one female – sat around a square table. One faced them, one faced away and the other was scribbling something on a whiteboard. Brad and Dani pushed themselves back against the wall, trying to stay out of the way in the relatively small confines.
‘Linda O’Neil is our primary negotiator,’ McDonald explained. ‘That one is the secondary and the other officer is the runner. ‘Broken contact has been made with the hostage taker, Milton. He keeps hanging up on her but eventually answers again.’
‘So what do we know?’ Brad asked.
McDonald repeated what they already knew about Milton picking the surveillance car and pointing a rifle out the door and threatening to shoot them and his sister.
‘We got here within thirty minutes of getting the call,’ McDonald told them. ‘We’ve managed to establish he’s high on Ice and alcohol and thinks his sister has turned on him, called the cops to dob him in for the arrest warrant. He’s in a state, doesn’t want to go back to gaol. He’s just ranting, not making too much sense, but he has made it clear that if we approach, he’ll kill his sister.’
What a nightmare, Brad thought, wondering if this had anything to do with the bombing or more to do with a panicked drug addict freaked out at the prospect of being sent back to gaol by warrants.
‘The sniper on the neighbour’s roof has seen her, verified she’s unharmed,’ McDonald said. ‘There’s a dog continually barking in the back yard that seems to enrage Milton. He’s threatened to kill the dog also.’
‘And we know he has at least one firearm, a shotgun.’
McDonald nodded. ‘Our tactical guys and snipers are in place.’
Brad sighed loudly. ‘Is it worth telling him – when you make contact, that is – that we only want to speak to him about the bombing? If he has an alibi, he might calm down.’
McDonald shrugged. ‘We can try. Why don’t you sit in and listen for a while?’
Brad and Dani pulled up a spare seat next to McDonald and watched through the clear wall as the primary negotiator held a phone to her ear. Through the speaker on the wall they could hear it ringing. The secondary and the runner watched on silently.
Brad heard a click. Someone had picked up.
‘Is that you, Mr Milton? Please don’t hang up, we just want to talk to you.’
‘I can’t take it anymore . . .’ The voice sounded crazed, manic.
There was a scream from inside the hostage’s house: ‘No, please don’t do it, Wally!’
A loud smash. Then silence.
Everyone inside the negotiator truck stared wordlessly at each other, frozen in a moment of mutual disbelief, all terrified Wally Milton had just killed his sister.
CHAPTER 18
Once they left Cub Hellfire and were alone in the car, Lexie turned on Batman with a vengeance.
‘What the hell were you playing at?’
Batman glanced at her, frowned. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘You can’t just go around kissing me whenever you feel like it.’ Lexie had held on to her anger until now. ‘You’re taking advantage of the situation. Not to mention playing with fire, attempting to piss Rocco off.’
Batman switched on the ignition and pulled out of the parking space they’d found in a back street of Kings Cross. ‘I’m trying to make us look like a convincing couple,’ he said calmly, infuriating Lexie even further with his indifference. ‘If there is no physical contact between us, don’t you think that looks a bit strange? We’re supposed to be madly in love.’
Lexie gave him a glacial stare. Was he serious? She knew why he had kissed her – because he thought he could get away with it. Batman kept his gaze on the road as he pulled onto William Street and headed southeast.
Taking a deep breath, Lexie tried to slow her pounding heart and rein in her temper. He was totally unperturbed by her irritation, which he knew would madden her further. Lowering the window, she breathed in the warm night air and focused on the bright half-moon floating in the black sky.
Don’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he’s got to you, it may provoke further stunts like that.
Lexie decided to try another tactic. Conflict got them nowhere, however she needed to make her point. ‘Batman, not all madly in love people go around making a spectacle of themselves in public. Aren’t we a bit old for that kind of display? If anything, I think we made people uncomfortable.’
‘I don’t think we made Tiffany uncomfortable.’ Batman laughed. ‘Quite the opposite, in fact. I think she’s a kinky one. Did you get that vibe?’
Lexie continued to stare out at the deserted streets, wondered why she was bothering. He didn’t get it – or didn’t want to.
It was almost 2am. Lexie usually enjoyed seeing the beautiful city of Sydney at this time, so still and quiet. It provided a sense of solace, patrolling the streets, helping to keep them safe while most residents were curled up, cosy and warm, in their beds. Tonight that feeling evaded her – she felt only aggravation.
Batman changed gears and fanged the car a little too fast around a corner, almost skidding onto Elizabeth Street at the back of Redfern. As the Rabbitohs’ footy ground flashed past, Lexie resisted the urge to insist he slow down.
Tension bubbled silently between them until Batman broke it.
‘Are you seriously pissed off because I kissed you? When did you become so boring, Lexie?’ He stopped at a red light, stared straight ahead. ‘I don’t care how anything made them feel. We played our part to the hilt and it worked. I made a point to Rocco.’
‘You issued him a challenge, more like it,’ Lexie said, before trying to quiet her temper again. ‘And possibly earned yourself an enemy. He knew what you were doing: staking your claim.’
‘I know, and that’s why I did it.’ The light turned green. ‘Rocco doesn’t have to like me. You’re the one he has to like. I figure he’s an egotistical show pony used to getting his own way. Stirring him up will make him more determined to steal you away from m
e. So yes, a challenge is what I gave him.’
Lexie groaned, moving her head towards the open window to let the fresh air slap her in the face. The muscles in her neck tightened in frustration as she realised it was hard to argue with a valid point, despite suspecting his underlying motives.
‘Okay, well . . . I still think we need to establish some ground rules.’
‘I think you’re objecting a little bit too much, Lexie. It was just a kiss.’
That stumped her. She hadn’t expected such flippancy. Was she overreacting? Her mind was spinning. Was she being conceited to assume his reasons for kissing her had been purely personal? He was confusing her. Though one thing she did know was that Josh wouldn’t see it so casually. Neither would she if the roles were reversed.
They turned left onto Botany Road at Green Square. There were scarcely any other cars on the road and the houses that lined the footpath were older-style, single-fronted terraces, some attached, others freestanding, and mostly in darkness. Nearly every second corner was occupied by a hotel and fused into the mix of older structures were modern apartment blocks with new retail premises spread underneath. Turning off the main road just past the shopping strip and the turnoff to Sydney Airport, they weaved around the backstreets of Mascot – a mixed residential, commercial and industrial area on the outskirts of the Eastern Suburbs.
‘What happened in the office with Rocco anyway?’ Batman finally asked, pulling into the driveway of the UC Branch’s covert premises. ‘You were gone for a while.’
He must be dying to know, Lexie thought, feeling a childish satisfaction. ‘I’ll tell you in the debriefing so I don’t have to repeat myself.’
Batman didn’t reply. Reaching through the driver’s window, he punched the security access code into the system. The metal roller-door screeched and rattled on its old hinges as it lifted leisurely. Lexie clicked off her seat belt and was out of the car as soon as it rolled to a stop.
• • •
Rachel Dean was wearing a track in the linoleum in the meal room floor when Lexie walked in with Batman following at her heels. The scent of coffee and take-away food permeated the air, making Lexie’s stomach grumble. She hadn’t eaten since late yesterday afternoon.
Rex had left the club earlier and was already seated at the oval table in the middle of the room. He looked up and grinned at Lexie. She thought he seemed exceedingly cool and calm given all that must be running through his head right now. He really was incredibly good at his craft; an excellent actor.
Rachel stopped pacing. She leant against the bench of the kitchenette that ran along one wall. ‘How did it go? Rex wouldn’t tell me much until you got here.’ She threw him a playful, narrow-eyed scowl.
Lexie smiled, pushing her annoyance with Batman aside. ‘It went well, I think.’
‘So let me have it.’ Rachel rubbed her hands together as though she was crafting some sinister plan. ‘I’ve been sitting in this bloody warehouse all by myself waiting for you guys and I can tell you, it’s freaky in here alone.’ Rachel could talk underwater with a mouth full of marbles. Her lively personality was one of the reasons she’d been a great UC before moving up the ranks. ‘Not that I don’t have plenty to do, but everything creaks and . . . I don’t know, too many strange noises.’ She shivered dramatically. ‘Anyway, that’s enough about me. Tell me, tell me all.’
Batman and Rex let Lexie do the talking. She filled Rachel in on the events of the night, finishing with the drug deal she had arranged with Rocco.
‘That’s excellent.’ Rachel beamed. ‘No mucking around, hey?’
‘Rex has done all the hard work by earning Rocco’s trust. I only got the deal because I’m Rex’s niece.’ Lexie actually felt a bit embarrassed at how easy it had been to organise the exchange. She felt like Rex should be getting the credit instead.
‘That’s true,’ Rachel said. ‘Rex has done a great job of setting you up. Though you’ve also done your bit. So good work, Lexie.’
Lexie had done undercover jobs in nightclubs known for selling party drugs before and it was a hard gig, espcially if it was a ‘cold start’: no introduction to the dealer. Basically, the method involved walking up to strangers – potential drug suppliers, usually low-level street dealers – who were often suspicious of cops, and trying to ‘get on’. Having an introduction to the dealer by an already trusted associate made doing business so much easier.
‘Batman, you worked well with Lexie by the sounds of it,’ Rachel continued. ‘I couldn’t be more pleased with all of you.’
‘Did Rocco give you a hard time? Come on to you at all?’ Rex asked, being the protective uncle.
‘Well . . . a little.’ Lexie felt all eyes on her. ‘But I handled it.’
She summarised what happened in Rocco’s office: the sexual overtones, the close talking, the flirting. Lexie omitted to mention his attempted kiss. She didn’t want them to worry he was too assertive to manage.
‘Good girl,’ Rachel said. ‘I knew you would.’
‘Oh, I hopefully got some DNA samples for profiling,’ Lexie stated, remembering the evidence bags in her purse. She pulled them out and handed them to Rachel. ‘The tissues belong to Lucky and the cigarette butts are from Rocco’s office.’
Rachel looked impressed. ‘Well done, well done. That is excellent. I’ll get these to the lab and inform homicide.’
‘Did they do a convincing job of acting like a couple?’ Rachel asked Rex.
Lexie said nothing. Feeling uncomfortable, she stared at a smudge mark on the wall behind her supervisor. Exhaustion was settling in now the adrenaline was fading.
Batman jumped in, giving Rachel an assured smile. ‘I think we did an excellent job of acting like a couple. Don’t you, Lexie?’
Rex cleared his throat. ‘They were very convincing.’ He seemed somewhat amused.
Lexie forced herself to look at Rachel. ‘We did,’ she said finally.
Rachel’s eyes flicked between Lexie and Batman. If she sensed any tension, she said nothing. ‘Okay, great. That’s very important. Now, I suggest you make an entry in your duty books, jot down some contemporaneous notes while the events of the night are still fresh in your mind, and do whatever else you need to before you go home and get some sleep. We’ll be back on tonight.’
Batman and Lexie nodded.
‘We also have to work out logistics for the deal,’ Rachel said, speaking quickly, as though she needed to get everything out before her thoughts evaporated. ‘We need to photocopy the buy money, record the serial numbers, make sure we have surveillance staff on standby. We want to be ready.’ Glancing at her watch, she groaned. ‘I’m sorry, I have to go. I’ve got to get my son to preschool before I can get any sleep . . .’ She sighed. ‘It’s going to be a long morning.’
Rachel gave Rex a quick hug, saying, ‘Thanks for everything, Rex. You are a fantastic UC. It’s been an honour and a privilege working with you and I’m so sorry about your mother.’
‘Thanks, Rachel, I’ve enjoyed my time working with you too. I wish I didn’t have to desert you mid-operation but . . .’ Rex shrugged. ‘Shit happens.’
Lexie felt suddenly emotional. Her throat grew tight as she stared at Rex, who avoided her eyes. This was the last time she would see him for a while. Probably a long while. A sudden sadness welled, and took all her energy to mask. It was strange how their lives had been unexpectedly linked. Lexie had saved Rex’s daughter Sandy from overdosing when she’d been a homeless addict living on the streets of Kings Cross. Later, she’d been the one to reunite father and daughter. In return, Rex had saved her life when she had been shot – a secret only the two of them shared. Their bond was unbreakable.
Rachel kissed him on the cheek, then glanced at Lexie. ‘He’s so cute, isn’t he?’
Rex was still blushing even after Rachel had disappeared out the door.
‘I think she has a little crush,’ Lexie teased, trying to lighten the moment.
‘Some women just like the whole
bad boy thing, I guess,’ Rex shot back with a completely straight face that had Lexie and Batman laughing.
Batman said his goodbyes to Rex and shook his hand, then left the room.
Lexie felt the tears gather in her eyes. Once she had perceived any display of emotions as a flaw, had detested her weakness with as much passion as she was determined to conceal it. Believed she was expected to be stoic, tough, strong. But suppressing her feelings had led to a dark and frightening place. Therapy had taught her that showing emotion was not a sign of fragility, but of humanity. After all, police were human like everyone else.
‘None of that, Lex. This is not goodbye forever. Just see you later.’ Rex grunted. ‘Well, let’s hope so, anyway.’
‘Don’t even think that, Rex.’ She swiped a stray tear from her cheek with the back of her hand. ‘You’ll be fine, I know you will.’
‘Is that your psychic powers talking or wishful thinking?’
She smiled. Wrapping her arms around his generous waist, she hugged him tight. Even at around 180 centimetres wearing heels, Lexie was still dwarfed by Rex.
‘Look, I’ll be in touch when it’s safe, whenever that is.’ He disentangled himself from her. ‘I’m ditching my phone and closing my bank accounts. I have it all worked out – well, sort of. I have lots to do, so I’ll be on my way. Good luck with this job. I know you’ll do your best to get these guys. Keep Rocco in line and sort out your shit with Batman, will you?’ He held one hand in the air like he was stopping traffic. ‘I don’t want to know what’s happening there, but . . . it’s like there’s some power struggle going on between you two. Rocco and his goons wouldn’t have noticed – yet. Fix it before they do.’
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