The Baby Gift: Wishing for a Miracle

‘Come on, then,’ he growled. ‘Let’s go and get it over with.’

It was only a short helicopter ride. They landed in an empty car park between railway lines and the back of a rundown housing estate. Moving to a safe point, Mac was all too aware of how deserted it felt. Dark, blank windows towered menacingly overhead. Tattered plastic bags blew around like tumbleweeds and they walked past a burnt-out car chassis and an off-licence with thick iron bars over its door.

Mac did his best to ignore it but every instinct was telling him that Julia shouldn’t be here. This was professional, not personal, he decided. For the first time they were in a situation where her size and gender were a liability. He had every reason to order her to stay with the police at ground level until this incident was done and dusted. It was part of being a mentor. It had nothing to do with any desire to drag her away and simply keep her safe because he cared about her in an inappropriate way.

Not that she’d co-operate, of course. Even him thinking about the possibility had given Julia time to march right up to the police van and wait expectantly for their briefing.

‘It was a neighbour who made the call,’ they were informed. ‘Sounds of a fight going on and shots were fired. Then there was a lot of screaming. Still is. As soon as we can be sure it’s safe to enter and we’ve found who’s doing the screaming, we’ll send you guys in.’

Mac eyed Julia, the words forming that would be an order for her to stay put while he went in alone. Except that he could almost see a balloon over his partner’s head right now. One that enclosed the words ‘I don’t think so, mate!’ They would end up having an argument in public and that would hardly be professional. Not only that, she might think he was trying to protect her for personal reasons.

The same kind of personal reasons she had just been disgusted with, having caught him staring at the food stain on her chest. Mac stared back at Julia, aware of how frustrating this was. Couldn’t she see that her feistiness only generated problems? If she hadn’t been waiting for him in that car park, that kiss would never have happened and he wouldn’t be struggling to keep the key in that mental box in his head. Or was it his heart? Wherever. It was huge and heavy and dragging him down. And it was more than frustrating. It was infuriating.

Fine, was the silent message he sent back. Do what you like. If you won’t listen to reason, be it on your own head.

It took a good thirty minutes for police to gain control of the scene. The occupants of the dwelling, who hadn’t been at all eager to allow the police inside, were hauled out in handcuffs. They were cursing and spitting as they were dragged past Mac and Julia and into the back of a secure van. A police officer close to Mac was kicked in the shins and shook his head in disgust.

‘There’s one more up there,’ he told Mac. ‘Have fun.’

The man lay on a filthy mattress in the corner of a room strewn with empty bottles, overflowing ashtrays, half-empty cans of food and piles of tattered clothing. His features were sharp, his hair long and scraggly and he clearly hadn’t washed or shaved for a considerable period of time.

‘Here he is.’ A police officer wearing a bulletproof vest stared down at the man, who was groaning loudly. He gave him a nudge with the toe of his boot and the man stopped groaning and began shouting obscenities.

‘Oi!’ The police officer looked unimpressed. ‘Mind your manners or I’ll send the medics away and we’ll just take you downtown. Do you want to get looked at or not?’

‘Not by him.’ The man spat in Mac’s direction and then bared yellowish teeth. ‘I’m no poofter. She can look at me.’ He leered in Julia’s direction.

Julia could see the way Mac’s features hardened. He wasn’t about to be given orders by someone like this. He was on the point of stepping forward and making this situation worse than it needed to be. She didn’t need his protection. She didn’t want it.

Those flickers of resentment and anger were easy to tap into. He couldn’t make her the bad guy and then step in and get all protective.

Damn the man. She didn’t need his attitude or his protection. She could look after herself. It was Julia who took the first forward step.

‘What’s the story?’ she asked the police officer.

‘Says he’s got a pain in his stomach.’

‘I have,’ the man sneered. ‘Don’t make it sound like I’m lying. Arghh!’ He groaned convincingly and clutched his abdomen. ‘I think I’m dying. Give me something. Hurry up!’

Julia avoided catching Mac’s gaze as she took in their surroundings again. Not that she needed to given the track marks she could see on the man’s arms but…yes, there were used syringes amongst the debris. This man was very likely to be a drug addict and this could be simply drug-seeking behavior. Mac would be thinking the same thing. He might disapprove of any intention on her part to take the performance too seriously.

But there had been a fight. Shots had been fired. An intrinsic part of this career she had chosen meant that judgment had to be put aside. Nobody could be left in pain or in danger of a condition being left untreated that could endanger their lives.

‘Says he got kicked in the gut,’ the police officer added. ‘There was a fight going on when we got here.’

Another two police officers were collecting weapons they’d found in the apartment. A sawn-off shotgun, knives, knuckle-dusters and ammunition were already in a pile near the door.

‘Have you been shot?’ Mac’s query was crisp. ‘Or stabbed?’

‘Get lost,’ the man told him. ‘I’m only gonna talk to her.’

‘Come on, Jules.’ Mac’s tone was icy. ‘If he’s not going to co-operate, we’re out of here. It’s obviously not life-threatening.’

‘Ahh!’ the man screamed. ‘Ahhh! Ahhhh!’

It was certainly a good impression of someone in agony. Julia shot Mac a warning glance. ‘Won’t hurt to take a look,’ she said.

‘I’m dying,’ the man howled. ‘Give me something…please, lady…’

‘Let me see.’ Julia took another step towards the mattress. ‘Pull up your shirt.’

There were no marks visible on an emaciated-looking midriff but it would require palpation to check whether there was any guarding or swelling which could indicate internal damage that might explain the man’s apparent agony.

Julia crouched. She hadn’t even got down to floor level when a skinny hand shot out and wrapped itself around her wrist, pulling her off balance.

‘Stop wasting time.’ the man spat. ‘Give me something now.’

The training given to deal with situations exactly like this meant that her reaction was instinctive. She wrenched her arm down sharply, towards the man’s thumb, which had to give way. Then she rolled out of reach, coming to her knees and lifting her head just in time to see her assailant’s other hand coming out from beneath a puddle of blanket, a blade glinting in his grasp.

All hell broke loose then. Police officers seemed to come from every corner of the room and within seconds the man was disarmed, on his stomach and hand-cuffed.

One of the police officers smiled somewhat ruefully at Julia. ‘Sorry to have wasted your time,’ he said. ‘Looks like we can deal with this ourselves after all.’

Julia nodded. She was on her feet now but the awareness of how close that had been was kicking in. Her stomach was a tight knot and she felt absurdly close to tears. Turning, she made an effort to give Mac a smile that would disguise her reaction. Hopefully one that would tell him this hadn’t been anything she hadn’t been ready to handle. But her smile faded instantly.

Mac looked absolutely furious.

‘You just had to do it, didn’t you? Jump in without bothering to consult me. Without even considering the potential danger.’

‘I did consider it.’ Julia lifted her chin. She’d had to wait for this but she’d known it was coming.

Mac hadn’t said a word as they’d marched along the concrete balcony of that tenement block or down flight after flight of graffiti-decorated stairwell.