Shackled Ch. 12

Again, they kept to mostly the main streets and some secondary streets when he actually spotted SPFs. His pace was relentless.

No point getting somewhere slow, when you can get there quickly.

They stayed in the busiest sections, blending into the constant streams of workers and commuters.

Hide in the crowd.

It was the person who tried to hide who was usually the most obvious. The person hanging back from the group, slinking around. They didn't realize how obvious they looked to the trained eye. Predators always took out those hanging back from the group. They looked for them.

They were across the street from the theater and Hansen stopped. He took Emma gently by the forearm and stopped her too. "Wait, Irish, someone's coming in with us."

He looked up and down the street. He'd be here soon.

He always was.

"So, have you thought about what we can do once you can get working on your drug?" he said. "Bonnie is looking for somewhere quiet we can work on it. We're assuming you'll need some specialized equipment for a small manufacturing run to see if it works. We'll get that friend of yours and...."

Hansen stopped talking. He was coming up the street from the opposite side. He crossed the street and walked up to them. Rhinos may have been extinct, but Carl was the human epitome of one. He was only as tall as Hansen, but twice as wide and his arms were the size of most people's legs. He'd developed a bit of paunch lately. Too much time at the bar.

If you mistook him for cuddly, it'd be the last mistake you made.

He walked up to them.

"Liam," he nodded and then turned towards Emma. "Emma."

"Carl," he said, "I have an idea about the night at the bar."

Carl nodded.

"Oh, nice to see you too," he said. "No, 'how's the wife' or 'what about the kids'?"

Hansen shook his head with a smirk.

"You have neither of those," he said.

Carl grinned. He took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. He noticed the way Hansen looked at him.

"Tut, tut," said Hansen.

"I know, I know. I gave up," he said. "But the stress of being with you...."

Hansen smiled.

"I know, the stress of being with me. It makes people do all sorts of funny things, doesn't it, Irish?" he said with a wink to her. "Well, you better finish it then, mate, we have a movie to see."

"Can't smoke in the movies," Carl smiled. "All that passive smoke might kill someone. Wouldn't want to do that...."

Carl dragged on the cigarette a few times and then threw it on to the ground and ground it with his shoe. He picked it up and then tossed it into the bin.

"Shit, Carl, if I saw you coming towards me, a cigarette would be the least of my problems," said Hansen.

He gripped Emma's hand and nodded at Carl. The three of them walked to the curb and waited for a break in the traffic. When they got to the entrance of the theater, Carl walked up to the counter to speak to Paul while Emma and Hansen waited by the lounge area.

"If we can see who's after us," he said to Emma, "then we'll have a better handle on what to do. Jimmy might just have it on his archives."

Carl walked back to them with a grin on his face.

"Jimmy will be ready soon. I guess we should wait," he said. "Any small talk?"

Hansen smirked.

"It won't be about you then, Carl, will it?"

****

Liam's fast pace was tiring, but Emma kept up, moving through the crowds and sticking close relatively well for a novice. She wasn't sure how he was able to remain so cool or give up the appearance that he was with that jacket on. She herself was already feeling the effects of the quickly warming morning. When finally the reached the theater, she stopped and turned as he gently held her back."

As he stopped talking, Emma glanced in the direction of his gaze and saw Carl moving towards them. For a big man he sure moved swiftly and fluidly. His impressive size would make anyone think twice about crossing his path, but Emma harbored no fear or nerves when it came to Carl. He'd help save her life and for that she was thankful.

"Liam," he nodded and then turned towards Emma. "Emma."

She nodded back and smiled softly, standing between the two of them.

Liam began again and she grinned as Carl's sense own sense of humor came into play. You could definitely tell that they two had a good friendship. They exchanged banter, much to her amusement. Simon was probably her only true friend at work and outside of that, well...she was almost ashamed to say that she had no real relationships other than her family. Thankfully was was relatively close to her sister and parents. Her mind drifted a moment, wondering how they were and if they were safe. She suddenly began to worry, wishing she could send them word.

The sound of her nickname snapped her back to reality and she punched him lightly in the arm, "Hush you." This earned her raised brows from Carl, who smiled and let it go.

She gave Liam's hand a squeeze as he took hers and led her to the lounge, nodding slightly, "Makes sense to me. As for your earlier question, the sooner I can get work, the better. If I have Simon with me, well...we'll probably be able to whip something out sooner than later. The faster the better. I just hope that he's alright..." Her voice trailed off as Carl walked back towards hm with a grin.

Hansen smirked.

"You should talk." Emma quipped and Carl laughed.

"She's got you there."

Emma wiggled her brows and sat on the couch they had occupied on their first trip. Propping her elbows on her knees, she clasped her hands together and studied the dingy carpet. She mind seemed to bounce between the idea of having the shackles removed and Simon. She was worried about her own family and his. Worried about getting everything done in time. It was quickly giving her a headache and making her nauseous. Before she'd been more worried about staying alive long enough to figure it all out. Now she was, it seemed overwhelming trying to put it all together.

****

It wasn't long before Paul approached the entrance to the corridor leading to the theaters and announced that Casablanca was showing.

"He's gotta use a new movie someday," muttered Carl, shaking his head.

The three of them got up and followed Paul back into the depths of the theater.

"How are you doing, Paulie?" asked Carl.

Not bad," he said. "But you guys promised I could join this year to help you. I'm nineteen now you know."

Carl winked at Hansen.

"I know," said Hansen, "but you do a great job for us already. Not everyone can be in the field."

"That's true," said Carl. "Everyone has their part to play. Do you think it's easy for Liam here to go around picking up beautiful damsels in distress and showering them with his talents? It's dirty, but someone has to do it, right Liam?"

Paul snorted with laughter.

Hansen rolled his eyes as Carl patted him on the back.

"See what I have to put up with, Irish," he said to Emma.

They were led into Jimmy's control room and he was sitting at a large table. They all went over to him. None of them sat.

"Back so quickly, Liam," said the red haired Jimmy. He nodded to Carl and then to Emma with a crooked smile. "Carl. And the beautiful Emma."

"I see you're still trying to grow that poor excuse for a beard," said Carl. "I'm all for persistence, but five years? Shave it off man."

Jimmy winced and Carl started laughing at him.

"Ok," said Hansen, turning to Jimmy, "let's get back on track here. I noticed you had a feed from a government camera on the bar where Carl and I er, found Emma."

Jimmy nodded.

"I was wondering," he continued, "if you keep records of what you record?"

Jimmy rolled his eyes.

"Of course, I do. For at least a month. It gives us background on any jobs that we may need to do."

Hansen nodded. "Good. Let's have a look at the feed for that night. Just make it an hour before I showed up."

Jimmy nodded and got up and walked to a large desk surrounded by a bank of screens. He pressed a screen and then pulled up the scene at the front of the bar. He actually had two screens with two different views, one of the entrance and one of the street out the front.

He kept fast forwarding till Hansen and Emma were in the bar. The operative that had been watching them was already in there because there was no footage of him entering.

Carl nodded and murmured, "Yes, he was already in there before you two."

Jimmy kept fast forwarding until two black cars drove into view. An SPF got out of one car and walked over to the other car. The window slid down on the car.

Hansen, Carl and Jimmy all looked at each other at the same time.

"Fuck!" said Jimmy.

Hansen looked at Emma who had a quizzical look on her face.

"That's Blaxland. The guy I told you about. He used to be our commander."

Hansen shook his head.

Carl spoke up.

"He'll know our moves better than we do," he said. "Shit, he trained us."

"This vaccine Emma was working on must really be worrying them for Blaxland to be personally dealing with it," said Hansen. "It can't be just about money. They definitely want to use it and get rid of some problems."

Carl nodded and looked toward Emma and then back to Hansen.

"So?" he said.

Hansen had a grim look on his face, but his lip curled in a smile.

"So...." he said, "it changes nothing. We just have to be more careful about how we plan things. The fucker has really sold out if he's doing jobs personally."

The all sat there in silence, watching the screens as the carnage that Carl had instigated played out. They watch the operative walking out of the bar, the bomb down his pants and then Carl detonating it remotely. There were a lot of SPFs taken out. Blaxland wouldn't be happy with that. He would take it personally. If there was one thing he had, it was loyalty to his charges. Even when he'd turned, he'd tried to recruit Hansen and his team to the other side, both to use them and to protect them. Now he was one of them.

Hansen broke the silence.

"Emma, your friend. We have to bring him in," he said. He didn't let her speak. "I haven't told you, but Bonnie has been watching him for his own protection. She knows everything. One of the Chans is with her and they'll bring him in. We need to talk to him and find out what you guys need and where we go from here."

He turned to her. His face looked grim, but all of this had just made him more determined.

"Ok?"

He turned back to Carl.

"Looks like we've found the reason to all get back together. Can you organize that? It'll probably be tomorrow before we can all meet. I'll talk to Laura and the other Chans."

Carl nodded and spoke, his face hard, all humor gone.

"Killing is my business and it looks like the market just went up. Time to buy in."

****

The mood in the room turned in a hurry as soon as the men realized who they were dealing with and Emma felt a pang of anxiousness hit her. She listened silently to Carl and Liam, shoving her hands in her pockets. Liam's face was grim and made her worry all the more. From what he had told her about Blaxland, this was not a man to be fucked with or go against and yet he had done it before. But not without a price, she knew.

She let out a soft wavering breath and nodded slightly, dropping her gaze down her scuffed sneakers before moving her gaze back up to the screens. Watching everything like it was a movie felt surreal because she had lived it. Had been part of the action. She wanted to lean into Liam and hug him close just for a second, but wasn't going to look like a simpering little girl around Jimmy or Carl.

She nodded, feeling her nerves kick into high gear and a strange mixture of relief. So Simon was alright. So far anyway. From what she'd experienced alright, she knew that could change in a hurry, but if Liam's team was on it, she was fairly confident he would make it to her alive. So she kept her mouth shut and tried to breath. Her mind scrambling for all the things they would need.

The mention of Laura put a slight sour taste in her mouth, but she swallowed it back. Put your big girl panties on Emma. She told herself. She didn't have claim to Liam. They had just shared a moment, nothing more or less. Right? And yet in her heart a small nagging voice told her no. It had been more. She told that little voice to shut up and wondered if Liam's condition wasn't contagious. Talking to little voice. She smiled wryly and shook her heat. Liam gave her a questioning look and she shrugged.

They were set to go again, but before they left, she thanked Jimmy for his help and gave Carl a big hug. "Be safe big guy." Nothing seemed to phase him and his beefy arms pulled her close and gave her a breathtaking squeeze. She laughed and coughed, tapping his shoulder.

"Hey now!" Jimmy protested. "I didn't get a hug, what the fuck!?"

Emma grinned as she linked her hand with Liam's and began walking away, "When you shave, I'll think about it."

****

Hansen still felt good. The drug should have been well into doing whatever it was it did and he hadn't heard The Voice since it had started to take effect. He could think a lot more clearly.

Hello?

Nothing.

Good. Sometimes it's better to have an empty head.

He smiled to himself. He'd been accused often of having an empty head and this was one time when he would gladly accept it.

Once everyone had finished their goodbyes and Emma had effectively offended Jimmy, they were on their way out the back entrance. Carl and Jimmy were going to organise how to bring in Emma's colleague and Hansen would contact Laura and the Chans. They would have a meeting at his place. It was the safest location. He wasn't sure of the dynamics of having Laura and Bonnie there, especially with Emma staying at his place.

Surely everyone will be mature about it?

They picked their way through the garbage in the back lane, Hansen holding Emma's hand as if he'd been doing it all his life. Once they were out on the main street he paused.

"We have a lot of work to do, Irish. I just want to do one more thing and then we'll had back home to do some planning."

Home.

He was talking to her like she lived there. Well, she did at the moment, so he figured it was true. He didn't know for how long, but they had been thrust together for now under extraordinary circumstances and that was the way it was.

Emma nodded. She was probably looking forward to a shorter and less tiring day than yesterday. His mind went back to last night.

Probably stayed up longer than we should have.

Hansen would have blushed, but he wasn't the blushing type.

He wanted to find out who had access to the SPF offices housing the main computer. Then he could organize to have the shackles broken.

"Ok, let's walk this way."

He turned and walked hand in hand with Emma towards the centre of the city. In his other hand, he held his comms unit. He punched in a message.

Tomorrow. My place. 1pm. Mrs. Chan will bring lunch (thanks!). Flannery.

He put in Mrs. Chan and Laura's details and pressed send. He waited till he heard the familiar beep of the completed sending process and then slipped the unit back into his pocket.

Flannery was the name he used in case someone grabbed his comms unit and tried to find his contacts. Anyone sending a message to meet without using that name would not get a response.

"Just organizing lunch tomorrow," he said to Emma. "It should be, er, interesting."

He kept walking with Emma and then heard two beeps in quick succession. He kept walking, but pulled out the unit.

Of course I will bring lunch.

He smiled.

Mrs. Chan.

He checked the other message.

Goodie. A lunch date. Yum.

Laura.

Shit.

Hansen saw a group of SPFs sitting around drinking coffee and eating donuts.

Cops haven't changed much over the years.

The cops standing around gave him an idea. He pulled out the comms unit. He had to be careful. The team would be surprised at getting this much communication from him. He was being downright chatty for him.

Can you get me the name of an SPF that operates out of the main offices. One watching Simon would be ideal. Ta.

He sent the message to Bonnie. She would know. She would have scoped every SPF involved in the surveillance of Simon and know where they were from.

The message was returned within less than a minute.

Flannery. Long time no hear. Or anything else. No worries. I have two here. Details to follow. I believe we are having lunch tomorrow. Your place. Goodie. Yum

Bonnie.

Fuck. They were as bad as each other, she and Laura. I hope it all goes smoothly.

It had been months since they'd all met together. It would be good, even though the circumstances weren't the best. It was what it was. They had to keep their heads down and staying apart was the easiest way. When they all got together, things usually got blown up and people got killed. Better to not meet too often.

He'd almost forgotten that he had Emma's hand, but he felt her starting to tire.

"Sorry, Irish," he said, still walking. "One more thing and we're done. We're having a party tomorrow."

He heard Emma giggle. He spoke again.

"And we need some fireworks."

No laugh from her this time.

She's catching on.

****

As per usual, Emma was having to take two steps to Liam's one. They didn't talk much after leaving the theater, but her certainly was busy with the messages. Her eyes scanned the crowds as they weaved through people together, her hand in his, their bodies staying close and familiar. While she took in the little details, her mind still wandered to their shared night. She wasn't particularly looking forward to seeing Laura and vaguely began to wonder about Bonnie. Had they slept together as well? And was she bothered? Not really...what would bother her was Laura's slinky sexy body rubbing up again Liam like a cat in heat.

A party? She laughed, but quickly sobered when she realized that Liam's idea of a party was nowhere near normal. With her lips pressed together and unusually silent, she began to mentally calculate the plan for her and Simon and anyone else that could help. She had the information needed, the trick was creating the serum. Simon could do it. He was a virtual genius in the lab, which made him so valuable...just as she was. Too valuable and too dangerous now.

Gnawing on her lower lip, she forced her sore legs to keep on moving. "They are out in force today." she muttered softly, mostly to herself as she noticed the SPF units. It made her all the more nervous being out and about, but so far there hadn't been much of a hitch, so she trusted Liam to get her home safely. Back to their place. It had a nice ring to it, but not a thought she cared to linger on in that moment. They had bigger issues to deal with.

****

Emma had noticed the increased activity of the SPFs on the streets today. It didn't necessarily mean it was about them, but they still had to be careful. One of the advantages of hiding in the city was that you were more difficult to find than if you were holed up somewhere isolated. In the city, no one noticed you going about your business. People were too busy to worry about anyone but themselves. You could be unlucky, but it was less likely.

Hansen gripped her hand more tightly and kept walking.

"Yes," he said. "But maybe it's not about us."

Maybe.

"I just need to see about a few things," he continued, "and then we're done again." He looked across at her. "Sorry about all the walking."

They were walking down one of the main streets, down a hill towards the water. It looked like the water always looked -- dirty.

Hansen could remember where he came from. The blue water.