That sixth sense

Disclaimer: Okay, let’s see if I remember the drill correctly. These characters aren’t mine. I’m not making any money off of them, nor am I using them for any other sort of personal gain. In fact, they’re probably taking up way too much of my time. I’m only borrowing them for a bit in the hopes of scratching that strange writer’s itch I’ve been having recently and to perhaps provide entertainment for my friends for a short while.

By Sonia

The waters around the Footloose were calm and there was a slight breeze in the air yet Frank Holloway couldn’t sleep.

Everytime he closed his eyes all he could see was Goldie lying in a dump of a warehouse, clutching her stomach and bleeding.

It frightened Frank more than those awful moments with Madigan ever did.

Frank shifted in his bunk, trying to get comfortable, trying to find some peace so he could get to sleep. Then he heard a voice.

‘Frank…’

He and Goldie had always had a certain connection, a sixth sense between them. It could have been something as simple as finishing each others sentences from time to time or being there at the right moment when the other’s life was on the line at the hands of an offender. There were also those moments in the office when they would look at each other, seeing past all the emotional defence mechanisms and straight into each other’s heart.

That was why they made such good friends and partners. Even though he had been away from Sydney for six months, Frank still wanted there to be much more between him and Rachel.

He thought back to his last night in Sydney. Goldie had turned up on his doorstep with a bottle of wine in hand and things were just about to get interesting when Riley turned up. Goldie had been dragged back into work.

The thought of their good-byes at the pier the next morning still generated some very real and deeply personal emotions in Frank.

‘Holy shit!’ Frank was really awake now. What if Goldie had been hurt badly and was trying to use this connection between them to say goodbye?

Even though Frank didn’t believe in all that new age stuff, the visions of Goldie lying bleeding in that warehouse were just a little too real for his liking.

Reaching out to Rachel, Frank let his mind wander and spoke from the heart. Even though he was on the Footloose alone and there was no one to hear him, he was sure that Goldie could.

‘Rach…you can’t give up now. You’ve got to keep fighting for yourself, for David and for me. Yeah me, Francis James Holloway. The same bloke who pissed you off one minute yet charms you the next.

‘I don’t know where you are right now but what I do know is that you and I still have a lot of living to do and I want us to do that together.

‘Remember my last night in Sydney when you came around to my place. We shared a bottle of wine and talked about my trip to Venezuela. I was just about to kiss you when Riley knocked on the door and you had to go off to some job.

‘During the last six months, I’ve had plenty of time to think out here. Want to know what’s been on my mind?

‘That last night in Sydney, you should have stayed. Waking up with you in my arms would have made me the happiest man alive. It still would.

‘Maybe I would have convinced you to come with me. All I know is you’ve got to fight. Don’t let go – give yourself and us a chance.’

The radio on the Footloose crackled to life.

‘Footloose …this is VKG Sydney Water Police. Are you there Frank?’

Half asleep, Frank stumbled towards the radio as an awful feeling developed in his gut. What if Rachel had actually been stabbed and was lying in a hospital bed dying? Or had she died already and left him without knowing how he really felt?

‘VKG Sydney Water Police this is Footloose. Go ahead Helen.

‘Frank, its about Rachel. She and Jack went to arrest an offender in a warehouse as a part of an operation on fake passports. Rachel was stabbed and taken to hospital. There were a couple of times last night when we nearly lost her.

‘How’s she doing now?’ Frank’s heart was in his mouth.

‘She’s still with us. Serious but stable according to the doctors. According to Jack, they were waiting for the ambos and she was asking for David …and for you.’

Suddenly Venezuela didn’t seem all that important – if it ever was important at all.

‘Helen, tell Rachel I’m coming home.’