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			The Immediate Reaction    Part II
				           Revenge

								By Loz


Yes, this has been a long time coming. Between assessments at school and music and dancing I
  just haven't managed to finish it till now (thank goodness for work experience!) 

I'd like to dedicate this to Rachael as a sort of thankyou for the effort she put in to 
her suggestion. I've never had one with so much detail in it before! I'd also like to 
thank everyone else who e-mailed me with ideas. I tried to incorporate them all into 
the story (that's part of the reason this story took so long!) and because of this - 
early warning - it's not a two part but a four part. Anyway, here it is. Don't forget, 
I need feedback! So e-mail me at moggle_the_first@hotmail.com 


				*	*	*	*	*

	Amidst the confusion a shot rang out. There was stunned silence.

	The metallic thwack of a gun hitting the ground brought them all back to their 
	senses. Most weren't sure who had fired, but it was of little importance until 
	the victim was revived.
	Dash, Nick, PJ and Adam bent over the body while Maggie tried desperately to 
find a pulse. Minutes ticked by until finally "I found it!" They sighed with relief. 
"It's there. Very weak, but I've got it."
	Another car pulled up to the scene and Karen Roberts bolted from the passenger 
seat to where the officers were gathered. "Caleb!" she cried, embracing the small boy. 
She turned to Dash. "Where's John?"
	"Uh, well-" Dash mumbled, unsure of how to explain the situation. Too late. 
She saw the body lying in a puddle of blood and gasped. "John! No! My husband! You've 
killed my husband!" she screamed.

				*	*	*	*	*

	"Hey, are you alright?" She squatted down next to him and rested a hand on his 
shoulder. He showed no sign of recognition. His hands trembled, his skin was deathly pale 
and, Maggie noted, putting a hand to his forehead, freezing cold.
	"Somebody get a blanket quick!" she yelled. "He's gone into shock."
	A blanket was tossed over and she wrapped it as best she could around his shoulders. 
"Come on," she coaxed, "up you get. Time to go."
	He clambered to his feet stiffly. "I - I shot him," he whispered, but his voice was 
drowned out by the wail of a siren. 
	"Ambo's are here," Maggie stated. Suddenly his knees went weak and he blacked out, 
falling in a crumpled heap on the ground.

				*	*	*	*	*

	"How is he?"
	"Mr Roberts? I reckon he'll be alright. He's responded positively to all of the 
tests so far, but he drifts in and out of consciousness. He isn't allowed visitors other 
than family right now. Same goes for that new constable of yours. That was a baptism of 
fire, wasn't it?"
	"Yeah."
	"Anyway, he's been affected seriously by the shock. He's been having fainting 
fits and can't maintain normal body temperature. He should be okay - physically - in a 
couple of days. Mentally, who knows?" She shrugged. "The human psyche is a powerful thing, 
and it can be very nasty at times like these."
	Nick nodded. "Right. Okay. You free tonight?"
	Zoe looked at him, surprised at the sudden change of topic. "Yeah, but I thought we 
were all meeting at the pub."
	"Yeah, after that."
	"I think so. Why?"
	"Dinner. My place."
	"Okay. You're on."
	
				*	*	*	*	*

	Dash glanced at her watch. "Five minutes and no screaming contests. That's strange. 
Very strange. Usually they'd be at each others' throats by now."
	She and Adam laughed.
	"I wonder what's really going on in there," Adam added.
	They laughed harder, clutching at their stomachs.
	The door to the CI office opened and Maggie peeked out. "What's so funny?" she asked.
	"Oh, nothing," was Dash's infuriating reply.
	"Even you couldn't laugh at nothing, Dash. What's so funny?" Maggie asked persistently.
	"Idle speculation."
	"We were pondering," Adam said, "what exactly PJ and the Inspector were getting up to 
in there. It's been nearly ten minutes now and they still haven't had a screaming -" 	Adam 
stopped mid sentence as his colleagues expressions changed from amusement to a kind of apprehensive 
horror. He turned around slowly and found himself face-to-face with Inspector Monica Draper. 
She glared at him coldly, then turned away without a word and marched out of the office.
	"Now that," said Nick, who was almost trodden on by the arrogant inspector on his way in, 
"is what I call 'walking with a purpose'. She is a woman with a mission."
	Dash snorted. "Yeah, to bring misery to all of mankind, or at least all of Victoria."

				*	*	*	*	*

	"Sorry, Maggie. He's still not allowed visitors. It would upset him to much and he's very 
jumpy at the moment."
	She nodded. "Okay. Well, could you ring me when he is allowed visitors? I've got something 
important to tell him."
	"Work related?"
	"Not entirely, but it'd probably ease his mind to know."
	"I see. I'll call you as soon as he's strong enough."
	"Thanks, Zoe."

				*	*	*	*	*

	"They're not gonna charge him, are they, Boss?" Dash asked, her tone indignant.
	"I shouldn't think so, McKinley. You did say he was threatening you?"
	"Yeah, he had a loaded gun pointed at Maggie, and he was screaming threats at us. Is 
that enough to qualify?"
	Tom gave her a reproving look and she was silent. "Well," Tom spoke up finally, "it's
 not for us to decide."
	"When's the case going to court?" Adam asked, looking up from the typewriter.
	"They can't set a date till both Roberts and Shirls are up and about," Nick answered.
	"Hey, has anyone seen Mags?" PJ called from the kitchen.
	"Hospital, mate."
	"I thought you went up this morning to ask."
	"I did. But she had 'something important' she needed to tell our young constable, 
so the Boss let her go."
	"What exactly is 'something important'?"
	"Would I have called it that if I knew what it was? She didn't say. Just said it was 
important that she told him as soon as possible."
	Just then Maggie entered the building. PJ shot her a 'please explain' look, which she 
pretended not to see. "No change. They're still not allowed visitors."
	"I told you that already. You could've saved yourself a trip," Nick pointed out.
	She shrugged. "I needed to get out anyway."
	"Mags, can I have a word?"
	
				*	*	*	*	*

	"You okay?"
	She looked surprised. "Yeah, why shouldn't I be?"
	"I dunno. You seemed a bit down when you came in."
	Without thinking, she shrugged again.
	"I worry about you, Mags. I don't want to see you unhappy."
	'Then look away,' she thought bitterly, but managed a small smile. "I'm fine, really. 
And thankyou for caring." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

				*	*	*	*	*

	He open his eyes and found himself staring directly at his wife.
	"What's happening? Where am I?" he asked frantically, taking in his surroundings. 
"Karen, what's going on?"
	She smiled ecstatically. "You're awake!"
	"Of course I am, woman!" he snapped, "Just bloody well tell me what's going on!"
	"Don't you remember? You took Caleb and the gun and-"
	"That bloody copper shot me!" he cut her off.
	"Never mind that now, darling. You concentrate on getting better." She patted him on 
the arm and smiled encouragingly.

				*	*	*	*	*

	Zoe shook her head. "He's still not fully conscious. I told you I'd ring you, Maggie." 
	She nodded. "I just thought, seeing I was passing through, he might have improved..."
	"Look, I'll call you, okay?"
	"Yeah, alright." She turned and made her way out of the hospital almost running into 
Karen Roberts in the hallway.
	"Karen! How's your husband?"
	"He's just woken up." Karen beamed. "I'm on my way to tell Dr Hamilton."
	"Well, don't let me get in your way. Oh, one question. Do you think he'll be fit to be 
interviewed tomorrow?"	
	"Um, I really don't know. That's a question for the doctor."
	"Never mind. I'm sure Zoe'll ring us when the time comes. Anyway, I'm off. See you some
other time."

				*	*	*	*	*

	"Mags, speak to me."
	She sat there stubbornly, her eyes glazed over and her lips shut tight.
	"Dammit, why are you doing this?"
	"I'm not doing anything, PJ!" she screamed, " it's you! You keep pressuring me to tell 
you and the more you ask, the less I feel like telling you anything. I'm allowed to keep some 
things to myself. There's no law telling me all information must be divulged to his lordship, the mighty PJ."
	He stared at her silently, angry, insulted and hurt. Finally, he stood up and walked away.

				*	*	*	*	*

	"Well, okay. You deserve a break anyway, Doyle. The others can take care of the Roberts case."
	"Thanks, Boss."
	"Well, see you in a fortnight, then."
	She nodded and slipped away.
	"Hey, Boss!" Adam called. "Come here."
	"What is it, Cooper?"
	"Shirley couldn't have shot Roberts."
	"What?" Tom emerged from his office from sheer curiosity.
	"It wasn't him. It couldn't have been."
	The others looked up from their work.
	"Why couldn't it be Shirley, Cooper?" Tom asked, his patience waning. "Please, 
just get to the point."
	"Sorry. His gun wasn't loaded."
	"What?!" they all chorused.
	"There was one gun that hadn't been loaded that morning and in the rush to leave nobody checked. 
That gun was issued to James that day."
	There was silence as the news sank in. The phone began to ring insistently.
	"Mt Thomas Police Station. Constable McKinley speaking."
	Dash covered the mouthpiece. "You guys better get down to the hospital fast if you want to interview 
John Roberts before he's discharged."
	Nick sighed. "C'mon, Cooper. There's a job to be done."
	"Yep... okay, thanks Zoe. Nick and Adam are coming down right now... yeah. Bye."
	Dash hung up the phone, walked swiftly over to the CI office and knocked on the door. "Yeah?" 
said a voice from within.
	Dash poked her head in the door. "Heard the news? James didn't shoot Roberts, there were no 
bullets in his gun... PJ?"
	He looked up from the letter he had been reading. "Yeah... yeah, I know, Dash," he whispered. 
"It was Maggie."
	"What?!"

				*	*	*	*	*	

	"What?!"
	"The blonde cop. She was the one."
	"I'm sorry, sir, I think you're mistaken."
	"No. It wasn't. I saw the bitch. She aimed and fired."
	"Mate," Nick said condescendingly, "you've just regained consciousness. Would you like some 
time to get your facts straight."
	"Maybe you need time to get your facts straight, Sergeant. I know who shot me, and I know it 
was the blonde one. So don't you bloody well tell me to get my facts straight, mate." 
	"Sir," Adam said tentatively, "Sergeant Shultz didn't mean to offend you. He was only offering 
you some extra time to see if the events of the other day can become clearer in your mind."
	"Listen to me," he spoke sharply, causing both officers to look up quickly. " I don't need any 
time to think about it. I bloody well know what happened. I know it was that stupid bitch that shot me." 
He looked first at Nick, then Adam, the anger flashing in his eyes. "And I know," he concluded, "she's 
going to pay for what she did."

				*	*	*	*	*

	Tom hung up the phone and turned to the two officers waiting expectantly behind him. 
"The inspector's been informed. She'd like to speak to Doyle this evening, in-" he glanced at 
his watch, "-about two hours. PJ, I'd like you to call her and tell her to get down here quickly."
	"Actually, Boss, I think I'll go around and get her if that's alright with you. I need to 
speak to her about something."
	"Right, then go now and move fast."
	"If you're going to our place to get her, can you take me with you?" Dash asked. "I need 
to get my coat, I'm working late and it'll be cold tonight."
	"I'll get it for you."
	"You'll never find it. Plus, I don't want you wandering round my room, no offence."
	"Fine," he said wearily. "Come then. But I'm leaving now."
	"Okay, ready when you are."
	
				*	*	*	*	*

	"Maggie?"
	"Mags, you in?"
	There was no reply. The only sound was the tapping of their feet against the floor.
	"Maybe she left for Melbourne already," PJ suggested, noticing her disregarded police 
jumper on the couch.
	"Nah," Dash called. "She packed her bag, but it's still here on the bed."
	She heard his footsteps drawing closer, and his head poked around the door.
	"Then where the hell is she?" His tone was more aggressive than he intended and it 
caused Dash to glare at him, annoyed. 
	"How on earth am I supposed to know? If I knew where she was I wouldn't be mucking 
round here, would I?" she snapped.

				*	*	*	*	*

	"Maggie Doyle."
	It was a guess, a lucky one this time. She turned around. "Hello? Is someone there?"
	"We meet again."
	She squinted, trying to make out the figure in the shadows. "Sorry? Do I know you?"
	"Oh yes. But I don't think that's the most important issue at the moment, do you?"
	"I don't know what you're talking about," she answered, confused. "Who are you?"
	"You shot me. I just wanted my son. We were okay. But you coppers interfered and you," 
he said his voice filled with disgust, "you shot me, you gutless bitch. You shot me." She heard 
the click, and her blood ran cold. 
	"Mr Roberts. John. Don't- don't do anything stupid."
	He laughed. "This isn't stupid. This is revenge. You're going to pay."

				*	*	*	*	*

				        END OF PART II


Well, that's it for now. Please e-mail with any further suggestions, other people's ideas are usually 
much better than my own! Other comments and criticism are also welcome, just don't be too harsh, I'm only 15 :)