There was no sound for several seconds as both officers realised that their ordeal had finally come to an end. It was Dave who spoke first.
‘For Christ’s sake John, please be very careful when taking this noose off my neck. I’d hate to have survived all this shit only for you to blow my fucking head off.’
Dave was trying to twist away from the open eyes of his would be assassin. The lifeless, soulless gaze unnerved him as John slowly walked towards them.
He cut the noose with the bloody knife and Dave rolled over onto his side. He was covered in Johnson’s blood. His thumb was still jammed in behind the triggers of the shotgun. His head began to throb as the blood flowed without restriction into his brain and it took him a few seconds to fully realise that they had both survived and he was now free of his tormentor and the shotgun. He wasn’t quite free of the gun as his thumb was still jammed in behind the trigger and the fleshy part had swollen where his tormentor had repeatedly squeezed in an effort to fire.
There was plenty of old engine oil and grease lying on the shelves of the dilapidated workshop and John took the lid off a small tin of grease and began applying it to the back of the triggers and Dave’s bruised thumb. John made doubly sure that the shotgun was safe. He put the safety catch on and pointed the barrels well away from them both. How ironic it would be for the gun to go off in their direction having survived the torture of the madman with the lifeless eyes a few yards away.
After a few minutes of gentle teasing and persuasion, Dave’s thumb slid out from the trigger guard and instantly began to swell even more as the damaged tissue received more blood. No matter now he thought, it can balloon into a tennis ball for all I care. It’s over. John gently put the shotgun down on the table having first broken the barrel and removed the two shotgun cartridges.
Dave tried, but couldn’t stand up, the effort of the last few minutes finally caught up with him. His legs wouldn’t respond to his brain telling him to get up. He shuffled and slid on his backside over to the wall to support his aching body. John slumped down again with his back to the post and they just looked at each other in silence.
Now that he was starting to relax, every part of Dave’s body started to ache and cry out in pain and for the first time, he began to probe and examine his injuries.
‘Leave them Dave, if you take off the bandages and dressings, the blood will start to flow even more. You’ve lost enough already. You’re weak. Sit still. We’ll get you to hospital soon.’
They had never been so thankful for the sound of police sirens getting closer and within a few minutes they could see the blue lights being reflected in the wet brick of the arches above them as vehicles began stopping outside the gates. The small wicket gate burst open as three heavily armed black clad firearms officers rushed in.
‘It’s ok, it’s ok;’ said John quickly, ‘we’re the only ones here.’
The officers ignored John initially, not that they intended to, it was just procedure. It wouldn’t be the first time that officers had been lured into a trap with false information that it was safe to enter. John knew this and wasn’t bothered in the fact that the officers ensured the building was clear before calling in the other officers and ambulance staff. Dave smiled quietly to himself as he recalled his sergeants’ description of hairy arsed coppers turning up mob handed. Looking at the firearms lads with their helmets, guns and bulky clothing, hairy arsed coppers would definitely fit the bill. He’d never been more pleased to see them than right at this moment.
The emotion overcame him as he finally realised it was over. He didn’t cry uncontrollably, that wouldn’t do in front of his colleagues, but he couldn’t stop the river of tears flowing down his cheeks and he closed his eyes as his head slumped forward. The paramedics began a gentle assessment of his wounds and started treatment before moving him.
He recognised the voice before he saw him as Bob Chambers dropped to his side.
‘How you doing son?’ Dave opened his eyes and saw the tears well up in his craggy old sergeants face. He smiled painfully up at him.
‘Fuck me boss, you look worse than me.’ He winced as the medic took the bandage off his hand to treat the mangled socket where his little finger once was. The medic looked at the old sergeant.
‘We need to get him into the ambulance and on the way to hospital.’ Bob stood up to give them room to get the ambulance trolley in.
‘Mandy will meet you at the hospital. She knows you’re ok. I’ll see you later.
One more thing Dave, some nutter in a silver BMW has just gone hurtling off the edge of Otterspool prom into the river, all the windows were open in the car and it sank like a stone. No one got out. Think you might know who it was eh?’
Dave nodded and looked over at John who was also getting the once over by the medics. He’d heard Bob’s words and nodded back at Dave.
John walked over having been assessed by the medical crew.
‘Fancy some company in the ambulance Dave?’
‘I’d like that,’ came the quiet reply.
John had his negotiators head on again as he knew full well it would take his young colleague quite some time to recover from his ordeal. The physical injuries would not be so bad once the proper treatment was received. The mental scars however, well, that would be another matter as each time Dave looked at his shattered hand; it would be a constant reminder of what had happened.
Still, he had seen how he had handled himself with his quick thinking in using the radio in what seemed like a very, very long time ago and it was Dave who had brought their captivity to an end when he jammed his thumb into the triggers and disabled Johnson with a knee into the bollocks. His negotiating and calmness when talking to tony had impressed him. You’ll do ok son he said to himself as he climbed into the ambulance behind his colleague. As he sat on the trolley opposite, it was Dave who spoke first, almost as though he was reading John’s mind.
‘Well, I think with my dodgy hand Mr Walsh, I’ll have a few weeks off on the sick mate. But seeing as how there’s fuck all wrong with you, you grumpy old bastard, you’ve got no chance.’
With a mixture of relief, bravado and adrenaline, they both started to laugh out loud, much to the bemusement of the ambulance driver and the medic who was in the process of attaching various drips into Dave’s arms.
John leaned back on the gurney.
‘Not too long ago Dave, an extremely wealthy man made me a very generous proposition. He wanted to pay for me to go on a round the world cruise or fix me up with a job in his company. I didn’t think too deeply about what he said at the time. But now, well, I think I’ve had enough of this shit mate. I might just take him up on that offer. A hot sunny beach seems very attractive from where I’m sitting. I think its time to take things easy.’
Dave smiled over.
‘Well if you need someone to rub in the sun cream, give me a shout. I’ve still got one good hand to sort you out with.’
The intravenous fluids were beginning to take effect and Dave’s eyes grew heavy as he drifted off to sleep as thoughts of his lovely family entered his subconscious.
Yes, you’ll do ok my young friend thought John as he watched his colleague drift off to sleep. He looked out of the windscreen as the sirens and the rhythmic hum of the windscreen wipers caused his eyes to grow heavy too. The fatigue consumed him as he too drifted off. He could almost feel the warmth on his back.
Tomorrow would be another day, of that he had no doubt. One thing he was absolutely certain of; for him and Dave, never again would it be just another day.