More Questions Than Answers

[Emily11]

Awesome, great job!!

[WYN100]

**PART 17**

"Well I still think you should have answered it." said Brodie, unsuccessfully attempting to smother a yawn. Not only had the wearying effects of the flight begun toi take hold, but also the longest taxi journey that either of them could ever remember having. It wasn't that their driver was looking to bump up his fare, but he'd been genuinely thwarted on two attempts to start heading them towards the Bay.

Firstly a lone police officer had turned them back as he'd attempted to join the highway via a secluded side road - he'd been reserved as to the details, but had talked of a double crash with major traffic congestion resulting - - and as their driver attempted to execute an intricate 3 point turn in the cramped confines of the access lane. Alex was certain he could hear a police helicopter circling overhead.

Then, after performing an extravagant loop back the way they'd come and considerably further, the increasingly weary and by now semi-comatose duo in the back were stirred by a spontaneous and heartfelt groan of frustration from their driver whose Plan B to head for the Bay via the centre of Yabbie Creek had been gallingly derailed by a hastily erected sign topped by images of jagged random fingers evidently supposed to represent flames. Clouds of forbiddingly dark smoke were indeed beginning to obscure the near horizon, and a trio of groans mingled with the distant wail of the emergency sirens had shunted the overworked cab into another reverse and search for access into a Summer Bay that was seemingly being steadily cut off from the outside world by a succession of emergencies. "Would have been quicker to walk from the airport !.."! volunteered Brodie. Neither of the other occupants of the cab raised even the weakest of smiles in response.

And so with huge relief after a third and geographically baffling detour through a range of small hamlets neither of them had even known existed, they mounted the stairs of their destination - Alex observing , "At least we should be ok lying low here, can't see Colleen and Madge Wilkins sharing too many 200 dollar a head dinners with her best bowls club dress on, can you ? Anyway, we HAVE to keep this MAJOR quiet, because if Leah was to....whoaa.." His suitcase thudded to the floor as the resident who'd been booking an early morning call with the Sands resort night porter turned and accidentally bumped into him.,

"Oh I'm so sorr.."

"Nah, no harm d..."

Spotting Brodie's frozen expression from the corner of one eye as he hauled himself up, Alex Poulos's overriding desire for secrecy over his planned purchase of the diner looked suddenly to be at serious risk as he found himself staring into the face of Danni Sutherland....

Sally had been acutely torn between remaining amidst the life and death drama being played out inside the hospital's operating theatre, but the thought of Flynn was nagging ever more insistently as the back of her mind -he'd surely be home by now she thought - and with her mobile switched off inside the hospital, of course no message would have got through. But why had HIS been on voice-mail for so much of the day ?- and where had he BEEN ? In any event, she was confident that as she drove back to the caravan park that the Robbie Williams ring tone he teased her so mercilessly about would sound and there'd be a text or voice-mail - but none came.

She wrinkled her nose in slight puzzlement , but even by the time she'd arrived, parked the car and gone inside - there was still no communication from her elusive husband.

"Flynn ? Flynn !!" - she crossed quickly from the door, over to the bottom of the stairs - but no reply came . The phrase " curiouser and curiouser..." she knew so well from "Alice in Wonderland" suddenly wriggled free from temporary hibernation and skated across her mind as she returned to the main room. She flopped onto the sofa, emitting a heartfelt and elongated sigh- jabbing as she did the "Flynn" call option on her mobile.

"You've called Flynn Saunders, sorry I can't come...."

She gave an exasperated grunt and sat up. Pippa was now sound asleep in her carry-basketr where Sally had set it down by the door - her weary mother finding herself suddenly very touched and a little moist eyed at the sight of the tot's placid and serene face -blissfully ignorant of the day's gruelling and traumatic events. She bent down to [pick up her daughter- only to find her eye caught by the kitchen dining table. Her brow once again wrinkled with curiosity she moved slowly across to discover a glass of wine, a single yellow rose in a vase, a small box of chocolate truffles and a copy of that evening's local paper. The TV guide had been eased out, and that night's scheduled showing an added red ink ring around a "first showing" film - seemingly a "romantic comedy" entitled "You and me make three".

She smiled indulgently - the plights of Jesse and even Amanda at the hospital meant of course that watching romantic comedies didn't figure anywhere near the top of her current wish list, but of course Flynn couldn't have been aware of that when he'd come back in - "the romantic devil.." she murmered, smoothing back the crease on the evening newspaper- happily unaware that her husband's day meant he'd not even glimpsed an evening newspaper seller that day - much less purchased a copy.....

The flames had taken a deep and menacing hold on the "Casablanca" restaurant by the time Jack and Martha pulled up outside was able to wave his police ID at the officer beginning to raise a forbidding palm at them, and, slewing to a halt, headed in two or three purposeful strides towards the fire officer in charge. His face was already starting to show the familiar streaks of black grime you could almost believe certain firemen were born with, and he was wrestling with a huge length of hosepipe that was already cascading gallon after gallon of water on a fire which seemed by the minute to have wriggled its feet under the table and be settling in for the long haul.

Consequently, amid the explosive sound of the water cascading a path towards the flames, and the insistent low hum of the firetruck engine ticking over, conversation needed to be conducted on the level of an exaggerated roar -

"Hey mate -what's the tally ?" shrieked Jack.

Barely turning his head to acknowledge Jack the officer bawled back "Twenty escaped, fourteen rescued, minor smoke inhalations and bumps - two missing, two fatalities, no IDs yet."

As he continued directing the hose at its flaming target with grim determination Jack's heart began to pump and his chest tightened with foreboding. He looked across to a small roped off area where those rescued and who'd managed to escape were being tended to by paramedics - no sign of either Lucas or Matty ! Martha had begun walking over from the car with an inquiring look on her face - he spread his arms out wide in a gesture indicating bewilderment and uncertainty - but deep inside his soul a loud and insistent voice was beginning to scream at high volume "Where ARE they ?? Where the HELL are they ???"

The answer to his question lay on the narrow spiral staircase at the rear of the restaurant. Lucas and Matilda had been sitting relatively neat the illuminated emergency exit sign, and when it became clear this was more than a random chip pan fire in the kitchen they'd headed there and started a slow careful descent as soon as possible. It seemed the majority of diners had followed instinct and headed back down the main access staircase, so it was their own two voices alone keeping a dialogue of mutual encouragement and support going as the flames crackled in ominously close proximity and the thickening smoke began forcing regular volleys of coughing.

Lucas was a few steps ahead in the descent - he called back over his shoulder "Hey, if I'd known it was barbecue everything night, I wouldn't have brought you till next week !"

Despite their uncomfortable situation, Matty was able to laugh ..

"You doofus - hey. you never had to pay, remember, so you definitely owe me another dinner !"

He responded with a smile she couldn't see, but his intended answer was halted in its tracks by a huge crunch and crack of masonry which sounded to him like a wall starting to give way . By now he was just a few steps from the bottom , so as he jumped the last couple , yelled "wow, that sounded grisly didn't it ? Matilda...? ..MATTY ??" He swung round to face a huge and growing pall of black smoke, parting only to reveal a ragged slab of displaced brickwork - and a chilling silence in response to the increasingly frantic calls for his girlfriend.....

Flynn had acted quickly as the detail and dimensions of the ongoing accident drama became increasingly clear to him. Noticing his cellphone battery levels had begun to dip, he first phoned the local medical centre in his home town where he'd spent such a large proportion of what was proving to be a majorly gruelling day. He got an immediate response - so giving the lie to Lynsey's earlier claim that there'd been no-one there and probably therefore meaning that the infant Brandon - who she'd CLAIMED to be his son - was probably still happily at work on his colouring book and unaware of the claims his mother had made about an apparent accident threatening his life and limb. But she'd keep - now was about helping the people he'd been told were currently in surgery at the hospital (though not of course realizing just how well he knew them both) and in potential peril due to the crashing of the lorry that had been carrying an estimated two weeks worth of blood supplies from the City to the Bay hospital.

His second call was a hunch contact to an old friend he knew ran the local flying club near where he'd been brought up - and it was a hunch that seemed to be paying off. Alastair Richardson had been about to start a night-flying lesson - but now that had been scrapped, he'd accepted the emergency supplies couriered over from the Medical Centre, and, in liaison with the Highway police, was just seconds away from collecting Flynn from the gridlocked road and carrying him on a mercy dash to the hospital. The on-foot officers at the scene had assured Flynn when the traffic eventually thinned they'd drive his car on to the hospital- readily acknowledging his experience in such situations as this could be almost as vital as the blood he'd be escorting. So - Alastair had expertly lowered the harness and it seemed to Flynn only a matter of seconds for him to be inside, airborne, and touching down on the Football Oval, conveniently situated next to the hospital. Flynn had never figured beyond beachside game lel or indeed the bounds ohis imagination as a flying winger, but had the local coach been taking an evening stroll at that moment it's quite possible that enrollment forms would have been heading to the Caravan Park the following day.

Alastair had intendeds to jog with Flynn as far as the hospital, but looking across the yawning Oval expanse could already see his friend, hand clenched firmly around the blood-containing coolbag arriving at the main door. The pilot loosened his collar. sank back in the main cockpit and reached for a bottle of water -it had been a hectic evening !

Flynn meanwhile had bypassed the inevitable and time-consuming hail of questions that would come his way in the waiting room, so entered instead via a back door and made instead for the small ante-room just off the operating theatre. As he pushed through the door heaving for breath, he momentarily bent almost double, becoming simultaneously aware of Shayne entering through the other door. Still with his breath heavy and laboured. Flynn straightened - jabbing a forefinger at the coolbag as he did, and managing to pant " blood mate...." - but, on resuming a fully vertical position became aware of the absence of any relieved smile from Shayne such as he'd expected.

His young colleague's face was pale, exhausted. but most noticeably grim,,,

"Flynn mate - I think it could be too late..."

Flynn was suddenly extremely grateful that he'd chosen to by-pass the hurdle of the waiting room.......

[I love music]

Great update but...um...where the hell have you been...?

[Jackieleanne]

Wow, just read this fic it is great. I hope that Matilda is ok.

[WYN100]

Thanks both, I'm so glad you think it's still ok ! - and lol@ I Love Music - I think I must genuinely have been the last one on the entire site not to realize that the Hacker problem wasn't a problem any more !!

**PART 18 **

"I didn't know where to look...." Brodie shook her head disbelievingly and wondered - not for the first time in their rarely-dull relationship - exactly quite how she saw so much in someone who dealt in such fantastical exaggerations - and then congratulated himself on their so-called success.

"Alex, you told her you'd won yen thousand dollars on a lotto scratchcard and we'd decoded on a surprise trip back here - which let me tell you must appear so suspiciously top secret they seem surprised even WE know we're on it !!"

Alex flashed her a complacent smirk - "I know - brilliant, wasn't it ! And with so little time too - and best of all, she didn't suspect a thing !" Brodie rolled her eyes towards the roof of the cab, where they encountered a sticker saying "Are you enjoying the trip ? If so - phone my boss and tell him - if you're not - he's on holiday for six months A winking yellow smiley face seemed to be enjoying the joke - for a stray split second, she was tempted to leave a message for the possibly holidaying boss asking him to book better cabaret for the journeys than her very occasionally aggravating boyfriend -

"Oh yeah right and did you notice the bit where those six performing elephants drove Sherman tanks through the holes in your little story ??"

He didn't rise to the semi-playful bait and - as it always seemed to where Alex was concerned, her frustration quickly thawed. After all, hadn't it been HIS inspired thinking that had driven them on towards the shiveringly pleasurable prospect they were now seemingly within a hand's stretch of achieving.? She moved closer and clasped his hand as the cab ate up the short distance between the Sands and the Bay for their meeting with Alf to hopefully dot every last i and flourish a cross through every final t over their purchase of the diner building.

The smiles of excited apprehension on both their faves would have frozen like a park duckpond if they'd at that moment been able to see the even earlier riser than themselves that Mr Stewart was at that very minute letting in through the side door of the Surf Club - and who was there to discuss the very same agenda as themselves...

Kirsty Phillips had been another early riser that morning - though admittedly there had been precious little sleep to actually rise FROM -the events of the last 24 hours having travelled noisily and naggingly round her head through the hours of darkness rather like the participants in an exclusive though largely unwanted Grand Prix being staged for her mind's eye only.

So it had been that after a quick glass of juice and half a banana she'd reached an important Kirsty plc executive decision by a majority of one to nil on the next best step forward to deal with her over-lively brainspace. It was to be another shopping trip. !

The bus had nosed fairly easily through the early morning town traffic - though Kirsty was only able to view from a distance via her elevated position on the top deck the severe damage that first light had unveiled of the previous evening's fire at the "Casablanca" restaurant complex - and the dramatic events still unfolding there. Knowing nothing of the blaze that had engulfed the premises, she merely stretched her neck a little to observe the view as her bus performed a slow arc past the small plantation of diversion warning signs placed at the end of that road by the police -her eyes widening at the extent and severity of it - never momentarily imagining just exactly how much more she'd hear about it as time wore on.

Her attention was diverted by a text from Jade saying how much she'd enjoyed the previous day and the chance to see her again- Kirsty's features clouded over once again. Her sister's SMS hadn't mentioned the so far unfathomable Dylan factor - but whether she liked it or not, until it could be resolved satisfactorily, there is sat, throbbing like a highly prominent sore thumb on the so-recently redefined landscape of her life. Easier said than done though would however have been a cliche that did scant justice to the many layers of problems and questions it posed - firstly - from where and why had he suddenly sprung back into view - secondly what was his true agenda with Jade and how could she protect her sister from the likelihood of her getting hurt - and thirdly and quite probably most importantly - could she possibly rationalize the lurch of her heart and sudden re-explosion of her emotions the moment she'd laid eyes upon him that many years after their initial highly-charged period of introduction ?

She felt herself gently propelled forward in her seat as the hiss of the brakes indicated the bus stopping to obey a red light. As one always seems to, her eyes wandered idly downwards towards the kerb, flitting from the garish breakfast display at a burger bar to an office window alongside it. Its wide, bright window-display featured large, bright, billboard-sized colour images of Summer Bay at its sunlit and most appealing best - and they struck a distinct chord with her. Yes - they were definitely the same ones featured in the booklets she'd seen at the Beach House during the campaign meetings against LNG plant being proposed for the coast . She sat up straighter in her seat to get a better view, tutting with frustration as the bus engine again coughed into life and began moving forward. Fortunately for her though a car attempting a last-minute right-turn had blocked the main road, so she was able to continue looking back this time to see two figures emerging from the office door deep in conversation . The heart acrobatics she'd only just been reflecting on returned with a vengeance as she recognized one of them to be Dylan - but it was as she looked beyond him to the other figure that her jaw dropped and eyes clamped onto what she was seeing. The one phrase her mind could muster - "WHAT were THEY doing there with him.....?"

Flynn and Shane let out a collective and genuine sigh mingling relief and sincere professional empathy.

There was a degree of satisfaction, but noticeably no triumphalism - no punching of the air or any similar gestures - and the atmosphere in the surgical area was quiet as they completed the official forms and embarked on the scrubbing up process.

Flynn had wasted no time once Shayne had put him in the picture following his mercy helicopter dash. Doctor Gordon hat told how he believed they'd been just a matter of minutes from a death - but the injuries relating to kidney and liver that had been suffered by Jesse and Amanda both fell specifically within his specialist abdominal field of expertise. So they'd worked, a silent but totally committed duo shuttling instinctively between the two operating tables - one shared objective - preservation of life. Even the most experienced among the attendant team of nurses and other paramedics had worked in considerable awe of what they were witnessing.

And then, as the first thin, exploratory finders of morning sunlight had begun creeping inquisitively under the blinds covering the high, thin windows - they knew they'd reached a point. Neither had slept for over 24 hours - neither was clamouring for the "waiting room " moment - more like the " home- shower-eat-bed" moment. Flynn's friend and helicopter chauffeur from earlier on had been sent a message during the night telling him he could leave and return later if that was possible, so - not feeling under an imminent deadline, he jerked his thumb questioningly at the door, but Shayne was ahead of him, raising one palm as he made for the door - Flynn slipping out alongside him.

With Sally having already departed, there now only remained Leah and Dan - who'd fairly recently returned from looking in on VJ and Ryan - now asleep in a recovery room up the corridor following their earlier involvement in the crash.

"There is good news..." Shayne was saying =- "We've stabilized Jesse's situation and we're confident he's in no further danger...."

Dan instantly noticed Leah's involuntary gasp of delight and smile that lit up her features for the first time in many hours - - -

"But " Shayne was continuing, |"... the situation with Amanda isn't that simple.." Dan shot her another look, but was drawn back to the doctor's words.." The problem with Amanda's more complex. She lost a large amount of blood from her kidney, and while we've been able to stem that and halt the deterioration with some very timely assistance..."

Flynn gave the barest of nods..

Her flow of blood round the body WAS seriously in debt for a number of minutes, so..."

Dan was up now, virtually eyeballing the medical man and spitting..."So WHAT doctor - can you MANAGE to be a little more SPECIFIC, please..?" Shayne continued steadily and evenly "..and the supply to the brain pushed the very limits of acceptable delay and she lapsed into a coma, so...

"But she'll be ALL RIGHT, won't she..?" from Dan

"At the moment, I can far from providing any guarantees, the best i can tell you is that she's stll alive and will soon in all probability come off the immediate danger list. However - the lack of blood over an extended period of time could see us looking at some potential - and possibly permanent- brain damage..."

Once again Dan's head shot round towards Leah at s defining and tension-ridden moment. With HER friend Jesse off the danger list, how would she react to this latest bombshell, - - particularly when it involved somebody of whom she was DECIDEDLY less enamoured....?

Tony Holden gave Beth another squeeze, pausing just in time to stop another intended-to-be-comforting but increasingly empty-sounding phrase escaped his lips. He was well aware that encouragements such as "I'm sure it'll be ok, I can feel it ", and " they're doing everything they can" had steadily begun to lose their mileage having been rotated at uncomfortably regular intervals since they'd had the emergency call to get to the scene in the early hours.

Tony's moments of suffocating apprehension had been far fewer than Beth's with the news that Lucas had been found and - despite protesting vociferously that he wanted to stay and help with the search, he was now at the hospital being treated for the effects of smoke inhalation. For Beth though, hour had slipped into tortured hour as she, Tony and family members of the estimated six other diners still believed to be missing stood in a tense, muted huddle on the pavement across the road from the restaurant, whose close vicinity had been sealed off over fears of possible further falls of masonry.

"Why don't they just TELL us something..." hissed Beth in a slow, flat monotone - a phrase she herself hjad made more than considerable use of as the time had inched its way tortuously past - and one of course to which she already knew the answer. All comings and goings of the emergency services were clearly visible to them from where they stood, and it was grimly obvious that the painstaking recovery work - particularly at the rear where Luke and Matty had been descending the spiral staircase - was simply proceeding on a centimetre by centimetre basis - all the while making painfully sure that their own efforts didn't risk triggering another collapse of brickwork. The day was bright with a pleasant breeze, and on the guttering of the shop above their heads a pair of slightly navigationally-challenged seagulls were engaging in a throaty dispute over a small piece of fish recovered from a nearby restaurant dustbin.

But to Beth, who was locked into her own unlit and doorless black hole , she could have been standing amid a hailstorm hovered over by two underfed vultures for all she was aware or concerned. Her eyes and mind were trained solely upon the clutch of police, fire and medical vehicles and medical personnel on the other side of the road outside the severely fire-damaged "Casablanca's" Hence it was a rather unnecessary nudge and pointing gesture of Tony's to her as he saw Jack re-emerge from the fire scene and head over to a small group of officials where Sergeant Harper was standing - she's already in seconds noticed and registered the event herself, and also the fact that he was carrying something with him - though she couldn't see what.

Along range lens could have told Beth that Jack was showing Harper two freshly blown up photographs taken by officers from the incident scene inside. "These are hot off the lens Sarge - they finally made it through to that side corridor where they reckon it may have started - and look..."

Harper found himself viewing an area of wall connecting a side entrance with the downstairs kitchen area - and despite the impact made by smoke upon it - a raggedly spray painted red slogan was still clearly visible ---

"SOON YOU'LL ALL KNOW.... !!!!"

The senior officer's eyes widened and his jaw began to drop.."What the..."

But before they could begin discussing the many question marks strewn across the situation by the new discovery, there was a fresh diversion. From the corner of his eye Jack saw Beth beginning to make purposeful strides across the road - he turned smartly, began to hold up a restraining arm, but was forced instinctively to halt again as a voice from somewhere - maybe even Beth as far as he could tell in this frantically cascading situation - rang loud - - - "They're bringing another body out....!!!"

[Jackieleanne]

Great work, I hope Matilda is ok glad that Lucas is recovering in hospital. Please don't let the body be Matildas. Good chapter.

[WYN100]

**PART 19 **

"To be honest mate I'm surprised Colleen doesn't have guard dogs and searchlights on the go outside 24-flamin 7 !!"

Alf paused and shook his head ruefully "Gees the amount of earache she's given me since they knew I was selling this place - what her flamin' Lancey says about it all on a daily basis - workers' rights, human rights, the Lord High Commissioner - I tell you what, that flamin' woman could give a migraine to a headless chook !!.."

His visitor gave a wry smile and nodded with genuine comprehension - the vagaries of Mrs Smart's legendary mouth were well known to them - very much so in fact.

Alf let out a deep sigh before continuing. "ANYWAY - you know the story well enough mate - the way those flamin' Ned Kellys at the tax department are looking to stripe me all colours of the rainbow i've got to cash in every possible asset I've got so I can get enough, and of course the mongrels always want it like YESTERDAY, so when you came in with the higher offer - that's the only language THIS bloke is talking at the moment - you hear what I'm saying ?"

"I do indeed, " came the reply - " as Irene's welfare and future are pretty much the only language THIS bloke is talking at the moment - and for the long haul too !"

Alf nodded, smiled - and somehow knew instinctively that Paris Burnett meant every word he was saying. His had been the last voice Alf had expected to hear when the phone had rung a few days previously - but now there he sat - alert, sincere and composed - seemingly ready to emerge from a difficult phase of his life by re-planting some roots in Summer Bay.

Alf reflected on one or two related issues connected with Paris's re-emergence.. Firstly, how would Barry Hyde react ? He and Irene may well no longer be an item, but how would he feel now this younger, charismatic figure was back - clearly with Irene high in his thoughts - and also, with some recent mutterings among the parents about falling exam results at Summer Bay High - could Paris be a threat on the educational level too ?

A little more odd was Paris's vehement insistence that if the sale did go through then Irene was not under any circumstances to be told about it......yes Mr Burnett's return was certain to lead to some volatile times ahead - though neither man was aware just how soon the first flashpoint was going to be....

Beth perched uncomfortably on the thin, red-brick wall bordering an ornamental public flowerbed just opposite "Casablanca's" Her head had been buried in her hands for fully five minutes now. Jack walked a little closer giving his nearby father a slightly over-mimed inquiring look. Tony responded with two outstretched, upturned palms of his own indicating he had little clearer of an idea of how best to proceed than his son. Striving to radiate as much delicacy as possible, Tony took a deep breath, touched her slowly on the shoulder, began slowly - - - and soon wished he hadn't...

"Beth, we have to..."

"We have to WHAT exactly Tony ..? Be PLEASED the young girl they brought out earlier WASN'T Matilda , or be PLEASED that my daughter is still somewhere under that rubble and has been for 15 hours or so..?...just tell me - WHICH !!? ... the tears which had been closely stalking her through much of the day unleashed another sniper-style attack, and her hands again cradled in front of her face to absorb a fitful sobbing.

With far from ideal timing, Tony's shrill text alert cut through the near-silence. He glanced to see who it was from and gave a tut of slight frustration - it definitely WAS the one he'd been waiting for - but somewhat regrettably - acting on it would have to wait till this current highly-charged situation was resolved.

He looked up at the sound of some approaching footsteps to see Robbie and Scott who'd joined them a few hours earlier returning from one of the better burger bars nearby with trays of coffee and breakfast-style items.

"Thanks guys, " said Tony. reaching for one of the skin-blisterimgly hot plastic coffee mugs , adding " your mum was keen that you've been updating Graham and Kit on what's been happening...?" There were two nods of reply, but as they went to squat down one each alongside their mother, the sixth sense she seemed to have developed within this situation again looked to be giving her a determined and distinctive early wake-up call to any new development. She sat bolt upright, her face pent with thickly with nervous anticipation.

Sure enough at that very moment, Jack clicked off his walkie-talkie and peeled away from the by-now ever present group of senior officers and made his way slowly towards her.

"Beth..." he began....her eyes were clamped by an invisible and immovable gravity to his face - she tried to swallow, but the fluid seemed to gag in her throat. She became aware through the mist of jagged apprehension swirling around her that he was still talking. "......they've finally finished working on that last area near the back that was the hardest to reach..."

The loudest imaginable decibel "..AND..??" was shrieking inside Beth's throat - but still not even the one word could force its way through to her tongue and lips. But it was almost as if Jack had heard it anyway - - -

"and.... there's a young lady just being taken into an ambulance as we speak who'd LOVE to have a quick chat with you before it leaves !.."

The passage of time was officially suspended for around three seconds in that small corner of Australia while his words sank in - then , all the suppressed words, doubts, anxieties, fears and more within Beth and the others waiting triumphantly smashed through the dams of doubt - she joined Scott, Robbie, Tony and very nearly several bemused passers-by in a manic group hug-cum-dance of raw relief and joy frior to being headed towards the waiting ambulance at the rear to be re-united with Matty - Tony remembering too to call ahead to the hospital so Lucas could also be informed.

Dabbing away just the merest suspicion of a tear from the corner of his own eye, Jack turned to see Sergeant Harper nodding with approval at his side "Good work there Constable - you closed that off well"

Jack gave a cursory nod of thanks, but his brow darkened as he replied "but it's not closed off Sarge - these are the latest blow-ups from the scene of crime boys - this was from a piece from pretty much next to that other one I showed you once they were able to line it all up again,,"

Harper nodded, remembering the "SOON YOU'LL ALL KNOW...!!" which had been spraypainted on the wall - his features gaped as he now saw on the still-damp photographic blow-up in the same aggressively angular writing style "But next time it'll be too late...!!"

With the remaining sounds of the Hunter celebration party still audible on the late morning air, the two officers exchanged a glance which agreed - this problem may only just have begun...

"But I still don't have a clue as to WHY..?" Claire Brodie was drawing the car up outside her and Peter's apartment, and yet again trying to pick the threads from what had been a bizarre morning for them.

At its starkest, they'd woken up that morning with Claire facing the threat of an attempted murder charge after her "red mist moment" of shaping to unplug the support mechanism beside the hospital bed of the building society raider - an accusation that Peter had secretly feared could also implicate him and so spell the end of both their careers.

But a brief- and rather terse - audience with the Hospital Trust manager had told them no charges of any kind would be brought against them and that Peter was considered fit enough for immediate discharge. Peter smiled and gave a philosophical shrug "Look, maybe they just thought let sleeping dogs lie - and on that subject I may just turn into a honey Labrador for a couple of hours once we're settled back - getting a flesh wound on your arm can be an exhausting business, I'll have you know !!"

Claire had already entered the apartment and was beginning to open the curtains as he reached the door - her nose wrinkling in mild surprise as she called back over her shoulder "I don't remember leaving these open when we we went out yest..."

She stopped short in the act and gave a startled leap - as a figure rose from the armchair with its back closest to her and turned , saying - "No, you didn't Sergeant, that was me - I prefer a more subtle lighting scheme for the discussion we three need to have..."

Frozen in the doorway, his load of a bag and coat had prevented him reaching for hus gun, and with the elements of situation and surprise both now not on his side, that option seemed at least temporarily denied to him. But, even from the shadows that still dominated the other side of the room, both the intruder's frame and speaking voice seemed distinctly familiar to him.......

Scott sat on the beach - on that spot where so many Summer Bay residents headed to think over their problems in a welcome bubble of isolation, almost inevitably however to be soon interrupted by a parent, sibling or well meaning friend who'd begin with the line |"I thought I'd find you here..."

Scott though had certainly had much to swirl round his mind in recent times - the whole Amanda disaster, himself and Hayley - Danni's highly unsettling return, and then today's drama with Matilda That worry about his sister's safety had, thought Scott, threatened to be his last personal straw in terms of keeping everything going at once - and reminded him forcefully more than ever about who or what was important in life. To him personally - hmm, surfing, lifesaving - and of course his FAMILY !! He'd been to see Matty in hospital, only left when he'd heard the early verdict about how she was progressing in the right direction- and he'd made for the beach to come and clear his head.

His over-loaded mental baggage carousel began to spin again - what about Hayley in all this = - she'd been noticeably quiet and distant since yesterday's events - they were ok - -weren't they ?- again he was annoyed about how that supplementary question should ghost its way in every time he posed himself that query. - but it kept doing so.

Had Scott's eyes been in the back of his head instead of gazing out in a wearily glazed fashion over the waves, he'd have seen Todd Allison's car purr sleekly and silently into beachside car-park, Danni emerging and taking a few steps down the wooden-railed path that was the main artery for surfers, sunbathers and people in general to progress to and from the sands.

Scott meanwhile had been hit by another thought - his mother, Her behaviour when he'd called round earlier before all the trauma with Matilda had been decidedly concerning - - - and despite the hope that a brief migration to the beach would bring him peace and mental refuge, events indeed seemed to be closingvrowsing in on him forfas 0 hies head dropped into his hands - and Danni chose her moment with maestro timing. Suddenly he became aware of a very familiar and far from unwelcome form squatting at his side..

"Hey.." she said quietly.

"Hey yourself " he replied looking up , again feeling a combination of mild annoyance and delicious appreciation at the way his heart still vaulted on seeing her - even after the many-layered gap there'd been between them prior to her sudden and very recent re-appearance."Now Scott Hunter , correct me if I'm wrong, but you look like a guy who could REALLY use a banana smoothie and a friendly ear...., right?"

He looked up, and his mind's eye witnessed with interest the wrestling match happening within him between the "Whooa boy - stay clear - what would Hayley say ?" tag team, and their opponents "Go on - go with her, she may be just what you need at this moment ..."

Scott had indisputably hesitated - and while he may not exactly have been LOST - he'd certainly shot past his intended exit junction on the emotional freeway.

Springing up suddenly he replied "Yes, why the heck not !" He offered his hand to help her up and as they started walking in the genera; direction of the Diner, Danni was first interested, then delighted to note that there was no move by him to pull it away. With Scott on her left looking appreciatively out at the swirling azure waves being steadily embroidered by the developing morning sun, she was able to lean almost imperceptibly to her right and give a thumbs up gesture to the waiting Todd, now sitting astride the bonnet of the car in the car-park just across from them. He responded quickly with one of his own, then slipped down, re-entered the car via the driver's door, and eased the vehicle back out onto the road and into the distance away from the direction they were walking.

"Such a great day now isn't it.." said Scott, drinking in the sun-kissed landscape.

"Sure Is" came the enthusiastic smile through lips that were parted in the brightest of smiles - - - Part One of the Danni Sutherland Masterplan was well underway.......

[Jackieleanne]

Great chapter, Im glad Matilda has been found.

[tasha7905]

Just caught up. Its great. Im glad matilda was found. Cant wait to see what else is going to happen.

[Skykat]

I wait months for a chapter and then get three at once! This is still great Wyn 100, nice to have you back!