If An Illusion Is All I Have
Chapter 12: She Ran
Author: Jess_Who
Fandom: Ashes To Ashes
Pairings: Alex, Gene, CID, Molly, etc
Rating: 12A (Rating may change)
Disclaimer: Only a fan, not the owner.. :'(
Spoilers: None really. Set in 1982
Note: Beta'd by the exceptional Rantandrumour.
Chapter 10: The Cat
Chapter 11: Little Girl
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Alex breathed deeply, preparing herself as she saw the first glimpse of a black shoe hit the last step. The figure was half in view when she launched herself forwards, catching the silhouette of guard and sinking the small blade into his abdomen.
The person on the stairs raced towards her, his jacket brushing against the wall of the narrow stairway, the ancient plaster crumbling under the friction.
Alex used what little momentum available to throw her entire body at him. They landed heavily on the ground and even though the pain in Alex's chest was sharp and close to unbearable, she screamed out to Molly, "Run!"
.*.
She did exactly as her mum said. She ran.
Her senses heightened in fear as she ducked beneath her captor's arms and took the old concrete steps two at a time.
With breathless determination, she negotiated the hallway of the building she had once called home, running through the kitchen and into the garden.
At the bottom of the garden she hid behind the over grown bushes and searched frantically for the loose panels of wood. Even though her lungs were screaming for oxygen, Molly held her breath and prayed the slates of wood would remain silent as she inched them apart.
.*.
The tight torment across Alex's ribcage eased slightly when she breathed shallowly so as to listen to her daughter s footsteps fade.
The criminal that had held her daughter and now herself imprisoned had regained his composure and roughly shoved Alex onto the ground.
It was lumpier here she noted, much more grit here by the steps. She struggled to her feet and reached for the wall to aid her boneless legs, only to have them knocked from under her.
It felt like she was falling slowly, as if time itself had decided to decrease its speed while she made her descent, yet she did not make to stop herself.
.*.
Her arm scraped over the wall of bricks and old, damp plaster crumbled against white leather. As Alex landed on the dirty floor she was showered in a cascade of grey dust. She coughed and spluttered as it covered her face in a cloud.
Her captor delivered a swift kick to her side and brought his foot down on her stomach with a brutal stamp. Alex's gasp of agony transformed into a low moan as the pain flared across her abdomen, tears mingling with the dust. She kept moaning until she heard the click of a gun.
.*.
Gene was barking furiously down the radio as he saw a young girl appear out of nowhere. "...Trust a plonk to do a half-arsed job," he finished, angry beyond measure that the PC's he had delegated the evacuation of the whole street too had managed to allow a small girl to slip through the road blocks.
She did not notice him, even when he had been bellowing down his radio. She ran straight into him, her scream of fright near deafening. He grabbed her arms to prevent her falling backwards and she struggled in his hold, screaming wordlessly and it was then that he recognized something in the depths of her ocean blue eyes. They were wide with fear, but in their midst was a fury and defiance he knew well.
She kicked him in the shin and he instantly let go. "Molly?" he asked, resisting the urge to bend down and rub the bump on his leg.
.*.
His voice was level and familiar as he spoke. "Look what you've done. Harper might have be a stupid lowlife, but he did as he was told, till he met you that is. Not much point in a dog if he doesn't do as he told."
The sound of the gun was too loud in the enclosed space. Everything seemed to go silent in the aftermath.
Alex felt her defiance waver as she listened to Harper's heavy breathing falter and cease. The guilt ebbed through her and she stared up at the man effectively acting as her prison guard and held onto her last piece of disobedience and stared at him, unblinkingly.
"Don't you look at me!" he shouted, cocking the gun and aiming it at her. "I said, don't look at me!"
Alex supposed she didn't really have her daughter until this was over and done with once and for all. She looked away, ashamed with herself for doing as he ordered, but knowing she had to slow the pace everything seemed to be moving at.
.*.
Molly's eyes widened further and her look was comically like that of her mother's when she had managed to lock herself and Gene in the vault at Edgehampton. Then, without hesitation, she turned on her tails and ran away from him before he could stop her.
"Just like your bloody mother," he muttered and took off after her, coat flapping behind him.
"Wait!" he shouted as Molly began to climb over the wall leading into a grassy clearing. "I'm a police officer." He stopped a few feet away. "I work with your mum."
Molly's feet scrabbled for an anchor on the wall, and once on top she swung her legs over the other side. "Prove it!" she demanded, her body leaning forward, ready to jump at a moment s notice.
Gene slowly pulled out his warrant card allowing her to see he intended no harm. He stepped forwards to show her the contents, but she halted him with the rise of the palm of her hand.
"Throw it over!"
"You're going to be a pain in the arse like Bolly I see," he said.
She wondered if she ought to be worried, but his look was teasing and his tone withheld chuckle waiting to burst free as he tossed the black leather identity card to her.
She look from him to the warrant card a few times and whispered. "You're him." Her young voice was breathy with excitement, as though she was meeting her all time hero.
"Course I bloody am. Now get down before you fall down."
She threw back his warrant card. As he tucked it away in his pocket, Molly twisted her legs back over so they were dangled a foot away from an assortment of thorny bushes.
"Must be a genetic thing this memorable entrance thingy you Drake's have going on." He trampled down on the brambles and offered his arms out to her. "Come 'ere," he grumbled with embarrassment. He lifted her slight form from the wall, not letting her go till he was sure her feet were firmly on the floor. "You're not going to go all funny and faint like your mum?"
Molly shook her head and spun around to look at the back of the house. "She's in the basement. You have to save her. She's in love with you."
"Whu?" Confounded by the young child's admission, he stood somewhat dumb-struck.
"There's only two men, but they have her gun."
"Right, yeah." Gene shook himself from his over active thoughts. "Raymondo, you're going through the front window, on my say so. She's in the basement. Softly softly like. And Granger. I have DI Drakes daughter here. Escort her to the Quattro." Gene didn't wait for a reply. "I'll have your mum back with you in a jiffy."
He turned as Shaz approached. They all jumped out of their skin as a single gunshot rang out and a tomcat appeared over the top of the fence, darting down the alley in search of safety.
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Chapter 13: Let The Girl Save The Day