by Michael Wood
‘Oh my God, Daniel’s been shot,’ Penny screamed into her phone.
The doctor leapt into action and grabbed hold of Daniel. He sat him down and looked at the wound.
‘There’s an exit wound. The bullet has gone straight through. I don’t think there’s any nerve damage, but we need to stem the blood flow. Can you pass me that towel?’
Frank handed the doctor a towel from Matilda’s bedside locker, and he tied it tightly around the wound in Daniel’s shoulder.
‘Keep it in place, apply pressure and don’t move.’
‘It doesn’t hurt. I’m fine,’ Daniel said, almost calm.
‘You’re in shock.’
A barrage of gunfire was heard from the corridor.
Jake smashed the glass in the door, reached through and struggled to locate the handle. When he saw it lying on the floor, he had to smile. They certainly weren’t making it easy for him to finish his job. He placed the Glock in his bag and took out the Heckler & Koch rifle. He changed the setting to continuously fire whenever he had his finger pressed on the trigger. He checked he had a full magazine, stood back and began firing around the hinges on the door.
In the rest of the hospital, as many people were being evacuated as possible. Doctors, nurses and administrative staff were calmly directing patients and visitors out of the building. It was a logistical nightmare but in the face of a gunman, there was no alternative. Those who were able to walk were told to do so. Wheelchairs were used for those less able patients, and in the most urgent of cases, patients were being wheeled out on their beds.
Christian pulled up, and all four climbed out of the car amid the melee of people aimlessly wandering about, not knowing where to go for their own safety.
He located Inspector Porter and headed for him with Sian and the others in tow.
‘I’ve got a team heading up there right now. They can hear gunfire,’ Porter said. He was wearing a headset so he could speak directly to his armed team. ‘Is this really all about someone wanting to kill Matilda Darke?’
‘Partly,’ Sian said.
She looked up at the imposing twenty-one-storey concrete block. Almost every window was lit up. From the inside, she knew it gave glorious views of the whole city on a clear day. The 1970s structure was a place of healing and safety. Now, it was the scene of a terrifying armed siege. Jake Harrison was volatile and unpredictable. There was no way anyone could foresee how this was going to end, or how many innocent people he would kill before he was done.
Jake stopped shooting. With a swift kick, the door toppled. He walked steadily over the pile of spent cartridges and headed down the corridor towards room B11 where Matilda and her family were hiding. He’d kill the fucking lot of them. He stopped at the door and looked through the toughened glass. He heard a woman scream, probably Matilda’s mother, and all eyes turned to face him. He smiled. He placed his hand on the door handle—
‘Armed police! Drop your weapon.’
Jake turned to see a team of armed officers in armoured gear standing not ten feet away from him. All had guns aimed in his direction.
The lift pinged, and the doors opened. Christian, Sian and Gavin stepped out into the corridor and walked in silence down the maze of corridors before they reached the entrance to the Neuro Critical Care Unit. They saw the carnage at their feet. Dead bodies littered the floor, riddled with bullet holes and surrounded by blood. These were doctors and nurses who had dedicated their lives to helping and saving others, who worked in difficult conditions and faced tightening budgets and poor wages on a daily basis, yet still continued to work for the good of the patients, and they’d been mercilessly gunned down.
‘Do you have access to a hostage negotiator?’ Gavin said as he stepped over bodies.
‘We called for one earlier at the school, but I’m not sure if they ever turned up,’ Christian said.
‘I’d have thought the time for negotiating had long since passed,’ Sian said. ‘He doesn’t want to talk. He just wants to kill.’
They approached the standoff between armed police and Jake Harrison but remained well back. In the ensuring chaos, Jake had taken a hostage. Standing in the corridor outside Matilda’s room, he had his left arm wrapped around her father’s throat, and a Glock pistol in his right hand, pressed firmly against Frank’s temple. He was using him as a human shield.
Gavin was handed a mouthpiece attached to a loudspeaker. He cleared his throat.
‘Jake, my name is Inspector Gavin Porter. I’m here to talk to you.’
‘I can’t see you,’ Jake shouted his reply.
Gavin lowered the mouthpiece and took a deep breath. ‘Looks like I’m going to have to do this face to face.’
‘You go down that corridor and he’ll shoot you,’ Christian said.
‘He’s not going to talk to me like this.’
‘He’s not interested in talking. Like Sian said, he’s past all that. Tell one of your men to shoot him in the knee or something.’
‘He’s holding a gun to Frank Doyle’s head. There are four other people in that room and who knows how many others trapped in rooms down that corridor! He had a bomb at Stannington School. There could be one in there with him. We need to assess the situation before anything happens,’ Gavin said.
‘Are you still there, Inspector Gavin Porter?’ Jake said in an almost sing-song voice, taunting the police by showing he was in charge.
‘Fuck,’ Gavin said under his breath.
He looked from Sian to Christian before turning and heading for his team of officers at the top of the corridor. He gently made his way to the front.
‘There you are. I was beginning to think you were one of those who sits behind a desk giving orders without seeing any real action,’ Jake said.
‘Not at all. What can I do for you, Jake?’
‘You can call your men off.’
‘You know I can’t do that.’
‘Then I’m afraid these good people are going to die,’ he said, pressing the gun harder against Frank’s head, causing him to call out in pain.
‘Why are you doing this, Jake? You’re not seeking revenge for your brother. It goes deeper than that.’
‘Please don’t try to psychoanalyse me. We’ll be here for days if you try to understand what the fuck is going on in here,’ he said, tapping the side of his head with the Glock.
‘Then why don’t you enlighten me? Share with me, Jake.’
He released a sigh. ‘I’m really not interested in talking anymore. I’ve had enough.’
‘Of what?’
‘Of this. You try to do the right thing and you just get kicked in the teeth. Look at my brother. He was a good man. He wanted to be a policeman since he was a child. He wanted to help and save people, until you lot got your hands on him and turned him into a killer.’
‘That’s not what happened, Jake.’
‘You poisoned him. He wasn’t prepared to play the game and lick people’s boots, so he had to be got rid of.’
‘Jake, I’m Sian Mills,’ Sian said, pushing through the crowd and stepping in front of Gavin. He tried to stop her, but she shook him off. ‘I work with Matilda Darke. I knew your brother.’
Jake’s eyes lit up in recognition. ‘Yes. Steve mentioned you.’
She smiled. ‘Steve was a good man, a good copper. He went down a different path and things went very dark for him. They don’t need to go dark for you, too.’
‘Take a look around you, Sian. It’s pitch-black. I’ve killed so many people today. I’ve destroyed so much. Don’t try to placate me by saying I can put all this behind me and move on.’
‘Jake, this isn’t you. You’ve been brainwashed. You’re not a killer.’
‘Why do people keep saying that?’ he shouted through gritted teeth. ‘Suddenly, everyone is an expert in who I am. Where were they last year, five years ago, ten years ago?’
The corridor was narrow. Sian could easily have touched the walls on either side with her arms outstretched. I
t was windowless and oppressive. She could hear Frank’s laboured breathing as Jake’s armed gripped him tight around the throat. Behind her, the collective breaths of the Armed Response team whistled in her ear. Yet, despite the close proximity, she felt completely alone as she looked Jake straight in the eye.
‘Why did you try to kill yourself on Boxing Day?’ Sian asked.
His face dropped. ‘I…’
‘You’d had enough, hadn’t you? You didn’t want to go ahead with Steve’s plan anymore. It was too much. You didn’t agree with what he intended, and you thought that by killing yourself, it would put a stop to it.’
A flurry of emotions swept across Jake’s face, as if he was trying to make sense of what was before him, of where he suddenly found himself, of what had brought him to this point. It was a while before he spoke.
‘I wanted to be like Steve for so long,’ he said quietly.
‘But you didn’t want to be a killer, did you?’ Sian asked.
He shook his head as tears rolled down his cheeks.
‘Jake, the letter you received from the doctor saying you had cancer. It was forged.’
‘What?’
‘The man who’s been passing you notes from your brother, Justin, forged the letter. Steve told him to. He wanted you to think you didn’t have much time left so you’d do something like this rather than fade away in a hospice. You don’t have cancer, Jake. Steve lied to you.’
‘He … wouldn’t. He’s been good to me.’
Sian shook her head. ‘He’s been manipulating you from day one. Don’t give in to his demands. Don’t let him think he’s won. You can be the bigger person, here, the better brother.’
Chapter Seventy-Four
Danny Hanson’s contact was no longer answering his phone. There was no more news coming out of the police station, and standing around in the cold and dark with his fellow reporters on the off-chance someone might make a statement was not his idea of fun. When he saw Sian and Christian driving away at speed, he knew something was happening and decided to follow. The gunman hadn’t been killed in the school shooting, which meant this was still a developing story. While the other members of the press were either still at the school or doing a piece to camera in front of South Yorkshire Police HQ, Danny was forcing Lewis to pack away his camera and get back in the van.
‘Where are we going?’ he asked.
‘I haven’t got a fucking clue,’ Danny said as he looked in all directions out of the window.
Just then, an unmarked car shot past them at speed.
‘I’ve always wanted to say this – follow that car!’ He grinned.
‘You’re a prick, do you know that?’ Lewis asked.
The roads were full of rush-hour traffic as people made their way home from work, and the journey to the hospital was on a busy route passing shops and offices and university buildings. Buses were parked in the middle of the road while passengers got on and off, and traffic lights stayed on red for a long time so more vehicles could join from side roads and trams could cross.
‘Ignore the lights,’ Danny shouted as Lewis began to slow down for a red light.
‘Fuck off, we’ll get smashed into.’
‘Not if you put your foot down.’
‘I’m not getting killed on your say-so, Danny,’ he said as he came to a stop.
‘You’re a real pussy, do you know that?’ Danny asked, turning to his cameraman.
‘And you’re a psychopath. There’s more to life than work.’
The lights changed to green and Lewis set off.
‘The polar bears are going to eat you alive if you ever get to the South Pole,’ Danny said scornfully.
‘Polar bears are at the North Pole, you ignorant prick.’
‘Like it matters,’ he huffed.
They had to stop just before the hospital as a police cordon had been put in place and traffic was being diverted.
‘Something’s definitely going on in the hospital,’ Danny said, looking up at the concrete eyesore. ‘Drive round the back.’
There was nowhere for them to go. Parked cars lined both sides of the road.
‘Ok. Just pull up anywhere. Get your camera ready. I’ll go and see if I can find out what’s going on.’
Danny jumped out of the van. He looked at his watch. There was going to be a BBC News Special in less than half an hour, and Danny was needed to give a live update.
He ran down to the front of the hospital, bypassing doctors and nurses as they rushed patients to safety. The hospital was obviously being evacuated. This was big. Danny was struggling to suppress his smile. He didn’t want to waste time asking someone medical what was happening, as they were known for being tight-lipped. So when he clocked an old lady in a dressing gown smoking a cigarette and looking up at the building, he made his way over. She looked the gossiping type.
‘Excuse me, I’m Danny Hanson from BBC News—’
‘Oh, yes, I’ve been watching you all day,’ she interrupted, her face lighting up as she recognised him. ‘You’re a lovely-looking lad.’
‘Thank you.’ He felt himself blush. ‘What’s going on here at the hospital?’
‘You’re not going to put me on the telly, are you? I’m in my dressing gown and I’ve not combed my hair today.’
‘No, I’m not. Don’t worry.’
‘Thank God for that. They say telly makes you look fat as well and these tablets I’m on have already made me put on half a stone.’
Danny’s smile was stuck, though he was rapidly losing patience. ‘What’s going on inside?’
‘Well, apparently, that gunman they’ve been looking for has gone in there and started shooting the place up. He’s looking for a detective, I think the nurse said, the one who brought me out. I don’t know why we had to evacuate. I’m only one floor up and they’re all on K floor.’
‘K floor?’ he asked, looking up at the building.
‘Yes. I’m missing Eggheads standing out here.’
Danny ignored her. He saw Lewis approaching with his camera and headed for him. ‘We need to find a back way in. Everything’s kicking off on K floor.’
Chapter Seventy-Five
Sian edged closer to Jake, taking baby steps. She knew she had the weight of armed response behind her, but it wouldn’t be much help if Jake turned on her and fired. She looked to Frank Doyle. He seemed to be calm. His face was expressionless. He’d smiled at Sian a couple of times when they’d made eye contact, as if telling her he was fine.
‘Jake, tell me what you want. We can’t be here all night, can we? How do you want to resolve this?’
He looked down, sniffled, then back up to Sian. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Shall I tell you what could happen? If you shoot Frank, then those men behind me will shoot you and you’ll be dead before you hit the ground. I really don’t want that to happen,’ she said, stepping closer. ‘But if you let Frank go and put your gun down, I’ll take you to the police station. We’ll have a sit down and a good chat and you can unburden yourself. I bet you haven’t eaten all day, have you?’
‘Not really.’ He shook his head.
‘I missed lunch myself.’ She smiled. ‘The canteen will probably be closed, but we can send out for pizza or something.’
A smile appeared on Jake’s face. Sian felt herself begin to relax slightly. There was an end in sight.
‘I’m not a lawyer, Jake, I can’t tell you what will happen to you, but I know for a fact that you’re not one hundred per cent responsible for what’s happened today. You’ve been lied to. Other people have manipulated you. This can all be sorted without any more people having to die.’
The lifts in the hospital were all being used to evacuate the patients, so Danny and Lewis had to take the stairs to climb the eleven flights to K floor. Danny started by taking them two at a time, but soon stopped when his breathing became laboured. Lewis was way behind, hampered by a heavy camera on his shoulders.
At the entrance to F floor, Dan
ny stopped to take a breather and allow Lewis to catch him up.
‘Don’t you have to be fit to go to the Arctic?’ Danny asked as Lewis turned the corner. His face was red and a sheen of sweat covered his forehead.
‘I’m going to throw something at you in a minute.’
‘A hissy-fit, probably.’
Danny left his cameraman behind and headed for the next floor.
‘Bastard,’ Lewis said under his breath.
‘I heard that.’
‘I killed my wife,’ Jake said. ‘What was I thinking? I loved her. Steve said to make a list of all the people who’d abandoned me, who didn’t love me anymore. Ruth was at the top of my list. I still loved her though. She was the only person who ever said they love me.’ Tears pricked his eyes.
‘That just goes to prove my point, Jake,’ Sian said, getting even closer. She was almost within touching distance. ‘None of this was your choice. Other people have tricked you into doing their work for them. Lawyers and judges will see that. They’ll understand.’
‘I’ve never been a confident person. I’ve always been led by others.’
‘Jake, I’m the same. I’m fine at work but make me go to a party and I fall apart. I never know what to say.’
‘Neither do I.’ He smiled. ‘Even among my own family, I sometimes feel like I don’t fit in.’
‘Same here. You sit there, surrounded by them all, and they’re laughing and joking and it’s like nobody’s told you what the joke is.’
‘Exactly,’ he said. ‘You get it, don’t you?’
‘I do. But, you know, we can do things to make ourselves better,’ she said, taking another step closer. ‘There are groups and courses to help us be stronger people.’
‘Have you been on one?’
‘I’m looking into it. I don’t really fancy going on my own.’
‘I… No.’
