Murky Waters (2022 Wattys' Shortlist)

Chapter 33

'Want me to take them home?' Dirk offered.

'Yes, and stay with them so they don't get into any more trouble,' Neo ordered.

'Right,' agreed Dirk, as he headed back to the driver's side. 'By the way, Chief, it's good to have you back.' He smiled at Neo before driving away.

Neo waved at his kids, who hesitantly returned the gesture, before he watched the car travel down the rest of the road and out of sight.

'So what is the plan?' Gwilt asked.

'You're staying here for the rest of the team. And I'm going in. Here, take my phone.'

'Are you serious?' demanded Gwilt, pocketing Neo's phone on impulse. 'You just spent the entire car journey here telling me how stupid Charlie is for going down there alone and now you want to join her? You're crazy if you think I'm letting you go down there by yourself.'

Neo rolled his eyes. 'Stay here until the rest of the team arrives, then I need you to get everything organised. I'm only going to scout the area out, hopefully find Charlie, and then leave and come back here to wait for backup.'

'That's it? You're not going to engage with Jane Bennett or her family?'

'Absolutely not,' Neo reassured him. 'It's a quick in and out. If in the meantime Palmer gets here, she's more likely to talk to you than she is to me,' he reasoned before Gwilt could suggest they trade places.

Gwilt's lips thinned as he thought it over before agreeing.

'I only have a keyring flashlight but you'll have to make do. Good luck, boss.'

Neo took the keyring and headed over to the tunnel entrance. He could hear Gwilt already on his mobile, trying to find out where his officers were.

A gnawing guilt in the pit of Neo's stomach made him feel sick as he descended into the darkness. He always hated lying to Gwilt.

                                                                     ***

Charlie's head lolled as she came back to her senses. She tried to raise her head but could only lift it so far before a radiating pain tore through her scalp. The back of her t-shirt felt damp, and she tried to work out why, before she realised it must have been the blood from her wound.

She flicked her tongue out over her dry lips, tasting blood from her split lip. She pushed her tongue across her teeth, checking to see if there was anymore damage from her fall against the shelving.

When she was satisfied that none of her injuries posed an immediate threat to her health, she focused on her surroundings.

Cracking an eye open, she noticed she was still in the storeroom. Her head swam as she pulled herself into a seated position.

Once she had her back against the shelving, she placed her head between her knees for a few seconds. Bright lights danced in front of her vision as she overcame the urge to pass out.

With her hands and feet bound, there was little she could do other than sit there, so she waited for the feeling to pass before she tried raising her head again. The pain flared, but she gritted her teeth and pushed though it until her neck straightened.

It took everything in her to stifle the scream that wanted to escape at the scene in front of her. She'd never been in the presence of Harry Bennett, but there was no mistaking the man in front of her.

Harry was unconscious and strapped to a chair with rope similar to the one that bound Charlie. His hair was matted and cuts covered every inch of skin that was visible. His glasses dangled from one ear, both the lenses smashed, but it was his shallow breaths that worried Charlie the most.