A Hero In Uniform - The Complete Series (29 page)

“
The location is a general fix. The subject – in this case, your sister – could be within twenty k's of where it's saying she is.” Brady told her. “We could be getting Bungalow because that's the nearest hub.”

“
You think so?” Karleigh asked, hoping he was right.

“
Let's go check it out before we start thinking the worst.” Ethan suggested.

“
Good idea.” She agreed.

They left Cairns and headed south, Brady staying behind because he couldn't interfere with a federal case if he wanted to keep his career. Karleigh appreciated his help and wasn't about to ask him to risk anything just for her and her sister.

“
Brady is older then you, right?”

“
Only by fourteen months.” Ethan replied. “He was born in January, 1980, and I was born in March 1981.”

“
No one could ever doubt that you two are brothers.” Karleigh commented as she joined traffic on the highway. “Everything about you is almost identical. Your hair and eye colour. Your height and body shape and size. Even your careers are almost the same.”

One thing they didn't share in common was good looks; Brady was rugged and attractive, while Ethan was sexy, dark and down-right handsome. But she wasn't about to tell him that. After all, he was meant to be her CO and if things got weird between them, the Sydney and her crew could suffer.

Looking at him briefly before turning her attention back to the road, Karleigh said, “By the way, thank you for brining him in on this, boss. I know Francine would probably be dead if we left it to the AFP to find her.”

“
Ethan.”

“
What?”

“
We're not on the ship, so you don't have to call me boss or sir.” He told her.

She smiled and nodded. “Then I'm Karleigh.”

He grinned. “I know who you are, X.”

She smiled at his remark before turning the radio on. They drove the rest of the way in comfortable silence, each of them familiar enough with the other to be relaxed and who they really were.

And Karleigh secretly admitted that she was starting to see her CO as something more then a boss. Something that involved a lot of nakedness and was against RAN regulations. Something that could make them both feel good but could spell trouble for their careers.

She was attracted to him sexually, but that attraction couldn't go anywhere and she told herself she needed to focus on finding Francine.

Her sisters life depended on her acting professional.

In Bungalow, the GPS in the BMW took them to a part of town that wasn't a place anyone could want to live in.

Houses were falling apart or burnt to the ground. The street was filled with trash, starving cats and burnt out cars that had no doubt been stolen from the city and stripped for parts before being set alight to hide the evidence if the police came looking. Scrawny, underfed children played in parks and yards that were nothing more then dirt and weeds while a good section of the neighbourhood was made up of tents that stood on land once belonging to houses.

It was a dump, as simple as that.

“
I can't see Ian Morton living here.” Ethan commented as Karleigh drove through the streets, the BMW being eyed by more then one local.

“
Why not?”

“
It's not a place a man involved with terrorism would put his roots.”

“
He could be using this place as somewhere to hide out from the law.” Karleigh suggested as she turned down a side street where the GPS was indicating Francine's phone was.

A band of teenagers who looked to be up to no good watched them as she parked, their eyes moving all over the expensive BMW as they no doubt saw dollar signs on every removable part that could be fenced.

But when Ethan got out of the car, they moved off in a hurry.

Not only had he had no time to change – which left him in his Navy uniform – but he was over six feet tall and built like a tank.

He was a threat without even trying and Karleigh was happy to have him on her side.

The neighbourhood they were in wreaked of broken sewerage, bad body odour and wet dog.  Loud rap music filled the vile air and they were passed by more then one group of teenagers who gave them the once over.

Ethan didn't want to hang around too long before someone decided to see if they could bolster their street-cred by taking on a Navy man, but he also wasn't about to make Karleigh rush through the search.

She was determined to find her sister and he'd help her in any way he could.

As they searched the streets, looking for any sign of Francine, they came across a brand-new Ford Explorer that looked entirely out of place.

“
That could belong to Morton.” He stated. Looking at Karleigh, he told her, “I'll get in contact with Brady.”

Karleigh nodded and kept her eyes peeled for Ian or Francine.

While they waited for Brady to run the plates, a scrawny little brown dog that was covered in mud came running out from a near-by house and plopped down at Karleigh's feet.

“
Well, aren't you just a little cutie.” She said, going down on her haunches to pet the mutt. “You could use a bath and a feed, but that doesn't make you any less cuter.”

Ethan smiled.

The dog whimpered and looked up at her with sad eyes. Right before she picked him up – mud and all – Ethan knew she was going to him. It was just in her nature to do that sort of thing.

Knowing that only made him feel like a real idiot when he got jealous as he watched the little mutt snuggle into Karleigh's breasts. Get over it and stop thinking with your dick, Conrad! He told himself just as Brady came back on the line. “Okay. Thanks, Brad.” Hanging up, he told Karleigh, “The car isn't registered to Ian and it hasn't been reported stolen.” 

“
Francine isn't here.” Karleigh stated, absently stroking the muddy fur of the dog as she looked down the street. “If she was, I'd feel it.”

He could hear despair in her voice, but she was doing a damn good job of keeping it beneath the surface.

He had to admit he was proud of her. Catching her gaze, Ethan said, “We're going to find her, Karleigh. We're going to find her and bring her home in one piece.”

It was a promise he planned to see through to the end.

Seven

With the dog washed and fed – who knew he was white underneath all that mud? - Karleigh and Ethan were heading north to check out the last known places Francine was known to frequent.

It could be as simple as Francine didn't want to be in the care of the AFP's WPP unit and she was hiding out in one of her favourite haunts.

At least, that's how simple Karleigh hoped it was.

Their first stop was the coffee hut near the CBD that Francine liked to visit on a daily basis. The manager knew Francine by both name and order, but she hadn't seen her since before Francine had gone into the WPP.

Next was the gym, but the trainer had the same story.

So did the manager at the juice bar where Francine liked to have lunch.

“
This is getting us nowhere.” Karleigh grumbled as they headed back to Cairns.

“
You have to hang in there, X.” Ethan said. “Anything could be the key to finding her.”

She knew that, but stress and annoyance with the AFP were mixing to give her a massive headache. She also knew that if she didn't have Ethan by her side, motivating her, she probably would have broken down hours ago.

Suck it up, Karleigh ordered herself. She'd be no good to her sister if she was a blabbering mess. 

Ethan was right; she needed to hang in there.

As they drove along the highway, Karleigh's phone rang and she hit a button on the steering wheel to activate the bluetooth connection so she could take the call. It was Doug Jones, who informed her they'd found a lead on Ian Morton.

“
He's headed to Brisbane.”

“
How can you be sure?” Karleigh asked.

“
A witness remembered seeing them together at a local take-away joint. He overheard them talking about plans they had to leave for Brisbane in a few hours.”

“
When was that?”

“
Early this morning.”
“And you've only managed to obtain this information now?” Karleigh growled. Pressing the button, she disconnected the call and said, “We're going to Brisbane.”

“
Are you sure you want to do that?”

“
Yes. Once we drop this little guy off ...” She reached over to pat the dogs head, “ … we'll hit the road. I'm not leaving it to the AFP to find my sister.”

Ian Morton looked in the rear-view mirror and smiled.

His little baby was sleeping on the back seat, duct tape  making sure she couldn't run away from him again. He knew Francine wouldn't have done what she'd done on her own free will. He knew the AFP had coerced her into giving them information on him because of the self-defence actions she'd taken against that disgusting prick, Schofield.

He wouldn't let them use his little baby Fran to put him in prison.

When they got to his apartment in Brisbane, he'd get them the things they needed to go underground so they could have the privacy and time they needed to work things out.