Broadchurch: Blast From The Past

Chapter 13

TW: violence, blood, peril

Susan Wright burst into Ellie's cell and pressed a gun to her temple. The door thudded shut, leaving them in darkness.

"Your boyfriend's here," Susan whispered, her breath hot on Ellie's neck. "Now my baby girl's gonna blow his head off. Serves him right for taking a chunk outta my arm."

Ellie wondered if she should make her move now, but decided against it. It was pitch-dark and her enemy had a gun. Best case scenario, she ended up in a blind, half-naked brawl; worst case, she ended up shot. She bit back a groan. For the first time in her life, Ellie Miller was a damsel in distress.

Seconds stretched into minutes; Ellie's mind raced. Where were they? She pictured Alec—pictured any of her officers—bleeding their life out on a concrete floor somewhere, and the thought almost made her vomit.

"Police! Down on the ground, hands above your head! Do it, now!"

The voice was unmistakable. Ellie had never been so happy to hear that angry Scottish accent.

Jacqueline answered indistinctly, Alec shouted at her again, then shots rang out—one, two ,three. A body thumped to the floor. The door opened slowly, squeaking like a horror movie. Susan and Ellie held their breath, each hoping for a different outcome.

Alec appeared, crouched low. "Put the gun down," he ordered quietly. "I will shoot you."

"Do you really have it in you to shoot an innocent woman?" Susan asked.

"I did it once already." He nudged the door open further.

In the room beyond, Jacqueline Wright lay motionless on the floor. Susan screamed in horror.

Her shock was the opening Ellie needed. Pulling her hands free of the radiator pipe, she twisted round and kicked Susan's knee with all the strength her cold limbs could muster. The joint dislocated with a wet pop, sending the woman reeling. Then Alec was there, as quickly as if he'd flown, snatching the gun away. He slammed Susan to the floor and cuffed her.

"Do yourself a favor and stay down," he snarled, stuffing his glove in her mouth. "Or the next bullet goes in your bloody head. And I'll be having my gun back, thank you."

He keyed up his radio. "50-21-Alpha to control and all officers, offenders in custody. I have Detective Miller, repeat, I have Ellie. Roll ambulances to this location, roll a SOCO team. Officer-involved shooting. Over." Then he spoke into a tiny microphone on his lapel. "This is DI Alec Hardy, turning off my body cam to protect the privacy of DS Ellie Miller."

Finally, finally, he knelt in front of Ellie. "How you doin' Millah?"

"Alec!" Ellie threw herself into his arms. "Oh, my God, Alec!"

"Shh, shh." He hugged her fiercely. "I've got you."

"Are you by yourself?"

"No, the others are on their way. God, you're freezing." Alec took a silver emergency blanket from his pocket and wrapped it around her. "I'd give you my coat but my radio's wired to it. Where the hell are your clothes?"

"Dunno, woke up like this. Did you really kill that girl out there?" Ellie asked quietly.

"What, Jacqueline? Nah, barely grazed her. She just passed out when she saw the blood." He embraced her again. "You're safe now, I promise."

Running footsteps announced the arrival of backup. Two officers cuffed Jacqueline while the others checked the area. Ellie clutched the emergency blanket tight around her, glad that they didn't see her in her underwear. Better only Alec than a bunch of strangers.