Life doesn't wait - A Bondi Rescue Story

Melanie undercover

A/N: Hey guys, long time no see! I'm sorry that I neglected this story for so long. I didn't have much inspiration and I have another story that I prioritised and I was struggling just as much to get anything done there. Life has been incredibly hectic basically all year and often, I literally didn't have time to write more than a few notes.

I've sort of lost interest in this story a little because I haven't watched the show in literal years, but I still have a couple of ideas for a few chapters. Some of them have suggestions and ideas from you guys - I really appreciate those, by the way - so if there is something you would absolutely love to read, let me know and I'll do my very best to write it :) 

As always, thank you all so much for your continued support and feedback. You are amazing!

The lifeguards' main job was to keep people safe on the beach and in the water. That included the emotional well-being of beach-goers sometimes, for example when a child got lost or somebody panicked over an injury.

It also meant taking complaints and reports about theft, troublemakers and harassment seriously.

"Mate, we've had a few reports about a guy taking pictures of women when they're, like, sunbathing and following them around in the water."

Standing at the northern set of red and yellow flags, Melanie frowned at the radio transmission. The beach was busy, meaning it would be extremely difficult to spot a pervert if he was being sneaky about it. Still, being a lifeguard meant she had excellent multi-tasking skills, so she kept an eye out for any suspicious activity while watching over her section of the beach.

In between a few small rescues, calling some people back to shore because they clearly couldn't swim and directing a family with very young children towards the rock pool, Melanie listened to the radio chatter. The reports were staking up and police had been called after a group of Dutch girls told lifeguards that somebody had touched them underwater when they had been splashing about in the shallows.

Up in the tower, Kerrbox and Blake were scanning the beach when the radio sputtered with static.

"Melanie to Bondi Central, I've just had two more girls come up to me and say this bloke's been bothering them. They noticed him taking pictures of them topless, but he disappeared when they tried to confront him about it."

Blake responded without taking his eyes off the beach. "Copy that, Mellie. Could they give you a description?"

"Yeah, he's about 5 foot 11, older guy, they said. Maybe in his fifties or sixties. And-" She broke off for a moment before resuming "- and blue and white speedos."

"Alright, copy that." Blake repeated the information for all lifeguards on the beach and for the police officers that were in the tower with them.

***

40 minutes, the search was still ongoing. The reports had all come from the North end, but with a crowd of 20'000 - 30'000 people, spotting one man was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Corey Adams brought up the idea of having somebody go undercover to try and find the perpetrator. The police officers agreed, even though they were hesitant to involve civilians in such cases.

"D'you have any female lifeguards on?", one of them asked.

"Yeah", Chappo confirmed before tacking on: "But I don't think we should have Mellie do this, mate. She's very young still and I don't really want to put her in this position."

At 17, Melanie shouldn't have to put herself out there as bait for a pervert. Chappo hated to think how frightening and stressful it would be for a girl who already struggled to make small talk with people she didn't know well.