Trainee Detective D.A. Corbett stared at the abyss before him. The man he was chasing had leapt it easily enough but could he? The man had planted a bomb in the middle of a town, people were dead and abyss's like this had appeared all over the road. They weren't very deep but were still wide enough to make it hard to jump and deep enough to break a leg or an arm. As the man sprinted round a corner Corbett made his decision. He stepped back and then ran forward leaping the crack with ease. Hot on the trail, he turned round the corner only to see the man pointing a short, snub-nosed gun at him. Corbett could make out every stitch on the man's black balaclava but before he could make a move a flash of red light erupted from the barrel. Corbett felt a stab of pain in his chest and jerked back, tripping over a rock and landing with a thud on the ground.
Massaging his back, Corbett stood up. The man had taken off his balaclava and was looking at Corbett with pity in his cold, hard eyes. "Failed again David." He said very calmly before suddenly shouting. "Every time! It's always some basic operational mistake and one day, if you ever qualify to be a full fledged Detective, It's the sort of mistake that will cost you your life! Understand?" Corbett hung his head and looked back up at the angry man before answering. "Yes sir."
"Good." The man looked at the special suit that Corbett was wearing and then politely enquired all traces of anger gone. "I expect that the laser hurt wearing that.
That suit was meant to make you fearful of being shot but you always mess things up and do something wrong a five year old could do!" The man looked at Corbett sadly before turning around and marching away.
Corbett stared at his back, wishing for the millionth time that his boss wasn't quite so infallible. Sir James Gatling, the man who had shot Corbett with the laser, had been a Special Agent in MI3 for twenty years before becoming the Chief of MI3. The common view going round the Trainee Detective barracks that he chewed bottles instead of chewing gum. Corbett stood there for a few more moments before slowly, aimlessly wandering away.
As Corbett walked out of the P.T.C. (Physical Training Compound) he paused, looking through the doors. As he had failed another training test his goal to become a Detective was becoming further away. He would probably soon be having training missions in a Virtual Reality setting. Feeling really annoyed, he turned away and made his way back to the trainee living quarters.
When he arrived, his worst fears were confirmed. Sitting in his pigeon hole was a red letter. That was bad. The second bad thing was someone else was sleeping in his bed! Corbett ran to the pigeon hole and ripped open the red letter. It was worse than he had thought. He was being expelled from Detective school. Sudden sadness gripped Corbett and he sat down. The letter told him to pack up his stuff, return all live ammunition and guns and leave by tomorrow at midday. Corbett stared at the letter for five minutes, only being shaken from his daydreams by someone else who was on his course, Stephen Thomas. Stephen (or Steve to his mates) was a smart, but headstrong young man. He was 22 and 4 years older than Corbett but Steve could pass for younger than Corbett. Steve was always being praised by the boss and for a moment, Corbett felt a twinge of jealousy. Steve was his best mate but Steve was a better detective. Steve was all that Corbett wanted to be but could never achieve, could never even dream of.
"Hey David! Heard Gatling gave you a hard time earlier. You O.K.?" David nodded, hiding the letter behind his back.
"Yeah, he did. But I'm fine." David replied.
"Good. I've got to go and get changed so I'll see you at dinner perhaps?"
"Yeah. I'll see you then." Steve wandered off to his dormitory as Corbett came to a decision. He would prove to Gatling that he was a good detective. Corbett stood up and sprinted out the door, running to the armoury.
Corbett skidded into the armoury, almost running into Arnold Coleman, the armourer.
"Watch it!" The lanky armourer yelled.
"Sorry Coleman!" Corbett replied. "I was just coming to hire out a gun with 50 bullets...am I too late?"
"No, you're O.K. What kind of gun?"
"Handgun please" Coleman sat down at his desk, typing in his password and selecting a handgun, dragged it down to the immediate release button. A small plastic box shot out of the wall, hitting Corbett in the stomach, winding him. Coleman grabbed an intercom and yelled down it:
"I THOUGHT YOU SAID THE PROBLEMS HAD BEEN SORTED!!! WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF I HAD ORDERED EXPLOSIVE, EH?" An indeterminable muttering came out of the intercom. This seemed to appease Coleman and, slightly calmed down, he helped Corbett stand up. Corbett picked up the box from the floor and opened it. Inside was a gleaming Heckler and Koch G-38.9 12 shot handgun, inside a black leather holster. Underneath the holstered gun was some ammunition, which Corbett slotted into the gun. Corbett belted the holster onto his belt and, thanking Coleman, walked out of the room.
Two hours later, Corbett was lying in a bush, peering through binoculars at a large manor house. Three armed police guards were standing at the entrance to the house, guns at the ready. Corbett was here because an international kidnapping organisation had made it known that there next target would be at this house-kidnapping the daughter of an oil tycoon. The kidnappers would no doubt have staked out this house and would know everything about it- how many guards there were, when they changed and what weapons they had. Corbett however was planning to surprise the kidnappers when they were at there most vulnerable- when they were trying to subdue a five- year old girl who they were kidnapping. Corbett pulled put his gun for the millionth time, checking that it was still loaded and was still operational. Corbett had been waiting for hours but he wasn't bored. He had to get his job back and if getting it back meant that he would have to lie in mud then he would.
Two hours later, Corbett was still in the mud. He was eating a ham sandwich and was bored stiff. He was just about to leave and call it a day when a movement in the trees caught his eye. He looked intently at the trees until suddenly two black clad figures burst out, followed by three more. One of the second lot of men was carrying a dangerous looking missile launcher; all the others were carrying small machine guns.
The man carrying the rocket launcher stopped, bringing it to bear on the three policemen who were frantically screaming into radios and running for cover. The man with the rocket launcher fired. A cloud of dust burst out over the policemen. When the dust cleared, one of the policemen was lying on the ground immobile. The two others were pulling out short range hand guns and firing but at that range the bullets were going everywhere. The kidnappers were advancing fast and the policemen were being forced to retreat into the house. The police were still yelling into their radios but there was no reply. Attempting to pull the doors shut, the policemen were flinching every time a bullet ricocheted off the hard stone steps or the heavy wooden doors and it wasn't long before one of the policemen went down clutching his shoulder. The other policeman took one look at his colleagues on the ground and ran down the hallway. Corbett felt now was time to make a dent in the kidnapper's numbers before the kidnappers had a chance to actually kidnap anyone. Checking that the kidnappers weren't looking in his direction, Corbett poked the muzzle of his gun out of the bush and pulled the trigger, bracing himself for the impact. The gun jerked in his hands as it fired two seconds worth of bullets into the cold September air. The kidnappers scattered, leaving one of their number on the floor writhing in agony, clutching his thigh. Corbett withdrew the gun fast, just managing it in time. The kidnappers were staring around but didn't see him. While the kidnappers were lying behind cars, trees and various shrubs, two police cars came screaming up the driveway. The kidnappers saw this and ran at full pelt into the house, slamming the door shut.
Seeing his erstwhile boss, Sir James Gatling emerge out of the first police car clutching a large gun, Corbett decided to stay in the bush for the time being. Gatling looked furious and was already running towards the house. A bullet smashed into the concrete next to him and Gatling dropped to the gravel instantly, trying to escape the bullets smashing into the floor. Three more policemen were already dragging the injured policemen from the kidnapper's first shots behind a Ferrari, which was already riddled with bullet holes.
Another two policemen sprinted round the house, making sure the kidnappers weren't escaping through the windows. Corbett slowly crawled through the bushes, aiming for the trees where the kidnappers had first appeared. They obviously had some get-away car stashed around that area and Corbett planned to get to it and stop it. Shuffling through the bushes, Corbett suddenly spotted a large van. Looking at it, he could tell it was the kidnapper's van. (Most vans don't have streamlining.) Corbett checked that he was out of sight from the house and then stood up, brushed himself off and, screwing a silencer onto the end of his gun, shot the catch holding down the bonnet. The bullet ricocheted off the bonnet, smashing the bonnet catch into pieces and then hit a tree. Turning around fast to make sure no-one was coming Corbett then grabbed the bonnet and heaved it off the engine. Corbett then stood back and emptied his ammunition clip into the engine. Oil spurted up from the engine. Sparks flew from shattered electrics and Corbett turned around and ran away. He was just in time- the oil ignited and soon the engine was burning. Corbett threw himself to the ground as the van exploded. Corbett could hear running footsteps and quickly ran into some bushes, leaping into them. Two kidnappers were already running into the clearing, holding an unconscious girl in their hands. Corbett wasn't surprised that the police hadn't stopped the kidnappers but in his vantage point he could hear every word of the kidnappers:
"Oh my Gosh! What is happening? Where is everyone?" said one panicking. The other, keeping calm replied:
"They're all dead. Didn't you see the boss go down? What the hell are we going to do? No ride, no boss and soon no freedom. We've killed several policemen and now they're gonna catch us!" Corbett saw that both the kidnapper's guns were in their holster because they were carrying the girl (who had obviously been sedated. Her head was lolling around and her arm's were limp.) And Corbett felt that now was the moment. Standing up, Corbett pointed the gun at the kidnappers.
"You're right. To coin an old phrase: you're nicked!" he said, with a mischievous grin. Both the kidnappers looked on disbelievingly before unanimously putting the girl down and raising their hands in the air.
Sir James Gatling and another policeman crashed through the undergrowth, both with guns raised. However Corbett was distracted by them and the kidnappers took that opportunity to rugby tackle Corbett. Corbett went flying and the kidnappers ran into the bushes. Turning around Corbett managed to squeeze off two shots before Gatling picked him up.
"What on EARTH are you doing here?" Gatling screamed at him before flashing Corbett a quick grin. "Nice work though." Corbett grinned back before running off into the undergrowth, after the kidnappers, just popping back to say:
"At least they haven't kidnapped her" he said, pointing at the girl lying in the mud. Then running off, he crushed the undergrowth beneath his feet as he followed the kidnappers. However, he had been running for ten seconds when a shot rang out and his shoulder shattered. Corbett yelled out in agony and put his hand to his shoulder. It came away from his shoulder sticky with blood. He looked ahead and he could already see the kidnappers coming at him with their guns raised. Corbett didn't hesitate. As the kidnappers advanced, Corbett pretended to fall to the ground while secretly sticking his gun in his trouser legs. The kidnappers always kidnapped an extra person, as a hostage. Corbett was going to be that person and Corbett would stop them, busted up shoulder or not. Sure enough the kidnappers picked him up but dropped me almost instantly. Corbett screamed, turning around to see why they had dropped him. Two shots rang out and one of the kidnappers fell, clutching his chest. Gatling and the other policeman were charging through the undergrowth, having tended to the girl. The other kidnapper didn't stop to think. Raising his gun he shot both men. The policeman died instantly, a bullet through his brain. Gatling only got shot in the leg and was stuck immobile on the ground, gasping. The last remaining kidnapper looked derisively at Gatling and said:
"I would kill you but it would be a waste of ammunition on scum like you!" Gatling said something unintelligible to the kidnapper who gasped and kicked Gatling where the shot had hit him. Gatling cried out and then the kidnapper picked Corbett up and walked him into some bushes where there was another get-away van. Corbett was thrown into the back of the van. Corbett swore as he landed on his shoulder and spat at the kidnapper who just looked at him with venom in his eyes. If looks could kill, Corbett would be a little smear on the floor of the van. The kidnapper then walked off, returning with the five year old girl who was now kicking and screaming. The kidnapper dumped her unceremoniously next to Corbett. He then slammed the door shut. Walking round the van he clambered in to the driver's seat, and flicking the key in the ignition, he accelerated through the trees. The van bounced onto the drive. Every bounce bashed Corbett's shoulder against the floor and soon the van floor was slick with his blood. Corbett began to feel woozy and the five year old chose that moment to start screaming again:
"Daddy! Daddy!" she screamed looking out of the window. Heaving his body up, Corbett just saw out of the window. A middle aged man was running after the van, yelling for his daughter. As the van picked up speed the man fell behind tears running down his face. The girl was screaming for her dad, kicking the door but only succeeding in hurting the door. That was the last sight Corbett saw before he blacked out from loss of blood.
Corbett awoke in a silver walled room, with two people bending over him. His sight was blurry so he couldn't make them out. He wasn't quite sure where he was. He remembered pain in his shoulder but now all he could feel was a dull throbbing pain. Suddenly, he felt a sharp, intense pain in his shoulder and everything jumped into shape. He had been shot; kidnapped and now sharp implements were being poked around in his shoulder. Corbett tried to jerk up but he was tied to the bed. The two men now realised he was awake and one spoke to him in a soothing, Scottish accent:
"Hush now laddie. You're in safe hands. We're just getting the bullet outta your shoulder." He said. Corbett felt that this answer was totally inappropriate and made his feelings known.
"Safe hands? I've been shot, kidnapped; I almost died of blood loss! What the hell are you on about?" He almost yelled. The other man who Corbett now recognised as the last surviving member of the kidnapping group pushed his face up close and said:
"You want us to leave you to die? Fine. You killed us so why shouldn't we kill you?" He cried at Corbett.
"Whoa there Sam!" said the other kidnapper. "Calm it!" Turning to Corbett he then said: "I'm gonna sedate you, this bit is gonna hurt." Before Corbett could protest, the Scottish kidnapper pulled a needle out of some plastic packaging and stuck it into Corbett's hand. About ten seconds later Corbett lost consciousness.
Corbett woke up later staring once again up at a worried looking face. He felt his shoulder and could feel the bandage through his shirt. As his sight recovered he could tell that it was the kidnapped child bending over him. Her face was tearstained and she looked stressed but she still lisped:
"Are you Okay?" Corbett replied:
"Yeah. I'm fine."
"Good." The girl set her lip: "In that cathe, you can get to work on getting me out of here." Corbett was astounded but she carried on: "Daddy thaid that if I got kidnapped everyone HAD to help me or he would...er" Here the girl struggled with a word:
"thew? Thue? Thue. Yeth that'th it. He thaid he'd thue them for all they've got." Corbett was shocked at how precocious she was being but he somehow felt that if he was useless the girl would carry out her threat and destroy all his chances of getting back into the Detective academy. Corbett ignored her and, feeling woozy lay down. A few seconds later he was asleep.
Waking up about an hour later he discovered the girl lying on a bed in the corner. Corbett sat down on a tacky wooden chair and tried to think of a way out. He stretched his arms and legs but suddenly flinched. Something was digging into his leg. He remembered putting something in his trouser legs but everything was a blur after that. Surreptitiously reaching into his trouser legs Corbett felt the shape of his gun. Unsure whether there were cameras concealed in the cell, Corbett didn't pull the gun out. However, as an idea crept into his head. It would take time to operate because he would need his shoulder to be nearly fully healed but he could probably do it.
Two weeks later, Corbett was nearly healed. Whatever the kidnappers had put on his shoulder it had been very effective- he could pick up heavy stuff with his hand without having to drop it instantly. There was only mild scarring on his shoulder and the bone was unharmed (fortunately). Now, Corbett felt, was the time to put his plan into action. Corbett didn't know where he was but he knew he was in the middle of a city- he could hear the regular hustle and bustle of the city. Walking over to the girl, who he now knew to be called Yvonne, he said
"Now. My shoulders healed so my plan can be put into action. I need you to go and lie on the bed over there. Pretend to be ill. O.K.?"
"Yeth." Immediately the girl ran to the bed, the idea of escape buried in her head. She lay on the bed and started to groan. Corbett stuck his gun in the back of his waistband and immediately started screaming.
"Help! Help! Yvonne's feeling ill!" Immediately Corbett heard footsteps running down the corridor. One man unlocked the door and ran over to Yvonne. He didn't see Corbett rise up behind him. He only noticed Corbett when Corbett knocked the kidnapper out. Yvonne immediately stopped groaning and ran out the open door, closely followed by Corbett. The ran into one guard on their way down the stairs but Corbett shot him as soon as he saw him. They were in a house and Corbett could see the front door in front of him. . Already people were running towards them. Corbett wrenched open the front door, slamming it shut as soon as he and Yvonne were out. Corbett skidded to a stop. He was on the council estate in Bradford where he had been born. One of the kidnappers opened the door behind them but Corbett had already shot him. Yelling at Yvonne to follow him, Corbett ran in the direction of his mum's house. It was two streets away but the kidnappers were firing at them. One pedestrian twitched as a stray bullet smashed into his chest. Corbett ran along, the breath catching in his chest. Yvonne was falling behind so Corbett ran back and picked her unceremoniously up. Only one more street to go! The kidnappers were gaining on them, but Corbett was in his street. The tarmac beneath his feet was flying in the air as bullets kicked it up. Corbett, running towards his mum's front door, skidded to a stop. He put Yvonne down and then took a run at the front door, leaping up into a flying kick which smashed the door down. As the door splintered Corbett was already running back to pick Yvonne up and bring her into the house. He quickly pushed a table into the remains of the door and then ran up the stairs. He met his mum at the top of the stairs and just said:
"We're under attack. Don't go near any windows or doors" She just nodded, too shocked to speak. Corbett ran on and quickly peered out of the window, seeing the kidnappers running up the garden path. Without hesitating Corbett fired twice. Two kidnappers just dropped to the floor and lay there, unmoving. He tried firing three times but his gun just clicked and Corbett realised his gun was empty. Fortunately he had sixty shots in his pocket so, dropping down to the floor, he reloaded. A bullet drove into the windowsill and splinters of wood flew up. One struck Corbett in the cheek but he was too busy reloading. Yvonne was climbing the stairs and he almost screamed at her:
"Yvonne! Get down there! It's not safe up here!" To prove his point a bullet ripped through the wall and smashed his mum's best vase. Yvonne screamed and quickly ran down the stairs. Clicking the ammunition into place, Corbett stood up and fired two shots. Both shots went wild, one smashing a plant pot and another knocking his mum's wing mirror of her brand new light blue ford focus. Corbett groaned. His mum was going to slaughter him! Corbett squeezed off two more shots and dived to the floor. Corbett peered over the window ledge and was pleased to see another kidnapper dead on the floor. Wondering where the other shot had gone Corbett scanned his mum's garden.
"Oh shoot!" He could see flames inside the shed. His bullet had hit the lawnmower and ignited the petrol...and his mum kept all her spare petrol there. Corbett realised this about a second before the whole shed blew up, scything a huge hole in the ground. There were only four kidnappers left and three were killed in the explosion- two were killed instantly in the explosion and two were thrown aside like leaves in an autumn wind. One lucky one hit a pile of leaves and got buried. The other hit a brick wall. The kidnapper came off worse, his neck being broken like you would break a glow stick to light it. The last kidnapper, looking shell-shocked pointed his gun into the window but couldn't see straight and Corbett's bullet ended his life abruptly. Corbett finally stood up, relieved. Turning around Corbett gasped.
"Mum!"
"Just what do you think you are doing?" She screamed at him.
"Erm...nothing" he replied, shaking.
"Nothing. My garden's ruined, my house is damaged and you call it nothing?" Already police sirens were sounding as pedestrians called the police.
"I'll tell you later." Corbett said. "Now I have to explain myself to the police." Leaving his thunderstruck mum at the top of the stairs, Corbett slowly walked down the stairs wiping his brow. He beckoned to Yvonne and then, pulling the table away from the front door he and Yvonne walked out the door. Seeing his gun, the police all pulled out their own guns.
"It's all right!" Corbett said, dropping his gun. "I'm trainee detective David Anthony Corbett. I have identification." Pulling out his laminated access card, Corbett presented the policeman with the truth. Once he had the card back, Corbett then said to the policeman:
"I have Yvonne Kline with me." The Policeman's eyes widened as he saw Yvonne. They then widened even more when Corbett collapsed.
Two men carried Corbett to the Detective academy hospital where they scanned him. They found traces of a knockout drug in his blood and they soon deduced that when he was being operated on for his shoulder the kidnappers had inserted a drug that would knock him out if they activated it. It must have been in a capsule that broke when the kidnappers sent a certain radio signal and they must have sent it when Corbett escaped. Fortunately it must have taken a long time to work because being at the Detective Academy kept him fit and meant the drug took longer to work.
Epilogue
Yvonne and her family were reunited. So pleased at Corbett for rescuing her, Yvonne's dad gave him a present of ?2,000,000! Most of this he used to buy his mother a new house in the middle of Buckinghamshire.
Corbett was promoted to Detective after being knighted by the queen. Sir David Corbett's last training exercise was one that would stick in his mind forever.
Sir David Corbett stared at the abyss before him. The man he was chasing had leapt it easily enough but could he? The man had planted a bomb in the middle of a town, people were dead and abyss's like this had appeared all over the road. They weren't very deep but were still wide enough to make it hard to jump and deep enough to break a leg or an arm. As the man sprinted round a corner Corbett made his decision. Pulling out his gun, he stepped back and leapt the abyss. Turning the corner in one fluid moment he skidded to a halt, bringing his gun up and firing. The man crumpled. Standing up a few seconds later the man ripped off his balaclava and flashed Corbett a quick smile. Corbett grinned back, happy that, for once, Sir James Gatling was pleased.
