(aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 2415 by Angharad Copyright© 2014 Angharad
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“Gimme my phone, you bloody bastard,” called Danni, I needed to talk to her about her language but now didn’t appear to be the best time. I took another step towards him and was aware of people standing to watch.
“Give her back her phone,” I said as menacingly as I could.
“Why, you gonna make me, darlin’?”
If he called me that again I was going to remove all his teeth, one at a time with a lump hammer.
As I stepped towards him again, his partner stepped out of the SUV brandishing the rifle, “Get in the car,” he said to friend, while threatening vaguely with the gun. His friend, still holding Danielle’s phone turned to get in the car and I hurled one of the bottles of water at the back of his head. Normally I couldn’t hit a cow’s arse with a shovel, but for once my aim was true and it hit him as he turned, bouncing off the side of his head.
He stepped back out of the car as I leapt at him catching him in the middle of his chest with my leading foot. His body actually lifted off the ground for a moment and he dropped Danni’s phone.
I heard the rifle bolt being pulled back and his friend now held the gun pointing in my direction. The one I’d kicked, stood up and began to come at me. His mate called him back and with some reluctance he complied but not before he spat a threat at me. Danni ran and picked up her phone and the car sped off just as police sirens were heard approaching.
We spent the afternoon at the police station being castigated for trying to intervene with little evidence. I pointed out the gun the second man held and that he’d loaded it, which I think made two offences.
“Three, if he’d discharged it, four if he’d shot you,” replied the detective inspector.
“So why aren’t you arresting them?” I asked angrily.
“Look Dr Watts, we know who they are and where they live. We’ll pick them up eventually.”
“You’ve got the film from the CCTV?”
“Yes, showing you were the aggressor.”
“Only after he’d shoved Danielle and taken her phone.”
“Okay, so there was some provocation.”
“The man with the gun, isn’t carrying one of those in a public place an offence?”
“I know my firearms law, Dr Watts.”
“They were poaching on a listed nature reserve.”
“We only have your word for it, I’m afraid.”
“I have photographs of the aftermath and their tyre tracks.”
“If you could submit them as evidence, that would be useful.”
“I’ll copy them to you if you give me an email address,” I offered.
“Sorry, they have to be originals.”
“I’m happy for you to copy them while I wait, but you’re not keeping the card.”
“I could charge you with withholding evidence about an alleged crime.”
“I’m not withholding it, I’m offering to share it with you, you’re the awkward one.” If I wasn’t intimidated by a bloke with a loaded rifle, I certainly wasn’t going to be worried by an overweight flatfoot.
After he huffed and puffed a bit longer he agreed to upload them on to a police computer. “You haven’t labelled any of them,” he complained.
“That’s why I wanted to send them to you,” you pillock—I didn’t add.
I identified what they were and where on the reserve, showing them a map of the place, which he had photocopied and we then marked on the plan. I also surrendered the cartridge cases we found and he agreed to have them checked for prints.
“Is the site clearly marked as a nature reserve?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, when we catch these guys, we’ll concentrate on the fracas at the petrol station, that’s the more serious crime; but we will investigate the poaching as well.”
“You mean you’ll drop those charges if they cooperate about the garage thing?”
“Not up to me, but they’ll face a prison sentence for waving a loaded gun about.”
“I might go for a private prosecution.”
“Feel free but you’re wasting your time.”
“Perhaps.”
As we left we bumped into Andy Bond. “Lady Cameron, to what do we owe this pleasure?” I heard the DI behind say, “Oh fu£$!” I’m listed as the director of the study site by my maiden name, so that was the one I offered. Some detective.
I called home to let them know we were all right and we then went to Gosport to collect the signs Delia had ordered. At a nearby hardware shop I bought a hammer, a pound of nails and some cable ties.
The rolls I’d dropped at the garage had been wrapped in plastic film so were still eatable, though we needed a new bottle of water. Not feeling too hungry, we returned to the reserve and I began putting up the signs, mostly on trees.
University of Portsmouth/High Street Bank plc.
Nature Reserve.
Hunting is not permitted in the environs of this reserve. Anyone found using a firearm, snare or any other form of trapping or hunting device will be prosecuted.
Removal of timber and wild flowers is prohibited.
With Danni’s help we had them all up in less than an hour and now I was feeling hungry. I suppose we had walked a few miles all in all. Then as we approached the car, there was a bang and a hole appeared in the sign we’d just erected.
“This is a nature reserve,” I shouted at the direction of the gunman, pushing Danni out of the way as I did so. “Call the police,” I hissed at him
“Too bad,” was the response. Another bang sounded and a bigger hole appeared in the notice.
“Stop your firing immediately,” I screamed at them.
“No can do.”
“There are people here,” I shouted as loudly as I could, but he just fired at the notice again
“Stop that now, there are children present.
Another bang and the hole got larger, “Mummy, get down,” urged Danni from behind the tree.
I stepped behind the tree as another bullet tore into the sign. “Have you called the police?” I asked quietly.
“I can’t get a signal. I’m so scared, Mummy.” She began to cry and I hugged her. I tried my phone and there was no signal either. All the same I sent a text to Simon telling him we were under fire at the nature reserve. I knew it would only happen when I got a signal but that might take a little while.
Another bang and some more bark flew off the tree above us, Danni flinched and I held her tightly. We had no weapons to fight back with except a pair of secateurs, a pen knife and a ball of string. Hardly a match for a hunting rifle with telescopic sights.
Comments
... and to think I treated yesterday as a cliff-hanger
What does Cathy have as weapons? I guess nothing against a gun especially since the shooter isn't close. We can only hope that someone is hearing the gunfire.
Energy shell around Cathy and Danni to protect them?
poachers
Many poachers like to hunt for the killing of animals and humans are the ultimate prey due to our resourcefulness and cunning. Cathy has blue light she can use which has fried electronics before and I am sure can call a lot more up if needed.
Hugs,
Jenna From FL
Moderator/Editor
TopShelf BigCloset
It is a long road ahead but I will finally become who I should be.
Wonder what blue light would do
to un-fired cartridges?
My old maths master ...
... back in the 1950s was something of a character. He was a strict Victorian and he always stressed that there were just 3 essentials to life viz a penknife, a piece of string and a shilling (it was a long time ago, when you could get in the pictures for 6 pence :) ). So Cathy only lacks the shilling (5 pence in decimal money) which would be useless in this situation anyway. She's saved!
Robi
Nail biter!!
And here I thought yesterday's section was a cliffhanger, not! Today is a full nailbiter. I just got my nails done so no fingers in this case, I'll do the toes instead,lol. Ang is back in full form and it is great. Thanks for the hundredth time for the clean, enjoyable entertainment you provide. May your days become more peaceful and your inspiration be an outlet for life's frustrations.
Time for Cathy to call in her big gun.
This may become a do or die struggle for Catherin and Danie, so it is time to call her favorite Goddess for protection. This is not the time to be quibbling over her personal boundary issues it is a time to use that life line.
If memory serves the Goddess warned Catherin that her human excessive doubt could cause a disaster that would unravel all the good in her life. Not being maudlin I think this may be it.
The person shooting at her is a hardened killer living in the past, then his behavior was widely considered how things were done. In His mind this is his territory by the rights of his manhood. To surrender this right to kill animals at will he would be surrendering his manhood. I do not think he is bluffing at this point and I would be very concerned that his partner is presently seeking a position to end both Catherin and Dannie's life. I was raised around people who act and think like this killing a person is no different than killing a deer or rabbit.
With those with open eyes the world reads like a book
Not too sure about cell
Not too sure about cell phones in the UK region of the world, but i do know that many times when there is no signal strength for a telephone call by voice, texting will actually work. Have no clue as to why that is, but it has happened. The two crooks can now count, attempted murder times however many people are there at the Preserve, to their list of nefarious deeds that the police will be able to add on; and if it is a charge in the UK, Assault 1st degree by use of a deadly weapon; along with destruction of private property and Game Preserve signs. Me being the loving type of person I am, would add up each and every bullet hole as an individual charge as well, as I believe Cathy will want their heads after all this is done.
a pair of secateurs, a pen knife and a ball of string.
I already feel (after pulling my fingernails out of the palms of my hands and wiping the damp off) that the shooter may be out-gunned here.
But yes, there are times when your mind and hindbrain are in agreement - you are in a bad spot. Not necessarily against a gun.
Teri Ann
"Reach for the sun."
I don't think Cathy is alone .....
..... there has been some noise involved.
Where there is noise, there are listeners.
Of course, whether said listeners actually want to join in is another matter.
Now, if this shooter is the one she had contact with at the filling station, then maybe there is some contact she can call upon with her Shekinah 'powers'.
So, as others have mentioned, maybe she also has in her armoury the blue light.
So there are three things in her armoury ........
Nice job, Angharad - as usual.
J
Poachers... GGGRRR
I @#$%ing HATE POACHERS,to me they are right there with child molesters in way of scum. Poachers gives us that obey the laws for hunting animals a bad name.
Different in the UK.
Here poachers have a somewhat romantic image. The vast majority of open land here is owned by very few people who control its use. The romantic poacher myth (perhaps) is of the poor farm worker who takes the odd rabbit, hare or pheasant to supplement their diet. Remember my near name-sake was made an outlaw for hunting the king's deer. There's even a popular folk song called 'The Lincolnshire Poacher' who's seen as a folk hero defying the landowning gentry.
Game laws exist (it's the glorious 12th today when 1000's of only semi-wild grouse will be shot on the moors near me by a relatively few very wealthy men who pay the Duke of Devonshire a lot of money for the privilege. Many of the moors are barely 10 miles from large centres of population). Trout fishing is the same. We don't have the huge areas of wilderness here where it's only necessary to buy a licence and go out to shoot whatever game it entitles you to shoot.
Of course the reality in some cases is different. Commercial rather than personal poaching is carried out by criminals out to make money rather than feed their family. This is what Cathy is fighting.
Now if you'd said fox/stag hunters or, especially, hare coursers I would agree with you entirely.
Robi
Getting shot at.
When I was pre-adolescent, I was walking in the woods and unbeknownst to me my brothers were shooting their guns in the canyon, or at least I had thought they were. As it turned out, they had come up out of the canyon and having gotten turned around were shooting in my direction. None of the bullets hit me but in their passing sounded like hornets.
G
Of course
if Cathy was Batgirl all she would have to do would be to reach into her utility belt for something like a freeze spray and all would be well. Sadly all Cathy has is secateurs, a pen knife and a ball of string, Hardly as effective as a freeze spray, But then this Cathy we are talking about ... And she is nothing if not resourceful!
Kirri