Title: Trapped
Author: Lisa
Idea Supplied by: Monika
Emails: lisacheerio_85@yahoo.com &
mon_khanna@yahoo.com.au
Disclaimer: We do not own stingers etc. etc. nor do we
play any part in its creation (wouldn’t it be fun if
we did!)

Norman shook his head as he retyped their names into
the computer. There had to be something. Even the
tiniest discrepancy in the information he located
would be wonderful, but there was nothing. They were
authentic. One hundred percent.
Norman cursed himself. He’d locked two true followers
willing to convert in his underground chamber. But it
couldn’t be true, it couldn’t. He had come across so
many people in his lifetime, who took an interest in
his or other similar movements, and none of them were
like Marcus and his wife, Laura. Of course, Norman
thought, could they be cops? Surely not. But he
couldn’t be sure. He couldn’t be sure about a lot of
things these days, it seemed. 
He picked up the keys sitting on his desk. He was
considering just letting them return to normal, keep
going with the third task, but what if his gut feeling
was right? And he’d ignored it? What trouble could
that lead him to? 
Norman knew what he should do. An old trick his
father, who had founded the movement, had taught him.
A revised idea of a torture used in POW camps during
some of the wars. At first, Norman had had a hard time
with the idea of doing that, but now those days seemed
so long ago, he wouldn’t hesitate, especially not with
Marcus. 
He smiled to himself as he left to release them for
the time being. 

*

“How long do you reckon we’ll be down here for?” Mac
asked, looking around into space. Pete shook his head.

“Don’t know. Would your wire still be working here?” 
“Not a chance. Danni said the connection wasn’t too
crash hot anyway. Not under all this dirt, they’d only
be getting static.”
“You think they’ll raid the place?” Mac shook her
head. 
“Narr...Probably not, I-“ She paused at the sound of
the door being unlocked. Norman’s head peered in,
smiling.
“You two okay?” he asked. Mac and Pete stood,
nodding.
“Yeah, we’re fine. You gonna let us out now?” Pete
asked. Norman nodded, opening the door widely for them
to emerge. Pete pushed himself up, reminding him of
climbing out of a swimming pool when he was younger.
He turned and helped Mac up as well, Norman closing
the door as they stood, breathing the fresh air. 
“Right. Before the two of you complete your final
task-“
“So we’re cleared then? You trust us?” Mac asked.
Norman smiled.
“As I was saying, I think that before the final task,
Marcus, you shall perform one final task, just so that
I can make sure.” Pete nodded. “You do realise that I
do have to be sure, very sure, of everyone we take on
here, don’t you?” 
“Oh, of course,” Pete said. “Look, do whatever you
have to do, we’ll do our best.” 
“Good, good. You see over there,” he pointed to the
middle of the field. “That section of grass?” Pete
nodded. “You’ll be spending a day or so over there,
okay?” Pete and Mac looked at each other, confused. 
“Excuse me?” Pete said. “I don’t understand.”
“No, I suppose you wouldn’t. Can’t really see, can
you?” He led them over to the area he was talking
about. Pete and Mac looked around, amazed. Bear traps.
At least twenty of them. They hadn’t been activated
yet, just lying in wait. 
“All you’ll do, once I get these ready, is stand
there for as long as it takes for you to tell me who
you really are. Or for as long as it takes for your
wife to tell me. Or for you to fall.”
“And what if he does fall?” Mac asked. Norman
shrugged.
“Guess it’s a good thing if he doesn’t.” Pete backed
up a little.
“Now come on here, Norman. Laura and I are who we
said we were. Why are you doing this?”
“Safety above all else. Security. You two aren’t
making me feel very secure.” Mac turned from Norman,
looking back at the quarters. This was irrational, he
couldn’t, but of course she knew he could.
“Laura, turn back here.” She turned back at the sound
of Norman’s voice.
“Look, there is some doubt as to whether the two of
you have anything to hide, so I’m giving you until
four o’clock tomorrow morning, together. Just in case
you have a change of heart.” He walked back to the
quarters confidently. Obviously he thought they’d pull
out. Mac and Pete looked at each other silently,
comprehending.

*

“We have to save them,” Danni said, typing
transcripts on the computer. Angie sighed, looking
over as she put her phone down. 
“Commissioner says we can’t do a thing until we get
the evidence for the murders.”
“But Angie, if Mac and Pete can’t find anything,
Pete’ll be the next one lying on a steel table! I know
you know that!”
“Look, Danni, I’ve done all I can. The rest is up to
Mac and Pete, all right? They’re the ones in there,
with all the first-hand information. They’re not
stupid. They’ll get out of this! The local P.D. is on
alert. All they’re waiting for is word from Mac or
Pete.” They both eyeballed each other, before sighing.
Danni turned back to the computer.
“Jeez, I’m going nutters.”
“They’ll be fine,” Angie muttered.
“And you know that as a fact, hey?” Angie paused.
“No, I don’t.”

*

Pete took Mac’s hand as they sat on the steps from
their quarters to the grassland ahead. It was quarter
to four, fifteen minutes left. 
“I’m going to try to snoop around a little,” Mac
whispered as she leant into his shoulder. She wasn’t
afraid of anyone hearing her. Pete could hardly hear
her, their heads inches apart.
“You do that, Mac. Get as much as you can as soon as
you can.”
“Don’t need to tell me to hurry.” Her voice shook as
she looked up at him. “You sure you can handle this?
Pete, it’ll be worse than standing outside Buckingham
Palace. Those are bear traps-“ Pete smiled at her.
“I know. But we just have to hang this out. Obviously
after the day Norman has to realise we’re who we say
we are.” 
“What if you faint, though?”
“I’ll try not to.”
“You can’t help things like that, Pete.”
“Well then you’ll just have to find the information
as soon as possible. Everyone will be out watching
myself, the spectacle of the day, seeing if I falter
at any stage. You’ll have heaps of chances to look
around some more.” 
“What if you fall and I’m not there?” 
“I’m not going to fall, Mac!” 
“Pete-“ But Pete cut her off. He pushed her off him
gently and took her face in his hands.
“Mac, I promise if I think I’m going to fall, I’ll
hold on until I can see you again, okay? And if I do,
it’s not your fault. It never will be.” Pete bit his
bottom lip as tears slowly started rolling down Mac’s
cheeks. “Listen Mac-“ 
“I love you, Pete,” Mac whispered quickly, just
wanting to get everything out in the open. Pete looked
at her a long time, gently wiping away her tears.
“Oh Mac, I love you too. So much. I always thought
Alice was the woman I was meant to marry, that I was
cursed, but now I know everything in my past only
happened so I could be sitting here today, at this
moment, with you. Mac, if we get out of this, I want
you to marry me. For real. I don’t care about the job;
we’ll work it out. I couldn’t bear the thought of
losing you as well. You mean everything to me and-“ He
stopped as Mac gathered her composure and nodded,
breaking into a smile. She put a hand to his face as
they kissed tenderly. Mac pulled back slightly.
“Can’t wait,” she whispered. Pete took her face in
his hands, pulling it back as he looked into her eyes.
“That a yes?” he asked. Mac smiled, laughing softly.
“Oh yeah.” Pete and Mac each pulled the other to
them, absorbed in one another for several minutes.
Their lips parted finally, and they hugged tightly. 
“Well, well, we’re saying goodbye, are we?” Norman
asked as he and Flora emerged from the main building.
Pete and Mac broke apart. Mac stood.
“I know it’s not my place but I just want to say I
don’t think this is fair, Norman. We are who we say we
are, that’s all! You have to understand! You have to-“
Pete immediately stood and wrapped his arms around Mac
as she turned and pulled him to her. Pete kept a
straight face as he pushed her off gradually. He leant
down and whispered to her. 
“Just do what you have to do. Don’t worry. I love
you. It’s going to be okay. This isn’t your fault.”
Mac nodded and turned back to Norman.
“Sorry,” she said, just as she knew she should. It
was her place. Norman smiled.
“That’s okay. But I’m sure Marcus here has nothing to
hide.”
“When will you be convinced of that?” she said,
turning to kiss Pete quickly on the lips, before
running back inside.
A small crowd had already gathered. Some seemed to be
settling down for a long watch. They obviously had no
other lives to run, Pete thought as Norman led him
over to the traps. He stood tall in the middle as
assistants set them up. They were arranged in a
circle, many layers deep. Pete was boxed in on all
sides. 

*

Angie and Danni sat at the desk of one of the local
coppers. 
“Does this mean they’re engaged?” Danni asked. Angie
shrugged. She was supposed to be going with Oscar to
his parent’s place tomorrow afternoon. She hoped
beyond hope that Pete wasn’t still attempting to stand
when she left. Or maybe she did, depending on how you
looked at things. 
“I guess so.”
“I never knew it was that serious.”
“Neither did I, Dan.”
“We gonna tell Stoney?”
“Not just yet.” She put her head in her hands as one
of the young constables, Tim Richardson approached.
“Commissioner’s still adamant. Can’t do anything
‘till we get the evidence.”
“Nothing?”
“Nup.”

*

Mac looked out of her bedroom window. She could see
Pete just the way over, standing in the middle of the
sun, surrounded by people who seemed to be entertained
by the whole fiasco. She sighed. He’d been standing
for two hours now, and Mac still hadn’t been able to
move. She just couldn’t bear to leave him. What if
something happened? No, she told herself. You’re
always saying what if something happens. Just do what
you have to do. Pete wouldn’t want you to just sit
around and do nothing but worry about him!
She stood and walked over to the door, just as a loud
communal gasp was heard from outside, along with the
snapping of several teeth of metal. Mac could picture
the traps’ sharp teeth snapping shut, raising off the
ground even as the two layers of metal were thrown
together in the blink of an eye. Her heart leapt into
her throat. 
Mac couldn’t move. She was stunned. Pete...she
thought, this can’t be happening. She started shaking,
tears welling up and spilling down her cheeks. Mac
suddenly felt blood rush back into her legs as they
propelled forward, outside. She could hardly bear to
look. What if something had happened?
God no, she thought to herself as she finally had the
courage to look to where Pete was supposed to be
standing.

There he was, minus a few surrounding traps. Mac ran
forward, although keeping to the back of the crowd.
“What happened?” she asked another beside her. “What
happened?” They turned. 
“Norman thought he’d spice things up and threw in a
stick or something, Laura. It’s okay. Marcus was going
to be okay all along.” Mac nodded, brushing away tears
as she caught Pete’s eyes ahead of her. Pete smiled
slightly at her as Mac responded, trying to smile but
not being quite so able to manage. She grimaced as
Pete sent her the message to go back and keep looking.
She nodded, turning and walking slowly back to the
quarters, looking back several times before
disappearing back inside and retreating to her room.
As she closed the door behind her, she started
shaking. That had been too close. What if next
time...? Mac had to keep looking. It was the only way
she could see this ending. That or Norman would get
sick of waiting and throw the stick at Pete’s feet. 
She opened the door to her room slightly. Damn, she
thought, seeing Flora sitting on the couch in the
communal living room just down the hallway. Mac
couldn’t get to the office any other way. Still, she
walked up to Flora and sat beside her. Flora looked
up, smiling rather sadly.
“Oh dear, Laura, how are you? Why aren’t you
outside?” Mac held in tears. She knew it looked
authentic, her emotion, but it was also true. 
“Can’t watch. Want to, but I just can’t sit there for
so many hours...” Flora put an arm around her.
“It is unfortunate. But it’s the price you pay for
not being completely honest.”
“But we were. We’re not hiding anything.” She paused.
“I don’t even know why we joined this movement now.
It’s torture.” 
“It’s not torture. This movement is the best thing to
happen to this town! Don’t worry, Norman won’t leave
him up there for more than twenty-four hours,” she
went about reading her magazine. Twenty-four hours?
Mac thought. No one can stand up for that long without
faltering. No one. It was impossible. 
She retreated to her room again, casting a glance at
Pete. She knew what she had to do, but...Would Flora
believe her? Flora believes Pete can survive
twenty-four hours, she’ll believe this, Mac told
herself as she returned.
“Uh...Flora?” Flora looked up.
“Flo, please.”
“Right. Flo, do you think I could just lie down or
something on the couch in the study?”
“The private study?”
“Yes, it’s just that that’s the only room in this
place that doesn’t have a window facing Marcus. I
can’t be tempted to look out. I just need to lie down.
I don’t feel well. Please?” Flora thought for a long
while. 
“Well,” she answered eventually. “I know how you must
be feeling. All right, you can have a bit of a rest in
there. But you know that everything in there’s
private. Just lie, don’t touch.” Mac nodded, smiling
gratefulness.
“Thanks, Flo, thankyou so much.” 

*

“Excellent, Mac,” Angie said suddenly. “Keep talking,
we can hear you!” A number of officers had been put
straight onto alert, waiting in their cars for radio
approval. Mac had entered the office half and hour
ago, and obviously, after gathering herself, had
started looking. 
She hadn’t found anything as yet, but she was
literally looking everywhere. Opening books on the
shelves to check if they were hollow, everything, and
putting it all back where she got it from. Norman
would never know. 
“I got something,” Mac’s voice came over the wire.
“It’s a photo, used as a bookmark in one of the books
here. Edwards with his gun standing over a body.” The
few officers who heard over the wire clapped, but
Angie kept talking to Mac, even though she wouldn’t
get a response.
“You need more, Mac. Keep going.”
“I need more, though,” Mac said, almost at the same
time. They waited for several minutes as they heard
scuffles been made inside the office.
“I got a file,” Mac said suddenly. Angie and Danni
stood simultaneously, Danni turning to Ange.
“You’re driving.”

*

“It was in the second drawer down,” Mac continued
describing what she had found. “There’s Memos here,
letters, personal letters that is, detailing
everything. More photos. Newspaper clippings. It’s
like a scrapbook of their achievements.” She smiled to
herself, excited. 
“Yes, it is, isn’t it?” Mac turned at the familiar
voice. Damn, she thought as she looked straight into
Norman’s cold eyes.
“Who were you talking to?” he asked as he moved
forward slowly, taking the file out of her hands and
placing it on the desk nearby.
“Myself,” Mac answered. Norman sneered.
“What’s your name?” 
“Laura,” though she knew he no longer doubted his
belief she was lying. 
“What’s your name?” he asked again, Mac not missing
the knife which had nicely been extracted from
Norman’s side pocket. 
“Laura,” she repeated anyway.
“Who were you talking to?”
“Myself.”
“Who?!” His face was so close to Mac’s she could
smell his breath as if it was her own. 
“Myself.”
“You got a tape recorder?” He roughly patted her
down, but it was obvious she didn’t have a recorder.
Her long tight skirt and tight midriff made certain of
that. 
“Wire, then?” Mac shook her head.
“No.” Norman’s eyes focussed on the necklace around
her neck.
“That it?” he asked. Mac shook her head.
“No.”
“You haven’t taken it off all the time you’ve been
here.”
“It’s not a wire, Norman.” He sighed, turning away
slightly, before suddenly turning back and ripping the
chain from her neck. Mac cried out in pain as it burnt
her skin. She put a hand to it, checking for blood.
Not so far. Norman threw the necklace to the floor
angrily. 
“Don’t lie to me. You’re husband or whatever is
outside. Looking pretty thirsty to me. Been a long
time. Standing straight, nothing to lean on.”
“Don’t hurt him.”
“No. Why would I do that?” Norman laughed. They
looked at each other before he motioned to the desk
chair. 
“Sit,” he said. 

*

“Why’d I let you drive?” Danni asked impatiently.
“Faster, Ange, or by the time we get there they’ll
both be dead!”
“Danni shut up and I’ll be able to concentrate
better! They’re not going to be dead. They’re not!”
“Close to it at least. Get a move on!!” Ange put her
foot on the accelerator as she listened to the wire
transmission through the connection in her car.

*

“Who are you?”
“Laura Maxwell.”
“Why were you wearing a wire?”
“It’s not a wire. It was an engagement present from
my husband, Marcus. It’s just a necklace, that’s all.”
Norman had tied her up using rope that he’d gotten
from the locked bottom drawer. He now sat opposite
her, the knife in his fingertips. 
“Who are you?”
“Laura Maxwell.”
“A cop?”
“No. Laura Maxwell. I’m not smart enough to be a cop.
Please.”
“No.”

*

The morning sun beat down on Pete as he tried to
maintain his stance. It was, however, becoming
increasingly difficult. He had to admit that he hadn’t
drunk or eaten much before being put in this position.
He and Mac had spent most of the night talking, again,
and hence he hadn’t gotten much sleep either. 
He didn’t know why he’d been so confident that he
would be all right. Inside, Pete knew if nothing
happened soon he’d be in trouble. He’d only wanted to
reassure Mac that things would be all right. “It’s
going to be okay,” he’d told her. He’d also said he’d
wait to see her again before he collapsed. Pete wasn’t
at that stage yet, but another hour and who knew? He
would hold on, though. He’d have to see her. There was
no way he could let himself move an inch without
seeing Mac one last time. 

*

Norman leant forward with the knife as Mac avoided
his gaze, her expression set.
Suddenly there was banging and shouting coming down
the hallways. The door burst open quickly.
“Police. Freeze! Put the weapon down!” A uniformed
officer shouted as another ran to arrest Norman and
read him his rights. Danni brushed past and ran to
Mac, who was struggling with her restraints. She was
soon freed with Danni’s help and they hugged briefly.
“Pete...” Mac mumbled. Danni nodded.
“Angie’s gone to him. Mac, it’ll be okay, I think. I
think it’ll be okay.” She smiled at her, but Mac
didn’t return the smile. She stood, moving to follow
the Norman and his escort outside. Danni grabbed her
arm. Another officer was already collecting evidence
behind them.
“Mac, maybe we should wait here anyway. I mean, just
in case, you know?” Mac faltered, realising what Danni
meant by “just in case.” She nodded, turning back to
her.
“You’re right Danni. We’ll wait here.” Danni relaxed,
moving back and taking a seat. She was too slow.
Before she knew it, Mac had caught her off guard and
quickly exited the room. Danni chased after her.

*

Outside, Angie stood impatiently as the uniforms
slowly moved the bear traps aside, making a pathway
between them. Pete smiled as Angie held up a water
bottle, smiling. He stepped cautiously over the first
trap, too close to him for the officers to attempt to
move, and walked steadily towards Ange. They hugged
tightly and Pete took a drink from the bottle straight
away, drinking over half in one breath. They smiled,
laughing as Pete looked around for Mac.
“Where is she?” he asked, concerned that she was
nowhere in sight.
“Uh...I really don’t know-“ but Ange could see Pete
looking past her. She turned, smiling as he moved
forward to meet Mac, who was walking quickly towards
them. 
Pete took Mac in his arms as they met full-on,
kissing deeply. Mac broke away first, leaning her head
onto his shoulder as they held each other. 
“I was so worried about you,” Mac spoke softly. Pete
ran a hand through her hair. 
“It’s okay.” He grinned, as they pulled apart. “I
told you so.” Mac laughed, slapping him on his good
shoulder, the other still with the fresh wound from
the incision. They paused, before their lips met
hesitantly once again, caressing tenderly,
passionately. 
Angie and Danni simply watched on, permanent smiles
fixed on their faces. Pete and Mac turned to them, Mac
hugging Angie and Pete, Danni. 

*

Oscar sat up in bed expectantly. Angie had called
quite a while ago, said they had a surprise and they
were coming back. He couldn’t wait. The doctors were
saying he’d made a tremendous improvement over the
last few days, and he couldn’t wait to go back home
for a while. He’d rung his mum, explained to her that
Angie wasn’t Michelle. She was Angie. She wasn’t his
girlfriend. She was a friend from work. A very good
friend who just needed a holiday. Oscar’s mum hadn’t
minded a bit. In fact, it seemed she was even happier
than before. 
And a surprise! Obviously the sting had gone down
without too much trouble. He wondered what on earth it
could possibly be? Mac and Pete, maybe, but that was
Angie’s suspicion only. Couldn’t be. A present? Oh
yeah, he thought sarcastically, woo-hoo. 
There was a faint knock on the door and Angie and the
gang entered. They beamed at each other as Ange went
over and hugged Oscar. 
“You look great!” she exclaimed.
“Yeah, feel great too!” Danni took up her usual
position on the edge of the bed. Oscar looked around,
wondering who was going to talk first. 
“Well?” He asked finally. “What’s the big surprise?” 

*

The sky turned pink as the five of them walked along
the beach slowly. The water lapped around their feet,
licking their toes as they patted through the wet
sand. 

Danni looked over at her four best friends. It had
been a month since the W.A.S.P. case, Angie and Oscar
only just getting back from holidays a week ago. They
had enjoyed themselves immensely, so she’d been told.
She smiled. Everyone’s lives seemed to be picking up. 
Danni herself had organised to move into a new house.
A cosy but nicely constructed and furnished house one
of the suburbs. She was almost surrounded by young
families in her new street, all of them the nicest of
people. And her next-door neighbour? 
He’d come over to introduce himself the other night,
see if he could help out in any way. His name was Ian,
and boy, could he carry those heavy boxes around well!
Danni smiled to herself. Yep, things were definitely
looking up. 

Angie took Oscar’s hand tentatively, but he didn’t
seem to mind, smiling over at her. The three weeks
they’d spent at his parent’s farm had been so much
better than the few days she’d spent there before, as
Michelle. Now that she was her own person again, she
didn’t feel like she was lying, pretending to be
someone she wasn’t around people she shouldn’t have to
act around. 
She and Oscar had had a marvellous time, just
relaxing. They’d spent a lot of time talking, and he’d
helped Ange make some pretty important decisions. 
Oscar had almost completely recovered by now. You
wouldn’t be able to tell otherwise anyway. He’d
regained all movement in his arm etc. and was set to
take the physical to return to work in a week or so.
Until then, he was going to enjoy holiday life a bit
more. I could get used to this beach thing, he said to
himself, squeezing Angie’s hand lightly. She looked
over and he smiled, not needing to say a word as to
how he was feeling at this moment. She nodded
silently, squeezing back.

“Guys,” Angie started. “I’ve made a decision I think
all of you should know.” Mac, Pete and Danni stopped
as they stood and listened. 
“I’m coming back to work,” she said eventually. Danni
hugged her.
“Oh Ange, that’s great! I’m so glad. I thought I was
going to be the only gal still there!” Mac
interrupted.
“Ahem! Danni am I not who you would classify as a
‘gal?’” Danni laughed. 
“Of course you are. But Mac I have a feeling you won’t
be around forever.” Pete frowned, wrapping his arms
around Mac’s shoulders.
“What do you mean?” he asked, taking hold of Mac’s
hands in front of her and playing with the two rings
newly appointed to her fourth finger. Danni grinned.
“The way the two of you have been going at it this
past month I’d expect Mac to have one of those buns in
the oven already!” The four of them laughed, but Mac
stayed completely silent. Pete squeezed her gently.
“Mac...Why aren’t you laughing?” Mac took a deep
breath. 
“Uh...Well...” The rest of them looked at her, mouths
open. 
“Mac,” Pete whispered. “You’re...” Mac looked back up
at him earnestly. Pete stood stock still for a second.

“You only just got married!” Angie exclaimed. 
“Yeah,” Danni added. “Half an hour ago.” They laughed.
Mac still looked into Pete’s eyes, but soon they were
glittering. A smile came to her lips. Pete pulled away
and turned her to face him.
“Mac...” She shook her head, grinning from ear to ear.
She leant in close and whispered to him.
“Gotcha!” She laughed as Pete went to grab her, but
she brushed past him, running further up the beach.
Her knee length, white dress brushed about her legs as
water continued to wash up onto the shore. Pete caught
up to her, no troubles, and scooped her into his arms.
Mac was laughing, but was cut off as Pete pushed his
lips onto hers, eventually lowering her back into the
sand as they stood, engrossed in each other. 
Angie, Oscar and Danni turned to each other and
laughed, all happy with the direction all of “this”
seemed to be taking. 
“Couldn’t be better!” Oscar exclaimed as they looked
on at Mac and Pete, who were now leaning into each
other as they looked out over the setting sun on the
horizon. 
“It’s so pretty,” Mac whispered as she leant into his
chest. Pete smiled, kissing her neck. 
“It’s not the only thing that’s good looking in my
view,” Pete mumbled as Mac laughed teasingly, pulling
away and rejoining the others for a quiet dinner at
one of the local restaurants. After that, Mac thought,
looking at Pete, anything is possible now. Anything at
all. 

THE END