Title: Love gone wrong

Author: Loz

E-Mail: loz06(at)yahoo(dot)com

Rating: PG

Category: General

Series: Nup

Spoilers: None

Archive (if applicable): [ Lies and Manipulations ] www(dot)geocities(dot)com(slash)loz06, also www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net

Feedback: The good, the bad and the very ugly it's all appreciated.

Summary: Violence on a university campus without evidence or reliable witnesses and the unit needs to make  breakthrough. Instead it places on undercover officer in danger.

Author's Notes:

Disclaimers: Don’t get this wrong, I don’t own anyone here.

It's early evening, a tall blonde female walks hand in hand with a male along a dimly lit pathway. They are both carrying an armful of books and chatting happily. A shadowy figure moves behind them. There are two quick gunshots from a silenced gun. She slumps to the ground, her books spraying across the path with her blood. Her male partner, still holding her hand looks for the assailant, but the bushes are the perfect cover and they’re long gone. He checks the girl only to discover she is dead. Crumbling over her, he remains hugging her and trembling till the ambulance arrives.

"Good morning everybody" Mac is her usual pleasant self.

"Where's Rocca?" Church asks.

"Meeting conference thing in Albury"

"Strange place to have it." Angie comments.

"Promoting better relations between the NSW and VIC police forces" Mac informs them.

"Bet that's the only thing they come half way on, the location of the conference" A small chuckle ripples through the officers, Church is in fine form this morning.

"As much as I know you'd all love to be there, we have work we need to do." Mac flips over the white board.

"This is Jeremy Taylor, 3 months ago he was assaulted from behind on the Melbourne University campus while leaving a Monday night lecture to go to his car. No one saw anything, no leads. Since

then the violence has escalated, initially the victims were just hit over the head, then they landed up in hospital."

Mac put 6 more faces up on the board.

"Last night Kate Quigley was leaving her lecture to go home. She was shot from behind, she was holding her boyfriends hand at the time. There were no witnesses, the only thing the boyfriend could tell us was that the gun was silenced. The only common thread we have is Monday nights."

Mac turns to face them all square on.

"The university has stepped up security, but that's obviously not enough, homicide have no evidence so they're passed it onto us."

"Yeah their dumping ground." Stone jokes.

"In this case we have a better chance than they do."

"Am I correct in saying you’re going to send us back to uni?" Church questions.

"You are correct, Stone, Angie, Church and myself will be attending night lectures of a Monday. In that time I want to try and find out anyone who knows anything and keep an eye out in the area."

"Do we get a choice of what we go to?" Angie requests.

"Ah afraid not you and Stone will be attending Sociology, Church and I will be going to Criminology."

"Ohhh should be nice and close to home for you." Stone laughs.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." It's Monday night and Church and Mac are walking from the car park on the darkening campus.

"I think you make a very convincing university student, you drink lots and do little work, look we've got 10 minutes go get yourself a beer or something. Grab me a coffee will you?"

Church joins Mac a couple of minutes later as an aging man walks into the front. Church sniggers as Mac gets out her pen and paper, gaining no reaction he continues to look over the twelve other people that are present.

"There aren't many people here." Church whispers.

"This is a Masters class Church, it's the top of the university."

The lecture starts and Church tunes out. Over in the next hall Stone chats to a small redhead and Angie acquaints herself with a fellow blonde. Mac is the only one who takes copious notes. Afterwards the two pairs introduce themselves to the lecture students, their covers rolling easily off their tongues. Angie and Stone quickly make friends, Church finds it harder, standing back as Mac does most of the talking. With the seriousness of the calls they ended up walking the dim pathways.

"Is there something you not telling me?" Church watched the students’ leave and notices the security patrol giving some of them a lift to their cars.

"Like what?"

"Like you wrote a bucket load while we were in there."

"Just making some careful observations."

"Yeah on what the lecturer was saying, come on Mac."

Mac was about to answer when a noise behind them made her turn.

"Jesus Angie you scared me."

"Can we get out of here Mac, it's 10:30."

"Yeah lets go."

Tuesday morning.

"O.k. where are we on this ?" Mac asks at the morning strategy meeting about the night before.

"Well we've got another 3 coffee meetings lined up for this week, but we don't know anyone yet, so it's kinda hard to say anything."

"Same here, now we're going to use the rest of this week to figure everyone out, check them out for records, how bout we meet again like this on Friday."

"There was no attack last night." Stone observes.

"No, they’re averaging one a fortnight so they're not off track yet." Mac informs them.

"Should we be looking at uni students specifically one's that attend every 2 weeks." Angie asks.

"Good, but it might be hard to do considering anyone can come and go from the campus and a role isn’t taken in classes, not to mention how many class there are, do you want to take care of that angle anyway, see what you can turn up?" Mac wraps it up and heads back to her office, Church following her.

"Are you after a promotion or something?" The direct approach.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh come one, I know you enrolled in that course, you’re not available some nights and you took more than observational notes on Monday night, so what are you leaving us for?"

Mac sighs she can't put anything past Church, his skills of observation are too honed.

"Shut the door, I've been approached to set up an undercover unit in South Australia, I need my psych Masters to qualify, seeing as I haven't got the rank."

"So you’re doing that and then coming back."

"Aaahhh no it's a full time position."

"So what you’re leaving us now?"

"Well nothing’s carved in stone Church what are you getting your jockstrap in a knot for?"

"I don't like head hunters or the revolving door syndrome...and I don't wear jocks."

"Well I know that much is true."

Friday afternoon

"O.K Stone what have you got for us?" It’s the Friday morning meeting.

"Well no one knows much but everyone has an opinion, and most people are scared to the point of thinking of not coming anymore."

"Any strong suspects?" Mac asks getting to the point.

"No one who stands out."

"Angie?"

"Well I spoke mostly to females and they're scared blind, they believe this person is targeting females or couples. I don't think any of them is capable."

"How did you go with people who come every 2 weeks or so."

"Yeah a couple of things, those people who come intermittently the majority were males, mid 20's, most live off campus."

"......and." Mac urges her to continue.

"Ah nothing, well I have a coffee date for the weekend, and a study date."

"O.k. well Church and I haven't had much luck, most people in our group got straight into cars with wives and children, it's the nature of the course."

"We're going to step up the ground surveillance. Let's get to know our likely candidates a little better." Mac wraps it up and heads back to her office this time she’s followed by Angie.

"What is it Angie?" Mac didn't even have to look to know she’s  there.

"Ahh while I was going through some of the students I found a familiar picture."

"A contact, a crim, who?" Mac's mind is racing as to who it could be.

"Ahh well we know her as Kaye Kelso, but she's not enrolled under that name obviously."

"Right, so we don’t suspect her of this?"

"No............but it might make things a little sticky."

"O.K  so do we avoid contact or make contact and use her?"

"Let's keep her out of it for now." Angie suggests.

Monday night

"I can't believe that we're here on a night like tonight, look at it, it's pouring." Church complains as he had done all through the lecture.

"Would you shut up?" Mac snaps tired of constantly walking the pathways without success, suddenly things get interesting. Walking ahead Mac sees who she believes is Kaye, but doesn’t let onto Church. A couple of meters later a dark figure comes behind her from another path, he opens his arms like he’s was about to wrap them around her.

"Kaye." Mac screams running after her. Church catches on too late to be of any help.

None the less Emily doesn’t respond to her former undercover name.

"You scared me ." She says to the male who was now hugging her back. She looks over her shoulder at Mac and Church approaching towards her, they slow having realised she’s actually

not in danger. Recognising them instantly she grabs the males’ hand and pulls him along as she almost runs away.

"Think she recognised us?" Church catches up.

"Oh yeah." Mac sighs.

"Tonight’s the night I know it." Church tells her as they walk on.

"Don't say things like that." She tells him.

"So you’re going to take this job?" Church starts in again.

"It's a terrific offer........." Mac's ankle gives way and she crashes to the wet ground, laughing at her own stupidity, she accepts Peter's offer of a hand up.

"I'll miss you if you go you know" He said looking deeply at her still holding her hand. Waiting for a reply she’s distracted by laughing behind him. It’s Angie and Stone, but there’s someone in front of them, blocking her view, someone in dark clothing with a gun.

Moments later Mac’s on the ground again not tripping, this time it’s the force of a bullet. Stone hurtles on top of the shooter like a tonne of bricks.

"Signal one" Angie screams into her wire.

"Don't you leave me Mac, not this way." Church begs holding her tight..................................

"How is she?" Rocca asks the moment he walks into the factory back from his conference.

"They're operating now, it will be an hour or so." Angie tells him through tears.

"Did you get him?" Rocca asks.

"Little prick lives on campus, victim of love gone wrong, girlfriend moved away to an new job, he targeted couples holding hands walking on campus, the way he used to before he was dumped." Church informs him.

"So why Mac?"

"She had tripped and fallen, I was giving her a hand up." Church’s voice sounds like he’s blaming himself.