Power & Control

Chapter 4 ~ Understanding

The pang of regret in her chest after though, was a completely different matter. She collapsed into the arms of Mr. Butler, crying as Hugh pat her on the back, reassuring her that it was the only thing she could have done.

Everyone knew that sooner or later, they'd have to check the body, see who it was, and why they wanted Miss Fisher but for now, they had more important things on their minds. Jack turned and ran, he had to find Miss Fisher. It was the same feeling he had when he thought she'd died in that car crash, and he couldn't bear that he felt that emotional about the lady detective, and honestly, he'd felt that way for a long time.

The halls were long and winding, and Jack had no idea where to run, so he took a chance and ran straight ahead, and when the hall stopped, leaving him with the only choices being left and right, he ran left, knowing that even if he was in the wrong room, everyone else would be looking too. Luckily though, when his hand found the light switch, the first thing he saw was Phryne tied to a chair in the middle of an empty room. The first thought that crossed his mind was, well, anger.

He'd never seen Miss Fisher this vulnerable, and it touched something in him, but he pushed hat thought aside so he could rush forward and untie her. "Thank you." She whispered a little breathlessly, causing a small smile to almost fight its way to Jack's face. "A little late though, Jack" she added jokingly, and he rolled his eyes. Phryne smirked, and came a little closer. "You know, Miss Fisher, in older times, when the lady is saved she rewards her knight in shining armour with a kiss." He leaned in until their lips were almost touching. "Well, Jack, I am no damsel in distress. But I guess, just this once..." She said, teasingly, before closing the offensive gap between them, and pressing their lips together.

Miss Fisher was the first to pull away, a victorious, although still flirty smirk on her face. "I knew I'd get to you eventually Jack." The only reply was a small smile and a roll of his eyes. They leaned in again, but just before their lips could touch, the moment was interrupted by Mr. Butler, who walked in, and his eyes then opened wide when he saw what he'd walked in on. "I was looking for Phryne... But now I've goind you I just think you would like to know that we have the car ready to go as soon as we've seen who abducted Miss Fisher. And the second we can stop Dorothy from bearing herself up about murdering someone long enough to get her into the car." Phryne sighed, pulling herself away from Jack.

"Don't bother checking who it is, I saw her face when she tied me up." "Alright, then it looks like we're ready to go home. Perhaps we'll discuss things more thoroughly in the parlor." Phryne nodded, and grabbed Jack's hand and followed Mr. Butler to the car where everyone was waiting. "We uh, gave up searching after a while and I told them to wait while I found you two." The Inspector smiled appreciatively and the lot of them split into the two cars once more. The drive back was relatively short, but the rain only continued falling more heavily by the second. When they reached Miss Fisher's house, the group entered the parlr, and sat in their chairs, Bert and Cec standing up as there was simply nowhere for them to sit.

"So, who was the bitch who tried to knock us off?!" Cec began impatiently. Phryne smirked, "Patience is a virtue Cec." He growled, "Screw virtues I just wanna know who tried to get rid of us all." "Fair enough then. If you must know, it was..." She eyed Jack, and her heart sunk, the words stuck in her throat. "Rosie." She whispered, and the name twisted her insides with guilt. "Sanderson? As in my ex wife?" Jack said, his anger evident in the end of the sentence. Miss Fisher could only nod, and whisper an 'I'm sorry' as Jack stormed off. "But why?" Dot spoke up for the first time in a while. "I don't know Dot. But all I do know is that some mysteries are best left unsolved." Hugh sighed, now may be the time to speak up. "I do. I know why."