One Instant

In the sudden silence that followed, all Spike Thomson could do was ask Lynda if she was all right, his worry increasing when she did not answer. Finally she acknowledged him with one of her usual wisecracks. Relieved, he shot one back of his own. Just for an instant, everything was all right again. Just for an instant.

Spike’s heart was in his throat when the clown/gunman signalled Lynda out. He did everything he could to protect her: made like he was in charge, held her back; but the clown saw through it. Lynda had a point—definitely the wrong day to power dress. He could not believe it when she would not concede to the gunman’s demands. He was sure she would get shot. But then he saw what she saw—the gunman’s control was wavering. So Spike followed her example, and soon it was back to business in the Junior Gazette newsroom; although with a tenseness not previously felt. Lynda kept it together and between them they talked the gunman down… until the police turned up, alerted by Colin.

Everything that happened after that Spike remembered clearly—the sick fear when he realised that his actions put Colin directly in the line of fire, the horror when Colin was shot after they thought they were home free, everything. But he knew that the fear he felt for Lynda’s life would be what stayed with him for the rest of his life. He knew that Lynda wanted to save him, but all he cared about was saving her. Because in that first instant the gun went off earlier that day, Spike knew that he would do anything to save her, even at the expense of his own life. Suddenly their little relationship did not seem so great anymore. Why did it seem like they should either get it together or move on?

“Spike!”

The American turned to see Sarah Jackson walking over to him. He snorted. “I didn’t think you’d find me here.”

“It wasn’t that difficult,” she smiled. “When your uncle said you weren’t at home, I figured you had to be here, crime scene or not.”

Spike just looked down at his typewriter. “I still don’t see why she’s protecting him.”

“Don’t you? He could have killed you, killed Kenny. She promised him…”

“I know, I know. She promised to get him out scot free if he didn’t hurt us.”

“And he didn’t,” Sarah reminded him. “Do you have any ideas what it must’ve been like for her to hear that shot and not have any idea what was going on?”

“Right. And she wants to protect him for putting us through that?”

Sarah sighed. “Spike, do you want to tell me what’s really on your mind?”

He looked away. “When Donald shot that mirror, all I could think about was that I almost lost Lynda. Afterwards I did everything I could to save her.”

“Including giving yourself up as a hostage to set her free. Lynda wasn’t very happy about that.”

“I know. I could see it her eyes when I said it. But I had to,” Spike’s voice broke as his eyes filled with tears. “No matter what happens to us, I just can’t stand the though of her not being here, you know?”

Sarah thought she knew where Spike was coming from. Spike and Lynda’s relationship was one of the staples of the Junior Gazette. She could hardly bear to think about losing either of them.

“If there is one thing a gun siege is good for,” Spike went on, “It’s re-evaluating your life.”

Despite everything, Sarah let out a chuckle. “Kenny had the same idea. He’s thinking about moving to Australia.”

“Really? It’s probably just the let down from this.”

“Maybe. And what re-evaluating have you been doing?”

The smile faded from Spike’s face. “I realised that I’ll always love Lynda.”

“Tell us something we don’t know.”

“That obvious, huh? Yeah, I suppose it is,” he answered his own question. “But I also realised that we can’t go on like this. All our witty comebacks, it’s pointless.”

Sarah did not like the way Spike sounded when he said that. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, but I think me and Lynda should make a decision one way or another.” He fell silent, thinking about the last time he faced death. “Tell me something, Sarah. Why does it take a disaster for us to make these kinds of decisions?”

“Human nature, Spike. We need something to shake us up, get us thinking. Look at me. How long have I been trying to leave to go to university?”

“Any luck with that?”

“I’ve decided it’s not the right time to decide.”

Spike shook his head. “You’re a lost cause, Jackson.”

“So you keep telling me.”

Silence followed Sarah’s words, and she glanced over at him to see that he was looking away. She knew, without following his eye line, that he was staring at the outline on the floor. “Let’s get out of here, Spike. Preferably before the police find us here at the crime scene.”

“Yeah, wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of Chief Inspector Hibbert. You think he believes our story?”

“Not really. He’s too smart.”

“What can we do?”