Paperwork and reimbursements, they were the biggest hurdles for Sonya Fields to jump through in getting the boy, Greggory, onto a plane flight to Melbourne. The powers that be were concerned that the boy, a direct tie to the family that Detective Fields was investigating, still posed a threat to the two girls, Sasha and Georgie. It was only through arguing that Greggory had been so vital a piece in the escape of the sisters, the fear that the boy was in danger by leaving the Fields family's custody, and the fact that there were no other officers or child services available at the time to care for the child that the powers that be at Holden Hill agreed to the temporary custody arrangement.

"Again… Do… Not… Leave…" reiterated an officer.

"I know the drill," replied Sonya. "No trip to Bali, no going back to Dent Street…"

"Go home, take a break, leave everything to us."

"Roger that," said Sonya, but clearly, she was less than happy.

On the ride up to Adelaide Airport the kids and Mike were all happy, but Sonya's mood had darkened.

"I know babe, you can't stop thinking about Ray in that hospital bed," Mike said to her as quietly as he could.

"What that man did to him, it is inexcusable," Sonya murmured back in reply.

"Uncle Philip is a bad man," Greggory agreed. "They are all bad men."

"We're sorry, Greggory, we should not be discussing the case," said Sonya, turning in her seat to face the kids as she spoke.

"It's ok," said Greggory.

"Yeah, mom, he's fine to talk about this kinda stuff," said Sasha.

"No, Sash, your mom is right," said Mike. "No talking about the case, no thinking about the case…"

"That's going to be a bit of a challenge for me," Sonya admitted. "And I want to apologize here and now."

"That's a bit unfair, dad," said Georgie, immediately jumping to her mom's defense.

"Ok, how about this then," said Mike. "Your mom and I promise to only discuss the case with each other and only when we get home."

"But…" both girls protested.

"No, Sasha and Georgie, I know you think you are protecting me, and I see how much you admire your mom…" Greggory said, interrupting the pair before they could argue their case. "But it is true… Any mention of my family could jeopardize the case… Especially if I get put on the stand, as has happened before."

"You've gone to court?" said Georgie, somewhat surprised.

"You're lucky you haven't," said the boy, replying quickly.

"Nothing to do with this case, surely," suggested Sonya. "Otherwise, I would have thought they'd have contacted me."

"Nah… And yeah… I guess… Domestic Abuse mostly…" said Greggory. "When my mom got brave enough and threatened to drag me out of which ever hell hole, we found ourselves in…"

"The police got involved, but nothing ever stuck?" asked Mike, saving Sonya from asking the same question.

"They always made up, much to my horror," the boy replied. "That's why I knew all the good hiding spots in the hayshed and around the hobby farm."

"You had to find somewhere safe and warm, in a place that was neither," said Sonya. "I'm sorry that the system let you down."

"Yeah, there are a lot of kids that slip through the cracks," Greggory agreed. "I guess I'm lucky enough to have found you guys."

"Enough doom and gloom," said Mike, pulling off Sir Donald Bradman Drive and onto Airport Road. "Kids, keep your eyes peeled for a spare carpark."

"Dad…" groaned the girls. "We just follow the directions to the hire car drop off point."

"Ha! Of course!" laughed Mike. "We've been travelling for so long now without actually having a break that I forgot this is not our car."

"Classic, dad," said Sonya.

Georgie laughed, as did the girls' father. Sonya remained silent.

"I'll drop you off here, and then I'll go back to the house," she murmured.

"No, darling, you promised to stay away…" said Mike. "You said you would take a break, leave it to the other officers."

"You know I can't do that, Mike," Sonya said, quiet, but with true strength behind her words. "I cannot let them get away with what they did to Ray, all those girls, what if it was our daughters…"

"I don't like it when you get this way, Son," said Mike, his mood turning from forced humor to caution quite quickly. "But I know when you are on a case it is challenging for you to let it go."

"This was one of my first, Mike," Sonya tried to explain.

"And it has plagued you for all those years," said Mike.

"Yeah, mom," said Sasha. "We get it… You want closure…"

"Yeah… Like when I couldn't find my best pair of socks…" added Georgie.

"Not sure how that relates exactly…" said the elder sister. "Crime cases and lost socks are not exactly the same thing."

"But when I found them again, I was so happy," said Georgie. "They match with almost any outfit, and I could not believe I'd left them at Amanda's house."

"Yeah… We pulled the house apart looking for that pair," Mike added.

"Just like mom is pulling everything apart now, trying to find the right clue," Georgie said, excited someone was finally getting what she was trying to say.

"You won't rest until you close this case," said Greggory, thoughtful.

"Yeah, sorry, Greggory," admitted Sonya. "I am going to make your family pay for what they've done."

"Good," said the boy. "Best you go then… Back to the seaside and the house where it all happened."

"Good, I will," said Sonya, like she'd only just come up with the idea, or convinced herself that it was the correct course of action.

"And I'm coming too," Greggory added.

"As are we," echoed the two girls. "And there will be no arguments from the front seat."

"Yeah…" added Georgie. "Wherever you go, mom, we're coming too."

Charlie felt Joe wince every time that the helicopter flew over the conga line of cars, trucks, vans, even the occasional motorbike. When he winced, she could not help but do the same. In the darkness of the night and torrential rain, Charlie was amazed to witness families, two adults and a child, baskets, whole homes, flying past her as she sat in Krystof's hatch-back. Her four wheels seemed no match for their two, the bikes, so common on the streets of Bali, now a far faster form of escape in the search for shelter. The cyclone was rightly named, a nickname or official. Joe with his bustling and penchant for a violent solution. Charlie hoped that her boy was safe, somewhere, at least safer than she was. Sydney, New South Wales felt like a much more predictable place. Back home she just needed to deal with a man and his temper, and his family and their crimes. Here, in so-called paradise, the violence was on a much grander scale.

"Please don't let us die tonight," she murmured, a prayer of sorts, even though she'd lost faith in the existence of all deities soon after she and Joe got together.

"Shut up and let me concentrate," growled the man who sat, so tense, beside her. "Krystoff… Short cut… Now…"

"Joe… My friend… I mean, Pete…" said the local in the front seat.

"Forget about our stupid aliases," said Joe. "Focus on the road ahead and getting us to your brother's house alive."

"Of course, of course," said Krystoff, quickly. "No short cuts here though… Admire the view…"

A trickle of water from the wild weather dropped upon Charlie's summer dress. It was cold, but she did not dare shiver.

There were vehicles everywhere and everyone was pounding their horns. Normally the chaos of that would have given Charlie a thumping headache, but the wind from the storm which seemed to be following them drowned out any traffic noise. It shook the cars, gently bumping them against each other.

"Why did we come down from the mountains?" Charlie muttered. "Wouldn't we have been safer up there?"

Instantly she felt Joe grip her arm and squeeze like he was going to break it.

"Didn't I tell you to keep your mouth shut?" he growled.

"Friend, Joe, the storm… Maybe you are needing to rest while we drive?" suggested Krystoff.

"You keep your eyes on the road and see if there is any way to get us there faster," said Joe. "Aren't you guys supposed to be good at ignoring the road rules?"

"Hey… We have our own rules here… Spend more time with us and you'll get used to it," suggested Krystoff.

Charlie could hear the strain in his voice while she could just make out the whites of his eyes and his broad smile.

Suddenly, the car lurched forward, like the Balinese man had a second sense for finding gaps in the traffic jam. Just as quickly as it roared to life, the leaking hatch-back lurched to a stop again.

"Sorry…" murmured Krystoff. "Thought I'd spotted a gap…"

"How much longer? Are we going to be here awhile?" grumbled Joe, still with a firm hold on Charlie's arm.

"Just a few more miles, and then we turn off," said Krystoff, trying to reassure.

"Then, make it happen, and soon…" said Joe. "That chopper is making me nervous."

"This storm… You… This whole thing is making ME nervous," stated Charlie, not caring how Joe reacted.

"Ok… Ok… We go now…" said Krystoff.

Before Joe could reply to Charlie the car roared to life again, the driver forcing it to crunch and grind through the gears. Krystoff slid the hatch-back to the left, squeezing his way into the chaos of vehicles in that "lane". Bumping over some tree roots and narrowly avoiding two bikes which raced past on either side of the car, Krystoff then created his own path, soon joined by a half dozen other cars.

"What the hell are you doing?" screamed Joe, surprised by this dangerous disregard for anything resembling traffic rules.

"Welcome to Bali," suggested Krystoff with a shrug. "We make it up as we go along…"

"You've got that right," said Charlie.

To her somewhat relief, the man sitting beside her had released his grip. What she did fear though was what punishment awaited her if they survived this night. With a man like Joe as judge and jury, there was no knowing when and how punishment would be delivered. She began to wonder if she'd ever get to go home. As the cyclone named Jack carried on around them, Charlie's little world inside the car became that much darker.

Lisa looked over her shoulder, down every alleyway, around each corner. Darwin after the storm was a scary place, but more because she knew Jack was here hunting her. The people had been friendly and welcoming in a very country kind of way. The appearance of Jack had turned all of that on its head though.

"Where is the truck stop?" she asked herself. "Or do I go to a fuel station?"

Too many choices. She just needed to get out of the city and go back south again. Where was she going? Ashley Town? Ashville? No… It was Alice… That's right. Her friend from the kitchen suggested she find a truck driver who was headed for Alice Springs. The depot would be a much better option. She saw the sign, a big, blue one. White writing and an arrow. Only a kilometer from where she was standing.

It did not take long, and it was less time again to find a driver who was keen to have a pretty, youngish lady, looking to keep them company.

"Heading my way?" she asked. "I've keen to get to Alice, I've got someone waiting for me there," Lisa lied, and Anton "Tony" Ovens was only happy enough to accept.

"I'm leaving for Alice in around ten," said the truckie. "Got my paperwork all signed off."

"So, what's the hold up?" asked Lisa. "Why not just go now?"

"Just waiting on our third, one more stowaway to keep you company," said Tony. "And here he is now."

Him? Lisa thought, her heart beginning to race.

"Hello, Lisa," said a voice all too familiar. "Funny seeing you here."

She shivered as Philip's hand rested upon her shoulder. The only thing she could be grateful for was the fact that Philip's brother, Jack, looked to be nowhere in sight. While that was the case, Philip would be nice. Once Jack found them both, that was when Lisa knew, Philip would turn into a monster. As she climbed up into the cab of the semi-trailer, she hoped for the driver's sake that she and Philip were both a long way away from the truck before they got found. Jack had an uncanny knack for popping up when he was not wanted.

"This'll be just like old times," Philip whispered in her ear.

Lisa did not need to be reminded of what those words pertained. She would need to find a way to warn the driver, but nothing came to mind. Not then, and not for the whole of the thousand or so kilometers that laid out before them.

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