Biscuit looked at her.
“They’re talking about you, not to you.” he said, his face grinning.
Nadia didn’t respond. She kept glancing at Mei and feeling terror about her own fate.
17
The limousine came to a stop, but the driver kept the engine running. She could hear the creak of metal. She tried to look out of the blackened windows. All she could see was dusty, barren land. As the car began moving slowly, she could see they were entering an enclosure of some kind. Walls that were so high, she couldn’t see the tops of them from the limo. She saw large, solid metal gates. They drove a little further on, then the vehicle stopped and the engine was switched off.
Nadia could hear the creaking of the gates closing again as the boss said, “Welcome home, ladies.”
He grinned at Nadia and Mei. Nadia felt anger through her fear. How dare he call them ladies? She was a teenager, Mei a mere child. And what angered her most was this was not home. This looked like a prison with its high walls and metal gates. She hadn’t committed any crime, she had been kidnapped. She was here against her will.
The driver opened the door to the limousine. The boss pushed Mei out first and followed. The Moroccan man got out next and then Biscuit waved his hand at Nadia.
“Out you get,” he said to her.
Nadia knew that it was pointless refusing, so she got up. As she turned to exit the limo, Biscuit fondled her bottom. It made her feel sick.
Once outside, Nadia had a chance to look around her surroundings.
They appeared to be in some kind of large compound. They were in a large central courtyard. The floor was plain and dusty, but with an ornate fountain in the middle. Behind the fountain was a large double fronted house, with pillars at the entrance. Both the fountain and the house looked out of place, they looked more suited to a British stately home than inside a compound in Morocco. There was a long, narrow structure to the left of the house, next to the ten foot high perimeter wall. It looked not too dissimilar to a set of stables. However, it had proper windows, with bars on the outside.
It was towards this structure that they were now heading.
The boss had gone through the front door of the house with Mateo. The Moroccan and Biscuit were guiding Nadia and Mei towards a solid metal door on the side of the stable-like structure.
As they walked inside, the smell hit Nadia. It was a foul mix of urine, body odour and disinfectant, it caught on the back of her throat and made her gag. It reminded her of a men’s public toilet. She had walked into a men’s toilet accidentally once when she had been in a Cardiff park, the smell had hit her then. Her thoughts were drawn back to that day in Cardiff, when her and Amy had met some friends for a picnic. She could hear Amy’s laugh in her head as she thought back to how she laughed when she saw the look of horror on Nadia’s face when she realised that she had gone into the wrong toilet.
Thinking of that moment gave Nadia a brief glimmer of hope. She had text Amy a photo of her and Fatima. There was a chance they could track her down. There was a chance she would be found.
Her thoughts were distracted by the Moroccan man, who had opened a door.
“You sleep in here,” he said, his voice heavily accented.
He pushed Nadia into the room, and Mei followed her in.
He closed the door behind them, and Nadia heard the sound of a key in the lock. They were trapped.
The room itself was a long narrow dormitory. There were racks of bunk beds along the wall. She quickly counted them, twelve beds. How many people were here? How many children were there?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice which came from behind her.
“Come here, my sweet,” the gentle voice spoke.
Nadia turned and saw Mei in the arms of a person. Nadia wasn’t entirely sure if the person was a man or a woman. They were sat on the floor, Mei was hugging this person with all her might. The person, was gently stroking Mei’s hair as she soothed her. Around them, also sat on the floor, was a heavily pregnant girl, who looked like she was a year or two younger than Nadia. A young boy who looked around six or seven, and two more girls who looked around the same age as Mei.
The gentle voice spoke again.
“Come here, my lovely, come sit with us.”
Nadia hesitated.
“It’s OK. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Nadia looked at the other children. She could sense that they trusted this person, they all seemed to be sat as close as they could be.
As Nadia moved slightly closer, she could see the bruises on the person’s face. One eye was nearly shut and was heavily swollen, a sign that they had taken a beating. There were angry bruises a shade of purple and green down their arms.
“Come sit with us,” the person continued. “I’m Maxine.”
Nadia’s voice croaked as she replied, “I’m Nadia.”
Maxine looked at Nadia.
“When did you last have water, Nadia?” she asked.
Nadia shrugged her shoulders.
“Quick, Nikki, go and get Nadia a glass of water.”
One of the girls, a pretty little pale white girl with blonde hair, got up and ran through an open doorway. She came back with a plastic beaker of water and handed it to Nadia.
“You must drink, Nadia,” Maxine continued. “It is so easy to get dehydrated in this heat.”
...
The sun was starting to set, and a coolness filled the dormitory. The younger children were asleep on top bunks. The heavily pregnant girl slept on a bottom bunk.
An hour or so before, the Moroccan man had brought a tray of sandwiches and had thrown it into the room. The younger children had eaten with enthusiasm. Maxine had ensured that the pregnant girl, Cassandra, had eaten enough before she herself took a sandwich.
Nadia sat on the floor with Maxine. In the brief few hours that she had known her, Nadia felt at ease with her. She didn’t feel safe, far from it, but she was able to let her guard down just a little.
“What is your story, Nadia?” Maxine asked, speaking virtually perfect English. She missed a few words here and there, but mostly her English flowed. “How you end up here?”
“I was tricked by a woman,” Nadia tried not to cry as she forced the words out. “I thought she was taking me to my Dad.”
“Your family is bad? No?” Maxine asked.
Nadia shook her head, “No, my family is good. I just haven’t seen my Dad since I was a little kid.”
“I don’t understand, then why did you leave with her?” Maxine asked.
“I was stupid,” Nadia replied. She spoke in almost a whisper. “So, very, very stupid.”
Maxine looked at her, she could see the pain in Nadia’s face.
“I am from Romania,” Maxine said, trying a change of subject away from Nadia’s home life.
“How long have you been here?” Nadia asked.
Maxine shrugged.
“I honestly don’t know. About a year and a half or so I would guess. It’s not as if we have calendars here. I haven’t counted the days.”
The thought filled Nadia with dread.
“Aren’t your family missing you?” Nadia asked, instantly regretting asking a question like that.
“I have no family. Not anymore.” Maxine answered, she was matter of fact. “My family didn’t want me anymore when I became Maxine.”
“I don’t understand,” Nadia said.
“I was born Stefan.” Maxine continued. “But I knew I wasn’t a boy; I was a girl. When I turned eighteen, I became a girl all the time. My family, they disowned me after I had my breast implants and my hormones. I left. I met people who said they could help me to have my bottom surgery, but they lied, they brought me here.”
“Oh, Maxine,” Nadia said, in shock, but also understanding why she hadn’t previously been able to work out Maxine’s gender.
“They stopped my hormones now. Now I have boobs and penis, and men think I am a joke to be played with. They fuck me, the
n they beat me.”
“Maxine, I don’t know what to say,” Nadia felt such sorrow.
“You can’t say anything,” Maxine continued. “We are all here as sex dolls, or worse.”
Nadia didn’t want to know what the “or worse” was. She changed the subject.
“So why the name Maxine?” Nadia asked.
Maxine’s forlorn look was replaced by a smile.
“I watched Australian programme called Wentworth. It had woman like me, a woman born a boy, her name was Maxine. I liked it.”
“My Mam likes watching that,” Nadia replied. Her smile on remembering quickly turned to a sadness.
She feared asking the question, but needed to.
“Maxine, what’s going to happen to me?” She spoke quietly, as if keeping her volume low could keep the truth from coming out.
Maxine shook her head.
“Oh, lovely Nadia. They will sell you for sex, like they sell us all.”
18
A few days before
Troy gently stroked Jen’s hand as they sat in the foyer of the police station. Lisa Whitney had called them in to talk through the charges being brought to Oliver through the CPS and to prepare her for the next steps.
Lisa was exhausted. She had arrived back from London the night before. They had brought Latoya Turner, otherwise known as Fatima, in for questioning with the support from the London Metropolitan police. Lisa and Liam had gone to London, wanting to question her personally. They felt they had sufficient evidence to charge her with kidnap. The IT team had been able to uncover months of Facebook messages proving that she had pretended to be Nadia’s auntie to gain her trust.
Once Latoya had understood the quantity of information that they held against her, including CCTV and photographic evidence, she agreed to provide information in return for a lesser sentence of child abduction. She had told them how it was Gary Morris, aka Biscuit, who had got her involved. He was working for a people trafficking ring. Latoya had said how she didn’t know who was in charge or where they were based, but that Nadia had been taken out of the country, via boat from Southampton.
She had said how Biscuit had hated Ali Amrani in prison, and knew that he was estranged from his daughter. He had done some digging, and had discovered that Nadia’s mum had re-married and that her husband had adopted Nadia. From there he had encouraged Latoya to make contact with Nadia through Facebook. It had been a pipe dream of Biscuit’s and he never expected it to be a success. He was living in a fantasy to screw a pretty mixed-race teenager, a kind of ‘fuck you’ to a fellow prisoner he despised.
Latoya told them how they exchanged messages, and Latoya had been paid to provide Nadia to the consortium at London Paddington. She didn’t know where they were now. She had heard talks of Morocco and the Canaries, but had no idea on the details.
It had sickened Lisa. Latoya knew that Nadia was being sold as a sex slave, a child being forced into a life of daily rapes, yet she saw no remorse in her. Lisa couldn’t understand how any woman would allow something like that to happen to a child, let alone facilitate it for money. Lisa hated her.
They had discovered that Gary Morris hadn’t seen his probation officer, that he was registered as missing. According to his flat mates, he hadn’t been in his grotty bedsit since the day of Nadia’s disappearance. It was presumed that Biscuit had left the country with Nadia.
On the drive back from Cardiff, Liam and Lisa had taken it in turns to drive the pool car. Liam had been angrier than he had ever been before. This didn’t surprise Lisa. Liam was a happily married man, his wife hadn’t long given birth to their daughter. Liam was struggling to keep his emotions in check now he himself had become a father. Now he had a daughter that he had sworn to love and protect.
Lisa had just left Liam’s office when her phone on her desk rang, advising her that Jen had arrived.
Lisa knew that she had to put her current case to one side. She felt that it was her duty to keep Jen up to date with what was happening with Oliver. Even though the case was now in hands of the Crown Prosecution Service, she felt it was her duty as she had led on Project Payback.
As she walked out to greet Jen, she was surprised to see Troy with her. He was holding her hand. Lisa smiled; she had grown very fond of the New Yorker in her times at the facility. She was hoping that she was reading the signals correctly and that there was more to the hand holding than purely providing Jen with support following her time as a patient.
“Good morning, Jen,” Lisa said. “An unexpected surprise, Troy!”
“I’m here to provide Jen with support,” Troy said.
Lisa nodded. “Would you like Troy to accompany you, Jen? This is your decision.”
“Yes, please,” Jen replied. “I’d like Troy with me.”
Troy placed his hand on Jen’s shoulder and looked at her with his kind eyes.
“Are you sure, Jen?” he asked. “I’m happy to wait here for you.”
“No, I need the support.” Jen replied.
Lisa led them through the open plan office, and guided them to an empty office in the back.
“This is more comfortable than an interview room,” Lisa said, as if to reassure Jen.
As they walked past, Jen could see a large whiteboard. Taped to it was a photo of Nadia. She recognised the young girl from the news. When they got into the office, Jen spoke first.
“That is that young girl from Roath Park, isn’t it? I saw it on the Welsh news.”
Lisa nodded. “Yes, that’s Nadia Jenkins.”
“Are you any closer to finding her?” Jen asked.
Lisa shook her head.
“Terrible.” Jen replied. “Just terrible.”
Troy felt the need to rescue Lisa. He understood that Lisa should not be discussing a different case.
“So, Lisa, what did you bring Jen in to talk about?” he asked.
Lisa paused for a moment, as if trying to find the words.
“Jen, I know this is hard for you, but Oliver is saying he’s not guilty.” She paused again, trying to work out how to explain the situation to Jen.
“As he can’t remember the discussions you had with him when he was part of Project Payback, he is still arguing that there isn’t sufficient proof. He is still charged with attempted murder, and it is likely that you will need to provide evidence in court if and when his trial comes.”
Jen flew into a rage, taking both Lisa and Troy by surprise.
“That bastard can’t do that!” Jen screamed, banging her fists on the table.
“He killed my baby, he nearly killed me.”
Jen’s face was overcome with hatred. Troy placed an arm on Jen’s back, an attempt to provide some reassurance and calm.
Lisa nodded sympathetically.
“The CPS are confident that they will get his barrister to make him change to a guilty plea. They have had a few discussions already. The barrister has asked if they will consider a charge of grievous bodily harm in return for a guilty plea.”
“And?” Jen asked, her anger still evident.
“The CPS are still exploring the case. For now, Oliver is remanded in custody, so he will remain behind bars. His application for bail has been rejected due to the violent nature of the acts he has been accused of, and his financial ability to abscond.”
Jen interrupted, “Accused of? Accused of? I’ll show his barrister my scars if he is in any doubt of what that monster is capable of.”
Lisa spoke more gently, “I’m sorry Jen, I’m just talking you through the discussions we’ve had. You and I both know that he’s guilty. The CPS know that he is guilty, and have taken the case. They just need to formulate the evidence and make their decisions as to whether they will allow a plea bargain. It is out of my hands.”
“Do I even get a say?” Jen asked.
“Yes, of course you do.” Lisa replied. “This was one of the reasons that I wanted to speak to you today, to tell you that the CPS will be in contact if, and when they find out if O
liver would be prepared to enter a guilty plea.”
Jen nodded, and Troy spoke.
“This is a good thing, Jen. If he pleads guilty, at least you won’t need to go through the trauma of a trial.”
“But he’ll serve less time,” Jen replied.
“That’s true,” Lisa confirmed. “But he’s still looking at between three to sixteen years. I would say with the child destruction complication, he’s looking at the top end. And they’d reduce that by a third for a guilty plea. So, my guess would be he’s looking at a good ten years inside.”
“Ten years is not enough!” Jen said.
“But it is enough to ruin his life,” Troy added.
They spoke for a while longer, once Jen had calmed down, explaining the different processes of what would happen depending on what the CPS and Oliver’s barrister agreed. When Jen understood everything, Lisa led her and Troy back outside.
“I hope you find the girl,” Jen said, as she walked past the whiteboard.
“You and me both,” Lisa replied.
19
A few days later
Maxine hugged Nadia. She was inconsolable.
Biscuit had come to tell Nadia that Mr S had arrived. He was having a drinks reception with the boss, and they would be back to collect her shortly.
“They can’t make me! They can’t make me!” she sobbed.
“Oh, darling,” Maxine soothed. “They can and they will.”
“I’m a virgin!” Nadia exclaimed.
“You are?” Maxine asked.
Nadia nodded.
“Oh, my love, this is going to be hard.” she said.
She walked over to her bunk and pulled a carrier bag out from under her mattress. She pulled out a bottle of pills. She opened the lid and handed a pill to Nadia.
“I want you to take this when they come to fetch you,” Maxine said with urgency.
“What is it?” Nadia asked. “Will it stop me hurting?”
“It’s Rohypnol,” Maxine replied. “Mateo got it for me in secret. I give it to the younger children. It won’t stop the pain but it will help you to forget.”
No Escape (Sinister Minds Quick Reads Book 2) Page 5