The Robert Finlay Trilogy

by Matt Johnson

‘She’s too scared to keep these two covered.’

  Danny crept back to where I was crouched next to Angie. ‘OK … let’s give her a little help then.’ He prised the ASP from my grip, leaned over the guard showing signs of coming round and then brought it down hard on the man’s exposed thigh muscle. I cringed as his unfortunate victim cried out in pain.

  ‘Move and we’ll be back,’ Danny screamed in the man’s ear as he handed the baton back to me.

  Seconds later, another grenade flew away from his grip and through the door. This one was smoke. As the corridor filled, we waited two, three, four seconds. A second grenade followed. Another flash-bang. Two explosions – same as before.

  Danny moved fast as the grenade took out the lightbulb and plunged us into darkness. He was through the door and into the cover of some nearby crates before I knew it.

  ‘Clear,’ he called.

  We moved on. Danny progressed so quickly that I struggled to keep pace with him. Smoke – flash-bang – room entry – clearance.

  The smoke slowed us down but it was something we’d agreed on to minimise the risk of needing to go loud – to engage in a fire-fight. Every time we found a new area, Danny would enter first, scan for danger and then call me in behind him to apply the plasticuffs as he located and disabled the guards. He was a top-level operator, swift and efficient. We were a pretty decent team.

  The three remaining guards were overpowered very quickly and, to my relief, with no gunfire.

  Just as Kevin had predicted, the noise of grenades was heard outside. There was an almost comical moment when, as Danny and I searched for the final man, he made a break for freedom up some wooden steps. Reaching the top, with little thought other than escape, he ran straight into the solid frame of Tom Cochrane. The Quartermaster barely flinched as the guard bounced backwards, his nose having smashed itself very forcefully into a heavily tattooed forearm.

  The doors in the hospital basement proved easy to open: no keys, just bolts that slid across to make them secure. It was Kevin who first found Lynn. As I reached her cell, she was standing naked with her arms wrapped tight around his neck. The cell was soaked, suggesting that she had recently been hosed down.

  I stood in the doorway as Lynn glanced in my direction. There was no sign of recognition in her eyes. I felt a surge of anger. The woman before me looked nothing like the young WPC I had seen demonstrate such bravery and skill when facing an armed gunman. Skin bruised and filthy, her eyes scared me. They looked vacant and lost, the brain behind them spaced-out on the drugs the traffickers had been feeding her. Behind, in the dim light, I noticed a tiny cot. There was no bedding, save for a soiled, tatty blanket, and no sign of her personal clothing.

  And there was no sign of Nina. I had prepared what I was going to say to her and had even mulled over the idea of locking her in a cell with Lynn so they could have a little chat. As we were releasing the girls from their cells, Kevin told me that Nina’s car was also missing. She’d slipped out before we arrived.

  It mattered little. First chance I got, I would be exposing Nina Brasov to the unpleasant reality of arrest and life in a cell.

  Chapter 99

  We’d done it.

  The traffickers were face-down on the ground, wrists and ankles cuffed, near the front entrance to the old hospital. Danny and Tom Cochrane had taken them outside first, to make sure they were out of the way before we led the girls up the steps and away from their cells.

  We counted thirty-four slaves, including Lynn. They were all scared and weak from hunger. As we’d encouraged them outside, they had all moved hesitantly, seemingly afraid this rescue was some kind of trick. Kevin got the generator working, and the light made moving around easier, but it also illuminated the scale of what we had uncovered. It was a factory dedicated to the production of pornography. Two cells had been set up as recording studios, with expensive looking cameras and lighting equipment, and a third as a dressing room. In a room upstairs we found computers to transfer recordings onto DVD, and, in an alcove near the stairs, piles of cardboard boxes containing DVDs ready for dispatch to whatever market they were destined for.

  Kevin had found some blankets and organised the slave girls into a huddle to try and keep them warm.

  The two SAS lads were standing away from us, in the darkness, so they could observe everyone without being seen themselves. I’d noticed that both of them were surprisingly subdued as we’d secured the male prisoners and then mustered the women into the open air. As Kevin joined me while we waited for Wendy, I asked him what was up.

  ‘The porn stuff,’ he said. ‘At the stag do before the wedding, there were a few porn films shown. What we’ve just seen makes you realise … well, let’s just say we always assume the women are willing and are well paid for what they do. We never thought they might be forced to do it.’

  ‘Easy mistake, Kev.’

  ‘Kind of makes you wonder, though, doesn’t it?’ He paused. ‘Any news on the documents?’

  ‘Sorry, mate. The translator went through them. It was interesting stuff but old hat … and it certainly wasn’t a treasure map.’

  ‘No extra pension then?’

  ‘Not this week, old son.’

  He shrugged. ‘There are a lot stories going around that the Increment team found something valuable out in Afghan, though.’

  ‘Something that got a few of them killed, you mean?’

  ‘You said that, not me.’

  ‘Well, if they did, that document wasn’t it … and maybe for us it’s just as well. It was a Jihadist Manual and, apparently, MI5 have known about it for years. Toni Fellowes rang me only yesterday to confirm that Monaghan was definitely behind the murders. I say we leave it at that.’

  I left Kevin to check over the prisoners. He now looked fully sober, any lasting effect from the wedding party having passed. I found Wendy and asked her to bring the Land Rover closer to the hospital building so we could use the lights to help watch the prisoners. She had made contact with her force HQ as soon as Cochrane radioed to report the flash-bang explosions and say that he and Kevin were going in. She wasn’t best pleased we’d gone in early – until I explained to her what had actually happened underground.

  ‘But there’s some unexpected news,’ she said, her anger dissipated. ‘An SO19 Armed Response Team from the Met is only fifteen minutes away.’

  I was both reassured and surprised. I guessed Toni had managed to call them in after all.

  Moving on to the prisoners, I checked they were secure and, by the time I returned, I found Kevin had carried Lynn from the building and lifted her onto the Land Rover passenger seat. Wendy had given her a clean blanket and a jacket but, even with the car heater at full blast, they were struggling to get warmth back into her shivering frame.

  She could talk though, and, between tears and bouts of uncontrolled shaking, she told us what had happened. The screaming Angie heard had been Lynn desperately fighting off two traffickers. I guessed it was the same two that Danny had taken out with the Wallbanger. Temporarily distracted by their anger, the two men had broken off their attempt to rape Lynn in order to silence Angie.

  I left Kevin next to the Land Rover talking to Lynn and Wendy. I needed a few moments alone. We had been just in time, and I wondered what might have happened had my old friend not put her foot down and taken charge.

  The familiar beating-rotor sound of approaching helicopters brought my thoughts back to the here and now. As I sat down on the grass near to the slave girls, Wendy turned on the Land Rover blue lights to let the approaching cops know we were friendlies. They made a fast approach, the powerful helicopter landing lights flickering across us as the pilots searched for a safe place to set down.

  There were two aircraft, the first of them landing on the grass not fifty yards from where I was sitting. Immediately after touching down, I saw a side door slide open and dark figures jumping to the ground. They adopted a crouched style, small carbines pointed forwards as they advanced. I lay back
and made sure the Diemaco wasn’t easily seen. I didn’t want to get shot accidentally.

  To the rear of the approaching firearms officers I saw a familiar figure, tall and slender. In the harsh light from the Landie, I thought at first that I was mistaken. Then I realised, I was staring at someone I hadn’t anticipated seeing quite so soon.

  Nina Brasov.

  Chapter 100

  As Nina walked towards the Land Rover, I leaned up on my elbow and watched her.

  I was the last person Nina was expecting to see, and, as I was still wearing the CRW kit, she walked right past without giving me as much as a glance. She seemed confident. Either I’d missed something or she was acting out an incredible bluff.

  As I turned to face the glare from the car headlights I could see she was talking to Kevin and Wendy. The apparent friendliness of the conversation confused me. Then it occurred to me they might not realise who Nina was. Wendy turned towards me and pointed. Nina looked over, surprise on her face. The expression turned to one of confusion as she appeared to recognise me. She walked across.

  ‘What the hell are you doing here, Finlay?’ There was anger in her voice as she looked me up and down. ‘And what’s that gear you’re wearing?’

  ‘I might ask the same question,’ I replied.

  ‘I asked first.’

  ‘And I’m the one asking the questions,’ I said firmly. ‘I don’t know what exactly you’re up to Sergeant and it won’t be for me to work out. Nobody likes a bent cop…’

  ‘What the fuck are you on about, Finlay?’

  ‘You, Nina. We saw you.’

  ‘How long have you been here?’

  ‘We found the place early yesterday evening.’

  ‘You’ve been here since yesterday? … I see.’

  She crouched down and leaned in close to me. As she started to speak, she kept her voice low, but the menace was crystal clear. She was livid and it looked like I was the cause.

  ‘I think you’d better listen to me, Finlay … I’ve put up with a lot from you recently. Now, I don’t quite understand what you’re doing here or how you found this place, but you are not getting away with calling me bent. You owe me in more ways than you might imagine.’

  ‘Really, how’s that?’ I asked.

  ‘You remember in Hampstead, when that gunman had you cold?’

  ‘Hardly likely to forget it.’

  ‘His name is Marius—’

  ‘I know who he is,’ I blurted.

  ‘…If you’d let me finish, Marius recognised you from Romania. At that moment he figured you were a police spy. I’m sure you can imagine what Romanian gangsters do to spies. The only reason he didn’t shoot right then was because he also recognised me. That saved your life.’

  ‘I already knew he’d recognised me,’ I replied. ‘I told you that at the time. You’re saying he knew you as well?’

  ‘That’s right. How do you imagine I know so much about the Cristeas? I’ve been undercover for months. While you were swanning around, guarding the Royals and playing happy families, people like me were doing the dirty work. Marius didn’t know what to think when he saw me with you, but when I shook my head, he knew enough not to kill you.’

  ‘I suppose I should thank you?’

  ‘You don’t owe me anything. Did Youldon tell you I was only going to be on the trafficking squad for a short while?’

  I remembered the conversation that I had with our Superintendent on my first day at Scotland Yard. ‘Yes, he said you were off to the National Crime Squad, I think.’

  ‘Exactly, NCS is my real job. We’ve been working on the slave-trafficking ring; I’ve been our way into them.’

  ‘While working with us as well?’

  ‘Our little squad was only created to gain the Cristeas’ confidence. It was Grahamslaw’s idea. The Cristeas wanted to be sure I was useful. They were made to think I was a disillusioned cop who could be paid to keep them one step ahead of the police. Having me on a temporary posting to a new trafficking squad was perfect. They thought I applied for the job to help them.’

  ‘You said, “for months”?’ I probed. ‘I thought the squad only started a few weeks ago?’

  ‘Do you have any idea how long it takes to place someone in a crime syndicate like the Cristeas?’

  ‘I guess not.’

  I took a moment to absorb what Nina had said. When I had first spotted her car, the idea of her being corrupt seemed to answer a lot of questions. It explained how the traffickers had found Relia and how they had managed to abduct Lynn Wainwright. It also meant that the removal of the footprint from the door to Relia’s flat was probably an accident after all. ‘How did you get inside their organisation?’ I asked.

  Nina’s quiet laugh sounded cynical. ‘Internet dating, would you believe? We set up a fake profile and one of their men took the bait. They constantly trawl for vulnerable girls and they thought I was an even better catch.’

  I looked back to where the slave girls were now being led by uniformed officers along the entrance drive to waiting personnel carriers. ‘So, we’ve messed things up for you somewhat? I guess I owe you another apology.’

  Nina shrugged. Her temper had waned, her voice now less threatening. ‘The operation was over as soon as they snatched Lynn. I couldn’t let her suffer the same fate as Relia. Once I’d located her, I just needed to find the right moment to call in help.’

  ‘So, what happened with Relia? I figured you’d given her up to them.’

  ‘Do you remember, when we got back to the office, I was called in to see Youldon? He’d worked it out. The Cristeas had to have had me followed and I led them to Relia. It was my fault.’

  ‘And what about Lynn? Did you accidentally lead them to her as well?’ I could see Nina bite her tongue. I’d struck a nerve.

  ‘I don’t know. I didn’t … like I said, as soon as they snatched Lynn, she became my priority. I came down here with one of their goons to see if this was where they were hiding her. When we got here, one of the slave girls escaped…’

  ‘I know. It’s thanks to her that I found this place.’

  ‘Well, her escape caused a panic. They got word she was talking to the local police. They were about to pull out.’

  ‘So why didn’t you call for help as soon as you knew Lynn was here?’

  ‘You think you were the only one making plans, Finlay? How did you think SO19 got here so quickly? They’ve been on standby at a local RAF base, waiting for my call. I volunteered to get the guards some takeaway food to give me a chance to signal them. The plan was to do an armed stop on the minibuses as the men transported the girls away from the factory.’

  ‘Safer than a raid on the factory?’

  ‘Exactly. We’d have had them in the open and it might have given me a chance to escape without blowing my cover.’

  ‘They’d have guessed it was you had tipped off the police.’

  ‘Maybe … or maybe we’d have made them think the escaped girl had led us to them.’

  ‘So, what changed things?’

  ‘I was trying to delay things because we wanted the leader – the one called Petre – and we wanted Marius, of course. They were due back here to organise the departure. Last night, while I was getting the final meal, Petre called me. He’d been trying to get through to the others but he couldn’t get a connection. He rang me and gave me some orders for the rest of the men. He dictated it in Romanian thinking I wouldn’t understand what he was ordering them to do. Either he forgot or he didn’t know that my father is Romanian. I could understand it. I knew then they were going to kill most of the slave girls and finish off Lynn as soon as he arrived.’

  I thought back. The phone call outside the chip shop. ‘Is that when you called for help?’ I asked.

  ‘Just after that, yes.’

  ‘Any idea where Petre might be now?’

  ‘He was definitely on his way back here when he rang me. Marius should have been with him. Where did you park that Land Rover?’r />
  ‘Outside the main gate – to stop any escape.’

  ‘They probably saw it as they were arriving. Just lucky that mobile phones don’t work here, otherwise they would have tipped off the people inside. Now, I guess they will have gone to ground or be heading back to Romania. I don’t understand why you didn’t call SO19 for help?’

  ‘We were planning to, but, as it looked like you were on their side, we opted to call in the local lads. The Superintendent over there, she was supposed to call them after we’d made sure the traffickers couldn’t escape. The timing of things got complicated when we found that some local cops had been using the girls’ services. In any event, you’d have been too late. We were underground when we heard they had started attacking Lynn.’

  ‘Underground?’

  ‘We found some tunnels that led from a local mine to the outside of the cell walls.’

  ‘Who’s “we”?’

  ‘See those lads over there?’ I pointed to where Danny and Cochrane were standing. ‘Those two lads are from 22 Regiment. They brought a thing called a Wallbanger. It blew out the wall and took some of the bad guys with it.’

  ‘So the SAS helped you?’

  ‘Yes … unofficially.’

  ‘Anyone killed?’ Nina asked.

  ‘Not a single person, just a few cuts and bruises. In fact, we didn’t fire a shot. Can you ask the SO19 boys to give them a hand to bring the Wallbanger up from the basement?’

  ‘No worries, but how did you manage to get the SAS involved?’

  I sighed. ‘It’s complicated, they really shouldn’t be here. They’re off-books, doing me a favour. When I saw your car I didn’t know who to trust so I went to the only people I could.’

  ‘Well, it’s lucky you did’ she said, the harsh tone fading from her voice. ‘It looks like I wouldn’t have got SO19 here in time. You saved Lynn … you saved them all.’

  ‘Just lucky, Nina. Right place, right time.’

  ‘What about you? How are we going to explain you sitting here with a bloody machine gun resting in your arms?’