Finding You

by Elizabeth Holland

  “I just need to use you as bait for Sean.” He shrugged his shoulders, refusing to let go of her face.

  “Why don’t we play another game of twenty questions whilst we wait?” she asked him. Laura didn’t think she would get any real answers, but she wanted to play for time - she needed enough time for the drugs to clear from her system so that she could form a plan.

  “I suppose it might pass some time.” Luke conceded and motioned for someone to bring him a chair. Laura breathed a sigh of relief as his hands left her face. She only wished she could erase the memory of his touch.

  “I’ll go first.” Laura was feeling bold. After all, what more could they do to her? She’d been through hell already. “Why did you save me at the hospital? Surely it would have been easier for them to just kidnap me then."

  “Good question.” Luke nodded in admiration as he sat down on his chair and made himself comfortable. He was enjoying having the upper hand and forcing Laura to wait for his answer. “Unfortunately, the idiots that paid you a visit in the hospital were a little heavy-handed. They would have killed you had I not stepped in. As fun as it would have been to watch them slowly kill you, we need you to lure Sean to us.”

  Laura hadn’t expected the answer to be so sinister. Every aspect of this had been plotted, all leading up to this moment.

  “So it wasn’t a coincidence that you met me at the shelter?” Laura was finding it difficult to piece together all the information. How long had Luke been following her, just waiting for the perfect moment to fool her?

  “No, now that was a coincidence. We knew you were in London and so a few of us were deployed to homeless shelters to see if we could find you. Imagine my joy when you stumbled into my shelter. I drugged your dinner, which is why you were so out of it the following day and then you were hit by the bus. It wasn’t luck that led you to my hospital, it was all planned.” The smile on Luke’s face further repulsed Laura. He was ruthless, he had carefully calculated every word and every one of his actions to lure her in.

  “You’re disgusting!” Laura screamed at the top of her lungs, the sound echoed throughout the building.

  “Oh, come on, Laura, you didn’t always think I was disgusting.” Luke wiggled his eyebrows at her and she heard a chorus of cheers from the thugs standing guard. Laura took a deep breath to stop herself from responding. She had to focus on finding a way out of this. As time passed, she knew Sean wasn’t coming for her. If he had known that she was in such danger, he would have been there straight away. She would have to fight for her own life.

  “Luke, can you have a look at my ribs for me, I think there’s swelling there?” Laura steeled herself for his touch. The last thing she wanted was for him to come anywhere near her, but it was necessary for her plan to work. She only hoped that she had read the situation right and that Luke really was the one in charge here. Whilst she had been asking him questions, she had loosened the ropes around her wrists. Her legs were already free. When tying her to the chair, they hadn’t seen the point in tying her legs because of her cast. Once she shed the ropes around her wrists, she would be free.

  Luke towered over her and pulled her top up so that he could see her ribs. She couldn’t think about that though, she had to be quick because she’d only get one chance. As the ropes slid from her arms, she lunged forward for the gun that was attached to Luke’s belt.

  “Help!” he shouted, immediately knowing what she was trying to do.

  Laura’s fingertips touched the cool metal of the gun. The sound of a gunshot resounded throughout the room. Fear filled Laura and time stilled. It was as if she could see the bullet flying through the air, it was coming right at her and there was nothing she could do to avoid it.

  Chapter Twenty

  Sean Scott

  27 October 2019

  The sound of a gunshot ricocheted throughout the living room as a blistering pain radiated down Sean Scott’s side. He fell to his knees from the shock of the pain. Despite his injuries, he couldn’t help but think how annoyed his girlfriend, Laura, would be at him bleeding on their new carpet. With a tremendous amount of courage, he looked down to see where he had been wounded. It looked to be his arm, however there was a lot of blood.

  “Let’s get him in the van." One of the men surrounding him suggested. The others agreed and before Sean knew what was happening, they had pressed a jacket against his wound, so nobody would notice it, before they dragged him towards the door. Sean tried to focus on what was happening, rather than the pain he was in. However, it was proving to be difficult.

  Sean had a man on either side of him, pulling him along. His legs were trying to keep up, but he he was growing weaker from the blood loss. Somehow, the men got him into the lift and downstairs to an awaiting van. Sean knew that if he got into the van, he would be dead by the end of the day. With all the strength he had left in him, he spun around, throwing the men off of him in surprise. He had a fraction of a second to make the right decision. If he took the wrong turn and one of the men caught him, he would be dead. He sprinted to his left, quickly turning the corner as he heard the footsteps of the men close behind him. The pain was making it almost impossible for Sean to see where he was going, but with all the adrenaline of someone running for their life, he pushed on. Suddenly, a car pulled up beside him and Sean breathed a sigh of relief as its occupants pulled him in.

  “They know who you are.” His supervisor commented as the driver sped off. Sean had barely caught his breath when he was thrown back into the seat at the speed the car was going.

  “I noticed.” Sean eventually spat back. It was their fault his cover had been blown.

  “Let’s get you to a doctor before we decide what our next course of action will be.”

  They sat in silence as the car weaved in and out of the traffic. The drive seemed to go on for hours as Sean drifted in and out of consciousness. At long last, they pulled up outside an unsuspecting building. To the untrained eye, it looked like a disused office block. However, Sean knew that within those walls lay a secret warren of top tier police officers and their support staff. As the car came to a stop, two burly looking security guards walked out of the doorway, and checked their identities via fingerprint before allowing them into the building. Two officers, who had been in the car, escorted Sean to the doctor with the promise of a debrief once the doctor was satisfied that he was okay.

  Sean couldn’t recall much of his time in the doctor’s office. The pain was now excruciating, and he was slipping in and out of consciousness. When he eventually came round again, he was lying on the examination table with an IV drip in his hand. The doctor was sitting at his desk waiting for him to wake.

  "Ah, Mr Scott, you’re awake.” He immediately noticed Sean’s small movements, and he made his way over to him.

  “How long have I been out for?” Sean asked, feeling rather groggy as he tried to recall the events that had led to him ending up here.

  “Only an hour or two. You’re lucky, the bullet just missed anything vital. I’ve removed it and patched you up, but you will have to keep redressing the wound and you’ll have a scar.” At the mention of a bullet the events all came flooding back to Sean, he sat up quickly only for the world to start spinning around him.

  “I need to go. Laura will be home from work soon.” He couldn’t risk leaving her on her own. The gang would be looking for her. Who knew what they would do to her? Sean couldn’t even bear to let his mind ponder the possibilities. He had to be with her.

  “Sorry, sir, but I’m under strict instructions not to let you leave my office. They have locked us in.”

  “I’ll break the door down, stand aside.” Sean commanded the doctor, however the doctor refused to move.

  “With all due respect, sir, I cannot move and even if I wanted to, I highly doubt you have the energy to break down a door after everything that has happened to you today.” The doctor’s voice was filled with compassion, but there was a steeliness underneath that Sean knew would be imp
ossible to penetrate. He was imprisoned in this room until one of his superiors came and spoke to him.

  Thankfully, the wait was brief and after a few minutes Sean’s supervisor unlocked the door, strolled in and locked the door behind him. He knew Sean far too well.

  “Sean, it’s good to see you looking better.” The man pulled up a chair next to his bed, whilst the doctor retreated to his desk to pretend he couldn’t hear the conversation that was about to take place.

  “Let me out, please. I have to make sure Laura is okay.” Sean pleaded, he poured all of his emotions into that one sentence. He knew he would only get the one chance to ask and so he had to ensure he made it clear how important it was.

  “Sean, relax, please. There’s an officer stationed at the flat. They will ensure that Laura is okay and once we’ve extracted her from the scene, we’ll place her in protective custody.” Sean mulled over his supervisor’s words. With an officer stationed at the flat, Laura would be okay. They could soon be together, although she would probably lecture him on the danger that he had put them both in. A small smile spread across his lips as he thought of her face, scrunching up in anger as she reprimanded him.

  “What happened?” Sean asked, he knew that one of the other undercover officers had blown his cover. The gang had told him. They knew everything about his undercover operation and about him being the one who stole the drugs.

  “The recruit told them everything. At least, we think so. We recovered his body this morning.”

  Sean lashed out and knocked over a chair. It was their fault that all this had happened. One of their stupid undercover officers had blown his cover. Sean had told his supervisor that the boy was not ready for an undercover operation, but nobody had listened to him. Now, a week after the boy had joined, they had murdered him and he had told the gang everything. Sean was lucky to be alive, and he knew the gang would be after him. He also knew that they wouldn’t think twice about using Laura for leverage - he had to make sure she was safe. Sean took a deep breath to control the anger that was simmering away.

  “What’s happening now?” Sean knew he couldn’t go home, nor could he rejoin the investigation.

  “You’ll also go into protective care. Sean, I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you how much danger you are in. This gang will do whatever they can to silence you, especially since you have extensive knowledge of their operations. Not to mention the stash of drugs that you stole.”

  Sean cringed at the memory of stealing the cocaine. There had been many deaths in the area linked to a bad batch of drugs. The undercover operation had required Sean to take a sample of the drugs so that they could connect the gang to the deaths. That weekend Sean had snuck into the warehouse to steal a sample of the drugs, however he couldn’t bear the thought of any more innocent people losing their lives and so he had loaded all five kilos into the back of a hire car. On Monday morning, when the gang leader, known as H, arrived at the warehouse and discovered that almost four hundred thousand pounds’ worth of drugs were missing, he had been fuming. His supervisor was right, Sean would have a price on his head and anyone who killed him would be commended.

  “Okay. When are we doing this?” Sean knew he didn’t really have a choice in the matter. He just wanted to get to safety so that Laura could join him. They would have to go into hiding until they prosecuted the gang, and then they would most likely have to relocate. It would be okay though, because they would be together.

  “You’ll leave tomorrow. We will report yourself and Laura as missing. We don’t want the gang to know that you’re under police custody.” His supervisor gave him a last nod before leaving. Sean thought about how worried his and Laura’s families would be. He was causing people insurmountable pain because of his job.

  A few minutes later, somebody else came into the room to show Sean to a room for the night. The doctor promised he would be along shortly to check Sean’s wound.

  Chapter Twenty One

  Sean barely slept that night and when he did, nightmares of the gang catching Laura filled his head. He had to keep reminding himself that she was safe. He knew his colleagues were capable. The pain medications were all wearing off and the dull throb in his arm was only making sleep harder. Sean breathed a sigh of relief as day broke outside. The room he was staying in was not much different to a cell and he suspected that if he tried the door, he would find it locked. He was now in protective custody, which meant that he was at their mercy. All these years working for the police force, and this was what it had come to. He knew that after this undercover operation finished, it would be highly unlikely he could continue with his job. Perhaps he could get Laura to teach him how to cook. Although that hadn’t ended too well the last time he had tried. They had made a deal - she would help him learn how to cook, meanwhile he would teach her how to shoot. The shooting lesson had ended in a trip to A&E.

  ◆◆◆

  23rd December 2016,

  “Do I need anything else?” Laura emerged from the bedroom wearing camouflage trousers, t-shirt and hoodie. Sean had to stop himself from laughing at her appearance.

  “Who said that?” he joked, pretending he couldn’t see her standing in front of him. Laura rolled her eyes at his terrible joke and grabbed a coat from the cupboard. It was a drizzly December day, but she was insistent that they did not cancel their lesson.

  Sean had packed one of his air rifles so that Laura could learn to shoot with pellets, before moving onto bullets. He was a little apprehensive about teaching her how to shoot, but he knew it would be beneficial for her to learn how to protect herself. Sean hated that his work meant that he was putting Laura’s safety in jeopardy.

  “You can drive.” Laura threw the car keys at Sean after locking the front door to their flat. Sean caught them with ease and followed Laura to the car. One of their friends owned a farm and had offered one of their fields for Laura’s lesson. Sean had taken the time to ensure that the field was not near any livestock - he wasn’t sure how good Laura’s aim would be. Earlier in the week, Sean had visited the farm and set out some hay bales for target practise.

  The drive to the farm didn’t take them long and after a short walk they arrived at the field that Sean had set-up.

  “You ready?” Sean asked, glancing over at Laura. She was biting her bottom lip, and he had to fight the urge to wrap her in his arms and kiss her. He couldn’t risk thoughts like that distracting him, not when he was about to let Laura loose with an air rifle.

  “Perhaps this is a bad idea.” Laura glanced nervously at the rifle as Sean pulled it from its case. It had been a present to him from his parents when he started working with the police.

  “You’ll be fine! Besides, if anything goes wrong you’re dressed in camouflage so nobody will even know you were here.” Sean did his best to lighten the mood. He enjoyed learning to shoot with his father, and he wanted Laura to enjoy it too.

  “Okay, talk me through it. Then repeat it all over again so you’re sure I understand it.” It wasn’t often that Laura was unsure of herself, but in this instant her confidence had dropped and Sean wanted to do everything in his power to prove to her she could do this. He slowly talked her through how the gun worked and the science behind each element. Once he was sure she understood, he demonstrated aiming and shooting the gun. Laura watched in awe and tried not to be distracted by how attractive Sean looked shooting a gun.

  “It’s your turn to have a go.” Sean held the rifle out for Laura to take. Her hands shook as she took the object into her grasp. He helped her wrap her hands around the gun and position it against her shoulder so that she could align the shot. Sean stood back and held his breath as Laura adjusted her aim for the closest hay bale. She took a deep breath before pulling the trigger. Time stood still as the pellet flew through the air. Neither Sean, nor Laura, could breathe as they waited to see whether she would hit the target. Laura let out a squeal as the pellet hit the hay bale. Sean wrapped his arms around her waist, spinning her around as they
both laughed. He was so proud of her.

  “Try again, just in case that was beginner’s luck.” Sean teased her as he finally pulled his lips away from hers. He had to remind himself again not to become distracted. This time Sean stood next to Laura and watched as she aimed the gun. Before Sean could react, two things happened - a stray sheep wandered into the field, making Laura jump as she pulled the trigger. The gun fell from her hands as it discharged the pellet. It took a few seconds for it to sink in and as it did Sean staggered, falling to the floor. Laura had shot him in the foot.

  “Oh my god, are you okay?” Laura screamed, kneeling down beside him.

  “You just shot me in the foot!” he screamed back, annoyed that she had asked such a stupid question when he was visibly in pain. “Take my shoe off, but be careful.” Laura did as she was told and carefully prised his shoe from his foot. The trainer had a small-pellet-sized-hole at the top of it. Sean berated himself for not wearing proper footwear. He could have avoided this. His sock had a similar hole in it, and blood was soaking the surrounding area.

  “I think it’s just a flesh wound.” Laura commented, inspecting his foot.

  “There’s a first aid kit in the car, let’s bandage it and then you can drive me to A&E.” Laura helped Sean to the car and then went back to get the gun and his discarded sock and shoe. Thankfully, working in a kitchen, Laura had some basic first aid training and so she gave the wound a quick clean and bandaged it.

  Five hours they spent in A&E to be told that it was only a flesh wound. They were discharged with fresh bandages and a warning to be more careful shooting guns.

  ◆◆◆

  After some persuasion, Laura agreed to try again. Thankfully, her aim greatly improved. They sometimes had a date night at the firing range in Manchester, followed by dinner and drinks; always in that order, Sean didn’t want to risk being shot, again. The door to Sean’s room opened with a loud creak, pulling him from his reminiscing. Standing in the doorway was an imposing-looking man and not someone that Sean had met before.