“She got away.” Sean breathed a sigh of relief and his body relaxed into the chair he was sitting on. He hadn’t realised just how tense he had been as he forced his jaw to unclench.
“I wonder where she went." Paul was thinking out loud with his comment so Sean didn’t bother to reply - he was busy thinking the same.
Although he now knew that she had escaped, he had no leads on where to find her. He would have to comb through every inch of CCTV and that could take years.
Chapter Twenty Five
Sean quickly fell into a routine. He was either sleeping or looking for Laura on the CCTV. Even during meal times he would eat at the desk watching the screens, not worrying about whether he dropped food down himself. He would only go to bed when his eyes stung so much that he knew his chances of missing her were high. Paul and Carl offered to go through footage whilst he slept but Sean declined, he was terrified they might miss something. Instead, they took turns sitting next to him and helping him comb through the footage. Sean suspected they were also staying close by in case he escaped. They had already taken a risk by letting him out of the bedroom. Both men seemed nice, they each had families at home and were eager for the operation to be over so they could return to their loved ones. Each day, Sean felt a sense of guilt that he was keeping them from their families, however he took comfort in the fact that at least they knew their families were safe.
With each day that passed, Sean grew more and more desperate to find Laura. He couldn’t understand how she had avoided the police for so long. They had access to the same CCTV as Sean did, and yet neither of them had located her. It was the twenty fourth of June when Sean located her boarding a train at Manchester station. Glancing at the date, Sean realised Laura had got on this train only a day or two after she had fled from the gang. He was paralysed with fear as he realised that by now she could be anywhere in the world. If the police couldn’t locate her in Manchester, how would they find her now?
“Anything?” Carl asked as he approached the desk. He could see by the look on Sean’s face that something had happened.
“I’ve found her getting on a train, two days after she escaped the gang.” The screen was frozen on her image. She had been dressed in black with a hoody pulled up to hide her face. If it hadn’t been for a slight glance back as she boarded the train, he never would have known it was her.
“Let’s find where the train was going.” Carl suggested as he sat down next to Sean and tapped away at the screen. It only took them a few minutes to discover that Laura had boarded a direct train to London Euston.
"She’s in London.” Sean whispered, staring incredulously up at Laura’s image. His sweet natured girlfriend had been forced to run all the way to London in search of safety.
“Unless, she’s moved on.” Carl was right, it was possible that Laura may have only gone to London to confuse anyone following her. Sean’s thoughts had wandered back to the time he took her away to London as a surprise. Their time together had been magical.
“Should I phone this in and tell them?” Carl asked just as Paul entered the room to see what all the talking was about.
“Phone what in?” Paul asked, pulling up the spare seat.
“Sean’s found Laura boarding a train to London.” Carl explained, his hand hovering above his phone, waiting to dial the number.
“Hold on, let’s talk this through for a moment." Paul said, moving Carl’s phone, so it was out of reach. Sean was shocked by Paul’s movement and turned to face him, waiting to see what he had to say for himself.
“We know that there are some rogue officers, right? If we feedback Laura’s location, then we don’t know who is going to be privy to that information.” Paul’s eyes were wide as he explained the logic behind his suggestion. Sean was stunned as he considered what Paul had said. It hadn’t even crossed his mind that feeding back Laura’s location could put her in more danger. He was so focused on finding her that nothing else had mattered.
“You’re right. We can’t tell anyone, we have to track her down ourselves.” Sean agreed, running his hand through his hair. He was stressed and tired, but he would not give up for anything. He loved Laura with all of his heart, and he had to know she was okay. If she wasn’t, then there was nothing left for him to fight for.
"Okay. We don’t tell anyone. Somehow we need to get permission to view London CCTV. We know what train she was on and so we should be able to see her get off the train and track her movements from there." Carl was quick to piece together a plan for their next steps.
“I’m an undercover officer so it shouldn’t take much for me to get permission to view the CCTV and it should be untraceable. My supervisor can approve it. It’s the least he can do after leaving me locked up with no knowledge of the danger Laura has been in.” Finally, Sean was seeing some perks to his undercover work.
After completing the forms, Sean had to wait to hear back and so for the first time in a long while he took a break. Carl grabbed a few bottles of beer from the fridge and the three men sat down in front of the television. As Sean watched the screen in front of him, he suddenly realised that it was Laura’s birthday tomorrow. She always made a big point of how it was exactly six months from Christmas Day. As Sean sat sipping his beer, his mind wandered back to his last Christmas with Laura.
◆◆◆
24th December 2018,
Christmas carols filled Sean’s ears as he sat on the sofa watching Laura wrap the last-minute presents they had bought. It had been the usual frenzied trip into town when Laura remembered she had forgotten a present for someone. This year it had been her brother. They had walked hand in hand through the crowds of people to find the perfect present. Once the present had been found - an almost impossible to find PlayStation game - they treated themselves to hot chocolates and mince pies from one of their favourite independent cafes. As they sat and watched, the people pass them by, laden down with carrier bags, Sean couldn’t help but dream of next Christmas. He had plans to make it their best Christmas yet.
“Could you grab me the other roll of tape?” Laura asked, pulling him from his daydreams. Sean smiled back at her and jumped up to go in search of the tape. His mind kept wandering to the little envelope that was under the tree - his present to Laura.
Excitement filled him as he thought about her reaction when she opened the envelope. He was going to give it to her tonight, in private, rather than waiting for Christmas Day when they would be surrounded by family and friends.
Laura finished wrapping the presents and put them under the tree, where the lights were twinkling, casting a magical glow across the room.
“Hot chocolate?” She smiled up at Sean, already knowing his answer. Together, they made their way into the kitchen and made two gigantic hot chocolates covered in cream, marshmallows, a chocolate flake, and a dash of Irish Cream.
Once sat back in the living room, Sean watched as Laura took a sip from her drink, leaving behind a cream moustache. He laughed and took a picture of her before she could wipe it away.
"That’s next year’s Christmas cards sorted,” he joked as he stared lovingly down at the picture. Laura rolled her eyes and tried not to laugh.
“I don’t know how we’re going to get all these presents round to my parents tomorrow.” She sighed, staring at the mountain of gifts under the tree. They were having Christmas at the Harper’s this year, and Sean’s family would join them.
"I know, why don’t I give you your present now? One less present to carry tomorrow.” Sean’s chest puffed out. He was rather proud of himself for smoothly suggesting she open her gift tonight.
“Are you sure?” she asked, he could see the excitement in her eyes as she turned to look at the presents, wondering which one was hers. Sean couldn’t help but laugh to himself. She was going to get a shock when she saw how small the present was.
Sean walked over to the tree and picked up the envelope. It was gold, and he had simply written ‘Laura’ on the front. He saw the look of
confusion cross her face briefly before she plastered on a fake look of excitement. Sean knew what she had been hoping for, she’d dragged him past enough jewellers over the past two months to have got the hint. However, he was playing the long game.
He handed her the envelope and watched as she undid it and read the piece of paper that he had carefully handwritten and placed inside. He had spent so long trying to find the perfect words that they were forever etched into his brain.
Dear Laura,
Merry Christmas. Or should I say Merry Christmas Eve?
I racked my brains about what to get you this year; I know over the years some presents have gone down better than others. I definitely misjudged the situation the year I bought you a new ironing board. I’ve learned my lesson and this year I wanted to get you something really special. This year I’m giving you next Christmas.
Christmas 2019 will be spent curled up in front of a roaring fire, sipping hot chocolate at an Austrian ski lodge. I have booked everything for our dream holiday and I cannot wait to spend it with you.
I love you,
Sean
A range of emotions flashed across Laura’s face from excitement, happiness, to pure joy. A smile took over her face. She put the letter down and flung her arms around Sean’s neck, thanking him over and over.
“Are you happy with your gift?” he asked her once she had finally let go of him and sat back down.
“Sean, it’s perfect. I know we’ve talked about doing this for years, but just never got round to booking it. I can’t wait."
Sean smiled to himself. He was proud of getting Christmas right this year. It also meant that he had a year to find the perfect ring and make next Christmas unbeatable.
◆◆◆
“Do you want another beer?” Paul’s gruff voice pulled Sean from his memories. He let out a long sigh and nodded to Paul. Christmas 2019 had been all planned out, however, instead of curling up in front of a roaring fire he had passed the day in a cold cell on his own. How a year could change your life.
Chapter Twenty Six
Sean spent Laura’s birthday sat in front of the television with Paul and Carl, watching rubbish films. Frustration filled Sean as he wiled away the hours, waiting for his authorisation to access the CCTV from London. That evening, Sean sat in front of the computer re-watching all the CCTV footage of Laura that he had found so far. He watched her run from the car. Despite knowing that she had escaped, he still felt her fear. All he wanted was to hold her in his arms again and to shelter her from the world. His job was to protect people and yet he couldn’t protect those closest to him.
“Do you want another beer?” Paul asked, walking past Sean on his way to the kitchen.
“Yes, please.” Sean replied before draining the dregs of the bottle in his hand. Tomorrow the drinking would stop so that his mind was coherent and he could concentrate on helping Laura. For now, he just had to get through each hour.
Paul handed Sean his beer and took the seat next to him. They both sat in silence for a few minutes, staring at the screen as they watched Laura run on repeat.
“Sean, I know your undercover operation was top secret, but what happened?” Paul’s voice was timid, he knew it was a question that he shouldn’t be asking. Sean thought for a moment. He shouldn’t tell anyone what happened, however he had little left to lose and Paul had given up so much to protect him.
“I was given an undercover project. So secret that nobody at my station was aware of it. I knew it would be dangerous, but I enjoyed that aspect of my job and I know that if I can do my job well, then I’ll be making a huge difference. The brief was to infiltrate one of the biggest drug operations in the north.” Sean took a pause for breath as he remembered the day he walked into the office to accept the role. He had been full of enthusiasm and assured the head of the operation that he was the right man for the job.
“I was warned how dangerous it would be and told that nobody could know what I was up to. We don’t know how many, but there are a lot of corrupt police officers in on the operation. I was also aware that I wasn’t the only undercover officer. One of the existing undercover officers, Sam, introduced me to the gang and told them I wanted in. From there it was all about trying to gain their trust." Sean’s voice broke off as he remembered back to the early days of joining the gang. The first two weeks he stayed at a hotel to protect Laura, in case they discovered his true identity. He didn’t want anything leading back to her. In order to gain their trust, he had to do a lot of things he wasn’t comfortable with. Sean had taken drugs, travelled with others to deliver drugs, and he had even sat back and watched as the gang plied young girls with drugs until they were comatose. It had been awful to have to stand in silence and watch as the events unfolded before him.
“What happened?” Paul questioned as he saw the dark look that crossed Sean’s face.
“It was horrible.” Sean sighed and tried to piece together the events in his head so that he could coherently retell the story. “Eventually, they accepted me into the gang, however, with acceptance came responsibility. I was running drugs for them, forced to take drugs, and worst of all I was encouraged to sell drugs to vulnerable people. I’ll never forgive myself for that, I overstepped the mark, but I was so intent on being accepted into their group.”
“What went wrong?” Paul could tell Sean was finding it difficult to retell the story, and so he tried to encourage him to move on to the most important part.
"I stole cocaine from them.” The room was filled with a tense silence as the words sunk in.
“You stole drugs from the most dangerous gang in the north?” Paul asked. His eyes were wide with terror.
“There’s more to it. I was given drugs to sell. There was a bad batch and people were dying. I had to take a sample so that we could link the gang to the deaths. However, once I was in the warehouse and faced with the cocaine, I couldn’t just walk away. I took it all. How could I leave it there and allow others to die?” Sean took a long swig of his beer as he waited for Paul to digest what he had just told him. “After they lost the drugs, they suspected many of us were responsible. Steps were taken to protect my identity. I lost my job at my station and was wiped from the system in case any of the corrupt officers tried to find information on me. The police did everything they could to protect my true identity, however it wasn’t enough. A few weeks later they discovered who I was. Another undercover officer revealed my identity. Those two that kidnapped Laura were the ones that came to the flat. I had a rare morning off and was planning on meeting a few members of the gang for a beer that evening and so when the doorbell went I didn’t think much of it. I went to answer it, but there was no answer. The next thing I knew someone had picked the lock to my front door and two men were standing in my living room with guns.” Sean was overcome by emotion as he recalled those terrible events as the men stood in his flat, accusing him of being an undercover officer. He had tried to deny it, but he knew that it was too late. When they shot him, he knew his only chance was to run, otherwise he would end up dead.
“You’ve been through a lot.” Paul commented as he let out a long breath. His face gave away the fear that he was now feeling after hearing Sean’s story.
“It’s still not over.” Sean sighed, downing the rest of his beer in an attempt to numb the emotions that he had just stirred up.
The two of them sat in silence until Paul excused himself and went to bed. Meanwhile, Sean stared at the screen in front of him. He had it paused on a frame of Laura where he could almost see her face. He longed to see her again, to hold her, to watch her eyes sparkle as he teased her, but most of all he just wanted to know that she was okay.
Chapter Twenty Seven
A few days later, Sean got the good news that he had been waiting for, he could access the London CCTV. With a large cup of coffee in his hand, he began by locating the footage from the day Laura travelled to London. He watched as she climbed off the train at London Euston. Her eyes were darting in
all directions and she was quick on her feet. Sean could only imagine what was going through her head in that moment. Over the next few days, Sean continued to frantically capture glimpses of Laura on the grainy CCTV. It was torture watching her dart from one area to another; she was searching for safety. Some nights, Sean had begged Paul and Carl to turn a blind eye so he could escape, however they refused and reminded him that even if he tried, the plain clothed officers outside would stop him. He was trapped and all he could do was sit back and watch as Laura struggled through each day.
Sean tried to skip through as much footage as possible - searching for clues as to where she was. He eventually found her again, sleeping on the streets. She begged for food and slept in doorways. Sean was on the verge of losing his sanity as his heart broke each day. The only thing that kept him going was that he was sure one day they would be together again and life would return to some form of normality. Summer passed in a blur and Paul and Carl were relieved by two other officers, neither of whom spoke to Sean. That was okay though, Sean didn’t much feel like talking to them, all he ever wanted to do was watch Laura.
From what Sean could see, her behaviour was becoming increasingly erratic, and Sean was becoming progressively worried about her. One particularly dreary morning, he was sitting watching her, coffee in hand. She looked distracted as she walked against the flow of morning commuters. Her face was withdrawn and despite not being able to see her eyes, he knew they no longer held that mischievous sparkle that he loved so dearly. It happened in slow motion, Sean brought his cup of coffee up to his mouth just as Laura stepped out into the road.
Finding You Page 12