Finding You

by Elizabeth Holland

  “No!” he screamed. It was a natural reaction, although he knew she wouldn’t be able to hear him. The bus hit and Sean watched as Laura’s body crumpled under the weight of the impact. By now, he had spilt his coffee down himself and the boiling liquid was seeping through his jogging bottoms. However, it was the least of his worries. His eyes didn’t leave the screen in front as he lost control of his emotions. His body slumped in the chair and heart-wrenching sobs tore through his body. People crowded around Laura’s lifeless body and Sean held his breath as he waited for an ambulance to arrive. It looked as though there was someone performing first aid on her. The picture was too grainy to see exactly what was happening, but eventually they had Laura on a stretcher and they put her into the back of the ambulance.

  What now? Sean thought to himself. This had happened almost a month ago. How would he know she was okay? Without thinking it through, Sean knew he had to escape this house. He had to look for Laura. Sean knew it would be difficult, but he had to; he couldn’t just leave Laura hurt and in danger. What if something terrible had happened to her? That footage had been a month old. Anything could have happened to her since. Blinded by emotions, Sean told the two officers that he was just popping out to the garden for some fresh air. They grunted in response and turned their attention back to the television. Sean let out a sigh of relief. At least they wouldn’t notice his absence. For months now he had been forming an escape plan in his head. The garden had an alleyway that ran along the back of it, and despite the plain clothed officer’s best attempts, there were not enough of them to be on patrol all the time.

  Silently, Sean tiptoed to the back of the garden, to where the fence was slightly lower, he peeped over to check that none of the officers were currently patrolling. It was clear. Sean said a silent prayer for all of his years of police training that allowed him to bolt, nimbly, over the fence. As his feet hit the ground in the alleyway, he had to make a snap decision whether to go left or right. He chose right. He stealthily made his way to the end of the alleyway and checked to see whether anyone was around. There was an elderly man across the road walking his dog, however, Sean reasoned with himself - it was unlikely that an undercover officer would be that old or have a dog with them. Taking the chance, Sean jogged down the road, thankful that he was wearing jogging bottoms and so could easily pass for someone out for their morning exercise.

  Before he got even halfway down the street, someone reached out and grabbed his shoulder, making him stop. Sean slowly turned to face the person. He didn’t know whether it would be a member of the gang or an officer standing behind him. He wasn’t sure which one he dreaded the most. A sense of relief rushed over Sean as he realised it was a plain clothed officer. He recognised the man who would often walk past the house multiple times a day.

  “Where are you going?” The man’s voice had somewhat of a threatening edge to it.

  “Please, just let me go. Pretend you haven’t seen me." Sean begged, it was his only chance. He had got this far, he couldn’t go back now.

  “I’m afraid I can’t. Come on, let’s go back." The man was surprisingly strong as he ushered Sean back down the road and through the front door to his prison.

  “You’re not keeping a very good watch!” The officer chastised the two men that were supposed to be babysitting Sean.

  “Sean, you know you’re not supposed to go anywhere.” The nicer of the two men stood and gestured for Sean to take a seat.

  “Laura’s been run over.” Sean couldn’t risk keeping her location a secret anymore. He had to hope for the best.

  "You know where Laura is?” The other officer asked. Sean took a deep breath to stop the sob from escaping his body before he sat up straight and told the officers the date and the location of where Laura had been hit by the bus. They promised him they would find out whatever they could. Sean knew the dangers in sharing her location, however, as it had happened a month ago, he hoped she had already recovered and gone somewhere safe. He had to know that she was okay.

  They left Sean sitting in the living room with the officer that had found him on the street. They turned on the television and both stared blindly at it as the other officers made calls in the kitchen. Somehow, Sean sat there and waited for news. He didn’t know how he achieved it, but he was on his best behaviour. His mind was miles away, wondering how Laura was, whether she was in pain or even alive. Sean felt sick as the memory of the bus hitting her replayed over and over in his mind. He hated that he hadn’t been there to protect her. What if she’d died last month and didn’t know?

  “She’s alive.” One of the officers announced as he walked back into the room. He took a seat opposite, before explaining the news to Sean. “We believe she’s going under the name of Claire, she’s the only person that fits Laura’s description that was involved in a road traffic accident on that date.”

  “How certain are you that it’s her?” Sean asked, he couldn’t allow himself to get his hopes up if it was possible that it wasn’t her.

  “Almost certain. There are no other women around her age, with her description, that was involved in an accident in London on that date.” The officer looked frustrated as he repeated what he had just told Sean.

  “Okay, and is she safe?”

  “We have no reason to believe that she isn’t. I’ve tried to be discreet in asking for information. Do you want the police to search the hospital footage and try to track her from there?”

  Sean thought about it for a minute. He had to make the right decision; it was his only opportunity to protect Laura.

  “Okay. Let them track her. What hospital was she taken to? I want to track her, too” Sean was finding it difficult to stay still. He was eager to discover where Laura had been taken to and to start watching the CCTV.

  “Guy’s Hospital.” As soon as the words were out of the officer’s mouth, Sean leapt up and went to locate the CCTV. He would go through the CCTV to find the footage of Laura leaving the hospital to make sure she was okay.

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  Twenty-four hours passed, and Sean still hadn’t found Laura leaving the hospital. He had been combing through the footage, trying to fast forward it now and then to speed up the process. However, he was afraid of missing Laura. There hadn’t been any updates from the London police team. Sean had not slept yet. He’d lost count of how many cups of coffee he had drunk, and eventually he had to admit defeat and go to bed.

  “Sean?” Somebody was shaking Sean awake. He tried to fight the consciousness, but it was no good.

  “What’s happening?” he asked as he tried to gain his bearings. All too soon everything came flooding back to him and he jumped up as one of the officers stood in his room looking concerned.

  “The police in London have contacted us. They’ve told us what date Laura was discharged. Apparently a doctor discharged her, against the general advice of the hospital. They can’t find her leaving the premises.”

  Sean pushed past the officer and ran downstairs to his computer. He sat impatiently tapping away at the keys as the machine switched on. The other officer entered the room and silently handed Sean a cup of coffee. He downed the coffee and waited for the caffeine to enter his system.

  The three men watched the screens, waiting to see Laura emerge from the hospital. She was discharged earlier in the day, however it wasn’t until the nighttime that Sean watched her leave the hospital and get into a taxi with a handsome young doctor. Jealousy coursed through his veins as he watched her with this man. Had she really given up on him so easily? He tried to put the jealousy aside and concentrate on following the taxi through the various CCTV cameras. Eventually, the car pulled up outside some flats and the two of them climbed out of the taxi and went inside the building. Sean couldn’t bear to think what might have happened behind closed doors. Despite everything that he had gone through, his love for Laura had been what had pushed him to keep going. He loved her with all of his heart, and he had wanted to do everything possible to save
her. Yet here she was, ready to move on with the first man she met. Perhaps she had spent the last month with the doctor whilst he sat frantically combing through all the footage.

  Angrily, Sean shut down the computer, ignoring both of the men sitting either side of him, and stalked back up to his bedroom. If Laura didn’t value their relationship enough to fight for him, then why should he waste his time thinking about her? He tossed and turned for a while, but eventually sleep won and he drifted off into a fitful slumber.

  ◆◆◆

  2nd September 2019,

  Sean stared down at the bag of cocaine in his hands. It was yet another parcel ready for him to deliver to a customer. This was the part of the undercover work that Sean hated the most, he was at the frontline, encouraging others to ruin their lives and give their money to these criminals. Today was different though, today Sean was being given an apprentice. He was told that his apprentice was the son of the man at the centre of the operation and he was being sent out to see all aspects of the business. Sean was nervous. It seemed a bit odd for them to give him the apprentice, but he hadn’t asked too many questions. That alone could have given him away.

  Sean was sitting in one of the cars that had been loaned to him by the gang. They were known as ‘pool’ cars and the gang members would share them whilst they undertook gang work - otherwise known as criminal activity. The cars were stolen and false numbers plates were put on them to throw the police off.

  A knock on the passenger window made Sean jump. A man climbed in and turned to face Sean.

  “Nice to meet you, I’m Luke.” He smiled over at Sean and reached his hand out to shake. Sean was taken back, this was not the man he had been expecting to take out as his apprentice. The man was good looking, well spoken, and above all he was wearing doctor’s scrubs.

  “Sorry, I was in a rush to get out of work, do you mind if we stop off somewhere so I can get changed?” Luke had noticed Sean’s quizzical look towards his outfit.

  "That’s fine, we better get going or we’ll be late.”

  Sean could remember that day as clear as anything, as it had been so odd. He chatted to Luke as they did their drops and they got on well. Usually, when Sean was in the car with other members of the gang, he was internally cringing the entire time as they dropped derogatory comments about women and told stories of various violent fights that they had been involved in. However, Luke told Sean about the patients he had been treating and Sean couldn’t help but notice the emotion behind Luke’s stories. He found it hard to believe that Luke could be the son of such a ruthless and violent man. When he voiced this out loud, Luke explained that nobody would suspect a doctor. He had a point.

  Their time together had been short, but when Sean dropped the car back off and said goodbye to Luke, he had meant it when he said he hoped he saw him again.

  ◆◆◆

  With a jerk, Sean woke from the dream that he had been having. He didn’t know what time of the day it was, but from the change in lighting in his room he guessed he had been asleep for quite a while. As he yawned and stretched, the dream came back to him, however it was not a dream, it had been a memory. Not only that, he now knew why the doctor that Laura had gone home with looked so familiar. It had been Luke. A mixture of emotions merged in Sean’s head, making him temporarily paralysed. He didn’t know what to do next. Luke must have charmed Laura somehow. Perhaps he had even suggested he knew where Sean was. Whatever had happened, Sean now knew for sure that Laura wouldn’t have gone with Luke on her own accord and she was in danger.

  Sean changed into a fresh pair of black jogging bottoms and grabbed a hoodie. In the corner of his room, a black bag had been discarded. It had been lying there for months, ever since Paul had dropped off some new clothes for him. Grabbing the bag, Sean stuffed some spare clothes into it and grabbed the bread knife that he kept under his pillow. Whatever happened, he had to save Laura. Nobody would stop him escaping this time.

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  Laura Harper

  12th January 2021

  “The cast can come off now.” The doctor smiled up at her as he glanced down at her x-ray one last time. Laura could barely believe what she was hearing. After weeks of having this stupid cast on her foot, she would now be free. She laid back on the doctor’s examination bed and waited for him to gather the correct tools to remove the cast.

  Silently, she watched as the doctor began the task. She was excited and relieved at the idea of soon being able to walk properly. That also meant she could soon run again. Meanwhile, the man that had accompanied her sat in the chair opposite the doctor’s desk, quietly taking in the room around him. His name was Greg, and Laura owed her life to him.

  As Laura laid on the bed, allowing the doctor to cut through the cast, her mind wandered back to her last day in the warehouse and the day she met Greg.

  ◆◆◆

  December 2020,

  Time stilled as Laura realised she was about to die. Her eyes caught Luke’s, and she saw they were filled with fear. Before Laura could say or do anything, a huge weight crashed into her, knocking her sideways and out of the way of the bullet. Someone was lying on top of her, shielding her from the violence. Laura tried to look up, but she regretted it immediately. She saw the moment a bullet hit Luke, his eyes went wide and blank, and he fell to the floor. Laura had to stop herself from screaming out. He was the whole reason she was there, she couldn’t waste time feeling upset about him.

  It seemed like Laura was on the ground for hours, the weight of the man on top of her was making it difficult to breathe.

  “Stay calm, it’s almost over." The man whispered in her ear as he tried to reposition himself so that his weight wasn’t on her, but so he was still shielding her body. The man was dressed in the gang’s uniform, which only confused Laura more. Thoughts were whirling around Laura’s head as she tried to figure out what was going on. Why had this man saved her and stood by whilst Luke was killed? It made little sense.

  Gun shots fired around her and the fear almost consumed Laura. She didn’t know how she would ever make it out of here alive. As an image of Sean entered her mind, she wondered what he was doing right now. Had he come to save her? Hope filled her. She grabbed onto it and refused to let it go. She would get out of this alive and she would be reunited with Sean. He had come to save her.

  Laura tightly closed her eyes, trying to ignore what was going on around her. The mystery man shielded Laura from the fight above them. She tried not to think about what was going on around her. However, the loud thump that echoed throughout the room every time a body fell to the ground was a stark reminder. She was in danger.

  “Safe!" Someone shouted from above and Laura felt the weight of the man disappear. Before she could ask any questions, he picked her up from the ground and began to walk, whilst still carrying her.

  “What are you doing?” she gasped out as her eyes surveyed the surrounding room. There were people lying on the ground, either dead or dying.

  “Laura, we have to get you out of here and then we can discuss what’s going on.” His voice was reassuring and Laura gave up trying to fight. She didn’t know who to trust anymore. She watched in disbelief as he peeled off his facial hair. The men surrounding her did the same. They had all been in disguise, completely blending in with the other gang members.

  “Greg?” The weak voice of Luke called out. Laura turned to see Luke lying on the ground. His face was ashen and there was blood pooling around his torso. He was staring at the man who was holding onto Laura.

  “You made your choice. Mum would be heartbroken.” The mystery man carrying Laura spat back.

  “Don’t say that.” Luke was visibly growing weaker, and his face was contorted in pain. Greg ignored his reply and walked out of the warehouse with Laura still in his arms.

  Once they were outside, he set Laura down on her feet next to a plain white mini van. Laura blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the lighting. She didn’t know how long she’d
been trapped inside for. She didn’t even know what the date was, she only hoped it was still December.

  "What’s going on?” Laura asked. She found that shielding her eyes helped her to see. Beside the mini van, were five men, three of whom were in the gang’s uniform, whilst the other two were wearing jeans and a bullet-proof vest. Were they part of the gang? Part of another gang? Or perhaps they were with Sean?

  “Get in the van and we’ll tell you everything.” One of the men opened the van door and gestured for her to get inside. Laura was reluctant to go anywhere with these men. What if she got herself into even more danger?

  “Laura, my name’s Greg. I promise you, we’re here to help you. We have to be quick in case they called for help. More gang members might be on their way.” Greg was the man who had been protecting Laura from the gunshots. With a sigh, Laura climbed into the van. It was her only option right now. This man had just saved her from the gang, and so she hoped she was right in putting her trust in him. She didn’t want to make the same mistake twice.

  As soon as everyone was in and the door was shut, the van sped off. Greg sat next to Laura and she turned to face him. She couldn’t wipe the memory of Luke on the floor of the warehouse, slowing bleeding to death.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, whilst trying to brace herself against the side of the van as it swung around bends.

  “We’ve been working undercover, just like Sean, although he didn’t know about us. I’m sorry we couldn’t get you away from Luke sooner, but we had to wait for the right moment.” Greg paused for a moment to allow Laura to consider what he had just said. All these men sat around her were undercover officers. But if Sean didn’t know about them, then how could he be behind this?

  “Where’s Sean?" Laura asked, her voice was shaking as she realised he hadn’t saved her. She had been longing to see him and to run into his arms.