I was mystified. There had been no signs of any children, so they clearly weren’t staying for that reason. I was roused from my thoughts by Paul hissing at me to get my attention.
He’d been on main watching duty while I was scanning the perimeter. I turned my binoculars in the direction he was looking.
Two of the women had left the buildings and were heading straight towards us. They seemed in no particular hurry, and from time to time they would stop to look at a book one of them was carrying, or to uproot a plant or pick leaves from it, placing it carefully in a basket.
Paul spoke softly, “They’re foraging for food. Sod’s law they’ll walk right into us. Give Harry a kick; we’ll all need to be awake for this.”
Seconds later Harry was wide awake and alert. A few hand signals from Paul told him everything he needed to know. The OP had been well camouflaged with natural vegetation from our surroundings and netting we had brought with us, so we were confident that unless they literally fell into our laps, they wouldn’t know we were there.
They stopped about twenty metres away from us, and we found we could make out snatches of their conversation. They were still looking at the book and they were laughing together about whether to add a poisonous plant or two to their collection.
One of them, still smiling, nodded in our general direction.
“Let’s see if we can find enough mushrooms from under one of those fallen trees over there to finish them all off. And anyway, I need a sit down and we’re too far away for Rick the Prick to nag us. Come on.”
To our alarm, she pointed towards the very trees we were crouching behind.
We looked at each other and sank lower.
The women settled themselves on the log within touching distance.
I tried to be as still and quiet as possible.
Every breath I expelled sounded to me like the roar of a bellows and every slight movement I made seemed to make a rustling noise. How could they possibly not hear me?
But they seemed oblivious to any noises and carried on talking. The more we heard, the more we understood about their situation. One of the women was comforting the other, because she’d been beaten by one of the men for refusing to do something particularly degrading.
“Since we left the other group, they’re getting worse. They seem to think they can do what they want to us. We put up with this all winter, because the alternative meant being thrown out and starving or freezing to death. But I don’t think I can take any more. I’d rather risk it out here on my own.”
There was a pause while her friend digested what she’d said, then she spoke up.
“Look, I know what you’re saying, but we’ll just be taken by another gang eventually. We’ve seen it happen. I know it’s getting worse here, but at least we know them and what to expect from them. We know the ones who are a bit softer and won’t be too violent towards us.
There’s nothing we can do. We’ll just have to put up with it and try to protect the younger ones as much as we can. We think it’s bad for us, but for them it must be really awful. At least we can rationalise what’s happening to us.”
“Look at Penny!” replied the first woman. “She’s just fourteen! She shouldn’t have to go through anything like that.
When I was her age all I had to worry about was my school work and the boys I had a crush on. That creep Mike’s got his eye on her you know. I’ve been trying to keep his mind off her, but I don’t think it’s going to work for much longer. The guy’s a pyscho!”
“Oh my God! So that’s why you’ve been going off with him every night?” There was a pause, and some snuffling and I visualised the first speaker nodding and trying not to show that she was upset.
“Why didn’t you say?” said her friend, “We would have helped.”
The other woman cleared her throat, as if she was trying hard to pull herself together, but when she spoke her voice was shaky, as if she was still close to tears.
“No. It’s my job. I can’t ask any of you to do it. That just wouldn’t be fair. I promised Penny I’d look after her. I can cope with Mike; she won’t be able to. You all do your bit to protect her, but lately he’s been getting really nasty … look, I don’t want to go into details but that’s why he hit me, because I wouldn’t do what he wanted last night.
But you know what? He’s a cowardly little worm at heart. Once he’d knocked seven bells out of me to prove he was the boss, he didn’t push me again to do what he wanted.”
Her voice tightened with anxiety, “Penny won’t be able to refuse. I’m frightened he’ll kill her if he acts out one of those sick fantasies of his.” She paused, and this time the other woman could think of nothing to say in response. Finally, the first woman spoke again, “It’s how I rationalise it, you see. I’m doing it to protect her, so what I’m doing is right.”
She broke down in tears.
I moved my head slightly. I could see the two women hugging each other for comfort.
I was deeply depressed by what I’d heard. The women here had obviously been left with no choice but to resort to the oldest trade in the world to ensure their own survival. But they were still clinging on to their sense of pride and had enough kindness and humanity in them to want to protect the more vulnerable girls in their group.
It took several minutes for the first woman to calm down and then the conversation resumed.
Paul nudged Harry, and I recognised their hand signals. Paul wanted to grab them and haul them into the OP.
It was a risky thing to do, but we were some distance from the hotel so it seemed unlikely that anyone there would hear or see anything.
Paul held up his fingers and silently counted down to three.
On one, Paul and Harry jumped up and in one smooth movement, clapped their hands over the mouths of the women and dragged them backwards into the shelter.
Their muffled screams and wide fearful eyes showing their shock at the sudden change in their circumstances.
I got to my knees ready to help.
The woman Paul had grabbed suddenly arched her body, and taking him by surprise, wriggled out of his grip.
Twisting round abruptly, she kneed him firmly in the groin and as he rolled away in agony, locked his head in a vice-like grip while landing blow after blow on him with her flailing legs.
I didn’t know what to do.
Paul, highly trained in all forms of self-defence and unarmed combat, had been bested by this woman in the space of a few seconds, and was now in danger of being throttled to death.
His face was changing from red to purple, as each kick from her legs forced more of the remaining air from his lungs.
I looked over at Harry. In stark contrast, the woman he was holding seemed to have frozen in terror. His hand was still clamped over her mouth but she was making no effort to free herself. She seemed to be hypnotised by the sight of her friend, who was still managing to maintain her choke-hold on Paul.
Pulling my Glock from its holster, I pointed it at the woman and said as loudly as I dared, “Stop it! We’re here to help you!”
The first woman glanced at me but barely seemed to register what I’d said and made no move to release Paul, who appeared to be losing consciousness.
Knowing that the gun’s safety was on, I leaned forward and pointed the gun at her head.
“Stop it!” I said, loudly this time. “We want to help you.”
This time she looked at me properly, and for the first time she seemed to take in her surroundings. She stopped kicking Paul, but kept her arm around his throat.
Still pointing my gun at her, I said softly, “Do you think you could let my friend breathe now? He’s gone a very nasty colour. I know it may not look that way, but we really are here to help you.”
I looked over at the woman Harry was still restraining.
“We still need you to be quiet, so if Harry takes his hand away from your mouth, will you promise not to scream?”
She nodded, her eyes still
frightened. I looked at the other woman.
“And you, Boudicca! If I put my gun away, do you promise not to beat up the SAS captain anymore?”
Harry couldn’t help but smile at my comment and some of the tension seemed to dissipate a little.
She nodded and released the pressure on Paul’s throat. Paul was incapable of doing anything but roll away and gasp for breath.
Harry released the other woman and she immediately crawled to the other one. They held each other for support.
We sat in silence for a full minute while we all calmed down.
Paul’s attacker spoke first, her voice harsh and suspicious.
“Who are you, and where the hell have you come from?”
I looked at Harry, who merely nodded for me to respond.
“We came here because of Rick,” I explained. “I’ve got a personal score to settle with him.”
She looked at me, as if weighing me up, “How do you know Rick? Did you work with him for the government?”
The shock on my face was clear to see.
“Government? Look, I don’t know what he’s been telling you all, but he worked in insurance! Some boring job. I could never be bothered to pay any attention to him when he was trying to tell me how important he was.”
She shook her head emphatically. “No! He worked for the government. He knew exactly what had happened and what cars to get working.
He helped to form the group and protect us from the rogue government forces that were trying to take control.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “I can assure you everything he knows, he learned from someone else - mainly me by the sound of it. But we haven’t got time for that now. Will you be missed if you don’t get back soon?”
“I doubt it. We’re running out of food, so his bitch of a wife gave us a book on foraging and a basket each and told us not to come back until they were full. She does nothing herself. We have to look after her and her two brats like they’re royalty.”
The women had calmed down enough to pay more attention to us. It was obvious that they recognised Harry, but couldn’t quite take in the fact that it was him. I remembered how surreal it had felt for me on first meeting him.
I broke the ice by introducing us and confirming that, yes, it was Prince Harry they were staring at.
Mel and Louise were both blonde and good looking and I reflected wryly that Rick had always had an eye for the pretty women in our road (Becky had been no exception, although she’d always made it patently clear that she was unimpressed by him). Mel was the taller of the two, with a swimmer’s build (her strength had taken Paul by surprise, after all).
Her cheekbone showed some recent bruising and her lip was split and slightly swollen. She was clearly the one who’d fallen foul of Mike the previous night.
Louise was small and delicate. No wonder Harry had been able to subdue her so easily. I guessed that she was no more than eight stone and she looked about five foot three.
Once they’d recovered from the shock of encountering Harry, I gave them a quick summary of who we were, where we had come from and what had been happening countrywide.
Then came their story.
They had been with the group since just before the snows had set in, but had been told about its origins by the other women.
After leaving the road, Rick had quickly made alliances and formed a larger group, assuming control by claiming that he had been a senior government minister, who had managed to escape after the army had taken control.
He was a gifted storyteller and his story seemed plausible enough. Most of the people he had encountered had been hungry and confused and Rick, with his working car and his air of authority and assurance, had inspired enough confidence for people to want to follow him.
He had assured them that once order was restored, he would be welcomed back and would assume his rightful place, in the seat of power.
By association of course, those who had helped him along the way and remained loyal to him, would be treated as heroes.
Until that time, he had no choice but to hide from the army, who had staged a coup and formed a military dictatorship.
Bizarre as that might sound, Rick could be very plausible. And these were desperate people.
Using an army of thugs, Rick had organised raids to “liberate supplies” from weaker groups in the area and had hit the jackpot when a small convoy of lorries was discovered, abandoned but still full of food, on a road in the middle of nowhere.
He had set himself up like a despotic emperor in a large country house in a remote part of Devon. Using the stolen Land Rover, they had sought out similar vehicles and played the part of the “government in hiding”.
Only the toughest, most violent men passed his “interviews” and were permitted to join the group, and it was an open secret (no doubt broadcast by Rick) that those who failed to pass were executed on the spot by his lieutenants. This, it was explained, was in the name of national security, to safeguard the secrecy of his location.
Fear kept everyone in line.
The men who were allowed to join him were all “believers” who could be manipulated through the web of lies he spun.
The women who were found, or who approached the group for help, were initially vetted by Rick’s wife, but the final say-so came from Rick. They were permitted to join if they fulfilled a set of criteria.
They had to be young and attractive to the men.
Children were not allowed; they were extra mouths to feed and a waste of valuable resources. They were also a distraction.
Every woman was clearly told what was expected of them. They were there for the men’s enjoyment and there were domestic chores to be carried out. If they refused on either count, they would be thrown out into the cold. If they agreed, they would receive food and shelter.
It was as simple as that.
Louise broke down at this point. She explained that not a day went by when they didn’t feel ashamed of what they had settled for. And yet the only other option had been starving to death.
Harry spoke softly to them.
“No one will ever think that of you. The world’s changed and it’s brought out the very worst in people. We’ve seen some truly deplorable human behaviour. But what you did – well you needed to do it to survive and that’s all there is to it.
When we get you out of here, no one will judge you or make you feel ashamed about what you had to do. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. My own girlfriend, Kim, was in a similar situation before we rescued her. We’ll help you. It’s those bastards down there that are in the wrong, not you.”
Louise managed a smile, and Mel continued with their story.
Everything had changed when the plague had come. As soon as the first person had fallen ill, Rick had panicked. It had broken out first in one of the converted barns on the country estate they had taken over. The barns had been some distance away from the main house, so the infection hadn’t spread to begin with.
But Rick had comprehended the seriousness of the situation straightaway. He’d ordered an immediate evacuation. All the working vehicles had been loaded up with supplies, and he’d left everyone behind who’d had any contact with the disease.
The result was that most of the people in the community he had formed were left behind, and abandoned to their fates, while Rick, his family, his most trusted bodyguards and some of the women, had fled back to the Midlands.
I shook my head. Another example of Rick’s twisted moral compass.
I explained at this point, that although Rick had acted selfishly and thought only of saving himself, he had almost certainly saved all their lives.
Along the way, they had encountered other groups who had been struck by the plague, and Rick had soon realised the necessity of keeping as far away from humanity as possible. After a week of travelling along back roads, Rick had led them to the hotel they were currently occupying. He’d made sure of his men’s loyalty by promising them that he knew o
f a location in Birmingham that had food and more women for the taking.
He obviously meant us.
Paul, who by now had recovered enough to speak, or at least croak, asked them for details about the quantity and types of weapons they had. We were relieved to learn that our count had only been out by one and that as we’d suspected, all they had was shotguns.
Paul looked at the nearly empty baskets at their feet. (I’d hastily retrieved them in case anyone saw them abandoned and raised the alarm).
“We can’t have you going back empty-handed. I’ll fill these up for you and put some finishing touches to the plan I’ve got in mind. Could you bear with me for a few minutes, please, ladies?”
We all watched, while he grabbed the baskets and slid out of the back of the OP then half crawled out of sight into the woods.
Mel and Louise were full of questions and while we waited for Paul to return, we did our best to answer them all.
They were filled with elation at the thought that their ordeal might soon be over and they talked non-stop about how good it would be to feel safe again. They could scarcely believe that there were still some good people out there, people who wanted to help and not just take what others had.
Twenty minutes later Paul crawled back into the OP with the two baskets, which were now overflowing with leaves, berries and mushrooms.
“I want you two to take these back to the house and then tell whoever’s down there that there’s loads more, and that you need to come back again. I’ve got a few radio calls to make before I can finalise the plan, but we’ll need your help to make this work. Do you think you can do that?”
Louise nodded. “When Lucy sees all this I’m sure she’ll send us back. As I said, we’re almost out of food now and the scavenging parties aren’t finding much. Rick was relying on that warehouse he found and was livid when your army guys got there first.
The only thing they have got plenty of is booze. He found a storeroom full of it in the hotel and he’s stopping everyone from moaning about the lack of food by letting them get drunk every night. That’s why they’ve all been so volatile lately.
UK Dark Trilogy Page 48