Lethal Instincts (10 page)

“So, what now? You’re going to dump me in the Thames and hope I never wash up on the river bank?” Lexi asked trying to figure out how to buy herself time and get out of this mess.

“I’m not the bad guy here,” Cara said, glancing at the rear-view mirror. “Fuck, we’re being followed.”
 

Lexi felt the car increase in speed. Her head felt dizzy as she glanced out the window and through the side mirror. Indeed there were several cars behind them at various distances apart but she couldn’t tell if they were being followed or not.
 

She touched her side, the bandage was seeping.
 

“I need a hospital,” Lexi said, feeling the blood on her fingers.

Cara glanced at her, she could see her reaching for something in the glove box as she kept her eye on the road.

“Here, take these.” She handed Lexi some pills. “And put this over it. You’ll be fine. It’s a flesh wound.”
 

“I should have taken the ambulance.”

“If you had stayed there you’d be dead.”
 

“I don’t understand,” Lexi said, she could swear the pain was making her disorientated.
 

The evidence pointed towards Cara. She was the one who had taken her out of the ambulance, told her they were headed to catch the bad guys, then proceeded to drive her out of town. Cara had killed Hannah. She had helped orchestrate Tatiana’s disappearance. Cara was the bad guy. But why was she keeping her alive? Why were they being followed? Why hadn’t the knife plunged into an organ and let her bleed out? None of it made sense. The pain. She took the pills and swallowed them dry. Closing her eyes she tried to shut out the throbbing pain running through her body and numbing her senses. This was not the way she was going to die.
 

“It’s complicated. Now’s not the time for explanations,” Cara said.

Now was as good a time as any.

“The innocent women. You knew Tatiana. You knew what she was getting herself into.”

“We were doing our job. Sometimes a line is crossed.”

“But Hannah, she was innocent.”

“I had nothing to do with Hannah’s death. Wrong place, wrong time.”

Lexi didn’t believe it.

“How did you get the scratch on your hand?”

“A neighbour’s cat.”

“Right.”

“What you believe is your choice.”

Lexi’s head spun. She was seeing stars before her eyes.
 

“Lexi, stay with me. The painkillers will ease the pain shortly. You’re going to be fine.”
 

“Fine,” Lexi said quietly her eyes closing, her mind drifting. She heard a skid, her body slamming against the side, a door slamming and then nothing at all.

Chapter 19

Voices. Loud ones. She couldn’t make out what they were saying but she knew they were there. Male. Female. She strained to listen and finally recognised Cara’s voice. The male voices she did not know but there were two of them. There was a smell of fish in the air, mixed with oil, and trash. A horn sounded in the distance, possibly a ship arriving or departing port.

Lexi opened her eyes. She was lying on the passenger seat of the car, the window was down, Cara was outside kneeling on the ground, a man was pointing a gun at her, another stood behind and watched. Lexi recognised them from their visit to her flat. A single street lamp illuminated the area. A warehouse stood in the distance dark and gloomy.

She checked her watch. It was after midnight. The shipment was due to depart in under two hours. If they shot Cara then they’d easily dump her body in the water, followed by dumping her too. There was no chance they were going to let her live, and then the ship would be gone and so would the chance of saving a life or the lives of many. They had left her in the car out cold. Maybe assumed she was a goner given the amount of blood on her clothes giving Lexi an advantage and she had to think fast.

Lexi slowly shifted her leg, pain ripped through her again, and she was reminded of the wound to her side. She touched the area; dried blood mixed with fresh, but the seeping had subsided at least. The painkillers Cara had given her had worn off too.
 

Think, Lexi, think. Her options were few. She could distract them by showing herself but she’d have no doubt that the gun would be aimed at her and they wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. No, first she needed to figure out what her options were, and she had to do it fast. She had no idea how much time Cara had. Whatever it was, the time was about to expire.
 

Lexi moved her arms and reached underneath the seat, feeling around for a weapon. Nothing. She expected as much. Then she felt a vibration. A phone. She shifted her buttocks and leaned her head, Cara’s phone was vibrating beside her. No caller ID. She hit cancel. Then she dialled emergency. She put the phone to her ear and didn’t have to wait long for it to be answered.
 

“Help me,” she said. “The port, the port of London,” she whispered leaving the phone on and placing it underneath the seat hoping that the two men hadn’t seen the light illuminating from the car. She closed her eyes and listened as she counted to ten. No doubt emergency would trace the call. They would send someone out to help them. At least that’s what Lexi was counting on.

The two men hadn’t noticed the sudden movement, the moment of light or hushed tones, they were still talking with Cara. Negotiating. She tried making out what they were saying.

“Last chance, Detective,” one of them said.
 

Lexi heard the click of a safety catch.
 

Shit. She needed a diversion.
 

Come on, Cara, you can do this. Fight them. Do something. Please.
 

She needed a weapon.
 

Lexi looked in front of her. The glove compartment. Opening it ajar, she saw a gun.
 

She reached for it, felt the metal in her hands. It wasn’t the first time she’d held a gun; her father had taken her shooting on more than one occasion. But it was one thing going to a shooting range and another pointing it at a human target. Right now she didn’t have much of a choice.
 

She took a deep breath, counted to three and held the gun towards the black sky, pulling the trigger as she did.
 

Bang.
 

The shot had been enough. The men were distracted.

Cara was now on her feet and she had managed to kick the man holding the gun and force him down to the ground, then she struggled with him for the gun as the other reached for his.

Lexi opened the door and half-sitting half-bending out she pointed the gun at him.
 

Sirens blared, growing louder as they drew near.

“I’ll shoot,” she said in barely a whimper. She held the gun but he just looked at her. He didn’t stop. She aimed lower and pulled the trigger. The bullet went wide.

“Fucking bitch,” he yelled, coming for her.

She pulled the trigger again, this time aiming for the side of his thigh. She didn’t miss and he dropped to the ground letting off one of his own rounds. The back window shattered, glass sprayed everywhere.

Cara was still fighting with the other man. He was on top of her. Lexi tried to aim at him but then Cara’s body blocked her shot. The gun was only metres away.
 

Then he was on top of Cara again. Grabbing hold of her head and pushing it against the ground. Pulling her up with her hair he slammed her head against the cement. She yelped and returned the hit with a knee in the groin and her palm in his solar plexus. Lexi could see blood streaming from Cara’s head. The man fell to the ground, Cara pushed herself to sit up. He reached for the weapon.

He was holding the gun at her. Lexi forced herself to aim at him too. She pulled the trigger but nothing came out. No more bullets. The gun hadn’t been full.
 

“You should’ve known better than to get in my way,” he said, pointing the gun at Cara.

But the shot never came, another one rang out and the man toppled over, beside Cara. Blood oozed from his back. The gun clunked beside him. Cara lay back down on the cement and stayed there.
 

Lexi slumped back on the passenger seat shutting her eyes and dreaming of home.

Chapter 20

Lexi got a front row seat to the bust of the history. Theoretically at least. She wasn’t with Detective Simmons on the ground but in a van with two other officers listening to it all and seeing everything unfold on two screens. She had dosed up on more painkillers but refused hospital treatment at her own risk. It was an irresponsible move but the ambulance officers had disinfected the wound and put on a clean dressing.

Hannah’s information had checked out. As Lexi and Cara had been held at gunpoint by the rogue cops, information had been sent to the supervisors. Hannah’s source had been correct. Except it hadn’t been just one officer on the take. There had been several involved in the trafficking of women. Their mistake had been targeting Tatiana, or better still, Tatiana’s big sister who Tatiana had been searching for. Lexi just hoped they were both in that container, alive and well, praying to be rescued. Cara’s role was sketchy. Her claim of being undercover with the bad guys was plausible but Lexi wasn’t convinced. Nothing was ever black and white and it seemed she was treading the grey area all too often.
 

Two containers were being loaded onto the deck. The crane was moving them slowly upwards from the dock and towards the ship.
 

Lexi heard voices in between static and a few moments later, the crane was bringing the two containers back down again. A loud bang came through the speakers as they hit the ground. She watched with knots in her stomach, anxious with what they would find inside.
 

A whistle sounded. A shot rang out. People moved, more shots were fired. Two bodies fell to the ground. The police moved in, several bad guys came running towards them with guns blazing. There was yelling but Lexi couldn’t make out the words. A hand reached for the handle. Locked. Cara motioned for them to move away, Lexi watched the screen as Cara stepped back before firing at the lock.
 

The camera angle moved towards the doors again. This time a hand reached for the handle, loosened the chains and let them fall to the ground. As Cara moved to the side, two other officers came into view standing opposite, guns pointed ready to fire.
 

The door to the container slowly slid open. At first there was only darkness, then the lights shone inside and Lexi knew what she would see but was shocked nonetheless. At least a dozen women were huddled inside the container, sitting or lying towards the back and sides of it. Arms around their knees, clutching to whatever they could for safety. The fear swimming in their eyes. A flashlight shone from face to face, women no older than twenty or so, their eyes sad, drooping, tired, scared, drugged.

“We’re good to go,” Cara’s voice came through the speaker. “I count twelve, no fifteen females. We’re going to need more back-up.”
 

Then the camera lens went in closer as Cara stepped into the container. Two girls were lying towards the sides, another leaning over them. Stroking her head. At first it wasn’t clear but then she recognised the face of Tatiana Petrenko, and the woman beside her, the resemblance uncanny, her sister.
 

The second container held more women. Bodies scattered on the floor. An officer knelt down and checked one for a pulse. He turned and shook his head. They couldn’t save them all. They would have taken the bodies out and disposed of them in the middle of the sea. There was less chance of finding them that way. Lexi gagged at the sight, even though she was seeing it through the screen.
 

Within minutes it was all over. Bodies lay strewn on the ground, Cara’s camera was still on and Lexi could see the damage that had been done as she walked back towards the safe zone. At least some of the women were going to be lucky enough to get a second chance at life.
 

Chapter 21

Three days later.

Lexi had a story. She never had a doubt in her mind there wasn’t going to be one but she didn’t expect the epic climax. Fifteen women were going home. Five were dead. Premeditated or accidental, it didn’t matter to the traffickers. They simply needed to dispose of them without leaving any evidence. No one would notice a missing hooker off the street.
 

Three officers were arrested and a prominent trafficker was being buried in the ground. It was success all around. Front page news. A decent pay cheque and a human interest piece that was going to be one of her best yet. Of course she wasn’t naive enough to think that her story solved a major issue. Far from it. But at least it had made an impact on those involved. Maybe shed some light on the harsh reality for others.

Lexi stood at the door of Tatiana’s hospital room. Her sister Lera sat beside the bed, holding her hand and humming a song. She too looked tired but the doctors had looked her over and found nothing wrong. Other than some malnourishment, she was fine. Tatiana on the other hand had been drugged and beaten; bruises covered her face and body but she was a survivor.

The night before, she had explained her story. How she had run from her home leaving her drunken father behind in search of her sister, who had apparently been sold off for a few hundred pounds to a dapper-looking gentleman that had come through town looking for attractive women for his modelling agency. Anyone in their right mind knew it to be a scam but Tatiana Petrenko’s father believed every word the man had eloquently spat out. Including the fact that he would receive a monthly payment. The payments had dribbled in for the first few months. Then after about six months they had stopped, and so had all contact. Lera Petrenko was gone, as was the dapper gentleman with the empty promises. Then Tatiana, knowing her father would do nothing to look for his daughter, took the responsibility upon herself to find her sister. Spending six months working, saving and studying before she ran off to UCL, catching a lucky break and getting a grant.