“Did you have a productive morning?” asked Drew.
“Yes.”
“What do we do now?”
“We wait until tonight.”
“What do you need us to do,” he asked pointing at Letitia.
“Nothing. I don’t want either of you in danger. You both need to stay here.”
“I don’t think I can stand another night like last night,” said Letitia.
Alexa walked over to where Letitia was sat and sat down next to her. She took hold of her hand.
“I love you and I don’t want to lose you. I have spent my childhood training in hand to hand combat and using firearms. I did that to get in the police. Now I need to use those skills to finish this for both of us.”
“But...”
Alexa cut her off. “Be strong for me. Please.” Pleaded Alexa.
“Okay.”
Drew walked over and gave Alexa a brown envelope.
“Whats in here?”
“Your way out.”
Alexa opened the thick envelope and pulled out a passport and driving license. She opened the passport and looked at the page. It was her photo but all the other details were wrong. She looked at the name.
Sarah Blake.
Why was her sisters name on the passport. She looked at the driving license, it was the same.
“Whats this?” she asked.
“Its a passport. I haven’t been sitting around doing nothing you know.”
“What?”
“I have hacked into every government department I needed to. Alexa Blake died as a child of cancer and her sister Sarah Blake is her only surviving relative. All of the electronic records have been altered.”
Alexa didn’t say a word. She didn’t know what to say. She knew it made sense but it felt wrong taking over her sisters name.
“Are you Okay?” asked Letitia.
“Yes...I think so.”
“This means we can leave the country tomorrow and you should just breeze through border control.”
“I know and thank you. It just seems wrong.”
Alexa put them back in the envelope, got up from her seat and gave Drew a hug.
“Thank you,” she said.
“No problem. Just make sure you stay alive tonight so you can use them.”
Fourty Eight
Trainer stood looking at the body of Ionna on the kitchen floor. She had been shot in the head execution style. He didn’t know for definite but he had his suspicions that this was Alexa’s work. He wasn’t going to investigate it too hard though as he owed Alexa now and they had agreed to work together to a mutually beneficial end.
The local station had received a call about a large explosion in the early hours of the morning. The area car had been dispatched. When they arrived at the house they had found the door to the kitchen open and the body of a woman lying on the floor. They had called it in and Trainers team had been dispatched.
“Do we have any idea who she is?” Trainer asked. He needed to keep up the pretense of not knowing who it was.
“No,” replied one of his team.
“So what do we know?”
“It looks like she entered the house through the door from the garden. There are a number of bullet holes in the ceiling and walls and then forensic found a flash bang grenade on the floor.”
“Not your normal breaking and entering then.”
“No boss.”
“Get everything bagged and tagged and lets see if we can find out who she is and who shot her.”
His phone vibrated in his trouser pocket. He took it out and saw it was a text from Alexa.
Bring a team to the Tate & Lyle docks for eleven PM today. It’s time to finish this.
* * *
Felicia wouldn’t normally attend the docks when one of her shipments came in. She was taking a risk but she needed to enforce the fact that she was now in charge and the face of the operation. She had always been in charge but Martin had been the one who interacted with the couriers and the organisations enforcers.
She parked her Aston Martin at the entrance to the docks and waited for one of her team to open the door for her to get out of the car. Over the years of running the operation she had assembled a personal team of ten people headed by Pasha and Ionna. Pasha was now dead at the hands of Alexa but Ionna had got her revenge and she would be here tonight to lead the team again. The team was made up of ex-army from different countries but the one thing they all had in common was that they had all been dishonourably discharged, She paid them well and they did her bidding.
She arrived at the edge of the jetty and her team fanned out to take up positions ready for the boat to arrive. She took her phone from her Gucci handbag and sent a text to Ionna.
Where are you?
She received an immediate reply.
I am close.
It wasn’t like Ionna to be late she thought.
* * *
Trainer had pulled together a team of officers he could trust. He knew the officers to avoid. He knew the ones that where on Felicia’s payroll. That was easy when you were the one who recruited them. He would have a big job rooting them out once this was all over. He had briefed them all that they were about to take down one of the biggest human trafficking rings in the London area. He had pulled in armed officers as he knew that Felicia would have her personal team there and they would all be armed.
They would take up positions seconds away from the docks but out of view. An informant on the scene would text when the boat had docked and the girls were being disembarked. That would be the time to strike.
“All teams report,” Trainer said into his radio.
“Team one in position and ready.”
“Team two in position and ready.”
Everyone was ready. He just had to wait for the signal from Alexa.
* * *
Alexa had arrived at the docks two hours before the boat was due to arrive. It was dark and no one was around. She had the time to prepare and get into the position she had found earlier in the day from where she could see the jetty and all the possible escape routes. She had set up on top of a storage container. She was wearing all black and no one would be able to see her from the ground. She had brought her favourite purchase from Eric. A sniper rifle with a silencer and muzzle suppressor. People om the ground wouldn’t hear the shots and once they knew what was happening they wouldn’t be able to see where they were coming from thanks to the muzzle suppressor. The rifle had top of the range night sights. She looked through and could see everything on the ground as if it were daytime. Now she waited.
Fourty Nine
The boat wasn’t big but Felicia knew it would be crammed with around fifty girls. All of them thought they would be coming to the UK for a better life. They would find out that was very far from the truth. Felicia would make them work as prostitutes on various brothels around the London area. Many of them would be young, some even children sent over from war torn countries by their parents for a better life. The young ones would make her even more money.
The boat docked and two of her team ran to the end of the jetty to usher the girls off the boat. A large truck had arrived at the edge of the jetty to take the girls to a warehouse in Epping where they would then be distributed around London.
Felicia stood and watched as the girls started to leave the boat, many looking bewildered and scared. She felt nothing.
* * *
Alexa watched as the first girls took their first steps into the UK. She took her phone from her jacket pocket and sent the text.
Move in now. Let Felicia escape and the slate is wiped clean.
Within a minute of sending the text she watched as two police cars and a police minibus with all the blue flashing lights pulled up and blocked in the van. A team of officers flooded out of the minibus and eight armed officers exited the two police cars. The armed officers took up positions around the van as Felicia’s men fired at them. Alexa looked through her night vision scop
e and could see two of Felicia’s men positioned behind oil drums firing indiscriminately. She could see the shots ricocheting off the van. Her ex-colleagues were pinned down.
All the training she had done after her Father had died kicked in. She started to control her breathing so that the rifle was hardly moving. She swung the weapon around and lined up the scope with the head of one of Felicia’s men. She squeezed the trigger and watched his head explode like a water melon being hit with a baseball bat. He slumped to the floor. She quickly swung the rifle to the opposite side of the jetty and lined up her next target. He had stopped firing and was looking at his colleague. She could see the bewilderment followed by fear spread across his face just before it exploded as the bullet Alexa had sent hit him in-between his eyes. He was dead before he hit the ground.
* * *
Trainer watched as the heads of first one and then a second of Felicia’s men exploded in front of his eyes. He hadn’t heard the shots and he had no idea where they came from, the only thing he did know was that it would be Alexa. He could see Felicia at the corner of the jetty. She was protected by two of her team and they were moving her along the road to the exit. He knew Alexa had told him to let her escape but he ignored her and went after her. His team were now over running the remaining men and he wanted Felicia. He followed her through the containers and paths back to the main road and to where her car was parked.
Felicia blipped her car key and the doors unlocked.
“I need to pack a bag, meet me at the airstrip.”
“Your under arrest Felicia,” Trainer said as he walked up to the car.
Felicia turned and laughed. “What the fuck do you think you are doing Frank.”
“I am arresting you for human trafficking and anything else I can think of. Your time is over.”
“I own you Frank. I will destroy you.”
“You probably will but I will bring you down with me. It has to end now even if that means me ending up in prison.”
Felicia walked from her car flanked by her two guards.
“Do you see these two fine specimens.” She said as she pointed at the two men on either side of her.
“Yes,” replied Trainer.
“What are you going to do. They have guns, you have nothing. You are pathetic.”
“You may kill me but people are going to come after you. You time is over Felicia.”
Trainer turned to look at the two men flanking Felicia.
“Think about it, do you want to be around when she is taken down or do you want ot get out now while you can.”
Neither spoke. They just stared at him.
“Goodbye Frank,” Felicia said.
She turned back to her car and then waved her hand at the two men. “Kill him.”
* * *
Alexa had watched as Trainer followed Felicia between the containers.
Idiot.
She would have to go after him. He would be killed. She shouldn’t care but she did. She took one last look down her scope and fired off two quick shots in succession taking out the two guards standing by the boat. The armed officers should be able to deal with the remaining men.
She jumped down from the container leaving the rifle in place, she would tell Trainer where it was if he survived his suicide mission of going after Felicia. She was about two minutes behind Trainer hopefully that wasn’t too long.
She rounded the last container before the main road. She took the silenced pistol from her shoulder holster and waited. She could see Trainer stood in front of Felicia. They were talking but she couldn’t hear what they were saying. She saw Felicia turn to her car and wave her hand. The two men raised their weapons she had to act fast.
Alexa moved from her cover raised her pistol and fired off two shots. Both missed wildly but it startled the two men about to shoot Trainer enough for him to move and find cover. She kept walking towards the men. They were trying to work out where the shots had come from and before they could compose themselves Alexa was upon them. She took aim at the first one and fired off a shot that hit him dead centre of his body mass. He dropped to the floor. She swung the pistol and took aim at the second man. His gun was raised and now pointing at Alexa, who would be the quickest.
Alexa dropped to her knees as a bullet flew past the top of her head. It felt like it passed through her hair. She fired off a shot into the left shin of the gunman that had just fired at her. He dropped to the ground writhing in agony.
Alexa stood to her feet. Felicia was getting in the car.
“Stop there Felicia. I will kill you here if I have to,” Alexa shouted.
Felicia stopped in her tracks and turned to look directly at Alexa.
“You should be dead. Where is Ionna?” Felicia asked.
“You can see I am very much alive. I am afraid Ionna isn’t.”
“So you sent me the text.”
“Yes and you were very helpful in telling me where your shipment was coming in.”
“You will never get away with this.”
“I think I will.”
All the while that Alexa and Felicia were talking the injured gunman had started to crawl away. “Excuse me Felicia.” Alexa walked over to where the final gunman had crawled to.
“Going somewhere,” she asked.
“Let me leave, please. I have a family.”
Alexa knelt down beside him and stroked his head.
“So did I once. A family and close friends. And all this time you have been protecting the woman who deals in death and misery.”
She stroked his head once more. Looked him in the eyes and fired a shot directly into his heart. Death was instantaneous. Alexa brushed her hands over his eyes to close them. She stood and turned to Felicia.
“Where would you like to die. Here or at home,” she asked.
Fifty
Alexa had sat on the passenger seat with her pistol pointed at Felicia all the way back to her house.
“Out,” Alexa ordered.
Felicia exited the car and walked through the door into the large entrance hall followed by Alexa with her pistol raised at Felicia’s back.
“Where’s Martin?” Alexa asked.
“Out at the golf club.”
“Upstairs.”
They ascended the stairs and Alexa ushered Felicia into the main bedroom.
“What are you going to do?” asked Felicia.
“I am going to kill you.”
Felicia turned to face Alexa. “Well just shoot me now then. Lets get it over and done with.”
“Shooting you would be too easy and too quick.”
Alexa held the pistol against Felicia’s head with her right hand and using her left pulled a knife from its sheath that she had underneath the back of her jacket.
“What are you going to do with that?” asked Felicia.
“You are going to die in exactly the same way that you killed Tracey. It’s going to be painful and take a long time.”
Felicia stared at the knife, the bedroom light bouncing off the shining blade. Fear etched across her face.
“On the bed,” Alexa ordered.
Felicia complied and sat on the bed. Alexa took a set of handcuffs from her pocket. She handcuffed Felicia’s hands around one of the uprights of the four poster bed.
“Goodbye Felicia,” Alexa said as she raised the knife.
Felicia struggled. Alexa hit her with the butt of her gun to stun her. She squeezed the sides of her jaw to force her mouth open and pulled her tongue out. She looked Felicia directly in the eyes, she could see the tears starting to form as the realisation hit Felicia that she was about to die a slow and painful death. She slowly slid the knife from one side of her tongue to the other. The blood started to seep down Felicia’s throat. Alexa watched as she started to gag on the blood, it was hard to watch but she had to, she had to see it to the end.
It took a few minutes but finally Felicia was unconscious. It may have been from the pain or the blood loss but she had suffered the sam
e as Tracey. Alexa checked Felicia’s pulse, she still had a faint heartbeat. No need to prolong her final moments. Alexa picked up her pistol from the bed where she had lay it while using the knife and fired off a silenced shot into the forehead of Felicia. It was done.
* * *
Alexa had got back to the safe house at five AM to be greeted by a big hug and kiss from Letitia. They were both booked on a flight from London City Airport bound for Amsterdam and then on from there to Dubai. They had no idea what they would do when they got there but Drew had ensured that their bank accounts were full enough that they didn’t need to worry about it. He had found the off shore bank accounts for Felicia and syphoned off the money into three bank accounts; Alexa’s, Letitia’s and the one used by the hacking group. All three were now stood in the departures area of the airport.
“Take care of yourself Drew,” said Alexa while giving him a big hug.”
“I will. You enjoy your freedom, you’ve deserved it.”
Alexa,s phone buzzed in her pocket. She took it out and read out loud the text from Trainer.
Found Felicia. All girls safe and the organisation is falling apart. Martin Fenner has disappeared but we will find him. Thank you.
They all smiled at each other.
“You had better go. You don’t want to miss your flight,” Drew said.
He watched as they passed through security and disappeared into the departures lounge. He was sad they were going but he knew it was for the best and he could get back to a normal life. He turned to leave to find his way blocked by two men.
“Excuse me,” Drew said as he went to side step around them.
They moved to block his path.
“Mr Throm?” enquired one of the men.
“Yes.”
“We would like you to accompany us. We have someone who would very much like to talk to you.”
Recompense Page 14
