by Carl Andrew
“You’ve, you’ve fuckin’ killed him,” the boy with the camera cried out.
Ignoring his friends shock, the boy with the brick then started rooting through the man’s pockets, found his wallet and opened it. He saw the ID badge and his face dropped.
“He’s a rozzer. Shit, why did he have to be a pig?” He said.
All of a sudden sirens could be heard in the background. The gang left the girl and ran off. Her physical ordeal was now over. Her mental ordeal was only just beginning.
She stared at the prone body on the ground and broke down again. Although they’d never met, she felt closer to him in that instant than she had been with any other man she’d met.
------------------------------------------------------------
Bolton, Lancashire
The next couple of days, Leon found it difficult to concentrate on anything else. He kept himself busy posting his articles particularly as the anti-social behaviour issues were still present on streets up and down the country, but he only had one thing on his mind.
He was intrigued more than anything. It was the first time someone who was part of an activist organisation had agreed to become so visible to a member of the media.
One thing he was particularly pleased about was that his contact did not live in London. He was still afraid of heading back to the big city and felt he would be like that for some time yet. He also realised sooner or later it was inevitable he would have to return to London.
His phone rang and he picked it up to look at the screen. Private number, it was too intriguing to ignore. He clicked to answer.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hello, Leon. Is that you?” Responded a voice he recognised on the other end of the line.
“Is that my policeman friend?” Leon enquired, remembering the previous conversation where he was tipped off about the Police strike action. “You sound, concerned,” he said searching for the right descriptor to label the shakiness in the voice.
“Yes, yes it is. I have some news. I just heard about it. It’s sick. Just absolutely sick;” came the response.
“What happened? What’s sick?” Leon said.
“You need to write about this. That’s why I called you. You need to let people know, to let the Government know what happened,” said the informant.
“Last night,” he continued. “An off duty policeman was murdered in Luton. He was trying to save a girl who was being raped. A gang smashed his face in with a brick. The guy had a wife and two kids.”
“This can’t go on, all this violence. It has to stop,” he concluded.
Leon spent the next little while obtaining whatever details of the attack his source had available.
When the call ended, he held the phone to his ear momentarily longer than usual, listening to nothing but a silent phone. He was shocked, surprised, sickened. He couldn’t put his feelings into one word.
Worse still, he checked the ‘State of Hate’ website and there it was a video of the attack as he knew and feared it would be.
As much as it hurt him to do so, he wasn’t going to sugar coat real life, so Leon linked to the video and started to compose a new blog post.
Hero Cop killed by gang of cowards as girl suffers rape ordeal
As Lawson’s Law slowly rescinds and violent gangs take hold of Britain’s streets again, news has emerged of an off duty policeman who was murdered trying to save a young girl from a sexual assault in Luton.
Last night at about 6pm, a young girl was raped by a gang of youths in a side street close to Luton town centre. As she was undergoing her terrifying ordeal, a brave man, who happened to be an off duty policeman, tried to intervene but was viciously attacked by one of the youths.
The man was hit repeatedly in the head with a building brick and died at the scene. The young girl is recovering at her family home and is currently helping police with their enquiries.
The sad reality about this and the other stories of innocent members of the public killed or hurt by thugs is that there appears to be no end in sight to this plague of violence sweeping over our towns and cities once again.
The Lawson Government has made lots of promises but have so far failed to deliver a sustained response to the problem and we are yet to hear what the newly formed Department of Social Behaviour is going to do to tackle this issue.
Tell us your thoughts at [email protected] and as ever, stay vigilant and stay safe.
Leon proofed his article, shook his head more in sadness than disgust and pressed to publish the story.
------------------------------------------------------------
10 Downing Street, London
Vanessa received an email alerting her to a new blog post on The Day Today. She set up the alert to keep abreast of news Leon was posting.
Clicking through to the story, she knew as she read each line that this would put yet further pressure on the Government to act.
She sat there staring out of the window considering her next move when the phone rang twice and dropped out, it then rang another three times and then again before falling silent.
Vanessa went to her safe and clicked through the combination to open it. She pulled out her discrete mobile phone, clicked into a secure line and dialled a familiar number.
A male voice answered.
“What have you got for me?” enquired Vanessa. This was not a call that required pleasantries.
“We’ve located some activity. One of the targets has gone light,” the response came.
“Great. Who is it and how did you track them?” Vanessa was a details person.
“Her name’s Sarah Jenkins and has been emailing a friend of yours,” the man said.
“What do you mean ‘a friend of mine’?” Vanessa response was tinged with both intrigue and concern.
“Leon, your blogger friend. They’ve arranged to meet. She’s giving him an interview tomorrow in Huntingdon. Do you want her lifted?”
“Shit, what the hell is he involved for. This could be tricky. Is there another way?” Vanessa didn’t want Leon to be tipped off about the plan to catch the activist but she knew how important it was to be able to question anyone connected with the attack on Dr Hopwood’s house.
She was still unsure why Dr Hopwood was so insistent not to press charges. The mystery was an itch she desperately needed to scratch and Sarah may be the best lead she had to a possible answer.
“We risk losing her if we don’t do something around the meet. We have no other details about where she might be or where she lives. Do you know how many activists live in or around Huntingdon? It’s like a hotbed of social concern.”
“I get it. Ok, lift her but make sure there are no witnesses. Understood?” Vanessa was forceful in delivering her request.
“Yep, got it, we’ll call when it’s done.”
------------------------------------------------------------
Bolton, Lancashire
When the day of the interview finally arrived, Leon found himself to be quite nervous. It was a strange feeling for him now but one he used to be only too familiar with when he first started out.
He went through his usual routine in the morning; up early, breakfast, shower, exercises recommended by the physio from the hospital and then he was ready to go.
He printed off his notes, packed his bag and headed out the door. Ally had agreed to give him a lift to the train station and was waiting outside as Leon exited the family home.
“You didn’t want to come in and say hello to mum and dad then Ally?” Leon said half-joking.
“What and risk the third degree from mum about whether I’m eating right and how I don’t look well etcetera, etcetera. No thanks,” he replied. “I’ll leave that for you to enjoy, boy wonder.”
On the drive to the train station, Leon felt like Ally was holding something back. It was as if he wanted to say something but wasn’t sure what to say, when to say it or whether to say it at all.
“Tell me,”
he enquired.
“Tell you what?” Ally responded.
“What’s on your mind? What are you stewing over saying?”
“Ok, ok. You know me too well. Look, I’m just worried about my little brother ok. I’m allowed to be. I just… I just want to make sure you know what you’re doing today and that you’re going to be safe,” Ally was speaking with genuine concern now.
“Mate, I really appreciate your concern. It’s good that someone’s looking out for me but I’m not going to London. I’m going to Cambridgeshire. There’s nothing to be worried about. I’ll be careful. I promise,” Leon was as reassuring as he could be. The truth was, Leon was a little scared too but he didn’t want Ally to see that.
“Ok. Just make sure you give me a call when you get there and when you’re coming back. I’ll pick you up later.”
“Will do,” Leon said as they pulled up to the station. “Thanks for…” Leon was unsure of what words to use, “…for everything. I’ll call you in a little while.”
He got out of the car, went into the station, bought a ticket and within ten minutes was enjoying the relative solitude and comfort of a train journey again.
He pulled out his notes and read them over until he was tired of seeing the same words again and again. It was a four hour journey and he spent the remainder watching the beautiful countryside go by.
Arriving at Huntingdon station, he collected his belongings, made his way to the exit and took a taxi to the café where he was meeting Sarah.
He arrived purposefully early so he could position himself at a table with a view of everything. It was part of his new found safety strategy. Just in case…
He laid out a copy of The Guardian newspaper next to a bottle of mineral water opposite him as agreed with Sarah so she would recognise him, and waited.
------------------------------------------------------------
Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
Sarah’s stomach was like a fortress denying entry to anything that morning as the nerves took hold.
She kept herself moving around to try and focus on something other than the interview with Leon.
The closer to the meeting time, the more anxious she became but also felt a little more comforted that it would be done and over with soon.
When it was time to leave, she grabbed her bag and coat before heading out into the cold mid-morning. The café was about 15 minutes’ walk away and she left in plenty of time.
The door of the grey car parked outside the house four down from Sarah’s opened as she turned the corner of the street. A burly man wearing jeans and a big coat walked up the road in pursuit of the girl, keeping enough distance to appear inconspicuous.
The car drove off in the other direction with a defined destination as planned. It would arrive and wait until the signal was received.
Sarah and her pursuer continued on a very similar course but for distinctly different motives. She was completely unaware of her shadow.
She arrived outside the café and for some reason decided to take a look around and survey her surroundings. Her pursuer blended into the background. She didn’t even notice him.
He was so well trained for this type of work, he could have been right behind her and she would have looked right through him completely oblivious to his presence.
Leon had spent the past ten minutes raising his eyebrows in anticipation at each female who entered the café. It was almost like every single girl in Huntingdon between the ages of 20 and 30 had decided to visit that same café on exactly the same day at approximately the same time.
A few too many girls had noticed his body language and looked on at him, disapprovingly. He felt a bit creepy but carried on regardless.
Finally, a vision he didn’t expect but absolutely noticed walked in through the door. Leon could not take his eyes of her as she made her way into the heart of the café.
She got closer to his table and he half expected her to veer to her left but she kept travelling towards him. He had a sense that this could be a much more difficult interview than he had previously thought.
She observed the newspaper and bottle of water opposite Leon, smiled at him and sat down.
“Hi, I’m Sarah. You must be Leon,” she said.
Leon noticed her eyes. He saw how large her pupils were and remembered someone saying to him once that you could tell if someone is attracted to you by the size of their pupils when you meet.
He couldn’t bring himself to believe that could possibly be the case. He then realised that he’d not even responded to her greeting.
“Err… Leon, yes that’s me, and you’re… you’re Sarah, right?” He said absolutely losing his cool.
“I think I may have already established that,” she said with a wry smile. She held his gaze for a little longer than would normally be deemed acceptable and then could almost sense she was doing it so withdrew from his gaze and looked at the table.
She was quite taken with this mysterious blogger but she was determined not to let her guard down.
Perhaps this was a ploy to unsettle her and get the best interview he could, she thought to herself.
Truth is, she had been besotted with a guy at college but he did everything he could to ruin her trust in men. He played games with her, toying with her feelings before engaging her in a relationship and then, not more than three months later, cheated on her.
She hadn’t allowed herself to have feelings for another man since. It was part of her self-preservation.
But somehow, something was different about Leon. He wielded a power with his written words but in person, he was quite humble. She liked that.
“Would you excuse me while I go to the toilet just before we begin, apologies for being rude,” Leon said. He’d had an issue with needing the toilet more often than his friends since he was young. He largely lived with it but was a little embarrassed when it came to meeting new people.
“So, I’ll get right into the questions then, if it’s ok with you of course?” Leon asked as politely as he could muster when he returned to the table.
“Sure. I can’t promise I’ll be able to answer everything but I’ll give you the story from our side,” Sarah replied, still a little guarded.
“You read my article which prompted you to write to me. What was it about my article you felt was unfair?”
“Wow, straight to it huh,” Sarah said. She hadn’t planned that Leon would ask this question. “Well, there are two sides to every situation and while Dr Hopwood presents a very good impression, following significant media training I might add, there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes in her experiments that doesn’t see the light of day.”
“According to our sources, at least 20% of the animals that are experimented on suffer from mental trauma and three have died in captivity. While this may seem like a small number, it’s still the lives of innocent animals.”
“The biggest injustice is that they died or suffered traumatic experiences for no reason. What findings has she ever presented to benefit society?” Sarah paused for dramatic effect.
“Dr Hopwood’s findings have helped us to understand the behaviour of animals, how they heal, how they deal with the day to day ailments they pick up in the wild,” Leon responded.
“That’s all well and good but which of these findings could we not have lived without?” Sarah enquired.
She had a point. Leon was struggling to respond, he didn't really know as much about Dr Hopwood’s work as he thought and suddenly felt like the interviewee. Finally, he saw an opportunity to regain control.
“Not every piece of scientific research has to lead to an end result. Sometimes you need to gain understanding to move to the next stage of awareness. For some scientists, it’s like a journey. You gradually build up a level of knowledge until you get to see the whole picture.”
“Dr Hopwood is growing a catalogue of knowledge and while she may not have a final destination in mind for that knowledge, she’s discoverin
g all of the time,” he continued.
“It may not be as headline making as a cure for a disease but it could well be just as important. We just don’t know where this sort of scientific research could lead to.”
Impressed with his intellect and determination, Sarah realised she was not going to change Leon’s opinion.
“I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on Dr Hopwood’s work but I still stand by our reasons for looking out for those poor animals and sending a message to Dr Hopwood,” she said.
“So, how did you get involved in the activist world? Tell me about Sarah Jenkins?”
“Good change of subject.” Sarah chuckled as she spoke.
“I’m originally from around this area. When you live somewhere like Huntingdon with all of the scientific research facilities around you’re faced with a decision sooner or later. You’re either with them or against them.”
“I’ve always been surrounded by animals. I feel, no, I believe we should allow them to live a life as free as ours. So, I looked for an opportunity to get involved with helping them. That’s what led me to activism.”
It was a story that was quite familiar to Leon. He’d researched the area and stories of activists in preparation for this interview. It was a similar tale to that which he’d read about.
“I assume you’re a vegetarian?” He asked with a smile on his face.
Unsure whether this was a trap, she took the bait nevertheless and responded with just a little uncertainty: “Yes, of course.”
Leon didn’t buy her response, however he quickly and calmly came back with: “You did realise that plants can hear themselves being eaten. It’s a scientific fact.”
“For me it’s different if something has a spirit and a soul. I don’t feel as though plants do but animals certainly have.”
The rest of the interview was spent snatching the occasional glance and generally chatting. Sarah looked at her watch:
“Oh gosh, I’ve got to go. I didn’t realise the time.”
