Innocent Girls

by Terence Mitford

  Natasha hugged her. ‘I will look forward to hearing about it. I won’t be long, and when I get back we are going to spend the rest of the summer together, so we will have plenty of time to talk, okay?’

  Katerina smiled and wiped a tear as it ran down her cheek. ‘Okay.’

  Natasha gave her mum the ten thousand pound bundle of fifty pound notes, then waved to her and Katerina until they disappeared from view at the security gates. She returned to Mason just in time for them to catch their own flight back to Heathrow Airport.

  Two hours later they were in a new hire car searching for the house Natasha was taken to by Stefan a few weeks back. She had a vague recollection of the route they took until a hood had been placed over her head. After that, the only clue she could offer was that the house was Victorian and had waste ground behind it. She remembered the view from a rear bedroom window and how she had tried in vain to attract the attention of a man walking a dog.

  Mason pulled into a garage and bought a large street map of the area. He spread it out between them and they studied it looking for patches of waste ground close to residential housing. There were just two possibilities. Mason marked them both with a pen then set off to locate the first. Having lived and worked in West London he had a good knowledge of the area and had soon found the first location he had marked on the map.

  He parked close and they made their way on foot down a path to the waste ground.

  The light was starting to fade but as they entered the grassy wasteland Natasha’s focus was immediately drawn to the back of a row of terraced houses. She studied them for a moment then pointed to an upper bedroom window. ‘That’s it.’

  Mason asked, ‘Are you sure?’

  Natasha shifted her focus to bushes close to the back of the house and nodded. ‘I’m sure. The man I saw walking his dog disappeared from view behind those bushes. The window on the ground floor at the back was boarded up.’

  Mason said, ‘Wait here, I’ll take a look.’

  Natasha waited while Mason pulled himself up to look over the back wall. Then he dropped back down, turned to her, and nodded.

  Her heart skipped a beat as the memories of what happened in that house flooded back. She had been raped in the boarded up room by Stefan and three of his men minutes after arriving there. And Stefan had raped her again in the bedroom above it the following day.

  Mason made his way back to her. ‘Okay, how many men did they have guarding the girls?’

  She had to think for a moment. ‘Three most of the time.’

  ‘I’ll knock on the front door and pretend to be a punter.’

  ‘I’m coming with you.’

  ‘You can’t, they’ll recognise you.’

  ‘Good, I want Stefan to know why I’m going to kill him.’ She pulled a small kitchen knife from her back pocket. ‘I took this from the cafe at the airport, it was the biggest they had, but it will do.’

  ‘Were the guys in the house armed?’

  ‘I don't know about guns but there was always one who had a knife. He was usually on the door.’

  ‘Okay I’ll deal with him first.’ Mason turned away.

  Natasha grabbed his arm. ‘Leave Stefan to me. I need to finish it with him. It’s personal.’

  Mason nodded.

  Then she said, ‘I have an idea. You go in first and tell them you have a delivery for them.’

  ‘What am I delivering?’

  ‘Me.’

  ‘No way.’

  ‘It’s the only way to get me in there without starting a war. We don’t have any firearms, remember.’

  ‘I don’t like this, Natasha.’

  ‘We are so close to finishing it once and for all. When Stefan is dead I can go home to Katerina. She needs me. And I need to do this.’ She reached up and kissed Mason full on the lips. Then stood back down. ‘Please help me one last time and we can both go home.’

  ‘I think your welcome will be a little warmer than mine.’

  ‘Well, the quicker we do this, the sooner you’ll find out if Kathy meant what she said.’

  Mason stared at her for a long moment. Then sighed. ‘Okay, let’s do it.’

  47

  MASON

  They returned to the hire car and Natasha jumped into the boot and closed the lid. Mason drove around to the front of the house and parked. Before he got out he turned and spoke over his shoulder. ‘Are you sure about this?’

  The muffled reply came from behind the rear seat. ‘Yes, I am. It’s the only way.’

  Reluctantly, he got out and headed for the front door. Deep down he knew Natasha was right. If he’d been planning this without any emotional attachment he would have been happy about this plan. It would provide the best chance of success other than calling in the local police, which was not an option. They would have too much explaining to do, and British police, and courts for that matter, don’t appreciate vigilantes. So they were on their own, and this was the best plan. He just wished he could have left Natasha in a safe place and finished this himself. But he understood her need to be there and even be the one who send’s this Stefan character to hell.

  He knocked on the door, stood back, and glanced over to the hire car close by. He hoped he wouldn’t regret allowing Natasha to call the shots.

  The door opened and a man spoke with a broad East European accent. ‘What do you want?’

  Natasha had described Stefan and this wasn’t him. This man was shorter, stockier, and darker skinned.

  ‘I need to speak to Stefan.’

  The man squinted at Mason. ‘Who’s asking.’

  ‘Gustav sent me. He said Stefan would be interested in what I have.’

  ‘We don’t know any Gustav.’

  ‘Stefan does. Tell him I’ve just come from Brussels.’

  ‘Wait there.’ The door was slammed shut, and when it opened again a few minutes later the same guy waved him inside. ‘Follow me.’

  Mason followed the man down the hall to a kitchen-diner at the back of the house. Two men sat at the kitchen table. One was short and skinny but the other was tall, broad shouldered, with thick black hair, square jaw, and a cold stare that matched Stefan’s description.

  Mason said, ‘You must be Stefan.’

  Stefan studied Mason a moment then grunted a response. ‘Who wants to know?’

  ‘Gustav sent me.’

  ‘What does he want now? He just bought my best girl. I had big plans for her.’

  ‘That’s why I’m here. He sent me with a gift for you. He said it’s something you’d want. Something you lost and would be happy to get back.’

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘I have Natasha in the boot of my car. I’ve just smuggled her in from Europe.’

  Stefan perked up at the mention of Natasha’s name. ‘Is this some sort of joke?’

  ‘It’s no joke. She’s Gustav’s gift to you. And he hopes you have fun unwrapping her.’

  Stefan turned to the guy sat opposite him. ‘What are you waiting for? Go and get her.’

  The skinny guy jumped up and looked at Mason, then headed for the door.

  Mason followed him out and led him over to the car. He unlocked the boot and pulled Natasha out. They checked the road was clear before escorting her to the house.

  Stefan was waiting at the door and a huge grin crossed his face as soon as he saw Natasha. ‘Well, well, it’s so nice to see you again.’ He gripped her arm and pushed her towards the stairs. ‘You know what’s coming. We have a lot of catching up to do.’

  Stefan turned back to Mason. Thank you my friend. My men will take care of you while I’m busy.’ He looked at the skinny guy. Get him a drink and give him his pick of the girls, on the house, of course.’ Then he continued up the stairs, pushing Natasha in front of him.

  Mason watched her until she was out of sight. He had already told her he would wait until she made her move before dealing with Stefan’s men.

  48

  NATASHA

  Natasha walked into the
back bedroom and Stefan followed and closed the door. She looked at the bed and remembered when he had tied her to it and cut off her clothes with scissors.

  She turned around to face him.

  He locked the door and removed the key just like he had done several weeks ago before he raped her. Back then she had been a frightened victim, helpless, and completely under his control. But a lot had changed since the last time she was in this room.

  He didn’t know it yet, but this time it would be different. Very different.

  He grinned at her. ‘Take off your clothes.’

  She just stared at him.

  ‘I won’t tell you again.’

  ‘You already had my sister abducted, so what more can you threaten me with now.’

  ‘Oh I can make you regret ever being born. So do as I say and strip.’

  She shook her head. ‘If you want my clothes off, you’ll have to take them off yourself.’

  He studied her for a moment then smirked. ‘All right, I’ll do it. It will be like old times. But I’ll make you regret disobeying me.’

  She backed away as he crossed the room. She knew what she was going to do but she couldn’t help the anxiety filling every fibre of her body. Last time she was in this house with Stefan she complied only because he had threatened to abduct her young sister if she didn’t. So as she looked into those same cold eyes that had terrified her just a few short weeks ago, she couldn’t help a moment of doubt and hesitation.

  But then he was standing in front of her, breathing the same air, and occupying the same square metre of floor space, and as his hands grabbed at her shirt and started to lift it up, all apprehension and hesitancy ebbed away. She was no longer thinking about her actions. It was all automatic, as if her hand holding the knife was an independent entity and she was just a mere bystander watching the villain in some drama getting what was coming to him.

  His eyes widened and seemed to glaze over, and his mouth dropped open as he gasped for air, no doubt an instinctive response to the knife buried up to its hilt in the side of his neck. He raised his hand up to the wound and staggered back. Blood surged through his fingers down over his chest and pooled on the floor around his feet. He stared at her in disbelief as it probably dawned on him he was dying at the hands of a girl. And not just any girl. But one he had kidnapped, raped, and forced into the illegal sex trade.

  Natasha followed him as he staggered backwards, guiding him to the double bed that he had tied her to a few weeks before. As he collapsed onto it she stood over him looking down with a smirk similar to the one he had shown her while she had been tied and helpless. ‘I want you to know before you die. It was me who killed your organisation’s men across Europe. I watched every one of them die just like I’m going to watch you.’

  The blood flooding his throat caused him to gurgle as he spoke. ‘You will be dead soon. Gustav will hunt you down.’

  She laughed. ‘Sorry to disappoint you, but you’ll be seeing Gustav before me. We sent him to hell earlier today with the rest of his gang. It could be a little crowded down there in arrivals, but he will be easy to spot. He will be the one with the left side of his head missing.’

  Stefan stared at her as the blood seeped out between his fingers.

  'What's up, Stefan? Are you trying to work out where you went wrong? I can help you with that. If you hadn't given out the order to take my sister I would be home now trying to forget you and your kind, and you wouldn't be laid there with a knife sticking out of your neck. Funny how every action has a reaction, isn't it?’

  She reached over and gripped the handle of the knife. ‘Anyway, Stefan, it’s been fun chatting with you again. But you have to go now, so have a nice trip.’ She twisted the knife, ripped it out, and watched his body convulse as a horizontal stream of crimson pumped out over the bed and then slowed to a trickle. One last twitch and then he lay still.

  As she stared down at his lifeless body she waited for the feeling of elation that she had pictured so many times in her mind when she had imagined this moment. It didn’t come. But the dark cloud that had been following her around for weeks began to lift and drift away. No elation, but a kind of peaceful tranquility that would have to do.

  She dropped the knife and looked down at her hands. They were covered in blood. His blood. She rushed to the bathroom to clean up but came face to face with one of Stefan’s men on the landing. He looked at her hands then reached behind his back, probably for something tucked down his waistband.

  She moved fast, and planting both hands in the centre of his chest, she pushed as hard as she could. As he stumbled back his foot stepped out into thin air over the top stair. Down he went, head first and backwards, tumbling all of the way to the bottom where he lay still. The man on door duty looked down at his friend, then up at Natasha. ‘What the fuck,’ he shouted as he headed for the stairs.

  Natasha braced herself as she stared down at his face twisted with rage. But he had barely reached the second stair before Mason grabbed him and pulled him back. The ensuing fight was one sided. Several blows to the man’s face rendered him unconscious on the floor next to the guy with two bloody handprints on his chest.

  Mason bent down and removed a pistol from the first man’s clenched hand and checked the second man for weapons. Then he looked up at Natasha. ‘Funny looking knife.’

  She shrugged. ‘Sorry.’

  Mason shrugged. ‘Is it done?’

  She nodded. ‘It’s done.’

  Then she remembered what this house was used for and turned to the bedroom where she and five other girls had been held waiting for clients.

  Inside she found four girls sitting on the same mattresses spread over the floor in the same layout. They gasped when they saw her bloodstained hands. ‘It’s okay,’ she said. ‘It’s Stefan’s blood.’

  They just stared at her.

  ‘He’s dead, you are free.’

  One by one the fear melted away from their faces and was replaced by smiles of relief. They jumped up and hugged each other, then one of the girl’s turned to Natasha. ‘Can we go?’

  ‘Yes, you are free to go.’ Tears streamed down Natasha’s face. She knew exactly what these girls had been through and what it meant to them to be free from Stefan and this evil organisation.

  As the girls filed past Natasha they each paused and thanked her. She smiled and acknowledged each one in turn and followed them down the stairs. The bodies on the floor didn’t seem to bother them, and Mason stepped back indicating he was not a threat, but he asked them to wait by the door for a moment. ‘Do any of you need help getting home?’

  They shook their heads and one of them asked, ‘Are you the police?’

  Mason shook his head.

  ‘Then we can manage. We would prefer not to wait for the police if that’s all right.’

  ‘That’s fine,’ Mason said. ‘But please, give me a minute.’

  He went to the kitchen where he found a tin stuffed full of cash. He returned and handed it to the girls. ‘Take this and share it out.’

  They looked at Natasha. She nodded. ‘Are you sure you are going to be okay?’

  They smiled, probably for the first time since they had been taken, then turned and left.

  Mason looked down at Natasha’s hands. ‘You might want to clean up a little before we leave.’

  She looked down at the blood again and sighed. ‘I won’t be long.’ She made her way back up to the bathroom.

  As she washed the blood away in the bathroom sink she remembered how she had felt on the first day she had been brought there, especially after she had been raped and then made to shower in one of the two cubicles behind her. A lot had changed since that day.

  She stared into her eyes in the bathroom mirror. They were different. The fear had gone, and she was no longer the helpless victim she once was. Katerina was back with her family, safe. Jessica too. And if not destroyed, the Kestrati organisation was seriously weakened. She dried her hands on her jeans as she walked b
ack down to Mason. They slammed the door behind them and never looked back.

  As Mason drove away Natasha took out her mobile phone.

  Mason glanced across at her. ‘Who are you calling?’

  ‘I have to give someone special the good news.’

  When the call was answered, Natasha said, ‘Hello, Alison, how are you?’

  ‘I’m doing good, Natasha, and all the better for hearing from you.’

  ‘I just had to tell you the good news.’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘It’s over. With Mason’s help we found Katerina. She was unharmed and by now will be back home.’

  ‘That’s great news, Natasha, but why are you not with her?’

  ‘I had to pay someone a visit in London. I could never have relaxed if I hadn’t.’

  ‘How did it go?’

  ‘Let’s just say we don’t have to worry about a certain person anymore. I think you’ll know who I mean.’

  ‘I do, and I’m glad to hear that.’

  ‘I will ring you tomorrow, Alison, and I hope to see you soon. We still have that magazine feature to finish.’

  ‘I will look forward to it, Natasha.’

  Two hours later they were at the airport awaiting Natasha’s flight home. They stood together like a courting couple saying goodbye. Natasha looked into his eyes. ‘We did good didn’t we?’

  Mason nodded. ‘We did good.’

  ‘We made a difference and we saved a lot of girls from a life of hell?’

  ‘We did, and you did what you set out to do. You got your little sister back.’

  Natasha nodded. Then narrowed her eyes.

  ‘What is it, Natasha?’

  ‘I was just thinking. There are a lot more gangs like The Kestrati out there. And a lot more victims like me, and Katerina, and Jessica, and the girls I met in that house back there.’

  Mason’s brow furrowed. ‘Are you thinking what I think you are thinking?’

  ‘Probably, you know me well enough by now to read my thoughts.’