Pain

by Adam Southward

  His story was detailed, crafted and delivered with the right amount of urgency. Alex left out only one detail.

  He left out the fact he’d taken Mia with him.

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  Alex replayed the story in his head. He’d been accurate and hadn’t faltered. It needed to be this way, he told himself. You did the right thing. A doctor’s first priority is the patient.

  Always.

  His body shook with exhaustion and stress, but a roar of engines made him peer out into the road. Four large articulated trucks were speeding towards him. They were white, unmarked, bumper to bumper. Alex stayed hidden as they passed him by but watched with interest. The trucks were travelling rather too fast for their size. In a great hurry, it seemed. Alex thought of the revving engines he’d heard during their escape. How many exits would there be on a complex the size of Nova’s? Several, he guessed, cursing at the sight of the last truck’s rear end.

  He hoped he wasn’t too late, but his heart skipped a beat when two black Transit vans appeared from the same direction. He ducked into the shadows and they passed without stopping, following the trucks. He stared after them, counting the seconds, thinking he’d left it too late. Part one of his plan was complete, but the second part – finding evidence at the Nova complex – was looking more doubtful with every second. If they’d cleared out, he’d be left with nothing.

  A few minutes later Laurie’s unmarked car screamed to the kerb. The temporary blue light flashed on the roof but the siren was muted. She jumped out and Alex met her at the entrance to the alleyway.

  ‘Christ, Alex.’

  She ran her hands over his chest. ‘Where are you bleeding?’

  ‘I’m not,’ he said, gripping her wrists, pulling them away. She was clearly worried, in near-panic. When Alex glanced at his shirt he could understand why – there was barely a patch not covered in blood.

  ‘It’s not mine,’ he said, waiting for her to understand, to calm down. She took her hands away and stepped back.

  ‘You scared the shit out of me,’ she said. Her eyes hardened, as if this was now his fault. Alex supposed it was but didn’t offer his apologies.

  ‘A patient in the facility.’ He indicated the alley and the way he’d come. ‘I tried to help him – he was bleeding out.’

  Laurie nodded, backing away. She pulled out her phone and made a call. Alex guessed who was on the other end.

  ‘Yes, ma’am,’ she said, ‘I’ve got him here. No, he’s fine.’ Laurie nodded a few times, staring at Alex. ‘Yes, possible casualties.’ She listened for a few moments. ‘Our suspect. Yes. Anastos. Alex says she’s in one of the warehouses.’

  Alex’s heart jumped, but his poker face was well rehearsed and he stayed calm.

  ‘Where?’ asked Laurie, glancing up.

  ‘Pickard Street is where they took me,’ said Alex, ‘but that whole place is high security – the buildings are all behind razor wire.’

  Laurie nodded, frowning. ‘I know, and it’s not just one street. These industrial estates were designed by idiots. Pickard winds around and back on itself for two miles. Several roads are called Pickard and no fewer than eleven different multinational companies own property along them. We’ve been parked at the various gates for hours. We haven’t managed to get a warrant for even one of them yet.’

  ‘A warrant?’

  ‘Yes. All we had was your word. Hartley let me take three cars to check it out after I lost my temper, but we can’t force entry without probable cause.’

  ‘Like a murder suspect inside?’ Alex remembered the number Mia had given him. ‘It’s warehouse 121 you want. The main compound. That’s where Nova is and where they held me. It’s where you’ll find Mia Anastos.’

  ‘One twenty-one?’

  Laurie relayed it over the phone. Alex could see her swearing under her breath. She hung up and breathed out slowly through her lips.

  ‘You lost your temper over me?’ he said.

  ‘Shut up,’ said Laurie.

  ‘Is Hartley angry?’

  ‘You could say that. She’s happy you’re OK, but yes, she’s fuming. I believe she told you not to come here.’

  Alex swallowed. Laurie didn’t seem to share Hartley’s anger, but she would struggle to take sides against her boss and Alex couldn’t ask her to.

  ‘When did you raise the alarm?’ he said.

  Laurie flushed. She looked embarrassed. ‘Not until this morning. I was angry after you stood me up.’

  Alex smiled. ‘You think I’d stand you up?’

  ‘You did!’

  ‘I was sedated and strapped to a chair.’

  Laurie shrugged, tucking her phone into her pocket with a wry smile. ‘I wouldn’t have stood you up,’ she said, indicating the car. ‘Get in.’

  ‘We need to go back,’ said Alex.

  ‘We are. Hartley is spinning the plates. Now we have a location and a murder suspect inside we don’t need a warrant.’

  ‘So you’re back on the case?’

  Laurie huffed. ‘No, I’m not. But Hartley is letting me tag along because she’s under-resourced. It’s just for today. Once we get Mia, I don’t know what will happen.’

  Alex jumped in beside her, his heart in his throat. He felt guilty for lying to Laurie and Hartley but remained convinced he’d done the right thing. The fact that he was deliberately misleading a murder investigation was disturbing, but he tried to push it to one side. The more important focus was Nova and their facility – to catch the people working there – any of them – and expose what they were doing. That was Alex’s priority.

  As Laurie’s car screamed away on the concrete, his thoughts turned to the woman who had given her name as Talia – who she might be and what she might want. He realised he hadn’t told Laurie anything about her and her Russian friend, except that they’d questioned him. Should Alex describe this strange woman who claimed to know him? Could the police help him find her?

  As they swerved through the dusty roads back towards Nova and Pickard Street, Alex decided to keep Talia’s words to himself. It was a vulnerability, something personal and hidden he needed to discover first before sharing. Talia was intriguing, and Alex didn’t feel threatened, but he had a strange feeling he hadn’t seen the last of her.

  Pickard Street. Laurie shot past the two parked patrol cars and headed towards the far end, where the road stopped and a large gate barred the entrance to a winding private road shielded by a row of trees. She pulled to within an inch of the gate and jumped out.

  ‘Satnav says this is 121.’

  Alex stepped out. He stared back towards the two patrol cars, which were turning in the street and heading towards them. If the white lorries had exited via this route, they would have been seen, in which case they must have gone out on a different road.

  A third car, unmarked, appeared in the distance. Alex squinted. It was Hartley’s BMW.

  ‘I was picked up by Security at the other end of this section of road,’ said Alex, remembering the black van. It had been yesterday but felt like an age. The sedative had messed with his head; his sense of time was off.

  Laurie stood over a small metal box set into the frame of the gatepost and pressed the single black button. A distant buzzer sounded through the tinny speaker.

  She waited a few seconds and pressed it again. The same buzzer sounded. Nobody answered.

  ‘OK,’ she said. ‘We’ll do it the hard way.’ She waved at one of the approaching patrol cars. It pulled over and she had a word with the two officers. One of them retrieved a pair of heavy bolt-cutters from the trunk and went to work on the gate.

  ‘There’s something you should know,’ said Laurie, watching Hartley’s car. ‘A member of parliament close to the commissioner has been linked to the Nova group. An investment fund of some sort.’

  Alex thought about it. ‘So that’s why Hartley told me to stay away?’

  Laurie nodded.

  ‘Is that why you were taken off the case?’
>
  Laurie shrugged. ‘The MP will be investigated, but this is sensitive, OK? Hartley was in an impossible position. Don’t mention it.’

  ‘Noted,’ said Alex, feeling for Hartley’s position while at the same time furious at the situation. He wondered if there were any medical corporations out there that weren’t rotten to the core. He didn’t hold out the same hope for politicians.

  At least it meant his decision about Mia was reinforced. There was no telling what would have happened to her in the system. If politicians were pulling the money strings, the current task force could be replaced with a puppet team whose only purpose would be to lock Mia up tight and make a good story for the press. He couldn’t trust them to do the right thing.

  Hartley pulled up as the gate swung open. She stepped out of the car and approached Alex and Laurie.

  ‘Christ, Alex,’ she said, looking at his clothes. ‘I hope none of that blood’s yours?’

  ‘Thankfully not.’

  Laurie turned to Hartley. ‘Alex says the guards may be armed. Should we wait for SCO19?’

  Hartley shook her head. ‘I’ve made enough enemies today. Let’s take this access road, carefully as we go. Any hint of firearms, and we withdraw and I’ll put in the call. Until then, it’s just us.’

  Alex shadowed Laurie and Hartley. They left the cars at the entrance and proceeded on foot, flanked by the four officers from the patrol cars. They were exposed as they reached the line of trees, pausing as a flock of birds took off in fright, singing their displeasure at the group of officers.

  Alex was astonished at the size of the compound in front of him beyond the trees. Straight ahead was a metal building the size of an aircraft hangar. To the left and right, joined by covered walkways, were more lightweight buildings with corrugated white plastic roofs. They looked futuristic and alien. The road they were on split into three, one ending in front of the hangar and the other two circling around to the left and right of the complex.

  Trying to get his bearings, Alex figured that he must have been kept towards the north-eastern corner. Exiting there would have taken him to the opposite fence and through to the road where he’d met Mikey. That must also be where the trucks and black Transit vans had exited.

  He tried to explain this to Hartley as they walked. She glanced at him, her face stony but troubled.

  ‘I hear you, Alex,’ she said. ‘We’ll enter the building based on your statement. If Mia Anastos is in there, we’ll all go home happy, job done. But I’m not sending half of London’s patrol cars out looking for unidentified white lorries. This is an industrial estate. This is London. Did you even get their registration numbers?’

  Alex conceded that he hadn’t. A stupid oversight, but in the moment he’d been more concerned about staying hidden. He seethed but kept his mouth shut. Nova couldn’t have cleared out everything. There would be something – a file, a sample. Some record of what they were doing.

  They all stopped in their tracks as a small door rattled open in the hangar. They watched two suited men walk out to greet them, accompanied by a single security guard in a blue outfit, nothing like the clothing worn by the men who had captured Alex.

  ‘Hello!’ shouted one of the suits. He had a posh voice and a broad smile. He wore an ID badge on his chest, as did his colleague and the guard. He walked up to Hartley and extended his hand. He looked nervous and apologetic. ‘I’m afraid our gate intercom is broken, but we saw you on the camera as soon as you turned the corner.’ He glanced at the assembled officers, who had their hands on their batons and were spacing out. ‘I do hope everything is alright?’

  It took three hours in total. At first, the suits introduced themselves as Mr Gray and Mr Shaw and led them into the reception area of the building. Both were shocked as Hartley laid out the situation and looked genuinely confused, asking her to clarify Alex’s claims.

  ‘We’re a conglomerate transport company,’ said Mr Gray. ‘Nova is not a name I recognise, but our investors and company divisions are international – wide and varied. I’d be happy for one of our legal team to discuss our portfolio with you, but I’m not sure we can help. Your story,’ the man went on, glancing at Alex, ‘is wildly . . . scary? I’ve never heard anything like it.’

  Alex shouted out in disbelief, but Hartley stopped him. ‘They’re lying,’ he said, his eyes darting from the suits to the reception area they’d been invited into. Pictures of ships and cargo planes dotted the walls. An uncomfortable-looking sofa stood under the window. A water cooler sat empty next to the reception desk, behind which the security guard had taken up position, his face blank, all emotion hidden.

  ‘This estate is a maze, to be honest,’ said Mr Gray. ‘There are millions of square feet of warehouses, offices and industrial plants. Perhaps you have the wrong place.’ He tailed off. His bright smile was fading and Alex noticed his eyes darting towards the corner of the reception area. Alex saw a small camera there.

  ‘Who’s watching?’ said Laurie, who must have been following Alex’s eyes.

  Gray reddened. ‘Nobody,’ he said, and smiled. It was forced and weak.

  ‘We’re going to examine this facility,’ said Hartley, ‘because we have reason to believe a murder suspect may be here, whether with your knowledge or without. I would advise you to assist us. If you don’t, I’ll bring a hundred officers here with a warrant and shut you down for a week. Your choice.’

  Gray’s already thin smile became thinner.

  ‘If you say so, DCI Hartley.’ He turned towards the guard. ‘Take them where they want to go.’

  The guard nodded. Alex noticed an almost imperceptible look pass between the two. Alex was screaming inside. These men knew. Were they stalling for time?

  The guard’s right hand went to his pocket. ‘Very well,’ said the guard.

  ‘I want to see the medical block,’ said Alex. ‘The patient rooms. Treatment rooms. Observation rooms.’

  The guard looked puzzled. He glanced over to Gray then back to Alex. ‘I’m afraid we don’t have anything like that here,’ he said. ‘Just warehouses full of crates. Thousands of them. We do ship a lot of medical supplies into the UK, for the National Health Service. I’m happy to show them to you.’ The guard’s stony face broke into a sneer.

  These people were playing with them, brazen in their defiance. Alex glanced at Laurie. Her eyes were narrow; she was studying the suits and the guard. The four patrol officers stood back, watching this play out, ready to step in if Hartley needed it.

  Alex had a thought. He rummaged in his pocket to make sure.

  ‘I have a security pass,’ said Alex, remembering he’d kept it after exiting through the gate. He produced it, waving it in the air. ‘I was given it by the armed woman who let me go after my detainment in one of your holding rooms. Perhaps we could see where this gets us? Unless she’s still here? She could tell you where we were.’

  Time slowed. Alex saw Mr Gray’s eyes widen at the sight of the card in Alex’s hand. His head snapped left to the guard, who was pulling something small and black from his pocket. Behind the guard, Mr Shaw spun on his feet, turning to run.

  Laurie moved first, throwing herself at the guard and pushing her arm into his neck, taking him down. Two of the other four officers jumped on top, while the remaining two secured Mr Gray. Mr Shaw crashed through the double doors at the back of the reception area, his footsteps thundering away. One of the patrol officers gave chase. The scuffle lasted under ten seconds, during which time Alex stood frozen, holding the security card.

  Laurie wrestled with the guard’s hand until he released his grip. Fearing a gun, Alex let out his breath when he saw it was a small mobile phone. Laurie sat on the guard’s stomach and checked the screen.

  ‘Who were you messaging, if you don’t mind me asking?’

  The guard clamped his lips shut and smiled. He looked unhurt by the scuffle and resolute in his silence.

  Alex glanced at Hartley, who already had her own mobile to her ear.


  ‘Where do you want to start?’ he asked.

  At that moment the fire alarm went off.

  It didn’t take them long to find it. The smoke was already billowing above the complex and they followed it around, jogging alongside the warehouses to the rear. They left the patrol officers with Gray and Shaw. The guard was shackled against a chair until backup arrived.

  Alex suspected he knew what had happened, but it was still a shock when they rounded a corner to see a smaller, squat brick building on fire. He recognised the double exit and the path towards the fence at the northern end of the complex. This was the building he’d left not an hour ago. This was the medical block where he’d been held, where Mia had been held, and where human subjects had been experimented on.

  He approached the building, feeling the heat pouring from it. Whatever accelerant had been used to start the fire was doing a good job. The roof was already burning and what few windows broke the charred walls had shattered, the flames licking out on to the scorched brickwork.

  Laurie gripped his shoulder.

  ‘That’s far enough, Alex,’ she said.

  He shrugged it off and took another step, feeling his skin burning under the raging heat.

  The final clean-up. What did they have left? Mia. A handful of doctors and suits who would no doubt tie them up with expensive lawyers for months. A building burned to the ground. A multinational company with a thousand secrets they’d never give up.

  Alex crouched, staring at the concrete, listening to the roar of the flames mixed with the increasing wail of sirens in the distance. Too late, he thought. Nothing would survive a fire like that. Nova knew what they were doing. Extreme, perhaps, and a setback, but they’d move on and set up somewhere else.

  Alex had failed again. His timing had been off. In his rush to save Mia he’d misjudged how quickly these people would cover their tracks. He’d expected the people to flee, but the complex itself . . . His visions of computer files and medical records faded into the flames. His plans of following the money trail back to the sponsors – the puppet masters – vanished into the smoke. He couldn’t meet Hartley’s eyes. She knew all of this. They would discuss it over the coming days. Right now, it was best left unsaid.