Any Opportunity Will Do

This is a dramatic story that as it plays out, it starts affecting so many, so as it unfold more ands more people become involved, and not unlike real life, each action is like a ripple in the pond, causing other reactions.

Two people are trying to escape a sadistic human sex trafficker, and there are some scenes of violence and of a sexual nature.

*

The ringing of the telephone in the lounge sounded loud as it drew the attention of John's cousin and Alexei Romanich. In the centre of the room the shot and injured person lay unconscious, and the pain hazed Katrina was unable to notice the strident noise that split the electric silence in the room.

"Don't fucking answer it." Screamed Alexei suddenly, as if the phone was alive, the gun in his shaking hand waving wildly between John's cousin and the others, none of which were in any state able to do so.

"It'll be the Police outside, wanting to talk to you. Wanting to help you." the pyjama clad man told him.

"I don't need anyone's fucking help!"

"Yes you do, your leg's badly wounded, the temporary tourniquet is stemming the bleeding a little but if you don't get help soon you may lose your leg, or even bleed to death."

Alexei stared at the older man, the gun towards him, pointing slightly down, as if the Russians arm was getting weaker and couldn't hold it up.

"Who do you think you are, a fucking Doctor?"

"Think man, you have a choice, you can bleed to death slowly your strength being depleted. Your temperature is rising and soon you won't have the strength to give yourself up and they'll come in. If you give yourself up willingly it'll go better for you. If they come in and get you they may come in shooting."

"There is another way."

"What's that?"

"I finish us all off, and then kill myself. Then they don't get me, and I win."

Shaking his head John's cousin said, "You don't have enough bullets left in the gun."

"I've got enough to take you out, and her."

*

Outside the negotiator was waiting for someone to pick up the ringing phone inside of the cottage, but it just rang. Having been appraised of the situation and gathering up as much information on Alexei and the hostages as he could the negotiator had rung the landline from the field telephone, trying to establish contact.

"He's not answering. We need to leave it a while, so as not to cause him any stress that might tip him over the edge." Putting down the field handset, and turning towards the tall man in charge, crouched next to him.

"How long?"

"Give it ten, fifteen minutes and then I'll try again. I need to control any outside influence on him, including not getting him wound up and any feelings that there is no way out." Sliding down to sit on the tarmac, he leant against the side of the black car, "Can you get me a portable first aid kit ready? My first offer is to give him any help in reducing the damage that he may have already done. If he feels that the situation can be reduced that he's caused, he may feel it easier to take assurances towards any later charges being reduced. I'll use this as a basis to the negotiation, just what he can get out of it if he gives himself up. The carrot at the end of the stick so to speak."

*

Meanwhile over on the Mainland, in a side street of Southsea just outside of Portsmouth, huddled together on a sofa the young coppers parents sat, a female Police Officer with them. Outside they could hear the noise of the press, waiting and hoping for statements; camera's trained towards the curtain covered windows, causing more pressure and stress to the worried couple who didn't know if their son was alive or dead.

"Such a lovely lad our Clive, never gave us any trouble growing up. Always wanted to be a Policeman ever since he was a young lad. Never brought home any girls, was too much focused on his career for them. Do you think he's alright?" His mother looked pleadingly at the Policewoman sitting opposite her, her hands shredding the paper tissue, her husbands arm around her ample shoulders.

"Mrs White, Clive's colleagues are doing everything they can to bring the situation to a happy conclusion. Please don't worry."

Just then the front door rang for the hundredth time that morning, and the mother jumped and started to cry.

"Those damned reporters, why don't they just go away and leave us alone?"

"Come on Evie, stop working yourself up, you know it's not what Clive would want. I'll make us another cup of tea shall I?" Getting up, her husband looked out at the gathering press through the net curtain as they stood blocking the street in front of the house.

Like a pack of hyenas waiting to feed upon the carcass of a dead animal, they waited for any sign that they could spring upon the worried couple, just to fill their news slots for the hungry public and their editors.

*

Curled up on the bed the young Polish girl sobbed, hungry and thirsty, the horrible manacle back chaining her to the bed, but now on her other ankle, her hands fixed behind her back by leather cuffs. Shivering naked on the bed, drained and aching she lay awaiting her fate, unaware of the young surveillance officer outside frantic with worry about her, or the communication buzzing back and forth between Nottingham and the Home Office about what had occurred.

*

"It could be a Political disaster if we leave her in there and she dies. How would it look to the press and the public?"

The minister sitting in his desk in Whitehall looked at his advisor and nodded, "Get the relevant paperwork together to get signed off for the raid, include in them the importance of gathering of evidence. Tell them to use her as the reason to do it, but the main focus is to get as much against Romanich and his empire as possible."

"It should take about an hour, but I'll have it signed off."

"Oh and tell Scotland Yard to get ready to do an internal on some of the Nottingham Officers. We need to handle the resulting mess when the shit hits the fan about the Detectives on the take as carefully as possible. I want to minimise the mess as much as we can. I'll brief the PM, and get his guidance to how he wants to handle the spin in the Press."

Walking out the office and down the corridor the Senior Civil Servant laughed to himself. Get guidance from the Prime Minister! Stupid idiot couldn't advise on how to punch his way out of a paper bag, let alone handle this possible big scandal. Just one of many to hit this government lately, still it might take the press attention away from the other stuff being leaked into the papers and damaging the Cabinet and the leadership at the moment.

Maybe they could use this as a bit of a distraction spin, and use it to their advantage after all. Anything to get their own dirty scandals from off the front pages.

*

Katrina drifted in and out of consciousness, the weight of Josh's hard naked body lying partly across hers trapping her, the blood from his wound seeping into the Police Officers jacket that half covered her battered and painfully crop marked torso from Alexei and John's cousin's eyes.

"At least let me help them to get comfortable. Have some pity man, she's badly hurt, and the weight of his body is pinning her down awkwardly. Let me move them and give them some help."

"Stay the fuck there!" The gun stayed pointed at him as Alexei moved his body into a more comfortable position, leaning up against one of the soft puffy chairs, his wounded leg sticking out in front of him, his other hand gripping the torn flesh where blood still was seeping out. "I'll tell you what you can do." Glancing around the room he spotted a Decanter with some amber liquid in it "Get me a drink, Whisky from over there. Bring me the whole lot."

Pulling himself up from sitting against the wall behind him, John's cousin edged his way slowly towards the end of the room, and picking up the amber filled glass decanter made his way towards Alexei.

Standing a little way away from the slumped man, he held out the Whisky, just enough to make Alexei have to reach up to grab it with his blood covered hand, his attention momentarily distracted, and as he clasped around the glass container, the older man kicked out his bare foot, hitting the hand holding the gun, and then into Alexei's crotch, causing him to scream out in pain, his finger curling in automatic reflex on the trigger in agony, shooting off another wild shot.

*

The loud sound echoed from inside the house, causing the people outside waiting to duck further behind their cover in shock. Men watched the quaint cottage, the front door hanging open obscenely where it had been kicked open hours before. In the ensuing silence the only sound that could be heard was the negotiator's exclamation, "Shitting hell. I wonder who the fuck he's shot, himself or one of the hostages?"

* Konstantin sat handcuffed in the interview room, staring across at the two detectives interviewing him. "I told you, I want to do a deal. I've got information you want, and I can help you, but only if I know I'm going to go free. I'll turn informant if I get total immunity."

"That's not up to us."

"Then get the bugger who can do the deal, and get him quick. If you want to know the whole thing, I'm your man. I know everything, but I'm not spilling my guts unless I get what I want."

*

Listening on the radio, John heard the announcer report that there had been another shot heard from the hostage situation down on the Isle of Wight, but no further information as to whom or how many people were hurt.

Running his hand through his hair, he sat at the desk in his friend Chris Gerard's Solicitors office, feeling sick to his stomach, worrying about Josh and Katrina, not knowing if they were safe and unhurt. He wished he was with them right now. This waiting was doing his head in, not knowing what was going on, the only way of getting any news of the situation was the same as everyone else in the UK, through the meagre news reports that were now being relayed every fifteen minutes.

Standing up he paced the small room, his mouth and face puffed up from the punches he had received at the hands of Alexei's men, the bruises turning a deep purple, but refusing to go to the hospital to be checked out, his only thought was on listening to the radio to get the news of his friend and the young woman who's escaping from that bastard had started the whole ball rolling only days before.

*

Listening also on the radio were the two security men left at Alexei's house. Sitting in their office, watching the black and white flickering pictures on the security screens one said to the other, "What the bleeding hell do we do now? Romanich is not going to be coming back here, and we're the ones who are in his house, guarding it with a naked and bound woman up in the attic. What if the Police come?"

"Well I'm not going to be found with her by the Old Bill, I'm off." And getting up, he unhooked the gun from his belt, and stepped out the room, followed by the other guard, both eager to save their own skins.

The Flickering monitors in the empty security room showed them walking out to the multi car garage at the side of the house and getting into a black SUV. Leaving the naked and bound woman alone locked in the attic and the two dogs barking tethered up in the kennels at the back of the house, they drove down the drive towards the big Iron gates.

At the back of the garage there sat a large chest freezer, the body of the shot Russian thug Petre dumped amongst the frozen meat and vegetables, waiting to be discovered. His murderer doing deals with the Police, about to put the final nail into his ex bosses nasty empire.