The Maid From the Raid

The Maid

When Rickie got into bed Emily was lying on her side facing away from him. He snuggled in behind her and started kissing her neck which he knew she liked. After a few minutes she started wiggling her bum into his crotch. He moved his left hand under her top and cupped her breast. He slowly circled around her nipple before flicking and pinching it. He repeated the process on the other breast which earned a soft moan.

She reached back, took him in her hand and found he was ready for action. She pulled down her pyjama bottoms, positioned him between her legs and closed them around him, trapping him in place. He started to move his hips back and forth. He could feel the head of his penis rubbing against her pussy lips. At first, he was on the outside but as her juices started flowing the outer lips opened up and he was rubbing along the inner lips.

She guided him so that he was rubbing against her nub. Now she was moaning louder and he was pumping faster. Suddenly she lifted her left leg and tried to guide him inside but he thwarted her by pulling back.

"What do you want?" he demanded.

"Give it to me," she moaned.

"Tell me what you want."

"I want you inside me."

He relented and pushed forward slowly. He was rewarded by the wonderful sensation of being enveloped in a hot, tight, juicy tunnel. He paused when he was in as far as he could go before starting to slowly pump in and out. Emily pushed back as he pushed in and they gradually built up steam. At some point they lost co-ordination and he was pulling when she was pushing. He put his hand on her hip to guide her while he went back to building up to the finish. Soon he reached the point of no return, grunted loudly and exploded inside her.

While he recovered he hugged her and kissed her on the shoulder. When his breathing returned to normal he withdrew from between her legs. She reached down, pulled up her pyjama bottoms and went to sleep. He rolled over onto his back and thought maybe they should do this more often before the beers he had earlier took over and he joined Emily in the land of nod.

The next morning Rickie arrived at work to find a message saying that the couple, Mr. and Mrs. Wang, at the centre of the fraud case he was working on, were arrested over the weekend. They were picked up during a raid on their home in Paris but no computers were found. This was bad. The whole team has spent 5 months patently following the online money trail and building the case against these people. Last week they finally reached the point where there was enough evidence to arrest the suspects and they hoped to find links to the other people involved in the operation.

The computers must have been at a different location so Rickie started to search for other properties linked to the couple. After a few hours he found a flat in Mayfair that was purchased through a shell company that they owned. He sent the information to his boss who started the process of obtaining a court order to raid the property.

The next day Rickie received a note that the raid was scheduled for early Thursday morning and that he should be involved to made sure any computers found were handled correctly. He was excited as it was very rare that he was required to leave the office and this would be the first time he was involved in a raid on a suspect's property. The raid was the talk of the office for the afternoon and Rickie's co-workers were jealous that he was involved.

That night at home he told Emily about the case and she was happy for him but not about the 5:30am alarm he set for the morning of the raid. He got his police uniform ready as he did not normally wear it into the office.

*

At 7am Thursday morning he was standing outside a very fancy apartment building with four other officers. He knew Inspector Taylor who was in charge of the fraud case. The others, who he had been introduced on the way, were Sergeant Wentai Li, Constable Aditi Pattni and Constable Graham Shaw.

The senior officer went into the building and spoke to the doorman. After a short conversion he came back and directed the group to enter the building. The doorman led them to the third floor and opened the apartment door. Rickie went in last. The others had already started to search the kitchen and lounge.

He was directed to look for computer equipment so he went down a hallway with two doors on the right and one on the left. He came to the first door on the right and tried to enter but it was locked. He remembered seeing some keys hanging up by the main door so went back to get them. The second key he tried worked and he opened the door to find a small bedroom with an en-suite. A quick look around the room revealed there were no computers. He was just about to leave when he spotted movement on the other side of the bed. He walked around the bed and was very surprised to see a terrified looking young girl sitting on the floor with her arms wrapped around her legs.

"Hello. What is your name?" he asked but got no response.

He crouched down beside the girl and smiled at her, trying to appear friendly.

"Do you live here?"

This time the response he got was that the girl burst into tears. He handed her a tissue from his pocket and she started speaking. After the first few words he realised that she was speaking Tagalog. His parents had moved to the UK from the Philippines and spoke Tagalog at home so he could understand what she was saying. He rarely ever spoke the language so when he asked her to slow down, he did so hesitantly and with a strong accent.

She looked at him in amazement when he spoke and then explained slowly that she was a maid and has been locked in the room for five days and was very hungry. He asked her name to which she replied that she was Liezel. He rose up and offered her his hand to help her up. This was the first time he had a good look at her. She appeared to be about 16 or 17 and was very thin. She was wearing an old grubby tee shirt that was big enough to be a dress on her. He removed his jacket and put it around her shoulders. He explained that there were other officers in the apartment so she should not get frightened, before leading her out to the kitchen. She held onto his arm like a small child as they walked out.

The other officers were very surprised to see the young girl and he explained who she was and her circumstances to his boss. The inspector said that they would deal with this as a case of people trafficking and instructed one of the officers to contact social services. He also asked to have a doctor available when the girl was brought to the station.

Rickie opened the fridge to see if there was any food and Liezel said her food was in the freezer. There were a number of different frozen meals and Liezel picked out one and put it in the microwave. She looked very frightened around the other officers and stayed close to Rickie. While she ate he asked more questions and found out that she had been in the apartment for over two years. She was born in a small village in the Philippines and she was 17 when her parents sold her to a man who said that he would find work for her in the US. She spent weeks on a ship with other girls before being brought to work for a couple who she called sir and madam. She had not left the apartment since she arrived and thought that she was in the US.

Rickie explained to her that she was in London and that her employers were in trouble with the law. She asked what would happen to her if sir and madam were sent to jail. He had to admit that he did not know what would happen in the long term but he explained that today she would be taken to the police station. There she could tell her story and a doctor would examine her.

While Liezel was eating the other officers were searching the apartment and they found a study with computer equipment. They asked Rickie to gather the equipment to be taken away for examination. Liezel did not want to stay in the kitchen and followed him closely when he went to the study. He asked her more questions about her treatment as he put the computers and storage devices into a bag.

The inspector came in and said that they needed to take Liezel down to the station and Rickie should go with her. Rickie asked her if she had any clothes to wear and she said that she had another tee shirt but it was in the wash. He explained the problem to the inspector who suggested that they borrow some items from the large closet in the main bedroom. Aditi offered to help and Rickie explained to Liezel that she should go with her to pick out clothes to wear to the station. He had to assure her that she would not get in trouble for taking her employers things. Liezel was very reluctant to leave Rickie but he pointed out that he was taking her to the station so he would not go anywhere until she was ready.

Twenty minutes later the two women emerged from the bedroom. Liezel, her hair still wet from a shower, was wearing sneakers, black trousers and a grey sweat top, all of which were much too big for her. She looked relieved when she saw Rickie and moved over to give him back his jacket. While they were gone Rickie had finished packing the computer equipment and was ready to go. He asked Liezel if she had any possessions that she would like to take with her as she may not come back to this flat again. He went with her as she collected her toothbrush and an old picture of her family. These were the only things she owned.

Aditi helped him carry the bags and, with Liezel following closely, they made their way down to the car. Aditi drove while Rickie pointed out some of the sights to Liezel. She sat wide-eyed in the back seat watching the city go by. When they got to the police station Aditi and Rickie retrieved the bags from the boot and Liezel held his arm as they went into the building.

"You have gained an admirer today," Aditi said, gesturing towards Liezel.

"This is all so strange to her. She is so frightened she just needs someone there to make it less scary. By the way thank you for helping out with the clothes."

"You are welcome. She is so sweet. She did not want to take any of the good clothes and as you can see it was difficult to find anything at all that would fit her."

"What will happen to her now?" he asked.

"When we get the paper work done a social worker will come and take her to sheltered accommodation. After that it will depend on how she is classified and what the judges decide."

They dropped off the computer equipment to have it catalogued. Aditi then showed them to a room with a table and some chairs.

"Wait here and an officer will come to take a statement. When you are finished stay here and I will bring the doctor over," Aditi said before leaving.

Rickie got two waters and asked Liezel if she wanted tea or coffee but she declined. He asked her if she was okay and she nodded. She said that he spoke funny. He laughed and explained that he was born in England so he had a London accent. Wentai came in and said that he would take the statement. It was a long process with Rickie translating the questions and answers but eventually they had a full account of Liezel's life working for the Wangs.

As he left Wentai said, "Poor girl has been through a hard time. I still don't understand how people can be so cruel to a child."

"I hope we can prove the case against these people and they get what they deserve," Rickie replied.

"I will let Aditi know you are ready for the doctor."

About ten minutes later Aditi arrived with the doctor who she introduced as Tracy. They moved to another room that had a bed and some medical equipment. Tracy asked many questions which Rickie translated. A couple of the questions were about Liezel's period which he found difficult to translate as he did not know the Tagalog word for period. When he did make myself understood Liezel got very embarrassed but answered as best she could.

Tracy asked him to leave the room so that she could conduct a physical exam. When she was finished she came out and told him that there was no evidence of physical abuse but that Liezel had been very under nourished over a long period. When Liezel came out she stood beside him and held his arm. He was beginning to get a bit worried about what would happen when he had to leave.

Aditi returned and said, "The social worker will be here in about an hour so you have time to get lunch."

"Thanks Aditi. Is it okay if we go out?" he asked.

"Yes, of course. Just don't get lost," she laughed.

He asked Liezel if she liked pizza and she said that she had never eaten pizza so he decided that they would have to fix that immediately. As the police station was close to the headquarters where he worked Rickie knew all the local restaurants and his favourite pizza place was only five minutes away. Liezel was fascinated by the people, the shops, the cars and the tall buildings.

He ordered a salad and a medium pizza for them to share. He loved watching her try the pizza and the look of joy on her face when she took the first bite. This was the first time he saw her relaxed and smiling. During the meal they talked about his family and about her life before she was taken from her home. Sitting there in clothes that were far too big for her she looked so lost and alone. Her family had abandoned her to a gang of smugglers and she had no one in the world to turn to. His heart went out to her and he decided that he would do whatever he could make her life better from now on.

*

Back at the station they waited for about ten minutes before Aditi came in with the social worker who she introduced as Dorothy Reid.

"Everyone calls me Dot," she said before turning to Liezel and saying, "Who do we have here?"

"This is Liezel. She is from the Philippians and does not speak English," Rickie explained.

"Ok. Let's get the paper work out of the way first. Then we can see what we can do for Liezel. We might even be able to get some clothes that fit."

Dot was a bundle of energy and Rickie observed her as she got some forms out of her bag. She had a northern accent and he guessed that she was in her forties. Soon he was busy translating and answering questions as they completed the forms.

When they were done he asked Dot, "What happens next?"

"First we need to get Liezel's consent to file a claim for her as a victim of modern slavery. If she is okay with that then I can arrange accommodation and process a claim for an allowance. This will cover the next 30 days and can be extended if she is required to testify against the defendants."

He explained the situation to Liezel and she agreed to sign the forms. The rest of the afternoon was spent with Dot making arrangements and submitting online forms. Eventually everything was complete and she was ready to take Liezel to her new digs. Dot asked Richie if he could come along to help her settle in. He agreed and sent Emily a message letting her know he would be late home.

They travelled on the tube and Liezel was amazed by the long escalators and the crowds of commuters. She asked lots of questions and Rickie patiently answered all her queries. Although both he and Dot travelled on the tube everyday they could not help but be caught up in her wonder. When they reached their destination, they found an older four-story terraced building. Dot explained that there were up to seven other girls living there, all either trafficking victims or seeking asylum.

A young woman, who managed the house, came to greet them at the door. Her name was Vanessa and she handled any day to day issues for the girls in the house. She took them on a tour of the common areas which were on the ground floor and comprised of a kitchen and lounge where they met three of the residents. They then proceeded to the second floor to see the room allocated to Liezel. It was a small room with a single bed and desk. There was a package on the bed with toiletries and pyjamas.

Vanessa went over the rules of the house and she gave Liezel keys for her room and the front door. Dot said that she would return in the morning and take Liezel to sign up for her allowance and go grocery shopping. Rickie swapped numbers with both Vanessa and Dot so they could get in contact if there were any issues. Since Liezel had no food in the house, Rickie thought he should take her out for dinner. He extended the invitation to Vanessa and Dot.

Dot accepted but Vanessa had another new girl arriving to the house so could not leave. She recommended a pub nearby that served good food. It was only ten-minute walk but the pub was busy and they had to wait a while for a table. Liezel was happy watching the diners, fascinated by their clothes and hair styles. Everything was so new to her. Dot quizzed Rickie on his role with the police and he explained how he normally worked at a desk on computer fraud.

"This has been such an unusual day. First being involved in the raid on the apartment and then finding Liezel. I was very shocked when I saw her and when she spoke Tagalog I thought it must be fate that put me there. I had expected to recover some computers and take them back to my office, not get involved in a human trafficking case."

"Your first time to face a case like this. That explains your attachment to the girl," Dot said.

"She has been treated so badly by her family, the smugglers and the couple that own the apartment and yet she still has so much wonder for life. I am sure you have seen many cases that are worse than this."

"Yes. In some ways she was lucky that you found her when you did. In many of these cases after a few years the girls are moved to the sex industry where they are treated even worse."

They were called to their table and Liezel asked Rickie to choose her food as she wanted to try something new. He decided she should sample some English food so he ordered fish and chips with a strawberry milkshake. Himself and Dot could not help but laugh at the look of pure pleasure on her face when she tried the shake. While they ate they had a 3-way conversation with Rickie translating.

This got tiring and he struggled to pronounce some of the words well enough for Liezel to understand. Earlier she had been too nervous but now she laughed at some of his efforts. He decided that he needed help so he showed Dot how to set up her google translate for Tagalog and she was able to talk directly to Liezel who was amazed by the technology. When the bill came Rickie insisted on paying despite Dot's objections.

"I invited you for a meal so there is no way I can allow you to pay. Consider it a small thank you for all you have done for Liezel. You have been so helpful," he said.

"Thank you. I don't expect any gifts as I am just doing my job."

"I am sure you are well outside your working hours now and I just want you to know it is appreciated."

"Speaking of hours, it is time I went home. Are you okay to take Liezel back to the house?"

"Yes, of course. I will drop her back."

She turned to Liezel and used her phone to tell her that she would come to her room at 10am in the morning. She gave her a hug and said her goodbyes. On the way back to the house Liezel said that she liked Dot and that she was a very nice person. When they arrived, Rickie made sure that she could open the front door and that she knew where her room was.

When he said that he was leaving she rushed to him and hugged him tightly and started crying. He said that he would come back to see her soon. She asked if he would come tomorrow but he explained that he had to work but he would see her on Saturday. With difficulty he extracted himself and left the house. He felt bad leaving her on her own but he reminded himself that she was in a safe place.

By the time he reached home Emily was getting ready for bed. He excitedly told her all about his day. She was very happy to see him so enthusiastic. When he told her about how he translated for Liezel she said that she had never heard him speak Tagalog even with his parents. He also said that he had promised to take Liezel out for a while on Saturday.