Sarah was in shock, on the run, trying to stay hidden on the streets. She had kept to the back streets hoping they would be less likely looking for her there. She was on foot, had only the clothes she wore, no money, no access to funds. Her thin jacket inadequate to protect her from the cold night air. Panic and tiredness was closing in on her.
She had walked in on a violent and bloody revenge killing: payback and a message to others who thought they could mess with “The Family.” And now that crime family were after her. She had been running an errand for her father and had returned to the garage instead of going straight home as she had been told to do. As soon as she had realised what she had walked in on, she had backed out in shocked silence, and had run. She knew she had been seen. She had had a few minutes’ head start before they had given chase. She had managed to give them the slip, for the moment. It wouldn’t last.
She knew she wouldn’t survive on the run for long. She would be tracked if she went to a motel, or switched on her phone or use her bank card. Those chasing her had contacts everywhere, including in the police, which was why she hadn’t gone to them for help. She didn’t know who she could trust. She needed to find a safe place to hide out for the night and think.
Her only family – her father and brother - she now knew, were actively involved with the crime family. She has seen them there in the middle of that bloody mess. She had been so stupid, thinking her father’s garage was just a regular car repair garage. She should have known it was a front for the crime family. The signs had been there but she had been too naive or trusting to understood them. She loved her Dad and couldn’t reconcile in her mind what she had seen.
Her body jerked as something cold and hard pressed into her. Gasping in fright, stumbling, turning, her back hit the wall. It took a few seconds for her to comprehended it was a dog, not a gun that had touched her. Heart beating furiously. She looked around. The road was quiet. No-one was about. The dog sat down in front of her, looking up at her as if it was waiting for her to decide which way to go, its presence strangely comforting.
It was late. She needed to find somewhere to rest for the night. Slipping down a short alley, the dog at her side, she saw a dilapidated shed with a broken door. The dog went inside, then came to the door and looked up at her, tail wagging before turning back inside. She followed. The shed was dark and musty but dry. She felt around and found a corner out of sight of the door and sank down exhausted. The dog curled up at her side, sharing its warmth. His slow breathing calmed her own rapid pulse.
A man standing in a dark doorway tracked their movements. His dog had done his job well. The man had been following her since he had seen her run from the garage. He had used his dog before to help keep track of people. It was well trained and the tracker in its collar allowed him to monitor its movements. He knew who she was and what she was running from. He also knew the Family had an army of people looking for her and would reward whoever found her. He needed to get to her before others found her but first, he had to meet with a contact.
Plans now in place, it was still dark when he entered the alley. He whistled quietly to let the dog know he was there. Slipping into the shed, his eyes adjusting to the darkness, he saw the girl curled up in the corner asleep.
Startled awake, eyes wide, Sarah looked around just as a hand came over her mouth and an arm round her body. Squirming, twisting, hitting and kicking out she fought but couldn’t break the hold. Panic consumed her and she felt blackness take over as she fainted.
It took a few seconds before she remembered what had happened. Arching and twisting, legs and arms flailing, she tried to escape the hold before sinking back in defeat as her energy gave up. Opening her eyes, she saw the dog sitting relaxed, tongue lolling, watching intently, listening. Her mind struggled to make sense of the dog and then of the man behind her still holding her, talking quietly in her ear.
“Who are you and what are you going to do with me” she whispered.
“I’m Sean and I am working with the police. I know what’s happened and I’m here to help you. Are you going to stop fighting me now, can I let you go Sarah?” She nodded.
The fight left her as the inevitability of her situation settled in. Sarah knew that she really had no choice but to see what this Sean man planned to do with her. He hadn’t hurt her, as she knew others would have but she didn’t trust him to be telling her the truth. Emotionally and physically spent, her head aching, Sarah just did what she was told, too tired to think or question.
Sean drove them in his large, dark windowed car to an abandoned warehouse in a fenced plot of waste land. A gate opened in the fence as they arrived and a large door at the side of the warehouse slid open, shutting behind them when they were through.
Several vehicles were parked there and the workbenches were covered in mechanical and electrical equipment. Another man, introduced as John, was standing at a large desk housing several computers and large screens. These seemed to be showing live feeds from cameras from different locations, including the streets surrounding the warehouse.
She followed Sean up the stairs to a large open living area with several rooms off to one side. He opened one of the doors to a bedroom suite. “This will be yours until we can sort out something else. Have a look round, make yourself at home, then come out and I will get you something to eat”. He added they would be meeting with a detective later that morning.
Sarah sank down on the bed feeling numb, trying to make sense of what had happened in the last few hours and what was going to happen now. She closed her eyes and just sat there. The dog wandered in, putting his head on her lap. She cuddled into him and cried.
The meeting with the detective took several hours, although what she had seen had only taken a few seconds. She was grilled over and over again for all the details she knew – what did she see, who was there, what they were wearing, what was said, who did what, what she knew from working in her father’s garage. She felt some relief from getting it out and giving it to someone else to deal with but became deeply distressed and grieving as she talked about her father and brother.
Sarah knew there was no going back from this. She would no longer have her family and was on her own. Her mind struggled to understand the reality of her life now. The trial wouldn’t happen for at least a year, if it ever got that far. She was still being hunted, if she was found, she would be killed.
The detective had said she would be placed in a safe house. Sean argued that they knew the police had been compromised and any mention of her location on the police system could be accessed and would make her a sitting target. He would take care of Sarah’s safety.
The detective looked at Sarah. “I want to stay with Sean” she whispered.
They left the police station through a back door. Sean’s car was parked nearby and the car’s dark windows prevented anyone from seeing Sarah. Sean sped away, making sure he was not followed before returning to the warehouse. Once inside, he told Sarah that she would be staying there until he had arranged for an alternative location for her. All she could do for now was to take each day as it came.
She had walked in on a violent and bloody revenge killing: payback and a message to others who thought they could mess with “The Family.” And now that crime family were after her. She had been running an errand for her father and had returned to the garage instead of going straight home as she had been told to do. As soon as she had realised what she had walked in on, she had backed out in shocked silence, and had run. She knew she had been seen. She had had a few minutes’ head start before they had given chase. She had managed to give them the slip, for the moment. It wouldn’t last.
She knew she wouldn’t survive on the run for long. She would be tracked if she went to a motel, or switched on her phone or use her bank card. Those chasing her had contacts everywhere, including in the police, which was why she hadn’t gone to them for help. She didn’t know who she could trust. She needed to find a safe place to hide out for the night and think.
Her only family – her father and brother - she now knew, were actively involved with the crime family. She has seen them there in the middle of that bloody mess. She had been so stupid, thinking her father’s garage was just a regular car repair garage. She should have known it was a front for the crime family. The signs had been there but she had been too naive or trusting to understood them. She loved her Dad and couldn’t reconcile in her mind what she had seen.
Her body jerked as something cold and hard pressed into her. Gasping in fright, stumbling, turning, her back hit the wall. It took a few seconds for her to comprehended it was a dog, not a gun that had touched her. Heart beating furiously. She looked around. The road was quiet. No-one was about. The dog sat down in front of her, looking up at her as if it was waiting for her to decide which way to go, its presence strangely comforting.
It was late. She needed to find somewhere to rest for the night. Slipping down a short alley, the dog at her side, she saw a dilapidated shed with a broken door. The dog went inside, then came to the door and looked up at her, tail wagging before turning back inside. She followed. The shed was dark and musty but dry. She felt around and found a corner out of sight of the door and sank down exhausted. The dog curled up at her side, sharing its warmth. His slow breathing calmed her own rapid pulse.
A man standing in a dark doorway tracked their movements. His dog had done his job well. The man had been following her since he had seen her run from the garage. He had used his dog before to help keep track of people. It was well trained and the tracker in its collar allowed him to monitor its movements. He knew who she was and what she was running from. He also knew the Family had an army of people looking for her and would reward whoever found her. He needed to get to her before others found her but first, he had to meet with a contact.
Plans now in place, it was still dark when he entered the alley. He whistled quietly to let the dog know he was there. Slipping into the shed, his eyes adjusting to the darkness, he saw the girl curled up in the corner asleep.
Startled awake, eyes wide, Sarah looked around just as a hand came over her mouth and an arm round her body. Squirming, twisting, hitting and kicking out she fought but couldn’t break the hold. Panic consumed her and she felt blackness take over as she fainted.
It took a few seconds before she remembered what had happened. Arching and twisting, legs and arms flailing, she tried to escape the hold before sinking back in defeat as her energy gave up. Opening her eyes, she saw the dog sitting relaxed, tongue lolling, watching intently, listening. Her mind struggled to make sense of the dog and then of the man behind her still holding her, talking quietly in her ear.
“Who are you and what are you going to do with me” she whispered.
“I’m Sean and I am working with the police. I know what’s happened and I’m here to help you. Are you going to stop fighting me now, can I let you go Sarah?” She nodded.
The fight left her as the inevitability of her situation settled in. Sarah knew that she really had no choice but to see what this Sean man planned to do with her. He hadn’t hurt her, as she knew others would have but she didn’t trust him to be telling her the truth. Emotionally and physically spent, her head aching, Sarah just did what she was told, too tired to think or question.
Sean drove them in his large, dark windowed car to an abandoned warehouse in a fenced plot of waste land. A gate opened in the fence as they arrived and a large door at the side of the warehouse slid open, shutting behind them when they were through.
Several vehicles were parked there and the workbenches were covered in mechanical and electrical equipment. Another man, introduced as John, was standing at a large desk housing several computers and large screens. These seemed to be showing live feeds from cameras from different locations, including the streets surrounding the warehouse.
She followed Sean up the stairs to a large open living area with several rooms off to one side. He opened one of the doors to a bedroom suite. “This will be yours until we can sort out something else. Have a look round, make yourself at home, then come out and I will get you something to eat”. He added they would be meeting with a detective later that morning.
Sarah sank down on the bed feeling numb, trying to make sense of what had happened in the last few hours and what was going to happen now. She closed her eyes and just sat there. The dog wandered in, putting his head on her lap. She cuddled into him and cried.
The meeting with the detective took several hours, although what she had seen had only taken a few seconds. She was grilled over and over again for all the details she knew – what did she see, who was there, what they were wearing, what was said, who did what, what she knew from working in her father’s garage. She felt some relief from getting it out and giving it to someone else to deal with but became deeply distressed and grieving as she talked about her father and brother.
Sarah knew there was no going back from this. She would no longer have her family and was on her own. Her mind struggled to understand the reality of her life now. The trial wouldn’t happen for at least a year, if it ever got that far. She was still being hunted, if she was found, she would be killed.
The detective had said she would be placed in a safe house. Sean argued that they knew the police had been compromised and any mention of her location on the police system could be accessed and would make her a sitting target. He would take care of Sarah’s safety.
The detective looked at Sarah. “I want to stay with Sean” she whispered.
They left the police station through a back door. Sean’s car was parked nearby and the car’s dark windows prevented anyone from seeing Sarah. Sean sped away, making sure he was not followed before returning to the warehouse. Once inside, he told Sarah that she would be staying there until he had arranged for an alternative location for her. All she could do for now was to take each day as it came.