Sun Hill police station.
Callum
Stone walked up to the front of the police station doors and stopped
before walking in. He loved working here but he wished that his
colleges didn't die or leave. They were all good friends and they
were like a big family. He loved this job most of the time, but the
rest of it he hated it. Walking past the front desk he saw a young
girl who looked lost. But he didn't care, today he was going to get
through the day without many problems. But before he could even get
through the staff doors he heard his name. "Callum! Callum! I was
looking everywhere for you. Where have you been?!" Callum turned
around slowly to find Alex, his 'god-daughter', staring at him with
wide eyes brimming with tears. "Alex. How are you? Good? I'm so
glad. I thought I told you to stay with your mum. Disobeying me
again?!"
"No! I haven't disobeyed you Callum. I did as I was
told for five years. You told me to stay with my mum. You didn't say
stay with your mum for ever. She died! Last week. Murdered. So I came
looking for you. Legal guardian." Alex had tears streaming down her
face now and people were staring at the pair. "Follow me. Don't say
anything." Callum walked briskly through the staff doors with Alex
jogging to keep up with the tall man. Even as they walked down the
main corridor people starred at them. "Callum where are we going?
Why are they staring?" He didn't answer. Smithy walked out of his
office when Callum walked strait into Jo. "Callum!" Reluctantly
Callum walked over to his Inspector who spoke. Alex helped Jo get up
and followed Callum. "Why did you walked into Jo?" He didn't
speak. "Callum! What is the matter with you?"
"Nothing
Serge. Just got an unexpected visitor." Smithy looked at a scared
Alex. "This is Alex. My 'god-daughter'." As soon as Alex and
Smithy had been introduced Callum was sent on his way with a promise
to apologise to Jo when he next saw her. When they got to his office
Callum sat down and didn't speak for a few minutes. It was Alex who
broke the silence. "Why did you push that Jo person? She didn't do
anything." Still he didn't speak. "Are you angry with me?"
Callum nodded but still no sound escaped from him. "Should I just
leave then? Get out of your hair so you can get on with your life."
When he still didn't speak, Alex walked over to the door. "Fine.
I'll be going now then. Sorry I ever bothered you. Sorry I got you in
so much trouble with Smithy."
"Alex, don't go. I didn't mean
it. I was just shocked when I saw you standing there after five
years. And then you said your mum had died. What was I meant to do?
Just be happy about it? I don't think so." He was about to continue
when his radio crackled into life. Alex listened intently but she
couldn't make out what it was saying. "Look, just sit tight until I
get back OK? I've got a shout out. Stay in here for a while. I'll be
back as soon as I can." And with that he grabbed his stab prof vest
and left. 'Men'. Alex though to herself.
"What
have we got Eddie?" Callum had found the victim being wheeled into
the Ambulance but she didn't look good enough to speak to. "Black
female, age around eight-teen. No ID on her. But we did find a phone
nearby." The object in question started vibrating violently and
played Mr Hudson and Jay-Z Young forever. Callum took the phone and
answered it. "Hello?"
"Rochelle? Is that you?" The voice
replied.
"No
this is Sergeant Callum Stone from Sun Hill Police Station. Who is
this?"
"Callum? It's Alex. What happened to Rochelle? What's
going on? Is this the call out you got? Is she alright?"
"Alex.
It's alright, but what colour skin has Rochelle got?"
"What
sort of a question is that? Racist pig."
"Just answer it
Alex." Callum could see the Ambulance race down the street.
"She's African. Black skin. Tell me what's going on." Callum was sure that Alex was crying again.
"It's alright, she's been taken to hospital. There was an incident. But I'll talk to you later OK. Bye." Eddie looked questionably at Callum. "'God-daughter'." Three syllables was all it took to get Eddie of his back. Easy. On his way back to the station he thought of the day Alex was born. He was only twenty-two when she was born. She was one of triplets. Unfortunately the other two died on the day of their birth. Both boys. But Alex had never been told about that and if he could help it, she wouldn't ever find out.
Back at the station Alex was sitting on Callum's chair curled up in a ball when a woman walked in carrying some folders. "Excuse me what are you doing in here?" The small woman asked.
"Waiting for Callum to get back with news on my best friend who was attacked this morning."
"Sorry I asked. But you cant stay in here..." The small woman didn't get to finish her sentence because the door slammed open and Alex ran over to Callum and hugged him. He held her in his arms while she sobbed. "Come on, lets go and see her yeah." Callum's mood had completely disappeared. Kneeling down to look her in the eyes, as she was quite short, he wiped a tear that was working it's way down her make-upped face. "Shhh. She'll be fine." All Alex could do was nod in agreement. In the car Alex had to tell Callum something. "Callum, Rochelle was...is like a sister to me. We made an oath. If one of us was hurt or upset or needed answers the other would help them. She came down to London to help find you. And the minute we go off in different directions she gets pounced on." Callum knew what she implying.
"It's
not your fault, and if you go after whoever did this you could get
killed. Don't do it Alex." She knew that she had toed the line and
decided to back of a little bit. 'I'm still going to get them
though' Alex thought to herself. They had finally arrived at the
hospital and were walking towards the front desk when a woman walked
over to Alex and handed her a note. The young girl looked taken aback
when the stranger approached, but now she look positively horrified.
She stopped dead when she realised what it was. "Come on Alex, I
thought that you wanted to see Rochelle." When she still didn't
move Callum gave her a little push. He tried to read what was on the
note but he failed miserably as she snatched the piece of paper away
from his sight. "You can't read it Callum. It's none of your
business." Alex walked over to the nurse on the info desk and asked
for Rochelle Philips. The nurse pointed to a bed in the corner. Alex
followed her gaze and saw the curtains drawn around the bed. She
slowly walked over to it and said, "Rochelle? Are you in here?"
There was a faint whisper and Alex pulled the curtain back slightly
and saw her sister like African friend. "Hi. Are you alright
Rochelle? You took a right beating by the sounds of it." Rochelle
laughed a little and then spoke. "I'm alright now. The doctors said
I can go home tomorrow night, if I'm alright. But anyway how did you
know I was here?"
"Oh, Callum told me."
"You found him?
When? How?" Rochelle shouted in excitement.
"I
went to that cop station and asked if he was there, but before I
could he walked strait past me. Stupid men." Both girls giggled
uncontrollably. Alex was the first to regain control. "Rochelle.
They did this to you. H tried to stop them but they got to him as
well. He wants to meet with me tonight. They did this to you so they
could get a message to me. Sick pigs."
"Alex, you know that
you have to go. If you don't they'll kill you. And any relation to
you. They already got to your mum, and grand-parents. Although that
was made to look like suicide. Just go OK. Forget about everybody you
know. You have to go. Take the stash and meet them. They followed us
here and they won't stop until you give them everything that you
owe." Rochelle could tell that Alex was crapping her pants about
the meeting. "You'll be fine Alex. Remember what they teach you at
school. To conquer a fear, you need to face it head on."
"Thanks
Rochelle." Alex hugged her best friend and sat back down. Little
did the girls know, Callum was standing outside the closed curtain
listening intently.
Three
hours later and Rochelle had been interviewed and Callum had gone
back to the police station to file some reports. Alex had gone to the
toilet when a doctor sat and talked to Rochelle. She was walking away
when Alex returned. "What did she want?"
"Alex you better
sit down." She did so. "They told me that I was...raped." Alex
stood up and left as soon as the words escaped from Rochelle's lips.
She heard the calls for her to come back, but she didn't listen. Alex
ran, and ran, and ran. She didn't stop, she didn't know where she was
going, she just kept running. When she had to stop for breath, she
found herself outside the police station. She ran inside and towards
Callum's office. Suddenly Smithy stepped out of a interview room.
Before she could stop running she had ran into Smithy. "Jeez! Ow!
Crap!" Alex felt her arm and it didn't feel to good. "Alex? Are
you alright? Here." He added when she didn't get up. Alex took his
hand and kept running towards Callum's office. Onlookers were gob
smacked at the sight of a teenager covered in dirt and a little
blood. "Alex. Are you alright?"
"Callum. They raped her. I
trusted them. I thought they were my friends. But they did this to
her. I hate them. I have to meet them tonight. I don't want to go.
Please don't make me go." Alex started crying hysterically. "Shhh.
It's alright. I heard what you and Rochelle were saying and I am not
telling you to do anything. Don't worry baby." Alex looked up at
Callum and smiled. She had missed him so much. She cried herself to
sleep most nights because of how much she missed him. It felt good to
have her dad back.
That
night Alex stood in an alleyway and waited. She heard a noise behind
her and turned, quickly losing her balance and falling to the ground.
Standing up she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was H. "What are
you doing here H? I thought you got beat up."
"I did." He
stepped into the little remaining light and Alex gasped at how he
looked. His usually blond hair was a dirty grey, and there were
spots of blood in it. His white shirt was torn and blood stained and
his trousers were covered in mud and blood. But it was his face that
really made her scream. There was a cut that went from his temple to
his mouth. There was blood dripping down his face onto his shirt.
"Listen Alex, 'they' are coming in a few minutes for the stash.
You have to give it to 'them'. They'll kill you if you don't. Just
look what they did to Rochelle. If it wasn't for me she'd be dead. I
was the one who called the ambulance, and I almost got killed in the
process. Do what they say Alex. Or you'll never find your dad."
"I
already have H. This morning. When Rochelle was getting beat up. I am
going to do what they say. But only so I get more time with him. You
better go if they see you they will make sure they kill you." H
gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and ran of just as a voice behind
Alex made her jump. "Have you got it Alex? 'Cus if you ain't..."
He ran his finger against her throat.
"Why did you get Rochelle this morning? She didn't do anything wrong." She could feel something in her pocket, and she knew exactly what it was. Before she had come to meet 'them', Callum had fitted her with a wire. The CID team had been tracking 'them' for a while now. So Alex offered to go undercover, since her mum and grandparents were killed and Rochelle had almost died. She just had to do something for everybody else's family's that were destroyed by 'them.' Callum had disagreed at first but when he saw that Alex wouldn't change her mind he agreed. She was brought back to the present by a hand clasping around her throat. "Where is it Alex?! You haven't got them have you?! You little slut!" His other hand connected with her face forcefully. The pain was excruciating but she didn't whimper at all. She had to be strong. When he finally released his hand from her throat she spoke up. "I have got it. But you answer my questions first. Why did you get Rochelle?!"
"You
know I didn't want to Alex, but it was the only was way to get a
message to you." He spoke in mock sadness. "Why not sent a text
or find me if you wanted to speak. You only got to Rochelle because
you needed a good shag!" Again his hand connected with her face a
few times. He stopped when he felt something in her pocket. He
reached in and found a small packet of white powder. "Is this it? I
gave you a lot of money and this is all I get. Where's the rest?
Where's the other thing I wanted? Where's the guns?!" He slapped
her and kicked her a few more times. There were two other guys
holding her down, but she didn't need it. "TELL ME WHERE THEY
ARE!!!!!" Alex raised her hand and pointed to a garage. They ran
over to it and opened the door. She whispered 'HARRIER'. And within
ten seconds the area was filled with police officers, one of which
was Callum. He came running over to his daughter and knelt down
beside her. Alex tried to sit up but failed miserably. "Well done
Alex. Come on, try to sit up yeah." She nodded and sat up and
winced in pain. "What's the matter?" She pointed to her side and
pulled her t-shirt up a little. There was a big bruise with a large
cut next to it. "Did he give that to you?" Callum asked
cautiously. She nodded and stood up. Limping over to Callum's car was
difficult but it had to be done sometime. Why not now? She didn't
know what possessed her to do it but from out of nowhere she picked
up the only remaining gun that the police hadn't taken and pointed it
at the ring leader, who was being cuffed. BANG! Her aim was so bad,
from being beaten up that she missed and shattered a nearby window
instead. Callum walked over to her again, through the gun away and
put a protective arm around her. "Alex, why don't we go to the
hospital yeah. Get you cleaned up."
"One condition." Callum
looked at his only daughter and smiled.
"Anything."
"Please
can we tell everybody the truth about me? It's doing my head in being
called 'Alex, Callum's god-daughter.' I just want to be called Alex
Stone. Nothing more, nothing less." He sighed and nodded again.
