Doyle never did like circuses. He'd been taken to one once as a boy. At first he'd been excited by the novelty and a new experience, but had quickly become bored as one pathetic act followed another. When his parents had asked afterwards whether he'd enjoyed it, he confessed that he hadn't and was surprised that they looked relieved not angry. It turned out that they didn't like circuses either but hadn't wanted to deprive their son of a treat. They never went again. But, years later, when Doyle's latest girlfriend, Anita ('Natty'), yelped in delight at an ad in the papers that a circus was coming to town, Doyle's heart sank. It was clear that Natty was a fan. It was clear to Natty that her boyfriend wasn't. Bodie even volunteered for night surveillance that particular night to avoid Doyle dragging him in on that one! There are many things Bodie would do for mate - but this wasn't one of them.
Bodie & Doyle had finished a 3-day surveillance and were glad of a break and a breakthrough. Doyle even thought he'd spotted a missing person they were looking out for during their watch but setting off in pursuit of her would have blown their cover, so he just reported in to let the local bobbies take up the chase. CI5 were not in the business of finding missing persons, unless of course said person fitted CI5's usual line of work. But if the local coppers were concerned about someone they gave George Cowley the nod and he would pass the details to his operatives to keep a beady eye out for their MIA. George and his boys and girls had struck gold on more than one occasion while on the case of something else entirely. This particular missing body, Tanya, was a 14-year old who'd gone AWOL from a children's home. Sadly, nothing too surprising or unusual there, and she had gone walkabouts before. However, the fact that Tanya was a material witness in a gangland killing made her disappearance all the more concerning. All the security services were on high alert for her. The locals took up Doyle's sighting of course, but nothing came of it and, with a resigned collective sigh, the buttons started their search all over again.
The evening of the dreaded circus arrived and Doyle tried to look enthusiastic. But Natty saw through his brave charade and said that she knew what would cheer him up. He sadly guessed that she wasn't thinking along the lines of going elsewhere instead. She squeezed his hand and gave him that coy look which suggested to him that maybe pre-circus had interesting possibilities! As they were early, they had time to spare. She led him to the back of the tents where it was dark and quiet. A few caravans were parked up and there was evidence of large animals, so they had to be careful where they put their feet. Doyle noticed a couple in the shadows with the same idea as them, but Natty hadn't seen so he didn't draw attention to them. As she turned to face him and slid her arms around his neck, he noticed over her shoulder that the furtive couple were leaving. He was relieved, as he didn't want an audience. It didn't take him long to enjoy the scent of her neck and hair, and the minty taste of her mouth. He soon became lost in the delicious moment, the dreaded circus forgotten. Eventually they came up for air and laughed into each other's eyes. They kissed lightly and hugged. It was time they were going, but Doyle wasn't going to remind her. There was no hurry. But, as he glanced over her shoulder again to ensure that they were still alone, he noticed a sudden movement at the window of one of the caravans. He got a very quick view of a face - a terrified face - of a teenager or young woman. It was only for a moment and he wondered if he'd imagined her round eyes and gaping mouth.
"What is it?" Natty asked, sensing that she no longer had her boyfriend's undivided attention.
"Thought I saw something," he said distractedly.
She followed his gaze and saw nothing. "You're giving me the creeps. Stop it."
Then they both saw it. Part of a face, quickly there then quickly gone, and then a splayed hand pressed against the window, then that too was gone. Natty and Ray looked quizzically at each other. He pressed her further into the shadows for safety and waited. After a few minutes of nothing, Doyle was prepared to go and knock on the door, but then the door opened and a man came down the stairs briskly. He was in fancy dress and clearly one of the circus troupe. He didn't see the pair and headed for the tents where an increasingly excited crowd was gathering to watch all the fun of the fair. Without hesitation, Doyle headed at a trot for the caravan. Natty caught up quickly and held him back.
"What are you doing?" she asked in an anxious whisper.
"What do you think?" he replied.
"It's not our business …"
"So we just walk away?" Doyle snapped, suddenly angry. Natty cowed. She hadn't yet come across Doyle's temper. He was instantly contrite.
"I'm sorry, Natty. I didn't mean to bite. But we need to do something."
"Like call the cops?" she queried tentatively.
"It may be too late by then."
She could see that he was determined, so followed him. Once at the foot of the steps he told her to stay on guard. She tried to think past her anxiety and concluded that if anyone came she'd engage them in loud conversation so that her boyfriend could hear. She'd no idea where he could hide in a caravan, but that was his problem.
Doyle entered the dark room and was immediately hit by the smell of sweat and cannabis. There was little space in the gloomy caravan. Boxes were piled high and stuffed in every available crevice. Doyle's copper's nose was twitching, and he'd love to know what was in them, but that wasn't what he was here for. He glanced over to the bed and there was the girl he'd seen. It was the missing teen, Tanya, they'd all be searching for for weeks. She was tied by a wrist and opposite ankle to the bed frame. Doyle put his finger to his lips. She nodded in understanding. Through her terror she still understood that the cavalry had at last arrived. Doyle drew out his penknife and quickly cut through her bonds. Even from the dim light of a bedside lamp, it was clear that she'd been here for days at least.
"Can you stand?"
She nodded, swinging her legs slowly and painfully off the bed. He could feel her shaking through her thin dress as he led her down the steps and she needed all his support. Even in the fresh air, Natty could smell the child and was alarmed when Doyle pushed the girl towards her.
"Walk in front of us," he ordered as he put one arm closely round his girlfriend and the other arm across the girl's midriff. Natty instinctively mirrored the posture.
"If anyone sees us," Doyle explained as they made their way awkwardly across the field, "they may only see a couple in the darkness."
Natty didn't know her boyfriend's occupation and wondered where he got this idea from. A man approached from the tent. It wasn't the man they'd seen leaving the caravan, unless he'd changed his costume. Tanya tensed but kept her head. The trio continued on their way and the man ignored them. Doyle hoped the bloke wasn't heading for the girl's caravan. They made it to their car without incident and Doyle got in the back with Tanya while Natty drove - with the window down, despite the cold weather.
"Where to?" Natty asked.
"Your place," Doyle replied. It was fortunate he couldn't see the look of distaste on her face. He didn't want coppers crawling over his address.
"Shouldn't she go to hospital?"
"Later."
That seemed to be the final word on the subject, so Natty did as she was told.
"Let's get you a bath," Natty said as soon as they were home.
"No," Doyle said firmly and the two women looked at him as though he'd gone mad. "Sorry," he said more softly, embarrassed. "Forensics." He hoped that they would understand what he meant. Doyle didn't know if Tanya had been raped - it wasn't his business to distress the girl even further by asking - but he knew the police doctor would need to get as much evidence from her as possible. The women nodded and Doyle let out the breath he'd been holding. He was relieved that explanations weren't needed. "She can have a cup of tea, though," he conceded and hoped his smile looked kindly.
Natty put some newspapers on the couch and sat her patient down while she made the tea. Doyle got on the phone to the police from the extension in the bedroom. After he put the receiver down, he made a second call to HQ to say that Tanya had now been found and would soon be safely in police hands. The operator put him through to Cowley as there'd been a development.
"The Police Commissioner has received a ransom note for the girl."
"From the gangsters she'd seen?" Doyle asked anxiously. He knew that Cowley certainly would hand her over on a plate.
"It doesn't seem so. It's just for money. No mention of anything else."
"As she's from a children's home, I can't see what they'd get out of that," Doyle queried.
"Perhaps they don't know she's from a home. Even if she told them, they'd not believe her. And she may have worked out that if she did convince them that she had no value they may simply get rid of her."
"Yes," agreed Doyle sadly, "they could be that ruthless."
Soon a PC and WPC arrived on the doorstep. Doyle guided them into the kitchen and gave them a succinct report of events and what he'd seen in the caravan.
"Are you a policeman, sir?" asked PC Roberts, intrigued.
Doyle smiled, checked to ensure he wasn't overheard, and then revealed his occupation and that Natty didn't know. They looked impressed. "And," he added, "I'm off duty." They nodded in understanding.
They went into the living room to see Tanya for themselves and were saddened to see the state of her, though they were professional enough not to show it. They told her gently that she would now need to leave with them for the police station to make a statement. But it seemed that she wanted Doyle by her side and was becoming quite hysterical as they tried to force her over the threshold. She didn't want to be taken away again into the night. Doyle looked appealingly at Natty.
"You may calm her down, Ray. And there isn't enough room in the car for all of us. I'll be here when you come back." In honesty, she didn't want to go and was happy to reach for a plausible excuse.
Doyle looked at the police and they agreed for him to come, and he could provide the coppers with some backup if the gang came after her again. He kissed his girlfriend briefly, told her he may be some time, and then was gone.
After Tanya had been seen by the police doctor, she was taken for interview in a special suite of rooms. She could see Doyle through the glass panel of the door as he sat waiting patiently in the corridor for her and she drew strength and comfort from that. He wasn't surprised that the quiet and efficient WPC Fletcher was one of those specially trained in trauma and had been joined by a psychiatrist in interviewing her. They had her showered and dressed now in clean clothes. She looked almost human, but the bruises were clearly visible on her face, and Doyle didn't like to speculate what was going on with the rest of her body. He could see through the glass door her hysteria and tears and the efforts the staff were making to calm her down. The 'interview room' was made up to look like an ordinary lounge. It even had pictures, wallpaper and pot plants - anything to make their 'clients' more relaxed. After a while Fletcher came out to talk to Doyle. She gave him a brief synopsis of the girl's story. He was relieved that Fletcher's first piece of news was to reassure him that Tanya hadn't been raped, though she had lived in terror of it. She'd run away from the children's home with no real idea or destination in mind. She just wanted to get away from everything. She felt the world crowding in on her. She'd ended up talking to a bloke called Tommy who'd said he was from the circus and had given her a ring-side seat to watch the next show. She'd been fascinated and enthralled. Then it all went horribly wrong. As she came out of the Big Top she'd been delighted to see Tommy again and was about to thank him again for her treat, when two other men from the troupe, aided by Tommy, manhandled her into one of the caravans. She thought she was going to be raped as a tape was put over her mouth and she was tied to a bed. But time passed and nothing much happened to her. Every time the caravan door opened though her nightmare returned. She was given food by the women of the circus and toilet facilities but that was all. She thought she'd been there a few weeks at least, moving on as the circus moved on till she had no idea where she was. She had no idea either what they were going to do to her or how long they were going to hold her. She couldn't believe that her luck had turned when Doyle arrived. Fletcher added that Social Services would look after her until a member of staff came to collect her and take her back to the children's home. It was doubted that she would run away again. Fletcher concluded that she would file a report in the morning.
"Hold on," Doyle said, his mind racing. "The circus leaves town tomorrow and God knows where they go from here. And, in any case, they'll see that Tanya's gone as soon as the Big Top comes down tonight. You need to move fast and now." Doyle still had those mysterious boxes in his mind.
Fletcher heard the urgency in Doyle's voice. She hesitated, and then came to a decision. "Ok, let's talk to the boss now," she said.
She didn't want Doyle to hold her hand, but she knew that he had a lot more clout than she did as a green cadet. If Mulder dragged his feet, perhaps Doyle could do more pushing than she felt allowed to do.
So it was that the pair arrived in front of the duty officer. Doyle allowed Fletcher, who'd now been rejoined by her colleague, Roberts, to explain that the troupe needed to be brought in this very night and why. Doyle then added his report. Mulder heard them out and nodded thoughtfully.
"You never know what you may find when you lift up stones and see what crawls there. We may find more than just a group of kidnappers. You said you smelt cannabis, Mr Doyle, and those boxes ... Hmm, who knows what else we can get them on."
Doyle couldn't care less what Mulder would find, he just needed him to rally the troops - fast.
"I think half a dozen of our finest should do the trick," Mulder said confidently to his guest, rubbing his hands in anticipation of a successful night's work with him at the helm. Doyle translated that as - 'we're as good as CI5'. If Mulder wanted to win Brownie points, Doyle wasn't going to get into a competition with him. But his mind had been whirring away since he'd rescued Tanya. His first priority was to get her away. Achieved. His next priority was to bring the men to book. In progress. However, if the troupe were organised, they may prove trickier to bring in than Mulder seemed to think.
"Have you any marksmen to hand?" Doyle asked.
Mulder smirked and raised his eyebrows. "That may be your world Mr Doyle, but I don't think Coco the Clown…" he began, incredulously.
"A circus has live animal acts - lions and tigers. If the men feel threatened they could well release them. If your boys don't get mauled to death, then there's a lot of audience still out there who could." Doyle's anger was rising at Mulder's obstinacy.
It was clear that Mulder hadn't thought of that. He looked embarrassed. "One or two marksmen," he conceded grudgingly. He could see now that this could all go horribly wrong or, worse, CI5 would get the credit.
Doyle didn't want to belittle the man any further, he needed his co-operation, so asked if CI5 could help in any way. Mulder swallowed his pride and the sarcastic comment he was going to utter, and asked Doyle for armed backup.
Doyle rang Cowley and briefly put him in the picture, asking for half a dozen agents. His audience were impressed. Doyle listened to Cowley's instructions, then put the phone down and turned to Mulder. "Our boys will meet yours on the road leading to the field in 15 minutes. Get everyone in uniform, including your marksmen. We don't want to gun you down by mistake." He smiled and hoped to lighten the situation.
"I'll get onto it."
Doyle left him to it without a further word. Mulder looked to his two PCs who'd kept quiet and invisible while the balance of power shifted and settled in front of them.
"Fancy a trip to the circus?" Mulder asked tentatively. They grinned broadly and set off in Doyle's wake.
There was a brief consultation at the rendez-vous, with Cowley clearly in charge. The men fanned out around the encampment. As they were settling themselves, the audience began to flow out. That was unfortunate. They had hoped to do this with the crowd still in the Big Top. Fewer bodies to get in the way; less chance of the troupe mingling with the crowd and getting away. However, surprise was still on their side. Their other advantage was that the band was all together for their grand finale. Cowley stationed a couple of the less experienced police officers at the front of the Big Top checking the crowd and pretending, if asked, that they were there for general security and traffic. The other police formed a pincer movement at the back. They allowed the first acts through - they didn't know how many there were - as they headed for their caravans. They looked relaxed, and laughed and chatted amongst themselves. There were more of them than anyone had anticipated, but not overwhelmingly so. The police moved in quickly and efficiently. This was a police operation, so Cowley kept his men back in the shadows to pick off any strays. Their tactics worked. The troupe were taken off guard and quickly overpowered. Some, though, fought back once they realised what was happening. Mr Universe was giving the bobbies a run for their money, so a couple of CI5 officers were pressed forward by Cowley to help.
Doyle and a few others who were crouched in the shadows heard the ominous rumble of a large animal. At first they couldn't see it in the gloom, then they saw its silhouette outlined as it raced across their line of sight. Doyle had never understood the need to go and slaughter beautiful animals in their native habitat, but now was not the time for pretty thoughts. This animal had been deliberately let loose to kill, as Doyle feared it might. As the animal galloped past, Doyle took aim and fired at the same time as his colleagues. The animal jerked under the barrage and collapsed mid-flight. CI5 had bagged its first tiger.
The gang were soon brought under control and there were plenty of police vans to discreetly hustle the troupe away. Most of the audience, happy and relaxed, were unaware of what was happening in the shadows as they made their way home.
Cowley brought his operatives up to date next morning in the briefing room. The circus troupe were indeed the real McCoy but had decided, more than a year ago, to diversify. It had occurred to several of them that more money may be had by a bit of lucrative smuggling on the side - drugs, furs, tobacco, anything they could get their illegal hands on. The police had never bothered them in the past, so why should they now? Then their leader, Tommy, had had an even grander idea. How about a bit of kidnapping to top it off? Yes, it was risky but as they were (legitimately) moving around the country, there was less chance of their victim being discovered. Tanya had been their first foray into this dubious 'trade' and she was the cause of their undoing. They'd got greedy and paid the price. They'd not be setting up the Big Top ever again.