Thank you for all the reviews on the first chapter.

Chapter 2: Chains

"What I need to know, Mark," said Danny Gould, the head of department, "is if Jinks and his men are planning anything! You've been there nearly two months and so far you've gotten nothing."

"I've not been able to get into the meetings before now, Danny! What you've got to remember is that first and foremost, Jinks is a drugs runner! That's what three-quarters of his enterprise is!"

"So what happened to give you a promotion?"

There was a knock at the door and it opened, revealing two others standing outside the door. "Come in," Mark said.

The two men stayed put, looking unsure.

"Harry, George, get your arses in here!" Danny yelled. The two men practically ran into the room then, both carrying a stack of files. They put them on the table and sat down, looking expectedly at Mark. Danny sat down as well, pushing the files toward him. "Well?"

"Roger, or 'Jinks' Crawford is definitely involved with the IRA. I've seen known members walk through the warehouse to go up to meetings with him."

"We already knew that," said Harry. Harry was in his late twenties, with a full beard and ginger hair. He had a reputation as a spook you shouldn't mess with, especially after his partner had been killed by the IRA five years earlier.

"I realise you knew that, Harry. If you'd let me continue."

Harry silenced, leaning back in his seat, and Mark continued. "There have been whispers among the lower ranks about a bomb. No one knows when or where, but it's common knowledge that it's revenge for Jinks' brother being killed a few years ago.

"That's Robert Crawford," George intervened. George was young, having only finished training a year ago, but he was already showing promise to be one of the best and brightest. He had blonde, almost white hair and bright green eyes, making him stand out. That had actually almost lost him the job, but he was too good at what he did to pass him up. "Robert Crawford was just a junkie, killed in 1981 during a police operation. He was the middle man between a drug lord named Arthur Layton and Jinks."

"With that in mind, we think they're going to bomb something dear to Fenchurch East, which is the station that killed his brother."

"But that's not the methods of the IRA. They like big military casualty," Danny said. "Just look at what they did in Regent's Park last year."

"But they'll take civilian casualties if they can," Mark replied. "They want to make a statement and Jinks is the perfect person to go to. His vendetta against Fenchurch East means that he will do literally anything to destroy them. He's got nothing to lose."

"Except his drugs empire," Harry said.

"Yes, but to him that doesn't matter. What mattered was his little brother. I mean, come on, look at his file. They were orphaned, which means that he had to look out for Robert, growing overprotective probably. And then Robert gets killed. To Jinks, it would be all his fault. So he took it out on the only thing he could, Fenchurch East. The only important thing to him now is avenging his brother's death."

"And we'll get confirmation about this bomb when?"

"I'm hoping during tomorrow's meeting." Mark glanced up at the clock on the wall. "I've got to be back in my cover in an hour, so if we could move things swiftly along. I've just been moved up in the group, in the 'Circle,' which is where they wanted me. Everyone gets certain tasks in the circle and mine is to take care of a woman they call Sarah. Jinks told me that Fenchurch East used her as a honey trap but he figured it out straight away and kidnapped her. Her real name is Alexandra Drake and she's a Detective Inspector at Fenchurch East. Jinks is using her as a sex slave for the Circle. The reason why I was in admitted was because my predecessor was drugging her to sleep because she was so traumatised. Her DCI, Gene Hunt, knows that she is alive but the group moved, so he doesn't know where they are. Otherwise he would have tried to extract her. I recommend that for her sake, we move up the operation to as soon as we have confirmation about where the bomb will be."

"Would it be safe to do that?" Danny asked. "If your cover is compromised, you'll end up dead."

"It doesn't matter, Danny. We need to get her out of there! You haven't seen her, but it's God-awful. I'll ring you and tell you that I'm looking forward to seeing little Harry." Harry gave him a despairing look. "That's your signal to move in. If Jinks or anyone asks, I'll tell him that my sister just brought her baby Harry home and I'm stopping by there that night."

"When do you think you'll get the confirmation?" Danny asked.

"You've already asked that. Hopefully by tomorrow. If not then, then during the next week or so. It won't be long before they carry it out."

"What about Hunt? Should we tell him?"

Mark shook his head. "No. He's a loose cannon. As soon as he finds out where she is, he'll try and get her out himself. And that'll just kill them both. We'll let him know when she's on her way to hospital."

"Hospital?"

"She's been laying in pretty much the same position for two months. Bedsores, Danny. Besides, they'd want to give her the once over anyway."

Danny looked at him and nodded. "As soon as you have confirmation, call it in. We'll have people stationed a few streets away from now on. And when you have the confirmation, we'll call in Fenchurch East as well. The plod, that is."

Everyone in the room nodded. "I need to get back," Mark said. "I've got to go feed Alex."

"Be careful, Mark," Danny said.

"Always am, Danny boy. Always am."

Mark walked out onto Euston Road, walking to the Euston Square tube station. He got down to the platform just as a train arrived. Checking to make sure it was going the right way, he hopped on, choosing to stand at the back of the carriage. He smiled as he observed the people on the tube. They were all so unaware of what really happened around him. Often, he wondered what that would be like, to not know about the daily terror threats, to not realise when the media was lying to him. Whenever this happened, he shook his head of the thought. He was a spook. This was his life, and he had better get used to it.

The train stopped at his stop and he got off, walking up to the road. He walked for a few streets, before disappearing down an alleyway, getting to an unmarked door with no handle. He knocked three times on it, waited a moment and then knocked twice more. The door opened and he entered. He knew that there was another entrance that only those in the Circle could use, but he had not been told he could use it yet and so stuck with the primary entrance.

Mark walked downstairs to the kitchen, picking up a plate of food and a glass of water. He really was impressed with the type of service they had here, but they were also pretending to be a place for the homeless to eat. He walked back out of the kitchen and upstairs, to the very top floor where the woman was. He opened the door and saw as her head immediately turned toward the wall.

"I've brought your food."

She said nothing, merely lifting one wrist to tell him to take off the handcuffs. He obliged and she stood, walking to the toilet. She didn't bother to even try to cover up. Mark knew it was because no one had let her before, so why would he now? He was certain that even if Peter did feel bad for her, he didn't mind looking at her curves.

However, as Alex walked in front of him, he didn't notice the curves. What he noticed were the sores on her back that seemed to be paining her greatly. He felt the anger swell up in him again, but swallowed it down for the moment. Jinks would have his retribution.

The toilet flushed and Alex walked out, back to the bed. She turned her head back toward the wall and put her hands where they were supposed to be for him to cuff her.

"I'm not going to cuff you back up right now."

Alex looked at him, frowning. He noticed that she didn't quite meet his eyes, her eyes focusing somewhere around his neck.

"I'm going to let you eat your own dinner. Jinks won't be here tonight. Oh and a brought this for you." From the front of his coat, he produced a long dressing gown. It was light, made of satin, but it would cover her. Alex held it in her hands, looking between the gown and him cautiously.

"I swear, I will not tell anyone that you are wearing this when you're with me."

She put it on slowly, staring at him, as though unsure what to make of him. Her eyes were still hollow, but the anger was dimmer. Alex grabbed her food and started to eat slowly, picking at the food more than really trying to eat it.

"I realise that you don't talk, but will you shake your head yes and no for me?"

She looked at him, holding the fork above her tray, and nodded once.

"Do any of the men that...visit you... call you by your real name?"

Alex shook her head.

"They all call you Sarah?"

Alex nodded, taking a sip of water.

"I don't often go by my real name either. I told you my name was Jeff, do you remember that?"

She nodded again, still staring at him, not trusting him.

"Jeff isn't my real name. My real name is Mark. I have to hide it in my line of work. Just like you hid yours, Alex."

Alex froze, staring at him. He smiled gently, trying not to frighten her off. "I know who you are and where you came from, Alex. And I'm going to help you out to return there, do you understand?"

She nodded slowly, but he realised that she was refusing to let herself hope.

"You must have heard that from the man before me," he said quietly. Mark didn't know if it was his sorrow for her or whether it was something else that made him keep talking to her. Alex said nothing, staring at the food and picking at it with her fork.

"I'm not like the man before me, Alex. I guarantee you, as soon as we get confirmation about what they are doing here, we will get you out."

There was a clunk outside the room. Alex's eyes opened wide and she set the food down suddenly in front of him. She lay down on the bed, extending her arms, motioning with her eyes for him to shut the handcuffs. Mark did so, and settled himself in the chair to continue feeding her just as the door opened. A man he recognised from the Circle entered, looking around confused. Mark tried to remember the man's name but could not.

"Where's Peter?" the man asked.

"Dead."

"What?"

"Jinks found out that he was drugging Sarah and killed him."

"That's too bad, I liked that tosser."

"What are you doing here?"

The man raised his eyebrows and nodded toward Alex. Mark glanced at her, noticing that she once more faced away from the door.

"She doesn't get any punters between dinner and breakfast. Jinks' rules."

"No one's going to find out if you let me. I'll give you fifty quid."

Mark shook his head. "No. Orders are orders."

"You're a stuck up little wanker, aren't you?"

"Out."

The man looked at him a moment levelly before a sneer of rage crossed his face and he punched Mark in the face. Mark flew back, stunned, onto Alex. He stood up quickly and threw a quick uppercut to the man's jaw. The man crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

"Sorry I landed on you, Alex," Mark said, not looking at her, instead staring at the man. The man was scrawny, having every appearance of a user. He must have been hooked on his own junk. Mark rolled the man over, reaching into his back pocket for the man's wallet. He pulled out the man's ID.

"Well, Johnny, what shall we do with you?" Mark dragged the man to the landing and called down. A few seconds later, two other men appeared at the top of the stairs. "Take Johnny downstairs to recover," Mark instructed.

"What was he doing?" one of the men asked.

Mark shook his head, wordlessly telling them that they didn't need to know. "I want to talk to Jinks first thing tomorrow morning. I'm going to stay here tonight, okay? I want accommodation."

"Okay, sir," the man said. "We'll get you all fixed up somewhere. When you get done up here, come down and we'll show you where you're staying."

With that, the two men started dragging Johnny downstairs. When they were out of sight, Mark flipped up two fingers, toward the bottom of the staircase and then returned to Alex's room. She was still facing away from the door. Mark shut the door.

"Alex, it's just me," he said gently. "Mark. The other man has gone now. I'm going to fix it so that he can't come back again."

She turned her face to him, and he could see the tear streaks that ran down her face.

"I wish I could fix it so that no one but me could come in," he murmured. "I can't though, Alex, and it pisses me off that I can't. They won't even get what they deserve when they are arrested." His voice shook with his anger. After a few moments, he reined it in, looking at her again. "Are you still hungry?"

She shook her head no. He nodded, starting to clear up the tray when he realised something.

She was still wearing the dressing gown. She had been wearing the dressing gown when Johnny had come in the room. Mark knew that he would have to wait by Jinks' door before Alex got her water the next morning. This was more important. If he could work in the distrust before Johnny got to Jinks with the story of the dressing gown, then he would be safe.

"Alex, I have to take back the dressing gown. But I promise if Jinks is not in the house, you can use it."

The fire of anger in her eyes had disappeared completely, something Mark took as a smile. He knew there was no way that she could give a true smile in her condition, but to see the fire fade was something that delighted him. She was starting to trust him. He leaned over the bed, unlocking her handcuffs. She sat up and slipped off the gown, giving it to him with what was almost a grateful look on her passive face. She met his eyes briefly before looking down at the floor. As she lay back down on the bed, Mark noticed a patch of darkened skin on her neck.

"Alex, turn your head towards me." She did, looking at him fearfully. Mark traced the dark patch on her neck. It was the shape of a hand. He felt his anger growing ever stronger.

"Someone strangled you?"

She nodded. Mark kicked the chair, trying to contain his curses. This situation pissed him off more than anything ever had before. He was dying to get Alex out. He had to. And it had to be within the next few days.