Thanks to Abii, Kat and Emz :) sorry for the delay...Emz will testify that I have the worst memory EVER:P enjoy guys it's a long 'un :)
Paolo stepped down off the curb and opened the car door for Emma who smiled at him as she slid into the seat, joining Will who'd already made his way round the other side of the car. As they drove through the busy streets of Rome, Emma became accustomed to her new surroundings, the way that the vehicles all swerved about manically, the background chatter in a different language and the sweet smell of flowers that drifted through the large market places.
"We shall be changing vehicles now." Paolo announced from the driver's seat as he pulled into a very narrow side road, jamming on the breaks so both Emma and Will were very glad they'd worn their seatbelts. Stepping cautiously out of the car Emma looked around, there wasn't another car in sight. "I hope you do not get motion sick." Their new Italian friend added as he dragged them over to two Vespa's which had been leant against the wall. Throwing them each one of the helmets from the top of the mopeds he motioned to them to get on. "If Miss would care to join me." He beckoned to Emma who looked apprehensively between the two men both vying for her attention.
"Thank you but I think my boss would prefer that I do not get split up from Will." She replied diplomatically as she sidled over towards Will. After all, she did have to spend the next six days in his company alone so it would be better to stay on his good side. Will beamed as Emma let him help her up onto the seat before he climbed onto the front, turning the key in the ignition and shooting forwards a few meters, causing Emma to scream and wrap her hands tightly around his middle. "Will, you do that again and I swear I'll kill you!" Emma shouted, her hands still clutching tightly to the material of his shirt.
"Don't worry doll, I'll be fine, I just have to get used to this ride, it's a bit different from my bike." Will said as he adjusted his position. Emma relaxed slightly as she was reminded of how Will owned his own motorbike and was fairly used to driving this sort of vehicle, although he thought they were worlds apart to Emma it was just a bike, it had two wheels and got you from A to B…therefore, it was the same.
Paolo turned his head to face them, indicating that he was ready and that they should follow. Resting her chin on Will's shoulder Emma smiled as Rome flew past her. Weaving in and out of crowds she smiled as people shouted greetings around her, waving and speaking to people whilst negotiating a safe passage through the traffic. "You having fun yet?" Will asked, turning slightly to see Emma smiling, looking slightly more windswept than usual.
"Definitely, although I can't imagine doing this in London!" She shouted back, her hands now more or less hugging Will's middle rather than clinging on for dear life. Enjoying the feeling of Emma being pressed up against him Will decided to make things a little more…exciting. As the traffic slowed, in the lead up to a roundabout, Will stopped the Vespa, getting off and them climbing on behind Emma.
"Your turn now!" He whispered, moving her forwards, it now being his turn to sit back and enjoy the ride. After shooting him a panicked look, Emma shunted herself forwards, restarting the bike and beginning to let it crawl towards the roundabout. "Faster Emma!" Will moaned, reaching a hand round either side of her so he also could hold onto the handlebars.
Emma's breathing quickened as she felt Will's hot breath on her neck, his body surrounding hers as they together followed Paolo through the busy streets of Rome. Ahead Paolo had jumped off of his Vespa, removing his helmet and placing it down next to the bike. Stopping a meter or so behind, Emma dismounted looking very pleased with herself. Will too got off, laughing at the look of glee on Emma's face as she realised that she'd driven them most of the way there!
"I'm taking you to meet some friends of mine now. You stay quiet unless I indicate for you to speak. Do not anger them, they have short tempers and are very suspicious." Paolo said softly as he ushered them in the side of door of one of the narrow buildings nearby. Walking quickly along the dark corridor Emma's breath caught in her throat until she felt Will's hand close around her own, squeezing it gently in reassurance.
Stepping into the dimly lit room Emma saw four men standing in a huddle talking in whispers and a few other men sitting playing cards around a low table. "My friends, this is Emma Frances and Will Taylor. They are over on 'holiday' from England and they would like to get to know us better. I think they could benefit our plans." Paolo announced to the group who had all turned to face them as they heard the door click closed.
"English you say?" The largest man in the group asked, taking a step towards Emma, leering unpleasantly at her.
"Y…yes. We're from London." Emma replied shakily as she edged herself closer to Will.
"Shy little thing aren't you?" The man, Eugene commented as he gently ran his thumb under Emma's jaw, forcing her to suppress a shudder. Emma fell silent, Will's grip tightening on her hand as he ground his teeth together. "Still the shy ones at least have some manners." He added, turning away and smiling at the other men who all nodded in agreement.
"Emma is not going to be one of 'your girls' though, we are both here to benefit you but she will not be used in that way. I won't allow it." Will said, the anger straining at his voice as he watched Eugene degrade Emma, mentally reducing her worth to that of 'one of his girls'.
"Ahh boyfriend/girlfriend no?" Eugene smirked, gesturing between the two of them. Will looked sideways to see Emma nodding shakily so he did the same. "I see where you are coming from Sir, no harm intended I though that this Emma was part of your beneficial ways to my business."
"No offence taken. Emma and myself have been dating for some time; I should have made my intentions clear at the beginning to you to avoid all of this confusion. It was my mistake." Will replied diplomatically, feeling Emma's hands becoming cold beneath his grip.
"Let us get down to business then shall we?" Paolo cut in, rolling his eyes at Will's over-apologetic nature. "We have the matter of Nadia and Helen to settle. The authorities cannot find out about them, there will be investigations, we will be ratted out." He continued, having an ulterior motive in stating the facts to his boss. Will bit his lip as he tried to imprint the information in his mind so he could report back to Sam later that evening.
"Ahh yes the misbehavers. Marco cannot keep them much longer we must…dispose of them. He believes that they have suffered enough, they will not tell us any more. They will have to be silenced." Marco's friend Antonio cut in on behalf of the missing man.
"See to it that they are disposed of in the correct manner." Eugene said off handedly, like murder and torture were an everyday occurrence to be taken lightly, although to him, they probably were! "Paolo I would like you to pay old Mrs Jacob another visit, maybe that will help her remember what she did not see that night. Let Will accompany you and I shall see to it that Emma helps me keep the girls in the club in order." He continued, spreading panic through both of the undercover officers as he spoke.
Casting a quick look over at Will she could see the worry etched in his face, his brain ticking away as though he was trying to think of a get out clause. "Emma…I am tired of being here. I must return to the club now, Paolo will pick you up on the way back from his errand." Eugene said getting to his feet and taking Emma's other hand, pulling her gently away from Will.
"Bye babe, I'll see you later." Will whispered as he kissed her cheek softly, spreading a warm tingling sensation across her face and down one side of her body. Even although they were only pretending to be a couple she couldn't help but get enjoyment out of his kiss.
Although her heart was racing from the feeling of Will's lips on her skin, her body was soon drenched in a cold sweat as she realised there was no longer a way out, she was stuck with Eugene…alone. Licking her lips Emma tried to calm herself, silencing the worries that were fleeing back and forth across her mind driving her insane. "Emma, if you would care to join me." Eugene said in a smarmy voice that made her want to be physically sick.
Instead, she smiled shakily and followed him from the building and down the steps to his waiting car. "So…so you own a club?" She asked after a few minutes of silence. Eugene turned to face her and smirked, sliding his hand across the seat towards Emma who inched further into her corner of the car.
"Yes I own La Passione Della Gente. In English that means 'The Passion Of The People' we have several girls working for us at the moment but there is always room for some…fresh blood." He replied looking her up and down as he spoke. Feeling extremely glad that she hadn't worn a skirt, Emma folded her arms across her chest so that Eugene couldn't see down her top like she knew he was trying to.
After another agonising ten minutes they finally arrived at the club and Emma almost jumped out of the car in haste to escape its clammy confines and the obvious sexual innuendo being sent her way at every chance. Following him into the stylish building Emma rolled her eyes slightly as she saw that this 'club' was in fact little more than lap dancing bar or strip joint.
Passing several scantily clad girls on her way to the bar Emma noted their pale drawn faces and stick thin bodies as well as the lifeless expression in their eyes. None of them looked happy or like they wanted to be there. A group of sleazy old men were sitting in the corner of the dimly lit room smoking cigars and admiring the girls who were perched on the side of the chairs and tables next to them. Emma lifted herself up onto a bar stool and smiled as Eugene came back into sight.
"Emma, just the girl I need. Marianne has err…got herself into some trouble I need you to help her. She won't let me near her." He whispered discreetly as Emma leant forwards over the bar. Nodding she slipped down off the stool and hurried round the side of the bar and off into a back room to where Eugene was standing by a door looking displeased.
Stepping inside Emma saw a young girl backed up against a wall, blood trickling down her face from a fairly large cut on her forehead. She was rocking gently back and forth muttering to herself with her arms wrapped tightly around her body. "Marianne?" Emma asked softly as she closed the door behind her, still keeping her distance.
Looking up, fear flashed in the girl's eyes as she saw that Emma was blocking the only exit. Following the girl's eye line Emma realised what had happened and she moved off to the side, sitting on the end of a low table and flashing another quick glance at her. "So it is Marianne right? That's a nasty cut you've got there on your forehead. Eugene asked me to come and help you. He said you'd been hurt. Can you tell me what happened?" She asked soothingly.
Marianne looked confused for a moment or two, shooting Emma a puzzled glance. "I…I was with one of the customers. Mr DeAngelo never said anything about…about sex when he told me I'd be working at the club. He said it would be dancing, that I'd have fun and make money. He…he never said I'd get…hurt…r…r…raped." She whimpered, collapsing in on herself as she recounted to Emma what had happened to her.
Pausing momentarily, Emma frowned. Then she stood up and went towards the girl, wrapping her arms around her small frame and holding her close. Marianne's elbows were painfully sharp digging into Emma's side and her body was so tiny Emma was afraid it would break if she squeezed her any tighter. Her frozen skin sent unpleasant shivers up and down Emma's back but she carried on rocking her back and forth, soothing her in the only way she knew how. "Shhh…shhh. It'll be okay. Trust me, I won't let them hurt you again. I promise." She whispered brushing Marianne's hair off her face to get a better look at the cut.
As the girl's sobs died away to hiccups, Emma stood up making her way to the small sink in the corner and fetching some wet paper towels to clear up the wound on her head. After she'd dressed the cut she sat back slightly, taking a good look at the child in front of her as that was all she was, a child. "Marianne…how old are you exactly?" Emma asked tentatively, one hand still hanging onto the girl's.
"I…I'm fifteen." Marianne whispered, a single tear rolling down her cheek as she watched Emma's horrified expression spread across her face. "My family couldn't afford to keep me. I was living on the streets of Prague for months before Eugene's men brought me here. They said I would have a better life, they lie."
"Oh Marianne I'm so sorry. I will do everything I can to help. You shouldn't be working here. It's illegal and you deserve so much better, I mean look at your English, it's near perfect you could be so successful in anything you want to do. I won't let anything else happen to you, I swear on my life I won't." A tear trickled down Emma's face as she realised the full extent of this undercover operation. Nothing she had read in the information pack had prepared her for this, for being the only person willing to take responsibility for a fifteen-year-old rape victim who didn't believe that she could get anything more out of life than what Eugene and his men degraded her to doing.
"Emma. Emma, Paolo and Will are here. Finish up with Marianne and you can leave." Eugene's slimy voice issued through the keyhole in the door.
Almost jumping out of her skin Emma turned and put her hand on her heart. "Okay Marianne, I can't do anything just now but I will be back if not tomorrow then the next day and I'll check on you. I'll get you help. See you soon sweetheart." Emma said softly, leaning over and gently hugging the young girl who attempted a smile, again shrinking back into the wall and wrapping her arms tightly around herself as she prepared for another flogging from Eugene's boys.
Emma meanwhile had slipped from the room and wound her way back around the bar and over to where Will and Paolo were standing chatting. "Can we go back now?" She pleaded quietly and they both nodded, glancing across to where Eugene was sitting at the bar sipping a drink. After Paolo had said his farewells to his boss, Emma and Will waved and headed back out of the building.
In the back of the car Emma wrapped her arms around Will's middle as she remembered about them acting as a couple. Feeling him press a kiss to the top of her head Emma smiled and buried her head further into his side, enjoying the comforting feeling of being safe in his arms.