After about half an hour of driving, Derek pulled the car over into a nearby service station and parked in the far corner of the car park, away from any prying eyes.
Once he was satisfied there was no-one watching, he went around to the back of the car and unlocked the boot.
The effects of the drug started to wear off as Polly opened her eyes. Why was she in the boot of a car? Her eyes scanned the area for clues and then glittered with recognition when she saw Derek.
She muttered something incomprehensible and he put his hand over her mouth "Can't have you making such a racket now, can we?" he laughed, grabbing a piece of cloth and stuffing it into her mouth before securing it there with tape, effectively silencing her. He injected her again and she fell back into the blackness.
…
Dixie paced the floor of her office. Jeff was sat opposite her; he was sure that she was going to wear the carpet out sooner rather than later "Where is she?" Dixie said, tears welling up in her eyes "this is my fault"
"How do you figure that one out then?"
"I confronted him this morning over the message he sent her yesterday. I just saw red when he kept blatantly denying it, I sacked him there and then. So that gave him an excuse to be lurking around the ambulance bay"
"Look, we don't know anything yet…"
"Jeff! I sacked him at 9:15 this morning, 9:25 she's missing; I think that's just a little bit too much of a coincidence, don't you?"
…
Finally arriving at the old abandoned warehouse in London after hours of driving, Derek picked up the unconscious girl and threw her down on the floor, tying her ankles and arms so she couldn't escape. On the wall were some metal hooks; he grabbed some more ropes, attaching them to the ones she was already tied up with and secured them onto the hooks on the wall.
He quickly blindfolded her, and went outside to move the van.
Derek came back in a few minutes later to find Polly stirring and trying to move. When she realised what had happened she panicked, desperate to get free.
"You're not going anywhere, Pol" he snarled, spitting at her "you need to be a good little girl and stay quiet and still, don't you?" he kicked her hard in the stomach a few times, before hitting her over the head with a plank of wood that was in there.
…
"Dix, come on. Someone has to have seen something, let's go and ask in the ED"
"I suppose you're right. I just don't want to see her getting hurt again; she's already been through so much"
…
Derek threw his finished cigarette into the corner of the room, thinking it would go out on the cold ground. Little did he know that it would soon catch fire on the hay bail that was there and spread like well, wildfire.
He walked over to Polly, smiling. She was breathing heavily and biting down on the cloth in her mouth to stop herself from screaming out. As she heard footsteps coming towards her again she tensed up, staying as still and as quiet as she could in the hope that he might not beat her as much. She knew it wasn't going to work, but she had to try.
He kicked her in the stomach again, over and over, then turned his attention to her right arm. It had already been badly injured from beatings like this twice before, but that didn't stop him; he grabbed the splintered piece of wood again and started to hit her arm time and time again until he could see obvious fractures and breaks.
Polly yelped in pain, fuelling his anger and making him hit her more; he started beating down hard on her left leg and then her pelvis until they both heard the sound of bones breaking and shattering.
After attacking her further and seeing that he had also broken her right hip and at least dislocated her left, he looked around when he felt flames licking at his foot.
"Damn it! This is your fault, it's all your fault! If you had just done as you were told, we wouldn't be in this mess now!" he screamed at her, hitting her over the head again until she could taste blood in her mouth.
Suddenly part of the ceiling came crashing down on top of Derek, knocking him unconscious.
"H-help!" Polly screamed as best she could; the drugs had worn off enough now for her to realise what was happening and that she had no hope of escaping on her own.
After what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was only about 15 minutes, fire crews invaded the building, spraying freezing water everywhere and successfully dousing the flames enough for them to search the building "There's someone in here! Two people, over here, come on!"
Hearing their voices, Polly tried desperately to move and attract their attention, tears rolling down her face from pain and terror. The rope that was around her neck tightened but she fought against it, she had to get them to get her out of there "Okay, love, okay" a gentle male voice said "let's get you untied and out of here, alright?" lowering his voice he added "we need an ambulance, but we can't leave her in here, there's just not time"
Polly whimpered quietly, still writhing around and trying to free herself of the ropes, terrified that he would forget about her "Alright, alright, I'm still here" he soothed her "don't worry, I'm going to get you out of here now" he took the blindfold off and took the cloth out of her mouth and started hacking at the ropes until he freed her, scooping her up in his arms and apologising over and over as he heard her scream in pain "Sorry sweetheart, I know I'm hurting you darling, I'm sorry"
One of his colleagues shouted over to him "That one's a lost cause" motioning towards Derek who was quite clearly already dead, he and another colleague dragged him outside and laid him on the grass.
"What on earth went on in there?" the fireman holding Polly wondered aloud; he wasn't a doctor, but she hadn't been trapped by anything other than the ropes, and her injuries were clearly deliberate "Okay, I need to call an ambulance for you, do you know where you are?" seeing her blank expression, he tried another tack "Where are you from?"
"H-Holby"
"Bloody hell! That's quite a way from here!" another fireman shouted to him that there was an air ambulance on its way "You hear that? Help's on its way! Right, can you feel this?" he did various tests to check her sensation, glad that he hadn't caused any further damage; he had been a paramedic before retraining as a fireman.
He wrapped a blanket around her shivering frame and held her; the poor young woman had been through so much that day and apart from her frequent cries of pain, she seemed content to be held "D-Dixie" she mumbled.
"Dixie?" he repeated, confused "is that your name?"
"No, P-Polly. Want Dixie!"
"So, who is this Dixie then?"
"Boss, Holby City Hospital"
"Do you have a number for her? We can contact her for you"
"P-pocket" Polly was struggling to breathe again and started to cough harshly.
"Okay, I'll ring her. I'm Sam, by the way"
He rummaged around in her pockets and finding her phone, scrolled down until he found the right number. Dixie answered practically on the first ring "Hello? Polly?"
"This is Samuel Kent, I am with Polly at the moment. I'm one of the fire officers that rescued her, we are waiting for the air ambulance to arrive and then she will be taken to Holby City Hospital. Polly asked me to contact you"
"Is she badly hurt?"
"Polly's injuries are serious, but not life-threatening"
"Okay, thank you, bye"
"Bye"
Polly cried out again as a fresh wave of pain hit her and she tried to adjust her position "Polly, it really is going to be a lot less painful for you if you can stay still"
5 hours later…
Polly lay on the bed in resus, waiting for the go ahead from theatre, Jeff and Dixie sat either side of her.
The police had been to see her, telling her that Derek was dead. She wasn't yet speaking again, but she was glad that Jeff and Dixie were there with her.
