Chapter 3 –

DI Alice Parker was sitting at her desk going through the last of her outstanding paperwork when she heard the two uniformed officers talking to one of her detectives, the words 'golden trident' quickly caught her attention and she went and called them into her office.

"What's going on?"

"We got called to Holby ED an hour ago, a young girl was dumped naked and bound outside. We've got a number plate for the vehicle but it was reported stolen last night. The girl told staff that her name was Rachel but that is all they have managed to get out of her, she has been badly beaten and sexually assaulted."

"You said that she had a tattoo?"

"Yes of a golden trident on the inside of her right thigh."

Alice closed her eyes for a second before she took a deep breath.

"Ok you can leave it with me, have you spoken to her yet?"

"No the doctor wouldn't let us in."

Alice nodded her head as the two officers left her office, she grabbed her bag and left the office alone, she needed to see for herself if the group had finally made a mistake.

Sam smiled softly as she stood beside the bed and two scared eyes stared at her.

"Hey."

Rachel moved her eyes away from Sam but Sam reached out and took a hold of the girl's hand, bending down as she spoke to her.

"Don't worry you're safe here."

The girl looked around the cubicle and saw Linda standing on the other side of the bed before she moved to stand closer, reaching up as she gently stroked Rachel's hair.

"Rachel can you tell us more about yourself? How old you are? What's your surname? Who your parent's are?"

Linda spoke kindly but Rachel closed her eyes and Sam looked at the monitor and could tell that she was starting to panic again.

"Ok Rachel I need you to calm down for me, breathe nice and slowly."

Sam smiled as she felt her hand being squeezed tightly, Linda moved to put the oxygen mask over Rachel's face but the girl pushed it away as she sat up and looked hard at Sam.

"I don't know anything! Please I've got to get out of here before they find out I'm alive!"

"Sweetie you're not well enough to go anywhere."

The girl shook her head at Sam as the curtain to the cubicle started to move, quickly Linda moved to the end of the bed, protectively guarding Rachel as Zoe poked her head around.

"Can I come in?"

Linda nodded her head and moved aside, watching the frown creep across Zoe's face as Sam tried to calm Rachel down.

"What's going on?"

"Rachel wants to leave."

Sam sighed heavily as the girl lay down on the bed and closed her eyes.

"There's a DI Parker that wants to speak to her."

"Rachel?"

Rachel didn't reply she just kept her eyes closed as the tears escaped from the corners and trickled down her cheeks.

"Well we need to speak to her."

Zoe sighed resignedly as Sam nodded her head.

"Please don't leave me alone."

Rachel's voice was a whisper but Sam and Zoe heard her while Sam looked at Zoe in desperation.

"Linda can you stay with Rachel, don't worry sweetie we won't be gone long."

Linda nodded at Zoe before she moved closer to the bed, reaching out she took a hold of Rachel's hand as Zoe and Sam left the cubicle.

Alice was sat impatiently in Zoe's office, if her instincts were right then she needed to see and speak to the girl as soon as possible but as she watched the two doctors walk in she knew that things were not progressing well.

"DI Parker this is Doctor Nicholls who has been treating Rachel."

"Can I speak to her?"

"I'm afraid that's not possible at the moment."

"Can I least see her?"

Sam shook her head as Alice put her head in her hands for a second.

"Has she told you anything about herself or what happened to her?"

"I'm afraid not, we asked her for more details but she said that she couldn't remember, she is very frightened and wants to leave."

"That might not be a bad idea."

The words were muttered under Alice's breath but unfortunately they were loud enough for Zoe and Sam to hear, causing them to look at each other in confusion.

"Ok DI Parker what are you not telling us?"

Zoe spoke firmly as she stared hard at the detective who checked that the door was shut before she leant across the desk.

"The two uniformed officers told me that the girl has a tattoo of a golden trident."

"Yes on her right thigh."

"This is a symbol for a powerful group that calls themselves Poseidon."

"Highly original, what are they human traffickers?"

Zoe looked at Alice, both she and Sam had seen women and girls in the ED who had been victims of traffickers and Rachel, although exceptionally young, certainly carried the same sort of injuries.

"No they are much worse than that, their members are some of the most powerful people in the country, business owners, policemen, politicians."

Sam had her mouth open as Zoe looked at her before she stared back at Alice and quietly spoke.

"So are you saying that Rachel is owned by this group?"

"I believe so. I have never come across a living victim before and I've only seen the symbol twice before today."

"So how come you know so much about them?"

Sam spoke with a tension to her voice as she thought about Rachel.

"Because after I found the last victim ten years ago I swore that I would stop them. Unfortunately I have been thwarted in my attempts because of their power and influence but with a living victim that can change."

Alice sighed as she looked at the confusion on the two doctor's faces.

"I haven't told anyone else at the station about this or that I am here, I need to see her, speak to her and find out just this group is really up to."

"I just don't think that Rachel is up to that at the moment, she is too scared to trust anyone."

"They've really messed her up then."

Sam just nodded her head in response.

"We need to keep her presence here a secret, until she is well enough to be moved somewhere safe."

"Well that we can manage, I'll change her name on the admission form and keep the details of her injuries off any records."

"Thank you Doctor Hanna."

"I'm going to go back and check on Rachel."

Sam stood up and nodded at Alice before she left.

"Do you mind if I stay?"

Zoe shrugged her shoulders at Alice's question but waved her hand for Alice to stay in her office, she had no idea how long it would be until Rachel was confident enough to open up to anyone.