Thank you all for following along. xx
Cautionary note: chapter contains violence and difficult situations.
Chapter 30
Burning Down the Streets
0400 – London, UK
Spanner toyed with the wiry ends of his beard, staring beyond the exterior moisture on the windshield. He was alone now since Jackson responded to Elvis' order for one of them to get boots on the ground. He wondered who it was that had arrived in an unmarked vehicle. The man's features looked grim when he emerged beneath the street lamps and quickly entered the Gwain home.
Whatever happened inside, prompted Elvis to make a swift exit, because Spanner's eye caught him sprinting towards him, twirling a finger in the air, indicating they needed to move. Spanner repositioned himself and turned the engine over.
"Boss?" he said as his captain flung the passenger door open and slid into the seat.
"CCTV's picked up a female child with a ruck sack being followed. It's gotta be Laura. Metro found some stuff she had with her north of Howell," Elvis said settling in.
"ID who's following her?"
"I dunno. Some prick who's gonna regret he ever woke up this morning. Let's move!"
Tires squealing, Spanner pulled away from the curb as Elvis pounded on the dashboard urging for more speed. They had precious little time to waste.
Xxxxxxx
"You can't possibly blame me for this!" Reginald sputtered. "The notion is fucking preposterous!"
"No. No it is not," Debbie said in a measured tone that cut to the quick. "You have always found a reason to fault Laura, and this is just the icing innit?"
Reginald's face telegraphed his rage before the words blew out. "Your paramour is to blame! You are deluding yourself into thinking I am somehow responsible! Every time he sticks his nose in around here there is an issue. Frankly I do not know why you allow it, unless of course you want him here."
Debbie threw herself towards her husband, slapping him soundly across his face, stinging the palm of her hand. "You bastard! you fucking bastard! How could you say such a thing?!
Reginald dabbed at a corner of his mouth with a fingertip, checking to see if she drew blood. His eyes were loathful when they tracked from the red dot he discovered, to her face. Pulling out a kerchief to dab further he said, "You are confusing who the bastard is here my dear, or have you forgotten?"
Not taking his bait, Debbie held her chin up high and walked over to an end table to pick up her mobile. Reginald's cheek twitched. He so wanted her to react and lash out again, especially with Pratt still inside the home. Instead, she looked up and said, "get out!"
"What did you just say to me?"
"Get out. Pack your things and get out, or I shall have you thrown out!"
Xxxxxx
0500
Elvis had relayed everything over comms to Jackson, who then altered his course to the vicinity of the CCTV sighting. Unfortunately, his teammate could not find her. Heavy morning traffic had yet to build up and hinder their movement, thus Spanner was able to navigate the streets without much difficulty. It had been over an hour and still, there was no sign of Laura.
"I reckon I should get out on foot as well," Elvis said, pulling out the satellite phone when they stopped at a signal light. "Detective Walters said he would update me on CCTV surveillance, but maybe she's off the grid somewhere."
Spanner looked at him, heard the near desperation in his voice. The light turned green. They continued on for the moment. As Elvis lifted the phone to his ear, he caught movement several meters away on a street corner next to an alley and abandoned building.
"Whoa, whoa,whoa!" he said, stomping a foot down as though he was stepping on the brake pedal instead of Spanner. They rocked in their seats from the abrupt stop. Elvis flung his door open and shot out like a cannonball ready to drop destruction. He called out with a brutal, guttural, "Oi! You there!"
A man wearing a long overcoat glanced up, scowling when he realized he was the one being singled out. Not about to give up his prize though, he grabbed hold of a set of straps.
"Drop it!" Elvis ordered, closing the gap between them.
"On who's authority?" the man said baring yellow-stained teeth behind a matted beard.
"Mine! Ya piece of shit!" Elvis said striking out with a sharp fist that snapped the man's head back, sending him reeling into a back pedal, losing his grip on the straps.
"Whaaa the fuuuuck!" the man said, stunned and in pain.
Elvis looked down. His breath caught. It was Laura's ruck sack. The little stuffed cat she had dangling from a zipper pull was still attached. The recognition tore his heart open. Before the man could recover, Elvis rammed him back against a large trash bin with a muscled forearm and sneered, "Where is she?!"
"I don't know wha yer talkin about mate," the man said sniffling through his broken, bloodied nose.
Elvis slid an arm up against his throat, tightening the airway and said, "Where….is she?!"
In between defiant gasps for air the man said, "I don't remember where I left her."
"No?" Elvis said in a low, raspy, deadly tone. "This help yer memory?"
The sudden feel of cold steel against his cheek widened the man's eyes.
"That letting some light in now pal?" Elvis said.
"Help!"
"Nah. No one's listening except me. So ya betta start talkin." Elvis said sliding the barrel of his Glock lower, to beneath the man's chin.
"I didn't do nothin!"
"Then tell me where the girl is."
Spanner slowly walked up to them, taking everything in. He fell in next to his captain and looked dispassionately at the man. Elvis pulled back slightly to look his victim over and said,
"Where'd ya get the cut on yer cheek?"
"The little bitch cut me!"
On some level the response amused Elvis but raised a high level of concern as to why Laura felt compelled to defend herself.
"Not deep enough for my liking," Elvis said.
"Oi, now ain't you the funny one," the man said
"You see me laughin? Wha's yer name?"
"Eddie."
"Well, Eddie, this is how it's gonna go down. Ya got three seconds to tell me where the fuck my daughter is, or I'm gonna show ya wha' I can do with a knife! You copy?"
Eddie's mouth stretched out into a panicked grimace. He looked to Spanner for help, but only saw a cold visage staring back at him.
"One…"
"I didn't do nothin!"
"He didn't ask what ya did, he asked where the girl is?" Spanner said.
"Two….."
"Rockby!!" I left her near Rockby."
"Near?!" Nah, nah,nah,nah,nah mate. Exactly. I wanna know exactly where she is if I 'ave to drag your fucking arse there myself!"
Spanner pulled a pair of zip ties from his pocket and added, "Save yourself some pain mate and tell him." He moved in behind Eddie and grabbed hold of his arms to secure the ties.
Elvis wiped his pistol on Eddie's shoulder and said, "You're shittin yerself ain't ya?"
"You can't do this!"
"Not the way I see it. You were rootin through somethin that don't belong to ya." Elvis said, pulling out the phone to get on the horn with Detective Walters.
"You're mad! I don't know nothin. I found it!"
Laughing Elvis said, "Was it wha? Two seconds ago, ya said she cut ya!" Elvis waited for an answer to his call. The way Eddie's bloodshot eyes kept darting down the alley sparked a gut reaction. Walters responded, but Elvis never took his eyes from Eddie.
"Yeah, Walters, Harte 'ere. I 'ave our mark at the corner of Smithton and Brick…. Yeah, it's him. The long coat, he has possession of her ruck sack."
The more he watched Eddie, the more a sickening feeling began to take root, that Laura was close by, and this prick attempted to send him on a wild goose chase. "They're comin," Elvis said, literally shoving the phone at Spanner and sped off down the alley.
Lighting was dim before dawn and Elvis tore through bins and trash, pulling out a small torchlight to aid his search. His desperate actions froze when he saw a grip seal bag of bright colored circles. His mind spoke to him, Laura's stash of Fruit Loops.
He scanned with the torch in one hand, hefting trash away with the other until he saw a small trainer sticking out from beneath a tattered cloth. A flood of adrenaline forced him to reach down and rip the filthy covering away. There she was, his first child, lying on a heap of trash at his feet.
"She's 'ere!" he shouted in a voice he never thought he would ever hear coming from his mouth.
Elvis collapsed to his knees, reaching for her, terrified what her response would be.
"Laura….."
Shaking fingertips pressed against her neck and he felt giddy when he discovered she was alive.
"Ambulance! ASAP!" he shouted. Gently touching her shoulder, he said, "Laura, can ya hear me?"
The vivid bruise on her cheek worried him and he did a blood sweep, checking for other injuries. His hand brushed against the pocketknife that had been dropped alongside of her. He did not want to move her much, not knowing the extent of any hidden injuries. Instead, he stripped off his jacket to cover her and brushed the wild hair away from her face.
"Angel, can ya hear me? It's daddy….."
She looked like she was sleeping, except for the position her body was in. The child's eyes began to flutter. He knew she would be dazed, and gave her time to respond. Her unfocused gaze moved to the direction of his voice and she murmured, "Help me daddy…."
Elvis' eyes welled. "I'm 'ere. I'm right 'ere angel. You're safe now," he said, leaning over to kiss the top of her head.
A/N: I want to thank our guest Joy, who has been posting reviews. As guest status, I am not able to respond personally, but I want you to know, that I appreciate and value each and every review and comment. When we post stories, we know readers are out there, but it helps to drive inspiration to continue when we receive feedback. Thank you all for continuing this journey with me and "the series."
