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# THE FAILED REDEMPTION

By

### Dudley Davidson-Jarrett

(Notes)

(Notes)

The characters in this book are entirely fictitious and accordingly any similarity between them and actual characters or events are entirely coincidental.

Acknowledgements

I'd like to thank God for giving me the drive and sustenance to complete my second book. I'd like to thank my colleagues and workers who have supported me during this period and the editors and suggestions I have received throughout. Hope you enjoy the read and I look forward to working with you again in the future.

Dudley Davidson-Jarrett

Chapter One

Boris sat in his cell. He missed his family not that he had spent much time with them when he was out anyway. This cell was slightly better than the last one he had been located in. This was the second time he had been moved. It was called an isolation unit but it wasn't as bad as one he had come from seeing as there was someone on his left who he could talk to given the right time. He heard from Brady his neighbour that there were worst cells than this. Other so-called isolation units did not have a sink in them and the other facilities that these ones had. They were reserved for the more dangerous unpredictable criminals, the suicidal ones. Boris hadn't made many friends since he was convicted and was learning the hard way that he should adopt a calmer attitude towards life and avoid getting easily angered. He had agreed to attend anger management classes after been seen by a psychologist but they didn't seem to be working that well as he had had a few bouts with some inmates during recessions and had to be reminded that break times where for recreational purposes and not otherwise. At the moment he had made more enemies than friends. He had done eighteen months already and his lawyer promised he could get his time reduced depending upon his behaviour, but at the moment it seemed to him like he would get his time extended if anything. He lay back on his bed and took out a picture of his girlfriend and only child. He gave them both a kiss and put them back under his pillow. He hardly spent any time with them when he was out but he seemed to be missing them more since he had been put in. A big rattle came from the cell door and one of the officials officer Peters as most of them on the wing knew him as opened the door as always with another officer by his side. Each time it was someone different.

"Boris!" Officer Peters said as he approached Boris' cell.

Most of the inmates who had known him for some time were convinced that this was not the voice he usually spoke with. There were times when his voice slipped at a higher pitch and they would laugh when this happened.

"Recess" Officer Peters said as he opened up the cell and put the cuffs on Boris.

He walked alongside the two officers who ushered him towards an outdoor area which was a wide area about twenty five by twenty five feet in length which the inmates could spend twenty minutes getting some air and exercise. This was what this area was for although often time's officers were called to assist whenever a fight or any other incident occurred.

"Hey Boris" Boris heard someone call from behind him.

He looked behind him and realised who it was.

"What's up Brady" He replied.

Brady was in the cell to his right and they had spoken on a few occasions at the recreational site. Brady didn't speak much, only when he felt like it and neither knew what neither of them was in for yet. Some people chose to keep their conviction private. He had learned from one of the cell mates in another wing he had stayed in that some inmates chose to keep their convictions a secret because if somebody's conviction was known then others who had been put away for larger crimes would try to take advantage of those who had committed lesser crimes. It was a game of chess really, you gambled, you chose who you wanted to reveal your hand to, who you told shared your next move with. They rarely exchanged words and continued their way accompanied by the officers over to the recreational area. The cell Boris was staying in now was different from the ones he was staying in previously as they were separated by solid walls and not bars. He preferred it in a way because he didn't have to make or receive weird stares from his neighbours. They got to the recreation area and the usual convicts were already lifting weights vigorously. There were people grouped in their usual corners chatting away and some talking under their breaths. Boris wasn't one to get involved with gym. His father had a big build and he had inherited quite a big build he didn't find it necessary to gym. Boris took his usual place in the corner of the terrain. He would usually find a baseball and play throw with his new buddy from the wing Brady.

"So what's new?" Brady asked as he threw the baseball to Boris.

"Not much at all." He replied as he threw the ball back to him.

"Arrgh you idiot" A voice came from the background followed by a rattle and a clang as one of the weights dropped.

Conversations paused as heads turned to look at what the commotion was. The guards got prepared to stop any fight that was about to happen. The two men using the weights continued without any hassle and the rest got back to their conversations. The guard on duty decided to end the session early, blew the whistle and ushered the inmates back into their cells.

*

Chapter Two

At two years of age she wasn't expecting Russell to know any better.

"Come on you've got to be faster than that." She said frustratingly.

Sometimes she wondered why she had gotten involved with Boris let alone have had a child with him. She didn't know whether she really loved Boris or not. There were times when she did and there were times when she didn't. Russell didn't look anything like her and she often became overwhelmed by being an only mother. Boris was never at home whether it was for one reason or another. She suddenly remembered that he hadn't had a morsel of food to eat the whole day and went over to the refrigerator which had only a few items in it, took out a half opened yoghurt from yesterday's supper and began eating it. She wiped of the mess from Russell's bib and finished of her yoghurt. Their diet wasn't all that great but they managed to survive. She put Russell in his baby chair and took a quick shower. Boris had always told her when he was around never to leave Russell alone even if it was for one minute but the message had never really gotten across. She finished in the shower and gave Russell a quick wash before bundling him into the car seat. She wondered how they still managed to maintain the old Toyota. They much needed a new one but the thought seemed almost impossible given their circumstances. They would hardly visit Boris. He had only told her that he was in jail months after he was convicted and she felt it would be perfect revenge not to visit him at all. In recent months however, Boris would make the odd phone call demanding that he see his son but not getting any visit at all, except for excuses on why she couldn't make it. This would be the first time she and Russell visited him, but Boris had no idea they were coming. Jade knew where the jail was located after all of the post cards she had started reading from Boris, but she had never been there and was not very good with her directions. She made sure Russell was secure in the passenger seat and set up the sat nav in preparation for the journey. Russell began to cry for a moment.

"Where are we going Hey? We're going to see daddy!" She said to him in an attempt to stop him from crying. This didn't help at all. She decided to ignore him and start the engine anyway. They had a long way to go. Russell stopped crying as soon as the engine started up.

"That did the trick." She said as she started making her way out of the neighbourhood.

Sometimes she would get nasty stares from a few people around the neighbourhood. Some of them told her about the nasty things Boris and his friends did in this society and about how they should be put away for good with no chance of any sort of redemption. She just ignored all the comments and remarks but at the same time was totally fed up with them. She was tired of being looked at and judged because of Boris's actions. Then again there were a handful of people that did take a liking to her. She didn't really care much about most of the people that stayed around her area she just saw them as no good white trash anyway and wasn't concerned about what they might think of her. The weather was dark and horrible. She wished she had chosen another day instead. She felt frustrated because the sun was out just before they had left. She continued to follow the sat nav's instructions onto the highway. Russell sat in the passenger seat now fast asleep. Jade took out her bottle of water and took a sip to keep herself awake, she was careful not too have too much as she didn't want to have to stop to go to the bathroom, the sooner they got there the better and she hated travelling at night. In about another thirty minutes of hard rain hitting the windscreen and a busy highway, the sat nav directed her off the highway. She breathed a sigh of relief and took a left turn off the highway still following the sat nav's instructions and now listening more attentively anticipating the arrival. She didn't want to come all of this time but now she was getting closer, she looked increasingly forward to arriving. The rain ceased but the sky remained overcast. She continued into some quiet roads and entered another main road. The sat nav finally lead her to the jail. Russell had woken up and needed a change. The guard at the gate asked her what she was here for, gave her a visitors badge and lifted the barrier for her to go inside. She found a spot to park the car and sat back in her seat. She decided to give Russell a quick change and a feed, luckily she had packed some spare nappies and some moisturiser so she was able to sort him out. She took out his milk bottle and fed him for ten minutes. There was about an hour left visiting time left so if she started to make her way in she would have about forty-five minutes to spend with Boris. She thought whether she wanted to see him for that long or just rest a little more in the car and then decided to make her way in with Russell. She took Russell from the baby seat and shut the car door. They made their way to a front door. Russell was strapped to Jade's chest. There were two lady officers at the reception who ushered them to the visiting section. Three officers stood by the door to the visiting section and asked her for her visitor's badge. She took it out of her pocket and presented it. One of the officers opened the door which lead into a large room lined with telephone booths and doors which she guessed lead to the cells. A guard on the other side of the door lead them to a table where she put down her bag which contained a few snacks that she had brought for Boris. She knew, that the food could be bad in jail and anything from outside would be much appreciated. She un-strapped Russell from her chest and tried to make herself as comfortable as she could on the hard metal chairs which the guard had directed her to. The other tables also had people seated at them, a few other mothers with their babies and what looked like girlfriends of a few inmates sat across from their loved ones while they sat dressed in inmates garments. Jade sat there and watched the chatter as she waited for some sign of Boris. The room was filled with calm chatter. An officer which stood on the right turned around for another officer who had signalled for his assistance. When she looked closer she saw that it was actually two officers and an unmistakable figure of Boris wedged in between them. He looked as if he had lost a considerable amount of weight. They took his handcuffs off and gave him the go ahead. Boris walked through the gate and noticed jade and Russell. Not like they looked like in the pictures he had of them. Russell was slightly bigger and Jade seemed to have put on a bit of weight. He walked over to the table half smiling as he got closer to them. He gave them both a kiss on the cheek and sat opposite them.

"How's my baby doing?" He said looking at Russell and giving him a large smile.

"Can I hold him?" He asked.

"Yeah sure you can." Jade said. She handed Russell over to him.

"Twenty minutes." One of the officers shouted at the door.

"So how are you?" Boris began sounding rather gruff.

"I'm fine, good to see you, have you started smoking or something?" Jade asked.

"You know I hate that stuff" He replied.

"You look kind of thin." She said.

"Yes I know, It's the diet. What took you so long to make this visit? All those postcards I sent?" He asked.

"Yeah sorry." She replied

"The amount of change I've spent on postcards I could have bought myself a months' worth of cigarettes by now." He said.

"Oh please." Jade replied.

"So how are they treating you inside there? Or should I say how are you treating them? Are you behaving?" Jade asked.

"Yeah well I want to get out of here as soon as I can and that can only happen once my behaviour, is hundred percent. That's the only way I can get any chance of any reduction on my sentence. I've been going to anger management classes, that's helping a bit – I suppose. Maybe if you made a few more visits that would also have helped." He said.

"You know I'm not that good on the road, and besides we can't afford to be driving up and down from London every day."

"I didn't say everyday, every two weeks at least." He said.

"I told you before if you ever got into trouble not to get me involved, things are already bad as they are." She said.

"Five minutes." an officer called from the door.

"Here, give him to me" Jade said. "Come on Russell let's get you ready"

Boris gave Russell to Jade.

"I'd better get going now thanks for the visit. You take care of yourself and Russell ,you're all I've got." He said as he started getting up from his seat.

Jade began to think that she should have come earlier and felt slightly guilty about leaving it so long until she made the visit. The guard walked over to Boris and lead him to a gate where he was handcuffed and lead through to the cell area. Jade walked out of the building with Russell strapped to her chest. She loaded him into the passenger seat. He was now fast asleep, he would usually fall asleep around about this time and wake up again in the early evening ready for another feed before bedtime. She hoped that he would stay asleep for the whole journey. She felt tired and just wanted to get home, and she certainly didn't want to make it a habit of coming here.

*

Chapter Three

This was his third cup of coffee in one hour, Jake decided it would be his last before he got down to some real work. He had major deadlines to meet and wouldn't make them unless he put in the long hours and much needed research. He was starting to feel the pressure, but these were the sorts of cases that he had had to deal with before. There was not a lot of ground work to be done. He swivelled around in his chair to get into a comfortable position and began taking notes. It was as if something was stopping him from getting down to work. As he finally began to open his file a loud knock came at the door.

"Not now." Jake shouted from behind his desk. A knock came again. Jake readjusted himself in his chair and began to wonder who it was. One last disturbance, he thought to himself as he got up and went to open the door.

"Jake" Ross said stretching out his hand.

"Ross!" Jake replied.

"I bet you weren't expecting me."

"No not at all"

"I would say it's a bad time, but it's never a bad time for a case like this. I take it you've come to talk about the case." Jake said.

"Yes of course, I was in town and thought I might as well stop by and check you out. I don't know when next I'll be around this side of town" Ross said.

"Here let me help you get that" Jake said. Ross handed his jacket to Jake. Jake hung the jacket on one of the plush set of books which he had lined up on the wall next to the door. Ross walked into the room and sat in the chair opposite Jake's desk.

"Anything to drink?" Jake asked.

"Yes okay, I'll have a cup of coffee. How are you doing.?"

"Not bad just up to here with work and pressures slowly getting to me, but nothing I can't handle, Just a moment" Jake said. He picked up the internal phone and dialled for the reception.

"Hey can I get two cups of coffee no sugar and no milk to my office right away please" Jake said.

"On it's way" Susan replied. Susan had been working with Jake now for over fifteen years. They had become well acquainted, she knew the ins and outs of his schedule. Jake could rely on her whenever he needed a helping hand. She was up with two cups of coffee within minutes and left the room as quickly as she had entered it. One thing she had come to learn over the years was that as an attorney. Jake needed his privacy. When he was in the room with someone it was always important, either a client whom he had to sit down and listen to livid personal details or a fellow colleague discussing a work project. She had to be in and out. The only time she ever had any casual conversations with him was after work on the way to the car park. They had gone out on a few business lunches together but that was all.

"So what is it you wanted me to help you with?" Ross asked after taking sip of his coffee.

"I need you to see a client of mine." Jake said.

"Yes of course you were saying over the phone." Ross replied.

"You've got to tell me a little bit more about your man if you want me to help you out properly." Ross said.

"Well he doesn't share much with me he's quite guarded in that way." Jake said

"Well you're going to have to speak to him a bit more often then won't you, what exactly is it you wanted me to do?"

"I was wondering whether you could visit him a few times on my behalf, and maybe appear in court." Jake said. There was a brief moment of silence.

"This could be a little bit tricky, as you know this is a high profile case and it's not going to be easy for me to get anything out of him either." Ross said.

"I was hoping you could help me to assess his frame of mind, give us something to work with in court." Jake said.

"What do you mean us?" Ross replied.

"I want you to give evidence."

"Give evidence?" Ross repeated and gave a brief sigh.

"I don't know about this one but I'll see what I can do. You need to know that I can't keep doing things like this for you for free. I'm going to have start charging you sooner or later. You're not a junior lawyer anymore, you're now dealing with big clients who have a lot at stake."

"We'll sort something out." Jake replied.

"I hope so." Ross responded.

"On my part it's going to involve getting work in the prison Boris is working in and somehow get to work with him, sounds hard but I've done it before, I'm sure you know that." Ross said.

"So I take that as a yes then." Jake said

"Well as long as you can guarantee some form of payment then yes. We've all got to survive you know, some more so than others. I have mouths to feed." Ross said.

"How are the lads?" Jake asked hoping to change the direction of the conversation a little.

"They're good, the two eldest are off at university now thank goodness. We're still trying to get rid of the last one." Ross said grinning.

"Are you done with that?" Jake asked.

"Yes thanks" Ross replied. Ross sat silently and took notes while Jake explained everything he could about Boris and gave details about which cell unit he was in and how often he needed to be visited. Once he had finished he got up from the chair and had a good stretch.

"Okay thanks for that." Just stay in touch and keep me posted, just stay in touch and keep me posted" Jake said

"I must leave now my colleagues must be worrying where I am around about now. It's annoying, they're like my own children, I can't leave for any lengthy period of time without any disturbances or complaints." Ross said

"Okay thanks for stopping by." Jake said.

"I'll send you the bill via post." Ross said as he took his jacket and left the room giving Jake no chance to reply.

*

Chapter Four

ITR- Intake Transfer and Release. Boris had been through this process many a time before and today was no different. He lined up across the wall with the other detainees waiting to be searched. He hated this. He felt as if he had no control over his life. There were three officers on duty and forty intakes including Boris.

"The quicker you guys do this, everybody co-operates you'll get through fast." One of the larger officers said as he noticed them getting restless and agitated. This was the time when things could get messy, if they were not careful. The last things the officers wanted right now was a fight to break out. An officer and close colleague of theirs had been assaulted by an inmate and left paralysed from the hip down two weeks earlier and the mood was still grave and heavy amongst them. They were extra careful and on their toes when they went through these procedures. They had to perform more routine and vigorous searches now because of this incident. Cells were also searched regularly at random in order to catch criminals out unexpectedly. Weapons of all sorts could be found in these cells when searches were carried out. Anything from razor blades to plastic knives, and sometimes even handguns were found. Many officers on duty during these searches would also often come out with bottles of liquor. These were made by the inmates themselves but putting sugar and other colouring and chemicals inside and leaving it to ferment, until it became alcohol. They would arrange their night fun in this way. The atmosphere was hot and the corridors carried a bad odour. Nobody wanted to be there. Boris felt as if he was suffocating and asked one of the officers for a glass of water.

"Hands behind your backs. I don't want nobody moving, nobody goes nowhere until I say so." The officer responded. Boris hated to being spoken to indirectly, he had asked him for a glass of water, the officer refused to give him an answer directly but instead addressed everybody who was there.

"Hey why don't you just keep your mouth quiet you're going to make us stay here forever." Another inmate said a few men down from Boris.

"What did you say?" Boris said. He looked at the inmate who had cursed him. One of the officers called immediately for back up and two more officers came to separate the two inmates who had managed to find a way to each other and start a scuffle. After being handcuffed the two were led to opposite ends of the corridor towards different units. Could this get any worse? Boris thought to himself.

Meanwhile, back at the firm, Jake sat looking through Boris's file. At the moment he didn't have a clue of where to start although he had had to defend Boris before, but never on a scale this large and for a crime this big. Sometimes he struggled to believe whether he was really innocent or not, but Boris had paid top dollar for his services in the past and Jake had made his mind up to make every effort not to loose this one. He would always tell Boris to stay out of trouble, but he kept coming back needing his help. His crimes seemed to get worse as he grew older and although Jake was comfortable with dealing with him as they were usually minor crimes, he was now becoming more and more worried about Boris. He kept coming back. He walked over to his cabinet of files and took out his folder which contained a list of contacts of psychologists he had come into contact with throughout his career. He looked carefully through his contacts to see if he could find anyone who would be worth calling. As he looked through the file which contained about two hundred contacts of psychologists he had come into contact with throughout his career. He looked carefully through the contact to see if he could find anyone that would be worth calling. As he looked through the file which contained about two hundred contacts of psychologists some of which he hadn't spoken to now for a couple of years. The first person he decided to call was Andy. He had met Andy about five years ago and had met him a couple of times for lunch. The number listed was not a personal number, it was a business number. Jake picked up the telephone and decided to give him a try anyway. He came through to the company where a female voice immediately answered.

"Hello you're through to Bertrams Mental Health Unit how can I help you?" She said.

"Yes it's attorney Jake speaking could you please put me through to Andy." Jake replied.

"I'm afraid he no longer works here." She replied.

"Really?" Jake said.

"Yes he's been gone for nearly a year now, he retired just at the end of last year." She said.

"Well do you have a personal telephone number I can reach him on by any chance?"

"No I'm afraid we don't leave any records on our database for no longer than five months after a doctor or employee has left the organisation" She replied apologetically.

"Okay then don't worry about it, thanks" Jake said and put the phone down. He pick up a pen and scratched a line straight through the contact. That was a waste of space – he thought, and deleted the number He continued to browse through his list of contact and stopped at a name that seemed familiar with. He had a sudden feeling of hope when he saw that the number listed was a personal mobile number. He tried to think of the last time he had spoken to It was about a couple of months ago when he needed help with a client of his who was suspected of being a kleptomaniac. He could remember him quiet clearly. Ross was a good doctor and always cam to Jake's aid when he needed expert advice and a helping hand in any case. Jake dialled the number, Ross picked up the phone immediately.

"What's the problem this time." He said.

"Hello, no there's no problem, well at least I hope there isn't which is why I'm calling you. It's rather a quiet alarm I am raising nothing at all to panic about." Jake said.

"Well you let me be the judge of that, what is it you want to speak to me about?" Ross asked.

"It's Boris, a client of mine, you must have heard of him before." Jake said.

"No, I'm not sure if I have" Ross replied. "Hang on a minute, it rings a bell that name." Ross said after a brief pause.

"That guy that went to prison a while back for pre-meditated murder?"

"Yes, that one." Jake said.

"What, you mean you're representing him?" Ross asked in surprise.

"Yes." Jake replied.

"Tell me Jake, do you think he deserves to be there - really?" Ross asked.

"Of course I don't" Jake replied.

"I mean I know some of you guys just go out there and represent people you know are guilty, and your main aim is to get them off so that your files look good. Really Jake, tell me the truth otherwise my help may be of no use to you. Do you think he deserves to be in prison?" Ross asked again.

"No I don't." Jake replied.

"That is why I'm calling you." He continued.

"I need some expert advice. I need some back up. I think he might have some personal problems. Some deep personal problems. Will you be able to talk to him for me?" Jake said.

"Don't worry he's a good guy he won't harm you."

"What do you mean, he's just got put away for murder why should I all of a sudden be safe around him?" Ross replied.

"You know what I mean." Jake said.

"Okay I'll see what I can do."

*

Chapter Five

Daniel walked back to his flat with fish and chips in his hands. The weather was dull and the autumn showers came and went as they pleased. He definitely preferred the weather over in America to the weather here in England. He had come over and relocated in London partly out of respect to his childhood and close friend Terry who had tragically passed away. He could not bring himself to remain living in the town where he had last spoken to him. Apart from the weather he liked it in London and could get used to it, even for the meantime as a kind of tribute to the late Terry. Terry had always suggested that he move to London and that there was a lot of opportunity there for ambitious people like himself. He had found himself a job as a bank assistant, not too bad for a start and for a first job in London. The hours were fair and he had a lot of time to take part in other personal pursuits. He continued along a small road which lead towards his flat. He had to stay quiet, he had to live an average life so that he wouldn't stand out too much too soon. This was the perfect job and location for him to accomplish that. Or so he thought. He entered into his apartment and threw his things on the table. He switched on the television. He had arrived just in time for the Red Socks game. He cursed himself when he realised he had forgotten to pick up a six pack from the news agent. He went towards the fridge, opened it and realised that there was three quarters of a bottle of wine left in there and a bowl of pasta. He decided that he could make do with this for the game, he didn't want to spend too much money. There was a knock on the door. He checked through the key hole, recognized the face which was behind the door and opened it.

"Daniel!" Trent said as he entered the flat.

"You came just on time." Daniel said.

"Would you like some wine?" He offered Trent.

"I wouldn't say no." Trent replied as he put his jacket on a chair.

"Let me get that for you" Daniel said as he took the coat and hung it up on the rack.

"Oh I didn't see that when did you get it?" Trent asked.

"I got it a couple of days ago from Ikea" Daniel replied.

"Nice, looks good, suits the flat." Trent said. They sat and sipped on the wine while they watched the game.

"I actually would have preferred some beers." Daniel said. "But we can go get some at half time if we still feel like it."

"Yeah we'll see what this wine has to offer first." Trent replied. "Who are you rooting?" He asked.

"Red Socks as usual there was no need for you to ask such a stupid question?"

"Whatever." Trent said.

"It's been a long day, you can expect me to make a few mistakes here and there." He replied.

"And you haven't even finished your first glass of wine yet." Daniel teased.

"Oh leave me alone." Trent said.

"Let's just shut up and watch the game." Daniel said.

It was Friday night and they would usually meet up and do something, whether it be inviting a few people over and having some sort of party or going out to the club. Terry was the only one he had told about the money which Terry had left him. He was always encouraging Daniel to spend a little more. Trent was a member of the Police force. He was known as a dodgy cop because of his rumoured past before entering the force. He knew the DCI, how he worked and considered himself far smarter than him. They were not best of friends, hardly spoke to each other, they only knew to avoid each other when they were in the same building or area.

"How's work going? Are you getting settled in well? Making any new friends?" Trent asked as the game approached half time. The Red Socks were winning and Daniel was in a cheerful mood.

"Yes of course, I'm settling in fine, the people aren't so bad." Daniel replied.

"So are we going to get these beers or not?" Daniel said as the referee blew the whistle for half time.

"Yeah sure." Trent replied barely making it up from the couch.

"I guess I'm going to be driving, come on let's get out of here so we can make it back in time for the second half." Daniel said.

"Let's go then." Trent said as they made their way out of the flat and towards the car.

Meanwhile Derrick picked up his phone and dialled the DCI's Number.

"Yes It's me Derrick speaking I've just spotted him, the same guy that was with Big Boris the night before he was killed."

*

Chapter Six

Breakfast was as boring and as tasteless as it had been in a long while. It was porridge oats. The chefs seemed to have made up their minds not to provide any milk with the porridge making it a dry and distasteful experience. As they lined up to collect their breakfast a few inmates made their distaste for the meal known, giving sneaky comments here and there to the chef, but nothing that needed any guard intervention. Boris collected his breakfast in silence and continued towards the seating area. Fights rarely broke out in this section, there were only a few stories random deaths which happened once in a while. He saw no sign of his cell neighbour and couldn't care to make a bigger effort to look for him. He spotted a seat and began to make his way towards a table when he heard a whistle. He looked over and saw it was Brady, he had saved a seat for him. He walked over and carefully wedged himself next to Brady and another inmate. He knew from his time here that one of the reasons many fights broke out was when someone carelessly touched someone else or bumped their tray or something. He was careful not to do this. As he took a seat, the inmate sitting to his right gave him a strange stare. Boris then looked to his left to his cellmate.

"How are you doing this morning?"

"Yeah not too bad, the breakfast could be better, don't mind the guy next to you, he's a turd." Brady said.

Boris couldn't help but laugh.

"What was that?" The inmate which was seated on his right said. Brady hadn't been as quiet as he thought he was. A couple of other inmates sniggered across the table from them, whether it was from the comment Brady made or not Boris wasn't sure. He shook his head and continued with his meal. The inmate to his right stood up and walked towards Brady. Boris thought whether or not to stand up and provide back up for his friend but then decided that he would leave it alone. He didn't want to be involved with anything right now and he was trying his best to considerably lessen his sentence rather than increase it. As Daniel stood up he saw a hand appear right over his shoulder and block a punch which he hadn't seen coming from the guy he had cursed, not realizing that he was actually far larger than he had seemed when he was sitting down on the bench. The guards even got there later than the hand which had blocked the punch immediately put some cuffs on him and took him back to his cell.

"Thanks for that." Boris said to another inmate Charles as he got back to his breakfast and reluctantly took a spoon of his porridge.

"So you have people in this section that look out for you huh?" Boris asked.

"Well I speak to a few" Brady replied. "It doesn't really help that you are right next to a brick wall on the other side."

"Yeah that's a point." Boris said. "I didn't think about that, let's put our trays away, I've just about had enough of looking at this porridge. I'm not even going to attempt to finish it." Just as he said this one of the guards blew a whistle for the all the inmates to start packing up and to make their way back towards their cells.

*

Chapter Seven

Boris entered his cell and took a seat on his bed. He would usually just sit down after breakfast and daydream about what life would be like after he was released. Would his counterparts still be around? Would Jade love him any more or any less? All these thoughts ran threw his head as he lay in his cell. He hadn't seen any of them since their collective arrest and initial hearing in court. Since then they had been dealt with separately and none were clear as to what each individual's judgement was. He thought about whether he wanted to see anyone of them again and whether to start afresh somewhere new. That was a possibility, but at the same time he wanted to trace where the rest of the money had gone and if there was still any of it left. Had the police managed to recover any of it, had anyone admitted to stealing it? At the moment the prosecutor was struggling to prove beyond reasonable doubt that they were actually involved in the robbery at Brack and Brack. He wondered whether everything would still be the same as before. Being in this cell made him think a lot more, he didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. He had never reflected so much in his lifetime. It was all touch and go when he was outside never thinking about the consequences of his actions which put him in situations like this again and again much to Jade's annoyance. Boris had agreed to set aside a budget for a legal representative and was expecting a visit from him sometime today. He liked Jake for a number of reasons. He was a good friend, or at least acted like a good friend and not only that he was a great lawyer who usually excelled at his work. Boris always tried to make his bond with Jake more stronger than his other counterparts as Jake would represent all of them whenever they came into conflict with the law. Despite his good representation as an attorney he had a few people who detested him and suspected him of foul play in the courts of law. He walked over to the water basin and drank some water. Boris didn't like this end of the corridor, it got heated up and stuffy far too quickly. He wondered whether there was a boiler on the other side of the wall. He opened the small air vent which was on the back wall and the room began to cool a little.

At lunch time Boris sat next to Brady and noticed a familiar face which sat next to him. It was the guy from breakfast that morning who had blocked the punch from the guy who had tried to attack him. He was a decent sized man and Daniel introduced Boris to him as soon as he sat down.

"Boris this is Charles, Charles Boris."

"Hey Boris" Charles said.

"What's up" Boris answered.

"That was real quick this morning." Boris said

"Thanks" Charles said expressionless.

"Sometimes you've just got to stand up for what is right, but at the right time, you don't want to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and get yourself into trouble." He said.

"Yeah but you shouldn't be so worried about that, you seem like you can take care of yourself." Boris said.

"But you can never get too comfortable." Charles said.

"That's true." Boris replied.

"So how long have you known Charles for?" Boris asked.

They all sat on a wall in the recreation area.

"I'd heard about him outside but only met him inside, he is a tax advisor, or was a tax advisor." Brady said.

"So what is he in here for?" Boris asked.

"I can't tell you that you're going to have to ask him yourself."

"Aw come on." Boris replied.

"Yeah okay but if I tell you then you've got to keep it quiet, and if you don't manage to keep it quiet then I'm not the one that told you, you understand?" Brady said.

"Yeah it's cool, you know me I'm not one to gossip." Boris replied.

Brady looked to his left, and then to his right.

"Remember, this didn't come from me." Brady said.

"Yeah I heard you the first time." Boris replied.

"Tax evasion." Brady said.

"Tax evasion?"

"Yeah tax evasion is there a problem with that?" Brady ushered Boris to the side so as not to attract any attention.

Boris sniggered.

"No I just thought that he'd be here for something a bit or more physical than that." Boris replied.

"Nah" Brady said. "That guy has quite a brain on him." "He owns a chain of businesses which apparently he still operates from the inside. If you ever needed any help outside, he would be the man to talk to."

"I see." said Boris almost half convinced.

"Remember I don't usually talk about this, unless he decided to bring it up."

"Yeah sure." Boris replied.

"He's supposed to be getting released soon apparently but talk to him yourself, he's not a bad chap at all, just don't take him for an idiot."

"Why would I want to do that?" Boris asked frustratingly.

"Just so you know." Brady said. Charles had disappeared back inside during the time they were lost in conversation.

"Where is he now?" Boris asked.

"Some inmates here have got special permission to visit the library I know he has permission, maybe he went there." Brady replied.

The guard blew the whistle twice and they started to make their way back towards the building. Boris entered his cell again and paced around, tired of being locked up. A guard appeared at his cell door to let him know that there was someone to see him. Another anger management class, he guessed.

"Dr Ross is waiting for you, come this way." The guard told him.

Dr Ross was Boris's counsellor and psychologist. He was in charge of the counselling sessions for his unit and had been put there by Jake, Boris' attorney in the hope to keep a brief eye on Boris' mental state. Boris didn't mind Ross, he seemed to be very good at his job. Boris had become a lot less anger prone since he had been speaking to Ross. He had to if he wanted to get out any sooner, but Ross never seemed satisfied with his progress. Whether his was a technique to help to strengthen Boris, he had no idea. Boris walked to the counselling room. Counsellor Ross sat there behind his table in a leather seat. It was just Boris today. It was not all the time that inmates showed up for these session, some were banned from going and Boris was a regular. Boris took a seat in one of the chairs in the room. He liked these chairs because they were comfortable and soft not like all the other metal chairs around the building. Ross stood up from his desk and found a chair amongst one of the chairs Boris was sitting on and began the session.

"Okay Boris, it seems like it's just me and you again." He started.

"How are you doing today?"

"Fine" Boris replied. He would sometimes prefer only to give one word answers and Ross didn't like it when he did this.

"Let's start off firstly by counting from one to ten slowly and calmly."

Boris sighed.

"Come on now you've been doing well."

Boris took a deep breath and counted slowly from one to ten. He took another deep breath and then asked.

"Have you put in a good word for me?" Boris asked.

"If you carry on attending sessions then the better the word I can put in for you but we'll talk about that a little bit later on. Now how have you been doing inside there? Any fights? Any unnecessary bouts of anger?" Ross asked.

"No I haven't I don't see what difference it would make anyway." Boris said.

"It would make a big difference, just give it a try. You're not looking too healthy at all, are you eating well?" Ross asked.

"Well I would be eating a lot better if they'd stop serving this food they give us." Boris replied angrily.

"It can't be that bad" Ross said.

"Can't be that bad, have you seen the stuff?" Boris said.

"I've seen the lunches and I have tried them, they're not as bad as they say they are, I mean it contains your necessary dietary requirements, your greens, your carbohydrates and your sugars. I haven't heard many pleasant stories about the breakfasts though. I admit I haven't been brave enough to try them." Ross said.

"And that's the most important meal of the day" Boris replied.

"Yeah well I'm afraid you might have to get over it there's not much I can do to change that." Ross said. "Have you heard anything from your wife and your son? " Ross asked.

"Yeah I saw them last week." Boris said.

"Oh that's nice I know you've been waiting months for their visit, how are they doing?" he asked.

"They're alright I suppose, surviving." Boris replied.

"Are you happy they came?" Ross asked.

"Yes I suppose so." Boris replied taking a look at the clock.

"Anyway we've come at the end of your session now so you can make your way out when you are ready, I'll call someone to come and get you."

"Hey Ross." Boris said.

"What is it?" Ross replied.

"Can I grab a cup of coffee?" Boris asked.

"Yeah sure help yourself." Ross said pointing over to the coffee area where attendants would usually gather for a break. They hadn't had a break this session and had gone straight through without any pause. Time seemed like it was flying. It seemed as if nobody noticed that there was no break. Boris walked over to the coffee machine and poured himself an extra strong cup of coffee. He liked a bit of caffeine to keep his mind ticking.

"Hey Ross, what's it like out there?" Boris asked.

"What do you mean?" Ross said.

"I mean is there space out there, you know for people like me?" Boris asked as he sipped gratefully on his cup of coffee.

"Yeah I'm sure there is." Ross said, not wanting to disappoint Boris in anyway.

"If you clean up your act properly then you should have no problem when you get out there, if you get out there." Ross replied.

"I'm all good to go." Boris said.

Ross called for one of the two officers through the intercom, and Boris soon made his way back to his cell ushered by an officer. He thought deeply to himself and home seemed like a hopeful idea.'

*

Chapter Eight

Jimmy sat at one of his favourite cocktail bars. He owned two clubs in London and was a well known character around town. I'll have another one of the pinacoladas please he said to Adrian one of his bar tenders who delightfully put his drink together and presented it to Jimmy. Jimmy knew most of the bar tenders over this side of the town, even the ones who didn't work for him. He had a couple of friends who owned bars. He had heard of Boris and his men and about the death of Big Troll. Anybody who was anybody in London's criminal underworld had heard of Boris and his counterparts. Rumours had spread widely on the streets, when the streets when the story about the robbery of one of London's largest law firms Brack and Brack had gotten out, that Boris and his counterparts had been arrested and were suspects of the robbery and a subsequent killing that they were strongly connected to. In the underworld they either loved or hated Boris and his men. Jimmy was one of those that hated him. He was hoping that they would all be put away for like and that they got all the hell they deserved. In fact Jimmy had been wanting. Boris and his boys dead for a very long time and both his men and Boris's men had had feuds which dated back for years. The two men Boris and Jimmy however, had never spoken to each other one on one or met each other personally. Jimmy knew what had happened and that Boris was now in Jail. Boris's knowledge of what was going on outside was limited and so he was naturally in a weaker position right now. When he came out he would have to start off on his own, which made him significantly more vulnerable. He finished his drink, ordered another one and began to make his way to a nearby table. There was VIP area where he would usually hang out but he felt like being amongst the common people today. Warren walked into the room and sat opposite Jimmy.

"How is it going?" Jimmy asked. "You look haggard where have you been?"

"Busy" he said.

"Busy doing what?"

"I've been shifting those bottles you've been pestering me about these past two weeks."

"Oh good, I had nearly forgotten completely about that."

Warren took out an envelope, sealed it tightly with brown tape and slid it across the table. Jimmy picked it up and immediately put it discreetly in his inside pocket.

"Have you done the books over at The Soho yet?"

"I'm right in the middle of doing them not too much left to do. I was planning on going over there a little later on to finish them off after I get a breather."

"Okay that sounds good." Jimmy said. "Maybe I'll call – and we'll stop by later, check up on you and maybe play a game of poker if you're up for it.

"Yeah sure if I'm not too knackered."

"I'm sure you won't be, when are you never up for a game?" Jimmy asked Warren sniggered.

"Waiter." Jimmy called.

"Please bring over another coffee. Would you like a cup?" Jimmy asked.

"No thanks mate I've got to be heading off now right now if I'm going to be getting any chance of relaxing before tonight." Warren said.

He walked out of the front door and left jimmy sitting there. Jimmy remained seated by himself and took in the smells of the early afternoon. He loved this smell, it was a mix of all kinds of foods that had been prepared for lunchtime. He was lucky enough to be amongst some of London's finest restaurants. He finished his coffee and got up.

"Please get someone to sort this out for me" he said to the waiter and made his way to the back room. He knew his bars inside out and what was expected of all who worked in them. As he got into the kitchen area he noticed a few wet stains on the floor.

"Can somebody get this wiped up, somebody could easily slip and break there neck in here." One of the two chefs immediately fetched a mop, cleaned up the wet patches on the floor and put a 'caution wet' sign up.

"Thanks." Jimmy said as he gave the area a quick scan and continued through a door to the back.

Jimmy checked that there were not many people around and entered the room closing the door behind him with a key. He turned around and reached inside his pocket taking out another key and opened the safe which was connected to a wall. He punched in a code combination and the safe opened. He liked the idea of having a safe which used both a key and a code to unlock. He took out the envelope of money from inside of his jacket pocket and put it carefully in the safe. He locked the safe ensuring that he had entered all of the correct codes and exited the room. No-one would come in this room except for him. He kept his safe in there and a few other personal possessions. The workers knew that there was a room there but hardly anybody if not nobody knew what was in the room or what he kept there, they thought it might just be some extra storage room. Jimmy was well looked up to around this area and no-one would dare ask him too much about his personal business. He was also known for having two sides to him. A very friendly side and an ugly side which you didn't want to see. He locked the room and began to make his way to another room and began to make his way to another room at the back. He took out another key and opened the door. He used this room as his office. There were all sorts of things all over the room, empty barrels, delivery forms, event bookings and notices.

"We've got some more deliveries waiting out at the front." One of his workers said as he opened the door making Jimmy jump slightly.

"Well you know what to do they don't you." Jimmy was tired of telling people what to do it especially when they had been doing this for a long time.

"Yeah okay I'll get to it right away."

One of the reasons why he still kept his workers were because he usually demonstrates charismatic qualities when he was at work and when he was actually dealing with things hands on. He seemed to know how to handle customers and managed to keep everything on a professional level. Nobody knew about the life he lead outside work and he wanted to keep it that way. Jimmy gave his office a quick scan, with his kind of work he knew what he would get up to when he stepped into that front door and into the back office. One minute he was rigorously planning for events that were to take place that evening or that week. He got up and called one of his deputy managers.

"Hey Craig how are you doing?" Jimmy said as Craig answered the phone.

"Yeah I'm good thanks."

"Can you come in this afternoon I hope your not too busy?"

"Yeah sure just give me about an hour or so I just need to sort a few things out."

"Okay then I won't lock the office so that you can get in."

"Alright" Craig replied.

Craig could always do with a few extra hours and the extra pocket money. He still lived at home with his parents and needed any extra cash towards buying a flat or if he worked hard enough, a small house. Jimmy walked out of the office glad to have released himself off for the afternoon free to attend to his other pursuits. He stopped outside the front door and took a deep breath. He walked over to the jaguar which was parked outside just across the road and then noticed that he had left his keys behind. As he left the shop again he felt a tap on his shoulder just as he was about to cross the road. He turned around.

"Sarah?" He said surprised.

She looked worn and lost and immediately collapsed in his arms.

*

Chapter Nine

"Why are you in such a good mood?" Boris asked Charles.

"Well it's less than a month now I'm out of here." He said.

"How do you know that?" Boris said.

"Trust me I know don't worry about all the detail."

"Well then lucky you." Boris said.

"Where's Brady?" Charles asked.

"I don't know I was wondering the same thing." Boris replied.

"I see you got some training gear on you, you going to use the weights?" Charles asked.

"Yeah I thought I'll get started today see how it goes." Boris replied.

"Good." Charles said. I'll join you and help you spot."

They walked over to the weights area. Charles always wore a tracksuit and sneakers and always looked as if he was on his way to lift weights even if he wasn't.

"Thanks man, good to I know I've got my own personal trainer." Boris said.

"Nah, don't get too excited though you're going to have to work your socks off. You see these?" He said as he pulled up his sleeves and flexed his biceps, these don't come by just walking around and sitting lazily, I worked for these." He said.

A couple of other inmates overheard and jeered. Charles laughed it off and led Boris over to the dumbbells.

"I take it you gym a lot then." Boris said as the jeers stopped and the attention diverted away from Charles.

"I try to." Charles replied.

"And yourself?"

"Do you gym regularly?" I mean you look like you could have been a big gym fanatic at some point in your life."

"No not really, apparently my dad had a large build I think I just got that from him, but you probably know much more about the gym than me. I wouldn't even know where to start." Boris said.

"Okay so if I wasn't here what would you do?" Charles asked.

"Well I'd probably just do a warm up or something then decide what to lift. I don't have any method's or anything." Boris said.

"Oh thanks for reminding me." Charles said.

"Let's take a slow jog up and down the length of this area." Charles said putting the dumbbells down.

"Good idea" Boris said.

They took a slow jog up and down the length of the ground careful not to bump anyone. There were not that many inmates outside today, nobody seemed to know why and nobody bothered to ask. Some inmates refused to go out others might have been on some sort of other programme or something they got back to the gym and begun with the dumbbells. Charles picked up the ten kilograms to start off with.

"Are these okay for you?" he asked giving the weights to Boris.

Boris took them without any problem only giving a short gruff.

"Arggh"! He said

"Are you okay?" Charles asked.

"Yes I'm fine." Boris replied.

"Okay now start of with ten repetitions on bicep curls. "What are those again?" Boris asked under his breath.

"Here let me start off, you spot, and do exactly what I do when I'm done."

Boris stood opposite Charles and watched him making sure that he didn't drop the weights. He finished with the weights and put them down.

"See one thing you're going to learn is that it's not usually necessary for someone to spot when their partner is doing dumbbell curls or seated dumbbell curls but thanks anyway for keeping an eye out."

"Here it's your turn." Charles said as he handed the weights back over to Boris. This time there were no panting sounds.

"You all good?" Charles asked.

"Yes, good to go." Boris replied.

"Okay then up to ten." Charles said. Boris began to lift the weights with ease.

"Three, four, five six." He said as both kept count of the reps. As Boris got to seven he began to struggle. "seven, eight..." Boris said as he struggled to lift the ninth rep. "Nine..." he continued slowly and strenuously. Charles stood beside him so that he could lift the last reps.

"Come on push it" urged Charles.

"Ten." Boris said as he braced himself and let the weights down lightly.

"Well done, my turn." Charles said as he picked up another set of weights, this time slightly heavier than the last pair.

"How long have we got left?" Boris asked.

"I don't know not too long I guess I mean it's been thirty minutes already." Charles said half panting and finishing off his reps.

"Do you think you can handle another set?" Charles asked.

"Yeah why not." Boris said. "There should be enough time for one more."

He started his set and as soon as he had finished it a loud whistle sounded, inmates began to make their way back into their cells. Boris felt good about himself. This was the first time in months that he felt optimistic.

*

Chapter Ten

The screaming and crying did not stop much to her annoyance.

"Keep quiet!" She exclaimed frustratingly. Only making Russell cry even harder, it was about three o'clock in the morning and Jade had hardly gotten any sleep after the late night. She had put Russell to sleep at ten o'clock and it was only then, that he managed to muster up a couple of hours for herself to relax and get some things done. She felt like quitting. She felt like running away from it all. Why should she be the one that was left here. The crying continued, and all the screaming and shouting began to wake the neighbours who had also just about had enough with all the noise that came from her apartment. One neighbour stuck their head out of the window.

"Shut that thing up there are people trying to sleep around here." Jade stumbled across to her window and screamed.

"Shut up." She needed an outlet. "Arrgh!" She exclaimed frustratingly and closed the window again.

She looked over at Russell who was crying and walked out of the room to the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of cold water and took a long drink, she felt half exhausted and could do with the drink. She walked over to the fridge and took out some milk, and put the kettle to boil. For goodness sake she said to herself as she realized that there was no milk left in the fridge and there was still two days before she would get her cheque for the week. She put Russell's milk in a container and left it to warm up in the hot water. Finally the crying had quietened down a little bit she went back into Russell's room, picked him up, started to pace up and down the room feeding him the milk from the bottle. He stopped crying immediately. Jade sighed,

"What am I going to do with you hey?" She said as she continued to pace up and down the room. She took a seat on the chair which was placed next to Russell's bed. He looked as though he was about to fall asleep so Jade put him back carefully in his bed.

"Good boy" She said as she rubbed his back, he was soon deep in sleep again thankfully for her she could now think about sneaking in a couple of more hours of sleep.

*

Chapter Eleven

Another three hours and they were up again. She had promised to meet a stranger this morning. The tiny park was almost deserted. Boundary walls lawn, play area. Two toddlers were throwing sand at each other their mothers or nannies chatting next to them strollers put aside. Nobody else, not even a gardener or dog or cat. But the note had been empathetic.

"Be there at ten fifteen, you will get the surprise of a lifetime.' Jade fidgeted and became restless.

She held Russell in her hands as he looked her and pointed over to the other children who were playing by the sand.

"Yes they're playing" Jade smiled.

"She looked around for any sign of anyone, any knight in shining armour but saw nothing at all. She decided to forget about the message and just enjoy a morning out with Russell at the park. She hardly brought him out anyway.

"Would you like to go and play?" She asked pointing over to the sand area. Russell nodded and Jade walked him over to the sand area where the other children were playing. She took another look around to see if anybody might be looking for her attention but saw nobody.

"Quite a nice morning" a lady said to Jade making her jump a little.

"Yeah" Jade replied,

"That's my one over there. Alice, she's two years old. My name is Clarissa."

"Nice to meet you." Jade said inattentively, she couldn't help feel like she was being followed.

"Are you alright?" Clarissa asked.

"Yeah, I am my name is Jade, oh and that's my son Russell." Jade replied. Jade felt as if someone was stalking her, she felt a sense of unease.

"Do you stay around here then?" Jade asked.

"Yes I stay just around the corner from here." Clarissa replied

"Me too" Jade said still glancing around waiting for this mystery meeting.

"Listen Clarissa would you mind looking out for?"

"Yeah of course are you waiting for someone?" She asked.

Jade took a deep breath.

"No I don't think so we were supposed to have met about twenty minutes ago but it doesn't matter now.

"Are you sure?" Clarissa asked.

"Yes, in fact I'd better be off now." Jade said.

"Okay then don't be afraid to ask me anything, just come and knock on my door, number forty six A."

"Okay I will do." Jade replied, it was getting quite cold now. Jade collected Russell from the play area and made her way back home. She got inside and looked at her telephone – no mess. It was going to be a quiet and boring day she thought about sending out a couple of CVs but it wasn't worth it, she had been doing that for the past three weeks now with no response. It was going to be a long afternoon. She put on. She put on the television and tried desperately to forget about everything.

*

Chapter Twelve

Derrick sat in his office feeling more puzzled than before, he wondered what Daniel was hiding and was determined to figure him out, if he could it would be great for his job – his career. He got on the phone to his partner in crime Trent. Trent and Derrick had very similar characteristics which is why they got on so well with each other.

"Hey Derrick." Trent said as he answered the phone.

"Can you open up for me please?" I'm outside.

"Oh" Derrick said as he put the phone down. He made his way down the entrance of the building and pressed the Buzzer for Trent to come inside.

"I didn't know you were coming today." Derrick said surprised of Trent's unexpected appearance. They walked along the passageway towards Derrick's office which was on the ground floor.

"Can we open some windows it's a bit stuffy in here."

"Yeah sure go ahead." Trent took a seat after opening the window.

"So what brings you here, how is it going?"

"I just thought I'd drop by and before I went down town." He said.

"What were you calling for? Is it about that money again?"

"Yes it is actually." Derrick replied.

"We can talk about that a bit later on that's what I wanted to tell you we need to pursue this matter if we're going to get anything out of this."

"I know." Derrick said.

"You know sometimes I can't help but feel guilty."

"Of what?" Trent replied.

"I mean I've made friends with this guy and I think he's generally a good guy. Just a victim of circumstances." Derrick said.

"You know there's no appreciation for so called good guys in this game you've got to do what you've got to do, you don't want to loose your job." Trent said unsympathetically.

"Are you black mailing me? Or is that a threat." Derrick asked.

"Neither." Trent replied.

"I hope not I don't want us to be falling out anytime soon."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just take it easy don't force me to do anything I don't want to do, we need to think before we act otherwise foolish mistakes get made and people get killed."

"Yes, I'm aware of that, thanks for reminding me."

"So when are we going to move on with this?"

"Just keep him close like you're doing but don't get too attached, you know about the dangers of becoming too emotionally attached in this business."

"You see that's one of the things I wanted to tell you, he already knows I'm a cop." Trent said.

"So how does he know that?" Derrick asked

"I told him." Trent replied

"Why did you go and do that now you've gone and blown your cover." Derrick said annoyed.

"Honesty is the best policy, I haven't blown anything yet." Trent replied

"Do you really believe that?" Derrick asked.

"Well it seems to be working moment." Trent said.

"You've changed haven't you." Derrick said sarcastically.

"You really aren't that dodgy cop that I knew back then. Not too scared to break a couple of rules to get an extra few bucks."

"Oh please." Trent replied.

"You really think these people love you that much to pay you any extra or give you that raise you've always wanted? Even if you are that changed character you claim to be. These people don't care about you, I hate to break it to you. You've got to make these kinds of decisions yourself. If you really want to change you need to be able to come out on missions like these to make yourself feel better. They've already labelled you as a dodgy guy from your action, I tell you now that you're not going to get back into their good books by doing things morally correct now."

"You know I would smack you right now." Trent said.

"So what's stopping you?" Derrick replied.

"You talk some sense, some very good sense." Trent said patting him on the back.

"Anyways I've got to be off now, we'll have to talk about this some other time. I don't want them to start suspecting me now."

"Yeah let's try and keep this thing outside of hours like we have been doing, the more we get into this case the dodgier it will look." Just then there was a knock at the door.

"Yes come in." Trent said.

Lesley walked through the door, he often wondered why Trent was still around in the workforce despite the rumours that were always flying around about his past, maybe that degree he did all those years ago actually did pay off in the end.

"What's wrong?" Trent asked.

"We have a shopping mall robbery going on right now, we might need your assistance."

"You're supposed to be able to handle things like this, a store robbery? I thought you were going to say there was hostage situation at the bank or something." Trent said. Derrick laughed in the background.

"You can handle that yourself you don't need me for this one don't be ridiculous." Trent said.

There was not much Lesley could say.

"Okay then but I'm going to need to speak to you when I get back." Lesley said.

"Okay then good luck" Trent said as Lesley, left the room.

"Okay then I'm off" Trent said to Derrick as he made his way to the door.

"Okay like I said we'll talk later on, we must try to keep this outside hours."

Trent had an office in the same station as Derrick but it was on the other side of the building and he didn't spend as much time inside the office. Most of his time was spent carrying out investigations.

"Listen Derrick," Trent said as he stopped at the door. "What's up?" Derrick replied.

"Do you think he suspects we're up to something?"

"I mean that was pretty random him coming in here asking about basic procedure."

"I don't know, but I'll keep an eye on him, we'll talk later on maybe, if this place doesn't keep me too busy."

"Okay whatever just stay in contact." Trent said, and left the room in a hurry.

Chapter Thirteen

The smell that filled the corridor in the morning on the way to breakfast was an unfamiliar one. Boris didn't want to believe it but he was sure that he could smell pancakes. It was as if he had just checked into a resort in Brighton. Seems like It's our lucky day then Brady said turning around and looking at Boris giving him a slight fright.

"Oh I didn't even notice you there." Boris said,

"Yeah, smells like pancakes to me." Brady said.

They made their way towards the canteen where numerous inmates sat with their faces lit up munching away at what was indeed pancakes.

"I told you" Brady said.

"How often do they do this?" Boris asked.

"I don't know, not very often though. It's just another one of those days." Brady said.

They took their plates and the chef gave each of them pancakes. Boris wondered if there would be a chance of them getting any seconds. They went to their seats and sat down. Charles came and sat down next to Boris no later than they had gotten started on their breakfast.

"Hey," he said as he sat down.

"Charles how are you doing today?" Brady asked.

"Very good in fact. I'm going to be out of here soon." He said happily but lowering his voice so that everybody would not here him. He had learnt from the incident that had happened recently and was careful to speak quietly whenever he was in the canteen.

"Good for you" Brady said.

"I have no clue how long I'm going to be in here for." Boris mumbled.

The mood was calm and all the temper tantrums seemed like they were far away. Charles began with his Breakfast.

"You know if you ever need anything just let me know you've got my number." Charles said to Boris.

"You don't deserve to be in here at all, call me as soon as you get out and we'll sort this thing out once and for all."

"That's if I ever get out of here" Boris replied. There was a brief moment of silence amongst the three of them as they tucked away at their pancakes. It was as if they we're ll getting relocated today. On the way back to their cells Boris walked with Brady quietly giving him an update on what his lawyer had been saying to him.

"Well if that's how he thinks it's going to work then you better just listen to him, trust me I've been down that route many a time before. I've done more time in my life than I think I've ever deserved. This is my twelfth time inside and mostly because for small thing, technical errors I foolishly made. I could have spent far lesser time in here if I'd just cooperated a little bit. It's not all that bad for some of us in here."

"Anyway I'll see you later." Boris said.

When Boris entered his cell he couldn't help but feel hopeful, that he was on brink of a release.

*

Chapter Fourteen

Jade was fortunate to have double glazed windows so the ball which hit her window didn't break it. She opened the window.

"Watch where you're kicking that thing!" She shouted, across to the park area where there were boys kicking a ball around carelessly. She decided to leave the window open a little as she now realised that it was very stuffy and humid inside. Russell was behaving well today and the mood was calm and relaxed and she enjoyed days like this when Russell wasn't making too much noise. She could just couldn't deal with anything else around the apartment without being constantly interrupted. She put the radio on and tried to make the mood slightly more exciting. A loud bang came from outside this time it wasn't a ball hitting the window, it was thunder. Rain started to pour non-stop, dropped splattered against the window relentlessly. The children who had been playing outside disappeared in to their houses. She put on the kettle and made herself a cup of hot drink and prepared some milk from Russell. Not knowing when Boris would be out if he would ever be out would worry her when she sat down and thought about it, but today was going well for her, she was feeling optimistic, she loved days like this even if she didn't receive any good news like matching numbers on the lottery. Russell was halfway through his bottle when he fell asleep. Jade held him in her arms while she sipped on her hot chocolate and enjoyed the quite evening. She thought about turning on the television, watch the news and see what was going on in the world but it would probably be more violence and the boring things that they usually showed on the news and on television. She decided to leave the television off. She remembered that she had left the window slightly ajar in the room. She carried Russell carefully to the room and closed the window. She came back downstairs and made herself another hot drink. It was about nine in the evening when Jade woke up, she had closed off still sitting on the coach with half a cup of hot chocolate I her hands and they. She hadn't spilled anything. She put her cup away in the sink and made her way sluggishly towards the bedroom. She checked to see that Russell was okay like she would usually do before she got into bed. To her surprise. Russell was nowhere to be seen.

*

Chapter Fifteen

"You have a visitor," the guard said opening the door to let Boris out of his cell and lead him towards the meeting room downstairs where his attorney sat waiting for him. A guard opened the door to the meeting room and Boris entered.

"Jake!"

"Boris"!" Jake said as he got up from the table and shook Boris's hand.

"How have you been?" Jake asked

"Take a seat." He signalled for the guard to close the door behind him.

"I got you a cup of coffee."

"Thanks" Boris said as he took a seat opposite Jake.

"I've been okay I guess. I'm surviving. How's my case coming along? Well it's a difficult one to call but I'm working on it. It's a shame though the criminal judiciary system is unclear as to what constitutes murder."

"So how is it going overall, will I be in here for any longer?"

"It depends now much work we get through if you can be honest with me about what really happened on the night and give me as much information as you can then it would be easier to prove your innocence." They would like to question you in two weeks again at the crown court.

"That was long how comes they hadn't called me or told me all of this time?" Boris asked.

"The judge concluded that you had been highly influential in the happenings that took place on the day of the murder. So leaving you out of the proceedings in his view was a quicker way of getting the truth out of the other suspects.

"Well that makes sense, I guess." Boris replied.

"So when you appear at the crown court you'll probably be interrogated by both the prosecution and myself. As usual I'll do my best to defend you and we'll see how it goes." Jake said.

"Who are these psychologists? Who were they assigned by" Boris asked as he took a sip of their drink.

"They were assigned by the stage."

"Have you tested their credibility?"

"That was one of the things I needed to discuss with you. I'm going to need another payment if I'm going to be able to take this any further and be successful with it. If we can as you said prove that the information provided by the psychiatrists are inaccurate then we are an extra good step into getting you home." Boris smiled.

"But I'm going to need a payment soon." Jake said.

"How soon?" Boris asked.

"As soon as you can."

"I didn't know about that." Boris said.

"What do you mean?" Jake asked.

"I mean what if I don't have the money to pay you?" Boris asked."

"I know you've got the money maybe you just need a little time a little reminding or something." Jake replied.

"How much? Boris asked. £5,000" Jake replied "What?" Boris exclaimed as he got up out of his seat.

"Easy, easy calm down." Jake said as he stood up making sure that Boris didn't do anything stupid. "Like I said the first time we met, You pay your money, you take your choice." Jake said.

Boris sat back down in his seat and Jake walked over to him.

"You've got seventy two hours for that money to be in my account." Jake said patting Boris on the Back, "Otherwise you'll probably be in here for much longer than you think."

"Is that a threat?" Boris said. "I mean I don't want us to fall out now." Boris said.

"No you wouldn't would you, and no it's not a threat, it's a promise, you need to do it or else you'll probably will be in here for far longer than you think, take care now and behave yourself." Jake said as he signalled to the officer who was waiting by the door that he had finished.

*
Chapter Sixteen

Jade stood still taking in the shock. She didn't know what to think. She wanted to panic, rush out and call the police but thought that the kidnapper or whoever had taken Russell was still around. She double checked Russell's area to check if she wasn't just seeing things. She crept carefully to the lounge area, the front door was ajar. She closed the door.

"Russell!" She screamed realising that he really had disappeared.

She screamed again. "Russell!"

Shouting wasn't going to do any good, she went to the kitchen and found the nearest weapon and quickly made herself decent enough to leave the house. She was careful with every single move that she made as she was not sure who was still around and what she could be exposed to. She left her flat and looked around quickly to see if she could spot anyone making a get away. The area was deserted except for a few people who were looking out of their windows to see what the commotion was. Jade thought of calling the police but decided to leave it. She was in a state of panic right now and just wanted to find Russell by herself and find out who or what was trying to make a sick joke. She walked along the street not knowing where to start. The weather was extremely cold and it was late in the night.

"Jade." She heard someone call. She looked to her right were the voice was coming from. It was her, the lady she had met at the park earlier that week.

"Now is not a good time." Jade said

"What's the matter come over here, what happened?" Jade went over to her front door.

"Come inside" you can't stay out here like this you'll freeze to death." They walked into the lounge.

"I can't find him he's gone missing." Jade said trembling and sounding worried as ever,

"Who's gone missing?" Clarissa asked.

"Russell, my son, he vanished, one moment he was there, and the next moment he was gone. "Jade said in a panic.

"Okay calm down don't panic." "Did you call the police?" Clarissa asked checking to see if the coast was still clear.

"No I haven't, I don't want to call them right now I don't think it'll be a good idea." Jade replied.

"Why not?" Clarissa asked

"I just don't think it'll be a good idea, I don't want to get them involved." Jade replied, still in a state of panic.

"Okay calm down." Clarissa said.

"Just sit down for a second." She disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a cup of hot water."

"Here quick, drink this." She said. Jade sat up as soon as she had finished.

"Thanks for that but I really need to be off now." She said.

"I can take care of myself."

"Are you sure." Clarissa asked.

"One hundred per cent, I need to go right now, whoever took Russell is out there somewhere and I need to find them quickly."

"I'd advise you to go home and rest for the night, I mean you don't want to be finding any trouble for yourself, especially at this time of the night. Have you thought of calling Boris?" Clarissa asked.

"How do you know Boris?" Jade asked.

"You told me about him at the park earlier on didn't you?"

"Err, No I didn't" Jade replied.

There was an awkward moment of silence.

"Well if you're sure that you're going to be safe, then I suppose I can't really stop you, but if I were you I'd take a rest. But then again I suppose you know what you're doing." Clarissa said.

"Yeah I can handle this thanks for your concern though" Jade said as she continued out through the front door.

"Hey you forgot..." Clarissa began. But Jade had already left the building.

*

Chapter Seventeen

Charles was looking and acting much better today. He seemed a lot sharper than he had been recently. He walked past all the inmates and headed straight for the gym area. He poured himself a cup of water and started preparing for a session.

"You guys alright?" He said to Boris and Brady who stood in the corner.

"Yeah can't complain how are you?" Boris replied.

"Could be better but nothing that a good work out wouldn't be able to solve." He said.

Charles was well respected amongst the inmates. He hardly spoke that much. He had a boldness and calmness about him that intrigued many of the inmates. His voice was deep and could be heard from a distance when he chose to flex his vocal chords. He was definitely one of the largest in this wing. He looked at both of them and the surrounding inmates and thought whether or not to skip the workout or not.

"Are you guys not gyming today?" He asked.

"I don't feel like it today, I really can't be bothered." Boris replied.

"I'm in two minds about it." Brady replied.

"For now I'm just going to chill out and enjoy the fresh air. It's not often we get to smell the air."

"Okay well I'm going to leave you guys to it. You know where to find me if you want to come and join in." Charles said.

Charles made his way over to the weights area and began jogging slowly on the spot as a warm up exercise. He had a set routine which he stuck to. He wanted to be in the best of shapes for when he left. He had a wife to look forward to seeing although they were in a middle of a divorce. They were always on and off. One minute they were happily in love and the next minute they were at each others thoughts throwing each others things around. Reanne talked about having children but they hadn't had any up until now and they had been married for nine years. They both lead very busy lives. He was a businessman with a past in the police force and she was a sales executive at a large estate agent, so they hardly ever saw each other anyway. He picked up one of the heaviest weights he could find and started pumping vigorously. He had roughly eight weeks left inside and wanted to use this time to make full use of the gym facilities. Reanne had visited him once since his time inside as they had a large argument not too long before he was arrested. He had only had a few telephone calls but no visits. At the moment he didn't know where he stood with her and at times didn't care. He just knew that when he was going to get out that this would be back to business. He needed to pick up the pieces and get himself together before he thought about restoring relationships. The closer he got to his release the longer the days seemed to become. Gyming would help to kill the time and also make him eat his food once it was time for supper. It would be impossible for him to turn down any kind of meal at home once he had had a good workout. Although he was used to eating good cooked meals from his wife, he had grown used to doing without when they fell out or substituting the meal with a take out or prepare something else. When he was by himself he discovered that his cooking skills were not that bad at all and considered himself quite a good cook. He had idolised her food a bit too much and this was something that he was trying to improve on. Right now though he needed to keep working up an appetite. On the rare nights, the beds were straight and hard, made with metallic and the mattresses were thin and had no spring in them, so one had to be really spent in order to get a good nights sleep. An officer blew a whistle signalling that it was time to go inside. Charles wiped himself from the sweat he had built up during his workout. The inmates made their way back into the building without too much fuss. Charles stepped into his cell and sat on his desk. He was one of those that had a desk and a chair in his cell for reading purposes. Other inmates could not be bothered to even request such equipment. He took out his phone from his usual hiding place to see weather he had any calls from anyone this morning, and saw that he had none. He had managed to sneak his mobile phone in so that he could remain in contact with a few important people. A few outside knew that used a phone but nobody knew how he had managed to get the phone except for those participating in code 365. Code 365 was the cell phone service provided to inmates who knew about this code. The guys in charge of this scheme would come as visitors and sneak phones through to those that were interested, they would also provide airtime. It was a very risky but somewhat successful scheme in this jail. He only used the phone at certain times and had gotten away with it throughout his time at the jail. There were a few officers who suspected him and he had had a few close shaves but they hadn't managed to find anything on him. Charles lay back on the hard bed and forced himself to sleep.

Chapter Eighteen

The loud clatter of the dustbin awoke Daniel at exactly seven o'clock in the morning. He got up in an alarm and took the two bins he had full of empty beer cans bits and pieces of garbage from last week. He wiped away the sleep from his eyes and headed for the shower. He hated waking up this late as he loved to get out early and into the work without being seen by too many people. His mornings tended to go a lot smoother when he started early. He could avoid the cops, the cold stares here and there of those that thought they might know him from somewhere. Daniel sat waiting in the underground station. He loved how quickly the tubes took to arrive – every two minutes. He often wondered why everyone was so quiet around here, so engrossed in their own business, too busy to say hello and so very different to area where he stayed back home in America. The tube arrived within seconds and found a seat with enough space either side of him. He picked up a newspaper which had been left on the seat he chose to sit on and browsed through it. He started at the back page where he saw the usual football news. He hadn't been a football fan whilst he was in America, or soccer, as they called it. But ever since coming to London he had claimed to be a Manchester United fan. They were not doing too well since Ferguson had stepped down as manager and he was getting a lot of stick at work because of it. He sat and looked through the rest of the newspaper. After seeing the not so good news about his football team, another draw at home. He was disappointed that they didn't have much covering of the baseball league in this part of the world. This was when Sky Sports and ESPN really came in handy, he could keep up with his favourite team The Red Socks. The tube arrived at his stop within a couple of minutes. By now he was getting into the work spirit and the hustle and bustle of the late morning. He made sure that he was one of the first off the tube and started the rush joining everyone out of the tube station towards bus stops and car parks. Daniel only had to take a bus a few stops down the road to get to his workplace. He stopped by at a cash point and took another look at his bank balance. He liked doing this when he wanted to, when he was in the mood. He took out ten pounds just in case he wanted to, when he was in the mood to buy lunch later on. He liked to spend his money wisely and without drawing too much attention. Many a time he resisted the temptation to take out large wads of cash. He continued on his way down the road and towards the entrance of Southside Bank. As usual the receptionist was full of people coming in and out, the usual faces.

"Hi Tracy!" Daniel said walking out. "Where are you going so early in the morning?"

"We need some more paper upstairs just going to the print shop the orders haven't come through and we need some urgently."

"Okay then see you in a bit." Daniel said. This was one of the busiest banks on the high street. He could live like a normal guy with this job, no suspects, nobody getting into his business when he didn't want them to. He now hoped that he would never again here from Boris, never have to account for any money from the takings, he could now live a normal life without anybody suspecting anything.

"Hey Daniel." Louise said winking.

"Hey Louise" Daniel replied.

Louise had a thing for Daniel. She was not the only one, he had his fair share of crushes in this branch. He didn't like to entertain any of that though, he wanted to keep a clear head and didn't want anybody else to have the slightest clue what he was hiding.

"Hurry up and get yourself ready we're quite busy this morning." Clifford said to Daniel. Clifford was the local branch manager and was responsible for handling all of the employees that worked here.

"Yeah I'll be down in a minute." Daniel said and disappeared into the lifts up a floor to his office. He shared an office with somebody else so he didn't have as much privacy as he would have liked to have.

"Hi Daniel" Stuart said as he entered his office and put his briefcase down on his desk.

"What's up stew" Daniel said.

"Can't complain but they're coming thick and fast this morning.

"Yeah I can see that it's madness down there" Daniel said.

"Yeah take a seat let me get you a cup of tea." Stewart said.

"I don't think I have time for that" Daniel said getting his documents out from his drawer.

"Go on make it quick" Stewart said.

"Did you get laid this weekend?" He asked.

"No honestly I don't have time for this kind of talk right now." Daniel replied.

"And I'm okay with the tea thank you I had a big breakfast this morning, if I have anything else I think I'll be sick" Daniel said.

"Okay then suit yourself." Stewart replied.

Daniel was not in the mood for small talk this morning and Stewart knew to keep his distance when Daniel was in one of these moods. Daniel liked it when he had the office to himself especially when he had so much to do. He often came in early in the hope that Stewart hadn't gotten up yet but today clearly was not one of those days.

"Alright then I'll see you downstairs I'm going to go ahead and get on with it clearly, cheer up, Friday's not too far away." Stewart said as he walked out, the office and to the lifts. Daniel sat in his seat and stood back. He sighed and enjoyed the period of silence when there was nobody in the room. He decided to make tea the cup of tea that Stewart had offered him. As long as he wasn't in the room it would be fine. He just wasn't I the mood for conversation right now. He checked his diary to check if he had any appointments for this morning. Just the one and it was at ten thirty. He looked at the clock and saw that he had a few minutes to play with. He got the kettle on and started up his computer. It was a basic account opening so he didn't have to do so much. He sat down at his desk and picked up the phone and dialled the intercom for the accounts department. That the young gentleman in charge of the accounts, immediately picked up the phone.

"Hey Matt" Daniel said.

"Hey Daniel how are you doing this morning?" Matt replied from the other end of the line.

"Not too bad looks like it's not going to be such a busy morning after all, I only have one appointment. Unless you have anybody that wants to see me in particularly?" Daniel asked.

"No not at the moment you're free" Matt replied.

"Alright then" Daniel said

"Is that all you called for?" Matt asked.

"Have you sorted out my pay for this month? I know it's too soon but its pay day this morning and I have a few appointments racked up for later on this afternoon so I won't have the chance to talk to you then." Daniel said.

"Okay I'll sort that out for you right away." Matt said as he put the phone down before Daniel could return to his seat, there was a buzz at his door. Susan his supervisor appeared from behind the door.

"Mrs Brown here to see you." She said.

"Okay how can I help you today?" Daniel asked once the supervisor had left the room.

"I'm new to this area and I'd like to open up an account in this Branch." The lady said.

"Have you had an account with us before?" Daniel asked.

"No." She replied.

"Well then that shouldn't be a problem then Daniel said politely. He was used to this and had adapted very quickly. His co-workers had also grown used to him so he felt comfortable working here.

"I think I recognise you from somewhere."

The lady said, Daniel's heart skipped a beat.

"Really?" He asked.

"Have you always been working around here or are you new," she asked.

"Me I've always been around here." Daniel replied trying his best not to give out too much information. He was always protective about the kind of information he gave to people especially personal information to people he didn't know. He could never tell who could be a cop these days,

"Oh" She replied surprisingly.

"I'm sure I've seen your face somewhere before, but I just can't put my finger on it."

"Well that's all set up then, here's your new card and that's your online internet banking device." Daniel said trying to speed things up a little.

"Thanks." The lady said. As she got up and left the office Daniel sat back in his chair and felt slightly worried. He didn't want people to recognise him anywhere. He had made an extra effort to disguise himself and had spent over a thousand pounds making changes to his appearance. He even went as far as changing his name, formerly known as Jack, Daniel took out a hand mirror, looked at his face carefully and considered making a few more changes.

*

Chapter Nineteen

This would be the tenth counselling session Boris had had with Ross. He took a seat outside as usual. He had spoken with Ross earlier and organised a one-on-one session with him. He was determined to change himself. He wanted to be as prepared as ever. He felt that he needed to be.

"Well Boris how are you doing?" Ross asked.

"I'm trying." Boris said.

"Well that's good for now, as long as you are aware that you need to change, even that's more than a good enough start, before, you weren't even trying."

"So what are we going to be doing today?" Boris asked half eagerly.

"That's up to you." Ross said.

"You decide, if you don't have any suggestions then I've got some exercises which you can do which I think will be quite helpful." Ross paused for a moment.

"Is there anything you would like to talk about?" Ross asked.

"Not in particularly" Boris said sitting in his chair.

"You don't seem enthusiastic at the moment." Ross said.

"But the fact that you've decided to come this morning is enthusiasm in itself. You see one of the things we try to do in counselling is to help one to understand the situation they are in." Ross said.

"At the moment I can't really say I have anything I want to discuss." Boris said.

"Well that's okay, we'll start of with an exercise then. This is just to get you thinking about a few things.

"You've got five minutes to fill up this sheet of paper with your vision of the future. Five years from now." Ross said.

"But the trick is, you are not allowed to write any words."

"Not allowed to write any words." Boris repeated as he took the blank piece of paper and colouring pencils from the table.

"Yes not allowed to write any words"

"Sounds pretty difficult but I'll give it a go." Boris said putting on his best behaviour.

"You've got five minutes starting from now." Ross said.

There was silence in the room as Boris began on the piece of paper. He took a black crayon and started colouring.

"Seems like a pointless exercise, I'm not a good artist, Boris said.

"Why do you day that?" Ross replied.

"Because I don't really know what I'm doing I'm just jotting down whatever comes to my mind and it hardly makes sense to me any way, here I'm done" Boris said handing over the piece of paper to Ross.

"You have thirty more seconds. Are you sure you don't want to add anything else?"

"I'm sure." Boris said.

*

Chapter Twenty

Back in his cell Charles did a couple of stretches to avoid him getting any kinds or cramps during the night. He switched off the main light and went to sit down at his bedside table. He had books stacked on it. He switched on the lamp on the table which provided just about enough light for him to see and read a book. He picked up his favourite John Grisham book, 'The Innocent Man'. He was excited when he found that they had it in the library the previous week. He had read this book once before and had always wanted to read it again but he was always too busy. On the whole he thought his time in jail might actually be doing him some good, he didn't choose to have a lawyer and felt lie he didn't need to have one, he could handle things himself. Evasion of tax at the level he was in for got him only one and a half years maximum and he was convinced he was going to be out – he knew the judiciary system well. He made up his mind to enjoy his time inside and use it to reflect as best as he could before he got out again. Charles was also familiar with code 365. He sat on his bed and lay under his cover discreetly taking out the phone form under his pillow. He saw a couple of mess and immediately began reading the first one. 'I have some work for you, call this number as soon as you get out.' Charles stopped reading and wondered why Derrick was being so generous. He browsed through the rest of his messages nothing too important. He couldn't help but dwell on that first message he had received. Why was Derrick so keen to work with him? As far as he knew they absolutely hated each other and wanted to kill each other. He decided to send back a reply.

'What is it you want? Why are you being so generous?'

This, he had made up his mind, would be the last text that he sent to the DCI tonight. He was sure that he was running low on airtime, and if he ran out, it would mean having to go through code 365 all over again and risk getting caught, he wouldn't want that to haven't so close to his release date. He hoped to get a reply, if he didn't get one then he would wait and see Derrick when he got out this must be something important, something profitable otherwise he wouldn't have sent the text. He probably wanted Charles to come back to the force He tossed and turned in his bed. He had vowed to himself that he would be a different man when he got out, he would start a new slate and pay whatever taxes he owed. He had quit the cop life a while back now and didn't want to get involved again. In fact he wanted to wipe his hands off business completely. Derrick and Charles had met a while before Charles had been put into prison. Derrick had used Charles as a tax advisor and over a period of time had advised Derrick on how to manage his tax payments. Derrick had paid a considerable amount of money to him over the years and had become very sceptical about him. Their relationship was not that smooth and had been very up and down as it progressed. He lay in his bed and contemplated his release. He was determined to keep his hands clean for awhile and prove himself to society, he was to old to be getting locked up.

*

Chapter Twenty One

Boris pushed himself up and decided to go for it. He carefully positioned himself with his feet on his bed and hands on the floor in a position to begin his declined push ups.

"One, two, three, four, five, six." On the seventh repetition he began to struggle a little. Come on Boris you can do this eh thought to himself. He just about managed to push himself up for the eighth repetition.

"Nine, ten!" He said and threw himself back in his bed. He felt good about himself, he had always dismissed the idea of taking part in any form of exercise, now he had finally managed to push himself to do a few push ups. He glanced up across to his cell door and noticed a guard peeking through the small barred shutter in the cell door. He had a pleased look on his face. It seemed as if he was very impressed with what Boris had just done. He looked away when he saw that Boris had noticed him watching. Boris felt his stomach began to growl and he thought maybe it wasn't a good idea to do those push ups. He had skipped dinner as he just couldn't imagine himself having any of it. He decided that he would eat from now on even if he didn't like it. He had to get used to taking things he didn't like, he had no idea what it would be like out there for him when he was released. Boris woke up the next morning with a back ache.

"Ah!" he cried. He reached for his towel in excruciating pain. It would be about another five minutes before the guards opened the cell doors for them to use the showers. He wiped the sleep out of his eyes and stretched hoping that his back ache would go away. It only made it worse. He waited a couple of minutes and a guard came and opened for Boris.

"Shower time!" He said

"Yeah one second." He said. This guard was one of the more jovial ones of the lot. Boris made his way out of the cell and started on his way accompanied by the guard tot he showers. He immediately saw Brady who was also coming out of his cell, This is how they had first met. How are you doing today did you sleep well."

"Nah it was a terrible night, my back is killing me and I don't want to talk about it." Boris said. He was not as used to all this procedure as Brady was as Brady had been in there far longer than he had.

"Sorry about that." Brady said. When Boris returned back to his cell, no sooner after, one of the guards opened the door and handed him a letter.

"You've got mail." He said.

"Thanks" Jade had stopped sending him letters a long time ago so he began to wonder who might be sending him this letter, who besides Jade and a couple of others knew he was in here and what did they want? He knew it wasn't a court letter because the words were not typed, they were written in rather untidy handwriting. He got dressed and returned immediately tot he letter. He took out the folded piece of paper from the envelope. There were only a couple of sentences there and Boris couldn't believe his eyes when he read it. ' You've been pushing it for far too long, I'm afraid you no longer have a girlfriend and son, lord rest their souls. I didn't to have to do this. Call this number when you get out.

Boris looked at the letter, folded it and put it back into the envelope. He sat down on his bed and felt a sudden rush of surprise and anger rush through his body. He felt slightly dazed. He didn't know what to think. A guard opened is cell door all of a sudden making him jump a little.

"Everything okay here?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm alright thanks" Boris said. The guard closed the cell door. Boris took out the letter again and gave it another once over. He just wanted to get out of this place and find out what was going on. He didn't want to believe his eyes.

*

Chapter Twenty Two

The energy amongst the inmates seemed pretty lower than usual. The inmates sat around their tables silently muttering to one another. They all seemed pretty much worn out and tired of complaining about the bad quality of the meals provided. They were all convinced that this would change because there was a tendency for there to be periods in the quality and frequency of the meals they received. It had been almost six weeks now without any pancakes in the menu. Boris wiped his mouth from the ketchup he had used to try and make the meal slightly more pleasant. He had had just about enough of all of this and couldn't stand to be in there any longer than he had been. His meetings with the counsellor were going quite well and he didn't see any reason why things shouldn't be going towards his favour. He was just waiting to hear from Jake now on the court proceedings. He dreaded having to appear in front of the court again. He felt uncomfortable in front of a Judge and hoped that Jake could pull all the right strings and defend him successfully. Boris sat next to Brady they had hardly said a word to each other throughout the whole meal.

"Brady" Boris said.

"What's up?" Brady replied.

"Are you alright? You're not looking so good." As soon as he said this Brady quickly moved to his right and threw up on the floor, avoiding the surrounding inmates. A huge gasp of surprise and disgust erupted around the table.

"Are you okay?" Boris asked.

"Yeah I'm alright I just need something to clean this mess." One of the guards blew the whistle very loudly."

"Right let's get ready to get back to our cells." He shouted. He called for a cleaner to come and help to clean up the mess that Brady had made. There was a slight dampening smell in Boris's cell when he got back. He wandered if there were any burst pipes running through the back of his cell. Be locked in this cell was beginning to get to him. A rattle came at the door and the shutter opened.

"A visitor for you." A guard said from behind the door and got prepared to open the cell. Boris always liked it when he had to leave the cell for any reason. Boris began to get ready and freshen himself up immediately. He began to wonder who might be here to see him and hoped that it was Jade. He hadn't heard from her in a long time and was getting worried about her. The guard escorted him downstairs to the visitors lounge. Jake was waiting for him there sitting at a table. Boris took a seat opposite him.

"How are you doing this morning?" Jake began. Same as usual Boris replied.

"Feeling like crap, this food is terrible."

"There's no need to winge." Jake replied.

"What do you have some good news for me?" Boris asked.

"Well not necessarily" Jake replied.

"But news nonetheless."

"How's my case going?" Boris asked.

"That's what I'm here to tell you about." Jake replied.

"I've done some negotiations with the prosecutor."

"And?"

"Well it seems like we could get you out of here sooner than expected."

"Really?" Boris said, his countenance changed when he heard this.

"But only if you continue to play by the rules." Jake said.

"What do you mean?" Boris said.

"I've spoken to the judge but I've also spoken to your counsellor and your behaviour may have a positive impact on your extenuating circumstances.

"I don't know what that means but I'm guessing that's a good thing."

"Yes but there's only one thing." Jake said.

"And what's that?" Boris asked.

"You might have to come into court and plead guilty of manslaughter."

"What?" Boris exclaimed.

"I can't do that." He said.

"Of course you can" Jake replied.

"It may be our only option. Who knows, you could be out of here sooner than you know it." Boris tried hard to take it in.

"As I was saying your extenuating circumstances seem to be working very much in your favour. And I received that payment I was asking you for." Jake said giving Boris a wink.

Boris tried to hide his half smile.

"When you say that I'll be out of here in no time how long do you mean?" Boris asked.

"Well I reckon I can get you out of here before the year is up. I mean you've already been here for more than five years for something the court cannot prove you did."

"Plead guilty?" Boris went over to his seat. I'll give it a think about and I'll let you know." Boris said.

"The thing is Boris if you really want to get out of here we don't really have time for that."

Boris too thought to himself and began to remember how bad it was inside and how excited he had been to hear that somebody was downstairs waiting to see him.

"You're going to have to work with me Boris, for your own good.

"So when do I have to go to court?" Boris asked.

"Just stay put and behave yourself, so long as you agree that you're okay with this and I'll get back to you as soon as I can, I'll take you through the process." Jake said. Boris Was silent for a moment

"I'm okay with it." Boris said.

*

Chapter Twenty Three

"So you're finally out then, I got your message." Trent said to Charles as he walked in.

"What took you so long?" Trent asked.

"I actually got back this morning, I'm back on the case - as promised." Charles said. "Okay it's starting to get urgent now we need to trace this case, we can't let this thing slide, we clearly haven't done enough homework." Charles said to Trent who sat opposite him gulping down a cup of tea and munching on a few jam donuts.

"Is that all you ever do? Eat donuts?"

"Hey watch your mouth. Really why are you so interested all of a sudden? I mean what's in it for you?" Trent retorted.

"We need to get back to real work. You need to remember we're working for the state here, the more criminals we put away the fatter our cheques will be at the end of the day. We've got to get the guys who did this once and for our own sakes." Charles said

"And what makes you think that you are in the position to do that I mean even the DCI has more of a chance of nailing them properly than you do. Just relax and think thing through before you act speedily. I don't blame you, you've been away for too long."

"What do you mean even the DCI?"

"I mean he's getting a bit old now you know making poor decisions half of his colleagues urging him to retire."

"Trent don't worry about it we'll get the guys we need to get when we need to get them." He said.

"I suppose you haven't heard yet then." Charles said.

"Heard what?" Trent replied

"I saw Boris inside."

"Boris?" Trent said in surprise.

"What the same Boris from this case we're working on?"

"Yeah" Charles said.

"You've got to be kidding me, and you're only telling me now?" Trent said.

"Sshh" Charles said you've got to keep this down. If this gets out and we hear that I'm on to him he's going to find me and kill me. I'll be in danger all of us on this case will be threatened.

"Yeah I know we don't want to aggravate anything at all. So what's news then?"

"Rumour has it he's back in London Renae spotted him the other day driving in a black Audi.

"Did he take the registration number?"

"Yeah we kept it in the case file" Charles said. "Just keep an eye on this one. I've also gotten the others to keep an eye out for you see? There's no need to worry about it." Charles said.

"As I said we can't relax too much, when last did you hear from Renae and Derrick?"

"They were there yesterday afternoon."

"How are they getting on?"

"Well apparently an old lady came and said she recognized one of the suspects from the Brack and Brack case from somewhere before. She said she saw our posters in the wanted section down at the police station.

"Which one does she think she saw?"

"She says she thinks it was Daniel, but we haven't seen him at all since he was released, she is old so maybe she was just seeing things."

"Yeah, maybe but you don't; want to write her off too soon." Charles said.

"Besides Daniel was, released a while back. The courts have already satisfied that he was not responsible for anything that happened on the day."

Trent said pausing and taking another bite form his donut.

"But wasn't he in the car with Big Troll the day he got murdered?"

"Well apparently he was just trying to help him escape form danger. It was a natural instinct for him to try and help his friend escape or so his attorney feels" Trent said now making an effort to tidy himself up a little. He dusted the crumbs off his shirt and stood up.

"I've got to get back to work now anyway if you need me I'll be downstairs just call me on the internal."

"Will do." Trent said.

"Any more of those doughnuts?" Charles asked.

"No unfortunately they're all gone." Trent replied.

"Oh well" Charles said

"Don't forget to save one for me next time." He said.

"Yeah sure" Trent said.

Charles walked out. When he got back to his office on the first floor he sat back in his chair and began to feel despondent. He began to doubt whether he should be involved in a case such as this. Did he really know enough to get involved? He had only just been released from prison and was starting to get cold feet for the first time. He wondered whether he had been a bit too hasty running straight back into the job. He stood up and stretched his arms. He was happy that he had kept up with exercise since he left prison and had now gotten himself into a comfortable routine. The desk began to vibrate causing him to jump a little bit. He picked the phone up from his desk to find out who the caller was. The name 'Boris' flashed on his screen. He pressed the green button to answer the call.

"Hello." He said. Nobody replied. He listened closely. It seemed as if the caller had made the call by accident. He didn't hang up straight away, he picked up the internal phone and dialled for the DCI's office.

"Hey Charles how's it going is everything okay? The DCI said

"I need you in my office as soon as you can, you need to listen to this." Charles said.

*

Chapter Twenty Four

Officer Peter's approached Boris's cell and the guard opened the door. This was it, it was time for him to find out his true destiny. He led Boris downstairs to the visitors area where Jake sat waiting. How are you feeling this morning."

Jake said to Boris.

"Not too bad just I don't know if I'm ready."

"Don't say that now of course you're ready." Jake said.

"Just ignore me I'm feeling a bit dazed that's all, I'm not used to being in front of a Judge but I'll be ready by the time I get there" Boris said putting on a brave face.

"You better be, your whole future depends on this." Jake said patting Boris on the back.

"Okay then are you ready" Jake asked.

"Excuse me sir can you come and wait outside at the reception please we need to perform one last check before he leaves.

"Okay then I'll see you in court in about an hour from now."

Jake made his way outside to his Range Rover which he came in. He liked to ride in this car for longer journeys, he felt more comfortable in it than the old MG that he usually drove around in. He began the long journey to the courthouse. As he drove he thought about the day ahead. He felt as if he was well prepared but he changed the gear up on his car so that he could get there slightly early, the last thing he wanted to do right now was to get caught in traffic and be late for the case. This was the final day. It was a chance for Jake to throw in his last arguments and for the jury to give a verdict. 'Happy' by Pharrell Williams began playing the radio and Jake began whistling to himself anticipating the long afternoon ahead.

It took about half an hour for Jake to arrive outside the courthouse. he arrived far sooner than expected. He noticed the van with the same registration plate that Boris had been put into parked in the police-end side of the courthouse. the area where the police parked their vans, and inmates down to holding cells where they would wait before going into court. He found a parking space in the visitors section. He noticed Ross's car parked in the car park as he got out of his car and checked his watch. It was still about another forty five minutes until the trial proceeded. He walked into the court reception, saw Ross waiting on one of the benches in the corridor and went straight to him.

"Hey you're early." Jake said.

"Yes I thought I'd come down early get a feel you know." Ross replied giving Jake a handshake.

"I'm going out for a quick bite to eat. Have you eaten yet?" Jake asked.

"Yes I'm all good thanks, ready to go." Ross said.

"Okay then I'll be back in a minute, see you in court." Jake said as he left the building. Ross stood up and paced around the foyer as he thought about what he was going to say in court, how he could defend Boris in the best possible way. He had prepared a few notes, but felt he needed to rehearse a few final things mentally before he stood in front of the Judge. He walked over to the coffee machine which was on a table just outside the courtroom and poured himself a cappuccino. He looked at the timetable which was on the wall just above the coffee machine. He read 'courtroom 2B State v Boris Hammond 14h30'. He looked at his watch, it read 14h20. Just then Jake appeared.

"Are we in the right place" He asked

"Yes" Ross replied.

"Let's do this" Jake said. The courtroom was packed, they had allowed a few seats for the public and room at the back for cameramen provided they did not make too much noise. Jake took his seat two rows from the front and took out his file. He had endured twenty long weeks of trial and just wanted to get it over with at the moment he didn't really care about the outcome of the verdict, he wanted the trial to be over, he had done his best and now desperately needed some time off. He took out his notes and scanned the courtroom to see who was and who wasn't present. Dr Ross sat to the left of him and Boris was on his right. This was Boris' first time in court since his first arrest and sentencing. Jake had defended him well in his absence, so he thought, but he had an added sense of security now with both men sitting either side of him. Jake looked at Boris's suit with a slight feeling of envy. How could somebody of his class afford to wear a more expensive looking suit than himself? He thought of quitting working for criminals - why should he spend days and nights, hours on end working his socks off to keep someone out in the streets who takes whom a bigger wage than him. He shrugged the thought off and got back to business. He looked at Boris who sat with his head down and gave him a nod of assurance. Ross sat on the other side looking fairly confident he had done this many a time before in his career. he seemed very comfortable with his surroundings. On the other side of the courtroom the state prosecutor sat looking hardened and determined for a conviction. Whether he had all of his facts correct was questionable and Jake had made it more so during the course of the trial.

"All rise!" a voice said causing everybody in the courtroom to stand up."

"You may be seated." Judge Saunders said after he had taken his seat at the bench. Behind him on the wall was mounted the Great seal of jurisdiction and a flag of Great Britain. He wore a black robe and peered over his glasses making sure everybody had taken their seats and that everything was in order. He shuffled through the files which lay in front of him containing all the details of the case up until this point. The court was divided into two parts by a barrier known as the bar. The room was quiet except for a few faint whispers here and there and the rustling of papers. The Jury members had entered through separate doors and sat in the jury box. It had been a long trial and neither of them felt as if they had gotten any closer to a verdict. One of the jurors and young man in his late twenties had been threatened by a member of the public, there were rumours that it was one of Boris' men who had threatened him. He had been called into the chambers during the course of the trial by the Judge Saunders who had spoken to him to assess his fitness for trial and whether or not he would be able to go ahead with it. He seemed fine. He was adamant to play his part in the Justice system and to help the state to come up with a verdict. Saunders had eventually decided that he was ready to proceed and remain part of the group. Since he had received these threats he had moved to a new house and changed his numbers. Nobody knew where he stayed except for a few close trustees. Jake had asked Boris about this but he had insisted that he had no idea about any event of the sort. Judge Saunders had also questioned Jake about this during recesses on this chamber a number of times throughout the trial and had finally decided that it was best to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"For the benefit of the defendant I will briefly go over the case up until this point so that he has a clear understanding of the position we are currently in and an update of the course proceeding I'll then allow each side to have their say and call their final witnesses if need be." Judge Saunders said.

He gave a brief update of the proceedings and trial to date. Jake had to nudge Boris a couple of times in order to stop him from falling asleep.

"You've got to stay awake and alert." Jake said. If anyone in here starts to think that you're not interested it will work directly against you." Jake whispered in Boris's ear. It took about half an hour for the judge to go over the proceeding.

"The prosecutor may take the bar, the Judge said. The prosecutor took his stand in front of the Jury and the court house. The Judge sat right behind him also facing the members of the courthouse.

"Your honor and members of the jury we have in or presence a calculated and cold hearted killer. The defendant knowingly and intentionally organised the ruthless killing of another citizen. He has shown no remorse up until now partly proven by his absence in the trial up until today. I'd like to call Mr Boris Hammond to the stand there are a few final questions I would like to ask.

Boris walked over to the stand took an oath and stood behind the stand.

"May I refer to you as Boris?" The prosecutor asked.

"Yes" Boris replied.

"Boris on the afternoon of the first of December at approximately three o'clock in the afternoon. What were you doing?"

"I was at home" Boris replied.

"And was there anybody with you that night?" The prosecutor asked.

"Just a couple of friends." Boris replied.

"And what Boris may I ask do you do for a living?" The prosecutor asked.

"Objection your honor as to the relevance of the question." Jake said.

"Denied" The judge retorted. Prosecution may proceed. the Judge said.

"I'm a businessman." Boris said.

"And these friends of yours, are they in the same business?" the prosecutor asked.

"No" Boris said.

"Boris you have a reputation for having a very short fuse." The prosecutor said .

"What do you mean?" Boris said.

"I mean this is not the first time you've been associated with the courts for criminal acts, 1996, 1998 1999, 2001 and again in 2003, there's a pattern. If the jury were to give a verdict of not guilty what sort of message will we be sending out to society? That it's okay to kill? That it's okay to commit wrongful acts time and time again and slither ones way out of any form of sanction? On the first of December, this man in a fit of rage ordered the murder an killing of an accomplice of his known as big Troll. People like this need to be kept locked away for life, far away from any sane member of the public. No further words your honor." The prosecutor said and took his seat behind the bar.

As he took his seat he felt as if he had done a pathetic job. After twenty years on the job he would have thought that he would be over the feeling of getting worried by now. As he sat down he avoided the faces of the others and buried his head in his papers. He had a strong case, the only thing he could hope for now was the judge to sit and hope. Wait for Jake to state his case, and hope for the best. He felt as if he hadn't taken enough from his last opportunity to speak. He continued to avoid any eye contact with Jake so that he could not spot any weakness in his countenance.

Jake sat on the other side of the court room. He too felt as though the prosecutor could have done a much better job and relieved he was not able to do that much damage. The prosecutor had made his final argument but Jake was convinced that it wasn't going to be strong enough. Now was his chance to capitalize and say his final words. It was just a matter waiting for his name to be called. He felt slightly nervous, but confident overall. The court will be adjourned and we will meet back in here in twenty minutes." The judge announced. There were a few gasps around the courtroom. Nobody was really expecting a break so soon. The sound of conversations began to build in the courtroom and people started to exit the courtroom. The jurors exited via a double door at the side of the courtroom and the judge went back into his chambers. Jake led Boris and Ross back outside keeping an eye on the defendant.

"How was I?" Boris asked.

"Your okay well done, I know it takes some guts going up there, it could have been worse" Jake said.

"How are you doing?" Jake asked Ross.

"I suppose I'm going to be up next." Ross said to Jake.

"Well once we get back inside the judge should give me a chance to speak and then I'll eventually call you up to the stand." Jake said.

"It'll be okay just keep watching me and I'll give you a nod to let you know that I'm about to call you up to the stand." Jake said encouragingly. He poured three cups of coffee.

"Here, drink this" He said as he handed a cup to Boris and another to Ross.

"Help yourselves to some sugar and milk I don't want you falling asleep on me in there!" Jake said.

"Thanks" Ross said. they sipped silently on their coffee whilst Jake stood and kept an eye on his watch.

"What's your take on this one?" Ross asked Jake.

"To be honest I don't really know. I think the prosecutor could have done a better job in the cross-examination, especially with a reputation such as his but otherwise we're just going to have to keep our cools and hope for the best." Jake said. They finished their cups of coffee, put their cups down and went back inside the courtroom. Jake checked his watch. There is still another fifteen minutes until the court case resumed.

The judge stepped into the room at the back where the jurors gathered.

"Are we getting any closer to a verdict" he asked

"Slowly but surely." Carson said, a member of the group who had been appointed as team leader.

"Good, take your time, you've got about another ten minutes and I'll be calling the defendant up."

"Okay, thank you your honor" They all said in unison. The Judge left the room and went back into his chambers. He longed to get out of the robe but he had at least an hour or so left until he was finished for the day. The case had dragged on longer than expected and he too wished it was over. He looked at the clock which was placed on his wall. Another minute before court case recommenced. He attempted to rejuvenate himself a little by eating a banana which was on his desk

"All rise" The bailiff said as the judge entered the courthouse and took his seat.

"You may be seated," said, I now call on the defendant's attorney Jake to take the bar.

"Thank you your honor." Jake replied. Ladies and gentlemen and members of the jury as many of you have seen during the course of the trial in particular those of you who have been diligent enough to be present here each day the facts of the case represented by the state have been rather obscure. We have a man here who has been accused of a very serious crime. That of murder. In order to convict or even bring a person or case like this to court it is necessary to follow carefully and accurately any pre-trial investigations and proceedings. The arrest was made on the day of the killing with no clear connection between my client and the deceased. It has been confirmed here in court that my client was being held in order for police to carry out further investigation. We must realize that doing this and not granting bail goes against a number of human rights specified in the third day of trial by myself. The pre-trial procedures carried out in this case in particular have been rushed and poorly carried out. Due care and attention must be taken throughout the process, and this has not been evident. Rather this has resulted in emotional and possibly psychological stress suffered by my client." Jake said.

"What is it that you propose the court does?" the judge asked.

"As the trial has gone on for so long one of the things I propose is that this case be dismissed until proper investigations have been carried out. My client cannot be convicted for a crime of this degree based on shoddy amounts of evidence and conclusions drawn merely on the actions and location of my client. Doing so would undermine the integrity of the judicial system. The fact that my client has been convicted for criminal acts in the past does not automatically make him guilty of the horrific crime that took place that afternoon. The victim and my client were in different locations at the time of the incident, this sole fact makes it hard to prove a case if there is any that my client was responsible for the victims death." Jake said.

"I would like to call Ross, as there are a few questions that I'd like to ask." Jake paused for a minute, took a sip from his bottle of water and gave Ross a nod. Ross got up and swore a statement before standing before the court. "Your honor this is Ross from The Westwood Clinic. He is a psychologist who has been practising psychology now for over ten years. He was in charge of carrying out assessments of my client during his time in prison. He is here to tell the court his findings during his time with my client." Jake said. He gave another nod to Ross indicating it was okay for him to start speaking. Ross coughed, trying to shake off the last feelings of nerves which currently overwhelmed him.

"First of all I'd like to thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to be in court today." He began.

"Dr Ross during your time with my client what did you observe?"

"It seemed to me that Boris had had a very hard life in the past." Ross began. During my first few meetings with him he appeared very dishevelled and lost. He didn't really want to speak about anything." Jake said.

"And do you think there is any particular reason for this?" Jake asked.

"Well from my experience. I believe he has been suffering from acute stress reaction." Ross said.

"And do you think this may have caused any of the angry behaviour Boris might have been displaying before and after he was imprisoned?" Jake asked.

"Objection your honor, this question is leading."

"Overruled the Judge replied." Jake continued.

"Acute stress reaction or psychological mental shock is a psychological condition arising in response to a terrifying or traumatic event. I learned during my time with Boris that he has experienced a lot especially in his childhood days, his father died tragically in a car accident when he was just five years old. This along with other events that have happened including this recent arrest may have all contributed to the way Boris has behaved in recent years." Ross said.

"No further questions."

"Thank you, you may be seated." The judge said to Ross who went back to his seat.

"In conclusion, members and attendees of the court it is the duty of the state to convict criminals in a way that accurately reflects the values of our legal system in an impartial manner. No further words your honor." Jake returned back to his seat and sipped on his bottle of water which he kept with him. He felt confident about this

*

Chapter Twenty Five

"You've got about another ten minutes before I ask you to deliver a judgement before the court." said the judge who stood pacing up and down the room in which the jurors sat.

"How are we doing?" He asked.

"Okay," They all mumbled in unison.

"Yes I know by now you are all tired and wanting to get this case over with. Let me know if you need some more time." The judge said as he exited the room and went into his chambers. A moment later there was a faint knock at the door.

"Come in." Judge Saunders said.

"Hey Edgar, nice to see you."

Edgar was a long time friend and colleague who was in retirement. Edgar would always come to visit and see how he was doing. He always though about re-entering the profession again but the reality of it seemed fairly dim.

"I know you're drawing nearer to the end of this case and as you said, it's been a tough one so I thought I'd come by and see how you're doing." Edgar said and dropped a card on Saunders' table.

"What's this?" Saunders asked.

"It's just a small gift, call it a token of appreciation if you want and you can open it now or later when you have the time.

"Thanks I'll check it out later."

"Are you all good and ready for the verdict?" Edgar asked.

"Well I can't really say whether I'm ready or not. In all my years in this profession I have never been able to say whether I am ready or not and I'm sure you can vouch for that."

"Of course, it's always slightly nerve wracking no matter how many times you've done it." Edgar said.

"Anyway I'd better leave you now, I'll give you a call later to hear how it went, good luck." Edgar said and left the room. Justice Saunders sat back in his chair and began to reflect on the trial. He looked at his watch, any time now he was supposed to be back in court and drew the whole thing to a close, anytime now he was supposed to be back in court and draw the whole thing to a close. He slipped on his black robe which he had hung behind his chair, left his room and went back inside the courthouse.

The judge took his seat and the jurors entered via the double doors and gathered in the jury box. Jake sat with Ross and Boris beside him. Faces were tense and everybody was waiting anxiously for a verdict. There was silence throughout the courtroom except for the rustle of papers which came from the judge's table. Judge Saunders cleared his throat.

"Has the jury reached a unanimous decision?" he asked.

"Yes your honor" Carson said as he stood up.

"Will you please read out your findings for the benefit of the court." The judge said. Carson began.

"On the charge of murder we find the defendant not guilty." Jake breathed a sigh of relief, a slight grin crossed Boris' face, but left again immediately.

*

Chapter Twenty Six

Boris pushed himself up on one elbow, groaned and fell back onto the floor. He tried to get his bearings but could not think past the pounding in his head. He waited a bit maybe fifteen seconds or so and tried again. The room didn't spin quite as much this time. He looked around. The room was dark and the floor concrete. It smelt like some sort of garage. He put his hands on his face and felt blood coming from the bottom of his eye. He assumed that he had been beaten up and started to wonder who exactly would do this to him, who wanted him hurt so desperately? And if it was that serious why didn't they kill him? He began to regain his thoughts and composer, he was grateful that he was still alive. He checked his pockets as far as he could remember he had his wallet and a twenty pound note in there but there was nothing there now. He checked his back pocket and thankfully his phone was there. He took out the phone and turned on it's torch. There was not much battery left so he was careful not to leave it on for too long. As he used the phone to look around the room he saw that it was indeed a garage and he was the only one inside there. He switched off his torch immediately so as not to draw any attention to anybody that might be watching him. He walked towards the garage door and opened it carefully. A blinding ray of light entered the room causing him to squint and cover his eyes. It took a moment for him to adjust his vision before noticing that he was on a side road which looked like it lead towards some sort of a high street. He checked to see if anybody was watching him and left the building. It was a strangely warm day given the time of year and he couldn't figure out what time or day it was and couldn't really be bothered to ask. The nearest clinic was less than a five minutes' walk away. Boris walked straight through in to the reception and up to the desk.

"What happened to you?" A young lady said as Boris got her attention.

"Just a small accident, I fell over and hit my head."

Boris replied.

"Ooh that looks quite painful just take a seat over there and we'll sort you out, just complete this form as well for me please." She said.

Boris took a seat in the waiting area. He couldn't remember when he was last in a public area with normal members of the public, and not locked away with other inmates. He looked around, there were people from all kinds of backgrounds sitting and waiting. He wondered why so many foreigners were coming into this country. Most people he knew wanted to get out of here. A nurse called his name. He entered a room and took a seat. The nurse carefully wiped the wound with antiseptic and Boris flinched a little.

"It shouldn't be that painful, a grown man like you." She said. Boris didn't give any response instead he gave a half smile.

"Okay now that's all sorted out, you can go now just make sure you take care of yourself."

Boris clutched on to the pain killers the nurse had given him and made his way out of the clinic. He felt a slight pain I his back as he left the clinic. He needed to get used to being out of Jail and didn't want many people to know that he had just come out. He tried to get used to the outside air and took a stroll, he didn't know where he was going to and at the moment he didn't know where he would sleep tonight. He was miles away from London and thought of calling his old buddies to see if he could arrange anything. If they were out at all, he wouldn't have a clue right now. He thought of trying a couple of numbers. Luckily his phone was still charged a little and he had enough to make a telephone call. This was his only saving grace. He looked through his list of contacts and thought about who he might call. He saw Jack's number and dialled it. The phone was off – Boris could not get through. It was getting dark and quite cold now and Boris was becoming anxious. He decided to go to the nearest café and sit in it for a while until he decided where he would go next. The café was small but filled with a lot of people. He found a vacant spot and sat there.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" A lady asked him.

"No thank you I'm alright for now." Boris responded.

He sat down and enjoyed the relaxing music that played in the background. As he was about to get comfortable he noticed a familiar figure walk through the front entrance and come over to his table.

"Is anyone sitting here?" She asked.

"No go ahead take a seat" Boris replied.

"Do you remember me?" She said.

"Oh yes I thought I recognised you, you fixed me up earlier on." Boris replied.

"Damn you look pretty tired." She said. Not too sure I did a good job on you, My name is Carla."

"Yeah I saw your name tag at the clinic."

"How is that wound doing, have you taken any of those tablets I gave you yet?"

"No not yet." Boris replied, sounding like a little child. A waiter came over and asked Carla if she would like anything to drink.

"Yes I'll have two coffee's please" Carla replied. Boris felt a sudden feeling of warmth and gratefulness and immediately felt better but refused to show it. Carla knew his kind, she had come across his type many a time at work. She knew that he hadn't just fallen down and hit his head. It was something a lot more than that – a fight or something worse. She thought about interrogating him a little but dismissed the idea. She was tired and just wanted that hot drink. The waiter arrived with the drinks.

"Thanks, I appreciate this." Boris said to Carla.

"No problem." Carla replied. They sipped silently without a word for a few minutes.

"Are you alright?"

"Funny you ask there's actually something I haven't mentioned to you all of this time.

"What is that?"

"I'm struggling to find a place to sleep tonight."

"Oh what happened?" Carla asked inquisitively.

"It's a long story." Boris replied.

April looked at him and felt an overwhelming sense of sympathy for him. She wanted to help but didn't know how to.

"I don't stay too far from here you can sleep downstairs on my couch if you like, but you have to be out by the morning." Carla said.

"No you don't have to do that I can sort myself out, I'll survive I'm alright, I've been in these sorts of situations before" Boris replied.

"What looking like that? Are you sure?" April asked.

Boris looked at Carla and put his head down in silence. He felt drained and could do with a rest.

"I don't want to spoil anything for you." He said

"How are you going to do that?" Carla asked.

"I don't know I just have a funny knack of screwing things up." Boris replied.

"Well if you continue saying that then you really will screw everything up, come on let's get out of here." She said as they finished their last cups of coffee. It was if she had read the lady behind the counter's mind who said.

"We are closing now can everybody get going please."

Carla and Boris got up and made their way out of the cafe. It was dark and cold and it seemed like it could start snowing at any minute.

"And you thought I'd leave you wandering out here in that condition?"

"Thanks again" Boris said as he walked with Carla towards a Fiat car. Boris hated Fiat cars and wouldn't drive one if it was the last thing he did. He was grateful nonetheless, and got into the passenger seat. He couldn't remember when last he sat in a car. He made himself comfortable in the passenger seat.

"You alright there?"

"You all ready and set to go?" Carla asked as she put on her seat belt.

"Yep." Boris replied.

"Whenever you're ready I'm ready." He put his seat belt on and they began to drive back to Carla's home. They rode in silence and Carla began to wonder what her partner would think of her bringing Boris home. She decided not to worry about it, as it was only going to be one night and George was an understanding man. She had been married to George now for almost ten years. They arrived outside Carla's house. A cosy looking one. Boris wondered how she could afford a house of this size.

"Look what the cat dragged in." April said to George as Carla walked in with Boris. Hey don't be rude go upstairs I need to speak with your father.

"Only joking." She said disappearing upstairs. George looked at Carla in disbelief.

"Can I see you in the kitchen now please Carla? George said.

"Just wait here don't worry." Carla said to Boris as she went into the kitchen.

"What is this?"

"A patient of mine, I found him in a café this afternoon after I treated him. He has no place to stay I was thinking he could maybe sleep on the couch for one night, I couldn't leave him like that I have a duty of care."

"Yes inside work not outside of work." George replied annoyingly.

"Okay I know I just felt sorry for him can he please stay for just one night?"

"I can't kick him out now." Being the generous man that George was he gave Carla the go ahead and she immediately went to give Boris the Okay, It's alright to stay the night." She smiled at Boris, "But just make sure that you're gone by the morning. You'll be sleeping on the couch for one night, just go straight through right into the living room."

"Thanks again." Boris said making his way into the living room and sitting himself on the couch.

"I'll go and get you a blanket from upstairs for you."

She was back downstairs again in less than five minutes. She offered Boris a drink and made hot chocolate for everybody like he would usually do at this time of the evening. George kicked the empty can of fosters, alongside towards the road at the back of his house. He just had to get out of there, had to take a walk. He had been stuck at home all day, he had the day off but couldn't think of what to do except just sit at home and rest. The last time he could remember kicking items on a pavement was when he was a young boy in high school and his mother would scold him for damaging his brand new shoes which he had gotten brand new only a few days ago, now with the leather badly bruised from all the stones he had kicked. He reached into his inside pocket and took out his leather gloves, The night was dark and it was getting extremely cold but he enjoyed his time out of the house nonetheless. He would usually jog around the block in the morning, this was a great form of exercise for him. In the evenings he would take a slow walk around the block maybe with Carla when he was in the mood or just walk the dog. It took him about fifteen minutes to get around the block and inside his front door again. Boris was fast asleep on the couch, he walked through to the kitchen where Carla was still up on the phone. She made dessert and pointed George towards the brownies which were on the table. George took one and gave Carla a kiss.

"Mmm tastes very nice." George said.

"Thanks you hardly ever compliment my food these days." She said.

"See you upstairs." George said.

*

Chapter Twenty Seven

The air was cold, and the frost was beginning to get to Clarissa. She walked straight through tot he subway and up to platform two. She had made this journey many times before and knew it inside out. She boarded the tube once it arrived and found the nearest seat. She did her best to keep herself warm and was unfortunate that she was not as well wrapped up as the others on the tube. She wanted to end this but she had come to far to even think of any possibility of Jimmy listening to her, but she decided to go ahead and try. She was getting far too old for this and could no longer handle the hypocrisy and lies. The tube arrived at her stop and she got off immediately. She made her way towards the exit and started a five minute walk directly to the Jimmy's club.

"Just wait here for a second" A bartender said, leaving her at the bar.

About five minutes later Jimmy appeared.

"Come over here take a seat." He said. "What's the matter?"

"I can't do this." She said.

"What do you mean you can't do this." Jimmy said. "Get yourself together. You mean you came all this way to tell me that?"

"Seriously I can't do this." Clarissa said.

"Yes you can what is it the money?" Jimmy said.

"Don't worry about it I'll sort you out once the job is done."

*

Chapter Twenty Eight

Jade tried to calm herself down a little. All of this worry stress and panicking wasn't doing her any good at all. Surely they wouldn't leave here there to starve. What was it they wanted? What had she done to deserve this? She suddenly dismissed the idea that this was all her fault and it dawned on her that this was some kind of nasty revenge game. Whatever it was she didn't deserve to be the subject of this and whoever was doing this had to pay one way or another. If she was going to make head or tail of what was going on then she had to be as calm as possible and act as rationally as she possibly could. The glass of water that they had left for her lay beside her, she hadn't touched it since they had put it there, but now her throught was beginning to get really dry. She cautiously took a sip of the water. It tasted just fine. It didn't seem like they wanted to poison her just yet. The door opened causing her to jump. Russell woke up and began to cry.

"You haven't shut that thing up yet?" Jade didn't bother to reply. She began to coax Russell hurriedly, but he continued to cry Warren snatched Russell away from her.

"You harm him..." Jade began.

"Or what?" Warren said slapping Jade around the face.

Jade cried out in pain.

"You're going to regret this."

"Shut up. " Warren said.

"Here give him to me I'll shut him up." Warren gave Russell to Jimmy and began to tie Jade's hands together. Russell stopped crying.

"I think he likes you." Warren said as he finished with Jade. He walked over to Russell.

"Aw you're so cute you like him don't you?"

"We need to get Russell out of her." Jimmy said. We can't pull this off properly if he's always in here, they won't be able to take this threat seriously and we could get caught." Jimmy said lowering his voice making sure that Jade wouldn't hear him. Russell began to cry again.

"You need to get him out of here." Jimmy said quietly. Warren could see this was not really going as he intended it to go. He leant closely to Jimmy and whispered something in his ear. He left the room immediately with Russell.

"No, no! Where are you taking him?"

"I said shut up!" Warren said giving her another slap. Jade lashed out with on of her legs that was free and gave him a hard kick to the shin.

"Ouch!" Warren exclaimed still holding on to Russell.

"Tie up her legs properly" Warren said as he made his way of the door with Russell.

"Call me" Jimmy replied.

*
Chapter Twenty Nine

"I'm telling you, this guy is no good" April said as she helped her mom Clara dry the dishes. George sat at the table reading a newspaper not seeming too concerned about what they were talking about.

"April" Clara said. "What did I tell you about judging a book by it's cover?"

"I've seen enough and heard enough to know that that guy is bad news, I mean what kind of businessman has to crash at somebody else's house for so long, I mean shouldn't he be busy?" April asked. George looked up from his newspaper suddenly paying attention.

"In fact I don't mind him actually, he doesn't seem as bad as he did when I first met him." He said

"Oh now you're saying that." Clara replied.

"Well you didn't expect me to warm up to him all of a sudden did you? I mean I've never met the guy my entire life, it was a shock to me seeing a stranger in the house, and he still is very much a stranger, so we can't get too comfortable with him here."

"Yes I understand" Clara replied.

"Whatever" April said. "You guys are just blinded by love and can't see exactly what is going on. We invited a stranger into our house, that cannot be a good thing."

"Hey don't talk to your parents like that." George said.

"Aw April calm down, relax and live a little. You can't want to be suspicious of something or someone all the time, it's not good for you." Clara said

"Anyway that's all done" April said wiping the last few plates and putting them away.

"Thanks for that." Clara said.

"No problem." April replied. As she began to make her way out of the kitchen Clara called April back.

"Listen April."

"Yes" She replied.

"Don't forget what I told you."

"Okay I'm going to be upstairs." April replied. When April left the kitchen Clara sat down beside George.

"Oh I'm so tired" She sighed

"I'm slightly worried about April, she gets involved way too much for her age."

"If this is about Boris then you can't really blame her for being slightly defensive.

"At the end of the day, the sooner that man is out of here the better."

"Yes I suppose so I have put you in a bit of a sticky situation I must admit. I must try and be a bit less caring next time." George couldn't figure out whether Clara was being sarcastic or not.

"Yes you should." George replied.

George put his hands on Clara's face.

"I'm worried about you." He said.

"Why should you be worried?" Clara replied.

"I'm worried that one of these days you're going to just make an even sillier decision and get yourself in deep trouble." George said.

"Are you trying to say I'm stupid." Clara said drawing back from George.

"No darling I'm not saying that."

"So then what are you saying then?" Clara asked.

"I'm just saying that you should be a lot more careful next time."

"You never know, it could be something worse next time."

"Okay I heard you." Clara replied.

"I'm absolutely exhausted right now shall we go upstairs? Clara said. "You took the words right out of my mouth."

"Could you give me a massage."

"I need one too." George replied

"I asked you first so I'll give you one only if you give me one.

"Oh alright then." George said as they left the kitchen and made their way upstairs for the night.

*

Chapter Thirty

Warren got into the car and strapped Russell in the backseat. He hadn't started crying yet and Warren was starting to become a little attached.

"Don't look at me like that." Warren said to Russell as he returned to the drivers seat.

He had tried to do his best to watch his behaviour so as not to attract any attention. He took the shortcut along a few side roads that he had memorized and began to approach the neglected estate of Bells End. He approached the road which Sarah stayed on, took out the piece of paper with her house number on it and found the house. He parked outside and unstrapped Russell from the back seat. The disturbance caused him to awake from his sleep and begin to cry.

"Oh no don't start." Warren said.

He picked Russell up and coaxed him a bit. He turned around to catch Sarah peeping through the window curtain probably wanting to find out what all the commotion was about.

"Hey Sarah " Warren said.

"What's up? What's happening?" She said.

"Are you going to let us in? Or just stand there and let us freeze?" Warren said.

"Yes of course, come on in." Sarah said. and led Warren into the front lounge.

"Take a seat" Sarah said.

"Tell me, what's the matter?"

"Listen I have another job for you." Warren said.

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked.

"If I could tell you more I would, but right now you have to take care of Russell for me I'm sure Jimmy will sort you out at a later date." Warren said.

"I've never mothered a child before in my life, how can you expect me to just get up and look after a two year old?"

"Just do it for me please, I'll owe you one. It's just that he keeps acting up and screwing things up for us. Sarah looked Warren up and down giving him a once over.

"Yeah, okay then how much?"

"I don't know you'll have to speak to Jimmy call me later!" Warren said as he handed Russell over and began to exit the lounge.

"Wait, wait hold up!" Sarah said stopping Warren at the door.

"I'm going to need something up front." She said.

Warren dipped his hands into his pocket and pulled out a fifty pound note.

"Here, this is all I've got at the moment. "Fifty pounds? To feed two people? How long do you want me to look after him for?" Sarah asked.

"Make sure you call me tonight." Warren said and disappeared through the front door and into his car.

*

Chapter Thirty One

The smell of bacon filled the air as he stepped out of the shower and dried himself off. He dressed himself and made his way down to the kitchen.

"Good morning Boris." Clara said.

"Good morning." Boris replied.

"That smells very good," he said.

"Yeah it's almost ready, take a seat." About a couple of minutes later George came in behind him and sat at the table.

"Hey baby." Clara said giving him a kiss on the cheek and putting two plates of breakfast on the table.

"Thanks Love." George replied. Boris looked at his breakfast. This was the first time he'd had a full breakfast in a very long time.

"Are you alright there?" Asked Boris.

"Yeah I'm fine." Boris said waking up from his temporary daydream.

"This looks lovely." He said.

"Well go on then it's not going to eat itself." Clara said. Boris grinned and began his breakfast. He lapped it up within no time."

"Damn, you can't half put it away." George said.

"Well I guess I'll be off now." Boris said.

"Where are you going to go?"

"Well I don't know yet." Boris said.

"Don't you want to get back on your feet first? Are you sure you're ready to go out?" Clara asked. She looked over at George with an innocent look hoping that he would be okay with it.

"Well I don't want to get in the way of you guys?" Boris said.

"I'm sure there shouldn't be a problem with you staying a bit longer so that you can get back on your feet."

"George?" said awaiting some kind of approval. George gave no reply.

"Oh come on don't be like that." Clara said.

"Yeah I'm sure there's no problem with that." George said.

"Only for a few days though." George said.

"Listen, I really appreciate this." Boris said.

"No problem." Clara replied.

"Where's April?" George asked.

"She left earlier this morning." Clara said.

"Okay then I'm going to be off now otherwise I'm going to be late." George said to getting up and giving her a kiss.

"Have a great day love I'm also going to be leaving once I get these things packed up. George disappeared outside the front door and left and Boris in the kitchen.

Boris sat and observed the activities of the morning. He missed his home life and wished that one day, somehow he would also have a big home like this one. But at the moment he was far from it, he was determined to fix anything that had been unstuck in his absence and he needed all the rest he could get if he was to do this properly. Clara went upstairs and was back down again in less than five minutes.

"Okay then Boris I'm going to leave the key under the mat if you need to go out for anything, otherwise just make yourself at home.

"Ah" Boris said surprising Clara a little.

"What's wrong?" Clara asked.

"Do you have a phone charger for my phone?" Boris asked.

"I don't know it depends what kind of phone it is, let me have a look. Boris reached into his trousers pocket, pulled out his phone and handed it to .

"Yes I think April has a charger for one of those upstairs, hang on a minute let me check for you." said as she disappeared again up the stairs. She came back downstairs again with a charger that fit his phone.

"Thank you very much, that could get me a long way." Boris said.

"Alright then I'll see you later on." Clara said. Boris nodded. Clara left the house. He now had the house to himself, much better than being locked up in a cell the whole day. He went into the living room and decided to lie down again. He put his phone to charge next to him and waited for his phone to come on. The morning was unusually bright, he pulled the curtains slightly so that he could get a bit of shade. His phone started to ring all of a sudden. He wasn't expecting anybody's call and hadn't spoken to anybody on his phone for about a week.. he looked at the phone to try and trace the caller but it showed "Unknown Number." He picked it up anyway.

"Help!" he heard a familiar voice call from the background.

"Did you hear that?" another voice said from the other end of the line.

"Who's this?" Boris demanded.

"You think you can just run away and leave me without nothing to show for? All that effort for nothing?"

The voice said. "Now you're going to pay for it."

"Wait calm down! Who are you? And what do you want?"

Boris tried hard to recognise the voice that was speaking to him but could not. "That's not important right now, this is not a friendly telephone call. You've been exercising my patience."

"Boris!" A voice came from the background. That was the unmistakable voice of Jade, she wasn't dead after all. Boris felt a sudden sense of relief. She was alive after all. The though of them being dead had nearly eaten him up completely, adding to his depression in jail.

"You better not touch her whoever you are. Jade I'm on my way." He shouted.

"I don't think you're in the position to make any threats here I call the shots, not you. The more you try to control things Boris the more likely it'll be that you'll never see Jade and Russell again." The phone cut off immediately.

"Shit" Boris shouted and stared at his phone thinking about what he should do. He remembered that the call had come through on an unknown number. He threw his phone on the couch and began to pace up and down the room. He didn't know where to start but he knew he had to be really careful about this one. There was no way he could make it down to London today, he wasn't even sure if that was where Jade was, but it was a starting point.

The energy amongst the inmates seemed pretty lower than usual. The inmates sat around their tables silently muttering to one another. They all seemed pretty much worn out and tired of complaining about the bad quality of the meals provided. They were all convinced that this would change because there was a tendency for there to be periods in the quality and frequency of the meals they received. It had been almost six weeks now without any pancakes in the menu. Boris wiped his mouth from the ketchup he had used to try and make the meal slightly more pleasant. He had had just about enough of all of this and couldn't stand to be in there any longer than he had been. His meetings with the counsellor were going quite well and he didn't see any reason why things shouldn't be going towards his favour. He was just waiting to hear from Jake now on the court proceedings. He dreaded having to appear in front of the court again. He felt uncomfortable in front of a Judge and hoped that Jake could pull all the right strings and defend him successfully. Boris sat next to Brady they had hardly said a word to each other throughout the whole meal.

"Brady" Boris said.

"What's up?" Brady replied.

"Are you alright? You're not looking so good." As soon as he said this Brady quickly moved to his right and threw up on the floor, avoiding the surrounding inmates. A huge gasp of surprise and disgust erupted around the table.

"Are you okay?" Boris asked.

"Yeah I'm alright I just need something to clean this mess." One of the guards blew the whistle very loudly."

"Right let's get ready to get back to our cells." He shouted. He called for a cleaner to come and help to clean up the mess that Brady had made. There was a slight dampening smell in Boris's cell when he got back. He wandered if there were any burst pipes running through the back of his cell. Be locked in this cell was beginning to get to him. A rattle came at the door and the shutter opened.

"A visitor for you." A guard said from behind the door and got prepared to open the cell. Boris always liked it when he had to leave the cell for any reason. Boris began to get ready and freshen himself up immediately. He began to wonder who might be here to see him and hoped that it was Jade. He hadn't heard from her in a long time and was getting worried about her. The guard escorted him downstairs to the visitors lounge. Jake was waiting for him there sitting at a table. Boris took a seat opposite him.

"How are you doing this morning?" Jake began. Same as usual Boris replied.

"Feeling like crap, this food is terrible."

"There's no need to winge." Jake replied.

"What do you have some good news for me?" Boris asked.

"Well not necessarily" Jake replied.

"But news nonetheless."

"How's my case going?" Boris asked.

"That's what I'm here to tell you about." Jake replied.

"I've done some negotiations with the prosecutor."

"And?"

"Well it seems like we could get you out of here sooner than expected."

"Really?" Boris said, his countenance changed when he heard this.

"But only if you continue to play by the rules." Jake said.

"What do you mean?" Boris said.

"I've spoken to the judge but I've also spoken to your counsellor and your behaviour may have a positive impact on your extenuating circumstances.

"I don't know what that means but I'm guessing that's a good thing."

"Yes but there's only one thing." Jake said.

"And what's that?" Boris asked.

"You might have to come into court and plead guilty of manslaughter."

"What?" Boris exclaimed.

"I can't do that." He said.

"Of course you can" Jake replied.

"It may be our only option. Who knows, you could be out of here sooner than you know it." Boris tried hard to take it in.

"As I was saying your extenuating circumstances seem to be working very much in your favour. And I received that payment I was asking you for." Jake said giving Boris a wink.

Boris tried to hide his half smile.

"When you say that I'll be out of here in no time how long do you mean?" Boris asked.

"Well I reckon I can get you out of here before the year is up. I mean you've already been here for more than five years for something the court cannot prove you did."

"Plead guilty?" Boris went over to his seat. I'll give it a think about and I'll let you know." Boris said.

"The thing is Boris if you really want to get out of here we don't really have time for that."

Boris too thought to himself and began to remember how bad it was inside and how excited he had been to hear that somebody was downstairs waiting to see him.

"You're going to have to work with me Boris, for your own good.

"So when do I have to go to court?" Boris asked.

"Just stay put and behave yourself, so long as you agree that you're okay with this and I'll get back to you as soon as I can, I'll take you through the process." Jake said. Boris Was silent for a moment

"I'm okay with it." Boris said.

*

Chapter Thirty Two

"Damn I can't take his anymore!" Trent said as he barged his way into Derrick's office.

"Calm down what's the matter?"

"I can't seem to crack him at all."

"So what are you saying you want to drop the case?" Derrick asked.

"No I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that I need a break." Trent replied.

"I think so too go and take a lunch break, I mean it's about an hour until lunch time but take an early one, you deserve it."

"Not like that, but anyway yes I will actually, will you be here when I get back?" Trent asked

"Yes probably why do you need to see me about something?"

"Yes I wanted to talk to you about a possible switch."

"Switch?"

"Yes well I might as well talk to you about it now if you're not too busy."

"Yes of course take a seat." Trent took a seat behind Derrick's desk.

"So what is this about switching. What do you mean switching?"

"This case, this type of thing, I don't think it's suitable for a man like me."

"So you're backing down now? I thought you said you were okay with it."

"I am okay with it, It's just that this particular case is getting to me and I think it would be easier for us all if we at least get some female assistance, he'll open up a bit more.. I told you to leave it first time, but you've got to finish what you've started or else your whole job will be on the line. I told you before that this was going to be difficult. You shouldn't have come back if you knew you didn't have it in you to continue. Why did you bother coming back?" He asked. Trent gave no reply and remained seating blank faced. He got up all of a sudden and started pacing up and down the room.

"So is this how you are going to treat me?" Trent said.

"Work is work, like I said before you either do your job properly or you get out." There was a moment of silence.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be so harsh." Derrick said.

"It's cool." Trent replied.

"Okay I've heard your proposition about getting a female in, I'll have a think about it and then I'll get back to you." Derrick said.

"You can take the rest of the day off if you have to, you look a bit burnt out, here take this." Derrick poured a glass of water for Trent and Trent sipped it gratefully."

"Do you think that'll be something you can do for me?"

"What get a woman into this?"

"Yes."

"If that's what you really want I guess I can try and work something out for you."

"You know you've got to understand sometimes it's best to have a female partner, it helps with things, I know because I've done it before. I think he's starting to get suspicious of me now. A little female attention could distract him little bit, you know sway him away from suspecting anything." Trent said. The knock at the door paused them in their conversation.

"Come in!" Derrick said. The door opened and a young man stepped halfway into the room Derrick, there's a guy buy the name of Charles here to see you I've told him to wait at the reception I knew you would be busy this morning, but he says it's urgent."

"Okay tell him I'll be with him in a moment." Derrick said as the man left the room as quickly as he had arrived. Alright okay I think we're done now, come and see me tomorrow. I can't guarantee I'll have you're girl by then but I'll see what I can do. The expression on Trent's face changed.

"Thanks a lot for that man I owe you one." Trent said as he finished of his glass of water and left the room. Derrick sighed, grateful that he had the room to himself for a couple of minutes.
Chapter Thirty Three

Daniel opened the door to his flat and dumped his briefcase on the sofa. He felt lonely. Ever since he had gotten that extra cash and moved to London he had never felt the same as when he was living back at home and when Big Troll was alive. Although he tried to pick himself up and forget about all that had happened he could not avoid those moments when he felt very lonely. A sense of guilt also came to attack him quite often recently. He didn't know what exactly had happened in the moments leading up to Big Troll's death but he couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt. As time went on he felt as if he couldn't go on without knowing exactly what had happened. He hadn't seen Boris for a while now and was becoming edgy about the money he had acquired. Would Boris be back? Did he really deserve this cash? The only remnants he had from the incident at Brack and Brack was the letter Big Troll had left in his pocket when he died. He walked over to the cabinet where he had left the note, and read it again. It didn't say much, he read it again. 'Dear Daniel, if anything happens to me you'll be the first to know about it. You know that you have been a close friend now for most of my life. If there is anything I'd like to talk about on a serious level you are usually the first person to know about it. I'm writing this letter to inform you that you will be the sole executor of my state and whatever it is worth at the time of my death it is my wish that you take care of my mother as best as you can, seeing as you are the only person that knows my family. Take care – Big Troll.' As he finished reading the letter Daniel returned it back to the drawer. He had glanced over this letter many a time but he had never sat down to take a look at it properly as he had just done. He walked over to the living room turned down the radio, which was turned on loud. He felt as if he needed some peace and quiet right now. He poured himself a shot of Famous Grouse. The litre bottle had been lying in the cabinet for months now, he had hardly touched it, but after reading this letter he started to see a totally different side to Big Troll. He wasn't all these things that he thought he might be. He wasn't all these things that people had said about him. He wasn't selfish, he was that violent, well it didn't appear that way from the letter. It seemed like he was just a victim of circumstances. Terry as Daniel knew him actually had a heart. He was actually interested in his mother's well-being although she had already passed. He had obviously written the letter before his mother has passed away. He sipped on his drink and began to reminisce on the times they had had over the years. High school, that was the first time they had met and they quickly became friends. He had dropped out around about the same time as Big Troll for bad behaviour. Big Troll had dropped out because she could no longer afford to send him to school. After that they would hang around doing part-time jobs here and there but often these jobs would amount to nothing. They would always end up back home or in the streets. They still remained friends through it all though. It was only now that he had read the letter again that he was beginning to come to terms with how real their friendship had been. Daniel poured himself one more shot and put the photo back into the cabinet.

*

Chapter Thirty Four

Emily switched off the radio which had been glaring since the morning. She had the morning off and it was time that she began to get ready for work, it was now 11 o'clock and she had to be in for two o'clock. She relished the amount of time she had off since leaving her friends close to leave her job and try something new. She rushed into the shower being careful not to slip. She shouldn't have left it this late, she thought to herself. She exited the shower and began to walk along the balcony to her room. It was a rather large house, she stayed in but things were slowly deteriorating for her since she left her last job. She had realized that she had to move house soon in order to be able to pay the bills. As she stepped into her room, her phone began to vibrate violently. She immediately began to panic and picked up the receiver still wrapped in her towel.

"Yes I'm on my way don't worry about it, I'm not going to be late." She said thinking immediately that this was her boss reminding her about her shift and not paying attention to the unknown number which had flashed on her phone when it rang. After a brief pause and no reply, Emily's mood changed.

"Who is this?" She asked.

"Emily it's Derrick, Emily recognized the voice immediately taken a back.

"Why are you calling me? I have no business with you anymore."

"That's no way to speak to you're old colleague is it?" "You're very lucky that I haven't put the phone down already." Emily replied.

"Anyway let's cut the chase, how are you doing?" Derrick asked.

"Late for work." Emily replied with her phone in one hand and at the same time attempting to get into her clothes.

"You have a new job now?" Derrick said.

"How else do you expect me to pay the bills?" She replied.

"We need to talk about something." Derrick said.

"What is it?" She asked now applying her make up in a hurry.

"I want to speak to you about a job, can we meet up later on today once you've free up yourself a little bit?"

"I may have some free time later on but I don't want to go out to work for the force again, I've made up my mind."

"Don't worry, that's not what I'm asking you to do, this is more important than that."

"Really?" What could be so important. She thought to herself. After her experience at the force the last person she would want to organise a meeting with was Derrick.

"I'll call you later on." She replied.

"Thanks." Derrick said.

"I'll wait for your call." Derrick hung up and sat back in his chair.

"One step closer." He said to himself and looked forward to the telephone call.

*

Chapter Thirty Five

She thought she could recognize the make of wine.

"Is that Semillon?" she asked.

"I don't know, I just know that it's white wine." Jimmy replied.

"Okay now tell me, what's the latest, what happened? How did you get them in?" Jimmy asked

"You go first," they sat down in silence for a moment and Clarissa took a breather. Clarissa began.

"Well, like I said before when I last saw you, I was in the same position as before. Jade was panicking about where here child was and that's when I received the phone call from Warren. I then told her that I had to leave the house for a moment because of a slight emergency I had to attend to and if she could watch out for a couple of minutes."

"That was when I came into it." Warren said.

"Come on tell me your side of it quickly we need to get back to business." Jimmy said.

"Are you sure the cops aren't on to us?" Warren asked.

"Yes I'm sure." Derrick replied.

"Okay well she came out and met me outside the co-op and that's when she told me where Jade was. I then called Daniel and he helped to put Jade and Russell in the car which we then used to bring her back to you.

"That sound perfect" Jimmy said. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out an envelope.

"Where are they now still in the back?" Warren asked.

"Yeah, we'll sort them out in a moment." Jimmy said.

"Here, take this, that will see you out until next time." Jimmy said to Clarissa. They hadn't agreed on a price before, she had just accepted his cash and was in need of money the first time they met so she wasn't going to complain.

She picked up the envelope and opened it. She peeked at the one hundred pounds that was in there and thought a moment about questioning about it but was very grateful. A smile came to her face which she couldn't hide.

"Thanks."

As she began to walk out of the bar Jimmy called her.

"Call me." He said.

"I will do" Clarissa said and left the bar.

*

Chapter Thirty Six

Boris walked in to find all of the house members sitting at the table getting ready to eat.

"You're looking better today." Clara said as Boris came into the dining room to greet everyone. George rolled his eyes and looked at Clara annoyingly, frustrated at the fact that she had invited Boris in the first place.

"If I'm not wanted here I can make my way out if you want" Boris said sending a guilt trip across the room to whomever wanted to trip. "

"Oh no don't go sit down." Clara said.

"Help yourself, we're only just getting started." George looked at her again in disbelief, this time his eyes were piercing and looking even more annoyed than ever. Boris found an empty seat and sat down. The table was set nicely, almost professionally and there was plenty of food on the table.

"What's the occasion?" Boris asked.

"No occasion at all." Clara replied making an effort to try and make Boris feel comfortable.

"We try and sit together to eat as a family at least twice a week."

"Yes, that's good." Boris replied.

"What about you Boris do you have any family?" April asked as she finished with the potatoes and returned them to the centre of the table. Boris looked at her not expecting that question.

"Well I hope so," Boris replied.

"What do you mean?" April replied.

"Well I haven't seen them for a while, in fact I should be seeing the soon, hopefully.

"What happened why haven't you been with them this whole time?" April asked.

"I've been away on business." Boris replied. the interrogation and in fact seemed interested in what was being said.

"So what do you do for a living?" April asked. Boris wished April would stop asking so many questions and poking into his private life. The others at the table played no part in the interrogation, silent, except for the odd clatter of the plates and listening attentively.

"I'm a mortgage advisor" Boris said.

"Oh yeah? What company do you work for?" George said deciding to jump in on the interrogation session, besides, this was his house.

"I'm self-employed" Boris replied.

"Well that must be tough then what sort of clients do you deal with?" George asked.

"Yeah it has its highs and lows but it also has its rewards too. I deal mainly with estate clients. Clients looking to mortgage and remortgages, joint mortgages, you know, things like that." Boris explained.

"Sounds good." Clara said..

"How's work George?" Clara asked trying to give Boris a break by diverting the attention away from him.

"Same old same old, nothing new at all." George said.

George was attorney at a large a law firm Brack and Brack and he had specialised in equity for the past five years.. Everybody in the house new about his job and his responsibilities because he was always talking about it.

"Do we seriously want to hear more about your job again?" April asked.

"Yeah you're right" Clara replied.

"So if your job is that great, I mean, you're self-employed and have all that freedom then why do you have to stay here?" April asked.

Clara looked at April in disbelief. Boris too looked at April and felt as if he could just get up and slap her right in the face. He hated everything about her and they had only met each other a couple of days ago.

"Thanks for the meal." Boris said.

"Where are you going?" Clara asked.

"To the bathroom" Boris replied.

"I think I'm starting to get a little food poisoning."

*

Chapter Thirty Seven

Charles marched into the office and dumped the bag of doughnuts onto the DCI's table.

"Thanks" He said, opened up the packet and started to tuck right away.

"Please put that kettle to boil for me."

"Yeah sure I could do with a cuppa myself." Trent replied.

"You seem in quite a good mood this morning what's happening with you?" The DCI asked.

"What do you mean?" Trent replied.

"Well how often do you bring me donuts for breakfast?" the DCI replied.

"Oh that, that's just a gesture of good will." Trent replied. He paused for a moment, thinking.

"I don't know maybe you're right, maybe I am in good mood." Trent said.

"How is work going?" The DCI asked.

"Pretty average, the usual, nothing too interesting."

Trent poured the hot water in the two mugs and gave the DCI his cup of coffee. He was tempted to tell the DCI about what he was up to and now he thought he had spotted one of the suspects who had recently been released. He felt that if he could get Boris arrested that he could prove, or help the prosecution to prove that the money was stolen. This would mean a higher pay check for him and it would also wipe away any bad impressions his workplace had built of him over the past few years. He thought about the risk, his 'freindship', his career, and decided to keep quiet about everything. The DCI munched silently on his doughnuts and sipped on his coffee.

"Would you like one?" He offered.

"No I'm alright thanks" Trent replied.

"Have you heard anything more about that case?" Trent asked.

"Which case?"

"Those guys that robbed that Law firm Brack and Brack."

"Oh that one no those guys were arrested and sent to jail, whether they are out or not I don't know. All I know is that the matter is out of my hands now. I want nothing more to do with this. Why do you ask?" The DCI said.

"No I was just wondering you know you can't leave people like this to let loose in society, you've got to be keeping an eye on them." Trent said.

"It's out of our hands now."

"I don't want to hear anymore of it" the DCI said. He began to wander whether Trent was up to anything.

"Good cup of coffee" Trent said taking a sip of his cups of coffee and trying to quickly change the subject.

"Yeah thanks for that" The DCI responded.

"So what's on the menu for today?" Trent asked. Just the usual. A couple of burglaries down in E22 Just radioed in before you came in maybe if you could help that would be great."

"Okay I'll get onto it." Trent said as he took the last sip of his coffee, and strapped his cuffs and pistols to his back pocket."

"Stay in touch." The DCI said as Trent walked out. He picked up the internal phone and went straight through to Derrick.

"Hey Derrick are you busy?" He asked.

"No why do you ask?" Derrick said.

"Can you come over to my office for a minute?" The DCI asked.

Yeah sure I'll be there in a second. He poured himself another cup of coffee and sat back down thinking about what he was going to say but when he came in the room. The knock came faintly on the door, so that he might have not heard it if he was dozing off into a sleep.

"Come in!" He said. Derrick walked into the office and took a seat at the spare desk.

"You alright?" the DCI asked.

"Yes I'm great thanks and yourself?" you seem pretty confused and tired.

"Tell me about it. Listen I don't want to keep you for too long. Do you know if Trent is alright? He seems to be acting different lately."

"No I haven't noticed anything. Why do you ask?" Derrick said.

"Well he seems to be acting kind of weird to me."

"In what way?" Derrick asked.

"Well he seems very different from when he was last working here, a bit more sharper, more willing to work."

The DCI said.

"Well come to think of it, he has been quite busy lately."

"You see?" The DCI responded.

"What has he been talking about? It seems to me like he's onto something." The DCI said. Derrick paused for a moment as if he was reflecting; and trying to think of a time when Derrick had said something to him.

"No actually I have no idea of what he might be up to, he doesn't say much at all to me Derrick lied, trying to cover Trent's back.

"Just checking." The DCI said.

"It's my responsibility to stay afloat with these things." He said, trying to maintain a professional edge to his dealings.

"Is that all?" Derrick asked.

"Yes that's all, let me leave you to get back to whatever it is you were doing." The DCI said.

"Alright I'll probably see you later then." Trent replied.

"Okay thanks for that" the DCI said.

"Yeah no problem" Derrick said as he made his way out of the office.

When Derrick got back to his office he picked up his telephone and dialled Trent's number immediately.

"Hello?" Trent answered. He was likely to get through to him at this time of the day.

"Are you busy?" Derrick asked.

"Yes as it turns out I'm very busy what's the matter?" Trent asked.

"Come and see me in my office urgently when you get back."

"Why what's the matter?" Trent asked.

"It's the DCI, I think he's onto you."

*

Chapter Thirty Eight

The room was silent and dark with a few pieces of equipment lying here and there. There was a small fridge on one side of the room but Jade felt too lazy to get up and try to find out what was in it. She had already gotten up earlier to double check that the door had not been left open.

Russell was now fast asleep. She looked at him and was thankful that he was safe. He wasn't in any danger and they hadn't harmed him, well at least for now. Jade held Russell in her arms and tried to find the most comfortable position to sit down. She wondered how Russell could manage to find peace and tranquil in a place like this amongst everything that was going on. Then she remembered that he was only a child and would be unaware of how bad the situation really was. She wished she was child again, not having to have a worry in the world. She decided that she would learn a lesson from him.

*

Chapter Thirty Nine

The stairs leading to the roof of the building were cold, hard and concrete Daniel tripped slightly on his way up grazing him. But he had no choice but to continue, this was his the only way out and there was an angry man hot on his pursuit. He climbed the stairs scraping off debris from the sides of the wall hoping to temporarily blind his pursuant. Obviously this didn't work as he felt a heavy tug on his trousers.

"Damn!" He exclaimed. He had to think quickly. He used his free leg and kicked Boris square in the face.

"Son of a bitch!" Boris shouted nearly loosing his footing completely. Daniel continued up to the top of the stairs and franticly threw loose bits of stone and debris down where he could for what it was worth. He finally reached the top of the stairs. Only to come across the door which seemed like it had been locked. He grabbed the door handle and immediately began to tug at it. He shouted in pain as he felt a sharp, excruciating pain rip through his back. He felt as if he had broken his back, but again he had no time at all to think. Boris had a mullet in his hand. Daniel quickly kicked the mullet of out of his hands with as much force as he could releasing the mullet clean from Boris's hands and causing it to descend right down to the bottom of the staircase. Daniel grabbed Boris by the thought with one hand and with his other hand hit Boris in the face nearly dislocating his jaw. He turned around and wretched the door open. The door lead out to an open space at the top of the building. Daniel ran towards the edge an stepped back immediately. They were at least two floors up and the drop was fatal he took out his gun which he had hidden on his inside pocket and pointed it directly at Boris.

"Back off." Daniel said.

"Just calm down okay. I just want to talk to you, you know. Reason things out with you." Boris said with his hands held high above his head trying desperately to send a signal that he was harmless.

"You weren't trying to be reasonable a couple of minutes ago were you, what's changed?" Daniel said still pointing the gun at Boris with an evil grin on his face.

"Where is she?" Boris demanded.

"I told you before, I don't know what you're talking about" Daniel persisted.

"And my money what have you done with ?"

"I told you before it ain't your money" Daniel retorted.

"If you don't know anything about what I'm talking about then what was that note doing in your front room?" Daniel said.

"What note?"

"This note." Boris pulled the note and Daniel recognised the note immediately.

"I know you've spoken to her, you must have some information on this." Boris said now within an inch of Daniel's gun – he was not backing down, not even at gunpoint.

"You took this too far." Daniel said.

"You see when you get to greedy you end up with entirely nothing." Daniel said now pressing the pistol deep into Boris's skull.

"You're going to pay for this." Boris said.

The sound of sirens caused Daniel to loose focus. Boris took the opportunity and within a split second gathered as much force as he could and smacked Daniel in the hand that he held the gun in causing it to fly uncontrollably across the floor. Boris hit Daniel again this time across the face. They began grappling each other tirelessly on the ground, on the edge of the building. Although Daniel was much fitter than Boris. Boris was larger in size. After taking many hits to the face Daniel managed to get the upper hand now trying to hold Boris down to the floor. His heart skipped a beat as he felt his body slip off the edge holding franticly on to Boris's waist trying to pull himself back up.

"Help, help me up, or else we'll both die." Daniel exclaimed.

Boris kept struggling to try and pull himself up from the edge of the building but he just couldn't handle the weight of both himself and Daniel. With one big effort he kicked Daniel in the groin making him loose his grip on Boris's waist and descend a good two hundred metres to his death.

*

Chapter Forty

Boris put the kettle to boil in the double bed hotel room that he had booked for the night. He went and sat beside Jade who lay looking worn out on the bed.

"How are you feeling?" Boris asked. All she could manage was a groan. Boris walked over to the monitor and put it on. The nine o'clock news came straight on, nothing too interesting. The weatherman gave his report on the day ahead, partly cloudy and a few showers later on in the afternoon.

"Here, drink this." Boris said to Jade as he handed her a hot cup of tea and an apple.

"I left my phone" She said.

"Huh? You what?" Boris said surprised, not really expecting anything to come out of Jade's mouth.

"My phone I left it." She repeated.

"Don't worry about that." Boris said. "I'll sort it out. Just rest yourself you're not going anywhere like that." Boris had decided that he would leave Jade here and go and see if he could find Russell. He wanted his son back. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but he also knew that if he had any chance of finding him, it would be knew, made sure Jade was comfortably sat in her bed and left the room.

Boris got into the car and began to drive towards the building, where he had found Jade. He parked by a nearby street and got carefully out of the car. As soon as he was sure that the coast was clear he began walking across the street towards the building where he had found Jade. He parked by a nearby street and got carefully out of the car. As soon as he was sure that the coast was clear he began walking across the street towards the building where he had found Jade. He pushed open the back door which they had run out of previously and started up the staircase to the flat. The door was still open and damaged at the hinges. He walked inside and took a quick and cautious scan of the room. He noticed a small object lying in the corner of the room. He walked over and picked up the object which he discovered was Jade's phone, lying face down on the ground. She had had this phone for as long as he could remember so it was not hard for him to recognise it immediately. He picked up the phone and checked around the room again just to see if he was in any danger it seemed as though nobody had been here since the last time he was here – it seemed safe. He picked up the phone which was amazingly still on and began pacing around the room not sure of what his next step was, not sure of what he was going to do. He decided to have a quick browse through Jade's phone to see if he could find any clues as to what happened to Jade before she got kidnapped. He began scrolling through her inbox. A few mess from him but they were from when he was inside. He opened the most recent message and saw a message from a lady named Clarissa. It read. Meet me at the park. He saw another message from the same person that had sent the previous message. It read 'If you need anything don't hesitate to come to my place at'. Boris made a mental note of this address, put Jade's phone away and decided to pay Daniel a visit. It had been a long time since they had met but Boris had remained in contact with him whilst still inside.

*
Chapter Forty One

Boris ordered a double shot of brandy and coke. When the waiter returned with his drink he began to sip on it. It tasted brilliant. He remembered why it waste tasting so good. This was the first real alcoholic beverage he had bought himself since being released. The bar lead to a balcony which had a good view of most of the town of Brighton.

"Turning out to be very nice day." A young gentleman in a waste coat said to him.

"Yeah it seems a lot better now."

"It's been terrible these past few days." Boris said.

"Tom" The gentleman said stretching out his hand and shaking Boris' hand.

"Tom!" A voice called from the other side of the room. "Should I get you anything else?"

"Yes please just get me an orange juice for now."

"And your friend over there?" Tom looked at Boris.

"Anything to drink?" He asked.

"Yes just another brandy and coke please." Boris replied. The lady returned to the balcony with the drinks, placed them on the table and stood next to Tom.

"Thanks a lot for that." Boris said, and took a long sip. The drinks were beginning to slowly get to him and he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in front of these two strangers.

"Excuse me a moment I'm just going to the bathroom for a moment."

"Yeah sure no problem, we'll keep an eye out for your drink for you."

"Thanks." Boris said as he made his way over to the bathroom. He entered the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. He tucked in his shirt which had come undone and fixed himself up a little bit. He took out his phone and checked for any mess. A voicemail message flashed across his screen. He dialled the number on the message and walked into one of the cubicles in an attempt to get a bit of privacy. He listened to the voice mail and heard the unmistakable voice of Jade. He dialled her number immediately. When she picked up the phone her voice was much more quieter than usual.

"Help me" She said in a frail voice.

"What's wrong?" Boris said in a slight panic.

"They got me." She replied.

"You've got to keep your voice down." She said.

"They're not here right now but I'm guessing they'll be back soon.

"Who's they? Are you alright?" Boris said.

"Just about." Jade replied.

"Good well just hang in there hold on tight I'm on my way." Boris said.

Jade looked at her phone once Boris had hung up and carefully hid it away.

Boris exited the toilet and made his way back to where the other two were sitting. He picked up his drink and downed the rest of it in one go.

"Okay guy's I've got to be off now." He said

"It was nice meeting you."

"Where are you off to so soon?" Tom asked.

"Got to get back to business." Boris said.

"Fair enough" Tom replied. Boris left the bar and headed straight back to Clara's house. There was no one there except for April who noticed a sense of urgency about him.

"What's the matter where are you off to?" April asked.

"Back to London." Boris replied and disappeared upstairs.

"Thank you for your hospitality." Boris said when he returned to the kitchen five minutes later with a few things, just a jacket, a wallet and his hipflask, which he had tucked in his inside jacket pocket.

"I might not be back at all, though, tell Clara I say thanks for everything." He said and rushed out of the front door. George was slightly bewildered at the sudden exit but at the same time relieved now that he was out of the house.

Boris took a deep breath. He needed to get back to London. He had waited long enough.

The room was dark and cold. A ray of sunlight came beaming through a crack in the blinds which provided the room it's only source of light. Jade sat in the corner waiting. She wondered when they would be back and was careful not to look like she was up to anything. She wondered whether it would be wise to call Boris again but decided not to just in case anybody walked through the door. She walked to the open door silently and tried again to see if there was a way out. The door was locked. It seemed as if it had been locked with a key from the outside. She walked over to the window and peeped through the blinds. There was no one in sight. She looked t the time on her phone which read 4.25 am. This would be the best time she could escape without anybody seeing her. She did not know anybody here and jimmy had a lot of contacts, he knew the area well and he had a lot of friends. He probably would have somebody watching here and if anybody spotted Jade wondering around they would most probably notify him in no time. Word had gotten out know that he was on an important job.

She walked again, back to the door and attempted to kick it down but the door was too heavy and she could not build up the necessary force required to break the door down. She decided to stop and save her energy as she didn't know how long she would end up being locked in the room for. She went back into the corner in which had previously sat. A rush of thoughts went through her mind. How was she going to get out of here? Were they going to be back with Russell? Where had they gone? She looked at her phone, luckily the battery was at fifty percent. She decided she would witch off her phone when she wasn't using it in order to save her battery life. She quickly scrolled through her phone book and found Boris' number. She started typing a message. It read. 'Tall large building, fourth floor up opposite the tall housing estate complex.' As she began to put her phone back into her pocket the door opened and the two men came into the room.

"What was that? Jimmy asked Jade as he began walking towards her.

"Nothing." Jade said, anxiously.

"Get up" Jimmy said grabbing her by the arm, they put his hands on here trousers and gave her a quick search.

"What's this?" He asked as he felt the phone through her jeans and pulled it out ruthlessly. He threw the phone over to Warren and gave her a slap.

"Keep your hands away from me." She said daringly.

"You better start talking some sense here Jade otherwise you're going to make it worse for yourself. Where's the money?"

"What money? I don't know what you're talking about, Jade replied. You know what I'm talking about the money that stupid boyfriend of yours stole." Jimmy said quickly loosing his cool.

"I really don't know what you're talking about." Jade pleaded. Just then the sound of two gun shots came through the window smashing the glass straight through.

"Quick get down!" Warren said, ducking immediately. Jade remained coiled in the corner of the room out of the way of any danger.

"Who the hell was that?" Jimmy said. "Quick let's get out of here, take Jade"

Jimmy began making his way out of the doors immediately and straight down the long flight of stairs. Warren grabbed Jade by the arms. Jade tried to fight back but Warren gave her a vicious slap to the face make her slightly loose conscious. Warren carried the half dazed Jade out through the door and down the stair case out through the back. Neither of them had firearms but both of them were vulnerable.

*

Chapter Forty Two

Boris ducked behind a fire hydrant, now with his gun clutched in both hands. As he looked up at the window he spotted three figures from the corner of his eyes escaping from the back door and across the front of the building. One of the figures was looking quite lifeless. As he took a closer look, he noticed one of the faces as Jade's and instantly pointed the gun at the figure who held her. He fired a shot, missing him slightly. Warren ducked trying to avoid the incoming array of bullets. Boris took another shot, this time hitting Warren square in the chest. The figure dropped immediately. The third figure continued running quickly towards the car parked in the car park not too far from where the two figures lay. Boris put his gun away and scanned the area making sure there were no police around the area and also that the man running to the car was not armed. There were faint sounds of sirens in the distance not to close to make an attempt finding Jade and getting her away safely Boris thought. He hid his gun and walked over to the two figures which lay on the pavement. When he got there he recognized the unmistakable face of Jade conscious, but conscious enough to respond to her name.

"Jade." Boris said.

"Boris?" Jade replied. Boris smiled and picked Jade up carefully, holding her in his arms.

"Don't worry about it. You're going to be okay." Boris said. Carrying Jade carefully and cautiously towards his car which was parked on a side road. A tap on his shoulder made him jump a little, he turned around.

"Is she alright?" she asked.

"Yeah she's fine" Boris replied she's just had a bit of an accident.

"Do you need any help." She asked.

"No thanks" Boris replied.

"Are you sure she asked."

"I said no thank you!" Boris said in a fit of rage. The lady continued her way hurriedly across the road and into a block of flats. Boris put Jade how had now regained some of her conscious in the back seat. He quickly started the engine and began driving slowly out of the area trying not to draw too much attention. He wondered to himself how he managed to stay away from the police and if it was him they were coming for. He looked at Jade who was still in shock and rubbed her on her shoulder.

"Where's Russell? What have they done?" She said.

"It's okay we'll find him."

"How?" Jade said still shaken.

"I don't know for sure but I have a very good idea." Jade sighed and remained silent. She had seen enough. Boris continued driving with Jade in the backseat. He carefully slipped his hand in hi pocket and reached for Jade's phone which she had left and scrolled down to the text message with the address of Clarissa's flat. He headed straight towards there.
Chapter Forty Three

There were now four of them in the room where Charles had initially made the phone call. The phone was still on loud speaker and they stood around the table where Charles had put the phone. The sounds of gunshots coming from the other end of the line had now stopped and there were now faint sounds of footsteps coming through.

"Can you connect that to the headquarters?" The DCI asked quietly.

"Yes" Charles said.

"Well get to it then that should have been the first thing you did." The DCI said. Charles started connecting the call immediately. He Didn't want to start getting into any arguments. All he wanted to do was be the one who was responsible for catching this monster and get some kind of promotion. Once they had gotten through to the headquarters. Charles answered.

"Hey this is officer Charles we may have an emergency on our hands, I need you to trace this call immediately for me, connecting a temporary three way in thirty seconds, over." Charles said.

"Over" another voice came from the other end of the line. There was a moment of silence as all of them listened attentively. They now heard panting as if he was trying to get away from something. The officer from the other end of the line came through again.

"Okay, I have a location here, would you like me to send some officers out?" The officer asked

"Yes please but tell them to be very careful this might be a dangerous operation." Charles said.

"Okay I'm right on it." The officer replied.

"I'm also going to send a few officers out, I'm not sure what to expect with this one, but I heard gunshots so, I'm guessing we need to be fully armed and prepared as always." Charles said.

"Over" the voice said.

Once he had finished speaking he turned his attention to the others who were in the room. Okay Trent you'd better get ready to be one the scene, get some officers down on Booth Road immediately please" Charles said.

"Who's going to be here then?" Trent asked.

"I'll be here with the DCI and carefully monitor this call along with the guys at the headquarters." Charles said.

"Okay, We'll get onto that immediately." Trent said.

He stopped on his way out of the room and looked at Emily who was sat in the corner with her head in her hands.

"Are you okay?" Trent asked. She looked up at Trent.

"Yeah I'm okay, can you just get me a glass of water please I'm getting a bit of a headache."

"Just a second." Trent went to the next room and came back with a bottle of water, Emily got up immediately.

"Okay then let's get to it this."

"Good" the DCI said.

"Keep your mobile phones and stay in touch over the radio phones." he said. The two of them Emily and Trent left the room. The DCI and Charles remained huddled around the phone.

"So what do you think?" the DCI asked Charles . He didn't want to get involved, he didn't want to have to be responsible for any mistakes being made along the way.

"Well as I said I heard gunshots it sounds like there's been a killing of some sort. We need to remember to keep it down it doesn't seem like he's noticed that he's still connected." Charles said. About five minutes later Charles got a call on his radio.

"That was quick" Charles said. "What have we got?"

"I've got the area surrounded. It seems like there has indeed been a shooting." Emily said.

"Any dead bodies?" Charles asked. Not just yet, they're still checking the area out." Emily said.

"Okay give me a shout if you find anything." Charles said. The long sound of a dialling tone ringed through the room.

"Oh shit!" Charles exclaimed.

"What happened? The DCI asked.

"We've lost him, looks like he's just realized that he was making a call." Charles said.

"So what do we do now?" The DCI asked.

"We'll just have to wait and see what's happening" Charles said.

As soon as he said this his radio began to buzz again, he picked it up immediately.

"We have a dead body" Emily said.

"How many?" Charles asked.

"Seems like it's just the one" Emily said.

"Do we have any leads?" Charles asked.

"I was told some old lady saw a man driving off in a hurry and he looked rather suspicious." Emily said.

"Okay I also need somebody down at the headquarters to check all the cameras in that area and also to trace anything that may have happened in the last hour or so you got that?" Charles said.

"Yes sir." Meanwhile the DCI said nothing and continued to pace up and down the room. The radio phone began to buzz again as another report came through.

"I've just been in touch with Trent, he says he's spoken to the old lady who stays not too far from the scene and he's gotten as much information from her as he possibly can.

"Are you sure?" Charles asked.

"What did he find out?"

She managed to tell him the first three numbers from the registration plate of the car he got into, the colour and the type of car.

"It's not much but it should be enough can you please relay those details to me immediately."

"Okay the colour of the car was black and the first three letters of the registration are SB5. She didn't give a specific make for the car, all she said is that it was a sports car." Emily said.

"Are we getting any closer?" Charles asked.

"I can't say" Emily replied.

"Our work is far from done yet." Charles picked up the radio phone and connected through to the headquarters.

"I need you to look out for a car which matches this description. Black, sports with the first three registration number letter SB5,over"

"Over." came a reply from another officer who was at the other end of the call.

"I'm going to hand everything over to you now I might have to get onto the scene now they need me hands on." Charles said to the DCI "

"Are you sure about this?" The DCI asked.

"Yeah of course I'm sure why do you ask?" Charles said.

"It could be quite dangerous for you out there I mean after all that's happened you know." the DCI said.

There was a moment of silence as if Derrick was reconsidering his actions.

"We've come this far, I can't afford to stop now." He said and walked out of the door.

*

Chapter Forty Four

Boris parked his car about six blocks away from the scene of the shooting with Jade in the back seat. He had the image of the car that the man was headed to in the car park clearly in his mind. He had to track it down one way or another, he felt he was getting closer and closer to Russell, he had to get him back. He refocused his attention to Jade's phone and the address which was on it. He started up the car and began to drive, even further away from the crime scene moving towards the poorer end of the city towards the address. He knew the area so he wasn't going to have any trouble finding the street. It was the same street that Jade and Russell stayed. He continued driving and about one kilometre down the road he took a left and then a right into the road which he was looking for. He looked again at the address which was on the phone. It was only a few doors down from Jade's flat. he continued down the road and spotted the house. He found a parking space about fifty metres away from the house.

"Where are we?" Jade asked half awake.

"Wait here for me, don't move I'll be back in a moment." Boris said.

He left the car and slammed the door behind him without locking it. He walked cautiously along the road towards the flat. on his way towards the flat he stopped suddenly. There parked on the road not too far from where he was standing he saw a car which looked identical to the one which he saw the man run towards in the car park earlier on. He took another look at it and was convinced that this was the same car. He continued walking now even more cautiously towards the flat. He checked for the number on Jade's phone. As he walked towards the flat he listened carefully to hear if there where any noises coming from inside. There was a faint noise which sounded like a baby crying coming from the background. He listened closer and the sound grew louder. Once he realized that there was indeed a baby crying inside he began to knock on the door.

"Hello! Is anybody in there?" He said. There was no reply. The more he knocked, the louder the crying became. He knocked again - still no answer. He decided that he had nothing more to loose and started to kick the door down. After his second kick, the door began to cave a little.

"Who's that?" a voice shouted from the other side of the door. Boris quickly pulled out his gun and looked through a crack that had been made in the door.

"Who is it?" another voice said. A woman appeared behind the man who had his gun pointed at the door.

"I don't know keep it down will you" Jimmy said, his gun still pointing at the door.

The woman held a screaming baby in her hands. Boris took a closer look and recognized his son's face immediately.

"Son of a bitch" he said as he drew his gun and took a shot Jimmy who still had his gun pointing in Boris' direction. The bullet hit him square in the chest and he dropped straight to the floor. The lady began to scream. The sounds of screams echoed around the surrounding area and could be heard from miles away.

At the police station the DCI was now slightly frantic. He had no idea where to start. After all his years on the force he started to think to himself, maybe it was time for him to finally hang up his boots. He began to pace up and down the room restlessly. He switched on his radio phone and connected to Trent.

"Hey, it's the DCI here back at the station, just calling to check how everything is going." The DCI said.

"We have forensics and officers at the scene at the moment."

"Charles has called the headquarters to keep a look out for a car that a witness said she saw."

"Yes I'm aware of that." Trent said.

"Okay can you do me a favour and tell the officers to take extra care, Emily seems to think that the suspect or suspects may still be around.

"Yeah sure," Trent said.

"The DCI began to twiddle his thumbs, wondering what step to take next. He decided to take a seat at the desk in the meantime. His radiophone began to buzz again.

"He picked it up immediately."

"It's officer Randles back at the headquarters, we've found a car that matched the description not too far from the crime scene."

"Okay that's good just stick on that one, I'll call the scene and get some guys to trace it down immediately. Stay in touch with the details, over." Charles said.

"Over" came a reply.

Derrick was getting restless now. Whilst the others Emily and Trent and the rest of the team were gathering evidence and carrying out any investigations they could, he began to get annoyed at the fact that he had come so close but was yet so far. He pulled at his hair in frustration.

Another call came through, "Hey Derrick this is the DCI on the line, can you put me through to Trent?"

"Yeah sure." Derrick said shaking his head out of his distress."

"What is it?" Trent asked after taking the phone from Trent.

"We've found the location of the car, I don't know if the headquarters have notified you guys yet but I've got a call from them.

"Okay great." Trent said. "I'll see you later on. Trent rounded up Emily and Derrick and they got into a police car along with a van with a bunch of officers behind them.

*

Chapter Forty Five

Now Boris was in a bit of a state, he had just killed another man and was starting to panic a little. Clarissa was screaming whilst holding Russell who was also screaming non stop in her hands.

"Sshh" Boris said. "Just shut up! I am not going to kill you" Boris said pointing the gun at her head. Just give him to me." He said. Russell kept screaming.

"Now!" Boris shouted. Clarissa handed Russell over to Boris and he stopped crying almost immediately. Clarissa carried on screaming and ran out of the back door. The house was now fairly quiet. Warren's body lay on the floor blocking the passageway. He drew out his gun as he heard shuffling at the front door and noises of sirens in the background. He put his gun down when he realised that it was Jade.

"Jade!" Boris said

"What the hell is going on?" Jade asked as she came in and stopped abruptly in the passageway over Warren's dead body.

"I thought I told you to wait for me?" Boris said.

"Here take Russell and go." He said.

"What do you mean go?"

"Just go quickly, get out of here as far as you possibly can, just go." Boris said.

Jade took Russell and disappeared. Boris rushed to the kitchen, found some old boards and nails and rushed back up the pas way towards the front door. He began to franticly board the door up so that nobody would be able to come in. After he had finished he rushed upstairs and found a room which faced the front of the house. The police sirens were ringing loudly now and it seemed more and more likely that the police were on their way. Two minutes later there was a bang at the front door.

"Police!" A voice said. Boris retreated into the room and waited in the hope that they would soon go away. The bangs got louder. From the window in the room upstairs Boris saw two big police vans and a police car outside.

"We know you're in there." A voice came from outside. Boris ducked behind the window in attempt to hide his figure. He peeked carefully to see if he could see what was going on and there was any chance of any possible escape routes. There were police officers surrounding the vans and the frontage of the car. Boris had a closer look and noticed Charles standing outside the police car with another man and another woman He felt his blood begin to boil.

"Traitor" He said to himself. He drew out his gun, aimed carefully at Charles and took a shot. The bullet hit Charles on the side of the head and he dropped immediately.

"Man down." Trent said.

"We have the place surrounded." A voice blasted from a speaker phone. I repeat, we have the place surrounded.

"Boris hid in the room. Another police van arrived at the scene and they all had their guns pointed at the room that Boris was in.

Out of all of the men pointing their guns the only one with a close enough aim was Jake. He crouched in a room in a building opposite Boris and aimed his sniper at him unbeknown to nobody. He never thought that he would ever have to resort to something like this ever in his lifetime. He felt as if he had let himself down, he felt as if had let the system down. He aimed the sniper which he had hired earlier on in the day right between Boris's eyes. He had to hit him first time to allow himself time to escape quickly and professionally without being noticed. Once he was comfortable with his aim he pulled the trigger. Boris fell to the floor in an instant. Jake put the sniper back into the briefcase which came with it, took of his gloves and quietly made his escape.

George got home to find Clara lounging in the front room.

"How are you doing honey?" He asked.

"I am good thanks. Finally able to relax and clean up this room properly now that Boris is gone." George went and took a seat next to Clara.

"Finally!" He said "We get to relax properly without any hassle at all." He said as he stretched out, out his hands around Clara and put the television on.

"Yes" Clara said in agreement it's just me and you. The room was calm and quiet as the both of them took a moment to appreciate their surroundings. There was no noise except for the sound coming from the television. After about thirty minutes of silence and relaxation Clara was the first to break the silence.

"How is work?" Clara asked.

"Same old." He said.

"In fact I have to go back a bit later and pick April up.

"Why where is she?"

"She's still at my office, remember it's half term. I promised here that she could spend some time there and work on a few cases for me. She wanted a bit of work experience." George said.

"Oh yes you did mention that."

"Yes, I left her with my colleague Cedric. We're working on a number of cases at the moment. He promised to take her through a couple of things.

"You know that girl, she's just like you."

"You, really think so?" George asked.

"Well, she's determined and has an eye for detail I mean look at how she reached to Boris just like you. George laughed it off and got up out of his seat.

"I'd better be off now I promised I'd pick her up.

Chapter Forty Six

April sat in the large office and relished being there. She was fascinated by all the certificates and books which were lined carefully around the office.

"You, see when you're dealing with cases like this, you've always got to pay attention to the details." Cedric continued. Cedric was a colleague of George's and had a lot of experience at this firm and George had entrusted him to watch over April during her work experience, much to his annoyance. He wanted to have the week off and make the most of the public holiday, but eventually agreed to oversee April.

"What are these?" April asked pointing to a cabinet of files which were different form the rest of the books and cases which lined the bookshelves.

"These are what we call live cases." Cedric replied.

"Live cases?"

"You mean they actually move?" April asked.

"Haha," Cedric laughed. "No dear I mean that those are cases we are working on at the moment. I'll tell you more about those files tomorrow and maybe let you in on a little secret or two about the legal world. Right now though I am extremely tired and I think we should call it a day." Cedric said. "Do you need a lift home?" Cedric asked.

"No thanks." April replied.

"Are you sure about that? It's pretty late." Alright then I guess I'll see you later then.

"Okay goodnight." April replied.

"Just remember if you're going to meet your dad outside to check out on the time sheet and activate the alarm when you leave the building.

"I will do." April replied.

Cedric left immediately.

George flashed Cedric, who was in his car driving the opposite direction. He had just missed him. He found a parking space, pulled up and dialled April's number. She picked up the phone.

"What took you so long?" She said.

"Sorry about that I got held up." George replied. April was down in less than five minutes.

"How was you're evening?" George asked.

"It was okay."

"Did you learn anything?"

"A little bit, but nothing to write home about."

"Fine suit yourself, I'm just trying to make conversation you know." George said and pulled off.

"Alright this is beginning to confuse me now" Jason said as he sat in his car with Stoney a long-time friend of his."

"What's wrong?"

"This girl has been coming in and out of that office for days now. I thought it was George that we were supposed to be watching."

"Maybe she's some kind of assistant or something." Stoney said.

"I don't know, all I know is that it's making things more complicated, we need to get rid of her or at least find out any information we can about her, she seems far too intelligent for my liking."

They followed the car discreetly all the way to It's location and waited for the right time to make a move.

The next morning George knocked on April's door. No answer came. She went back into the bedroom.

"You did get April last night didn't you?"

"Yeah I did, why?" George asked. Clara went back to April's front door.

"April?"

"Still no reply. She walked into the bedroom to find the window wide open and an empty bed."

"April!" She shouted. April was nowhere to be seen.

*

# Author's Note

This piece poses serious questions concerning the English judiciary system. Does it operate fairly, consistently and impartially as it strives to do? And if so, how often does it get it right? There have been numerous cases on the news regarding murders and unsolved crimes, a lot of which are still under investigation today. A lot of these cases have been plagued with racial slurs by newspapers and citizens alike. Whether the characters in this story are black white, or Asian is entirely up to the reader, and merely provokes food for thought.

A lot of the times we find ourselves in situations in which we would rather not be, and through no fault of our own. This story serves as an assurance to those who have found themselves in a place where they just 'want out', an encouragement that no situation is permanent and that suffering passes with time.

*

## Other Titles by This Author

### Undue Rewards

