Intoxifresh

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Karim sped to the police station without a thought that he could lose his licence for driving above the legal speed limits. He yanked hard right on the steering wheel, span into the car park of the station and floored the brakes, then ran up the shiny marble-effect steps and through the main door.

He was immediately seen by an officer who went with him to a small room and over the next few minutes he gave the officer all the information he had. 'Wait here for a moment, Sir,' the officer said before stepping out of the room to run a search on the main Metropolitan database. He returned with a printout from the machine confirming that the three men Karim had mentioned had all attended a London police station within the last few days. He also had a recording of the conversation they'd had. The information obtained by listening to the recording prompted the police to turn over Simon's old apartment but unfortunately they found nothing, except for empty food cans and discarded Chinese takeaway wrappers.

CCTV monitoring stations across London were now in receipt of the details of the two stolen vehicles and were rigorously piecing together various captured images to get an idea of where the assailants were heading. They acted fast and had soon established a route confirming both vehicles had exited the M25 at Junction 28.

The next step was to use camera images from bridge surveillance units and, after seeing where the transit van and the Jaguar exited the main roads, it was clear they were headed for Billericay. Although a rare occurrence, the police had seen this type of operation before. They were almost certain the perpetrators would be looking for somewhere with empty space: a derelict house, a closed down shop; there were many possibilities.

A line of flashing red and blue lights were a warning to the public to make way as officers in response cars and on motorcycles threaded their way from Twickenham to the M25. The Essex police had deployed their EC-135 support helicopter to assist with air surveillance and two ambulances had been dispatched from the Chelmsford and Essex Hospital.

It was a short operation. The three officers in the air had spotted two stationary vehicles close to a disused barn. They utilised the helicopters enhanced vision systems to zoom in close to make sure they had the correct vehicles before relaying the information to the cars, motorcycles and ambulances on the ground. They had no way of knowing if the group inside the barn were armed so made the decision to remain airborne until the police convoy approached.

Half a mile from Dark Wood Farm lights flashed and sirens blared from the convoy as they neared their target. The helicopter began to descend to a green area close to where the two vehicles were parked and the moment the landing skids touched the ground the officers saw backup arrive all around them as they climbed out.

The rotting damp door of the barn flew open and broke away from its hinges as Lanying kicked her way out of the building. She knew they were greatly outnumbered so, holding a large knife firmly in the air, she ran screaming towards them. She covered only a few metres before an officer opened fire. Lanying cried out as the bullet sliced through her forearm and she fell down onto the muddy ground. Having nowhere to run and, surrounded by police officers pointing guns directly at them, Guang, Huojin and Ming-Tun were apprehended. They had their weapons seized and were cuffed and led to the rear of a police vehicle.

On the soaked ground Lanying was angrily swaying her knife, trying to keep the police at distance. 'Do you want me to shoot you in the leg too?' an officer asked. She dropped the weapon and her hands were cuffed tightly behind her back before being led away to a waiting ambulance. Paramedics looked at her arm and confirmed it to be nothing more than a flesh wound.

After stepping inside the barn the police were shocked at the scene in front of them. 'Bring them in for questioning,' a senior officer ordered, gesturing to the five tied men facing the far wall. Five officers completed the task of escorting the goons to two cars. The mafia were relieved to be away from the triads but for how long?

Tom, George and Simon expressed tears of joy as the remaining police and ambulance staff rushed to the three chairs. The gun had been empty all along and they were all alive and overwhelmed that their torment was finally over. They were untied and told to sit still while the paramedics checked their injuries. 'We're both OK,' George said speaking for himself and Tom. 'It's Simon, he...'

'We'll need to get you to hospital,' one of the paramedics said when he saw the bloodied left side of Simon's chair and traced the drying trail to his hand. 'I think it would be advisable for all three of you to go. We can get you cleaned up and give you some clothes from lost property,' he offered.

It took them several minutes to get to theirfeet and, after George had retrieved Tom's house keys from the floor, theywalked out of the barn and noticed that the harsh rain had turned into a minordrizzle that trickled down upon them. It felt so fresh and at that moment theywere happier than ever to be alive.