Bab’s New-year’s Resolution 31.

List of Characters.
Barbara. Chief Protagonist AKA Bab’s.
Lola. (Seventeen) Transgendered girl rescued by Bab’s from an
attempted murder.

Olivia. (Fifteen) Barbara’s second adopted daughter: Black lesbian
fostered out of care then adopted. (With Olivia’s consent!)

Joyce Banks. Bristol Social worker.
Aaron Talbot Surgical registrar – married to -
Shirley Talbot Lecturer at Local university.
They are a married couple who own a narrow-boat on the canal.

Mickey Talbot (Twelve) Aaron and Shirley’s oldest child.
Jessica Talbot (Eleven) Aaron & Shirley’s middle child.
Bianca Talbot (Nine) Aaron & Shirley’s Youngest child.
Billy Medical colleague of Aaron’s – he also owns a narrow boat
Sandra Her parents also own another Narrowboat in Gloucester.
Jackie Sandra’s friend (a bit headstrong and ‘adventurous’)
Julie Third member of the threesome.
Jason. (Black) Gang member deals in drugs at the children’s homes
Tyrone (Black) Also a gang member, friend of Jason. Also a dealer.
Tyson (White) Also a gang member into drugs and trafficking girls.
Angela (Angie), Olivia’s trafficked, drug-addicted friend.
Sergeant Davis, (Bridie) female police bodyguard for Angela.
Sergeant Davies. (Brian) Bridie’s twin brother.
Inspector John, Heading up the anti-rape-gang operation in Birmingham.
Erica. Another vitally important witness/victim. Very attractive.
Gareth Jenkins, police office trained in firearms and witness protection.
Belinda Harrington. Lola’s new girlfriend in college.
Maxwell Barker Boy with camera-phone who posted Erica’s picture on Facebook

Bab’s New Year’s Resolution 31.

On the bus journey home the mood was one of subdued curiosity as other children from other classes and years kept glancing at the armed policewoman.

Her presence had finally brought home to the students the seriousness of Max Barker’s stupid stunt with his phone and face book. Finally the bus set the three girls and their guard down at the last stop above the lane down to Canal Cottage and the four arrived at the cottage as the ‘builders/police guards’ were finishing for the night.

“Gosh! Look at that.” Olivia remarked as she stood at the edge of the foundation trench. “They’ve already excavated the footings, where’s all the earth gone?”

“Over here, they’ve made a sort of peninsular into the marsh.” Angela observed as she walked behind the cottage and across the moored narrow-boat.”

After checking out the development, they went inside the cottage to find Bab’s and Sergeant Bridie studying the plans.

“Is that what it’ll look like?” Erica wondered.

“Pretty much so,” Bab’s replied. The idea is to have the extension blend in harmoniously with the old cottage stone.

After eating dinner the girls retreated to their various sleeping arrangements which had become even more complex now that there were two narrow boats housing four armed police in addition to sergeants Bridie and Brian. Arrangements were going to be crowded until the extension was completed. Erica’s decision to share Lola’s bed was now accepted as it made the logistics of protection easier to have the girls all together inside the stone cottage.

That first night, as Erica spooned into Lola, she asked; “D’ you think the gang is casing the joint to try and find a weak point?”

“Possibly babes,” Lola replied, “but so long as we don’t wander off alone, we should be safe. It’s only until the trial in June. Now cwtch up and go to sleep.”

Erica did not need much persuading and she inveigled her derriere tighter against Lola’s tummy to share the warmth. It was still frosty for the cottage was in the grip of winter and during the night it snowed – again.

ooo000ooo

“Will the builders be working this morning?”

“Probably not,” Bab’s opined. “They’ll have trouble getting the mixer lorry down the lane unless they use the small one and that’ll take about four journeys.”

“Which will tear up the lane and the towpath,” Lola added. “I worked on a building site the summer before last and builder’s lorries make a hell of a mess.”

With that Bridie’s phone rang and she declared the news.

“No building today. Only reliefs for the guards. They’ll be here at ten but we’ll be gone to school by then.”

“What in this!” Olivia almost screeched.

“We’ve got the Land-rover and two armed guards. You can’t afford to miss school. You’ve missed too much already., especially Erica.”

“I’d prefer to be in school anyway, better than sitting here twiddling my thumbs.” Erica declared.”

“Damned Land-rover,” Olivia mumbled, “it’s just too bloody useful.”

“You won’t be saying that next month when you’re old enough to get your provisional license.” Lola grinned. “Especially with me back in uni.”
Olivia fell silent at the thought of learning to drive and she looked hopefully at Bab’s who nodded with a smile.

“Yes, there’s funds enough for you to have driving lessons. Your foster-care money has seen to that. Same goes for Angie and Erica on their birthdays as well.”

At this news, the mood around the table improved appreciably and preparations for school were quickly completed. The girls were looking forward to another snowy adventure driving the Land-rover up the slippery snow-covered lane.

They arrived to find the school open but almost empty as many families had decided not to attend because of the snow. Not everybody owned a sturdy four-by-four set of wheels. As a consequence they received additional attention from what few staff had also made it in.

The snow-storm continued through most of the morning and when they arrived home that afternoon, they were again forced to leave the Land-rover at the top of the steep lane. Bridie phoned Bab’s and confirmed the safety password in their conversations and the girls walked down the slippery lane in snow over a foot deep. Never was the heat from the kitchen stove more welcome as fingers and toes were toasted gratefully while hot drinks were consumed.

Over the next week, the snow slowly thawed and the school term settled down to its normal routine save for the police escort business. Lola went back up to Cambridge, Olivia started driving lessons and nothing untoward happened to cause any concern.

Eventually Bridie received the dates for the trial and the tensions increased towards the dates as everybody realised that the girls would be at a specific location at an exact time.

“Don’t worry Erica.” Inspector Jon assured her. “You’ll be well protected and you’ll not be expected to stand on the court steps to face a crowd. You’ll arrive in one of the armoured vans but it won’t be a prison van. There will be a lot of armoured prison vans around so yours won’t stand out.”

“How many are there on trial?” Erica asked

“Thirty six for the first trial but we haven’t completed investigations for the follow-on trial yet. There may be another twenty or so in that one.”

“And then there’s the European trials.” Erica added thoughtfully. “I’ll be giving evidence until next bloody Christmas!”
Inspector John nodded sympathetically.

“You’ll be well looked after girl. Society owes you that!”

“Except they can’t cure my HIV!”

Inspector John and Sergeant Bridie’s face clouded slightly as that issue surfaced while Bridie gave her a hug and replied softly.

“Sorry love. Nobody can apologise enough for that. Let’s hope there’ll be a cure for that someday.”

Because the school terms were so uneventful and the police presence had become ‘the norm’ all three girls made good progress with their various academic endeavours.. By the time the GCSE exams came around the girls were actually looking forward to them. Erica particularly had come on exceptionally well because when she was preparing her various and numerous statements for the forthcoming trials, she received a lot of coaching from the German policeman who was handling the biggest European case in Hamburg. Erica’s German, English and geography improved enormously as he discussed her various travels while being hired out by the kidnap gangs.

Eventually as the summer grew hotter, and the cottage extension neared completion, the date for the court trial was set to accommodate the girls GCSE exams. Once all their exams were completed by May/June a legal dispensation was issued releasing the girls from attending school between completion of exams and the end of the academic term. The three girls and Bab’s were sequestered in a secure location in Birmingham then transported daily to court by armed escort.

By this time, the girls were sufficiently involved in the case to know that the security endeavours by the police were not some sort of over-the-top games. They all knew the risks to be real.

This was made abundantly clear when, on the very first morning of the trial, a heavy calibre bullet-hole appeared in court-house front door less than a foot from Sergeant Bridie’s head. The assassin had obviously mistaken Bridie’s strawberry blond hair for Erica’s ash blond tresses.

The sniping rifle was silenced and it was several seconds before the crowds realised what had happened. Then pandemonium broke out after the bullet had smashed through the heavy wooden door and embedded itself into the bottom of the security detector just inside the hall.
Erica was of course ignorant of the immediate events because she had been slipped into the building by a side door. On learning of the attack, the judge immediately suspended the hearings then ordered a platoon of armed SAS troopers to bolster the armed police guard. When the case was resumed the following week, the courthouse resembled a fortress.

On realising the dangers associated with trying to reach the witness during the trial, the rape gang decided to try and kill the witness by locating where the girls were being ensconced and somehow bombing the house. There plan might have worked except for the sharp eyes of the SAS sergeant who was secretly monitoring the apartment block even while Bab’s and the girls were attending court. Two women were caught trying to pass as cleaners while secreting the bomb in the foyer of the apartment block. The sergeant had deemed it strange that the pair had simply entered the block then emerged only a few moments later without obviously having even gone into the lifts.

He had alerted the police monitoring the street cameras and the women had been tracked back to the car where the two trigger-men were waiting to detonate the bomb – probably when the girls returned from court.

Pre-prepared protection plans were enabled and the two trigger men were shot through the windscreen of the car before they realised they had been rumbled. The two females were arrested before they could get to the bomb trigger-phone that had fallen into the foot-well of the front passenger seat. The sniper’s rifle was also found in the boot of the car.
“Shades of Afghanistan!” The SAS sergeant declared when he re-joined the troopers who had done the shooting.
Intensive investigations eventually connected the murder squad to two of the high ranking defendants in the second trial even while the first trial was coming to a conclusion.

Erica’s evidence had proved essential to securing the convictions in the first trial and the police had high hopes of securing the convictions in the second trial despite determined efforts to secure diplomatic immunity for the two.

Murder, kidnap and rape are crimes that are not covered by diplomatic immunity.

After the first trial was completed, the girls felt they could relax but their hopes were soon to be allayed. Even as they left the courtroom, Inspector John met them in the armoured van and reluctantly wiped the smiles off their faces.

“We’re certainly not out of the wood yet girls. The big boys have now realised there is no way to bribe or corrupt the courts so it is my belief that they will make more determined efforts to have a go at you between now and the second trial. I believe you to be in greater danger now than ever because they will be getting desperate. There is also the diplomatic/political angle. Some of the defendants are very well connected to certain royal families and political dynasties. It could get messy.”

“Thanks inspector, Erica grumbled despondently.” Just what I needed to make my day. This should have been one of the happiest days of my life. I’ve got requital and compensation for my injuries. Now you’ve just ruined it.”

“I know Erica, and I’m deeply sorry but you have to be aware. When all this is over, we might have to give you a new identity.”

“Oh thanks. Does that mean I have to leave the Canal Cottage.?”

“Hopefully not, though I can't promise anything on that front. If you do have to use witness protection you’ll get to choose your own new name lust like Lola has.”

“Yeah. Except that I like my name Erica and I like Canal cottage.

ooo000ooo