Bab’s New Year’s Resolution 33.

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 I-phone who posted Erica’s picture on Facebook

Chapter 33.

On the journey back to the safe hotel Erica was quiet. As they sat ‘three abreast’ in the battered old transit van, Bridie sensed Erica’s silent worries and gently reached behind her to squeeze cautioning fingers into Inspector John’s shoulder to advise him not to invade the girl’s thoughts. When they arrived at the hotel suite, Erica immediately sought out Olivia and Angela for a mutual support that Bridie knew she could not offer. Only the three girls had shared in the horrors of the care home and the paedophile rape gangs. That sharing gave them entitlement to a mutual, intimate support.

As Bridie wrote up her notes, she could hear murmuring coming from Olivia and Angela’s bedroom at first. Later she heard some cursing then finally some sobbing. Obviously the three girls were sharing some painful experiences. Eventually, Bridie felt bound to check up on them. She made some coffee and opened a packet of chocolate oatmeal biscuits then gently tapped on the bedroom door.

“Who is it?” Olivia demanded somewhat irritably.

“Who d ‘you think it is?” Bridie responded. “Father Christmas? I’ve made you some mugs of coffee and a large plate of choccie biccies.”

There was a suppressed giggle then Angie responded.

“Okay. Come in.”

Finding the three girls in only their knickers, bras and tights, lying on the big double bed that Olivia and Angela shared; did not phase Bridie one jot. Bridie fully recognised the girls’ needs need for close physical contact without any fears of unwanted abuse or over-invasive intimacy. She put down the tray of mugs and biscuits while the girls remained loosely entangled on the bed.

Olivia was in the centre lying on her back while Angela was on her stomach with her head draped across Olivia’s chest. Erica was lying on her side with her head resting on Olivia’s tummy and their legs were loosely tangled under the sheet. Bridie immediately realised that the intimacy was strictly a mutual support arrangement. She settled on the corner of the bed and asked.

“Are things better now?”

“A bit,” Erica volunteered. “Can I stay with these two tonight?”

“Don’t see why not. At least you won’t get pregnant. I’ll be in my usual bedroom. There’ll be all the usual suspects guarding the corridor outside.”

“Is that dishy German police inspector there?” Erica grinned.

“Be ’ave!” Bridie admonished her jokingly. “D ‘you want to eat out tonight; just us four?”

“And a dozen armed guards,” Angela added.

“Your choice girls; at least you won’t get mugged.”

“Can we do a Maccie-D’s?” Olivia begged.

“Eeeeh! I bloody knew it.” Bridie sighed resignedly. “It’ll have to be out of town though. The city’s not safe, too many eyes around.”

There was a joyous response followed by a merry-go-round of showers, hair-care, fashion parade and finally make-up sessions before the girls assembled in the main living room. Bridie cast an affectionate eye over the outrageous outfits and wagged her head in mock despair.

“We’re not going clubbing girls, just a Mac Donald’s’.”

“Spoil-sport!” Olivia charged jokingly as she pulled out her tongue.

“Would that we could girls,” Bridie admitted. “After all this is over.”

With those words, they collected a couple of guards and slipped away to find a Maccie D’s suitably far from the city to avoid scrutiny and recognition.

ooo000ooo

The following afternoon, as the four were joined by Bab’s and Lola; Bridie got a call from her superiors. She was sharing a genteel pot of tea with Bab’s while Erica, Lola, Olivia and Angela where trying on clothes and generally indulging in female fun. Bridie picked up her phone to find Inspector John and a high ranking deputy chief constable on the other end.”

“We’re increasing the surveillance and protection for the girls.”

“Uh oh. What don’t I know.”

“The pictures on Erica’s memory card. The man in several of the photo’s is none other than Abdul Ibn Saud.”

“Enlighten me.” Bridie wondered.

“He’s a grandson of the Saudi King and he’s already done time for assaulting a transgender student in Cambridge a few years ago.”

“Is he dangerous?” Bridie asked.

“He’s a bit of a thug and quite violent, but as a member of that family, he’s got a lot of financial clout and resources. Only a few months ago another of that family organised an attack on a Saudi Dissident right in the middle of London. They mostly don’t usually do the violence themselves but they hire in some very tasty bastards to do their work for them.

Abdul is something of an exception though; in as much as he often accompanies his thugs”

“What else do we know?”

“Where sex is concerned, Abdul likes them young and he’s not particular whether male or female.”

“So Erica -?”

“Would have been right up his street when she was trapped. I’m coming over tomorrow with several bods from the foreign office. Apparently Abdul’s in some sort of trouble up in Yorkshire right now. He attacked a stately home up in Yorkshire to try and avenge his being imprisoned for a transphobic assault on another student in Cambridge during his student days.”

“Good God! Tell me more.”

“Well he organised some jihadi thugs to attack the stately home because the student he tried to rape in Cambridge was a transgendered duke and he’s not just some sort of upper-class twit. He’s a bright boy, or should I say girl now and she’s a whizz with computers. Apparently she’s tied in closely with Cheltenham GCHQ and the CIA.”

“So how did this duke get tangled up in our case?”

“Our boffins were having trouble de-pixilating a clearer image from Erica’s memory card and he suddenly remembered this Duke guy from his GCHQ days. The Duke – or should I call her a Duchess now – has got full security clearance because she’s such a whizz with computers and she’s got a huge beef with the Saudis. All because of the assault by this Abdul fellow when the duchess was a transgendered student up at Cambridge.

Anyway, the story goes that she’s got a huge private file on the house of Saud but nobody can prove anything because she’s so canny with her computer security and it’s all locked away; both physically and electronically at her country pile in deepest Yorkshire. She has a file on just about every Saudi prince and princess going right down to the most mediocre, junior child.

When our boffin asked this trans-duchess a favour -they were at Cambridge together, - she was more than willing to enhance the pictures on Erica’s phone and run them through her personal computers with some facial-recognition software. It’s definitely Abdul Ibn Saud and this raises the stakes into the realms of high diplomacy.

What’s more, the duchess is even willing to testify as to Abdul’s identity and his proclivity for sexual violence. She says she doesn’t know or do much about the paedophilia angle but that’s probably to keep her files safe. The word paedophilia raises all sorts of alarm bells on the internet and she doesn’t want to fall foul of the data protection laws.

I tell you Bridie, this Trans-Duchess girl is the business, our American cousins apparently love her. Prepare for some shocks if she comes to court, and she might because this case is big!”

“Bloody hell!” Was all Bridie could say as she switched off her phone.

“Bad news?” Bab’s asked nervously.

“I don’t know, but they’re increasing the protection. Apparently this guy on Erica’s phone is a Saudi prince or something.”

“Is he the one organising this gang?”

“We don’t think he’s one of the big cheeses but he’s deeply entangled up with them somehow. The good news is he’s on remand up’ t north for this attack on some transgendered duchesses’ country pile. We can take Erica up to Yorkshire and she can run by an identity parade.”

“You’ll have to be quick, the trial resumes on Monday.”

“It’s already in hand, I’ve got to ask for Erica’s co-operation. I’m presuming it’s a given.”

“Let’s get to it then,” Bab’s agreed.

A knock on Lola’s bedroom door interrupted the girls’ fashion parade and Bab’s explained the situation to Erica while Bridie was now busy again on her phone.

“What in Yorkshire?” Erica squeaked. “But the trial resumes on Monday and it’s Friday afternoon now.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Bridie explained. “They’ve organised an identity parade for tomorrow morning in Leeds. You’ll be going up by chopper.”

“Oooh goodie! Another helicopter ride. Can all of us come?”

“I’ll have to check if there’s room. There’s a team of lawyers going up with us and of course the SAS guys plus your favourite German police inspector.”

“If the SAS are involved, I’ll bet they’ll use a chinook again.” Lola opined. “Then there’ll be plenty of room.”

“It’ll be nice to get out for once.” Olivia added. “Stuck in this luxury prison is sending us tonto.”

Bridie took the hint and made some more phone calls.

On the flimsy pretext that Angela might also recognise Abdul Ibn Saud the girls blagged another trip in the chinook. Bab’s forewent the opportunity as she contemplated a quiet Saturday in the hotel.

The next morning – Saturday, the Chinook whick-whocked noisily down to a waiting South Yorkshire police mini-bus and everybody was hustled quickly to the central police station. There Erica and Angela were escorted to the identification suite and it took but a few moments for Erica to confirm that the man in the pictures on her phone was the same man she had encountered in Amsterdam and Berlin during her transportation across Europe to Turkey.

Angelic reckoned she could vaguely remember seeing him once in Nottingham but she was not certain. When she expressed her uncertainties the officer asked if she could remember any dates and her vague recollections did tally with the dates when Abdul has been in England as shown by the stamps in his passport. Her evidence was deemed circumstantial enough to be included in the prosecutor’s evidence.

Erica’s evidence was however deemed prima-facia proof and when she matched her telephone pictures to photographs of some background scenery to a location she could remember in Berlin; the German police inspector gave a low whoop of satisfaction.

“This is dynamite frauline. Danke, danke Danke! It puts him at the scene of a serious crime we have been trying to solve for months!”

“Is he the one who attacked that trans-Duchess girl.?” Erica asked out of sheer curiosity.

“Yes. She’s down in the interview suite right now.” Bridie confirmed. “Do you want to meet her?”

“I bet Lola will. She’ll have loads of questions about trans stuff.”

“I’m curious as well,” Olivia interrupted. “Being as Angie and I are lezzy, I want to know why she’s still married to his wife.”

“Her wife!” Lola corrected her. “She’ll be like me, still attracted to women despite the transition thing. Come on, let’s go down and meet them.

ooo000ooo