(aka Bike) Part 1978 by Angharad Copyright © 2013 Angharad
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“Oh there you are, I thought I’d lost you for a moment.” She caught up with me, “Where d’you want to go now?”
“In there,” I pointed at the large wooden door.”
“What for?”
“I believe at least one if not both the perpetrators of the attack on my son and his friend are in there.”
“How can you know that?”
“Intuition–I saw it in a dream last night and I saw the faces of the men who did it.”
She practically choked then gave me a suspicious look. “C’mon, the stress is making you feel strange things.”
“One of them is in there.”
I stood there practically ready to stamp my foot to emphasise my point, but Minette’s mobile rang. She answered it and then came back to me. “They’ve identified one of the attackers from DNA he left behind.”
I suddenly felt quite sick when I thought about where they might have taken the sample.
Seeing this she hastily added, “It was on Danny’s clothing.”
“What’s the suspect’s name and can they send us a photo?”
“I can but ask,” she walked away a little and jabbered into her phone. “James will do it, but it will take some time.”
I noticed a woman peering through her net curtains at us, then an idea came to mind. “Find out who owns that house,” I instructed Minette.
“’Ow do I do that?”
“Ask the lady in that house,” I indicated the one with the window facing the large wooden door.
“As you wish,” she pressed on the bell, then again and again before the woman eventually answered the door. I wasn’t sure if she was angry or frightened. Minette and she argued for several minutes.
Minette’s phone peeped and she looked at it, “This ’im,” she showed me the screen of her phone and it was one of the two men I’d seen in my ‘vision’.
“Yes, show it to the lady, ask her if she’s seen anyone like him go in that door? Offer her money.”
Minette did as I asked and eventually the woman admitted that she had seen the man or someone like him go into the house beyond the heavy wooden door.
“Ask her if we can sit in her house and watch the door, tell her I’ll give her a hundred euros.”
Minette sighed but did as I asked her and the woman thought about it. Eventually she nodded and I took two fifty euro bills from my purse. I asked Minette to explain why we were there and that she wouldn’t be mentioned to anyone.
As she heard about the attack, she spat angrily and said something which I suspect was a curse at the attackers, then she walked up to me and offered me my money back. I refused and pushed it back into her hands, she thanked me and went deeper into the house.
We sat for an hour and she returned with two cups of coffee, handed them to us with some small cakes and left us to our vigil. It helped me to stay awake and suddenly, there was movement. A car pulled up and the man sitting beside the driver was the other one–the other man from my dream–my heart leapt, could they both be here?
“Call James and tell him at least one of the men is in there and to inform the police. I think I saw him carrying a gun.”
“Oh no,” she wailed then made the call. “This is so bad,” she said as she finished her call. “The man who owns that ’ouse, is the brother of the mayor. They’ll never get a permit to enter.”
I took out my Blackberry, I could just about get a signal. I speed dialled Henry. On a very difficult connection I explained our problem and asked him to arrange the permit quickly or bankrupt the city, I wasn’t too bothered either way. “No pressure, eh, Cathy?” was his parting shot.
The car had dropped the passenger–the second man–at the door and he went inside, the car then drove off faster than I would have in the narrow alley. James called us, “The police were very interested until they heard the address, then they suddenly developed a deep apathy when they said they’d never get arrest and search permits. James was still on the case though and was trying to speak to someone higher up the food chain. I asked Minette to relay to him that Henry was going to call the French minister for justice, whom he vaguely knew.
“He liked that,” said Minette smiling. “You move in ’igh circles, yes?”
“I don’t unless it’s in an aircraft queuing over Heathrow,” she laughed at my reply, “but I know a man who does.”
“Henri–yes?”
“Yes, my father in law.”
“’E is important, no?”
“He thinks he is, I think he’s lovely.” She laughed again at my joke.
“One hour,” said Minette after her phone rang again, “they are assembling a swit squad–the gendarmerie–yes?”
“A swat team?”
“Ah, that is what I meant.” She blushed and shook her head.
A little later our temporary landlady asked if there was anything she could get us, I shook my head but suggested Minette tell her to close the shutters in a few minutes, it was going to get rough.
What showed us the hour was up was the sound of the helicopter, circling above us. I told the lady to shut her shutters, she dashed out unbolted them and drew them across the windows. Then the ground troops arrived. Two motorcycle gendarmes came down the alleyway and took up position beyond our house, presumably to keep people out of the action.
A couple of police cars, arrived and stopped either side of the door. Then as I looked, dozens of armed police seemed to be everywhere. They knocked on the doors of the surrounding houses and told their residents to stay away from the windows.
Then they banged on the door and in moments there was lots of shouting going on. Obviously the people in the house told them to clear off, or the French equivalent and suddenly something was lowered from the sky–a rope with a grappling hook. They attached it to the base of the door, it just slid underneath or a couple of the prongs did, and suddenly the noise of the helicopter straining and then of the door being ripped off and part of the wall going with it. Some of the police had to jump out of the way of the falling masonry, some of which hit one of the police cars.
Police stormed into the hole in the wall, with lots of shouting. Then shots rang out. More shots and police came dashing back out of the hole, taking up defensive positions. Shouts went back and fore with exchanges of fire every now and again.
Finally, police in body armour turned up and after stun grenades were hurled they stormed the building and more shots were heard. The shooting went on for several minutes and then one of the police came out and waved in some others including someone who looked to be in charge of the operation.
As we watched James appeared with another man whom I recognised as one of his team. The commander emerged from the building and spoke to James, who nodded. I asked Minette to call him and she did. It was deemed safe, so we thanked the lady for the use of her house and we walked up to James who introduced me to the man in charge.
“I don’t see any prisoners?” I said peering into the debris.
“Alas there are none,” shrugged the commander.
“Oh, dear–why didn’t they surrender?”
The commander shrugged and apologised before walking away indicating to James to get me away. James grabbed my arm and pulled me away, “C’mon, Cathy, let’s be having you...”
“The last time I heard anything about you, you were in South America...” I challenged him.
“Ah, that’s a long story...”
Comments
Glad Cathy did the "right" thing
and let the police handle it. Helpful to know people who know people.
Now, for the town mayor who was obviously shielding his brother the criminal. If they had guns with them beside being rapists they were almost certainly involved in other activities. Not clear whether Cathy actually saw a gun or just "thought" she saw a gun but seems like the police must have seen one or more.
Now -
1) Lets hope the mayor doesn't set his pet police off against Cathy
2) Get back to Danny and make sure he's safe and comforted as only a Mom can.
*heh* Considering the gunfire
*heh*
Considering the gunfire coming from inside the house, I'd say there was at _least_ one gun.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Danny, and James
The first thing Cathy needs to do take care of Danny. And it sounds as though we might get caught up on what James was doing. It is nice to have him again, though even if we never learn what went on in South America. At least Cortez didn't kill him.
Don't let someone else talk you out of your dreams. How can we have dreams come true, if we have no dreams?
Katrina Gayle "Stormy" Storm
OMG! Cathy actually waiting for the police?
No AK's or longbows (although the French are generally more suspicious of the latter for some strange reason)?
No roundhouse kicks?
No threats to pensions (apart from the entire city of course, but that doesn't really count)?
Charmingly direct as always. Thank you Angharad
Persephone
Persephone
Non sum qualis eram
Unintentional teamwork
Cathy directs the police to the perpetrators (with a little aid from Shekinah), while the involvement of James and the killing of the perpetrators ensures Si gets his (bloodthirsty) wish. Talking of James, it sounds as though we'll soon have an update on Cortez - maybe it will turn out he had connections with the pair responsible for this incident...
Meanwhile, (a) the Mayor's going to be in hot water, (b) given the presence of a helicopter and SWAT team in the city, it's going to be big news (at least locally) the following day. It might be a good idea to pull some more strings and get Danny, Peter (and probably the entire party) back to the UK asap. Then it might be a good idea for Cathy to put her amateur psychotherapist hat on for both boys.
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
My only disappointment...
...is that the demise of the men who hurt the kids may have happened before the authorities could determine if they were the only ones involved. But I suspect that information might be forthcoming anyway. It's always difficult for me when I read about such things; not a complaint at all, but just part of life. The troubling part in all of this may be that evil men (and women) will do what they will. We can only hope that they are caught sooner rather than later.
Love, Andrea Lena
A little more empathy from Danny?
I don't think he was as understanding of women and such and maybe this will help in that regard, as horrible as the lesson may be.
Now the healing has to begin for both boys.
Kim
I'm sorry...
...I could not disagree with you more. No lesson to be learned is worth the price those kids had to pay. I would that he remained blissfully ignorant and mildly chauvinistic rather than suffer what he did. Any hurt and suffering can bring about good, if we cooperate and learn. But nobody ever needed teaching so bad as to be brutalized thus by another human being.
Love, Andrea Lena
Gotta agree Andrea
This is a sick way for a decent kid to learn a "lesson". Heck, his previous behavior is pretty normal for a boy his age, he didn't deserve this, especially not as a lesson. I know how Danny feels right now, been there, have the mental scars. Cathy, take Danny and go home, he needs you now and you need to be strong for him; he'll be a long time healing. The body will heal quickly, the mind may never. :-(
"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin
Did not say it was worth it
Did I?
I am just stating it as a possible outcome, unintended as it may be, and one learns from an experience whether it is due to a good experience or not. I clearly stated it was a horrible thing so please do not take what I said in the worst possible light, a value judgement you are not entitled to make as you do not know me.
Of course I do not approve of rape but there it is.
Kim
What possible good?
I don't think he was as understanding of women and such and maybe this will help in that regard
I'm not making a value judgement on you; I think the world of you. And of course I know you don't approve of rape. I just don't see how being raped could help the boy gain a better understanding of women. What better understanding could he and the other boy gain about women by being brutalized? I see absolutely no benefit whatsoever, and that's where I guess I disagree.
Love, Andrea Lena
Point is men in general do NOT understand a woman's life
well.
The horrible percentage of woman who have been raped is so blithely ignored by a lot of men, not all men of course but I doubt men want to acknowledge the extent of the problem. Danny has peripherally experienced one of the downsides and fears us women have to live with. He has been getting further and further away from the girls in the family and while that is part of what he perceives as being individuated as a boy, he does not want to or care to understand the role he so blithely expects a woman to play in the world and in his life.
Look, boys do NOT have rape in their radar typically. My mother certainly let me do a lot of things that she would never have let me if I was born a girl as rape is a possibility, shoot event then some chicken hawk thought he could touch me (and he was a filthy asshole to boot, gah!) The only sliver of a 'silver lining' in all this is to gain an understanding of the vulnerability and fear of a woman's life. Now that has happened to him, hopefully he can understand their reality better and maybe talk with his sisters and and be more considerate of how women carry on and do things despite having to live with such vulnerabilities. It is, again, not something that should happen to anyone. Personally I think rapists should be neutered and then fed their own testicles but we can't have everything. It is a horrible way to learn about something that for the most part are women who live in such fear.
Kim
Don't forget...
...that before Danny arrived at Cathy's home, he was resident in the same children's home that Trish came from, which wasn't exactly the nicest of environments to grow up in. Then there's a strong suggestion he was assaulted by his dad before coming to the home:
Also bear in mind his current situation: he's the only boy in the household, so probably feels that from time to time he has to assert his masculinity (especially as he's determined not to follow the example of several others in the household...) For male role models, he's got his friends at school, Si (who probably can't devote as much of his free time to entertaining Danny as Danny would like) and Tom (the grandpa figure). The house is an old farmhouse, so it isn't as though Danny can literally pop around the corner to a friend's house - most live down the hill in the city itself.
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
Why was Danny and his friend
attacked? Who were the scum? Does this have anything to do with Cortez and the return of james?
May Your Light Forever Shine
Cruel necessity
If it had to be done that way then so be it. I'd have thought, tear gas and several stun grenades might have been tried first but perhaps the Mayor didn't want to be embarrassed or scandalised, ipso facto a convenient pair of deaths;- cruel necessity.
Thanks Ang.
Still lovin' it.
Bevs.
XX
Ohhh...
Not a 'nice' solution to the problem, but apparently a solution.
Wonder if there'll be any publicity about what was happening... And the initial delay caused by who one of the perps was (aka - relation to the Mayor). Could it, by chance, impact the mayor's chance at re-election?
Thanks,
Annette