Escaping the Cradle

by Karen Page

Part 48

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Part 48
DATE:FC+173

"Wake up," was what Ashleigh heard as she came to. It was still dark outside. "Uh?" was her befuddled reaction.

She glanced up and saw all nine of them standing in her doorway. She then heard the sound of gunshots. Suddenly she was very awake.

"Let's move the settees to block the doors," Ashleigh suggested. "I don't want us being shields in a gunfight."

The children stood there not moving, fear etched all over their faces.

Ashleigh didn't wait but jumped out of bed and headed towards the settees. Hopefully action would demonstrate her purpose. They followed behind, like small animals following a parent. When she started to drag one of the settees, a few got the other side and together they lumbered it in front of the first door. This was the entrance they used when the children visited clients.

When she turned, other children were tugging at the second settee, moving it towards the other door. Ashleigh grimaced. It would slow them down but wouldn't stop them. But hopefully it would give time for them not to be involved in any altercation.

The walls inside were paper thin. If a bullet got in, there was a good chance it would hit someone. There were only two rooms with solid walls. The bathroom and the kitchen. The kitchen didn't have a door, but the bathroom did.

"Into the bathroom," she called, not wanting any of them to be caught in gunfire. The few that spoke good English weren't translating. They seem stunned. She repeated it in Hytuna, adding "The walls protect us."

They got that, especially when there was sound of gunfire a lot closer. Ashleigh turned off the lights in the lounge, trying to make it seem like nobody was there. In the bathroom, it was a tight squeeze. Two of them ended up sitting in the tub. There were murmurs of apprehension. A few were silently crying, but that was it. The mutterings died down, as they all strained to hear anything closer.

All they heard was their own heartbeats and the shallow breathing of those sat close by.

"Are we being rescued?" Antonia asked in English.

Mark responded, "It might be a rival gang."

"Shush," whispered Ashleigh, glad that the others didn't understand English that well.

The thud of someone trying to force open the outer door to the lounge broke the silence. Leo whimpered and he was hushed.

Ashleigh's heartrate picked up as the thudding came again, and turned into a steady rhythm. It ended with the sound of the settee scraping across the floor. A light was seen reflected in the gap under the door, and they held their breaths.

"GIGN! Ne bougez pas! Police! Stay where you are!"

The multilingual call was repeated, the volume higher as they made their way towards the bathroom.

The bathroom door was tried, and Ashleigh braced her feet against it. There was no lock. The children cowered, trying to curl up as small as possible. There was no attempt at the door again. The sound of the calling wasn't as loud as they moved to check other areas.

Without warning, a deep male voice said, "Ashleigh Thompson, this is the French Police."

They were back and she hadn't heard them creep up. Ashleigh didn't say anything, just braced herself against the door as well as she could. They knew her name, which was a surprise.

They didn't say anything else, but she could still see the light underneath the door. It was brighter, like they'd turned on the main light.

"Ashleigh Thompson, please let us in. I know you will be nervous, but I'm told to say Pink Ducks."

"Don't let them in," Antonia begged.

"How many are you looking for?" Ashleigh asked loudly, surprising herself.

"Ten children and you."

"They don't know about Veronique," Mark whispered. "That's not our captors."

"They said the magic words, and they don't know how many there are. I'm going to stop blocking the door."

Ashleigh moved and positioned herself over as many of the children as she could. "I'm not blocking the door," she called.

The door opened slowly, creaking due to lack of maintenance. "We are here to rescue you all. You're safe now."

Ashleigh moved to look out. Someone dressed in black, an emblem high on his left arm was sat on the floor. He'd removed his helmet and balaclava. Leaning up, so she had a better view, she saw other men, in tactical gear, their backs to them, guns pointing to the door, as if they were ready to fire on anybody coming in.

"I'm Captain Laurent Moreau. We're here to help you."

"They'll make us go back to our parents," Mark said, still bitter. "They sent us to this fake camp."

Laurent said something in French and Mark started to sob. Whatever he'd said had comforted the children, and they started to get up.

As they filed out of the bathroom, Ashleigh said softly, "There's only nine left. One was killed before I was able to look after them."

"Who?" he asked, getting to his feet.

"Someone called Veronique."

"I'm sending for a doctor to check you all out," he said, and then talked on his radio.

Ashleigh moved close to him and said quietly. "They've all been raped. They'll need counselling as well."

"The doctors being brought up now. I'll warn her when she arrives. I don't want to announce it on the radio."

"Is your team okay?" Ashleigh asked, feeling less stressed. "None of you died rescuing us, did you?"

Laurent looked surprised. "No. We're all fine."

The children looked unsettled, so Ashleigh went to sit with them. She let them know what was happening, telling them in English and then Hytuna.

"I'm going to miss you teaching us," said Eloise in broken Hytuna.

"Work hard, and you'll all do well. There are new opportunities going to be opening up across the galaxy! You've survived this, so you'll survive anything."

When the doctor was told, she decided to just make sure they were fit to be moved. A specialist team would be ready for them when they got back to France. Ashleigh explained the buddy system to the doctor. She nodded and said they would keep them with their buddies. A familiar system during extraction.

And that is how they went out. A pair of soldiers at the front, the buddy groups with a soldier accompanying each group. Ashleigh brought up the rear, accompanied by a pair of soldiers.

"Keep your eyes on the people in front," Captain Moreau suggested.

Ashleigh realised why as they went down the corridor. There were splatters of blood on the walls, and probably on the floor. Thankfully there weren't any bodies.

The silence of the march out was oppressive. Suddenly the soldier at the front started, "Frère Jacques. Frère Jacques. Dormez-vous ?"

The soldier next to him joined in, and soon the whole group was singing the old nursery rhyme, all the way to the exit.

There were extra people in the courtyard. Not just French, but also local police. Ashleigh took in a deep breath. It was the first taste of freedom, and she wanted to savour it.

As they went towards the waiting minibuses, there was sudden action. Gunfire erupted from the distant treeline. And grenades containing smoke bombs scattered in the courtyard.

The were shouts, and Ashleigh saw the soldiers rushing to get the children safely onto the transport. A pair of hands reached through the thickening fog and pulled her out. It was the guard that spoke English. The one that got the clock for them.

He punched her and dragged her the opposite way. They disappeared around the corner, and out of sight. She wanted to scream, but she felt a blade against her throat.

"Make one sound, and I cut your throat."

Ashleigh blinked her eyes and stayed mute. He seemed very angry, and she didn't want to upset him more than he currently was.

He loosened the knife and dragged her to a waiting car and shoved her roughly into the back.

"Why me?" Ashleigh asked, as he set off at speed.

"What do you mean?" he said, slightly less gruffly than earlier.

"Why keep me. You put me with those children, but it didn't seem the plan. You weren't there when the soldiers invaded. Why take the risk to grab me like that?"

"We're being paid a lot of money to keep hold of you. Each week we have you, the more money we get. Now shut up. I might not be able to kill you, but I can make you wish you were dead."

All Ashleigh could see from the floor between the front and rear seats was the occasional flash of streetlights as she was transported somewhere. She hadn't had much sleep, and the second adrenaline rush appeared to be ending. This wasn't a night to remember.

The car wasn't modern. An early Toyota EV. The carpet in the back hadn't been recently swept nor washed. There was dust and grit pressed into her hands, and the smell was rather off-putting. She wasn't sure if it was the threats, or the smell that made her want to vomit.

She remembered Luke once telling her to blank her mind. That had worked when she'd been first kidnapped, and she tried the technique he'd given her again. Let it all wash over her. She couldn't do anything yet and should wait until she could.

The radio came on. She recognised the music from the 2000's. Someone who liked to listen to the classics. When the Kings of Leon started, she began to wish he had killed her.

She was suddenly jolted, and there was a loud bang.

Metal on metal.

She felt disorientated as the streetlights were moving in strange ways. The dizziness quickly dissipated as the car stopped.

Her kidnapper got out to confront whoever had crashed into them. Ashleigh raised her head slightly to see if he was far enough away that she could escape. The sound of a revolver being fired filled the night, and she saw her kidnapper fall to the ground. Quickly, Ashleigh lay back down. She didn't want the gunman to see her.

The rear car door opened, letting the night air flood over her. Ashleigh tried to curl up, but there wasn't enough space.

"Ash, are you okay?"

Ashleigh blinked and moved to look at her saviour. She knew that voice. There was only one person who called her Ash.

Tina held out her arm and helped Ashleigh to her feet. "We need to get out of here. The police will be on their way."

"Won't they help us?"

"Some are on his payroll," Tina said, pointing to the dead kidnapper, a single bullet hole in the centre of his forehead.

"Where are we going?" Ashleigh asked, as they half walked, half ran away from the area. Tina slowing her pace for her unfit sister.

"Somewhere safe."

Within two streets, the gun had been disposed of. By the time they reached the less seedy part of town, the gloves were history.

Ashleigh's mind was whirling. She had so many questions she wanted to ask Tina, but she didn't feel like now was the appropriate time.

"The easiest way for you to get out is with the children," Tina eventually said, as they got to a busier area. "They will be assessed locally, before being evacuated at first light."

"Are you coming with me?" Ashleigh asked.

Tina screwed up her face. "I can't. I know you want me to, but—"

"I'm frightened," Ashleigh admitted. "I dread being snatched again. The person who you killed said they were being paid to keep me. It sounded like a lot of money."

Tina came to a halt. "Change of plan. Come on, we need to get to the old mill before dawn. I hope you like hiking."

"You know me," Ashleigh grinned. "Any steep hills to climb?"

"No, thank goodness. You can't run without getting out of breath, but you sail up hills like they're not there. Becky's not going to be happy. Eos was used without her knowledge to get me in. Miss T didn't want to do it again. Something about maintaining trust. But if you've got some type of bounty on you, I don't think I can risk you getting a taxi."

Ashleigh nodded. "Yeah. Becky doesn't want it seen as anything but for science. It's bad enough that military and intelligence agencies have tried to get their hands on it. She is worried about it changing the balance."

"Miss T is too. If a country gets hold of it, then it might put Earth back at risk of not joining the alien council. Can I ask a question regarding your time since being kidnapped?"

"What do you want to know?" Ashleigh said, guardedly.

"Have you heard the term The Trinity? And I'm not talking about the bible."

"Where did you hear it?"

"Emin mentioned it. That's the guy I just killed. Andy heard it too."

Quietly, Ashleigh said, "The Trinity is a prophecy. Becky, Jenny and me."

"Good to know," Tina said, matter-of-factly. Ashleigh was glad that Tina hadn't made a big fuss of it.

Tina pulled out a device. It wasn't a mobile phone, but looked more like a thick bank card. She pressed the sides with her forefinger and thumb and a cyan light came on. "We'll be at location three in twenty minutes."

Ashleigh was impressed. It was some type of communication device, but disguised. Just the type of thing if you were undercover. The only response was the light turning green. Satisfied, Tina put it in her pocket.

They were out of the main area, and the pavement no longer existed. They were on the outskirts, or somewhere that wasn't frequented much in the early hours of the morning. Some buildings were seen away from the road, but Tina just took them further along. Eventually they turned off down more of a cart track. It was old and didn't appear to have had traffic down it for years.

The only illumination was from the moon. There were no streetlights, and no activity. The side was covered with bushes and trees. Anybody could be lurking there, and Ashleigh walked closer to her sister.

Tina pulled them into the bushes and put her finger over Ashleigh's lips. There was nothing. No sound at all. After a few minutes, they continued.

The first Ashleigh knew they'd arrived somewhere was when a set of gates appeared out of the gloom. They were slightly ajar, and Tina took them just inside.

"Perfect timing," Tina said, not bothering to whisper. No one was around. Tina's device buzzed and she took it out and sighed. "I'm to come back with you."

"I thought you would. Isn't your work here finished?"

"Yes, though I wanted to make sure nothing started up again. With Emin out of the picture, it shouldn't. He was the brains of the outfit. Don't go further, our ride should be here anytime now."

Eos arrived. The only way they saw it was the light from the front window, and that appeared dimmed. The rest was silhouetted in the night. The door opened and the two women rushed to get on board. Ashleigh feared the gang would have someone watching, and expected a shot, but the night was still.

Tina closed the door and Ashleigh took a deep breath of relief. James was on his own, so had rushed back to his captain's chair and they transitioned back to the factory.

"Thank you," Ashleigh said. "Thank you both."

"Since leaving the RAF, I never thought I'd end up with a bit of clandestine work again. I'm glad to help. A rescue makes me feel better about myself too."

Tina laughed. Ashleigh just stood there looking dazed. She'd not even had a chance to sit down before James had pressed the button.

"This is where things get trying," James said, joining the two women.

"Oh?"

"Tina gets out. She never left the country. Ashleigh and I are off to Luton."

"Can't we do this in the morning?" Ashleigh moaned. "I just want to go to bed."

James passed his house keys to Tina. "My spare room is made up. Get some sleep. I'm sure you will be back in London tomorrow for your debriefing."

"See you later," Ashleigh said to Tina, giving her sister a hug. "Thank you for rescuing me."

Tina hugged her sister back tightly. "I'm glad you managed to look after those children. You did well. I'm proud of you."

While they were hugging, James got on the phone with the private terminal at Luton. He wanted to confirm where he could land. He didn't want to land where an existing plane was.

Once James managed to get Tina out of the ship, he punched in the code for Luton. Ashleigh sat up front, glad she was back in the UK. Their usual airport of Farnborough wasn't open until 6am. Luton Airport never closed. They preferred Farnborough as it was less crowded and more discreet. They also had a reserved pad there.

Border Control at Luton Airport were not happy when they walked in. There was no GAR filled in, and Eos arrived with very short notice. James handed over his passport, and it was checked more thoroughly than normal.

Ashleigh then said, "I don't have my passport."

The agent scowled. It was as if someone planned to make his quiet shift the worst one on the planet.

"Scan your finger," the officer demanded, irritation in his voice.

His screen filled with her information. Then at the top in red 'Reported Kidnapped. Contact CTU'.

Before he could do anything, his phone started ringing. Her fingerprint scan had woken the world.