Chapter 181 - Cops And Robbers

Florence led Trisha into her living room with a sigh and showed her a childhood photo that was sitting on the window ledge, "This was us when we were kids, Freya, Fred and I."

In the photo, Trisha could see two little girls and a boy, all with brown hair and green eyes standing in a row. One of the little girls stood in the middle holding a toy gun, while the other two kids stood beside her with frowns. It was an extremely adorable photo.

"My father and grandfather were both police officers, so when we were little, we loved playing cops and robbers. Little Freya was always the cop, while Fred and I were always the robbers. Who would have thought that the roles would end up being reversed..." Florence sighed.

"My sister must have a reason for what she's doing. I want to help you catch her and locate your missing friend. May I join you? Perhaps I could talk some sense into her," Florence offered.

Trisha saw the sincerity in the woman's eyes and felt sympathetic for her. As an older sister herself, Trisha understood how it felt to see one's younger sibling head down the wrong path. Trisha's younger sister went through a rebellious stage at one point, but she was back on the right path now and studying to be a fashion designer. How difficult was it for Florence to see her sister so far down a deep and dangerous path?

"I'm not in charge of the mission, you'll have to speak to the captain," Trisha replied.

"In that case, let me drive you to him," the woman offered as she hurried upstairs to change into a proper set of clothes.

Trisha agreed. After all, she had been left behind without a car and she didn't know how long it would take before Oliver came back for her.

...

Over at Covent Garden, Freya's partner phoned in the disturbance and decided to take everyone down to the police station for further questioning.

"Officer Brown, we can't fit everyone in one car. You take those three and I'll take the rest. See you back at the station," Freya's partner said as he pointed to Halia, Jackson, and Oliver.

Freya furrowed her brows and sighed. She was still unclear about Halia's identity, but at least, the woman didn't seem to recognize her, so she nodded her head and gestured for the three to follow her.

"This way," she said as she started walking.

Jackson, Halia, and Oliver glanced at each other; it seemed God was on their side. They now had the woman alone...

As they turned the corner into a quiet street, Halia saw the opportunity and quickly threw a karate chop onto the woman's neck, knocking her unconscious. Jackson and Oliver then covered her in a coat and carried her to Oliver's car.

"Do you have anywhere quiet and secluded that we can take her?" Jackson asked Oliver.

Oliver immediately nodded his head, "I have just the place." 

A little while later, Oliver's car stopped outside a cemetery. "At this time of night, there's no one here," he smiled. "Follow me." 

The trio quickly got out of the car and carried the woman inside.

"You seem really familiar with this place," Halia said with suspicion as they weaved their way into the labyrinth of graves.

Oliver chuckled, "Let's just say, I do some interrogating of my own every now and then."

He then pulled out some rope and handed it to Jackson, "You may want to tie her up."

Jackson shook his head, "She won't be able to get past us." After all, he and Halia were both highly trained in martial arts.

He then grabbed a bottle of water and splashed it on the woman's face, "It's time to wake up, Nightingale."

The woman spluttered a little and opened her eyes. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she quickly sat up and looked around. "Who are you? Why did you bring me here?" she asked.

"You don't need to know who we are. We just want to know where Jaclyn Wu is. Tell us or one of these graves will end up belonging to you," Jackson warned.

Freya looked at the trio and spotted Halia. "I guess you don't really work for Trojan," she said.

"I'm not telling you anything. Miss Wu is on her way to a happy place. She's going to be worshipped by dozens...no...hundreds of men," Freya laughed.

"Where did you take her?" Jackson asked in disgust as he grabbed the woman's collar. Human trafficking always led to the same results, men were forced to deal drugs, while women were forced into prostitution.

"By now...probably somewhere in France...or perhaps...Belgium...maybe Spain..." the woman replied with a smirk. "Judging by your reaction, you must know Miss Wu."

"Call the smugglers and tell them to bring her back right now!" Jackson demanded.

The woman smirked, "Why should I listen to you? What do I get out of it?"

"Trojan's in a coma and he will be arrested when he wakes up. You will never get the money he promised you. Nor will you get away with what you've done. If you cooperate with us, we may be able to get you a lighter sentence. From what I know, you've never killed anyone. At most, you will only be charged for your involvement in smuggling," Jackson negotiated. 

Freya's eyes opened in surprise, "Lighter sentence? Who exactly are you? I've never seen you before."

"I am Interpol," Jackson revealed. "Help us bring Jaclyn Wu back. Show some remorse. It's never too late to turn back."

Freya looked at the man with amus.e.m.e.nt, "You haven't got approval to arrest me yet, have you? That's why we're here at a cemetery and not inside some interrogation room. If I don't answer you, there's nothing you can do about it."

"It's only a matter of time before we get the proper paperwork to arrest you, but we need to urgently bring back this innocent woman first. You know as well as we do how quickly a person can be made to disappear. You're a woman too, how could you do this?" Halia asked.

Freya looked at Halia. "Nothing is more important than money..." she said coldheartedly.

At that moment, another two figures approached from the shadows. It was Trisha and Florence. "What about your conscience?" Florence asked as she looked at her sister with disappointment. "Don't you remember what Dad said to us on his death bed?"