Stacey whispers, ‘Do you know her?’
‘I do.’
‘Friend or foe?’
She’s dressed in a pale trouser suit and a long dark coat and despite the wind, her mid-length black hair remains perfectly in place.
‘Friend. Very much so.’
Her name is Claudette Vale and she runs ACTION, a quasi-governmental agency that fights on front lines of the war against child trafficking. I met her twice whilst researching Paige’s activities and found her shrewd, friendly and completely committed, whatever the risks. The first three letters of her organisation’s name stand for Anti-Child Trafficking and the final three are – as is often the way with these things – a slight contrivance to make sure the acronym sounds short and snappy.
Now, there are several charities battling to end the sale and exploitation of kids, including ECPAT, Operation Underground Railroad and, of course, Save the Children. They do an amazing job in tough circumstances. But, in recent years, ACTION have been successful in reuniting families and proving that the traffickers are usually involved in other illegal activities. So when they’ve rescued girls and boys, they’ve gone after the monsters that abducted them and achieved notable victories, getting entire syndicates jailed for significant periods of time.
It goes without saying that these sentences have terminated, or at least curtailed, the crimes of those individuals, but their success has been such that they’ve become a deterrent, persuading even the most hardened profiteers that child exploitation is too dangerous a business to be involved in.
‘Claudette,’ I shout to her. ‘What’s with all the cloak-and- dagger stuff?’
She doesn’t reply but walks swiftly towards me.
I like to think I’m not a vain man, or if I am, my vanity is not a blinding or controlling thing. But I’m glad to see Claudette, because at last I’m about to get a bit of praise. I’ve brought down Sandy Paige and so far all I’ve got for my trouble is a bullet in my belly and a hip flask full of instant coffee.
I stand as she nears me. Extend my hand. ‘Good to see you, Claudette.’
I suppose my guard is down. I just want to hear the head of ACTION say nice things about me and my work, and yes, I confess, part of me is glad Stacey is hovering by my side to catch the praise that will be flowing my way.
I start to say, ‘How have you been?’
But I don’t quite reach the end of the question as Claudette Vale strikes me across the face. It isn’t a light slap to my cheek. More a powerful punch to my lower jaw. I stagger back, see fury blazing in her eyes and know she isn’t done. I raise my hands for protection, but she shoves me hard and I feel myself falling. Luckily, I land in the wheelchair, but Claudette strides towards me.
Stacey steps forward and pushes the other woman in the chest with such force that she stumbles backwards, almost toppling to the ground and only just managing to regain her footing. ‘Back off, lady! Try that again and I will flatten you!’
I say, ‘It’s all right, Stacey. It’s all right. Claudette, what the hell is this about?’
She glares at Stacey. ‘Your boyfriend—’ she begins, but we both interrupt simultaneously.
‘He’s not . . .’
‘We’re not . . .’
Claudette continues, ‘—has totally screwed over our organisation!’ She directs her anger at me. ‘You’ve done what all those child traffickers and bent barristers haven’t managed to achieve! You’ve ended us!’
‘I’ve not got a clue what you’re on about!’
‘Jeremy Simmonds, or Thom Peters, or whatever he’s calling himself, told me the whole thing.’
‘Well, would you mind filling me in?’
‘ACTION is underfunded. You know that! We need at least 90K to even survive the year. Then, to expand as I’d wanted, to really make a difference, we need millions.’
‘How have I done anything to prevent that?’
‘The PM promised us that, using special powers afforded by a COBRA session, the government would seize the assets of any organisation found guilty of child trafficking. Those funds would have come directly to us!’
I’m starting to see where this is heading and already feeling sick about it.
Stacey asks, ‘What’s that got to do with him?’
‘Everything!’ Claudette screeches. ‘He knew Sandy Paige was the head of a child trafficking syndicate! If he’d just gone to the police and told them everything, Paige would have been arrested and had his assets frozen. When found guilty, his cash would have come to us, allowing us to keep on going. Keep on rescuing and protecting kids.’
‘I was trying to do the right thing. I was trying to help the people caught up in the process that were genuinely innocent. I was trying to achieve . . . justice.’
This infuriates Claudette even further. ‘Justice? You talk about justice? We need money, Novak! We need the proper legal framework! Not your penchant for riding in like only you can single-handedly save the day whatever the odds!’
‘Hey!’ Stacey points a finger at Claudette. ‘I was there! This guy was almost killed. He was dead on his feet at Paige’s place, and you know what he was doing? He was seeing who else he could help!’
‘Well, what a hero!’ She gives us a moment of slow, sarcastic applause. ‘Except the real world is no place for heroes anymore.’ She shifts her livid gaze to me. ‘And the twenty-first century doesn’t need men like you. Your time is over, if you ever even had one.’
‘I promise you, Claudette, I’m going to save this situation.’
‘You’ve done enough damage!’
Stacey raises her voice, ‘All right, you’ve said your piece! Paige has taken out a contract on him if that makes you feel any better.’
‘I know. I heard.’
‘And?’
‘And if Novak had played this by the book, we could have saved more children. As it is, Sandy Paige has already switched most of his assets. ACTION will be lucky to survive the year. Don’t expect me to shed any tears if Marc Novak doesn’t survive the week.’
‘I know you’re hurting, pet,’ Stacey says calmly, ‘but it’s best you’re on your way.’
Claudette ignores her and focuses on me. ‘And if everything I’ve just told you isn’t enough . . .’ She pauses. ‘There’s one more thing I need you to know.’