December 21st
Chapter 21 — The Raid
Then came the sound.
A deafening BOOM shattered the silence.
There was a crash of splintering wood. Shouts followed. Men in black carrying guns stormed the corridor.
“Armed police!” someone bellowed. “Down! Down on the floor!”
Mace flinched. For a second, he hesitated—then ran.
Kateryna stumbled back into the bathroom, her hands raised. Flashlights slashed through the dim, smoke-filled air. Someone kicked the door wider, and two officers swept in.
“Clear,” one said, lowering his weapon. “You okay?”
She couldn’t answer. Her legs were shaking.
The officers continued their sweep of the place. From the corridor came shrieks and the thud of boots. Someone sobbed nearby. The unmistakable sound of a man crying out in pain echoed from a side room.
Kateryna opened the bathroom door and peered out.
Chaos.
Half-dressed punters were being shoved against walls, faces pressed into plaster. One man staggered from a room in only his shirt. Another, trousers undone, tried to flee down the stairs, until an officer tackled him hard to the floor.
Kateryna recognised him instantly.
Superintendent Fraser.
Now handcuffed.
She turned her head and spotted Alina curled on the floor.
Kateryna didn’t hesitate. She ran. “Alina!” she gasped, dropping beside her. “Can you hear me?”
Alina groaned, dazed. Her eyes were half-shut, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
“It’s okay. It’s over,” Kateryna whispered, helping her sit up against the wall. “They’re here. The police. You’re safe.”
Alina whimpered something in Ukrainian. Kateryna squeezed her hand tightly, then shouted to an officer down the corridor, “She needs help!”
The officer nodded and radioed it in.
Further down, a camera crew pushed through the mess. Michael was among them, eyes focused. He caught sight of Kateryna—and gave her a nod.
But her relief didn’t last.
Across the corridor, she saw the unmistakable figure of Alastair Grant, MSP, pulled out of a room by two officers. His face was flushed, his suit askew.
“Don’t you know who I am?” he barked. “This is a mistake!”
The camera turned to him just as an officer read his rights aloud.
“You are under arrest on suspicion of human trafficking and multiple counts of sexual exploitation.”
Kateryna watched the words land like hammer blows. Grant blustered, shouted, but no one cared now. The lens drank him in. The world would see him as he was.
The corridors swarmed with officers. One of the other girls screamed. Another collapsed sobbing to the ground.
Michael moved towards her. “We’ve got you,” he said. “You’re safe now.”
She shook her head. “Where are Tanya and Marta?”
Michael paused. “We’re searching every room. But it’s a big place. They could be—”
A shout from the basement cut him off.
Kateryna turned towards the sound, dread rising in her throat.
***
