Chapter 24

I looked out of the window, there were armed cops and dog handlers patrolling the station. Sarah excused herself and left me on my own with just my thoughts for company.

Ten minutes later she came back into the room with three other uniformed offices and two guys in suits.

Introductions were made, there were two inspectors from the local force and two from the MET, the London police force, one of the guys in a suit told me he was from the witness protection department.

The next hour would change my life and my name forever.

They had intelligence that I had been targeted by the London gangster, along with PC Natalie Smith, we were the main witnesses.

I asked what that mean and what would happen. Their plan was to hide me in the wilds of Scotland for a few weeks until the trial and then I would give evidence via a video link.

They obviously were taking the threats seriously. If they felt it was a serious threat, I trusted their judgement. They told me I would be held at the station until plans had been finalised to ghost me out of the station and out of the county.

I was asked to hand over my keys and some officers would go and pack up all my gear.

I was asked if there was anyone that I wanted to be told. There was no one really. Yes, I would have liked to have a relationship with Louise, but some things were not meant to be, there were also a couple of the nurses I had met in the hospital, but they had seemed to fizzle out already.

Most of the cops left and Sarah went with them and promised to come back with more coffee. The guy in a suit who had told me he was from the witness protection department stayed in the room.

I was told that the UK government had five or six places that they could send me, and I would be given the choice. I would also get a new ID and chase to help me with my new life.

I was given some paperwork to fill in and something told me that the urgency they were showing meant that the threat was more worrying than I had first thought.

Sarah came back with a tray of coffee and some sandwiches. The witness protection guy left but told me he would be back in an hour.

I stood at the window and watched as cars came into the car park. There were twelve matching black range rovers with blacked-out windows. There were also some cops setting up a tent-like structure.

“What the fuck is happening Sarah?” I asked.

“You will be taken out of here in a convoy of the three of the range rovers, all of them will leave at the same time and all go in different directions,” she said with a smile that told me she was worried.