Chapter 16

Oliver lay back on the chair and the Police Officer looked at him. "Oliver Prutton. I am charging you with," he started and Oliver sniffed.

"I know," he said firmly. "Robbery, Breaking and Entering, Handling Stolen Goods. I knew you would."

The officer looked at his partner and then at the duty solicitor who raised his eyebrows. "Let me finish," Oliver was told firmly and the Police Office reeled half-a-dozen charges that Oliver was being prosecuted for.

Oliver knew he would be charged and just idly walked down the corridor with the Police officer to his cell. He stared back at the officer as the door closed and took a deep breath, before bursting into tears; the events of the day finally catching up with him.

He knew that this moment would come the moment he agreed to do the job with Jamie and Emma and he knew he should never have got involved. He kicked the door in anger and then sat down on the mattress to think things through.

He was fucked; Jamie and Emma were probably in Argentina and he would be the one to carry the can, just like his brother did all those years ago. He wiped his face and stared into the door of his cell and bit his lip.

His brother, Emma, Jaroslav, the henchmen who tortured people, the policeman who stole the nicked money – they were all guilty too but they were free. It was unfair.

Oliver slept little that night and was in court the following morning to a packed gallery. He felt nervous as he looked up to see all the eyes trained on him, and he confirmed his name, address and date of birth.

The duty solicitor had promised him that he would try and get bail, and duly made the application to the judge."My client has an exemplary record, your honour, he has shown himself to be of good character and this is an isolated offence. We will be requesting a suspended sentence at the trial and believe there is a good chance for him to be given such as a punishment. He is of no threat on bail, and we would respectfully ask that he is bailed until the trial date."

The judge looked at the prosecutor who shook her head and got up, pointing out that Oliver was a flight risk, had been attempting to go to Argentina and that the charges levelled against him were serious. The judge nodded as the prosecutor spoke and looked at Oliver, telling him that he would be held on remand until his trial date.

Oliver closed his eyes and rubbed them. A remand centre didn't sound that bad but it was still incarceration and was prison by another name. His duty solicitor had told him to expect it but he still didn't want it to go to a prison. The Police cell had been bad enough.

Oliver was taken to the back of an armoured van and put inside, handcuffed to a guard that didn't want to engage in conversation with him. Oliver felt like a pariah and felt the glare of several dozen camera flashes through the window as the van moved out of court. He looked scared and tried to duck them, closing his eyes as the journalists threw their cameras to the window of the van as it left court, but he still knew he would be in every newspaper the following day.

The journey to the remand centre was relatively short and soon the vehicle came to rest. Oliver was scared and nervous, but he had something to do: he had to fill in a visitation form as there was someone he wanted to see.

Andrei grabbed the student as she walked past and clamped a gloved hand over the face of the Veterinary Studies student. Vicky shrieked as Andrei pushed her into the back of the Range Rover and Dmitri put the car into gear and sped off down the road.

Vicky struggled to get free and hit Andrei in the face with her elbows. He yelped and she screamed before smacking the back of Dmitri's head with her fist. Dmitri leant forward and struggled to get control of the vehicle as it veered towards the pavement. "Fuck," he called out. "Sort that bitch out."

Andrei grabbed hold of Vicky who was screaming for "help" and smacked her in the mouth and threw her against the seat, ramming his palm into the face of the student to silence her. He pulled her towards him and wrapped his other arm around the throat of the young woman and pushed down.

"Fuckin' shut it," he spat. "Or I ... I strangle you."

Vicky spluttered and Dmitri swung the car into the corner, before speeding out of the city of Aberdeen. Vicky was scared and tried to kick herself free but Andrei gripped her throat tighter with his forearm.

Vicky bit the arm of the guy restraining her and he let go with a cry and she struggled free, aiming a fierce blow into his loins. He gave a blood-curdling scream and she smacked Dmitri around the back of the head, who swore at his companion for the second time.

Andrei grabbed Vicky as she frantically tried to get a grip on the door handle and bundled her in the foot well, his body stopping her from moving. She swore viciously at him and tried kicking the door with her free leg, but was unable to get enough leverage to do any real damage to the vehicle and they were speeding out of the city so no-one would hear her.

The Range Rover left the road and bounced along a small track in a forest and Vicky squawked, struggling again but Dmitri stopped at the side of the track and got out, opening the back door and pulling the scared girl out into the forest.

Vicky was thrown against a tree and she cried out in pain as the unyielding fir smacked into her back. She got to her feet and tried to scramble away but Dmitri pushed her back and pulled his jacket away from his waist to reveal a gun tucked into the waistband. "Think you run away from bullets? This time you will talk to us, no fuckin' tricks."

Vicky whimpered and Andrei got out of the car and stood a few feet away from Vicky on the other side of the tree to Dmitri and the car. They looked menacingly at her and she shook her head. "I told you, I don't know anything."

"Fuckin' liar," Andrei shouted and glared at her. "He had the stuff and he lost it at your house. We want answers now. And no more tricks."

Dmitri put his hand out to stop Andrei and Vicky burst into tears. "The Police have raided my home. Burglars have been in. They found nothing. If he had it, he lost it ... And I didn't ask for him to come. I don't know anything about anything. And the Police got the statues, I saw them."

Andrei cracked his knuckles and withdrew his gun, looking at Dmitri. "Start talking," Andrei told her and held the gun at chest level with Vicky. "You were his girlfriend."

"I wasn't," Vicky squealed. "I wasn't. I danced with him once at a College disco," she shouted hysterically and tears streamed down her face. "I barely knew him but he liked me so he came up here when he got into trouble."