Luke Delaney - The Network

‘It’s alright,’ she told him softly. ‘I know what to do. I won’t tell anyone. You can do whatever you like to me. I won’t mind.’ Sean pushed the demons away and snapped himself back to reality, quickly covering the short distance between them, spinning her around by the shoulders and marching her back to the boy and the sofa. He forced her to sit, folding the blanket over her frail body. ‘You’re hurting me,’ she complained, increasing the look of panic and fear in the boy’s eyes. ‘You’re not supposed to hurt us — Mr Conway promised.’

‘What else did Mr Conway promise?’ Sean asked, suddenly aware of the need to gather evidence, to secure witnesses and find victims. ‘What does he tell you to do?’

‘You know,’ she answered suspiciously, ‘he showed us some films — they showed us what to do. Then he said he’d bring men to us and that we should do things for them — things we’ve seen in the films — and they’d give us money and other things and that we wouldn’t be hurt.’

‘Listen.’ Sean told her glancing over his shoulder at the camera, praying he wasn’t being watched on a live feed to the others, or even worse being listened to, but either way it was too late now. This was the end game. ‘You shouldn’t do these things — it’s wrong. You’re too young and the men are too old. These men are bad men.’

‘No they’re not,’ she argued. ‘They’re kind and they give us things — nice things our parents won’t let us have. And Mr Conway listens to us — he understands us.’

‘You’re wrong,’ he told her. ‘These men are bad men — they’re going to use you and lie to you.’

‘Why are you saying these things?’ she asked through swelling tears. ‘Who are you?’

Sean breathed in deeply before answering, the relief of suddenly shedding Justin Cramer and becoming himself once more almost overwhelming. ‘I’m a police officer — Detective Sergeant Sean Corrigan — and I’m gonna get you out of here. But first I need to know if there are any more children in the house. Were any other children brought to the house?’

The girl had gone blank, frozen in a catatonic state, as if the reality of Sean’s words had paralyzed her mind and body, but the boy began to stir. ‘I think there were,’ he answered weakly. ‘When we first got here — I think I saw some other children going into another room.’

‘Where?’ Sean asked quickly and quietly. ‘Where did you see them?’

‘Along the hallway.’

‘How many?’

‘I don’t know. Five or six.’

‘Jesus Christ,’ Sean whispered, reeling at the scale of The Sanctum’s abuse.

His mental paralysis was shattered as the door behind them flew open and the men now wearing balaclavas poured through the narrow gap in a seemingly never-ending flow of retribution. Sean managed to spin as he rose from kneeling in front of the children and catch the first intruder on the chin, sending him spiraling away and down. But the second man he hit was already too close to be hurt, his weight and the weight of those behind him sending them crashing to the floor with Sean pinned under the falling bodies. He struggled in vain until exhaustion and the reality of the situation got the better of him. The men above him peeled off one-by-one, pulling him into a sitting position with his arms twisted painfully behind his back, one attacker for each, while three more stood closely in front of him ready to rain down punches and kicks. But instead they waited, and Sean knew who for.

After what seemed like minutes Conway drifted into the room, unmasked and smiling slightly, shaking his head like a disapproving parent to a child. He leant in so close that Sean could smell his minted breath — his eyes were sparkling with cunning and anticipation. ‘Did you really think I didn’t know what you are? From the very first time you looked at me in that stinking prison I knew you were an undercover. Your eyes betrayed you. You looked too long and too deep, like only a policeman looks. You fucked up, Justin, or should I say Detective Sergeant Sean Corrigan? That is what you told the children isn’t it?’ Sean looked accusingly at the camera on its tripod. ‘From the very first second, you fucked up.’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Sean lied. ‘My name is Justin Cramer.’ Buy time. Just buy time until the arrest team gets here. Tell them nothing.

‘No more lies,’ Conway told him, his voice slightly raised, the smile gone from his face. ‘No more pointless lies. There are more important things to take care of now.’ He looked at the boy and girl and licked his dry lips with the tip of his tongue. ‘You haven’t unwrapped your presents yet,’ he continued. ‘If you don’t want them there are plenty who will. But you do want them don’t you?’

‘It’s over,’ Sean ignored him. ‘You’re fucked.’

‘Do you know why I let you in to the inner Sanctum, despite the fact I knew exactly what you were?’

‘You’re talking shit. You don’t know who I am — you never have.’

‘You may be a policeman, but that only runs skin deep — doesn’t it, my friend? Because deep down, where the others can’t see — I know what you really are. You’re one of us . You may have different tastes, clearly children aren’t your thing, but there’s a darkness in you that runs oh so very deep.’

Sean shook his head feigning disbelief. He knew what Conway meant, but how did he know? How could he see? ‘Jesus Christ,’ Sean finally answered. ‘You thought you could turn me. You thought I’d join you?’

‘Not turn you — awaken you. You already are one of us, of sorts.’

‘You’re desperate, Conway. You don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘We both know that’s not true,’ Conway told him. ‘You know there’s nothing wrong with what we do. So what if the law and society says that children shouldn’t be touched — they simply don’t understand, can’t see the beauty in being with them in the way we can. They’re the ones with something wrong with them — not us. That’s their misinformed judgement. Don’t deny yourself the simple pleasures God put on this earth for men like us any longer. Work with us to lead the police away from The Sanctum. You can be our man on the inside — not theirs. That’s why you’re here. That’s why I took you in — to save you. Do that and I’ll get you anything you want. Women? Grown women? Is that what you want?’

‘You’re fucking mad,’ Sean argued. ‘I’m not like you. I’ll never be like you. I’m here to take you down — not join you. I’m gonna bury you — all of you.’

‘Then you’ve made your choice,’ Conway barked. ‘You can’t be saved if you’re too weak to admit what you are — to embrace and relish your strength and difference from the mindless masses who wander through life never feeling anything more than self-satisfied contentedness. We live, my friend, as we were supposed to live.’

‘You’re going back to prison, Conway. For a long time.’

‘Really? How so? What evidence do you have? I know you’ve never taped any of our conversations. I know you’ve never been followed to any of our meetings. The warehouse was cleared of anything incriminating and within ten minutes this house will be, too — and the children sent on their way never to be found. So what do you have? Your word? An undercover cop who supplied me with suggestive photographs when we were in prison — who’s acted as an agent provocateur throughout? You’ll never even get past the CPS.’

Sean smiled in spite of his fear and loathing. ‘In ten minutes it’ll be too late,’ he warned Conway and his followers. ‘You’re finished.’

‘Really?’ Conway asked disbelievingly. ‘How so? I can’t see any other policemen,’ he told his laughing subordinates. ‘I can’t hear any sirens. You have no mobile phone to call the cavalry on — no tracker concealed on you — the only way you could have signaled for help would be if …’ Conway froze for a second before pulling the keys for the Zodiac from his pocket and dangling the fob in front of Sean’s face. Sean’s smile grew wider. ‘Clear everything out,’ Conway suddenly shouted at the men in balaclavas, urgency straining his commands and causing panic. ‘Get rid of the children. You,’ he pointed at one of the men. ‘Take these keys and drive his car as far away as you can.’