"Keller, we have great concerns about the operation and the way it unfolded. We need a full debriefing on the events occuring last night and how what transpired, happened."

Look them in the eye, don't flinch. Keep reminding myself that I did nothing wrong. I have a tickle in the back of my throat, haven't had a cigarette for hours. Starting to go through withdrawal. Clear my throat, stomach has been digesting itself for hours now. He does have a point though..... what did go wrong ? Well, here goes.........

"The trap was set. She had taken the disks ready to meet the dealers at the nightclub. Bosch was stationed outside "The Blue Smoke", along with the rest of the team, monitoring and waiting for them to arrive, while I was shadowing her, in case they make their move beforehand..... a pretty unlikely contingency, but always best to be safe rather than sorry. We were just waiting now until things kicked off. Always an anxious time, but the more you plan, the more you realise that things are delicately poised. After checking back with Bosch, who told me the dealers were still no-shows, I settled down for the wait while she got herself dolled up and called her cab.

Again, Bosch called in to tell me still no sign. I had thought that they would have turned up at the club by now. Call it a sense or preminition, but I was starting to get a bit anxious about the whole set up."

Don't like the way they are looking at me, like I'm lying..... well, screw them.

"So, at this point, you had no idea that they were already in her flat?"

Feel myself shifting in my seat. "No, no idea at all"

"Continue" I nod my head.

"Well, it goes like this....... I cannot tell you exactly what happened in there, I only have the conversation I had with Simons"

"Simons", he shuffles his papers "ah yes..... the one who was sent to hospital with 6 gunshot wounds...... your handiwork ?" I nod my head, my eyes dropping slightly. "OK, Keller, what does he say happened in there?"

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"Right" I find myself nodding my head once more. Got to stop doing that. "He entered her flat hours before she got back, probably about the time I had her captured and was interrogating her. Anyway, they were just biding their time until she had got ready to meet them. I had followed her car back to her flat and parked up outside, a way down the road. I watched her go in."

I get a nod of the head to continue.

"They were told to wait until he saw the disk and then make their move. They knew she was going to be armed, so they played it by the numbers, going in all guns blazing..... his words not mine" I get a look for my embellishment. I just ignore it and carry right on.

"Apparently, as soon as she saw the four men and their hardware, she dropped her gun and put her hands up. Smart move, it probably saved her. Against those odds, what could she do? He graphically described how they tied her and gagged her, stood up, with her arms raised." Try and demonstrate what I mean, he raises his eyebrows at my contortionist act.

"Strappado?" he asks, looking at his copy of the report. I nod my head, "Noone expected that" he adds, with a small smile. I am surprised that he knows about the Spanish Inquisition, and how that position had been used as a torture. I am impressed. I smile at the python joke.

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"So what did they do then?" I get a quizzical look. I shrug my shoulders, at a loss to explain what happened next.

"It goes like this......... after they had got her like that, they just left her there, dangling in the wind, while they made the place safe. He was told that they were to wait until the Boss got there. Apparently, he wanted to be called once they had the disk and her secured, then he would be making an appearance. I know this bastard, what he had in mind, what was going to happen. Simons told me that they would pop in occasionally to check on her and taunt her." I shake my head.

"Not nice, but that is probably an understatement" he adds. I nod my head in agreement. "The poor girl must had been petrified"

I smile knowingly "Maybe Sir, but if I know her from that short afternoon, she wasn't idly hanging there. She would have been fighting as much as she could. In fact, Simons says this, telling me how she was fighting all the way through, even though she must have been in so much pain" Once again, he is wincing, imagining how she must have felt.

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"I'll be honest Sir, when he told me all this at the hospital, I could have quite happily shot him again" he looks at me, seeing something in my eyes, nods his head and nods for me to carry on.

"Of course, I was still sitting outside like an idiot, not knowing what was going on. I was still checking on the 'Smoke but, of course, nothing was happening there. She was going through all this inside the flat and I was sat outside" Even now I feel my anger rising. He sees it, and looks at me sympathetically.

"There was no way you could have known, Jim" That is the first time he has used my name. He looks down, thinking. "Let's take a break, it looks like you need it." He shuffles his papers and gets up.

"Come on, let's get a cigarette, then you can tell me more afterwards". I nod my head, but in the back of my mind is the image of her, tied and gagged, helpless and alone. Waiting for the help that was sat outside oblivious to what was happening to her. What had been going through her mind. Could I ever be forgiven ? maybe through this confession I could professionally, but never in my heart. I was as guilty as Simons and his bunch of thugs, and there was worse to come.

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Watch out for part 4, coming soon !