A few hours later, Carlos is at the police station at his desk. The interaction between him and Saffron has been playing on his mind all day. As soon as he saw the bruises and redness, he knew they weren't the cause of accident and so he brings up the APD database and inputs her name. As soon as he clicks enter, an alert flashes up on the screen.
'Fuck.' His eyes widen as he grabs his patrol car keys before jumping out of his seat and running out of the station.
A few hours earlier...
Ben and Saffron are walking home after theatre.
'Will your parents be home?' Ben asks.
'Probably not.' Saffron sighs. 'They have some big meeting with some potential clients. Why?'
'You still up for hanging out at mine for a while? Alex won't be home for another hour or so.'
'So enough time to plan a prank?' Saffron smirks.
'You always pranks on your mind, don't you?' Ben laughs, shaking his head.
'C'mon, you know I live to annoy your older brother.' Saffron laughs.
'Don't we both.' Ben chuckles. They're silent for a few moments. 'Have you given any more thought to-' A man grabs onto Saffron's arm.
'Dude! What the hell?!' Saffron tries to shrug him off but his grip is too tight.
'You have to come with me.' The man tells her adamantly.
'The hell I do.' Saffron snarls still attempting to fight him off.
'Get your fucking hands off of her!' Ben also attempts to fight him off.
'Stay out of this.' The man glares at Ben, pushing him away slightly.
'Saffron, you have to come with me. They'll explain everything when you see them.' The man says to Saffron. 'Just please, I don't want to hurt you.' Ben steps back in and attempts to pull him off Saffron but it's no use. The altercation is gaining the attention of people around them. 'This isn't worth the money.' The man mutters before pushing Saffron away before running off. She falls back and hits her head and shoulder against a wall, hard.
'Saff, are you okay?' Ben asks his best friend.
'I-' Saffron shakes her head. She puts her hand on the back of her hand and feels blood. She pulls her hand away and shows Ben.
'I'm calling an ambulance.' Ben tells her, getting his phone out.
'Is she okay?' A young woman approaches them. Saffron and Ben look at her. 'I saw what happened.'
'I'm fine.' Saffron nods unconvincingly.
'No, she's not.' Ben says, putting his phone to his ear. 'She needs an ambulance.'
'I called the cops when I saw what was happening but it could be a while.' The woman says. 'I'm Stacey.'
'Saffron.' Saffron introduces herself. 'This is Ben.' As Ben is on the phone to the 9-1-1 operator, Saffron and Stacey talk.
'Ben your boyfriend?' Stacey asks.
'God, no.' Saffron shakes her head, laughing. 'He's more of a brother to me. Plus, he's not exactly my type. He has a penis.' Stacey just laughs and shakes her head. 'I just said that out loud, didn't I?' By now, Ben is off the phone.
'You did.' Stacey laughs, nodding her head.
'Ambulance and cops are on their way.' Ben tells them. He turns to Stacey. 'Thank you for checking on her, not many people would do that.'
'Of course,' Stacey nods, 'it's a scary world out here. Especially for women and young girls. I hope they catch that guy.'
'Me too.' Ben sighs. He looks at Saffron who had gone a little pale. 'Saff?'
'I feel a little dizzy.' Saffron tells him as she sways.
'Let's get you sat down before you pass out.' Ben says, he helps her sit down the floor with her back against the wall.
'I have some water.' Stacey reaches into her bag and hands Saffron a bottle of water. 'It hasn't been opened.'
'Thanks.' Saffron smiles slightly. She opens the bottle and takes a sip just as the ambulance pulls up.
'I'll get going now.' Stacey looks at the police car also pulling up. 'I hope you heal quickly.' Saffron nods and Stacey walks off. T.K Strand, Tommy Vega and Nancy Gillian approach Saffron and kneel in front of her. Ben stands out of the way.
'Saffron, is it?' T.K. asks.
'How did you-?' Saffron starts.
'I told 9-1-1 your name.' Ben informs her.
'I'm T.K., this is Nancy and Tommy.' T.K. introduces himself and the other medics. 'Your friend said someone tried to take you but when they saw people watching they pushed you away?'
'Yeah.' Saffron nods. 'I hit my head against the wall pretty hard. It's bleeding and my shoulder hurts. I got a bit dizzy so Ben helped me sit down.'
'Are you able to stand?' Tommy asks. 'We'll get you into the ambulance for a bit more privacy.'
'Yeah.' Saffron nods.
Meanwhile, Carlos is at the police station at his desk. The interaction between him and Saffron has been playing on his mind all day. As soon as he saw the bruises and redness, he knew they weren't the cause of accident and so he brings up the APD database and inputs her name. As soon as he clicks enter, an alert flashes up on the screen.
ACTIVE EMERGENCY - ASSAULT AND ATTEMPTED ABDUCTION, PARAMEDICS IN ATTENDANCE
'Fuck.' His eyes widen as he grabs his patrol car keys before jumping out of his seat and running out of the station.
Within five minutes, Carlos is arriving where Saffron and Ben are. Saffron is sat now on the back step of the ambulance with an ice pack on her shoulder and T.K is holding a gauze to her head, Ben is stood next to them and a police officer is just finishing taking a statement. He walks over to them.
'Are you sure you don't want to press charges?' The police officer asks Saffron.
'I'm sure.' Saffron nods. 'You probably wouldn't be able to track him down anyway.'
'Okay then.' The officer nods. 'Thank you for speaking with me Saffron.' The officer nods at Carlos and walks away.
'Saffron, my name is Officer Reyes, I was at your school earlier.' Carlos starts and Saffron nods. 'What happened?'
'Some guy tried to take me, he said that I needed to go and that they'll explain everything when I get to them.' Saffron explains.
'Who?' Carlos asks.
'I don't know.' Saffron shrugs.
'Is she okay?' Carlos asks T.K.
'She's got a head wound and shoulder pain.' T.K replies.
'She's being an idiot and refusing to go to hospital.' Ben adds and Saffron glares at him.
'You should really go get checked out.' Carlos raises an eyebrow. 'You'll need a head CT.'
'I'm fine.' Saffron insists. Carlos sighs and motions for T.K. to follow him.
'Just keep pressure on this for me, Saffron. I'll be right back.' T.K tells the young girl. Saffron holds onto the gauze and T.K. stands up and follows Carlos. Once they're far enough away that Saffron won't be able to hear them, Carlos turns to T.K.
'Have you noticed anything strange about her?' Carlos questions.
'What do you mean?'
'I was at her school earlier, I delivered a workshop to one of her classes. When she was handing in some work at the end I noticed a bruise on her wrist. She said she just wore a watch too tight but I don't buy it.' Carlos tells him.
'No.' T.K. shakes his head. 'She's pretty adamant that she doesn't want to go to hospital. Her friend kept trying to convince her but she won't have any of it.' He adds. 'How'd you know this happened?'
'I had a feeling something was off so when I got back to the station I put her name into the database just in case and it came up with an active emergency alert.' Carlos explains.
'If that came up-' T.K starts.
'It means she's in our database for something.' Carlos finishes.
'You're thinking abuse?' T.K asks.
'I was,' Carlos starts, 'but after this, there's gotta be more to it.'
'Sorry to interrupt.' They hear. They turn and see Ben. 'I convinced Saff to go get checked out at the hospital but she'll only go if I go with her.'
'Thank you, 'T.K. nods, 'and yes you can come with us.'
'Have her parents been contacted?' Carlos asks Ben.
'Not yet.' Ben shakes his head. 'They work long hours so they might not even answer their phones. I've called my brother, he's my guardian, he's going to drop by their office and get them.' T.K looks towards the ambulance.
'Where did Saffron go?' He asks, seeing that she's no longer there.
~~~~~
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