Action, Reaction and Consequences Ch. 04

Action, Reaction and Consequences Chapter four

The next chapter in this tale, if you've just jumped in I would recommend going back and at least peeking through Chapter 3 as there is enough of the previous chapters incorporated for it to make sense.

I'm a Brit so it's English, English so to speak bar any grammatical errors that have snuck through despite best efforts.

Remember it's fiction, not real life, although I suppose if someone feels strongly about a story it means it's worked in a way? There are professions I'm writing about here I have no detailed knowledge of their workings but that's the beauty of fiction. If it's near enough we can accept it.

For those following this series you'll see Lance from Chapter 1 return and for those that felt he come of badly I'm hoping this makes you feel some form of balance has been restored. He will re-materialize towards the end of the series though.

As for how to categorize it's down as LW because I felt it was most appropriate on the basis the main character has a skewed view on his wife's earlier actions. As before if it bugs you and you think it should be elsewhere, please just imagine it is!

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Matt didn't travel far, in less than a mile he pulled into the car park of one of the many hotels clustered together and tucked his Yamaha R1 out of plain sight. He booked in for three days, dumped his crash helmet and jacket then walked back to the grounds of his apartment block. He saw the unmarked Police car but with no visible occupants assuming they were up in his apartment. Head down, he quickly made his way to his car, continually checking that nobody was going to surprise him. Within a few minutes he inconspicuously joined the traffic on the main road and made his way to the train station.

After parking he made his way into the station with his cases, then brought a coffee in the station cafe and sat at a table. The next London bound train was in twenty minutes. Pulling his phone from his pocket he turned it back on. As he'd fled from his apartment, he had the foresight to turn it off. Even on silent it vibrated angrily as notification of voicemails and messages spewed into it. No, he'd ignore them for now. There was something far more important to do.

Retrieving the link that had set off the chain reaction of the last few hours, he tried to open it. He needed to download all the content. He needed to see how bad her betrayal of her vows to him were and if it was all iron-clad evidence to use in a divorce.

After watching the progress bar on his phone the web page now said link not found. Shit! Why didn't he download it earlier, it would obviously vanish once the cat was out of the bag so to speak. But it didn't matter. They had both watched part of it in glorious high definition on a fifty-five inch television screen. She could not deny what she'd done.

He sat in a daze staring at the phone screen when it suddenly buzzed. He recognised the number. It was the oldest number he knew. Inhaling deeply, he answered trying to hold back tears.

He said nothing until a quiet voice spoke. His gran.

"Matt?..... I've had a call from Tanya, she is distraught but I've got the jest of what happened. You think she has done something terribly wrong and before she could explain you stormed off. If you can't go home then come here, you need someone to talk too. You know I'll always be here for you."

His eyes watered and his voice was shaky with the raw emotions that were twisting, turning and tormenting him.

"Not yet, I need some time, I need to think about what I've seen today, I need to process it all. She's killed me inside gran."

"Ssssh, my darling, we can deal with this together, we can find a way. Please come home."

"No, I need to get away, at least for a couple of days."

There was a station announcement that the train to London was just arriving, he knew his gran could hear it.

"I'll message you tomorrow, I promise I'll be back home soon. I love you gran."

As he ended the call his gran heard echoes of a small boy that'd just found out he had lost his family. What on earth had he seen? She would know soon enough. Whilst Tanya was distraught she had passed her phone to her boss Graham. He and Tanya were en route to her at the very moment.

Matt figured that they would try to find him. His car had a tracker so they would know it was at the railway station. His conversation with his gran would let them know he was there. They could pull strings to see the security footage, hopefully enough to fool them into thinking he'd gone towards London. It would hopefully give him a couple of days to think.

Tanya opened the door and called out to Matt's gran Georgina.

"In the kitchen love, come on through. Tanya, with Graham close behind, walked into the kitchen to find Georgina sitting at the dining table with a pot of freshly made tea and several cups.

"I've made a large pot; I guessed you wouldn't be alone. Hello Graham, how's the family, gosh where does time fly to? Matt and Tanya's wedding seems like it was yesterday."

With that Tanya burst into tears her head slumped down into her folded arms on the table. Using her eyes Georgina motioned Graham to pour the tea as she stood behind Tanya stroking her hair. When the crying slowed to sniffles, she sat back down. Her voice, whilst sympathetic, had an underlying serious tone.

"Is now a good time to tell me why the conversation I've just had with my grandson felt akin to telling a small boy his family were gone?"

As she spoke her hand reached out to clasp Tanya's hands and smiled at her. It was Graham that spoke, he was pretty sure that Tanya would struggle to convey what needed to be discussed.

"Tanya was undercover as part of an investigation that went badly wrong and she bore the brunt. When we realised something had gone wrong it was too late, the damage was done. Tanya was at a crossroads after the event and chose that keeping it secret from Matt was the best approach to take."

Before he could continue Georgina interjected.

"Did you agree with her decision?"

Tanya and Graham looked at each other. It took a few seconds before he answered.

"No, I suggested she discuss it with Matt. Left hidden as a skeleton in a closet meant it could one day see the light of day. And that happens to have turned out to be today."

Everyone took a sip of tea whilst thoughts formed, Georgina continued to probe.

"What has my Matt seen that has upset him so much?"

Graham looked at Tanya who gave a pitiful nod. With that, Graham pulled his laptop from a bag and logged into a secure part of the Police network.

"These files are highly confidential I gather you'll not discuss them beyond this table?"

"Of course not Graham".

He then opened a gallery and clicked through the photos from the first

of the photos shoots that Tanya attended.

"Mmm, I must admit your very photogenic Tan but the last few are a bit, well risqué...but....there certainty not enough to make our Matt react like he has. I may be old but please don't take me for a fool. There's more isn't there?"

A furtive glance passed between Graham & Tanya. Lowering her head Tanya nodded.

Graham clicked through nearly all the next photo shoot material that was within the folder but didn't show the final close-ups.

Georgina looked at Tanya.

"I can see how'd he be mildly upset at some of these but...."

Tanya jumped up from the seat and headed to the living room starting to sob again. Before she closed the door she spoke with her spirit broken.

"Show her everything Graham, I have nothing else to lose."

Other than the sound of mouse clicks the sound of Tanya sobbing was all that could be heard throughout the house for the next few minutes until Georgina viewed the video file.

Georgina watched the short clip. The man talking to a near naked Tanya but she seems so far away. The man slaps her hard before she drops to her knees, the movie clip focusing on her face and actions. As Tanya is tugging on the zip of the trousers Georgina speaks.

"

You can stop it now Graham, I've seen all I need to see thank you."

"She was drugged Georgina; she isn't really aware of what she was doing."

"Yes, I could see that something was wrong when he slapped her. I'd expect our Tan to kick the living daylights out of him and not that, not what she's obviously going to do. How far did she go Graham?"

They spoke for the next twenty minutes, Graham showed the toxicology report signifying the drugging, explained how nobody realised what had happened due to the loss of communication that delayed reaching Tanya.

"What happened to that man, somebody was filming as well."

"Do you remember a few months back, the four people that died on the same day in prison?"

"Ahh yes, the sex abuse ring, so that's what the poor girl has been carrying on her shoulders. Why didn't she tell Matt. He loves her to much they could have worked it out. But she's lied Graham, covered her tracks. This will not bode well. Graham, can you make a fresh pot of tea, I'll pop next door for a chat."

Tanya sat on the sofa staring at a picture of her wedding that hung on the wall. She felt lonely and lost; not sure if there was any way to recover from the damage. If she'd have told him right at the beginning would Matt have understood?

Georgina sat next to her on the sofa and put an arm around Tanya who lent in to absorb the feeling of love. It was something she was desperately missing.

"Graham told me how it happened. Yes, I understand you didn't know what was happening but there's no getting away from it. It happened and you've tried to hide it, why for god's sake why didn't you tell him, tell me, we could all have fixed it back then but now...I don't know Tanya."

It brought further sobbing from Tanya as Graham brought three fresh cups of tea into the living room.

As people stepped off the London bound train Matt joined a throng of people to leave the station and get a taxi back to the hotel room. He sat on the end of the bed dropping his head into his hands. His life felt like it was in tatters.

He kept replaying the clip he had seen through his mind. Why? Why would Tanya do that? The clip was short but her actions, her face and eyes. What he could see was real lust and desire. Something that he thought was for him and him alone but it now obviously wasn't.

He kept running through the scenarios going forward. Divorce, money, explaining the split to friends. But he kept going back to the clip, her look, the betrayal and....

There was something he had missed in the clip. There was something that wasn't quite right but he was so focused in on her actions he couldn't quite place what was wrong. Fuck! he thought to himself. Why didn't I download the files straight away? He walked into town and sat quietly in a pub corner ordering some food and a beer. He barely touched the food but knocked back a couple of pints before going back to his room.

Three days later he was due to start nights. He arranged to leave his R1 in the car park then took a taxi to his gran's house. He went in and she hugged him hard. He wrapped his arms around her but the last few days had numbed all his emotions.

"Take those cases to your room then come and have a cup of tea with me Matt, tell me all about it."

Matt replayed the day he found out what happened but spared going into detail as to the final acts that he saw as betrayal. He merely stated he had seen a clip with Tanya that was unsavory.

"It must be heartbreaking to see the woman you love suck another man's penis."

Matt spat his mouthfuls of tea out. He had never heard his gran swear let alone describe an intimate sex act.

"Matthew Andrews, do you think all old people haven't lived? I grew up in the swinging sixties, we invented this stuff so don't be so shocked! But yes, Tanya should not have been doing these things with another man. Why didn't you talk to her?"

"Because she didn't tell me, I asked her repeatedly what was wrong and she locked me out gran. It was her facial expression when she looked up at the camera in that clip. I've seen it before and it's only been for me gran. She showed someone else the love I'd believed was purely for me, and me alone."

"What's next then?"

"Divorce gran, there is no other way."

"I don't think that's what your heart wants, you need to talk to her, you need to understand why this happened and the only person that can help you is Tanya. "I've seen her and she is as distraught and as hurt as you."

"I don't see what difference it'll make. She cheated, lied, covered it up - even got Graham to help too."

"Is that what you think Matthew, she cheated? "

He could sense some anger because his gran only called him Matthew when she was upset.

They sat at the dining room table when the doorbell sounded. His gran went and answered the door and Matt could hear talking. The kitchen door opened and his gran, followed by Graham walked in.

"What the fuck are you doing here!"

Matt's voice was a hostile one.

"Matthew, I've never allowed swearing in my home and today's no different. I invited Graham as a guest so be respectful please! And Graham, if you upset my grandson I'll have no qualms in beating you with my rolling pin! Now I'm going to make a fresh pot of tea then go watch the news and you can have a chat. A nice friendly chat."

Leaving the fresh pot of tea on the table Georgina went and watched the television. Whilst she was making the tea Graham pulled his laptop, some files and his tea cup out placing them on the table. He placed the tea cup carefully although Matt didn't know it. Graham refilled Matt's cup before filling his own cup. Once he put his cup down Matt glanced at it, then snorted.

"Didn't take you for one of them, but there again, fuck, I thought I knew my wife."

"What's that then mate. What's 'one of them'?"

"Your cup - 'I love ARSE'. Mrs. don't do it for you then Graham?"

"Funny you say that Matt, so easy to misread things right under your nose."

He rotated the cup It read 'I love ARSEnal F.C.' with a picture of the football club's logo.

"Not quite what you thought, been a Gooner all my life. My Chelsea supporting brothers' idea of a joke."

They both took a sip of tea and Graham spoke as they put their cups down.

"OK Matt I know those pair of clowns gave you access to material stolen from our department, you've seen the photographs but what video clips did you view?"

"Why? I now know I married a cock sucking slut what difference does it make?"

Graham turned his cup back to the position where Matt had misread the text on it.

"I think what you've seen is no different from my cup Matt. Can I play you what I think you've seen?"

Matt nodded.

Graham clicked a file then turned his laptop towards Matt and glanced at his watch. He knew exactly how long the clip was. At the end of the time he turned the laptop back to himself. This time Matt noted what he'd felt sure he was missing from his earlier look at the clip. The red cheek and the cut lip.

"That's what you've seen?"

Matt nodded. Can I play you the unedited version with sound? They both stared at each other for a few seconds until Matt slowly nodded. Graham noted the anger showing on Matt's face.

He clicked on a file then turned the screen towards Matt as a foreign voice started talking. On the clip being played three men were sitting casually on some chairs. One of them was speaking and the other two occasionally laughed.

"That's Emre Yilmaz speaking, the man on the left is Jan Bakker to the right Ben Webb. The person holding the camera is Ben's wife Angela. You'll know from the news they are the four that went down for the sex abuse ring masquerading as several companies. He is currently talking about their website aimed at the Middle Eastern market called 'WesternWhores.com' where they find western girls who love sex and will perform any degrading act you ask. They love taking on multiple men at once. And they are about to demonstrate with a fresh one."

The person holding the camera opens a door and calls out to a woman called Karen sitting at a makeup desk. Matt immediately recognises Tanya dressed as the topless slut. But there's something wrong as she staggers as if drunk towards the camera person.

Walking into the room Tanya, as Karen, is led to the centre of the room where Ben walks up to her. She is welcomed to SophistiDates but seems confused, looking into the necklace around her neck. Ben rips the necklace from her as he's talking to her, slapping her hard before it now plays out as virtually identical to the edited version he's seen but where it stops there's more in this version.

There's suddenly the sound of a door crashing open with shouts of 'Police' the camera's dropped but still recording. Seconds later among the kerfuffle is a scream and what looks like a bloodied part of a male body part appears to land on the floor slightly out of focus. Seconds later the sounds of someone being hit is swiftly followed by Tanya's unconscious and bloodied face crashing to the ground clearly in view of the lens before the camera is picked up and stops recording.

Graham turns the laptop back to himself whilst simultaneously sliding the files toward Matt.

"She was drugged Matt, no real clue of reality. She believed it was you that pushed her to her knees. Those are the official reports; toxicology, raid report, my report, Tanya's report, all her teams reports both that day and the previous day she was undercover. There's nothing hidden from you and take as long as you like."

Matt flicked through the reports picking up on the salient parts. He now understood why she had such a dislike to the necklace he'd purchased for her after the assault. It also made it clear that the rejection of his feelings, the coldness towards him wasn't because of the files and interviews. She was as much a victim as the other women. He wanted to scream and shout at Graham.

Though gritted teeth he spoke:

"Why the fuck didn't she talk to me, why, if you claim to be my friend, didn't you tell me. You've both treated me like a cunt, a mushroom kept in the dark!"

"For what it's worth I'm truly sorry, I think of Tanya like a daughter and it hurt me that I let her end up in that situation, I'll never be able to forgive myself. Later at the hospital I asked her to come clean with you. She felt so damned sure you wouldn't handle it well she kept quiet "

"That fucking clown decided to download the files for himself. Of course, he couldn't help himself so he shared them with a mate and it started to do the rounds in a limited group. He edited the one you originally saw to give the impression she was a willing participant."

Matt butted in.

"But that's just it, the look on her face says she was willing you can see she wanted it."

"That may be the case but I know you looked in some files that Tanya was reviewing. You saw how a married woman was duped and drugged exactly at Tanya was. For Christ sake Matt it's there in black and white! And, if you didn't clock it, when she figured it wasn't you, she put her teeth to serious use which is clear at the end of the clip. Thank fuck it was out of focus!"

"Matt, like my tea cup it isn't what it seems. Speak to her, she can barely hold it together. It wasn't her, maybe physically, but not in an emotional way. All I can do is promise you that we'll offer any support such as counselling for you both if you need it. Now go talk to her."

Graham packed the stuff back into his bag, said goodbye to Georgina then left.

His gran came back in, making a fresh pot of tea before sitting at the table.

"Did that help you? Can you see she may have done those things but it wasn't her, it was an altered version of her because of the drugs. You need to see past that. You've overcome worse trauma than this Matt."