Shattered dreams – Chapter 5
SABRINA quickly forgot about what was happening, excited as she was about being so far from the familiar. She had not been to the airport before, much less on a plane, and as the vehicle sped along the Palisadoes strip, she was more interested in the view of the sea than the task at hand. The other girls chatted, but Sabrina was too busy looking through the window to even notice when they asked if she was ok.
It was only when they reached the airport, crawling with people who were anxious to get on their flight, that Sabrina came back to reality. She was about to commit an act that was against her morals, she could end up in jail and she could jeopardise her future. Yet she knew if she did not do it, she was as good as dead.
The girls checked in without much hassle and sat around to wait for the plane. When they boarded everyone was in high spirits and unlike the others, Sabrina could eat and drink as she liked. Ginger somehow forgot that she was carrying drugs and it wasn’t until after drinking a cup of tea that she remembered. Though nothing happened, it was warning enough to be careful and not slack off on the job.
The ride to London seemed endless, and after being in the air for over five hours Sabrina longed to be on the ground.
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She awoke when the stewardess told them to fasten their seatbelts and as soon as they exited the plane, they gathered to discuss a strategy to get through security. They decided to blend in with the crowd and pretend as if they were not together. Once outside the airport, they would re-group and continue the journey.
Sabrina walked up to a rough-looking man who had his eyes on her as soon as she joined the line at check-point. “Good day maam, may I see your documents please?” he asked. He looked through them inquisitivelywhile she scanned her surroundings. The place was huge. “Thank you ma am,” he said. Sabrina smiled. She proceeded to the baggage area.
But she was again stopped at the door. The officer checked her documents and a woman officer joined in. Sabrina was ushered to a room where she was questioned.
“Are you carrying drugs maam?”
By this point, they may have sensed the fear in her eyes because when she told them “no”, it made no sense.
“You, know, if you are indeed carrying drugs, and confess, we will give you a lighter sentence, but if I have to check you, you are going to pay a higher price. Which do you prefer?” the officer queried. “We suspect you are carrying drugs based on how you walk. We are quite keen on these things and you appear to be new to this.”
Sabrina broke down in tears. She confessed and was stripped and checked. She said nothing about the other girls and was gruffly ushered off to jail.
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Sabrina spent a year in prison where she met other drug mules. She had no contact with the outside world. She had no family there and she knew her mom and the members of her community would be disappointed. Others, she thought, would just look down on her. In prison she had to quickly adapt to fit in. It was never easy, because it wasn’t in her nature.
But in spite of this, she managed to blend in with the hardcore girls. She also did online courses, another step to pursuing her dreams. By the time she was released though, she was cold as ice. The ill-treatment from Bullet Head and prison life had finally soaked in. She was deported with only the clothes on her back.
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No one in the community knew she was home, she went straight to her mother’s house. Her own mother didn’t even recognise this girl with the newly shaved and bleached hair. She told her mother of the years of ordeal and her incarceration. The mother understood. Bullet Head was never to know she was home.
Meanwhile Sabrina had contacted the police who had been tracking him for months, and now that she was home, the final plans could begin.
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It’s 12 midnight. Sabrina is on her way to Jacks Hill in an unmarked police car. Following close behind are three others. They are ready to take on Bullet Head and his gang who have become more brutal, uncivilised and callous. By the time the police get to the house, they are greeted with loud music and laughter from inside. Someone is having a party.
The police find hideout spots and surrounded the house. No sooner had they done this, they come under heavy gunfire from inside. They fire back. Sabrina escorts them to a back entrance and it is there that all hell breaks loose. By the time the shooting is over, Bullet Head is found suffering from gunshot wounds. No one escapes. Sabrina stands over his frail body and watches as he looks up to see her.
At first he stares at her blankly, but then he finally recognises her. He makes a half-hearted attempt to reach her but finds he cannot. She has no remorse. All she can find herself saying is, “Money over b..t..ches, right?” She walks away.
