Again, I do not condone the act of murder nor do I believe that vigilantism should be celebrated. But I don’t feel we should sweep these startling connections under the rug.
The same link can be made by the abrupt withdrawal of Mark Harris from the Mayoral campaign at the end of last year. The man was almost a shoe in for the job.
Handsome, charming, and with a clear gift for the public role, Harris had set his stall on ‘cleaning up the streets of London.’ He even used Sam Pope as his opposite, as if positioning himself as an antidote to the Sam Pope issue. Harris was so sure of his success, he publicly backed a task force to bring Sam Pope to justice, using the man as an example for the rise in gun crime.
So why did he step down?
After a mass shoot-out in the Port of Tilbury, an avalanche of information poured forth about a terrifying sex trafficking racket, run by the Kovalenko family. Teenage girls, abducted for the sole purpose of sex slavery, were discovered in the aftermath.
The father of one of the girls, who wishes to remain anonymous for the safety of his family, said he spoke directly with Sam Pope himself.
While the harrowing experience will no doubt haunt his daughter forever, the father spoke about how Sam went through hell and high water to find her.
To bring her back,
To save her from her fate.
Not only did he achieve this, he put an end to the despicable enterprise, with further reports of the wider Kovalenko family meeting their grisly demise in a Ukrainian night club.
And then Harris stepped down amid reports that he had monetary links to a shell company owned by the Kovalenkos.
So again, I want to state, I do not condone the use of violence to solve anything.
Nor do I believe anyone should take the law into their own hands.
But with the facts pointing towards those in power shirking their responsibilities for their own gain and making a mockery of our justice system, then I ask: Is Sam Pope truly wrong?
If those we put in charge to look after the safety of this country put their own needs first, then who fights for the people?
There have been no reported sightings of Sam Pope in over three months, beyond rumours of an incident in Rome where a US private security operation went wrong. A private security operation with strong links to our very own military. The trail of bodies is being pinned on Pope, with the headline reading that he is one step closer to the edge and that we are no longer safe.
But without Sam Pope, who is watching over us now?
What he does may not be legal, but is it necessary?
The law is the law and we shouldn’t allow anyone to be above it. But with the country in turmoil, with our government comparable to a circus, and our trusted authorities trying their hardest to lose our confidence, do the streets really feel safer without Sam Pope?
It’s a sad day when we fear the law, not for what it does, but for what it doesn’t.
‘This needs to be shut down. Now.’
General Ervin Wallace slammed the tablet onto Deputy Commissioner Ruth Ashton’s desk and leant back in the chair. His colossal frame crept over the sides of the comfortable seat; his suit strapped tightly to it. While he carried a few extra pounds due to his time behind the desk and the unstoppable clutches of Father Time, he was still an imposing figure. A career soldier who had climbed up the ranks through his sheer determination and ruthless efficiency, he commanded as much respect as he did fear.
He knew he received both from the Deputy Commissioner in bucket loads, along with a strong attraction.
Ashton was approaching fifty, her brown hair, now frosted with grey, was pulled back into a tight bun. Her sharp facial features looked even more prominent, most likely due to the stress of Sam Pope’s disappearance.
While she was heavily expected to take the reins once the Commissioner stepped down, she knew having a man of Wallace’s considerable weight behind her would make it a formality. She’d taken personal responsibility for the task force which had failed to catch Pope and now, with the powerful General breathing down her neck, she felt the pressure building in her temples.
She reached across her immaculate desk and lifted the tablet.
‘It’s a free press, General,’ she said helplessly. ‘A trashy internet blog.’
‘I don’t give a damn,’ Wallace said firmly, his meaty fingers clasped on his lap. ‘This Sam Pope nonsense has gone on long enough and the last thing we need is fear mongering from the uneducated.’
Wallace regarded Ashton with a disappointed glare, revelling in his clear power of the woman. It was a feeling he’d become addicted to.
Power. Control.
It had seen him not only run an elite, off-the-books task force but also gain a controlling share in Blackridge, the private security company that had tried, and failed spectacularly, to stop Carl Marsden a few months before.
The previous field commander, Trevor Sims, had unsuccessfully tried to recruit Pope as a way to placate Wallace. They had blackmailed him with a threat to his ex-wife, but it wasn’t enough. Pope had reached Marsden first and according to Marsden, before Wallace regrettably had to end his life, was now in possession of the information Marsden had given up his life for.
Information which could ruin him completely.
Information he would hunt Sam Pope to the ends of the earth for.
Sims had died for his failure and while a similar fate wouldn’t await Ashton, Wallace had made it clear enough that if she failed him again, her career would be over.
Power.
Control.
Wallace smirked as Ashton tried to conjure up a solution.
‘I can have someone speak to this Mr Miah if you like?’
‘Ruth.’ Wallace leant forward, lowering his tone. ‘If I wanted someone to slap his wrist,
