Duality (19 page)

“Yeah, right and don’t worry, we know what we’re doing.”

“Famous last words.”

“Anyway, you and Mikey?”

Jules decided it was time to move the conversation on. She’d said her piece and it was up to Rachel what she did with her advice. “Well, I’m in love with him.”

She said it so casually Rachel almost thought she’d imagined it. “I suppose sacrificing yourself to save him is a bit of a giveaway.”

“Suppose,” she shrugged, taking a sip. “Mmm, yummy. I wonder what it would taste like with snails floating on the top?”

“Don’t you dare or I’ll vomit all over you. So is this why you need to get your head together about Jackson, because you’ve got these feelings for Mikey?”

“Yeah it is, although I don’t know why. He’s with Amber and that’s it. I just need to know I can only love Jax once we’re married.”

“I get that and have you come to a decision?”

“Not quite, I need a bit more time, if you’ll put up with me for a little longer?”

“Course, we love having you here.”

“I’m not sure Ryan does, I get on his tits.”

“It’s all an act. He loves having you here and so do the kids. Take all the time you need.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it. I just hope you know what you’re doing with this vigilante mallarky.”

“We do and one day it’ll pay off.”

“A bloody dog,” grumbled Battler. “You dragged me out in the middle of the night for a sodding Labrador.”

“No ordinary Labrador. It’s a seeing-eye dog,” said Ryan as Battler drove them out towards the town of Totnes, just over eight miles from Newton Abbot. “It belongs to someone called Cedric Potter. Harold - who runs the miniature village - put me onto his case. Cedric had his benefits cut by some cretin who thinks a blind man with diabetes and recovering from cancer is fit for work. In desperation Cedric turned to a loan shark who of course charged him a ridiculous amount of interest. As he was unable to pay the revolting loan shark took his seeing-eye dog and is holding it hostage until he’s paid his debt. As the loan shark knows the debt will never be paid the dog will most likely be sold.”

“Alright, that’s fucking nasty,” said Battler.

“Precisely, which is why we’re going to retrieve the dog for poor Cedric and persuade the loan shark to see the light and find another mode of employment.”

“When you put it like that it sounds fun,” growled Battler, gripping the steering wheel tighter. “Does Rachel know you’re doing this?”

“Of course. We always talk these things through together.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t leave it to her, you can’t stand animals.”

“I don’t mind them if they’re a good distance from me. Besides, this is different. I greatly admire seeing-eye dogs and it’ll be good to get away from all that fur rubbing up against my leg.”

“Urgh, I don’t want to hear about that,” exclaimed Battler.

Ryan cocked an eyebrow. “I wasn’t referring to my beautiful wife who, may I add, is always impeccably waxed. I was talking about this awful ball of ginger fluff that has taken up residence in my animal-free home.”

“You have lots of animals.”

“Yes but they’re all outside. This cheeky specimen has broken that rule and refuses to budge. We’ve tried to find his owner but to no avail. Have you heard of anyone who has lost a ginger cat with breathtaking impertinence?”

“Can’t say I have but I’ll keep an ear to the ground.”

“I would appreciate that very much. The sooner it’s gone the better, my trousers are being ruined.”

“By ginger fur,” sniggered Battler.

But Ryan’s mind had already left the subject of the nuisance cat. Rachel had asked him to broach something with Battler and he wished he hadn’t agreed to it because he was absolutely useless with anything sensitive. “And how is Belle?”

“She’s alright.” He cast a suspicious glance Ryan’s way. “Why?”

“Just wondering.”

“You don’t fool me Ryan. Rachel’s asked you to talk to me about her, hasn’t she?”

“I’m relieved you rumbled me so quickly. You saved me from a very awkward conversation.”

“I know Rach’s judgement can be so spot on it’s fucking freaky sometimes but no way a stunner like Belle fancies an old bastard like me.”

“Why not? Jules does.”

“She’s just joking around.”

“No she’s not, she’s deadly serious when she talks about a threesome with you and Bruiser.”

Battler pulled a face. “Urgh.”

“So if she does, why not Belle?”

“Because Jules is into some freaky shit. No offence.”

“None taken. You’re completely correct.” Ryan still found it hard to believe he got along so well with Battler and Bruiser. They had been bodyguards to Frank Maguire and for a long time, while his family battled the Maguires, they’d been enemies. But ever since he’d married Rachel all past animosity had vanished and it felt like they’d been friends for years. “But you’re far from on the shelf Battler. I remember when you first set up your business here you had all the local ladies clamouring at your door.”

“Yeah but none were in Belle’s league. She’s something else.”

“So you have noticed?”

“Course, I’m not dead but I am a bachelor and I’m too old to change my ways.”

“There’s no room for a woman in your life?”

“Not one that stays longer than a night.”

“Sounds lonely.”

“Not to me. I can leave the toilet seat up, fart in bed and there’s no one to tell me off.”

“I used to be like you - no woman would ever tie me down, I was a lone wolf. Then Rachel came along and all I wanted was her. Now I couldn’t imagine life without her.”

“Yeah but you and Rach are special. There’s not many couples like you two. You have to remember not all relationships are like yours. Jesus, listen to us rabbiting on like a couple of women. I know you and Rachel mean well but please, just drop it.”

Ryan held up his hands. “Fair enough. I just promised Rachel I’d do something so I did it.”

“Alright. Glad that’s over with. Anyway, we’re here.”

They pulled across the street from the nice detached home that belonged to the loan shark, which was a lot more impressive than the mess of a council flat Cedric lived in.

“I hate loan sharks, always have,” said Battler, glaring at the house.

“I quite agree,” said Ryan. “I enjoyed chasing them off the Montford with a baseball bat. Cockroaches, the lot of them.”

“Let’s go and teach this bastard a lesson,” said Battler, flinging open the car door.

CHAPTER 18

Battler and Ryan crept across the street. There were other houses on this road but none of them overlooked the loanshark’s house. There was a bowling green but that was dark and quiet.

As Battler had already done his research they knew the perimeter of the house wasn’t alarmed, nor were there any cameras or guard dogs. The gate was locked but that didn’t matter because they both scaled the wall, Battler taking slightly longer than Ryan to achieve this.

“Not a word,” Battler growled at Ryan in the darkness when he’d finally dropped to the ground.

Ryan just smiled before going into a crouch, pausing to listen and study their surroundings. The house was dark too. It seemed Mammo the loanshark wasn’t exactly a party animal. Ryan had no idea why the fool was called Mammo but he thought he deserved a good kicking just for having a stupid name.

“Can you hear that?” whispered Battler.

Ryan nodded, the whining almost eerie in the darkness. The sound was so full of sadness that it angered Ryan. He wasn’t a fan of dogs but to treat such a clever and valued animal like that was just wrong.

Together they crept through the garden, sticking close to the wall, moving silently for such big men. After Battler had bribed an ex-girlfriend of Mammo’s to describe the interior of his house as well as the grounds, they both knew their way around.

They came round the back of the house to see the poor dog tethered to a stake in the ground, no shelter, an empty food bowl sat before it. The poor animal was laid on its belly, shivering and shaking in the cold night air, looking so forlorn both men were touched.

“Poor sod,” said Battler. “Beautiful dog too.”

“He’ll soon be home. Let’s sort out Mammo first.”

“What a wanky name.”

“I quite agree.”

They crept up to the house, Battler picking the lock on the back door in seconds and they were inside. The kitchen was all chrome and steel, which reflected back at them. They paused to listen but could hear no signs of life.

They snuck through the kitchen into the large lounge, doing a sweep of the downstairs to make sure it was all clear before heading to the stairs, footsteps muffled by the thick carpet, moving slowly and carefully, Battler taking the lead. The ex-girlfriend had told them none of the stairs creaked but they weren’t taking any chances. They arrived at the top of the landing without incident then paused in the hallway, listening again.

Ryan only realised someone was behind him because he spied their shadow on the opposite wall thanks to the moonlight streaming in through the hallway window. He leapt to one side, the baseball bat just catching his shoulder.

“Battler,” he called out in warning.

But Battler was already grappling with the second man who charged out at them from a door to their left.

Ryan went low, turned and rammed his fist into the stomach of the man behind him, but the man had also moved and he just caught his hip. However it was enough to knock him off-balance and Ryan took advantage of that, throwing himself at his attacker and pulling him to the floor. The baseball bat rolled from the man’s hand and Ryan punched him in the face, knocking him out.

Ryan groaned when a second baseball bat was brought down in the centre of his back. Fortunately he was wearing a thick jumper and leather jacket, which absorbed the majority of the blow. He flipped onto his back and kicked out, catching the man in the chest and sending him staggering backwards straight into Battler, who had laid the man he was grappling with out cold. Battler grabbed the man by the scruff of the neck and slammed his head into a wall.

“You alright?” Battler asked Ryan, casting the man aside.

“Fine,” said Ryan, climbing to his feet, a dull ache in his back.

“Silly bastards,” he said, gesturing to the three unconscious men.

Ryan picked up the dropped baseball bat and nodded. “Indeed. I believe someone warned them we were coming.”

“The ex-girlfriend?”

“Perhaps she’s not as ex as we thought. Anyway, we need to find out whether there’s any more surprises waiting for us.”

Ryan hit the light and looked to Mammo, who was the one who had attacked him from behind. He was an unpleasant looking individual, overweight with thick lips, a flat nose and a mop of greasy curly hair.

“Coward,” said Ryan, dragging him to his feet and shaking him. “Wake up you clown.”

Mammo raised his head, eyes rolling back, dragging in a deep breath. When he found himself looking directly into Ryan’s furious face he frantically started to struggle. Another blow to the stomach put an end to that.

“You knew we were coming,” said Ryan, voice low and dangerous.

“Fuck off.”

“Not intelligent.” Ryan punched him again before releasing him, allowing him to crumple into a heap at his feet. He looked down at him coldly. “Not that I care, your attempt was feeble at best. Anyone else here?”

“Yeah, there’s five…no six of my mates in that room over there,” he said, gesturing to a door at the end of the corridor. “You’d better do one before they come out.”

“You’re coming with us,” said Ryan, grabbing Mammo by the scruff of the neck and dragging him backwards along the floor as they marched to the door he had indicated.

Ryan nodded at Battler, who kicked the door open to reveal - an empty room.

Battler kicked open the rest of the doors one by one, just to be certain but the place was empty.

“Right,” said Ryan. “Now we’ve confirmed that you’re a liar as well as the many other nasty little things that compose Mammo we can get down to business. First of all, we’re taking the dog.”

“Good. Bastard thing keeps me awake whining.”

“Maybe that’s because you’ve kept a highly intelligent animal trained to help the blind chained up in the cold with no food,” snarled Ryan before punching him in the face again. “Now here is what’s going to happen. You haven’t just been upsetting Cedric, you’ve upset many people who are struggling in this harsh economic climate with your shenanigans.”

Battler had to hide a smile. Ryan was the only man in the world who could make the word
shenanigans
sound tough.

“You will cease all loan sharking activities immediately,” continued Ryan. “Failure to do so will result in horrific pain. For you. For us it will be a lot of pleasure.”

“You must be joking? There’s no way I’m giving up this cushy number. It’s well easy, just shit people up and they’ll give you anything.”

Another fist in the gut was Ryan’s response. “You really are a disgusting little worm and clearly you’re not getting the point. Well, you can’t beat up vulnerable people with no hands.”

Mammo’s eyes widened. “What?”

He screamed when Battler brought the bat down on his right hand.

“And here’s just a little reminder of what it’s like to be vulnerable,” said Ryan before Battler slammed the bat into Mammo’s right knee. He released another scream, gaping at his ruined knee in horror before passing out.

“What an arsehole,” commented Battler, letting the baseball bat drop.

“Let’s get the dog and get out of here, I’m eager to return to my warm bed and my warm wife.” Ryan hesitated before adding, “wouldn’t it be nice if you had a beautiful woman keeping your bed warm?”

“They wouldn’t like my snoring.”

Ryan smiled. “Can’t say I didn’t try.”

“Are you done with the trying now?”

“Yes, completely.”

“Good, let’s get this bloody job finished then.”

They headed outside, approaching the dog cautiously. It was a highly trained animal but it had been subjected to abuse and neglect, so they weren’t sure whether it was going to be in a friendly mood. However when Battler put his hand out to the dog, who Ryan had been told was called Rory, he nuzzled his hand, sensing these men weren’t going to hurt him.

“Good dog,” said Battler, freeing his lead from the stake and kneeling before him to give him a stroke. He took some dog treats out of his pocket and tipped the bag into his hand. The dog wolfed them up, indicating he’d been starved. “I should go back in there and break Mammo’s other hand and knee.”

“You and me both,” said Ryan.

They hurried through the garden, Battler holding the dog on the lead and back across the road. The dog happily jumped into the back seat, delighted to be away from that house.

“You don’t think he’ll crap on my upholstery, do you?” said Battler as he started the engine.

“Doubtful, he’s been properly trained. However you don’t know what damage that fat cretin has caused him.”

“So he’s going back to yours then?” said Battler as he drove them home.

“Mine? Don’t I have enough animals with all the horses, chickens, donkeys and now that ginger menace?”

“Then one more won’t make any difference and I can’t have him in my flat, pets aren’t allowed and you set this job up. He’ll have to go back with you, there’s no choice.”

“Fine,” sighed Ryan. “I’m starting to feel like Noah.”

“You got a boat as well?”

“I don’t sail,” he said with distaste.

“Lucky you’re not Noah or you wouldn’t have let any animals on your bloody ark in case they made a mess.”

Ryan couldn’t help but smile at that. “Very well, I’ll prove I’m not the anally retentive person you think I am. I’ll take Rory back with me and return him to Cedric in the morning.”

“There you go and you never know, you might actually start to like animals.”

“Stranger things have happened.”

Both men went quiet, exhausted by their night’s work. Ryan pulled a face. “The dog smells.”

Battler smiled and shook his head.

Rachel was waiting up for Ryan when he arrived home. Jules had gone to bed over an hour ago but their talk had left her worried and she wouldn’t rest until he was home safe.

Ryan entered by the back way so as not to track mud through the house, the dog on the lead.

“What are you still doing up?” he said when he found Rachel at the breakfast bar, nursing a fresh hot chocolate.

“Waiting for you. I was worried,” she said, getting up off her stool to kneel before the dog and pet him. “Bless him, he looks so cold and miserable. I bought in some dog food for him.”

“The bastard had him tied to a stake in the garden with no food or shelter,” said Ryan, gratefully relinquishing the dog to Rachel’s much more expert care. “Why were you worried anyway?”

“No reason.”

Ryan’s eyebrow arched. “Rachel, there’s something you’re not telling me.”

“It’s nothing really. Jules got me thinking about what we’re doing.”

“She’s been sticking her nose in again. Typical.”

“She’s worried we’ll get into trouble.”

He smiled and gently took her by the shoulders. “Don’t let her get to you, we’re fine.”

“Everything went okay tonight, didn’t it?”

Her eyes were begging him to say yes but he could never lie to her. “Mammo and his friends did attempt to put up some sort of resistance but it was rather pathetic.”

“Oh Christ.”

“It was nothing,” he hastened to assure her.

“Tell me the truth - did you enjoy it?”

“Well, not the violence so much, I’m not an animal but I do enjoy fighting for the underdog, setting things right.”

“And the danger and excitement. Jules said we’re addicted to it and I think she’s right.”

“She most certainly is not.”

“Course she is Ryan. Look at the two of us, we came here to live the quiet life and we’re just as involved with the criminal world as ever.”

“We are not. It’s completely different. We’re not making money from this and we’re doing good, for once.”

“And we like it. We’re adrenaline junkies.”

“Better this than flinging ourselves out of planes or jumping off bridges attached to a piece of string. At least this way we’re doing something useful, we’re helping people.”

“I know but I can’t help worrying that it’ll backfire on us one day.”

“It won’t, we’re far too careful.”

“You said they tried to fight back tonight.”

“Yes but they were no match for Battler and myself.”

“I’m not so sure we’re doing the right thing anymore. Yes, we’re helping other people but what about us?”

“We’ll be fine, there’s no one around here capable of taking us on. If it’s really worrying you we can stop.”

“But I like helping people, we’ve done a lot of good around here.”

“So we’ll keep on doing it?”

“Oh, I don’t know. It’s not just the risk of getting hurt I’m worried about. If the police get wind of this we’ll get nicked too. What would happen to the kids if we both got arrested?”

“That wouldn’t happen, we’re far too rich and we have several police officers on the payroll. Besides, most of them already know what we get up to and they have no objections, we’re taking some of the burden off them. And look at this poor little fella,” said Ryan, gesturing to the dog, who was still wolfing down the food Rachel had put down for him. “If it hadn’t been for us he’d probably have ended up freezing or starving to death because that cretin wasn’t looking after him.”