Everything to Nothing (22 page)

*

One of the
bouncers became suspicious of Peter’s actions one night. He noticed
that he seemed to know near enough everyone in the bar and the near
enough everyone shook hands with him in greeting. This all seemed
very strange to the alert security and he was conscious that no-one
could know that many people. After witnessing another group of
people come over and shake his hand the bouncer decided enough was
enough and dragged a surprised Peter into a back room.

‘He’s been
acting weird. Near enough everyone has come up to him and shook
hands with him.’

‘So what? I’m
popular. Not my fault if everyone likes me!’

‘Popular my
arse. You’re up to something. I think he’s dealing boss.’

‘You dealing in
my bar you little scrotum?’

Peter blinked
in astonishment and the surprise could not been hidden from his
voice. ‘Scrotum?! I think you need to check just who it is you’re
speaking to!’

‘Oh yeah, and
just who is it that one is speaking to?! All I can see is some
little shit standing in front of me who is shitting himself. Max,
take him outside and knock him down a peg or two.’

‘My pleasure
boss.’

‘Wait. Before
you do that, let me run two words by you and let’s see if that
changes anything.’

‘Two words?
You’re gonna have to do a lot better than two words to keep your
sorry butt out of hospital tonight.’

‘Oh yeah. I
don’t think so.’

‘You don’t
think so? I tell you what Max, this little bastard is gonna be
lucky if he keeps his concrete coated feet out of the river
tonight. Go on then, enlighten me. What two words are going to keep
you, alive?’

‘Reg and
Maxwell.’

‘Oh
bollocks.’

‘Shit.’

Peter could not
keep the smugness off his face.

‘You working
for him?’

‘Yep.’

‘Right. Well,
erm, why didn’t you say?’

‘Didn’t think I
would have to.’

‘I’m still not
happy with you dealing in my bar even if you have got his
backing.’

‘Let me see if
I can persuade you without needing his backing. How have your
takings been in the last couple of weeks?’

‘Good. Very
good in fact.’

‘Did you notice
a sudden up-turn about two weeks ago?’

‘Yeah, I did
actually.’

‘You scratch
my, sorry our back and we’ll scratch yours.’

‘What do you
mean?’

‘Two weeks ago
is when I started dealing here.’

‘And?’

‘And what? Use
your brain.’

Peter saw anger
on the manager’s face and he quickly realized he had gone too far.
‘I don’t care if you have got the backing of him! You speak to me
like that again and I’ll take a chance and put a knife in your
eye!’

‘Sorry. That
was rude of me.’ Peter paused for a moment and carefully prepared
his words. ‘What I mean is your takings have gone up because people
who want a good, high quality drug know where I am at this time on
a Saturday night: in your bar. People who would never normally come
in here have started to come in to find me. You scratch our back,
we’ll scratch yours.’

‘And you
started here two weeks ago?’

‘Yes, a lot
quieter than I was tonight. Tonight surprised me and I was just
going to bail as things were getting too hot for me. Obviously they
did get too hot because I got noticed by your diligent
security.’

‘Right. Takings
have gone up a lot in the last two weeks. Could be coincidence. You
really work for Reg? Answer carefully because if I ever find out
you are lying to me you can consider yourself drowned.’

‘Yes, I do work
for him. You want to speak to him? Although he is in Spain now
having a holiday and I really don’t think he wants to be disturbed
by me.’

‘No, it is
okay. Your word is enough. Let him work Max.’

‘Rightio
boss.’

‘Before you go
I want a little something as a good will gesture, something to keep
me and the boys entertained after closing.’

‘What do you
want?’

‘A nice big fat
bag of charlie please.’

‘Consider it
done.’

Peter slid his
hand down deep into his extended pockets and retrieved a bag of
cocaine. He gave it to the owner of the bar who promptly opened it
and started to prepare himself a line.

‘Take him back
now. Let him deal.’

‘No probs boss.
Follow me.’

Peter followed
the bouncer back into the bar and he placed himself in a darker
corner and instantly a few people approached him. Since that time
the bar was always the first place that he called upon knowing that
he would make a lot of easy sales.

*

Peter now
sipped his Budweiser on a stool at a high table having small talk
with some acquaintances. Every now and then someone would approach
and he would make the deal, very simply, very easily with no
questions asked by anyone. When one of his customers approached him
who Peter thought would be interested in a harder substance to
ingest, he made it subtly clear that this substance would be
available during the next weekend at a special opening offer price.
Some of his regulars showed surprise and stated that they already
had a supplier so he then explained that he had it on good
authority that that supplier would not be around from now on and to
contact him for a steady, high quality supply. Some of his
irregular and new customers also showed interest in the heroin and
Peter thought how easy it was going to be to make even more money
and get his feet more under Reg’s table.

After an hour
or so more in this bar he felt his jeans start to get heavy on one
side and light on the other so he stood from his stool and made his
way to the door. Another one of the bouncers stopped him on the way
out and asked for some ecstasy tablets but Peter had to explain
that he was out of supply so Peter left the bar and made his way
back through the streets to the outskirts of town where he had
parked his car in one of Reg’s secure garages that were dotted
around the town. He kept the keys on a chain around his neck, not
wanting to drop them when he was rooting in his pockets for
supplies or placing the money, and he unlocked and lifted up the
garage door, stepped into the garage then closed the door behind
him.

After opening
the boot of the car he lifted the carpet of the boot out and there,
in the hollow where the spare wheel should have been, was a large,
metal Samsonite case that was chained to the mounting that usually
held the wheel in place. The case needed a combination code to open
it and Peter quickly spun the dials and opened it.

The inside of
the case was partitioned and in one side were bags of ecstasy
tablets and in the other were bags of cocaine. The third was empty
and this is where Peter placed the money. Then he took two bags of
E’s out and five large, medium and small bags of cocaine out of
their compartments and placed them in his jeans. In each bag of
ecstasy where fifty tabs and that should be enough to see him
through the rest of the night. After collecting the drugs he closed
and locked everything and left the garage to make his way back into
the town centre.

*

His night after
this was a pretty standard Saturday night for him. He made lots of
sales and generally had a good time. He obtained two young ladies’
phone numbers and even managed to persuade one young lady into the
toilets of a club for a quick session of sexual intercourse. While
he was sat on the toilet she was sat on top of him sliding up and
down his penis with her vagina as she snorted cocaine out of the
palm of his hand and quickly had an intense orgasm. Peter though
was left unsatisfied so he told the girl to stand up and he did
too. He lay out a line of coke along the top of the cistern then
bent her over the toilet and penetrated her from behind. She sucked
up the cocaine like a hoover and then begged for some more. Peter
happily obliged and while she hoovered up this line he carried on
drilling into her and then had a good, satisfying orgasm. He pulled
out of her and then quickly pulled up his underwear and pants and
left the girl in the cubicle promptly forgetting about her. He did
not even know her name.

After this
quickie he left the club, made his way back to his car and then
back to his house where he spent fifteen minutes accounting for the
drugs sold and the money he now had.

He had had his
best night so far, and after the perfect no strings attached sex he
decided that there would be no better end to the night than having
a glass of Bailey’s in bed while watching the episode of the drama
he enjoyed which he had recorded using his Sky+.

His parents
were still away so he did not have to worry about disturbing them
so he poured himself a large Bailey’s with lots of ice and made his
way upstairs to his bedroom. Turning on the bedside lamp the first
thing he noticed were the stains his bed sheets from the previous
nights sex with Sarah. He thought about her now as he turned on his
television and found the recorded programme in the memory of the
Sky+ box.

He was thinking
about how much he was looking forward to Wednesday as he settled
onto his bed, and all the potential that that night had. He did not
really watch the episode of the drama as he thought again about the
plans he had for Sarah and as he confirmed them in his mind he gave
voice to his plans.

‘Give her more
coke, get her hooked, set an extortionate price, I reckon she’ll
even suggest about paying for it with sex – perfect!’

*

After speaking
to Peter earlier that night Sarah’s condition did not improve. She
slept fitfully and eventually a phone call woke her up properly. It
was her friend asking where she was and whether she was going to
turn up to their agreed meeting. Sarah got up out of bed after
saying sorry to her friend for being late and started to quickly
get ready, but she still felt dizzy, had a headache and was close
to being sick. She wanted to go out though because she and her
friend were due to meet two guys who they had met the weekend
before. Sarah thought about that wild night now as she pulled on
tight jeans not bothering with knickers.

They had met
the two men at a bar and made it quite clear to them both that if
they played their cards right then they were both going to get
laid. Sarah’s friend, who was just as promiscuous, left first after
only talking to the man she had picked for half an hour. Sarah left
soon after not knowing that they made their way to the same hotel
as Sarah’s friend and her new sex partner. It was only after a
phone call between the girls that they found out so they all met in
one room and there were times that Sarah thought she would never
have such good sex in her life again. Both the guys were skilled at
lovemaking and there was one point when Sarah had both guys inside
her while her friend was sat on one of the guys’ face. They
continued all night and all morning and the men eventually left the
girls completely satisfied when they were usually insatiable.

It was these
guys that Sarah was meant to be meeting again on this Saturday
night and now as she fastened her bra and pulled on her top, for
the first time in as long as she could remember she did not want to
go out and have sex that night. Instead she flopped back down on
her bed and thought about Peter and how nice he seemed and how much
she was looking forward to Wednesday. Then a scary thought entered
her head as she considered whether it was Peter she was looking
forward to seeing or the cocaine. Unable to decide on this she was
sure that she did not want to go out that night so he called her
friend back.

‘I can’t make
it tonight darling. I don’t feel too well.’

‘Oh come on
Sarah! I think you are forgetting how good last Saturday night
was?!’

‘No, I’m not. I
feel like rubbish.’

‘Why?
Pllleeeeeaaassseee!’

‘I can’t. I
wouldn’t be able to have sex anyway. I’ve started my period.’

‘Ah, okay.
Never stopped you before!’

‘It does
tonight. I feel horrible.’

‘Okay then.
Your loss. I will just have to have them to myself aaaaalllll
night!’

‘Okay honey.
Sorry.’

‘No sorry
required. I will have a great time! Speak to you soon.’

‘Yeah,
enjoy!’

‘I will.
Bye.’

‘Bye.’

Sarah placed
her phone down next to her, pulled off her top and removed her bra
and lay there for a while not really thinking about anything. She
was just dozing off again when she heard a large crash and a bottle
smash somewhere in the house. Sarah closed her eyes again hoping
she had dreamt the noises but then she thought she had better go
downstairs and check her mum was okay. Reluctantly she stood out of
bed grabbing and putting on a T-shirt then made her way reluctantly
down the stairs.

She strode into
the kitchen and was greeted by a sight that horrified her. Her
mother was knelt in, from the smell Sarah presumed vodka, a pool of
the alcohol with shards of glass from the broken bottle surrounding
her. In her hand was a sponge and she hovered the sponge over her
mouth. As Sarah watched she squeezed the sponge and the liquid
dripped into her mouth. She had not heard the approach of her
daughter so when the sponge was not holding anymore fluid she
dipped it back into the pool of vodka and then squeezed it into her
mouth.

‘Mum, what the
hell are you doing?’

‘Oh hiya
darling! Didn’t hear you. Waste not want not!’

‘Mum, this is
getting serious! You are knelt in broken glass!’

‘I’m fine
darling. Bit short of money this week. Can’t afford another
bottle.’

Thoughts rushed
into Sarah’s mind and were dancing along her tongue ready to
explode past her lips but she managed to bite it and keep the words
locked away. ‘Mum, at least pick up the glass. You might seriously
hurt yourself.’