Gangsters Wives (21 page)

‘Thank you,' said Jim.

‘Don't mention it,' said the leader, then shouted, ‘Come on you lot. Chop, chop.'

As Jim lay he heard the sound of liquid being poured, then twin
whoomps
as the JCBs were torched, then the truck's engine started and it moved away, then in the distance the sound of a car starting, then nothing, apart from the alarm and the roar of the flames destroying the JCBs, and he began to desperately tug at the cuffs around his wrists.

The robbery had happened as planned. Result.

Connie, Joe and Robbo had left for the job late the previous evening, telling their wives that they were off for a game of high stakes poker, and not to expect them back until they arrived, and under no circumstances to call them on their mobiles, as they'd be switched off. Niki, Poppy and Kate meekly accepted their lies, kissed them on their cheeks, wished them the best of luck in the game, and straight away hit the phones.

The plan was for the girls to get a good night's sleep, then early the next morning Poppy would drive to Niki's, pick her up, then on to Kate's, pick her up too, and finally drive to Sadie's to pick up their weapons and prepare for battle. But no one had much sleep that night. As soon as the men had left, Poppy went straight to Niki's and they spent the night together in her bed. The first time they had ever met at one another's house.

‘This feels weird,' said Poppy, after they had made love and were lying together in the dark.

‘What? Being in my bed?' said Niki.

‘Being in his bed.'

‘After tomorrow it won't matter. It'll be no one's bed. I might set fire to it before we leave.'

‘I'm scared Niki. What happens if it all goes wrong?'

‘It won't.'

‘You can't be sure. The guns and everything. They might not even get the money.'

‘They will.'

‘But what happens if something happens to one of us?'

‘Don't think about it sweetheart. I'll protect you. I'd die for you.'

‘That's what I'm afraid of.'

‘I'm a Cossack, Poppy. I'm bullet proof.'

‘God, I hope so.'

‘Trust me.'

‘I do,' said Poppy as she kissed her lover. ‘I do.'

At her house Kate sat up alone, her stomach churning as she thought of what tomorrow would bring. And as for Sadie, she sat alone too, loading and unloading the weapons that sat on the floor in front of her. Filling the magazines with bullets, then flicking them out and watching them bounce on the carpet. She was surrounded by the kit the women were going to wear the next day. Black jeans, black T-shirts, black hoodies, and each of the girls had bought their own black DMs.

If this goes pear-shaped, she thought, we're fucked good and proper. But who cares? At least we've done something for ourselves for once. She was proud of her little firm. Gangsters' wives one and all, and if it all goes down the tubes, she thought, at least we did our best. And no one can ask for better than that. She loved the other women. Once, she knew she would only have thought about herself. But now, the other three and her were closer than family. At least I got that out of all the shit that's happened, she thought, and as she gathered up a handful of slugs, she laughed out loud.

The venue for the exchange of old money for new was an abandoned warehouse in Stratford just off the A12. The area was falling apart and just waiting for the bulldozers, when, all being well, a shiny new mini-city would be built in time for the 2012 Olympics, and everyone would make a nice few quid. The building itself had been half burnt out a couple of years before. The steel girders that made up its frame were rusty under a coating of soot and bird droppings from the pigeons that had taken up residence there. A high metal fence, covered in graffitied signs telling of the danger within to anyone foolish enough to enter, was hung with lethal razor wire, and the only entrance was a pair of wooden doors fastened with a padlock and chain.

It was late afternoon and the sun was beginning to sink behind the tower blocks that dominated the horizon.

Robbo used his mobile, and a minute later a man in an anorak appeared from the darkness of the building, undid the lock, slid the chain through, and pulled the doors open with a screech of wood on concrete.

Ali drove through the gates and the man pushed them to behind them.

Ali bounced the truck over the uneven tarmac inside and into the building proper which was a mixture of darkness and bright light where the holes in the roof allowed the bright rays of sunshine to enter. Anorak gestured for him to keep going in the direction of a dark blue van parked with its sidelights on. Standing by it were three men. One was in a suit, the other two in leathers and jeans. Both of them were carrying Skorpion sub-machine guns.

Anorak signalled for Ali to drive close to the group and he did so and stopped the engine. One of the gunmen reached inside the driver's door of the blue van, and its main beams lit up the warehouse.

‘Here goes nothing,' said Ali.

Ali, Connie, Robbo and Joseph exited the truck and Robbo said, ‘There's no need for the weapons.'

‘I'll be the judge of that Robbo,' said the suited man.

‘Fair enough.'

‘You got the dough?' asked The Suit.

‘Every note,' said Connie in reply.

‘You armed?' said The Suit again.

‘Of course.'

‘Right. That's why we are. So let's not get silly. All is well?'

‘You got
our
cash?' said Joseph.

‘Every note.'

‘Then we're all friends here,' said Ali.

‘Right,' said The Suit and gestured for his men to lower their guns, which they did.

‘Let's have a squint then,' said Suit. ‘And get this over and done with.'

Ali opened the back of the truck and exposed the money which was still neatly bagged. Suit waved Anorak over and he pulled out a black sack at random, split it with a flick knife he pulled from one of his pockets, and the bags inside spilled out onto the ground. ‘Five thousand per bag, twenty bags to a sack,' he said. ‘Nice of them to make it an easy count.'

‘Hundred thousand a sack,' said The Suit. ‘Right chaps, this is where we trust the pros. But we all know what'll happen if there's been any messing about.'

‘It's all there,' said Connie. ‘Now where's ours?'

Anorak went to the back of the parked van and opened its doors to reveal ten large anonymous suitcases. ‘A million quid in Euros in each,' he said. ‘Non-consecutive. Pick a box.'

Connie tugged one of the suitcases out and opened the clasps. Inside were bricked, clean Euro notes, all colours of the rainbow. ‘Fair enough,' he said. ‘Now it's our turn to trust the pros. But we all know what'll happen if there's been any messing about.'

For the first time The Suit smiled. ‘Trust,' he said. ‘A beautiful word.'

The men with the Skorpions slung them over their shoulders and together with Anorak started unloading the gangsters' van, now and then splitting a sack to check its contents. ‘Just a precaution,' said Suit.

‘I'd do just the same,' said Robbo.

‘You're all over the news,' said Suit conversationally. ‘Famous. Not the biggest cash robbery in history, but not bad. Just over twenty million they said.'

‘That's what we make it,' said Connie as he yanked the suitcases out of the van and hauled them into their truck. ‘But you can have the extra as a gift. Some of it'll be rotten I expect.'

‘Oh, don't worry about that,' said Suit. ‘Our smurfs are pretty good at getting rid of dirty money.'

When the exchange was over, the four men got into the van. Suit rolled down his window. ‘Off on holiday now, are you?' he asked. ‘Somewhere warm?'

‘Could be,' said Connie.

‘Yeah,' said Suit. ‘I would. It's pretty warm round here at the moment. There's cops everywhere. I'd make myself scarce if I was you lot.'

‘We'll be OK,' said Connie.

‘Well keep cool,' said Suit. ‘We won't be in touch again. All being well that is.'

‘All
is
well,' said Joseph.

‘Be lucky then.'

‘You too,' and the van lurched away in the direction of the gate.

‘Thank fuck for that,' said Robbo. ‘Thought for a minute there we might be in trouble.'

‘You are,' said a woman's voice from the darkness behind them. ‘You all fucking are.' And Sadie, Poppy, Niki and Kate emerged into the light, all dressed in black and all carrying weapons which they trained on the men.

Connie was the first one to find his voice. ‘Niki,' he said. ‘What the fuck do you think you're doing love?'

‘Pointing an Uzi subbie at you love,' she said. ‘Fully loaded and set on auto. Now all of you take out your guns and throw them over there.' She gestured with the snub barrel of the gun she held to the darkest corner of the warehouse.

‘You're having a fucking laugh,' said Robbo. ‘Kate. Put that stupid gun down, or I'll knock you spark out.'

‘Those days are over Robbo,' she replied. ‘No more knocking me about. Now all of you, do what Niki said and lose your weapons.'

‘Or what?' said Robbo. ‘Just look at this cunt. She can't open a tin of beans without help, and here she is pointing a gun at us. Blimey, the noise'll make her cry. Fuck off love, you'll break a nail.'

‘You didn't notice you prat, but my nails are gone. And as it happens I like the noise,' said Kate, and shot him in the thigh, the sound of the weapon sending the birds above into a frenzy of beating wings.

Robbo fell to the floor, a look of surprise on his face as he clutched at the wound which was spraying blood, the slug having gone in and out the other side. ‘You fucking bitch. You shot me!' he said, unable to comprehend what was happening.

‘Nice shooting Kate,' said Niki. ‘I always said you were a natural.'

‘Fucking help me,' said Robbo through gritted teeth.

‘Do something for him,' said Sadie to Ali. ‘You must know first-aid. But first, the guns, chaps.'

This time they all did as they were told. One by one, they pulled out their weapons and threw them into the corner. ‘You too Robbo,' said Sadie, and he did the same.

‘Ali,' said Kate. ‘Do the business. Help him.'

Ali took off his belt and made a tourniquet for Robbo's thigh. ‘How does he know first aid?' said Connie.

‘Cos he's a fucking cozzer,' said Sadie. ‘How do you think we knew where the meet was?'

‘Do what?' demanded Connie. ‘You Paki cunt.'

‘Play nice boys,' said Sadie. ‘Just let us have the money and we'll be off.'

‘Off where?' said Joseph speaking for the first time. ‘Poppy honey, what are you doing?'

‘Don't honey me,' said Poppy. ‘What were you going to do with your share? Send your bastard to Eton?'

‘What bastard?' said Joseph, and Poppy lost it. She smashed him round the head with the barrel of her gun and he reeled away, head in hands as blood spurted from his nose.