Heavy Duty Trouble (The Brethren Trilogy) (32 page)

The striker at the back stayed with the bikes as, pulling off their lids, Charlie led
the very unpleasant surprise of the definitely living and breathing form of
Scroat
,
directly towards the café and pushed open the door.

This was it. I was on
I thought, not having time to wonder how on earth he’d got out of Scampi’s alive
.

*

Scroat looked at me as though he had
immediate and very violent
murder in his
hate-
filled
eyes but to my
overwhelming
relief headed for the serving area to order drinks, oblivious as the grannies gawped at him
,
and then went into an immediate
whispered
huddle over their tea which evidently had ceased to be as much of an attraction as it had been
. I
n no time at all they were rattling their cups down, collecting their bags and heading out the door as quickly as they could for the assault on the high street leaving the café empty apart from me, the two bikers and a couple of nervous looking serving staff.

Charlie
,
by contrast
,
had walked straight over to where I was sitting, never taking his eyes off me for a moment, and then slouched down
on to
the seat opposite me.

‘Hello tosser,’ he said
, quietly and flatly
.

Nice.

‘Hi Charlie. Good to see you too…’

‘Don’t give me any shit,’ he said, ‘Damage and Wibble might have taken it but I’m fucked if I will
,
so just can it
,
OK?’

I shrugged and nodded. Message received and understood.

Scroat appeared at Charlie’s elbow bearing a foaming
cappuccino
, the top sprinkled with cocoa powder, a couple of twists of sugar in the saucer and set it down in front of Charlie.

Then he retired
with his own coffee to
the next table
along the back wall beside me which meant he could both glare at me with hot
evil
eyes that said
Y
ou do know that I just want to take you outside and stomp you to death in the car park don’t you
?
while also watching Charlie’s back by keeping an eye on the doorway.

‘So I’m here like you asked
,
Charlie,’ I started
,
as Charlie ripped the tops off
both
twists of sugar and poured their contents into his steaming cup.
‘What can I do for you?’

He stirred his coffee for a moment before suddenly holding the spoon upright between us. ‘You
do
know I really ought to take this spoon and
use it to rip
out your eyes for all the crap you and your mates have cost
us don’t you?
Or actually, I ought to just let him do it,’ he said nodding at Scroat, ‘and I’d just watch. You know he’d really like to do that, wouldn’t you Scroat?

‘Too fucking right I would
,
’
h
e breathed.

I didn’t say a word.

Charlie
looked at me in intimidating silence for a moment.

‘But luckily for you,’ he said at last, ‘I’ve got other things to think about for
the
moment.’

I didn’t say anything, just sat and watched him as he picked up his cup and sipped the hot brew. Then he set it down again.

‘Did you find the dosh then?’ Charlie asked.

‘Would I be here if I had?
’
I replied.

‘No, I wouldn’t think so,
’ he conceded.

‘So,’ I ventured, ‘what do we need to talk about?’

‘
Wibble
’s gone soft,
’
said Charlie
reflectively
,
as though I hadn’t spoken
.
‘He’s settled down with that bird of his, they’ve had kid
s
, and he’s changed.’

He shrugged.

‘It happens to people
,
’
h
e went on, ignoring me completely,
‘They start to get other priorities. The club goes from being their life to being part of their life and once that happens, it’s the beginning of the end. Sooner or later something comes up and they start to have to choose.

‘And now it looks like Wibble’s made his choice.’

I waited to hear what was coming.

*

‘You know, my old man was bright.’

I nodded. Charlie didn’t have to tell me that.

‘He read a whole lot of shit, stuff that was good, stuff that helped him out…’

‘Yes…’

‘So I followed his example.
I reckoned i
t worked for him, why wouldn’t it work for me?’

Because you’re as thick as shit in comparison? I thought to myself, but kept my face completely blank.

‘And I’ve read the stuff he read
, t
h
at book
The
P
he really rated
, and others.’

‘And has it helped?’ I asked, curious despite myself.

‘Yeah, yeah
,
I reckon it has,’ he said. ‘Well in any event, it’s helped me think about what I need to do now.’

I waited.

‘So it’s good news for your mate Wibble
,
’
he said at last.

‘Oh yes, what’s that then?’
I asked cautiously.

‘
I’ve made a decision.’

‘Which is?’

‘He can go.’

‘You’re letting him leave?’
I exclaimed in real surprise.

‘Yes.’

‘Retire? Just walk out the door, just like that?’

‘Yes,
’ he nodded,
‘
just like that.’

‘So why have you changed the rules?’
I asked suspiciously.

*

Charlie looked at me as though making a mental calculation of how much he wanted to tell me, and therefore I guess by extension, Wibble, Bung and their faction, about his thinking. And then he obviously decided he wanted to share, a bit at least.

‘You know,
we talked about it before, remember, when you came to see me inside?’

I nodded, I thought I knew where he was going with this now.

‘Like I said at the time, I think it’s
always been
one of the really stupid things about how this sort of business gets run sometimes. You have to give people
who really want out,
a way out I reckon.
Cos
if you try keeping them in, then all you are doing is setting them up as someone who’s looking for a way out and we’ve already talked about where that leads.’

He really was his father’s son I realized at last.
Toad
had been right, it didn’t do to underestimate Charlie, young thug or not, there was more to him than that, and that made him much mo
re dangerous than any young hot-
headed muscle.

‘
And it has to be secure,
’ he continued,
‘
they have to know that I mean it and they’ll be safe and comfortable
,
if not
,
then it doesn’t work.
’

‘It’s like
d
ictators,
’ I said,
‘
you want ’
em to go, you let them slip off to Saudi or wherever
.’

He nodded at the analogy.

‘If you don’t then they’ve got no option but to stay and fight because either they win or they die.
’

‘Or to roll over…
?’ I asked.

‘Because snitching ends up being the only way out
.
’
A
gain, he was nodding
.
‘
So one of the things I was reading talked about how to deal with desperate guys.’

‘Which is?’

‘You always need to leave them a way out. Put them in a corner and they have no choice but to
fight or
snitch.’

That had the ring of familiarity about it
I thought. But it didn’t sound like one of Damage’s lifts from
The P
and
for the life of me
,
at the moment I just couldn’t place it.

‘
And like I told you before. We don’t want either.

‘
This way they go, but they have to be weak enough that they’re no threat. And that’s part of the deal, in fact
it’s
part of the reason that they know they’ll be safe. I don’t want no noise, I don’t want
n
o publicity, no fucking probe into the killing of this old fart or that old wanker. Just
let ’
em
fry out there in the
s
un and I’ll just keep the business rolling. Nice and quiet, that’s the way I like it. It’s just good business sense that’s all.
’

‘
So here’s my offer
,’ he told me,
‘and
I want you to take it to them exactly like this
. Is that
OK
? Exactly mind
, do
you think you can
manage to
do that?
’

‘
Yes
,
’
I said.
‘
W
hat do you want me to tell them?’

‘
They
can go,
but
they have to come and see me first
.’

‘
Come and see you?
’
I asked, ‘
Why
,
what difference does that make?
’

‘
Tell
them I’ll need to see the ink.
’

‘
The ink?
What
is this
?
You want them to
sign a
peace treaty?
’

‘
You really are a fucking plonker aren’t you?
’ he said in disgust, ‘
Not that kind of ink you dickhead
. They’ll know what I mean
, but that’s why
you
need
to be sure they get this message
just like I
give it to
you
.
’

And
then as
he told me what to tell the waiting Wibble and Bung,
finally
I understood
.

*

Tattoos
.

Of course, it would all come down to ink the way
Charlie
had
said
it would.

‘
So what did he
say?
’ asked Wibble as I stepped inside.

‘
You have a deal,
’ I told him,
‘but
on one condition
.’

‘
Which is?
’

‘
You have to go and see him
,’ I said flatly, ‘both of you, h
e
’ll
want
to see your ink
.’

‘
Oh
yeah
,
’ interrupted Bung,
‘
and what does he want to see
then? I
f he
wants
it fucking removed then
he can fuck off
.’

‘Hey! Hey!’ I protested
.
‘
E
asy, don’t give me grief, I’m just the messenger.

‘Anyway, relax,’ I added, ‘t
hat’s what he said you’d say
,
and that’s not what he wants.
’

Bung stepped back a bit.

‘So what does he want then?’ asked Wibble
cautiously
.

‘
He said he want
s
to make you an offer.
But it’s a
one
-
time
deal
.
A take it or leave it job.’