Nasty Business

by Gillian Godden

  She felt that was good enough for him. He had two women in his life, and each was some kind of mother figure. It was for the best that he kept them apart. That way he wouldn’t feel awkward, showing either of them attention in front of the other.

  Tony had already told Dan what to do while he was away, and he had apparently done his job well. Sharon had told Jake that people were on their guard, waiting for trouble. Dan had let the whispers out that while Tony was away, he suspected that the South London mob would try and cause trouble. Angus had got a few of his men that were known to the older publicans to drive erratically through the streets, hooting their horns, playing loud music and shouting abusive comments. It was nothing major or out of the ordinary, but once Dan and his friends had started up the gossip about the possibility of trouble brewing, everyone seemed nervous.

  Publicans noticed that there were strangers hanging around on street corners, whispering to other men. This all awoke a cold feeling of dread in them. What was about to happen? Some of the publicans had already been to see Sharon and told her their fears. Apparently, they knew there was going to be trouble. Tony’s plan was already working.

  Hearing the reports from Sharon, Tony and Jake couldn’t help but laugh. This was ridiculous behaviour and they were all paranoid, but yes, they would all be pleased to see Tony back at the helm. It made them feel safe.’

  ‘So, Jake,’ said Tony. He was relaxing on a sunlounger with a glass of home-grown wine. The sun was shining and the floral smell of grapes emanating from the vineyard filled the air. Jake was dozing on a lounger; business seemed a million miles away. ‘Jake, are you listening to me? And don’t pretend you’re asleep behind those dark sunglasses. Listen to me, time for plan B.’

  Jake sat up, it was no use. ‘Yes, I’m listening.’ He yawned and stretched, then he moved his sunglasses and placed them on the top of his head. ‘What is plan B?’

  ‘Let’s see what Angus’s friend, Luke, can do, shall we? I’ve got Bennie to make up a few little packets of cocaine. He can sell them outside of Mick’s pub, and then he can start a fight in the pub or something. I don’t really care about the details, just as long as people are worried and prepared to pay for our help.’

  ‘Okay.’ Jake lay down again. He wanted to soak up the sun and sleep. Rosanna’s huge meals were making him tired, and what with the many bottles of different wines Miriam insisted they tried, well, he was enjoying just letting the world pass him by.

  ‘Do you want to go clubbing tonight, Jake? I thought we could check out some of the local talent in the nightclubs. Come on, we’ll go into town.’ Tony knew Jake didn’t want to move; he was settled in his lounger and that would be it until Rosanna shouted that their next meal was ready.

  ‘No, I don’t want to go clubbing to check out the talent, I’m a married man, for God’s sake. I’ll come for a drink with you, though, and if you get lucky, that’s your business.’

  ‘Done … but what if I get lucky and you’re thousands of miles away from your wife, and my lady friend has a friend?’ Tony teased. He knew there was no baiting Jake, but he liked winding him up, anyway.

  ‘You’ll get lucky, Tony, we both know that, and she will probably have a friend, but her friend won’t be half as beautiful as my Sharon, and she won’t know the way I like things done.’ Jake could have kicked himself. Now he knew he had raised Tony’s curiosity.

  ‘The way you like things done, what do you mean?’ Tony was laughing and he sat up on his sunlounger to look at Jake. ‘Have you got some hidden agenda in the bedroom that I don’t know about?’

  ‘None of your business, I’m not discussing it with you. All I’m saying is, Sharon is the woman for me, and that is final. Let’s go for your drink and come home.’ Jake had never discussed his sex life with Tony; whereas Tony’s sex life was an open book, what went on between himself and Sharon stayed in the bedroom.

  Jake knew he had started something and that Tony wouldn’t give up. He kept throwing out jibes and comments at him.

  ‘Do you dress up, Jake? Do you like all that whips and chains stuff? Do you use toys?’

  All afternoon Tony kept coming out with the weird and the wonderful, and Jake just sighed and shook his head. ‘You’re sick, Tony, you do know that, don’t you. Some of the things you’re saying, I haven’t even heard of.’ They were laughing and joking together like the old days when they didn’t have a care in the world. This was, indeed, a much-needed break.

  ‘Hey, do you know that Wendy I’ve been seeing? She likes being blindfolded and doing it. She says it heightens her other senses. Have you tried that?’

  ‘Maybe,’ said Jake, while he was getting ready to go out that evening, ’just maybe she likes to be blindfolded so that she doesn’t have to look at you.’ He burst out laughing and watched Tony’s face fall. That definitely ended the conversation.

  The club scene was good, in the centre of Italy, and the girls were certainly plentiful. Jake sat at the bar while Tony flirted with the women. Finally, he settled on one, and she wanted to take him back to her place.

  ‘Come on, Jake,’ he said, ‘you’re my wingman. Her apartment’s only around the corner and you’re coming with me.’ Tony took hold of Jake’s glass and put it on the bar. He then took the arm of a beautiful Italian woman with long black hair. ‘This is Maria, and this is her good friend and flatmate, Susie. Girls, this is Jake.’ Tony charmingly did the introductions and led them all to the exit.

  A few hours later, Tony and Jake emerged from the women’s apartment. Tony was still doing up the buttons on his shirt and stuffing his tie into his jacket pocket. He had a broad grin on his face as they walked away from the block of apartments.

  ‘It’s been a good night, don’t you think?’ Tony was smiling, and put his arm around Jake’s shoulders. The cool early morning breeze was a welcome relief from the stuffiness of the apartment. They were walking along the high street towards the taxi rank.

  ‘Not bad at all, and no, just for the record, I didn’t. She seemed pretty pissed off, but after I put the television on and sat down with a mug of coffee, she took the hint – although once she had given up on me, I saw her make her way into that noisy bedroom with you. I told you, Tony, I’m a one-man woman, and Sharon is the only woman for me.’

  ‘I know that, you idiot, I just wanted you there so they couldn’t help themselves to my wallet. Like I said, you’re my wingman, always will be. Come on, let’s go home and get some sleep.’

  ***

  ‘Antonias! Wake up, Antonias.’ Tony was fast asleep in bed and Rosanna was shaking him roughly. ‘Antonias, it’s late afternoon, will you wake up.’

  Tony tried coming around, but he was bleary eyed. He could hear Rosanna shouting at him to wake up, and her rough shaking of his arm didn’t help. He looked up at her and tried hard to focus. The sun was peering through the windows and shining in his eyes. He held his hand up to block it.

  ‘What time is it?’ Tony was hungover and tired. What was all the panic?

  ‘It’s nearly five, you must get up. I’m going to wake Jake. Don’t go back to sleep.’ Rosanna ran across the landing, shouting Jake’s name, and looking backwards to see if Tony had got up yet.

  Jake had heard the noise. He was sitting up on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands when she rapped on the door then hurried in.

  After Tony and Jake had got back, in the early hours of the morning, they had drunk another couple of bottles of wine. Big mistake!

  Jake held up his hand to stop Rosanna shouting. ‘I know, I heard, Rosanna, what’s the big panic?’ Jake was trying to make sense of what she was saying, but she was speaking so fast and in Italian, he was having trouble.

  ‘It is Sharon, she is on the telephone. She said she will wait because she needs to speak to you now, it’s important, there has been some sort of trouble. She is waiting for you both.’

  Once Jake heard Sharon’s name, he seemed to sober up. He looked up at Rosanna. ‘What’s wrong? Is she okay?
’ He stood up; he was only wearing his boxer shorts, but went down to the telephone on the landing anyway.

  ‘Sharon, what’s wrong, are you okay?’ Jake was rubbing his head and blinking, trying to get his eyes to stay open.

  ‘It’s not me, Jake, I’m fine, but you have to come back now, the pair of you. You said you were only going to start an argument and a couple of fights, but it’s been mayhem. There was an acid attack, they tried to throw it in someone’s face, but they missed and hit his arm and back. Come home now.’

  Jake continued to listen; he looked up and saw Tony emerging from his bedroom, and he told Sharon they would catch the first flight back to England. Tony could see Jake was serious and he sobered up quickly.

  ‘Were going home today, Tony. I’ll fill you in as we pack. It doesn’t sound good, though. It seems plan B has gone wrong.’ Jake filled Tony in on all the details he knew. He could see Tony was fuming and when Tony picked up the telephone and rang Angus, his temper flew down the line.

  Poor Angus wasn’t able to get a word in, Tony was shouting and screaming at him. Jake was already on the telephone booking a flight back. He had told Rosanna, although she already knew that there was an emergency at home and they had to leave. She was helping them pack their things.

  ‘Stop pacing, Tony. Well, for now, anyway. Let’s go and say goodbye to your grandmother. Let us leave on a high note. The rest we can sort out in a few hours. Go, Tony, and thank her for letting us both have the run of her house. I’ll come along in a few minutes.’ Jake was giving Tony time alone with Miriam to say goodbye.

  Tony hugged and kissed Miriam and painted on a charming smile, although inside he was seething. Jake followed behind and hugged her. Once all the farewells were over, they were on the way to the airport. Tony couldn’t get home quick enough.

  ‘What the bloody hell has happened, Jake? How does someone get told to start a fight and instead launch an acid attack? Who would do that?’ Tony already knew the answer to that, it had been Luke, the very man Angus had suggested using. He should have trusted his own instincts and put a stop to it.

  ‘Tony, ease up. How the hell would Angus know that this idiot would do something like that? Let’s just get back and find out what happened properly.’ Jake knew this was futile, Tony was angry and he wasn’t going to stop going on about it, until they got home.

  John, Tony’s driver, was waiting for them at the airport when they arrived.

  In less than half a day they were both back at the club, having a drink with Sharon, while she filled them in on the details.

  ‘Where do I start?’ Sharon took a big deep breath. ‘It seems all was going to plan, a few dealers were hanging around but, as instructed, there was nothing heavy. To be fair, Angus had it all under control. It was mayhem, but controlled mayhem. Then this Luke guy went into one of the pubs and punched one of the strippers. Can you believe that? Obviously, a fight broke out when a few of the guys there stepped in to help her out.’

  Jake could see Tony’s face turning red with anger. He looked like a kettle about to boil. He was about to speak when Jake put a hand up to stop him. ‘Carry on, Sharon, what happened?’

  ‘Can you believe it, one of our own bouncers, Joe, stepped in to pull this Luke guy away, and he pulled out a canister from under his coat, took the top off and threw it at him. Liquid flew out everywhere. Thankfully, when the bouncer saw him put his hand under his coat, he half turned away. He must have thought he had a knife or a gun, or something. The liquid was acid, Tony. This Luke guy threw acid at him. It went down his back and his arm, where he tried to shield himself. The publican threw the contents of the ice bucket on Joe and pulled his shirt off to stop it from sticking to his flesh, and thank God he acted so quickly.’ Sharon looked concerned, even a little scared. ‘What are we going to do, Jake?’

  ‘Was anyone else hurt?’ Tony was in command now and he wanted to know everything.

  Sharon sighed. ‘Well, the stripper will be off work for a couple of weeks with her black eyes, I suppose, but it’s mainly the bouncer, Joe. Everyone is shit scared, Tony, and they want you to put them at their ease. After all, this is what you wanted, isn’t it? Superheroes, Tony and Jake, what would we do without you both. Well, the hospital wouldn’t be full up, that’s for sure. All this to keep people paying you both protection money. Jesus Christ. This is people’s lives you’re playing with!’ Sharon walked away from the table and went to the ladies’ room. Anything to stop her arguing with them both. She had said more than enough.

  Jake watched her leave. What could he say? He had agreed to this and gone along with Tony’s idea, although, to be fair, there weren’t supposed to be any casualties.

  ‘Now, we go and see Angus. And you tell Sharon to stop spitting her dummy out, will you, Jake? She’s your wife; sort her out.’ Tony stood up and went to the car. He was in no mood for Sharon’s sarcasm. He was angry, and wanted some answers.

  Jake ran towards the car; there was no way he was going to let Tony meet Angus alone, not in this mood.

  This time there was no preliminary chit chat. Tony went straight upstairs to Angus’s apartment, walked directly towards him and threw his fist into his face. Angus was knocked backwards and fell on to the floor. Tony took out his gun and pointed it at him. ‘You stupid bastard! I give you one job to do and you can’t get that right. Get up, so I can hit you again. I’d blow your brains out if I thought you had any.’

  Tony walked forward to where Angus lay on the floor and shoved the gun in his mouth. He was angry, his eyes had gone that awful dark blue that meant his mean streak was well and truly to the surface, Jekyll and Hyde style.

  ‘Stop it, Tony.’ Jake pushed his body in between Tony and Angus. He knew if Tony started hitting him, he wouldn’t stop, would possibly even shoot him. ‘Everybody, take a breath. Angus, come on, get up, man.’

  Angus wiped the blood off his mouth. He started to stand, although his legs were weak and he was visibly shaking. All the while he was watching Tony, waiting for him to leap at him again. Tony’s breathing was heavy and his face was set like stone.

  Jake pulled out a chair for Angus to sit down on. ‘What happened, Angus? Why did that Luke guy hit the stripper? Why would he do that?’

  Angus sat down and Tony lunged forward. Again, Jake pulled Tony by the arm away from Angus. Fighting amongst themselves wasn’t getting them anywhere.

  ‘Please, Mr Lambrianu, Jake, I’m sorry. That wee lassie was walking past Luke with her collection mug, and she asked him if he wanted to give her a tip for her dance, apparently. That was when the bloody fool said yes and fisted her in the face. I told you he was a wife-beater, but I didn’t expect this.’

  Angus burst into tears. ‘That young bouncer lad, Joe, he stepped in and that bloody Luke threw acid at him. It burned his body. He’s a right mess, in the hospital. On the other hand, boss, no police were involved because it was considered more gang wars than anything else, and apart from the wee lassie stripper, no civilians were hurt or maimed. Also,’ Angus was trying to get Tony and Jake to see the bigger picture, ‘it seems you achieved what you wanted. Everyone is running scared.’ Angus wiped away his tears.

  ‘Where is this Luke, now, Angus? What have you done to him, is he alive?’ asked Jake.

  ‘I got some of the big Jamaican lads to give him a good beating up. Believe me, he’s going to be in hospital a lot longer than Joe.’ Angus seemed pleased with himself.

  Tony started to calm down; he knew this was all of his own doing, and maybe some good would come out of it. As Angus said, there were no civilians involved and yet the local businessmen had well and truly been scared to death by this acid attack. After all, it could have been them or, even worse, their children.

  ‘Angus, it’s too soon now, but you said before that this Luke guy owes money everywhere?’ Tony said.

  Angus nodded.

  ‘Buy his debts. Give it a long while, maybe a year, and we’ll kill him. There’s too much attention around at the m
oment, if he suddenly gets killed now, it’s too obvious.’ The time to even the score with this guy would come, but the dust had to settle first. The beating would be enough for now.

  ‘I’m sorry, boss, I didn’t mean Joe no harm.’ Angus looked apologetic and scared. He looked towards Jake, and mouthed, ‘Thank you.’ He knew Tony had a reputation for being a crazy, mad bastard and many had been the time he had seen him lose his temper, but he had never been on the receiving end of it, like this, before. Angus was worried – what if he lost his home and job? What would Elsie say? Tears began to fall down his face again and he wiped them away quickly.

  ‘That’s it for now, Angus, if I decide to let you keep your job and home, I’ll inform you. Buy those debts and keep your eye on that man’s whereabouts. I don’t want him out of sight.’ Tony kicked a chair out of the way and stormed out.

  Once outside, Tony hit the roof of the car with his hand. ‘Damn it, Jake, can’t anyone do a simple job anymore? Right, first things first, get Joe moved to a private hospital. Does he have a wife or family? If so, see that they are okay, financially. Get Sharon to call a meeting with the publicans and tell them we’re back and it’s all in hand. Tell that Angus we no longer need Bennie sniffing around with his dealers, but tell him to thank him for his co-operation.’ Tony was mentally adding up all the things he needed to do. ‘Can you think of anything I’ve missed?’

  Jake shook his head. He knocked on the glass window between the back seat of the Rolls Royce and the driver’s seat. ‘John, take us to the hospital to see Joe, will you? We’re going there first.’

  Jake looked at Tony and saw him nod at him.

  ‘We need to go and see him, Tony, he works for us and we caused this. Let’s see what damage has been done. In the meantime, we’ll set up a meeting and get Dan to start spreading the word that the South London mob have been well and truly put in their place and scared off. Then we find out who this stripper is and make sure she gets some sort of compensation – sick pay, if you like.’

  Tony knew he was lucky to have Jake. He was the voice of reason.