The bossman used the club in the West End as his own private knocking shop, it was no wonder it never made any money. The only time it made money was when the junkies went in to buy their drugs off him.
‘Why don’t you two boys stay a while and keep me company.’ She went and got another two glasses, and started pouring the cocktail mixture into them.
‘Vodka martini; you don’t mind that, do you?’ She walked over to them and handed them a glass each. ‘I’m Carrie, by the way.’
Antonias took a sip. ‘It’s nice,’ he said. He looked at Jake, then took another gulp of his drink and finished it.
‘But why waste a perfectly good afternoon drinking, when we could be doing something else?’ Antonias reached out and pushed the silky dressing gown from her shoulders, it dropped to the floor.
He grabbed hold of her and pulled her towards him, letting the straps of her camisole drop, leaving her naked. ‘Where’s the bedroom?’ he asked.
Carrie pointed up the stairs and started walking towards them.
‘Have you got enough for two?’ Antonias nodded towards Jake.
Carrie looked at them both, wet her lips and nodded; she walked up the stairs and they both followed.
After a few hours, they both got back in the car and made their way back to the bossman.
‘Bloody hell, Antony, that woman’s insatiable. I thought she was never going to stop.’ Jake put his head back on the car seat and yawned.
Antonias was grinning. ‘I think we satisfied her needs, but you’re right, she’s sex-starved, and we’re going to see to it that she never goes hungry again. What a way to spend an afternoon, eh?’
Visits to Carrie became a regular occurrence for Antonias. Jake sometimes went with him, but he had finally got together with Sharon, and didn’t want to spoil it. He still liked the odd afternoon with Carrie and Antonias, though. It was fun. It was just the way Antonias liked it – there were no strings, no commitments and no promises.
It wasn’t some lovestruck young woman telling him she loved him and planning their future together, it was what it was: just sex and nothing more.
Carrie did have her other uses, though; she bought Antonias a gold cigarette case and lighter, an expensive suit, and silk ties. Sometimes, she had her friend visit. She was just as willing as Carrie, and afterwards, she would hand him some cash and tell him to buy himself something nice.
‘You’re playing with fire, Antony, you’re having sex with the boss’s wife, for God’s sake. How much longer do you think you can get away with it?’ said Jake.
‘It’s just a bit of fun, where’s the harm in it?’ He grinned. ‘Do you like the suit?’ Antonias was showing off, twirling around in front of the mirror, admiring the expensive suit he was wearing.
‘Antony, you’re acting like some male prostitute. Carrie and her friend are paying you … what happens when you don’t want to do it anymore? She thinks she’s bought you, lock, stock and barrel.’
Antonias had never thought of it like that before. Between jobs, when he knew the boss was busy, he would slip off to see Carrie. He had tried to make it the same regular days, and they’d had some wild afternoons. Afterwards, she always stopped him before he left and said she had bought him something.
One day, she had told him to drive her to one of the major gents’ outfitting stores, and that was when she had looked through the rails and bought him the suit.
He realised Jake was right, he was acting like some male prostitute, but it was addictive. Carrie didn’t mind how many times Antonias was ready for sex; as far as she was concerned, the more times the merrier. Her friend was the same. Antonias had a high libido, he was always ready for sex. His friends who worked the doors at the pubs and clubs used to laugh about it and call him ‘the stud’.
Antonias decided Jake was right; he’d had his fun, now was the time to stop, before it got out of control.
The next week, he didn’t turn up at Carrie’s house on their usual day, or the day after that; he presumed she would get the message.
Antonias went to a local nightclub one night with Jake. He knew Tommy, the man on the door, and waved to him as he walked in.
Tommy called him over. ‘Antony, have you been messing with the boss’s wife?’ Tommy asked him directly.
Antonias was taken aback. ‘Why do you ask that, Tommy, mate? That’s a strange thing to say.’
‘You’re a good mate, and I think I should warn you, the boss knows somebody has put the smile back on her face. Let’s be honest, you’re not discreet about that dick of yours, are you?’
Antonias felt his face flush; he didn’t know what to say. Trouble was definitely brewing and he had no one else to blame but himself.
‘Watch your back, Antony, she’ll point the finger at you, if she has to. Be careful.’
Antonias decided not to go into the nightclub; he turned and went home, instead. Just how much did the boss know? Damn it, his stupid sex drive was going to lose him his income, more than that, possibly, his life.
He avoided Carrie and made no contact, hoping that would be the end of it and she would soon find someone to fill his place. After all, she was a grown woman, she had known the score.
A couple of weeks later, Antonias bumped into Sharon in the street. They’d stopped to speak, then decided to go for a coffee. They were friends now. It was purely platonic, not least because it was pretty obvious that she had eyes only for Jake, and that pleased him. Apart from Elle, he had never had a woman as a friend before, so this was a whole new experience.
Afterwards, Antonias went back to the warehouse, where he was fixing up the cars and changing their identity. He was busy with a Merc when, suddenly, the doors burst open and the police walked in. There was nothing Antonias could do, he had been caught red-handed, all the evidence of the stolen cars stood around him.
Thank God Jake had been doing some bookkeeping for a local shopkeeper who couldn’t keep track of his own receipts! The last thing Antonias wanted was for Jake to be dragged into all of this.
The police put his hands behind his back and handcuffed him; there was nothing he could do but get into the car with them.
He was charged with car theft, and selling stolen vehicles. The police had received many reports about people’s cars being stolen, and now they had their man.
What Antonias hadn’t known was that, while he had been sitting in the café having a coffee with Sharon, Carrie had driven past and seen them laughing and joking, through the windows. She was jealous and angry: she thought she now knew why Antonias hadn’t been to see her. He had traded her in for a younger model.
She told her husband, the bossman, that she didn’t want Antonias going to the house anymore, because he had frightened her, and he had tried forcing himself upon her. She had almost accused him of rape, and cried on the bossman’s shoulders, telling him all about that awful Antony.
The bossman, while not a hundred per cent sure whether to believe her innocence, knew someone had been messing around with his wife. There was gossip going around and he had to do something about it, to save his reputation. He decided to teach that cocky Italian who was boss.
He told Antonias that he needed some expensive ‘hot’ cars dealing with straight away, and Antonias had walked right into his trap.
No sooner had Antonias started stripping the cars down than the police had been tipped off about who was stealing and dealing in the cars. Little did anyone know, but the boss was a known informer to the police, so they knew he wasn’t lying.
No matter what the legal aid lawyer tried to say to defend Antonias, he really didn’t have a leg to stand on; he had been caught red-handed. The police had questioned him about who was dealing in the stolen cars with him. The fact was, they already knew, but they wanted to know if he would rat out the boss to save his own skin.
Antonias said nothing; he took all the blame and held his hands up, much to the annoyance of his lawyer, who had tried and failed to persuade him to talk.
>
He had been allowed his one telephone call and used it to ring Jake, to tell him what had happened. When he had appeared in court to hear the charges against him, Jake and Elle were there, and were surprised he wasn’t allowed out on bail. Apparently, the police had told the judge they feared he might make a run for it, and not turn up for his court case.
Elle and Jake visited him while he was in custody. They sat on opposite sides of a small table, and Elle cried the whole time. Antonias was sorry about that; he had never meant to upset her.
‘Who did this, Antony?’ Jake asked. He was determined to find the culprit.
‘I did, Jake. You keep out of it, promise me that. I’ve only got myself to blame. Anyway, it won’t be so bad in here. I get three meals a day, and it’s not the first institution I’ve been in, is it, Elle?’
He was trying to make light of the situation, for her sake. He told her he didn’t want her to visit him again, this wasn’t the place for her, surrounded by all kinds of criminals, but she wouldn’t hear a word of it. She wagged her finger in his face in a motherly fashion and told him to send the visiting orders.
Jake smiled at him. ‘Hey, Antony, don’t go dropping the soap in the showers and bending over to pick it up, okay?’ He knew Antonias could look after himself, and was also trying to make light of it.
When it was time to go back to his cell, Antonias got a lump in his throat. Elle and Jake were going home without him, Elle to her cosy home and Jake to their party flat. He was escorted back to his cell.
***
The prison was a grim place, and God knew how long he would end up in there for; that, he would soon find out when he went to court. He was sharing a cell with an old guy called ‘Badger’, mainly because he had black hair at the sides, and was going grey in the middle.
‘’I’m on the top bunk,’ he’d said to Antonias, when he’d turned up on his first day. ‘What’s your name?’
‘Antony,’ was all he said. He lay on the bottom bunk and sighed; after all his bravado, this is what he’d come to, he’d gone right round in a circle, back again in an institution, with rules and regulations.
Still, he thought to himself, considering the things I’ve done in the past, this is a little price to pay. As far as he was concerned, he had got off easy.
At least he was a fighter and could hold his own; he knew it would be one constant battle in prison until he had proved himself.
Antonias kept himself to himself and didn’t make a point of leaving his cell during recreation time.
He was reading the newspaper, one afternoon, when three men walked in. The cell doors were always open through the day, there was no privacy.
‘Well, well, aren’t you the pretty boy.’ One of them walked up to Antonias and put his hand on his shoulder. Antonias carried on reading his newspaper.
‘We don’t get many blue-eyed blondes, fresh for the picking, in here.’ They all smiled at each other.
It had already crossed Antonias’s mind that he would be a target for the perverts, and when Jake had made his joke about the showers, he knew he was right.
These perverts didn’t care who they bullied and raped, just as long as they could relieve themselves somewhere.
One of the others closed the cell door; the guards were walking the far side of the landing, so they had time and opportunity to do what they intended to do. Antonias looked up and saw that Badger had been about to walk in, but when he saw the three large men with Antonias, he decided to turn around and leave.
‘You keep watch, I’m going first,’ one of the men said, and started undoing the zip on his trousers.
‘You,’ he pointed to the other inmate, ‘hold him down and gag him. I don’t want any noise.’
Antonias looked at the man; he could see the excited expectation of what was to come in his eyes.
‘Okay, guys, there’s no need for that,’ said Antonias. ‘Let’s just keep it friendly, eh?’
The three of them all looked at each other and smiled; this was going to be easier than they’d thought. Maybe this pretty boy liked this kind of thing and was used to it. Well, they would show him.
The man who had decided he was going to be first had already taken out his penis, it was erect and ready for action.
Antonias smiled and held out his hand towards it; the man closed his eyes, in anticipation. Antonias grabbed it and yanked it with force, making the man yowl with pain and surprise as he dropped to his knees. The other two stepped in front of Antonias; they knew what they had come for and they were going to get it.
One of them reached out to hold Antonias’s arms, and Antonias head-butted him, then he turned to the other one, kicked him in the groin, and punched him.
They hadn’t expected this young pretty boy, as they called him, to put up such a fight. Normally their victims struggled a bit, but once they were held down, they had no choice but to submit.
Antonias grabbed the rickety wooden chair in the cell, raised it and hit the man on the floor with it. He raised it again, but the man, half unconscious, held his arm out for him to stop.
The other two came rushing forward. One had produced a knife, which made Antonias smile; it wasn’t the first time someone had held a knife to him.
‘Go on, then, you pervert, use it. Cut my throat, stab me, go on, you worthless piece of shit!’
Both men stood and stared at him, the one with the knife plunged it towards Antonias and stabbed him in the arm.
Antonias’s eyes grew dark. The pain was excruciating and he saw the blood start seeping through his prison-issue sweatshirt, but he knew he couldn’t give up now and let them win.
Antonias grabbed the man’s arm and, with his other hand – now with blood trickling down it – grabbed the knife off him and stabbed it in his eye. The man was holding his face and screaming in pain.
Suddenly, with all the noise, the door flew open and two prison warders ran in. They saw the knife in Antonias’s hand, and the chaos with the three other men in the cell.
‘Drop it, son,’ one of the guards shouted. Another prison guard took out his baton and hit Antonias in the guts with it, winding him and making him drop to his knees.
They dragged him out on to the landing. The other prisoners gawped at the commotion. Some had seen the three well-known bullies entering Antonias’s cell, and Badger had told the rest what was happening in there, but they were all wrong.
More guards came. Antonias was dragged across the landing, scraping his stomach and knees. The blood from the stab wound in his arm left a trail on the floor.
The other prisoners watched as the three would-be assailants were dragged out, and what a state they were in. It was a bloodbath.
‘Go and call an ambulance, and tell the prison governor what the hell has happened here,’ one of the prison officers said to a colleague.
It was chaos. Antonias was dragged away and pushed into a cell on his own. He was losing a lot of blood, and what with the exhaustion and the blood loss, he leaned his head against the cell wall and passed out.
***
When Antonias woke up, he was in the prison hospital and his arm was bandaged. It was throbbing, but at least he was okay.
‘Morning, how are we today?’
Antonias looked up; he presumed he was dealing with the doctor, because the man was wearing a white coat.
The doctor told Antonias that he was lucky, it was just a flesh wound, but the knife was old and rusty and so they had given him a course of antibiotics, in case of infection.
The food was better in the hospital, Antonias thought, not like the usual slop they served up.
The prisoner governor came later that day with two of the prison officers; he wasn’t happy.
‘What happened?’ he said. ‘Why did you stab that man in the eye? He’s in hospital and he’s actually lost his eye, thanks to you. So, come on then, let’s have your excuses.’
Antonias knew he had to answer, but he wasn’t going to tell him the truth.
> ‘I don’t know what happened, sir, I must have stabbed myself in the arm and then fell on that other fellow and poked him in the eye.’
‘And the rest? What about the two other men in your cell? I have to explain all of this, you know.’
‘What did they tell you?’ asked Antonias. ‘Did they tell you why they were in my cell, all three of them?’
The prisoner governor knew what these men were like, and he knew exactly what Antonias was saying. He turned towards one of the senior warders.
‘Well? What did they tell you? And how did that knife go unnoticed?’
Now the prison governor needed someone to blame, and he’d decided it had to be the warders’ fault for not keeping their eyes open and not noticing an illegal weapon.
The warder gave his excuse about being on one of the other landings. As for the knife, well, these criminals always found some way of smuggling things in. He looked at Antonias for confirmation, because he was in just as much trouble.
‘You’ll be put into solitary confinement, you’ll have no privileges, and if those men wish to press charges against you, so be it,’ said the prisoner governor. He was more concerned about news of the attack getting out to the newspapers. Inmates had fights all the time, but a man had lost an eye and had been taken to the hospital.
‘What about me?’ said Antonias. ‘Don’t I get the opportunity to press charges for this?’
‘Shut up and show some respect to the governor,’ the warder shouted at him. He gave Antonias a stern look.
‘Well, yes, I suppose you could, if you wanted to.’ The governor nodded. He wanted to keep this incident isolated. ‘The other men are just claiming it was a game that got out of hand, some bloody game!’
‘Well, that’s what happened, then, sir.’ Antonias knew the governor really wanted to know what he was going to do about it, and this seemed to satisfy him.
The governor glared at him. ‘You do realize this will go on your record, and when you go to court, time will be added on for this actual bodily harm incident.’
Antonias knew he was testing him; he nodded respectfully, and apologized.
Dangerous Games Page 11