Takedown

by Heather Atkinson

  She nodded and took out her phone, her brothers quietly waiting.

  “All right babes,” said Jules’s cheerful voice on the other end of the line. “How are things in candyfloss land?”

  “Not so good actually.”

  Jules immediately picked up on the dour tone in her voice. “Christ, what’s happened?”

  “Four hundred grand’s worth of product was nicked from our vault.”

  There was a beat of silence followed by a string of expletives so loud Faith winced.

  “I’m so sorry Jules,” she said when the impressive tirade finally came to an end.

  “Which fucking dead men took it?” she snarled down the line.

  “We’re not sure yet but whoever they were, they’re pros.”

  Jules’s family had endured a lot of trauma thanks to people trying to take what belonged to her family, so her sympathies were immediately raised. “Bastards,” she hissed.

  “We’re not a hundred percent certain yet. It’s only just happened and that’s just conjecture from the footage.”

  “I want to see it.”

  “I’ll send it over as soon as I hang up. I’m so fucking sorry Jules.”

  “Don’t get your knickers in a twist gorgeous, these things happen but you’ve got to get after the bastards and quick and when you find them make sure they’re never able to rip off anyone ever again.”

  “You mean…”

  “I mean bury them. I know this is a step up from what your family normally gets involved in but anything less will make you look weak and you won’t last five minutes. This isn’t just about protecting your reputations. It’s about protecting your lives.”

  “I understand.”

  “Good. I’ve every confidence you can pull this off Faith.”

  Faith wished she had the same confidence in herself. “Are you going to get involved?”

  “No. You lot can handle it and watch your backs. Whoever did this will expect you to come for them.”

  “We will. Should I tell our mutual friend?”

  “Yes. He might hear something on his grapevine. Keep me informed and chin up babes – you’ve got this.”

  With that she rang off, leaving Faith feeling even more depressed.

  “Well,” said Caleb. “Is she coming?”

  “No, they’re not getting involved. She said we can handle it.” Faith took a deep breath. “She also said that we’ve to bury these bastards. Literally.”

  Silence reined as the brothers all looked at each other.

  “I’m sorry lads,” she said.

  “Why are you sorry?” said Vance.

  “Because I got you into this mess and now you’ve got to be involved in murder.”

  “This isn’t your fault and we knew it would come to this one day.”

  “And it’s nothing new,” said Caleb. “We got into all that with Lenny Paisley.”

  “I suppose,” she said glumly.

  “Come on sis, snap out of it,” said Jason. “We need you.”

  Faith sat up straighter in her seat. Feeling sorry for herself would get them nowhere. “Right, first I want to talk to our men who got beaten up. Vance and Caleb, you’re with me. I want your take on what they have to say. Kev and Jason, call Tariq, arrange a meeting and then get on with finding new storage facilities.”

  “Yes boss,” grinned Jason before he and Kevin rushed out, all eagerness.

  “At least someone’s enjoying this fuck up,” said Faith. “Right lads, let’s go and see what we can find out.”

  CHAPTER 6

  Greg Bailey had worked for their family for a few months and had proved himself to be intelligent, quick-thinking and very handy with his fists. Despite being a hard bastard he’d taken a bad beating and he lay in bed, face black and blue, right eye swollen shut, left lower leg encased in plaster. Faith sat by his bedside, Vance and Caleb standing either side of her.

  “How are you feeling Greg?” said Faith. “Or is that a stupid question?”

  “Sore all over,” he replied. “I don’t think there’s one bit of me they didn’t batter.”

  “I’m sorry this happened to you.”

  “Not as sorry as I am.”

  “You’ll be paid while you recover, we won’t see you go short.”

  “Thanks,” he said. “That’s really good of you. I would smile but it hurts too much.”

  “We need you to tell us what happened.”

  “I’m not too sure to be honest, it happened so fast. The power went and we assumed it was a power cut. I mean, we didn’t think anyone would find that place. We were getting the back-up generator going when they stormed in, we never even heard them and they were on us immediately. They were all trained and they had these round gadget thingies.”

  “Gadget thingies?” frowned Caleb.

  “I don’t know what they were, I’d never seen anything like them before but when they threw them to the floor light burst out of them, blinding us. It was a relief when I could see again, I can tell you. It hurt so much I thought I’d been blinded.”

  Faith forced herself not to react to this statement, despite the fact that it startled her. She knew exactly what those devices were and who made them. It seemed not all the flashes they’d seen on the footage had been made by stun guns. “Did they speak at all?”

  “Yeah. They yelled at us to stay the fuck down and they occasionally spoke to each other. They used as few words as possible but their accents were definitely northern.”

  “What weaponry did they have?”

  “Standard Glocks, stun guns and batons.”

  “Why did they need to batter you if they had guns?”

  “Because we fought back. They could have shot us but they didn’t but I don’t think it was because they were showing mercy. They enjoyed the fight. They were all pumped up on adrenaline.”

  “Or drugs?” said Vance.

  “No way. They were far too organised.”

  “Were they male or female?”

  “All four were definitely male and all were white. I’m sorry, that’s all I noticed.”

  “Why are you blushing?” said Caleb.

  “I’m not.” He sighed when they all stared at him. “All right, one of them was a woman. She was the smallest of the four but she was one mean bitch.”

  “Why didn’t you tell us that in the first place?” said Faith.

  “Because she kicked the living shit out of me and I was embarrassed, okay?” he mumbled, blushing even more. “She was so bloody fast and she knew karate or some sort of martial art. She hit me with a stun gun but that wasn’t enough for her, so she started battering me too. She enjoyed herself, the sadistic witch. How are the others?”

  “They’ll be fine,” said Caleb. “It looks like you got the worst of it.”

  “Story of my life,” he muttered.

  “Has anything unusual happened lately?” said Faith. “I don’t just mean at the vault, I mean in your daily life. Have you noticed anyone following you? Any weird messages or phone calls?”

  “No, nothing and there’s been nothing weird at the vault either. I’m sorry I messed up but they took us by surprise. We had no time to react.”

  “Have you had any financial problems Greg?” said Vance.

  “No, everything’s been good actually.” When he realised what Vance was referring to, he scowled. “If you’re trying to say I sold the location of the vault then you’re wrong. I’m not a fucking grass.”

  “No one’s saying that Greg,” said Faith soothingly. “You’re one of our best men.”

  “Well, that’s all right then,” he sniffed.

  “Have you heard anything lately that might indicate who did this? Any new crews in the area?”

  “Nope. I reckon they’re from out of town. They were like the bloody SAS bursting in. No one around here’s got the skills they had.”

  “Thank you Greg, you’ve been very helpful. We hope you feel better soon,” she said, taking a wad of money out of her j
acket pocket and placing it on the bedside table. “A little get well present.”

  “Cheers,” he said, smiling and then wincing at the pain in his face.

  They left and got back into Vance’s car.

  “Do you think he was being honest?” said Caleb.

  Faith and Vance nodded.

  “He said something very interesting,” said Faith. “About those flash devices.”

  “You mean the things that blinded our men?”

  “Yeah. I know who supplies them – Raven, a bounty hunter and assassin for hire.”

  “Raven?” frowned Caleb. “Never heard of him.”

  “She’s a woman, based in Leeds and a good friend of Jules. They’ve worked together a lot. Raven’s father makes the devices, as well as other similar gadgets and sells them to a select few. It’s not like you can buy them in the shops. You have to have the right connections to get hold of them. This could be our biggest lead to finding these blaggers.”

  “Brilliant Faith,” he grinned.

  “Yes,” said Vance. “It’s a great start but how do we contact this Raven?”

  “I don’t know,” she replied, taking out her phone. “Luckily I know a woman who does.”

  “Faith babes,” said Jules when she answered. “Don’t tell me you’ve solved the mystery already?”

  “Nope but we’ve got a big clue – the attackers were using Raven’s flash devices.”

  “Interesting.”

  “As I don’t know how to contact her, I wondered if you could…”

  “No problem. I’ll get straight on it and let you know. What’s your next move?”

  “We’re going to discreetly ask some trusted sources who have their noses to the ground in this town. We won’t tell them why we’re asking and Jason and Kev are on with finding new premises to store the product.”

  “Sounds like you’ve got everything under control. I’ll get onto Raven.”

  “Thanks Jules, I really appreciate your help.”

  “It’s only fair. You came through for us when we needed your help.”

  Faith felt a little better after hanging up now she was reassured that Jules genuinely wasn’t pissed off at her. That woman was not someone she wanted as an enemy.

  “She’s on it,” she told Vance and Caleb. “Let’s go and talk to the other two men who were at the vault. Then we’ll speak to our contacts.”

  The two men who’d been attacked at the vault along with Greg confirmed everything he’d said but couldn’t tell them anything new. So, while Caleb went to speak to Lil and Vance went to see Kingsley, Faith headed to a very respectable detached red brick house with a neat garden and net curtains hanging in the window. When Faith knocked, the door was opened by a sweet-faced old lady in a flowery dress, thick stockings and cream cardigan, glasses hanging from a chain around her neck.

  “Hello lovely,” smiled the old lady. “Do come in.”

  “Thanks Flo,” replied Faith, stepping inside.

  “It’s been a while since we’ve seen you. I take it business is going well?”

  “It is thanks. How about yours?”

  “Oh, good.”

  Faith thought she caught a flicker of something in her eyes, an emotion she’d never associated with Flo Fairweather before – uncertainty.

  “I’m after some information,” said Faith.

  “Do you have the cash?”

  Faith handed her a roll of notes.

  “Lovely,” she smiled, slipping it into the pocket of her dress. “Let’s chat over a brew.”

  Once they were ensconced in the kitchen with a cup of tea each, Faith said, “Is Gordon in?” Gordon was Flo’s very rotund grown-up son who still lived with his mother.

  “No. He’s gone to the pub for a pie and a pint.” She sighed and shook her head. “I do wish he’d take better care of his health. I couldn’t stand it if I outlived my boy. Anyway, that’s enough about me. How can I help?”

  “Have you seen any new faces in town? Has anyone come to you for weapons or asked for anything different, stun guns for instance?”

  “Stun guns?” Flo screwed up her face. “I do stock them but they’re not a weapon I like. They’ve no finesse, no style, although I admit they are useful when you want to incapacitate but not kill and no, I haven’t sold any for a while. Business has been a bit slow lately. I hope everyone isn’t growing a conscience.”

  “I’m sure it’ll soon pick up,” said Faith, a little amused by her attitude. “What weapons have you sold lately?”

  “A couple of sawn-offs, a Beretta and a Glock.”

  “A Glock? Who to?”

  “You know I can’t tell you that my lovely. I respect my client’s confidentiality. Why so curious about the Glock anyway? Has someone come after you with one?”

  “Perhaps.”

  “Interesting,” she said, eyes sparkling. “Well, since you’re one of my best clients I’ll give you a little hint – the person who bought it was arrested four days ago for attempting to kill his ex-wife with it.”

  “Bloody hell.”

  “The fool wasn’t successful, mainly because he didn’t know how to use it. He left the safety on. His wife took it off him and beat him with it.”

  Faith chuckled. “How come I haven’t heard about that?”

  “Because he was from out of town. He came all the way up here from down south to purchase one of my little treasures, he’s a friend of a long-term client of mine. That client warned him that it would be better for his health if he lied about where the weapon came from, which he did, so nothing should come back on me.”

  “That’s a relief. Have you heard of any new crews in the area?”

  “I should think you’re in more of a position to know that than me.”

  “Since we climbed to the top of the tree people try to hide things from us. You hear what goes on in this town.”

  “I see. Well, I’m sorry to disappoint but I haven’t. As I said, everything seems to be pretty quiet. Sorry deary. Did I not tell you what you wanted to hear?”

  Flo’s gaze was searching, hoping to spot a clue as to why she was here, so Faith forced a smile. “Actually, you’ve been very helpful. Thank you.”

  “Has someone been giving you bother?”

  “Nothing we can’t handle,” she replied with a confidence she didn’t feel. Faith drained her cup of tea and got to her feet. “Thanks for your time Flo. It was nice chatting with you.”

  “Leaving already?”

  “I’ve got a lot on.”

  “It sounds like it. One more thing Faith,” called Flo as she made her way to the door.

  Flo might have been a frail septuagenarian but her voice was still very commanding and it stopped Faith in her tracks.

  “Yes?” she replied, turning to face her.

  “Have you heard anything about Harry Paisley?”

  “No, sorry but then again he’s a clever man, he’s good at hiding and the police are still looking for him.”

  “That is true but what if he’s not hiding? What if he’s dead?”

  “Why, have you heard something that makes you think that?”

  “No, nothing. I just find it strange how effectively he dropped off the face of the earth.”

  “As I said, he’s a clever man.”

  “You do know Faith that I will be extremely pissed off if I find out someone killed him. As I once told you, he was the joy of my best friend’s life, God bless her dear departed soul and I will go after the person who killed him, if that’s indeed what happened to him.”

  “If something did happen to him Flo then you’re looking at the wrong person. When Harry disappeared I was in hospital fighting for my life after Marlow stabbed me.”

  “That is true but you do have four very handy brothers, any one of whom is capable of getting rid of him.”

  “It wasn’t us Flo. We had enough on our plate at the time and have you forgotten the Wallace brothers? They’re the ones who swore revenge on him for getting their
brother sent back to prison.”

  “I haven’t forgotten. I did ask them and they denied it, not that I’d believe a word that came out of their mouths. But they weren’t the only ones with something to gain by Harry’s murder.”

  “It wasn’t us Flo. I can tell you that for a fact.”

  Silence swelled inside the room as Flo studied her. Faith felt like it was smothering her it was so intense. She knew Flo carried a small pistol in the pocket of her flowery dress at all times should it become necessary to defend herself, as it had in the past. The weapon had been specially selected because it made a slight popping sound. Flo could murder her with it right here before she could reach the front door and the neighbours would hear nothing.

  “All right Faith,” said Flo. “I’ll take your name as an example.”

  “Sorry?”

  “I’ll go on a bit of faith and believe that you’re telling the truth. But if I ever find out that you’ve lied to me today then I will come for you, as much as I like you.”

  Faith nodded. “And I’ll be ready,” she said before leaving.

  She breathed a sigh of relief as she got back into her car without getting a bullet in the back. She started the engine, anxious to get away from that house, Flo watching her from the window. Faith thought it was fortunate she was a good liar because she knew that Harry Paisley was dead and who was responsible – Vance. He’d done it when she’d been in hospital. Alone, he’d tracked down Harry and given him a beating to get back the compromising photographs Lenny had sent him of herself and Vance having sex. He hadn’t taken Harry’s life, instead he’d handed him over to the Wallace brothers, so they could have the revenge they’d sworn they would take. Although Vance hadn’t killed him, that wouldn’t stop Flo from blaming both him and her for lying.

  She felt rather weary as she started the engine. Was the rest of her life to be spent worrying about people threatening and attacking her and her family? It seemed so but she was in too deep to get out now. If she tried to leave then the Maguires would be the ones attacking her and she’d rather have every criminal and psychopath in Blackpool coming after her than that family.

  The Chambers siblings all reconvened at the office at Pulse, this time with a very pissed off Abi also in attendance.