The Takedown

by Ricky Black

  Chapter Eighteen

  Sunday 22 March 2015

  Lamont sat in the police station. He hadn’t requested to speak to his solicitor, or even uttered the words no comment. He’d clutched Jenny’s body in a daze, tears staining his face until the police came.

  They had taken Lamont to the station and given him a plastic cup of piping hot coffee, now lukewarm. Lamont still clutched it, lost in thought.

  All his life, Lamont had tried to remain vigilant. He had guarded his heart and emotions. Now, Jenny was dead, and Lennox was his ultimate enemy. He would be hunted down and terminated. Him and his team would fall. Anyone foolish enough to get in the way would be dropped. To Lamont, it was as simple as that.

  ‘Look at the poor sod.’

  From across the room, Detectives Hardy and Murphy watched as one of the top kingpin’s of Leeds sat on a chair, staring blankly into space. Hardy was a younger detective with good instincts. Rigby and Murphy liked him, and he looked up to the pair.

  ‘From what I gather, their relationship was the real deal. Nothing concrete, but Prince Teflon over there was seriously sweet for her. Head over heels from day one.’

  ‘It will be crazy on the streets. Whether or not Teflon goes psycho, bodies are gonna fall. We need to tell the boss not to let him go.’

  ‘How are we going to do that?’ Hardy asked. ‘We have nothing to keep him here. It was a hit, but Teflon came afterwards. We’ve got his people on some traffic cams driving like madmen.’

  Murphy scratched his face. ‘Don’t overthink it. We know that Teflon there is a criminal. When we have a criminal on our turf, we break them. C’mon.’

  ‘We haven’t even read him his rights,’ said Hardy, aghast.

  ‘So what? He’s away with the fairies. Let’s have a chat with him.’

  They led Lamont into an interrogation room. He faced the officers blankly staring straight ahead. Hardy looked to Murphy, who had his eyes on Lamont.

  ‘What happened then, L? Why did she end up dead?’

  Lamont didn’t reply. If he’d even heard Murphy, he didn’t acknowledge it.

  ‘We know you had a problem with someone. We know that you were in love with Jenny Campbell. Why did they knife her?’

  Still no response. Hardy shifted in his seat. He didn’t want the wrong people seeing what they were doing. Murphy was already on thin ice within the department, and Hardy didn’t want to go down with him. He had been warned by Rigby about getting caught up, but hadn’t listened.

  ‘Tef, we all know that you wanted to walk away. We applaud that decision, but this is serious. An innocent woman is dead. A woman who had ties to you. Don’t let her murder be in vain. Help us.’

  Lamont didn’t move Murphy’s face twisted from fake pity to fury.

  ‘Listen, you little prick. I’m talking to you. Do you understand me? Fucking answer me.’

  Lamont’s eyes flickered towards Murphy, but before he could speak, a man strode into the room, still wearing an overcoat over his suit. He was red-faced and appeared agitated.

  ‘Please tell me what you’re playing at?’ he snapped. Murphy glared at him.

  ‘Who the hell are you?’

  ‘I’m the legal counsel for Mr Jones. Please explain why my client has been arrested?’

  ‘He hasn’t. We were just talking about the circumstances of his little girlfriend getting knifed. Just a chat amongst friends.’

  ‘Lamont,’ Levine called to him. ‘Let’s go.’

  Lamont shuffled to his feet and left the room without a word. Levine glared at the officers one last time, then followed his charge. Hardy sighed.

  ‘Guess that didn’t work out how we wanted it to.’

  ‘It was worth a try though,’ replied Murphy, revealing a yellow-toothed smile.

  Shorty sat in a safe house, pounding shots of white rum. Jenny was dead. Lamont should have made sure she was safe, and he hadn’t. That wasn’t Shorty’s fault, but the escalating issues with Lennox Thompson were. He hadn’t heard from Lamont since leaving him, but he knew that Lamont’s solicitor, Levine, had been called.

  Akeem was in another room and Maka was upstairs making phone calls. Shorty’s phone was blowing up, but he didn’t want to talk to anyone.

  When Lennox became a problem, Shorty hadn’t allowed himself to consider the possibility of losing. Shorty knew the streets; he knew how to hurt people and get information out of them, so to envision loss was inconceivable. Until now.

  Lennox was a terror. Worse, he was a terror who knew their moves, who had come up alongside Marcus and his crew, just like Shorty. He had previously done business with Lamont, keeping himself in the kingpin conversation despite his open refusal to sell drugs. No-one had ever got one over on him. Lennox had ripped apart the inner workings of Delroy’s organisation with ease, then adopted similar tactics in luring Shorty into a trap.

  Everything had been planned, Shorty now saw that. Lennox had leaked the location of Lutel’s safe house, knowing he would give up the main location, and he waited patiently to spring the trap, causing their team to lose two good men.

  Taking out Jenny was ruthless, the sort of move Marcus had done in the past, It was clear where Lennox had learned.

  Shorty closed his eyes, tears sliding down his face. He angrily wiped them, not wanting anyone to see. He’d downed his fourth shot of liquor when he heard a key jangling in the lock. Shorty reached for his gun as Lamont trudged into the room. He looked a mess, wearing a faded grey sweater and jogging bottoms. His facial expression was the worst, however; he looked utterly devastated, and Shorty didn’t know what to say. He settled for the obvious.

  ‘Did they take your clothes as evidence?’

  Lamont might have nodded, Shorty wasn’t sure. He grabbed a second glass and filled it to the brim, handing it to Lamont.

  ‘Here.’

  Lamont took the drink and held it like he didn’t know what to do. He collapsed into a chair, spilling a bit of the liquid, then downed the rest.

  ‘L, I’m sorry, bro. Jen shouldn’t have gone out like that.’

  ‘It’s fine.’

  That was it. Those were Lamont’s only words. He reached for the bottle of rum, but Shorty moved it out of his reach.

  ‘Fam, she was your girl. It’s not fine. It shouldn’t have happened.’

  ‘It did though. That’s the game. It’s the life we live, and I should have known that before I involved her,’ replied Lamont. His hands shook as he closed his eyes, feeling them burn with the urge to weep, but he wouldn’t do that. Not anymore.

  ‘For fuck’s sake, L! She was your woman. This isn’t street shit anymore. Man the fuck up and stop trying to fight how you feel.’

  Lamont turned cool eyes on Shorty. ‘You wanna know how I feel? Really?’

  ‘Yeah, I do.’

  ‘All of this is your fault, Shorty. You let all of this happen.’

  ‘What did you say?’ Shorty’s eyes widened.

  ‘You wanted me to be honest? You couldn’t just leave the situation alone, could you? God forbid Shorty ever back down, right?’

  ‘Are you serious, thinking you can blame me? You’ve always been soft, hesitating over shit rather than taking action. We lost Marcus because of you. You were right there, and you did nothing. Everyone close to you ends up dead, or wishing they were.’

  ‘Lennox got to Jenny because of you!’ Lamont roared, silencing Shorty. ‘Killing her was a shot at both of us. I had Grimer watching the house, until the point you needed him for your little suicide mission. You visited her, and I guarantee you that led Lennox’s men to the house. I may hesitate, but you got Jenny killed. If Grace dies, that too will be your fault.’

  Lamont regretted it as soon as he’d said it. Shorty’s face was harrowing. He stared at Lamont as if he’d never seen him before.

  For a moment there was a lull. Shorty broke it, letting out a strangled yell and diving at Lamont. Lamont expected it, but Shorty’s mass still sent them toppling to the floor. Lam
ont was about to try to reason with him, but he saw the fury in Shorty’s eyes. This was a fight.

  Shorty struck first, a short jab to the ribs. He tried mounting Lamont, but he kicked Shorty off and sailed in with a knee, catching Shorty in the stomach. Shorty let out a moan of pain, grabbing Lamont around the throat and slamming him into the wall.

  Lamont struck with his elbow, catching Shorty in the eye. He hit him twice more, sending his friend stumbling. Shorty came back though, dodging the next two blows, clipping Lamont’s jaw with an uppercut, then hitting him twice in the ribs. Lamont sagged to one knee, but only for a second. When Shorty lunged again, Lamont evaded it, shoving Shorty into the wall. There was a noise behind him, then strong arms pulled him back.

  ‘Enough.’ Akeem stood between the pair. Lamont and Shorty breathed heavily, giving each other death stares. Something had shifted between them. They had argued many times before, but they’d never once raised their hands to each other.

  ‘You’re a cancer,’ spat Lamont. Shorty tried to pass Akeem, but the guard was too strong. He pushed Shorty against the wall, keeping his eyes on Lamont.

  ‘This isn’t the way to deal with this.’ Akeem’s words fell on death ears.

  ‘This is on you, Shorty. You’re responsible for all of this. All you’ve ever done is weigh me down with your bullshit. I should have left you in prison.’ Lamont used his jumper to stem the blood from his nose.

  Shorty’s eyes blazed. Lamont braced himself, expecting Shorty to try again. Instead, Shorty spat blood on the floor and stormed from the house, holding his gun.

  ‘Blood, what the hell is going on?’

  K-Bar didn’t know what to say to Darren. His phone was ringing off the hook. There were rumours Shorty and Lamont had been murdered by Lennox, but K-Bar had spoken with Akeem, who had set him right before hanging up.

  ‘I don’t even know,’ K-Bar admitted after a long silence. The pair were holed up, smoking weed and waiting for word.

  ‘How is Lennox still breathing? I mean, he’s got half of Leeds after him, so what’s the drill?’

  ‘I know they were moving on him last night,’ said K-Bar, annoyed he’d been left out of the action. ‘I dunno what happened, but it doesn’t sound like they got him.’

  ‘This is bullshit. I’m need to get hold of something, because I’m feeling vulnerable when I’m moving around. I can’t even go see my girl because I’m shook that someone’s gonna come for me.’

  ‘You definitely need to be strapped,’ said K-Bar. ‘I’ll get you one to hold and we can practise shooting to make sure you’re ready.’

  Before Darren could reply, they heard a voice shout POLICE, and then a boom as the door was smashed open. Officers surged into the room, ordering Darren and K-Bar to fall to the floor without giving them time to comply. The officers slammed them to the ground, restraining them and cuffing their hands behind their backs.

  Neither man struggled. The safe house was clean. Police would find no evidence of illicit activity there.

  ‘What’s the charge, pigs?’ Darren spat, only to have his face pushed further into the carpet. The leading officer, a greying man with a paunch and tired eyes began reading them their rights, but K-Bar tuned him out as they dragged him to his feet.

  All across Leeds, there was a similar spate of activity, with fifteen people being picked up in coordinated raids. Some were part of Lamont’s crew, and the others had similar crew affiliations.

  Drinking in his living room at home, Lamont made sure Levine was aware of the situation, in case they tried to take him in. He had Akeem searching for Lennox, whereas Levine’s team would represent his men and get to the bottom of the situation.

  Lennox had his feet up at an out-of-the-way spot in Adel. He had mixed feelings about the current climate. People had been arrested in connection with various drug cases, but none of his men had been caught in the sweep.

  The streets were all looking for him however, and Lamont seemed to be sparing no expense in having his killers prowl around the streets of Leeds. Lennox moved around when necessary, but refused to have security watching his every move. It slowed him down and Lennox couldn’t afford that.

  Deep down, Lennox knew they could have avoided the situation. He’d told his men to kidnap Jenny and bring her to him. The plan was to use her to force Lamont to back down, allowing him to deal with Shorty and Delroy unchecked. Instead, his team had panicked when Jenny fought back, and ended up killing her.

  Now, Lennox would have to contend with a fully invested Lamont. Emotions aside, Lennox knew that Lamont wouldn’t back down. One of them would end up killing the other. His people were organised and knew their roles. It was up to Lennox to engage.

  ‘I can’t believe you.’

  Lennox looked up, seeing Malcolm framing the doorway. Malcolm’s face was haggard, bags under his eyes, his hair unkempt. His hands shook as he stared down Lennox.

  ‘What are you doing here? This spot is for emergencies only.’

  ‘How could you do it?’ Malcolm ignored Lennox’s response.

  ‘You’ll need to be more specific.’

  ‘How the hell could you murder her?’

  Lennox resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He’d never understood how so many men allowed themselves to become enthralled by the women around them. Malcolm was no different.

  ‘These things happen.’

  ‘That’s not enough,’ Malcolm stepped further into the room. ‘She was a good woman. She wasn’t mixed up in your shit. You didn’t have to kill her.’

  ‘Shut up. You have no idea what’s going on,’ said Lennox scathingly. ‘This situation is so much bigger than you. I don’t have the time for sentimentality. I have an actual war to win.’

  ‘A war? Who the hell do you think you are, Lennox? You’re not a general. You’re not some great revolutionary. You’re a basic gangster, and that’s it. There’s nothing special or noteworthy about you. I’m sad it took me so long to realise it.’

  Lennox was about to reply when a noise distracted him. He heard the click, then the pounding gunfire as he was knocked out of his chair. Malcolm was clipped twice in the neck and jaw and crumpled to the ground, unmoving.

  Eddie Williams stepped into the room, aiming his gun at Malcolm and shooting him twice more. He approached Lennox, his jaw clenched and his eyes wide with fury.

  ‘You’re next, you piece of shit.’

  As Eddie aimed the gun at Lennox, he surprised Eddie by lurching to his feet, gun in hand. Lennox didn’t hesitate, popping Eddie in the head, then firing four more shots into the man.

  Gingerly, he touched the bullet-proof vest beneath his hooded top. The bullet had hurt like hell, but at least it hadn’t penetrated. Firing one more shot at close range into Eddie, Lennox snatched his phones and hurried from the house.

  K-Bar stared ahead, not taking his eyes from the police officers. He was being interviewed and had been advised of the reason for his arrest. K-Bar thought he was being picked up on drugs charges, which were easy to fight without concrete proof. When the police told him he was being charged with murder, it completely blindsided him.

  ‘Kieron Barrett, for the benefit of the tape, please tell us where you were on the night of Wednesday 11th September 2013?’

  ‘No comment.’

  The questions continued in a similar vein, with the police asking about his connections to Chink, Polo and Naomi. K-Bar no-commented everything, inwardly wondering who had given him up. Grimer was his co-conspirator, but he was dead. Unless he’d snitched while alive, K-Bar didn’t understand where the police were going.

  ‘Kieron, we know all about you. We know everything that has transpired over the past few years. We even know about the Manchester war, and the job you did on Big Kev. Make it easier on yourself and cooperate.’

  K-Bar looked at his solicitor, but the man didn’t seem to have a game plan. Lamont had been onto K-Bar for years about making sure he had a legal team ready just in case, but K-Bar hadn’t taken heed
. He had no rapport and very little relationship with the solicitor he’d hired, and it showed. The man was content to let the police control the interview.

  ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’

  ‘We have a witness who has stated you paid Naomi Gateworth five thousand pounds to set up Xiyu Manderson, better known to you as Chink. She was given two and a half thousand pounds up front and agreed because of an abusive relationship she was in with Chink. You killed Chink’s bodyguard, then you murdered both Chink and Naomi, thinking that was the end of it. Stop me if there’s anything that I’ve gotten wrong.’

  K-Bar’s stomach was going haywire as he fought to keep his expression neutral. He didn’t know how, but the police were spot on.

  ‘We know everything. We know the meeting spot. We know what was said between you and Naomi. You’ll take the full force of the punishment, unless you start talking about the people you work for. Help us fill in the blanks about the time period. Don’t go down with the ship when you don’t have to. We know Teflon is behind this. You don’t need to protect him.’

  ‘Like I said, I have no idea what you lot are talking about, so you may as well just let me go.’

  The officers shared a look with one another, then shrugged.

  ‘Have it your way then; Kieron Barrett, we are charging you with the murders of Naomi Gateworth, Paul Dobby, and Xiyu Manderson. You do not have to say anything. But, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.’

  Chapter Nineteen

  Friday 27 March 2015

  On the morning of Jenny’s funeral, Lamont slumped in his living room, staring at a bottle of Red Label rum, debating whether to get drunk. He was already in his black suit, his tie dangling precariously over the bottle.