Riot

by Heather Atkinson

  Infiltrating the house had been easy. The front door had been left unlocked and no alarms had been set, which wasn’t surprising as it appeared everyone was still up, even though it was after midnight.

  She was dressed entirely in black, hair carefully tied back into a bun, face hidden by a balaclava. In her belt was tucked her taser and in both hands she gripped her trusty baseball bat. Her heart pounded not from nerves but from the thrill of the chase and the prospect of putting the weapon through the teeth of that utter twat.

  She peeked inside open doorways as she passed them by but all were deserted. The house was beautifully furnished, everything the best money could buy, the thick carpet fortunately absorbing the sound of her footfalls.

  The noises grew in intensity, accompanied by the sound of smashing followed by a scream.

  Rachel hurried down the corridor towards a door which was ajar, the sounds louder now. Slowly she pushed it open to reveal Jenna Garrick lying on the kitchen floor, bleeding from her nose, droplets of her blood staining the white tiles. Liam loomed over her, looking furious and a million miles from the affable man he presented to the outside world.

  It was Jenna who spotted her first. She’d rolled onto her front to escape the second onslaught, intent on crawling on all fours to the door. When she saw the masked figure she gasped and recoiled. Her reaction finally drew Liam’s attention to the intruder, who suddenly didn’t look so sure of himself anymore. Then he took in the intruder’s slim figure and obvious breasts and smiled.

  “Rachel Law,” he said, causing Jenna to gasp again.

  After giving his wife a vicious kick to the back, making her yelp and curl up into a ball, he stepped right over her and approached Rachel, who rolled up the balaclava, being careful to ensure it still covered her hair. She didn’t want to leave any evidence of her presence here for the police to find.

  “I take it by that outfit you’re here to mete out some of your vigilante justice,” he said. “If you had any sense you’d be using that bat on her,” he added, gesturing contemptuously to his wife. “She’s so fucking lazy and stupid.”

  Rachel’s temper spiked but it still remained tightly under her control. She raised the bat, gripping it tightly with gloved hands.

  Liam smiled as her eyes turned jet black. “I do love it when your eyes do that. But you’ve really walked into something you shouldn’t have and I can’t let you leave. Jenna knows to keep her mouth shut but you’re not so compliant. And you came all alone. That was a mistake.”

  Rachel calmly remained where she was with the bat raised as he ran at her. At the last moment she let it drop and stepped aside, one hand going to the taser in her belt, which he’d failed to notice. She drew it and jammed it into his back. He released a strangled cry. For a moment he appeared to remain poised in mid air as his body spasmed and jiggled before he fell face down onto the tiles, bursting his nose in the process.

  “Hurts, doesn’t it?” said Rachel as he groaned. “The effects will wear off soon but you won’t notice. I’m going to ensure you won’t be able to move by then.” She looked to Jenna, who had scrambled backwards to the far wall on her hands where she sat watching the scene, open-mouthed. “Have you had enough of him treating you like shit?”

  She nodded fervently.

  “Where’s Freddie?”

  “A…at his grandmother’s. He stays there every Friday night. Liam tells her it’s so we can have a romantic evening together when in truth it’s so he can batter me in peace.”

  Rachel wanted to question her more about that statement but it would have to wait. “Anyone else in the house?”

  She shook her head.

  “You’re not going to cause me any trouble?”

  “Are you going to hurt me?” she said, tears spilling down her cheeks.

  “No. Just him. Sit back and enjoy the show.”

  Jenna actually smiled. It was uncertain and scared but pleasure danced in her eyes.

  Rachel looked back at Liam, although she was careful to walk around the other side of him, so she could keep an eye on Jenna. “Your problem Liam is that you think you’re the dog’s bollocks when in truth you’re just a sad little sadist. I’ve met much worse than you in my time. You’ve destroyed so many lives. Now I’m going to destroy yours.”

  With that she brought the bat down on his right knee. The crack echoed through the vast kitchen and he screamed before passing out.

  “Pathetic,” she said. “You can’t even take a bit of pain.”

  “I’ll wake him up,” said Jenna eagerly.

  She staggered to her feet and lurched over to the sink to fill a glass of water, which she threw into his face, making him jump awake.

  “Oh God my knee,” he cried.

  “You aint seen nothing yet,” said Rachel coldly before raising the bat again.

  CHAPTER 38

  Rachel and Jenna sat opposite each other at the huge oak dining table. Liam was unconscious on the floor sporting numerous breaks, blood slowly leaking from his various wounds. Jenna downed a glass of wine, her hand shaking. She’d offered Rachel wine too but as she was driving she’d declined. Neither did she want to leave traces of her DNA on anything.

  “Oh my God, that was fun,” said Jenna. “I never thought I’d retaliate against him, never mind hit him in the face with a baseball bat but it was so satisfying.”

  “How long has he been abusing you?”

  “Most of our married life. At first it was verbal then it got worse. Things deteriorated really quickly when he hit me for the first time. He got a taste for it.”

  “He’s attacked other women too.”

  “I remember one woman accused him of sexually assaulting her but there was no proof.”

  “He did it and she killed herself.”

  All the colour drained from Jenna’s face. “Oh God.”

  “He had to be stopped and finally he has been.”

  “But he will get better and when he does…” She turned even more ashen and drained the rest of her wine.

  “It doesn’t matter. He’s being destroyed in every other way as we speak.” Rachel had called in the majority of the favours she and Ryan had earned from their vigilante work. They never took payment in cash, only a promise that the person they acted on behalf of helped them out when needed. As some of those people had a lot of influence and power in their own right she’d been able to orchestrate Liam Garrick’s downfall. “I take it you want rid of him?”

  “God yes. So many times I’ve considered running away but Freddie worships his father and he’d refuse to leave. I was tempted to just go, Liam has never hurt Freddie, he loves his hero worship far too much but I knew if I did he’d turn into as big a monster as his precious daddy. I thought if I stayed he might stand a chance.”

  “That behaviour’s already rubbed off on him. He attacked Isabella at school, not Ethan.”

  “I know,” she said, tears welling in her eyes. “Liam terrified Isabella’s parents into getting her to change her story.”

  “How?”

  “By physically intimidating her mother and telling her father he would lose his job. They’re struggling for money as it is. Liam can be terrifying when he wants to be.”

  Rachel hadn’t found him so but she could imagine how he could scare other people. “So you want a divorce?”

  “Absolutely. I come from a wealthy family and have a lot of money in my own right but Liam made me put it into a joint account. He then took away all my access to that account. I don’t even know how much is left…” Her mouth fell open when Rachel produced a piece of paper and placed it before her with gloved hands. “How did you get this?”

  “From a friend,” replied Rachel. Michelle had got this information for her. It had staggered Rachel to discover just how much she’d learned thanks to Battler and Bruiser’s tutelage.

  Jenna picked up the piece of paper, staring at it in wonder. “He’s spent half my money,” she murmured. “He gave me an allowance each month and th
en I had to spend it at your salon. I had to look perfect for him at all times - nails, hair, the lot. The humiliation of having my own money doled out to me like a child was unbearable.”

  “The good news is you still have plenty to keep you comfortable for a long time. And the house is in your name too, so you won’t lose your home.”

  “I never wanted this house, I thought it was far too big for the two of us - we didn’t have Freddie then. But Liam insisted. He said we’d need the room because we were going to have lots of kids.” Misery crumpled her lovely features. “Guess who’s fault it is that I can’t have any more?”

  “Because of all the beatings?”

  Jenna nodded, fighting back tears, looking down at her hands.

  Rachel placed a card on the table. “These are the contact details of a very skilled divorce lawyer. He’ll get rid of Liam for you once and for all and ensure you get everything. You’ll find your divorce will go through a lot faster than expected. When Liam wakes up he’ll discover he will no longer be required at his law firm.”

  Jenna gaped at her. “How have you arranged all this? My family’s wealthy and influential but we couldn’t pull off what you’ve done.”

  “The less you know the better. I only ask one thing - that you get Freddie to own up to what he did to Isabella.”

  “But it will ruin his future.”

  “And what about my son’s future? Is it right that Ethan goes around with this stigma for the rest of his life when he didn’t do anything wrong?”

  Jenna looked down at her hands again.

  “If you’re serious about wanting to save your son,” pressed Rachel. “Then you have to do this. If you let him get away with it once he’ll think he can keep doing it and he’ll end up just like his father.”

  Jenna’s head snapped up, horror filling her eyes. “You think so?”

  “I know so. You have to make him pay, for his own good. He won’t go to prison or anything. Inspector Boyle is a good police officer with a kind heart. He’ll help scare him straight without any real damage done to Freddie’s future.”

  “Okay, I’ll talk to him.”

  “Isabella’s already changed her statement again anyway, blaming Freddie,” said Rachel. “It’s best if he comes clean.”

  Rachel felt sorry for this poor abused woman. She could also sympathise. A mother did everything she could to protect her child, it was instinct, even if protecting them wasn’t necessarily the best thing for them.

  “You’re right. I’ll take him to see Inspector Boyle in the morning,” she sighed.

  “Good.”

  “Where are you going?” said Jenna, a little panicked when Rachel got to her feet.

  “Home.”

  “But what about him?” she said, gesturing to her still unconscious husband.

  “Call the police and an ambulance. Say a masked intruder broke in and attacked him but you have no idea who he was. Make sure to emphasise the attacker was male.”

  “He’ll come back here when he’s better.”

  “Then hire some security to see him off, you’ve certainly got the cash. I can recommend a good firm.”

  “Yes, that’s a good idea. I will.”

  “Anyway, when I’m through with him he won’t be capable of hurting anyone ever again.”

  Jenna recoiled when Rachel loomed over her, eyes turning jet black, expression cold.

  “If you even think of telling anyone I was here tonight this is what will be sent to the police.”

  Rachel produced her phone and played back the image of Jenna battering her unconscious husband with a baseball bat.

  “You’ll be done for the attack on him,” continued Rachel. “After all, this is pretty conclusive. If Liam mentions I was here you will deny all knowledge, say the blows to his head must have messed with his memory. This also applies if you renege on getting Freddie to admit to attacking Isabella. I don’t want people looking at my son and wondering if Isabella changed her story because of Ethan’s scary family. I get no pleasure from threatening a woman who has suffered so much but believe me when I say that my family comes first, before anyone else. Are we clear?”

  “Y…yes. Absolutely,” said Jenna, gaze nervously flicking to the taser in Rachel’s belt.

  She breathed easier when Rachel straightened up and sauntered to the door, pausing to retrieve the baseball bat, which had been left on the floor.

  Rachel stepped out into the cool night air, exhilarated. Liam Garrick had been taken care of.

  Now it was Dwyer’s turn.

  Faith Chambers stalked through the Blackpool nightclub she now managed on behalf of the Maguires. There was something sinuous and panther-like about her movements, encouraging everyone to step out of her way. From here she controlled the distribution of drugs throughout the seaside town and in a much more disciplined way than her predecessor had, who used to own this club.

  Jules Maguire had done her a huge favour by ensuring her brother Vance and his friends stayed in Manchester Prison after the riot. If he’d been separated from his gang and sent to another prison at the opposite end of the country, not only would it have made visiting a lot more difficult but, being an ex-police officer, he would have been a target for the predators inside. Jules had never demanded recompense for this favour, she told her she’d done it because she was doing such a good job running Blackpool for her but Faith felt she owed her and wanted to help.

  Jules had already let her know she was looking for Ray McGinnis, a man who was renowned throughout the north of England. Faith’s father had done some business with him, although he had operated at the opposite end of the criminal spectrum to the Maguires.

  Her predecessor had set up an efficient information network composed of paid informers that Faith, along with her three brothers not in prison, had taken over. One informer had told her that someone matching McGinnis’s description - minus the moustache - was hiding out at a house on Condor Grove and she wanted to check it out.

  She found her brother Caleb - who was the eldest of her three brothers not in prison but younger than herself - standing at the bar, chatting with a friend. Women had always flocked around Caleb. He was similar in appearance to Vance but he wasn’t quite as tall or broad in the chest. However he was paying his admirers no attention as he only had eyes for Lil, the landlady of their local boozer and a woman twice his age.

  “Caleb,” Faith called.

  He excused himself to his friend and joined her. “Something up?”

  “I’ve had word on Ray McGinnis. Let’s check it out.”

  “Awesome,” grinned Caleb, who was always up for an adventure.

  Faith drove as she hadn’t been drinking. The journey took them barely five minutes. She thought it was clever of someone to hide out here, during the height of summer when they’d get lost in the sea of tourists that swamped the town.

  “What number?” said Caleb, looking up and down the street.

  “Twenty four.”

  “There,” he said, pointing through the window.

  Faith drove past the house. The curtains were drawn but the lights were on downstairs. She pulled up further down the street where they could keep watch.

  “We could be here all night,” sighed Caleb after an hour of waiting. He’d expected this outing to be more exciting than sitting here in silence.

  “I see you’ve still not developed any patience.”

  “It’s not patience, it’s boredom. Let’s flush him out.”

  “Jules says he’s been hidden by a police officer who will have told him not to open the door to any random stranger.”

  “I could pretend I’m a police officer.”

  “Dwyer has told none of his colleagues where he’s stashed Ray. He’ll know something’s suss if you try that one.”

  “I could say I’ve come to read the meter?”

  Faith’s look was withering. Movement drew her attention back to McGinnis’s hidey hole. “Looks like we don’t need to bother knocking on
the door,” she said, sitting up straighter. “The front door’s opening.”

  They watched as a figure emerged wrapped in a denim jacket, the collar pulled up, a baseball cap obscuring his face. He closed and locked the front door behind him.

  “That’s got to be Ray,” said Faith. “He’s turned out all the lights, so there can’t be anyone still in the house.”

  “Let’s follow him.”

  “Wait,” she said, grabbing Caleb’s arm when he moved to open the door. “Now,” she added when the figure had turned the corner.

  They leapt out of the car and hurried down the street. The figure had kept looking over his shoulder, so she hadn’t wanted to alert him to their presence too soon.

  As they turned the corner they saw the figure tilting their face to the sky, enjoying breathing in the night air.

  Ray was delighted. Finally he was outside. The relief was indescribable as all the feelings of frustration and confinement simply evaporated. The thump of music from the busy prom drifted closer. Excitement spiked inside him. How he would love to join in that mess of life and vibrancy but was it wise? Manchester was just over an hour away but he wasn’t sure how much interest the Maguires and Laws had in this town. They must have some influence, given how they now held the entire north of England in the palm of their hand and it was a prime location for drug dealing. But no one was paying him any attention. Everyone was too busy hurrying towards the pubs and clubs.

  “What are you doing?” said Caleb when Faith snaked her arm through his.

  “We’re just a couple out for an evening stroll.”

  “Couple? You’re my sister. That’s just weird.”

  “You don’t have to kiss me or anything. We’re just linking arms.”

  “Fine but you owe me a pint for this.”

  “He’s going into the off licence,” said Faith.

  They averted their gazes when the man glanced back over his shoulder.

  “He doesn’t have a moustache,” said Faith. “I hope it is Ray and he’s just shaved it off.”

  “That would be the smart thing to do if you’re in hiding.”