The Rack & Cue

by Hughes, David Owain

  “Is there anyone else in the building?” Iain wanted to know.

  “No, it’s just me, Baby and Doc,” Porky said.

  “Baby and Doc, hey?” Iain said. “How fucking cute. We’ll they’re dead, too!” Iain said. He watched with glee, as Porky’s face turned into something much like agony. Loss.

  “Bastards”, he yelled, raising the shot gun. Both his cartridges ploughed through the floor, as four bullets from Diesel’s gun drilled into the fat landlord’s face. It turned to instant mush. He slammed against the door he’d been standing in front of before hitting the deck.

  “It’s over,” Grace said and ran to Rigs. She put her arms around him and held him with ferocity.

  “One question,” Diesel asked. “Who gets the bread?”

  “All you can think about is the fucking money?!” Iain asked.

  “We split it four ways,” Rigs said. “I think it’s only fair, don’t you?”

  “I can live with that,” the biker said.

  After showing Rigs the lower floor of the building, they all decided to move into the bar area. Rigs now had Porky’s shotgun. Happy there was nobody else in the building; they sat drinking and counting the money. They spilt it four ways, as agreed, then picked up to leave.

  “Shouldn’t we at least call the police?” Grace said.

  “Nah,” Diesel said. I opt to burning this unholy place to the fucking ground.”

  “No, let’s just get out of here,” Rigs said.

  “I second that,” Iain said.

  Taking their money and weapons, they exited the pub. The sky was beginning to brighten. The sun was starting to rise – it would be a new day in less than thirty minutes. The rain had finally stopped.

  “Looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day,” Rigs said.

  “I can’t get my head around what’s happened. Mandy…” Grace sobbed.

  “Hey, come on,” Rigs said, putting his arm around her. “Is there somewhere we can drop you off, I’m assuming you want to go…?”

  “No, I don’t want to go back. I want to get to my friend in Cardiff. Please. Will you take me?”

  “Of course, I told you I would,” Rigs said.

  “Come on, let’s get the hell out of here,” Iain said, making his way over to the lorry.

  Next to their truck was Diesel’s bike. He was about to jump on when he heard a low grumble in the distance.

  “Shit, someone’s coming,” Grace said. “Let’s go!”

  “It sounds like a bike,” Diesel said.

  The groan became louder and louder as it drew closer to them – it came from in front of them. The pub to their backs.

  “Sounds like it to me, too,” Rigs agreed. “It’ll probably just past us by.”

  But it didn’t. Instead the biker pulled into the parking lot of The Rack and Cue. This guy was old-school – his bike was a cruiser. He didn’t wear a helmet, causing his long, salt-and-pepper hair to blow wild in the breeze. He wore shades, too, which he didn’t remove. Tattooed on the bike’s fuel tank was the word Boa. A massive drawing of a Constrictor encircled the word, making it look as if it were crushing it with its huge body.

  Behind the driver was a woman. She looked younger – much, much younger than the man up front. Like him, she too wore shades. Unlike him, she didn’t resemble a biker. She wore a loose-fitting dress, which would have whipped about wildly in the wind. She looked classy, but very pale. Just like him.

  They were two very cool customers.

  Isn’t that the man from the photos inside? Rigs thought. It can’t be – he looks no different, age wise. About to ask, Rigs decided against it.

  The driver eyed Diesel.

  “A brother?” he asked him. The new guy’s voice was smooth. Silky-smooth.

  “What business is it of yours?” Diesel said, all cocky and arrogant.

  For a guy that looked like he was pushing fifty, he sure could move. Rigs wasn’t even sure he saw the guy get off the bike, let alone pick Diesel up off the ground by his throat.

  “Ugghhh… Fuck… get off….” Diesel coughed and sputtered.

  Iain was about to intervene, but Rigs stopped him, putting a hand to his friend’s chest.

  “Wise move,” the newcomer said, who had his back to the truckers. “I’ve no argument with you fellas.”

  The bones in Diesel’s neck could be heard giving way to the crushing power of his fellow biker’s grip.

  “I asked you a question. Try being polite – there’s more than one female present here.” Diesel couldn’t form a sentence, so instead nodded. This seemed to satisfy the newbie, who then flung Diesel one-handed across the car park.

  Not a droplet of sweat broke the guy’s brow.

  Turning to the truckers, he spoke low and soft.

  “You three better get out of here, before I really lose my temper,” he said.

  Rigs nodded. Fear had nestled a cold spot in the pit of his guts. “No problem,” he said, “We ain’t looking for any trouble, mate. Okay?”

  He nodded, and then turned his back on Rigs. “Just go. Now!”

  They didn’t need telling again. They scuttled into the truck with Iain behind the wheel. He kicked the engine to life and slipped it into gear. The truck was down the road and out of sight within five minutes.

  After watching the lorry disappear into the rising sun, the newcomer turned his attention back to Diesel. He walked over to him and grabbed him by his cut. “You and I are going to have a little chat,” he said. “Toni,” he addressed the woman still sitting on the bike. “Grab our gear, girl. We need to get inside. “You,” he pointed at Diesel, “Get up and follow us.”

  Chapter 21

  Time

  Pushing open the doors, he entered The Rack and Cue. Diesel, who was holding his ribs and coughing, followed behind.

  “Man, what a shithole,” Toni muttered, as she grabbed the overnight bags and followed the other two into the pub.

  “Porky?” he called. “Porky?!” the man tried again.

  “I don’t think he’s going to hear you, mate.” Diesel said, finally managing to stand up straight. The pain in his ribs and throat had subsided.

  “My name’s Venom, not ‘mate’, shithead.”

  “Venom…no, that can’t be…”

  Venom turned on Diesel, who flinched away, fearing harsher treatment.

  He’s scared, Venom thought. Good. He should be. “And why can’t it be?”

  By now, Toni was also in the building. She dropped the bags in the hallway leading into the bar area. “Wow,” she gasped.

  “Because you’re a legend – a story. A myth. A…” Diesel let his words trail off. He couldn’t stop shaking.

  Slowly, Venom removed his shades. “A ghost?” he whispered. His eyes were dead white. Milky. It was like looking into the eyes of a blind man – nothing moved there. No emotion or cheer could be found.

  His leather waistcoat creaked as he moved closer to Diesel, who was slightly smaller than Venom. “Is that what you’ve heard? That I’m a ghost – a bogeyman?”

  Diesel nodded.

  Venom chuckled. “Who told you about me?” he asked, slipping his shades back on.

  “You’re common knowledge within The Boas,” Diesel said, while staring at Venom.

  “Am I? Porky?!” he called again. “Where is he?” Venom mused.

  “He’s dead,” Diesel said blasé. “Him and the rest of those motherfuckers that lived here.”

  “What?!” Venom said, rage evident. Diesel watched as Venom’s face contorted and twisted into shapes and spasms like no other man’s could. “Dead?!” He gripped Diesel by his cut and rammed him against the bar.

  Bottles and glasses which had been lined up along the counter now crashed to the floor and exploded on impact. Glass carpeted the entire bar area. It crunched beneath Toni’s feet as she entered the room.

  “Don’t kill him!” she said, then chuckled. “He’ll come in handy with the rifle,” she continued, laying the weapon on
the bar.

  “Good point,” Venom grunted, letting go of Diesel’s throat. “What happened here?”

  “They…they’d…” he gasped for air.

  “Spit it out,” Venom barked, giving Diesel a hard punch in the shoulder.

  “Fuck…” Diesel screamed, who thought his shoulder had been hit clean out of its socket.

  “Start talking. Are they all dead? Baby, Doc, Simon?”

  “Simon?” Diesel asked. “Do you mean The Champ?”

  “Simon is Porky’s son,” Venom said.

  “Then yes, they’re all dead,” Diesel said, cowering.

  This provoked Venom into giving Diesel a thump in the opposite shoulder. Again, he thought it had dislocated.

  “Stop it!” Diesel yelled.

  “You pricks never learn,” Venom said. “Still running guns, I bet...” he muttered to himself. “Never did like the M/C after it took that path. Thought it was a bad move.”

  Ignoring his murmurs, Diesel related back. “We had to kill them. It was…”

  “You had to kill them?” Venom said, raising an eyebrow while digging a finger into Diesel’s chest. “That patch used to mean something. The Boas did well. Looked after their community. Kept trouble out. No killing – ‘Brains Before Bullets’. “It hasn’t been like that for decades!” Diesel said.

  “I know. I’ve seen the change over the years.”

  “You’ve been…watching?”

  “Yes,” Venom said. “For many, many years.”

  “What happened to you?” Diesel pressed, as he watched Venom stare off into space.

  Venom answered with a backhand, which put Diesel to the floor. “Start answering my fucking questions,” he fumed while standing over the fallen man. “Or I’m going to twist your head off like a bottle top!”

  “Shit…” Diesel agonised.

  Dragging Diesel to a standing position, Venom again rammed him against the bar. This time, it was much harder. He thought his spine was about to snap under the force. “Ease up, ease up, man. Please! You’re going to break my… arrgghhh!” he cried, as Venom applied more pressure.

  “I’ll double you like a penknife, if you don’t start talking!”

  “Okay, okay – they were killing people. Stealing their organs for sale.”

  “Bullshit!”

  I swear. Look for yourself. Go into the cellar. You’ll see…they killed our brothers…”

  Venom issued Diesel a hard slap across his face. “You ain’t a brother of mine,” he said. “I don’t care what that patch says.” Letting him go, Venom turned his back and walked around the room. He entered the lounge where the pool competition had taken place.

  “Porky,” he gasped, seeing the fat landlord crumpled on the floor, his face covered in crimson. One of the bullets had torn through his left eye, creating a large hole.

  He noticed the youth on the table. “Simon!” he gasped, then rushed to the youngster. He was still breathing. Just. “Simon? Simon?!” Venom called, giving the boy’s face a few gentle slaps. Stay with me. Toni! Get in here with the first aid kit. Quick!”

  He turned around, his massive hands covered in gore. “Did you shoot them?!” Venom wanted to know.

  Diesel had never felt so scared. His heart thundered the beats out. Had his knees been closer together, they would have been knocking. “Yes, I mean no. No, I didn’t kill either of them,” he lied. Neither the truckers nor the girl meant fuck all to him.

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “Yes!” I only helped get the truckers out of here. I didn’t want to kill anyone. I swear.”

  “And I’m supposed to believe that, am I?” Venom asked. His face masked with many emotions.

  “It’s the truth. If you hadn’t let them go, you’d know the full story. I didn’t kill anyone, I promise.”

  Toni entered the room and pushed past Diesel. He scowled at her back, but kept his mouth shut. He watched as she handed the first-aid kit to Venom who opened it up. He took out a suture needle, thread, a small pair of scissors and pliers. He then ripped the boy’s t-shirt open and inspected the damage.

  A bullet had ploughed into the boy’s chest, but it didn’t appear to be as lethal as it first looked.

  “Do you want me to do it?” Toni asked. “My hands are much smaller and steadier,” she argued.

  Venom looked at her. “Yes, okay. Thanks. I’m going to take him for a walk,” he said, looking at Diesel.

  “Okay,” Toni said. “Be careful,” she told him.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” Venom said, giving her a kiss before ordering Diesel to take him to the basement.

  Venom made Diesel lead the way. “And you say they’re all dead?”

  “Yes. I told you.”

  “Well, you were wrong about Simon,” Venom said.

  “I don’t think he’ll last the day,” Diesel said.

  For that, he was shoved viciously by Venom. “Get moving,” he told him.

  Behind them, they could hear Toni setting to work. She was talking to Simon. Keeping him awake.

  Venom had instructed her to make sure all doors and windows to the building were locked, once she was finished with Simon. He also wanted her to make sure all the curtains were closed. He didn’t want to take any chances, not with sunrise around the corner.

  “I am moving,” Diesel bit back. “There’s no need to keep shoving me!”

  “Stop whining. You sound like a girl,” Venom said scornfully. “Are you sure they’re all dead?” Venom asked again.

  Before Diesel opened his mouth, he thought about what he was going to say, without sounding like an arsehole. He didn’t want any more knocks, slaps, shoves or digs.

  “Yes, I’m sure of it. We all thought The Champ was dead, too. How did he manage to last so long?”

  “The Champ? You mean Simon.” Venom said.

  “Yes, Simon,” Diesel clarified.

  “Why did you call him The Champ?” Venom pressed.

  Diesel filled Venom in on why the boy had aptly been named The Champ. He also told him what had happened to the losers, and what the winner had been promised. “It seemed the place had been struggling,” Diesel said. “So they rigged this competition up and drained people of their money and organs.”

  “I see,” Venom said. “Porky would have been getting a pretty penny for it, too,” he mused.

  “Yeah?” Diesel asked.

  “Yes. I know of the channels myself and the people running them. There are huge sums of money involved.”

  “Maybe The Boas are in the wrong game?!” Diesel quipped.

  Venom wanted to give the man a hard thump for saying such a thing. “If I’d have known Porky was up to this, I would have got him out of it.”

  “I think the guy had a brother,” Diesel said, unaware that Venom had stopped.

  “Richard…” Venom whispered.

  “Not sure, he didn’t tell us his name. He’s pushing up daises, though…”

  “He’s dead?!” Venom blurted.

  “Yeah, Porky told us.”

  “So that’s the lie he used,” Venom muttered. “I’m guessing you’re yet to meet him,” he concluded.

  “I told you, there’s nobody else in this building.”

  “We’ll see,” Venom said, a smile spreading across his face. “Show me the cellar.”

  “It’s just through that door,” Diesel said, pointing towards the end of the corridor.

  As they got closer, Venom could smell a strong stench of death mingled with blood and other bodily fluids. The door stood ajar, allowing the stink an escape route. Venom, first to the door, toed it open. His eyes fell on Doc first. Most of the man’s head was missing. What remained was too mashed to identify.

  Shaking his head, he walked down the steps and entered the room. The smell and presence of flies and maggots did not bother him. He’d seen much worse in his life. Then he saw Baby. He went to her, and kneeled. Removing her mask, he put a finger to her neck and checked for a pulse. He
had to make sure.

  “She’s beautiful!” Diesel gasped who stood over Venom and looked down at woman who’d caused so much death. Underneath her mask, she’d been hiding away a thicket of lush red hair – her complexion appeared soft and blemish free. “Shit. Pity she had to be so fucking nuts… Ugggh!” Diesel cried out, as Venom punched him in the stomach.

  It wasn’t the hardest of blows, but it was enough to put Diesel on his arse. “Stop fucking hitting me!” Diesel yelled. “What the fuck is your problem?!”

  Standing over Diesel, Venom cut a terrifying shape in the gloomy room. “This was my family you and your friends butchered.”

  “Look what they’ve been doing?!” Diesel yelled. “They’ve been slaughtering people for years.”

  “They were good people before this. They didn’t have a choice. They would have had to resort to it. I know what that’s like,” Venom said, not wanting to say any more. “Let’s get out of here. I’ve seen enough.”

  “What now?” Diesel wanted to know. “Can I go?”

  “No, you can’t fucking go!” Venom snapped. “I’m not letting you out of my sight until I’m finished with you.”

  “Come on, man. I have no other information for you. I don’t know anything else.”

  “You’re wrong. There is something you can give me. Protection.”

  “What are you talking about? You don’t need me for that.”

  “I do. I need a sentry for when Toni and I are sleeping.

  “I’m lost,” Diesel said.

  “We have people on our tail. People who want to hurt Toni and me. This is why we came here,” Venom said.

  “For protection?”

  “Yes.” Venom replied.

  “You’re a brother – I’m obliged to help you,” Diesel said.

  “I’m not asking. I’m telling. It has fuck all to do with the M/C.”

  “Whatever you say,” Diesel said.

  “Get back up to Toni – I want you on the roof with the rifle,” Venom said his face rigid with seriousness. “You’ll pay your debt for killing my family,” he said. “Just like those truckers will.”