by Jacqui Rose
‘Do you think you’ll be able to sew it back on?’ It was Franny who spoke to the doctor, voice full of concern, which only added to Alfie’s annoyance. She was able to air her concern and flicker her eyelashes at the handsome casualty doctor, but not for him.
‘I’m not sure, it really depends on the replantation team.’
‘Fucking hell, what am I? A frigging hydrangea? This ain’t Gardener’s World you know, mate.’
‘Ignore him, he often gets like this when he doesn’t get his own way.’ Franny smiled as she talked to the doctor who gave Franny a sympathetic look in return, making Alfie seethe even more.
Alfie decided he wouldn’t stand for this anymore and sprang up from the hospital trolley, ignoring the pain which was only slightly helped by the injection of painkillers he’d been given earlier. He grabbed the man by his good hand, pushing past Chloe-Jane who stood back trying to make eyes at the doctor, who was by now too busy trying to stop Alfie attacking him to notice.
‘Alfie! Alfie, get off him!’ Franny’s voice was pitched high as she shouted at Alf, pulling on the back of his bloodstained sweater.
‘Maybe I can help.’ A deep voice sounded from behind. Franny turned round, expecting to see a hospital security guard, but instead she came face to face with Vaughn Sadler followed by Del Williams.
Vaughn pushed past Franny, grabbing hold of Alfie by the scruff of his neck. ‘You’ve got some fucking explaining to do.’
It took Alfie only a second for his brain to realise what was happening and another second for his face to blanch momentarily, before he leapt into action.
He twisted his body, ignoring the pain of his injuries from the triad attack. Using his shoulder, he slammed into Vaughn who staggered backwards, surprised at the strength of the injured Alfie Jennings. As Vaughn fell into the hospital sluice trolley, propelling the steel surgical instruments to the floor, Del Williams stepped forward to help, lunging angrily towards Alfie, but a sudden pain stopped him, sending shockwaves through Del’s body. He held onto his head.
‘Fucking hell!’ Del shouted out in pain as Chloe-Jane stood with a metal tray in her hand.
Del turned to stare at Chloe, seeing the security guards rushing over to see what the commotion was. He snarled at her. ‘What the fuck did you do that for?’
Chloe-Jane shrugged, looking first at Alfie, then at Del who’d she’d struck hard across the head. ‘He’s family. And family stick together.’
An hour later, Franny sat in the waiting room drinking what she suspected was the worst cup of coffee she’d ever had. Either that, or it was the bitter taste in her mouth she’d suddenly developed as she listened to Vaughn and Del tell her their suspicions about Alfie, who lay oblivious under anaesthetic in theatre.
‘It ain’t even bang out of order, Fran, what he’s done is worse. Much worse. He’s got involved with them triads, or at least he’s been part of the reason they’ve launched their attacks on Soho. He went against the rules, Fran, opening up a casino behind our backs. Everyone knows that’s off limits.’
Franny bristled. ‘If it’s true.’
Vaughn and Del glanced at each other.
‘Don’t look like that, guys, we don’t know it’s true.’
Frustrated, Vaughn stood up, gesturing widely with his hands. ‘Oh come off it, Fran, you know what a fucking muppet he is, this has got Alfie Jennings written all over it. Anything that goes wrong and there’s even a sniff of Alfie’s name, you know he’ll be right in the centre of things. Ain’t no smoke without fire, or in this case, ain’t no smoke without Alfie. It’s always been the same. You know that.’
Franny’s face flushed with anger. She spat out her words, surprising herself at how protective of Alfie she felt. ‘This isn’t about what’s happening in Soho, Vaughn, this is about you. Everyone knows you’ve got a problem with Alfie, and this is your way of getting back at him.’
‘Don’t be such a stupid cow, Fran, didn’t you see what shit he got your father into? I don’t know how you can bear to let him near you.’
Franny’s slap to Vaughn’s face shocked everyone, apart from Chloe-Jane who had seen it coming. The only other person Chloe had known do that had been her mother, just before she’d drunkenly laid into her, often leaving her too bruised to go to school the next day.
Chloe-Jane stepped behind Franny, showing her solidarity to her newfound friend as well as her uncle. He wasn’t her favourite person by any length but it was one thing for Chloe-Jane to think Alfie was a god almighty prick, but it was an entirely other thing for someone else to.
Vaughn’s fury showed in his eyes. Who the hell did Franny think she was? This was men’s business, not women’s. He’d had a lot of respect for her at one point, the way she’d handled herself when the shit had hit the fan with her father, Patrick. She’d also been a good friend to Casey which of course he’d appreciated, but now? Now he was losing respect for her and if she wasn’t careful, Franny would lose the respect of the other London and Soho faces she’d known since she was a child.
Franny’s voice was steely.
‘Don’t you dare speak about Patrick.’
‘Why not, truth hurts.’
Franny stepped forward, closing the space between them. Franny stared at Vaughn, wondering how he’d changed from the sweet perfect gentleman to a hardened embittered man. When Casey had called her in tears, worried about the way Vaughn was acting, she’d reassured her friend it was probably nothing and had convinced Casey just to put it down to Vaughn having a bad day. But as Franny stood in front of him, it was clear this was far from a bad day.
‘The only truth here, Vaughn, is whatever vendetta you’re riding on, you better get off it and real quick. You don’t run Soho – those days are well and truly over, whether you like it or not. Go up against Alfie and you’ll go up against me.’
Vaughn laughed scornfully. ‘Oh and that’s supposed to frighten me how?’
‘I don’t expect it to frighten you, Vaughn, you’re too stupid for that. What I do expect is for you to back off from Alfie until you know the truth, because if you don’t you’ll regret it.’
‘You two deserve to be together. At first I couldn’t quite see how you and him could work, but now I see it, Christ do I just.’
‘Maybe instead of worrying about Alfie and me, perhaps you should be worrying about your own relationship.’
It was the first time Franny saw Vaughn bristle. His eyes darkened. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
Franny began to walk away. ‘You tell me.’
‘I said, what’s that supposed to mean?’
Ignoring Vaughn, Franny opened the waiting room door but felt her arm being held. She stared down at Vaughn’s grip before staring up into his face. ‘Get your hands off me.’
‘Not till you tell me what you meant.’
‘You heard her, get the fuck off her.’ Chloe-Jane stood with a chair in her hand a few feet away from Vaughn.
‘Get your dog to back off, Fran.’
Franny, who’d just been about to tell Chloe-Jane to put the chair down, angrily reacted to Vaughn’s comment. ‘Who the hell do you think you are, Vaughn, speaking to her like that, she’s just a kid? What’s happened to you?’
Chloe-Jane continued to hold the chair in a threatening manner, trying to decide whether or not to feel affronted by Franny calling her just a kid, or to be touched by Franny sticking up for her, a rare occurrence in her life. Deciding on the latter, and without a moment’s more hesitation, Chloe-Jane swung the chair at Vaughn, screaming at him hysterically.
‘She said get off her! Fucking bastard! Get off!’
Seeing Vaughn’s head begin to bleed and sensing Chloe-Jane was about to hit Vaughn again, Del intervened, grappling the chair off her. He pulled it from her hands with a strong tug, managing to release it from her grip in one go. But like a wild feral cat about to lose its prey, Chloe-Jane pounced on both Del and Vaughn. Fingernails scratched at skin, teeth bit into flesh as she yelled a st
ream of profanities.
Franny moved forward, dragging Chloe-Jane off the men. She wrapped her arms round her as she pulled her away, battling as Chloe tried to break out of her hold and back to the men.
Franny shouted loudly. ‘Chloe! Chloe-Jane! Stop! Stop! Just calm down.’
Chloe-Jane turned to Franny, her face expressing hurt and frustration. ‘Did you hear him though? Did you hear what he said?’
Franny nodded. ‘I did and he was wrong, but you’ve got to calm down. You can’t go round hitting people as and when you feel like it.’
‘But he grabbed hold of you. He wouldn’t let go. He can’t do that, can he?’
‘No. No, he can’t.’
Del spoke up. ‘He can if you’re taking the piss. What do you want him to do, Fran? Let you talk shit about him and Casey?’
Franny’s eyes flashed with anger at Del.
‘Has it come to you having to fight Vaughn’s battles for him now, Del?’
Del scowled. He didn’t need this shit, he’d rather be back home in the Costa with his family, but he, like everyone else, had received the call to come and help. So now he was here, Del wanted to resolve it all as soon as possible, which didn’t mean having to argue the toss or get clouted across the head by some bird. He’d had enough of that being married to his ex-wife, Edith.
‘Turn it in Fran, Vaughn’s right, you’re acting like a silly cow. What you need is a reality check and what missy here needs is a hard spank on the arse.’
It was like a flame to a petrol can and Chloe-Jane exploded. ‘Is that fucking right, mate? And what? You think you’re the one to do it do you? Fucking perv, get off on the thought of young girls having their behinds tanned do you? Go on, frigging try it and see what you get.’
Del sighed. Even though he was furious with Alfie for what he’d brought onto Soho, a part of him couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. This girl was trouble. Trouble and loud-mouthed, and if Franny wasn’t careful, it wouldn’t be just Alfie who’d bring down her world, it’d be Chloe-Jane.
‘Listen sweetheart, think whatever you like, it ain’t going to make an iota of difference to me, but I’m telling you if you carry on like this, you’ll make lots of enemies. And the kind of enemies you’ll make around here, I wouldn’t wish on even you.’
Franny turned her attention from Vaughn to Del, speaking in a low hushed tone. ‘Is that a threat, Del? Because if it is, you better take that back right now.’
Del shook his head. ‘You know how it is, Fran. What you playing at? She ain’t even your family, but you’re happy for her to destroy the relationships around you with the likes of me and Vaughn.’
It was Franny’s turn to shake her head. ‘If my relationship with you is so easily broken, maybe I’m better off without it. And as for her not being family; you’re wrong. She’s Alfie’s family, which makes her mine. So if you’ve got a problem with her, you’ve got a problem with me.’
Chloe-Jane once again couldn’t help feeling delighted with what Franny had just said, but this time she didn’t try to hide it. Standing in the tiny hospital waiting room, she grinned as Del and Vaughn looked on. For the first time in her life she felt wanted, and no one but no one was going to take that away from her. If anyone tried, Chloe-Jane was going to make them wish they hadn’t. Oh yes, she would make certain of that.
12
Franny sat in Lola’s kitchen. She looked around at the tired orange paisley wallpaper and brown tiles and although it certainly was in need of redecoration, there was something comforting about the familiarity of the place. Days gone past of happy times with her father, memories of late-night chats with friends, and crying through difficult times over cups of tea. It was all here, here in this room.
‘Do you think it’s true, Lola? Do you think Alfie is the reason why the triads attacked Soho?’
Lola Harding, dressed in a cheap designer knock-off dress, plonked a cup of steaming hot tea in front of Franny. Her expression was sympathetic.
‘Listen Fran, I love Alf, we all do, even Vaughnie does in his own way, but both you and I know he’s a chancer. Old school he is, always ducking and diving like the rest of us, but unlike the rest of it, he takes it too far. He gets greedy. No, don’t look like that Fran, you know I’m telling the truth. Ain’t got no reason to lie to you. You and I go as far back as when you were a baby, and I’ve never told you an untruth and I ain’t going to start now. See sense darlin’. Alfie needs to stop what he’s started; he’s making enemies everywhere, those triads will kill him if he’s not careful, and I don’t want to see something happen to him.’
Franny bit her lip. She didn’t want to argue with Lola, especially as she was still upset from the attack on her café, even if it now looked a hundred times better than it ever did. Casey had told her that Lola had called Vaughn up several times demanding high-spec fittings and fixtures for the café which certainly wasn’t reminiscent of the cheap and grimy décor it’d had previous to the attack.
‘What is it all of a sudden about everyone wanting to be enemies? We’ve all been friends for years and now all that’s changing. The Soho I used to know is disappearing, Lola. All the good times we had aren’t there anymore. Do you remember how we always got together on Sundays? Me and my dad and my Uncle Cab, Del, Vaughn, Alfie and the Taylors. And then there was you and …’
‘Any bastard I’d fallen for that week.’ Lola cackled, reaching out to take Franny’s hands into hers over the kitchen table.
‘The picture’s changing, Lola and I can’t help feeling sad; it’s like we’re all being written out of a story and it’s time to go our separate ways.’
‘Fucking hell girl, remind me to invite you round again won’t you when I need cheering up? Christ, you make a funeral march sound cheery.’
Franny laughed, tears of mixed emotions brimming up in her eyes. ‘Thank you, Lola.’
Lola looked surprised. ‘For what?’
‘For making me laugh, for being here … for being you.’
Lola blushed, then winked at Franny. ‘You soft cow, you certainly take after your father. The gift of the gab he had, or as I like to call it; bullshit.’
The two women burst into laughter. The evening light faded as they both hung onto the memories of the past, both uncertain of the future.
13
‘Well wake up then. Talk about fucking milking it. I’m surprised you ain’t got bleedin’ udders.’
Alfie Jennings slowly opened his eyes to see Chloe-Jane leaning over him. He croaked, his mouth dry from the anaesthetic.
‘What the hell are you doing here? Where’s Franny?’
Chloe-Jane looked slighted. ‘Well that’s flipping nice ain’t it, next time I won’t bother nicking these grapes for you.’ She threw the bunch of red grapes at Alfie and began to walk away.
‘Oi! Chloe. Wait up girl.’ Alfie called her back, noting how quickly and eagerly she turned round. A tiny shot of guilt hit him. Maybe he’d been too hard on the girl. ‘Listen, I wanted to say I saw what you did back in casualty, whacking Vaughn like that. Some of the hardest men wouldn’t have even done that.’
‘I ain’t scared of no one.’
‘Well, maybe you should be.’
Chloe-Jane looked puzzled and genuinely interested. ‘Why? You ain’t.’
Alfie nodded his head in agreement. It was true what his niece was saying. The only person he’d ever been afraid of was his dad when he’d been a kid, as he’d savagely beaten him on an almost-daily basis. But Alfie’s fear had turned to fearless hatred on the day his mum had killed herself and soon it was his dad who’d been afraid of him.
‘You’re a girl, it’s different.’
Chloe-Jane scoffed. ‘This ain’t Victorian times you know.’
‘Listen, if you’re going to give me another history lesson, save your bleedin’ breath. I never learnt fuck all in school and I don’t want to start learning now.’
‘Has anyone ever told you you’re an ignorant pig?’
&nbs
p; Alfie grinned. ‘Yup, plenty, including Franny. Did you come with her?’
Chloe-Jane took the piece of gum she’d been chewing and stuck it on her leg enabling her to tuck in to the bunch of ripened grapes.
‘Nope, and you should be grateful she ain’t here, Uncle Alfie.’
‘Why?’
‘Because if you think it’s painful having your finger chopped off, imagine how it’s going to feel when you have your balls sliced off.’
Alfie closed his eyes again, he was tired and the last thing he needed was the chattering of a teenager but it didn’t stop him being curious as to what Chloe was talking about. He turned his head and opened one eye. ‘And why would I want to imagine that, hey?’
Chloe-Jane grinned. ‘’Cos Franny is going to whip them off when she sees you.’
Alfie snapped. ‘What the fuck are you talking about?’
‘She knows.’
Alfie paled slightly. ‘Knows what?’
‘Ain’t no good lying, Uncle Alfie, I know, just like everyone else does.’
Alfie pushed himself up, pain rushing through his hand. Panic began to rise inside him and a defensive tone was evident in his voice. ‘Like I said, I ain’t got a clue to what you’re talking about.’
Chloe-Jane shrugged, stood up to go. ‘Okay, well suit yourself. Don’t try to tell me I didn’t warn you.’
‘Wait! Okay, okay, you’ve had your fun and now you can stop playing your games.’