by Nathan Davey
“Barry” she said in a seductive whisper, “nice to know that you’ve finally brought some friends round for tea”
“Cut the crap Nikki!” replied Barry, “This is important. I got some people to deal with Tyler.”
“Splendid” she said, “Where are they?”
“That’s them there” he answered pointing to us.
Her smile melted away and her lips fell into a disturbing expression of anger. Her teeth were gritted, I could hear her breathing loudly, her chest was rising and falling rapidly and her eyes shone like fire. Barry didn’t react in anyway. He must have been used to this sort of behaviour from this woman. Either that or he just had a very dismissive personality.
“I hope your joking” said Nikki,
“No I’m not” said Barry, “My cousin Joe told me about them, they are apparently a very reliable couple”
“I require a trained assassin!” barked Nikki, “not some Chavs that you’ve just plucked up from the fucking council estate!”
“Alright love, no need to go f-ing and blinding over it” said Barry in a surprisingly calm tone, “If Joe trusts them, then I trust them in return. Now, I suggest that you stop pruning up in that tub and get Tyler’s files”
Nikki stared up at Barry. Her body looked stiff and defiant. I could still hear her breathing loud. Her hands were now closed into fists as her irritation grew. Barry still looked extremely calm. His face was unmoved by the woman’s behaviour. For some reason this made Barry seem even more intimidating. By not reacting to Nikki’s anger, he came across as the better person compared to her. The atmosphere this scene created in the room was unsettling and intense. The woman still didn’t budge from the Jacuzzi to collect the files that Barry wanted.
“Now would be nice” Barry added,
“Fine!” Nikki suddenly blurted out.
Nikki got out of the tub in a huff. She snatched a soft, white towel that was hanging up by the tub. In a strop she stomped over to a filing cabinet that was standing next to a thick, silver, metal door that could only be opened by using a combination. Nikki opened the first draw of the filing cabinet and started to rummage through, trying to find a specific file.
“Barry?” I asked, “What did she mean, when she said she needed a trained assassin?”
“Well, that’s what you two are now” replied Barry, “Assassins. That’s what we needed help with. The police are aware of us and any crime we go forward with could lead to us being caught. So, we needed someone else to do this very important task for us, someone who was unknown to the authorities and so less likely to be caught. I know it’s kind of risky, but we’ve got enough wonga for yah, so we’ll make it worth your while”
“You mean?” asked Lizzie shakily, “You want us to . . .”
“Kill someone for us?” said Barry finishing her sentence, “exactly, I think you two will be perfect. Come over here and I’ll explain fully”
CHAPTER TWENTY – THREE
What a horrible mess we found ourselves in. I was completely gobsmacked. Helping people out is one thing, but actually committing murder is where I draw the line. This was horrific and deeply terrifying. Without needing to say anything to each other, we both knew that we needed to get out of there. How I had no idea how. There were lots of people hanging around, some had guns down their trousers and others were holding their flick knives. This is what happens when you trust people too much.
There was no point trying to escape with all of those other people walking around. Most likely if I even tried I’d get shot. Fear gripped my heart. I could feel my body turn cold. It was as if the entire colour from my face was being drained from me. I tried to keep these signs of fright from showing with all of my might. I took Lizzie’s hand. She was shaking violently. We both took a deep breath and took some steps forward towards Barry. The only thing we could do now was try and get out of this mess using words alone. I knew very well that this wasn’t going to be easy.
“The bloke’s name is Tyler Unwin” said Barry, he handed us the file to look over, “He bought five grams of cocaine from us and hasn’t paid the £300 that he owes us. It’s been six months now, so the time has come to intervene. I want you two to track him down. You are to give him a choice. Either he can pay the full £300 up front, which you shall give back to me, or you will shoot him and take whatever he has in his wallet. That includes his credit cards, we have some real clever blokes who can hack into those and take the money out. Is that part of the brief clear?”
“I’m sorry” I said shakily, “but I’m afraid we can’t help you”
“What?” asked Barry.
That was far too blunt. Even as I said it I knew that it was going to be a massive mistake. I needed to break it to him slowly and gently. It must had been the fear mixed with the pressure of getting the two of us out of this mix up, which then led me to this seriously nasty slip of the tongue. Barry’s expression still didn’t change but I could see a flicker in his eyes. Something had just sparked deep inside of him. That was the moment that my increasing fear threatened to completely take over my body. I could feel my head shaking and my teeth chattering. My breathing patterns had become noticeably uneven and jittery. I was on the verge of a full on panic attack.
“If I may be so bold to ask” said Barry, “Why is that?”
“B-b-because . . .” I stuttered, “W-w-when you said you wanted our help, we thought you meant like a-a-a . . . normal problem. We can’t . . . kill someone”
“Only if he refuses to pay off the debt” said Barry, from inside his jacket he took out a hand gun which he held threateningly towards us, “I suggest you co-operate Mr Connor. Don’t want any . . . ha-ha . . . casualties. Do we?”
Neither I nor Lizzie answered his question, as our eyes were glued to that gun. I’d never seen a gun before. That gun had the ability to take both our lives, if it takes the fancy of the gunman. To us, the gun was the only thing we could see in that room. The people, the objects, the walls and even the sky disappeared to us to only show that black gun. For a while Barry’s voice was just an echo in the far distance.
“CONNOR!” Barry bellowed, “PENNY!!”
This snapped us out of our dark, hypnotic faze. To our appsolute horror we had discovered that during our zone out, Barry had walked forward and was now only a few centimetres away from our faces. Barry pointed the gun at me. Lucas came out of nowhere, stood before Lizzie and pointed his gun at Lizzie. Before we knew it we had found everyone bloke in the place surrounding us, all pointing their guns at us and closing us into a tight circle. That was it. There was no escape. We were officially buggered.
“I said, we don’t want any casualties, do we?” Barry repeated,
“No” we replied meekly,
“Good” said Barry, “nice to know we’re on the same wavelength. Now, on that there paper is Tyler’s address. He lives near the South Bank. The bloke’s a crack head, an absolute mess, so he never leaves his house. We’re going place a camera on your person Mr Connor, so if there are any slips ups we’ll know about it. Are my instructions clear to you?”
“Yes sir” I said,
“Yes sir” said Lizzie,
“Good” said Barry, “Lucas, get him ready. Once he’s done you are to leave for the South Bank immediately. You got that?”
“Yes sir” I said,
“Yes sir” said Lizzie,
“Right, carry on then” said Barry.
Lucas gave us each a gun which was to be hidden from public view, so they were put in the inside pocket of our jackets. He put a tiny camera on my jacket which was attached to a little crocodile clip. Behind Lucas I could see a large television screen showing what the camera could see, which was a close up of Lucas’ dirty vest. Once he was done he stepped back as did all of the other people around us, they didn’t put their guns away though. Barry came up to us and snatched the file away and gave me a slip with Tyler’s address on it.
“Off you trot then” said Barry, “time is of the essence,
Mr Connor”
We were rooted to the spot with fear. I felt a prod on the back from one of Barry’s gunmen. I got the idea, grabbed Lizzie and started to walk out slowly. The same gunman followed us out with his gun raised. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Barry pouring himself a glass of whiskey. He downed the entire glass in one go. The gunman led us out of the room and closed the door behind us.
“Let’s just go Aaron!” insisted Lizzie, “Please, let’s just get out of here!”
“We can’t” I said as we walked down the stairs,
“Why?” asked Lizzie, “because we made a promise?”
“No” I whispered, “because they’ve put a camera on me and they can see everything we do. If we bail, they’ll come after us. Better keep our voices down, I dunno if this thing has microphones or not”
“Ok” said Lizzie, “but we can’t kill that man”
“I know we can’t” said Aaron,
“So what the bloody hell are we going to do?” asked Lizzie,
“I’ll think of something” I said,
“Think of it quick” said Lizzie, “I feel like I may faint”
“Just stay with me” I said, “I won’t let any harm come to you”
“Ok” she said meekly, “I trust you, Aaron”
“Thank you” I said, “I won’t let you down”
We walked out the building a few moments later and caught a bus to the South Bank. The South Bank runs along the River Thames opposite Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, it’s also where the London Eye is situated. This place is known as the British home of the arts as this is the place of the National Theatre, National Film Institute, The Tate Gallery, ITV television studios and a key location for some of the best graffiti artists.
We walked alongside the river together. We passed people lining up to see the latest award winning play at the National Theatre. We saw tourists looking around them in awe from a tour boat which was sailing along in the Thames. So many wonderful strangers walked by us, unaware of what task we were ordered to carry out. We followed the map and directions that were on Barry’s slip, which led us to a much more run down area of the South Bank. It didn’t take us long before we were standing at Tyler’s front door. The time had come.
The sky was grey. The world was dark and foggy. Seagulls flew overhead and their squawking echoed across the dank street. A sense of foreboding was in the air. Our road trip was no longer all roses and smiles. We’d found ourselves in a world of crime and dishonesty. We didn’t belong. I then made a very serious decision. I decided that whatever happened in that house, I was going to take the blame for. I put my hand in my pocket, took out the keys to the Moped and handed them to Lizzie.
“If anything happens” I said, “they’ll desert their building to come after me, this will allow you to get the Moped without any hassle”
“I’m not running away” she said,
“I’m not asking you” I said seriously, “I’m telling you. If something goes horrifically wrong, you are to get on that bike and go home. If anyone asks what happened to me, tell them that I’d drowned in a lake or something. You are not to come after me. Do you understand?”
“Aaron?” asked Lizzie, “Are you being . . .”
“Yes” I said, “I love you, but if I go down, you are not coming with me. You get away from here, anyway you can. Do you understand?”
“Yeah” she whispered, “I understand”
“Good” I said before giving her a kiss.
“I love you, Aaron Connor” she said, “If anything happens, I won’t ever forget you”
“Thank you” I said,
“No Aaron” said Lizzie, “Thank you”
I could see tears running down her face. I put her head in my hands and looked at her with all the sympathy that my heart would give. She smiled at me. Then said a few words, which I will never forget;
“I wouldn’t have missed out on this adventure for anything. You are the most incredible person I’ve ever known. Your kind, sweet, generous, caring, loving . . . I wish all men were like you. I’ll make sure that everyone knows your name, if it’s the last thing I do. I’ll go to the newspapers, I go on the television and I’ll do everything I can to make sure that you’re remembered. I will not rest, until everyone on this Earth remembers the name: Aaron Connor”
“Thank you” I said, “I think . . . it’s time. Barry’s watching all this, he might get suspicious”
“Ok” she said, she wiped the tears from her eyes, “I’m ready”
“I’m not” I said with a smile.
We laughed nervously. The laugh soon faded, as the task at hand became more apparent in our minds. We turned to face the door, took a deep breath and knocked on the door. It only took a few moments for Tyler to answer the door.
Tyler was a very skinny young man. He looked no older then Twenty. He was only dressed in a pair of filthy joggers. He looked so thin, so ill and so weak. His eyes were popping out of his skull. His entire body was shaking. His appearance was like that of a frightened puppy.
“What do you want?” he said in a broken and shaking voice.
I was going to ask him if we could go inside to talk. Looking into those helpless eyes made me stop and think. I couldn’t. I wasn’t some gangster. I wasn’t some scummy drug dealer. This was something I’d never do to a fellow human being. I changed my mind on the spot and said this instead:
“Nothing, sir”
“What?” he asked,
“Wrong house” I said, “sorry to disturb you sir”
“Right” he said, “don’t worry, mate”
Tyler closed the door behind him and disappeared from our lives. We just stood frozen there on the step. We didn’t know what we were waiting for. I knew very well how much trouble I was now in. I knew that I was going to die for what I’d done. Barry had seen me go against what he asked of me. It was just a matter of time before he arrived.
A few minutes later, we heard a car tearing up the road in the distance. I turned to look to my left where the sound was coming from. As I expected, it was Barry’s Mercedes roaring its way towards us. I could see Barry’s face in the front window, he looked furious. There was no point running. This was destined to happen and I had to face it head on, but I wasn’t going to allow Lizzie to have the same horrific fate. This was my fault, my choice and so I knew that the punishment was for me and me alone.
“Hide” I said,
“What?” asked Lizzie,
“Hide” I repeated, “Go behind that bin”
“What?” asked Lizzie again,
“Just do it!” I said,
“No!” retorted Lizzie,
“Go!” I shouted,
“I won’t leave you!” she insisted,
“GO NOW!” I bellowed.
Lizzie finally took my advice and hid behind a collection of wheelie bins, which were standing just by the front door of the house. The car pulled up on the curve with a loud screech of the tires. Several of Barry’s men came out of the car, put a bag over my head, tied my hands behind my back with rope and dragged me across the street and into the boot of the car. The boot’s lid was slammed shut. A few moments later the car was speeding down the road, towards an unknown location.
CHAPTER TWENTY – FOUR
I have no idea how long we were driving for. I was in darkness. All I could smell was the stale stench of the bag that was over my head. All I could see were the fibres and stitches. The car’s engine rumbled underneath me and vibrated my entire body. The car’s boot was small and tight. It felt like I was trapped in a coffin. Usually I never had an issue with small and tight spaces, but this was too much for me. Once again I felt panic grip me.
I could hear the sounds of the London streets outside. I could hear car horns, the bleeping of traffic lights, the ringing of bike bells, people walking along and the sound of large crowds. The point when I really got really worried, was when I could no longer hear the sounds of the city. The only sounds that reached
my ears were the humming of the car’s engine and birds singing outside. I could hear the wheels travelling over softer terrain, maybe gravel or mud. Then all of a sudden, the car stopped and the engine died.
I heard the car doors open and slam shut. I could hear a collection of feet walking on the ground, increasing in volume as they approached the boot. The sounds surrounded me. The sound of the feet made my heart pump so hard that it felt like it would burst out of my chest. Once again all of the sounds stopped all at once. There was a loud metallic click. I heard a loud whoosh and felt a gush of air as the boot was finally reopened.
Several hands grabbed at my tracksuit and pulled me out. My cramped body was soon out in the open. I had no idea where I was. I had no idea how many people were around me. All I knew was that I was somewhere in nature as the ground felt soft underneath my feet, even through my trainers I could feel the mud squelch beneath me.
“What do we have here?” said a voice which I recognised as Barry’s, “smells like a dirty rat to me. Time to show this rat what happens to traitors. Take the gun and camera off of him, he won’t need them anymore.”
The rough hands came back and rummaged around with my jacket. One hand unclipped the camera from my zip, the other took the gun from my inside pocket. Two more hands searched my entire body like I was at customs at the airport. They took the only thing I had on me, which was the last of my money inside the white envelope. Once the man knew that I was clean he removed his hands, I could hear his feet stepping back a few paces.
“Is he clean?” asked Barry,
“Only had a few quid on him” said the man who searched me, “nothing much boss”
“Very good” said Barry, “let’s take him to the clearing”
“Get moving Connor!” said Nikki pushing a gun into my back, “don’t waste any more of our time”
I obeyed and walked forward, allowing more hands to lead me through the unknown location. Two hands were on my shoulder and they pulled at me whenever they wanted me to change the direction I was walking in. I tripped over a couple of times on what felt like rocks and branches. One object was so big that I tumbled onto the ground, I could feel my body sinking into the wet mud. The hands returned, grabbed me by hooking their arms under my armpits and dragged me across the mud. My legs left like jelly as I struggled to get onto my feet, they kept slipping and sliding on the mud. Soon I gave up and allowed the hands to drag me along.