Crossing the Line
Page 20
To be continued in
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Epilogue
Dissident Found Dead In Whitechapel Flat
By Lucy Stroud
Outspoken critic of the Russian government’s record on civil liberties and human rights, Yuri Takashvilli, was found dead in his Whitechapel flat yesterday morning. The Georgian dissident was a high profile game player because of his senior involvement in the economic emergence of Russia as a capitalist power and his, once close, ties to the Russian President. Police have yet to reveal the cause of death and are refusing to comment on whether any radioactive material was found at Takashvilli s residence. However, police wearing special protective clothing were seen entering and leaving his residence. Takashvilli was director of the Russian Utilities giant Gazprom and a special business envoy of the Russian regime between 1998 and 2001. Takashvilli made his feelings about the political direction of Russian Federation known at a Birmingham press conference in 2001, which was jointly convened by Russia For Freedom and Amnesty International. Takashvilli applied for political asylum and in several interviews complained he was being watched and claimed his life was in danger. Police will be making a further statement later today.
City Bulletin:
Pyotr Dobcek assumes control of White Star Gazette Holdings
Pyotr Dobcek, cousin of the notoriously murdered Chief Executive, Victor Marka, left White Star’s Moscow offices this week to take a direct role in the UK headquarters of the distribution and media giant. Dobcek is rumoured to be a dynamic businessman with a ruthless streak and a prima donna attitude akin to his predecessor, though less is known about his extra-curricular activities. Marka was alleged to have been heavily involved with organised crime throughout his time in London, accusations which dogged his career and tainted the reputation of his businesses. Only time will tell as to whether Dobcek can clean up the White Gazette brand whilst maintaining the success the company gained during Marka’s tenure at the top.
South East in The Grip Of A New Gang War?
This week’s spate of violence across South London, East London and Essex has given MPs, local councillors and police concern that a new surge of gang warfare is under way. Police are calling on the public to contact them if they have witnessed any of the incidents in Surrey Quays, Brixton, Basildon, Southend, and Essex on a dedicated Freephone gang crime telephone line. Scotland Yard have issued a plea for witnesses to call, even if their information seems insignificant, it is still valuable as few witnesses have yet come forward to assist with the murder investigations in Southend, Brixton and Surrey Keys.
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-Solomon
The Long Time Dying Series
by Solomon Carter
Thrilling adventures featuring Eva Roberts & Dan Bradley, private detectives
Series list - in reading order
Out With A Bang
One Mile Deep
Long Time Dying
Never Back Down
Crossing The Line
Divide and Rule
Better The Devil
Excerpt
Divide & Rule, Long Time Dying 6
One
"No, please, no!"
Will Burton held the gangling frame of his teenage son's body so tight that his knuckles became white. His pride and joy, his future... All these years he'd been working to provide his son with a legacy, an inheritance, a name and a face to be proud of... but as he knelt in the artificial, electric light, cradling his son's limp body, he could think of nothing else but his fading legacy. His son, Jerry, was far more athletic than Will Burton had ever been. The body was heavy, but he wasn't letting go. The boy’s eyes were open but rolled back, exposing only the whites. Blood seeped from an inch wide gash just beneath the hairline on his son's pale face and pooled on the tiles. The blood was a glistening scarlet slick, pulsing over his nose and lips.
"Jerry...? Please..."
Will remembered Jerry helping out on the campaign trail, following his father's political speeches and watching the television interviews on the local news. Jerry had even started showing up at his press conferences. They had not maintained a close relationship in the last few years, but the election battle had changed things. Yes, the boy was becoming far more like him. Will foresaw the potential for a Burton dynasty. Far-fetched, maybe a fantasy even. After all, he hadn't been elected yet. The by-election was set to contest the provincial seat of Southend East after the sitting Conservative MP quit Parliament citing ‘family reasons’, thus sparking a by-election. Family reasons? No. In fact, the man had dropped his trousers and posted photographs on Twitter and the images made the national tabloids. In autumn 2014, anything was possible. Politics was a strange territory. This was the time of the Right. The Middle Eastern Jihadists stoked nationalist debate with their machete wielding decapitations posted on the internet. The Scots raised all kinds of questions about nationhood among the English with their referendum on leaving the United Kingdom. The entire country seethed with ill-feeling and suspicion everywhere towards men and women with dark skin or foreign tongues. The press emphasised a theme: money was tight, and foreigners were soaking it up in excess. The opinion polls had Burton as the clear winner. Even the national red-top newspapers proudly exclaimed that the election was a done deal, with Burton set to be the first ever Member of Parliament for UKFirst. And once the people listened to what Burton had to say, it was only a matter of time until the second, third and fourth UKFirst candidates got elected. Yes, government beckoned and Will Burton was going to be the triumphant pioneer to lead the nation into the dawn of a new age. Burton was media savvy and everyone knew it. He was slick. The country had taken its fill of namby-pamby do-gooder politicians that were content to draw a wage while they let the place go to rack and ruin. This era was ready made for UKFirst. The nation needed UKFirst. The people were primed and ready for a new leader. Now was the era of patriotism, the Union Jack, and a new brand of “Send 'Em Back” politics. This was Burton's destiny; scary, beautiful and perfect. Well, it was, right up until this stark and terrible moment. Right up until the blood from his son’s head began to pour out. Right up until he came face to face with the terror he had brought this upon his own family. The anarchists. The left wingers, the trashy leftists who hid behind balaclavas and threw rocks through McDonalds windows... this was their kind of act. The bastards. They would try to ruin him, try to destroy Will Burton and UKFirst before the party even got started on their democratic revolution. An endless stream of tears poured down Will Burton's face. He struggled to breathe, like he was stuck in a bad dream. His breath came out in ragged gasps, wheezes and coughs. Burton dipped his fingers into the mess of blood, around the split on his son's head, and pinched the flesh back together, yet the gush of blood would not cease.
"Dawn. Dawn!" Burton screeched, angling his face towards the stairs, crying out for his wife. Burton was in the downstairs hallway of his large Rendon home, the dark blood pooling on the terracotta tiles beneath his feet. "Dawn!" he screamed again, his voice amplified by the emptiness of the
hallway. His wife came rushing down, her feet thudding down the stairs.
"Jerry's hurt, Dawny. The door was open- Jerry's been attacked at the door. Call a bloody ambulance! Call the police! The bastards hurt him to get at me..."
Dawn. Oh, Dawn. How she filled him contempt him by not being the woman she once was. Once pretty and funny, she was now dour and ignorant. She slapped a hand across her mouth and looked at them with widening eyes. "Dawn. Pick up the bloody phone. Dial 999. Do it!"
The woman looked at her son and shook her head in disbelief with her hands still over her mouth. Shock. Stupidity.
"DO IT NOW!" he barked. Louder than he had ever shouted at anyone. Louder than when he had yelled at Serge the other day. Louder than he shouted at any of his brigade. Louder because, look at her - the pathetic bitch deserved it. Tears slid down her face and Dawn Burton disappeared back up the stairs in the direction of the phone. Pure panic seeped out of her words as her voice quivered. "Ambulance. Ambulance, please, it's urgent. It's my son..."
Will Burton's own tears fell into his son's blood... He made a vow. There would be hell to pay. The beginnings of a plan were forming. Plans for revenge. Plans for safety. Plans for victory. Yes, victory. Somewhere deep beneath his volcanic rage, Will Burton still had hope; he was still destined for success. The bastards would never beat him. Instead, success was even more definite now. Will Burton of UKFirst believed in destiny. It was his only friend.
To be continued…
Read on by purchasing Divide & Rule.
Crossing The Line - Long Time Dying Series Book 5
First published in Great Britain in 2014 by Great Leap
Kindle Edition September 2014
Copyright © Solomon Carter 2014
Solomon Carter has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.
This book is a work of fiction and except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this e-book publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review, without the prior written permission of the author.
For more information about the author visit www.solomoncarter.net
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