The Goldsworth Series Box Set

by Davie J Toothill

  “What the fuck you doing?” Kareem snapped.

  Bolton looked around, following Kareem’s angry glare, and saw what was annoying him. Dante was leaning over the small table snorting a line of coke.

  When he turned around, he sniffed a few times and smiled.

  “What’s the problem?”

  “The problem?” Kareem asked, taking a step forward, looking menacing. “The fucking problem is that in a few hours we’re going to have to collect a big shipment for the boss and there ain’t room for any mistakes. Bolton’s got the plan down, but you’re too busy –”

  “I let you guys borrow this place,” Dante interrupted, shrugging. “My parents ain’t back ‘til tomorrow so I let you use my house to plan this shit. You should be grateful for that, at least.”

  “You fucking serious?”

  Kareem’s voice was low and there was an edge to it that Bolton knew didn’t bode well.

  “Come on guys, let’s just drop this,” he said, trying to keep his voice light. “We don’t want to fall out before tonight, eh? Uncle Jasper’s relying on us.”

  “That’s damn right,” Kareem said. “So if you don’t pull your weight, Dante, you ain’t coming along and I’ll tell Uncle Jasper myself why not.”

  Dante looked annoyed. He turned to Bolton.

  “Is this guy serious, Bolton? Who made him boss all of a sudden?”

  “I’ve been doing this for a year, you ain’t even done it once yet,” Kareem said. “I got told to supervise you, show you how it’s done. So don’t start pissing me off.”

  “We don’t need your help. Jasper gave the job to me and Bolton, you’re just –”

  “Don’t take the piss, mate, we need his help,” Bolton said, shooting Kareem an apologetic look.

  Kareem looked furious.

  “You want to take them on by yourself, eh?” he said, clenching his fists. “You ain’t even been on a pick-up before. You think you’re a big man, don’t you, just because you’ve dealt a bit of coke? That don’t make you a man, bro, this shit is in a whole other league.”

  “Oh yeah?” Dante said, rolling his eyes. “If you’re so great at it, why does Jasper want me and Bolton to take over the job?”

  “That’s because I’m moving on to something else. Now, you got a gun?”

  Dante snorted derisively and Bolton felt annoyed with his friend’s behaviour.

  Kareem reached behind him and pulled out a small gun. Bolton took a step back and Dante’s eyes widened. He put his hands up, his eyes focused on the gun.

  “Jeez, man, don’t fucking shoot me,” he said, his voice shaking. “I was just having a laugh; you know what I’m like. Come on, man, put it away.”

  Kareem lowered the gun.

  “The guys we’re dealing with are all going to be armed,” Kareem said. “That’s why this is some serious shit. They ain’t going to mess around. We’ve got to be careful and we got to be professional. If we’re not, they’re just going to put some bullets in us.”

  “No shit man,” Dante said, eyes still wide, but looking more serious now.

  “Who is it we’re dealing with anyways?” Bolton asked, directing the question at Kareem. Dante sat down but looked at Kareem too, interested now.

  “The Turks,” Kareem explained. “They’ve got their own routes from the continent. I ain’t sure how, that’s for them to know. Smack and coke, that sort of thing. We’re just picking up the coke tonight. Some other guys will pick up the other gear another time.”

  “Why the Turks?” Dante asked.

  “Fucked if I know, they’re sneaky bastards. Can’t trust any of ‘em. Still, they get good stuff and they don’t get involved much on the dealing side of things. Import it and sell it to Uncle Jasper, then he makes his profits bagging it up and dealing it.”

  “That’s where we come in,” Bolton said.

  “Right,” Kareem said, cooling off. “So Uncle Jasper is relying on us. If we don’t get that coke, he don’t get a profit. And I don’t want to find out what he’s like when that happens. Neither do you boys. Now, let’s go over the plan for tonight again.”

  * * *

  “I can’t fucking believe you sometimes,” Torey said, throwing a pillow at Charley’s head but missing. “You just had to piss mum off didn’t you?”

  “It wasn’t my fault, you know what she’s like.”

  Charley kept her voice level but she was getting increasingly annoyed with Torey. It was just as much her sister’s fault as her own that Toni was in a bad mood.

  “You were the one who started asking her about her post or whatever,” Torey said. “Why did you have to stick your nose in? You know she hates that. Who cares if she gets a stupid letter?”

  “I was just wondering, for fuck’s sake. Last time she got a letter she went all weird.”

  “Probably bills or something,” Torey said, throwing her a dirty look. “It’s none of your business. You’re just lucky she ain’t thrown you out, all the shit she’s got to put up with because of you.”

  “Don’t start that again,” Charley said.

  Torey looked as if she was going to say something else, but the bedroom door opened and Asher came in.

  “What’s going on?” he asked. “What’s with all the arguing?”

  “We weren’t arguing,” Charley replied.

  “I was just asking her why she had to go and put mum in a bad mood,” Torey said, hands on her hips. “She knew I wanted to go out tonight, she just does it so mum will take it all out on me.”

  “Don’t be stupid,” Charley said. “You think I care if you go out or not?”

  “You’re just jealous because I didn’t go and get myself up the duff.”

  “Now I know you’re just being stupid.”

  “Stop bickering, for God’s sake,” Asher said, coming further into the room, his eyes taking in the mess of clothes and make-up on Torey’s bed. “Mum’s probably just tired. If you want to go out just ask politely, she won’t stop you.”

  “Hah, says the golden boy,” Torey snorted, forcing her feet into stilettos. “You’ve never had to ask her to go out, she doesn’t stop you from doing anything.”

  “Don’t be so dramatic, Tor,” Asher said, though Charley saw his cheeks were flushed. “She can’t stop you going out tonight, I’m off down the pub anyway.”

  “Great, wait for me then,” Torey said, pulling her skirt up over her thighs and observing her reflection in the mirror, pouting. “She can’t stop me if I say I’m going with you.”

  “You can’t come to the pub, you’re underage.”

  “What you going to do, arrest me?” Torey said, glaring at him mockingly. “Anyway, I ain’t going to come with you, I’m not that lame. I’m going to a party, I just need her to think we’re going together so she won’t stop me.”

  “You don’t have to lie. Mum isn’t that bad, she –”

  “Whatever, I didn’t ask for a life story. I’m ready now, anyway.”

  Torey grabbed her handbag and pushed past Asher. Asher shrugged helplessly at Charley and followed her out of the room.

  Charley closed her eyes. She was relieved that her sister had finally gone. Anymore of her backchat and she would have lamped her one.

  She could hear Toni’s voice, loud and disapproving, coming from the lounge. Charley hastily pulled her own shoes on and checked her handbag. It sounded as if Torey’s plan was working and Toni didn’t sound happy. If Torey got out, Toni might stop Charley from going out just because she hadn’t gotten the chance to deprive Torey of a night out. And tonight, Charley had plans to meet Leigh-Ann.

  Charley slipped out of the room and opened the front door.

  She heard raised voices and Torey was shrieking at their mother. Footsteps came behind her and Torey pushed past her, Toni’s voice bellowing after her.

  “Move, you stupid cow,” Torey said, as she clattered down the corridor and down the stairs. Charley turned and saw Asher and Toni coming down the corridor. Asher looked frustr
ated, but Toni looked enraged.

  “Bye mum, see you later,” Charley called over her shoulder, as she threw herself out the front door and down the landing before Toni could stop her.

  Halfway down the stairs, Charley caught sight of Torey through the window. She was with two other girls that Charley recognised from school. One of them was passing Torey a bottle of vodka, which she drank from heartily. Charley smiled to herself.

  It was as if she was looking down at herself, only a few pounds heavier, and a few years younger. The thought was pleasant, but that had been before Bolton had come into her life and everything before their first meeting seemed somehow less joyful than the ones after.

  She could hear footsteps on the stairs above her and she hurried down the last few flights. It was probably just Asher, but if it was her mother, she didn’t fancy an argument in the stairwell where it was only too easy for her mum to push her down the stairs.

  * * *

  Bolton sat in the front passenger seat and felt the adrenaline pumping through his body. Kareem was in the driver’s seat and he looked tense and alert. Dante sat in the back, quiet and edgy. The cocaine had worn off and his high had been replaced by nerves and fear.

  “You all right?” Bolton asked, looking into the back.

  The car was dark now that night had fallen and only when they passed under a streetlight was Dante’s pale face illuminated.

  “Yeah,” Dante replied. “Can we go over the plan again?”

  Bolton sighed.

  He and Kareem knew the plan off by heart now, but Dante kept forgetting it.

  “Listen, I think you should stay in the car,” Bolton said, voicing an idea he had been thinking about all afternoon and evening. “It’ll be safer, and there won’t be any mistakes.”

  “I think so too,” Kareem said, not taking his eyes off the road. “If you fuck things up, we’ll end up dead. Either the Turks will shoot us there, or Uncle Jasper will break our necks when he finds out we’ve fucked up. You’re a liability, mate, best you stay in the car and let us get on with it.”

  Dante looked uncomfortable, torn between giving into his nerves and agreeing or protesting and keeping up his pretence of bravado.

  “You’ll still get paid,” Bolton said coaxingly. “We won’t tell anyone you stayed in the car. It’s just better this way, don’t you think?”

  Dante eventually nodded.

  “All right, I’ll stay in the car. But don’t tell anyone, you hear me? I don’t want people thinking I’m a pussy or something. I’m only going to stay in the car because it’ll make it easier for you two, right?”

  “Right,” Bolton said, nodding. “We won’t say anything. Now stop worrying, you’re making me fucking nervous.”

  “I’d be more worried if you weren’t nervous,” Kareem said, turning the car off the main road and into a wide, dark industrial estate. “We’re nearly there.”

  “How long ‘til the pick-up?” Bolton asked.

  “Twenty minutes,” he said. “But we need to get there a bit early. Like I said earlier, we need to check the area, make sure we ain’t being set-up.”

  “But Uncle Jasper trusts them right?”

  “Uncle Jasper don’t trust anybody, that’s why he’s top of his game.”

  A few minutes later, Kareem parked the car in a darkened clearing surrounded by empty containers. They had driven round the area twice, looking for signs of hidden cars or people, but it all seemed clear. Kareem turned off the engine but left the headlines on, so that a beam of light illuminated the way out.

  “What now?” Dante asked, sounding scared.

  “We just wait,” Kareem said.

  Ten minutes later, another set of headlights cut through the dark. The atmosphere in the car tensed and Bolton had to force himself to keep breathing evenly. Kareem nodded at him as encouragement. The car circled them and then pulled up in front of them, facing them. The headlights blinded them momentarily.

  “It’s time,” Kareem said and opened his door.

  Heart in his throat, Bolton did the same and stepped onto the hard ground beneath him. He took a deep breath and closed the car door behind him.

  * * *

  “I didn’t think you’d make it tonight,” Asher said, smiling.

  He was sat at the bar, a cold pint clutched in his hand. He was still relieved that he had managed to get out himself. Charley and Torey had both managed to get out the door before Toni had stopped them and he knew they wouldn’t be giving their behaviour a second thought. He had got out only by reassuring Toni that he would only be out for a few drinks and that it was his work colleagues that he was meeting.

  He was worried that he had dressed too casually. He had opted for jeans, trainers and a caramel-coloured leather jacket over a freshly ironed white shirt. The top few buttons were undone and his dark chest was visible. He had considered doing the buttons up but his friend had arrived and he had left them as they were.

  “Same here, Ash,” Carl said, sipping his own pint. “Clare took some persuading, but she’s gone off to her mate’s hen night. Won’t be home for ages, you know what those things are like. Thought I might as well get down here for a pint whilst I’ve got the chance.”

  “Exactly, the mouse will play whilst the cat’s away, and all that,” Asher said, nodding. “Still, if she’s out drinking, it’s only fair you get to do the same.”

  Carl grinned.

  “You’re right there, Ash. She doesn’t mind much though. I might even be back before her anyway, and then she’ll be the one in the shit.”

  “She expecting a late night?”

  “It’s a hen-night. All those chicks, gabbing away with them drinks. She’ll be hours.”

  Asher nodded and took another drink of his pint.

  Carl was freshly shaved and his hair was tousled from a recent shower. He was wearing jeans and a light blue shirt, and Asher was relieved that he’d dressed as casually as he had done. Carl’s black jacket was hung on the back of his stool and he smelt of aftershave.

  “How’s your day been then?” Carl asked. “Family still giving you hassle?”

  “You could say that,” Asher said.

  He told Carl about Charley and Torey’s arguments, and about his mother’s mood swings and how he had nearly been stopped from coming out tonight because his sisters had gone out without permission.

  When he’d finished, Carl looked at him for a moment, thinking.

  “Why don’t you get your own place?”

  Asher shrugged. The thought of getting a place of his own was exciting and he had often wondered how good it would be, having friends around without worrying that Toni would scare them off. And having a bedroom he could bring people back to after a night out, so different from the bedroom he had now, which he shared with Huw.

  “I couldn’t,” he said. “They’d all tear each other apart. It’s easier to stay, even if it is a pain in the arse sometimes.”

  Carl sighed and shook his head resignedly.

  “Well, what you need is a few more drinks then,” he said, gesturing for the barmaid. “I’ll get this round, don’t worry. You need cheering up, Ash, you look grumpy as hell.”

  Asher smiled and drained the rest of his pint as Carl ordered another for him. He caught Carl’s eye and quickly turned away. Drinking with Carl, with no worries and no arguments, made Asher want to forget all about home and stay here for as long as he could.

  * * *

  Bolton remained still and glanced at Kareem. The doors of the other car opened and two men got out. They were wearing thick dark jackets and Bolton knew that they concealed guns. Guns that would be used on them if they made one wrong move.

  For a moment, the four men looked at each other, nobody moving. Then the larger of the Turks nodded. Bolton moved forwards, his feet feeling heavy, and followed the Turk round the car to the boot.

  The Turk clicked a button in his hand and the boot automatically opened. The lights in the boot revealed a black leather bag. T
he Turk nodded at Bolton.

  He reached in and unzipped the bag, his hands shaking and sweaty. He saw large bags of coke. He slid his hand down the sides of the bag and then the centre, making sure that the leather bag was full of cocaine. Kareem had warned him that one particular rip-off was putting cocaine at the top of the bag and filling the rest with cardboard or paper. Slicing open the top bag, he dipped his finger in and brought it to his mouth, tasting the powder as he had been told to do.

  Bolton was satisfied with the cocaine and nodded at the Turk. The Turk waved and shouted something at the other. From his position, he couldn’t see what was happening. The other Turk had moved to the back of Kareem’s car and he knew that he’d be counting the cash.

  A few minutes later, the Turk motioned for Bolton to take the leather bag. He zipped it back up carefully and picked it up, surprised by how heavy the bag was.

  He walked briskly back around the car and towards Kareem, careful to keep his pace level in case he broke into a run and the Turks panicked and shot him, thinking something was going down.

  He nodded at Kareem and climbed into the car, relaxing only when he had closed the door. Kareem waited whilst the Turks’ car reversed and disappeared into the darkness. A few more minutes, and Kareem turned the engine on and the car sped out of the industrial estate.

  “Wasn’t so bad, was it?” Kareem said, looking at Bolton when they were safely back on the motorway.

  “Yeah, it wasn’t too bad.”

  “You did well.”

  Bolton nodded. He didn’t trust himself to speak at the moment. He was excited and proud at the same time as being nervous and the adrenaline was subsiding, leaving him feeling slightly deflated.

  In the backseat, Dante was smiling broadly, clearly more confident now that it was all over.

  “Well done mate, we’re well in there now,” he said.

  Bolton smiled back.

  The leather bag in his lap still felt heavy. He was pleased that Uncle Jasper had gotten his coke and his mind turned to what his reward would be, pushing his previous doubts aside.