Million Pound Appointments

by Higgins, Malcolm

  "No I didn't. I said it wasn't Ant and Dec."

  "So Tommy and Daz are dead?" Asks Jane.

  "Yeah. And he wasn't kidding. Black as coal they were. Oh, and sort him out his five grand will you Larry."

  "Yeah, sure Ken." He says taken aback by Ken's coldness.

  Jane rubs Ken's shoulders.

  "Are you ok love?"

  "No. I'm not. Where the fuck are Ant and Dec?"

  "It's ok. You don't need them anymore, not if Tommy's dead."

  "Need them? I know I don't need them. I want to help them."

  Jane and Larry look at each other with deadpan expressions. She's almost frightened to ask…

  "Help them. Help them how?"

  "To get home."

  "To our home?"

  "No of course not to our home, to their home. To Pakistan."

  Larry closes his eyes and shakes his head in disbelief. Not at the Pakistan mistake, but at the fact Ken wants to help Rajeev and Amir now.

  "Are you even aware that people are dead because of you Ken." Asks Larry.

  Jane is shocked by Larry's comment.

  "Larry."

  Larry gets out of the car and walks away.

  "What the fuck did he mean by that?" Ken asks Jane.

  "Forget about it love."

  "What does he think. I burnt the fucking place down?"

  Jane kisses Ken on the cheek.

  "Drive me home Ken. Larry will be ok, he'll calm down."

  Larry has climbed into a field, and he's not ok. He's sitting with his back up against a tree. He's wondering what's happened to Rajeev and Amir. He's hoping they got away somehow. Hoping they are thousands of feet up in the air making their way back to Vapi. He takes out his mobile phone and scrolls down to his sister Florence's entry. She lives in Scotland, and is always inviting him up there. His loyalty to Ken has worn so thin it's become see-through. He's about to shut the phonebook screen down when he remembers that he'll have to take care of Craig's decomposing body. He presses dial.

  Chapter 33.

  Rajeev and Amir are at Ronnie's house. Ronnie has been trying to understand why his dad, Leonard Millwood Dodds (83) is stronger and fitter than he is, Ronald David Dodds (53)

  "You're telling me that he can actually make people younger?"

  "You can see it with your own eyes can't you son?"

  Ronnie looks at his dad again. He's amazed he's no longer hunched over. He walks around him twice.

  "And he killed Daz?"

  "Yeah. I had no idea you knew the big fella."

  "I had no idea you didn't."

  Ronnie looks at Amir.

  "With his bare hands."

  "Yes son, with his bare hands."

  "Daz?"

  "Yeah and that weird Mr. Rae."

  Ronnie blows and rubs his forehead.

  "I can't get my head around this Dad."

  "I know son."

  "Are you absolutely sure you didn't leave any evidence behind? Only that is one tonne of shit coming down on our heads if you did."

  "I know how to put them out, and I know how to start them."

  "What about Kenny. Does Kenny know about these two?"

  Rajeev and Amir look at each other and decide now may not be the best time to owning up to knowing Kenny.

  "Kenny who?" Asks Len.

  "His crazy brother. Kenny Webster."

  "There wasn't anyone called Kenny there." He turns to Rajeev and Amir. "Do you know this Kenny Webster?"

  They both shake their heads no.

  "How did you get here?" Ronnie asks Rajeev and Amir.

  "I told you, we stole a car. But don't worry, that's gone up in flames too." Answers Len.

  "No. Not here here. How did they get to this country."

  Rajeev steps forward.

  "The man called Daz kidnapped us from our village. We were put on a container ship and then taken off by a helicopter."

  "Helicopters and Ships? That doesn't sound like Daz." Says a sceptical Ronnie.

  Rajeev quickly add to his fairy-tale.

  "The last part of the journey, we were chained, blindfolded, beaten up, then thrown into a small aeroplane."

  Ronnie looks at his dad.

  "But that does."

  "I think we landed in a field." Continues Rajeev. "Because it was a very uncomfortable landing."

  Ronnie looks at his dad again.

  "Sounds about right. There's fields all around Tommy's place, I'm sure Mickey Walker's got a pilot's licence; he was probably flying it."

  Ronnie walks over to a cupboard and rests his hands on top, shakes his head and blows again. He's obviously thinking it all through. Len smiles at Rajeev and Amir reassuring them that everything will be fine. With his back still to Len Rajeev and Amir, Ronnie says…

  "Your doctor told me you only had weeks to live."

  "I did son."

  "And these two cured you?"

  "No. This one cured me." Len places a friendly hand on Amir's shoulder.

  "But that's not possible, and yet here you are, cured."

  "Yeah here I am, cured. Are you going to help or what?"

  More shaking of the head and blowing from Ronnie.

  "And no one knows they're here?"

  "No son."

  "And Tommy Rae's definitely dead?"

  "Yes son."

  "And Daz."

  "Yes."

  "Because he was going to kill the three of you?"

  "How many times do I have to explain it son? The old fella had a heart attack and died, and the big fella thought we did it and…"

  "And Kenny's not involved?" Ronnie cuts in.

  "None of us know this Kenny bloke." Len says becoming frustrated. "Will you stop worrying; I've taken care of it."

  Ronnie continues to stand with his back to them, with his hands on top of the cupboard, and his head down. Len gives Rajeev and Amir another reassuring smile then walks over to Ronnie and puts his hand on his back.

  "Will you help them son?" Asks Len.

  Ronnie quickly opens the top drawer, and as quick as a flash takes out a huge loaded double barrel shotgun and aims it at Amir's head.

  "Fuck off will I, are you mad." He shouts. "These Arabs are worth a fucking fortune."

  In addition to the look of disbelief, Len also gives Ronnie an unexpected right uppercut. Ronnie and the gun hit the floor. Luckily for everyone in the room it doesn't go off.

  "I don't know where I went wrong with him, truly I don't." Len says to Rajeev and Amir. "I'll sort this out myself. Have you still got your passports with you?"

  They both nod yes.

  "Good." Len bends down and takes Ronnie's wallet from his back pocket and removes a debit card.

  "This'll do the trick." Len looks them up and down. "You're going to have to change out of those blood-stained clothes though. Come on."

  They follow him to Ronnie's room and change into clean clothing. He looks them up and down again.

  "They're a bit big on you, but they'll have to do. Let's hit the airport."

  Ronnie is coming around as they walk by him. He groans and reaches for the gun, but Len grabs it first and hits him square on the forehead with the butt.

  "Truly I don't."

  Ninety minutes later Len Rajeev and Amir are walking around the airport.

  "There you go. Air India." Says Len.

  "Is it possible to just turn up and buy a ticket." Asks Rajeev.

  "Yeah I think so. Only one way to find out I suppose."

  They approach Air India; which incidentally is directly opposite British Airways where a dishevelled 55 year old man queuing up to purchase a one way ticket to Scotland suddenly takes a sharp intake of breath. The dishevelled 55 year old man recognises Rajeev and Amir. The man is Larry. He leaves the queue and hides behind a large advertising hording. He looks up at the Air India sign and smiles.

  "They're getting away." He says to himself. "They're getting away." Tears form in his eyes. He wants to go over to them to say a prope
r goodbye. To say he's sorry. To give them a big hug. But he stops himself from doing so fearing he'll jinx their escape if he does.

  "Are you all right sir?" Asks an airport official.

  "Yeah I'm fine, go away."

  "Which airline are you flying with sir?"

  Larry doesn't want to be having this conversation right now. He wants to keep his eyes firmly locked on Rajeev and Amir to make sure they both board an aeroplane and fly out of the hell-hole he dropped them into.

  "I'm not flying with any airline. Go away."

  "Can I ask what you're doing here then sir?"

  "Seeing my friends off."

  "From behind the hording?"

  He watches Rajeev and Amir jumping up and down with delight waving plane tickets in their hands. A big smile spreads across his face which suddenly turns to a puzzled frown as he looks at the man with Rajeev and Amir…

  "Lenny?"

  He tries to get a better look at the man with Rajeev and Amir by coming out from behind the hording a little.

  "Sir?"

  The man starts jumping up and down with Rajeev and Amir. Larry returns to the hording.

  "Nah." He says to himself. "Much too young. Looks like him though."

  "Sir. I must insist you come out from behind there right now."

  He turns to the security officer and smiles.

  "They're going home."

  He comes out from behind the hording and walks towards the exits.

  Dozens of mothers and fathers suddenly clasp their hands over their children's ears as Larry's syndrome, in full Tommy Rae hating hallelujah mode, shouts…

  "They're fucking going home. And so am I."

  The End.