by Steve Liszka
‘I know I don’t need to say this to you,’ Lenny said to Harrison, ‘but don’t let those fuckers anywhere near those bags.’
The approaching firefighters were not wearing BA and so were easy to identify. It was Barney, one of the old boys who had been in the job almost as long as Harrison, and PB, Poster Boy, the newest member of the Watch. Lenny rolled his eyes when he saw him. The two stations had a good working relationship, and the guys all got on well with each other, but PB was the exception. He had done less time than Dylan, but already thought he was a twenty-year man, despite his lack of experience. Such an attitude does not lend itself to getting on with your fellow workers, and as such, few of the East guys were keen on him.
PB could have just as easily stood for Personal Best due to him spending every spare moment in the gym, desperately trying to lift heavier and heavier weights. He was also one of the most groomed men to have ever put on a fire-kit, with immaculate hair, eyebrows and complexion. His nickname came about when he confessed to his watch that his main career aim was to get his picture into the firefighter’s calendar. He’d already tried on two occasions, but had been rejected both times. His Watch attributed it to him being such a short-arse. Lenny put it down to him being a first-class A-hole.
The Central boys positioned themselves about twenty metres along the jetty and safely out of the smoke. They’d worked out that if they stayed upwind of the boat, they could forsake wearing BA and save themselves the hassle of changing their cylinders and cleaning their sets when they got back.
With the two jets working, it didn’t take long to knock down the rest of the flames. When they looked to have it beaten, the yacht seemed to creak and cough before the stern suddenly dropped into the water. In seconds, it went from horizontal to vertical before quickly disappearing below the surface. For a minute or two, a steady trail of bubbles marked its resting place. When the last of the smoke was carried away in the wind, it was like the burning wreck had never even been there.
‘That’s the end of that,’ Harrison said as he pushed the lever forward on the branch to turn off the water.
Lenny grabbed both of the line bags and hurled one over each shoulder, ‘Good, now let’s get this lot back to the lorry before the old bill join us.’
Harrison dragged the hose back down the jetty, and Lenny followed, scooping up a length himself to lessen Harrison’s burden. As they edged past the Brighton crew who had remained in situ on the jetty, Lenny had to turn to his side in order to get past without falling into the water. As he dropped his shoulder, one of the bags fell onto the wooden planks. Before he could get hold of it, Poster Boy had bent over and picked it up.
‘Don’t worry, Len, I’ve got it,’ he said. ‘You’re getting a bit old for all this heavy lifting, aren’t you?’
Lenny snatched the bag out of his hand, almost ripping the younger man’s shoulder out if it’s socket. ‘It’ll be a long time before you can out-lift me, you little gobshite!’
PB almost fell in the water as he sank away from Lenny’s bulk. ‘All right, Len. I’m only kidding.’
‘Well, don’t fucking kid. Now, do me a favour and fuck off.’
He threw the bag back over his shoulder, and grabbing hold of the hose, followed Harrison back towards the lorry. After a few steps, he stopped and turned back to PB. ‘And by the way, you’ve got shit hair.’
Wesley looked at the police officer in disbelief. ‘What do you mean, you need to search the vehicle? Haven’t you noticed, it’s a fire engine.’
The man responded with a shrug.
‘I know, mate, I do, but that’s what I’ve been told. No vehicle is allowed to go past here,’ he patted the barrier arm behind him, ‘without being fully searched first.’
As he spoke, the other officers approached him.
‘What’s the best way to do this?’ the policeman asked. ‘Would you rather your guys took the gear off as they know where to put it back, or shall we just get on with it.’
Before Wesley could answer, the commanding officer, the guy who had briefed Wesley earlier, suddenly appeared.
‘Can I have a word?’ he said to the guard, then looked up to Wesley to give him the evil eye.
The guy had been super pissed off since the yacht sank. Wesley had done his best to explain a vessel could only float when it displaced more water than it weighed, but the man didn’t seem to be interested in having a physics lesson. All he wanted to do was swear at them for making a boat full of drugs sink. Except the drugs weren’t on the boat, and never had been. They were on the fire engine and were about to be discovered.
With the police distracted, Wesley turned to Jimmy. ‘Quick, Jim, we’ve got to get out of here or we’re screwed.’
Jimmy looked to the police officers, then back to Wesley, then without saying a word turned the sirens on, making the four police officers jump. Before any of them could say anything, Jimmy leaned across Wesley and yelled, ‘Sorry, fellas, but we’ve got a shout! We need to get going.’
He turned on the blue flashing lights for added effect.
The grumpy old bastard running the job shook his head. ‘You’re going nowhere until I’ve searched your vehicle.’ The guy was even more pissed off now they’d almost made him pee himself.
‘Listen, pal,’ Jimmy said, all business like, ‘we’ve got a woman hanging out of her flat window in Kemptown. If you’re going to stop us from going then I suggest you go and tell her family why she burned to a fucking crisp instead of us saving her. How does that grab you?’
‘Tell your control to send the nearest available fire engine instead.’
Jimmy nodded at the Brighton pump who were still making up their gear. ‘They are the nearest, and all the other pumps in the city are busy too. So, unless you want that woman to wait for Lewes to turn up and rescue her, I suggest you let us out.’
The man thought about it for a second then nodded at the officer next to him. Seconds later, the barrier arm lifted.
‘If you’re that bothered,’ Jimmy said, ‘we can come back when we’re done.’
The officer shook his head. ‘Just go.’
As they drove up the ramp out of the marina, Wesley mimicked the officer, shaking his head back and forth like a child who had just mastered the art.
‘What the hell did you do that for? If they check with mobilising and find out there was no call, we’re fucked.’
‘We were fucked anyway, that’s what you said. So what difference does it make? At least there’s a chance they won’t check. Listen, Wes, you asked me to come up with something, so I came up with something. If you don’t like it, then next time, don’t do whatever it was you still haven’t told me about. In fact, this has got fuck all to do with me, maybe I should just turn back around and let them search us. Would that be better?’
‘No, I’m sorry,’ Wesley said. ‘You’re right. We’ve asked way too much of you today. But, believe me, we are grateful.’
‘Then fucking act like it,’ Jimmy said as he stepped on the accelerator and headed back to the station.
Confession
‘And that was the point you decided to steal the money,’ Jimmy said, shaking his head. ‘Jesus Christ, you fuckers are even more stupid than I thought.’
After hiding the drugs in the spare locker that had once housed the stolen loot, the crew replaced the lines with spares they had in the store room. When that was done, they sat down with a cup of tea and explained what had taken place that night to Jimmy and Bodhi. Like with anything else, Bodhi took everything in his stride, nodding occasionally and casting looks to Jimmy who looked just about ready to explode.
‘And you were in on this?’ he said to Wesley, even though he already knew the answer.
Wesley offered nothing but a sheepish nod back.
‘There’s no point having a go at him,’ Lenny butted in. ‘We were all in on it. We’ve already explained that to you.’
‘I bloody well wasn’t,’ Harrison said.
Jimmy nod
ded at him, acknowledging the statement.
‘The thing is, Len, I expect this sort of bullshit from you. Wesley was in charge. He should have known better.’
‘Fuck you,’ Lenny said. ‘What, like you’re so much better than me? You can say what you like now, Jim, but if you’d been there, you would have done exactly the same thing. You ain’t no fucking saint. Now, do me a favour and pipe down. You’re starting to bore me.’
‘That’s right, dickhead, I’m not a saint. But I’m no idiot either. Did you really think you’d get away with this, you fucking moron?’
Lenny tapped his thick fingers on the table. ‘If I were you, I’d watch your mouth.’
Jimmy pushed out his chair and stood up. For once, he towered over Lenny. The seated man was normally a good six inches taller than him. ‘Or what? What the fuck are you going to do about it, big boy?’
For the first time since the confession, Bodhi spoke. ‘Come on, bud, cool it. There’s no point getting into this.’
‘Isn’t there? Because this fucking asshole has had it coming for a long time.’ He turned his attention back to Lenny. ‘So, come on, then, shit-for-brains. Let’s go in the yard and have it out.’
Lenny shrugged. ‘Whatever. It’s your funeral.’
Except that wasn’t necessarily true. Lenny may have been twice the size of him and spent most of his adult life dealing with hostile drunken men, but Jimmy was an ex-marine and a tough fucking one at that. He’d done a bit of boxing when he was in the service, meaning his fists could back up his legendary temper. No, if the two of them had it out, there was no saying who would come out on top. The only thing that was certain was it would be messy.
It was Dylan’s turn to act as peacekeeper, ‘Please, fellas, let’s not go down this path. We’re in enough shit as it is without turning on each other.’
‘Dylan’s right,’ Wesley said, finally finding his voice. ‘I think it may be best if you and me discuss this further in the Watch room.’
Jimmy turned away from Lenny’s I-don’t-give-a-fuck gaze. ‘I think that’s the smartest thing you’ve said all day.’
‘Look, Jim,’ Wesley said, ‘I don’t disagree with a single thing you’ve said. We fucked up big time. We shouldn’t have taken the money, and I should have taken charge and stopped it. All I can say is I’m sorry.’
Jimmy rubbed his hand through his hair. Away from Lenny’s goading, he had calmed down considerably, but was still a few degrees above his normal cooking temperature.
‘I know why you did it,’ he eventually said. ‘It’s obvious now.’
Wesley looked shocked. ‘Really?’
‘Yeah, it is. You’re not the popular guy on the Watch, and I know you haven’t had the easiest time since you went operational again. You thought if you went along with taking the money, the guys would look at you differently. Maybe accept you as part of the team.’
‘I’d like to say that was the case, but unfortunately, that’s not it.’
‘Oh, come on. You were just trying to get in their good books. It makes sense.’
Wesley shook his head. ‘No, you’re wrong, Jim. That’s not it.’
‘Yeah? Because I was willing to swallow that as some sort of excuse for what you did. But if you’re saying that wasn’t your motive, do you mind telling me what the fuck you were thinking?’
Wesley paused before answering. ‘I’m skint. I haven’t got a pot to piss in. I didn’t take the money to try and fit in. I took it to stop me from going under.’
‘Bollocks,’ Jimmy answered. ‘How the fuck can you be skint? You’re on a better wage than the rest of us, and your missus has got a decent job too.’
‘That’s just it. She’s not my wife anymore. She left me nearly a year ago.’
Jimmy thought about this for a second. ‘And you never told anyone?’
‘What’s the point. No one’s interested, and there’s nothing anyone can do anyway. She’s gone, and that’s all there is to it.’
Jimmy suddenly felt guilty at his and the rest of the Watch’s attitude towards Wesley. One of the best things about their job was that even though they argued from time to time, they were as close as a group of people could ever be. The nature of their work, the trust they had to put in each other, and the sights they had to witness meant they were more than colleagues, they were family, even if they would have laughed for suggesting such a thing to them. But that was it, not only did they laugh together, they also shared their problems and worries without thinking about it. For Wesley to be outside of that circle must have been pretty difficult for him.
‘So, what happened?’ Jimmy asked.
Wesley shrugged. ‘I don’t know. One day, she just came home and told me she didn’t love me, that I wasn’t the man she married and she didn’t think she could live with me any longer. I moved out a week later, and other than to pick the girls up, I haven’t been back since.’
‘Shit… And what about the girls, how are they taking it?’
He shrugged again, and Jimmy noticed his eyes were beginning to well up. Please don’t cry, he thought. He was ex-forces; he didn’t think he could deal with tears and cuddles, what with everything else he had experienced that day.
‘The girls are okay,’ he answered. ‘I mean, when I spend the day with them, they keep asking when I’m coming home, but I think they understand it’s not going to happen.’
‘So, where are you living?’
‘I’m renting a flat in town. It’s only a little one-bedroom place, not as bad as some of the ones I’ve seen, but you know what Brighton prices are like.’
‘You kept that quiet. I thought you were still commuting to work every day.’
Wesley’s family lived in Milton Keynes, the place he had been born and raised, and as far as the rest of the Watch was concerned, was still living.
‘I’m serious, Jim, this whole thing is nearly bankrupting me. I’m still paying the mortgage on the house. I mean, I can’t see the girls getting kicked out of their home. Then, on top of that, there’s my rent, and as for the solicitor’s fees, I won’t even tell you how much that’s costing me. When we found that money, I wasn’t thinking about impressing the guys. I just needed enough dough to keep my head above water for a few months.’
‘Fuck me,’ Jimmy said. ‘I wasn’t expecting that. So, do I take it you’ve spent the hush money this guy gave you?’
Wesley nodded. ‘It went in a couple of weeks.’
‘There’s no point worrying about it anymore,’ Jimmy’s voice had softened. ‘What’s done is done, and once we give this fucker his drugs back, we can put it all behind us. Pretend the whole fucking thing never happened.’
‘Let’s hope so,’ Wesley said. ‘For all our sakes.’
Before they could say anything else, the office phone went.
‘Want me to get it?’ Jimmy asked. ‘Could be him.’
‘No, I’ll do it. He’ll probably want to speak to me.’ Wesley walked over to the phone, breathing a sigh of relief when he recognised the number. ‘It’s all right, it’s just Central.’
He picked the phone up and held it to his ear, ‘Smudge, how can I help you, my friend… That’s right, we did leave on blue lights… No, you’re right, it wasn’t an actual call, but if we hadn’t got out of there sharpish, I think Jimmy would have smacked that copper and spent the night in a cell…. I know, I know, and I do realise that, but I didn’t know what else to do… Yeah, he was… okay, mate. Take care, I’ll speak to you soon.’
He looked back to Jimmy who had heard enough of the conversation to know exactly what they were talking about. ‘Did he sound convinced?’
‘I think so. He enjoyed bollocking me for abusing the blues and twos, mind you.’
‘Considering the circumstances,’ Jimmy said, ‘I’d say that was the least of our problems.’
‘Yeah, well, let’s just hope he keeps his mouth shut, or we could still be in the shit.’ He stared back at the phone. ‘Perhaps our man won’t get in touch
with us today. Maybe he’ll wait until things cool down a bit.’
As he spoke, the phone rang.
‘Or then again,’ Jimmy said, ‘maybe not.’
Rendezvous
Wesley looked out of the window across the empty car park. ‘I still think this was a mistake. He said for me to come on my own. He’s not gonna like you being here.’
Jimmy sat on the seat next to him, looking uncomfortable in such a confined space. His transit van felt positively massive compared to the interior of Wes’ poky little Fiat. The boot of the vehicle was only just big enough for the four black bin bags they had stuffed the drugs into.
‘The man won’t say shit,’ Jimmy said. ‘All he gives a fuck about is his stash.’
‘I could have done it myself, you know. You didn’t need to babysit me.’
‘Didn’t I? I don’t want to keep going on about it, but we both know what happened last time you were left to your own devices.’
‘Like I said, we all make mistakes.’
Wesley looked around again. The car park at Brighton Race Course was quiet, but the lights on the main road provided the place with far too much light for his liking.
‘I mean, what if they’ve got CCTV?’
Jimmy shrugged. ‘No one cares about us. If there are cameras, they’ll just think we’re doggers looking for a bit of action.’
Wesley gave him a look. ‘Is that meant to make me feel better?’
Jimmy smiled and shrugged again. ‘You know, if this all works out, there’s something I’d like you to do for me.’
‘Anything. It’s the least I can do.’
‘When the dust settles, I want you off the Watch.’
Wesley turned to look at him, but Jimmy kept looking straight ahead.
‘You’re a liability, and I’m not just talking about all this shit. You’re dangerous, and you shouldn’t be on the lorries. You’re going to get yourself killed,’ Jimmy turned to face him, ‘or even worse, one of us. Now, do yourself and everyone else a favour and go back to your desk job.’