Elias struggled again to his feet. “I’m innocent, I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Apollo added, “This could have been sorted out at the school earlier today, but you were showing off in front of your students so now your stubbornness left us no choice, we didn’t want to do this.” Mr Tidy whispered into his colleague’s ear, and Apollo continued, “Ok, so we did want to come here this evening and do this.” Apollo jumped in once more. “It’s our job to know everything or we’d wouldn’t be very good at it and if that was the case our employer would hire somebody less expensive and less handsome.”
Elias tried to stand up, but then fell back down and his whole body trembled. “Please, I have to keep my school open, for the students…you don’t understand–”
“I think you misunderstood me,” said Apollo. ‘We’re not playing games here, either you come with us to ‘Big Man’ and give him your school or we go to your daughter’s friend’s house and take her.”
Elias leapt from the floor and tried to attack the intruders. “DON’T YOU TOUCH HER, YOU BASTARDS!” Apollo easily pushed him to one side and told him, “The choice is yours, who stays, who goes…you decide.” He turned to his accomplice. “That sounded quite good, I may use that line again?” Mr Tidy agreed. “Catchy it is, back to business, your daughter or your school?”
Elias rose again. “You won’t take my school.”
“Fair enough, we’ll take your daughter instead; one of them will come with us…by force if necessary.”
“You’re sick in the head.”
“I get that a lot now…choose,” Apollo huffed.
“What kind of men are you, for God’s sake?”
“We’re businessmen, no more no less; your time is running out by the way.”
“I’m not leaving her,” Elias swore at his captors.
Apollo gave a worldly grin. “Don’t worry…we’ll take good care of…Gemma.”
“BASTARDS!” Elias sprang to his feet. “I’LL KILLYOU!” This time he anticipated Mr Tidy’s attack and neatly ducked from his swinging right hand, Apollo took a step back but even he couldn’t dodge the strike from Elias’s hand.
“Ok.” Apollo rubbed his chin and wriggled it. “Ok, expected that, father defending his daughter, fair play, but this changes nothing.”
“If you so much harm one hair on her head…I will kill you.”
“I don’t respond to empty threats, my friend,” Elias hissed back.
“Good, because I don’t make them.”
Apollo looked at his watch. He nodded to Mr Tidy, who then hoisted up Elias to his feet. Elias had to think fast. “I’ll pay you.” It worked, but again Apollo was expecting it. “I’d wondered how long it would take you to throw cash in to the equation, it won’t work I’m afraid, my employer wants you and only you.”
Elias knew this was his only chance. “I can get money; I can get lots of money and pay you, more than you’ll ever need in a lifetime.”
Apollo wasn’t impressed. “I very much doubt that, so you’re trying to tell me that you, a school teacher have more cash stashed aside than Big Man?”
“That’s what I’m saying, look I’ve done nothing wrong but this ‘Big Man’ doesn’t care about that, he just wants to take my school.”
Apollo was clearly losing his patience. “As I mentioned earlier we are on a time limit here, so it’s obvious you will not give up your daughter so I’m afraid your school is your only option.”
Elias was stalling for time, trying to think of a suitable time and plan of escape. “What’s he going to do to me?”
“I don’t care what he does to you, so long as I get paid.” Mr Tidy cleared his throat making Apollo correct himself. “I mean ‘we’ get paid.”
Time was starting to run out for Elias. “Tell Big Man you couldn’t find me, tell him you searched all over and there was no sign of me.”
Apollo scratched behind his ear and then rubbed it gently before continuing. “If that was the case then we wouldn’t be any good at our jobs and be out of work, no work means no food, no food means a strong possibility of starving to death, which some may think is bad for business.”
It was all or nothing for Elias. “What if I was to give you one thousand?”
Mr Tidy looked confused, while Apollo seemed curious. “You can get that sort of money?”
“Just give me a few days, I can get the money.”
“What do you mean?” asked Apollo.
“Savings, it’s my savings, I can give it to you, if you leave my family and school alone.”
Apollo had a gleam in his red eye. “This school must mean a lot to you.”
“You have no idea what it took for me to get that school.”
“Well, that’s a story for another time but we may have something here.”
Apollo thought for a moment. “Ok, we have ourselves a deal.”
Elias breathed out heavily.
“Just one thing, Elias…can we trust you?”
“Of course you can, as you said before, you’re a businessman. This is a good business proposition.”
Apollo seemed to be deep in thought. “You make it sound so tempting, but just another thing and then I’m gone…what about your daughter?”
Elias seemed perplexed. “What about her?”
“Well, if I’m going to relieve you of one hundred thousand notes and go back to my boss empty-handed, you have to promise me to leave town for a while, we will make sure to keep your school open for you until ‘Big Man’ loses interest in your school.”
“How long will it take?”
“Big Man likes a challenge, if yours was the only school left open in the district and it’s the biggest school too… he’d stop at nothing to find you to finish the job personally, no you go but your daughter stays.”
“Why do want to my daughter to stay?”
Apollo smiled an assassin’s smile. “Because we’re going to train her to be one of us…who knows…we might train her to come after you in the future, that would be something…don’t you think?”
“NEVER!” Elias ran to him but was held back by Mr Tidy. He still gave him a piece of his mind. “Do you really think that I would up and leave without taking my daughter? I thought you were bounty hunters but obviously buffoons suit you better.”
“Hold your tongue!” snapped Apollo.
“Hold yours,” Elias snapped back.
Apollo smiled again. “Firstly we are not bounty hunters, we are freelance security officers.” Mr Tidy released Elias and went to whisper something in Apollo’s ear. Apollo continued. “I’m sorry, I forgot we’re now part-time. Secondly, it’s nice of you to grow some balls at last but it’s too little too late.”
Elias tried to speak. “Wait!”
Apollo cut him off and his voice grew in volume and anger. “Shut up! Shut your stinking mouth, you useless worm! You’re not in school now! You mean nothing to me! I’m taking you to Big Man and he can deal with you…one hundred thousand? That’s chump change to me, fella! I keep that under my mattress, I leave that as a tip to my milkman, I eat people like you for breakfast, you little wimp!”
Mr Tidy again whispered something in his ear, and Apollo sighed. “But my doctor said to cut back on eating fatty foods for breakfast.”
Elias lifted his head and spat his reply. “Two hundred thousand – my final answer.”
Apollo rubbed his chin. “I need a shave, don’t you think?”
Elias remained silent.
“Fair enough, Mr Glaucas, you talk the talk but can you walk the walk?”
“Yes, I can, I can get the money for you.”
Apollo must have had a dozen codes when nodding his head to Mr Tidy; he did so again, which Mr. Tidy may or may not have understood, but never the less he nodded back.
“The deal is still on then, two hundred thousand notes to keep your school open and to leave you and your daughter alone. I’ll need to smooth it over with the Big Man but I’m sure it won’t be a problem.”<
br />
He went to shake Elias’s hand but Elias refused.
“The deal is still on, but I cannot shake hands with the man who broke into my home and made threats about my daughter.”
“That’s very true and I admire you for that,” Apollo replied.
“Thank God,” smiled Elias. Apollo smiled back.
“A tad premature I think.” Mr Tidy swung round and punched Elias in the face, the giant pulled his punch at the last moment misreading the nod from Apollo but it was still enough to send a tooth from his mouth and force another through the top of his lip, Elias spat out blood and staggered back towards the wardrobe which was a tacky gift Kay bought for him from the town market. Mr Tidy picked him up and threw another punch, this time lower down, cracking ribs and sending him crashing through the bedroom door and onto the landing outside; even before Elias’s head had hit the floor he was unconscious.
Apollo walked over and kneeled over Elias’s broken body.
“Let this be known, I have nothing personal against you; I’m just doing my job and honouring a contract and it seems you aren’t prepared to relinquish your school so we will take you to our boss and let him deal with you personally and don’t worry we aren’t going to touch your daughter, we’ve got better things to do…but you never know, the more the merrier in this business.”
He turned to his colleague. “I think we’re done here, Mr Tidy, put Mr Glaucas in the car outside please.”
“Yes, my comrade-in-arms, he is still alive, isn’t he?”
“Yes, our instructions were to batter him, but make sure he’s breathing, which he just about is and now to the house.”
“What do you mean?” Apollo took out a lighter from his pocket.
“We’ve had a battering and now it’s time for a burning…to cleanse this space, if this man does return from Big Man’s complex he shouldn’t be allowed to come back to a house.”
“But what about his daughter?”
“She can stay with friends.”
“What about his sister?”
Apollo sighed. “She’s travelling.” Mr Tidy knew what was next.
“Can I go on? Is that ok? Am I allowed to? Do you mind?” Mr Tidy nodded. “Then cleanse away, my friend.”
Apollo still had his glasses away from his face; he didn’t put them back on yet, he flicked the lighter and threw it on Elias’s bed. The centre glowed red for a while and then a small flame appeared and quickly spread to all four corners. The flames poured from the bed and quickly spread up the walls and cascaded along the floors. The Two men, with Elias slung on the shoulder of Mr Tidy, stood on the landing as the master bedroom burned furiously. Apollo yelled to his friend, “CHECK THE GIRL’S BEDROOM, MAKE SURE SHE ISN’T HIDING ANYWHERE.”
“The fledgling seeks refuge at her friend’s abode; they seek solace for their agony of youth.”
Apollo wasn’t convinced. “Agony of youth? What are you talking about? She should be at a sleepover, but go and check, look under her bed and in the wardrobe, you know how kids like to play hide and seek, she may have come back here.”
“Nobody played with me.”
“Just look, will you? I will not be responsible for the death of a child, and be quick about it.”
Mr Tidy hurried off down the landing, while Apollo ran downstairs and outside as the flames grew in size and heat. A small crowd had gathered to watch in awe and neighbours ran from their houses with buckets of water and hoses. When they saw the unconscious Elias slumped over the shoulder of a giant of a man running through the remains of the front door, they assumed he was being rescued and they cheered.
Apollo had left the house before Mr Tidy and now came down empty handed. He breathed a sigh of relief, he had since returned his glasses to his face and the flames that licked the bedroom were all over the house now.
The crowd continued to cheer, which confused Mr Tidy until his brain finally caught the severity of the situation and he then began to lap up the applause, but Apollo calmed the crowd down as more people threw more water on the burning house. There was an ambulance sticker placed on front of the car, so the crowd didn’t ask any questions as
Elias was thrown into the back. The two mistaken heroes left for the ‘Big Man’ complex, and it was a while into the journey before they spoke again, the car passed many girls on their way to bars and nightclubs; some were courteous and others flirtatious to the men but none knew of the car’s cargo, covered by a blanket, and bleeding from the mouth was their headmaster, a teacher from their own school, for some of them it was their own form tutor. Mr Tidy broke the silence first.
“I’m hungry, are you?” Apollo nodded. “Is there anywhere around here that does a good all-day breakfast,” Mr Tidy asked. Apollo glanced around to see if he recognised a café amidst their surroundings – he didn’t.
“Listen, I don’t have my phone on me, but I could write down the number of a great café that does an all day breakfast, if you ring ahead they can hold it for you?” Apollo took out a pen and scribbled a number down and handed it to Mr Tidy. “Take this number and put it in your phone.” Mr Tidy took out his flip phone and with a flick of his wrist the case opened, he carefully slipped the piece of paper on the phone and slammed the phone shut.
“There. Done.”
Apollo stood with his mouth twitching, not entirely surprised at what he had just seen.
“When I said, ‘put it in your phone’ I meant…” He paused and saw that the look on Mr Tidy’s face meant that he had long checked out. Apollo rolled his eyes. “I’m stunned that we’re on the same money.”
CHAPTER FOUR
The Gathering
Felcey pulled up to his house in his battered old car and reached over next to him. There wasn’t a passenger’s seat next to his driver’s seat, as he didn’t have many friends, Felcey had removed it and put in a storage shelf for his comic books, the shelf was full of comics which he had just bought and he reached over, heaved them out and closed the door.
His mother thought it was a strange request to get his Uncle Marvin, the mechanic, to take out the car seat for him and told her son on many occasions but after a while the realisation that there wasn’t anybody knocking on the front door to take him out for a game of football or a girlfriend to take to the cinema or go dancing with, she relented with her earlier rants.
Felcey went through the front door and shouted out, “MUM, YOU HERE?”
The voice that replied wasn’t his mum’s and wasn’t female, he looked to the ceiling in annoyance.
“SHE’S NOT HERE.”
It was his stepdad, Lewis, champion slob and the bane of his life. He walked into the living room to find Lewis sat on the sofa with a plate of food on his lap and engrossed in a television programme, the adult barely acknowledged his stepson, who took a step back into the adjoining kitchen.
“Where’s my mum?” Felcey listened to his step-dad wolf down some food before hearing an answer.
“She’s at work, there’s a note on the table.”
The young man picked up a note on the kitchen table and his eyes scanned the paper in a incredibly fast fashion before looking into the oven – it was empty. Felcey took a confused step back and scratched his mop of hair…and then turned angrily to Lewis.
“THAT’S MY DINNER YOU’RE EATING.” Lewis didn’t even lift his head from the screen. “Was that yours? Didn’t know.” Felcey waved the note in his hand. “IT SAID SO IN THE NOTE.”
“Did it? I don’t go round reading other people’s notes.” He shifted his weight towards Felcey. “Besides a grown boy like you should be getting his own dinner, not relying on his mummy.”
Lewis noticed the bag of comics leaning by the kitchen table leg. “What’s in the bag? Or do I have to ask? Why don’t you grow up and leave those comics for kids, you stupid idiot.” Felcey sighed and grabbed the bag and walked out of the room and upstairs.
“COME BACK HERE, YOU FREAK, YOU’RE NOTHING, YOU’RE A WASTA SPACE, NO WOMAN’S GONNA WANNA
BE WITH A GEEK.” Lewis pulled himself off the chair and walked to the foot of the stairs still shouting at Felcey before something else caught his attention, there was liquid on the floor, footprints of it came from the front door, through to the kitchen and back out heading upstairs, Lewis frowned and shouted up the stairs.
“YOU’VE STEPPED IN A PUDDLE AND BROUGHT WATER ALL OVER DA HOUSE, CLEAR IT UP, NERD, OR I’LL TELL YA MA.”
Felcey either really didn’t hear the shouts from Lewis or chose to ignore him but he didn’t check the bottom of his shoes, he simply ran to his room and slammed the door behind him.
None of his online friends were available to speak to so he reached for his binoculars and looked out of his bedroom window at his neighbour’s house, there was a girl slightly older than him who lived there and Felcey often spied on her when she was in her shower, a few weeks ago she entered a singing contest on reality TV called ‘Sing or Sink’. She failed her audition and hadn’t been heard of since. She had a mane of red hair and she was called Tamzin. She had signed the relevant paperwork and all her parents could do was to either hope somehow she had survived the vast networks of reality TV dungeons or that she’d had a quick painless death, either way they were powerless to do anything, as was Felcey, so he put the binoculars back, it was an instinct thing. He jumped on his bed and started to flick through his comics, when the itching on his arms came back, he scratched again and looked at his skin, a white liquid oozed through his arms.
This made him jump up and again he wiped his arms, the liquid was seeping through his fingers making his comic wet.
Felcey yelled, causing Lewis to yell back, “KEEP IT DOWN UP THERE, FREAK.”
When he got off the bed Felcey noticed the puddles of liquid footprints in his room. It was early evening and the sun still blazed up high, it hadn’t rained for days. So where did the puddles come from? Felcey thought. He rubbed his fingers together and they were still wet, he sniffed and squeezed them and more liquid trickled out. Scratching again he put his fingers back to his nose and gingerly put them to his lips, his tongue probed around his forefinger with the liquid on it. Felcey snapped his lips and his eyes blinked a few times as he thought he recognised the taste in his mouth, thinning out the traces of the moustache he thought was growing above his lips he tried it again. His eyes slowly widened. “No way, man.”
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