Rotten to the Core

by Casey Kelleher

  Billy was the main man, the brains behind most of their business; he had the ideas and the nonce to pull stuff off, and he had nice little deals going on all over town, most of it dodgy: import, export, that kind of thing. Billy always had everything well thought out with all angles covered, so no one would ever catch them out on anything, he made sure of that. He was doing well for himself, had invested wisely in lots of properties over the years, and he definitely wasn’t short of a bob or two. They were a good team, no-one with any sense fucked with them.

  Although Billy needed to get wasted tonight, he would have avoided Goldie’s at all costs at the moment with everything that had been going on, but he’d heard it was Jay’s night off. He hadn’t wanted to bump into him just yet, knowing the more he drank the more he knew he wouldn’t be able to resist doing him some damage. If he saw him face-to-face he’d lose it and fuck his plan up completely.

  “How’s things?” Billy asked Paul, as he downed his shot, starting to feel a bit calmer as the liquid warmed the back of his throat and start to take effect.

  “Things are really good; business is booming so I have no complaints.”

  Paul could see Billy was still on edge, but no harm had been done. Although he and his friends were generally okay guys, he made a mental note to make sure he kept an eye on this lot tonight. He hadn’t done much business with them but their reputation preceded them; if you needed a job done then these boys came up with the goods. There was very little that they couldn’t get hold of: motors, guns you name it. Not that Paul was into that sort of thing, but he liked to have contacts.

  “Good, that’s what I like to hear, let me get you a drink, Paul.” Billy lent over to the tray of shots.

  “No thanks, Billy. I don’t drink while I’m working; I like to keep a clear head.”

  Billy looked at him and smiled. “It’s a shame all your men here don’t think that way, Paul; some people can’t help but indulge themselves, even while they are on the job.”

  “What do you mean?” Paul could sense by Billy’s tone that he had a bee in his bonnet about something, the comment had been loaded. He was intrigued. Billy obviously thought that he knew something Paul didn’t, and like Billy, Paul liked to know everything where his business was concerned. He was a control freak when it came to his club, he could admit that. Knowledge is power, and therefore he had always made it his business to know everything that was going on around him.

  “You got something you want to tell me, Billy?” Paul was getting a bit pissed off with the way this conversation was now going.

  “Yeah, I have as it happens. Your man on the door, Jay: some of my men have been keeping an eye on him for me, and it’s a good job too as it turns out.” He paused for effect, enjoying the look on Paul’s face, there was something going down right under his nose that he didn’t know about it.

  “Go on.” Paul had a feeling he should have taken that drink he had been offered.

  “He’s a dealer, and he dabbles himself, I’m told. He’s been using your little club here to build a nice little clientele for himself.” Billy watched for a reaction then seeing there was none, he continued, “China White? You heard of it? Real lethal shit it is.”

  Paul felt as if he had been punched in the chest. He had heard of China White. It was a type of heroin that you could snort; a bit like coke, but twice the strength of normal heroin and much more addictive. There had been loads about it in the papers recently; only last week, a kid in this area had died whilst using it. If that fucker Jay had been selling it to his punters there would be murder. A bit of coke flying around his club was one thing, but heroin, and China White at that, was a whole different matter. He didn’t want that on his conscience, when the shit hit the fan and where drugs like that were concerned it would only be a matter of time.

  “Why are you telling me this? It’s not like you to be telling tales, Billy; what do you get out of it?”

  “Just think about it for a second, Paul, some young girl in your club snorts some of that shit he’s throwing about, ODs on it. Your name will be linked to it, and if you lose this place, where the fuck are we gonna go for a bit of entertainment?” Billy laughed now. “I’m letting you know Paul, because you’re a nice bloke, and he’s a fucking waster, simple as.”

  Paul was trying to take in what he was hearing. He paid Jay to man the door, not to stand there and make a killing off the back of him. He knew that Jay must have been taking the piss out of him and his position at Goldie’s for the entire time he worked here, and he knew he would have to make an example of him. Paul wondered who else knew about it, but he was well aware that he could be also doing a bit of Billy’s dirty work for him. There was no way Billy was tipping him off out of the goodness of his heart.

  “I don’t know what your problem is with Jay, Billy, but I’ll tell you something, it’s got fuck all to do with me! I appreciate you letting me know about what he’s doing in my club and I will be sorting that out myself, make no odds about that.” Paul got up, nodded to the men around the table and walked off.

  “You’ve fucking set the cat among the pigeons there, Billy mate,” laughed Jonny, “what do you think he’s going to do with that snippet of information?”

  “Well, let’s just say that we have just taken Jay out of this little scene for starters, he’s going to have to find somewhere else to sell his gear now, and his going to have fuck all back up from any of these boys,” he looked over to where Paul was now standing deep in conversation with a couple of the security men.

  It was a start, thought Billy, as he looked over to one of the escort girls heading towards him. She was wearing a skimpy red miniskirt and tiny bra that barely covered her breasts. Catching his eye, Candice wiggled over. She was five foot nothing, but stunning, like a tiny doll. What she lacked in height she made up for with her big personality.

  Billy always paid her well, so she gave him all her attention. Candice always made him, like she did with all the others, feel like they were her one and only. That’s how she managed to rake in almost double what the other girls earned each night. If you made a man feel special, as if you had been hoping and praying that he would even glance in your direction, made it all about them, they were putty in your hands. She had figured that out early on, it wasn’t rocket science, and she couldn’t believe that some of the other girls hadn’t caught on. She was certainly not just a pretty face. Candice placed her arms over his shoulders and started kissing his neck, whispering into his ear. Billy smiled and then standing up grabbed her small pert arse.

  “Back in a bit, lads.” Billy winked at Jonny, as he strode off with Candice to one of the private booths. Still thinking about how he was going to put Jay in the gutter and how he was going to enjoy every minute of it, he closed the booth door behind him and grinned at Candice. She had a cracking figure and tits to die for: she was the best-looking girl in the club. He thought she had a thing for him, she always made herself available to him if he was around, always went out of her way to please him.

  There was no need for small talk. Knowing exactly what Billy liked, Candice dropped to her knees. She had figured Billy out a long time ago; he had a girlfriend that gave him more chat than he could listen to: he liked a bit of light relief now and then. Billy felt himself getting hard as she undid his belt. Taking his cock in her hot, wet mouth, she began teasing him gently, licking slowly and then going deeper and deeper down his shaft. He groped her breasts now, feeling their fullness through the tiny silk bra, she started sucking him harder and faster then, her mouth really wet. He took her long, blonde hair in his hands and pulled hard as he came in her mouth, shuddering intensely. After pulling up his trousers, Billy put some notes on the table. Wiping her mouth, Candice smiled; she knew she was good. Billy normally took ages, tonight she had barely got started, and he had paid her the usual amount too: result.

  9

  The two men had been sitting in the van for over two hours. It was only a little escort van, no room to swing
a cat, especially with two huge men inside it.

  It was a chilly morning; March was normally a bit milder than this. The street was quiet, which was to be expected as it was now almost three am. Just the flickering of a streetlamp and a scrawny white cat walking along the path broke up the darkness of the dull, rundown street.

  The people who lived here weren’t exactly house proud, looking around the men could see the front gardens of most looked as if they were being used as dumping grounds. There were overflowing rubbish bags, old rusty bikes, broken flower pots, an old bath leaning up against a fence. It was a dump!

  Carl, the larger of the two men, shook his head in wonder. “The people around here may not have a lot of money but it doesn’t cost much to be fucking clean, does it? Lazy fuckers: probably too busy sitting on their arses watching Jeremy Kyle while waiting for their dole checks to clear.”

  He thought of his missus, who always kept their home lovely and clean. She would be there now, in bed. He couldn’t wait to be under the warm duvet and feel her snuggled up next to him, but he had to finish the job first. He looked over to Tommy next to him, who was tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

  “Where the fuck is he?” Carl asked.

  Tommy sighed; he was also fed up of waiting around. Just like his mate he wanted to get home to his bed. It had been a long day and he wanted a bit of shut eye.

  “Fuck knows, mate. He may not even go straight home; you know what he’s like.”

  He looked over to the house that they were watching; it was the only one that looked half-decent. It was still rundown, and the garden was full of crap, but it had a big solid door on the front, not a typical white council one like the rest of them, and thick windows, which judging by the gleam had only recently been fitted. The driveway was empty and all the lights were off, just the flicker of an alarm system flashing intermittently. It stood out because of the alarm system, made you wonder what would need protecting in a shithole like this. He obviously had something of some value, Tommy thought. Round here people had no call for security alarms; most would sooner put their last fiver on a few bottles of cheap cider rather than in their gas meters, let alone install an expensive alarm system.

  Suddenly, they saw the bright headlights of a car coming towards them; finally, it was him. They watched as the beamer drove right past them and turned slowly onto the driveway. Taking their chance the two men quickly grabbed their bats and made their way over to the car, quietly, undetected like the true pros that they were.

  As the man got out of the car they saw the shock on his face at the sight in front of him, shock mixed with genuine fear. Who wouldn’t be scared? They were both over six feet tall, and armed with baseball bats. The worse thing was he knew them, and knew what they were both capable of.

  Before he could even take in the scene before him, the man found himself lying on the floor, the bats raining blows down on him, over and over again. He didn’t beg or plead, he knew he deserved this, this was his lesson, he was well aware that it would come to this. Feeling blood pour down his face, and the sound of a bone crack above his stomach, he felt an almighty pain wash over him before he passed out.

  A light came on in an upstairs window above them, the two men decided to make a fast exit. Jumping into their van they sped off, just in time to avoid the plump lady opening the front door and screaming hysterically at the site of her son’s broken blood-soaked body lying in a heap on the cold floor. People peered out of windows, having a good look, taking it all in so that they could have their own piece of gossip for the morning.

  Tommy put his foot down; the police would be called, and they needed to get themselves and the van out of sight. Carl made himself useful, picked up his mobile and tapping in a number.

  “It’s done,” he told his boss. “The smarmy little fucker has just considered himself told.”

  “Good,” said Paul. “I’ll see that you both have a little extra in your wages.”

  Paul put down the phone. He had left it a few days after he had been told of Jay’s little side-line, and tonight it had been put to bed. It seemed Carl and Tommy had done well. From what he had just been told, Jay wouldn’t be working anywhere, anytime soon. He’d got what he was owed, as far as Paul was concerned. No-one took the piss out of him. Paul had worked too hard, for too long, to risk his club for someone like Jay to ruin it all.

  10

  Sonia was sitting in a dull-grey cubical, at her son’s bedside. They had been at the hospital for over twelve hours and although the doctors had told her that he was not critical, she felt heart-broken. Following a thorough examination and numerous x-rays, they had given him some high dose painkillers and something to help him sleep. Several of his ribs were broken, along with his nose; although looking at all the congealed blood and cuts and bruises all over him, it had looked much worse on first glance.

  Sonia looked down at Jay’s swollen face and wondered how it had come to this. Sonia knew that he was no angel, far from it. In fact, she knew a lot more than she would ever let on even to him, or anyone else for that matter. Even so she couldn’t help feeling guilty; maybe that was why she always made excuses, always trying to justify his behaviour. She should never have left him with Den, she should have taken him with her, brought him up properly. This was her fault.

  Sonia had walked out on Den when Jay was just a baby, after one too many beatings and endless mental abuse. She had nothing back then, and reasoned that when she sorted herself out she would go back for her son. But it had never quite worked that way. She seemed to be out of work more than in it those days. Sonia had always suffered with depression but Den had really knocked her confidence out of her and after finally realising she couldn’t go on, knowing that if she stayed with Den she would probably end up dead, she had packed her bags and left her son behind. She had never felt so lost and alone until then. The more she had sunk into her dark thoughts, the harder it had been for her to try and claw her way out of it. There were days when she couldn’t function at all; she hadn’t been able to physically tear herself from her filthy bed. Popping anti-depressants as if they were sweets, Sonia had spent a good few years walking around so dosed up that she may as well have been the walking dead.

  The longer she had stayed away from Jay the harder it had been to go back for him, and she convinced herself that it would be better for Jay to stay put with his dad. She could barely look after herself, let alone another human being.

  Thankfully, with a lot of help from a very good doctor and counsellor, slowly over the years Sonia had sorted herself out and had been over the moon when her son had started visiting her a few years back, feeling proud almost of the big stocky man he had grown into. Slowly, though, she had learnt the details of his sordid lifestyle. He lied to her at first of course. He had pretended his endless amounts of money were savings but the truth had come out eventually. She knew about the debt collecting, and the stealing, but the thing she hated the most was the drugs. Thankfully, after one or two occasions of some real dodgy people turning up at her door he had moved that side of the business somewhere else. She didn’t want him dealing drugs at all, but at least now if he was going to do it, he did it as far away from her home as possible, sparing her from having the dregs of society turning up at her home at all hours, for a fix.

  He was her son, and she was aware that she was partly responsible for the man that he had become, but she also knew that he was his father’s son, of that much she was certain.

  Sonia touched Jay’s hand, thankful that this time he was going to be okay, but she was worried sick that next time he might not get off so lightly.

  Kate pulled the cubical curtain open. She put her hand over her mouth: the sight of Jay, black and blue, was clearly too much for her. Her poor baby, lying there all battered; she felt bile rise up in her throat, but thankfully she managed to keep it down.

  “Who did this?” she cried, her hands trembling.

  “He hasn’t spoken yet.” Sonia patted the cha
ir next to her and gestured to Kate to sit.

  Kate was a good girl and she loved Jay deeply, Sonia could see that, but she couldn’t help feeling that Kate just wasn’t enough for Jay. He was rarely home and Sonia had lied to Kate when she had phoned on many occasions; he had all sorts of girls at their house.

  Sonia had spoken to her son about it once, after she asked him to move in with her when Den had died. Said she didn’t want her home to be used for his sordid one-night stands with random girls. He had laughed in her face. After that, when he did bring girls home, he was even louder with his goings-on, for her benefit.

  Sonia felt that she couldn’t ask him to leave; she had only just got him back. She also knew that Jay sensed this and played it to his advantage.

  Kate stared at Jay lying in the hospital bed, silent tears sliding down her cheeks. She felt sick. She knew her brother was after Jay, but he couldn’t have done this, not with her being pregnant: surely not?

  “Stop your tears, honey,” Sonia said, in a voice that sounded more confident than she really felt. “We need to be strong for Jay now.”

  Kate nodded and took a couple of slow breaths; she couldn’t get herself into a state; she had to think of the baby, something she had to keep reminding herself of lately. Poor Jay, she’d had enough, knowing that she couldn’t go back home and carry on as normal with her brother now, not after he had done this to Jay.

  “The police are looking into it,” Sonia informed her, as she pushed the curtain slightly so that Kate could see the two male detectives at the front desk talking to a female doctor. The younger of the two was writing information in a notebook, as the doctor spoke. The doctor pointed over to the curtain, seeing them look over at her. The older of the two men pulled the curtain across as the two policemen entered the now crowded cubical.