The Downfall Series Box Set

by Edie Baylis

  Seth glared at Jane, his eyes narrow slits. “Think you can fucking laugh at me do you? Well your lover will pay the price.” Turning back towards the shuffling figure on the floor, he quickly pulled the trigger and watched as Shav’s kneecap exploded over the underlay.

  “JESUS!” Maggie screamed hysterically. Pacing around on a patch of floor, she raised her hand to her mouth and gagged.

  Bending over the writhing man, Seth spoke quietly, his voice loaded with menace. “Don’t go near her again or I promise I’ll finish the job.” He nodded to Digger. “Get him out of here.”

  Poking the barrel sharply in Shav’s throat, he smiled. “Take this as a friendly warning.”

  Dragging Shav roughly to his feet, Digger pulled him towards the door, the man’s shattered left leg dragging behind him whilst Maggie stared wide-eyed, her body racked with loud gasping sobs.

  Jane’s eyes glowered. “I can’t believe you’ve done this, Seth! For what? Nothing!”

  Seth looked at her coldly. “Don’t fuck with me Jane.”

  Jane trod through the blood and sinew spattered on the underlay and yanked at Seth’s arm as he leant against the wall. “What the hell are you doing?” she spat. It was ridiculous. He’d got it all wrong.

  “Why have you been acting weird then Jane?”

  Jane stared blankly. What was she supposed to say? ‘Actually Seth, it isn’t because I’m sleeping with anyone else, it’s because I’m pregnant. Isn’t that nice? We’re so fucking well-adjusted aren’t we? We’ll make great parents!’

  Swinging away from the wall, Seth pulled Jane towards him and crushed her into his body. “You’re mine Jane, mine.” As she tried to struggle free, he grasped her face with his other hand. “You’re not leaving me.”

  Jane stared with contempt into Seth’s flashing eyes, wanting him to kiss her. Hard. “You can’t stop me.”

  Reading her thoughts, Seth crashed his mouth down onto hers, his tongue forcing its way into her mouth. Jane felt her body betray her brain as the familiar and intense longing surged through every fibre of her body. She wound her fingers in his hair as he pushed her back against the wall.

  “Oh God, Jane,” Seth groaned as she freed him from his jeans and wrapped her hand tight around his throbbing cock. He wasted no time in shifting her skirt up and pulling her leg up around his waist. “I won’t let you leave me.”

  Slamming her against the wall, he sank his teeth into her neck, his cock pushing deep and making her blind to anything but the waves of pleasure starting to quickly course through her body. “I love you, Jane. Till the end of time, remember?”

  As the credits for Emmerdale rolled, Maggie sobbed on the floor with her head in her hands. Wrapping her arms around herself tightly, she rocked back and forth and began humming a tune to drown out Jane screaming Seth’s name.

  THIRTY TWO

  IN THE CORNER OF THE Green Dragon Maggie shook like a leaf, her half pint of lager slopping over the table as she raised it to her mouth. She watched Jane laughing on the wooden pew opposite. How could she be laughing after what had just happened?

  Seth’s arm was draped loosely around Jane, his fingers kneading her shoulder. His eyes were now clear and the manic lunatic Maggie had witnessed an hour earlier had gone. He now looked like the Seth she knew. Or rather the Seth she’d thought she knew.

  Catching her studying him, Seth winked and Maggie quickly looked away. Thrown and confused, perspiration beaded on her brow and she fanned herself with a beer mat. It gave her shaking hands something to do, other than spill her drink.

  She was scared. She’d seen enough of Seth and Jane’s arguments to know about their tempers, but that poor man. That poor, poor man.

  With a horrible creeping dawn of realisation, Maggie realised there was no way Jane would be so matter of fact if this sort of stuff wasn’t a normal occurrence and her mind questioned exactly how involved she was in all of this sort of shit? And the way they’d been at it afterwards, like they got off on it?

  Finally managing to get the glass up to her lips, Maggie slugged down the entire drink in one go. Oh, she didn’t like this. Didn’t like it one little bit. She’d heard the rumours about the things Jane had supposedly done long before she’d been involved with Seth, but had put them down to gossip-mongering and small-town mentality. Jealousy even. She hadn’t given it a second thought, but now....?

  Maggie had also heard the rumours about both Seth and Jane, but surely in the four years of knowing them she couldn’t have missed stuff like that happening all the time could she?

  She had missed it though and this realisation was fucking her head up. Snapping back to reality, Maggie jumped as Seth lightly touched her arm.

  “Same again?” he asked, smiling. Picking up her glass he made his way towards the bar.

  JANE BENT OVER THE cistern, snorted a couple of lines of coke from the enamel and leant back against the cubicle wall.

  Poor old Maggie. Oh well. She couldn’t hide everything from everyone all of the time could she? As for Seth, well, he was out of order and she wasn’t sure whether he believed her about Shav, but it didn’t matter anyway. He’d think what he wanted regardless.

  Taking a deep breath when the coke picked up speed in her head, Jane heard Eliza’s and Maggie’s voices when the outside door of the Ladies toilet opened.

  “How you doing?” Eliza smiled. “Don’t know what’s wrong with this one tonight,” she laughed, nodding towards Maggie.

  Jane peered in the reflection of the cracked mirror to check no tell-tale signs of coke were lurking and sniffed hard, swallowing down the familiar sour taste.

  “You should slow that down now. Baby might not like it.” Eliza giggled.

  Maggie’s eyes shot into focus. “WHAT?” she cried, trying to sound lighter than she felt.

  “Only gone and got herself up the duff ain’t she!”

  “Thanks!” Jane snapped, glaring at Eliza in the mirror. “Thanks very much!”

  “Oh my God Jane!” Maggie moved closer. “You’re pregnant?”

  “It appears so.”

  “You’re pregnant and things like tonight? Things like wh...”

  Jane cut her short. “Shut it Maggie...”

  “But Jane, if you are, then yo...”

  Jane gave Maggie a look that stopped her in her tracks. “I’ll deal with it. I don’t want you breathing a fucking word to anyone you hear? Especially not Seth!” She stared at Eliza. “That goes for you as well.” Grabbing her bag from the wash stand she walked to the door.

  Maggie was amazed. “You mean he doesn’t know?”

  Jane span around. “No he doesn’t and that’s the way I want to keep it. Now leave it!” Pulling the door with such force it slammed hard against the wall she gave them both a stare for good measure before stalking out of the toilets.

  Eliza shrugged and tipped a mouthful of cider into her mouth. She glanced at Maggie’s bewildered face. “You know what she’s like....”

  Maggie felt thoroughly exhausted, but began to think she finally was starting to realise what Jane was like.

  Jane could have killed Eliza. She’d expressly said she didn’t want anyone to know. Now, because she’d had a few ciders and opened her fat fucking trap, Maggie knew as well. For fuck’s sake. This was all getting too complicated.

  Far too complicated.

  Walking quickly down the uneven tiled corridor to the main bar, Jane passed a small room housing the pool table and someone waving caught her eye. Trying not to look at Jenky too long in case he beckoned her over, she waved back feebly before noticing movement from deep in the shadows.

  What a piece of luck Jane thought and launched herself into the room.

  Jumping over a fat bloke with vomit dribbling out of his mouth on the floor, Jane swiftly grabbed Debbie tightly around the neck and didn’t bother explaining why when she smacked her head into the corner of the cigarette machine.

  Jimi Hendrix continued playing from the jukebox as Maggie and Eliza s
tuck their heads into the room to see what the commotion was just as Debbie’s head was smashed into the machine for the second time.

  Ignoring Jenky and Clint with their drinks stuck half way between the table and their mouths, Jane dug her nails firmly into Debbie’s pudgy neck and smiled.

  Debbie wailed as Jane’s fist smashed into her nose and blood poured down her fringed top when her head was whacked on the side of the machine for the third time,

  “Just get out of my life will you!” Jane yelled. With one final punch, Debbie’s eyes rolled and she dropped heavily to the floor. Hitting her head with a thud on the quarry tiles, a small pool of blood pooled underneath her hair.

  Wiping her bloodied hands down her skirt, Jane winked at Clint who was staring in rapt amazement. She opened her bag and casually lit a cigarette. “Do us a favour,” she smiled turning to Jenky, noting his corpse-like appearance hadn’t improved since the last time she’d seen him. “Drag the fat bitch outside will you?”

  “Me?” Jenky spluttered, his beer spilling on the table.

  “Yes, you.” Smiling sweetly, Jane moved closer and lowered her voice. “I could always make things awkward for you otherwise couldn’t I?”

  Jenky paled, knowing she was referring to their time at the squat. He’d been amazed he’d escaped without a visit from Seth and he wanted to keep it that way. Nodding reluctantly, he pulled himself up from the seat and moved towards Debbie.

  “Cheers!” Jane smiled. Walking away, she passed Eliza and Maggie’s ringside seat. “Alright girls?”

  Fuck it. Let them gawp. She was on a roll.

  SETH HAD ALMOST FORGOTTEN where he was. His world consisted only of the feel of Jane’s mouth. Continuing to kiss her hungrily, his hand made its way up her skirt.

  When someone suddenly poked him on the shoulder, he pulled away angrily and glared up at the perpetrator, then smiled. “Alright Digger? I wondered who the fuck that was then for a minute.”

  “I could see that!” Digger muttered, noticing Seth was already quite drunk. For how long he’d be in a good mood was anyone’s guess. Now he wouldn’t be able to get him to level as to what all that business was with that bloke earlier. It was obvious nothing had been going on with Jane and the guy at all.

  “All sorted?” Glancing up Seth watched Digger nod almost imperceptibly. Grinning bashfully, he stood up and adjusted his jeans to disguise his arousal. “Let me get you a beer.”

  Shaking his head in resignation Digger smiled and plonked himself down next to Jane who was watching Seth intently as he walked away.

  He didn’t understand these two one iota, but thought maybe if this madness was what it was like, he was probably lucky Jane didn’t feel the same way about him that he did about her.

  Jane smiled recognising the girl opposite. She’d just had a brainwave. A complete and utter, amazingly astounding brainwave! This was just too good not to take advantage of.

  Ok. Let’s do it, she thought.

  And... GO!

  Flicking on her death stare like a light, Jane yelled in the red-headed girls’ direction. “WHAT DID YOU SAY?”

  The bar fell silent and people gingerly glanced around to see who was going to cop it. Turning from the bar, Seth wondered what Jane was up to now and slowly took a swig of his fresh pint. He decided to prop the bar up a while longer rather than make his way back over there. Judging by the look on her face it was likely it would get spilt if he returned.

  “YOU!” Jane roared, pointing at the girl.

  “I didn’t say anything,” the red-head said quietly as her friends shuffled away up the bench. She looked warily at Jane and tried to work out why her dad had employed her in the first place.

  Launching herself towards the table, Jane screamed in the girl’s face. “Did you just call me a tart?”

  “W-What? I, no, I didn’t sa...”

  Deciding that was enough drama, Jane pulled the girl out of her seat and quickly head-butted her. Reeling, the girl crashed heavily back onto the wooden bench, a shocked sob catching in her throat as she clutched her bleeding nose.

  Deciding that was all that needed doing, Jane folded her arms across her chest. “Now fuck off!”

  Scrabbling around for her bag, the girl didn’t need telling twice. From his position at the bar, Seth raised his eyebrows at Digger, who looked towards the ceiling in despair.

  Jane walked calmly back to the bench and sat down smiling and everyone resumed talking. Making his way back from the bar Seth handed out the drinks and frowned, waiting for an explanation.

  Jane stroked Seth’s thigh. “You know I said I couldn’t face working at the warehouse anymore?”

  Seth looked confused. “Right....?”

  “Well,” she smiled, “I don’t need to worry now.” Necking the vodka, Jane winked conspiratorially. “That was the boss’s daughter!”

  Seth burst out laughing and pulled her onto his lap, his mouth searching for hers.

  Digger groaned and reached for his pint while Maggie sat speechless in the corner, feeling the iron fist of panic clenching further around her heart.

  BY KICK OUT TIME SETH was roaring drunk and Jane was wired to the eyeballs. Half-dragging her up the road to the flat, he wished she’d get a move on. He wanted another drink and needed to bed her again.

  Jane was spoiling for a fight, all the earlier good mood having long since evaporated. “Stop pulling me!”

  Bending down, Seth grabbed Jane’s arms and pinned them down by her sides, goading her. “What’s your reticence to get home? Rather fuck Shav would you? Hate to tell you, but he probably won’t feel up to it tonight!” His fingertips dug hard into her flesh and his manic laughter echoed around the empty street.

  Jane twisted out of Seth’s grip and launched herself at him. Staggering back, caught off guard by the force of her punch, he raised his hand to his face and wiped the back of his hand over his mouth. Focusing on the smear of blood from his cut lip, his eyes narrowed at Jane staring defiantly at him.

  Pain seared through Jane’s back and head when she was slammed through the nearest shop window. As her body crashed through the plate glass, the alarm sounded, its wailing screaming loudly into the night.

  Lying on her back amongst shards of glass in the pitch black, she tried to get her bearings. Through the mess of her addled mind and the silhouettes of flowers in buckets of water sitting on racks along the walls, she worked out she was in the florists.

  Sticky blood began trickling from cuts in her arms. “You’ve cut me, you bastard!” Jane screamed.

  Seth stepped through the broken window and yanked frantically at his shirt. Ripping it from his shoulders, the buttons pinged off like little bullets and ricocheted around the dark room. “You want the shirt off my back as well as my heart, Jane?”

  Glowering, he threw the shirt at her and began undoing his jeans, then pulled his steel toe caps off and launched them through the remains of the smashed window.

  “Here!” Seth raged over the sound of the screeching alarm. “Have it ALL!”

  As Seth kicked his jeans to one side and picked up a large shard of glass, Jane laughed coldly.

  “Come on then Jane.” Seth held the glass against his chest. “Cut me!”

  Staring at his naked figure from her position on the floor, Jane wanted to run her tongue down the line of hair from his navel. “That would be far too easy,” she smiled.

  “Fine. I’ll do it for you,” Seth growled and dragged the pointed shard down the ridged muscles of his stomach, the thin cut immediately weeping blood. “I’m bleeding for you Jane, so we’re even!”

  Turning, he stepped through the gaping hole in the window and stalked naked up the road.

  Jane would have laughed if she wasn’t so angry. Her hand moved to her stomach where his baby was silently growing and drunkenly pulled herself to her feet, just as a police car screeched to a halt outside.

  THIRTY THREE

  PHIL STUDIED SETH’S pensive expression intently and watched
as the wind blew his hair across his face, glad he’d got a shaved head. Women strolled with young children in pushchairs and people walked their dogs around the wide expanse of neatly trimmed grass and manicured flowerbeds of the park.

  Shifting his weight slightly on the less than comfortable bench, he did a quick check of his pride and joy and relaxed seeing the chrome of his bike glinting in the sunlight in the distance next to Seth’s Senator.

  “So, what do you think?”

  Seth didn’t hear Phil’s question. He was too busy staring at a remote spot in the distance where the trees were thickly populated on the hill. The forest, where all was cool and calm, uninterrupted and clear.

  He smiled sardonically. What it would be for some salvation. Unfortunately that had left a long time ago.

  “Seth?”

  Pulling his eyes away, Seth turned slowly towards his friend.

  Phil wasn’t sure what was going on in Seth’s head. He’d been acting rather strange lately, but thankfully whatever was eating him wasn’t having a negative impact on his work. He was one of the best in the business and if anything, was even better than usual recently. “Are you ok?”

  “Yes mate,” Seth smiled. “Just thinking about what you said.”

  Phil waited for him to elaborate, but Seth just pulled out his cigarettes and slackened his grip on the dog’s lead lying on the tarmac path next to their feet.

  “Well?”

  “Well...” Putting a cigarette in his mouth, Seth flicked his Zippo and cupped his hand to shield the flickering flame from the breeze. “I think it’s a goer.”

  Phil quietly breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t sure if the job could be pulled off without Seth.

  “Who else is alongside?”

  Phil had a few ideas, but would let Seth have the final say. “I was thinking Digger for one and Wazza?”

  Seth watched Phil intensely and nodded. Digger for definite, he was a dead cert. Wazza? He hadn’t worked with him, but had heard he was good.

  “Tony perhaps?” Catching the frown on Seth’s face, Phil corrected his suggestion. “Ok, maybe not Tony. Adrian?” He took a swig out of his pewter hip flask. “Although he can be a bit of a liability.”