Retribution

by Heather Atkinson

  “No offence pal but don’t forget what I said. Victims of grooming will lie to their parents about this stuff if it protects the abuser.”

  “She was being perfectly honest,” said Ryan. “There’s no doubt.”

  “Aye that’s good but I’d like to hear the whole story from her too.”

  “Only if Leah agrees.”

  “She will,” said Rachel. “I’ll make sure of it.”

  Jules could have quite happily spent more time with Ellen, who sat down with her while she ate and chatted about her life, which was really quite interesting. However she had things to do. Reluctantly Jules left a couple of hours later, promising Ellen she’d try to pop in on her again before she left Berkshire.

  She stepped out into the street. It was already dark but that suited her purpose. She had the feeling Sean was going to be harder to tackle than Dillon and Rory.

  Apparently Sean liked to hang around a manky drug dealer’s house in Reading, which was a half hour journey from Bracknell. She found the house easily enough on a council estate, windows boarded up, the garden overgrown, paint peeling off the walls, in stark contrast a gleaming, brand new four by four on the drive. The whole place looked fortified and she was reluctant to go inside.

  Instead she called Sean’s number on Dillon’s phone, the call answered by a raspy voice that sounded annoyed to be interrupted.

  “What?” he snapped.

  “Sean?”

  “Yeah?”

  “My name’s Jennifer,” said Jules, putting on her best damsel in distress voice. “I’m a friend of Sean’s. He needs your help, he’s been attacked.”

  “Why should I give a fuck?”

  “Because he was attacked by someone working for your mutual employer. I’m sorry, that’s all he’ll tell me.”

  “Why hasn’t he called me himself?”

  “He can’t, he’s been beaten up really badly, he can’t even hold the phone. Please, we need your help,” she wailed while trying not to laugh.

  Sean sighed. “Where is the silly bastard?”

  She rhymed off the address of Dillon’s garage but it didn’t matter, he wouldn’t get that far.

  When he’d hung up she walked across the street and ducked behind the hedge lining the dealer’s house.

  Sure enough she heard the front door open and footsteps hurry out. A man walked out the gate, heading to a silver car parked at the kerb.

  Jules leapt out of her hiding place, approaching him from behind, drawing one of her knives. He hadn’t heard her approach because she moved so quietly, a vital element in an assassin’s work. She waited until he’d unlocked the car before pressing the blade to his throat.

  “Give me the keys,” she whispered in his ear.

  “Who the fuck are you?” he demanded, voice full of rage.

  Jules thought his anger refreshing. Finally she might have met someone who would put up some sort of fight.

  “All will be revealed. Hands behind your back.”

  “Fuck off.”

  He grimaced when she cut into the delicate skin of his neck, careful not to catch him anywhere vital.

  “Hands behind your back. If you force me to repeat myself again I’ll stick this knife in your ear. Do you understand?”

  With a huff he placed his hands behind his back, Jules quickly and efficiently cable-tying his wrists together. She opened the back door and shoved him face down in the footwell. Slamming the door shut she jumped into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

  “Who are you?” he demanded as they set off down the street.

  “I have unfinished business with your boss, Jared Slattery. Tell me what I want to know and you won’t get hurt.”

  “Do you think I’m frightened of you, you northern cow?”

  “Your courage is impressive, you possess much more than your friends Dillon and Rory.”

  “What have you done to them?”

  “Rory’s currently in hospital with stab wounds to his knees and the last time I saw Dillon he was crying after I poked holes in his hands.”

  “Poofs,” he muttered.

  “I quite agree.”

  “You’re Jules Driscoll, aren’t you?”

  “Bang on the money.”

  “Jared talks about you all the time, he’s fucking obsessed. He’ll probably be pleased you’re here. If you uncuff me I’ll take you right to him, save you pissing about.”

  “I appreciate you considering saving me some time,” she said sarcastically. “But I don’t want him knowing I’m coming.”

  “I won’t tell him.”

  “The second your hands are free you’ll put up a fight, which I would love to indulge in but I’m on a time limit here.” She had the feeling someone was following in her footsteps but whether they were on her side or not she couldn’t tell, neither did she want to take any chances. She was amused to see in the rear-view mirror Sean slide a blade out of his back jean’s pocket - nothing to rival her knives, more like a stubby penknife - and start hacking at the cable tie with it.

  With a smile she drew the taser from her jacket pocket, reached round with her left hand, keeping the other on the steering wheel and tasered him in the leg. His body jumped and jerked before he went limp, the blade slipping from his fingers.

  Jez and the others arrived at the drug dealer’s house and, as there were four of them, they lacked the same compunction Jules had about knocking on the door. Confidently they strode through the gate and up the path, Jez hammering on the front door, which was opened by a stoned man with a joint jammed between his teeth.

  “What?” he said, eyes hazy.

  “Is Sean here?”

  “Sean?” said the man in a faraway voice.

  “Yeah, Sean Johnson,” said Jez impatiently.

  “Sean?” repeated the man before giggling.

  He wasn’t giggling when Mark grabbed him by the front of his stained t-shirt and yanked him over the threshold of the door. “Tell us where he is and I won’t rip off your eyelids.”

  The man’s eyes widened. “Dunno. He got a call and left.”

  “How long ago?” said Jez.

  “Not long. Ten minutes maybe.”

  “What car was he driving?”

  “Shitty silver Astra.”

  “Did he say where he was going?”

  “Some woman called him crying, saying Dillon needed help but I don’t know where he went. That’s all I know, honestly.”

  “Woman?” said Jackson. “Did he say who?”

  “Some bint of Dillon’s.”

  “Alright, let him go,” said Jez.

  Mark shoved the man away, who stumbled back into the house and slammed the door shut, the sound of the lock turning following.

  “Bollocks,” said Jez. “That woman was Jules, she flushed him out. We know no woman was with Dillon.”

  Mark headed back down the path, the rest of them following and looked thoughtfully down the street. “She lured him out here and probably pounced when he got to his car,” he said, indicating the space at the kerb. None of the houses had drives, consequently the street was double parked with cars, except for the space outside the dealer’s house.

  “She could be anywhere by now,” sighed Jez.

  “She doesn’t know this area so she’d take him somewhere nearby where she could question him,” said Shane.

  Jez nodded. “All we can do is drive around until we find it.”

  “That could take us all night,” said Jackson.

  “What choice do we have?”

  Jackson sighed and nodded.

  CHAPTER 39

  Jules parked the car around the back of an office block that was closed and shuttered for the night, careful to stay out of the way of the single CCTV camera monitoring the site.

  She got out and opened the back door. Sean was just coming round, groaning into the grubby carpet. “You shocked me you bitch.”

  “Sorry but you were getting on my nerves. Come on out then,” she said, grabbing
him by the jacket and hauling him to the door.

  Sean slid out of the car and landed on the ground. Jules pushed him onto his back with her boot and stared down at him. “So tell me, where’s Slattery?”

  “I dunno,” he muttered. “I’ve never met the arsehole.”

  “You go through a third party too?” she said flatly.

  He nodded. “Some nob end called Trinity Jones. Flash bastard dripping in gold jewellery, dyed black hair. Big bugger.”

  She knelt before him, hand resting on one knee cradling a knife. “And where can I find Trinity?”

  “I don’t have his address but I do know he hangs about a nightclub called Reflections.”

  “Where’s that?”

  “About ten minutes from here.”

  “I’ll find it.”

  “Is that it?” he said when she straightened up.

  “Yep. You’ve given me everything I need.”

  “You going to untie me then?”

  “Nope,” she said, returning to the car.

  “You can’t leave me here like this.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because…it’s cold.”

  “You’ll cope.”

  “Don’t you dare nick my car,” he yelled.

  “Keep your hair on. I’ll drive it back to your mate’s house. I don’t need to nick this mobile toilet.”

  “Get back here you cow,” he snarled, struggling to his feet, staggering after the car as it pulled out of the car park, hands still tied behind his back and legs wobbly after being tasered.

  He was still trying to chase her once she’d disappeared into the distance.

  “Look out,” cried Shane as a man appeared out of nowhere and staggered across the road in front of their car.

  Mark hit the brakes, which squealed to a halt, jolting them all in their seats, but not in time to avoid the man in the road. There was a thud and he vanished.

  “Shit,” exclaimed Mark, throwing off his seat belt and leaping out of the car.

  “Oh fucking marvellous,” said Jez. “We’re trying to move about this Godforsaken place undetected and he goes and runs someone over.”

  “To be fair,” said Shane, “he did come out of nowhere. Mark couldn’t have avoided him.”

  “Let’s just hope he hasn’t killed him,” he said before climbing out too. “Thank Christ,” added Jez when he saw Mark helping the man to his feet.

  “Why are your hands tied?” Shane asked the stranger.

  “Some mad bitch kidnapped me, dumped me and nicked my car.”

  “Was this woman dressed all in black and Mancunian?” said Jackson.

  “Yeah, that’s her.” His eyebrows shot up when he realised these men spoke with the same accent. “Oh shit,” he said, attempting to run and falling.

  “Get him in,” said Jez, pointing to the car.

  “Not again,” groaned Sean.

  They shoved him into the backseat, Jackson and Jez getting in either side, penning him in while Shane and Mark retook the front seats.

  “Try not to run anyone over this time,” Jez told Mark. As they set off he looked to their prisoner. “So you’re Sean?”

  “Yeah,” he said resignedly. “You looking for Slattery too?”

  “Yes but most of all we’re looking for the woman who kidnapped you.”

  “Why, are you going to hurt her?” he said, eyes shining with glee at the prospect.

  “No, she’s my sister,” said Jez, hard faced.

  “Lucky you,” he said sarcastically.

  “Where did she go?”

  “She said she was going back to my mate’s house.”

  Mark did a sudden u-turn in the middle of the road, causing them all to grab onto the door handles.

  “What was she going to do when she got there?” said Jez as Mark drove them back in the direction they’d just come.

  “She said she was going to leave my car there.”

  “That was it?” said Jackson.

  Sean nodded. “I bet she doesn’t, I bet she nicks it.”

  “Jules is loaded,” said Jez. “She doesn’t need your fucking car.”

  “Did she hurt you?” said Jackson.

  “She pressed a knife to my throat, tied me up and tasered me,” he said bad-temperedly. “Isn’t that enough?”

  “So she didn’t stab you or anything?”

  “No, she didn’t need to. I told her everything she wanted to know. No way I’m going to lose part of my anatomy for Jared Slattery.”

  “Where is Slattery?” said Jez.

  “God knows, I’ve never met the twat and after the ball ache I’ve been through tonight because of him, if I did ever meet him I’d punch the bastard in the fucking throat.”

  “So you’re another go-between for Slattery?”

  “Yep, much good it’s done me today.”

  “So, what’s Slattery up to then? And don’t even think of not telling us.”

  “Not a chance. I just want to go home,” he said miserably.

  “And you will, if you play ball.”

  He sighed before saying, “drugs mainly. He’s set up a chain dealing coke and weed, although he’s trying to push into heroin. He’s chased off the smaller dealers.”

  “Has he got his fingers in any other pies?”

  “He’s set up a few robberies, mainly of high end homes and jewellery stores. He’s good at it too, all the shady bastards around here - and that’s a lot of them - are queuing up to work for him, although no one ever meets him, everything goes through his runners.”

  “Where did you send Jules off to?”

  “Is that the mad cow’s name?” His eyes widened. “Shit, Jules Law?”

  “Driscoll,” growled Jackson.

  Sean ignored him, his eyes locked on Jez. “You’re Jez Law.”

  “Give the man a biscuit.”

  Defiance filled Sean’s eyes. “I’m not scared of you.”

  “You should be,” said Jez, eyes boring into Sean, who looked a little less sure of himself. Jez gave him a cockeyed smile, the danger vanishing from his eyes. “Just tell us who you sent Jules after and we won’t have a problem.”

  “What makes you think I sent her anywhere?”

  “If you’d refused to tell her anything then you’d be full of holes, like Rory and Dillon. Seems you’re smarter than them.”

  “Too right I am. Fine, I sent her after Trinity Jones.”

  “Trinity Jones?” frowned Jez.

  “He’s quite a big time dealer around here, got a strong crew behind him. He couldn’t wait to join forces with Slattery.”

  “And where is he?”

  “I don’t know where he lives. Trinity is quite savvy and likes his privacy but he also likes lording it up in nightclubs.”

  “Where can we find him?”

  Sean gave them directions to Reflections, looking even more glum.

  They dropped Sean off outside his friend’s house, after freeing his hands. He was delighted to see his car had been safely returned.

  They headed back towards the centre of Bracknell and towards Reflections.

  “Hopefully we’ll catch up with her this time,” said Jackson.

  “We’re narrowing the gap,” said Jez. “We will.”

  “Hopefully before she does something really stupid and bites off more than she can chew.”

  “Jules knows what she’s doing,” said Mark.

  “Does she though? She’s angry and pissed off and probably not thinking straight.”

  “She’s done well so far,” frowned Shane, wanting to tell him to piss off.

  Leah returned home from studying at Britney’s house, pleased to find Brodie and Cass in the kitchen with her parents. The only reason they’d let her go to her friend’s was because Britney’s dad had picked her up from school and had promised to drop her off at home again, so they knew she’d be safe and not wandering the streets alone.

  “Brodie,” she beamed. “Good to see you again. And you too Cass.”
/>   “We hear you’ve got yourself into a little trouble hen,” said Brodie.

  Leah’s smile fell and she joined them at the table, dumping her backpack on the floor.

  “You gonnae tell me about Reid the prick?” said Brodie.

  “Language, please,” said Ryan while Leah giggled.

  “After what she’s got up to, you’re telling me off for saying prick? I think the lassie can handle it.”

  It annoyed Ryan that he was right. He waved a dismissive hand. “Continue.”

  “Oh thank you Your Majesty,” said Brodie, rolling his eyes. He looked back at Leah. “Go ahead doll.”

  Leah rhymed off the whole sorry saga, feeling silly in front of Brodie. “I know, I’m an idiot,” she said once she’d done.

  “No, you’re no’ hen. Reid is. He’s responsible for all this.”

  “You don’t need to humour me. I know I’ve been stupid.”

  “I’m no’ humouring you, it’s not in my nature.”

  “That’s true,” said Cass. “Brodie just tells it as it is. That’s why he’s hard for most people to take.”

  “Aye,” said Brodie. “Everyone wants telling how wonderful they are but no’ me. I call a prick a prick.”

  Leah couldn’t help but snigger.

  “The question is,” said Ryan. “What are you going to do? Myself, Battler and Bruiser have been searching all over for him and nothing.”

  “Nae worries big man,” he grinned. “I’m here now to hold your hand.”

  When Ryan looked furious, Cass decided to step in, patting her colleague’s arm in a warning to control his gob. “What Brodie means is that he has specialist skills he can utilise to find Reid. Quickly.”

  “I don’t see what you can do that we haven’t already,” countered Ryan.

  “You’ve been looking in all the obvious places - friends and family.”

  “Reid has no family.”

  “Alright, friends then. You need to look for the unobvious ones.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Aye it does,” grinned Brodie, pleased with himself. He looked to Leah. “What does Reid like to do hen?”

  “Apart from beat up and kill people?”

  “Aye, apart from that.”

  “He likes drinking and clubbing.”

  “And which are his favourite clubs?”