“Bloody hell. And?”
“He works for the Starklaws. Two of Mikey’s men have betrayed him and given Jared Slattery an in to the compound. He’s probably there already.”
“Fucking hell,” she said, doing her best not to shout out loud. Two men - she recalled Brogan and Duane’s odd behaviour at the gate and scanned the area for them but they’d vanished.
“Jared’s probably already in there. You need to get out. Now.”
“Have you told Mikey?”
“I tried calling him but his phone’s engaged.”
“I’ll tell him,” she said, throwing away the cigarette before racing back inside and up the stairs.
“Don’t, just get yourself out.”
“I am not going to leave him there. How many men does Jared have?”
“Quite a few. He’s got the Starklaws’ and Nilsen’s crews backing him up as well as his own. You’ll be outnumbered. I’m on my way with my men to help but we might not get there in time.”
“Mikey’s family, I am not running out on him. Call Jez, he’s at the hospital with Cathy. They might be going after him too.”
“I will but please Jules, get out of there in one piece.”
“I intend to,” she said before hanging up. At the top of the stairs she burst through the doors and pelted down the corridor towards Mikey’s office.
Mikey grimaced and held the phone away from his ear as his mum continued to sob down the line. Taking a leaf out of Ryan and Jez’s book, he’d reverted to calling his mother by her Christian name, Sharon.
“My baby, my poor, poor baby,” she wailed in his ear.
“Poor baby? He was a bloody lunatic.”
“I might have known you’d hate him,” she spat down the line. “He was everything you wanted to be.”
“What?” he laughed. “He was a mental the world’s better off without. I’m doing really well for myself now Sharon, I’m running everything.”
“Yeah, right.”
“I am. Jake couldn’t have done what I’ve done. He was useless, insane.”
“He was not,” she yelled.
Mikey winced and held the phone away from his ear.
“I’m coming back for the funeral.”
He’d known she’d say that and he’d had no idea how he would respond until she’d actually said the words. “Alright.”
“I don’t need your permission.”
“Yes you fucking do,” he growled.
There was a pause before she said, “so I can come?”
“Yes but you’re gone straight after.”
“Fine with me. Bye.”
With that she hung up, leaving Mikey to stare at the phone. He almost jumped when the door flew open and Jules charged in. “What the hell’s the matter with you?” he said.
“Dane…call…I’ve got to stop smoking,” she panted, doubling over.
“Has Dane upset you?”
“He captured two of the Starklaws’ men who tried to launch an attack on his club. They said two of our men have betrayed us and let Jared Slattery into the compound.”
Mikey shot to his feet. “Fuck,” he roared. “Who was it? I’ll fucking skin them alive.”
“We don’t have time for that now, we have to get out.”
“I am not running away.”
“They’ll kill you,” she cried.
Mikey snatched up the gun in his desk drawer when the door burst open again, but it was only Grant and Mark.
“Jules called me. She said Jared’s here,” said Grant, gun already drawn.
Mikey’s expression was grim. “We’ve been betrayed.”
“It was Brogan and Duane,” said Jules. “I saw them acting suspiciously by the gate. They must have let him in.”
Mikey kicked over his chair. “After all the precautions I’ve taken and that pair of wankers open the door for him.”
He went silent at the sound of gunshots.
“Wake up.”
Estelle groaned, her head throbbing. Different aches varied for supremacy inside her - ache for a cigarette, ache for a hit and another ache for more alcohol to keep the raging hangover at bay.
“Wake up,” barked the voice, louder.
Estelle released a groan and wrapped her arms around her head, praying for the pounding in her skull to stop.
“I said wake up,” insisted the voice, which was gruff and hard, one she didn’t recognise. She didn’t want to open her eyes because - as well as the headache - she felt dizzy, her whole body seeming to rock, even though she was lying still.
Estelle squealed when ice cold water landed on her face and she sat bolt upright, wincing as her head throbbed. “What the fuck…” Estelle trailed off when she found herself staring up into a weathered, bearded face. “Who the hell are you?” she cried, scrambling backwards. The floor beneath her was wet and slippery and she backed up into a big coil of rope.
“So you’re finally awake?” said the voice. “About time, we’re just about to leave.”
“Leave? Where are we going?”
It was only then she realised it wasn’t her spinning head that made her feel as though she was moving, she was actually moving because she was on a boat.
“Get me off here,” she cried, trying to scrabble to her feet but her trainers just slid on the slippery deck. The boat was large and state-of-the-art looking with plenty of fancy equipment. Standing on the dock was Ryan, his hands in his pockets, staring down at her.
“Ryan,” she cried, reaching out for him. “Get me off here.”
“Sorry Estelle. You’re staying on for the duration.”
“Where am I going?”
“Brindisi.”
“Where the fuck’s Brindisi?”
“Italy. Don’t worry, I’ve given you some cash. Malcolm has it, he’s the captain by the way,” he said, nodding at the bearded man.
“I don’t want to go to Brindisi, I want to go home.”
“Sorry Estelle. You’ve pissed me off once too often and this crap with the Slatterys was the last straw. I want you gone, for good. It was either this or I wrapped a chain around your neck and threw you into the sea, so think yourself fortunate.”
She yelled something right back at him but it was drowned out by the engines bursting into life. From the vicious look on her face he gathered it wasn’t complimentary.
“Ryan, get me off here,” she screamed as the boat started to pull away from the dock.
“There’s only one thing you need to know Estelle,” he called.
“What?” she called back hopefully. She frowned when he said something in Italian. “What does that mean?”
“Where’s the local crack dealer? I’m sure you’ll pick it up quickly enough.”
“Ryan. Ryan,” she screamed over and over, watching him standing on the dock, getting smaller and smaller until he blended in with the horizon. Estelle slumped onto the deck and started to cry.
“Oy love, don’t look so glum. Brindisi’s very nice.” Malcolm tossed her a yellow anorak. “You might want to put that on, it’s going to get cold and rain’s forecast. I like rain, it helps me keep under the radar.”
Estelle realised her eldest son had dumped her on a smuggler’s boat, who no doubt had been paid a huge sum of money to take her away.
“Here you go, have these,” he said holding a pack of cigarettes out to her. He laughed when she snatched it from him and retreated into a corner. “And I want you inside if you’re going to be a noisy bitch,” he said, gesturing to the cabin. “I need things quiet for my work.”
Estelle pulled on the anorak, lit a cigarette and retreated into the warmth of the cabin, imagining all the punishments she was going to rain down on her eldest son for this.
As the gun shot died away Mark pulled his gun, Jules drew her knives and Grant opened the door a crack and peeked out before hastily slamming it shut. “I can’t see anything but I heard shouting. Something’s not right.”
Mikey tried calling some of his men,
as did Grant, but no one was answering.
“We’ve been breached,” said Grant, hanging up. “We need to get you out of here Boss.”
Jules tried not to give Mikey a told you so look as he handed her a gun and they all made for the door. None of them noticed Mikey surreptitiously remove something from his desk drawer and slip it inside his jacket pocket.
Grant carefully pulled the door open and peered out. “All clear,” he said before stepping into the corridor, Mark and Mikey following, Jules bringing up the rear. The building felt dead already, empty, everyone either killed or gone.
“We need a plan,” whispered Grant. “It’s quite a long way from the building to the gates, we’ll be picked off before we get anywhere near.”
“We need to get to one of the cars in the garage,” said Mikey.
“I’ll go,” said Mark.
“Good man,” said Mikey. “Bring the car round the back of the cellar.” Cellar was the euphemism they used for the torture chamber in the belly of the building. “There’s an exit leading to the back gate. Think you can make it?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, craggy face hard.
“We’ll meet you there. Be careful.”
Mark nodded and jogged back the way they’d come, pausing to peer around a corner before vanishing.
“Do you think we’ll see him again?” said Grant.
“Yeah, I do,” said Mikey. “Mark never fails.”
“Let’s hope you’re right,” said Jules. “Mikey, you stay in the middle of us.”
“I am not hiding behind anyone.”
“It’s not hiding Boss,” said Grant. “But you’ve got the biggest bullseye on your back.”
“He’s right,” said Jules, “and we don’t have time for arguing, so please little cuz, stay in the middle of us.”
“Alright,” he sighed. “Let’s just hurry.”
They strained to hear the slightest sound as they continued on down the corridor, Grant leading the way, but all was eerily silent.
“Where is everyone?” whispered Jules, bringing up the rear.
“Run away or dead,” replied Mikey. He glanced over his shoulder at her and reached out for her hand, which she took. Mikey gave her a wink and what he hoped was a reassuring smile.
Grant waved at them to stop and Jules and Mikey released hands. “I can hear something,” he mouthed at them.
They all listened, at first hearing nothing. Then the sound of voices drifted up to them. There was one big yell and a gunshot then silence.
“Where’s his office?” said a deep, Essex voice.
“Slattery,” hissed Mikey, wincing when Jules nudged him in the ribs.
“This way,” replied a voice they recognised as Brogan.
The three of them backed up around the corner and ran back the way they’d already come, past Mikey’s office. They ducked around the corner just as Jared appeared at the other end of the corridor, flanked by Brogan and Duane and followed by half a dozen more men. They were seriously outnumbered.
Jared himself led the charge into Mikey’s office, kicking the door open before rushing in, gun in hand. His tactics were far from subtle but they were usually effective - shock and terrify the opposition into immediate submission.
Mikey, Jules and Grant didn’t hang around to watch what happened next. As they descended the stairs to the next level they all clearly heard Jared’s bellow of rage that Mikey wasn’t in his office.
CHAPTER 19
“Where the fuck is he?” snarled Jared, grabbing Brogan by the shoulders and throwing him against the wall.
“He was here, honestly,” he exclaimed, wincing as his back was jarred.
“Well he isn’t fucking here now.” Jared seriously considered killing this prick but he might still need him yet. “Find him,” he barked at the rest of his men while keeping Brogan pinned against the wall.
“Grant, Mark Cameron and Jules will be with him. They all act as his bodyguards,” exclaimed Brogan.
“He uses a woman as his bodyguard?” sneered Jared.
“She’s no ordinary woman, trust me.”
Jared glared at him before releasing him, Brogan massaging his shoulder and eyeing Jared nervously, starting to wonder if he’d backed the wrong horse, but he’d promised him a bigger slice of the pie than Mikey and Jez had been willing to give.
Jared took out his phone to call his second-in-command. “Curtis, have you found Jez Law?”
“Not yet. We’re at the hospital but it’s really busy. We can’t do it here.”
“Then follow him or use his wife as leverage. I don’t care, just get it done,” he yelled before hanging up. This wasn’t going as well as he’d planned, he’d envisioned charging in here, killing all the men who refused to come over to his side then executing Jez and Mikey and their inner circle in triumph. Thanks to this dick that wasn’t going to happen. Brogan was supposed to keep a watch on where everyone was but he hadn’t even been able to do that because no one was where he’d said they would be. Grudgingly Jared admitted he couldn’t really blame him for Jez, no one could have seen that one coming and at least he’d warned him so he’d been able to send men to the hospital to take care of him there. If Mikey escaped then the whole thing was fucked. He had to be dead if Jared was to get control of the north.
Reloading his gun, Jared stomped back out into the corridor and followed his men.
Shane stood at a respectful distance as Jez hissed into his phone just outside the hospital entrance, looking absolutely furious and he wondered what the hell was happening now. But he didn’t regret his decision to stay in Manchester, it was all so exciting, he still couldn’t believe it. He’d called his mum and explained what was going on and she’d been made up for him, so he had official permission to stay here and learn from these men.
Jez hung up after speaking to Dane and looked at the young boy fresh from Nottingham, his one and only bodyguard. Dammit, why hadn’t he brought Grant or Mark with him? He’d left Declan inside with Cathy as he was the more experienced, but he hadn’t seriously expected anyone to attack him here.
“We’ve got a big problem,” Jez told Shane as they walked back inside the hospital.
“What is it?” said Shane.
Jez’s heart went out to this poor lad who had no idea what a war was really like. His head was full of the glamour of the gangster lifestyle, which was just an illusion perpetuated by the media. Instead it was a constant, nagging pressure that never let up, interspersed with bouts of horrific, bloody violence. Shane was about to endure his trial by fire. “Back to Cathy’s room. Now,” he said, charging through reception and up the stairs.
“What’s going on?” said Shane as he hurried alongside him.
“Jared Slattery’s sent two men here to kill me. The compound has been breached and his men are trying to kill Mikey and everyone in it.” He glanced at Shane and saw all the colour drain from his face. They reached Cathy’s room to find Declan still standing guard. “Has anyone been in or out?” said Jez.
“Nope. All quiet,” replied Declan, stuffing his hands into his trouser pockets and rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.
Jez peered through the window to see Cathy reading a magazine while her mum watched television. Safe and sound.
“Thank God for that,” breathed Jez.
“Something wrong?” said Declan. His jaw dropped as Jez related what Dane had told him. “No way, the compound can’t have been breached.”
“It can if some treacherous bastard lets them in,” replied Jez. “All the precautions we’ve taken and this happens.”
“So what do we do?” said Declan, panic creeping into his tone.
“First of all I need you both to keep it together.” He looked to Shane. “If you want out of this say so now because it’s only going to get rougher.”
“I’m staying,” said Shane determinedly. There was no way he was giving up on his dream now he was finally living it.
“Good lad. Here’s what�
�s happening. Hayden’s taking Amber and Josh to a safe house and a couple of men from Battler and Bruiser’s security firm are watching my kids.” As well as the business in Devon, the brothers owned a security firm in Manchester, run by some of their most trusted men.
“What about Mikey and the others at the compound?”
“Dane Black and his men are on their way to help.”
“They’ll never get there in time, they’re on the other side of the city,” said Declan.
“Let’s just hope they manage it. I need you two here with me, we need to find Jared’s men before they can hurt Cathy.”
“I thought they were coming for you,” said Shane.
“They are but they could use her to get to me. Now I’ve got to make a call I really don’t want to make but I’m not going outside, I’ll go into the relative’s room. Declan, stay here and stand guard. Shane, with me.”
Once inside the relative’s room, Jez stared at his phone uncertainly before making up his mind and dialling. “Riley, I really need your help.”
Mikey, Jules and Grant pelted down the corridor, Fortunately the compound was a rabbit warren, Frank had purposefully designed it that way so anyone unfamiliar with its layout would have a hard time finding their way around, so Jared couldn’t be sure which way they’d gone. Mikey assumed they’d managed to put some distance between them because he couldn’t hear any shouts or footsteps.
He rounded a corner and something hard slammed into his left shoulder. Mikey was thrown onto his back, his entire upper body going numb and he stared up at the ceiling as he tried to work out why he was on the floor. Above him he saw Grant and Jules raise their guns and fire down the corridor. Mikey put a hand to his shoulder and felt warm, sticky blood there. Fucking marvellous, he’d been shot.
A sound drew his attention the opposite way and he saw a man aiming his gun at the back of Jules’s head.
“No,” cried Mikey, panic surging through him. He rolled onto his front, extended his right arm and fired, hitting the man square in the chest. He fired four more shots into him, just to be sure.
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