She rammed it into her thigh, depressing the plunger. Her heart began to beat faster, her vision and the colours around her became more vivid and the strength surged back into her limbs.
Delving into Mark’s bag of tricks she produced a Glock and rushed to the window, firing out the back of the vehicle, her shots going wide as they were still being bumped about.
“Don’t slow down,” she called, firing out again, encouraging their pursuers to keep back.
“Brick can’t keep his foot on the accelerator any longer and I can’t get into the driver’s seat,” Dane called back.
A black four by four came out of nowhere, mowing down two of their pursuers.
“Yes,” cried Jules when she saw Raven at the wheel, chasing down another fleeing assassin.
A huge bear of a man with red hair that Jules recognised as Raven’s brother Damon hung out of the passenger window shooting at the hit squad that was now in disarray, bellowing a war cry, clearly enjoying himself.
“The cavalry’s here,” she called to Dane.
“Thank God for that because we’re losing speed,” he called back.
Jules cheered as Raven drove down the side of the ambulance, Damon shooting at the assassins that were ahead of them. The ones behind the ambulance had vanished, either mown down, shot or in hiding.
Damon tossed a device out of the car. There was a bang and a fountain of earth spewed up into the air. A tree wobbled, there was a loud snap and it began to fall sideways, heading for the car. Raven yanked on the handbrake, the back end of the car sliding, executing a one hundred and eighty degree turn, avoiding the tree, zipping past the upturned roots. If the situation hadn’t been so dangerous she would have found the sight of Raven yelling at her huge brother comical.
With a grumpy look Damon slammed another clip into the gun and unleashed a volley of fire that caused the remaining assassins to flee.
“Thank God for that,” breathed Jules as the ambulance finally bounced back onto the road, the engine juddering to a halt.
Dane leapt out and ran around to the driver’s side, Brick practically sliding out when he opened the door.
“Oh shit,” he said, catching him. “Hang on mate, we’re going to get you help.”
Raven pulled her car up in front of the ambulance, she and Damon climbing out.
“You have fucking beautiful timing Raven,” said Dane.
“Fortunately for you,” she said, peering at Brick’s neck wound. “The bullet missed the artery, fortunately for him. I’ll see if there’s any bandages in the back.”
“Err, who’s he?” said Dane, nodding at the big red-haired man staring at them.
“My brother, Damon,” she replied before walking around to the back of the ambulance and pulling open the doors.
Jules was by Mikey’s side, who was shaking and moaning into the oxygen mask.
“What’s going on?” said Raven, climbing in.
“His pain medication’s worn off and he’s in agony,” replied Jules.
Raven did a double-take when she saw Jules’s eyes were shiny with tears. She’d never seen Jules cry before, except on one memorable occasion years ago. “How far is the hospital?”
“About a quarter of a mile.”
“I’ll quickly bandage up your friend’s neck then we can get moving.”
“Thanks Raven. You saved all our hides back there.”
“No need to thank me,” she replied, retrieving the bandages and hopping back out of the ambulance.
She soon had Brick bandaged up, who was settled into the passenger seat while Dane took over driving, the ambulance rattling as they set off, Raven following, keeping an eye out for a third ambush.
“Is this wise?” said Damon. “They obviously know where we’re headed, there could be another trap.”
“There’s no choice,” replied Raven. “Mikey and Brick need medical treatment.”
“I don’t like it.”
“Me neither but there’s nothing else we can do.”
“You fucking what?” Clayton yelled down the phone.
“This doesn’t sound good,” Hayden said to the others.
“How the fuck did they get away again?” Clayton sighed and shook his head. “I don’t want to hear your pathetic excuses. Did we lose any men? Six? Yeah, get back to base because you can bet your fucking arse we’re going to need all the men we can get.”
He hung up and threw the phone against the wall, smashing it. “Motherfuckers,” he bellowed.
“Things didn’t go to plan then?” said Estelle, lighting up another cigarette.
“Oh no, it went perfectly to plan. That’s why six of our men are dead and Jules and Mikey are still alive.”
“They survived again?” said Katia incredulously. She glanced at Mick, who was looking more nervous by the second. If he wasn’t careful he was going to end up like Clayton’s men.
“They did and they only had Dane Black and one of his men with them. The rest of the clan were absent.”
“How did they manage to survive when there were only four of them and two of them are injured?”
“They had help from two as yet unidentified persons but they were packing some heavy duty gear because they were tossing bombs about. That means the rest of the family are on their way here. While we’ve been sending people to Manchester they’ve come here to attack us.”
“Call your men and tell them to stay in Manchester,” said Hayden.
“You fucking what?” said Clayton. “Ryan and Rachel Law and God knows how many others are on their way here as we speak.”
“Even more reason why we need leverage. Mikey and Jules are both injured. That leaves only Dane Black plus the two unidentified persons.”
“Dane has his crew too, who were escorting the decoy ambulances. That’s another ten men. Actually, make that nine. Apparently one of them got shot in the neck. At least we managed to hit someone,” he added, kicking over a chair.
“We need to kill Jules and Mikey while they’re still weak so their deal with Toni will fall through.”
“How the fuck do you propose we do that then? We’ve already failed three times. A fourth attempt would be suicide.”
“You said one of them got shot. They’ll be heading to a hospital and the staff will be duty-bound to report a gunshot wound to the police.”
“No way are they stupid enough to go to that hospital now,” said Clayton.
“They might have no choice, especially if one of them is badly injured. Plus we don’t know what state Mikey Maguire will be in after getting mixed up in a car chase and gunfight in his condition.” He looked to Estelle. “Call your contact and tell him to be ready when the call’s made to the station.”
“Will do,” she said, already dialling.
“In the meantime we’ll strengthen security here. We’re far from out.”
Katia beamed at her soldier, proud of how level-headed he was being in contrast to Clayton’s childish rage.
Hayden looked at her and winked, heart sinking when he glanced at Mick, who looked like he could run out of the building at any second, gripping onto the talismans around his neck. If he didn’t pull himself together he was going to kill him personally.
“There is another option,” began Katia.
They all regarded her with interest.
“We have our little ginger spy who knows where all their children are.”
“You’re still in contact with her?” said Hayden.
“She messaged me to let me know they’re all in Devon. Newton Abbot to be precise. They’re hiding in a large farmhouse, being guarded by Riley Cutter and some of Battler and Bruiser’s men. Well, only Bruiser’s now,” she added with a satisfied smile. “Ryan and Rachel’s brats are at home with their grandparents and are also being guarded.”
“We go for Ryan and Rachel’s kids,” said Hayden.
“Good idea,” said Clayton. “But it means sending some of our men down south. I’m not sure I like dividing our force
s any more than we already have. We’re overstretched as it is after the men we lost going after Jules and Mikey.”
“Fortunately I’ve done some digging into Rachel and Ryan’s lives or, to be more precise, the lives of their children,” said Katia. “And there is someone willing to help for the right price. I will get them onto it straightaway. With their assistance it means we only need to send two of our men to Devon, which we can easily spare.”
Katia’s heart sank at Estelle’s smug smile when she hung up after her conversation with her contact.
“It’s alright,” said Estelle. “Send your men down south. We’ve got an in to Jules and Mikey.”
“We’ll be going after your own grandchildren,” Katia told her. “Does that not bother you?”
She shrugged, lighting up another cigarette. “The oldest isn’t mine. Nothing to do with me is that one. The two boys, well, I’ve never even met them, so what does it matter?”
Katia thought herself cold but not even she could have come out with such a statement.
“You looked shocked dearie,” smiled Estelle. “But why should you be surprised? It must be obvious to you by now that I have no maternal feelings. However, you do. Think you can hurt kiddies?”
“I had no problem blowing up the barn with them inside.”
“That was different to kidnapping them, taking them from everything they love, hurting them. Sure you got the stomach for it?”
“Yes,” she said steadily.
Hayden was the only one who spotted the slight tightening of Katia’s fist, the tension in her eyes. He only saw it because he understood her so well but he knew she wouldn’t flinch from doing something that would get them what they’d been dreaming of for years. Besides, she was doing this for her own children too. If the Maguires and Laws survived they would never be safe. Her kids came before everyone else. On that they were agreed.
“If we get those kids we control the lot of them,” said Hayden. “They won’t do anything to put them at risk.”
“Alright,” said Clayton. “We’ll send a couple of men to Devon to take Ryan and Rachel’s kids with the help of Katia’s contact. Estelle’s contact can take care of Mikey and Jules. It’ll be good to have bargaining chips when the rest of the clan inevitably turns up.”
The ambulance limped up the drive to the private hospital, the engine expiring with a wheezy rattle. Raven had hidden her car in the trees, not wanting anyone to know she and Damon were in the area. She’d already secreted Jules’s bag of weapons in the secret panel in the back of her car, safely out of sight.
“You did us proud,” said Dane a little sadly, patting the steering wheel before leaping out. He rushed around to the passenger side, opened the door and helped Brick stagger out. “Hang in there, okay mate? You’re going to be fine.”
Shocked members of staff rushed out to greet them, two male nurses taking Brick’s weight between them and helping him inside.
“What happened?” demanded a white-coated doctor.
“We were attacked,” said Dane, opening up the back doors. “We’re lucky to be alive.”
Mikey was lifted off the back of the ambulance, writhing and moaning. Jules wanted to go with him but the adrenaline had worn off. Her wound had started bleeding again and she was on the verge of fainting. A wheelchair was brought out for her and she was taken inside too. As she was lifted off the ambulance she grabbed Dane’s hand. “Thank you.”
“Anytime for you sweetheart.”
She smiled and nodded at him as she was wheeled away.
“What happened to you two?” said Dane, taking in Raven and Damon’s beaten up faces as they strolled up to him.
“Our last assignment got a little rough,” replied Raven. “That’s why it took us so long to get here.”
“At least you did and at exactly the right time. Please tell me you’re both staying?”
“Course we are.”
“Yeah,” said Damon. “We want another shot at the ones who got away.”
“Thank you but the hospital will call the police because of Brick’s bullet wound.”
“Don’t tell them we were involved in the shoot out in the woods,” said Raven. “In fact it’s best if you don’t mention that or us at all. Tell them you were pursued by a car, they shot at the ambulance, which was how your friend got hit before they vanished.”
He nodded. “Sounds good to me. I just hope there won’t be anything linking the ambulance to the explosion.”
“From what we saw any evidence would have been erased in the blast.”
“I hope so,” he sighed.
“You’d better get inside, you’re too exposed out here. Me and Damon will do a check on the perimeter to make sure no more of the bastards have snuck in.”
Due to the amount of money they were being paid the home had put Jules and Mikey together in one large room. At Jules’s request both beds were positioned away from the window and looked out over the car park, which was the busiest area of the hospital and covered with CCTV. It would be hard for anyone to attack them that way without being seen.
Mikey had been given pain relief and was mercifully fast asleep in bed. Jules’s shoulder had been redressed but she’d declined pain relief, even though her injury throbbed like a bastard because she wanted to be alert. They had plans to make.
Once they were settled Dane was allowed in.
“How’s Brick?” was Jules’s first question.
“He’ll be okay, thank God,” said Dane. “Raven did a good job stopping the bleeding but he’s going to be out of action for quite a while. It’s a bloody shame because he’s one of my best men.”
“He nearly died helping us,” said Jules. “Even with a hole in his neck he kept the ambulance going.”
“The man’s a fucking titan. I’ll make sure he gets a hefty bonus in his pay packet,” said Dane, dragging his hands through his hair. He was exhausted but this was far from over. “You can’t stay here. They know you’re here.”
“We’ve no choice. Mikey can’t travel again for a couple of days. It’s too dangerous.”
“Then we need to prepare because these bastards won’t stop. The rest of my men are on their way to help.”
“How many?”
“Six. Three are having to stay behind to keep the business ticking over. I don’t want anyone trying to nick it while I’m distracted. There’s plenty of little scrotes in Manchester who’d like to try. Raven and Damon are hanging about, thank God. They’re doing a check on the perimeter. That makes nine. That should be enough.”
“Ten,” said Jules. “I just need a kip then I’ll be right as rain.”
“Oh no you don’t lady. You’re taking it easy. We’ve got plenty of bodies for this.”
“I’m fine.”
They both looked up when the door opened and Raven and Damon snuck in.
“I thought you two were lying low?” said Dane.
“We were,” replied Raven. “But I wanted to check on Jules and Mikey. We made sure no one saw us.”
“We’re fine,” replied Jules. “I was just telling Dane that after a kip I’ll be fighting fit again.”
“No you won’t,” said Raven. “You’ve been shot so you’ll damn well get better and I won’t take no for an answer. You know I’m right,” she added when Jules huffed. She tried to fold her arms across her chest and winced at the pain.
“Straight to the point as always,” said Jules with a fond smile. “But I can do this.”
“You can’t even cross your arms,” said Dane. “How are you going to fight bad guys?”
“I’m the one who just exploded a bunch of them.”
“You’ve done your bit.”
“Yeah. Let the rest of us have some fun,” said Damon.
Jules smiled. “It’s good to have you here Damon.”
He grinned, pleased.
“But I can’t just sit about,” she added.
“You have to and if you don’t I’ll strap you to the bed,” said
Dane.
“Kinky bastard,” she muttered.
“I’m delighted that you’re sounding so much like your old self but please, rest. We’ve got this.”
“Fine. I’ll sit here like some useless lump then.”
“You do have lumps but they’re far from useless,” said Damon, eyeing her chest.
Raven sighed and smacked him around the back of the head. “A little get well present,” she said, sliding a large knife under Jules’s pillow. “Just in case.”
“Thanks babes,” she grinned. “Awesome.”
CHAPTER 38
Ryan, Rachel, Bruiser, Shane, Mark and Jez had arrived in Liverpool and were holed up in the house Rachel had rented in Freshfield through one of their businesses. They were barely a mile from Clayton’s headquarters.
“First things first,” said Ryan once they were all ensconced around the table in the huge dining kitchen. Like most properties in Freshfield, it was luxurious. “We need to ascertain how many are in there. We don’t want to rush into something and find ourselves outnumbered.”
“Building here,” said Bruiser, jabbing at the map he’d brought up on his phone. “Opposite Clayton’s building.”
“Can you see inside from there?” said Rachel.
He nodded.
“And Clayton definitely owns the building?” said Jez.
“Yeah.”
“Can we just walk in and out?”
“Two can. Not all. Got these,” he said, producing two boiler suits from a carrier bag.
“Maintenance men?”
“Or women,” chimed in Rachel.
Bruiser shook his head. “Only men. Receptionist knows me. So just one person to go in with me.”
“From the size of those suits,” said Ryan. “It looks like Bruiser is going in with either myself or Mark.”
“I’m happy to go in,” said Mark.
“I appreciate that,” said Ryan. “But I’d like to go in myself. I get the feeling we’re not seeing the whole picture yet.”
Bruiser nodded. “We leave in one hour.”
Carnage Page 33
