Old Crackers

by Peter Bates

  Each of his five men raised a hand, tapped a bulge in their jacket pockets and then nodded their heads.

  “Good, but they’re just back-up. I don’t think that we’ll need them. Put some gloves on. Fists and a few well aimed kicks should be enough to break a few bones and give them a message that they won’t ever forget. We don’t want to wipe them out, we just need them to go back home, and to stay well away from our patch.”

  By nine o’clock, the sun was sliding quickly down the sky, and Jed Thomas was beginning to despair. Surely the men were out there somewhere. Maybe they’d all gone to a show in town that finished late. Possibly they had simply gone out of the local area. Guesses wouldn’t help him at all, but patience wasn’t his best virtue.

  A few minutes before nine thirty, Jed’s phone buzzed sharply. He quickly tugged it from his pocket and held it tightly to one ear.

  “You sure?” he asked sharply, then waited a few seconds before asking a further question. “Do they definitely match up to the photos?” Again, he waited silently for a few more seconds. “Good lad. I’ll see you get the dosh tomorrow. Usual place? See you soon, Freddy.”

  Thomas clicked off the phone and slid it back into his pocket.

  “Guess what?” he asked of the group, an unusual light in his eyes as he asked the question.

  Tony laughed. “I don’t think we need to guess, Jed. They’ve been spotted, haven’t they?”

  “They have, and at this moment they are in South Shore, at a pub called the Tiger and Cub.”

  “Where’s that?”

  “It’s at the promenade end of Waterloo Road, on a small side street. It’s not exactly the best pub in town, and it’s relatively quiet. Maybe they chose it for that reason. They’ve probably picked one like that just for regular meetings, off the track a little and not one for causing any upheaval. Who knows, fellas? Either way it will probably suit us much better than a busy promenade pub would have done. Let’s get into the cars and park up nearby. We’ll go into the place and weigh up the best options. I’m sure that between us all we’ll come up with something. After we’ve parked the cars, we’ll spend a few minutes checking out the areas close to and around the pub for cameras and then we’ll probably know the best options available. Make sure that you’re all tooled up, and put a scarf and cap on. We may need to give them a nudge outside if they don’t look like shifting out of the bar fairly soon. If they do look like they’re leaving, we’ll certainly be leaving with them.”

  *

  Parking up near to the Tiger and Cub wasn’t difficult. Many of the day-trippers had left for home, leaving several choices for placing the two cars in ideal positions. The narrow side street that they chose near to the pub was clear of cameras and virtually clear of people. Also, as a definite bonus, it was away from direct sight of the promenade.

  “This’ll do nicely,” commented Jed Thomas to himself, as he climbed out of his car, his eyes taking in all the detail of his immediate surroundings. He waited until the others were alongside him, and turned to face them. “We should be easily able to pick all five of them out instantly, so try to take a table where we can keep an eye on them, but one where we can speak to each other without being heard. This street has a few small and even narrower back streets running off it, so when we do decide to move, that’s where we’ll try to get the job done. It’s odds on that they’ll use this side street back into town. OK lads, let’s go in.”

  The Tiger and Cub was even smaller on the inside than it had appeared to be from the outside. As soon as Thomas entered, his dark eyes flickered around the saloon area, seeing no more than ten available tables for punters. He also immediately spotted a group of five young men seated around two of the tables that had been pushed together in the saloon’s centre.

  “Bingo.” he whispered to himself, and led his gang straight for one of the side tables, but reasonably close to the entrance doors. Thomas inwardly noted that the five young men had not even noticed them come into the building, and at this moment were laughing very loudly. Their faces all matched the photographs. There was certainly no doubt, and after taking a seat that faced their table, he was quickly joined by Ted, Tony, Paul, Patrick and Graham.

  “They’ve all got full pints, and a table full of empties,” murmured Thomas. “That should make the job even easier,” he added. “Get a few beers in, Graham, and then we’ll just wait.”

  Graham rose from his chair and without even a second glance at the five men seated nearby, strode to the bar, and ordered several drinks. Whilst busily serving him, the landlord, a gentle looking man in his late fifties, constantly and nervously cast his eyes at the group. Because of their rowdy presence, he had already lost some of his regular tea-time customers, and he knew already that at closing time, removing these boys from his premises could well prove to be very difficult.

  “You having problems with those lads?” asked Graham, casually.

  “Yes, mate. They’re not regulars, and I wouldn’t want them to be either. I’ll be glad when they’ve gone back home, to be honest.”

  Graham glanced sharply over his shoulder at the group, and then back to the landlord.

  “Looks like they’ve had a few,” he commented.

  “Yes, sir, they certainly have, but it’s not nearly enough to make up for all the punters that have already walked out of the place because of them being here.”

  “Never mind, mate,” smiled Graham. “I expect they’ll be gone soon.”

  “I hope so, mate,” nodded the landlord. “That can’t come soon enough.”

  Graham steadily carried the beers to the table and set them down on its surface.

  “The landlord’s a bit pissed off,” he murmured to the others.

  “I bet he is,” agreed Tony.

  “He won’t be after tonight,” grinned Thomas, before adding, “Drink slowly, fellas. These drinks will have to last us out until we go.”

  “What’s the plan, Jed?”

  “I’m still not dead certain, Graham, but when they leave, we must do as well, very close behind. Somehow, we’ve got to get them down that alleyway just around the corner. If they go that way, fine. If not, we’ll have to make something up and get them to go there. Whilst we’re sat here, try to listen for their names. If we can get them, I’ve got an idea that should get them into the alley.”

  “One of them is called Phil, and one’s called Matt,” whispered Graham. “I overheard those names just a few minutes ago.”

  “OK, mate. Even if we don’t get the other names, those will certainly do nicely.”

  CHAPTER 28

  Jed Thomas’ glass was almost empty. They’d been in the Tiger and Cub for almost an hour and a half, and drinking that slowly was certainly not a habit that he was used to. Business was business though, and although patience was not one of his virtues, this was one occasion when he would exercise it far more than its usual low level. By now, he and the others were very well aware of every Christian name belonging to the group of young men seated close by. After downing several further pints of beer, he noticed as well that the young men’s glasses were now virtually empty and that they had not refreshed them for quite some time.

  “Out we go,” Thomas muttered quietly but firmly to his four men, and standing casually to his feet, looked nonchalantly towards the entrance door, and well away from the group of boys.

  Each of his gang members looked vaguely puzzled, but instantly sipped the last of their own drinks, rose from the table, and followed him through the door and out into the street.

  Outside, Thomas turned his body sharply and then spoke quietly.

  “Right lads. I reckon those blokes are going to be out of the pub very soon, and the good news is that it’s dark now. We’ll all wait by the entrance to the lane just there, and when they come out, I’ll draw them into the first of the narrow little alleyways just off the lane.”

  “When do we kick it off?” asked Ted.

  “Watch me closely, lads. When I throw the firs
t punch, you do the same. Make sure you quieten them very quickly, we don’t want the cops on the scene until we’ve well gone. For now, we just wait by the corner in direct sight of the pub’s side doo. I don’t think we’ll be waiting for long though.”

  Jed Thomas’ timing wasn’t always perfect, but he allowed himself a big grin when just five minutes later, the pub doors burst open and the five young men noisily and slightly unsteadily stepped out into the street, before heading in his direction.

  Thomas stepped out of the shadows, and just before the lane entrance, approached the men with a broad, disarming smile on his face.

  “Hey lads. Are any of you guys called Phil, Matt or Charlie?”

  “Who wants to know?” grunted Matt sharply, slightly slurring the words as he spoke.

  “Well, I don’t know their names, mate, but I just bumped into a couple of young fellas in the alleyway just here. They said that they were from the big smoke, and that they were looking for some of their old mates. They said that someone told them that you might be around this area somewhere, and then they showed me a couple of pictures of you guys. Just afterwards, I realised that it could be you and was just going back inside the pub to tell you.”

  Matt looked confused. “What were they called, and where have they gone?” he slurred again.

  “No idea what their names were, mate. I’m just passing on a message. They’ve only just gone down this lane less than half a minute or so ago, and it’s quite a long lane, so you’ll catch up with them easy enough if you hurry.”

  Matt threw a sharp glance at the other four boys.

  “Might as well,” nodded Charlie. “We could probably go back that way, anyway.”

  “Follow me, lads, and I’ll show you where they’re headed.”

  Jed Thomas turned and slowly walked to the lane, turning sharply right as he finally reached the narrow alleyway. Exactly five paces into the almost pitch-black opening, he rapidly twisted his body around and without warning, threw his right fist hard and into the centre of Charlie’s face. Not expecting or even seeing the blow coming, the stricken young man fell like a stone, blood pouring freely from a smashed nose before he hit the ground. The sudden and unexpected attack on Charlie had barely registered in any of his four friends’ dulled minds, when each one of them was also struck in the face, equally hard, but each blow was delivered by a different gloved fist. As they fell in pain to the stony cobbled ground, Thomas’ dark eyes flickered briefly and impassively over each figure, and then he stamped his foot firmly and fiercely on Charlie’s right leg, snapping the shin bone in its centre. Ignoring Charlie’s shriek of pain, he glanced quickly at Ted, Tony, Paul, Graham and Patrick, nodding his head sharply to them several times. Thomas grinned and then watched as his men instantly and exactly copied his own violence on each of the other four boys. The resulting loud yells and screams from each victim would certainly attract unwanted attention, and Thomas needed to leave the area quickly. He glanced sharply towards the alleyway entrance, but allowed himself just another few seconds. Leaning forward over the stricken youths, he clenched his outstretched fists angrily and spoke harshly above the sound of their moans.

  “You little bastards from the big smoke can get the hell out of Blackpool and go back home. We know who you are and we know where you are. Next time we won’t be as gentle!”

  Turning sharply away, he led his own men through the narrow alleyway, away from the promenade, and quickly back to the parked cars.

  *

  “We’re up a bit late, tonight,” said Frank. “It’s well after bed time for us old timers.”

  “We are,” agreed Roy. “It would be good to know whether our plan worked or not, though,” he added, before taking another small sip of Frank’s Highland Earl specially blended Scotch whisky, and then glancing briefly at his tablet. “There’s nothing in yet.”

  “It’s a pity we can’t phone Norman Pendleton and just ask him.”

  “No chance.” laughed Reg. “That’s the last thing we could do. We can help in our own way, but there’s no way we could let Norman know that we could have been involved in it at all. If it has all panned out as we hoped, he’ll just be grateful that it happened, however it came about, and that another big problem to the town from a load of London hooligans has disappeared. He has enough on his plate in Blackpool without them adding to it.”

  Frank nodded, and then smiled. “I think it’s a good job that you lads are stopping here, tonight. Luckily, I’ve got enough room for you all as well, and also more than enough Scotch whisky to keep Terry going too.”

  “It’s good of you to have us,” laughed Roy. “At least we can have a good drink without us all having to cab our way back to our houses. The ladies will probably be pleased too, not having to deal with us tanked-up buggers when we get home.”

  “Assuming it has gone OK tonight, it’s a pity that we couldn’t have stitched up Jed Thomas and his crew at the same time,” said Reg.

  “Maybe we could have,” Roy commented, “but it would have been very difficult without disclosing the plan to Norman Pendleton, and that’s something that we definitely can’t do.”

  “Perhaps there’ll be another time,” Frank added. “And don’t forget that there’s Harrison’s mob as well. The world, at least this little part of it, would be a much better place without them, that’s for sure.”

  “What’s the plan now then?” asked Reg.

  “Well Reg, we really don’t have one, do we? We’ve just got to sit tight and see what happened tonight, if anything. After that, we’ll just keep our noses to the ground and try our best to sniff something out. Maybe a few more trips to the pubs on the front would be a good idea.”

  “I don’t know how,” said Terry, staring at his tablet, “but this damned thing has turned itself off. Maybe I caught the on/off button on something – I don’t know.”

  Terry flicked the on/off button and spent a few moments re-installing the app that brought in the latest news.

  “Wow!” he yelled, staring at the screen. “Bloody hell, it worked!”

  “Your tablet works most of the time, Terry,” laughed Frank.

  “No, lads. I don’t mean that. No, I mean our plan worked. Just listen to this whilst I read it out. It says: ‘Police were called to an incident close to the promenade this evening. It appears that five young men were violently assaulted down an alleyway, and all five have suffered facial injuries, and broken legs. The five men were all from the London area and had recently moved to Blackpool. Apparently, there were no witnesses to the crime, no camera footage, and the police are currently involved in an evidence search of the area.’”

  “It’s a pity we couldn’t organise it for the police to witness the attack,” said Terry, “and then Jed Thomas and his crew would have gone down for it as well.”

  “Not possible,” asserted Roy. “If we had done that, we would have put ourselves under the spotlight. Don’t forget that we can only do what we do because we are no longer subject to all the stupid regulations that the police currently work under. It does mean that we can get unusual results, using unusual tactics, and today was one of them. Those boys were at the very beginning of an extremely nasty career, as their recent history pointed out clearly. By doing what we did, we have more than likely saved a lot of lives and many bad injuries to innocent people. If we can, we’ll put a stop to Jed Thomas and Mel Harrison another day.”

  “We will,” asserted Frank. “Believe me, Roy, we will.”

  “What’s next?” asked Terry. “Has anyone got any bright new ideas to offer up?”

  Terry’s eyes shifted slowly around the four faces of his friends, but saw no change of expression, and he was met with silence.

  “OK, lads. We’ll just keep our eyes and ears open, keep going to the pubs that we’ve been to recently, and with a bit of luck, somewhere and somehow, we’ll get a break. One down and two to go.”

  Reg nodded his head in agreement. “The two to go could be a bit more difficult,
but we’ll find a way.”

  CHAPTER 29

  “What’s the score with that group of lads that just got messed up near to the promenade?”

  Chief Inspector Norman Pendleton scratched his head thoughtfully before responding. “To be honest, Stuart, we don’t appear to have anything to go on at the moment. There were no cameras, it was virtually dark, and there are certainly no witnesses. At least there were none that would be willing to come forward and make a statement. I shouldn’t say this, but whoever it was that did it, certainly did the town a big favour. It’s one less of a problem for us boys, and one less for the local population, that’s for sure. They were a really bad bunch, and from what I’ve heard from the nursing staff and doctors at Victoria hospital, the gang will definitely be on their way back to London as soon as they can.”

  “You have no suspects at all, then?”

  “Not officially. My own thoughts are that it was either Mel Harrison’s outfit, or the one belonging to Jed Thomas. Both of those would certainly have seen any new gang in town as an intrusion into their operations. There aren’t many groups around that would even attempt something like that, and hope to get away with it. I think that it was a definite warning for those boys to get out of town. By the way, you’ll probably remember the Parrot and Palm Tree getting trashed the other day.”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, we’re about ninety nine percent certain that it was the same young lads that did it. The outline descriptions from the very distressed landlord fitted them fairly well, and there aren’t many other groups who would do that anyway, especially local ones that would know their way around here. It could well be that either Harrison or Thomas knew of them or put two and two together. It could even have been the result of a protection payment, but the landlord’s not going to admit to coughing up any of that while those two gangs are still around.”