The Choice

by KERRY BARNES

  ‘So, what now?’ asked Lance.

  Willie raised his eyebrow and then gave him a sly grin.

  ‘I would’ve thought that was obvious, me ol’ mucker. I’m gonna find this fucking cockroach of a doctor and take his tonsils out via his arse.’

  Calmly, Lance looked over at Willie, also with an enquiring eyebrow. ‘How do you propose to do that? Do we know who this doctor is?’

  ‘Yeah. He’s called Dr Bourne, and he has his own fucking clinic where the bastard took my boy’s body part and left him to die. Liam remembered the name of the clinic. He’s sharp, that kid. What he lacks in looks he makes up for in brains.’

  ‘Are you sure you wanna get your hands dirty? Because I have a few pals – ex-Army lads – who will be willing to lend a hand. They owe me. Not that I normally call in favours, but this time I will.’

  Terrence waited for a response from Willie, although he knew what it would be.

  ‘Kind of ya, Lance, but I wanna do the business meself. The bloke’s taken a major liberty, and he’s gonna pay. No one hurts my boy.’ His face reddened as his eyes grew darker.

  ‘So, when do you propose to do that?’

  Willie glared over at Lance and then at Terrence. ‘As soon as Liam is well enough to tell me everything. So far, he’s told me all he remembers, but once he’s rested, he might just remember more, ’cos I’m fucking sure it takes more than one doctor to operate. I wanna know who was involved and why. I mean, who takes someone’s kidney, for fuck’s sake? I’ve heard it’s done in India or somewhere like that, but fucking Alicante? D’ya reckon this has anything to do with Torvic, like a warning, Mafia style?’

  Lance got up from his chair.

  ‘I can’t see anyone removing a kidney as a threat. Maybe a finger or a hand, but a body organ? I’ve never heard of it. This is about something else.’

  ‘Well, where the hell do we start?’

  ‘Right, mate, I’ll ask my contact to find out if this is a one-off or if there have been other incidences.’

  Willie looked up, and his eyes glinted angrily. ‘I don’t want no authorities involved. This is fucking personal, so I wanna handle it my way.’

  Lance nodded. ‘Of course, mate. I can be discreet. It’s what I’m good at.’

  Willie decided to lighten the mood. He relaxed his shoulders and chuckled.

  ‘Me and you, Lance, could be related, the way your Poppy and my boy seem to be into each other.’

  ‘Cor, her mother would have fucking kittens, well, when she gets out of jail. That bitch – I can’t believe Rebecca knocked her own daughter over and left her on the street as if nothing had happened. I hope she gets a real bashing inside. I mean, an MP with that conviction hanging over her head! She won’t stand a chance in jail.’

  * * *

  Zara listened, along with Mike, to the very lengthy call from Joel.

  ‘Anything else you wanna know, gov?’ asked Joel.

  ‘Not for now, mate, but cheers for all that. I appreciate it. Don’t bash him up anymore. We may need further answers. Oh, and keep a close eye on the little fucker. Make sure he doesn’t use the phone. I don’t want him warning Torvic or anyone who knows this man about our conversation.’

  ‘Okay, chief. It’s as good as done.’

  The call ended, and Mike looked at Zara’s wide eyes.

  ‘D’ya think Ismail’s lying?’

  ‘That’s a hard one because Ismail’s so sly. I feel gutted that after everything, and I mean everything, I still gave him a get-out-of-jail-free card, and, even then, he was prepared to run to Torvic. Why my brother detests me, I don’t know. With Izzy giving me control of the family’s businesses, surely that couldn’t have made my brother so hateful that he would want to see me dead, could it?’

  ‘Jealousy is a powerful and evil emotion. It makes people do crazy things.’

  ‘Ya know, those are almost the same words fucking Torvic used when Eric was sniffing around me. We have to find that bastard and quickly. I need to get back to business. Having him on the loose is restricting me, and I also hate having the feeling my arms are tied behind my back.’

  Mike watched her expression turn cold. It was the dark charisma that always got him aroused, and only she possessed it. Right now, it made him want to pull her back onto the bed.

  ‘I’m going to pay this other house of Torvic’s a visit,’ said Zara. ‘I bet he’s not there, but at least I can maybe get a sense of the man, so I can work out what makes the bastard tick.’

  ‘Oh no, you’re not. I’ll go, and I bet he is there. His own place has been empty for a long time. I had me men keep a lookout. This other place with the green garage door must be an insignificant property, probably well hidden, and I’d also bet that no one knew about that one, not even the special operations team. Lance told me that they’d never been able to track him down. He was too damned clever.’

  Zara twisted her head. ‘So, of all people, how would Ismail know that?’

  Mike grinned. ‘Zara, you’re the brains of the outfit. I thought you would’ve sussed that out.’

  She screwed her nose up. ‘No, I haven’t got a clue.’

  ‘Ismail managed to screw you over right under your nose. He sneaked about, listening in doorways, because he came across as so innocuous. I bet ya he followed Torvic not only to his main house but to this secret gaff too.’

  ‘Hmm. Yeah, it’s weird because he’s such a skinny, almost fragile-looking man, who you just wouldn’t think would know so much or have the gumption to find out anything useful.’

  Mike stepped towards her, cupping her cheeks. ‘Like your father always said, knowledge is power. So what he lacked in muscle, he made up for in sneakiness.’

  Zara drank in Mike’s pearl-grey eyes; in that moment, she just wished her life could be similar to most people’s – relatively normal. Her mind tried to picture what a conventional existence might look like. Could she ever have a husband-and-wife life with Mike, a nine-to-five job, living in a three-bedroom semi with a Labrador and a holiday once a year in Benidorm?

  The phone rang again, and her thoughts vanished as quickly as they’d emerged. With events overtaking themselves so rapidly at the moment – and unlikely to let up anytime soon, or, in all probability, in the future – she knew she would always live on the edge of her seat. Forget the life that most people led; it was one she would never have. This was who she was meant to be, and Izzy had created it for her.

  Mike answered the call. It was Staffie. ‘All right, mate?’

  Staffie could hear his Uncle Nicolas upstairs somewhere, so he wandered around the lounge with his phone stuck to his ear.

  ‘Yeah, not so bad, Mike. I crashed at me uncle’s. I was so fucked. Anyway, what’s the plan? What do we know?’

  ‘’Ave you just got up? Ain’t you heard about Liam?’

  ‘No, what’s happened? Oh, please don’t tell me he’s been …?’ Staffie couldn’t bear to say the word ‘tortured’.

  ‘No, he’s been found. He’s all right. But, apparently, some cunt’s operated on him and taken out his kidney. I know it sounds mental, but he’s alive. I realize I should’ve called you earlier, but we’ve been trying to suss out how to track down Torvic before he lets rip. And another thing: I believe Eric’s with him, unless Eric’s dead. Torvic answered Eric’s phone a while ago. I’m very concerned, mate.’

  Staffie was silent as the tears welled up. The relief that Liam was alive was enormous, and he tried to hold the crack in his voice. He didn’t take in what else Mike had just said though.

  ‘Are you there, Staff?’

  ‘Er, yeah. I’m just fucking relieved, mate. I’ve been sick with worry over that lad. Jesus, who would’ve taken out his kidney? What the hell was that all about?’ He paced the floor as he spoke and glanced at the photos of his uncle. Flash bastard, he thought. He always had his arm around someone famous: boxers, promoters, singers. Then his eyes fell to a picture in a silver frame. For a moment, he thought it was Liam. H
e snatched the picture and held it closer to his face and frowned. Although the boy in the photo looked slightly older than Liam, he appeared to be so much like him, it was untrue.

  ‘Yeah, we’re taken aback as much as you. Willie and Lance have Terrence and his mob, so they’re all right. Me and Zara are in a hotel for now … Staff, are you still there? Staff?’

  ‘Yeah, yeah … I am.’ He stuttered. ‘Mike, I’ll call you back, mate. I just need to do something.’

  * * *

  As soon as Staffie finished the call, he put the phone inside his jacket. Gripping the frame with both hands, he scrutinized the photo. He was so deep in thought, he didn’t hear Nicolas enter the lounge.

  ‘I thought ol’ Shelley had taken all those bleedin’ photos with her.’

  Staffie turned to face him. ‘Is this her son, then?’

  ‘Yeah. Ugly fucker, ain’t he?’ Nicolas scoffed.

  He’d really no time for the boy. He’d only been kind to him for Shelley’s sake. Well, in actual fact, more for his own, because every time he’d treated her son to a few quid or a new bike, he’d been guaranteed a blow job. Lucas was her little blue-eyed boy although really his eyes were dark brown and very narrow, with a large nose that wouldn’t put him in the running to be a model in any female mag. He would have liked to have been able to say that what the kid lacked in looks he made up for in intelligence or charisma, but he simply couldn’t. The lad was an arrogant bastard, thick as shit, and spoiled beyond belief.

  ‘And you’ve absolutely no idea who his father is?’ queried Staffie, desperate to know.

  ‘Nah, mate, she never let on.’

  ‘Where’s the boy now, then?’

  Nicolas stood in a white bathrobe, a thick gold chain around his neck, and his hair – what was left of it – was still wet and swept back.

  ‘Lucas? He went with Shelley. Tied to her fucking apron strings, that one. A shame, because if I’d had the chance, I could’ve moulded him into someone, but she took charge of the discipline. Ha! A joke, really. The boy hasn’t had any. But why the curiosity?’

  ‘Oh, I just thought he looked like someone, that’s all. So where did they move to?’

  Nicolas sniffed the air and his tone changed.

  ‘Staffie, you may be me sister’s boy, but what’s this all about? ’Cos I know you, and you ain’t one for sticking your hooter in other people’s business, if ya know what I mean. So, what’s the fucking interest?’

  Staffie knew that Nicolas was right. He wasn’t one for gossip. He didn’t have the time or the energy.

  ‘Sorry, Nicolas, it’s just that he does look like one of me mate’s boys. A dead ringer for him, if ya like.’

  ‘Who?’ asked Nicolas, now intrigued, as he reached down to the coffee table and retrieved a cigar.

  ‘Me mate Willie Ritz’s son, Liam.’

  Nicolas lit the end and puffed away until a blue plume of smoke made a thin line and then rippled like waves to reach the ornate ceiling rose above his head. ‘I know Willie …’ He paused, frowning. ‘Shelley’s son does look like him, but, to be brutal, I wouldn’t have thought my ol’ girl would ’ave gone with the likes of Willie Ritz. No disrespect, but he was never a babe magnet, was he? Let’s be honest ’ere. Shelley, back then, was pretty hot.’

  Staffie smiled at the thought. ‘You’d be surprised how ol’ Willie can get a bird in the sack. It blows my mind how he does it, but for some reason the women like him.’

  Nicolas sat down in an armchair and continued to puff on his cigar. ‘Hmm, well, I dunno, but, anyway, it’s none of my business now. Before the bird upped and went, she took a shedload of my money and set up her own pad.’

  Staffie remained gazing at the photo and shook his head. ‘Yeah, my Arty’s mother left years ago. I was just pleased that she didn’t put a stop to me seeing me boy, though. She never took much, just a few grand, but I never married her, so she wasn’t entitled to much. Although, I did see her all right and me boy, like.’

  With a sneer on his face, Nicolas replied, ‘Well, your ex ain’t like my Shell. She rinsed me all right. Took fucking half. But then, I expected no less, to be honest. Hey-ho, shit happens. At least, she’s outta my life now.’

  Still intrigued, Staffie asked, ‘So, do you still see the boy?’

  ‘Nah, not really. I did visit him in the hospital a little while ago, though. Poor fucker, he got into drugs and overdosed. It left him with fucked up organs or something.’

  Suddenly, Staffie’s face went grey, and it didn’t go unnoticed by Nicolas.

  ‘What’s up, Staff? Are you ill?’

  Staffie slowly shook his head and tried to swallow, but the shock left his mouth dry.

  ‘Which organs?’

  With a deep frown and his lips curled down, Nicolas studied Staffie’s face before he asked, ‘Why? Look ’ere, what the fuck’s going on?’

  Staffie pondered over whether to tell his uncle the story.

  ‘Which organs? Just tell me.’

  ‘One of his livers, I think.’

  ‘Nicolas, mate, we only have one bloody liver. Do ya mean kidney?’

  With a shrug of his shoulders, Nicolas, clearly annoyed by this put-down, replied, ‘I dunno. He was on some dialysis machine a while ago. Why?’

  Staffie took himself over to the sofa, collecting his thoughts.

  ‘We’re family, Nicolas. Above all else, we’re blood, yeah?’

  Nicolas nodded patiently.

  Staffie sat down heavily and sighed. ‘Right. What I’m gonna tell ya stays with us. I don’t want you getting on the dog and bone to Shelley or anyone else, ’cos there will be fucking trouble, and I mean murders. ’Ave ya got that?’

  Nicolas’s face tightened. ‘You ain’t threatening me, are ya, Staffie?’

  With a deliberate tut, Staffie replied, ‘No! I’m just saying, because this won’t be my war, it will be Willie Ritz’s, and, no doubt, with Mike Regan’s backing.’

  ‘All right, listen. I’m not sure I wanna know, mate. I ain’t getting involved in any issues where that nutcase Mikey Regan’s involved.’

  ‘Okay, so just tell me. Where does Shelley live? And which hospital was Lucas in?’

  With a measured glare, Nicolas replied, ‘First, you ain’t gonna hurt her, are ya?’

  ‘No. It’s for information purposes only.’

  Pushing himself up from his seat, Nicolas reached down for the phone on the side table.

  ‘’Ere, her number’s stored in there. I don’t know her new address, but whatever it is that’s going on, best ya watch ya step, ’cos you know who her father is, don’t ya?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Well, let me give you a bit o’ background. His name’s Colin Crawford. Me and him didn’t see eye to eye, back in the day. Turf wars and stuff. Anyway, as I told you earlier, I wanted to get back at him, so I fucked his daughter, and then I married her.’

  Staffie laughed out loud. ‘Yeah, but fucking hell, that was a bit extreme, weren’t it? And, yeah, I’ve heard of him, but that was years ago. He’s got to be in his seventies now.’

  ‘Yeah, and the reason you won’t hear of him now is ’cos the man’s gone international. He owns massive property development companies. You’d think he’d be taking it easy at his age, but I do know he’ll still sniff out a deal if one is shoved under his nose. He supplies most of Ibiza with cocaine – and probably other countries – but the point I’m making is this: you hurt his daughter, and he’ll come for ya, no question.’

  The cogs were turning as Staffie began to add it all up. He may have been adding two and two and coming up with thirty-three, but somehow, and eerily, it all began to make sense now.

  ‘Okay, I’ll be upfront. Liam, Willie’s son, was kidnapped by someone who took his kidney out.’

  ‘What! Are you serious? I thought robbing body parts was only done in sci-fi films. I didn’t think it really happened. Shit!’

  Staffie leaned forward. ‘So, now, can you see what I’m getting at?
’

  Nicolas lit the end of his cigar again after it had gone out. He decided to ask a question of his own.

  ‘Are you sure that this Liam looks like Lucas?’

  ‘100 per cent, mate. They’re like two fucking peas in a pod.’

  Nicolas felt a few beads of sweat tickle his brow, and he quickly wiped them away. ‘Listen, Staffie, I’ve probably said too much. I don’t wanna get involved. Can you keep me out of it? That Colin, he’s left me alone for years …’

  Suddenly, he stood up. ‘Jesus, I’ve just had a thought …’ He paced the floor with his hand to his forehead. ‘Your Uncle Mack. I ain’t heard from him in a while, right? Then our lawyer calls and says me brother’s signed some paperwork regarding this house. I was too busy to deal with it at the time, but …’

  ‘Go on, Nicolas. What’s on ya mind?’

  ‘Well, this house. I put it in Mack’s name. It was nothing to do with Shelley, ’cos she’s had her dough. But, Jesus, if he’s signed the fucking house over to her, then he would’ve only done it under duress. I bet that Colin was behind it. Ya see, Shelley hasn’t spoken to her father in years, but I’m guessing she’s gone running to him, now we’re not together.’

  Staffie frowned. ‘Now, you’ve lost me.’

  ‘Staffie, seriously, if you’re suggesting that Liam’s kidney was taken and given to Lucas, then, fuck me, she couldn’t have orchestrated that on her own, could she? The tart can’t wipe her own arse without a set of instructions. Her father, he would have the money, and the men. The bastard has friends in high places an’ all. He’s got MPs, lords, you name it. They’re all crawling to him when they need help, like.’

  Staffie shook his head in confusion. ‘So? What’s it got to do with Uncle Mack?’

  ‘If that bitch went seeking help from her father, she would have to give him something in return, like me or me brother. Well, he’s gone on the missing list, and now me lawyer’s left some cryptic message about the deeds. Fuck, I’d better phone him and find out what’s going on or going down.’

  Staffie was only listening with half an ear. He’d just recalled something that Mike had said to him on the phone about Eric, and he also wanted to brief his boss about all this shit he’d just found out about.