Takedown

by Heather Atkinson

  “You won’t have to. Michael and Abi will do that. You can just hang around and keep an eye out for firefighters.”

  “Suppose and there might be some fit birds there.”

  “If there are you will ignore them. You can’t be distracted.”

  “Your sister’s right,” said Rose, placing the plate of toast on the table. “Keep your mind on what you’ve got to do. I don’t want anyone else ending up in hospital.”

  “Okay Mum,” said Kevin with an adoring smile.

  She patted his cheek. “Now, who wants coffee?” She smiled when they all put their hands up.

  “What shall we do today?” said Caleb, looking from Faith to Vance.

  “We’ve still got the tracking device on Amanda’s car,” said Faith. “We could watch her movements.”

  “Actually, I’ve been doing that,” said Jason, taking out his phone. “Her car went from her house then stayed for ages at the fire station. It only went back to her house at six o’clock this morning and it’s still there.”

  “She’s probably asleep after working the night shift.”

  “Perhaps,” said Vance. “Although it’s her car we can’t assume she’s the one driving it.”

  “Good point,” said Faith, stifling a yawn. Despite the sleep she’d had, she was still catching up. “But we know all their home addresses, so following them won’t get us anywhere. We need to end this and the best way to do that is by drawing them to us.”

  “You mean set a trap?” said Vance.

  “And then what will you do to them?” frowned Rose. “Firefighters are heroes and Lord knows I’m finding it hard to find compassion in my heart for this lot after what they’ve done to my children but they have still done a lot of good work, saved lives. That has to count for something.”

  “We know Mum and we are treating this differently,” said Faith. “Don’t worry.”

  “Easier said than done,” she sighed in the same martyred tone.

  Faith didn’t want to discuss their plans any further in front of Rose and Michael, so she turned her attention to the food instead. They were all so hungry the feast was demolished, Rose smiling with satisfaction when only crumbs remained. Faith felt her strength returning and it only just struck her that she’d barely eaten lately.

  After breakfast, Kevin and Jason left with Abi and Michael. Rose happily tidied up in the kitchen so the three older siblings could work out their plan of attack in peace without their mother preaching to them.

  “I think the most important thing we need to decide,” said Faith. “Is where we’re going to confront the firefighters. It needs to be somewhere we can control.”

  “But what are we going to do to them?” said Caleb. “Are we going to be carrying…” He looked around before continuing, although they were the only three in the room. “Bodies out of there.”

  “No. If all four vanish there will be an investigation and we have no idea what trail they’ve left. When the police search their homes – which they inevitably would – they might find something leading back to us and I am not going to prison for them. We need to make sure we scare the shit out of them so much they leave us alone.”

  “From what Matthew said that shouldn’t be difficult with two of them. But Ben and Amanda won’t give up so easily.”

  “Then we have to persuade them and we need to figure out a way to lure them in. They mustn’t suspect it’s a trap.”

  “I’ve had an idea,” said Vance, eyes glittering with excitement. “If they think they’re attending a routine fire, they won’t suspect anything.”

  “That’s a bloody good idea,” said Caleb. “The only problem is that if we do start a fire it might get out of control and they could leave us there to burn.”

  “We’d make sure it was a false alarm. We don’t need to set an actual fire, we just need them to think there’s one.”

  “I like the sound of that more.”

  “But where would we stage it?” said Faith. “It can’t be anywhere connected to us or they’ll know it’s a trap.”

  “It would help if we could work out what sort of venue we’re looking for,” said Caleb. “Somewhere big or small, one room or lots of small rooms.”

  “Lots of small rooms I think,” said Vance. “That would mean they’d split into two teams.”

  “But not so many rooms that we lose control of the situation,” said Faith. “And it needs to be somewhere quiet, where we won’t be disturbed, away from the centre of town.”

  They brought up maps on their phones, made some calls but they couldn’t come up with a suitable venue to set their trap. Rose, knowing they were discussing more things she didn’t want to know about, had decided to give the entire kitchen a clean and was noisily banging pots and pans about as she dragged them out of the cupboards. Faith cringed at the irritating sound.

  “Oh this is just great,” sighed Caleb. “We finally come up with a plan to end this and we can’t find anywhere suitable to stage it.”

  Faith’s phone, which rested on the coffee table, started to ring.

  “It’s Jason,” she said, picking it up. “I hope they’ve not had any trouble at the hotel.”

  “Abi’s probably thrown one of her prima donna hissy fits because they said she’s not allowed to release a hundred white doves in the hotel and got them chucked out.”

  “She doesn’t want to do that, does she?” Vance asked him as Faith answered the call.

  He shrugged. “Probably.”

  “Really?” Faith said into the phone. “When? Okay, no. Stay with Abi and Michael. We’ll handle it.” She hung up and looked to Vance and Caleb. “Jason’s been keeping an eye on Amanda’s car. Apparently she pulled up outside Mickey Gunning’s house five minutes ago.”

  “Gunning?” frowned Caleb. “Has he been in on it with them?”

  “We can’t be sure but I’d say it’s very likely.”

  “It makes sense though,” said Vance. “He was friends with Dillon, they worked on a few jobs together and he was Mickey’s route into our business. Mickey’s always been jealous of what we have. This could be his way of taking it from us.”

  “You’re right,” said Faith. “Let’s get over there before she leaves.”

  “And do what?” said Caleb as they all rushed for the door.

  “I don’t know yet,” she replied.

  “We’re off out Mum,” Caleb called over his shoulder, who was the last out the door.

  Vance drove them to Mickey’s house, which they watched from further down the street. Parked outside was Amanda’s burnt orange Dacia.

  “You think she’d get a less obvious car,” said Caleb.

  “It probably hasn’t occurred to her because she’s an amateur,” said Vance.

  “I wonder if she’s in there alone or if her friends are with her.”

  “I’m sure she can handle Mickey on her own.”

  “I’m sure Mickey has stashed some cash that the taxman doesn’t know about but he wouldn’t have enough to buy the drugs.”

  “I don’t think he is the buyer,” said Faith. “I reckon he was the one who was going to move it on for them. He has contacts in Liverpool and Nottingham.”

  “But the Maguires own Liverpool.”

  “They’d sell it to lower level street dealers. With the purity of the product they’d get a much higher price by making a lot of smaller sales rather than one big sale. It would be less likely to be noticed that way.”

  “I wonder what the connection is between Mickey and Dillon and the firefighters?” said Vance. “They don’t exactly move in the same circles.”

  “Did Mickey or Dillon have a fire at their homes?” said Faith.

  “Not that I heard.”

  “Someone’s coming out,” said Caleb from the backseat.

  They watched a thunderous Amanda get into her car and slam the door shut. She spent a few seconds yelling at the steering wheel and banging her fist off it before setting off. The three of them ducked as she pas
sed by.

  “Should we follow her?” said Caleb.

  “No need,” said Faith. “Jason can track her.”

  “Should we talk to Mickey?”

  “Let’s work out how best to use this advantage before we go bursting in. What do you think Vance?”

  “I agree. They don’t know that we’re aware of their connection. It could be useful in springing the trap. We need to get them all to fall into it at the same time.”

  “But Mickey isn’t a firefighter,” said Caleb.

  “No. We draw him there first, then we draw in the firefighters.”

  “Okay. Now we just need to decide where we’re going to spring the trap.”

  “We could take a leaf out the firefighter’s books,” said Faith. “And look for somewhere that’s disused because of fire.”

  “The downside to that is that it could be dangerous for us,” said Vance. “They know how structurally safe a building is. We could walk in somewhere and fall through the floor again.”

  “I don’t ever want to do that again,” she grimaced.

  “Exactly.”

  “I’ve got it,” exclaimed Caleb. “A friend of mine owns one of those laser tag places, you know, where people run about like tits shooting each other with lasers. It’s perfect. It’s a big place but it’s split into smaller rooms.”

  “Great idea Caleb,” smiled Faith. She anticipated it wouldn’t be too long before he would be ready to lead. He just needed to have more faith in his own abilities.

  “I agree it does sound pretty perfect,” said Vance. “But would your friend let us use it?”

  “Probably, if we pay him enough.”

  “What time does it close?”

  “Ten o’clock.”

  “Could you ask your friend?” said Faith.

  “No problem but I’d rather do it in person. Letting us have the run of his livelihood for a few hours is a big ask. I reckon he won’t ask any questions if we pay him enough and promise not to damage anything.”

  “And we need to learn the layout of the building first,” said Vance.

  “There’s not much to learn,” said Caleb. “You’ve got the main reception area, arcade and a small café downstairs and then the five laser tag rooms upstairs.”

  “I think we should invite Mickey Gunning to the party too,” said Faith with a wicked smile.

  Vance glanced at his watch. “It’s two o’clock now. The laser tag place shuts in eight hours. Plenty of time to plan.”

  “My friend will be there now,” said Caleb. “He spends most of his time there, he doesn’t trust anyone else to manage it.”

  “I still think we should cry fire,” said Faith. “Being called out on a routine shout would be the only way to stop them from getting suspicious.”

  “And in order for that to work,” said Vance. “We need to find out when Ben’s crew’s working next and that they won’t be joined by any other firefighters.”

  “I wonder if Matthew would be able to find that out?”

  “I think it’s the only way we’re going to be sure,” said Vance slowly.

  “I’ll call him and ask.” When the call was answered and she heard his voice, her stomach performed a most unwelcome flip. “Hi Matthew.”

  “Hi Faith,” he said in the tenderest tone she’d ever heard him use. “How can I help?”

  “I’m with my brothers,” she told him as a warning so he wouldn’t come out with anything inappropriate. Although they couldn’t overhear, she was worried about giving something away herself. “We’ve come up with a plan to end this once and for all.”

  “End it how? Because these people will be missed.”

  “Not like that. Jules hasn’t given her permission either but we do want to spring a trap and we need to make sure that we do it when all four of them are on duty. I wondered if you could somehow get access to their rotas?”

  “I’m not sure. I do know that firefighters manage their own duty rotas but I don’t see how I can access them. Firefighters usually work two day shifts and then two night shifts and they’ve worked the last two night shifts…”

  “Meaning they might not be working the night shift tonight.”

  “Exactly.”

  “And we can’t be sure there won’t be other firefighters working with them.”

  “From what I’ve seen of Ben and his crew, it’s usually just the four of them but you never know.”

  “We have to be sure. We can’t risk anyone else getting caught up in this.”

  “What do you have planned exactly?”

  “We’re still working it out but we’re going to shout fire.”

  “And what if there is a genuine fire in the town and there’s no firefighters there to sort it out because you’ve got them tied up, or whatever it is you’re going to do to them?”

  “Oh crap, I hadn’t thought of that.” She dismissed his worries. “There probably won’t be.”

  “You can’t know that for sure. What if someone dies because you’ve got hold of the firefighters on duty? Not only is that wrong but everyone will wonder where they are.”

  “Shit,” she sighed, dragging her free hand through her hair. “That’s a good point but it’s the only way we can think of luring them into a trap.” It struck Faith that they knew who the firefighters’ accomplice was. Could they use Mickey to lure them in instead? “Back to the drawing board then.”

  “I’m glad you’re doing the right thing Faith. I know you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if innocent people died because of your actions.”

  “You’re right, I couldn’t. Thanks Matthew,” she said, trying not to sound too affectionate. “Speak to you later,” she added before hanging up.

  “He shot down our plan, didn’t he?” said Vance coolly.

  “He made the good point that something bad might happen if a real fire starts in the town and we’ve got the firefighters who are supposed to be on duty. Not only might innocent people die but everyone will ask where the firefighters were.”

  The ice vanished from Vance’s eyes. “That’s a good point.”

  “Yes it is.”

  “Bugger,” said Caleb. “It was a good plan too.”

  “We could still use the plan,” said Faith. “We just need different bait. We know Ben and his friends have been working with Mickey. We could get him to lure them in.”

  “He won’t cooperate with that,” said Vance.

  “Then we make him,” she replied, making her brothers smile.

  CHAPTER 23

  Caleb’s friend Bryan was, in Faith’s opinion, a sleaze. He’d homed in on her the moment she’d walked through the door, not seeming to care that she was flanked by her two big, hefty brothers. He wore a migraine-inducing leopard print shirt, open at the chest with a gold medallion to reveal greying chest hair, which didn’t match the badly-dyed black hair on his head. His teeth were dazzling and his skin orange. Faith’s assessment of him was a sad, lonely man going through a midlife crisis, desperately clinging onto the delusion that he was still in his twenties. But he seemed genuinely pleased to see Caleb and the two clearly got on well.

  They chatted with Bryan in his poky office behind reception, which was only big enough for three chairs. When he told Faith she could sit on his knee, her gaze was so cold he hastily looked down at the floor.

  “I suppose I could let you have the run of the place,” said Bryan slowly, a little puzzled by the request. “But why?”

  “We can’t tell you,” said Caleb. “I know this is a big ask but we’ll look after the place and lock up behind us and we’ll pay you well.”

  “How much?”

  Bryan’s eyes bulged at the enormous wad of cash Vance tossed onto his desk.

  “Err….,” began Bryan before trailing off, speechless.

  “And we brought an extra gift,” said Caleb, adding a generous bag of cocaine to the pile of money. “To show our appreciation.”

  “Well,” smiled Bryan. “How could I refuse such g
enerous gifts? Just please don’t damage the place, will you?” He knew better than to ask why they wanted to use his premises. He was well aware of what this family was involved in. “I just need to know one thing – you don’t want to use it for storage, do you? Because this is my business, it took years to build up…”

  “Nothing like that Bryan, I promise. It’s just for tonight, that’s all.”

  “Oh,” he said with a breath of relief. “Well, yeah, go on then but any damage and you fix it.”

  “Deal.”

  The two men shook on it, Bryan grinning from ear to ear. “I’m in for a good night tonight at the strip club.”

  Faith tried not to grimace at the thought of him pawing some poor half-naked young girl. “And don’t tell anyone about this,” she said. “Ever.”

  Her tone was so icy it made him shiver. “I won’t,” he said. “I’m not stupid.”

  “No, I don’t think you are,” she said with another hard look, just to remind him of who he was dealing with.

  They left Bryan happily stacking his money and drugs into his safe on the agreement that they would come back just after closing time. Vance took with him a map of the building from the reception desk and they returned to the safehouse. The others had already returned from the hotel and Abi was regaling Rose with her grand plans for the reception, the cost of which rather seemed to alarm Michael.

  “Don’t worry,” Faith told him, patting his shoulder. “We’ve got it covered.”

  “Thanks,” he said, relieved. “But please try to talk her out of gold-dipped eucalyptus leaves, jewelled stationery and gold plates.”

  “That’s what she’s seriously considering?”

  “The wedding planner at the hotel put all sorts of daft ideas in her head. If we take her advice both our families will be left bankrupt.”

  “Don’t you worry. I’ll knock all that nonsense out of her.”

  Abi darted out of the kitchen where she’d been talking ten to the dozen at her mother. “Michael, tell Mum about the roaming peacocks we can hire to wander about the gardens. Oh hi Faith, I’ve got loads to tell you about the wedding. We’ve been given a ton of new ideas, haven’t we babe?”