"Do you want me to wear my colours?" Recon asked scrambling around in the back of the Jeep.
"No, I don't want to scare her." We didn't wear our colours when sitting in a vehicle because it was disrespectful but this made it difficult getting in and out of vehicles. I just wanted to try and keep this low key by not drawing attention to ourselves so it was best that we didn't wear them.
I looked around my surroundings. I didn't want to be ambushed. I wasn't tooled up but I knew Recon would be just in case it all kicked off.
Recon led the way down the path towards the key pad on the wall outside the flats. He quickly found 256 and pressed it. We waited hoping that someone was in.
"Hello?"
"Hi Rosie, I was wondering whether I could speak to you briefly about your friend, Kate." She didn't respond and I was now concerned whether she was going to help us or not. I tapped my fingers against the frame of the door as I waited impatiently.
"Regarding what?"
I let out a sigh, "I think she may be in danger." I went down the caring route. If this lady was a friend then she would want her safe also.
"Who would place her in danger?" Rosie was fishing for information, trying to decide whether we were friend or foe.
"Possibly the Dyers."
There was another long pause before she responded. "And you are?"
"Her brother." I blurted. I wasn't sure whether I was or not but again, if Rosie was her friend, she would have spoken about me.
"Mitchell?"
"Indeed it is!" I replied coolly although I was on the verge of exploding.
"Hang on." A buzzer sounded as the latch on the door released allowing us to enter the complex.
Recon pulled on the door and the smell of urine and cleaning products hit me as we entered the main foyer. I screwed my noise as I stepped cautiously over various stains and puddles. I looked up and noticed the numbers on the wall and knew that we needed to go upstairs. The back door to the premises was propped open, I quickly glanced outside making sure no one was out there and saw that it led to a communal drying area for people clothes.
I made my way up the first flight of stairs with Recon closely behind me. At the top of the staircase, there was another flight of stairs and a landing to my right. I glanced up at the sign on the wall indicating that the flat was further down the landing. The wind whistled down the vast open space and as I looked a head, I noticed a woman poke her head out of her property, trying to catch our attention.
Recon pushed me aside and walked in front of me as we made our way towards the door. The woman looked gaunt, she was obviously an addict and didn't have many teeth in her mouth when she smiled.
"Do you want to come in?" she asked opening the door wider.
I shook my head, "Thank you but we haven't got long. We really need to find Kate. Do you know where they may be keeping her?"
She shook her head. "If she's not in the usual spots which I'm assuming you've looked, then I'm sorry I don't."
"I knew this would be a waste of time." I held up my hand trying to keep Recon quiet.
"Is there any information that you could give us? Maybe something that will get their attention, in order for us to cut a deal."
Rosie shrugged, "Stop the drugs and they have no money, that would get their attention."
She was right, we needed to hit them where it hurt. "Do you know who supplies their drugs?"
The Dyers were strong in numbers but not in brains. They weren't the master minds of it all, they were just the distributers.
She rolled up her sleeves before placing her hands into her pockets and I noticed the small pin pricks up and down her arms. "All I know is that they are involved in the county lines. Ipswich, Lowestoft and Norwich."
I slowly nodded, taking in what she had just said. "Thank you Rosie, you've been a great help."
"Any chance of some cash for my information?" she held out her hand and smiled.
I looked at Recon. He huffed and removed his wallet from his pocket. "What am I the fucking bank today?" Recon slapped a £20 on her palm. "Get yourself some food rather than smack, you look fucking awful."
I rolled my eyes at his comment, empathy wasn't Recon's strongest point.
"Thank you once again." I turned and followed Recon as we headed down the landing in the direction of the foyer.
"So what you thinking?" Recon asked interested.
"We are going to hit them where it hurts. We are going to intercept the drugs. If we take enough in one sweep, they will be shitting themselves because they will still need to pay for it."
Recon nodded with appreciation. "They won't just give up Kate freely. They have gotta be made to do it."
I nodded, "Exactly, I just hope she has some value to them."
"She must have if they've gone to all this trouble to make her disappear." Recon pushed on the door allowing us to leave the complex.
"But is she just out of sight or have they harmed her already?"
Recon didn't respond and I knew that he had considered that also.
I slid the van door open and got into the driver's seat.
"Everything okay?" Diesel asked.
I nodded, "We don't know where she is but we have a plan."
By the time we had arrived back at the clubhouse, everyone was up to speed. We had called ahead to make sure everyone needed for this plan to come together was at the clubhouse, ready for Church. We didn't have any time to lose, we needed to act quickly.
Our surveillance had shown that the kids left the Dyers hangout, at different times throughout the day. Most of them were in the morning but there were also deliveries in the afternoon. There were other local drop offs but the county line deliveries would be the most lucrative. We needed to hit them all in one go and hit them hard for our bust to have an impact. The Dyers would freak knowing the repercussions of losing so many packages and that was the only way they would possibly give up Kate.
My heart raced, the adrenalin pumped through my body as I made my way to Church. Buster stood holding a box for our phones to be placed into. Our routines to keep us safe, seemed pointless at this moment in time but I threw my mobile in the box before strolling in to the room to sit down at the head of the table.
The rest of the club members filtered in and a few hangarounds that we had called upon, to assist us with this operation.
"As club members know, we don't usually allow hangarounds or prospects in here. You at this moment in time haven't earned the right to be here or to know what goes on behind the scenes but today, we need your help." I glanced around the group. There was some potential. We needed to recruit new prospects anyway but I had been a little preoccupied of late.
"Some of you have been friends of the ACES for a long time and others just a few months but the club has invited you here today to prove yourself. You do well and you become a prospect, you fuck up and you won't be considered again for another year. So what happens today has a lot riding on it for you and for me."
The majority seemed pumped for this opportunity and I sighed with relief because I needed competent people to assist us. I passed over to Woods. As road captain, he had worked out the logistics and who would be responsible for each county line.
"Okay, we are too recognisable to the Dyers and to the police operating in this area. We need to keep our noses clean otherwise they will think that we have slid back into our old ways." Woods stood and made his way towards the wall. Spike wheeled over the whiteboard that had been scribbled on in multiple colours.
"These are the county lines that the Dyers operate out of Walthamstow and Chingford, and into Suffolk and Norfolk. They distribute large quantities of drugs usually coke and use kids to do it. Children are less likely to get stopped and if they do, the child won't get prosecuted because they use kids between the ages of 8 and 12 maybe up to 14 depending who it is."
I glanced around the room. Woods had everyone full attention and I was pleased because what I was about to ask these guys to do, c
ould potentially get them locked up for between 5-7 years.
"Okay, so that's the background, now for your first assignment. Now should you at any time decide that you don't want to do this, you are free to leave this room but you will not be able to leave the clubhouse until this operation is completed. That way, we can make sure that it stays all in house and no one goes running to the Dyers to stitch us up." Woods took a sip of his water before he continued and I was pleased that no one had decided to leave as yet.
"There are six kids in total that I want you to stop today. Each will have between .5 and 1 kilo on them. The total amount has a street value of around £800,000."
One of the hangarounds let out a loud whistle, "That's a lot of money."
"Indeed it is." Woods looked around the group, "Are there any questions at this stage?"
One guy raised his hand, "This ain't for me. I have a wife and kids to consider. I can't do time."
I nodded, "And I totally understand your decision and don't hold anything against you Guy. You are free to leave and you can sit in the bar until the operation is done."
He stood and made his way towards the door. I turned to the group, "Does anyone else want to leave at this stage?"
They all shook their heads.
"Good, carry on Woods." I sat back in my chair to listen to Woods continue informing the potential prospects.
"Here you go. Sebbie that's yours, Billy, Luke, Ross, Dan and Jack, these are yours." Woods handed the guys their information packs. "Okay, that's all the information you need. Read it, memorise it and then leave your pack here as I don't want it falling into the wrong hands."
I gave the guys a couple of minutes to look through their packs. They wouldn't know who their targets were until they boarded the train and saw them but they would now know what train to get and the address of the safe house for when they returned. I couldn't risk them coming back here with the drugs, especially with O'Neil sniffing around. He still had TUGS in custody over some bullshit made up story about him raping a young girl the other night. I hadn't realised that I had let out a long sigh and now everyone was looking at me.
"Sorry, please continue." I waved my hand for them to just ignore me.
"And if we get caught?" Ross asked looking up from his information pack.
I shrugged, "Don't take any silly risks. Stick to the plan. If you do get caught with the drugs you'll be looking at a long stretch."
The group continued to read their information pack. I glanced at my watch, we had around 10 minutes before we needed to be heading out again.
"Right are we all okay?" All six hangarounds nodded but I still felt nervous about this whole operation. It's success was in other people's hands and that worried me because my sisters life depended on it.
"A member of the ACES will be on the train with you to oversee everything but we will only get involved if needed. Otherwise, you don't look at, talk to or even acknowledge us. Do I make myself clear?" This was the only control I had over the whole operation. We would step in if needed but I wasn't putting myself or the club at risk. The six new recruits nodded, eager to please as they stood ready to leave.
"Leave your information here and we'll meet you outside in the yard." I dismissed the group and waited for them to leave the room.
"What do you think?" I asked the guys.
"It feels shit leaving it all up to them."
"I know the feeling Diesel but we can't be stopped carrying a kilo of coke on us. We'll be banged up for years and there's no way I'm missing out on watching my daughter grow up." I was firm with my words and I meant it. I wanted Kate back more than anything but I couldn't risk going down for a long stretch.
"Jayden, I want you coming with me. We can have a catch up on the trip to Norwich." He nodded but looked a little concerned. He wasn't in any trouble, I just wanted to make sure that he was doing okay and wanted to know more about the gym.
"Okay you're all dismissed. I'll see you at the safe house later."
I collected my phone on the way out from Buster and strolled towards the front door of the clubhouse. It was going to be an anxious day, I just hoped it all went according to plan.
An hour later, Jayden and I were boarding the train at Liverpool Street station. There was no direct route from Chingford so Dan needed the over ground to here and then pick up the Greater Anglia that was a straight route to Norwich. The whole journey would take around 3 hours but Buster had agreed to pick us up in Norwich so we could travel back in a car rather than another shitty train. This would take an hour off our return journey and hopefully restore some of my sanity.
"So how you been?" I asked Jayden as we sat down mid carriage.
"All good and you?" There was some hesitation with his response and I sensed that he was nervous.
I sighed, "A little stressed at the moment with all this shit but I can't complain. How's Sam doing? I haven't seen her in a while."
Jayden smiled, "She's doing well. She's back at college and enjoying it. She missed out on so much but this is something that she really wants to do so I'll support her all the way."
"I'm pleased to hear it." I was pulled from my thoughts as a young girl of around twelve years strolled through the train carriage on her own looking for a seat. She clutched a rucksack tightly around her front, rather than wearing it on her back and I knew that this was our girl.
She settle in the second half of the carriage and not long after she passed, Dan walked through holding a paper and a Starbucks cup. I was pleased he was fitting in, looking like a regular commuter.
"So have you and Sam got any plans regarding your accommodation?" The last time we spoke, he was looking at buying but still needed to save for the deposit.
Jayden's cheeks flushed and I knew I needed to dig deeper. "Come on spill the beans."
"I want to propose." He stuttered.
"That's great but why do you say it with such hesitation?" I had never seen Jayden act like this.
"I've bought the ring, I've had it weeks but I know I'm doing it all the wrong way. We should have the house first." He let out a loud sigh and I could see that he was beating himself up inside.
"I get it Jay, you want to show her your commitment. Put a ring on her finger and make the girl even happier. If you've already bought it there's no point it just sitting in a drawer." It must have been difficult for him now that he couldn't discuss such things with Hound.
He nodded, "I know I'm being stupid about the whole thing. I think I just had a bit of a wobble."
I patted his knee, "You'll be fine. You make a great couple. It could take a while to save that deposit so this gesture will go down well."
Our conversation quickly changed to work and Jayden seemed happier as he proceeded to tell me about the gym and his ideas to expand. He had taken on more shifts recently and was enjoying the job. We currently didn't have many classes so Jayden wanted to invite people in to offer things such as boxercise, aqua aerobics and spin. These were all very lucrative and would appeal to different people to widen our customer base.
Not before long, we started to slow and made our way into Norwich station. I glanced down the aisle to see Dan fold his newspaper in half and place it on the table in front of him. The young girl stood and made her way towards the doors. She stood patiently and waited for them to open still clutching the rucksack. Dan slowly stood like the other passengers wanting to get off and made his way towards the doors.
I gently nudged Jayden indicating that we needed to move. Norwich station was busy, there were many people buzzing around and I didn't know how we were going to pull this off in such a crowded place.
The doors opened and the young girl leapt onto the platform. She glanced around her surrounding obviously looking for someone but we couldn't allow that exchange to happen. She looked lost and I didn't want her picked up by security because they would want to call the authorities.
Dan walked slowly trying not to look too suspicious. He stopped once to tighten his shoe and
took his time making sure that the bows were perfectly straight. The young girl decided to walk. It looked like she was heading for the entrance but she quickly detoured into the female bathrooms.
"Fuck!" I said under my breath as Jayden and I strolled past. We couldn't hang around because it may look too obvious so we slowly headed towards a coffee stall that was positioned not too far from the toilets.
I glanced around but couldn't see Dan. "Can you see him?" I asked Jayden after he ordered two coffee's to go.
He shook his head, "No, I don't know where he went."
"There he is," I nodded towards the toilets. He came strolling from the exit with the rucksack draped over his shoulder.
"His got the package," I stated under my breath as Jayden handed me the coffee. I sighed with relief knowing that the first package had been collected. He just needed to get back to the safe house now without being followed or detected.
We took our drinks and strolled from the coffee stall. I felt heartbroken when the young girl exited from the toilets visibly upset. She was at a loss crying inconsolably, not knowing what to do but in a split second, she bolted down the platform. Jayden took off after her before I had even realised what had happened. The train was nearing, closer it came and still the young girl kept running towards it. Jayden upped his pace but she had a head start on him. The young girl leaped and Jayden managed to stretch with all he had in time to grab the girl and pull her to safety from the clutches of the train whizzing past. He pulled her hard and fell back onto the platform with her landing with a thud onto his chest.
"You should've let me do it," she cried. "Why didn't you let me do it?" Jayden held her as she scrambled around sobbing. "They're going to kill me anyway, at least this would've been instant and I wouldn't suffer." Jayden rolled her from his chest. Members of the public had made their way towards them and we had already drawn unwanted attention to ourselves. Jayden scrambled to his feet and started to walk towards me.
"Sir, please stay for the police to arrive."
He smiled awkwardly, "You saw everything, just fill them in with all of the details."
LYRIC (Aces MC Series Book 6.5) Page 18
