Raven

by Heather Atkinson

  CHAPTER 6

  Raven headed back over to One Eye’s house, however only Damon was home, this time properly dressed in blue jeans and a white shirt, the bloodied apron gone.

  He flashed her his famous charming grin. “Twice in one day? We are honoured, or can you just not keep away from me?”

  “I need something.”

  “I’m happy to give you whatever you desire,” he winked.

  “As tempting as that is, I need weapons. Please don’t give me a line about your penis being a weapon,” she added when his grin increased.

  “Spoilsport. Dad’s out. I’ll take you down to the basement.”

  “Fine. Just make sure you keep your hands to yourself.”

  “I’m not making any promises.”

  “How did the braised beef turn out?” she said as they walked through the house to the kitchen.

  “Ah, not so good. That’s why Dad’s not here. He’s in hospital with food poisoning. Apparently undercooked beef is pretty dangerous.”

  “Jesus Damon.”

  “I know,” he sighed. “Dad wasn’t impressed. He’s going to give me some pain when he gets home.”

  “Will he be okay?”

  “Yeah, fine. He threw most of it back up but they want to keep an eye on him because his blood pressure shot up.”

  The poisoning of One Eye dismayed Raven. She needed his expertise. Damon had his uses but his skills were entirely based on mindless violence. One Eye was the tactician.

  “I’m arranging a fake hit,” explained Raven as she followed him down into the cellar.

  “To lure out this bastard who’s stealing your contracts?”

  “Yep so I’m going to need some of One Eye’s little gadgets to help me.”

  “You got something in mind?”

  “I was hoping for inspiration.”

  “I can help you find inspiration,” he said, stopping at the bottom of the stairs and leaning into her.

  Raven leapt over the handrail and strolled over to the table strewn with One Eye’s gadgets, neatly bypassing Damon, making him sigh.

  “What’s this?” she said, picking up a lump of metal with wires springing out of the top of it.

  “Part of the toaster,” he replied. “Dad’s fixing it.”

  “Oh,” she said, replacing it on the table, feeling a little foolish, frowning when he chuckled.

  “So you do occasionally make mistakes,” he said. “Like the rest of us mortals?”

  “About as often as Halley’s Comet makes an appearance.”

  “I don’t know what that is. Anyway, you don’t need Dad’s fancy gadgets. Just get an axe and stick it in the guy’s head.”

  “That’s your style Damon. Mine’s more subtle.”

  “Subtle’s not always good. It makes people think you’re weak. Indulge in some bloody violence. It’ll be so out of character that it’ll shock the shit out of everyone and make them remember exactly who they’re fucking with. Go on, enjoy yourself.”

  “You might actually have a point but first I need to track the bastard down. What’s this?” she said, picking up a small tubular object.

  “That is a prototype Dad’s been working on. You can hide a syringe in it. When it’s finished it’ll resemble a cigarette lighter, so if you’re searched by the police they won’t find anything unusual.”

  “Clever.”

  “You could have used it on this new hit if I hadn’t poisoned Dad. He was going to finish it today.”

  He looked miserable, Although he and One Eye bickered a lot, she knew Damon adored his dad and without him he was like a big lost puppy. “He’ll soon be home. He’s as tough as old boots.”

  “Just like my cooking,” he said sadly. He shook himself out of it. “Do you want any back-up for this hit? I’m happy to help.”

  “I appreciate that but I need to do this myself. If word gets out I’m recruiting help it’ll make me look even weaker.”

  “I get what you’re saying, although it’s a while since I had a decent fight.”

  “Then go to the gym and work off some steam.”

  “I can think of a better way to do that,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.

  “Not going to happen. You’re like my brother.”

  “A bit of incest is exciting.”

  “Urgh.”

  “Yeah, okay, probably not the sexiest thing I’ve ever said.”

  “A monocular,” she said, picking up a black object with a lens, small enough to sit snugly in the palm of her hand.

  “With night vision,” he added.

  She thought of how her rival on their last encounter had killed the lights and she smiled. “One Eye won’t mind if I take this, will he?”

  “Course not. He makes all this stuff for you anyway.” There was no jealousy in his tone. His father’s affection for Raven had never bothered him. She and Damon were a lot alike in the way they didn’t let other people get to them. “I’ve got something interesting you can see in the dark,” he said, leaning in to her.

  She was grateful when her phone rang, interrupting his attempt to kiss her. She pulled it out of her coat pocket and listened to the voice on the other end. “I’ll be right there,” she said before hanging up.

  “You’re leaving already?”

  She nodded.

  “I thought you might stay, we could open a bottle of wine, have something to eat…actually, maybe not that one.” He maneuvered his big body so she was pressed up against the workbench. “But there’s no need to run off so soon.”

  “Sorry Romeo. I’ve got to go and set up that hit.”

  “Fine,” he sighed, straightening up, releasing her. “I can’t believe I finally get you alone and you have to leave.”

  “Sorry,” she said, stepping past him to the stairs.

  “One day I’ll get to see all those feathers of yours in the flesh,” he called.

  “No you won’t,” she called back, mounting the stairs.

  “A challenge. Like it.”

  Raven gave him a wink before vanishing through the hatch at the top of the stairs.

  Raven was a little wary as she made her way through the pub she’d waited outside earlier for Marcus. He was once again ensconced in his office, flanked by the two men she’d beaten up, both of them glowering at her when she walked in while Marcus looked amused.

  “Sit down Raven,” he said, gesturing to a chair.

  “I think I’ll remaining standing,” she replied, looking to the two goons, who both had black eyes and bruises. “They don’t look very friendly to me.”

  “They always look like that.”

  She took a seat, careful to keep one eye on the goons.

  “You can leave us now,” Marcus told his men.

  “You sure that’s wise boss?” said one of them.

  Marcus stared up at him, eyes cold. “Don’t ever question me again.”

  The man hung his head. “Sorry boss,” he said before shuffling out of the room, followed by his wiser friend, both of them scowling at Raven on their way out, who returned their stares.

  “So,” began Marcus when they’d gone. “I had a meeting with Patrick Bryce this morning.”

  She nodded, refusing to speak until he’d said it first.

  “I was glad actually because conveniently there’s someone I need getting out of the way.”

  “Who?”

  “You.”

  There was a beat of silence before she said, “excuse me?”

  “I’m putting out a contract on you Raven. You shouldn’t have held a knife to my throat and beaten up my men.”

  “So this is revenge and you’re hoping my rival will come after me?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m hoping. However, I can always cancel the contract, if you agree to work for me exclusively.”

  She laughed. “So that’s your game, is it? I expected more from you Marcus.”

  “What can I say? It pisses me off when I don’t get what I want, it’s always been a weakness
of mine. Just ask my mum, she’ll tell you about the legendary tantrums I threw when I was a kid because I didn’t get my own way.”

  “So this is you throwing a tantrum? Aren’t you a bit old for that?”

  “Some things you never grow out of.”

  Raven sighed. “I don’t want to hurt you Marcus.”

  “Believe me, that’s not how I’m hoping this turns out. Like I said, start working for me exclusively and I’ll make the contract go away. Of course you won’t just be doing hits. You’ll be a bodyguard, some debt collecting, roughing people up, that sort of thing.”

  “I work for myself. I live life on my own terms, no one else’s and if you think I’m going to let you blackmail me into working for you then you’ve got another thing coming.”

  “It’s the only way to make the contract go away,” he smirked.

  She drew the knife from her coat pocket, the same one she’d held to his throat. “There’s something you’ve forgotten. If you die, the contract dies with you.”

  From beneath the desk he produced a gun and pointed it at her. “Do you honestly think I didn’t consider that?”

  Not even Raven, with all her skills, could outrun a bullet. She sighed and replaced the knife in her pocket. “You’re seriously going through with this then?”

  “Not unless you start working for me,” he replied, keeping the gun trained on her.

  “Your stupid plan is going to open Pandora’s box.” With that she got to her feet. “I can promise you Marcus, you’ll be seeing me again very soon, only it won’t be so friendly.”

  “Only kidding.”

  Her eyes flashed. “What?”

  “Lighter, see,” he said, pressing the trigger, a small flame bursting out of the end of the gun. “I don’t keep weapons in here, the local plod get their rocks off raiding this place on a regular basis. I haven’t really put a contract out on you, I was only seeing if I could get you to finally work for me.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Seriously. Only kidding,” he ended with a grin.

  “You shouldn’t make jokes like that Marcus. I was tempted to throw the knife at you before you even drew the gun.” She smiled inwardly when he swallowed hard.

  “Like I said, it was only a joke,” he said, ending this statement with a nervous laugh. He tossed the lighter into a drawer, cheeks heating, her stare making him feel like a total tit.

  “I wouldn’t recommend joking again,” she said, retaking her seat.

  “Yeah, well, I won’t,” he mumbled. He cleared his throat. “I’ve got someone you can go after, or pretend to go after anyway. Are you really going to kill him?”

  “Depends. Does he need to be gone?”

  “Well, he is a pain in the arse.”

  “Who is it?”

  He tossed a few photos onto the desk. “Terry Higgins. Local dealer and general lunatic. He runs a meth lab and he’s been muscling in on my turf. He’s a nasty bastard too, put one of my men in hospital. He goes after people’s noses, fucking bites them off. He’s also a neo Nazi twat if that puts your conscience at rest.”

  “It does. I will require my usual fee.”

  “Hey, I thought this was a freebie?”

  “I don’t give freebies.”

  “I’m doing this to help you out and to get rid of this rival of yours.”

  “And I appreciate your assistance but this rival is causing mayhem for us all.”

  “Not me. He got rid of that prick Ned Headey for me, which was all that mattered,” he grinned, leaning back in his seat and clasping his hands behind his head.

  “Fine, I’ll wave my fee,” she sighed. “Make the most of it because it won’t happen again.”

  “I will.”

  “Where can I find Terry?”

  “He hangs about Heaven and Hell, that club on Harrison Street.”

  “I know it. Will he be there tonight?”

  He nodded. “Probably all night, unless he bites off someone’s nose.”

  Raven nodded, wondering why her recent targets enjoyed chewing off people’s body parts. “Have you told Patrick who the mark is?”

  “Yes, he wouldn’t stop going on about it until I did. That is one nosy bastard I can tell you.”

  “I’ll be in touch when it’s done,” she said, getting to her feet.

  “Let’s hope you don’t bugger this one up.”

  Raven scowled at him before leaving.

  Before going into battle that night, Raven took the time to prepare, sitting cross-legged on the thick rug on the lounge floor back at the barn and closing her eyes. Although she hated to admit it, she was slightly nervous about the hit Marcus had set up for her, an emotion she wasn’t used to and one she determined to rid herself of before she got to the nightclub.

  She breathed in deeply through her nose, exhaling through her mouth, the tension leaving her body, calm and peace once again reigning.

  She jumped when there was the flap of black wings before her eyes, even though they were still closed, accompanied by a ‘caw’. Her eyes flew open, heart thudding, the sense of peace gone. She had never been sure whether the ravens were actual spirit ravens or just a part of herself that understood more than her conscious mind did but she’d seen them ever since One Eye had introduced her to the psychedelic drug mescaline. Whatever the truth, the ravens gave her useful, often lifesaving information. They’d even led One Eye to her and now the ravens were telling her not to go tonight. The peace she’d so desperately sought had been eradicated beneath the weight of the ominous sensation settling in the pit of her stomach. If this was any other hit she wouldn’t go, she’d trust that feeling. But this was no ordinary hit, it was about saving her reputation and protecting her life because if she was ousted from the top spot in the city, all those who had a grudge would come gunning for her. She was amazed they hadn’t already, however if she failed tonight then they would. There was no choice, she had to go.

  As she got to her feet another angry caw echoed around her, so close she was convinced an actual raven was in the room with her. But there was nothing.

  Stifling a shiver, she picked up the monocular and the syringe loaded with the shot for Terry, staring at the clear liquid in the tube, seeing odd shapes flicker through it.

  Throwing off the sense of superstitious dread, she placed the syringe in its carry case, shoved it into her trouser pocket and snatched up her car keys.

  CHAPTER 7

  Raven decided to pretend to be a customer at Heaven and Hell. She didn’t want to be predictable and use the same strategy she had used for the hit on Harold, who was still clinging onto life in hospital.

  She wore a pair of black trousers and a black halter neck top, smart but casual, allowing her to blend in. She covered her hair with a long red wig and put in light green contact lenses. She hadn’t used this disguise before, the wig drastically altered her appearance, so she hoped her rival would be unable to recognise her.

  Fortunately the club was busy, which was all the better for her. It was split into two levels - Heaven on the ground floor and Hell in the basement area. It came as no surprise to her that Terry Higgins preferred the Hell level, although she could have done without it with its dingy lighting, thumping techno music and seedy atmosphere. It was also very warm due to the low ceiling and sheer number of bodies packed beneath the subdued red lights.

  Raven meandered her way over to the bar, eyes scanning the crowd for any sign of Terry. She was disappointed when she couldn’t see him but it was a large room and there were so many people. This made her nervous because if her rival was here she could be standing right next to him and she wouldn’t even know. However it would be a good test to see how truthful Marcus was being about not telling anyone. Only herself, Patrick and Marcus knew, that’s if he was being honest.

  The queue at the bar was three people deep and it took all of her considerable patience not to fight her way to the front. It would have been a simple thing to shove the people before her out of the w
ay, however that would draw unwanted attention to herself. It was tempting to carry on past the bar and continue the search for Terry, but everyone carried a drink and she didn’t want to stand out, so she forced herself to wait, the harassed barman rolling his eyes when she ordered a still water with ice and lemon.

  After finally being served, she managed to make her way to the other side of the room, finding a shady spot beside a pillar to watch the throng of people on the dance floor.

  A group of four overheated-looking women off to her left moved in the direction of the exit and finally Terry Higgins was revealed to her. He was short and skinny with a shaved head, however his scalp was covered in tattoos, a massive cobweb on the top of his head, a large swastika on the side of his neck. Something about the tension in his body and the weird way his left eye continually twitched told her he was on some sort of stimulant, possibly cocaine or even the crystal meth he was known for making. He was with another five men, all standing near the DJ stand, swigging lager and guffawing like donkeys. Directly behind the men was the fire exit, which didn’t appear to be linked to an alarm because people were going in and out of it. Excellent, a quick escape route.

  She slid her hand inside her trouser pocket to touch the syringe as she skirted the group of men, walking casually, although inside she was tense, wondering whether her rival was here. Although this hit had been set up to lure him out, she couldn’t risk letting him steal another of her contracts. That could mean the final nail in the coffin of her career. And her life.

  Fortunately there appeared to be no sign of him, no one was standing around Terry and his friends, in fact everyone seemed to be going out of their way to avoid them and the wild-eyed mania they all radiated. They were so out of it she doubted they’d even notice her. She gripped the syringe harder. Now was the time.

  Then all the lights went out.

  Raven immediately pressed herself back against the wall as demands to turn the lights back on reverberated around the room, people stumbling over each other. At least the God awful music had stopped. She took the monocular out of her other pocket and held it to her eye, everything melding into green form. Her rival had to be here, she didn’t believe in coincidences. It heartened her that he was becoming predictable.