by Caz Finlay
Michael raised an eyebrow at her. ‘Well, who could have predicted that?’ he said.
Grace was about to reply when Michael’s phone started to ring.
‘Jesus Christ. Do we ever get a minute’s peace?’ Michael snapped but then his face softened as he saw who was calling.
‘All right, bro?’ he said when he answered and Grace listened to Michael’s half of the conversation.
‘Seriously? Are you sure? We’ve got it covered, you know?
‘Sound then. It will be nice to have you on board. Be just like old times.
‘See you tomorrow.’
Michael ended the call and smiled at Grace. ‘Sean wants to be in on the action tomorrow night.’
‘Sean? Does Sophia know?’
‘I didn’t ask,’ Michael replied with a shrug. ‘I’m just glad he’s on board. You can never be too prepared with things like these. No matter how straightforward it all seems, something can always go tits up.’
Grace nodded. ‘Of course.’
‘Are you okay?’ Michael asked.
‘Yes. It’s not like I haven’t done anything like this before, Michael.’
‘I know that,’ he said as he pulled her into a hug.
Grace leaned against him and enjoyed the feeling of his arms wrapped around her. The truth was, she was nervous about tomorrow night. As much as she had every detail worked out, she hadn’t been involved in one of these things for a long time, and it made her feel queasy. She supposed that a small dose of nerves was healthy.
‘Let’s get this food while it’s still hot,’ Michael said as he released her from his embrace.
‘Yes, come on. Then I’ll phone Murf and speak to him about Nick.’
Grace followed Michael into the living room with a bottle of wine in her hand while he carried the food. She smiled. This time tomorrow it would all be over.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Alastair McGrath surveyed the group of men in front of him as they huddled in the far corner of the now empty carpark near to the warehouse where he was shortly about to ambush Grace Carter and her firm. Him and his boys were going to steal their entire shipment, while also taking out as many of those fuckers as they could. There were twelve of them in total, including him. They were all suitably armed. Eight of them, including him and Jock, had 9mm pistols and the rest had machetes and baseball bats. Grace Carter wasn’t going to know what had bloody hit her. And he could not wait to see the look on her face when she realised that her own most trusted soldier was now working for him. God, it was going to be priceless.
‘Right, lads,’ he said, addressing his adoring audience. ‘This ain’t no Mickey Mouse outfit we’re dealing with here. This is a firm of top-class nutters, so while we will most definitely have the element of surprise, do not underestimate what these people are capable of. Don’t get cocky. Keep your wits about you, but shoot anything that moves,’ he cackled. ‘Except for the woman. Leave her to me.’ Alastair had promised John that he wouldn’t hurt Grace, but he wasn’t intending to keep that promise. Nevertheless, he wanted the pleasure of that for himself.
The men all nodded their agreement.
‘Right, into the vans then. It’s nearly go time,’ he said.
Grace Carter looked out of the window at the Liverpool skyline as Michael drove them to the old warehouse on Bridle Road in Bootle. She tried to focus on the song on the radio but the words were making no sense to her. Sean and John were silent in the back of the car.
‘You okay, love?’ Michael asked her, breaking the silence.
‘Yeah. I always get a bit nervous before these things though. You can never fully predict how they’re going to turn out.’
He placed his warm hand on her leg and gave a gentle squeeze. ‘It will be fine,’ he said with a reassuring smile. ‘In a few hours we’ll be back at home with our feet up watching telly.’
Grace nodded. ‘Yeah,’ she said with a sigh while the passengers in the back seat remained silent.
Jock Stewart looked at the assembled men, all in balaclavas and carrying weapons, outside the warehouse on Bridle Road. His heart was hammering in his chest and his blood pounded in his ears as he signalled them to advance towards the door. They stopped just outside and he turned to them, their faces frozen in anticipation – or fear? Jock fingered the safety on his Glock, ensuring that it was off. Then he took a deep breath, preparing himself for what was about to go down. People were going to get killed tonight, quite possibly a few of them, and while that wasn’t an entirely unusual event in his life, it was never one he’d got used to.
Alastair came up beside him. ‘Remember, lads. Shoot anything that moves,’ he whispered. The men nodded, like soldiers being given their orders.
Alastair raised one gloved hand and then gave the signal – the signal that they should storm through the large double doors that John had assured them would be open. The men charged on, with Jock and Alastair bringing up the rear. But there were no gunshots fired. In fact, the men in front of him stopped stock still, so much so that Alastair and Jock almost tripped over them as they rushed inside. Jock pushed his way to the front of the throng and the sight that greeted him almost stopped his heart.
Spread across the width of the warehouse were at least twenty men, including Michael and Sean Carter, as well as John Brennan, holding semi-automatic machine guns that were pointed directly at them. It seemed Michael Carter had got over his fear of carrying a gun then. Or John Brennan had been talking complete bollocks.
‘What the fuck?’ Alastair whispered as he came up beside him.
Jock blinked as his heart pounded so hard he thought it might burst out of his chest at any moment.
‘Put all of the weapons on the floor, six feet in front of you, and then keep your hands up where we can see them,’ Michael ordered.
When no one moved, he shouted. ‘Now!’
‘Do as he says,’ Jock said to the men, knowing that they wouldn’t get a single shot off before at least half of them were gunned down.
One by one, each of the men laid their weapons down on the ground, then stood with their hands in the air as instructed. Six of the armed men stepped forward and started to collect the weapons while the remaining ones kept their guns trained on Jock and his men.
‘Take off your masks and get on your knees,’ Michael ordered.
‘Fuck you!’ one of the men, whose name Jock couldn’t recall, shouted, and without missing a beat, Sean Carter shot him in the knee, causing him to drop to the floor and howl in pain. One clean round straight through his kneecap. It had the desired effect and every other man dropped to their knees before removing their balaclavas.
‘Easy, tiger,’ Michael said to Sean but then he smiled and Jock saw a glimpse of the violence that these men were capable of. Sean and Michael Carter had a reputation that had followed them around like an urban legend all of their lives and Jock had always wondered whether it was true. Kneeling on the cold concrete floor of that warehouse, he knew the answer, although he wished he didn’t.
Michael walked over to the line of men and crouched down in front of one of them – Charlie Ross. ‘Who’s your boss?’ he asked. ‘Other than those two cunts, Alsatair and Jock. Who gives you your orders?
Charlie closed his eyes and shook his head. Michael stood up and pointed the gun at Charlie’s head. ‘I want to know who gives this man his orders. Who brought this shower of cunts to our city to try and take what was ours?’
‘I do,’ Jock answered.
‘Nah, not you, Jock. You’re his second.’ He indicated Alastair. ‘You two have been here since last night, so who bussed this gang of muppets here today? Who is your second, Jock?’
Nobody spoke and Michael pressed the barrel of the gun to Charlie’s head, causing him to whimper.
‘I do,’ Jerry Smith answered. ‘I give the lads their orders.’
Michael glared at Jerry and then looked up and down the line at the remaining men before speaking. ‘Thank you. That wasn’t so
hard now, was it?’
Michael summoned a few of his men over to him. ‘Round the rest of them up and put them on a bus back to Essex,’ he growled as he looked at the men kneeling before him. ‘But if I ever see any of your sorry faces again, I will personally put a bullet in each and every one of you,’ he shouted.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Murf and two of his bouncers, Carl and Gary, forced a bound and gagged Bradley Johnson into the back of Murf’s Land Rover. Murf and Gary climbed into the back seat so they were sitting either side of Bradley while Carl drove.
Bradley had spent the last two weeks chained up in Murf’s cellar with limited food and water, wondering what the hell was going to happen to him. He’d asked Murf over and over but, as he’d been instructed to, Murf had not uttered a single word to his captive. Luckily for him and Marie, the cellar was soundproof so they were both spared the sound of Bradley’s shouting and pleas for help, except for the few seconds when the cellar door opened. But now, Murf had a specific message to deliver.
‘You are quite possibly about to take your last trip anywhere on this earth, Bradley,’ Murf said quietly to him. ‘Alastair McGrath wants you dead, mate. And he has had paid me very good money to make sure you disappear for ever,’ he lied.
Bradley tried to talk but the gaffer tape over his mouth prevented him from doing anything but mumbling.
‘But he doesn’t just want me to kill you. No, he’d like you to suffer first. That’s why I’m taking you to a nice little garage I know of. I don’t want to be cleaning your blood up from my cellar for the next six weeks, do I?’
Bradley shook his head as tears started streaming down his face.
‘Look, mate. If it were up to me, it would be quick and clean. I don’t really go in much for this torture lark, I haven’t really got the stomach for it. But well, I’m being paid to do a job and he’s a crafty bastard, that Alastair, he wants me to keep certain parts of your body for him. I won’t tell you which ones just yet, wouldn’t want you to shit your pants in my car, but my own eyes watered when he told me.’ Murf shook his head and winced.
‘And did you know that you can tell whether parts of someone’s body were removed while they were alive or after they were dead?’ Murf asked.
Bradley started to scream.
‘Well, I didn’t either,’ Murf went on, ignoring Bradley’s muffled screams. ‘But Alastair tells me it’s true. He says he’ll know and I can’t take a chance, can I? Not when he’s paying me so well.’
Murf sat back in his seat and listened to Bradley crying.
‘You do have a choice though, Boss,’ Gary said after a few minutes. ‘Remember what Grace said?’
‘Nah, there’s no way Bradley will agree to that.’ Murf dismissed Gary with a wave of his hand while Bradley looked between the two men. Bradley started shouting.
‘What’s that you’re saying?’ Murf asked him with a grin. ‘I can’t hear you with that tape over your mouth.
‘For fuck’s sake, Boss,’ Gary said with a sigh and tore the tape from Bradley’s mouth.
‘What did she say?’ Bradley blurted out. ‘What?’
Murf narrowed his eyes and looked at Bradley. ‘Well, my boss, Grace Carter, she happens to hate Alastair McGrath as much as he hates you, so she did say she’d be willing to deal with him for you. She’d pay your debt and square it with him, but you’d have to do something for her in return, obviously.’
‘What?’ Bradley shouted. ‘I’ll do anything.’
Murf shrugged. ‘You need to tell the police that you murdered Billy.’
‘Billy? My brother? Why would I do that?’
‘Because, Bradley, Grace’s son and stepson are currently in prison awaiting trial for Billy’s murder, when we all know that you were really the one responsible. You may not have actually done it, but it was your fault, wasn’t it?’
‘But, but, I’ll go to prison for life,’ he stuttered. ‘And my brothers will never forgive me.’
‘Ah well, your brothers already hate your guts. Craig and Ged are at the garage too. Because of your little stunt Alastair isn’t happy with them either. So, it looks to me like you have two options. You can come with us now and know for certain that you and two of your brothers are going to die a slow and painful death, or you can go to prison for the next ten to fifteen years, safe in the knowledge that you have helped Grace Carter out of a hole and therefore she will make sure that no one tries to slit your throat or bum you in the showers while you’re there. What do you think?’
Bradley hung his head and sobbed.
‘Which is it to be?’ Gary asked.
‘I’ll tell them I killed Billy.’ Bradley sniffed as snot and tears ran down his face.
‘Good choice,’ Murf said as he patted Bradley’s back and winked at Gary. ‘We’ll take you to your brothers and when the police arrive, you can confess all. But remember, should you change your mind later down the line, that Grace and Michael Carter have lots of very good friends in very high places. There is nowhere you can go that we won’t find you,’ Murf warned him.
Bradley sat back in his seat, thoroughly defeated. Murf sat back too and swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. Thank fuck for that!
Chapter Fifty-Five
Murf and Carl jumped out of Murf’s Land Rover while Gary stayed behind to keep an eye on Bradley. They walked over to Mitch and Geoff, two more bouncers from Cartel Securities. Along with Mitch’s huge Alsatian, Woody, they had been drafted in for the night and were standing in the cold outside the former taxi garage on County Road.
‘They all in there?’ Murf asked.
The two men nodded.
‘And the copper is still tied up?’
‘Yeah,’ Geoff replied.
‘Conscious?’ Murf asked.
‘Doesn’t look like,’ Mitch said.
‘Right then, gents, let’s get this over with.’
The four men pulled balaclavas over their heads and then along with Woody stormed into the garage catching Craig and Ged Johnson entirely unawares. Craig picked up a nearby metal pole to defend himself while Ged scrabbled around on the floor. Woody pounced on Ged and Mitch followed him, kicking Ged to the jaw as he struggled to shake off the dog and stand upright. Meanwhile Geoff and Gary easily overpowered Craig, who, to his credit, put up a good fight. It wasn’t long though before the two Johnson brothers had their wrists and ankles bound. Ged continued to challenge them to a fight, despite being restrained, so Mitch punched him in the jaw and when that didn’t work, he stuffed an old dirty rag into Ged’s mouth.
Craig was slightly more reserved. ‘What’s this about? Do you know who we’re working for?’ Craig asked.
Murf nodded. ‘I know who you think you’re working for.’
‘What?’ Craig snapped.
‘You do know he’s a copper, don’t you?’ Murf asked as he walked over to Nick and checked him over. Nick groaned, his eyes flickered open for a few seconds and then he lost consciousness again.
‘What? Fuck! He’s not,’ Craig said as he looked between Murf and Nick.
Murf nodded. ‘Afraid so, mate.’
‘But…’ Craig said as he started to shake his head.
‘Oh, I can’t be arsed with all of this,’ Murf snapped. ‘Someone would like a word with you, Craig,’ he said as he took his mobile phone from his pocket and dialled a number. As he waited for it to be answered, he turned to Mitch. ‘Leave the dog in my car, would you, and bring that other soft prick in.’
Mitch nodded. ‘Come on, Woody,’ he called and his dog ran after him.
Craig watched as Murf put the phone to his ear as it was picked up on the other end. ‘Grace,’ he said with a smile and Craig frowned. What the fuck was going on? He didn’t have a clue. Why on earth had John not told him that they’d kidnapped a bizzie? He listened intently to Murf’s half of the conversation in the hope he might learn some answers.
‘Yes, he’s here. He’s been slipping in and out of consciousness while we’v
e been here but I checked him and he seems okay.
‘Yes, he’s here too. I’ll put you onto him.’
Murf moved closer and held the phone to Craig’s ear.
‘What the hell have you got yourself mixed up in, you stupid bastard?’ Grace said.
‘What do you know about it, and what the fuck is going on?’ Craig barked.
‘You tell me. Because there is all hell breaking loose. Something’s not right and I can’t quite put my finger on it,’ she replied.
‘It’s because you’re being betrayed, Grace,’ Craig replied, no longer knowing who he could trust. John had lied to them, and now they were at the mercy of Grace Carter’s men, not to mention that they had kidnapped a bloody police officer. Craig had to take a gamble and hope that it paid off. Grace had offered them a deal before and he hoped she might be amenable to another one.
‘Really? By who?’ Grace asked.
‘John Brennan. He has tried to fuck you over big time. He’s been working with Alastair McGrath all along. They’re planning to take you down, Grace.’
‘Really? You expect me to believe that? How would you even know something like that?’
‘Because he asked us to help him. I was the one who arranged the meeting with Alastair for him. He’s a two-faced backstabbing cunt. He’s left us here to take the rap for kidnapping a fucking bizzie.’
‘Well, whatever happens next, Craig, you just remember our agreement. You’ve kidnapped a copper and the police are going to be on their way to you at any minute. I’m about to deliver your brother, as I promised I would. Now, whatever happens next, I will look after you and your brothers, but only if you keep your end of the bargain. You know exactly what I want, so make sure I get it.’
‘Okay,’ Craig said. Then he looked up at Murf. ‘She’s gone,’ he said.
‘Good, now, as per my boss’s instructions, we have one final surprise for you two,’ Murf said as he straightened up. ‘Bring him in, boys,’ Murf shouted.
