Scorpio's Lot

by Ray Smithies

  The psychologist concluded by saying, ‘Think about what we’ve discussed today, and in particular, study the evidence and the profile we have on Brad Morgan. Take notes and if something doesn’t sit right, no matter how trivial, discuss it openly and remember, my phone line is always open.’

  ~ * ~

  I

  n the confines of the underground headquarters, Neville Bradbury sat quietly in a corner contemplating the events of the past twenty-four hours. He was by nature a humble and methodical man who was respected by his syndicate colleagues and subordinates alike. Undisputedly a loyal employee, he was however extremely disturbed by these latest murders. His active role was to effectively manage the Broadbent site and participate in the accumulation and distribution of drugs. Murder, or what could be described as being an accessory, was never part of the job criteria. Although not a practising Catholic, he did hold a degree of Christian values, which now seriously challenged his conscience over the organisation’s latest activities.

  Similarly, the Piedpiper was livid with the events that had unfolded. Although calculating, shrewd and extremely clever, the regional head drew the line with this sort of deplorable behaviour. Trying to keep a lid on the southern operation was hard enough, let alone the untold damage the media had brought on the syndicate. This arrogant and blatant public display of yesterday’s cruelty was the last straw. Victor Marlow’s judgment was beginning to come under question.

  By stark contrast, Charlie and Brad Morgan were relishing the after-math of the successful punishments and executions. In their sordid and twisted minds the enemy had received their just rewards and a strong warning had been posted to the Traffik supremo Indigo.

  The general mood reflected contrasting behaviours within the organisation. Both Neville and Sol, being extremely loyal to the Piedpiper, preferred the careful and less violent approach. Morgan and Charlie thrived on the blunt and murderous traits of Victor Marlow, who in turn took delight at the inventive methods of revenge. The torture display on Pedley Hill had brought tensions to a head. No longer prepared to keep silent, Bradbury decided the time had come to confide in his boss.

  He placed a phone call to the regional head to air his concerns. ‘These latest killings don’t sit comfortably with me,’ he commenced.

  ‘In what way, Neville?’ asked the Piedpiper.

  ‘All that cruelty ... and then to put them on display for the bloody entire world to see! Like most people, I took a quick look and the sight of those three men nearly made me throw up.’

  ‘I agree. I’m at my bloody wits’ end with Morgan and Marlow’s appetite for revenge. So your conscience is troubling you over this incident?’

  ‘Yes, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. You know me, Piedpiper. I’ve always been a willing player, but this is different. Cold-blooded murder is not something I take kindly to and particularly in the way this latest spectacle has been carried out.’

  ‘Neville, I won’t hold that against you, but it’s not your place to question the syndicate’s motives outside your own responsibilities.’

  ‘I disagree,’ said a defiant Bradbury. ‘Were all affected by this atrocity, whether directly or not As far as the law is concerned we’re immediately assumed guilty by being a member of Scorpio. I will humbly accept involvement and responsibility for drug distribution, but never murder at this blatant level.’

  ‘I appreciate and respect your opinion, and to a degree I share your sentiments, but I must emphasise these were decisions initiated outside Pedley. What I intend doing is to persuade Marlow to give me greater control of the region.’

  ‘But why have Morgan and Charlie gone to such lengths in torturing these people? Ferret may have blabbed to the cops, but his punishment was way over the top.’

  ‘That directive came from Marlow,’ stated the regional head, ‘but I’m not sure that he instructed the punishment to be carried out to that extent. I couldn’t reach him by phone yesterday so I’ll try again shortly. Ours is not to question his methods, but there’s a limit to what one can tolerate.’

  ‘You realise there’ll be a visit from the cops at any time?’

  ‘Naturally, being Ferret’s place of employment. But there’s no direct link with the hill massacre, so just play it cool. Call me after they’ve been,’ instructed the Piedpiper.

  ‘The media worries me with all their snooping around,’ Bradbury persisted.

  ‘Yes, a further concern. As if the Molly Bloom wasn’t enough, and now this. You’d swear this operation was doing its utmost to attract and not deter attention.’

  ‘That’s an understatement,’ agreed Bradbury.

  ‘Our problems began the day this bloody psychopath Morgan arrived. The guy has the impertinence to believe he’s a protected species simply because he reports directly to the Keeper. Let me tell you that while he resides in the southern region, he must come under my jurisdiction. This is the point Marlow must agree on. He has to relinquish command if we’re to regain some stability.’

  ‘Do you think he’ll cooperate?’

  ‘Bloody better, otherwise we’ll go down the gurgler at this rate. It’s always been the fuckin’ outside influences creating the turmoil we find ourselves in -’

  ‘Gotta go!’ Bradbury quickly hung up. He had seen Morgan and Charlie walk by the chamber entrance. He wondered if the two had eavesdropped on his conversation and heard his objections about yesterday’s public atrocity.

  Morgan had glanced at Bradbury and seen him fumble with his mobile, giving the impression he was trying to hide something. Morgan was about to let fly with a verbal gibe but decided to let it pass.

  ‘Don’t trust that guy,’ he said to Charlie a short distance from the chamber. ‘Something doesn’t sit right with him.’

  ‘That’s bullshit. Ya wouldn’t find a more loyal person than Neville,’ Charlie responded in Bradbury’s defence.

  ‘Still don’t trust him. I’ll keep my eye on him from now on,’ insisted Morgan.

  ‘Yer overreactin’, just because he didn’t agree to the executions.’

  ~ * ~

  When Bradbury hung up abruptly, the Piedpiper pondered for a while over what they had discussed. The regional head was beginning to understand the repercussions the hill massacre had brought on the organisation. A newly created rift between syndicate members was apparent and it was important to diffuse the situation before it escalated further. The Piedpiper decided to make another attempt to call Marlow in light of this contentious issue.

  After numerous tries without success the regional head was pleased when Marlow finally answered so they could discuss these current developments.

  ‘Piedpiper here, Victor. You haven’t responded to my messages.’

  ‘I’ve been too busy with a number of city deals.’

  ‘I don’t accept that excuse. We have a major problem in Pedley and you chose to ignore the aftermath of yesterday’s chaos.’

  ‘Steady on. Morgan’s already informed me and everything appears to be in order.’

  ‘So you choose to talk to Morgan but not me, not your regional head.’

  ‘But all appears fine, there’s nothing to worry about,’ declared the Keeper.

  ‘It’s a bloody catastrophe! Victor, do you fully understand the consequences of your directive to Morgan and Charlie?’

  ‘By the sound of your tone, you better enlighten me.’

  The Piedpiper gave Marlow a clear and accurate account of the methods of torture employed by Morgan and their ultimate execution purposely displayed for public viewing.

  ‘That’s not how Morgan described it,’ Marlow said.

  ‘I don’t give a shit how your lackey described it! These are the facts and I’m left to clean up the mess! Who gave the orders to have this massacre carried out?

  ‘I gave instructions to rough them up beforehand, but I certainly did not issue orders for a public display.’

  ‘Then let me tell you what I have inherited. Firstly, the police will turn Broadbent u
pside down given their earlier suspicions. This in turn places enormous pressure on Neville Bradbury. Then the question arises, will their investigation uncover the entrance to the underground –‘

  ‘Unlikely,’ Marlow cut in.

  ‘Secondly, the media is here in droves because an incident like this creates both regional and national attention. They will undoubtedly cotton on to the fact that Ferret had a connection with Broadbent.’

  ‘Yes, but the cops have never proven that any link exists between the warehouse and the syndicate,’ Marlow responded, unperturbed.

  Ignoring Marlow’s comment, the Piedpiper continued in an aggressive manner. ‘On a further matter, I can’t relocate the vast supply of drugs because there’s simply nowhere else they can be taken to, let alone the risk involved in a logistics operation. And don’t even contemplate the idea of using the farm, because we’d never get past the outskirts of Pedley before the police were onto us.’

  ‘Under the circumstances we’ll continue to take a punt on the underground.’

  ‘How aptly put - take a punt! Victor, our position has become vulnerable. You would need to take a punt in most situations!’

  ‘Any further concerns?’ prompted Marlow in a nonchalant tone.

  ‘I haven’t even begun. This little episode on the hill yesterday has caused tension within our own ranks. This will be a major problem if left unattended. Further, we still have the issue of what to do with Brigit O’Neill. She can’t be left indefinitely in her cell and I’m still waiting for your answer on that.’

  ‘You’ll have my answer shortly,’ offered Marlow, somewhat surprised at his subordinate’s offensive nature.

  ‘A further consideration not to be ignored is the threat from Traffik’s Indigo. Do you really believe for one minute this person will lie down and take it on the chin? No bloody way! This guy will be so totally pissed off and God help anyone that gets in his way. You’ve assisted the authorities in capturing four of his hierarchy, tortured and murdered two of his men and literally destroyed his operation in one swift move. Expect some repercussions from this individual because he now becomes what many would see as your prime nemesis. A case of watching your back from now on, Victor, because Indigo won’t rest without making Scorpio pay.’

  ‘You’re going too far with your fucking accusations!’ said the Keeper.

  ‘Bullshit, Victor. Let me tell you something. I have turned this southern operation into one of the country’s leading distribution centres. In the space of three weeks a multi-million dollar industry has been transformed into a dormant wasteland

  ‘You’re exaggerating.’

  ‘Why? Because a certain individual called Brad Morgan was sent by you to take care of our business? The guy’s a psychopath who has left a trail of murders attracting national attention. In my opinion Morgans an utter fruitcake. You only have to look at his theatrics with the two scorpions in cell five, let alone the hill atrocity. Had you left us in peace to clean up our own backyard these problems wouldn’t exist.’

  ‘Morgan’s already been reprimanded for borrowing Salt and Pepper,’ the Keeper said.

  ‘Providing the punishment fits the crime,’ replied the Piedpiper dryly.

  Ignoring his subordinate’s passing swipe, Victor pressed on. ‘Do you believe the southern operation can be rescued from its present state?’ He was more subdued now, following the Piedpiper’s outburst.

  ‘Let me put it to you this way. At the moment I’m totally and utterly pissed off at seeing this operation trying to destroy itself. I don’t believe you fully understood the seriousness of the situation until this phone call. To answer your question, there are three vital components for survival. The first is patience. We need to take a back seat for a while until all this hype and publicity subsides. The second is luck. My biggest concern is the authority’s further search of Broadbent’s. Fortunately the entrance is inconspicuously camouflaged, but we can never take for granted that it’s foolproof. The third is control. You must give me total command of the region, which includes complete authority over all affiliated members who are in my jurisdiction on business.’

  ‘That’s a bloody big ask.’

  ‘Then how else would it work, Victor?’

  ‘As always, I will control operations from my city office,’ Marlow said in his typically dogmatic way.

  ‘The situation has changed considerably with all these recent murders.’

  ‘Shouldn’t make any difference if it’s the media and cops you’re worried about.’

  ‘But you’re rarely here, Victor. There has been and will be times when decisions need to be made immediately and I can’t depend on some return phone call that arrives too late,’ pressed the Piedpiper.

  ‘You push a hard bargain.’

  ‘No, I push for commonsense to prevail.’

  Silence followed.

  ‘Let me think about it,’ Marlow finally responded.

  The Piedpiper was impatient with Marlow’s deliberation. ‘Not good enough. I need your decision now, Victor.’ The regional head knew Marlow would take forever to make up his mind.

  ‘Very well, but I’ll only agree to a trial run of three months. At the end of this time I will reassess and give you my final answer.’ Marlow was not comfortable with being forced to let go of the reins.

  ‘Then three months it is,’ replied the Piedpiper, thinking this arrangement was at least a positive move to keep the likes of Morgan under tighter control. ‘Effective immediately, Victor?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Good, we now have an understanding.’

  ‘I’ll be down in a week or two to see how I can lend my support. Anything further?’

  ‘No, it can wait until your visit,’ responded the Piedpiper.

  ‘With this additional responsibility you must keep me informed at least twice a week, understand?’ Marlow instructed. He wondered whether his regional head had become a liability.

  ~ * ~

  A

  lan Forbes had just concluded his summary in front of the local task force and issued instructions to carry out a further search of Broadbent. Despite the previous failed investigation, he was determined to get to the bottom of the suspicious circumstances surrounding this warehouse. He decided that Doyle and Carpenter would return to reassess the establishment. After the psychologist’s recommendation to pursue the whereabouts of Morgan and Charlie, he instructed Marsh and Burke to call on Ferret’s friend Hassan.

  Today the detective had his own destiny to deal with, for at two o’clock he was to conduct his first media conference in front of the national press. Pressure had mounted to the point where Forbes could no longer ignore the persistence coming from both the tabloid fraternity and head office.

  ~ * ~

  Doyle and Carpenter’s unannounced arrival at the warehouse did not surprise Neville Bradbury. He had anticipated their visit as a result of Ferret’s terrible death. After all, this had been Ferret’s place of employment and therefore a call from the constabulary was to be expected.

  ‘Good morning, gentlemen, how can I help you today?’ welcomed Bradbury.

  ‘We’re here primarily with young Ferret in mind,’ Doyle said. ‘Shocking business, that slaughter on the hill.’

  ‘That’s an understatement, detective. We’re all shattered by his death. I believe the funeral will be held this Friday.’

  ‘How well did you know Ferret, Mr Bradbury?’ asked the detective.

  ‘As well as any employer.’

  ‘What do you mean by that exactly?’ Doyle pressed.

  ‘We didn’t mix socially, but I always had his best interests at heart as I do with all my staff. I often said to Ferret that my door was always open if he needed to discuss any matter or concern.’

  ‘Yes, Ferret spoke highly of you when we last interviewed him. Did he ever take up your offer?’

  ‘Occasionally, when he got himself into financial difficulty. Ferret would ask me for an advance to help out with things.’
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br />   ‘And did you?’

  ‘Yes, three times. I didn’t mind since Ferret was never one to complain when I asked him to work overtime now and again. If there’s a bit of give and take you generally have a productive relationship,’ responded Bradbury.