Nick walked towards them slowly, the smile still on his face. ‘I don’t really know if there’s anyone else,’ he said, then he looked right past them ‘Oh no! Look. I think there’s someone over there.’ He pointed at a spot behind them and they all turned to look. Even Beth, Dan and the girls. ‘Oh no,’ Nick said. ‘It’s no one.’ He chuckled, then apologised. ‘Sorry about that,’ he said
‘You fuckin’ wanker!’ the big ginger haired bloke suddenly shouted. ‘You’re gonna be sorry you did that.’
‘I already am,’ Nick told him. ‘That’s why I said sorry.’
‘Ok funny man,’ Brett interrupted. ‘You got us with that one, but don’t expect it to happen again. Now get over here!’ For some reason he was feeling unusually tense. He was sure there were others hiding around.
‘I’m coming as fast as I can Brett,’ Nick told him. ‘That is your name? Brrett.’ Nick stretched the name out, still smiling. ‘I’m sorry Brett. It’s my leg you see. It makes it hard for me to walk.’ He stopped and thumped his right leg as if to demonstrate. ‘See? It’s dead as an old log. Fucking bad back you see.’ He started limping towards them even slower now.
‘Shouldn’t have done that.’ Nick shook his head as if at his own stupid behaviour. ‘It always makes it worse. You’d think a bad back would hurt your back wouldn’t you?’ He smiled to himself as two of Brett’s men nodded. Brett glanced at them and frowned. ‘But no,’ he told them. ‘A bad back can cause odd feelings in your legs. You get-’
‘Shut the fuck up!’ Brett suddenly shouted hysterically, making everyone around him jump. But now Nick was only a few feet away from Brett’s men, and they were all smiling and relaxed.
The Land Rover was on his right and everyone was on this side of it. Brett’s men were strung out in a kind of half circle, guarding the girls and Dan.
‘I’m sorry Brett,’ Nick said, stopping and leaning to one side as if his leg was really starting to pain him.
‘You just shut the fuck up!’ Brett yelled at him again. This time with a little more control. ‘I swear if you say one more fuckin’ word I’m gonna fuckin’ kill you right now.’ Brett’s face was still bright red with anger.
Nick nodded, his face suddenly turning very serious. ‘So it’s killing we are talking about now is it Brett?’ he asked, beginning to prepare himself. ‘I’ve got to warn all of you men now,’ he said. ‘If you live by the sword then you will most likely die by it.’
‘That’s it! You’re a fuckin’ dead man. Gazza! Drag that stupid bastard over here.’
One of the men nodded then stepped out from the middle of the group. He came over to Nick holding his baseball bat out in front of him.
‘Move twat!’ he told Nick, grinning and poking him with the bat.
Nick moved. His left hand came up in a blur and he snatched the bat straight out of Gazza’s hand. His right hand came up at the same time. It was holding his hunting knife. He swiped the razor sharp blade across the inside of Gazza’s right forearm. Blood gushed out from the wound and Gazza screamed. Beth and the girls also screamed. Dan screamed. Even a couple of Brett’s men screamed. Using the distraction Nick leapt to his left and moved past the bleeding man. Gazza was still screaming and holding his hand over the wound. He was trying to stop the blood pouring out. Nick knew that without immediate medical attention he would bleed out quickly. He now leapt towards the man on the far left. The one who had stopped Dan. He swung the bat he’d taken left handed at the man’s head. The man ducked away easily from it but Nick just dropped the bat then, and in one fluid move he was behind him with his razor sharp hunting knife pressed tight against the man’s throat. The man started to struggle but Nick pressed the knife a little harder, causing a thin red line to appear and trickle of blood to start running down his neck.
‘I wouldn’t move if I were you sunshine,’ Nick said quietly into his ear.
‘Don’t cut me man. Please,’ he gurgled. ‘I don’t want to die.’
‘You should have thought about that before you came here ready to kill other people sunshine,’ he said loud enough for everyone to hear.
‘You’re a fuckin dead man!’ Brett was furious as he started to move towards him.
‘Shut up Brett,’ Nick said sounding bored. ‘You already told me that. Now fucking stand still! Nobody move a fucking inch! Or sunshine here gets a nice cut as well.’
‘Do you think I give a fuck about him?’ Brett bellowed, but he stopped moving. Nick looked around and saw that he now had everybody’s attention. They were also now facing away from the pier and he smiled as he saw Bill coming out at a lumbering run.
‘Probably not,’ Nick replied. ‘Your kind never do. Did you hear that sunshine? He doesn’t give a fuck if I slice your throat open.’ He pushed the knife a little bit deeper and more blood started to run down the man’s neck.
‘Aah,’ the man gurgled. ‘Please Sergeant.’ He looked at Brett pleadingly.
‘Haha! Sergeant?’ Nick laughed as he quickly glanced around. The girls and Dan were all huddled together now and they were a little apart from Brett’s men. Brett’s three remaining men, well the two remaining men and the one skinny boy had also started to huddle together. Nick noticed that they had also moved closer to Brett and the Jeep. He could see quite plainly that the fight was going out of them fast.
Beth was staring at him. He looked straight at her then flicked his eyes right, and although she was as shocked as the others by his actions, he could see that she understood his meaning. Run when you get the chance.
That was when twenty or so stone of bone, muscle and fat suddenly hit the grouped men from behind. Bunched together as they were, they all hit the ground hard in a tangle of arms and legs.
‘Now run!’ Nick shouted suddenly, looking at Beth. ‘Get the kids back to the cars!’ Beth needed no further encouragement. She started grabbing and shoving the girls into movement. They shrieked a little and then they took off, running in the direction of the hotel where they had parked the cars last night.
Bill was rolling around on the ground now. He was kicking, punching and biting at any flesh that wasn’t his. Nick then noticed that Dan hadn’t moved.
‘I said go now Dan!’ he shouted at him.
But Dan just stood there dumbly for a second. He looked at him standing there, holding his knife against the man’s throat then he looked at Bill, rolling around. He obviously then realised that he couldn’t help. There were tears in his eyes as he suddenly shook his head, then took off, running after the girls.
Nick frowned at what he was about to do then dragged his knife across the man’s throat. He quickly jumped back to avoid the spurting blood.
‘Sorry sunshine,’ he said as the man fell to the ground holding his throat. ‘I’m taking no chances at the moment.’ He looked over at the guy called Gazza. He had stopped screaming now and he was just lying still on the ground with a vacant expression on his face. There was a very large pool of blood around him. Nick had sliced deeply across his inner forearm, cutting right through his Radial and his Ulnar Artery. He would not live for much longer but Nick wasn’t going to lose much sleep over that. As far as he was concerned these men didn’t deserve to live.
So it was just the heaving bundle of men on the ground now that he had to deal with. He turned to observe the grunts and shouts as the men thrashed, punched and rolled about. Nick smiled at Bill’s fighting technique. There was no technique, but he was doing ok. At least he knew that any flesh that wasn’t his was a target. Nick noticed that the other four seemed to be hitting each other just as much as they were hitting Bill. He couldn’t let it go on for much longer though. He was too aware that another vehicle was on its way. He would have to finish this as quickly as possible.
He wondered again what was going on here. Why would they be collecting girls? He shook his head. He would think about that later, if they got out of this. He then aimed a kick at the bundle of men, catching Ginger full in the face. The man went limp as he noticed Brett gl
aring up at him. The big man pulled himself out of the tangle of men to roll away and stand up on the other side of it. He got to his feet slowly, looking battered and bruised.
‘You’re a fuckin’ dead man!’ Brett said staring across at him.
‘Change the bloody record Brett,’ Nick told him, grinning and glancing down. Bill had grabbed hold of a head and he was bouncing it off of the concrete. The skinny kid had also managed to pull himself away now and he stood up shakily. He took one look over at Nick then he started backing away. Bill finally let go of the head he was smashing and then he just lay there panting. Nick nodded to him and the big man nodded back wearily. He looked a right mess. Ginger picked that moment to wake up, but he just struggled to his feet then stood there, leant over, panting. Nick could see that he had nothing left to give. He looked almost as bad as Bill. His face was covered with blood from his smashed nose, he looked blearily at Nick then hung his head again. He’d had enough.
But it seemed that Brett hadn’t yet. Nick saw that Brett was glaring at him with pure hatred. ‘I was having a nice fuckin’ day!’ he suddenly snarled.
Nick glared back at him. ‘Funnily enough so were we until you bastards turned up!’ He threw a quick glance down at Bill. The big fella was up on his knees and was starting to crawl away slowly. So it was just him and Brett now left glaring at each other. Nick backed away a few feet.
‘Scared now are you fucker?’ Brett took a step towards him.
Nick glanced at Bill. Amazingly, he was now managing to get slowly to his feet behind Brett. Even better, he had also managed to pick up one of the baseball bats.
‘Angry are you Brett?’ Nick asked, trying to keep Brett’s attention on him.
‘Oh I’m fuckin’ very angry you fuckin’ little bastard! You haven’t got a clue who or what you’re dealing with here.’
‘Oh I’ve got a good idea what you are Brett.’
‘I don’t think you do fucker. Why don’t you put down that fancy knife of yours and face me like a man?’
‘I would really like to Brett but I’m in a bit of a hurry you see.’ Nick could hear a car coming now, but Brett, in his hatred and anger was still completely fixated on Nick. Behind him Bill pulled back the baseball bat. Nick thought that Ginger or the kid might shout out a warning to him but they didn’t.
Brett laughed. ‘You’re in a bit of a hurry are you? Well that’s fuckin’ ri-’
Whatever Brett had been about to say was suddenly cut off as Bill swung the baseball bat. It thumped so hard into the back of his head that it knocked him forward and he collapsed down onto the hard concrete.
Nick heard the car now approaching rapidly from behind him now. He turned to face it, ready to kill anyone who got in his way. He was therefore completely surprised to see Beth at the wheel of the Astra. She came in fast and screeched to a stop right beside him, then shouted out of the car window at them both to get in now! Bill dropped the bat, stumbled to the car and climbed into the back seat. Nick jogged around the car and opened the front passenger door. In the back Sammy and Kay were squeezing over to make room for Bill to fit in. Obviously trying not to touch him and Dan was in the far back, squashed in with their stuff. Once Nick and Bill were both in the car Beth put her foot down hard and spun the car in a complete circle. She then took off. Driving fast, back up the ramp and onto the main road.
Chapter seventeen
As they hit the main road they went shooting past a blue range rover coming the other way. It went straight down the ramp and onto the promenade.
‘That was too bloody close,’ Beth said, her grip tight on the steering wheel.
‘You did really good back there Beth but keep calm now and keep driving. Go faster if you can. Really fast would be excellent right at this moment.’ Nick glanced back. As they had passed he had noticed that there were only two men in the Range Rover, but if they all had radios it wouldn’t be long before others were sent after them. ‘We have to get away from this area.’
He realised that he was still holding his knife but looking at it, he was reluctant to put the bloodied blade back into the sheath. He saw Beth glance quickly over at.
‘Keep your eyes on the road,’ he told her. She did so but not before he saw the revulsion on her face.
‘How can you do that?’ she asked. She was calming down a little now.
‘Take the next left turn,’ he told her, ignoring the question. Beth spun the car in a tight turn. ‘Now the next right.’
‘Do you even know where you’re going?’
‘No, but if I don’t then they won’t either. We’ll have to find somewhere to hide. They’ll probably have some of the roads out of this place blocked.’
‘Mum can we get some clothes on?’ It was Sammy from the back seat where she was squashed against her sister. Both of the girls and Dan were still only wearing their new swimming costumes. Nick turned in his seat to look at them. Kay was squashed up against the door and Sammy was desperately trying not to touch Bill. Bill had his eyes closed and looked as if he was in a lot of pain.
‘Soon love,’ Beth told her daughter. ‘We’ll find somewhere safe and get some of your other clothes out of the back.’
Kay looked at Nick. Her big brown eyes were locked on his. ‘We shouldn’t have gone swimming should we?’ she asked him seriously.
‘No. It wasn’t the best idea we’ve had’ he answered. ‘But what’s done is done.’
Nick turned to face front again. ‘Parking sign!’ He pointed out to Beth. ‘Take the next left and follow the parking signs.’
Beth swung the car again and the girls were thrown against Bill. Sammy shrieked.
Bill groaned. ‘Don’t worry love,’ he said quietly as she pulled herself away from him. ‘I don’t bite.’
‘Why have you got blood coming out of your mouth then?’ Kay asked him.
‘Unfortunately it’s all mine.’ Bill told her, closing his eyes again.
‘Girls, leave Bill alone!’ Beth shouted at them as she negotiated a tight turn in the road and then pulled sharply onto the down ramp of a basement car park. It went suddenly dark and Beth stopped the car. ‘I can’t see,’ she said.
‘Wait a bit. Don’t turn on the car lights. Your eyes will adjust in a bit,’ Nick told her. ‘I’m going to get out. When you can see well enough to drive take the car in and park, then turn off the engine and keep quiet.’
‘Where are you going?’
‘Nowhere. I’ll be right behind you. I just need to make sure we’ve lost them.’ With that Nick opened the door and climbed out. In truth Nick just needed to be on his own for a little while to clear his head. No matter how many times he did it and how deserved it was. He rarely felt very good after killing someone. He watched as the car started to go slowly down the ramp and into the darkness then he crept back up the ramp until he could see out. It was deadly silent out on the street and there seemed to be no one around. He stayed hidden behind a concrete pillar though and watched carefully for a little while to make sure, before he started to walk back down the ramp. He went slowly to let his eyes adjust to the darkness of the underground car park and he was completely unaware that he was still carrying the large blood covered knife in his right hand.
The blue Range Rover sped down the ramp onto the promenade. Both occupants of the car had seen the Astra shoot past them and they gave each other a look.
‘What the fuck?’ the driver swore then speeded up. At the bottom of the ramp there was carnage. Four men were lying out on the ground near to the green Land Rover and there was blood everywhere. They could see Mervin kneeling nearby with his ginger head hanging down. The sixth member of Brett’s crew was missing. The driver stopped the car and turned off the ignition, then they just stared dumbly at the scene before them. They were both extremely reluctant to get out.
After some time they saw Mervin lift his head and look over at them. His face was a complete mess and he was covered in blood. They both climbed out of the car slowly and walked over to where
he was kneeling.
‘What the fuck happened Merv?’ the driver asked. He was a tall slim man, with greying hair and he walked slightly stooped over. His legacy from years of looking into car engines. The former mechanic stopped in front of one of the men lying on the ground. Thick blood had pooled around his throat and his head was at a strange angle due to half of his neck hanging out. ‘Fuck me Bob! It’s Barry! He’s dead.’
‘Jesus!’ the other man swore. ‘Look at them!’ He was short and stocky, a former butcher and well used to the sight of blood and meat. ‘It’s a fucking massacre!’
‘There was nothing I could do Sergeant,’ Mervin was mumbling. They had trouble understanding his words due to his smashed nose. He suddenly spat, spraying more blood onto the ground in front of him. ‘There was nothing I could do Dave,’ he then said, wiping his mouth on his filthy arm and looking blearily up at the tall mechanic.
‘Jesus Mervin. Your face is a right fucking mess. Let’s just see if you can stand up eh,’ he said to him. ‘Let’s get you out of all this fucking blood.’ He turned to stocky Bob. ‘Get on the radio mate and tell them-tell them. Oh I don’t fucking know! Tell them anything.’
Movement caught Dave’s eye. It was one of the men lying on the ground. ‘It’s Brett!’ he called over to Bob. ‘He’s still alive. Get them to send for the Doc and tell them to hurry.’ He went over to Brett and helped him sit up.
‘Where am I?’ Brett mumbled as he slowly sat up. His head dropped down onto his chest.
‘Look at me Brett,’ Dave told him. Brett’s head came up slowly. His gaze was unfocused. ‘Help is on the way Brett,’ he told him. ‘Can you remember what happened?’
New World: Nick Smith Book one (Nick Smith Series 1) Page 11
