by David Carter
“Don’t get too attached to her just yet,” said Blaze tersely.
“What happened next?”
“Dad had no choice but to leave. And to this day, I have no idea what has become of him. Like I said, he is probably living in some rat hole spending his benefit money on booze and hooch. My brother and sister missed him because he always treated them as a father should. I, on the other hand, got treated like shit, and wanted to see his sorry ass slung into prison. He was an abusive drunk who beat my mother, and even though I was young, I discovered what true hate felt like.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, this is where things get a bit messy. I was, and still am, the black sheep of the family. Trinity and James were the perfect children in my parents’ eyes. They did their chores, they did their homework, and they were happy to waste a whole Sunday going to church, becoming good little Christian soldiers. They did what they were told, when they were told. Then there was me. I hated coming home for the weekend from the dorms and doing all the chores my useless, lazy father should have done himself. And if I didn’t do what he commanded right away, he would beat me with the first thing he could lay his hands on: sticks, jug cords, belts, tools, fists, the list goes on...”
“Fucking asshole,” said Danny gruffly.
“He used them on me far too often when I was just a boy. I remember there was this one time that I refused to go and make his lunch while he was outside getting plastered. So instead, he ordered me to walk over to his chair and get another bottle of beer out of his bucket of ice. So I did. And as I bent over, he stood up behind me and kicked me in the ass, but the drunken fool over-compensated and nailed me in the nuts!”
“Shit, that’s a bit rough! You were only a kid!”
“I know. Now every time I nail someone’s nut sack, I pretend it’s my old man I’m punishing.”
“That explains quite a lot,” chuckled Danny. “Did you ever tell anyone he was abusing you?”
“Nah, I wasn’t much of a talker back then.”
“You’re doing okay now. In fact, you’re quite the storyteller.”
He brushed off Danny’s compliment and continued. “My mum managed to keep the house after Dad left. It was hard for her financially, but because we weren’t close, I think it was good that I lived in the dorms during the week so I wasn’t constantly around her. She was close with Trinity, and James was her pet. I thought he was a devious little shitbag, but that’s just my opinion. It probably helps that I don’t see things through rose tinted glasses like the rest of the world does. She did eventually sell the house once I left home, and lived at the school permanently. But now she’s probably living in a hotel thanks to me.”
“What do you mean, thanks to you?”
Blaze sniggered. “I burned the school to the ground about twelve days ago; hence my stint in the clink.”
“Whoa! Why the hell did you do that?”
“I’ll get to that later.”
“Dude, you are seriously the most insane person I’ve ever met.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” said Blaze with a grin. “Anyway, despite all the shit my dad did to me, there was a silver lining; I learned the art of defiance. I learned from a young age how to stand up for myself and how to be tough. When I was about six years old, I started to fight back. I don’t know what possessed me to take on my drunken father, I guess it was just always in my DNA.”
“I’d definitely agree with that after what I witnessed last night,” said Danny as he remembered Nugget and Bulldog’s horrific demise.
“By the time I was eight, before Mum kicked him out, I could wrestle free from my dad’s hold on me. I learned that my body had nine weapons I could use at any given time.”
“Nine weapons?”
“Two fists, two elbows, two knees, two feet, and my skull. I could break a kid’s nose with one decent punch when I was at primary school. And just for the record, I never went looking for trouble; it always found me. But I decided that if someone got in my grill for no reason, it was fair game to fuck them up. Not only did it teach them a fucking good lesson, it warned anyone else that might have the same stupid intentions to back the fuck off.”
Danny laughed. “Hard to disagree with that logic.”
“Do you know what’s really funny, Danny?”
“What’s that?”
“I didn’t actually have any beef with Nugget or Bulldog. That was all about Archer. He is the one who threw me in here, and he is the one who unlocked their cells commanding them to attack me. As far as I’m concerned, I acted in self-defence. And those sick home movies prove it. And let me tell you something else: if and when I have the chance to get him alone, I’m gonna make him wish he were fucking dead.”
Danny chuckled, and asked, “Blaze, just what did you do to make him put you in here in the first place?”
Blaze smirked as he said, “I have to admit, I may have provoked him a little...”
“Only a little?”
Blaze beamed as he said, “I wiped that smug grin off his fucking face by head butting his nose.”
“Ha ha!” Danny laughed. “I wondered why his nose was so swollen! I figured you might have had something to do with that!”
Blaze couldn’t stop grinning as he pictured Archer cradling his bloody face.
Danny finally got a hold of himself, then asked, “So your dad is the main reason you are such a mean fighting machine and why you are so angry at the world?”
“Nope, well, not the main reason...”
“Did I miss something?” asked Danny, confused. “Your dad was an abusive drunk who beat both you and your mum, and heavily favoured your brother and sister by treating them like angels. And he used his size and age to control your every move, or it was another beating for you to deal with. Did I leave anything out?”
“Nope. I agree that all of those things definitely contributed to who I am, but there is slightly more to it than that.”
“Jesus! What else did your dad do to you?”
“Apart from dunking my head in a trough until I nearly drowned? Not much really.”
“So, what then?”
“I’ll tell you the rest after I’ve choked down our pathetic excuse of a meal they call lunch around here.”
“Okay, man. Trust me when I say you will eventually get used to the food. In time, you will actually look forward to eating stale shit on toast.”
Blaze didn’t hear his comment as an idea had just popped into his head. And after a few moments of exploring his train of thought, he said, “With a bit of luck I won’t be here long enough to get used to eating that revolting shit. And with a little bit more luck, Danny boy, neither will you.”
Chapter 22
“So, where are we going for lunch?” asked Hampton as Ryan fired up the rumbling V8 engine in his Commodore.
“I saw a bar and grill on the main drag when I sped through town this morning. Shall we try there?”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
They made the short drive down the road, before Hampton said, “There it is,” as he pointed it out. “The Greasy Axle.” He chuckled. “Cool name.”
Ryan parked the car adjacent to the kerb before they walked inside. They sat down at a table next to a window, giving them a decent view outside. They picked up their menus, perusing their options while waiting to be served.
Ryan’s eyes lit up as he saw a gorgeous waitress coming over to greet them.
“Hello,” said Sharon cheerfully, “what can I get you guys? Or would you like to hear today’s special?”
Ryan couldn’t take his eyes off her, until he realised he had been staring at her for slightly too long without uttering a single word. “Wh-what can you recommend?” he stammered.
Sharon’s heart skipped a beat as she heard his husky voice, and she subtly peeked at his ring finger, noticing it was bare. Why, hello there, handsome, she thought.
“Today’s special is the Chevy cheeseburger. It comes wi
th curly fries and any beverage of your choice: including coffee, tea, beer, soft drink, juice, or bottled water. The cheeseburger has two grilled beef patties, topped with a mountain of bacon, melted cheddar cheese, with pickles, relish, and barbecue sauce.”
“That sounds like heaven to me,” said Hampton.
“Me, too,” agreed Ryan, who couldn’t help succumbing to his animal instinct, looking Sharon up and down. Her legs were stunning in her tight, faded blue jeans. He said, “I’ll have a flat white, no sugar, please.”
“Cappuccino, two sugars for me,” said Hampton.
“Won’t be long, boys,” said Sharon, giving Ryan a smile that sent his mind into a frenzy.
Hampton noticed Ryan checking out her behind as she scurried off to the kitchen. “How tidy is the ass on that one,” he said with a devious grin.
Ryan laughed. “Stop it, you dirty old man! I saw her first!”
Sharon returned with their coffees, and put Hampton’s down on the table in front of him. Instead of walking around the table to Ryan’s side, she leaned across it, placing his down in front of him, giving him a generous view of her luscious tanned cleavage inside her low-cut black T-shirt. They both thanked her before she returned to the kitchen.
“Jesus Christ! Did you see that?” bragged Ryan.
“No, I didn’t see a goddamn thing, you lucky bastard. If only I were still in my thirties; I’d give you young bucks a run for your money!”
Ryan playfully jabbed him in the shoulder. “We will find you a hot mama one day, mate. Even crazy old loonies like you deserve to be happy.”
“Ha! You just want the young, hot waitress all to yourself.”
“Damn right I do!”
They both laughed and exchanged opinions about Sharon’s assets right up until she brought their lunch over.
“Thank you. They look even better than you described,” said Ryan as he offered his hand and introduced himself. “I’m Cameron Ryan. And this old geezer here is Steve Hampton. We’ll be hanging around town for the next few days, so I’ll be sure to come back and check you out—er—I mean, check out the menu a few more times before we have to leave.” He blushed.
She giggled at his slip of the tongue as she felt his smooth, strong hand gently squeezing her fingers, sending electricity pulsing through her body. Where have you been hiding all this time, Mr Sexy?
As Sharon let go of his hand she said, “I’m Sharon King, the owner of this humble establishment. I hope you guys stick around for a while, as it’s not all that often I see fine gentlemen, such as yourselves, checking out this neck of the woods. So, if there is anything you need, anything at all, feel free to come back here and ask, okay?”
“Thanks, Sharon, we’ll be sure to do that. It’s been a pleasure meeting you.”
Believe me, the pleasure is all mine, she thought.
She told them to enjoy their meals, and returned to her busy lunch rush. Ryan constantly checked her out as she took orders, cleared tables, and delivered food. A manager who mucks in and works the floor; my kind of girl, he thought
When sure Ryan wasn’t looking, she, too, was subtly sneaking peeks at him. She hoped he took her up on her offer to help them with anything, especially their dietary needs.
Ryan finished his lunch, and drained the last mouthful of his coffee.
Hampton did the same. “Thanks for lunch, mate. That was seriously good,” he said as he patted his slightly-rounded stomach.
“The food wasn’t bad either,” said Ryan with a laugh.
They walked outside and sat in the car. Just as he went to start the engine, Ryan’s phone rang. He pulled it out of his shirt pocket and saw a number on the screen he didn’t recognise. He accepted the call. “Detective Ryan speaking.”
The voice on the other end of the line said, “Hello, detective, this is Anna Davies speaking from the Glendale Hospital. I have been instructed to inform you that Karl O’Brian has made it out of surgery in a stable condition. He isn’t awake now, but the surgeon is confident he has stopped all the bleeding, and you might be able to come see him later on this afternoon. But only if he is up to it,” she said sternly.
He thanked her and clicked off. “You little beauty!” he said excitedly.
“Who was that?” asked Hampton.
Ryan explained the phone call to him.
“We better go buy ourselves a lotto ticket! I thought he was a goner for sure.”
“I did, too. And if by some miracle O’Brian can identify the person who attacked him and Turner, we could have the asshole tracked down and arrested by the end of the day!”
Hampton playfully jabbed him in his thigh, then said, “Sometimes in our line of work, all it takes is a lucky break to crack a case wide open.”
Ryan thought about his flirtatious encounter with Sharon, then said, “I couldn’t agree with you more, old timer. And I think today might just be my lucky day.”
Chapter 23
Blaze and Danny were being escorted back to their cells from the mess hall with all the other inmates from The Wolves’ Den. Franks was one of a dozen guards assigned to keep them under control while free from their cells. Blaze’s ankle bracelets clinked and rattled as he shimmied along, purposely hanging to the rear of the procession so he could have a word with the guard. Much to his surprise, it was Franks who approached him first. He quietly said, “I heard you’ve made quite the name for yourself in the twenty-four hours you’ve been here.”
“What’s it to you?”
“Well, no one and I mean, no one has been able to lay a hand on Nugget, let alone kill him and Bulldog, who had a weapon I might add.”
“I only acted in self-defence; it was me or them. I chose the latter.”
Franks held up his hands in surrender. “Whoa! I wasn’t trying to accuse you of anything. I was complimenting you on how well you handled yourself. They barely put a scratch on you.”
Blaze shrugged. “I guess I got lucky.”
“Bullshit you did. Cut the humble pie act. The governor made me watch the footage this morning. I saw what you did to them and damn near lost my stomach when you shredded Bulldog’s guts open.”
“Like I said, it was me or them. I don’t fuck around when my life’s on the line. Plus, Bulldog really pissed me off.”
“You looked like you were possessed. You made two ruthless killers look like play dough in your hands.”
Blaze smirked. “See? I did get lucky. Archer sent me two little bitches to fight, and I made them piss their pants.”
Franks smiled. “Ah! There’s the arrogant little shit I’ve grown so fond of returning. Honestly, Bobby, humbleness doesn’t suit you.”
“Well, if that’s what you really think, it’d be rude of me not to say, stop fucking calling me Bobby, then, wouldn’t it?”
“Okay, you got it, Blaze. I just thought you might want to know that after what I saw on the video this morning, I’ve acquired a smidgen of respect for you. As in you backed up everything you said you could do in a fight. You weren’t full of shit. And I’m glad to be rid of Nugget and Bulldog.”
“After tonight, you’ll be rid of Poochie, too.”
“Do me a favour and make him suffer. Give that piece of shit what he bloody deserves.”
“I’ve got it covered.”
They continued walking in silence until Blaze said, “Hey, Frankie; can I ask you a question?”
“That depends on what it is.”
Blaze figured he had nothing to lose if his plan didn’t work, so he asked, “Do you honestly enjoy being Archer’s bitch?”
Alarm bells went off in Franks’ head as he digested the question. He grabbed Blaze by the scruff of the neck. “What the hell did you just call me?”
“Just saying it how it is...”
“Oh, it is, is it? I’ll have you know, Blaze, that I’d kill that psycho bastard if I could get away with it!”
Blaze was taken aback. “That’s music to my ears,” he replied. Franks let him go. “So why are yo
u his whipping boy then? Surely you don’t approve of The Wolves’ Den or any of the other crazy shit that goes on around here?”
Franks exhaled. “I don’t have a choice.”
“Fuck that,” said Blaze, visibly annoyed. “You always have a choice!”
Franks dropped his chin on his chest in defeat. “The governor has some dirt on me; information that could land me in prison on the same side of the bars as you. I could lose my wife, my kid, my house; everything! So I just turn a blind eye and do what I’m told.”
“Just kill him then. Problem solved.”
“It’s not that simple. He pays me under the table to keep my mouth shut. And with my pitiful salary and the cost of living these days, it’s almost impossible to turn it down.”
“What’s the ‘dirt’ he has on you?”
Franks sighed. “I’m involved with his other highly illegal activities beyond the walls of Winterhill, which my wife has no knowledge of. He’d blow the whistle on me and kill her just for kicks if I tried anything stupid. So, as you can see: I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place.”
Blaze knew a desperate man crying out for help when he saw one. “I understand your predicament, but sometimes you need to get some perspective. Money won’t make you happy. Trust me; I know from experience.”
“Oh, you do, do you? What are you? A goddamn millionaire?”
Blaze looked around to make sure no one was listening, and quietly said, “Let’s just say, I can make your money problems disappear if you promise to get me alone with Archer for ten minutes.”
“Are you bribing me?” whispered Franks.
“No, think of it more as a favour for a favour,” he replied.
“How can I trust you? For all I know, you could be full of shit.”
Blaze thought for a moment. “Tell you what, Frankie, if you can get me access to a computer, I’ll wire twenty grand into any account of your choosing as an act of good faith. And after I’ve dealt with Archer, I’ll wire you a further twenty grand. If you can make it happen within the next twenty-four hours, I’ll double your total to eighty grand.”
