Respect (Mandasue Heller)

by Mandasue Heller

  ‘That right?’ A sly smile lifted Big T’s lips as his huge frame filled the doorway. This had started out as a favour to Anton, but it was starting to sound like a way to earn himself a heap of hush money. He strolled up to the cowering man now and, reaching down, yanked him back up to his feet. ‘Start singing, blud!’

  It was fifteen minutes before Rob regained consciousness. He’d been so convinced that it was the police when he saw the vehicle coming at them that he had jumped out of the car and started legging it. But he had stood no chance of getting away and the last thing he remembered before he went down was a tremendous, blinding pain as he was struck by something hard on the back of the head.

  His head was throbbing painfully now, and he groaned as he peeled his eyes open. The room was spinning and it took several seconds before his vision steadied enough for him to recognise that he was in his office. That confused him, because he’d been sure that he would either be in hospital or a police cell.

  The overhead light was switched off, and the only illumination was coming from Adam’s desk lamp. When he saw a silhouetted figure in the shadows on the other side of the desk, he licked his dry lips and croaked, ‘That you, Adam?’

  ‘’Fraid not.’

  Alarmed to hear a voice he didn’t recognise, Rob tried to move but realised quickly that he was tied to the chair he was sitting on.

  ‘What’s going on?’ he asked, straining against the cord that was binding his hands. ‘Who are you?’

  ‘That don’t concern you,’ Anton said quietly.

  ‘Where’s Adam?’

  ‘Gone.’

  Rob gave a sneering smile. ‘Big mistake, that. He’ll be back any minute with backup.’

  ‘Wouldn’t bank on it,’ Anton said unconcernedly as he rose from his seat and walked around the desk. ‘See, your mate seemed to think we were looking for someone called Perry and he totally gave you up. We know all about the dude you stabbed, the girl you OD’d, and the old bird you set on fire. You’re quite the little serial killer, innit?’

  ‘Where is he?’ Rob demanded furiously. ‘I’ll kill him!’

  ‘Probably on his way to the airport, if he’s got any sense.’

  ‘So, what are you going to do with me?’

  ‘Dunno.’ Anton shrugged. ‘Haven’t decided yet.’

  ‘Well, I suggest you hurry up,’ Rob said through gritted teeth as he tried again to free his hands.

  ‘Yo, chill out!’ Anton warned. ‘Don’t wanna go cutting your wrists now, do you?’

  Rob glared up at him. ‘You do know you’re dead when I get out of here, don’t you?’

  ‘And what makes you think you’re getting out?’ Anton goaded.

  Rob held his stare for several long moments. Then, inhaling deeply to regain composure, he said, ‘All right, what are you after? Money? I can give you money. How much? Name it!’

  ‘Behave!’ Anton kissed his teeth in disgust. ‘I don’t need your money, man. That ain’t got nutt’n to do with this.’

  ‘Oh, I see …’ Rob’s lip curled up when it suddenly occurred to him what was really going on here. ‘It’s her, isn’t it? So, what is she? Your bird?’

  ‘Nah, man, she’s my homegirl,’ Anton informed him.

  ‘Homegirl?’ Rob repeated, sneering up at the boy. ‘You lot crack me up, you really do. You strut around like gangsters, trying to put the fear of God into us whiteys, but one sniff of pussy and you roll over like dogs in heat. And I wouldn’t even mind if she was worth it.’ He paused and gave the youth a sly grin before adding, ‘You do know I’ve had her, right? And if I snapped my fingers she’d come running without giving you a second thought. Know why? ’Cos I’m everything you wish you were.’

  Anton stepped directly in front of the chair and leaned down to look Rob square in the eye. ‘Finished?’

  Rob gave a slow smile when he saw the sweat beads trickling down the boy’s face. He’d thought it was the police coming after him when he’d first seen the car, but Julia, or Chantelle, or whoever she was, had obviously had her puppy dog following them all along. And now the kid was playing the hero defending the honour of the damsel in distress.

  ‘You seem like a smart lad,’ he said, changing tack and playing for time. ‘And I’m guessing you’ve got ambitions beyond just being a big fish on whatever piss-puddle estate you come from.’

  ‘What you on about?’ Anton demanded.

  ‘I’m on about you wising up before this goes too far,’ said Rob. ‘I get why you’re doing this, and I kind of admire you for having the balls to try and pull it off. But you haven’t really thought it through, have you? I mean, you’ve got me here – but what now? You gonna kill me? Then what?’

  Anton raised his foot and gave the chair a shove, sending it and Rob thudding to the floor. Then, stepping forward, he stood over his captive who lay winded beneath him, a grimace of pain on his face as his full weight pressed down on his bound hands.

  ‘Know your problem, mate? You give it too much of that.’ Anton made a chatterbox gesture with his hand. ‘Blokes like you think money can talk you out of anything, but your dosh don’t mean klish to me.’

  ‘So what do you fucking want?’ Rob yelled. ‘I’m getting fucking sick of this, so just do what you’re going to do, or get smart and let me go. But make it quick, ’cos I’m sure we’ve both got better things to do than argue the toss over a tart.’

  Anton peered down at him thoughtfully for several long moments. Then, pushing his lips out, he said, ‘Yeah, you’re right.’

  ‘Hallelujah!’ Rob exhaled wearily. Then, giving Anton a questioning look when he didn’t move, he said, ‘Untie me, then.’

  Anton carried on looking down at him as if he was giving the command consideration. Then, shaking his head, he reached into his pocket, and said, ‘Nah … I don’t think so.’

  31

  ‘That’s all for now,’ the police officer said, closing his notebook and pushing it into his top pocket. ‘But we will need you to come to the station to make a full statement at some point. Someone will contact you in the next few days to arrange it.’

  He stood up now and nodded down at Chantelle’s hand, which a paramedic had bandaged a short time earlier. ‘Good luck with that.’

  ‘Thanks,’ she murmured, smiling wanly as he nodded goodbye and jumped out of the back of the ambulance.

  Anton had been standing outside with Leon while Chantelle was being interviewed. They both hopped in now and Anton took the officer’s vacated seat while Leon went and sat beside his sister.

  ‘They said we can come to the hospital with you,’ he told her. ‘How are you feeling?’

  ‘Okay,’ Chantelle lied, looping her uninjured arm around Leon’s shoulders. ‘They reckon I need stitches, but it’s nothing compared to what could have happened.’

  ‘BITCH!’ Rob’s furious voice shot through the ambulance’s open back doors just then, and Chantelle cried out in fear when she looked round and saw two officers escorting him to a waiting van.

  ‘You’re going to pay for this!’ Rob yelled, straining against his handcuffs as his captors dragged him past. ‘However long it takes, I swear to God you’re going to fucking pay!’

  ‘Shut it!’ one of the officers barked, elbowing him in the ribs before hurling him into the back of the van.

  ‘Ignore him,’ Anton said, reaching over and putting a reassuring hand on Chantelle’s knee. ‘He ain’t going to be out for a long time.’

  Chantelle nodded and hugged Leon tightly to her.

  Anton gazed at them and smiled sadly. They had been through so much in the short time he’d known them, and he couldn’t get his head around the fact that Chantelle had been struggling along on her own for all that time. Their mother needed stringing up for abandoning them like that, but at least they still had each other.

  Chantelle looked up just then and blushed when she saw the way he was looking at her. Then, casting a quick glance outside, to make sure that none of the officers were stand
ing within hearing distance, she whispered, ‘Where did your friends go?’

  ‘Don’t worry about them,’ Anton replied quietly. ‘Your man’s mate gave them a whole heap of cash and drugs in exchange for letting him go, so I told them to get off. There’s tons of shit stored in there, so even if the dude gets off with the other shit – which he won’t – he’ll get life for supplying half of Manchester with gear.’

  He paused now and looked from Chantelle to Leon before adding, more quietly still, ‘Just don’t forget what I said when the police question you: I followed you on my own when he dragged you into his car, and I knocked him out and tied him up. You didn’t see no one else. Yeah?’

  When Chantelle and Leon both nodded, Anton pushed himself to his feet. ‘Right, I’m going to have a quick fag and I’ll check if they’re ready to go yet while I’m at it. He’s wiped.’ He nodded towards Leon, whose eyes were beginning to close.

  ‘I know.’ Chantelle’s chin wobbled as she stroked Leon’s hair. ‘He’s had a rough night, poor thing. I’m just so glad he didn’t get hurt.’

  ‘He’s tougher than you think.’ Anton reached down and gently stroked a tear from her cheek. ‘Stop worrying. It’s all going to be okay – I promise.’

  Chantelle closed her eyes when Anton hopped out of the ambulance and wandered off to have his smoke. She had been so sure that Rob was going to kill her when he pulled out that knife, and, after hearing what his friend had said when Anton and his friends had caught him trying to escape, she knew that he would have done it. She was still shocked to the core to know that Rob had cold-bloodedly killed three people, and it broke her heart to know that Bill had been one of them.

  Fresh tears began to stream from her closed eyes as she thought about how terrified her friend must have been. She wished she could tell Bill that she was sorry for getting her involved in this mess, and she’d have given anything to be able to tell her how much she admired and respected her. Bill had been a strange woman, but her gruff, scruffy exterior had hidden a razor-sharp mind and a heart of gold. Chantelle had never met anybody quite like her before, and she doubted she ever would again.

  Anton was another one who had earned her absolute respect and gratitude tonight, and she couldn’t believe how badly she had misjudged him. For months she had dismissed him as a handsome face with a bad heart, but she couldn’t have been more wrong. She had thought that Rob, with his fancy suits, flash car and charming ways, was everything she desired in a man; but no amount of money or sweet-talk could ever compare with the generosity that Anton had displayed towards her and Leon. And just when she had thought that he might revert to type and harm Rob back there, he had acted responsibly and called the police instead. That was the act of a real man, and deserved real respect.

  ‘All right?’ Anton asked, climbing back into the ambulance just then.

  ‘Yeah, fine.’ Chantelle sighed and opened her eyes. ‘Just can’t wait for this night to be over.’

  ‘I bet,’ said Anton. ‘Anyway, we’ll be setting off in a minute. And no arguing,’ he added, giving her a stern look, ‘you two are staying at mine tonight. But you’ll have to share my bed, I’m afraid, ’cos I haven’t got a spare yet.’

  ‘No, we can’t take your bed,’ Chantelle protested. ‘You’ve got work in the morning. We’ll be all right.’

  Anton gave her a mock-pained look. ‘For God’s sake, woman, just do as you’re told for once in your life, can’t you?’

  Amused, Chantelle couldn’t help but smile. ‘Okay,’ she agreed. Then, more seriously, ‘Thanks, Anton; I really don’t know what I would have done without you tonight. You’re a good friend, and I’ll never forget what you’ve done for us.’

  Anton had never wanted a girl as badly as he wanted Chantelle. He’d fancied her ever since she had stood up for the old pervert that his friends had been hassling outside the shops that first night and, as hard as he had tried to push her out of his mind, his attraction to her had only grown progressively stronger. But she didn’t feel the same about him, and those words were the final nail in the coffin of his hopes. She considered him a friend, and if he’d been in any doubt before she couldn’t have made it clearer that that was all they were ever going to be.

  ‘Any time.’ Anton forced a smile. Then, winking at her, he sat back for the ride as the paramedics closed the door and the ambulance set off for the hospital.

  EPILOGUE

  Anton was worn out when he arrived home from work. It had been a shitty day, and he’d twice had to pull himself up short as the temptation to lamp his arrogant boss threatened to overcome him. He’d bitten his tongue so hard that he’d been in danger of chomping right through the damn thing, and it was only the thought that it would soon be over that had kept him going.

  There were only a few weeks left before his probation came to an end, and it couldn’t come fast enough as far as he was concerned. He knew it wouldn’t be easy to find another job, but he would rather starve and lose the flat than carry on working for that wanker Abdul for one second longer than he had to.

  Still, walking out of the job was going to be a doddle compared with getting out of the gang. It was a week since he’d had to call on Trey for help, and his old friend had welcomed him back into the fold with open arms. Anton couldn’t deny that it had been good to chill with the boys and talk about the old days, but he’d known that the peace was about to come to an end when they heard whispers that a rival crew from Longsight were planning on muscling in on Big T’s crack-dealing territory. When Trey had immediately started to plot a pre-emptive strike, Anton had known that it was time to get out, because they would all be packing steel and he would either end up getting shot or having to shoot someone.

  It hadn’t been easy to ask his friend to cut him loose so soon after accepting the crew’s help. But Trey had got himself a shitload of money and drugs off Rob Knight’s partner in exchange for letting him go that night, so he had finally agreed to call it quits – on condition that Anton never set himself up as a dealer on his territory, because that would mean instant war. Anton had assured him that he need have no worries on that score; one spell inside was more than enough for one lifetime, and he was determined to walk a straight line from here on in.

  He was thinking about the future now as he stepped out of the shower; wondering if he ought to do some kind of training in order to get a better-paid job. Maybe forklift-truck driving, or plastering? He’d just wrapped a towel around his waist and was about to go to his bedroom to dry off when someone knocked at the door. Hoping that it was Shotz, because he was out of weed and could really do with one of his friend’s killer spliffs to wipe the edge off his mood, he was grinning as he answered the door.

  ‘Yo, am I glad to see you, ’cos I really need a big …’ He trailed off when he saw Chantelle and said, ‘Oh, sorry. Thought it was my mate.’

  ‘No, I’m sorry,’ Chantelle said, averting her gaze when she saw the towel. ‘Shall I come back later?’

  ‘Don’t be daft.’ Anton stepped back and waved for her to come in. ‘It won’t take me a minute to get dressed. Go make yourself comfortable. Or, better still, make yourself useful and put the kettle on,’ he said, giving her a cheeky grin – the kind that friends gave each other.

  ‘Tea or coffee?’ Chantelle asked, still not looking at him as she went into the kitchen.

  ‘Tea,’ he called, already heading for the bedroom. ‘White—’

  ‘One sugar,’ Chantelle finished for him.

  ‘All right, smart-arse.’ Anton laughed, tickled that she’d remembered how he liked his tea.

  In the bedroom he dressed quickly. He hadn’t seen Chantelle since she and Leon had gone home the morning after the Rob business. He’d been working every day since, and she’d been … Well, he wasn’t actually sure what she’d been doing, because he hadn’t seen her to ask. He had thought about calling round to see how they were doing but he’d decided to give them some space, figuring they had probably seen more than enough of hi
m lately.

  As he joined her in the kitchen now, he thought she looked more beautiful than ever. But he kept his thoughts to himself and asked instead, ‘So, how’s the hand?’

  ‘Still sore, but getting better.’ Chantelle handed one of the cups to him and went over to the sink to rinse the spoon under the tap. ‘I went to the police station this afternoon,’ she told him over her shoulder.

  ‘Oh yeah?’ Anton took a sip of the tea. ‘What did they say?’

  ‘They caught up with Rob’s friend a couple of days ago and he’s told them absolutely everything. So they said they won’t need me to go to court if I don’t want to, because they’ve got more than enough to convict him.’

  ‘That’s good.’ Anton leaned back against the ledge.

  ‘Yes, it’s a massive relief, ’cos I really didn’t want to have to see him again,’ Chantelle said, wiping her hand on her thigh and reaching for her own cup. ‘I met Bill’s niece while I was there,’ she went on, her tone suddenly wistful. ‘She lives in Ireland and hadn’t seen Bill in years, apparently. She asked if I’ll be going to the funeral after they release Bill’s body. I said I will, but I’m really dreading it.’

  ‘I think it’ll be a good chance to lay your guilt to rest,’ Anton said softly. ‘You couldn’t have known what was going to happen, and there’s no way she’d be blaming you for any of it.’

  ‘Maybe not, but I do,’ Chantelle murmured. Then, smiling sadly, she shrugged and said, ‘Anyway, it’s good news about Rob, ’cos I was convinced he was going to talk his way out of it. But there’s no way he’s walking free once this goes to court. I just can’t believe he was kidnapping and drugging girls the whole time I was with him. To think that was probably what he was doing all those times when he said he couldn’t see me. It makes me feel sick just thinking about it.’

  ‘Then don’t,’ Anton said simply. ‘It’s in the past, so just put it out of your head and get on with your life.’