Dead Watch: a fast-paced thriller you don't want to miss

by Steve Liszka

  ‘Sorry,’ Dylan said as he paid the man. ‘My friend has a mouth like a sewer.’

  Jimmy nodded to the empty table by the window, and it was there that the little gathering took themselves. After they had sat down, Mac spoke again.

  ‘All I need is the loan of you and your fire engine for a very short period of time.’

  Jimmy shook his head. ‘It’s not going to happen. I thought we said last time we were through with you.’

  ‘That’s what you said. I said no such thing. But I am giving you my word that this will be the last time you will ever hear from me.’

  ‘What do you want us to do?’ Wesley asked.

  Jimmy shot him a look. He had made it clear before they had left the station that he was to do all the talking.

  ‘I can’t exactly get into it right now. All I can say is, it’s not going to take much of your time, and I’ll make it more than worth your while. It’ll literally be a five-minute job.’

  Lenny looked to Dylan. ‘I reckon he means figuratively.’

  Jimmy took a swig of his beer and shook his head again. ‘We don’t want your money. In fact,’ he picked the sports bag he had brought with him off the floor and dumped it at Mac’s feet, ‘you can take with that you too. We haven’t touched a penny of it.’

  There had been a few grumbles when the others found out he had kept the money hidden from them, but considering the information they had failed to disclose to him and Bodhi, none of them could say too much. Even Lenny had reluctantly agreed that the only way they could sever their ties to Mac was to give him back the money.

  Mac looked down at the bag and shrugged. ‘Fine, I’ll take it back. Doesn’t mean it changes anything.’

  ‘Can’t you do this on your own?’ Dylan asked. ‘What do you need us for?’

  Jimmy gave him a stare that was twice as venomous as the one he had previously directed at Wesley. They weren’t there to get into a discussion.

  ‘So, maybe, some of you are interested in what I’ve got to say.’ Mac said, spotting his opportunity. ‘Maybe you should tell that to your friend here. Perhaps he hasn’t got your best interests at heart, after all. And to answer your question, yes, I could do this on my own, but having my good friends in the fire service on board would make it a lot easier for me. But if you’re not interested, you’re not interested.’

  ‘That’s right,’ Jimmy said. ‘We’re not interested.’

  Mac looked to the others. ‘Is that right? Is he speaking for all of you or just himself?’

  They looked at each other and then at Jimmy.

  ‘That’s right,’ Dylan said. ‘We’re not interested.’

  ‘You sure? It’ll be a piece of cake.’

  ‘He’s sure,’ Bodhi said as Jo nodded.

  ‘I’m out too,’ Wesley added.

  ‘And what about you, big man?’ Mac said. ‘You don’t want to play, either?’

  Lenny thought about it. ‘Nah. It’s like you said; I know my limits.’

  ‘Fine,’ Mac said, all chipper-like. ‘Then, it looks like this is the end of a beautiful relationship.’ He finished his juice and got to his feet. ‘It was lovely to see you all again, but I’ve got a lot to do, so if you don’t mind…’

  Jimmy kicked the bag towards him. ‘Don’t forget that.’

  Mac bent down and picked up the bag. ‘Some people would regard that as ungrateful, but not me. I like to see people with standards. Sometimes, I wish I had them myself… Anyway, take care of yourselves, kids. I’ll see you around.’

  ‘No, you won’t,’ Jimmy said.

  When Mac had left the bar, Lenny slugged back his beer, banged the bottle on the table, then looked at the others. ‘Right then, you fuckers, who wants a proper drink?’

  Close to Home

  ‘So, that’s how you’re planning to make your fortune is it, Len?’ Jo said. ‘That’s fucking genius, that is.’

  It was the morning after the night before. After Mac’s departure, with the exception of Jo who had a race that weekend, the Watch had got well and truly battered. Like all the best nights out, it hadn’t been intended. The whole evening was spontaneous and had ended with them crawling out of the pub at two o’clock that morning. Usually, the Watch would only go out after the second day shift, as they knew they had the rest of the following day to recover before starting back on nights. On this occasion, they had to be back in work a few hours later. Until Lenny had opened up about his get rich quick scheme, the Bullshit Hour had taken place almost in silence.

  ‘Listen,’ Lenny said, ‘it’s gonna work, I’m telling you. Big Gay John at Central told me all about it. There’s a big market out there for used firefighters clothing.’

  ‘But you’re not talking about clothes,’ Dylan corrected him. ‘You’re talking about selling your dirty underwear on the internet to men. And you’re still trying to say you’re not gay.’

  Lenny shrugged. ‘The pink pound is where it’s at, man. All I’ve got to do is take a picture of me in my grundies and then send it along with the goods and, hey presto, that’s fifty squid for a pair of kegs.’

  Jo screwed up her face. ‘That’s disgusting. What if they’ve got skiddies in them?’

  ‘Even better. John reckons the dirtier, the better.’

  Jo puffed out her cheeks like she was stopping herself from being sick.

  ‘Where your plan falls down,’ Jimmy said, ‘is that I assume this is a pretty niche market. What are you going to do once all the weirdos who want your filthy underpants have bought a pair?’

  Lenny wagged his finger at his interrogator and smiled. ‘That’s the clever bit. You keep selling to them. I mean, there wasn’t just one Action Man, was there? You had Scuba Action Man, Jungle Action Man, fucking Arctic warfare Action Man. See what I’m saying? You diversify. I’ll do pics of me in pants that I’ve worn at a fire, pants that I’ve worn at an RTC or animal rescues. I’ll even do pants that I’ve worn after a heavy session in the gym. The only limits here are my imagination.’

  Dylan laughed. ‘Yeah, your massive imagination. That’s something that always impressed me about you, Len.’

  Bodhi removed his face from his hands and, for the first time in half an hour, looked around at his colleagues. The booze had hit him harder than the rest of them; he wasn’t used to drinking heavily. Bodhi’s body was his temple, and it had been well and truly violated.

  ‘Nah, that’s not the problem,’ he muttered. ‘There’s a bigger fly in the ointment here.’

  ‘Look out,’ Lenny said. ‘It’s alive!’

  ‘These guys you’re planning on selling this shit to, they’re gay, not mentally ill. No one’s going to want your filthy y-fronts. Maybe if it was your mate PB’s underwear, they’d be interested, but not yours.’

  Lenny shook his head in disgust at the mention of the man’s name. ‘Fuck him. What those men are looking for is a bit of rough. Come to think of it, that’s what the ladies want too. Everyone wants a piece of Lenny.’

  Bodhi tried to smile. ‘If you say so, bud.’

  ‘I do,’ Lenny said as he slowly pulled himself to his feet. ‘Now, if you don’t mind, I’m off for a massive shit. That beer has ruined my insides.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Jo said. ‘I don’t know what I would have done without that knowledge.’

  After Lenny had left, Bodhi buried his face back in his hands while Jimmy sipped at his coffee. Neither man wanted to make conversation, but Jo was sober and bored, and thought nothing of disturbing their attempts at peace and quiet.

  ‘Is Wesley still being sick?’ she asked.

  Jimmy nodded.

  ‘That must make for a nice scene, then,’ she said. ‘Him puking his ring up in one cubicle as Lenny spray-paints the other with his ass.’

  Still enveloped in its hiding place, Bodhi’s head shook back and forth. ‘Please don’t,’ he said, ‘or I’ll be joining them in the sink.’

  Jimmy couldn’t help but laugh. ‘I bet Dylan is still tucked up in bed, the lucky ba
stard.’

  ‘Even if he hadn’t been drinking, he’d still be in bed,’ Jo said. ‘That boy is one idle son-of-a-bitch. You’d think he’d have grown out of his student ways by now.’

  ‘He might as well make the most of it,’ Jimmy said. ‘Once they get married and have kids, he’s gonna have a rude awakening. If he thinks getting up on nights is bad, then he’s got a whole world of pain coming to him.’

  Jo shook her head. ‘No thanks. I’d rather do an Ironman that go through that.’

  They were shaken out of their stupor by the bells going down.

  ‘I’ll get the turnout sheet,’ Jo said, jumping on her feet and jogging towards the Watch-room. ‘You two drag your asses to the pump.’

  ‘Cheers, Jo,’ Jimmy answered as he pushed himself out of his seat.

  When he got to the engine, Jimmy cursed himself for getting so drunk. He’d forgotten that he was driving that day, and while he was pretty sure he was under the limit by now, he knew what he had done was unprofessional. When Wesley dragged himself into the appliance, he was green and looked like he hadn’t yet finished the business of emptying his stomach.

  ‘We’ve got a fire – persons reported!’ Jo shouted as she jogged towards the appliance with the printout. The computer on the fire engine that would normally have provided them with such information was temporarily broken, and so just like the old days, they had to rely on a runner to provide them with the news.

  Jo’s words completed the job of sobering Jimmy up. When driving on blues, a driver had to be extremely aware of their surroundings. Even though they could go through red lights, they still had to give way to vehicles who may not have heard them, or had panicked at the sight of the oncoming fire appliance. “Drive to Arrive” was the phrase that the driving instructors liked to quote to their students, and they were wise words too. There was no point getting into a crash or putting other road users at risk to get to an incident twenty seconds quicker. Saying that, when it was a persons reported, the drivers would push things harder than if they were attending a fire alarm or a bin fire.

  ‘Where to, anywhere nice?’ Jimmy asked.

  Jo stared at the sheet. ‘Um, 64 Union Lane, Saltdean.’

  She handed Wesley the tip-sheet then quickly put on her leggings and tunic.

  ‘Fuck!’ Jimmy said, when the words had registered. ‘That’s my fucking house.’

  He jumped out of the driver’s seat, took his fire-kit out of the front locker and proceeded to put it on.

  ‘What are you doing, Jim?’ Wesley asked. ‘You’re meant to be driving.’

  ‘It’s my house,’ Jimmy said as he pulled his braces over his shoulders. ‘I know my way around it. I’m wearing BA.’

  ‘Are you sure that’s a good idea?’

  Jimmy looked into the front of the cab as he threw on his tunic. ‘It’s not a discussion.’

  As he finished dressing, Lenny strolled across the bays, trying to do his belt up as he walked.

  ‘Come on, Len!’ Jimmy shouted. ‘Let’s fucking go, now!’

  ‘All right, all right,’ Lenny moaned. ‘I was trying to wipe my fucking arse, if that’s okay with you?’

  ‘No, it’s not,’ Jimmy shouted back. ‘My fucking house is on fire!’

  ‘Fuck,’ Lenny said, and ran as fast as he could toward the lorry. He’d already worked out why Jimmy was sitting in his designated position and without saying another word, Lenny jumped into the driver’s seat. After quickly turning to make sure everyone was where they should be, Lenny turned on the blues and twos and headed out of the doors.

  The route to Jimmy’s house was pretty much straight along the seafront road until you cut into his housing estate some four miles away. It was a six or seven-minute journey for a driver that was pushing it, and Jimmy knew without asking that was exactly what Lenny would do. He was one of the best drivers on the Watch, and no one would get them there any quicker and still have them in one piece at the other end.

  In his mind, Jimmy raced through his conversation with his wife that morning. After she had taken Becky to school, she was meant to be going to her friend Alex’s house for a coffee and catch-up while the kids played together. If she had gone, she should still have been there, but the call was a persons reported, maybe she had decided to stay home. What if they were in, what if his poor little boy was there. Jimmy knew all too well the effects of smoke on a child as young as George.

  ‘Wesley, get on the radio and find out if they know anything else!’ Jimmy shouted over the jumble of the engine.

  Wesley passed the message over the radio. The reply was almost instantaneous; they had received no further information on the incident.

  Bodhi, sitting in the middle of the appliance, patted his friend’s knee. ‘It’ll be all right, Jim. It’s probably just a mistake.’

  Jimmy shook his head. ‘You don’t know that. How can you?’ He craned his head forward to see what was making Lenny slow down.

  ‘Get out of the fucking way!’ Lenny yelled at the car in front that had panicked at the sound of the sirens. Rather than pull over, it had stopped in the middle of the road. Lenny had to wait for the oncoming traffic to pass before he could overtake.

  ‘Silly old fucker,’ he said as the appliance flew past.

  They turned into Jimmy’s street three minutes later. It was doubtful if Lewis Hamilton could have got them there any quicker. As they approached his house, Jimmy craned his head in search of smoke, but he could see nothing. When they stopped, he jumped out of the lorry and, as fast as his BA set would allow, ran up to his front door and pounded it with the side of his fist. He was about to step back and kick the door in when Jen opened it. She had George scooped in her arms.

  ‘What the bloody hell is going on, Jim? You trying to scare us to death or what?’

  ‘I thought you were going to Alex’s place.’ he said, reaching in to stroke his son’s head.

  ‘She decided to come here instead, if that’s all right with you?’

  A red-headed woman with a short bob emerged from behind Jen and gave him a sheepish wave.

  ‘Sorry, love,’ Jimmy said. ‘Someone’s been playing silly buggers. I thought the house was on fire.’

  ‘Really? Someone put a hoax call in on us. Cheeky bastards… Well, as you can see, we’re all okay here. Thanks for being our hero, though.’ She stepped forward and kissed her husband on the lips.

  Jimmy gave her a kiss of her own, then lifted George out of her hands and continued to kiss him on the top of his head until the boy got bored and pushed his dad’s face away.

  After Jen had made them a cup of tea, she did the usual thing of lambasting Bodhi for not getting himself a woman and settling down. Jimmy saved his friend by taking him out the back to discuss his plans for an extension while the others kept the kids occupied.

  Half an hour later, the four of them made their way down the drive towards the motor where Lenny was waiting in case they received another call. Jen had brought him out a cup of tea and some chocolate biscuits to keep him happy.

  As they were walking, Jimmy suddenly had the distinct feeling that he was being watched. Looking across the road he saw Mac sitting in his car, who responded by offering them a friendly wave.

  ‘Motherfucker,’ Jimmy said as he picked up pace and headed towards the vehicle.

  Bodhi grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back. ‘Don’t, Jim, not here. That’s just what he wants.’

  ‘I’m going to kill him. No one threatens my family.’

  ‘Come on, Jimmy,’ Wesley said. ‘Just get back in the lorry, and we’ll go back to the station. He’s not worth it.’

  Before Jimmy could reply, Mac started the car and drove out of the street.

  ‘What the fuck’s he playing at?’ Jo asked. ‘I thought we were done with him.’

  ‘We are,’ Jimmy said, ‘but it looks like he isn’t done with us.’

  No one said anything on the way back. They collectively decided it was best to let Jimmy seeth
e in silence rather than attempt to pacify him. It was only when they pulled up outside of Jonathan Bogarde’s colossal mansion, that Lenny piped up.

  ‘Jesus,’ he said. ‘If only Dylan was here to see this.’

  The others looked up the hundred-yard driveway to see the man himself standing on the doorstep of his home. His wife, a woman at least half his age, was in the process of taking their young son out of the back of their vintage Aston Martin. They both stopped what they were doing to stare at the fire engine that was obscuring their view of the sea.

  ‘They’ve finally fucking moved in after all this time,’ Lenny said as he gave them a wave. Neither bothered to return the act. ‘There goes the neighbourhood.’

  ‘Fuck him,’ Jimmy said, staring at the road ahead. ‘We’ve got bigger things to worry about.’

  Ambush

  Jo waved her friends goodbye and slipped out of the pub after spending an hour nursing her orange juice. She hadn’t had a drop of alcohol since she’d been there, but then again, neither had most of the others. Running training with the Triathlon Club took place every Tuesday night on Hove Lawns; a mile-long patch of grass sandwiched between the beach and the main road. The dozen or so athletes that turned up every week went through a series of drills as hordes of sun worshipers making the most of the evening rays sat on their rugs, wondering why these lunatics didn’t just come and join them for a beer and barbeque. But these sessions were designed to improve the runners’ efficiency, and if it meant they had an easier and faster run after swimming a mile and cycling twenty-four, it was a price they were willing to pay as they practiced their high-knee drives and lunge walks.

  After enduring the stares of the normal people who weren’t driven by an overly keen competitive streak, the runners dragged their sweaty bodies into The Lion and Lobster. The aim of the visit was to debrief what they had been doing that evening, but more often than not, it turned into an opportunity for them to discuss their new purchases and do their best to create envy amongst the others.

  For a sport that was made up of three relatively simple activities, it was amazing how much money some of the athletes were willing to spend on their hobby. Some of them owned bikes that were worth more than their cars. They had the newest and most high-tech GPS set-ups, ultra-lightweight rain jackets that were invented by NASA and helmets that were so aerodynamic they made the wearer look like a giant sperm. Having plenty of income that she was free to dispose of, Jo was only too happy to get on board the shopping train, but unlike some of them who belonged in the “all the gear, no idea” category of athletes, she was a champion at the sport and felt that the purchases were entirely justified.