by Menon, David
‘You don’t tell me what to do, Andrea’.
‘On this occasion I think you’ll find I do, Paula’.
Paula Jones was seething. Andrea Kay had got the better of her and she hated it.
‘Tina?’ said Paula. ‘I will consult with head office and then review my earlier decision’.
‘No, you’ll withdraw it now’ said Andrea.
‘I’m starting to seriously object to your tone, Andrea’.
‘Object to whatever you like but withdraw this nonsense over Tina’.
‘Or else?’
‘Or else I’ll bring this store out on unofficial action if need be’.
‘That would be suicide for your career and your position as shop steward’.
‘But it would generate an awful lot of negative publicity for the store and you as manager would be in the firing line too. Are you prepared to take that risk?’
‘Are you that desperate for a friend?’
‘I beg your pardon? Tina would be prepared to do back office duties until the court case is cleared, wouldn’t you Tina?’
‘Erm, yes, I would’ said Tina.
‘Oh whatever, okay Tina, there’ll be nothing more said on the matter. Consider it closed. Now please get back to work’.
Andrea began to follow Tina out of the office but Paula called her back.
‘Let me make one thing very clear’ said Paula. ‘I do not take threats to my authority lightly. Think again before you try and cross me next time’.
‘Excuse me, is that a threat I’m hearing?’
‘No, it’s a promise’ said Paula who was staring Andrea straight in the eyes. ‘I’m not one to be crossed’.
Andrea gave a half smile before leaning forward on Paula’s desk. ‘Well I’m glad we understand each other because I’ve seen off much better specimens than you so I suggest it’s you who needs to watch herself’.
FIREFLIES NINE
Malcolm Barnes hadn’t been round the old estate in Wythenshawe where he’d grown up since his parents retired to Scarborough some years previously and he didn’t quite know why he was here today. But his cousin Bernie Connolly had insisted.
‘I haven’t been down here for years’ said Malcolm.
‘I thought I’d remind you, Malcolm’ said Bernie, inhaling deeply on his fat cigar. He knew how uncomfortable his cousin would be. He was from the side of the family who thought they were better than the other side but it’s funny how they all come crawling when they need help. ‘Now that you’re part of the family firm at last’.
Malcolm didn’t know how he felt about that particular statement and he wished to God Bernie would put that stupid cigar out because it made him look like the most pathetic of stereotypical gangsters. Malcolm’s parents would have a fit if they knew he was even associating with Bernie, let alone doing business with him. Malcolm’s mother and Bernie’s mother had married two brothers who were very different men. Malcolm’s father was the kind of upright citizen who always paid his bills on time and had a good job at the railway. He’d retired on a generous pension. Bernie’s father had never had what could be called a career, unless you counted spending three stretches inside a pattern, but he’d been the kind of rogue with a glint in his eye that Bernie’s mother had not been able to resist. Although they’d grown up only a street away from each other, Malcolm and Bernie’s childhood couldn’t have been more different. Malcolm had been brought up in a safe, loving home whilst Bernie had learned very early how to navigate his father’s violent tempers until his mother had met local insurance salesman Mike Cooper and left Bernie’s father for him. But she left Bernie and his brother Tommy behind and that’s a resentment that Bernie will carry with him to the grave. She left them with their violent, drunken abusive father to fend for themselves. Bernie and his brother Tommy had often eaten their meals at Malcolm’s place after their mother had gone. Malcolm’s mother had tried her best to fill in the gaps in her sister-in-law’s mothering skills where Bernie and Tommy were concerned.
But then Bernie had taken it all several steps further. He’d gone into business when he and Malcolm were both still teenagers and Malcolm’s parents had forbidden Malcolm from having anything more to do with his cousin. But they had carried on socializing behind their parents’ backs until Malcolm stole Tommy Connolly’s wife. After that there’d been no contact at all until Malcolm had gone to Bernie for help. There was no doubt though as they walked around that Bernie was held in high regard by the local community, some of whom were coming up and thanking him for sorting this or that out for them.
‘So why are we down here, Bernie?’
Bernie led Malcolm round the back of a row of council houses. When they got to the second one along he went up to the back door and knocked. It was opened and they went in. It was dark inside. No lights were on but all the curtains were drawn. There were several of Bernie’s henchmen there, all looking the same with their shaved heads and black jackets. A young teenager was tied to a chair in what Malcolm took to be the dining part of the open space on the ground floor of the back of the house. The kitchen was at the other end. The teenager was clearly of Asian origin. He’d been stripped of his trousers. His underpants were visible and he was wearing a white t-shirt under a yellow zip up hooded jacket. His mouth had been stuffed with something and then duck tape had been placed over the top and round the back of his head. The kid looked absolutely terrified. Malcolm wondered what the hell it was all about. It wasn’t long before he found out. Bernie pulled up a chair and sat face to face with the kid.
‘Now then’ he said in a voice almost like a head teacher who’d called a recalcitrant student in for a modern type of bollocking, except there was nothing modern about what was being played out here. ‘It’s Abid, isn’t it?’
The boy nodded rapidly, his terrified eyes widening ever more.
‘Well Abid, you see, it’s like this. Your father is not playing fair with me. Did you know that?’
Abid shook his head and was trying to speak but he couldn’t.
‘No, I didn’t think so. Well I’m a businessman and round here has been my patch for several years now. I don’t appreciate someone trying to muscle in on what’s mine, Abid. I don’t appreciate it at all and in fact it makes me very angry. You Pakis have got to learn that you can’t just walk in and take over everywhere you go but your father has taken things way over the line of acceptability. He’s using the Gorton boys to make trouble for me. Those boys can’t do any harm to me. Doesn’t your father understand that? I could wipe them out like that if I wanted to but that wouldn’t be fair, would it. But what I can do is send a message to your father to stop doing business with the Gorton boys. Now I’m sure you want your time with us to be over as quickly as possible. Am I right?’
The kid nodded his head as rapidly as before although this time the room was suddenly filled by the smell of his piss. His pants and the top of the chair were soaking in it and floods of tears were pouring out of his eyes.
‘Oh what a fucking dreadful mess’ said Bernie, screwing up his face. ‘Let’s sort you out my friend’.
Bernie clicked his fingers and two of his henchmen moved forward. Abid was struggling to break free as each one took one of his legs in their big, firm hands.
‘Tell your father to take this as a warning, Abid’.
Abid’s screams were muffled as the two henchmen broke Abid’s legs. The sound of Abid’s bones breaking made even Bernie flinch and Malcolm stood by and watched a teenage boy having his legs broken. He might as well have done it himself. How had life turned out this way? How had he got himself into such a fucking mess?
‘Don’t worry, son’ said Bernie to Abid who was clearly in excruciating pain. ‘We’ll make sure you get home safe and sound. But don’t forget to give the message to your father’.
Bernie then walked out of the house. Malcolm followed him. Then Bernie stopped and turned. ‘Listen, cousin, when you came to me for help you knocked on my door and you entered my world acc
ording to my rules. I’ve no time for squeamish so-called men who can’t get anything done because the world has to be pretty and neat and tidy or they can’t handle it. Don’t forget that I’m only able to help you get out of the shit you’re in because of the way I do my business and I shouldn’t even be doing that after what you and that slut of a wife of yours did to my brother Tommy’.
‘We’ve already paid a bloody high price for that, Bernie’.
‘So you have. I just needed to have that conversation with you to make sure. You are family after all’.
Later that day Bernie leaned back in his swivel chair at his desk in the office room of the fully detached house in the quintessential Cheshire set town of Knutsford when he noticed out of the window Malcolm pulling up in his car. Bernie’s Fillipino wife Linda showed Malcolm in. They got down to business straight away. Malcolm in particular didn’t want to waste any time.
‘So once this latest financial transaction goes through, Bernie, you’ll control twenty-five percent of Barnes Financial Services’ said Malcolm.
‘And a hundred percent of it used to be yours, Malcolm. How does that make you feel?’
‘I’m relieved and grateful to you, Bernie, that the company has received a much needed cash injection and you’ve saved the day for me’ said Malcolm who was pissed off by the way Bernie had rubbed his nose in it with that. It was true that his business had been failing and had fallen perilously close to the finishing line. He’d turned to Bernie because he’d run out of legitimate sources of finance.
‘Good because I do like all my business partners to be happy with our respective arrangements’.
‘I’m sure you do, Bernie, but like I’ve said before, I’m grateful for the way you’ve helped me get out of trouble’.
‘Blood is thicker than water, Malcolm, and you are family after all’.
‘That’s true’ said Malcolm who was under no illusions. Bernie was never going to leave him alone. He may have twenty-five percent of the shares but Malcolm wouldn’t be able to refuse if Bernie wanted to use the company for his own purposes.
‘I like doing business man to man, Malcolm’ said Bernie. ‘That’s why I try and keep women out of my business affairs as much as I can. Men and women doing business together is like opening up a Pandora’s box of potential sexual problems. Do you know what I mean? Well of course you do. That’s how you managed to steal Kim off my brother’.
‘Bernie, Kim and I fell in love. It was nothing personal against Tommy’.
‘I know that’ said Bernie. ‘I mean you can’t help who you fall in love with now can you, Malcolm?’
‘So why do you keep throwing it at me?’
‘Because Tommy did away with himself because of all the hurt you and Kim caused him’.
‘Yes, I know and I’ve said sorry time and time again but …’
‘ … but nothing, Malcolm. Tommy is gone and I miss him, that’s all. I like to try and keep him alive by talking about him as if he’s still here. Do you know what I mean?’
‘I do that with Kim sometimes’ said Malcolm who at one stage didn’t think he’d ever be able to get over the loss of his dear wife on their wedding night.
‘I’m sure you do, Malcolm. I’m sure you do’.
‘Bernie, changing the subject if you will, but what do you expect from me on a day-to-day basis with regard to running the business? You’ve never really said’.
‘Well Malcolm, it’s like this’ Bernie began, loving every minute of Malcolm’s barely concealed anxiety. ‘You built up a highly successful enterprise from scratch and I admire you for that, I really do. But you went wrong somewhere and I’m not one of those people who blame the government for everything. Now it may surprise you to hear that but it’s true. Sometimes we as citizens have to take responsibility for our own actions’.
Malcolm could’ve laughed at what he was hearing. What a load of old bollocks.
‘So, I’ll keep an eye on things from a distance’ Bernie went on. ‘I’ll be looking at the books from time to time and before we go on I’d just like to get some figures straight with you because this morning I’ve completed the purchase of all your debts, both what you owe and what is owed to you’.
Malcolm was suddenly breathless. He hadn’t seen that one coming at all and his accountant had mentioned nothing. What the fuck did this mean?
‘Your accountant is a very helpful man’ Bernie went on. ‘He gave me and my team access to anything about the company accounts that we thought was needed. I told him not to say anything to you until I’d looked to see if there was anything I could do. I mean, I didn’t want to build your hopes up only to have to piss on them when push came to shove. But surprisingly enough, they weren’t as bad as I thought they might be so I thought, why not? Let Malcolm have a real breather from all that worrying he’s been doing. It does mean of course that, with the added investment, I now control just over ninety-one percent of Barnes Financial Services. That’s right, Malcolm. I’m the majority shareholder now and you’re an employee. Now, shall we work out a salary package for you? It’ll have to be low to start with of course until the business is truly back on its feet again’.
Malcolm felt sick. He’d been well and truly played and now everything he’d ever worked for over the last twenty years had gone. It had been taken out of his hands by this jumped up gangster who thought he was Cheshire’s answer to fucking Al Capone. And there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
‘Don’t look so glum, Malcolm’ said Bernie. ‘Worse things could’ve happened. You might’ve had to join the ranks of the unemployed if I hadn’t have stepped in when you asked me. I’d say you’ve come out of this pretty well and of course, you can always let me buy your remaining shares at a heavily discounted price?’
‘You’ve stabbed me in the back’ said Malcolm as calmly as he could, even though inside his soul was raging.
‘No, I haven’t, I’ve saved you and your business’.
‘You took advantage of the fact that I was vulnerable and you stabbed me in the back’.
‘Be careful what you’re saying, Malcolm’.
‘I’ve put everything I had and more into that business and you can’t just come along and take it away from me’.
‘I think that’s just what I have done, Malcolm’.
‘But it’s not fair!’
‘Neither was it fair when you dumped my sister for Kim’ said Bernie. ‘Life has been very hard for her since then but life has a way of providing opportunities for the wronged to get justice in the end. Don’t you think so, Malcolm?’
‘But really was stealing my business from me all about revenge for what happened between me and your sister?’
‘I value my little sister’s happiness greatly, Malcolm’.
‘You’re enjoying this’ Malcolm sneered.
‘Too right I am. And whilst we’re on the subject of payback, I loved your mother like she was my own and she made me feel like I was another son. But I wasn’t as clever as you at school and when I decided to look into other ways of getting ahead in life she cut me off like I was on the end of a piece of string. I’ve never forgotten nor forgiven, Malcolm, and I never will. Now I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to settle the score for my side of the family and you came along and handed it to me on a golden plate’.
‘My wife is dead!’
‘I know that’.
‘She was murdered!’
‘I know that too’ said Bernie.
‘Well don’t you think I’ve suffered enough?’
‘It’s so hard to measure something like suffering, Malcolm, especially when the emotional health and well-being of my sister are at stake. It’s called family, Malcolm. Your side of our family won’t be familiar with the concept’.
‘You won’t get away with it!’ roared Malcolm.
‘And what are you going to do about it, Malcolm? I mean, do you seriously believe you can ever get one over on me?’
‘ I’ll fucking have y
ou!’
‘Now I’m a patient man, Malcolm, but watch your tongue or you may end up with it cut off and I mean literally. You know what I’m capable of. Now you just run along home and pour yourself a large drink. Sit down, relax, take in what’s happened to you and contemplate your future. Oh and remember me to your mother. I notice you bought her and Uncle Bill a lovely looking place in Scarborough. I do hope it’s a safe area. You hear such stories about old people in their homes these days. It makes me wonder what the world is coming to’.
FIREFLIES TEN
‘Look, I told Tina that the best way to deal with her current problems is to adopt a cheerful attitude’ said Paula Jones who was being confronted by Andrea Kay after Tina Webb had got upset about what Paula had said to her.
‘And is that what you’ll say to her when she gets sent down?’
‘A positive attitude with a cheerful smile goes a long way, Andrea’.
‘Paula, you can’t just clear all the darkness out of your life by putting on a bloody smile!’.
‘I also told her that if she looks like a guilty person she’ll be regarded as a guilty person’.
‘Paula, for God’s sake! She’s been accused of a murder she didn’t commit’.
‘You know that for sure?’
‘Yes, because I know my friend and I stand by her’.
‘Well that’s very … touching of you’.
Andrea wanted to punch Paula savagely and break every fucking bone in her Carol Smilie face. ‘Words fail me’.
‘I hope so because you’ve said quite enough already’ said Paula. ‘It’s my own son’s stag night this weekend. How do I know your friend who you’re so heroically supporting isn’t targeting stag parties for some evil, twisted reason? I shall be nervous on Saturday night until I know Piers is safely back at home’.
‘Oh for God’s sake, Paula! What you’re saying is slanderous’.
‘But it may be true’
‘Well don’t say it again unless you’ve got a very good solicitor because I’ll make sure Tina sues you for every last penny you’ve got’.
