‘Pfft! Don’t insult me!’
‘Believe what you like, but it’s the truth,’ McKinney said adamantly. ‘We know exactly what kind of man Bartosz is, and we have no desire to bargain with him or to let such a brilliant mind like yours fall into the wrong hands, believe me. And as long as you work for us we’ll protect you from him.’
‘You are my heroes,’ Valeria said with just an air of sarcasm.
‘I know you must be emotional right now, Valeria,’ McKinney then said, slightly annoyed. ‘But we are on your side. And so until we catch this Evangelou thug, we want to ensure your safety.’
‘And how do you intend on doing that, Alistair?’ Valeria asked.
McKinney glanced over at Barnes. ‘We want to put you under constant surveillance until we catch him,’ Barnes informed her.
Valeria’s jaw dropped. ‘You mean watch me? Constantly?’ The very thought made her almost choke.
‘No. Keep an eye on you. Protect you,’ said Barnes.
Valeria chuckled. ‘Ray, I have thirty men protecting me at the factory. I have guy in the car over there. I am already protected. So thanks for offer, but I feel more comfortable around my own.’
McKinney and Barnes glanced at each other. ‘That’s all very well, Valeria. But we’d like to ensure your safety ourselves,’ Barnes retorted.
Valeria shook her head. These people were useless, she was the one who had to come over to their country and clean up the mess they created in the name of divide and rule. These scumbags left the back door open for the criminals to come and wreak havoc on the public, their sense of fear keeping them in line and forcing them to look to the authorities for safety. A well used tactic going back centuries she knew all too well from being around this kind of person. But it finally backfired on them. She recalled Sir Lionel Clifford’s very words when they first met—We just can’t cope any longer, he said. We’ve lost control. If they couldn’t protect their own people, how could they protect her?
‘The fact is,’ McKinney then said, making her glance over at him, ‘if anything should happen to you, then the very hard drugs will be back on the streets—’
‘And you won’t get the truth drug you so badly seek,’ Valeria added with a knowing gleam in her eye.
McKinney remained unperturbed. ‘As we’ve already made it very clear to you, it would be a big aid in our battle against terrorism…’
‘It’s always for terrorism isn’t it?’ Valeria mumbled to herself.
‘We want to use it for good,’ McKinney said firmly. ‘Bartosz wants to use it for bad. To manipulate. To control.’ McKinney was staring at her open-eyed as he spoke. But Valeria wouldn’t allow herself to fall for it. She knew what she was hearing was all lies. They wanted to use her truth drug for good? Bullshit. They ultimately wanted the same as Bartosz, the only difference between them was they didn’t want to ruin Marek’s life.
Imagine being able to see a nation’s hopes and fears before your very eyes. Imagine how a Bartosz would use that to his advantage. An Alistair McKinney. It was either him or Bartosz. Which meant that her only choice was to sleep with the lesser of two evils. And the two men standing with her represented that lesser evil. So she had to lie down with them. Before today, for Papa; today and tomorrow for Marek, for herself, for the Gladiator brothers. She had to give them what they wanted or who knew what they’d do. Deport her? Send her first class to Bartosz tied with a ribbon?
Kill her?
She sighed, suddenly feeling like a snared animal. What was that English saying she heard recently that she liked? Damned if I do, damned if I don’t…
‘And when I finally synthesise this truth drug for you,’ she asked. ‘You will then patent amber?’
McKinney sighed. ‘I’ve explained before that we cannot patent amber,’ he said with that serious look on his face again, the schoolteacher look. ‘I understand your desire to earn profits from it, but we just can’t allow it. It’s keeping the violent, dangerous drugs off the streets, something that prescribed medication has failed to do. Crack addicts and the like have a tendency to avoid anything to do with doctors at all costs. They have this…strange aversion to them all. If amber is available on prescription, then the addicts won’t receive it. We need it to be made available alongside all the dangerous drugs, otherwise it won’t get to the right people. I’m sure you understand.’
Valeria looked away. Stefan was watching from the car, probably trying to make out what they were discussing. But from the way all three of them were nothing but a huddled shadow in the corner of an empty car park, no one would know what they were saying.
‘Besides, amber is beginning to receive media attention now anyway,’ McKinney added, making Valeria turn back and stare at him once more. ‘My department will be forced to classify it very soon. When that happens, we’ll leak the formula onto the Web for the dealers to create it for us. By then, you’ll have your citizenship, a suitable compensation package for amber, and you’ll be working for us on our other project.
And how is progress going?’
Valeria shrugged. ‘I think I may have managed to finally stabilise it.’
‘Have you now?’ McKinney’s face lit up for the first time during the meeting. ‘Good. How long till it’s ready?’
‘There is test subject out there,’ she said and glanced down at the mugshot of the Arab. He stared back at her with his dark, solemn eyes. ‘The results will return soon.’
‘Good. Good…’ McKinney said, nodding his head firmly.
She could tell he was eager to get his hands on the truth drug. He was eager to see.
‘I’ll look forward to hearing how it turns out,’ McKinney added with a pleasant smile on his face that made Valeria nauseous. ‘Now. I think we’ve covered everything. If there’s nothing more to add…’
‘No, apart from Valeria turning down our offer of protection,’ said Barnes, a look of disappointment on his face.
‘I am big girl, Ray,’ Valeria told him. ‘I can look after myself, thank you. I will be happy if you just concentrate on catching the man who murdered my father. That is all I want from you.’
Barnes nodded his head. ‘We’ll be in touch,’ he said.
‘And that goes for my department as well,’ McKinney said.
Valeria nodded.
‘And again, condolences for your loss…’
And with that came an image of the angry Arab taking a shotgun to Papa’s chest. Her stomach sank. She could feel the tears arriving again, but didn’t want them to see her discomfort. She spun away, stepping out from under their umbrellas and into the rain, which instantly plastered her hair to her head. She took in a deep breath to try and control the feeling of sadness that had suddenly overcome her.
‘And Valeria,’ she heard McKinney shout above the driving rain.
She stopped, took in a deep breath, wiped her eyes, and then turned round to face him. ‘Be careful,’ he said, and that was all.
Valeria didn’t answer. Instead, she turned away, and continued towards Stefan and the car.
When she got in, Stefan was eager to know what happened. ‘What did they say?’ he asked.
‘Nothing I didn’t expect from them,’ Valeria answered. ‘And that they know the Arab we robbed killed Papa and Adrian.’
Stefan’s eyes widened. ‘What? How?’
‘The idiot left his fingerprints all over Papa’s house, and he’s on their records already for dealing drugs.’
Stefan fell back in his seat and stared open-mouthed into the rain. ‘We better tell Marek,’ he suggested.
Valeria stared back at the two men in the car park. They were currently discussing something. Most probably some ‘top secret’ plan. About her? Who knew.
‘Get me out of here, Stefan,’ she said in a tired voice. ‘I can’t look at them any more…’
Stefan nodded. He started up the engine and flicked on the windscreen wipers. He pulled out of the car park and onto the motorway, and headed back for London.
>
*****
Marek punched his bedroom wall so hard, he left an orange-sized dent in it. The dragon had already come out to play; the red mist covering his eyes for most of the day because of that Arab kurva killing Papa like a dog and throwing his body into the trash. When Marek first understood what happened, he blamed himself for not making the exchange. But, when he considered that the Arab came to the car park alone, without Papa, he quickly realised that if he had made the exchange, he’d have lost both what he stole and Papa. And there was now no time to find replacements. Marek was sure the Arab had already killed Papa anyway, and tried to bluff him at the car park, to pull a trick on him, and that realisation fuelled the dragon’s ire even more.
First Adrian, now Papa.
Who did this kurva think he was playing with?
Marek promised him he’d find out soon enough once he set about hunting him down like the dog he was and ending his life. Nie, not just that. He would do it slowly. Take him apart piece-by-piece, torture him to death, listening to him plead for mercy. And even then it wouldn’t be revenge enough. For this govno to kidnap a sick old man, shoot him, then insult him further by throwing his body in the trash like a used tissue deserved a punishment infinitely worse than death. The wound would never be healed.
Those thoughts made him more angry, and he began pummelling his fists into the wall, pock marking it all over.
Radek was trying his best to calm him. ‘Enough! Enough!’ he shouted, grabbing his arms.
But Marek wasn’t at home. He shoved Radek off and continued to smash his fists into the wall, needing to release the rage mushrooming inside him. He’d just lost two of his closest family members and he needed to release.
‘Valeria needs you to be calm,’ Radek reminded him, countering that notion.
And suddenly, the words fell on his ears like rays of sunlight on ground frost; they melted down the barriers and infiltrated his brain. The roaring dragon heard them loud and clear and became perfectly still as if that one word had the power to instantly turn it to ice.
Valeria.
She had to go alone to identify Papa’s body. Now she was alone with gliniarze and the scum politician. He knew Valeria was smart, she could handle them by herself. She’d mixed with corrupt politicians like Bartosz back in Poland before Marek pulled her away from them, so she understood how their minds worked inside out. She could outwit them, spin them around her finger, he had no fear of that.
He was just so desperate to be there with her both when she went to identify Papa, and now, meeting with the other scum.
And as he stopped and thought about his sister, and how she was suffering too, the dragon was slowly curling around itself and disappearing back into its cave. He blinked repeatedly, the walls of his bedroom gradually replacing the red mist. Valeria needed him. Needed him to be strong. He looked down at his clenched fists to see his knuckles swollen and bleeding.
A calming hand fell on his shoulder and he flinched. He looked up to see Radek staring at him with concerned eyes.
‘Are you calm now?’ he asked.
Marek nodded. ‘I’m okay, I’m okay,’ he replied. ‘I… I lost it…’
‘I know,’ Radek told him. ‘You’re angry right now. But we’ll get through this shit together.’
Marek smiled thinly, and nodded his head. He’d lost two of his family members, but he still had Valeria and his Gladiator brothers like Radek. Together they were strong. Together they’d survive.
He took in a deep breath and felt calmer. Still angry and sad, but calmer. ‘I know,’ he said.
His phone then began ringing, and both men glanced at each other. Marek picked it up from his weights bench with a bleeding, swollen hand.
He checked the name. ‘Valeria,’ he said before he pressed the ‘call’ button. ‘Yes?’
‘It’s me.’
She sounded tired. Very tired.
‘What happened?’ he asked, eager.
There was a brief pause before she answered. ‘They know who killed Papa…’
Marek’s eyes widened. The words were like a slap round the face. ‘What do you mean they know?’
‘The fool left a trail and they found it. He’s on their records from years ago. He was a drug dealer. So they are now looking for him.’
Marek’s slapped himself on the forehead and he began rubbing. If they got the Arab, he could tell them about the night they attacked him.
‘I told you he would come back, didn’t I?’ Valeria then said, breaking his train of thought.
Marek mumbled something under his breath; something Valeria wouldn’t want to hear.
‘What was that?’ she asked.
‘What other choice did I have?’ Marek snapped. ‘I can’t let them take the same risks I took! What would you have done in my position? Hmm? You are the clever one, you tell me!’ The dragon was peeking out of its cave again, sniffing tension in the air.
‘Yes, I’m the clever one,’ Valeria retorted with an edge to her voice, ‘and your mind shines like a pitchfork in manure…’ She then sighed. ‘Look. Let’s not fight. Not after today,’ she said, snapping the tension in two.
Marek closed his eyes and sighed himself. She was right. Fighting wouldn’t help. ‘It’s true,’ he said, and the dragon slunk back into hiding.
‘When is Maksym coming?’ Valeria then asked.
‘Saturday,’ Marek informed her. ‘He’s heading back to Poland the same day.’
‘Good. We just have to wait a few days then, and in the meantime hope the police don’t find the Arab.’
Marek chuckled. ‘Hope? You’re relying on hope? We have to find him before they do!’
‘If the police cannot find him, then how can we?’
‘What are we amateurs?’ Marek scoffed, his back straightening. ‘Someone knows where he is. Someone. We have to find him.’
‘No, we don’t, brother…’
Marek became still. He stared at Radek, not believing what he was hearing. ‘What do you mean ‘no we don’t’? You do understand he could give me up to the police, don’t you? If he does, then what?’
Valeria huffed. ‘Have the steroids numbed your brain completely?’ she asked sharply. ‘What if you go after this man and he kills you. What then?’
Marek laughed. ‘Kill me? You’ve got that backwards. I’m the one who’s going to fucking kill him!’
‘Look, he wants what we stole from him. After Saturday, he’ll no longer be able to get what he wants. You’ll be a new person, and so it doesn’t matter what he tells the police. Until then, you have to stay hidden, undercover. You just have to keep a cool head until the weekend. Then after that, you can do as you please. Go fucking crazy then if you like. But for now, stay calm. Too many people are counting on you. We’ll just have to accept the risk that they catch the Arab. And you must be careful.’
Marek chewed his top lip, anger and fury brewing in his stomach like a noxious stew. ‘I can’t let him get away with this!’ he said sternly, anger flushing him.
‘And he won’t!’ Valeria replied, equally as stern. ‘But you have more important things to look after. The police are releasing Adrian and Papa from the morgue in two days time. We should bury them first before he worry about taking revenge.’
Marek glanced at Radek, who was just staring back, a blank expression on his face. Marek took a long, deep breath and closed his eyes. Maybe she was right. Papa had suffered indignity. The least they should do is allow him to get some dignity back.
He nodded his head in agreement. ‘Okay. Okay,’ he conceded. ‘But, when they are buried and everything else is sorted out, I’m going to fucking kill him! Police or no police. Okay?’ He stared at Radek with wide eyes as he spoke. He wanted Valeria to understand that he couldn’t let the Arab kurva get away. His pride wouldn’t allow it.
‘Okay,’ Valeria agreed in a tired voice. ‘I have a feeling he’ll come to us before the police find him anyhow…’ she added.
‘I hope so!’ Marek d
eclared. ‘Then he’ll find out who he’s fucked with when we crush him like a fucking bug!’ Marek then went silent for a few seconds, feeling he’d made his point well enough. ‘So, now that we’ve settled that, what about the business?’ he then asked, getting onto the final important point they needed to discuss.
‘They want us to carry on for the time being,’ Valeria immediately replied. ‘So, we carry on…’
‘Are you sure? If you don’t feel—’
‘Of course I’m sure!’ Valeria snapped, cutting his sentence in two. ‘You know very well we still need the money. For our safety. We cannot afford to stop no matter how terrible we feel right now. This is the business we are in. This is the business we’ve chosen. We must carry on.’
Marek nodded. He’d felt sure Valeria would want some time off to cope with Papa and Adrian. But she was strong. And he was proud of her. So proud to call her his sister.
‘Tomorrow morning as usual,’ she said. ‘And that goes for everyone. But now, I’m tired. I want sleep.’
‘You get some rest,’ Marek told her. ‘We’ll be okay. I promise.’
‘I hope so,’ she said, and then the line went dead.
Marek pressed ‘end call’ and then puffed his cheeks. Radek was staring solemnly at him. ‘We carry on,’ Marek told him. ‘From tomorrow.’
‘And the Arab?’
Marek huffed. The Arab! The Arab! The fucking Arab kurva! his mind jabbered repeatedly as he stared down at his bloody fists.
‘The Arab dies…’ Marek replied coldly.
Radek crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged. ‘He dies…’ he echoed, nodding his head in agreement.
Marek turned to the side and gave the wall one final punch, imagining it was the Arab’s head, before he left the room and headed for the shower.
*****
Dread I bowled along the third floor balcony of the Red Lane Estate towards Shandy’s flat, feeling proper smug. He’d handled business to perfection, and it was all thanks to his Shandy. Yeah, she turned out to be a proper good gal in many a way. The way she managed to twist her amber dealer—man dem call The Cobra—managed to twist him round her lickle finger, working his mind with her punani like a pro whore.
The Survival Game Page 16
