by Steve Liszka
‘It’s not here,’ he said. ‘The book’s gone. If we go now, I’ll take you to it.’
It was there. They had made two copies. One was sitting under the sink in the kitchen cupboard, and the other was hidden in the spare locker at the fire station. Bodhi had no intention of taking him there; he just wanted to get him off the boat and buy some time while he figured out what the hell he was going to do.
The big lump took in Bodhi’s words. ‘Really, are you sure about that?’
‘It’s not here, it’s at my girlfriend’s place. I’ll take you there.’
Shit. He hadn’t meant to say that. He didn’t know what he was thinking. He just wanted him out, and fast.
‘No need.’ Frank smiled. ‘I already know where she lives. Bet she’ll be glad to see me again.’
‘She won’t let you in,’ Bodhi said, thinking fast. ‘She doesn’t let anyone in at night after what you and friends did to her. She’s had an intercom installed, and the only way she opens that door is if she hears my voice.’
Frank thought about it some more then nodded to the stairs. ‘C’mon, let’s go.’
As Bodhi walked past him, the man grabbed his arm. ‘I’d put a coat on, if I were you. It’s pissing down.’
Bodhi took his hoodie from the edge of the sofa and went up the steps, two at a time.
When they were on deck, he had to turn his head to escape the slashing rain. As the boat rocked forward, both men almost fell over and had to put out their arms to steady himself. Bodhi grabbed the rail and quickly found his feet, but the goon fumbled forward with both arms outstretched like a blind man searching for his cane. Bodhi hadn’t intended to play the hero, he really hadn’t. All that had been on his mind was to get the trespasser off the boat and away from his lover and unborn child, but when he saw the look of helplessness on the face of the man that he’d had already bested once, the opportunity was too good to ignore.
Bodhi lunged at the pistol and was about to twist and rip it away when his opponent’s clumsiness worked in his own favour. As they struggled, his legs slipped from underneath him and went straight up in the air. At the same time, his body crashed down onto the deck with such a violent motion that Bodhi was unable to maintain his grip on the pistol. Frank laid on his back with both hands on the gun pointing straight up at Bodhi’s head.
‘Stand back,’ he said, his arms shaking, ‘or I’ll blow a fucking hole in you.’
Bodhi held up his arms and took a large step backwards as the man slowly and carefully rose to his feet.
‘You know what I’m going to do to that girlfriend of yours after I get the book?’ he said, smiling.
Bodhi stayed silent as the rain soaked him to the bone.
‘Let me tell you anyway,’ Frank said, when Bodhi didn’t answer. ‘I’m going to take you with me to her place and you’re gonna watch me fuck her senseless before I kill her… or maybe I’ll kill her first and then fuck her, I haven’t worked it out yet… Decisions, decisions.’
‘You’re not fucking anyone, you fat piece of shit,’ a voice behind him said.
When the man turned to see who was talking, he was met with a fire extinguisher smashing into his face at speed. He staggered backwards with blood pouring from his nose, but miraculously, considering how hard Jo had hit him, he had managed to keep hold of the gun. Through watering eyes, he aimed it at her head.
‘Fuck you, bitch,’ he said. ‘I’ll fucking kill you both.’
Before he could shoot, Bodhi charged into him taking both of them over the side into the water below. When they came back to the surface, the man gasped and lunged at Bodhi. They had fallen into the relatively calm water between his and Vera’s boats. As he thrashed around, it was clear the bruiser was far from comfortable in the water, but Bodhi knew that in this confined space, the man had his best chance of beating him. Before he could compose himself, Bodhi grabbed the collar of Frank's jacket and dragged him into the rougher waters. The tide had changed and was now sucking them back towards the sea at a rapid speed. Within seconds of getting into the channel, they were already fifty feet from the safety of the boat.
Frank managed to twist around as he was being towed, and in his panic, grabbed at the front of Bodhi’s hoodie. Bodhi was unsure if he was trying to drown him or cling to him for safety, but either way, the bigger man’s efforts were forcing him under the water. Bodhi didn’t panic; he knew that was pointless. Instead, he did a trick some of his old lifeguard buddies in Cornwall had taught him. Rather than resist, he grabbed hold of the man’s wrists had pushed himself under the water, expelling all the air in his lungs and taking his opponent down with him. They’d only gone under a few feet when Frank let go and desperately swam back to the surface for a gulp of fresh air.
When he surfaced, Bodhi saw the man’s arms waving in the air, grabbing at nothing as he floated off towards the sea. He thought about swimming out to rescue him; he knew he was a strong enough swimmer to get him back to the shore. He was also aware of his responsibilities as a firefighter; it was in his DNA to try and help people, but then, he remembered what Frank was about to do to the woman he loved and his unborn child. He gave the drowning man another look, watching his arms flail as his head disappeared under the water, then Bodhi turned and swam to the bank.
When he got back to the boat, they were all there waiting for him; Jimmy, Lenny, Dylan, Wesley and, of course, Jo. He was soaking wet, freezing cold and covered in mud, but when they saw him, none of them thought twice about squeezing the life out of their friend. Except for Jo, that is. She slapped him across the face first, cursed him for being a stupid twat for doing what he’d done, then gave him the biggest kiss on the lips she could manage.
‘What happened?’ Bodhi asked. ‘Did it go bad?’
‘It did,’ Jimmy said, ‘then it didn’t. I’m guessing you took care of that guy?’
Bodhi gave them a shamed nod. He wasn’t proud of what he done, even if it was necessary.
‘Then, that’s it. I think we’re off the hook.’
Jo put her arms around him and squeezed Bodhi tightly; she already knew how guilty he was feeling.
‘Don’t feel bad,’ she said. ‘You saved my life and our baby’s too. That’s all that matters.’
Bodhi placed his hand on her miniscule bump and gave her a tired smile. ‘Yeah, you’re right,’ he said. ‘It is.’
When he came out of the bedroom, freshly showered with a new hoodie on that looked just like the one he’d been wearing earlier, Bodhi was met by the sight of his friends huddled around the television staring at the news. The female reporter, wrapped in a yellow mac to protect her from the driving rain, was standing in front of what had once been Jonathan Bogarde’s house. The shell of it was still standing, but it was clear that everything on the inside had been destroyed.
‘In what was believed to be a dispute over money,’ the reporter said, raising her voice to be heard over the wind, ‘an employee of Mr Bogarde’s broke in to the property, shot the owner, then set fire to the house which he had only recently moved into following nearly five years of construction. Despite his injuries and with the building ablaze, Mr Bogarde was able to rescue his wife and young son from an upstairs bedroom and lead them to safety. However, it was the firefighters who arrived to put out the fire that Mr Bogarde said were the real heroes, and has pledged to help them save their fire station from closure in any way he can.'
Lenny threw a cushion at the TV, cutting off the reporter. ‘Fuck this guy. I can't believe he’s managed to come out of this smelling of roses.’
Jimmy shrugged. ‘Who cares, it’s over. Mac’s gone, the station stays open and we’re out of the shit.’
Dylan didn’t look convinced. ‘So, what’s the moral of the story here? The way to fund a public service is by getting some ruthless businessman to bail us out? I know it’s good the station is going to be saved an’ all, but it just doesn’t sit right.’
Lenny threw a second cushion and struck Dylan in the side of
the face. ‘How about you shut the fuck up and enjoy the moment, for once.’
He looked across to Bodhi. ‘You got any more beer in that fridge of yours?’
Bodhi nodded. ‘Course, what do you think I am?’
‘Then, what are we waiting for? I think we need a toast.’
‘I’ll get them,’ Dylan said.
As he went to get up, Lenny put his arm on his shoulder, pushing him back onto the sofa. ‘I’ll get them, you’re not the new boy anymore.’
Lenny went to the fridge and filled his hands with beer bottles. After handing them out, the others stood around not knowing quite what to do.
Wesley elbowed Jimmy in the arm. ‘Come on, Jim. I reckon you should say something.’
‘You say something,’ Jimmy said back. ‘You’re the governor.’
‘Yeah come on, Wes,’ Lenny said. ‘You’re one of us now, you massive bell end.’
Wesley laughed. ‘Thanks, Len.’
He took a second to clear his throat. ‘To be honest, I don’t really know what to say. A lot has happened over the last few months, much of it due to my inability to take charge and stop us from losing our heads like we did. But it happened. We made our mistake, and hopefully, now, we’ve managed to rectify the situation. I’ve learnt a lot about you guys lately, and if it means anything, I just want to say how proud of you all I am. But I’ve also learnt something about myself. I know you guys didn’t think much of me when I started on the Watch, and I don’t blame you either. Hopefully, your opinion has changed now, because I know I have. Whether it’s for the better or not, I’m not too sure.’
He paused whilst the others laughed.
‘With any luck, Harrison will get off with this charge they’ve put against him, and very soon, we can get back to business as usual.’
He held his beer bottle up in the air. ‘Cheers… you bunch of cunts.’
The others cheered at his profanity, held up their bottles and threw the contents down their throats.
‘I was thinking,’ Bodhi said to Jo who had substituted her beer for an orange juice. He had lowered his voice for her alone to hear. ‘Maybe I should sell the boat and move into your place. I want our kid to have a normal life living with both his parents.’
‘I’ve got a better idea,’ Jo said. ‘How about I rent the flat out and come and live here with you.’
‘Really?’
‘This boat is part of you. It’s part of what makes me love you, even if you and it drive me crazy sometimes. I don’t want you to change, and if you can get some of your ways to rub off on our little one, then all the better. Perhaps, then, they won’t end up like their neurotic, competitive mum.’
‘Don’t talk bollocks,’ Bodhi said. ‘I love that you’re determined and driven and don’t take shit off anyone. I want our kid to be like that too.’
Lenny groaned. ‘Jesus, are you two going to start wanking each over off or what’
Jo shot him a look, then returned her attention to Bodhi. ‘So, you up for it, then? Could your precious boat handle family life?’
‘Are you sure you can? You didn’t look too hot earlier when it got rough.’
Jo laughed. ‘I’m Wonder Woman, I can handle anything.’
‘Except Bodhi’s penis,’ Lenny said.
Jo clenched her fist and directed at him. ‘One more word, dickhead, and you’ll be getting this.’
‘Seriously, though,’ Lenny said, smiling, ‘isn’t anyone else thinking that maybe Mac had a point? Don’t you think we should have squeezed a few quid for ourselves out of Bogarde? Nothing silly, just twenty or thirty grand each to compensate us for our troubles.’
Jimmy nodded to Jo who responded by punching Lenny straight in the stomach. As he doubled over and gasped for air, the others held their bottles up and sank the rest of their beers.
Scores to Settle
Three Months Later
‘Seriously,’ Dylan said, shaking his head, ‘that’s so gay.’
‘How can it be gay, knobhead?’ Lenny said. ‘If it was a bloke sticking his finger up my arsehole, that would be gay. But it wasn’t. It was a twenty-eight-year-old lap-dancer.’
Jimmy picked his cup of tea off the canteen table and blew at the contents. ‘I thought you said you were staying away from dancers after last time.’
‘I was,’ Lenny said, ‘but you should see this one.’
He held both hands a foot away from his chest and looked down at the imaginary cleavage.
‘You’re right,’ Jo said.
She was now working light duties, and despite her bump having grown considerably, she was still in the gym every day, putting in times on the running machine that no one else could touch.
‘It’s not gay, it’s fucking repulsive. How can you make the poor girl go near that hairy A-hole of yours?’
Lenny smiled. ‘That’s just it, she wanted to do it. It’s her thing. And just so you know, my arse ain’t so hairy anymore. She made me get a back, sack and crack wax.’
Jo made a gagging face. ‘I didn’t think it was possible to make this any story worse, but well done, Len, you’ve just managed it.’
‘Don’t try and bring me down with your negative bullshit,’ Lenny said, but in a cheerful manner. ‘I got a woman who likes to do stuff to the holiest of holes, and my brother and me are talking to each other for the first time in far too fucking long. Life is good right now.’
Since the fire at Bogarde’s house, life had improved for everyone on the watch. Dylan had moved back in with Felicity, and the wedding plans were back on. His rescue of Kat and her baby had also removed his desire to transfer to Central, and he had withdrawn his application. He was more than happy working at East with his Red Watch comrades.
Jimmy had cut back on his work with Bob and was seeing far more of Jen and the kids. Despite spending most of his time moaning about being skint since this new arrangement, he was far happier with his work-life balance, and so were the rest of his family. Something else that had cheered him up was that he had recently gone back to the training centre to retake his BA refresher. His pride had been seriously dented by his previous failure, but free of external worries, he had gone up there and passed it with ease. He could now call himself a firefighter again without the nagging doubt that had been lurking at the back of his mind. The nightmares hadn’t gone away, but since Mac’s disappearance, their frequency had dwindled, and he was seeing less of the dead men’s faces when he closed his eyes at night.
Jo had kept to her word and put the flat up for rent. She’d moved onto the boat a month prior and was trying to adapt to its limited space before the baby came. Bodhi had been working hard converting the spare room from a kite storage area and workshop into a nursery. The colours were being kept neutral to cover all eventualities.
Jo pursed her lips and blew out, rubbing her bump as she did so.
‘You okay?’ Bodhi said. ‘Baby giving you a good kicking?’
Jo shook her head. ‘I’m starving. My breakfast didn’t stay down again.’
She leaned back in her chair and looked to the canteen. ‘Harrison, how long are those sandwiches going to be, mate? My stomach thinks my throat’s been cut.’
Harrison poked his head out the door and gave her a smile. ‘Not long now, but like they say, you can’t rush perfection.’
‘He better not watch me eat it, then,’ she said under her breath as he disappeared into the kitchen. ‘I'll fucking demolish it in seconds.'
Harrison’s disciplinary investigation had already gone down in station folklore. When Dylan turned up to the meeting with his arms full of A4 binders, Phil Collins and the Brigade’s human resources manager had looked at each other, as if not knowing quite what to expect. Over the next two hours, their concern would prove to be well founded. The meeting had been Dylan’s finest hour. He went at them from the off, referring them to the Bill of Rights, the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Rights; some of the most important acts in history that protected a person’s freedo
m of speech. He talked of the struggles of the suffragettes and the Tolpuddle Martyrs, quoting text at them from Nelson Mandela, Gandhi and Martin Luther King.
Yes, he said, Harrison had said a word that they could possibly construe as offensive, but their actions he argued, were far more offensive to Harrison and his colleagues. At one point, he launched into a theoretical discussion, about the English language itself, and if Harrison had used any other word than “scab,” would it still be considered offensive. He dropped Shakespeare in at this point, referencing Juliet’s “a rose by any other name” speech. Dylan, the arch-atheist, had even quoted the bible at them. ‘Whatever one sows,’ he had said, ‘that he will also reap,’ before launching into a final tirade at the officers that had undermined the union that had served them extremely well, and were refusing to take responsibility for their actions. Phil and the other guy eventually dismissed the charges against Harrison rather than hear any more of Dylan’s lecturing.
By the end of the day, everyone who worked at the station had heard about what he had done and were ready to accept Dylan as their new union rep with open arms. Harrison, who had enjoyed the time off and the chance to rekindle his relationship with Janet, was nonetheless happy to get back to work and get some decent meals back into the Watch. He had spent over an hour of his first day on duty getting the canteen cupboards back to a way he found acceptable. It was criminal, he had complained, that people were stacking the tinned tomatoes amongst the baked beans, and the herb and spice rack was a total mess. When he looked inside the fridge and saw the state of the vegetable tray, he almost fainted. Welcome back, Harrison.
Five minutes later, he returned to the room, handing Jo her sandwich.
‘The rest of you miserable bastards,’ he told them, ‘can get your own.’
‘Ketchup?’ Jo asked.
Harrison tutted. ‘I’m hurt that you even had to ask.’
