by Anna Smith
‘Sure,’ Kerry said. ‘Whatever you think. They’re young though. And I’ll be honest with you, I don’t want to have their blood on my hands, so be careful how you use them.’
‘We will, Kerry. I haven’t spoken to them yet. I wanted to clear it with you. I know the lads are young, but they’re showing promise – and appetite. When I was their age, I had earned my stripes. They know what they’re involved in. Both of them were already doing drug drops by the time they were fifteen, so they’re no choirboys.’
Kerry couldn’t disagree with that.
‘Okay,’ she said.
‘Good.’ Danny glanced at Jack. ‘Right. We have to get cracking if we want to make sure we’re set up for tomorrow and the pickup.’
‘Fine. Just keep me informed,’ Kerry said, as they stood up.
‘We’ll talk later,’ Danny said as they headed for the door.
Chapter Fourteen
Cal and Tahir waited outside Jack Reilly’s office at the taxi HQ, where they’d been summoned. They were both a little edgy, as Jack hadn’t told Cal why he wanted to speak to both of them. Perhaps word had got back to Jack about the trouble they’d been in with the mob who ran the show up at the high flats in Saracen. They’d got into a punch-up with the thugs because one of the boys insulted Tahir’s new girlfriend – a Kurdish refugee like him – who lived in the high flats where dozens of asylum-seeker families from all over the world had been housed in recent years. The boy had called the girl a whore, saying she was just like the rest of them and it was well known that anyone who wanted a shag could go up there. Tahir went berserk and Cal had had to drag him off the thug and they had had to fight their way out of the bar, with their girlfriends screaming, terrified. Tahir had pulled a knife on another guy and cut him. They both knew that there would be a payback for that and had been watching their backs for the past couple of weeks. Now, they were worried that word had got back to Jack, who had warned them that they worked for the Casey organisation now and if they kept their noses clean they could go places. And it had been great in the last few weeks. Both of them seemed to grow in stature in Jack’s eyes after they’d disposed of the traffickers who had taken Tahir’s money and left him heartbroken when his brother and wife arrived dead in a container, suffocated, with their dead children in their arms. Tahir would never get over it, he’d told Cal, who could understand that but could see that his friend was a volcano waiting to erupt. As long as he kept busy and focused on his work with the Caseys he’d be fine. The pair had been used on driving jobs and drops and picking up money from firms attached to the Caseys. And one time with Jack they accompanied him and two others on a beating for a thug who’d terrorised a young family. But they had no idea why they’d been summoned today.
‘What will we say if it’s about that shit in the pub with the Saracen team?’ Cal asked his friend.
‘We tell the truth. Tell him what the guy said. And my girlfriend has told me that a lot of the girls up there are used as prostitutes, Cal. It is organised by these pricks at the flats. They’re more or less selling the girls.’ Tahir looked at Cal. ‘This is not over yet. Maybe we should ask Jack if they can help.’
‘I dunno, mate. It’s not really what the Caseys do.’
Tahir shrugged. ‘Well, it’s not over. These girls are just innocent. Some are not even sixteen. They are using kids. They’ll pay for this. Even if I have to do it myself and it takes time.’
The office door opened and Jack appeared, glancing from one to the other.
‘Who’ll pay for what?’ he asked.
The boys glanced at each other and said nothing. Jack took a long look at both of them.
‘In you come, lads. I want to talk to you.’
They followed him in, and he motioned them to sit down opposite his desk.
‘I’ve a job for the two of you.’
Cal felt relief flood through him, and from the corner of his eye he could see Tahir relax a little.
‘Now,’ Jack said, ‘this is a big job. Not like the stuff we’ve been doing for a few weeks, where you did well in a more minor way. It’s going to involve you being armed, and ready to use a weapon. You got that?’
Cal felt a little nudge of excitement in his gut. He liked the feel of a gun in his hand. It gave him a certain power and made him feel safe. But Jack had warned them repeatedly that you do not pull a gun on somebody unless you are prepared to use it and prepared for the consequences. He’d stressed to them that if they started being little hard-men then he’d kick their arses all over Glasgow and they’d be back in the car wash dodging bullets from all the bastards who were after them. So they were well aware of what they were doing, and Cal did not want to upset Jack. He’d become like a father figure to him, and seemed to understand his situation, with his father missing and his mother trying to cope on her own. Even though things were a lot different for them these days since Kerry Casey took them under her wing, and he was living a very different life as a young gun for the Caseys, he still looked out for his ma.
‘Sure,’ Cal said. He looked at Tahir. ‘We’re up for that, all right, Jack. Anything you ask.’
‘Right,’ Jack said. ‘I’m going to tell you something now, and if you breathe a word of it outside of this room . . .’ He paused for a couple of beats, his eyebrows knitted. ‘Well, you really don’t want to think what could happen.’
They both nodded.
‘Of course, Jack,’ Cal said. ‘We never talk about our work to anyone. Absolutely never.’
‘I know that. You’re good lads. And you’ll do well. But this is a life-or-death situation, and it’s the most important thing you might ever do in your life. So you need to understand the seriousness of it.’
Cal glanced at Tahir, both of them hanging onto Jack’s every word. They waited for him to go on.
‘You know the little boy Finbar? Marty Kane’s grandson who’s been kidnapped? I’m sure you know all about it from the papers.’
‘Yeah, I read it. Finbar. Saw it on the news.’
‘Me too,’ Tahir said. ‘People who take someone’s child should die. If it was my boy I would kill them. No doubt about it.’
Cal eyed Tahir and hoped he wasn’t going to get boiled up. He gave him a look that said just shut your mouth and listen, and Tahir seemed to get the message.
‘Quite right too, Tahir,’ Jack said. ‘Well the situation is the boy has been kidnapped by enemies of the Caseys. One particular bad bastard is trying to destroy us, and he has taken the boy to show us that he can do anything to hurt us. Marty Kane is in bits about this. Kerry is beside herself with rage and we will be doing anything to get this boy back.’ He paused. ‘Tomorrow morning you will meet with a man called Jake Cahill. You don’t need to know anything about him, and he sure as shit won’t tell you much, but you do exactly as he says. He’s flying in from Spain tonight and he’ll instruct you. But the bottom line is, tomorrow there is a deal being made and the boy is going to be handed over, but we know where he is so we’re going to get him before the ransom is paid.’
Cal looked from Jack to Tahir. This was big stuff. Bigger than anything he ever thought he would be doing. He didn’t know what to ask, but he felt he should be asking something.
‘So, er, Jack. You mean we’ll be with this Jake Cahill when he goes in to get the boy? I mean, the boy will be under a lot of protection, I suppose.’
Jack looked at him for a long moment.
‘Yes. He will. And yes, you go in with him. You’ll both be armed. You know how to use your guns, so you do exactly as Jake says. At the moment, we’re not sure whether we’re going to storm the place where the boy is, or wait until they bring him out to transfer him to be handed over. You’ll know soon enough. Just do what you’re told. You got that?’
They both nodded.
‘Yeah,’ Cal said. ‘We got that.’
‘Yes,’ Tahir said. ‘I understand.’
Jack stood up. ‘Okay. The two of you be at Kerry’s house for ten tomorrow m
orning. You’ll meet Jake then and you’ll get your guns.’ He paused for a moment, looking from one to the other. ‘Now off you go. Don’t do anything stupid tonight that will keep you up, as I need you to have your wits about you tomorrow.’
‘Okay,’ Cal said.
The boys stood up and turned towards the door.
‘Christ, man!’ Cal said when they got into the street. ‘This is a big job. How do you feel, mate?’
Tahir seemed relaxed but had a steely look in his eye.
‘I hope they let us kill the bastards. That’s how I feel.’
Cal shook his head and puffed.
‘Christ! The important thing is you do what you’re told tomorrow, Tahir. All right? Whoever this Jake Cahill is, he’s been brought here from Spain to do this, so you don’t want to get on the wrong side of him.’
They walked down the street leading to the city centre and were heading home when Tahir’s mobile rang. Cal watched as his expression changed and he pressed the phone to his ear as though trying to concentrate. He was speaking in Kurdish so Cal couldn’t understand, but he could tell from his tone that there was a problem. Tahir broke off speaking and turned to Cal.
‘Is Elia. She has been attacked with her sister. Those bastards from the other night. They came to the flats and ransacked her house. Her mother is terrified.’
‘Shit!’ Cal said. He looked at his watch. It was already getting dark.
‘Tahir, listen. There is nothing we can do about that tonight. You heard Jack. We’ve got a big job on tomorrow and we can’t get ourselves involved in anything.’
Tahir gave him a frustrated look.
‘But I have to go and see her.’
‘No,’ Cal said. ‘Not tonight. Maybe it’s a trap. They’ll know she’ll have told you and you’ll come up there. They might be lying in wait for you. We can’t risk it. Leave it, Tahir. We can get to her tomorrow.’
Tahir huffed and went back on the phone, and Cal listened as his voice seemed to be attempting to soothe and calm her down. Then he hung up.
‘Bastards!’ he said. ‘They won’t get away with this, Cal. Elia is really upset. They slapped her around and punched her little sister. We have to get these bastards for this.’
Cal put an arm around his friend’s shoulder.
‘We will, Tahir. Just not now. It’s not the kind of thing you just dive into without thinking it through. The other night in the pub, anything could have happened. We could have got kicked to death. We’ve got to be better than that, Tahir. And we have to keep our noses clean if we want to keep in with the Caseys. You heard Jack. We can deal with these pricks up in the flats in our own time. I promise you.’ He paused. ‘Maybe we’ll speak to Jack about it once things settle down tomorrow after the job. But right now that’s what we’ve got to focus on.’
Tahir nodded in agreement, but his eyes were dark and full of fury.
‘Okay. But I am going after them, Cal. No matter who is with me.’
‘Come on. Let’s get home. I’ll be with you, mate. You know that.’
They walked the rest of the journey into the city in silence, and then went their separate ways. Tahir was sharing a flat in the East End with two Kurdish mates now that he had enough money to pay rent. Cal was still living with his mum, and though he wanted his own place, deep down he was glad to be going home to her.
Chapter Fifteen
Kerry could hear the activity downstairs as she began to wake up. She had tossed and turned all night, going over all the possible outcomes for today. What if it was a trap by the Colombian? These people were completely ruthless when it came to wiping out their enemies. What if they did something to little Finbar? The words of Vinny a few days ago had kept ringing in her ears as she tried to sleep – ‘blood will be on your hands’. She would never be able to cope with the idea that she didn’t do enough to save Finbar. Kerry’s hand reached down to her stomach where a tiny life was growing inside her, a life that was hers to protect. Yet here she was, preparing to walk into a lion’s den where she could be torn to pieces. No. That will not happen, she resolved. She vowed never to let anything or anybody harm this little life. She would fight off any bastard who came near her and tried to wreck what she had right here. Because this, more than anything, more than an empire, was worth fighting for.
She reached out and picked up her mobile, scrolling down the calls. She saw the unanswered call from Vinny, and a flick of guilt lashed across her. She wanted to see him so much, but things had changed now. What had happened between them was brief and exciting, and it had felt deep and meaningful too, because she had got the answers to why he had disappeared from her life all those years ago. But they were on opposite sides of the fence in the way they led their lives and a relationship would never work, even if they both wanted it. But this baby was his too, and deep down she knew that he had a right to know. She pushed the thought away. That was for another day. She wasn’t far gone, and there was nothing for anyone to see that she was pregnant – except for Sharon who had spotted her constant throwing up.
But it was not for sharing at the moment. Not with her family and no, not even with Vinny. Things were going to change after today, when Pepe Rodriguez came to Glasgow to think he could trample over the Caseys. He would soon find out that he was very wrong to underestimate Kerry Casey.
Her bedside phone rang and it was the housekeeper to tell her that Danny and some others had arrived. She swung her legs out of bed, stood up and went to the shower. She stood under the hot water letting it cascade down her body and watched rivulets over her stomach. She pictured her mother and how shocked but excited she would have been to find that her daughter was pregnant. And her father, she could almost see his smiling face – how he would have loved to have had a grandchild to hold. The tears came and she bit them back. Tears were for another day. And under her breath she said a quiet prayer to her mother to please watch over her today.
*
Kerry was glad to see Jake Cahill in the study along with Jack and Danny. There were several other men too, some of them who she knew were bodyguards who had often stayed a discreet distance from her when she went anywhere. Young Cal and Tahir were also there, both looking a little pale, but standing around at the back of the room where everyone was being issued with bulletproof vests. She hoped it wasn’t a game to these boys, being put in the firing line like this. She still had doubts about using them, but she had made her point to Jack, and she trusted his judgement.
‘Good to see you, Jake,’ she said, as she embraced him. ‘Thanks for coming over at such short notice.’
‘Good to see you too, Kerry. And no problem. I’m glad to be here. Anything I can do to help bring this poor kid back to Marty and his family.’
‘I hope so,’ Kerry said. She turned to Danny and Jack.
‘So, let’s sit down and talk.’
Jack motioned the men from the back of the room and each of them took a seat around the table and on chairs by the wall.
‘Right, lads, here’s the plan,’ Danny said.
He pointed to three of the men at the end of the table, and turned to Kerry.
‘Kerry. Tom, Paul and Matt down there will be working in the restaurant for the day. It’s all arranged. We don’t have to worry about that. The manager was visited last night. Tom and Matt will be waiters, Paul here will be the duty manager who will meet and greet customers. There will be a few more customers in the restaurant, but they will be our people sitting having lunch, so as not to attract any suspicion that the restaurant is closed to the public.’
‘I take it he will have had his people casing the place over the last couple of days.’
‘Of course. But they won’t have seen anything untoward. We’re not expecting him to turn up on his own. He’ll have at least two people with him, maybe also two more in at least one car. So there will be numbers there. We’ve had to factor all that into our plans. We’re well covered. We have people all over the place who will be watching and tracking hi
s mob when they arrive anywhere near the place. It’s a good road to be able to watch from a discreet distance, and we’ll have someone in the car park too. But he’ll expect that.’
‘Good,’ Kerry said.
‘Now regarding the boy.’ He nodded towards Cal and Tahir. ‘Jake Cahill will take the lads Cal and Tahir with him, and a driver. There will be another car following them.’ He looked at Kerry. ‘This guy Sinc, who’s not here at the moment for obvious reasons, will also be in the car as he is the contact. He’s the one who’s going to be getting the message when to move the boy. We haven’t decided yet whether to go into the house where they are holding the kid at the moment, or wait until they get the call to move him to the farmhouse. I’m going to leave that to Jake’s judgement on the hoof. But if we need to storm any of the houses, then we have plenty of hands to do it.’ He glanced up at Cal and Tahir.
‘Would it not be better to wait until the kid has been taken out of the house and is being driven to the farmhouse?’ Kerry asked, trying to picture the scene. ‘It might be an idea to move in then, while he’s in transit.’
Danny looked at Jack and Jake.
‘We’ll see, Kerry. That’s why I don’t want to say hard and fast how it will be. It might be easier to hit them in transit. But we have to watch out for the kid, you know, if it gets messy.’ He paused. ‘It might turn out that Sinc gets word to move the kid and bring him to the restaurant. So we have to be ready for that too. There’s a lot of uncertainties because Rodriguez hasn’t said specifically that he will bring him to the restaurant while the papers are being signed. We don’t know enough yet, so we’ll have to wing it.’
Kerry hoped her face didn’t show the worry she was feeling for little Finbar being caught in the crossfire.
