Fight Back

by Anna Smith

  She quite liked Hill, because he’d never rubbed her up the wrong way, or given her the creeps the way Pat Durkin had when she’d encountered the pair of them that first time. Billy was old school and had known her dad, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t as slippery as they came. He hadn’t become a multimillionaire with property in London and Spain, as well as a yacht sitting in Puerto Banus, without doing a few people over in his day. She knew all that, but still she felt they could do business. Since all the trouble started with Rodriguez, Billy had been frozen out, so he’d an axe to grind. But all of that aside, he wanted to do old-fashioned business with the Caseys, because he felt he could trust them.

  ‘Well. You know what I mean, Kerry. When people on the ground are talking about a shipment coming in, then anything can happen. You never know whose palms are getting greased to give information out.’

  ‘Well, we don’t even know when or where it’s coming into for sure,’ Kerry lied a little. ‘But we’ll be on it, Billy, and we do really appreciate everything you’ve done for us recently.’ Kerry wanted to dig at him again that he should remember that it was he and Durkin who had brought Pepe Rodriguez into their lives, and this was why they were all in this mess, but it would have been pointless. They had to work together now. ‘We’ve been bombarded from all sides for the past few weeks here, and we need to fight back and hit hard. This shipment is perfect for us, if we can make it happen.’

  ‘Great. I’ll back you up on that, Kerry, all the way. Everything you need. But with that amount of cocaine, as I said, you need to move it fast. I’ve got three major players who will take that off your hands for big money. Cash money. No fucking ambushes or any of that shit. Because the boys I’m talking about know they will make a mint from pure coke.’

  Kerry nodded and glanced at Danny.

  ‘So what are you saying to us, Billy?’ Danny chipped in. ‘Because we’re seriously not looking to scrap over this. But when we get it, and believe me we will get it, you’re right. All we want to do is offload it for the right price. No fucking funny business. Because if that happens there will be blood all over the walls, and most of it won’t be ours.’

  Billy rubbed his chin then spread his hands. He looked from Danny to Kerry.

  ‘Look. I can promise you this. I never felt good about what happened in the past with the Colombian, the way Durkin just went right over to his side. I didn’t know when I met you that Rodriguez and the Durkin mob were going to come at you like this. I was never anywhere near that. I told you. The bastards froze me out, and I’m glad they did. But now, I’m here to make this happen. I’ll throw as many people at this as you need, so that if it comes down to a fight, then your boys walk out of it on top. With the coke, and ultimately with the readies.’

  Over lunch, Hill told them the names of the dealers he would shift the coke to. One was a Moroccan crook who had been in the UK for thirty years and was now the apparently respectable multimillionaire owner of a string of restaurants and property, but his organisation still dealt in heroin and cocaine, mostly smuggled in by mules. He was up for a third of the total, and would pay it on the day when it was handed over to him. The other two were big London dealers who had been buying coke from their own sources in Amsterdam and Spain over the years, but were prepared to pay top dollar for the purest of stuff. The money was there, he assured them. All she had to do was say yes, so that everything was ready to roll when the coke arrived. It all sounded good, but Danny looked a little uneasy. He sat forward, elbows on the table, and steepled his hands.

  ‘So, Billy. Why are you suddenly prepared to push the boat right out and throw everything in to help the Caseys?’ He paused for a moment, glanced at Kerry, then at Billy, who looked a little flushed. ‘I’m only asking, mate, because I’ve always been a suspicious fucker all my life, as you well know. So, if you’ve got anything to say, then let’s hear it now.’

  The taut silence seemed to go on for ever, and Kerry saw Hill squirm a little. He picked up his glass of water, took a mouthful, then put it back down and leaned forward.

  ‘Okay,’ he said, spreading his hands. ‘I’m going to be a hundred per cent honest with you guys.’ He flicked a glance at Kerry. ‘Your big hotel plans on the Costa del Sol. I really want a piece of the action there.’

  ‘That’s not on the table, Billy,’ Kerry snapped.

  Hill put his hands up.

  ‘Hold on, Kerry. Hear me out. Please. Just for a moment. Look. I want to invest a good whack of my own dosh into your hotel. I mean it sounds, and from the plans looks, like such a massive, fantastic complex, it’s something I really want to be a part of. The kudos of being involved in something like that. Know what I mean? It’s right up my strasse.’ He paused and took a breath. ‘And I wouldn’t just be investing money. I’d bring security, more bodies than you can come up with.’ He turned to Danny. ‘Mate. You know I’m respected in London and in Spain. You know all the faces who know me, and straight up, I can bring all that behind your crew. So if you ever needed additional muscle, it’s there for you – anytime, anywhere. That’s what I bring to the table – as well as money.’

  For a long moment they sat saying nothing. Kerry could see by the look on Danny’s face that Hill was talking a lot of sense. But she wasn’t about to buckle to any agreements right now, in the middle of a major operation. She took a long breath and pushed out a sigh. Then she looked Hill in the eye.

  ‘Okay, Billy. I’m not going to agree to anything right here and now. But I can promise you that we can talk about this. All right? That’s as much as I’m saying. Once this is all over, we can get around the table and look at some facts and figures. Okay?’

  Hill nodded eagerly. ‘That’ll do me, sweetheart.’

  Kerry let the ‘sweetheart’ line go, because there were more important things on her mind right now. But she almost smiled to herself at his chutzpah.

  By the time Hill and Danny left, Kerry felt exhausted, and at last, alone in her study, she put her feet up and her head back on the cushion and closed her eyes. She was drifting into a deep sleep when her mobile rang on the table beside her.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Kerry picked up her mobile with one eye open, but there was no number on the screen. She pressed it to her ear, eyes still closed.

  ‘Hello?’ she said, a little sleepy.

  ‘Kerry. It’s Frankie.’

  Her eyes snapped open and she sat bolt upright on the chair.

  ‘What the fuck!’ she spat, standing up, feeling a rush of adrenalin.

  ‘Kerry,’ Frankie broke in. ‘Look. I . . . I don’t want to fight.’

  ‘You don’t want to fight?’ Kerry heard her voice go up an octave. ‘You don’t want to fight! Well that’s good coming from a fucking traitor who betrayed the very people who gave you a home, a life, the family who gave you everything, you useless, lowlife bastard. You started this, you prick. Your thugs butchered John O’Driscoll – someone who had been a loyal friend to you and this family all his life. You took Marty Kane’s grandson away. Marty Kane! And you and your scumbag mobsters have murdered the very people in this family who’d have stuck their necks out for you.’ Kerry took a breath for a moment, because she could feel her voice shaking. Calm down. Think for a moment, she told herself. But just hearing Frankie’s voice lit such a fuse of rage that if he stood in front of her right now, she could put a bullet in his chest. Calm down, she told herself again. You are in charge here. Frankie said nothing, and the silence seemed to go on for ever as Kerry choked back her anger. Then he spoke.

  ‘I’m sorry, Kerry. What else can I say?’

  Kerry let it hang for a moment. She was calmer now. She had to be. Because if this bastard was phoning her, it could only mean there was more treachery coming her way.

  ‘What the fuck do you want?’ Kerry’s voice was softer, but firm.

  Again, the long silence, and Kerry could feel her heartbeat.

  ‘I want to come back.’

  Kerry couldn’
t believe her ears. Frankie Martin wanted to come back. Christ almighty!

  ‘Back where? What the Christ do you mean?’

  ‘Back to the family, Kerry. I want to make amends. I can make amends. For everything.’

  Kerry’s voice was calm. ‘You’ve either lost your mind, or you’re out of your nut on drugs. Because let me tell you something, you piece of murdering shit. There is no way back for you. Not now. Not ever. Not anywhere in Glasgow, and never in this family. And if you ever set foot in this city and I hear about it, you will be a dead man before nightfall. You got that? Now I’m hanging up. Don’t even think of ever approaching me like this again. Because if you do, I’ll find you.’ She paused. ‘You’re a dead man walking, Frankie. You have nowhere to run. There is no way back.’

  ‘Kerry, please. Don’t hang up. Listen. I can put forty million quid of pure Colombian cocaine on your table. For the Caseys. For them to sell. For your hotel and all the dreams you have. I can make that happen.’

  Again, Kerry had to wait a few seconds to process this. There was no way in a million years a devious bastard like Frankie would make any kind of deal like this. It had to be some kind of con to lure her into a trap. Little did he know that he was about to be robbed of his forty million coke haul as soon as it hit the UK.

  ‘Don’t talk bullshit. You’ve got forty mil of coke? Yeah, in your dreams, you egomaniac. Nobody in their right mind would entrust you with forty grand of coke, never mind forty million. You know your problem? You’ve run out of places to go. And you’re running out of time. You’re like a cornered rat, desperately trying to free itself from the trap by gnawing its leg off. Too late. It’s too late for you.’

  ‘Kerry! Listen. It’s on a ferry to the UK tonight. I promise you. I’ve been given it to sell for Rodriguez. He’s put me in charge of the shipment. Pure cocaine. I’ve got buyers set up when it arrives. I’m ready to ditch everyone and let you have it. Free. It’s yours.’ He paused for a moment. ‘It’s going up to Manchester to a place I’ve arranged to offload it. But only you will know where that is if you agree to see me.’

  This was as weird as it came. What the hell was he playing at? If Kerry didn’t know that there was in fact a shipment of coke on its way here, she would have hung up, but the fact that she knew he was telling the truth meant she had to listen. She said nothing, and eventually he spoke.

  ‘Kerry. I want to talk to you. Just you and me. Come down to Manchester. Then I’ll hand over the cocaine to you. If you want to put a bullet in me, then you’re free to do that. At least I’ll know that I’ve done something for the Caseys to make up for everything I’m responsible for.’ He paused. ‘Or you can let me back in, and I’ll do anything. Take a back seat. Run any kind of shit for you, anywhere you want.’

  Kerry didn’t know how to answer this. Whatever he was playing at, her gut told her it was a trap. But she needed to buy a little time. She had to tell Danny and Jack about it.

  ‘Look. I need to go. I can’t talk to you any more. You make me feel physically sick.’

  ‘I understand that. I’ll call you later tonight. You won’t have much time. Once it’s in the UK, it’s gone before the day’s over. And the Caseys will lose out on the biggest deal of their lives. Don’t be the head of the family who loses a deal like this.’

  Kerry allowed herself a slight smile as the line went dead. She noticed that her hands were trembling as she brought up Danny’s number.

  *

  Jake Cahill had been surprised at the holes in Pepe Rodriguez’s security. He’d been on his tail day and night for several days and the clown didn’t know it. What Jake had seen though was that one of his main bodyguards was a major coke-head. He’d watched the fat little Colombian snort the stuff enough to convince him that he needed it to function. That meant he was wide open, there for the taking. What was it with these guys that they didn’t get that? Now, he could see him bark out orders to the foot soldiers in the grounds surrounding the villa where Rodriguez and his henchmen were holed up. The house was a big ridiculously ornate job, with turrets and peaks and looked like something out of a Disney movie rather than the ancient castle it was trying to resemble. Tacky as hell, it sprawled across the barren hillside with nearby outhouses that, again to Jake’s surprise, none of these idiots ever checked out. The dirt track led to a slightly bigger road in the direction of the motorway at the edge of Marbella. From where Jake sat on a hillside more than three hundred yards away, he was able to look through the telescopic sight on his high-powered rifle and see almost everything that went on in the house. He could watch Rodriguez swimming in the pool or relaxing on a sun lounger, and one afternoon he witnessed some kind of meeting or celebration, with various cars pulling up and half a dozen guys who looked Colombian piling out. They’d done all that Latino manly back-slapping and cheek-kissing stuff, and Jake had smiled to himself knowing that they’d stick a knife in each other’s backs at the drop of a hat. They’d all sat around the table eating from a barbecue and drinking wine, then whisky. Later in the afternoon as the sun was going down, they were joined by five women who arrived in a limo to get the party started. Jake noticed that Rodriguez didn’t seem to take part in any of the frolics with the women, and it was clear that the Colombian associates were invited for the afternoon as a privilege or treat. He did notice, however, that on some evenings a succession of skinny youths that just had to be rent boys had been brought in to the house, and then he watched them leave a couple of hours later. So Rodriguez liked boys, it seemed. Not that it would matter a damn to Jake, but bringing in rent boys left you wide open for all sorts of problems. You’d have to assume that they had been handpicked and well paid. But that wouldn’t stop them from passing on information or details to any of Rodriguez’s enemies, if the price was right. So Jake had just watched and let it all soak in, because the time was coming when he would do his job and move on. He was waiting for word from Danny that the shipment headed to the UK was in the hands of the Caseys. Only when that was done, would he strike. In truth, he could have put a bullet in Rodriguez at least three times a day right from where he was sitting with this assault rifle he’d bought for jobs like this. He got it from an ex-SAS sniper who’d taken out several Taliban soldiers from nearly three thousand yards away. When everything was weighed up, Jake had decided the best place for the execution was right here, where Rodriguez thought he was untouchable. But he was a patient man, and he was happy to bide his time.

  *

  Sharon listened to Kerry as she relayed the conversation she’d had with Frankie Martin. Like Kerry, she could scarcely believe her ears.

  ‘It’s a trap, Kerry. Pure and simple,’ Sharon said. ‘The minute you show your face, you’ll be history. You know that, don’t you?’ She waited as Kerry didn’t answer. ‘You’re not thinking of going, are you? Don’t. You’ll get killed.’

  ‘I know what you’re saying, Sharon,’ Kerry said. ‘I’ve had long discussions with Danny and Jack and we’re pretty sure he’s trying to lure me to my death. But Frankie of all people must know how risky that is. He must know that if I turned up to meet him, I’ll have more security than the Queen ready to pounce. I just can’t figure what he’s playing at.’

  Sharon couldn’t figure it either. But she was one hundred per cent sure that Frankie wasn’t trying to buy his way back into the family. He had to know that as a traitor there was only one fate for him. And he would know that Kerry had plenty of old heads around her who would be advising her exactly that. So what was he playing at?

  ‘I mean he’s getting robbed anyway, Kerry. He’s not daft. He’ll know that if anyone has opened their mouth about the coke coming in, then there will be a posse in every possible stopping point to move in. He’ll have considered that. Maybe he’s thinking it’s all too dangerous, and he’s getting killed anyway, so his only hope is to buy himself back into your favour. But you and I both know that even if you did take him on, your boys would be queuing up to take a pop at him. He must know that too.
I’d say the best thing to do is to hit Frankie while he’s being robbed. It gets the bastard out of the way once and for all. And, by the way, if you need a hand with that, then I’m up for coming over.’

  ‘I know you would be, Sharon. And I might even do it myself.’

  ‘What? You’re not going to meet him, are you?’

  ‘Well. We’ve discussed it, and we might do it. At least we’re going to listen to what his proposal is, where a meet would take place. Then we can have it well covered so that if I did turn up – just him and me as he is asking – I wouldn’t be alone.’

  ‘Kerry, it’s well dodgy. Especially you going,’ Sharon said, choosing her words carefully. ‘I’m not saying you’re not capable of it, because I know you are. But, well, things happen in situations like that. I mean, anything can happen. And . . . And . . . You’re pregnant, Kerry. It’s risky. Too risky, if you ask me.’

  ‘I know. But I’m just saying it’s on the table at the moment. That’s all. And the plan would be that if I do meet him with his proposal then it’s us who’ll be ready for him. We can get rid of Frankie once and for all. But, Sharon, the thing with this operation is everything hinges on your man Vic keeping us informed. We’ve got troops down there ready to get into Jan’s truck, but until we get a location where the drugs are being offloaded, then we can’t do anything.’

  ‘Yeah. We should hear tonight. They’ll be on the boat. As soon as Vic phones, you’ll know.’

  ‘I hope he’s all right. Did you expect him to call by now?’

  ‘Well . . .’ Sharon bit the inside of her cheek. She’d hoped he’d have called by now, and deep down she was beginning to get worried. ‘I did, but I’m sure he will. Maybe he’s waiting until he’s got all the information he needs. I’ll call you as soon as I hear.’

  It was only a few minutes after she said goodbye to Kerry that Sharon’s mobile rang again and she was surprised at how it made her jump. The last few weeks were taking their toll and she hadn’t slept much over the past two nights. This was no way to live, and somewhere deep down there was a part of her that wished she could run a million miles away. But this was where she was now, and she would have the fight to get through it. She picked up the phone and a little jolt went through her gut when she heard Vic’s voice.