Top Dog

by Kerry Kaya

  “It will be, so stop your worrying. Go and pick her up, and I’ll meet you back here about ten.”

  “Yeah, you’re right,” Moray answered, as he searched around his desk for his car keys.

  Danny lifted up a stack of paperwork and scooped up the keys. “Here, go on, go,” he said, handing them over to Moray.

  As he watched Moray walk out of the office, Danny couldn’t help but smile. It looked as though his mate was in love, after all.

  * * *

  Danny wasn’t the only one to have had a warning to be on their best behaviour. Aaron and Colm had been told the exact same thing. This was the first time their dad had introduced a woman to them, so it must be serious.

  “I wonder what she’s like?” Colm pondered, as he adjusted his black tie, in preparation for the night’s work ahead of them.

  Aaron shrugged his shoulders. “Gawd knows.” If he was being honest, he couldn’t give a toss what she was or wasn’t like. “It won’t last,” he stated. “Come on, let’s face it. This is dad we’re talking about. All he’s interested in is the clubs, and always has been. Why’d you think mum left him?”

  Colm ignored his brother. Unlike Aaron, he was close to his dad, always had been. “Well, I’m happy for him. He deserves to have someone in his life.”

  “Here, take these.” Aaron handed over a fistful of white pills. “Stick ‘em in your pockets, and remember, they’re two quid each.”

  “Are you mad? We can’t deal ‘em out, right underneath dad’s nose.”

  “Dad’s gonna be too busy with his tart. He won’t even notice what we’re getting up to.”

  “And what about Danny? You know he doesn’t miss a trick. He’s got eyes like a bleedin’ hawk.”

  “Just bloody do it, Colm, jeez. It’s like having a fucking baby tied around my neck. When no one’s looking, just dish ‘em out. It’s not rocket science.” He was losing patience with his brother. He knew he should have kept quiet about the pills, instead of bringing Colm on board.

  Colm pushed the pills deep into his pockets. He wasn’t happy about it, but at the same time, he didn’t want to fall out with his brother. “Okay, keep your bloody hair on. I’ll do it.”

  * * *

  Moray picked Sophie up just after nine. On the short drive to the club, he’d kept squeezing her hand. Sophie wasn’t sure if the reassurance was for her benefit, or his own. She could tell he was just as nervous as she was. He’d hardly said two words to her in the car, and when he did speak, he was becoming tongue-tied, making her laugh.

  “Anyone would think we were fifteen and I’m about to meet your parents for the first time,” Moray laughed, as they climbed out of the car outside the club. “I’m that nervous.”

  “So this is how you’re going to be when you actually do meet my mum and dad, is it?” Sophie answered, laughing.

  “Don’t.” Moray broke out in a cold sweat, just thinking about it. He pulled Sophie into his arms and kissed her on the lips. “Are you ready?”

  Taking a deep breath, Sophie looked across to the club and nodded her head. “As I’ll ever be.” She slipped her hand into his, and held on tight, as they walked across the car park toward the club doors.

  “That’s one of my boys there. Aaron, my eldest,” Moray said, pointing out a dark haired young man stood at the doors. The likeness between father and son was uncanny, except the boy’s skin tone, which was a lighter shade than Moray’s coffee coloured skin.

  “He’s a handsome boy.”

  “Of course he is. He takes after me.”

  Playfully, Sophie nudged him. “That head of yours is going to get bigger and bigger,” she laughed. She could tell Moray was trying to ease her nerves, and it was working. She felt more relaxed.

  After the introductions, Moray guided Sophie into the club. He placed his hand gently on the small of her back, as they walked toward the VIP section, pointing out who the members of staff were.

  “And this here, for my sins, is my best mate, Danny. He probably looks a bit different to when you last saw him.”

  Danny pulled Sophie into a bear hug and kissed her cheek. “Nice to finally meet you. Moray’s talked a lot about you.”

  “All good, I hope,” she answered, laughing.

  “Of course all good.” Moray winked, placing his arm around her waist and pulling her toward him.

  “I’ve ordered champagne, so let’s celebrate and have a good night,” Danny grinned, as he popped the cork.

  Sipping her champagne, Sophie looked around her, before smiling across to Moray. She felt as though a whole new world had opened up to her, and she couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have this man in her life.

  * * *

  Aaron spotted them, before they’d even climbed out of their cars. They weren’t exactly inconspicuous. “Shit,” he muttered. Immediately, his thoughts went to the little white pills he’d stuffed into his pockets earlier that night.

  He could feel the colour drain from his face and the hairs on the back of his neck stand up on end. He didn’t know what to do for the best. He couldn’t exactly tip the pills out of his pockets. He was bound to be caught trying to get rid of the evidence. In a blind panic, he ran inside the club. He had to warn Colm. They would need to get rid of their stash, chuck the bloody lot down the toilet and flush them away, if need be.

  Weaving in and out of the revellers on the dance floor, he looked around him. Where the fuck was his brother?

  “Aaron, come over here.”

  Aaron turned toward his dad, as he called out to him from the VIP section.

  “Come and have a glass of bubbly with your old man,” he grinned, raising his glass in the air.

  “I will later on.” He had to find his brother first. He could feel his heart in his mouth, as a cold sweat broke out across his forehead. He and Colm were both in deep shit.

  Hearing a commotion coming from behind him, Aaron turned to look. He already knew what he was going to see, and he felt sick to his stomach. Police officers swarmed inside the club. They were being raided. He slipped his hand inside his trousers pocket. He could feel the pills. He was in half a mind to tip them out all over the dance floor. It had to be better than being caught red-handed with them. This was all his fault. He shouldn’t have been so fucking greedy.

  * * *

  Moray was stunned. He looked across to Danny and saw the same surprise etched across his face. He knew they had nothing to worry about. The club’s anti-drugs policy ensured him of that. Anyone found dealing or using, was thrown out immediately. It simply wasn’t tolerated.

  The club was in chaos, as the old bill rounded up the customers to begin their searches.

  “I’ll deal with this,” Moray said confidently. Other than one or two stragglers who may have made it through the doors carrying, he knew the police would find nothing. “Won’t be long, darling,” he smiled to Sophie. “Danny will look after you. The old bill will be in and out within minutes.”

  He gulped down the remainder of his champagne, then began to make his way down the short few steps from the VIP section. He reached the bottom in time to watch Aaron being slammed to the floor. “What the fuck is going on? That’s my son you’re manhandling. I’m in charge of the doors here, and I can assure you, no dealing goes on inside any of my clubs.”

  “We’ve had a tip off your own security is dealing in here,” the officer replied, as he began a thorough search of Aaron.

  “No, we have a strict anti-drugs policy in here. There’s been a mistake.” If the situation hadn’t of been so serious, Moray would have laughed out loud. No fucking way. His boy had nothing to do with drugs, he was certain of that. He’d drummed it into both of his sons, from an early age, to stay away from them.

  “We’re also going to need your CCTV footage. So if you don’t mind, can you show an officer where it’s kept?” the officer asked.

  Moray watched in disbelief, as Colm was then brought out. His hands were behind his back in handcuffs. He searched
his boy’s face, hoping against all hope, to see his innocence there.

  “I’m sorry, dad.”

  As his boy looked down at the floor, averting his eyes, all Moray could see was his guilt. Immediately, his eyes darted to the polythene bag held in the hand of the police officer escorting his son. The bag was full of pills. No way, he would never believe it. The dirty bastards must have planted them on his boy. His Colm would never do something like this. He was in denial.

  He was about to open his mouth, to hurl out a torrent of abuse, when Aaron’s pockets were emptied out. In despair, he watched, as hundreds of pills spilled out. If he hadn’t of seen it with his own two eyes, he would never have believed his sons were capable of such a thing.

  Bringing his hands up to his head, Moray felt as though his world had shattered into pieces. He wasn’t gullible. He knew both of his sons would go down for this. They were looking at serious bird. How could they have been so fucking stupid, to think they could get away with dealing in the clubs? He had to fight the urge to not barge the old bill out of the way, and batter his sons to within an inch of their sorry lives, for their stupidity.

  He felt Danny’s hand grip hold of his shoulder. “Get yourself down to the nick, mate. I’ll get on the phone to our brief, and tell him to meet you down there. We’ll get this sorted out. Don’t worry.”

  Moray turned to look behind him. He could see in his mate’s eyes, he already knew the outcome, just as he himself did. His sons had been caught bang to rights. No matter how good their brief was, the boys were not going to get off with this. In fact, they were going to go down for a very long time.

  * * *

  Stood alone in the VIP section, with a glass of champagne still in her hand, Sophie watched in horror, as Moray flew out of the club behind his sons. Placing the glass down onto the nearest table to her, she pulled her mobile phone out of her handbag, and called herself a taxi. She was in shock herself, and her heart went out to Moray. He was so proud of both of his two boys, and she knew, instinctively, that this was going to more than devastate him.

  •••

  “The stupid fucking bastards, they’ve ruined their whole fucking lives, and for what? Fucking greed?”

  Danny remained silent, letting Moray get it out of his system. They were in Moray’s house, and he’d already destroyed the lounge. Coffee tables and sofas were over turned, and the television set had been thrown against the wall, in a fit of rage.

  “They’re my boys. What am I meant to do? They must have been dealing, right underneath my fucking nose. How did I not know what they were doing? I should have watched them closer. I should have kept them separated.”

  “You can’t blame yourself, mate. And you can’t do anything to change what they’ve already done. Not only were they caught in possession of supplying, the whole fucking thing is on camera.” Danny blew out his cheeks. He was still in shock himself. He was close to Moray’s sons, and was gutted for them. They were only young, nineteen and eighteen. Now, it looked as though they would spend the best part of their lives locked up.

  “I need to speak to them. I need to know where they got the pills from.”

  “They’re not going to let you in to see them, you know that. The brief will have to get it out of them on the quiet.”

  Overwhelmed, Moray sank into a chair. He placed his head in his hands and sobbed. It was the first time Danny had ever seen his mate cry. He moved toward him, and sat on the arm of the chair. “I’ll get the brief to find out the score, and then when we find out who it is, we’ll pay them a visit and make them pay the fucking price.”

  Wiping away his tears, Moray nodded his head. Now that he’d cried, he wouldn’t shed another tear. He was gunning for blood, and he wouldn’t stop until enough blood had been spilt to satisfy his anger. “Find out who it was who supplied those fucking pills, and then I’m going to tear the bastard apart with my own bare fucking hands.”

  Danny didn’t disbelieve Moray for a second. He had a feeling his mate could very well end up sitting in the cell next to his boys, if he wasn’t careful.

  * * *

  Aaron Garner had spent the best part of twenty minutes crying. How could he have been so stupid? The coppers had taken everything from him, even his shoelaces. He sat gingerly on the edge of what was meant to be a bed. The thin layer of foam acting as a mattress, offered no comfort. He and Colm were going to go to prison. He knew they were, and it was all his fault.

  He wished he could talk to Colm. He was bound to be terrified. He hated confined spaces, always had done, ever since they were kids. He could still recall the good hiding he’d got off of his dad, when he was young, all because he’d locked Colm in the wardrobe, causing his brother to hyperventilate and pass out.

  His brother hadn’t even wanted to sell the pills. He’d only gone along with it to keep him happy. Colm had always followed his lead. Ever since they were little kids, he’d followed him around like a puppy, copying everything he did.

  He would take full responsibility. When they came to question him, he would tell the coppers that Colm had wanted nothing to do with it. He doubted it would help his little brother out, but he had to try, he decided.

  He wanted to speak to his dad. Maybe his dad’s brief would be able to get Colm off, if he explained everything. Aaron stood up and walked toward the cell door. He banged his fist on the metal grill. “Oi, I’m entitled to a phone call.”

  He received no reply. In all honesty, he hadn’t even expected one.

  Chapter 18

  As he’d predicted, Matty didn’t have to wait long for Freddie to find him. He didn’t run away. He stood leaning against the wall of the pub, waiting for the big man to hurl him inside the car.

  “You little bastard, you’re gonna pay for this. Think you can fucking show me up, do you? Think you can disobey my orders?” So tangible was Freddie’s anger that spittle formed at the corners of his snarled lips. Matty had embarrassed him, by not turning up with the boys. He’d had to apologise profusely to his friends for ruining their night, and causing disappointment.

  Matty didn’t resist, as he was thrown onto the back seat of the car. He dragged himself into a sitting position and stared out of the window.

  “We’ll gut you like a fish for this, and leave you to hang on a fucking hook. I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again.”

  Matty ignored Lee’s words. He knew for a fact that he’d never killed anyone before. He’d heard him tell Freddie exactly who it was who’d carried out the murder, and it definitely wasn’t Lee.

  The short drive to Hainault seemed to go on forever, and still, Matty didn’t speak, not even when Freddie punched him in the side of his head. He bit down on his lip, blocking everything out, and continued staring out of the window at the passing blur of oncoming traffic.

  They didn’t even need to drag him into Freddie’s house. He walked in freely, wanting to get the inevitable over with as quickly as possible.

  The beating that followed was immediate. He let his body go limp, knowing it wouldn’t hurt as much as it would have, if he’d tensed his muscles. Within minutes, he could barely see out of his left eye. It was swollen and bruised. The heavy ring on Freddie’s pinkie finger had ripped open the skin below his eyebrow. Still, he didn’t make a sound.

  “You should cut him up, Fred. He’s embarrassed you in front of your friends. You can’t let him get away with that.”

  Matty could hear the excitement in Lee’s voice. He was a vicious, spiteful bastard, and he was glad Lewis had never got the chance to meet him. His mind wandered to his friend now. He hoped when they finally did end his life, he would get to see Lewis. That was, if heaven was even real and not some make believe story. He hoped it was real. He wanted to see his mate.

  After punching the lad one last time, Freddie walked through to the kitchen. He grabbed a knife from the utensils drawer. “I should have finished you off months ago, boy. You’ve been nothing, but an albatross around my neck since the day I
fucking met you.” He wheezed, as he pointed the blade toward Matty.

  “I know who tried to kill you.” Finally, Matty spoke, stopping Freddie dead in his tracks.

  “He’s lying. He knows fuck all, Fred.”

  Freddie held up his hand, cutting off Lee’s words.

  “If you kill me, then you’ll never know who it was.”

  Matty could see Freddie thinking it over. He was eyeing him suspiciously, his mind weighing up if he was telling the truth or not. “Who tried to kill me?” His voice was low, menacing. “Who was it?”

  Matty pulled himself into a sitting position. His whole body hurt. His stomach muscles felt like they were on fire.

  “I asked you a fucking question. Who tried to kill me?”

  Easing himself to his feet, Matty grabbed onto the back of a chair for support, as he steadied himself. He needed to be able to put one foot in front of the other, before he spoke, before he uttered the words out loud … before he told Freddie who it was who’d tried to kill him.

  “Don’t play fucking games with me. Who was it?”

  “Just kill him, Fred. Get it over with. He’s not going to tell you.”

  Matty blocked out the pain. He was an expert at doing that. He’d been doing it all of his life. From the corner of his eye, he could see the front door. He would have just a split second to make a run for it. He bent his knees, testing his legs were strong enough, capable.

  He watched, as Freddie took a step toward him. He didn’t take his eyes off of the man. The knife was in his fist. The glint of steel danced across the wall behind him, as Freddie prepared to thrust the blade forward. Matty had to time this just right, to catch Freddie off guard with the words he was about to speak. More than anything, he needed to shock him enough to make him hesitate, just long enough for him to have the chance to dart away.