Top Dog

by Kerry Kaya

  * * *

  Moray and the Carter brothers regrouped a few hundred yards from Freddie’s house. They couldn’t risk themselves being spotted by the two men. More than anything, they didn’t want to give them a heads up to try and escape.

  “How do you wanna play this out?” Tommy asked.

  Glancing toward Freddie’s house, Moray took in the neighbouring houses. There would be a lot of witnesses if they kicked down the front door and dragged them out in broad daylight. Fuck it, he decided. Taking them by force could well be the only means of getting them out the house. “We smash the fucking door down, if need be. I want them out.”

  “Fair enough. You heard him,” Tommy addressed his brothers. “Just try not to bring too much attention to yourselves, and Jonny, have the car ready and waiting for our signal.”

  Jonny nodded his head and took the car keys from his brother. The fact that he was an excellent getaway driver was his only saving grace, where his brothers were concerned.

  “Right, are we ready?” Tommy gave the signal for his brothers to move forward. Silently, they walked toward Freddie’s house.

  “Remember, I want them both,” Moray added, as an afterthought.

  Putting up his hand, Tommy indicated for the men to stop. Confident that his brothers and Moray were hidden out of sight, behind privet hedges of a neighbouring house, Tommy walked a few paces ahead, to suss out Freddie’s gaff. Walking back toward them, he kept his voice low. “There’s a back gate about six feet or so high. Gary and Mitchel, I want the two of yous to jump over, just in case they try to escape out the back, and then the rest of us, stay at the front. Moray, are you happy with that?”

  Moray hastily agreed. All he wanted to do was to get his hands on Lee Hart.

  They moved forward and watched, as Gary and Mitchel expertly scaled the back gate. They then waited a few seconds for them to get into position, before kicking down the front door. They were inside the house within seconds. The splintered door brought further proof that despite Freddie’s paranoia, he’d thought of himself as untouchable.

  * * *

  Studying the sheets of paper, Danny read each name the boy had written down. He wasn’t surprised to see Lee Hart’s name there. How the fuck did these people even find each other? It was a question he didn’t want to know the answer to, he decided. He moved on to the second sheet of paper, containing the list of boys names. He felt physically sick. So many kids, so many runaways, so many innocent victims.

  Danny paused, before glancing across to Matty. His and Lewis Hart’s names were amongst the list of lads. He didn’t speak. He was actually lost for words. He didn’t know what he was meant to say. Was Matty even telling the truth?

  He watched, as the boy cried his heart out, and in that instant, he felt his mood soften toward him. Massaging his closed eyes, he rubbed his hand across his face. He was in turmoil. A part of him wanted to kick the lad’s head in, there and then. The other part of him wanted to offer comfort.

  The boy had somehow managed to pull at his heart strings—an emotion he would never, in a million years, have believed he was capable of when it came to Matty Payne. For his son, yes, or Maxine, even Moray’s two boys, but not for this young lad in front of him, whom he’d despised for so long.

  “When did it start?” Even though he’d asked the question, Danny wasn’t so sure he wanted to know the answer.

  “When I was fourteen. They target the runaways, because no one cares about them. It’s easy to make them disappear, see.” Matty cleared his throat, the lump there choking him, so gut wrenching was the emotion he was feeling. He’d never been forced to relive the horrors of what had happened to him out loud before, and every emotion he’d kept hidden away for so long, had now been dragged out from the box inside his head, where he’d kept the abuse locked away. They were now at the forefront of his mind. “I’m not a poofta, though.” His eyes became wide. “I don’t like boys or nothing, honest.”

  Danny closed his eyes. He didn’t understand any of this. How had Freddie kept this hidden for all of these years? He stood up and walked toward the window. He could barely bring himself to look at the boy, and he didn’t want to listen to any more of what he had had to say, he knew that much. He continued staring out of the window. He placed his palms on the window sill, his strong arms taking his weight. Finally, he forced himself to turn back around.

  As Matty sobbed, his heart actually broke for the lad. Gingerly, he took a step closer, unsure if he was doing the right thing.

  He couldn’t understand the turnaround inside of him. How could he go from wanting to kill the boy one minute, to wanting to offer comfort the next? He must be going soft, he decided. Whatever it was, it was certainly a revelation.

  * * *

  Lee was so scared, he’d actually wet himself. “I didn’t do anything,” he’d protested, as the men dragged Freddie and himself out of the house. “Tell ‘em, Fred. Tell ‘em how it was all your idea.”

  As they were thrown into the car, Freddie knew when to keep schtum. With no firm around to protect him, he knew his days would be numbered, if he started getting lairy. He was only grateful it wasn’t actually Danny McKay who’d grabbed a hold of them. After being on the receiving end of that famous temper of his, he didn’t relish the thought of round two.

  “Shut your fucking mouth,” he hissed, giving Lee a swift kick in his shin. If they wanted to get out of this alive, they would need to keep their wits about them, and if they weren’t careful, Lee’s loose lips were going to make the situation ten times worse.

  “It wasn’t me,” Lee continued to protest. “It was you, Fred. You told me to give the kid the pills.” Despite his terror, Lee smirked. If he could get them to believe it was all Freddie’s doing, then they might let him walk away.

  The brick that smashed into Lee’s face came out of nowhere. Such force was used that he actually watched his teeth fly out of his mouth. As blood gushed from his split gums, he began to cry. With a sudden terrifying clarity, he knew for certain that this was one situation he wouldn’t be able to talk his way out of. Moray Garner and the Carter brothers obviously meant business.

  * * *

  Hesitating, Danny sat down on the edge of the sofa. He moved his arm toward Matty, and just as quickly, he pulled it back. He continued watching as the boy cried, and knew, instinctively, he was telling the truth. Blowing out his cheeks, he took the plunge and pulled the lad into his arms.

  “It’s okay,” he whispered, as he pulled him close. “It’s okay.” Only it wasn’t okay, and he knew that. How did young kids like Matty ever get over something like this?

  Matty clung onto Danny for dear life. His fingertips clasped hold of him tightly, as he let out heart wrenching sobs. He’d never had anyone hold him before, and his grief for the childhood that had been ripped away from him, tumbled out. He was unable to stop the tears from flowing. The horror of what he’d been through throughout his young life, was too raw.

  Over the course of the next hour, the horrifying tale of the beatings from Matty’s dad, Freddie’s parties, the other men, and the runaways, came flooding out. At times, Danny had had to hide the disgust he felt. None of this was the lad’s fault, he understood that now, and he could feel the rage build inside of him, when Matty had stated that if Freddie had indeed killed him that morning, then there would have been another boy to take his place within hours.

  Watching Danny as he got up from the sofa and walk through to the bedroom, Matty sniffed back his tears. He dragged his hand across his face, drying his sodden cheeks.

  “Take this and get as far away as you can. No one will come looking for you, I can promise you that.” Against his better judgement, Danny handed over five thousand pounds in cash.

  Matty held the money in his hand. With a solemn expression spread across his face, he passed it back. “I can’t.”

  “Yes, you can. Take the fucking money and run. If you stay here, I can’t guarantee that they won’t kill you when all of th
is comes out. They will be gunning for blood, you should already know that. I’ll tell them you made a run for it while I was taking a piss or something.”

  “I can’t. The two boys … I promised I would take them away.”

  “What two fucking boys?” Danny narrowed his eyes. Immediately, he was suspicious.

  Matty gulped, before speaking. His voice was hoarse from crying. “Sam and Jack. They’re only little, and their mum doesn’t care about them. All she’ll do, is find another Freddie and use the money to buy crack. It’s easy money for her, see.” Matty looked up at Danny, his eyes were wide, imploring him to help the two brothers. “I have to help them. I promised I would.”

  Danny chewed on the inside of his cheek, as he thought over Matty’s words. Finally, he took out his phone and punched in a number. “Moray,” he said into the mouthpiece. “I need a huge favour.”

  Chapter 19

  After warning Matty not to leave his flat, or open the door to anyone under any circumstances, Danny drove to Freddie’s lock up. He just hoped and prayed he wasn’t too late. He had a proposition of his own for Moray, and he had a feeling this could be exactly what they needed to get the Greeks off of their backs. Convincing Moray, however, was going to be the hard part.

  He walked through the doors and took in the scene before him. It was exactly what he’d been expecting to find. Sitting back to back, in the middle of the vast concrete floor, were Freddie and Lee. Their hands and feet had been bound tightly together, making it impossible for them to move.

  “I see you didn’t waste any time,” Danny stated, as he took in Lee’s obvious facial injuries.

  Moray didn’t answer. He was too busy unravelling a length of rubber tubing.

  “We need to talk,” Danny said. Coming to stand beside Moray, he kept his voice low, as he watched his friend place the rubber tubing, a plastic funnel, staple gun, pliers, and a litre bottle of bleach onto a table.

  “Go on.”

  “We could use these two wankers in exchange for the doors. Barter with the Greeks, and get them off of our backs for good.” Glancing toward Freddie and Lee, Danny then placed his arm across the table, forcing Moray to stop what he was doing and to look at him.

  “No.”

  “Listen, if we hand them over, and …”

  “I said no,” Moray interrupted. His voice was loud and broke no arguments.

  “Fair enough. I understand you want to kill the cunt, but you’re making a huge mistake by doing it yourself.” Danny hadn’t seen this side of Moray for many years. The steely glint in his mate’s eyes warned him to back off and not argue the case.

  “I want that bastard to die for what he’s done to the boys.”

  “And he will do. Let the Greeks have him, in exchange for the doors.” Danny understood where Moray was coming from, but at times, you had to look at the bigger picture. He’d lost count of how many times he’d told Freddie the exact same thing over the years.

  There had always been a method to his madness, and at the end of the day, it didn’t matter if it was Moray or the Greeks responsible. Lee Hart was going to die. Everyone, other than Lee, was a winner. “C’mon, mate, business is business, and besides, you should have bought a bigger funnel. You’ll be there all day with this poxy little thing.” Flicking the small plastic funnel across the table, Danny smiled, trying to lighten Moray’s mood.

  “Yeah, well, it’s been quite a few years since I’ve had to torture anyone, unlike you, by the sound of it.” There was a note of sarcasm in Moray’s voice.

  “Trust me, mate, you don’t want to go down this road, not when you’ve worked so hard to get out of the life. If you do this now, and get blood on your hands, then I can guarantee you won’t stop there. You’ll do it again and again, just like I have.”

  “All I want, is to see the fucker dead. Don’t try and talk me out of it.”

  “Moray, you’ll end up as fucked up as me. Think of what you’re doing.” Despite what his mate said, Danny could see he was beginning to waver. It was all well and good, him carrying out such a heinous act in the heat of the moment, but in the cold light of day, he knew that if Moray carried it through, then it would haunt him for the rest of his days.

  “How do you even know the Greeks will kill him?” It was the closest Moray would ever get to hearing Danny show any kind of remorse for the brutal acts he’d committed over the years, and his words were beginning to make him think through what he was doing.

  “They think he killed one of their own. They’re gonna want revenge. Can you honestly see them letting him live?”

  “And what if he talks and tells them the truth?” Moray glanced across to the two men tied up on the floor. He kept his voice low. “You know what he’s fucking like with that big trap of his. The quicker one of us kill him, the better.”

  “Easy solution to that,” Danny stated. He snatched up a knife from the table, and lightly touched the point of the blade, testing its sharpness. “The bastard can’t talk without a tongue, can he?”

  Striding toward Lee with the steel knife in his fist, Danny indicated for one of the Carter brothers to hold Lee’s head still for him. Quickly and efficiently, he forced apart the terrified and protesting man’s jaws, and as though it were a hot knife gliding through butter, he then sliced off the top half of Lee’s tongue. Throwing the bloody matter to the floor, Danny turned back toward Moray, and wiped the blood from his hands as he did so. “There you go, problem solved.”

  Jonny Carter’s eyes were like golf balls, as he watched Lee Hart choking on the blood that filled his mouth. For future reference, he was given a stark reminder not to upset Danny McKay, in any way, shape or form. He could see now that he’d had a lucky escape, all thanks to his elder brothers, and the surname he’d been lucky enough to be born with.

  * * *

  Freddie had almost felt his heart stop, as he’d watched Danny McKay walk through the doors. He’d been convinced the man would immediately begin a thorough beating of both Lee and himself. Instead, through hooded eyes, he had watched McKay, as he’d stood talking to Moray Garner for over ten minutes. He couldn’t hear what was being said, but took a wild guess from the glances they threw in their direction, that Lee and himself were the topic of conversation.

  As Danny purposely strode toward them with the knife in his fist, Freddie had closed his eyes tightly. Dishing out violence was one thing, but receiving it was a totally different matter, and he didn’t want to see the blade plunging toward him.

  He’d felt his body sag with relief, when it was Lee who’d begun screaming. He was only thankful it wasn’t his tongue the man had cut out. McKay had always been a mad bastard. He’d known that from the moment he had first clapped eyes on him. Even when he’d been just a kid, it was clear for everyone to see that the boy was a loose cannon, hence why he’d never laid a finger on him or the gypsy. Seeing how close the two boys were, Freddie had given them both a wide berth, not to mention, he didn’t fancy a backlash from the rest of Moray’s pikey clan, if they were to ever find out that he’d interfered with him.

  Taking deep breaths, Freddie’s racing heart began to slow back down to its normal rhythm once again. He could feel Lee squirming against his back. He was obviously in distress and a great deal of pain. “Shut the fuck up,” he hissed. The more attention Lee brought on them, the worse the outcome would be, he was certain of that.

  For the first time since he’d arrived, Danny looked Freddie in the eye. He snarled, as he came to crouch down beside him.

  Pulling back his head, Freddie spat into the younger man’s face. It was the only thing he could physically do. They had him trussed up like a chicken, and he could no longer feel his hands or feet. The sensation had begun as pins and needles, until numbness had taken over them several hours earlier. He could tell by the mottled purple colour his hands had turned, that the plastic cable ties tightly binding them together, had cut off all blood supply.

  Danny wiped the spittle from his cheek. He rema
ined composed and chillingly calm, and brought his face closer to Freddie’s ear. “I know what you are, and I know what you did to those boys.”

  In that instant, Freddie knew he was a dead man. He felt an ice cold chill run down his spine, and beads of cold sweat began to break out across his forehead. Warily, he looked Danny in the eye, unsure of what the man was going to do with the new-found knowledge he had. He could see repulsion spread across his face, and in that instant, he knew. He didn’t speak, he didn’t need to. The fact that Danny now knew exactly what he was, was more than enough to tell him he wouldn’t be walking out of the lock up alive.

  * * *

  Hastily, Danny had arranged a meeting with George Christos. The ongoing situation with Freddie and Lee, had forced them to move fast. Both Moray and himself were in the office above Ritzy’s Nightclub, and he poured them both out a tumbler of brandy. “Look, I’ll do you a deal, okay? If the Greeks don’t kill him, then I’ll do it.”

  “I was more than capable of doing it myself, and would have done it, if you hadn’t of stopped me.”

  Danny ignored Moray’s reply. He passed across the filled glass, then glanced down at his watch. Christos was running late. “There was something I was meant to tell you, actually, and I’d better do it, before they get here. I was with Freddie when he killed one of the Greeks a couple of months back.”

  “What!? And you’ve only decided you’d mention this now?” He stood back slightly, and ran his hand through his dark hair. “Fuck me, Danny, you don’t half pick your moments.”