Cuts Both Ways

by Solomon Carter

  Golding started on his way around the corridor towards where the noise had come from, leaving Cripps stuck on the floor in his wake. Cripps groaned behind his gag and struggled back against the wall but it was fruitless. He couldn’t do a thing. A way behind him, impossible for Cripps to see, a door opened in the wall and two sets of eyes peered out into the darkness. Cripps heard the noise but he couldn’t turn to see the source. He felt the shadows creeping towards him, heard the shuffle of their feet, their attempts to be silent, and there was nothing he could do. Only when they were close did he have the chance to look up to see who was sneaking up on him. When he did his eyes landed on a slim young girl with a mop of pale hair. She looked at him, sensing his curiosity. She didn’t seem much of a threat, nor did the other one. The young man beside the girl. Then the darkness gave way enough to reveal the full details of the young man’s face. Cripps immediately recognised him. The young guy with the private detective. The one who he’d hit in the face and bloodied his nose. The one who he’d threatened with far worse than that. Immediately, Cripps knitted his eyes tight shut and shook his head. In this position the kid could take whatever revenge he wanted and there was nothing he could do about it. Cripps slid back against the wall in submission and looked up ready to take whatever was about to be dished out.

  “What are we going to do about him?” whispered Mark.

  “You’re with Alma, aren’t you?” whispered the blonde.

  Cripps looked up at her but said nothing. The girl knelt down and pulled at the gag which had been shoved tight into his mouth.

  “You are with Alma,” said Joanne.

  “Joanne, this guy beat me up and knocked Dan unconscious,” said Mark.

  Cripps didn’t reply to Mark. He looked at Joanne. “I’m with Alma.” His voice was dry and croaky.

  “She’s in danger,” said Joanne. “Blunt has her.”

  Cripps’s eyes widened. Joanne leaned back and looked at Mark for instructions and permission. Cripps looked up at him too. Mark took a long moment to consider his options.

  But as soon as the shouting started around the other side of the corridor, his mind was made up.

  “You’d better let him go,” said Mark.

  “Are you sure?” said Joanne.

  “I think it’s worth the risk,” said Mark.

  Cripps nodded a curt thanks and started to push himself up from the floor. He turned around and Joanne picked at the tight knots of his bound wrists. “Here, let me help.” Mark got hold of the binding and started to work on one of the knots as Joanne worked on the other.

  As soon the man was free of his restraints, he looked at his hands and wriggled his fingers.

  He nodded again, his eyes on Mark. “It was worth the risk,” said Cripps. He looked at each of them then turned away and moved off in the darkness. Cripps didn’t seem worried about the lack of a gun.

  ***

  Whatever Blunt was hearing, Alma saw it was making him tense.

  He was hunched by the door, pressing his weight against the door, his head tilted down as if he was using only his ears and his lizard brain to plan his next moves. Dan crept forward slowly, quietly. He stooped behind Alma’s back, side on, and peered over her shoulder. He looked at Blunt and noticed his focus. The man was coiled tight, ready to go. There was a noise outside, no more than a hint. Just the gentle thud of a misstep in the darkness. Blunt shifted on his feet and raised his gun. He moved like a cat getting ready to pounce, the movement all in his haunches and hips as his gun lifted higher. Dan’s moment was coming… the only moment he was going to get. Dan slipped around Alma and he looked her in the eye as he edged to the wall. The woman stayed silent and watched him go.

  “He’s coming. Get back,” said Blunt. Thankfully, he didn’t look back. He kept his eyes on the door, his body by the doorframe. And as Dan finally saw the movement outside, darkness shifting in the darkness, Blunt’s pistol started to level and press against the glass. Dan lunged at Blunt’s back. He slammed Blunt against the door, and a full-on thunderclap filled his ears along with a hint of fire. There was the smell of gunpowder, but the noise was beyond compare. The roar stayed in his ears long after it was gone. He noted no pain in his body – no bullet wound, but Blunt’s strength told him Blunt hadn’t weakened either. Now they were locked in a struggle and Dan did all he could to reach along the tall man’s arms to seize the gun. Blunt twisted around and looked into Dan’s eyes, enraged. His bright teeth flashed, and he swung a fist at Dan’s face. Dan tried to dodge, but he was already committed to getting the gun. The blow struck him on the cheekbone and rocked his head sideways. Another one of those and he would be on the floor, ready for the killer’s shot to the head which would surely follow. It wasn’t enough to get the gun. Blunt had to be physically stopped before that could happen. The door behind him started to open. Dan used Blunt’s body to buffet the door back to the frame. He drove his head into the man’s chest, headbutting his ribs as hard as he could. Blunt grunted in pain but kept on struggling back. A rabbit punch landed deep in Dan’s kidneys, shocking him with pain. Dan clenched his teeth to blot out the pain and reached for the man’s arm again. But it wasn’t happening. Instead he hammered Blunt in the gut, then swiped a punch through his jaw. Blunt rocked on his feet, but he had enough strength left to seize Dan’s shoulders, pushing him away for the shot to follow. But as he tried to push Dan away, Alma appeared at Blunt’s side, her face contorted with rage. Blunt never saw the blow coming. A bony fist cracked against his nose, overloading his senses with pure agony. His nose was broken in an instant. Dan took a breath and allowed himself a grin before he unloaded on Blunt as Alma stepped out of the way. A blow to the jaw drew a cracking sound and a blow deep in his guts bent him double, leaving the gun low enough to snatch from his hand. Dan yanked the gun free and tossed it out of harm’s way. With Blunt doubled over, Dan dropped a poleaxing punch through the back of the man’s head and sent him down hard. Blunt landed on his face, unconscious, and Dan put his hands on his hips to drag as much stale air as he could into his screaming lungs.

  “Stay down, damn it,” said Dan.

  “Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy,” said Alma. She bent over Blunt’s body and pulled the wrapped packets of cash out of his jacket. She stuffed them as best she could into the pockets of her jeans. The door clicked and opened, and in came a cone of light. Behind it, came Robert Golding. He was invisible in the darkness, but they knew. The torchlight trailed across the door until it picked out a nice neat bullet hole in the wooden door, about waist height.

  “This whole thing was a set up,” said Golding, matter-of-factly. He sounded intrigued, but disappointed too.

  “No. We set him up,” said Dan. The torchlight trailed over Blunt’s back and stayed there for a few seconds. “But for you we brought the information you wanted.” The torch flicked up and the light landed on Dan as he slid a hand into his pocket.

  “Careful now,” said Robert.

  “Hey, I’m not armed. Blunt’s gun is under the table. Shine your light, take a look for yourself.”

  The cone of light tracked across the carpet and flashed off the legs of the few remaining chairs until it landed on Blunt’s pistol. There it stayed until Robert Golding was convinced. The light passed over Blunt one more time.

  “Who is that bastard.”

  “None of your concern,” said Alma. “None of this is.”

  “The book is my concern,” he said.

  “About that,” said Alma. “How did you even hear about this book?”

  “I was told there was a book after we knew about you,” said Golding. “We wanted you, but once we heard about the book, well, that made things even easier.”

  “Who told you?” said Alma.

  “Someone you know. I’m afraid she let you down…”

  “Twice from the sound of it…” said Alma.

  “Who?” said Dan.

  “Rhiannon… one of the girls who lived here. I trusted her, but then some of my cas
h went missing. I guess she saw my book too. I never guessed she would do anything about it. But after they shut the project, I guess she got desperate…”

  “Don’t fret, Miss Poulter. I paid her for the information, but she was loyal enough that she didn’t tell me where you were. Which is why I had to employ Bradley to find you.”

  “How did Galvan get wind of Alma Poulter in the first place?” said Dan.

  “Rumours, Bradley. Rumours always swirl. We heard there was something big happening with Ubers, and the rest came from digging around. Didn’t you know, Mr Galvan has eyes and ears all over this town.”

  “He’s a shadow of what he once was,” said Dan. “He’s been off the radar for years.”

  “Rebuilding takes time. But it’s not always as expensive as people think it is. It’s amazing what a junkie will tell you for a little bit of cash. Good information is cheap, Bradley. But when it came to tracking Miss Poulter for me, I don’t think you could have done it any better. Now, it’s nice chatting and all that, but I need to get this done. Bradley, give me that book before I pull the trigger.”

  Dan and Alma looked at each other in the torchlight.

  “Which one of you has it?” snapped Golding.

  “Hold on. I have it,” said Dan. He opened his jacket, pulled out the creased black book and raised it in the light.

  “Wait!” said Alma. “If we give that book to these people, I’m as good as dead all over again. Simeon will go into overdrive. They won’t stop until they find me. If he thinks I really did bring him down he’ll send ten Blunts after me, I know he will,” said Alma.

  “Yeah. You see, Robert,” said Dan. “And I’ve got a problem with that.”

  “No one cares about your problem, Bradley. You’ve been paid. I think Mr Galvan will have been quite pleased with your performance. Who knows? He might even hire you again. Hand it over.”

  “Sorry, Rob,” said Dan. “I don’t think I can.”

  “Think hard, Bradley,” said Robert.

  “Alma… why does he want this book? What is it exactly?” said Dan.

  Alma answered him. “It’s the names and numbers of everyone I ever met in the Uber ring, especially the UK connections, and it’s every location I know of that a delivery was made, including the pickup man. I mashed it all together to make it harder for anyone to read it too easily, but it’s all there. It was my final word, my insurance policy.”

  “Every name… every number… every location…” said Dan.

  He looked at Robert Golding and hefted the little book in his hand.

  “Galvan would be able to hit the UK branches of the Uber ring and take whatever they had left. He’d be back in business with a capital B. Galvan could take it over and start up again.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” said Robert.

  “Sounds like a disaster,” said Dan. “But now I know I can’t do that. Not in a million years.”

  “It’s your funeral,” said Robert.

  “What with a nervous guy like you pulling the trigger? You think you can actually shoot me?” said Dan. Beyond the bright light, past the shadow of Robert’s body, he noticed the edge of the door shifting in the frame, and a new shadow stretching against the wall.

  “It’s been a burden sometimes,” said Golding. “I’ve always been the nervous type. But somehow, I’ve always managed to do what had to be done.”

  Dan saw the pistol rise through the air. He heard the safety click off.

  “This, Bradley, is your very last chance…” said Robert.

  “You know. What the hell, Golding? You can have it. Just tell Alex Galvan he owes me one.”

  The man chuckled and slowly lowered his gun, pointing the light directly at Dan’s face.

  Dan covered his squinting eyes and took a step forward, holding the book out before him. Behind Golding, the door crept open and Dan saw a shadow creep in. A hint of light picked out the tattoos on the edge of the shadow’s head.

  “You’re giving me the book? And let me guess? You’re asking Galvan for a payoff?”

  “No payoff required. Honestly. Here, take it,” said Dan.

  Robert took the book and ran his finger over the rough edges. “Bradley, what’s in it for you?”

  Dan took a moment before he answered. He watched the shadow advance behind Robert.

  “Oh, I’m after a different kind of payoff,” said Dan. “One that really satisfies.”

  Dan dodged out of the cone of light from Golding’s torch. He felt Golding turn to track him with the gun, but before he could aim, Golding was caught from behind. Cripps swept an arm around the man’s throat, pulling it tight beneath his chin, then he dragged Golding back over his knee. Golding snatched at Cripps’s arm and tried to point the gun up at his head, but Cripps grabbed the gun and twisted it out of the man’s hand before he had time to shoot. Cripps lifted the gun and swiped it down hard across Robert’s face. Cripps dropped the man’s body and he rolled to the ground in the darkness, limp and unconscious. Golding’s smartphone fell to rest on the ground, sending the cone of torch light up onto the ceiling, which cast a soft up-lit glow back down into the meeting room. Unarmed, Dan looked at Cripps, and watched the black pistol shining in his hand.

  “They helped us, Cripps,” said Alma.

  Cripps nodded. “Yeah. So I gathered. Which, I suppose, should make us even.”

  “Even?” said Dan. “If I take out the part about you knocking us out and tying me up with gaffer tape…”

  Mark and Joanne walked into the room and looked at the devastation strewn across the floor.

  “Wait, mister,” said Cripps. “You led this gangster guy right to us, remember?”

  “Yes, but only because someone led him to us. We were hired by a gangster and we didn’t even know it. This was a missing person case. We were trying to help,” said Dan, shrugging. “I don’t like it either. I guess that’s something you’ll have to take up with your friend, Joanne.”

  Joanne folded her arms and nodded. “I’ll do that,” she said, quietly. Mark shot Joanne a look. She fended him off with a look which gave as good as it got.

  “There was a gunshot,” said Dan. The police will be coming. We should get out of here.”

  “Good point,” said Cripps. They watched as Dan bent down and delved into Blunt’s jacket pocket. He emptied the man’s wallet, and then put the wallet back. He repeated the manoeuvre with Robert Golding, taking all the cash he could find, and then lifted the guy’s driving licence card to the pale light. He squinted and read the name. “Robert Golding, just like we heard. Sleep tight, Robert,” said Dan, and tossed the driving licence back down onto the man’s chest. Dan looked up, only to find a strange look of distaste on Cripps’s face.

  “What’s the matter? You don’t like me taking a bad guy’s cash? This guy owed us money. They were going to rob you and kill you. Besides, I have a business to run and a mortgage to pay.”

  Cripps shrugged and slid the gun into the belt of his jeans. “We should tie them up before we go. It’d be nice to know Blunt is out of action for a while.”

  Cripps left the room and returned with his old bindings and gag. Cripps attended to Blunt, while Alma used the leftovers of the duct tape to strap up Robert Golding, good and tight. When the job was done, they filed out of the meeting room in a hurry. Alma took one last look back into The Albany Centre before she crossed the threshold out of the cobbled yard for the final time. “It was home for a while.”

  “Not anymore. I’d like to blow the place up with those two bastards in it,” said Cripps.

  “I know how you feel,” said Dan. “So, from one hole to another?”

  Cripps frowned, but Alma was used to Dan’s barbed sense of humour. She shook her head. “No. No more holes. Not this time. But the lesson has been learned. Next time I want to stay off the radar, I need to avoid getting snapped by journalists.”

  “There’ll always be someone looking for us so long as the Uber gang is around,” said Cripps.

&nbs
p; “Maybe. But if we disappear permanently, so will they,” said Alma. “I’ll still get the last laugh.”

  “Maybe you should just let the police have that book. Have the last laugh while you’re still alive.”

  Alma shook her head. “Not my style, Bradley. But don’t worry. Karma will take care of it. And trust me, karma’s a bitch.” Alma shot Dan a smile and finally he got to see the woman’s elusive soft and pretty side again.

  “I would say it’s been fun, but…” said Dan.

  “At least it’s been memorable,” said Alma.

  Alma and Cripps crossed the street on a diagonal away from them. They headed across the street past the Islamic building which stood on the site of the big old Admiral pub. Cripps carried on walking until he stood outside the old waterworks building on the far corner – with West Road and the A127 arterial road out of Southend not far beyond. Cripps didn’t seem a man for goodbyes. He looked up and down the street, peering like a meerkat, no doubt watching for police cars or witnesses. Alma followed Dan’s gaze to Cripps.

  “Yeah. We’d better go. But Bradley… here. This is for not being such a total jerk after all.”

  Alma pulled a wedge of money from one of the plastic wraps and held it towards Dan. Dan shook his head.

  “Your kind words are enough for me. I’ll be sure to use them on our next marketing brochure. Keep the money, Alma. You might need it.”

  “No. Cripps is safe. I’ve got everything I need. Take the cash before I change my mind.”

  Dan took the wedge and slid it into his jacket pocket without further complaint.

  “Thanks, Alma. Happy travels. And good luck.”

  Dan raised a hand in parting and Alma raised one back, but she was already halfway across the street. Beneath the streetlamp by the waterworks, Cripps gave them a parting nod, and then he turned away. A few seconds later he disappeared and Alma wasn’t far behind. Another moment passed before the familiar wail of sirens rose on the air.