Die Tryin' (34 page)

‘Like we did Taki? And Marco?’ Charlie asked.

‘Yes!’ Nick replied. ‘Just like them. That’s the price we’re paying. Okay?’

‘Whatever,’ Charlie replied tetchily, and looked out of the window, his arms crossed tight over his chest.

Tony just remained staring out of the window like he was severely stoned, the bag of bling he had just ripped from a dead man’s hands on his lap, his own hands resting lightly upon it.

Nick put his foot down, hard. Soon, they were back on the motorways and heading home.

They hardly spoke another word to each other all the way back to London.

Thanks to a combination of clear roads and Nick XR2’s ability to drive at 90 mph as competently as Joe Average drives at 30, they reached London in no time.

They went straight to Nick XR2’s to be greeted by Snoop, furiously wagging his tail.

‘Just give me my cut and I’ll take it from there,’ Tony said to Nick as they entered his house.

‘Listen to me, Tone,’ Nick began. ‘I know you’re freaked out by what’s been happening, but trust me, I think it’s better for us if we hold onto ’em just a bit longer…’

‘No. I’ve waited around long enough. Today is the last straw,’ Tony replied adamantly. ‘So, gimme my cut. You two can do what you want with the rest.’

‘Every man for himself now is it?’ Charlie asked dryly.

‘You fucking bet!’ Tony replied. Charlie just rolled his eyes. ‘I don’t trust anyone any more, including me,’ Tony stated. ‘Nah, I’m past all the oath and brothers
skata
. We have to end this, Charlie.’

‘I agree with you there, Tone,’ Charlie replied, a stern expression on his face.

‘And what are you gonna do about the marks?’ Nick asked. ‘How are you gonna shift ’em without it rebounding on us?’

‘Listen,
re,’
Tony said. ‘I don’t give a fuck if we get caught any more. I’m gone. I’m out. Understand? It’s over. Now give me my cut!’

Nick sighed, and rubbed his head. ‘Nothing’s gonna change your mind is it?’ he asked.

‘No,’ Tony swiftly replied.

Nick began nodding. ‘Come in here,’ he then said, leading them into his front room. He then turned to face them both. ‘Look. I’ve got an idea,’ he informed them. ‘I’ve been looking into it a lot recently. It’s like this: the credit crunch has sent the value of currency tumbling, and the price of gold soaring. Now, that not only helps us in terms of our return, it also means that a whole load of websites have popped up. Websites for companies that buy your gold and melt it.
Hear that, Tone?
They
melt
it down into liquid and make bullion bars out of it. Now, if they do that to our stash, the marks will vanish into thin air.’

‘Websites?’ Tony echoed. ‘Can we trust ’em?’

‘I don’t know, Tone,’ Nick replied. ‘There’s only one way to find out. Now, the price of gold is going up as we speak, and it doesn’t look like going down any time soon. The more we wait, the more we make. So, my advice would be to hold onto ’em for as long as possible.’

Tony tutted and shook his head. ‘I don’t care about all that shit, man,’ he said, flipping his hand on the air. ‘What I get now, I get. And I don’t care if I get banged up any more, believe me. I’m taking the risk.’

‘You’re adamant?’ Nick asked.

‘Absolutely.’

Nick sighed and then began nodding. ‘Okay,’ he conceded.

Nick stared at Tony stone-faced as he took a seat on the sofa, opened up the holdall, and spilt its contents all over the coffee table just like he did when they first got their hands on them. Nick then went and fetched a set of scales from the kitchen, and began weighing up anything that contained gold, which was most of the stash.

‘We’ll have to let ’em know that it’s a no questions asked deal,’ Nick stated while he slung top grade gold into the scales as if he were weighing penny sweets. ‘And with the amount of bling we’re gonna hand over, I can’t see ’em turning it down.’

He poured the weighed jewels into a small cotton money bag—the type he usually used to carry baggies of pound coins and loose change to the bank—and handed it to Tony, who took it and looked inside.

‘That’s one third, Tone,’ Nick said. ‘You just watched me weight it.’

‘I know that!’ Tony replied hotly. ‘Now do Charlie’s.’

Charlie frowned and began waving his hands on the air as if he was about to be handed him a live grenade. ‘Nah, nah,’ he said. ‘I don’t want ’em. They’re cursed.’

Tony huffed, and went purposefully over to where Charlie stood. ‘You’re taking it, Charlie. Okay?’ Tony grabbed Charlie’s wrist and lifted his palm up in the air. He shoved the bag in his hand. ‘That’s the deal. You can do whatever you want with ’em. But, believe me, one day you might need ’em.’

Charlie looked from Tony to Nick.

‘Just take ’em,’ Nick said, and then looked away, disappointed.

Charlie sighed, lowered his head, and held the bag by his side. ‘All right. But, I still think they’re cursed.’

‘Think what you like,’ Nick said, and began weighing the remaining jewels. He filled another bag and handed it to Tony.

When he was done, he turned to the others. ‘Right. Everyone happy?’

Tony flicked his head down, affirmative; Charlie’s head twitched; Snoop barked.

‘Go get us the address of one of those gold buyers and we’ll all go down there now,’ Tony requested. ‘We’ve still got time,’ he added, glancing at his watch.

Nick sighed again. ‘All right. I’ll give you two a lift down there if you like.’

‘All right,’ said Tony. ‘Sooner we get shot of these, the better.’

‘Good. Charlie?’

Charlie shook his head. ‘Nah. I’m gonna hold onto ’em, if it’s all right by you two.’

‘They’re yours, Charlie,’ Nick reminded him. ‘You can do what you want with ’em. Throw them in the fucking river if you want.’

‘Yeah,’ Charlie replied nervously, tapping his thigh with the bag. ‘Sounds like a good idea.’

‘Whatever floats your boat,’ Nick replied. ‘Now, do you want a lift home?’

*****

Nick pulled up outside Charlie’s house. Charlie got out of the car.

Just as he did, Tony stepped out as well. ‘Charlie! Wait,’ he said, making Charlie turn to face him.

Tony approached him, his hand held out. Charlie took it. Tony then pulled him into his chest and he hugged him hard. ‘Thanks for what you done for me and Maria, man,’ he said, patting him firmly on the back.

‘It’s okay,’ Charlie replied just as Tony released him from his grip.

‘Listen. I think you better lay low for a while,
re,’
Tony advised him. ‘Just till the shit with Mario blows over. If he’s gone to the police…’

‘Then I’ll face whatever’s coming my way,’ Charlie replied with integrity. ‘I deserve it.’

‘No you don’t!’ Tony said curtly.
‘He
does. Anyway, fuck him! You just take care of yourself, you hear me?’

Charlie frowned. ‘What, is this goodbye or something, Tone?’

‘Kind of… Look. I’ll contact you. I promise. Okay?’

Charlie lowered his head and nodded. ‘Okay.’

‘See you later, Charlie,’ Nick said from the car; Charlie held up his palm in return.

Tony gave Charlie one last hug. ‘Love you, man!’ he said, ruffling his hair.

He let Charlie go before he turned back and headed for Nick’s XR2.

Charlie stood where he was and watched as they pulled away. Tony turned back and stared at him with a sincere look stamped on his face, his thumb raised triumphantly. Charlie smiled wanly and gave Tony a tired thumb up in return.

The car then turned the corner and disappeared from sight.

And Charlie never saw Tony alive again.

*****

Nick XR2 pulled up outside the Iceland in Kentish Town.

‘Is this it?’ asked Tony, looking up at the building beside them.

‘Yeah.
Dump Ur Gold
. See?’ Nick pointed up at the second floor set of windows, the words he had just spoken embossed across them.

‘Dump Ur Gold?’
Tony echoed, unimpressed. ‘Sounds like shit,
re
. Are you sure this gaff is legit?’

‘There’s only one way to find out…’ Nick said before he went and found a parking space that wasn’t yellow/red lined. They went into the building, and up a flight of stairs. They entered Dump Ur Gold to find just a bland counter, topped with security glass, and nothing else behind it.

‘This place looks fucking dodgy,’ Tony whispered to Nick.

‘Can’t argue with you there,’ Nick replied.

‘Come on. Let’s get the fuck out of here,’ Tony suggested, and they both turned.

Just as they did, a muffled, computerised voice spoke to them. ‘Can I help you?’

They both froze, and then spun round at the same time like a couple of burglars who have just been caught red handed.

‘Christ, where did you come from?’ Tony asked the tall Asian man that was now standing behind the counter, his hands casually resting on its surface as if he had been there for hours.

‘I cannot hear you,’ the man replied into the microphone attached to the counter ahead of him. ‘Please come and speak into the microphone.’

Tony huffed and went up to the counter, putting his mouth close to the microphone. ‘I said: where did you come from?’

The Dump Ur Gold man turned to the side and pointed behind him. ‘Through that door,’ he said. Tony rolled his eyes; Nick chuckled. ‘What can I do for you boys?’ the Dump Ur Gold man asked.

‘I got gold,’ Tony told him.

‘Well, we like gold here,’ the Dump Ur Gold man replied with a toothy grin.

‘Yeah, but I got a lot of it,’ Tony stated.

Nick cleared his throat and casually approached the counter, grabbing Tony’s bag of bling from him on the way. He placed it on top of the counter and opened it up. The Dump Ur Gold man tried to get a peek inside. Nick placed his hand over the open bag, obscuring his view. The Dump Ur Gold man locked eyes with Nick, his pupils dilating.

‘Like he says, we got a lot of it,’ Nick said, and then stared at him darkly.
‘And it’s no questions asked, okay?’
He continued with his serious stare after he spoke.

The Dump Ur Gold man locked eyes for a few seconds, Nick knowing that he was trying to psyche him out, trying to see if he would fold.

Nick managed to hold both his ground and his stare, and the Dump Ur Gold man finally caved. ‘Let’s see what you got,’ he said.

‘Okay…’
Nick rolled his hand on the air, indicating he wanted a name.

‘Adrian,’ the Dump Ur Gold man replied.

‘Adrian?’

‘Adrian.’

‘Okay,’ Nick said in an unsure voice. ‘I’m Nick; he’s Tony.’

‘Nice to meet you,’ Adrian said. Then: ‘Place your items in the security hatch.’

A small mechanical hatch flipped open in front of Nick, making him flinch back.

He tentatively pulled out a thick gold chain and placed it in the hatch. ‘This is a sample,’ he said, not wanting to stick everything into that hatch, which suddenly looked like a giant mouth that had a sweet tooth for gold.

Adrian closed the hatch, picked up the chain and held it up in front of him, staring at it intently.
‘Hmm
, not bad,’ he said.

Nick chuckled. ‘Not bad? This is
the
shit, my friend, believe me. And don’t think we don’t know my man here’s making a loss selling to you neither. We all know this could be auctioned off for a lot more than what you’re gonna offer him.’

‘What
are
you gonna offer me?’ Tony then asked and leaned forwards.

Adrian looked from Nick to Tony, back to Nick again with slits for eyes. ‘We pay by the weight and hallmark.’

‘Well, this is pure. Twenty-four carat,’ Nick stated.

‘I know that,’ Adrian said, matter-of-factly.

‘So, I want top dollar,’ Tony informed him.

‘Indeed,’ Adrian calmly replied.

‘No bartering. What they’re worth in today’s market is what he sells for,’ Nick demanded.

‘Naturally.’

‘I got a lot of this shit here, you do realise that?’ Tony told him.

‘You have already told me that.’

Tony’s face scrunched up in confusion and he stared at Nick. ‘You seem very blasé about all this,’ Nick then stated, his suspicions suddenly aroused. ‘Are you not even curious as to where he got this lot from?’

‘We don’t ask, we just take,’ Adrian informed him in a casual voice.

Nick chuckled. ‘A philosophy close to my own heart, my friend.’

He then glanced at Tony, who shrugged in return. Adrian was being sweet as a nut; subconsciously, Nick expected him to somehow try and shaft them.
Be careful, re,
a voice inside Nick’s mind warned.
That part might still be yet to come…

‘My dears, this is not a jewellers per se,’ Adrian then said. ‘You see this,’ he said pointing to the small LCD television up on the wall next to the counter. ‘Up to the minute value of gold.’ They both stared at the screen—it depicted a graph with a red line zigzagging across it. ‘And as you can see, it is at a good peak, which means
I
make money,
you
make money, we all make money,
thanks to this wonderful stuff.’
He held up the fat gold chain in his open palms close to his face and stared at it. His irises flushed with gold, and for a second he looked to Tony like some kind of greedy monster. ‘I buy high from you, we send it away to be melted down into bars, and we sell those bars for an even higher price. That’s how Dump Ur Gold works.’

‘All right, we don’t care about all that shit,’ Tony said. ‘Just tell us how much you’re gonna give me.’

‘Well. Let’s weigh,’ Adrian said and gave Nick a ‘come here’ gesture with his hand. The hatch opened its greedy mouth again, and Nick realised Adrian wanted the rest of the gold. He sighed. He had no choice but to feed that avaricious mouth. He gave Tony an edgy glance before tipping the contents of the bag inside. There was a dull clang before they were swallowed up.

Adrian bent down and plucked a set of electronic scales and calculator from below the counter. Nick eyed the scales suspiciously. He himself weighed the jewels before he left the house, so he knew exactly how much each bag weighed. He had a bad feeling that Adrian’s scales might be tampered with, so that it displayed a lighter weight than it should. But once Adrian dumped the gold in the tray and showed them both the electronic display, his fears were unfounded. The number was the same as at his house.