Die Tryin' (7 page)

Nick rubbed his forehead in frustration, feeling a migraine starting up. He had enough of that religious
skata
from Charlie the night before at the fair and in the car on the way home.
What planet did these people live on?
Not the same one as Nick that was for sure. He lived on a planet where you grabbed what you could in the name of survival.

He reached forwards and took a sip of his Turkish coffee. ‘Look,’ he then began in a voice that barely retained any of its usual composure. ‘You’re not gonna rob any graves directly, so God won’t be bothering you. And besides, it’ll be the easiest money you’ll ever make, believe me.’

Taki shook his head. ‘I still don’t know,
re
…’

Nick was about to crank his persuasive game up a notch or two when Taki’s mum walked in the kitchen. ‘Okay boys?’ she asked.

‘Yes, mum,’ Taki replied.

‘En taxi, Thia,’
Nick replied.

‘You want more coffee?’ Taki’s mum asked.

‘No thanks, Mum. We’re okay.’

‘Cakes? There’s
loukoumades
in the fridge.’

Taki looked at Nick. ‘You want cakes, man?’

Nick turned his mouth downwards and shook his head.

‘No thanks, Mum,’ Taki said over his shoulder.

‘Froutta
?’ she then asked.

‘Fruit?’ Taki asked Nick.

Nick shook his head again.

‘No thanks, Mum. We’re okay with our coffees.’

‘If you need anything, just call me, I’ll be in the other room, okay?’

‘Okay, Mum.’

Jesus,
Nick thought to himself.
Nick Black was right; this prick really is a mummy’s boy; can’t believe the fucker’s twenty two years old!

‘All right, Nick?’

‘No problem,
Thia,’
Nick replied to her.

Taki’s mum then turned and scuttled out of the kitchen and into the next room from where she came.

Taki picked up his coffee and took a sip. ‘Where were we?’ he asked.

Nick puffed his cheeks. ‘Are you in or not?’ he said, exasperated by Taki and his over-bearing mum. A headache was definitely starting to form. A bad one.

‘And how much would my cut be? Just out of interest.’

‘The bloke we’re doing this with will get forty percent of the profits. The other sixty is split between the rest of us. Those doing the tomb raiding will obviously get more.’

‘And who’s that?’

‘Me, Tony, Nick Black. Charlie will be a lookout, and you’ll be taking care of the guard, so you’ll both get less of a cut. We’ll each get twenty five per cent, you and Charlie both get twelve and a half.’

‘Oh, so I get half of what you get?’

‘You want a bigger cut, you gotta get your fucking hands dirty!’ Nick snapped.

Taki raised his hands in the air in response. ‘All right, all right,
re
, I was just asking, no need to bite my head off…’

‘Well, I’m getting a migraine now, the kind that feels like there’s a bloke in my head with a pneumatic drill, who is determined to get from the top of my brain down to the bottom, and in the meantime all
I
fucking want is an answer, otherwise I’ll have to find someone else and time is short. Now, for the last time, are you in, or not?’

‘I don’t have to do anything apart from keep the guard busy?’

‘That’s right.’

‘No graves, no actual stealing, nothing like that?’

‘No.’

‘And you’re sure this is a good earner?’

‘As sure as I can be.’

‘And you’re sure about this bloke? He’s not a conman or undercover or anything like that?’

‘Well, he’s quarter Tibetan, if that helps.’

‘Eh?
Tibetan
?’

‘Look. As far as I know, no, he ain’t a conman or undercover.’

Taki rubbed his chin again.

‘I need an answer, Taki…’ Nick said through gritted teeth.

‘Nothing can go wrong? It’s all gonna run smoothly?’

‘Oh, for fuck’s sake!’

‘Okay, okay. Calm down. I’m just making sure…’ He scratched his head and then began nodding slowly. ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Okay. I’m in.’

He put out a hand. Nick puffed his cheeks and breathed a sigh of relief. He took Taki’s hand and shook it.

Thank fuck for small mercies,
he thought, then began laughing.

*****

Charlie sat on one of the benches by Tally Ho Corner, watching the world go by.

A pigeon warbled past his feet, stopped at some of the previous night’s vomit splattered on the floor a few feet away, and began pecking greedily. The local pissheads had been on another bender, and now the dregs sat on nearby benches with their booze-burnt ruddy faces, special brew in hand. A tramp on a nearby bench with a purple nose and a big bushy beard like Father Christmas except dirtier let out a massive fart before taking another swig of Special.

Charlie chuckled to himself. ‘I know, I know,’ he said. ‘It’s disgusting.’

‘Why do you have to hang around here, Charlie?’
asked a voice in his head. It was Snow White. He liked Snow White, considered her a friend.

‘These people are normal,’ Charlie replied. ‘They don’t stare at me funny when I talk to you.’

‘I don’t like them. I don’t trust them.’

Charlie smiled wryly. ‘What is it you’re always telling me about being judgemental?’

‘Yes, you’re right. It’s just, well, they’re a tad dirty.’

‘You don’t have to look at them.’

‘Oh, I can see them, Charlie. I see them through you.’

Charlie sighed. ‘I like to come here and think,’ Charlie told her. ‘When I’ve got something on my mind, I come here to sort it out.’

‘I know, Charlie. I understand. What is on your mind
?’

‘I ain’t robbing no graves,’ he replied. ‘No fucking way. Nick and Tony can go do it themselves.’

‘But they need you, Charlie.’

‘Need me? They can find someone else to lift the lid on that damn tomb. Any bastard could do it.’

‘I don’t mean they need you for that. Any monkey with half a brain could do that.’

‘Well, what then?’

‘They need you because you’re their friend. You need to keep an eye on them. Look out for them.’

‘Why? Is something going to go wrong?’

‘I can’t say for sure, Charlie. But, Tony…’

‘Tony, what? What about Tony?’

‘He’s sick, Charlie.’

‘Sick?’

‘Yes. He’s infected with demons. And he listens to them. He does what they tell him to.’

‘Why does he?’

‘Maybe he likes them. Wants them to lead him. They got inside him at some point and he let them stay.’

‘You mean he hears voices in the same way I hear you?’

‘Not exactly. They hide inside him and push his buttons like a control panel. They guide him along and he just accepts it. Goes with it because he wants to. They’ve been inside him for a long time. Festering. Growing. Making him angry.’

‘Is that why he loses his rag so easily?’

‘Absolutely.’

Charlie reflected. Tony was an angry son of a bitch, of that there was no question. And sometimes it
was
like he had a real nasty demon living inside him. Like it took him over and wreaked havoc.

‘That’s why you have to go, Charlie. To keep an eye on everything, help your friends if they need it. Tony needs your help. So do the two Nicks.’

‘What about Marco? Who is he? Is he trouble? Smells like trouble to me.’

‘It’s difficult to say, Charlie. Those of us on the island cannot easily see into corrupt hearts. We can spot a real demon a mile off, but someone’s integrity is easily hidden. He may well be an honest person, but on the other hand, he may not be…’

‘What kind of honest person robs graves?’

‘That’s true.’

Charlie wasn’t sure about Marco. He didn’t trust him. The man had an aura of danger. Who was he? Where the hell did he come from? Charlie couldn’t help but feel Marco was planning to shaft them all in some way, and that troubled him deeply. Tony was too stupid to see it coming. The two Nicks were smarter, but the promise of gold would blind them to his lies and deceit. Now, when he thought about it like this, he realised that maybe Snow White was right. Maybe he should go and keep an eye on them. Make sure Marco doesn’t try any shit on them. He didn’t want to, but couldn’t abandon his friends like that because if something did happen between them and Marco and he wasn’t there to help, he would regret it forever.

‘All right,’ he said. ‘I’ll go. But, I ain’t robbing any graves. They can keep the sodding gold and do what they want with it.’

‘That’s good, Charlie. I’m pleased to hear it.’

Charlie sighed and stared at the dregs around him, wondering if they heard voices too.

He pulled his Nokia from his pocket, and called Nick XR2 to tell him that he was definitely in.

*****

Nick Black was lying on his bed with his laptop open. Bob Marley was on the CD player, telling him he’s got to stand up for his rights. Nick picked up his spliff from the ashtray just as he received his latest IM from Carla, a cute girl he recently met in the University of Middlesex library.

-
How come u’ve spent so much money if you stayed at home?
it read.

Nick stared at his spliff and smiled wryly. -
Partyin’ too hard!
he replied. -
Blame the banks entirely. Bastards dish out plastic like sweets. Then charge you interest up the @rse every month for the privilege!

-Lol,
Carla replied. -
Well, how about ur student loan?

-Rolled it, lit it, smoked it! ;)

-
Naughty boy!

-Keeps me sane in this insane city! Would love to get outta here! See the world a bit…

-Yeah, that would be nice…

-
Imagine—beaches, waterfalls, mountains, deserts, lakes, forests. Safari in the Serengeti, deep sea diving off the Coral Reef, motor biking through the Rockies, canoeing down the Amazon…

-Mmmm…

-Yeah… well, it’s all a pipe dream anyway ’cos I won’t be able to afford anything like that for years. Sold my soul to the devil. Gonna be spending a looooong time settling my debt with that particular bank manager… lol.

- U’ll have a degree. Get a job, pay him back….

-Lol, you are joking aren’t you? This shitty degree is a complete waste of time.

-Why?

-It ain’t worth the paper it’s written on. Think about it. How many people have got degrees nowadays?
Loads.
It’s become so watered down from the 80s when only rich bastards went to university. Now, any mug with a credit card can get in…

-Lol. So, why r u doin it?

- Why d’ya think? Another three years avoiding the world of work!

-Lol, ur something else…

-Nah, I’m just a mug with a credit card…

-
So, what are u gonna do about ur debt?

Nick lay back and took a long drag on his spliff. He thought of Marco. Thought of the freaky way he appeared at the fair was like he was
looking
for them. Like an angel of doom—
or was he an angel of mercy?
If Marco was right and the tomb was full of jewels, then Nick’s money issues would vanish in the blink of an eye.

But could he be trusted?

Nick thought he seemed all right, but Charlie was paranoid of him.
Charlie’s just paranoid,
an inner voice reasoned.

True, but whatever Marco’s intentions, good or bad, whatever he had planned, the promise at the end of it was just too much to turn down. Gold at the end of the rainbow. Gold that would sort his life out good and proper. That’s why, unlike Charlie, he went along with the idea from the off. So, fuck Charlie’s paranoid delusions. Marco was an inner city kid wanting out of hell, and he found a way. And he needed help.

That was why he sought them out. Why fate had led him to them. And Nick promised to help
him
out to help himself out.

Sorted.

Jamaica here we come!

-Nick? U still there…?
Carla wrote.

Nick noticed the words on the screen, and snapped back into life.
-Yeah, yeah, still here…
he said.
I think something will turn up…

-Lol. Leaving it to luck are u?

He gave the screen a wry smile.
-Let’s just say I got a good feeling in my bones…

There was a knock at his door.

He quickly grabbed the CD player remote and turned Bob down. ‘Yeah?’ he responded.

‘Dinner,’ came the reply. It was one of his sisters, Anna.

‘Okay, I’ll be down in a minute,’ he said.
Nice timing, I was just getting the munchies.

-Dinner’s ready, Carla,
he told her.
I’ll see you
soon.

-OK, see u later, Nick. x.

He logged off.

I like this girl
, he thought to himself.
Really like her…

He smiled to himself, and sighed. From nowhere, things were suddenly looking up. Looking very rosy indeed…

He stubbed out his spliff, switched off the CD player, and went downstairs.

*****

Tony was working on his cousin Christo’s Beemer.

Those other pricks might have fuck all else to do with their time, but Tony was a proper man and he had to work every day to put food on the table. The fair had been a complete fucking washout and he was gutted. Another weekend wasted. Another weekend without pussy.
What the fuck was going on?
If he had to wait any longer, his balls were gonna burst, and it was gonna be very messy. All because of that prick Marco.
Where the fuck did he come from?
Popped up outta nowhere like David fucking Blaine spouting some
skata
about buried treasure. Tony thought the whole thing was a complete joke.
What did that Marco malaka think this was, Indiana Jones or something?
Prick really believed in what he was saying too. Tony was more than sceptical. He reckoned they would open up the tomb and it would be full of bones and nothing else.