Disobey (26 page)

Chloe-Jane looked at the gun, then at the door; she had no idea how to use it, and what her uncle had just said scared her.

‘You ready, Chloe? And listen, shoot down, don’t forget I’m on the other side of this door.’

‘Uncle Alfie, I don’t know how …’

Alfie interrupted. ‘Take off the trigger lock; it’s a button on the side, just slide it along.’

Chloe fumbled at the gun, her hands shaking. Unable to see what her uncle was talking about, she began to panic. ‘I can’t … I …’

‘Look on the side, Chloe. It’s on the side!’

‘Okay, I see it … I see it now.’

‘Right, now your strongest hand should hold the gun high on the back of the grip. Put your other hand firmly – real firmly babe – against the exposed part of the grip which ain’t covered by the gun hand … All four fingers of your support hand should be under the trigger guard, okay? Then stand with your feet and hips shoulder width apart, and bend your knees slightly, Chloe. Make sure you’re standing at an angle to the door, then press, don’t pull the tri—’

Chloe fired before Alfie had finished his sentence. One. Twice. Three times. Sending out sparks and flashes of light to illuminate the corridor. The sound of the gun mixed with the bullets hitting the door reverberated in the chamber of the passageways, loud and almost deafening, causing all three girls to scream and cover their ears.

But it’d done the job. The door swung open and Chloe-Jane ran into the tiny cell-like room. The stench of urine and faeces hit her, but she didn’t react, she didn’t want her uncle to see her recoiling.

As Chloe went towards Alfie, she suddenly remembered the two other girls. She swivelled round to see them running down the corridor. She shouted, desperate for them to stay, knowing they’d go and call for Mr Lee. ‘Stop!… Stop! You’ve got to stop!’

Chloe’s face was the picture of panic. She wasn’t sure whether to go after them. Looking to her uncle for help, she spoke. ‘What shall I do?’

‘Quick, just get me out of here. Someone’s bound to have heard the shots.’ Alfie gestured his head, confused as to who the girls were. But there wasn’t time to worry about that. They needed to get out of there, pronto.

‘How?’

‘What?’

‘How Uncle Alfie, how am I going to get you out of them chains?’

With the aid of the phone light, Alfie stared at his hands and feet; he could see now they’d been shackled to the wall with metal chains. ‘You have to do what you did with the door. Shoot the chains so they’ll separate from the walls, but this time be careful. That’s an eight-shot magnum revolver, so you can’t waste bullets. You’ve already used three. Then you’ll need four for here, and that leaves one. We need to keep one; just in case. You understand what I’m saying, Chloe?’

Chloe-Jane nodded her head. Visions of Mr Lee approaching flashed through her mind and for a minute fear began to take hold of her, stopping her from moving.

‘Chloe!… Chloe! We haven’t got much time, you’re doing well girl. You’re doing well.’

Chloe looked at her uncle, tears glistening in her eyes. Her voice was childlike and quiet. ‘Am I?’

‘Yeah girl, and when I get out of here, you and me are going to take a trip away somewhere nice and hot.’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah, but we have to go … now Chloe. Come on girl …’

Wiping her face, Chloe pointed the gun at the first chain, she squeezed the trigger at the same time as squeezing her eyes shut. Alfie shouted as the chain fell to the floor.

‘That’s it girl!… Now the next one!’ Chloe did the same to the next chain, freeing Alfie’s other hand.

Although the chains were still on his wrists, and the chains still attached to them were still connected, it didn’t hinder him in taking control of the situation. ‘Give me the gun, Chloe, I’ll do the rest.’ He winked at Chloe as she gave him the gun, and expertly shot both chains out, freeing himself from his restraints which were connected to the wall.

‘Help me up, Chloe, I don’t think I can stand on me own.’

Chloe charged over to her uncle, supporting him as he staggered up to his feet. The smell was overpowering and she had to swallow hard so as not to be sick.

Even though the pain ran through Alfie and he had to clench his jaw tight, fighting the desire to cry out, he was still aware of his condition. ‘I know I don’t smell too clever …’ He was about to say more, but a loud sound came from outside. They both looked at each other.

‘Quick Chloe, do you know the way out of here?’

‘Yeah, but it’s probably the way they’re coming.’

‘There’s got to be another way round … Think Chloe, think.’

The sounds down the corridor sounded as if they were becoming louder; nearer. There were voices added to the mix now. They had to go.

‘It’s dark and there ain’t that many ways round but when I was looking for you, I got lost in another tunnel which leads round rather than straight on. I’m not sure where it goes but it’s dark and it’ll make it easier to hide.’

‘Then let’s go.’ Alfie started to move but alarmingly he couldn’t go anywhere near the speed he needed to go at. The heavy chains dragged along behind him, making it impossible for him to go fast or silently.

Chloe looked at Alfie. ‘What are we going to do?’

‘Just keep moving, Chloe, you go ahead. Here, take the gun; you know how to use it now, if anybody tries to stop you getting out; use it.’

‘No!… No! I ain’t leaving you. And you ain’t going to make me.’

The voices were almost here now. ‘I’m not giving you any choice. I want you to go; go and don’t look back.’

‘No, I won’t leave you. Don’t ask me to leave you. Come on …’ Chloe helped Alfie who hobbled along, surprised and unused to anyone sacrificing themselves for others.

They made their way down the passageway as fast as they could. Chloe tried to pick up Alfie’s chains to stop them from trailing. ‘Go left Uncle Alfie! Left!’

They continued, rushing, down the corridors. They heard the voices behind them.

‘Mr Jennings, it’s pointless running … There’s nowhere to go. Hand yourself back now, it’ll only get worse … And Chloe, Chloe-Jane, I thought better of you; I gave you a job and this is how you repay me.’

Alfie looked shocked. He whispered to Chloe. ‘What’s he talking about?’

Chloe didn’t say anything. She pushed on, terrified and hoping any moment they’d see the vent opening. She was sure it was near. It had to be … It just had to be.

Turning the corner, a crack of light broke through into the dark. Relieved, Chloe yelled out.

‘There!… Uncle Alfie, there it is.’

Alfie and Chloe-Jane picked up their speed. The vent gap in the wall was only a few feet ahead. ‘Quick, Uncle Alfie.’

Alfie stopped in his tracks, his hope beginning to fade. ‘There’s no way I’ll be able to get through there, Chloe!’

Chloe didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t thought of that. All she’d thought of was that was their way out. Petrified, she clung onto Alfie. ‘Uncle Alfie, what are we going to do?’

Alfie started to speak, but as he did, Chloe-Jane stumbled backward and began to scream. Right behind them was Mr Lee.

45

‘What did she say?’ Franny paced up and down in Lola’s flat.

‘She didn’t. She … She just said she was working for some geezer who promoted clubs.’

Franny angrily turned on Lola. ‘And you believed her? Why the hell did you do that?’

Lola didn’t say anything. She’d never seen Franny so irate.

‘Well?’

‘What do you want me to say, Fran? I believed her, why wouldn’t I?’

‘’Cos …’Cos she’s Chloe. And we know she tells us what we want to hear. Didn’t you think to quiz her more, Lola? Didn’t you care?’

It was Lola’s turn to be angry. In all the time she’d known Franny, she’d never had an argument with her, but there was no way she was going to sit here and let Franny make out she didn’t give a damn about the kid. ‘Of course I cared, so don’t bleedin’ give me that, Fran. This ain’t about me caring and you know it. You know you feel shit about the way
you
treated her.’

‘Me! Me treated her? I gave her a place to stay when no one else did.’

‘Yeah, until you got hurt, then you didn’t want to know.’

‘That ain’t fair, Lola; what was I supposed to do?’

Lola stood up, and walked over to where Franny was standing. ‘You were supposed to see her for what she was. A kid. Caught in the middle of you and Alfie. Desperate to be loved. Desperate for someone to care whether she lived or friggin’ died. Desperate to be part of a family. You know where I found her the day she came and stayed with me? Do you?’

Franny shook her head.

‘In an alleyway off Oxford Street, sleeping rough and being hosed down by some bastards who got their kicks that way.’

‘I … I didn’t know.’

Lola shook a finger at Franny. ‘No
, you
didn’t ask.
You
were caught up with how it made you feel. Well it was Alfie you should’ve been digging out, not Chloe; but she was an easy target weren’t she?’

‘No … No, she …’

Lola was on a roll and refused to listen to anything that sounded anything remotely like an excuse. ‘Don’t give me,
no
. Don’t think about what
she
did. Think about what
you
did. Start with you, Franny. And once you’ve done that, then start with me, ’cos I’m no better. Look at me and what I did. I offered her a place to stay and because I didn’t want to upset you I let the poor cow walk out. What I should’ve done is said
, Fuck you Franny, she’s staying whether you like it or not
, but like you, I took the friggin’ easy road. And I swear … I swear if anything happens to her, I’ll …’ Lola began to cry; something she could count on her fingers she’d done over the years. The life she’d led didn’t have a place or space for tears. But this. This was different. She wasn’t crying for herself, she was crying for Chloe.

‘Lola, I’m sorry, I …’ Franny went to comfort Lola but she shrunk away, holding her head high; a determined expression on her face.

‘No … No, I don’t want comfort. I’m fine, it ain’t me who’s in trouble is it? I think we’ve both indulged ourselves too much don’t you? And that goes for all of us. You, me, Alfie, Vaughn, Del, Frankie; we’ve all lost who we were. Somehow, somewhere along the line we forgot what’s important. We forgot we stick together, no matter how hard, how tough it gets. We stick together. After all, we’re family.’

Franny’s phone rang, breaking the moment.

‘Answer it Fran, it may be her.’

‘Hello?… Hello, Chloe?’ Franny fell silent, listening intently to the call, with Lola almost hopping from one foot to another, anxious to hear the news. Eventually Franny hung up.

‘Well? Who was it? Fran … who was it?’

Franny blinked a couple of times, emotion threatening to overwhelm her.

‘It was the hospital … It’s Casey. She’s woken up.’

46

‘Hello girl. You gave us a fright there. Did you ever think to duck?’ Lola grinned at Casey, delighted to see her friend awake and having been assured by the doctors she’d be alright.

Still weak, Casey smiled back. ‘I thought about it but decided what the hell, what’s a bullet between friends.’

‘Vaughn will be pleased.’

Casey turned her head, looking out of the window. ‘How is he?’

‘Banged up.’

Casey turned quickly to look at Lola; too quickly, as her wound knotted angrily under the stitches, sending out a sharp pain. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘He admitted it was him. Told them it was a domestic.’

‘But …’

‘Look honey, you know the score. He was trying to do damage limitation, he couldn’t bring the others into it. Basil the Detective has been sniffing round.’

‘Who?’

‘Spencer, you know the one. Thinks he’s bleedin’ Poirot, got the friggin’ tash and everything, though in truth it looks more like he’s got some bird’s muff stuck on his face.’

Casey giggled. ‘What’s he after?’

‘To send Vaughnie away; he’s been after the lot of them for ages – got something to prove.’

‘What can I do?’

Lola sighed. ‘It’s difficult. He’s obviously after a statement from you. Thing is, if you say you can’t remember anything it won’t help, ’cos Vaughnie’s admitted he did it.’

‘But it was an accident.’

‘Don’t make no difference. Silly bastard said it was a domestic, which means it was deliberate. He’s been racked with guilt, Cass, it’s like he needs to punish himself. If he had it his way he’d be swinging from the gallows in Soho Square whilst I did me knitting by his feet.’

‘What about if I said he didn’t do it?’

‘The thing is babe; he did. And if you start saying he didn’t, they’re going to want the person who did. They’ll rip Soho apart and bring as many people down as they can. They’ll stop at nothing. So you see, to Vaughnie this is the only way.’

‘What about the others?’

‘Like I say, no one wants to do time for something they didn’t do, especially as we’re all getting older. Del and Frankie, even Alfie, they all want out, like Vaughnie did before all this started. There’s only so much living on the edge you can do before you have to decide whether to walk away or come crashing down.’

Casey was distraught. ‘But they’re always going on about sticking together.’

‘Cass, listen, don’t upset yourself. It’ll work out … somehow. Just don’t talk to anyone for now.’

‘Okay. So, what else has been happening?’

‘How long have you got love, because by the time I’ve finished telling you, you’ll wish you were back in that coma.’

The door opened, interrupting the two women. Lola looked up. ‘Oh hello! It’s the great mouse detective. It didn’t take you long to hear she’d woken up. What did you do, fly here? Like a bleedin’ vampire, feeding off people. By God, Edward Cullen had nothing on you.’

‘Who?’

‘
Twilight
, you should watch, perhaps you can pick up tips.’

Detective Spencer sneered at Lola. ‘I’m here to see Ms Edwards, I’d appreciate if I could have a word with her on my own.’

Lola stood up, giving Casey a kiss. She winked. ‘Right beautiful, I’m out of here. I’ll see you tomorrow … and stay away from that tash, you don’t know where it’s been.’