One Night (10 page)

Joel stared in shock at the pistol. It wasn’t the first time that he’d had a gun pointed at him but the person on the other side of it had never been a friend before. He had liked Danny, admired him, looked up to him. The Danny he was looking at now was a different man from the one he’d respected. He had a wild look in his eyes. Desperate. 

“For fuck’s sake,” shouted Paterson. “Put that away while I’m driving,”

“I’m just trying to make Joel see sense,” said Danny. “The job needs to go ahead.”

“Fine with me,” said Reynolds. “How about you put it away though, Danny.”

Danny laughed and slipped the gun into the pocket of his jacket.

“You’re right, I’m sorry.” He said it like he’d made some kind of social blunder. Told an off colour joke or something.
“Let’s just get things straight though. Agree what we’re doing,” He sounded under control again now the gun was away; his old charming self. “What happened back there was unfortunate but it doesn’t mean we have to give up our chance to make some easy money. Reynolds are you in?”

“Course I am, mate.”

“Paterson?”

“Aye, as long as you keep that damn thing away from my face,”

“Joel?”

Joel was silent. What would Danny do if he just ran when the car stopped? Would he shoot him? They couldn’t do the job without him, he knew that much. Did the years of friendship he’d had with Danny count for nothing now that he was up against the wall? Had they been real at all?

He ran his finger down the scar on his cheek. It should have taught him; taught him not to trust. His whole adult life it had been a reminder to him that he was better off on his own. It was there every morning when he looked in the mirror, showing him the price he’d paid in the past.

He realised he didn't care about the fucking job. What mattered was that Danny had turned on him. But it wasn't even that was it? What really cut him was the fact that he'd been weak enough to trust th
e other man in the first place.

"Joel?" Danny said again, he was staring at right at him. His face smiling but his eyes intense.

Fuck it. He didn't care anymore. £50,000 would buy a lot of distractions. Besides, if he stopped now he might end up with all three of them after him.

"I'm in," he said.

"Fantastic," said Danny. "I knew you'd come round. Let’s not tell Fuller, though. He’ll only worry."

The
y drove to the house in silence. Joel stared out of the window and thought about the other men in the car. Paterson was alright, a tough guy for sure but not a psycho. He'd always act in his own interests but he wouldn't go out of his way to screw anyone else over.

Reynolds and Danny were a different story. Joel knew that the main thing he had in his favour was their greed. He knew that the other three men all realised that there was no way the job could go ahead without him. Fuller had told them that the safe in the house had an added security feature; if the wrong combination was entered twice it locked itself down completely for twelve hours and triggered an alarm with the security company. Joel had tackled that kind of safe before and beaten it but it was way beyond the skills of most people. There was no way Danny would rely on the intimidation of the owner to get it open either; that was way too risky.

The question was what Danny and Reynolds would do to him once he'd cracked it and they had the money. Joel had been in the game long enough to know there really wasn't any honour amongst thieves. What there was instead was common sense and a lightning fast communication network. Danny would know that if he did something to Joel and it got out no-one would ever work with him again. Reynolds might not be quite bright enough to put those pieces together but Joel thought that Danny would keep him in line. On balance Joel reckoned he would be okay. If Reynolds didn’t flip out and he could control his own rage at Danny.

They arrived at the house just before 8pm in line with Fuller's plan. Five minutes earlier and a mile away another man in a white van with the British Telecom logo on the side had pulled up next to the local exchange box through which the phone lines that served the dealer’s house ran. He opened the box, located the relevant cables and quickly and efficiently severed them.

The property was walled with a large steel gate at the entrance. Paterson parked the car a little way along the road and asked them if they were all good to go. Each man nodded and was handed a latex mask and gloves.

Fuller had given them a mobile phone jammer and Joel had it in his hand now. It was about the size of the second hand GameBoy he’d saved up for as a kid but with four thick stubby aerials poking out of the top. Fuller had boasted that it was a top of the line model, not like the thirty quid ones you could get from China on eBay. This was the real deal, effective up to a hundred metres and guaranteed to block any mobile phone as surely as dropping it in a bucket of molten lead. Joel triggered it as Paterson drove them up to the gates and then placed it in the pocket of the car door.

Access
to the property was controlled via an intercom or a remote control. Fuller's contact at the security firm had provided a clone of the remote. Paterson clicked the button on it as he pulled up at the gates and they parted to let the car through. 

There were cameras too of course, and as soon the gates had opened the guard would be alert to their presence. They needed to get to him and overpower him as quickly as possible. The guard operated out of a small office about fifty yards up the long drive from the gate. The house was another twenty or so yards beyond that. As soon as the gates were open Paterson accelerated up the drive and brought the car to a stop outside the low modern building that housed the guard station.

It could go two ways. The regular phone line to the house was disabled and any cell phones on the property would be jammed but the guard also had a direct connection to the security firm he worked for. It ran through an underground cable and there was no simple way to disrupt it. One of the advantages of hitting a crook was their target wouldn't want to involve the police, but if the guard managed to raise the alarm before Joel and the others subdued him a signal would go to his company who would send an armed response team. If the gang got to him before he raised the alarm then they'd have as long as they wanted to restrain the dealer and his wife and crack the safe. If they didn't then they’d have twenty minutes before the backup guards arrived at the house.

Before the car had stopped Reynolds had his door open and was climbing out of it. Danny and Joel were on the opposite side, away from the security office. They jumped out, running around the car as Reynolds reached the door of the building. Joel saw that Danny had the pistol in his hand again, was holding it down against his leg as he ran.

Reynolds shouldered the door open. From inside the building there came a shout.

Joel got to the
doorway just after Danny and his view of the room was blocked for a moment. He could hear Reynolds shouting and the guard telling him to keep back. The man sounded scared but determined. Joel watched as Danny raised his gun and walked forward into the room. He followed him in, moving to the side as soon as he was through the door.

The room was as Fuller had told them to expect.
The main feature was a bank of video monitors showing various views of the property, there was a kitchen area in one corner and another door that led to a shower and locker room. The guard was backed up against the far wall, in his hand was a nightstick which he was swinging back and forth in front of him, keeping Reynolds at bay. He was a pretty big guy and, if what Fuller had told them was correct, he had military experience. The swipes he was making with the nightstick certainly looked like they had power to them and he handled the weapon like it was an extension of his body. Joel didn't know if he was a match for Reynolds or not but it might be an interesting fight.

"Did he trip the alarm?" said Danny, gun pointed straight at the guard.

"I don't know," said Reynolds. "I don't think so."

Danny walked closer to the man, slowly advancing on him, the gun aimed at his head the whole time.

Joel wondered how the system worked. The guard was here, the first line of defence but with the ability to call for backup. Why the hell wouldn’t he have done that as soon as he saw their car? Would he assume it was someone the owners of the house knew, someone who they’d give the gate remote to? Would he hold off triggering the alarm for fear of being considered a panicker by his mates?

“Why wouldn’t he have done it?” he said out loud. “As soon as he saw us drive in.”

Paterson was in the room now. “Can we tell?” he said.

Danny shook his head. “Not till the cavalry get here. Or don’t.” He was almost on top of the guard now. As close as he could be without moving in range of the baton.

“Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you right now,” he said to the man in front of him.

Joel glanced over at Paterson who looked as nervous as he felt. Danny was on the edge.

The Scot spoke up, “Let’s just restrain him and get on with it. That was the plan. We have the time.”

“He’s pissed me off now,” said Reynolds. He let the statement hang in the air like a bad smell.

The guard’s eyes were darting all over the place, looking at each of them in turn. Is he looking for a way to escape or just deciding which of us is the greatest threat, wondered Joel. He was just a guy doing his job until we came along. Hoping for an easy shift and then home to his family.

The guard stepped to the side suddenly, away from Reynolds and towards Danny. The gun moved to track the guard’s sideways jump but too slowly. Joel saw Danny’s finger tighten on the trigger but then the nightstick was crashing down on his wrist. From across the room Joel heard the sharp snap of a bone
cracking.

Danny swore and dropped the gun, he stepped back, clutching his wrist with his left hand. Reynolds stepped in and took a swing at the guard. His big fist connected with the side of the
man’s head and he fell to the floor. The boxer stepped forward and bent over the fallen man, his left hand went to the guard’s throat and he pulled his right arm back to deliver a punch.

Joel was about to run forward and stop Reynolds from killing the poor guy when the gun went off.

Eve turned and ran back down the alleyway. It grew darker as she moved away from the light of the street; the darkness was broken in places by light but where it wasn’t it was deep and rich and frightening. The kind of blackness that childhood monsters lurked in. Eve couldn’t see any light coming from the other end of the alley and realised that there was a slight curve ahead of her, blocking her view. She hadn’t even noticed it when she’d run in the other direction, she’d
been so wrapped up in her memories.

From around the bend she could hear the sound of fighting. She rounded it just in time to see
Joel down on one knee about thirty feet from her. Two of the three masked men were laid out on the floor next to him. The third was standing over him, about to swing a baseball bat at his head.

Eve could do nothing, just stand there and watch as the heavy bat swung towards the man she loved. The bat was inches from his temple when Joel managed to raise his own. The move looked awkward but it worked. The powerful blow was deflected away and the bat struck his shoulder not his head. It hit with a force that rocked Joel’s whole body.  

Eve caught herself. Loved, she thought, where had that come from?

Joel staggered back from the other man and pulled himself upright; raising his bat in front of him defensively like a sword.

She did love him though didn’t she? She had no idea how it had happened but she could feel it inside her like some beautiful, fragile creature that was hers to care for.

The man swung again, aiming for Joel’s ribs, a vicious strike with all his weight behind it. The heavy wood cut through the air with a terrifying speed.

Eve hadn’t expected this. Hadn’t wanted it. Now it was here she had to acknowledge it. What did she do with it? Was it a gift or a curse? Should she nurture it or smother it?

Joel blocked the strike with his own bat and took another step away from his opponent. Eve could see that the blow to his shoulder had weakened him. He was fighting defensively now, trying to regain his strength enough to attack.

Did he feel the same thing? She knew he liked her, wanted her, but was it more than that?

The masked man swung again, keeping up the ferocity of his attack. He aimed low this time, the bat powering towards Joel’s knee.

Was she just building herself up to be hurt like she had with Alex?

Joel jumped back and the bat missed him by inches. The momentum carried it onwards and the swing ended with it pointing towards the floor on the other man’s left side.

He was leaving her at the end of the night. He’d been clear on that. How badly would she be hurt if she opened her heart to him?

Joel swung at the masked head, the bat whistling through the night air.

The other man pulled his head back at the last minute and Joel’s strike missed him.

Eve started running again. Running towards the fight. God knows what I'll do when I get there, she thought. She tried to block everything else out of her head. The doubt and the overwhelming emotions now clawing at her.

The man brought his bat up from its lowered position. Joel tried to block it but he was off balance from his swing. The end of the bat caught him in the stomach and Eve winced. She was twenty feet away now, still too far to do anything other than feel Joel’s pain as he staggered backwards. His back hit the wall, keeping him upright, but she could see that the blow had shaken him. The man stepped forward and said something that Eve couldn’t make out; he raised his bat to his shoulder ready to swing. Joel turned then. She didn’t know why, maybe he’d heard her or sensed her somehow. Maybe he was just looking for something that could help him. His eyes met hers and he smiled.

What happened next seemed to take place very slowly. Joel dropped just as the man swung. The baseball bat passed over the top of his head, the wind from it ruffling his dark hair. Joel pushed himself off from the wall like a swimmer kicking off from the side. He led with his uninjured right shoulder, driving it into the chest of his attacker. The two men went backwards together until the masked man hit the opposite wall. His head cracked back against it with an audible thud and he staggered slightly. Eve wasn’t sure if Joel had been feigning his injuries or if somehow he had suddenly gained strength. Maybe seeing me helped, she thought. Without hesitation Joel swung his bat once, decisively. The end of it collided with the man’s forehead and he slumped to the floor of the alleyway.

Eve ran to Joel and took his hand. Up close she could see the pain on his face and it broke her heart. She raised her free hand to his cheek and stroked it gently. His stubble scratched her fingertips except the one that traced the smooth skin of his scar.

He took her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it.

“We need to go,” he said. “They’ll be more of them.”

“Okay.” She realised then that she was going to take him home. That there was nothing she wanted more. Both to protect him and to have him.

“As soon as we’re away from them you have to go,” he said.

She knew he was right but she shook her head. “You won’t get rid of me that easily, they’d have got you with the van if it wasn’t for me so don’t think you can just dump me. Besides this is Southend, so far this is pretty normal night out.”

He laughed. “Let’s go then.”

He dropped the bat and picked up the bag. A flash of pain shot across his face as he raised it to his shoulder. She tried to take it from him but he shook his head.

“It’s my burden.”

Eve looked at him. The pain on his face was overwritten now by a look of utter determination. He looked so strong and vital. In that moment she truly believed he could do anything he set his mind to.

She pointed at the bat, lying forgotten on the floor of the alley. “Shouldn’t you keep it?”

“Too conspicuous. The last thing we want is to draw attention to ourselves.”

They ran together. His hand felt good holding hers, strong and hot. She could smell him beside her, the arousing scent of male exertion teasing her nostrils.

They reached the bend and rounded it. The slice of the street ahead that Eve could see through the end of the alley was clear. As they ran she wondered who the men were, why they were after Joel. What had he done? She couldn’t believe it was anything truly bad but she had only known him a few hours. For all she knew the bag really did have a corpse in it as he’d joked earlier. She needed to know. Needed him to trust her enough to let
her in.

She turned to him as they neared the end of the alleyway,
about to ask him.

The car came to a stop in front of them blocking the opening to the street, the same one that’s arrival had marked the start of the attack. Inside were the fat and the thin man, their faces still masked.