The Tale of the Wolf (The Kenino Wolf Series) (30 page)

‘
What the hell have you got my sister involved in?’

‘
Boom-Boom, what the fuck are you doing here?’

‘
I’m here to protect my sister from the likes of you … fucking dead bodies, people trying to kill her … What the fuck have you involved her in?’

‘
Boom, I ain’t got no time for you and your fucking madness. We can talk about this later.’

‘
We gonna talk about it now, not fucking later. Right now. Right fucking now!’

‘
Boom we need to get the fuck out the road and behind the van.’ We were on full display.

Leon appeared from the driver’s seat. ‘Boom, we need to go. The tranquilisers won’t last long. They’re going to wake up,’ Leon said.

‘
Leon this is more important than some fucking cow, okay? Even you said they’d turned into Bonnie and Clyde.’ I shot Leon a look. He lowered his eyes guiltily. ‘This fucker’s gonna get my sister killed.’

‘
No, he ain’t, you moron.’ Tabatha had now joined in.

‘
Tabatha, stay out of this.’

‘
What do you mean, stay out of it? It’s my fucking life and you’re telling me stay out of it, you fucking halfwit. The only person who needs to stay out of it is you.’ Curtis and Muzzi had come across to be part of our High Street domestic.

‘
We need to get out of the fucking road. The Russians who shot up the club live over there and if they look out and see us, they are going to come out and shoot us all, you dim fucker.’

‘
You see what I mean? You see what I mean, Leon? The fuckers that blew up the club, this idiot’s parked outside their house!’

‘
Boom, we need to go now. I have no tranqs and they’re all waking up. You know the door’s not secure.’ Leon was imploring.

‘
Leon, will you fuck off about your cows! It’s not important. What matters is how this jackarse is trying to get my sister killed. What’s wrong with you, Tabatha? You don’t think I don’t know how you knocked off some house, and now people are coming for ya?’ There was a rumble from the van, the scraping of hooves on metal.

‘
That was my fault, not Wolfy’s … not that it’s any business of yours.’ Tabatha shouted back at her brother.

‘
Oh please. I know it was one of his schemes.’

‘
No, it wasn’t. It was my scheme. Wolfy didn’t want to do it. I dragged him into it.’

‘
And me,’ Curtis chipped in, then instantly regretted it.

‘
Fuck off Tabs! Stop trying to protect him.’ More scraping of hooves and rumbling from the van.

I turned round and thought I saw the curtains twitch at number 27.

‘
Boom, they’re awake. They’re moving around. I can hear them.’

‘
Then go, Leon. I can’t go till this shit’s sorted out.’

‘
What’s there to sort out, Boom?’ I’d decided to apply my ‘fuck it’ mentality. ‘What needs sorting? What? Come on, ’cos as far as I can tell, we don’t need your help. I love your sister and your sister loves me. So where do you come in? What the fuck does any of this got to do with you? I’m with Tabatha ... You want to be with me?’ I directed the question at Tabatha. I heard a thud on the back door of Leon’s van. Leon was still there, unable to abandon his friends.

‘
You know I do,’ she said without hesitation.

‘
Then what’s there to sort out? She tells me to go, I’ll go, but she ain’t saying it, so I ain’t going.’ A second heavier thud. The door shook on its hinge. ‘So what’s there to sort out? Cos I ain’t leaving her, so you better kill me, ’cos that’s all you got.’

‘
You think I won’t fuck you up?’ Boom-Boom was right up in my grill.

‘
Then that’s what you gotta do.’

A third thud. The first hinge broke.

‘
Boom, the door’s coming off.’ Leon was panicking. No one was listening.

‘
You think I’m playing with you?’

‘
You think I care? I’m just telling you how it is, Boom. I ain’t leaving Tabatha, so you don’t want me with her, then you gotta kill me, ’cos I ain’t running.’

‘
Wolfy. The Russians!’ It was Muzzi. The Russians had heard the commotion, recognised the participants and stepped out the front door. I ignored him.

‘
You must really think I won’t fuck you up, Wolfy.’

‘
No, Boom, I don’t fucking care. You got two choices: either kill me or get in your chicken wagon and fuck off.’

‘
They’re coming, Wolfy.’ Muzzi again … and again ignored

‘
Well, pick one, ’cos that’s it. I ain’t running. Them are your choices. Kill me or fuck off, ’cos you can’t make me leave. So come on. Fucking kill me! Come on, big man, you big coconut-headed fucker. Come on, kill me. Come on.’

‘
Oh god, we’re dead.’ Muzzi again. The Russians were charging across towards us.

BANG! The door exploded off the back of the van and a large huge brown bull came charging out.

‘
Shiiiiiiitttttttttt!’ We all screamed as the enraged beast came charged towards us.

We ran at the Russians who upon seeing the bull joined in the fleeing, scrambling to get back to the safety of their home.

Two ostriches leapt out of the van, followed by three sheep and a dozen chickens, four turkeys and a couple of partridge; it was like escape from Noah’s ark.

The bull had taken a fancy to one of the Russians, who was wearing a red shirt. It charged past us foaming at the mouth. The Russians reached their front door and dashed inside. One of them tried to close it but the bull stampeded through, smashing it off its hinges, crushing one of the Russians underneath.

‘
Come on, Tabs. Follow the bull.’ I ran into the house, crushing the Russian again under the front door. The bull had caught the red-shirted Russian who was wedged between its horns, clinging on to them for dear life as the bull struggled to skewer him. I followed one of the Russians into the front room, and popped him with the tranq gun.

Everybody else followed behind. All except Leon, who was chasing chickens down Warwick Road. Tabatha shot the bull and it slumped to the floor.

‘
Mr Milkie!’ Muzzi was looking pleased with himself. He’d found the cat in one of those travel cases that people move animals around in.

We were all in the front room.

‘
There’s one missing.’ Tabatha was right. There was a Russian missing. One was under the front door, one stuck between the horns of the sleeping bull, and another asleep in the front room with a tranq dart in his chest.

‘
Put up your hands!’

‘
Shit!’ He’d found us.

‘
Get over there.’ He was standing at the door to the front room, waving his pistol. We moved into corner. He’d caught us all: Tabatha, Curtis, Muzzi, Boom-Boom and me, and of course the cat. Leon was no use, as he was still running down the Warwick Road chasing poultry. A second Russian appeared, from under the front door. He looked … well, he looked like a man that had been under a door which a bull had run over.

The gun-toting one said something to him in Russian, which, although I don’t speak Russian, I knew was ‘get our friend from under the bull’. As a couple of minutes later a third appeared. The two wounded ones gingerly assisted the sleeping one.

‘
Put the cat down,’ he signalled to Muzzi. ‘I want the address of Tom Jones, and if you don’t give it I will kill him,’ he gestured at Boom-Boom. The one with the gun was the one Boom-Boom had smacked in the club. Boom-Boom didn’t flinch. ‘Hurry up. This not a joke.’

He raised the pistol and pointed it directly at Boom-Boom. He pulled the hammer back. I heard the click.

‘
Okay hold on. Hold on, I’ve got the address. It’s in my pocket.’ Boom-Boom looked at me. ‘What? You’re still a coconut head.’

‘
Take it out slowly, left hand,’ the Russian commanded.

‘
It’s a bit tricky. It’s in my left inside pocket.’

‘
Hurry up or I will kill him and then her.’

I twisted my arm and reached into my pocket and with two fingers pulled out the piece of paper.

‘
Throw it on the floor.’

I threw it down but obviously being a piece of paper it floated in the air aimlessly for a minute. The bull wounded Russian flapped at it trying to catch it midair.

‘
Thank you. You are the one that struck me. You will be first.’ He pointed at Boom-Boom.’

‘
But you got the address!’ Tabatha exclaimed.

‘
Yes, and now I will get revenge.’

He aimed his gun at Boom-Boom’s chest. Again Boom-Boom didn’t flinch. He really was a hard bastard.

‘
You better make sure you don’t miss, ’cos if you do I’m gonna rip your throat out.’ Boom-Boom said it with such venom that the Russian had to pause and double check his aim.

When he was sure he had Boom-Boom in his sights he said. ‘I won’t’

‘
Neither will I,’ said an all too familiar voice from behind the Russian. The Russian lifted his hands up and let the gun fall from his grip. The other two raised their hands as well.

I saw the gun enter the doorway, then the hand, then the arm, then the body of a person that generally would have made me run for the hills. But for once I was glad to see him. It was Jeremiah; my cousin Jeremiah, my Interpol-employed cousin Jeremiah.

‘
Get in the centre,’ he signalled to the Russians, who obeyed without question. ‘Here, tie them up, Kenino.’ He threw me some little plastic cable ties.

‘
Yes, Cus.’

‘
Hands behind their backs’

I tied them up as Jeremiah had requested. ‘Needles said he’d seen you.’

‘
I needed a suit.’

‘
I told you he’s the best.’

‘
Yes you did. Looks like you got one thing right.’

‘
Oh here we go.’

‘
Kenino, I have a gun.’ I think Jeremiah had expected more fear from me.

‘
Whoopy do, Cus. You’re about the twentieth person this week to threaten to kill me. It’s not that big a deal.’

‘
I see you’re still as popular as ever.’

‘What you doing here anyway?’

Before Jeremiah could answer, I saw his hands go up in the air and the nose of the pistol touch the back of his head.

‘
Shit!’ Jeremiah realised he’d been blindsided.

‘I’ll take that.’ A hand snatched the pistol from his hand. ‘In you go, Mr Cain. Over there with the others.’ Jeremiah stepped into the room with his hands in the air and joined us in our crowded corner. The gun entered first, then the hand, then the arm, then the body.

‘
The boss said to watch out for you, Mr Cain.’ It was Frazer, Scott Frazer.

‘
Did he indeed,’ Jeremiah sneered back.

‘
Oh yeah. Jeremiah Cain, Ex
-
Secret Service. He said you might be floating around. The boss is gonna be well pleased when I tell him I got rid of you.’

Jeremiah continued to stare daggers.

‘
Now take those cable ties from your pocket and tie everybody up. Leave him till last.’ Frazer was staring straight at me. ‘Oh, I ain't forgot you,’ he rasped staring at me. ‘If I had more time I'd deal with you properly. You're lucky I'm in a rush. Tie yourself to him.’ He instructed Jeremiah to tie himself to me.