New Reality 2: Justice (31 page)

Doug led them down the room. "Would you like to see more wards with inmates in them? I mean, the only reason would be so you could get a bit more time away from the office, but I'm game if you are?"

Say yes. Go on, put the fat bastard on the spot and say yes.

When John spoke, Marie physically sank.
 

"No thanks, Doug."

"Dougie, please."

"No thanks, Dougie. I can see why Florence was so impressed the other day. I too will file an outstanding report. What you have here is truly remarkable."

On their way out of the ward, Marie looked over to the skirting board and there was her kirby grip, lying exactly where she'd kicked it. Before her time ran out at Rixon, Doug would be letting Frankie out of New Reality. When Marie had the missing piece of the puzzle, Doug would be doing exactly what she told him to do.

Chapter Forty-Seven

After work, Marie sat on the bus stop wall and watched the other people gathered there. Furrowed brows and vacant stares said more about returning to the estate than a million words ever could. Too caught up in their own worries, none of them seemed interested in her.
 

It gave her the opportunity to slip her hand into the bush behind her. While keeping her eyes on the people, Marie found the cold metal barrel of the gun. It wasn't sensible to leave a gun lying around, but it was even less sensible to try and take the thing into the prison with her, even if there was a risk of someone finding it and dusting it for prints.

When she'd brought it close enough to the wall, she lowered her bag behind her and transferred the gun into it from the flowerbed.

Just as she'd finished, the bus rounded the next corner. She stood up and brought her bag with her.

The hard hiss of the air brakes made Marie jump and she yelped. Her face flushed when a few of the commuters stared at her. Spot the newbie! She returned their attention with interest and each one of them turned to face the bus when the doors opened. If she was going to live on the estate, she needed to hold her own.

Marie kept her focus on the dirty floor as she walked up the aisle. Just before sitting down, she glanced up to see every pair of eyes on her.
 

When she slid onto her seat, her corset forced some of the air from her lungs as it wrapped a tight grip on her ribcage. A tug on the laces at the front and she breathed out as the corset loosened.

Despite the hot and dusty environment, she enjoyed the fullness of her breath and stared straight ahead. All she wanted to do was get home without any grief. Was that too much to ask?
 

She then undid her corset a little more and rubbed her stomach. There was still no movement from the baby.

***

A good five minutes passed, and although Marie had looked ahead the entire time, she couldn't ignore what she saw in her peripheral vision. When she turned around, she stared back at the ratty old crone. Most of the other people were going about their business, but this woman was twisted with hate and she was directing it all Marie's way.

The first thing Marie did was slip her hand into her bag, her pulse settling when she gripped the gun. She stared back at the woman again. A quick draw and squeeze of the soft trigger would halt that stare in an instant. That would kill the nosy bitch's curiosity.

Marie continued to untie her corset. She lived in Single Mum's block; she didn't need to hide her pregnancy here.

"You're a drain on the system."

Did she really just say that?
As Marie stared at the woman, she didn't reply.

"Bringing another life into this city while claiming welfare."

A quick glance showed that everyone had returned their attention to Marie. "Wait a minute,
love
, but aren't you heading to the estate too?"

"And?"

Marie let go of the gun and jabbed her index finger at her temple. "Are you
thick
or something?"

"Don't call me thick."

"Make it harder for me then. We're all a drain on the system, you fucking idiot. That's why we're on this bus. I'm sure no one on here's heading back to the estate through choice. And I'm sure no one is paying rent to live there."

When the woman didn't reply, Marie shook her head and looked at the other passengers. Most of them had already looked away.
 

Then she saw the men at the back and her breath caught in her throat. There were four of them. Broad shouldered and silent, they sat there unmoving. They looked like four reapers who had come to collect. Suddenly, the ratty woman and her ill-informed opinions were much less important. She couldn't hurt Marie like these men could.

Marie turned back to face the front, removed her corset and stuffed it into her bag. She then slipped her hand in again.
 

Her grip on her gun was sure. Hopefully, her aim would be as true.

***

The rest of the journey continued without incident. The ratty woman continued watching Marie, and Marie pretended to stare back at her. But it was the men in her peripheral vision that had her attention now. Unlike the other passengers on the bus, they just sat there, all four of them, staring directly at Marie.

***

When the bus stopped, Marie focused in front of her and stepped from the vehicle. After the whoosh of the closing doors, she turned around.
Fuck it!
The four men were the only other people to have got off the bus. Now she saw them on their feet, Marie trembled. The smallest of the men stood at least six feet tall. They held far enough back for their faces to be hidden by shadows. Not that she needed to see their features; she already knew they were staring straight at her.

For a second, none of the muscles in Marie's body worked and her tight bladder ached. Then—as if a pulse of electricity had surged through her—she jolted to life, spun on her heel, and darted into the first alleyway.
 

The sounds of their heavy boots played a staccato against the pavement behind her as they followed.

It was hard to be quick with her pulse as frantic as it was, but Marie held onto her rapid breaths and made it around the first corner. At that moment, she was out of their line of sight, and they started speaking; the syllables of their deep voices barrelled down the alleyway after her like cannon balls.
 

"Do you think she'll scream?"

"Like a
pig.
"

With the sound of their laughter chasing her, Marie pulled her gun from her bag and flicked the safety off.

"I bet Lance shoots his load first. He's such a fucking virgin."

She rested her finger on the trigger.

"Although, when we cut the last one, it seemed to have the opposite effect on the boy. I think I even saw him cry, eh, Lance?"

"Fuck off."

The men laughed again, the tormenting cackles mixing with the stomping boots in the echo chamber that was the tight alleyway.

Another sharp turn and Marie glanced behind. They were still following her, but she couldn't see them at all. Now where was her block? She couldn't get lost now.
 

"But seriously, this one looks like a tidy ride."

Marie kept a hold of her gun, her hand shaking on the trigger, and she broke into a gentle jog, her pulse sounding in her ears.
 

"I think we should take her back to your place, Goliath."

"Why
my
place?"

"You've got those old pipes at yours. We could tie 'er to 'em."

When she rounded the next bend, Marie found herself in the shadow of the huge, ugly block that she now called home.
 

One final glance behind and she sprinted to the door, kicked it open, and darted into the darkness. She hid in a shadow just inside the doorway.
 

The enclosed space threw her own rapid breaths back at her as she watched the door, her gun at the ready.
 

It seemed to take an age, but when it was finally opened, Marie raised her weapon. "
Stop
fucking following me!"
 

A tired looking mother with a toddler put her arm across the front of her child and stared at Marie.

"Sorry. I was being followed, and I thought you were them. Sorry."

The mother dipped a gentle nod at her, uncovered her child and walked away.
 

Was this what estate life was like? Someone pointed a gun at you and you barely battered an eyelid. How could she raise a child in this?

Marie watched the door for another minute or so. When no one else came in, she lowered her gun and set off, zigzagging through the used nappies on the floor.

Chapter Forty-Eight

Knock, knock.

Marie stared at the back of her door.
Was it the men? Did they know where she lived? Had they followed her home?

Knock, knock.

On her way to the door, she lifted the gun from the work surface. Before she moved any farther, she twisted it to the side to make sure the safety was off.
 

When she got to the door, she pinched the back of the lock, the shake in her hand making it rattle as she held onto it.

One, two, three.
She yanked the door wide and raised the gun.

Gina stood there holding her hands up. "Steady on, girl."

"Jesus! You've got to stop sneaking up on me. At least say it's
you
when you knock."

Gina pulled her hood back, her green eyes the brightest thing on the entire estate, and said, "Sorry." A quick glance at the gun in Marie's shaking grip and she looked back up. "Are you okay?"

When the tension fell from Marie's arms, she shook harder than ever. "This place will be the death of me. Three days in and I'm already a mess."

After walking into the flat, Gina placed her bag on the kitchen worktop and fished out a huge box covered in wrapping paper and topped with a bow.
 

Marie closed the door. "What's that?"

"It's a present."

"I can see that, but why?"

"Consider it a housewarming present."

"Thanks. I
think
."

It was hard to be sad when Gina smiled and shoved the present towards her. "Open it then."

It was wrapped so perfectly, the red and gold paper virtually fell off when Marie tugged the ribbon. Inside was a cardboard box. When Marie opened the lid, she saw black plastic and metal staring back up at her. She smiled. "You didn't?"
 

"I did."

"Another coffee machine? Do you think this one will be as irritating as Jules?"

"I know it will."

Marie looked at Gina.
 

"I went to your old place and scooped Jules up from the road. There wasn't much left of him, but the repairman said his processor was still in good order and his memory chip was fine. The casing is new, but this is the old Jules."

Caught between tears and laughter, Marie walked over to Gina and hugged her small frame. "Thank you, darling. It's so kind of you."

When she stepped away, she clapped her hands together and stared at the gift. "Right, let's see if this little fucker still works like he used to."

After plugging it in, Marie watched the LCD screen come to life.
 

Seconds later, Jules groaned. "Oh, no, I'm back with you again. If you're going to throw me out of a window this time, please take a deep breath and reconsider. Have you thought about anger management?"

It was hard not to laugh at the annoying little shit. "Welcome back, Jules."

The machine didn't reply, so Marie waited.

Finally, he cracked. "Coffee?"

"Herbal tea, please. Peppermint."

"Sacrilege!"

The gentle popping of boiling water started up in the machine, and Marie looked over at Gina. "Thank you. It means a lot to have a friend through all of this."

The beaming smile on Gina's face grew. "My pleasure."

***

Marie left Gina in the front room to go to the toilet.
 

Before she sat down, she winced and looked at the panty liner she'd put in earlier that day. There was no blood, although, after prodding her abdomen, there was still no response, either.

She stroked it and spoke in a low voice. "Come on, little bean, show me a sign that everything's okay."

Still nothing. Telling herself that losing the baby was for the best and actually believing it were two very different things. Even though everything else had changed, that was the one thing that hadn’t—Marie still wanted to be a mum.

After washing her hands, she reached for her towel that wasn't there.
What the…?
Then she saw it in the bathtub.
Of course.
That morning had been frantic and she'd tossed her towel into the bathroom on her way out of the door. But the white towel in the tub was now rusty red.

She took it into the front room with her. "Look, Gina."

Disgust sat on Gina's face. "It's a towel." She looked at the pool of water growing on the floor. "A dripping wet towel."

"But look at the colour of it."

"It's brownish-red."

"It was white this morning."

The frown remained on Gina's face as she scratched her head. "You're going to have to give me a bit more than that. What have you been doing to your towel?"

"Nothing. That's the point… as I was leaving this morning, I tossed it into the bathroom and it landed in the bath."

"So the bath turned it brownish-red?"

"The bath water."

The penny finally dropped and Gina clasped a hand to her mouth. "Shit! That's why the people from the estate look darker. They put dye in the water?"

First Marie looked at the back of her hands and then she pulled a trouser leg up. "Do I look darker?"

Gina shook her head. "Not yet." After a pause, she added, "You do look bloody pregnant though. I can't believe you've made it to twenty-one weeks and Doug hasn't noticed yet."

"Come on, Gina, Doug wouldn't notice if I was on fire as long as my cleavage was on show."
 

Before Gina could reply, Marie blurted it out, "I'm worried."