Rise and Fall (15 page)

“Mate, I’m officially single. Think I’m going to keep it that way for a while.” Shay breathed out a plume of smoke. “Women are more trouble than they’re blimmin’ worth. Here, I’ve got a good one for ya. How do ya turn a fox into an elephant?”

Gavin shook his head. “I dunno, Shay, how do you turn a fox into an elephant?”

“Marry her!” Shay slapped his leg, laughing, as Gavin rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’m done with birds for a bit.” 

Gavin grinned knowingly. Shay without a bird wouldn’t happen; the bloke’s sole purpose in life was sex. Gavin would give him an hour of them being in a club on Friday night before Shay found himself another deluded girl who wanted to try her luck with him, Gavin would put money on it.

“Hello?” Jamie’s voice rang out from the workshop, interrupting the conversation. “Are you two grease monkeys hiding in here?” Jamie was pleased to see that the cars that had been booked in were ready for collection, the signed-off paperwork for the customer neatly tucked behind each windscreen wiper. 

Stubbing out the joint and getting out of Gary’s chair, Gavin called out: “We’re out the back, Jamie, having a five-minute break after finishing this morning’s jobs; you fancy a coffee?”

“Arse-licker!” Shay grinned at Gavin and fanned the air to disperse the smoke. He knew why Gavin was trying to keep Jamie sweet, though; if he had walked in and found Gavin sitting at Gary’s desk, looking like he owned the place, Jamie would have had a pop. He had been strange lately, acting like he was Gary’s personal bodyguard. It was understandable, they guessed, especially after all Gary had been through, but Jamie had just been a bit unpredictable in his moods lately. 

Jamie walked into the back office. He saw the dog ends in the ashtray and recognised the smell of weed. He wasn’t stupid, he knew what Shay and Gavin had been doing, and they both knew that weren’t to smoke full stop on the premises, let alone gear. He decided that he would let it slide just this once, as to be fair the boys had been pretty much left to it this past week, and they had both done a blinding job and just got on with everything that had needed to get done. He knew they had a smoke sometimes, they were fools if they thought that Jamie hadn’t cottoned on to them doing it on the sly; he could always smell it on them.

“Open the window, Shay, it fucking reeks in here,” Jamie said, so that they were under no illusions about pulling the wool over his eyes. Taking a seat in Gary’s chair, he opened the diary. Without looking up, he said: “Go on then, Gavin, stick a coffee on. We can have a little chat while I’m here.” 

Jamie looked serious; Shay and Gavin wondered what was happening.

Gavin came back a few minutes later and put a mug of coffee on the table for Jamie, before taking a seat opposite him, next to Shay. “It’s nothing bad, boys, don’t worry.” Jamie noted their worried expressions. “It’s just that me and Gary had a little chat this morning,” Jamie continued with the boys’ blank faces staring back at him.

“How’s he doing today?” Shay had meant to go round to Gary's house last night but had been too occupied with the girl. He and Gavin were going to go when they finished work.

“He’s good, Shay, really good: I left him with Les chewing his ear off over some football results. I think he’ll be properly back on his feet in no time now, he’s really starting to make progress. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, actually.” Jamie took a sip of the coffee and tried not to grimace at the strength of it; Gavin made bad coffee. “Fuck me, Gavin, have the cows gone on strike, mate?” Jamie put the mug down, deciding to give it a miss. “Gary had a chat with me and Les this morning. Gary’s decided that he wants me to take over here, just for the time being, until he’s his old self again.”

Shay and Gavin nodded. They were both relieved that it wasn’t anything more serious. It had been so quiet lately that they had wondered if Jamie were going to tell them he was shutting the doors for good. Jamie taking over wasn’t really surprising. He had been running the show for a while now, even if it had been unofficially. He was more than capable of doing the job, and Gavin and Shay had mainly taken their orders directly from him recently. 

“And what’s Les got to say about it?” Gavin asked. Les was sure to be fuming over the situation, especially as he already seemed to have a problem with everything that Jamie said or did. 

“You know Les.” Jamie rolled his eyes. “He was fine about it; at least he said he was. Anyway, it’s tough shit if he’s not. It's Gary’s decision; Les is just going to have to get on with it.” 

“So when’s Gary coming back, then?” Shay was wondering when they were going to start taking on some new car deals, the endless MOTs had been mind-numbing. He wanted to get his hands on a few nice motors; he had started to become hooked on the adrenaline rush when they got sent out on a job. 

Jamie knew what Shay was getting at and totally agreed that they needed to regain a bit of control and get something big off the ground again. The Ugandan contract was gone, and Gary wanted them to all steer well clear of Jerell after everything that had happened. There were more than enough contacts to go around, and Jamie was trying to sort out another avenue of income for them. He had his own buyer of luxury motors already waiting. It wasn’t the scale of contract that they had been dealing with originally, but it was a nice little earner, and would more than keep them all going. Now that Jamie was in control of the garage, he was going to start making a few changes for the better. He wanted to show Gary that he was more than competent at doing the job, seeing as Gary had been so keen to give him the opportunity. 

“Gary is going to need another few weeks away, at least,” Jamie answered. Shay and Gavin looked miffed; they dreaded the thought of more quiet days. “But we ain’t waiting for him to come back so that we can get moving. We’re getting started today. I want the diary cleared. You two need to get the bookings done and don’t take on anymore until I tell you. We’ve got a massive contract lined up. We’re going to have top-end motors coming out of our fucking ears soon.”

The boys were happy to hear it. Once you started getting used to earning a certain amount of money, you wanted to maintain your standards. If they were busy, then that meant more readies coming in.

Before he left the garage, Jamie ran through everything he wanted the boys to get sorted. He had told them to clear the diary and get anyone that they could move, booked in for today and tomorrow and to cancel anything else. Jamie respected Gary’s decision to leave Jerell Morgan alone, and begrudgingly he would go along with it for Gary’s sake, but there was no way that he would see this garage go under while he was in control. There were going to be changes around here.

Leaving Shay and Gavin buzzing about the place filled with a newfound optimism, Jamie made his way over to Tulse Hill Tesco Express, to pick up a few bits for Gary. He was glad that he had his appetite back, but the man had been eating food quicker than Jamie was capable of cooking it these past two days, and he knew that Gary needed to stop eating all the greasy fry-ups that he had been making for him, he needed to eat more healthily if he wanted to make a speedy recovery.

After wandering around the shop and filling up his basket with as much fruit and vegetables as he could fit in it, he was just getting back into his car, when he glanced over and saw a group of kids that he thought he recognised walking down the road. They all wore the same dark hoodies and baseball caps, but the glimpse Jamie had of the smallest kid in the group, left him feeling almost sure that it was the boy who had been with Jerell in the flat. 

Despite knowing that Gary would kill him if he found out, Jamie couldn’t let things lie, he wanted to see where the kid was heading. Maybe it would lead him to Jerell. Jamie decided it would do no harm to follow him, check out where he lived. Knowledge was power, after all.

Jamie took his time driving out of the garage car park. He waited until the kids were further down the road then slowly pulled out onto the main road and started to follow them. The kids turned into a side road. Waiting at the top of the road for a minute, he wanted to give them a chance to get to wherever they were heading without them spotting him.

***

Tyler was pissed off. Rhys and the others had spotted him walking back from his meeting with Reagan, and they were pestering him as he made his way home.

“So where’s he holed up then Ty?” Rhys asked for the fifth time, frustrated that Tyler was giving nothing away.

“If Jerell wants you to know where he’s staying, then he’ll tell ya himself, man,” Tyler repeated for the fifth time. 

“What makes you so special, Ty? You think only you can know where he is?” Rhys scoffed at the kid. Tyler making out like he was Jerell’s main man was annoying Rhys. He wanted to know if Jerell was hiding out somewhere; how come it was only Reagan and Tyler who were allowed to know where he was? The Larkhall Boys had a pecking order, and this little shit was far down in it. Everyone knew that Tyler was a liar, the kid did nothing but spout Jackanory to anyone who would listen. The kid had hinted that he knew where Jerell was, until Rhys had called him on it and insisted that Tyler tell them; now Tyler was backtracking and telling Rhys it was none of his business.

“Look, Rhys, just leave it will ya.” Tyler was worried that the boys were going to follow him home; Jerell would go mental if he thought Tyler was telling people his whereabouts. 

“You're just a fucking batty boy, Tyler. Think you’re all that? You’re just some stupid fucking kid. Jerell wouldn’t tell you shit, man, you’re a fucking liability.” Rhys looked pleased with himself as the others laughed at his diss. He hadn’t wanted to lose face in front of them because he couldn't get information out of Tyler. 

“What’s in your bag?” Rhys added noticing how tightly Tyler was clutching it.

“Nothing.” 

“Tell me what’s in your bag.” Rhys could see the boy was hiding something.

“No.” Tyler tried to turn away as Rhys grabbed the rucksack from his shoulders. Tyler immediately protested and tried to take it back.

“Give it back, Rhys, it’s shit for Jerell… just leave it, will ya?” 

Rhys took a look in the bag. Seeing paperwork in there, presumably for the new place that Reagan had mentioned, he realised perhaps Tyler did know where Jerell was. All this stuff must be from Reagan. If Jerell got wind that Rhys was giving Tyler grief while he was on a job for him, Rhys would get his arse kicked. 

Zipping up the bag, Rhys threw it at Tyler with force. “You best fuck off, Ty.” 

Tyler placed the straps of the bag over his shoulders, and crossed the road, happy to get away from the boys. He carried on walking towards the flat.

***

Jamie had sat and watched as the boy had broken away from the group of kids and crossed the road. Seeing the kid go down an alleyway alone, Jamie pulled into a parking space and followed on foot. 

Walking slowly, so that he could stay undetected, Jamie watched the kid go into an eight-storey-high block of flats. Jamie started to feel uneasy; he knew this area well and couldn’t stand it. Although the last time he had been here seemed a lifetime ago.

Pulling his hood over his head, so that no-one would recognise him, Jamie followed the boy up the concrete steps to the second floor of the tower block. The second floor: what were the chances? Jamie held his breath as he waited. Leaning up against the depressing grey walls, the familiar stench of urine in the stairwell drifted up his nostrils and burned the back of his throat; some things never changed. 

Slowing down, Jamie waited before looking around the corner. Further down the balcony, he could see the boy unlocking the door to a flat.

 Jamie staggered back into the stairwell. He leant over and threw up the bile that had burned his throat; it splattered the floor and splashed the grey walls. 

Rushing back down the steps, Jamie ran through the alleyway and into his car. Getting a tissue from the glove box, he wiped his mouth. He felt like the car was closing in on him, an unfamiliar feeling of panic writhing through him as he desperately tried to make sense of what he had seen. It couldn’t be true. But it had to be. 

Driving away, he tried to digest what he had seen. He had just realised that things were a lot worse than he could have anticipated.

“I’m back,” Tyler called, as he let himself into the flat.

Hearing Jerell talking on his phone in the lounge, Tyler dropped his bag onto the kitchen floor before pouring a large glass of coke and helping himself to a handful of chocolate biscuits. The cupboards had lots of food inside them, for a change, and Tyler intended on making the most of it. Filling up the cupboards had been one of his mother’s conditions for letting Jerell stay. Jerell had offered her cash to tide her over and said that he would fill up the cupboards with food, he was a big man and could eat for England and Jamaica rolled into one, and in return she would give him a roof over his head and make sure no-one was any the wiser about him being here.

Tyler gulped his drink, savouring the sweetness. It sounded as though Jerell was on the phone to Reagan, getting him to sort out a few last-minute things before they moved into the new place. Jerell had also had Tyler running about all over the place, which he didn’t mind. If he was out doing jobs, it meant that he wasn’t alone with the man.

However, Tyler anticipated a long evening ahead of him; he felt like a prisoner in his own home; Jerell was watching him constantly.

Tyler’s mum had left just before him this morning, wanting to get to the pub as soon as it opened, and Tyler knew that she wouldn't be back until much later on tonight. Now she had money in her pocket, she was worse than ever; she got paralytic every night, spunking the money away.  

“The locals treat me like a celebrity,” she had boasted to Tyler as he was eating his dinner, a cheese sandwich, the night before. “I’m frigging royalty.”

Tyler hadn’t wanted to tell his slurring mother that maybe they were taking a leaf out of her book and keeping her sweet while they ponced back some of their money. He decided to keep his mouth shut and had taken a big bite out of the sandwich so that he wouldn’t be able to reply. They were all just probably dying to find out how she had landed herself with a bit of cash for a change, none of them gave a shit about her. She was a bloody handful when she was out, always sticking her oar in where it wasn’t wanted and causing dramas. She had been so busy boasting to Tyler about how she had become flavour of the month that she hadn’t even given the fact that he had to stay in the flat all day with Jerell a second thought. Tyler had finished his sandwich in silence; his mother had staggered past him and up the stairs to bed without so much as even saying goodnight to him.