Barking Boy Page 21

  Picking up the remote control, Tommy pointed it toward the television set and switched it off. He then rubbed his hand across his face, taking a deep breath before speaking. “I was taken to see Freddie Smith today.”

  Shocked, Jimmy’s eyes widened. He glanced over Tommy’s face, looking for any visible injuries. “What? And you didn’t think to tell me something like that?”

  Tommy shook his head, dismissing his brother’s words. “If we don’t give the gold back within forty-eight hours, he’s coming after Jonny.”

  “What?” Jimmy’s mouth fell open, stunned. “Then we give it back. It’s a no-brainer, as far as I’m concerned. We take the fucking lot of it, and dump it outside the club if we have to.”

  Tommy nodded his head. He was thoughtful for a few moments. “They’re scared.”

  “Who’s scared?” Jimmy stared at his brother, waiting for him to answer. “Who’s scared, Tommy?”

  “Smith, McKay, and Garner. They’re scared of Hopper and what he’ll do when he gets back and there’s no gold.”

  “From what I’ve heard about the bloke, they’ve every right to be scared. He’s a fucking lunatic.”

  “Yeah, I know. It’s just, I can’t help but keep thinking, what if there was no Hopper?”

  Jimmy shook his head confused. “What are you talking about?” He watched his brother closely, not taking his eyes off of him. “What is that supposed to mean, if there was no Hopper?”

  Tommy leant forward in his seat. He looked Jimmy in the eyes. “What if Hopper was no longer on the scene? What if he ceased to exist?”

  “And how the fuck is that gonna happen? And even more importantly, how the fuck is that gonna help the situation? No, Tommy, we’re giving the gold back. I don’t want something happening to Jonny on my conscious.”

  “I’ve told Jonny to stay at home for a couple of days, and as long as he does as he’s told, he’ll be safe.”

  Jimmy threw up his hands. “Are we seriously having this conversation? You want to put our little brother’s life at risk?”

  “All I’m saying is, what if, and it is only a what if, Hopper was to disappear, and as far as Freddie Smith was concerned, he’d taken the gold with him.”

  “I can’t believe this! What the fuck is wrong with you, Tommy?” Jimmy’s voice began to rise. Aware that Stacey was only in the room next door, he clasped his hand across his mouth for a moment while he composed himself. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” he asked lowering his voice. “Is your brain working all right?” He pointed his finger toward his temple to emphasise his point. This is our little brother we are talking about, not some stranger you’ve just met down at the pub. Are you seriously willing to risk his life, all because you’re too fucking stubborn to give the gold back?”

  “No, of course not.”

  “Well then, that’s it, sorted then. We give the gold back.”

  Tommy nodded his head to pacify his brother. The seed of a plan was now firmly planted in his mind, and he knew just the man to help him to follow it through.

  Danny McKay watched as Tommy brought his car to a halt beside him. They were parked in a secluded car park across from Epping Forest. He leant back against his own car, admiring the view of the wooded area. He waited for Tommy to open his car door and climb out, before speaking. “You better have a good reason for dragging me here.”

  Tommy nodded his head. “I need to speak to you.” He lit a cigarette, inhaling the smoke deep into his lungs. “You told me that Freddie had nothing on me, so what the fuck was that all about yesterday?”

  Danny sighed. He took note of how drawn and tired Tommy looked. It was clear to see the man hadn’t slept the night before. “He hasn’t got anything on you, and how was I supposed to know he would come out with that about your brother, eh? I’m not a fucking mind reader.”

  Tommy remained silent. He came to stand next to Danny, and leant against the car, staring straight ahead.

  “Hopper is due back in England today.”

  Tommy nodded his head. “I know. I heard.”

  “It’s only a matter of time before he comes looking for that gold.”

  Tommy nodded his head for a second time. He took a deep breath. What he was about to say, could go one of two ways. McKay could either batter the life out of him and haul him once again in front of Freddie, or he could listen to what he had to say and see what a fantastic opportunity he was offering. “What would you say if I said I had the gold?”

  Danny jerked his head toward Tommy, his eyes widened. “And have you got it?” He kept his voice neutral.

  Tommy ignored the question. “What would you say if I said I had a proposition for you, something that could make you very rich?”

  Danny turned back to look at the forest. He swallowed before answering. “Okay, I’m all ears. What’s on your mind?”

  “If something were to happen to Hopper, then there would be no one to collect the gold, would there?”

  Danny narrowed his eyes. “Where are you going with this, Tommy?”

  Tommy continued. “As far as Freddie needs to know, Hopper took the gold, and then fucked off abroad with the haul.”

  “And how exactly is that going to happen? This is Hopper we’re talking about. He’s got more lives than a fucking cat. Do you even realise how many attempts he’s had on his life? I seriously don’t know how the fucker is still standing.”

  Tommy turned to look at Danny. He could tell he had the man’s interest. Mark Hopper was a thorn in a lot of people’s sides, and he knew for a fact there would be many sighs of relief the day Hopper took his last breath. “He’s just used up his last life. Together, me and you, we kill him and we make sure we do the job properly this time.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Mark Hopper walked around the pool, soaking up the last of the early evening sun, before he departed for England. The heat felt good on his back, and was just one of the many things he would miss when he left sunny Spain. He was a stout man, with a thick neck, and dark receding hair. Though many would say he wasn’t attractive, he had a memorable appearance, which made him stick out in a crowd. Most people instantly remembered his slack lips and expressionless brown eyes that instantly became black when he was angry, which just so happened to be often. He was a nasty piece of work, who revelled in intimidating others.

  He shoved his hands into his trousers pockets, as he watched the woman stretch out on the sun lounger opposite from where he stood, her dark hair tumbling around her shoulders. He was thankful for the sunglasses he wore. The dark lenses gave him the perfect opportunity to watch her, without her being aware of his stares. The truth was, he’d always had a soft spot for this woman. Ever since they were kids, it had only ever been her who could fire the longing inside of him.

  He tore his eyes away from her, and turned to his left, as her father walked toward him.

  “The taxi is on its way.”

  Mark nodded his head. “Cheers, mate.”

  “Have a safe journey, and don’t forget, if you come across one of those Carters, mainly Tommy Carter, give him a dig from me.”

  “I will do, and it’ll be a fucking pleasure and all.” He glanced across to the woman he had loved for the majority of his life. He still couldn’t believe she was actually a mother now. What a shock that had been for him, when he’d turned up at the villa and saw her son toddling around. “I’m actually looking forward to a run-in with one of the no-good cunts.” He nodded his head at Bethany Johnson. “See you soon, darling.” He held up his hand and smiled, as she waved goodbye in return.

  “So, I should expect to see you in about a week’s time?”

  “Yeah give me a week, two at the most.” Mark pulled the handle of the holdall over his shoulder. “As soon as I’ve collected the gold, I’ll start planning the journey to bring it over here. Have a meeting with your contact, and be ready and waiting for when I return.”

  Dean Johnson nodded his head, satisfied. They began to walk down the side of t
he villa, and Mark shoved out his hand toward the older man. “Thanks again, mate, and I’ll see you next week.” He walked toward the taxi.

  Dean watched as the vehicle began to move forward. He looked back toward the villa. Already, he’d began planning out what he was going spend his cut of the robbery on. Yes, he decided, he’d build an extension, and maybe even a games room for the boy to play in. Only the best would do for the apple of his eye, his little grandson, Cameron. Dean conveniently chose to forget the boy was also Tommy Carter’s nephew.

  Danny remained quiet, as he tried to get his head around the proposition Tommy had put to him. Faced with a dilemma, he knew for a fact that if Tommy Carter was hauled in front of Freddie for a second time, then his own name would more than likely come up in their enquiries as the supplier of the weapons. It was bound to, after all, Carter would hardly keep that little gem to himself, would he? After what seemed an age, Danny spoke. “If I do this, and it is a big if, then I’m bringing someone in with me.” He took note of the glance from Tommy, and turned his head sideways to look at him. “What? Did you actually think I would trust you to have my back if this goes tits up?”

  It was a fair comment, and Tommy shrugged his shoulders at Danny’s words.

  “You tucked me up, remember?” Danny stabbed his finger toward him. “I’m not going to forget that easily. So, how would you suggest we play this out?”

  Tommy was thoughtful. “My brother has a fight coming up in a couple of days. D’ya reckon you could get Hopper there?”

  Danny gave a long sigh. “Perhaps, if I told him the gold was there, I dunno though.” He looked into the distance. “I’m not sure if he’d buy it, if I’m being totally honest. Would you if it was your gold that you’d come to collect? Because I know I wouldn’t. He’s bound to think it’s suspect.”

  “If it had been me, I wouldn’t have been so fucking stupid, as to trust someone to look after it in the first place.”

  “Yeah, well this is Hopper we’re talking about. Who in their right mind would try to tuck him up or steal the gold from him? Only a fucking imbecile would give it a second thought.”

  Tommy gave a small laugh. “That’d be me, I suppose.”

  “Yeah, well you said it. And what about Freddie? He’s expecting Hopper to go and see him. How do we get out of that one?”

  “You could always tell Smith you’ve sorted it all out with Hopper. Say you found the gold and took it straight to him, and that he fucked off with it.”

  “Yeah, and there seems to be a lot of stuff that I have to do here. What are you actually going to do in all of this?”

  “I’ll get my hands dirty, don’t you worry about that.”

  Danny raised his eyebrows, but kept schtum all the same. “Right, well I’ll let you know if I decide to go through with it.”

  Tommy nodded his head. He shook Danny’s hand and walked around to the driver’s side of his car. “Don’t forget, the fight is in two days’ time, so everything will need to be sorted out by then.”

  “Are you out of your fucking mind?” Moray Garner fingered the six-inch scar that ran down the side of his cheek, as he walked across the dance floor of the Ilford Palais. The thick, puckered line was smooth to his touch. Hot on his heels was Danny.

  “This is a good opportunity for us.”

  “No, Danny, it’s not. Now, we know that Carter has the gold. We go straight to Freddie, no fucking around. Let him deal with the little bastard. He’s given us untold grief this past week, and deserves everything he gets coming to him.”

  “Yeah, I know he does, but let’s be honest here, you’ve been saying for a while that you want to break away from Freddie and run your own doors. And this would be your perfect opportunity to do just that.”

  “Yeah, until Hopper ends up killing us or Freddie finds out, and we end up being fed to the pigs, or thrown in the Thames. Either way, we’d still be dead. You can’t pull off something like this, mate. It’s too big.”

  “I think we could do it, and Tommy Carter thinks we could do it.”

  Moray burst out laughing. “I should have fucking known his name would come up. Of course he thinks we can do it, he wants the gold. What the fuck is wrong with you, Danny? Can’t you see what’s going on right underneath your nose, or are you actually on a death wish or something?”

  Danny shook his head. “Of course I fucking ain’t. C’mon, Moray, I need you in on this.”

  “What do you need me for? You’ve got Tommy Carter.” There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

  “C’mon, Moray. I trust you. Carter on the other hand, I do not trust.”

  “Then why the fuck, are you dealing with him?” Moray held up his arms exasperated. “Surely your gut instinct has gotta tell you something? You know what my motto is? Trust no one, even the devil himself …”

  “Was an angel once.” Danny finished off Moray’s sentence.

  “Got it in one.”

  “I know. It’s just, this would be the perfect opportunity to get rid of Hopper. You know what my thoughts are when it comes to that cunt.”

  “Yeah, I do.” Moray thought through Danny’s request. There was no love lost between his best mate and Hopper, and it had almost come to blows between them on numerous occasions. He shook his head, and continued to make his way toward Freddie’s office. “I’m sorry, mate. It’s too much to ask of me.”

  Danny took a deep breath. He closed his eyes for a moment, then spoke. “If you go to Freddie, and him and Hopper look into where those guns really came from, I’m dead anyway.”

  Stopping dead in his tracks, Moray slowly turned to face Danny. He raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean by that?”

  “It was me. I supplied them to Carter, but I didn’t know he was planning on robbing here. I swear I didn’t.”

  Moray cocked his head to the side, unsure if he’d heard the man right. “You sold them to Carter?” There was more than a hint of surprise in his voice. He took a step forward, stabbing his finger toward Danny. “You were the one who sold him the guns, and you’ve just watched me travel half the fucking country looking for the supplier?”

  “What was I supposed to do? I’ve been trying to get the gold back.”

  “I missed my son’s fifth birthday, because I was sent on a wild fucking goose chase, and you knew all along it was you?” There was disbelief in Moray’s voice. “You’re un-fucking-believable, do you know that?” He gave Danny a cold stare. “I can’t fucking believe this! I can’t believe what I’m hearing. What the fuck is wrong with you, eh?” He took a step forward, the anger inside him bubbling to the surface. “Why the fuck, are you even dealing behind Freddie’s back?” Moray spat out the words.

  Shamefaced, Danny looked to the floor. “I’m sorry about your boy’s birthday, okay, but I was desperate. I was trying to cover my tracks, and I wasn’t even one-hundred percent certain it was Carter until today.”

  “But you thought it could be, have I got that much right? You thought it more than likely was Carter, and you still watched me drive all the way to fucking Manchester, putting my own life at risk in the process, for fuck all.”

  Danny looked around him, checking that no one else could hear their conversation. He could feel Moray’s anger seeping out of him, and he put his hand up in a bid to calm his mate down. “I’m sorry, mate, but you know Freddie as well as I do. And you know he would have put a fucking price on my head, if he’d found out it was me. Without a second thought or a backward glance, he would have had me finished off. And do you wanna know what’s even more fucked up about it all? He would have ordered you to do it. That’s how fucked up and sick he is in the head.” Danny pointed his finger to his temple. “He would have got a kick out of that, and we both know it.”

  Despite his anger, Moray nodded his head. Danny was right. They both knew Freddie well, having worked for him since they were fifteen. Without a shadow of a doubt, he knew the older man would have put a price on his best mate’s head. No matter how valuable t
hey were to their boss, they weren’t indispensable. He sighed, as he gave a little shake of his head. “Tell me what I have to do, but I’m warning you now, if this backfires on us, I’ll come after you myself. Freddie and Hopper won’t even get a look in, am I making myself clear?”

  “Crystal clear and cheers, mate. I owe you one.” Danny’s shoulders sagged with relief.

  Reluctantly, and against his better judgement, Moray nodded his head. “Yeah, you fucking do, so you better hope and pray this goes to plan.”

  If it had been any other man who’d spoke to him the way Moray had then, Danny would have buried them long ago, bringing further proof of their closeness. He clapped his hand on Moray’s shoulder. “I’d best arrange a meeting with Carter then, eh?”

  “Yeah, you do that.” Moray sighed. One way or another, Danny McKay would be the death of him, of that Moray was certain.

  Mark Hopper walked out of Gatwick Airport with a wide grin spread across his face. He made his way toward a black Sierra parked outside the arrivals entrance, and shook hands with the owner.

  “Hello, mate, long time no see. Did you have any problems getting through security?” Jason Moore asked.

  “Nah, was a piece of fucking piss.”

  Mark threw his holdall on the backseat, before climbing into the passenger seat. He lit a cigarette, inhaling the smoke deep into his lungs, before exhaling lazily through his nose.

  “So, where to first?”

  Mark was thoughtful. “Do you know of a Carter family? They come from over Barking way?”

  Jason nodded his head. “Yeah, a boxing family, good little fighters they are and all. I’ve seen them fight a few times.”

  “What about the eldest one, Tommy Carter?”

  “Yeah, I know who he is, fuck me that boy could box I can tell ya. I’m surprised he didn’t make it as a professional, threw it all away apparently. The Barking Boy they call him now.”

  Mark threw Jason a sideways glance, confused.