Type II - The cat in the car park.

Chapter 4-8

2012-06-10T13:30:00.001-07:00

Gandhi said - Manliness consists not in bluff, bravado or lordliness. It consists in daring to do the right and facing consequences whether it is in matters social, political or other. It consists in deeds, not in words. Well I was about to throw my manliness to rabid dogs.

I parked the bike about a mile from the casino in a backwater alleyway, I stood shaking from head to toe staring at the gun in my hand, adrenaline was pumping though my system, my heart was pounding and I was sweating like a pig as the realisation of what I had just done hit me. I moved the gun around looking at it, I'd never even held a gun before, was it loaded? I knew from films, they did something to the gun before firing it, but more than that, not a thing. I pointed it into the air and squeezed the trigger slowly, flinching and closing my eyes I pulled a little harder....nothing...was it empty? was it broken? At this point it didn't really matter, I stuffed the gun into the back of my waistband and pulled my shirt over it. As I walked towards the casino I actually started to calm down, I thought about what I was going to do walking through every moment, every word and every gesture in my mind. I walked into the main reception and up to the concierge, "Mr Brown, I'm here to see..." Before I could finish he pointed to the managers door in the corner. I stood for a while outside listening, I could make out 2 voices coming from within. Now was the time, I pulled the packet of notes I had taken from Martins bike and held it in my left hand, reaching behind me I pulled the gun out out with my right, I gently tapped on the door with the barrel if the gun.

As I expected one of the new bosses goons opened the door just a crack, I pushed the barrel of the gun against his chest at the same time forcing my foot into the door jam. "Back up!" I said quietly but forcefully, "hands where I can see them." I continued as he backed into the room with his hands slowly raising above his head. I knew he was dispensable so I spun round and pointed the gun at the new boss, he was a huge fat sweaty man, I walked behind him pushing the barrel of the gun to the back of his head. "Now" I said calmly "this is what is going to happen." I threw the bundle of money on the desk in front of him, "this is yours." I said "I recovered it along with several kilos of green from one of your runners." I paused to give him time to respond, "ok" he said, in a lot calmer tone than I would of liked. "I say recovered," I continued "because by now, if I hadn't of stopped him, he would have been half way across Europe with your money and weed, now I don't know about you but I think that deserves a reward, don't you?"

He picked up the money and threw it at his goon who caught it and started to look closely at it, after a few seconds he spoke, "Martin." He said. This confused me, how did he know that? The boss stood up and walked to the drinks cabinet, pouring himself a drink he started to talk, "2 things, Mr brown." He said sipping a big glass of whiskey, "1 we mark all our payment cash, I mean we don't want it back in the casino, it's dirty, and if it does turn up we need to know where it's come from and 2 the safety is still on your gun." As he said it his goon pulled out a gun and pointed it at me. My mind was racing, I needed a way out and it had to be good...

Chapter 4-7

2012-05-10T08:37:00.000-07:00

It is said that a Leopard can not change its spots, and I’m glad about that, but man however, can change for all sorts of reasons, man can change for love, for faith, for his family or because something inside him snaps…

I’m not completely sure when I snapped, but I know it happened after I spoke to Martin, I was about half way back to the casino when he passed me on the motorway, I sped up and kept up with him and followed him into the service station. I pulled up along side and took off my helmet, “We need to talk.” I said as menacingly as I could, he looked panicked and tried to put his keys back into his bike to start it, I grabbed his arm and pulled him towards me, nearly sending him and the bike into a tumble, “I need answers.” A said raising my voice “and I need them now”. Martins head dropped and he nodded slowly climbing off his bike, I snatched the keys from his hand, “These” I said shaking them in front of him, “You can have back after we have talked.” We entered the café and sat down as we ordered some coffee’s he suddenly changed, leaning back in his chair he started to laugh, “I’ll give you your answers.” He said in a low tone, “But you have to know, it’s not because you want them it’s because you are a newcomer and I remember what its like, and I’m in charge of this little impromptu meeting not you.” He unzipped his jacket to just show me what looked like the top of a hand gun tucked under his arm. Instead of worry or panic or even just down right scared, I was angry, I have no idea where it came from, but I was. I leant forward across the table and he leant forward to meet me, “OOO big man.” I said sarcastically, “Let’s all play guns shall we? Threaten me again and we will really see who’s got the balls, I’ll rip your fucking head off and shove it up your arse, and I don’t need a gun, I’ll do it with my bare fucking hands, get it?” I rested back in the chair, basking in his shocked look, “Now maybe we can be civil?” I said calmly.

We talked for nearly 2 hours, he told me that I was working for a gang running drugs, this much I had worked out, however I didn’t know that the casino was a front for the money laundering and the gang, although big was still nothing compared to some of them, they had about 60 people on the payroll, not including those working legitimately in the casino. The last boss had been in place for about a year, and had slowly run it into the ground, he was only interested in his own profit, he had come to his unfortunate end after the new guy had usurped him and the new guy had big plans to make the gang bigger and richer than ever before. From what I could gather the new guy had learnt his lesson from all the other bosses and had surrounded himself with lots of bodyguards and very rarely met anyone. I didn’t tell him I was off to meet him; I was starting to learn to keep information close to my chest. He stood up, “Where are you going?” I asked. “To the toilet.” He replied, “Is that ok with you.” I nodded, after a few minutes I followed him into the toilets he was washing his face, in one smooth movement I grabbed his collar and smashed his head as hard as I could into the sink, his body dropped to the floor like a sack of coal, he struggled reaching for his gun, I kicked his hand as hard as I could hearing the bone snap I knew he wasn’t going for that again, kneeling on his chest I reached in and pulled out the gun. Still kneeling on him I put the barrel in his mouth, “Tell anyone what happened here.” I said sternly “and I’ll find you and kill you, kapish?” I knew from the fear in his eyes, he wasn’t going to be a problem. I stood up and put the gun in my pocket, as I left the toilets I called a café worker, “Excuse me” I said politely “I think someone’s had an accident in there, you might want to call an ambulance. They thanked me and ran in to the toilets.

As I stood at my bike I realised I still had Martin’s keys, I opened his top box, inside was £2,000 in cash about 4 kilos of weed and some ammo, I transferred the lot to my bike and headed back on the road, I avoided the motorway and used the back roads. As I travelled though the country lanes, I could not get rid of the rush from what had just happened, the only way out of this was to stamp my authority on the gang, to make sure they knew they needed me and then I could leave without any trouble, a plan was hatching but to kick it all off I needed to get to the casino and fast, just in case Martin beat me to it…

Chapter 4-6

2012-04-20T04:35:00.001-07:00

Learning to tackle boredom is one of the best things we can do, there will always be times in life we will be bored, time where there is really nothing to do, time where we have to wait, whether we like it or not…

I approached the address with some trepidation, I was angry and scared, part of me just wanted to run away there and then, what did he mean? ‘Your ours now’… his voice just kept running around in my head. I knocked on the door and it was opened by a tall skinny man in his mid forties, he ushered me in and closed the door, he led me through to a lounge with a sofa and a TV, he pointed at the sofa, “Wait!” he said abruptly, I sat down and, to my surprise, he left. I sat on the sofa for about ten minutes, scared to move in case this was some kind of test, then I got up the nerve to have a look around. I was in a flat, 2 bedrooms a kitchen and a bathroom and apart from the sofa and the TV it was unfurnished. I found a kettle and some coffee in the kitchen and made myself a drink, wondering back to the sofa I tried the TV, it was dead. Hmmm all I could really do was wait, I laid on the sofa turning the last few months events over and over in my head, I still couldn’t quite see how I had got here, a few years ago I was working for Rolls-Royce, I had a girlfriend, mates, money and a life, now I was stuck here under threat of my very existence. I was tired and as the waiting continued I drifted into a restless sleep.

I woke to the sound of footsteps outside the door, I jumped up and tried to compose myself, it was dark, I had been asleep for 7 hours and now it was late, hearing a key in the lock increased my anxiety, the door flew open with a crash and a small fat man barged in. he was carrying several cases and was sweating, he kicked the door shut behind him. “Good, Good.” He said excitedly, “Your still here.” He dropped all but one of the cases on the floor and sat on the sofa. “Right” he said in a hurried tone, “All hell has broken loose and we need to get you back on the road.” He seemed quite pleasant. I sat beside him and introduced myself, but before I could finish he raised his had “bub bub bub” he said silencing me “I don’t want to know, from now on.” He continued, as he reached into his case, pulling out a raft of documents. “You are Mr A Brown.” I was confused, “Er, I don’t get it.” I said hesitantly. He put all the paperwork on the floor and headed to the kitchen, I followed, still not sure what was going on. “We have had a takeover” he said as he was preparing 2 cups of coffee, “That guy you spoke to this morning and his right had man, have er shall we say gone?” “Gone?” I repeated, “Yeah, Gone.” He said back as he made a chocking sound and drew his thumb across his neck. “We have someone new in charge now and he wants to do things differently.” I leant on the kitchen cupboards, still a little confused. “Who’s in charge now then?” I asked, “Ah, now you will meet him all in good time.” He said, “But for now let’s get you going.”

We sat on the sofa and he handed me a passport with my photo but in the name of Antony Brown, then he gave me documentation to a new bike that was apparently out front. He gave me the keys, “you are to head back to the casino in Edinburgh.” He said, “There you will be given your next job to do.” I took the keys and paperwork and stood up. “What happened to the old guy?” I asked. “Ooo” he said raising his eyebrows, “its questions like that, which will get you into trouble.” He stood up, “If you want my opinion keep you mouth shut and just watch and listen.” I got my leathers and helmet on and headed out front, hmm, I thought a ZZR1100, nice. I mounted the bike and headed back, not knowing what was coming next, I thought I was nearly at the end, it looked liked it was only just beginning…

Chapter 4-5

2012-03-28T09:50:00.001-07:00

The thrill, it’s said, is in the chase, not the capture. In this case it was my capture I was trying to avoid and it was no thrill…

I was doing about 110mph when I first noticed the blue lights in my mirrors, “Shit” I shouted out loud, I slowed down and pulled over onto the hard shoulder, panic starting to rise in me, I was carrying about £70,000 worth of drugs in my bike panniers. The police car stopped behind me and the two officers got out, I started to make the kind of gestures to make them think I was removing my helmet, as they approached the back of the bike I dropped in to gear and pulled away as fast as I could, pulling the front wheel high into the air as I did, the bike landed with a crunch and I could see the policemen running back to their car in my mirror. I focused on getting away as I hit 130mph, dogging in and out of the cars all I could think about was dumping the bike before they called in the helicopter, I hit north London within a few minutes and sped down a narrow alleyway, I pulled over, my heart was racing 19 to the dozen as I detached the two panniers and pulled off my helmet and leathers. Grabbing the panniers I ran down one alleyway then another, not really taking note of where I was, just trying to put as much distance between me and the bike, I stopped exhausted and lent against a wall dropping the panniers to the floor, I was hot and sweating. I slid down the wall and rested for a while, I lit a smoke and thought about my situation, I was so close, I only had 3 more deliveries to go and I would be clear of these people, I started to asses what to do next, the panniers were a dead give away, I opened them and put everything in one of the briefcases that were in there, “there” I said “That’s a little less blatant.” I stood up and tried to smarten myself up, sweeping my hair back and mopping my brow with a tissue, “Now, just keep calm” I said to myself, “They didn’t see your face and the bike is registered to your old address in London.” I stepped out of the alleyway and onto main road, it was busy, that was good, I thought, I headed for the delivery address.

It took me about 2 hours to walk to the place and as I approached it dawned on me that I had no wheels now, how would I do the last 3 deliveries? I knocked on the door, I had never delivered here before and didn’t really know what to expect, the door was answered by the bosses gorilla, he smiled, as best he could, and gestured for me to go in. I walked into the front room of the house, it was thick with smoke and people were sitting around smoking, drinking and playing cards. One of the card players point to the kitchen and I walked in, the boss was standing there with a coffee in his hand, “Ah” he said cheerfully “My delivery boy.” I put the case in front of him and he opened it and took out the two big bags, he threw one to the guy playing cards and he started to open it and split it up. “We have a problem.” I said nervously, the boss turned away from me and topped up his coffee from the pot, “I know.” He said. How could he know? I was less nervous now and more confused. He smiled at me and opened one of the kitchen cupboards to reveal a police radio scanner. “They have lost you!” he declared “Well done, its not often a new boy gets away, I’m impressed.” I could not quite believe they were listening the whole time, “Don’t worry.” I said, “The bike is registered to my old address still.” He laughed and shook his head, “Oh no!” he said knowingly “Your bike is registered as scrap, that’s probably why they pulled you.” “What?” I stuttered “Yes.” He said still laughing “We did it as a precaution.” Suddenly I was angry, they put me in this situation, and they risked me when I was helping. “Bastard!” I shouted as I lunged at him ready to rip his head off but was held back by his gorilla who had slipped up behind me.

He spun me round and punched my in the stomach and threw me onto a chair, holding me down the boss leaned over me, “Now” he said menacingly “You did well, but don’t let it go to your head, you still have 3 more jobs to go.” He handed me a piece of paper. “Go to this address and wait, your ours now, but play your cards right and this could all work out for the best for both of us, we get a good rider and you don’t die in an unfortunate accident. Get me?” I nodded and left, I wasn’t scared anymore I was bloody angry, once again it was time to wait…

Chapter 4-4

2012-03-15T11:16:00.001-07:00

Ralph Waldo Emerson, an early nineteenth century American essayist, poet, and leader of the Transcendentalist movement, said “Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” …

The problem with this philosophy is that unless you really make a change, nothing ever happens, we can convince ourselves to the end of the world, that we are changing that we are doing things ‘Different’ but the truth is we are still stuck in the rut we were in yesterday, last week, last month or even last year, Why? Because it’s comfortable that’s why. I sat in the kitchen of the rented flat, fully dressed in my bike leathers with my helmet on my lap, waiting for the door to knock, I didn’t know what to expect, all I had to go on was the note under my door late last night, it simply said ‘Tomorrow, 10am.’ It was typed and on plain paper. I looked at the clock for the millionth time, expecting somehow for the hands to go quicker, but they didn’t, it was 5 to 10. As I sat there all I could think about was my tomorrows, they would be better, after I had paid off these idiots I would make a change and start afresh, I put my helmet on the table and walked to the sink, I felt sick, physically sick, I wanted not to be doing this I wanted to be back down south with my friends working a 9 to 5 job with pensions and benefits, how did I get here? Then, there was a knock at the door, I walked to the door, I was visibly shaking and my hands were dripping with sweat almost slipping of the handle as I opened the door.

I was confronted with a tall thin man wearing a suit, I obviously look confused. “Your supposed to ask me in.” he said curtly, I murmured a sorry and waved to him to come in and he walked in as though he owned the place and sat on the sofa, placing a briefcase on the coffee table he reached into his inside pocket and pulled out an envelope. I joined him at the table still wondering what happened next, “Don’t say much do you? Oh well never mind. This!” he said, waving the envelope “Read it and follow the instructions. Clear?” I nodded, “Good!” he said cheerfully, and he headed to the door, “Wait!” I said, in raised tone, “what if I need to contact someone?” he sighed and walked back over to me, “A newbie eh, thought so.” He said sarcastically. He placed a hand on my shoulder, “You read the instructions in the envelope and follow them exactly, if you can’t do that don’t bother coming back here.” He said menacingly “Kapish?” once again I nodded, he turned and left. I sat on the sofa and nervously opened the envelope, inside was £200 in cash and instructions, I was to deliver the briefcase unopened to the address on the paper and that was it, I knew it was too late, I had to do it. I pulled on my gloves and helmet and picked up the case, it was light, very light; this confused me as I was kind of expecting drugs, but if it was it was very light. I put the case in my top box and headed off down the motorway.

It took me about 4 hours to get to the address in London, I parked the bike up and found the door, nervously knocking my fears started to raise there head again. The door opened and a woman in her mid 30s stood before me, “Delivery.” I said, holding the case up, “Come in.” she said most politely, I walked in and as I passed her she took the case off me, following me into the front room ,she placed the case on the table and opened it, “Coffee?” she said, I nodded. As she left the room I took a peak into the case, it was full of paperwork, receipts, account books and chq stubs. Maybe this was just a courier job after all, I started to relax. She came back in to the room carrying 2 cups, “Have you been paid?” she asked, “Yes, thank you.” I replied. We drank our coffee in science and I left. It was a funny trip back, I don’t really remember it, all I could think about was if I had thought badly of these people and all they were trying to do was help? Either way I now knew I could get through this and soon I could start again…

Chapter 4-3

2012-03-08T13:05:00.001-08:00

Have you ever heard of Harry Houdini? Well he wasn't like today's magicians who are only interested in television ratings. He was an artist. He could make an elephant disappear in the middle of a theatre filled with people, and do you know how he did that? Misdirection. – Swordfish (2001)

I sat quietly in the chair waiting for the next move as the managers ape walked over and stood beside me, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a flick knife and opened it by my ear, I jumped in the chair and he sniggered. The light bounced off the blade as he waved it in front of my face, you could see the sharpness of the blade, then without warning, he flicked it over and caught the blade still right in front of my face and passed it, handle first, to the manager. The manger took it, “Do you like cheese?” he said as he started to cut the tape on the package I had delivered, the question confused me, “I like cheese.” He continued, I just nodded nervously as the penny dropped, I had been carrying cannabis, I wasn’t completely up on the subject, but one of my friends smoked it and he used to buy a type they called cheese. I watched intently as he continued to unwrap the package, as he peeled away the layers I started to get more and more nervous, sweat was running down my face and my heart was pounding 19 to the dozen. Slowly he removed the last layer of cling film to expose a block of cheese, it looked like Stilton, and it definitely smelt like it. The manager got up and poured himself a large glass of port, sat down, and with the knife cut a large chunk off the block. My nervousness changed to confusion, I just sat there not quite knowing what to say as I watched him sip his drink and eat his cheese. After a few minutes he dusted himself off and leaned forward, “Now” he said, almost in a friendly tone, “Martin tells me you can handle 2 wheels.” I shrugged, the sweating returning, he continued, “and you can be trusted, otherwise I wouldn’t be enjoying this rather nice Stilton, so with that in mind, we have a proposition for you.” I watched as his ape took the knife and wiped it clean, my eyes darting to his just for a moment to answer “Go on.” I said.

He stood up and walked over to the drinks and poured me a whisky and gave it to me, he then rested back in his chair and gestured to his ape, he whispered something in his ear and the ape nodded and left the room. “I’ll come straight to the point.” He said “You owe us a considerable amount of money.” I nodded, there was nothing else I could do, and there was no point in arguing in this situation. “And” he continued “we could find a way of, shall me say, working the debt off.” He had my attention; as far as I was concerned I had no idea how I was going to pay them back anyway so I might as well listen. “Carry on.” I said, the shake in my voice still blatantly obvious. He got up and lent on the desk in front of me, “You deliver some packages, just like you did here.” He said, “And after a few weeks we will write off what you owe, oh and we will throw in some spending cash along the way.” I took a sip of my drink to try and gain some composure, “How many weeks?” was the only question that came to mind, I didn’t want to be tied to these people for ever. He laughed and sat back down, opening the file they had on me, he pondered and started to bash out some figures on his desk calculator. “You know” he said in a surprised voice, “I think I’m going to like you, you deliver 30 packages and we will give you £100 for each one and after the 30th your debt to us will be paid.” I lent forward and put my glass on his desk, my mind was racing trying to make a decision, “Can I think about it?” I asked. “Oh yes!” he replied, turning sinister “You have 30 seconds.” I grabbed the glass back and took another drink trying desperately to look and keep calm, but failing miserably. He looked at his watch, “TICK TOCK.” He said. I was stuck; “Ok” I said “I’ll do it.” He smiled and stood up offering his hand to shake, I shook his hand and stood up, it was only then I noticed how short he was, no wonder he needed the ape by his side I thought. “Go home.” He said “we will be in touch.”….

Chapter 4-2

2012-02-29T13:05:00.001-08:00

Albert Einstein once said “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.” I was running into the most stupid thing I had done so far, and I couldn’t see it….

As the miles disappeared all I could think about was money, getting it and as quickly as I could, I had to get this monkey off my back and fast. I was doing abut 110 mph when I realised that after 250 miles my fuel would be getting low, ah, time for a pit stop I thought as I passed the 1 mile sign for the services, at the 300 yard mark I dropped to 90 and moved into the middle lane, I found a gap between two lorries and slipped in between them onto the slip road and gently eased on my brakes to slow for the rather nasty bend I knew was approaching, a bike ahead of me was doing the same thing, the road was greasy from the light rain that had passed through and I was aware of the dangers, suddenly, from nowhere a car darted across all three lanes, across the reservation and into the slip road not more then 10 feet in front of me. I couldn’t brake any harder or I would loose control, but I was rapidly heading for his back end and a crash at this speed would not be nice, I checked my blind spot and pulled hard on the throttle, dropping down two gears I pulled the bike to one side as the front wheel left the ground and I skilfully threaded the bike, on its back wheel, past the idiot of a car driver, the front wheel hit the ground with a thud, it then dawned on me I was going to fast for the corner. I had no choice but to take it at speed, and as the bike lent into the corner I could feel the tarmac rubbing against my leg, it took all my strength to pull the bike back upright and slam the brakes on to gain some control and posture, but, I did it, I could not quite believe it but I did, I continued slowly to the bike parking area and pulled up along side the bike that was ahead of me a little earlier.

“MAN!!!” he shouted “That was awesome, where did you learn to ride like that?” He walked over to me with his hand out to shake mine, “I’m Martin.” He said, I shook his hand and introduced myself, it was then I recognised him, he was the guy in the lobby of he casino, “Seriously, though dude” he continued, “Those are some mad skills.” I didn’t have the heart to tell him it was just luck so I shrugged and tried to look cool about it. “Didn’t I see you earlier this morning, in the casino lobby?” I asked gingerly, he nodded lighting up a smoke; I took the offer of a smoke and lit up with him. “Yeah,” he replied as he took drag of his smoke “I’m a courier for them, and we could use someone like you.” I shook my head “not going to happen” I replied, “Let’s just say, I owe them a few quid.” Martin laughed and threw his smoke of the floor, he put his arm around my shoulders, “So did I.” he guided me into the services, “Let me buy you a coffee.” He said, “And I will tell you how it works.”

I watched as martin pulled away on his bike, the words he had just said ringing in my ears, if I courier for them they would write off my debt, just like they did for him and pay me for the job, it sounded to good to be true, but did I really have any choice. I opened my top box on the back of the bike and looked at the small brown package Martin had given me to deliver, then I opened my wallet and looked at the £200 he had given me to do it. I slammed the box shut and mounted my bike, I could do this, just for a few weeks, get back on my feet then get a proper job, no worries, I thought. Martin had made me memorise the address and as I knew London well I was there in no time, it was the sister casino in London, I parked and entered the main lobby; I walked up to the reception, “err, I have a delivery for Mr Green?” I asked nervously, the man behind the desk pointed at a door in the corner, I nodded and walked over to the door and gently knocked, “Enter” came the voice from within, the strange thing is I recognised it; I walked in to see the manager of the Casino from Edinburgh and his ape standing behind the desk, I had been set up. His trained gorilla took the parcel from me and ushered me into the chair. What was coming next I could only guess….

Chapter 4-1

2012-02-23T12:18:00.001-08:00

You know the minute someone says, No offence” you know they are going to offend you; the same applies with “We don’t want this to be a problem.” You just know it’s going to be an enormous problem; I had an enormous problem…

I stood outside the casino, reading through the account statement they had sent me, how could this be possible? How, in two weeks, did I suddenly owe them £120,000.00? I walked in through the double doors, still head down reading the letter that came with it, it wasn’t threatening but at the same time it was, it was very cleverly written and in the last paragraph, those words, underlined, ‘we don’t want this to be a problem.’ Not looking where I was going I bumped shoulders with a man in the lobby, he was carrying a crash helmet and seemed in a hurry, he caught my eye as I looked up, “Sorry mate” I said hastily, he nodded and rushed out of the door. I continued to the managers office and stood at the door like a naughty school boy, all the emotions and feelings of being back at that first school came rushing through me like a shiver, I had it all planned out, I would go in and explain that they had already had everything I had in the bank and I would pay the rest off as soon as I got work, I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. One of the huge bouncers opened the door and gestured me in, I stood uncomfortably while the manager finished his phone call, while he was still talking he waved his finger at the chair in front of him, I sat down and the bouncer closed the door behind me. I was sweating and my heart was pounding as the bouncer walked up and stood behind me, I could hear his shoes creak as he settled into position; the manager finished his call and got up. He walked over to the filling cabinet and lifted out a file with my name on it; he sat down and started to read through the file, not saying a word, just mumbling every now and then. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, oh God I was scared, and then suddenly he shot up onto his feet, making me jump in my chair. “A Drink!” he said loudly, walking over to the drinks cabinet he poured himself a brandy, “Large whisky. Isn’t it?” he said shaking an empty glass, all I could do was nod.

He handed my drink to me and sat back down, “Now.” He said quizzically “What to do?” I cleared my throat and started to talk, “Well.” I said shaking in my seat, then I felt the huge ape like hand of the bouncer on my shoulder and I looked back at him, he placed his finger over his lips, “Shh, just listen” he whispered. That was it, everything I had planned slipped from my memory, I thought I was scared before, now it reached a new level, my palms were dripping with sweat and my heart was charging like I had just finished a race, I twisted and turned in my chair as he continued talking. “Now, we are not unreasonable.” He said smiling conceitedly, “We are not expecting you to pay this today, let’s say you have 24 hours, and then you can pay it in full.” I obviously looked panicked as he started to laugh, the bouncer joined in, he smiled and sat up in his chair, “Joke! Joke” he said still laughing, “We know you need more time, so you have 5 days.” “5 days!” I spluttered. “Yes.” He replied, “Then it gets sent to our collections department.” I felt the big apes hand come crashing down on my shoulder; I could feel his breath as he whispered in my ear, “I’m the collections department.” He said with a low threatening, but somehow gleeful tone. He slipped he hand under my arm and hard into my armpit, lifting me to my feet he dragged me to the door. Still smiling he opened the door and pushed me out, “See you in 5 days!” he said and slammed the door shut, I could hear them talking and laughing as I walked away rubbing my bruised shoulder.

Outside I stood by my motorbike and looked through my wallet, I had enough money to get to London, there I could sell my bike, that was worth at least £15,000 I would get a job and pay them what I could, some money would be better than nothing, I thought as I mounted up and headed to the petrol station. As the miles got eaten up down the motorway all I could think was, I need money and I need it fast…

Chapter 3-10

2012-02-07T13:08:00.001-08:00

The dawning of realisation is often blurred by our own selfish ambition and drive for OUR life to go OUR way, the me, me, me in all of us cries out for recognition of what we do, not for selfless reasons but for that one point where someone acknowledges our efforts and our existence, no matter how futile that might be… dam fate, dam it to hell…

I stood in front of the cash machine at the bank, my card hovering over the slot, should I do this? I walked away from the machine for the forth time and sat on a nearby wall, I really could not understand how I had got to this point, I had lost everything in a week, slowly but surely my cash had dwindled to nothing, but I had money in the bank just sitting there, another few hundred wouldn’t matter, would it? I sat thinking about everything that had happened, about that fantastic night with Olivia, I would have to get my money and status back if I was going to stand any chance of winning her back, after I didn’t turn up on our date. That night, time just ran away with me, I had an hour to go, and then, Bang! It was 3 hours later; by the time I had finished the hand and got to the bar she had gone. I had left her messages with the front desk, but no reply came, she had probably heard about me loosing all my money, I had to show her I was a winner! I marched up to the cash machine and withdrew £1,000; it was all I could take out each day from the machine, I stuffed it in my pocket and headed back to the hotel, I had been asked to leave the suite too, this was my last day and unless I could win, I was out and skint. I pulled on my tuxedo and got the lift down to the casino.

As I approach the HRC the doorman stood in front of me, “Good afternoon sir.” He said politely, “Could I see you membership card?” I stopped, a little confused, never before had this been asked. I handed him the card indigently, he examined it like it was a forgery and muttered to himself, “Is there a problem?” I said impatiently. He lent forward a looked me square in the eyes, “Just wait there please sir.” He said in a low foreboding tone. He disappeared out one of the back doors, leaving me standing there like a Muppet, didn’t they know I was the big winner, this was not on. After a few minutes he returned with the manager of the casino, “Ah Sir,!” the manager said in a cheerful tone, “I’m sorry to have to tell you, but there is a minimum £5,000 buy in tonight, and we are just making sure all our customers are aware of that.” He stood there grinning ear to ear. I was devastated, I grabbed the wad of cash from my pocket, “I have £1,000.” I said, my tones getting ever more desperate, “And that’s all I could get out of the machine, I have money I just can’t get to it.” I waved the receipt from the cash machine in front of his face, desperately pointing at the available balance. I had to get in; they had to give me a chance of winning again. The manager took the receipt of me and looked at the balance, a big grin spread slowly across his face, “Why didn’t Sir say so.” He said gleefully, “We would be happy to extend you a line of credit.” He whispered in the doorman’s ear and he stepped to one side to gesture me in. That was more like it, I thought, a bit of respect.

As I entered the table room the manager was already talking to the dealer, the dealer nodded and smiled at me, pushing a pile of £20,000 chips in front of me, within minutes a young girl had brought me a drink and a cigar, I rested back in the chair, lit my cigar and sipped my drink, while I waited for the next hand to start. So it wasn’t over, I was still in the game and this time I was going to win, I wasn’t going to walk away from this table until I had won back every penny I had lost. As the cards hit the green felt in front of me I felt a sense of control again, once more I was back where I should be. I lifted up my first cards of the evening, it was 2 Aces, oh yes this was just getting better and better, I thought, and as the round of betting started I could feel my heart racing and the palms of my hands started to sweat, what was wrong with me? I wasn’t like this last time; I was calm and laid back, at this rate everyone will know what hand I have. I started to panic but then it dawned on me, last time I was playing with winnings, this time it was my own money, this wasn’t fear it was excitement, and I was loving it……

Chapter 3-9

2012-02-02T13:27:00.001-08:00

There are several stages to sleep, there is REM for example, there are also several stages to waking up, and I was at that stage just before you are really aware of what is happening, you know, that stage where your brain is working, your eyes are open and your ears are hearing, but nothing is really going in….

I laid there staring at the terrace doors, I could feel Olivia next to me in bed and the room was a tip, cloths, glasses and empty bottles everywhere. I climbed out of bed and stood up, my head was pounding and I felt sick, not just with alcohol but with guilt. All I could do was think of Jane, what had I done? I walked into the bathroom and started to run a bath, I stood looking at myself in the mirror contemplating the feeling of absolute betrayal, not for me, but for Jane. I mind was in a mess as I slipped into the hot soapy water, I closed my eyes and tried to reconcile my thoughts, Jane was dead, and had been for some time now, this wasn’t wrong she would want me to move on and it’s not like I went out hunting for a woman 5 minutes after she died, I waited. I sat up in the bath and splashed water on my face, I was right, I just needed to pull myself together, and a session on the tables would do that. I slid back into the water content I was happy with my choices. I was out of the bath and towel wrapped round me shaving by the time Olivia started to stir, I heard he getting out of bed, she walked into the bathroom wearing one of my shirts. “Morning” she said yawning, “Morning” I replied shaving under my chin, I stopped to smile at her, “WOW, what a night.” I said, hoping for an equally optimistic reply, I was not disappointed, “One of the best I have ever had!” She said, grinning ear to ear. There was a knock at the door, “Ah.” I said knowingly, “That will be our breakfast.” I gestured to her to get the door, she opened it holding my shirt closed tightly around her trying to be more modest, and a young man wheeled in a trolley with 2 full cooked English breakfasts, a pot of coffee and a jug of fresh orange juice, I poked my head around the bathroom door, “On the terrace will do.” I said casually, he wheeled it out to the terrace, I gave him a tip and we sat on the terrace eating breakfast. It was Olivia that broke the silence, “Will I see you again.” She said hesitantly, I looked puzzled “Of course you will.” I responded with an indigent tone. We finished our breakfasts and went back into the suite, Olivia pulled her cloths on and we agreed to meet again later that night, we kissed and she left.

I locked the door and sat on the bed with the money from the safe counting what was left, I counted the money 3 times and I couldn’t quite believe it, I had lost and spent £125,000 in 2 days, this wasn’t good, it was time to recover my losses. I walked to the wardrobe and took out my tuxedo and as I was dressing I went over the plan in my head I would take down £125,000 and double my money, then I would be back to the starting point and I would stop and leave the casino for good, buy a house and start a new life. I tied my bowtie and stuffed the money in my inside pocket, this was it, the start of the rest of my life, after tonight I could move on and start again. I headed for the lift and down to the HRC. “Good afternoon Sir!” the HRC doorman said to me as I passed, I nodded and continued to the poker rooms, after looking around I found a table that had chair one available and sat down, I placed the huge wad of money on the table and gestured to the dealer to give me some chips, he counted the money and pushed a large pile of chips in front of me, I threw my blind, £2,000, on to the table and picked up my cards, I had an ace of hearts and a seven of clubs, not the best start, but the afternoon was young and I wasn’t meeting Olivia until 10 after she finished her shift, so I had plenty of time to win my money back. I placed my cards face down on the table and casually lent back in my chair, it was then I realised, I felt comfortable, this was me, this was right I was born to be a high roller and now I was oh life was good……

Chapter 3-8

2012-01-17T09:37:00.003-08:00

I stood in the lift, bowtie undone and hanging loose around my neck, leaning against the carpeted lift walls I was motionless just starting at my reflection in the lift doors, how could this had happened? I had a plan…

The lift stopped and I glanced up to the floor indicator, this wasn’t my floor, as the doors opened I saw one of the hotel staff struggling with several customers bags, he stuck his foot in to stop the doors from closing and started to fill the lift, I moved to one side as he started to talk to me, something about the weather I believe, but I wasn’t listening all I could think about was that last hand. I had played so well all night, I was £20K up! All in on a full house and some one had a straight flush, oh how that hurt, now I was down, the problem was I wasn’t sure how much, I just grabbed a huge bundle of cash out of the safe before heading down for the evening, and now it was 11pm and I was forced off the table. I squeezed past the bags as the lift reached my floor and out into the hallway, as I walked towards my door I decided that I would not be beaten, but I would grab a shower and a drink, restock my money and head back down. “oh dear, You do know that talking to yourself is the first sign of madness.” I heard from ahead of me, I looked up to see Olivia waiting outside my door, I smiled casually and carried on towards her, I stopped in front of her, towering over her, she could not have been more than 5 feet tall, “But!” I said as mysteriously as I could “The line between insanity and genius is oh so brief.” She laughed as I opened the door to my suite and gestured for her to go in, “but which one are you?” she said as she slipped past me. “Ah, I prefer to jump between the two.” I replied lightly. She walked out onto the terrace while I poured some drinks

I took the drinks out to meet her on the terrace; she looked amazing she was wearing a tight tee shirt with Queen on the front and a pair of black jeans, she had let her hair down and it nearly reached her waist, although to be honest that wasn’t far. I put the drinks on the table and sat in one of the wooden chairs while she enjoyed the view. “You can see all the way to the castle.” I said, trying to make conversation, but the truth was I couldn’t stop staring at her. She pointed towards the end of town, “That’s where I live.” She said, “With my friends from college.” I stood up and took her, her drink, she took it and started sipping, “is it a nice part of town?” I asked, she span round and looked thoughtful, “It’s cheap.” She said sarcastically. She walked back into the suite and sat on one of the sofa’s “So!” she protractedly, “What you want to do, go out? Stay in? What?” I sat opposite her on the other sofa, “Have you eaten yet?” I asked not able to stop looking at her, she shook her head. “Then food it is.” I said triumphantly. We both headed for the door, I paused, “You go call the lift, and I will be right behind you.” I said reassuringly. She walked down the hallway and I ran to the room safe, opened it, and grabbed a bundle of notes, stuffing them in my jacket pocket I locked the safe and ran out of the room closing the door behind me, I tried to walk down the hallway as casually as I could, but my heart was racing and my mind doing a million mile an hour, I had completely forgot about the game by the time we left the lift and headed to the main door, I called a cab and we headed into town…….

“Come here,” she said giggling, I leant against the wall and handed her the key card for the suite, we were both quite drunk. She took it and moved it closer to her eyes, then away again, trying to gain focus, she waved it at me “This isn’t a key card.” She exclaimed, I took it from her and looked closer, it was my bank cash card, and we both looked at each other and once again burst into fits of laughter. I patted myself down to find the key card and found it in my back pocket, finding it produced another burst of laughter from both of us. We both stumbled into the room and she headed out to the terrace while I poured yet more drinks, “What do you want?” I shouted out to her, she poked her head around the doorway “We are in Scotland.” She announced, “So it has to be whisky.” And with that she disappeared again. I followed her out with two rather full glasses and handed her one, she took at and with the same hand started to wave a finger at me, “You!” she said drunkly, “You, are an animal!” Now normally I would have been quite insulted by that, but a strange sense of pride started to rise in me, I bowed dramatically “Well thank you mam.” I replied to her. She turned and looked at the Jacuzzi, “Fancy a dip.” She said with a sparkle in her eye, I looked at her, not quite believing my luck, my voice trembled a little, “Did you bring a swimsuit?” the minute I said it I was screaming at myself in my head, YOU FOOL, JUST SAY YES!!! Thinking I had blown it I turned to get another drink, she grabbed my arm and stopped me from leaving, smiling she took a step towards the Jacuzzi pulling me with her, she let go of me and grinned as she peeled off her tee shirt. “Don’t need one.” She said………

Chapter 3-7

2012-01-17T09:37:00.002-08:00

Someone once said “Seeing people change isn't what hurts. What hurts is remembering how they used to be.” I could see myself changing and I remembered how I used to be and it hurt, it hurt like hell…..

I looked up from my plate as the waiter approached the table, he hesitated, rubbing his hands together, “Is everything OK with the meal sir?” He said nervously, “YES. YES!” I replied curtly. I continued to eat my meal, sitting alone surrounded by fine wines and food, like a 20^th century Henry VIII. I took a deep sigh as I noticed the waiter still hovering, I forcefully but quietly put my knife and fork down, wiped my mouth and slowly turned my head to glare at him, “WHAT!” I said in a sharp tone, “Well sir,” he said dancing from one foot to another nervously, “The manager of the casino would like a quick word with you.” I sighed deeply again, “Send him in.” I said, arrogantly, gesturing with my hand to the empty seat in front of me. He left quickly and a few minutes later the manager of the casino walked in, I pointed at the chair and continued to eat my meal. I had spent 5 days at the casino drinking and eating all at their expense, I thought I was so clever, I knew they would try to claw back my winnings, a few thousand pounds worth of room and food was nothing to getting back what I had won and I knew I couldn’t wing this forever, I would have to start playing again, but not roulette, that was a mugs game, I wanted a skill game, poker. “Sir!” He said quietly, “I hope you’re enjoying your stay, and I would like to offer you this unique opportunity.” He leaned forward handing me a gold coloured envelope, I took it and rested back in my chair. Inside was a credit card size membership card for the “High Rollers Club”, this was it!! I threw the card on the table as casually as I could and looked around the room, “Thank you.” I said trying to hide the tremble of excitement in my voice, “I will pop in later.” He left with a smile on his face and I sipped my drink, this was it, I had hit the big time, maybe this money wasn’t a curse maybe it was a blessing, I was getting used to this life. I returned to my room to get some cash I needed a tuxedo, I opened the safe and grabbed a handful of cash, I sat on the bed and counted it £2,000 should buy a nice one. Walking through the main entrance I called the door man and asked him for directions to Edinburgh’s Savile Row after calling a cab I headed off.

“Sir, I’m sorry.” The tailor said apologetically “We need 3 weeks to create such a suit.” I looked at the floor and felt my anger rise, didn’t this guy realise I was rich; he needed to get his act in gear. “So what can you do for me?” I said angrily. He apologised again “Sorry Sir, but the best we can do at such short notice is one off the peg.” I shook my head holding my forehead in a dramatic way. “Oh well, it will have to do.” I said still shaking my head. The tailor ran off to get me a tuxedo. He brought it over and, well, it actually fitted very well, this was it, tonight I was going to walk in to the “High Rollers Club” or HRC as we called it, in my top flight Tux and play the big tables, minimum stake £5,000. I stood looking at myself in the mirror dreaming of scooping up all those chips, a small smile crept across my face. I left the tailors and headed back to the hotel and my room, where I found it being cleaned by a rather cute chamber maid, her name was Olivia and we chatted for a while. She was saving for college and for the first time in a year I had my head turned, she was small and blonde and oh so cute. I threw on my new tux and headed to the HRC, I saw Olivia in the hallway, “Hi,” I said like an errant schoolboy “Listen if you want to join me a for a drink after work, I will be in the HRC.” I said proudly. She looked at her feet and played with her hair, “I’m sorry.” She said “We are not allowed in the HRC.” I was disappointed, but hey think of the money, “Oh well,” I replied “You know my room.” And with that I shot off to the HRC and riches beyond belief……

Chapter 3-6

2012-01-17T09:37:00.001-08:00

Choices are funny things, they are turns in your life, decisions to be made with no real knowledge of the outcome, you see if you knew the outcome of a choice you were about to make, it wouldn’t really be a choice at all. Sometimes we think we have only 2 or 3 choices but really there are dozens, its just that we confine our own minds to satisfy our won selfish desires and though patterns…

“Excuse me sir.” He said, standing directly behind me, I turned my head away from the table to see a small man in a tuxedo, “The management would like to congratulate you on your win, drinks are on the house for the rest of the night.” He continued. I slumped my head slightly and forced a smile. “Thank you.” I replied as politely as I could, he ushered one of the scantily dressed young girls to bring me a drink and she hurried over with another whisky. I casually threw a £50 chip on her tray and her eyes lit up, “Oh thank you sir!” she said excitedly. This plan didn’t seem to be working I had the money, but what to do with it? That was the choice, problem is I didn’t want it, in my mind it was dirty money, blood money stained with the smell of Jane’s death and I just wanted rid of it as quickly as I could. I had spent over £50,000 on renting a posh flat in Portobello, Edinburgh overlooking the beach and in the last 12 hours in the casino I had won all of that back and another £7,000 I just could not get rid of it. I sat playing with the pile of chips in front of me sipping my free whisky, I had a quick count up and decided I would throw it all on one number; I stacked up the chips and waited for the next round. “Place your bets.” Came the shout from the dealer, I could see all the eyes around the table look at me as I picked up the entire stack of £57,000 chips, I leant across the table and as casually as I could said “everything on black 17”. There was a murmur and a gasp that rippled around the table, the dealer paused and pressed a button under the table to call the floor manager, he soon appeared as if he had shot through the floor and stood behind the dealer, they whispered to each other and he looked at me long and hard as I tried desperately to look casual, then, he nodded and the dealer started the wheel spinning, “no more bets” came the shout as I realised there was no going back. A huge crowd quickly gathered around the table as the ball kept spinning and spinning, it seemed to take a lot longer than usual, suddenly the ball started to bounce as it skipped like a rock over water, and then with a thud it landed, there was a silence around the table the dealer looked up, “Black 17” he shouted, everyone around the table cheered, I could not believe it, I had just won a little over £750,000.

Panic started to set in as the manager walked around the table towards me, was I in trouble? I was new to all of this and didn’t know what happened now, he walked towards me with his hand out to shake mine, “Well done” he said, in a surprisingly upbeat way, “if you would like to come with me we will arrange your winnings.” I followed him to the cashiers’ desk where two rather larger bouncers were waiting, panic started to set in again, the manager talked with the cashier then turned to me. “Sir.” He said seriously, “The casino would like to offer you a free room for the night in our penthouse suite.” He turned back to the cashier and took a briefcase from him, he opened it and showed me the money inside, all cash all bound up like in a movie. He closed the case and handed it to one of the bouncers, “These gentlemen will escort you to your suit sir, and have a good evening.” He said, shaking my hand one more time. I was escorted like a movie start to the elevator and up to the top floor where I was given the key to a room I had never seen the like of in my life, it was 4 rooms bigger than any house any of my friends had ever had, there was a huge double bed and a Jacuzzi on the terrace, every room had a TV and the drinks bar was fully loaded and free, I couldn’t believe it, was I dreaming? One of the men handed me the case and showed me how the room safe worked and congratulated me on my win, I opened the case and pulled out a few £50 notes to give to them, but they refused, telling me they were not allowed to accept tips. They left and I locked the door behind them, crashing on the bed, everything I was worried about over the last few days washed away, all I could think about now was the last few hours and all that had happened. I stuffed the money in the safe and poured myself a drink, standing on the terrace I looked across the city, swirling the ice in my glass I thought, I could get used to this…

Chapter 3-5

2012-01-06T14:21:00.001-08:00

"NO NO NO" I replied, my tone getting louder and harsher as I turned my back on Chad and Morris. Chad sighed a deep sigh and turned to Morris, "I give up!" He said, Morris wheeled himself towards me as I stood on the balcony, he placed his hand on my arm and took a deep breath. "I know why" he said thoughtfully, I turned to look at him "you know nothing" I replied spitefully "really?" was his return "I know you don't want to do this because it will finalize the whole ordeal for you and you think it will mean we will all forget Jane." The anger came from nowhere as I span round and put a hand on each arm of his wheel chair, pinning him in, "Don't ever say that!" I screamed at him. I stormed past both of them and out of the room, as I left I heard Morris say to Chad "just leave him." I walked to the beach and sat on the rocks. The real problem here was they were both right, I just didn't want to admit it, you see I was overdue to go to a lawyer and finalize the estate that Jane had left, Chad, at quite some expense, had moved all the files to a local lawyer in Scotland and had made an appointment for me, actually he had made several and I had refused to go to all of them. I sat there for at least an hour turning everything over in my mind, I knew I had to do it and maybe now was the time, I just always got so angry whenever I thought or talked about it, maybe seeing the lawyer would help maybe I could finally move on if I did, it was worth a try. I saw Chad and Morris in the distance walking towards me, I jumped up and walked to meet them, I tried to smile and keep my temper as I spoke. "OK" I said as calmly as I could, "we will go." Chad smiled "I'll get the car" he said and walked off leaving me to push Morris to the car park.

We got to the lawyer just in time for my appointment, as I entered the office I started shaking and I could feel my anger raise once again, I really didn't want to do this but I had no choice, Chad and Morris waited in the reception as I went in to the lawyers office. "Hello," he said "do take a seat" as he shut the door behind me, in a flash for some unexplainable reason I was back in my old headmasters office, the same dread, the same fear swept over me, then the penny dropped, it was the same desk. I tried to reason with myself but could only see those old school days in my mind, he sat down and opened a huge file with Jane's name on it. After putting on his glasses and reading a few pages he looked up at me and began to speak. "It seems, Mr Jones" he started "you are to get everything Jane had, and although this must be a very hard time for you, I have to tell you it is not an inconsiderable amount." I was stunned, this can't be right, Jane and I were skint, yes we saved but we didn't earn that much and we knew what was in each others accounts. He then went on to explain that Jane's job paid death benefits and Jane had been paying for life cover too, when it was all added up Jane had left me £250,000.00. I was speechless, I just sat staring at the cheque, I could not get over it. Then a sense of guilt started to take over, I wasn't going to let this money replace her, it couldn't, it wouldn't.

I left with Chad and Morris in complete silence and headed back to the hotel, Morris was the first to speak. "well?" was all he said, I put my hand in my pocket and threw the cheque at him and once again stormed out of the room, this hadn't helped it had made it worse, I needed time to think..........

Chapter 3-4

2011-12-30T20:25:00.001-08:00

As I sat watching TV I heard familiar voices approaching the room, it was Chad and Morris. I tossed ideas around quickly in my head about how to handle the situation, what approach would have the most impact, I decided I would play it cool. I changed channels as rapidly as I could to find something I might be vaguely interested in, I found it, a documentary on the technology of the second world war. I threw the remote casually across the bed and tried to position myself to make it look like I was not bothered by what had happened. I heard the key being pushed into the lock and the door was gingerly opened, Chad stuck his head around the door and peered into the room. "Your awake then." he said, still not entering the room. I looked up from the bed and placed my finger on my lip "shhhh, this is good" I replied pointing at the TV. Chad opened the door fully and entered the room with Morris wheeling himself in behind, at that point the programme finished and I turned of the TV. I got off the bed and walked up to Chad, he looked nervous and there was an incredible tension in the room, "Please tell me you've got something to eat, I'm starving" I said as though nothing had happened. Chad nodded and shook a carrier bag from a local deli, Morris shut the door and I walked over to the balcony, "So" I said calmly "where are we?" Chad looked up from unpacking the food from the bag, "Scotland" he replied, picking up a sausage roll and walking to join me on the balcony.

As he approached I punched him as hard as I could, square on the chin, Chad fell backwards on to his bottom and the sausage roll flew into the air, I stood over him, keeping calm I pointed at him, "You - Sir" I said firmly "are an arse". Morris started laughing and at that point the tension was broken. I helped Chad to his feet and we all took food onto the balcony to eat, after a few minutes Morris piped up, "you are aware, we had to do something" he said "you hadn't left the flat in weeks" Chad nodded swallowing a mouthful of his now squashed sausage roll, "Mate, your a mess" he added making a beard gesture on his chin. "Maybe" I replied "I was happy wallowing in my own self pity, had either of you thought of that?" Morris wheeled himself back into the room and pulled a kettle out of one of the cupboards, "We gave you time." he replied "but now it's time to pick yourself up" he filled the kettle from the bathroom and put it on to boil. "With all due respect my friend" he continued "you stink, you need a shave and you need to start looking forward." I stood up and walked to the full length mirror on the back of the door, as much as his words stung, he was right.

To paraphrase the author Alex Raffe I had no knowledge that my life had just changed. You seldom sit at a crossroads and know it's a crossroads. But from the realisation of what had occurred my life was not going to be the same....

Chapter 3-3

2011-12-26T11:54:00.000-08:00

The sound of the waves crashing on the rocks came ebbing on the wind through the open window, I opened one eye, my head was pounding and as strange as it seems I didn't recognise the ceiling. Sitting up I held my head and tried to focus on the strange room I had woken up in. I was lying in a large double bed in a tastefully decorated room to the left was a set of French doors and they were open and the nets were blowing into the room. I got out of bed and staggered to the open doors, they led to a balcony that overlooked a beach, the sun was strong and made me squint. It's funny but when you loose someone close to you, every morning you wake up and for just a few seconds you forget they are gone,for those few precious seconds the world is ok, then it all comes tumbling down again as you remember they are never going to return. As I stared across the beach and watched the swell of the waves it once again came tumbling down.

Grabbing the rail of the balcony tears started to well and, like countless times since it happened, I started to sob, I fell to my knees and still grasping the balcony rail I cried and cried. After a while, I don't know how long, the tears started to dry. But this time it was different, this time it didn't seem to last as long, I pulled myself to my feet a looked out at the beach, it was quiet a few people walking their dogs but that was about it. The question still remained, where was I? I looked up and down the beach trying to spot a landmark or familiar turn or stretch, but nothing. I returned to the room to investigate further, there was a bathroom and a TV and the bed, apart from that no clues as to where I was, I wasn't to worried as I was convinced that this was the doing of Chad and Morris and they would show themselves eventually. Now it was time to do what I do best, wait and see how this all panned out. I jumped on the bed and turned on the TV laid back and for the first time in weeks found myself focusing on something else....

Chapter 3-2

2011-12-23T15:02:00.001-08:00

There sometimes comes a point in a dream where reality and the world of dreams collide, sometimes they cross over, harmlessly, other times they collide like a wreaking ball hitting a green house. I've only ever had one dream in my life, I've had it time and again but it's the same dream, it never changes apart from one small detail. I'm at my own funeral and the people there are my family and friends, the weird thing is when I was younger some of the faces were blurry, like in a documentary, as I have got older the faces have become clear and they are people I've met over the years, Jane was never there, towards the end of the dream there is always 3 loud bangs, then I wake up. This time my dream collided the 3 loud bangs turned into a banging on my door, I opened my eyes and listened, was it just the dream? There it was again, bang, bang, bang on my door. "Come on mate, open up." Came Chad's desperate tones, slightly muffled by the thickness of the solid pine door, "Don't make me break it down." he pleaded with me. I chuckled to myself just for a second, Chad was strong but even he could not manage that!

"Piss off" I screamed at the top of my voice, suddenly there was an almighty crash as the door flew open and off one of its hinges, pieces of wood flew splintered everywhere, dust billowed and I saw two of the three locks smash against the opposite wall of the room, Chad triumphantly stepped into the room and stood at the bottom of my bed holding a military grade enforcer, you know the type they use to smash down doors in raids. Looking very proud of himself I stared at the enforcer with a puzzled look, then we both looked knowingly at each other. "Morris." we both said in unison. He dropped the enforcer to the floor and walked back to the door, "I've gotta get myself one of these." he said laughing, but I was in no mood to join in, I pulled the covers over my head and hid. "Come on mate," he repeated " we are really all worried about you, you need to get out." I emerged from the covers and sat on the edge of the bed, grabbing the bottle of whiskey, I started to remove the cap, Chad ran across and snatched it from my hand. "That" he said "is not going to help". I swore at him and walked to the window, I could just about see Morris sitting in Chad's car, I turned to face him. "I understand your worried" I said in the most reasonable tone I could muster, "but really, just piss off and leave me alone." Chad shook his head and put a hand on my shoulder, he looked deep into my eye then in a low tone he spoke, "mate, I'm really, really sorry." I was confused, "for what?" I replied. "for this" was his response. I vaguely remember Chad's fist heading towards me, but that's all, as I hit the floor.

Chapter 3-1

2011-12-05T12:53:00.001-08:00

The smoke swirled up from the overflowing ashtray like a little volcano brewing to erupt, pots, pans, cups and plates sat piled up dirty in the sink and with the curtains half open I sat there wallowing in my own self pity, my world had ended there was no point in anything anymore. This was Saturday, no, this was that Saturday, I should have been saying "I do." about now, but no, my love, my life had been ripped from within me. Jane and I were nobodies, you see when Someone famous dies the whole world morns, but for me the world carried on as mine ground to a full stop. I forced myself to my feet and walked to the window, lighting another smoke I stuck my head through the curtains and squinted at the brightness of the day, not really looking at anything all I could think of was the words of the doctor. Jane had a tumor, the headaches were the first warning signs and I did nothing about it, oh Jane was stubborn, but I should have dragged her to the doctor. I crashed back on to the bed staring at the ceiling, the blame for this loss fell squarely on my shoulders, I could never forgive myself for this I had lost my love and it was all my fault.

I sat up and picked up the whisky bottle and glass from the side, pouring a large glass I sat staring into the clear brown liquid, swilling it round the glass I wanted to cry, but didn't know if I could cry anymore, my eyes were stinging like hot coals and my stomach was turning and churning I felt sick and tired, my mind kept going over and over and I didn't want to think about it anymore, why wouldn't it just stop? Suddenly like a wave rising up the beach anger overwhelmed me, standing up I threw the glass at the wall, screaming at the top of my voice I collapsed on the floor surrounded by the shattered glass, holding my head in my hands the tears came again. I hadn't slept for 3 days, I couldn't every time I tried all I could see was her face, I could still smell her in the room.

I crawled on to the bed and curled up on the bed, grabbing her favorite jumper I sobbed myself into a restless tumultuous sleep...

Chapter 2-10

2011-12-01T13:51:00.000-08:00

"Oh here he comes" was the call from from the lads in the Rolls-Royce paint shop as I crossed the shop floor to the office, "The condemned man, only one more week till the ball and chain are attached." They continued in unison. It was 8:30am Monday morning and I had already had a fake ball and chain in my locker and a picture of me with a giant thumb on my head stuck to my back, but it was all in good fun. This coming Saturday I was going to marry Jane, and most of these guys were coming, 200 guests! How did that happen? But it's what Jane wanted and that was fine by me. I fell into my chair in my office and fired up the only PC in the factory, part of my job was to plot where all the cars were and in what state of build, it entailed walking round the massive factory at least 5 times a day and at the moment I was having trouble concentrating, all I could think about was whether we had covered everything for Saturday.

I was sitting for only a few seconds when my radio burst into life, "Could you report to the trim shop" came the call from my boss, I grabbed my radio and sighed before replying, "On my way!" I snapped, all I wanted was 5 minutes to catch my thoughts. I made the walk to the trim shop not really paying any attention to what was going on around me, as I entered the shop floor I nearly had a heart attack. "SURPRISE!!!" the whole of the trim and paint shop shouted, I looked round to see a banner with the word congratulations across it and a table laid out with food and drink, it was a lovely gesture as all the lads had clubbed together to give me a proper send off, you see today was my last day, as I had booked 4 days holiday before the wedding so I could get everything organised.

One of the lads put on some music and we ate and drunk, it was a great atmosphere the manager had given us 3 hours to have a little party and we were going to make the most of it, then my heart dropped, I spotted a police woman talking to one of the trimmers. I hated strippers and I thought the guys knew that, I dived into one of the offices to try and avoid the embarrassment. As I closed the door she caught my eye, dam! I thought, it was then I noticed there was a policeman too, what were they thinking? I couldn't hide so decided to try and talk my way out of it and waited in the office to join me, where maybe I could reason with them.

As they entered the office the policeman spoke first. I don't remember the exact conversation, maybe I don't want to, but Jane was dead. She had left for work with me and died at work, I didn't, at this stage, know when or why just that they needed someone to identify the body and I was the contact they had been given by her employers. I left with them to head to the hospital....how did I feel? Just numb.....

Chapter 2-9

2011-11-20T02:40:00.000-08:00

"I just won't" Chad said sternly, "I look like a pimp." Both Morris and I laughed loudly, Morris wheeled himself towards Chad. "Ah you look lovely." he said, winding Chad up even further. "That's it!" Chad shouted as he ripped the jacket off and stormed to the other side of the shop, I turned to Morris and frowned, "stop winding him up" I said, trying not to laugh. We had three weeks to the wedding and this little spat was over the colour of the suit lining, now admittedly it was bright purple paisley but it's what Jane wanted and for peets sake it was only the lining. I walked over to Chad and put my arm around his shoulder, trying not to laugh I lowered my tone "mate" I said in a long protracted way "I know your paying for the suits, but I implore you, please let her have this one." Chad looked at me angrily, "you my friend" he said jamming his finger into my chest "owe me, big time." I smiled and nodded at the shop attendant, we were set, only shoes to get and they were next.

The next problem on the list was the car, Jane was set on being taken to the church in an old model T ford. We had an issue with this as it wasn't the money it was actually getting hold of one. Jane was getting stressed, "Have you even tried!" she screamed at me while throwing a pile of clothes on the floor. "Yes dear." I replied in a somewhat sarcastic way. Jane looked at me in that way she did when she was about to yell, suddenly her faced changed as she crashed to the bed holding her head. I rushed to hold her, "What can I get you" I asked quietly she pointed to the pain killers on the shelf, I got her some. These migraines were getting worse, her biggest fear was one happening on the wedding day. She took the tablets and I cuddled her on the bed, the silence was broken by a knock at the door.

I opened the door to find Chad standing there with a big grin on his face. "Hi mate, come in." I said quietly make a shush gesture with my finger to my lips. He looked at Jane sitting on the bed and pointed to his own head with a knowing look on his face, sitting next to Jane he gently put his arm around her, she smiled as he whispered something in her ear. I closed the door and he waved us both to the window, looking down we were confronted with Morris in his wheel chair waving frantically. "I don't get it" I said "what are we looking at" then Morris did that motion all good game show girls do when showing the prize, next to him, parked, was a fully restored model T ford. Jane's face lit up, "How?" She said. "ah!" Chad replied "Morris knows a guy.....".

Chapter 2-8

2011-11-03T20:33:00.000-07:00

I saw Chad's face at the window as I pulled up on my motorbike he reappeared at the front door, as I parked my bike in the spot where he gestured. "No Jane?" He asked, "No" I replied, "she is having one of her migraines" we hugged and entered the house. Chad wasn't poor, by anyone's standard, his mum and dad had left him a little over £2.4 million and in the 3 months since the attack he had bought a house and fitted it out for both him and Morris to live in, it was the latest in disabled houses, lifts, rams, moveable kitchen tops the lot and this weekend was the house warming party. Morris wheeled himself from the kitchen to meet me in the hallway, "Bro!" he said in an excited way, we hugged, "you're looking well" I said as I looked around the hallway, "yeah" he replied "feeling stronger everyday!" I smiled and pushed him into the front room. I fell on the sofa and looked around the room, "very nice mate" I said as I was nodding and smiling. I sat and told Morris about Jane while Chad got some beers from the fridge. "Please don't tell me this is all the beer we got" I said shaking my can, "Ah ha" Chad replied "follow me" he lead me to the kitchen where he showed me 24 cases of beer, 30 bottles of various spirits and wine and enough soft drinks to sink a battle ship. "And how many people are coming?" I asked, as Morris wheeled in behind me "about 10 or 12" he replied. After a good look round the house people started to turn up, Chad and I passed out drinks as Morris put some music on, it was Friday night and literally the party was just getting started.

I opened one eye to see nothing but wood grain, suddenly panic set in as I realised I couldn't move, I was surrounded by darkness and a stench so bad it was making me heave. I tried moving my legs, nothing, then I heard voices. My first thought was I've been buried alive, I started to shout at the top of my voice but could only muster a feeble yell, it was then I noticed a small chink of light to my right, maybe I wasn't buried, maybe I was still just in the coffin, they have made a mistake, I was still alive! I pushed my hand to the right and to my amazement the walls of my coffin moved, in fact they felt a lot like beer cans and crisp packets, I turned my head, that's when it dawned on me, I was under a bed! I wriggled out into the daylight my throat was dry and my head was pounding. Chad was asleep with a girl in the bed I was under, it turned out I had fallen asleep on his bed and he wasn't happy so he rolled me off and pushed me under, as a joke. I tip toed my way through the various sleeping bodies on the floor and down the stairs where I was greeted by Morris, passed out and upside down in his wheelchair! I woke him, straightened him up and went to get his medication, but both lots for Saturday and Sunday were gone, I spun round in a panic and ran back down the hallway to find a copy of the Sunday paper on the door mat. Chad was halfway down the stairs we all looked at each other and laughed. It took another 12 years for me to get back just some of my memories from that weekend, even Jane's nagging, for disappearing for 2 days, didn't help. But man, what a party.......

Chapter 2-7

2011-10-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

I felt her warm small hand slip into mine on the bed sheets, I opened one eye to see her sit in the chair beside me, I lifted my head off the bed and rested back in the chair. "Coffee?" she whispered as she passed me a plastic cup with some form of hot brown liquid in it, wasn't sure if it was coffee, but hospital vending machines are never good. "Thanks" I whispered back she smiled and squeezed my hand, Jane was worried I could see it in her face, "you've been here 3 days, go home get some sleep." she said quietly. "no" I snapped "I'm not leaving him." she didn't take it personally, she knew I hadn't slept since it happened, apart from the odd hour in the chair by his bed. I looked across the ward and saw Chad coming in door we nodded at each other and he carried a third chair to the bed side. "No change then." he said I shook my head and stood up to stretch, leaning over Morris I whispered I'm his ear, "Come on mate, we are all here for you." he looked so frail, pipes were up his nose and in his mouth, wires everywhere and machines bleeping.

The last 3 days had been a whirlwind, police interviews, doctors reports and question after question, we still didn't know who had stabbed Morris or why, what we did know is that his spine had been severed and he was in a coma. The doctor had no idea how long he would be in the coma, they had operated on him, but until he woke up we didn't even know the extent of the damage. Chad stood up and walked round the bed, "mate." he said resting his hand on my shoulder, "Go, get some rest." I looked at him and Jane I knew they were right, I stood up and hugged Jane, "come and get me if anything changes." I told her, she nodded. Chad had rented a room in a hotel near to the hospital so we could be there for Morris, both Chad and Morris didn't have any close family left we were all he had, I took a stroll through the park and back to the hotel. I got the keys and started the slow walk up the stairs to the room, I closed the door fell on the bed and drifted into a deep, restless, haunted sleep.

I woke to the sound of Chad hammering on the door to the room, I jumped up and ran to the door opening it I saw Chad dripping with sweat, "He's awake." He said breathlessly. I grabbed the key to the room and we both ran to the hospital. When we got there Jane met us in the corridor, "They are looking at him now" she said "we can see him in a minute." We all nervously waited for the doctor to meet us, after about 10 minutes he came out. We all looked at him expectantly, "Well" he said, in that tone all doctors have, "He's awake, unfortunately the knife severed his spinal cord, to put it bluntly, he is going to be confined to a wheelchair for the foreseeable future." Jane burst into tears and Chad turned to face the wall, not wanting to show his, all I could feel was an overwhelming sense of both anger and hurt. Why? Is all that kept going through my head. The doctor did say more, I didn't hear it. We all pulled ourselves together and went back to his bed side, he was awake but grogy.

In one day, one night, one hour, one incident all our futures had changed forever. Nothing was going to be the same againn.

Chapter 2-6

2011-10-24T13:08:00.001-07:00

The sound of music filled the air and chatter bounced off the walls, Chad took his shot on the pool table and straightened up, "I'm just saying," he said "I couldn't do it, be with one woman for the rest of my life." I stood up to take my shot "That's because you haven't found the right woman yet." I replied bending down to eye up my last ball to pot. "Here here" Morris chipped in from across the room on the fruit machine. "See" I said gesturing with my pool cue towards Morris, "even brains agrees with." Chad grinned he knew how much Morris hated that nickname. I played two shots and won the game, swinging the cue around in a cocky fashion I smiled, "that's your round again I think." I said ushering Chad towards the bar, I looked across at Morris, "come on your up." Morris walked to the table, "are you actually going to buy a round tonight." He said indignantly, I laughed and replied "are either of you two actually going to win a game?" I finished my beer as Chad brought fresh drinks to the table, "And" I continued "I'm celebrating." "Celebrating!!" Morris said loudly "you've been celebrating for 3 weeks." I laughed and started the game.

We all sat at a table as I got in the last round of drinks for the night, Chad leaned back on his chair and looked confused. "I'm still not sure" he said "can you have 2 best men?" I rolled my eyes and looked at the ceiling, "Yes" I said sharply, "there is nothing in the rules that says you can't, you two are equal to me and I'm not going to start choosing." Chad lent forward and crossed his arms on the table, "but who's going to do the best mans speech" he said, before I could answer Morris butted in, "You are." he said in a firm way. "There you go" I said "all sorted, Morris can hold the rings and you can do the speech." Chad smiled, "ok, I give in" he said sarcastically "you win. Now are we heading back? It's getting late." Both Morris and I nodded as we rushed down the last of our beer. We all stood up and placed our empty glasses on the bar and headed out, we always did things in the same way, not deliberately it's just the way it went, Chad always left first to unlock the car then me and Morris always came out last and as usual we were the last out of the pub.

"Just getting some smokes" I said as I paused in the entrance lobby at the machine, Chad left and Morris side stepped around me, I put the money in and pressed the button. Suddenly an almighty scream pierced the quiet night air I turned but could only see Chad running back from his car, he was waving franticly at me to come out. I ran out of the main doors to find Morris slumped on the Tarmac in a pool of blood, I dropped to my knees beside him and could see in the light from the window a large knife sticking out from his back I went to pull it out then hesitated, looking up at Chad I screamed "call an ambulance!" he ran to the pub and banged on the doors. I lifted Morris's head and rested it on my knee, "Stay with me bro." I said trembling in a mixture of fear, anger and worry "help is coming." I pulled my jacket off and wrapped it around the blade in an effort to stop the bleeding I could feel the warm blood running through my fingers and his heart pounding against me. Chad returned "I've called" he said, he looked stunned, "I don't get it" I said looking up at Chad, still holding the blade, "what happened?" Chad could hardly speak, "I don't know," he said, his voice trembling "this guy came from nowhere and stabbed him!" We heard the ambulance coming and I leant down to Morris's ear, he was drifting in and out, "stay with us brother, helps here" I whispered, the ambulance swept into the car park and the paramedics went into action.

I stood up and looked at the blood on my hands and cloths, someone would pay for this, pay hard.

Chapter 2-5

2011-10-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

As I laid in bed looking at the cracks in the ceiling plaster I realised that if I got the answer I wanted today I would be next to this woman for the rest of my life and I couldn't think of a better outcome. I turned to face her, she was snuggled up under the covers, all I could see was her nose and one eye poking out. I'm surprised really that she hadn't worked out something was going on, I've never been good at keeping surprises, it's not that I can't it just shows on my face, I think it's because I'm a big kid at heart and want it to happen. I had waited 4 weeks to spring this surprise on Jane and now the time had come.

I slid out of bed and put the kettle on, it's funny even now putting the kettle on brings back memories, Jane was terrible about saving money, and buying the kettle caused an argument, she wanted to keep the saucepan and I had to show her using maths that in the long term the kettle would pay for itself. I smiled to myself as I stirred my coffee and sat on the window waiting for her to wake, it was her first Saturday off for weeks and I wasn't going to disturb her till she was ready. I was finishing my coffee as the voice came from under the covers, "What time is it?" She said in a yawn. "Half ten." I replied walking over to the bed and sitting on the edge, "Sleep well?" I asked as I stroked her hair. "Yeah, not bad" she replied.

Jane loved nothing more than window shopping, truth is I do too, still to this very day I can happily wander around the shops, so she had no idea what was in store when I answered her next question. "What we doing today?" She asked as she sat up in bed and took her coffee off me, "Well.." I responded in a casual way, "I thought we might go for a gander down Oxford street." She smiled and immediately sat on the edge of the bed, "Sounds good" she said "let's go." Within 20 minutes she was up, dressed and we were out the door. We both got our helmets on and got on the bike, I loved that feeling as she climbed on behind me and slipped her hands around my waist and that little squeak she did as I revved up to pull away, see I had upgraded now and was driving a big 750cc, she loved it.

We parked behind Oxford street and started to walk down past all the shop windows, I stopped outside the Debenhams, a big department store she liked, her favorite in fact. "Wanna go have a look?" I said, while my brain was screaming, please say yes, please say yes. I pulled her gently to the door, she didn't resist. We walked through the store to the central escalators, "How about we go to the top, to the cafe, grab a coffee then have a look round?" I suggested. She smiled and grunted a yes, too distracted by the shoes on display. We rode two sets of escalators then on the middle set Chad caught my eye, then Morris, this was it everything was set. Chad and Morris both hit the emergency stop buttons and both sets of escalators came to a halt, Jane and I were bang in the middle. "What's happened?" She asked. I turned her to face me and pulled a ring box out of my pocket, I could feel everyone on the escalators staring at us, I dropped to one knee and took her hand.

She started to grin and go bright red as a started to speak, "Jane" I said, my voice trembling, "I love you more than words can say, will you be with me forever, will you marry me?" next was what seemed like the longest pause in my life, she put her hand on my cheek and smiled, "Of course I will" She replied. Everyone nearby cheered as the escalator restarted to take us to the champagne lunch I had arranged at the cafe. I could not stop smiling, Chad and Morris joined us, there was laughter and lots of hugging, the ring fitted perfectly and life was good. I had two best friends and a woman who adored me, life wasn't good, it couldn't get any better.

Chapter 2-4

2011-10-13T04:31:00.000-07:00

"Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young." - Baz Luhrmann, Sunscreen. This good bit of advice served me well, you see I had kept in touch all these years with Chad and Morris, through letter and phone we had never lost touch. Our friendship had grown and grown over the years and often, quite sadly, referred to ourselves as "The 3 of us", sad? Yes, but we were young.

"No, I won't do it" I said firmly, "it is probably illegal." Chad rolled his eyes in that, 'you woos' kind of attitude. "Don't roll your eyes at me!" I snapped, "I'm just saying, it will spoil it if I end up getting arrested, or worse." Chad got off the bed and walked to the window, "Well if we don't it's gonna be kinda pointless." he said. Morris, being Morris, was sitting quietly on the floor. We balanced each other perfectly as friends, I was the muscle, although I hadn't hit anyone since school, with a long term steady girlfriend, Chad was the good looking loud one, with a different girl every time we saw him and Morris he was the quiet gentle one and he was single. We sat in silence for a while trying to think of a solution or alternative, it was Saturday and the 3 of us had been racking our brains trying to think of the perfect way for me to pop the question to Jane, we had 4 more hours left before she was home. Suddenly Morris broke the silence, "There is an alternative." he said knowingly. We both turned to face him, Morris didn't speak much but when he did he liked the dramatics, he slurped his coffee and rested his head back on the wall, Chad made a circular motion with his hand to get him to hurry. “AND!!” both Chad and I said in unison. “We could always do it above board and just get permission.” He said. Chad and I looked at each other in a knowing but strained way, Chad was the first to reply, “We would never get permission for something like that, people might get hurt.” I nodded in agreement. Morris stroked his beard and smiled, “You say that,” he said in a cocky way “but I know this bloke.” Ah, there it was, Morris always knew a bloke, he never talked about it, but if you wanted to find someone to do something Morris knew him.

After finalising a few details we rushed off to Chad’s car, it was the usual set-up Chad driving me shotgun and Morris stretched out across the back seat. Chad drove a fully restored 1978 4 litre Tickford Capri, it was fast but there was not much room in it, but it suited Chad’s style. We arrived at our destination with only 2 hours before Jane was home and rushed into the building. Morris disappeared into one of the offices while I waited outside with Chad, after a while Morris appeared with a man from the company. “All sorted.” He said with a smug grin on his face. The man walked over and shook my hand, “I’m pretty sure we can help you out son.” He said smiling, he put his arm around my shoulder and guided me to the big window that looked down onto the main floor, he continued “So you give me a date and a time, and I will clear it with security, sound good?” I pointed to the most central point, “There!” I said with conviction, “That’s perfect.” The man smiled, “No problem.” We started chatting about what I was proposing when Chad piped up, “Sorry to interrupt guys but have you seen the time.” He said tapping his watch. I grabbed his wrist, we had 20 minutes to get back and make it look like nothing had happened, then it dawned on me, I had left the ring out on the side. We made our apologies and ran to the car, like a mad man Chad got us back in just under 20 minutes, as we pulled around the corner I spotted Jane walking up the steps to the front door. “Stall her!” I screamed, Chad slammed the car into the kerb and we all jumped out, Morris ran to the front door calling Jane, she stopped and turned, just missing me and Chad running around the back of the building. Morris thought quickly on his feet and had picked up a packet of smokes from the car. “Hi Jane.” He said casually, “Hi Morris” she replied “What you up to?” Morris waved the packet of smokes back and fore, “Oh just popped to the shops for the lads.” He smiled and offered to open the door for her, “You really shouldn’t let them boss you around you know, let them get their own smokes.” She said in a motherly way. He continued to delay her as Chad and I franticly climbed the fire escape to our window. I dived in the room and grabbed the ring, throwing it to Chad he stuffed it in his pocket, I threw myself on the bed and he grabbed the kettle, just as Jane and Morris walked through the door.

The deed was done and the scene was set and she didn’t have a clue...