Human Conditioning (27 page)

“Aiden, come. Look at these!”
he urged enthusiastically. The other men stepped back as Aiden approached the
table. “These have just come in from Germany. This is a
Walther PPK double-action semi-automatic
, used
by the military police in World War II. ” He lifted one of the three hand guns
that were laid in boxes on the table and held it up, turning it around between
the tips of his fingers with fervent admiration. “It’s fit with a silencer, to
reduce the noise of the shot...” he added zealously.

Kamal passed the gun to Aiden.
He took it with care and his wide eyes studied the device with admiration. Bearing
in mind the length of time he’d worked for Kamal, he had never actually held a
gun before. The words said to him when he was a child came back to him: ‘Guns
aren’t for men, they are for cowards”. Grant O’Donoghue had said that to him.
He dashed the memory away. That had been a different time. The streets had
changed and were always changing, rapidly. It had become more and more obvious
that a gun was the weapon of choice in their world and, in all honesty, Aiden
was relieved to be finally jumping on the bandwagon. “It’s impressive,” he muttered
in awe.

“I thought you’d appreciate
it... I want you to have it.” Aiden stared at Kamal, his lips curling up into a
roguish smile. Kamal was serious all of a sudden. “On two conditions...” he disclosed.
“Firstly, you use it only when I instruct you to use it.”

Aiden twisted his lips. “Go on.”

“Secondly, you do not tell
anyone
that we have these. Do you understand?”

“Yeah... ’course,” Aiden
replied. “That goes without saying...”

“Good.”

Kamal took the gun from Aiden
and placed it back into its box. Turning to the three strangers in the room, who
Aiden noticed he hadn’t been introduced to, Kamal nodded and they seemed to
understand that this was their cue to leave. They left in silence.

Kyle began packing up the
guns, as Kamal prepared drinks in the kitchen. “So, when do I get to shoot
somebody?” Aiden asked with a shred of amusement.

“You don’t,” Kamal replied,
pouring a shot of vodka into two crystal glasses.

“Oh.” Aiden looked bitterly
disappointed.

Kamal smiled to himself. Aiden
was an eager son of a bitch, he had to give him that! Walking the drinks into
the lounge, he placed them on the now clear coffee table and settled into his
leather armchair. He gestured for Aiden to sit, and he did so on the couch
opposite as usual.

Kyle took one of the glasses
and downed its contents in one then announced, “I’ll see you later.”

Kamal nodded and watched his associate
leave before his caramel eyes fell onto Aiden. He took a deep breath then declared,
“Using weaponry such as a gun is not our preferred way of fighting our battles.
But times are changing, and unfortunately many that we choose to battle with
are armed and therefore needs must...” he tailed off with a shrug then added, “But,
guns are for cowards, Aiden.”

The irony of Aiden’s recent
reminiscence didn’t escape his notice. “You sound like my uncle Grant,” he
muttered, lifting his glass from the table and taking a large gulp of his drink.

Kamal pursed his lips and added,
“We shall use them only in defence...”

“You used one at Billy Wyatt’s
that time... you must remember putting a bullet in me uncle’s head... not to
mention the other three you ruthlessly blew away,” Aiden responded tersely.

Kamal’s eyes narrowed, but he
ignored Aiden’s quick temper, as he usually did. “We knew Billy had a gun. I
couldn’t risk going in without one of my own. The others? Well, they were
witnesses that I couldn’t afford to keep alive. But my point is, if we do not
need a gun, we do not use one... understand?”

Aiden nodded reluctantly.

************

Kate Foster sat nervously on the edge of the couch in the
living the room of her home as her mother flitted about the kitchen as usual. Duggie
was sitting in his armchair watching the television and was in one of his
infamous strops. Vivien had insisted that he stay home that afternoon because
Kate and Adam Draper had an announcement to make.

Kate was waiting for Adam to arrive.
She glanced at the clock: 5:55pm. Adam was expected at 6pm and he never failed
to be on time. Adam hated lateness. It was part of his exceptional work ethic –
a work ethic that had finally got him the position of project manager with a
national building firm he had been working for for the past year. He had been
working in his new role for a few weeks now and was getting paid handsomely. Kate
was very proud of him. He was so independent and grounded, and this had convinced
her that he would be able to look after her, financially and emotionally, for
the rest of their lives.

Things were so different now
since, what seemed like a lifetime ago, they used to hang around the garages like
children. Staying together had matured them both and Kate now studied hair and beauty
part-time at a local college, and worked weekends at a local hairdresser.

There was a rap at the door
and it shook Kate from her reverie. She jumped to her feet and jogged to the
door. Opening it with a wide smile, she ushered Adam inside. When he entered
the living room, Duggie glanced up from the television and nodded his
salutation. Surprisingly, Duggie didn’t mind Adam, and Kate knew this was the
only reason he had agreed not to go to the pub until they had made their
announcement.

Vivien came bustling into the
room. “Adam!”

She looked from Adam to Kate, eagerly
awaiting their announcement. She was banking on Kate being pregnant. She needed
a project. Aiden had slipped away from her, and Kate spent most of her time at
Adam’s family home. A grandchild would give her something to live for.

“Mum, Dad,” Kate began. “Adam
and I are moving in together! We have just put a deposit down on a flat in
Shoreditch!”

Duggie switched off the
television and rose slowly from his chair, his leg hindering him as usual. He limped
up to Adam and held out his hand. Both Kate and Vivien glanced at each other,
surprised by this unexpected gesture – the switching off of his beloved
television being the biggest surprise. Adam took Duggie’s hand and shook it
with a firm handshake that conveyed his masculinity. Duggie smiled awkwardly,
then limped off to the kitchen.

There was a moment’s silence
as both Vivien and Kate recovered from Duggie’s unfamiliar display of interest.
Vivien was the first to speak. “Congratulations, to the both of you,” she crooned,
but there was a melancholy behind her grey eyes.

Kate gave her a sympathetic
smile. She understood her mother’s reservations. She didn’t want to be left completely
alone with Duggie. And in that moment, by the expression on her face, Kate
realised just how much her mother had always relied on her company in order to
cope with her cantankerous bully of a husband.

Gina’s heart somersaulted when she opened the door of her
flat to see Aiden leaning against the balustrade of the walkway, dressed in an
expensive charcoal suit, smoking a cigarette. He looked dapper, truly
exquisite. They hadn’t spoken for over a week following the last video shoot at
Ashley’s house.

Though as ever thrilled to see
him, she leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms in indignation. But
before she could speak, he distracted her by holding up a set of car keys and
twirling them around his index finger, exhibiting a full-on mega-watt smile.

He looked so damned happy with
himself, and she had to try her best to conceal the fact that her icy demeanour
was already thawing by how wonderfully jovial he was being. “What have you
nicked this time?” she asked, a twitch of a grin threatening to form on her
lips. “Take a look for yourself.” He threw the keys at her and she caught them
with ease. Stepping out of the flat, she peered over the balustrade and saw a
shiny black Corsa parked in one of the parking bays below. Aiden leant in close
to her ear. “It’s yours,” he whispered with a boyish grin. She turned to him,
clearly surprised. “Really?” He nodded. “Oh, Aiden, you’re the best!” she squealed,
wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling his head towards hers. She
pressed her lips against his and for a moment he responded, then he pulled away.

“Wanna go and see it?” he
asked.

“Yes, please!”

Grabbing the keys for the
flat, she locked the front door and she and Aiden headed down to ground level.
Gina jogged over to the car and gazed inside the window. “Open it up!” he
enthused.

She unlocked the car and slid
into the driver seat, running her hands over the steering wheel. “I haven’t
driven since my test,” she announced nervously.

“You’ll get the hang of it, G.
You always do.”

His encouragement was enough
to thwart her anxiety, and she continued to study the car excitedly as Aiden
let himself into the passenger side. “Are we going for a test drive?”

“In a minute,” he replied.

Gina turned to see that he was
frowning. “What is it?”

“I need to discuss something
with you...”

“OK,” she replied warily.

“I met with Mr Baker last
week...”

“Right...”

Aiden ran his fingers over his
chin, in deliberation over something Gina was soon questioning whether or not
she wanted to know. The familiar stirring of anxiety returned to her stomach
and a little voice inside her head reminded her that Aiden never gave without
the expectation of receiving. The notion was a depressing one.

He went on, “He’s keen for you
to work for him.”

Aiden glanced at her. She
stared at him, trying to comprehend whether he was merely informing her of some
irrational request by this well-known pimp or whether he was asking her to
realistically consider this... offer. And once again, the voice of her
subconscious reminded her that, Aiden didn’t ‘ask’ for anything, not from her:
he ‘told’ her to do things, which was the prompt for her next question. “And
you said?”

Aiden inhaled deeply and
sighed. “I said I would discuss it with you...”

Gina’s eyes narrowed. He was
acting way too guiltily for this to be true. She sighed. “You said I’d do it,
didn’t you?”

He turned his body round to
face her, leaning back against the inside of the car door. “Yes, but listen...”

“I don’t believe you
sometimes, Aiden!”

She went to get out of the car,
but he gripped her arm to prevent her. “You said you wanted out of the videos, and
an arrangement with Mr Baker can guarantee that...”

“So you’re saying, if I do
this, you’ll cancel all future shoots?” she asked, her eyebrows rising with
sardonic expectation.

“Not at first, no...” She went
to leave again. “OK! Look, I’ll sort it. I’ll cancel all future shoots. You
won’t have to do any more videos,
if
you agree to this... it’s worth a
mint, Gina. You’ll be loaded...”

“Yeah, but at what cost?” She
scowled at him.

He sighed. “It’s no different
to what you do now... but this way, you won’t be videoed
and
you’ll be
earning a lot more, trust me!”

Gina relaxed in her seat.
Taking her hand off the door handle, she turned her body round to face Aiden
once more. “How much more?” she asked with her usual greedy curiosity.

Aiden wasn’t about to relay
the full extent of the money he and Mr Baker had discussed, so he replied, “Up
to five hundred a night, four nights a week.”

Gina’s eyes widened a touch.
She was interested and Aiden sensed that. He relaxed against the seat. The
battle was over, and quickly too. It was easier than he’d thought it would be.
Maybe Gina really was sick of the videos.

“Alright,” she announced after
a long silence, as he expected she would. “But I want you to manage this... I
don’t want Mr Baker pimping me out left, right and centre without you knowing
where I am and what I’m doing.”

Aiden smiled and, despite
himself, he couldn’t help but admire how brave this young woman was. “Of
course, baby. I’d never allow that to happen. He wants you to start tonight...”

Gina gulped. “Tonight?”

Aiden took her face in both of
his hands. “Don’t be nervous, baby. Just think of the money.”

************

Gina pulled up outside Mr Baker’s apartment in her new
black Corsa. Aiden had told her, later, after she had agreed to work for Mr
Baker, that she would need the car now that she was a fully-fledged
businesswoman
.
This had made her smile, but she knew he’d really bought it because he didn’t
have the time to keep running her around. Still, she appreciated the sentiment.

When she arrived at the front
door, she was surprised to hear Mr Baker’s voice over the intercom, and when he
let her into the apartment he informed her that Jackie was out for the night.
He asked her to sit down and make herself comfortable, and she did so whilst he
poured them both a drink.

Gina hadn’t been inside the apartment
since their first encounter a couple of years ago, but it had hardly changed:
just a few new ‘arty’ and inevitably expensive paintings on the wall. She was
admiring the décor once more when Mr Baker returned with two glasses of white
wine. He gave her one then settled himself on the armchair opposite the sofa
she was sitting on. He smiled and took a sip of his wine. Gina did the same.
She was nervous. She wasn’t too sure what was expected of her, and she couldn’t
bear to think about her first punter.

She gulped hard then said out of the silence, “Um... am I
working here tonight?”

“Yes.”

She nodded. “When will... um...
my first visitor be here?”

“He’s here.”

“Oh!”

Mr Baker gave her a subtle
smile, then placed his glass on the table beside him. Balancing his ankle over
one knee, he relaxed against the back of his chair. Gina noticed he wasn’t
wearing any shoes or socks. She watched him for a moment, but lost her nerve
and dropped her eyes. He was as alluring and as arrogant as she remembered him
to be, dressed in a cream linen shirt and beige trousers. He had cut his blond
hair. Now, it was short around his ears and spiked on top, accentuating his
square jaw and hazel eyes.

“Are you nervous?”

She took another sip of her
wine before she looked back up at him. “Yes, a little...”

“You really shouldn’t be.” Gina
frowned. There seemed to be an ulterior motive in his words, but she wasn’t
sure what that was. She finished her drink quickly. “Another?” he asked, his
eyebrows rising in surprise.

“Yes, please. Sorry, I drink
quickly when I’m uncomfortable.”

“You’re uncomfortable?”

She gulped. “Yes... knowing my
first punter is in one of your bedrooms, waiting for me.”

Mr Baker stood and
unexpectedly crouched down in front of her. “Your first punter isn’t in the
other room...”

“Oh.” Gina couldn’t hold his
gaze and her eyes dropped again. He was teasing her, like he had the first time
they’d met. Her face flushed with frustration.

“He’s in this room,” he added,
superfluously.

Her eyes shot up to his face,
her mouth dropping into a perfect ‘o’ shape. She was certain he was implying that
it was him, but she was too embarrassed to respond in case he was jesting. In truth,
she would be delighted if her first punter was him. If she were given the
choice to sleep with the very handsome, rich and well-built man before her or
some potentially ugly, fat stranger, she would most definitely dismiss the
stranger.

Mr Baker left the room,
leaving her in deep thought. When he returned, he placed both glasses on the
table by his armchair and stood before her. “Stand up,” he instructed. She
hesitated at first then she stood. “Turn around and put your arms up.” Again,
she hesitated. His eyebrows rose. “Gina, I believe I’m paying you to spend the
night with me.” He looked pleased with himself. Gina gawped at him for a moment,
and when he continued to eye her with amusement, she turned and lifted her
arms.

She felt his hands on her
immediately. Taking the bottom of her vest top, he began slowly lifting it
upwards. “Equally, I am, on some level, your boss, and therefore you have to do
whatever I ask of you,” he whispered in her ear. He pulled her vest up her
body, over her breasts, over her face, and dropped it to the floor, then his
fingers found her back. He expertly unclasped her bra and brushed both straps
from her shoulders, allowing it to fall to the floor also.

Gina concentrated on the wall
before her as his hands moved around to her breasts, but she couldn’t prevent a
quiet moan when he groped her, taking her nipples between his fingers. His lips
found her ear once more. “You won’t always enjoy this job,” he whispered,
clearly amused. “Turn around.” She turned to face him. Her eyes searched his
face as his hazel eyes gazed down at her. His smile grew. “And I shouldn’t be
enjoying my employee as much as I am right now,” he added.

Gina smiled shyly and said, “Then
I guess we’re both bending the rules tonight.”

Suddenly he pulled her towards
him and kissed her hard on the lips. She instinctively slipped her tongue into
his mouth, just like Aiden always did to her. The thought of Aiden amused her.
He would go absolutely ape-shit if he knew what was going on. He was happy
sharing her with men he knew she would loathe. But he knew she was attracted to
Mr Baker and, right then, Mr Baker was enjoying her tongue as it explored his
mouth.

Gina wanted to try something.
Pulling away, she stepped back. He allowed her to do so. He clearly noticed the
subtle smirk on her face and she knew he’d be wondering what she had up her
sleeve. Well, if she was going to start doing this for a living, she may as
well start practising.

Undoing the top button of her
jeans, she pulled the zip down and, tugging them over her thighs, stepped out
of them, removing her sandals simultaneously. Taking the string of her
knickers, she proceeded to remove them, allowing them to drop to the floor also.
“Where do you want me, Mr Baker?” she asked steadily, trying to eradicate any
sign of anxiety.

“Everywhere,” he replied,
suddenly serious.

His expression was carnal, yet
he didn’t approach her. She wondered if he wanted her to tease him and it was
something she was unfamiliar with. Aiden had always been dominant in their
sexual relationship, and on film, it was the same. She had never had the
pleasure of making the decisions and goading her sexual prey.

Positions she had undertaken in the films she’d made
flashed through her mind. She wracked her brain to think of those that had been
popular to her audience. Some things came to mind, but she decided to go with
her instincts.

She stepped around the coffee
table. Mr Baker watched her with intrigue. Pulling the coffee table to one
side, she climbed onto the sofa, kneeling upright with her chest facing the wall.
Spreading her legs apart, she looked over her shoulder to see Mr Baker watching
her intently. “Location one: the couch,” she announced, more confidently.

Instantly, Mr Baker was at her
back. He ran the palm of one hand down her spine, down to her backside and she
heard before she felt the sharp sting as he smacked her hard across the
buttock. She jolted forward as he reared upwards, his lips finding her neck, his
hand moving from her stinging buttock to her breast.

She groaned, but as quickly as
his hand was caressing her breast, he had removed it. She looked over her
shoulder to see him removing his shirt. She gazed at his muscular chest,
totally aware that, though this was effectively a job, her sex was throbbing
for his touch. He quickly removed his trousers and his briefs and stepped up to
her again.

“Hold onto the back of the
sofa,” he instructed. She did as she was told, this time without hesitation. It
was her job, after all.

He spat on the tips of his
fingers and wiped the spittle across her vagina. She responded instantly to
this fleeting touch, then he was deep inside her with one thrust. His lips
found her ear again and he whispered urgently, “I’m going to fuck you hard and
fast, Gina,” and before she could respond she felt him pull his member out and thrust
it back into her. He groaned and wrapped his large hand around the back of her
neck. “Hold on tight and
don’t
fold!” he instructed urgently.

Gina gripped hold of the back
of the sofa as hard as she could whilst he pounded into her, one hard thrust
quickly followed by another. She slipped as his grip tightened around the back
of her neck, and she was jolted forward once more. His thrusts gradually grew harder,
faster, so much so that it was almost painful, and she reminded herself over
and over that this was her job. She was here to please him, do whatever he
wanted. Her arms were already shaking from his weight, but she tensed her whole
body and lifted her backside higher, listening in satisfaction as he groaned
with approval. She was pleasing him and this pleased her. She could only hope
she felt the same satisfaction with her other punters, but she knew in her
heart that that wouldn’t be the case.