Kaleidoscope (3 page)
Chapter 3
Hellam was sitting at his desk with his ear to the phone and speaking with irritation which spilled occasionally into anger. He had dealt with the supplier for years but suddenly the prices for the cocaine shipments had almost doubled and Hellam wasn
’
t prepared to stand such a price hike. The supplier blamed shipping costs and increased risk due to the fact that the authorities were getting a little too close for comfort.
As he spoke down the receiver, Hellam glanced up, seeing
Hellam rarely called his suppliers directly, but certain situations required his personal attention. It wasn
’
t even the rise in the cost of the drugs that bothered him - he could afford it
–
but it was the nagging suspicion that someone was trying to take advantage of him in some way; that was a possibility that he simply would not tolerate.
In spite of his start in life, coming from a wealthy and supportive family, Hellam had always enjoyed power and control; a quality which often caused concern for his family. As a child, he had been in trouble with the police several times which confused his parents who had only ever encouraged him to follow the correct paths in life.
They had been distraught when the police had shown them photographs of their next door neighbour
’
s Spaniel as it hung limply from a tree in a nearby park with a choke-chain pulled taut around its neck. The police had pointed an accusatory finger in the direction of their twelve-year-old son. He had denied it of course and, in-spite of the demands from the neighbour who had seen him steal the puppy from the garden, the police had simply cautioned the young boy since they hadn
’
t got enough evidence against him for further action. His parent
’
s were easily won over; lying was already second nature to Joseph Hellam.
During his later teenage years, he became more adept at concealing his true impulses and learned how he should act around people. He knew that he held a certain charisma; people he met often commented on how charming and affable he was. But deep down, Hellam had simply begun to mimic what he had learned from others over the years
–
not really feeling anything for the people he could so easily manipulate. It was all an elaborate act to get whatever he desired.
While in his twenties, Hellam had abused drugs and alcohol which once again landed him in trouble with the authorities. His family had paid for the best lawyers who managed to prevent any custodial sentences, but he had inevitably ended up with a criminal record. He once again decided that he had to reign himself in and become more intelligent in presenting the image of himself that he wanted people to see. The impulses continued and he would still use the drugs and the prostitutes, but slowly he became more proficient in hiding the darker side of his personality.
When he was twenty-seven, Hellam
’
s father had given him some money and the names of several contacts at a new telecommunications company. His father encouraged him to buy and run the business. Hellam hated being pushed into the role, but found it difficult to refuse the offer of such a large quantity of money.
The company had been set up by two young entrepreneurs with
While running the business, Hellam realised how much freedom it offered him. He was no longer reliant on his family
’
s money and was making a fortune heading the corporation. But the work ultimately bored him and he craved constant and increasing stimulus.
As the years passed by, he used his drug dealing contacts to gradually become involved in several criminal organisations which imported large quantities of drugs to the
UK
, and this in turn led to him to set up several prostitution rackets around the country. H.K. Communications slowly became nothing more than the legitimate face of Hellam
’
s growing criminal empire and he bathed in the power and control it brought him. This other, darker, world allowed him to feed his narcissistic impulses and to become his true self.
But he knew he needed to be clever. His past experiences with the police had taught him to reign in his desires and not allow the impulses to overwhelm his character. He continued to live the life of a successful owner of several large corporations and actively distanced himself from the less savoury areas in which he was involved.
There had been several occasions when the police had managed to get far too close to linking Hellam with a number of drug operations and they were immediately closed down. All ties with Hellam were severed and a number of his employees had taken the fall. They had protested of course, insisting on their limited involvement. They pointed fingers and tried to cut deals, but they had no real proof of anything. They had reported to several intermediaries before ever getting close to Hellam and, by the time the police followed this trail, the substance of their claims had become diluted and weak. The authorities suspected that Hellam was in some way involved in criminal activities; they had even started an investigation at one point, but they had never gained any hard evidence against him.
As the years progressed, Hellam
’
s criminal interests diversified and he gained more employees, creating contacts all over the world. His interest was no longer limited to drugs and prostitution.
He barked down the receiver as he continued to exert his will over the man on the other end of the phone, before slamming it down and looking up to Kelser and Richards.
"These people seem to thrive on their idiocy," he said, then took a long, deep breath which he slowly exhaled before placing his hands on his desk. "So, where are we with the Deacon situation?"
Kelser and Richards had been trying to track down Deacon for several weeks now and Hellam was growing impatient. Again, it wasn't the loss of the money which bothered him; it was the lack of respect that he felt Deacon was displaying.
"We managed to track down his old girlfriend, Claudia," Richards began, checking the details on a piece of paper he produced from his pocket. "But she claims to have not seen him for weeks."
Hellam nodded, "You believe her?"
"Yes. She seems to detest him as much as we do and I don't think she's that good an actress," Kelser replied.
Hellam looked at the two men sitting before him. Richards appeared to be working well with Kelser, who had been guiding him in their practices of work. Richards was a stocky man with a closely cropped hairstyle and his smooth, dark brown skin was always clean shaven. He had been recommended to Hellam just over three months earlier by Gabriel Henson, an associate to whom Hellam sold large quantities of drugs for his various dealing operations. He trusted Gabriel as much as you could ever trust people involved in that line of work, but he had told Kelser to keep an especially close eye on Richards for the first few months. There had never been any noticeable or significant slip-ups and, on the whole, everyone was pleased with the way Richards had been performing.
Hellam had hired Richards since some of the work he had taken on had been getting heavier and he felt that Kelser could do with an accomplice to aid him in his duties. The duties in question were ambiguous at best and even if they had been given a comprehensive and detailed job description, they would have been hard pushed to come up with an appropriate title. The two men were used for intimidation and persuasion whenever it was required - which turned out to be far more often than expected. However, Hellam never used them when a more
definitive
solution was required to sort out a problem. Those special contracts were given to the freelancers. Hellam kept two on semi-retainers
–
hired killers who demanded huge quantities of money for their professional work. There had been a third freelancer he had used, a man whose name he could no longer recall, but who had been found murdered in his house a few years earlier - the result of the risks taken in his chosen line of work Hellam had reasoned after hearing of his death.
Hellam glanced over to the other man sitting opposite him. Sebastian Kelser was in his mid-thirties, of medium height and build, and didn't appear on the surface to be particularly intimidating. But he bore an intense and unemotional demeanour. When he looked at you, he appeared to gaze through, past the eyes, as if he was only interested in what was going on inside a person
’
s head. This, coupled with the large scar which ran down the length of his left cheek, resulted in a man who induced uneasiness in anyone who spoke to him.
Hellam had first met Kelser five years earlier, in an event which had proven fortuitous for both men. Hellam had been in his favourite bar, Jannson's, at the time, drinking with a woman he had met at a charity event the previous day.
The evening had been going well until a man who was clearly inebriated began to bother them. The man, although drunk, still struck a formidable sight with huge muscles stretching his shirt to almost breaking point. Hellam had warned the man to leave them alone, but he had continued to bark profanity and even attempted to grope Hellam's companion. Hellam didn't have any of his usual protection around and felt reluctant to confront the hulk directly - he wasn't a man used to being in such a position.
It was at that moment that someone had suddenly appeared behind the drunken monster and pulled him away from Hellam's table. Hellam noticed the indifference in Kelser's eyes as he had placed an arm around the huge man's neck and wrenched him backwards. Kelser hadn't spoken a word, appearing unconcerned as the muscle bound drunkard spat obscenities in his direction. Kelser twisted the man's huge arm awkwardly and pushed him to the floor, turning the arm against its natural direction. Hellam could remember wincing as he watched Kelser twist and push on the limb of the screaming man, certain it would break at any moment. Kelser eventually let him up while keeping a firm grip on his arm then pushed him from the bar and out onto the street.
Amazed, Hellam watched as Kelser walked back inside and strode calmly to the bar. After a few moments, Hellam called him over and offered to buy him a drink which Kelser had accepted with a thin distortion of his lips. They had spoken into the night which culminated in Kelser disclosing that he was currently unemployed and looking for work. Hellam said that he owned several businesses and was sure he could find a place for him in one of them. The next day they had a meeting in the H.K. Communications offices and he offered Kelser a position low down in the business.
That had been almost five years ago and, as Hellam watched the man in front of him, he thought about how far he had come. Originally appearing unsure of himself, even reluctant in his early work, Kelser had slowly climbed the ladder and had begun to work much closer with Hellam, eventually becoming his personal bodyguard. He had exceeded Hellam's expectations and had now become a valuable asset. Kelser was a difficult man to talk to; rarely showing any emotion, but it was this particular attribute which also made him perfect for the job.
"So where does this leave us now?" Hellam asked, dragging himself back to the moment.
"We went to see a man who Deacon's old girlfriend told us about,
”
Richards said.
”
Apparently he was an old drug dealing friend of Deacon's and would possibly know more. He was a fucking nightmare, completely out of it. But we managed to drag some information out of him." Richards glanced to Kelser then back to his boss. "He said that Deacon was hiding with some other girl who he had been having an affair with for a few months. He wasn't sure of her address but after a bit of hassle we managed to get hold of it. We'll go and check it out today."
Hellam nodded again, "Let's hope we get him. Have you heard anything from Travis? Does he have any more information about Deacon's whereabouts?"
Kelser and Richards shook their heads in unison.
"Well," Hellam continued, "If he doesn't get a little more helpful, he might have to receive another visit." He thought about this for a moment, reflecting on several possible decisions. "See what you can dig up at this slut's place. If he's there then Travis may have a brief reprieve for now."
The two men nodded then stood.
"Inform Langton of how you get on, I'll be in meetings for the remainder of the day so don't contact me."
