Meltdown (10 page)

One visit to the dance floor was enough for Storm to
establish that whatever skills Danny had, they
didn't extend to dancing. He was awful – embarrassing.
It was lucky that the floor was so
crowded and only those unfortunate enough to be
very close got a look at his technique.

As one song ended and another began, Storm
smiled and indicated that she'd had enough. Danny
followed her back towards the VIP area. A second
beer was waiting; he was already feeling a bit lightheaded
but he was enjoying himself.

They found their seats and Danny took a small sip
of the Beck's. He still didn't like it much, but the
club was hot and he was thirsty. He thought about
ordering a soft drink – the last thing he wanted was
to get pulled for drink driving.

'So tell me a bit more about you and your
granddad,' said Storm, edging closer to Danny so
that she could be heard. 'You've certainly impressed
the twins.'

Danny grinned. 'Why d'you wanna know?'

'Just interested. Making conversation. You don't
have to be secretive with me, you know, Danny'

Danny grinned again, hoping that he wasn't
looking stupid, but he couldn't stop himself.
For so long his entire existence had revolved
around one secret after another, and here he was
now with this beautiful girl he hardly knew smiling
into his eyes, telling him he didn't have to be
secretive. If he told her just half of what he'd
been through, she'd never believe it. All that
had happened, from the moment he'd decided to
track down his missing grandfather . . . But that
wasn't why he was here. His job was to get
information.

'Not much to tell, really. What about you? D'you
think you'll go on working for the twins or maybe
move on?'

Storm's face fell, and for a moment Danny
thought he'd screwed up big time. But she was
looking over his shoulder.

'Oh, no!'

'What?' Danny turned and looked back. It was
Albie. He was standing outside the VIP area,
glaring in their direction. He stood perfectly still,
just staring at them. A stare that said everything.

Storm quickly grabbed her handbag. 'We're
leaving.'

'Why? What can he do? They're not gonna let him
in here. And anyway, if he starts any trouble, I can
handle it.'

'You don't understand. I know what he's like. He
doesn't want to fight you, he wants to kill you.'

Danny laughed, thinking back to his training in
Hereford. 'Well, he can try.'

Storm was already standing with her bag over her
shoulder. 'We'll go out through the back door. Come
on, this isn't the time to play the hero – let's just get
out of here.'

'What about your coat?'

'Leave it. Come on!' She moved quickly away and
Danny got up and followed. As they went through
the door, he looked back, but there was no longer
any sign of Albie in the mass of bodies filling the
club.

The door opened onto a narrow alleyway full of
rubbish skips and strewn with discarded fast food
containers. The rain had stopped but the alley was
dotted with puddles.

They turned right towards the lights of the main
drag. Storm's heels clipped noisily on the concrete
as she hurried down the alley; she was scared, very
scared.

Danny was checking behind them as he followed.
Suddenly he crashed into Storm, who had stopped
without warning.

Albie had gone out through the main doors and
was now screaming in fury as he ran down the alley
towards them. 'Not good enough for you, eh, slag!'
he shouted, coming to a stop in front of them.
He pushed his face into Storm's as she tried to back
away.

'I want to go home, Albie! Let me past,' she
pleaded.

Albie glared into Storm's frightened eyes and
made a grab for her, but Danny moved in between
them. 'Leave her!'

Albie didn't even acknowledge him. He was in
another world – a world where chemicals were
attacking his brain; destroying it.

Danny grabbed him around the neck, but
Albie spun round and got his own hands around
Danny's neck, squeezing with incredible strength
as he slammed his victim back against the wall.
He started to bang Danny's head against the
brickwork.

Storm tried to drag him away. 'Albie! You'll kill
him!'

Albie stopped, but only to turn and push Storm to
the ground. She tried to crawl away, but Albie
kicked her viciously in the side, making her scream
in fear and agony.

'Slag!'

The moment of respite gave Danny the opportunity
to leap at the drug-crazed Albie. As Storm
crawled into a gap between two rubbish skips
to find some protection, Danny clung to Albie's
back and jammed his fingers into his eyes. Albie
yelled in rage and jerked from side to side, trying
to throw Danny off. He brought both
hands back to grab Danny's head, and with
M-driven strength, pulled him over his shoulders
and down into a puddle.

Think you're hard! Think you're hard!'

Danny was struggling to think at all – his whole
body had been jarred by the fall and his head was
spinning – but he glimpsed the flash of steel
and saw that Albie had pulled a knife from the
waistband of his trousers. The blade glinted in
the darkness as Albie raised his hand and moved
forward, ready to strike.

Danny couldn't move – it was too late; he realized
that he had underestimated Albie's strength. It was
a bad mistake.

Then he heard Albie howl in pain. It was Lee. He
had crashed into Albie's back and sent him sprawling
on the ground. The young thug was groaning as
he lay with his face in a filthy puddle.

Lee grabbed Danny and hauled him to his feet.
'Get her out!' he breathed. 'Now! You've still got a
job to do!'

Danny nodded and watched Lee run back up the
alley. He couldn't afford to let Storm see him talking
to Lee. He shook his head to clear it, glanced at the
still groaning Albie and then went across and pulled
Storm from her hiding place.

'Come on! Before he gets up! Bin the shoes, let's go!'

They ran, Storm leaving her expensive shoes
behind; she didn't care. They came out onto the
main street; it was a different world of bright lights
and vehicles thundering by. They turned right,
towards the front of the club and Danny's car.

Latecomers were still queuing to get in. They
watched the muddy pair dodging the traffic as they
ran across the road.

But Albie wasn't far behind. Blood was flowing
from deep lacerations on his forehead where he had
crashed down on the concrete. He reached the front
of the club, panting, breathless; his head jerked
from side to side and his eyes peered into the
darkness.

And then he spotted Danny and Storm. They had
nearly reached Danny's Mazda.

'Oi, Watts!' The yell was blood-curdling, seeming
to come from some dark place deep within. 'You're
gonna die!'

He started across the wide pavement towards the
kerb, but Lee moved to intercept him.

He grabbed Albie firmly by the shoulder. 'Hang
on, mate. We'll let them go, shall we? While you and
me have a quick word.'

Lee had failed to clock the knife in Albie's hand.
And he didn't know that the wild-eyed thug was
being driven by a superhuman, Meltdown-driven
fury. His attacker moved at an incredible speed,
swinging round at a pace that even Lee was not
quite quick enough to counter. Lee didn't see the
blade, but he felt it spear into his guts as Albie's
clenched fist punched it home.

'You black bastard!'

All the breath was driven from Lee's body and he
doubled up in pain. Albie pulled his hand back and
Lee glimpsed the knife and his own blood. As he
collapsed to the ground, he felt nothing but anger at
himself. How could he have let it happen? He was
a professional. He should have— He heard someone
scream. Then darkness engulfed him, and there
was nothing.

From across the street, Danny and Storm heard the
scream as they reached the car.

Danny was trying to peer through the stream of
traffic and the huddle of shouting, yelling figures on
the far side of the street. 'What's happening?' he
shouted.

Storm wasn't interested. 'Come on – please! Just
get us out of here.'

'But there's—'

'Leave it! Let's go. Please!'

Danny hesitated, holding the car door open. He
couldn't see what was happening but he feared that
Lee was in trouble. He wanted to go back to help his
mate, but what could he do? If Lee was down, help
would come. If Danny went back now, it might well
endanger the mission.

Storm was becoming frantic. 'Danny, please!
Before the police get here!'

The traffic had slowed; drivers were rubbernecking
the scene playing out on the pavement.

Danny got in the car, started the engine and
pulled away. And he didn't look back.

On the pavement, two bouncers edged nervously
towards Albie as he moved the knife from side to
side. His eyes flicked from one dark-suited man to
the other, following the path of the blade.

Dimly he heard a woman's voice screaming into a
phone. 'Yes, police! And an ambulance! He's not
moving! I think he's dead!'

Dead.
Albie heard the word and something in his
befuddled brain told him he had to get away while
there was still a chance.

He lunged forward with the knife and the two
bouncers leaped back, briefly off balance. Before
they could recover, Albie turned and ran.

'Stop him!' yelled someone, and for a moment the
bouncers started to give chase. But then they
stopped. Their job was to protect the people in the
club; they weren't paid to go chasing through
the streets after lunatics with knives. The police
could do that.

Danny was sitting in darkness at the end of his bed,
staring vacantly at the closed curtains. He hadn't
slept; he hadn't even tried. He couldn't. He was still
dressed in the crumpled, damp clothes he had worn
for his night out.

He got up and pulled back the curtains. Daylight
flooded in, making his head pound. He flinched
and squeezed his eyes shut.

The door opened and Fergus came in. He was
talking on his mobile. 'No, don't bring anyone else
in; Phil can manage while we're away. He'll have
to . . . Yeah, bye,'

He ended the call and looked at Danny. 'It's bad.'

Danny went cold and felt the hairs on the back of
his neck stand up. 'He's dead?'

'No. He lost a lot of blood. Whoever made the
emergency call sent the ambulance to the wrong
club. It doesn't look good right now.'

Danny slumped down on the armchair.
'My
partner, the bloke I'm meant to look out for, got
knifed looking out for me. And I just ran away.'

'No, Danny. You did the right thing. Staying
would have compromised the whole mission, and
Lee knew the risks. These things happen on ops;
sometimes they go wrong. When they do, you deal
with it and move on.'

But Danny couldn't move on, even though his
grandfather's words were meant to console him.
Nothing Fergus said would make him feel any
better or get over the fact that his mate was close to
death. And it was down to him. Lee's words kept
coming back to haunt him. He'd said that some day
his life might depend on Danny.

Danny had known it was true, but he couldn't
have imagined that he would be put to the test that
very night.

Fergus sat on his bed facing Danny, knowing
from experience that the best way to fight emotion
was to blank it out by concentrating on work. 'Lee
did good when he got to hospital; gave them his
false identity and ACA, and then Phil got a call.'

'Can we see him?'

Fergus stood up and went to the window. 'No.
Dudley's people just got him out of the hospital.
They'll look after him. And he's out of it now, anyway.
Sedated.'

He turned back to Danny. 'Tell me about Storm
again. You're sure she didn't give you any clues
about the DMP?'

'She was in too much of a state. I couldn't ask any
more questions. She just kept telling me not to say
anything to the twins about us going out together.
They get jealous when anyone else shows an
interest.'

Fergus shook his head. 'This girl's got quite a fan
club. The twins, Albie, you.'

'I was
working,
Granddad!' said Danny angrily.
'Carrying out orders.
Your
orders!'

Fergus could see the strain on his grandson's face.
'All right,' he said gently. 'I just meant that for
someone who apparently knows nothing, she seems
to have a pretty big effect on everyone who is in the
know. Let's hope Albie hasn't said anything to
the twins. I don't want them any more spooked
than they already are.'

He checked his watch. 'I need to get down to the
coach yard; the twins are expecting me there. Have
you packed?'

'Not yet.'

'Get a shower and sort yourself out and follow
me down. And don't mention any of this to the
twins.'

'But what about Albie? I'm gonna—'

'No!'
Fergus pointed at his grandson and made
sure he was staring directly into his eyes so that
there was absolutely no doubt about what he had to
say. 'You're not gonna do anything. Don't let your
anger get in the way, Danny. Stay professional.
When the time's right,
I'll
deal with that little shit.
Not you. Get it?'

Danny stared back without answering.

'Danny, do you get it?'

Danny looked at the floor, then nodded.

'Good.' Fergus picked up the small suitcase he
had already packed for the trip to Barcelona and
went to the door. 'I'll see you at the yard.'

Danny stared at the floor for a long time. He
thought of Storm. He thought of Lee. But mostly
he thought of Albie, thinking and thinking until the
anger burned like a fire in his chest.

Albie hadn't shown up. He was meant to be on the
Barcelona trip but no one had seen him. He hadn't
called in and he wasn't answering calls to his
mobile.

The twins were in the office with Fergus, and Will
looked worried. Teddy did too, although more than
anything he seemed relieved that Fergus was on
hand to deal with any problems.

Fergus was doing nothing to discourage Teddy's
increasing dependence on him. It could only help.
Will remained more guarded, but Fergus was subtly
encouraging that too: it was causing a growing rift
between two brothers who had previously been so
solid. Almost like one person.

Now they were most definitely two and the arguments
were becoming more frequent.

Teddy glared at his brother. 'It was your job to
keep an eye on Albie. He's probably out of his head
on M somewhere. You were meant to make sure he
didn't steal any more.'

Will glared back; he wasn't backing down as he
usually did. 'We don't know that he has stolen anything.
Maybe he got drunk last night, or met a girl.'

'Huh!' said Teddy. 'What girl would even look at
him?'

'I don't know! I just know that there's no point in
speculating. He might turn up soon.'

Teddy looked at Fergus. 'We should have got rid
of him long ago.'

'Oh really,' said Will quickly. 'And what should
we have done exactly?' He turned to Fergus too.
'Kill him?'

Fergus shrugged casually, as if that was an option
he would certainly have considered. But he wasn't
going to take sides; they were playing into his
hands. As their tempers rose, he remained cool.
'Why
didn't
you get rid of him?' he said to
Teddy.

'He wasn't like he is now when we started. He
was a thug, yes, but we needed a few thugs. And he
was clean; he said he hated drugs. Albie's like a lot
of his' – he almost spat out his next word –
'type:
they sneer at their betters for spending their disposable
income on recreational drugs, while they go
out and waste their money on cigarettes, beer and
football.'

Fergus almost laughed. He couldn't decide who
were worse, the Albies or the Teddys of this world,
both riddled with stereotypical attitudes. It didn't
matter; Fergus was focused on the mission. 'So
what changed Albie?'

'We found out he'd been stealing tablets for some
time. First to sell, but then he started taking them.
He got hooked.'

'So back to my first question: why didn't you get
rid of him?'

Will provided the answer. 'What could we do? He
knows too much. We gave him time off, on full pay,
to clean up, and we thought he had. From what we
were told last night and the fact that he hasn't
shown this morning, we have to assume that we
were wrong.'

Teddy sneered. 'No,
you
were wrong!'

The twins glared at each other while Fergus
waited.

Will looked at his watch. 'We're meant to be leaving
in a couple of hours. Where's Storm with those
coffees?'

As if on cue, they heard footsteps on the metal
staircase outside the office. There was a sharp knock
on the door and then Storm came in without waiting
for an answer, carrying a cardboard container
with four takeaway coffees of different varieties.
She looked a little pale and her eyes were tired
and drawn. But she was smartly dressed for the
trip to Barcelona in a black designer trouser suit
over a white blouse. Fergus knew from Danny's
account of the fight outside the club that Storm
must be badly bruised from the kicking Albie had
given her, but outwardly, at least, she was giving
nothing away.

Storm went over to the twins first. 'Your usual,'
she said, taking two large cardboard beakers of
cappuccino from the container and placing them on
the desk. She turned to Fergus. 'And an Americano
for you, wasn't it?'

Fergus nodded and took his coffee. Storm smiled
at him slightly nervously before turning away with
the last of the coffees and heading towards the
smaller desk in one corner of the room.

'We're still in conference, Storm,' said Teddy.
'Would you mind taking your coffee outside? Check
the coaches are OK, will you?'

If Storm was thrown by the dismissal, she didn't
let it show. She kept up her smile as she spoke. 'Isn't
that Albie's job?'

'Albie isn't here. Yet.'

Storm took her coffee from the container and
headed for the door, but Will gestured for her to
wait. 'Just a minute, Storm. There's something I
wanted to ask you.'

She stopped, her face showing not the slightest
concern. 'Mmm?'

'The fact is, Albie's gone missing. We've got no
idea where he is.'

'Really?' said Storm, raising her perfectly plucked
eyebrows. 'Well, that is a worry. He's meant to be
coming with us to Barcelona.'

'Yes, it's a worry. When did you see him last?'

Storm thought for a moment, looking as though
she was trying to be as helpful as she could. 'It was
yesterday. Mmm, yesterday afternoon, here at the
yard. He seemed fine then.'

Will nodded. 'Thanks. I just thought it was worth
asking.'

'Sorry I can't be more help.'

She glanced at Fergus as she left the room; he
gave her the slightest of nods, reassuring her that
he was keeping her secret. He took a long gulp of
his coffee and listened to her footsteps on the staircase,
wrapped in thought, wondering . . .

Then he put the beaker down on the desk and
stood up. 'I've got an hour to find Albie and sort
things out.'

'Sort things out?' said Will. 'What exactly does
that mean?'

'It means I'll do what's necessary,' said Fergus,
moving towards the door. 'He's a liability – he
threatens the whole of your operation. We can't
afford that, can we?'