The Front (26 page)

       
Except for the ounce he’d laid out that morning.

       
He ground his teeth angrily. He was going to cut Stevo up so bad for taking off like that. And he wasn’t in the mood for poncing about these flats either, but he had no choice. Stevo had a lot to answer for!

       
As luck would have it, just as he crossed the road heading for the stairwell, three young student types came out. So busy looking at whatever the one in the centre was holding, they didn’t see Max until he stepped in front of them. They stopped dead then, their eyes wide with fright.

       
They were only too willing to point him in the direction of Millie’s flat when they realized he wasn’t going to mug them. They’d just come from there themselves, they told him, and yes – Millie was alone. Max thanked them, advising them to stash their gear away before the Babylon gripped them.

       
He shook his head with amusement as the boys legged it to an ancient Volkswagen Beetle to make their noisy escape.

       
Now to find number 327.

Elaine giggled as Lee and Mal coaxed her to take another line. She was being treated like a queen, and loving every minute of it. She was so glad she’d met up with Suzie again. But, God! What was up with the girl? She’d turned into a right miserable cow. She’d done nothing but whinge all day. Still. That was
her
problem. Elaine was having fun.

       
Taking the rolled-up fiver from Mal, she leaned over the mirror and snorted – wondering why she’d never got into this before.

       
‘Go on, girl!’ Lee encouraged her. ‘Get the whole lot down yer neck!’

       
The rush knocked her for six. She clenched her fists, clamping her teeth together as a million starlight prickles coursed up through her body, from her feet right up to her head, lifting the hair right off her scalp.

       
‘Oh, yeah, baby!’ Lee leered, eyeing her nipples as they stiffened beneath her T-shirt. ‘Let it ride!’

       
‘Charlie loves a virgin!’ Mal laughed.

       
‘Eh! I ain’t no virgin!’ Elaine giggled, opening her eyes at last.

       
‘Well, I never would have guessed!’ Mal teased her.

       
Taking the tube, he bent his head over the mirror. ‘Put another film on, Lee,’ he said, snorting the fattest of the lines.

15

Dead on one o’clock, Jake pressed the buzzer to release the security door down below. Then he unlocked the flat door and waited. Finally, Marie appeared, hauling herself up the last flight with a hand on the rail.

       
‘Wotcha, darlin’!’ she puffed, stopping to take a breath. ‘Bugger me, them stairs are a killer! He inside, is he?’

       
Jake nodded and waved her in with a smile. Marie was the only one of The Man’s girls he could stomach. Well into her forties, she was sassy and smart. She might look a bit done in, with her dyed black hair backcombed like a poodle’s tail, and the face of a seasoned battler, but she was sharp as a knife. She’d been on the game for twenty-odd years because she wanted to be, not because she’d been forced into it by a pimp, or lured by drugs. She never touched drugs – just alcohol. But she was in control of that and, in a funny way, Jake respected her.

       
The Man definitely did. Probably because he’d never had any sort of relationship with her, other than business. And she was good at that side of things. He trusted her judgement implicitly. And she was a real asset when it came to keeping the other girls in line – not averse to slapping them down if necessary, or tipping Jake the wink when they were on the fiddle.

       
Marie had her hands on her hips when Jake joined them, looking down at Linda who was sleeping in a heap on the floor by the couch. ‘Bit young, Sim,’ she was saying. ‘You sure she’s kosher?’

       
‘She reckons she’s nineteen,’ The Man said. ‘You think she’s lying?’

       
Marie gave him a look, then shrugged. ‘Far be it from me to call the kid a liar when I ain’t even spoken her. You got anything to drink in this place?’

       
‘Yeah, sure. What’s it to be? Coffee? Tea?’

       
Marie gave a raucous belly laugh and flopped down into a chair, kicking her shoes off and rubbing her toes. ‘Do me a favour! I’m bollocksed! Give us a Scotch.’

       
The Man nodded to Jake to pour the drink. Then he sat down, facing Marie. Leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, he nodded towards Linda. ‘What do you reckon, then?’

       
Marie groaned and put her feet down. Reaching across, she moved the girl’s hair away from her face and took a good look. Leaning back, she put her feet up on the coffee table and reached into her bag for a cigarette.

       
‘Pretty,’ she said at last. ‘I can see why you picked up on her. But, if you want my honest opinion, she’s never nineteen. More like sixteen, I’d say. Still, that’s legal, so you haven’t got a problem. Oh, thanks, luv.’ Taking the Scotch and ice from Jake, she swallowed a mouthful and wiped her hand across her mouth. ‘God! I needed that! Now then. You didn’t get me over her just to tell you if I think she’s pretty or not, did you? What’s the plan?’

       
‘She needs a place,’ The Man said. ‘Somewhere a bit decent.’

       
Marie raised an eyebrow. ‘Think she’s a bit special, then, do you?’

       
The Man gave her a lopsided smile and tapped the side of his nose. ‘Me hear tell she likes playing rough, so me figure she’d go down a bomb with the city-slicker men. Them we had to turf out last year, seen? The ones with all the money!’

       
‘You mean them clowns what messed Samantha up?’ Marie cast a worried look at the girl. ‘Bit much for her, ain’t they? Thought you said she’d never done this before?’

       
‘Jake auditioned her.’ The Man laughed. ‘Seems she can tek it, no problem!’

       
Marie shot a glance at Jake. ‘You been naughty?’ she asked, mock-stern. ‘Tut, tut!’

       
Jake grinned. ‘She keen for it, Marie. Believe me – she keen!’

       
‘Well, you got nothing to lose by trying her out,’ Marie said. ‘Needs a bit of work, though.’

       
‘Yeah, I know.’ The Man nodded. ‘It’s sorted. I gave her some money to get herself some gear. You tek her downtown tomorrow and help her choose some tasty stuff, yeah? You know better than me what them pervy guys like.’

       
‘Sure,’ Marie agreed. ‘No probs. Now, about this place you want. How’s about she comes in with me for a bit? That way I can coach her, and keep an eye on her – make sure she don’t get too roughed up, like.’

       
‘Hey, that’d be great!’ The Man smiled. He pulled some money from his pocket and handed it to Marie. ‘Take this, then – to keep her while she’s learning. I’ll give you more in a week, depending how it goes, yeah?’

       
‘Sound as a pound!’ Marie said, sticking the money in her shoe. ‘How about family?’ she asked then, the flicker of a frown crossing her face. ‘I don’t need no irate mother calling the pigs on me.’

       
The Man shrugged. ‘Dunno, I ain’t asked her. But she seems to come and go as she pleases.’

       
Marie nodded. ‘Good. I can’t be doin’ with any of that shit. When do I get her, then?’

       
‘Now, if you want,’ The Man said – pleased to be killing two birds with one stone, since Max would be coming over soon.

       
‘You wanna wake her up, then?’ Marie said. ‘Only you know I hate touching smack-heads. That
is
what she’s on, innit?’

       
‘She’s only had a little bit.’ The Man shrugged. ‘Jake can carry her down and give you a ride home, yeah?’

       
‘That’d be fantastic,’ Marie said, smiling gratefully. ‘Me feet are throbbing like a donkey’s dick already, without having to traipse about looking for a taxi!’ Gulping the remnants of her drink down in one, she swung her feet to the floor and, groaning, forced her feet back into her shoes.

       
Jake shook Linda’s shoulder until she stirred.

       
‘Whazzup?’ she mumbled.

       
‘It’s time to go,’ he said, pulling her to her feet.

       
She was confused, stumbling and clutching at Jake to keep her footing as he walked her to the door. ‘Where we going?’ she asked. ‘What’s happening?’

       
‘You’re going to stay with this nice lady,’ he told her, leading her out of the flat and down the stairs.

       
In the doorway, Marie turned to The Man with a serious expression. ‘There’s just one thing, Sim. If I’m taking the kid on, I don’t want her touching the gear again. It’s different with them slags out there. They got on it all by themselves and don’t need no help staying on it. But she’s just a kid. It’ll fuck her up.’

       
The Man shrugged. ‘Do what you want with her. Just make sure she starts earning big – and quick.’

       
‘Depends how long she’s been on the shit,’ Marie said.

       
‘Only been doing it this past week,’ The Man said. ‘It shouldn’t be a problem getting her off.’

       
‘Well, I’ll tell you what,’ Marie said. ‘I’ll give her a week to sort her head out before I start training her. That all right?’

       
‘Whatever you think best,’ he said. ‘I’ll bell you tomorrow, yeah?’

       
‘Yeah, okay.’ Marie waved and headed down the stairs.

Max was downhearted as he pressed the buzzer ten minutes later. He’d found Millie, all right – had spent the last few hours kicking the shit out of him and trashing his gaff – but the little ponce had had nothing. He rehearsed what he was going to tell The Man as he trooped up the stairs.

       
‘Well?’ The Man demanded, waving him to his usual chair. ‘You find him?’

       
‘Yeah, I found him.’ Max sat back nervously.

       
‘And?’

       
‘And . . . nutt’n,’ Max admitted.

       
‘What you mean, nutt’n?’ The Man bellowed. ‘You find the claat, then come tell me nutt’n?’

       
‘He didn’t have it,’ Max said. ‘I just spent hours going over him, trashing his gaff, and there was nothing there. I swear it!’

       
‘He must have stashed it somewhere, then!’ The Man bellowed. ‘Did you even bother asking him?’

       
‘Course I did!’ Max wiped a hand across his sweaty brow. ‘But he said he’s never heard of no Pasha, and didn’t know nothing about this Stevo!’

       
‘And what do you think?’ The Man asked, looking hard at Max. ‘Did you believe him?’

       
‘I don’t know,’ Max said. ‘But I don’t think he’d have carried on lying so long, the kicking I gave him. I got the feeling he was on the level.’

       
The Man began to pace backwards and forwards the length of the room, kicking at anything in his way. ‘I want my fucking money, Max! And I want the fucking cunt who did it. I don’t care what it tek, I’m gonna find ’im. An’ when I do – I’ll kill ’im!’

       
‘I don’t know what else to do,’ Max said glumly. ‘I’ve been back to Stevo’s place and he’s not there. And this Millie ain’t got nutt’n. What am I supposed to do?’

       
‘All right,’ The Man snapped. ‘Tell me where this Millie is. I’ll go round there myself, and if he don’t give me what I want, I’ll blow his fucking brains out. I’m through with playing games!’

       
Max groaned. This was ridiculous. Millie had been petrified. There was no way he knew where the money was. He’d have given it up if he did. The tasty cut Max had given him across the cheek would have guaranteed that if nothing else. He didn’t see what good it was going to do if The Man went over there. More likely than not, The Man would end up killing the little scab, and where would that leave Max? In the shit – that was where! He’d been seen asking for the guy, and his prints were all over his gaff. If The Man did for him, it would be Max who’d end up in the frame. He tried to explain this to The Man.

       
‘What you don’t seem to understand,’ The Man snarled back at him, ‘is that apart from being lumbered with a shitload of gear Pasha should have been taking off my hands – that I’ve now got to unload on someone else – I lost a fuck of a lot of money last night! And so far this cunt of yours is the only lead I’ve got to get it back. And it ain’t just the money at stake here,’ he went on furiously. ‘What d’y’ think’ll happen if I let this ride and word gets out? Every raas fucker out there will think I’ve lost it, that’s what! I’m telling you, Max, I ain’t gonna sit back and let every little ponce in the area think they can walk on my fucking head! I’ve got to make an example of this little rip-off smack-head! Now tell me where he is!’

       
Max moaned, flopping his head back and rubbing at his throbbing temples. ‘Think what you’re doing to me, man! You’ll hand me to the Babylon on a plate if you go round there! Can’t you see that?’

       
The Man punched the back of the couch. ‘Shit, man! You want me to creep down like a raas pussy and bury my head in the sand? How can I, eh? There’s too much at fucking stake here!’

       
‘Look, man . . .’ Max sat forward. ‘Be reasonable. There’s got to be another way. There’s got to be something we can do without you dropping me in it. For fuck’s sake, man, this wasn’t nutt’n to do with me in the first place!’