Wasted Lives, a Detective Mike Bridger novel (2 page)

"Get in". It
was more of an order than a request, the voice betraying a quiet
menace.

He did
not trust Joseph at all; he used people for what they could give
him. However, he was a big name in his world and whatever Joseph
Kingi told you to do, you did without question. Looking at the car,
Joseph was not visible through the dark tints but his menace was
everywhere. Taking a deep breath Martin opened the rear door and
slumped into the torn leather seat. The smell of cannabis was
overwhelming; smoke stung his eyes making him blink. Tama had taken
the front passenger seat, eager to please.

"Still
drinking that cheap shit I see boys", Joseph said, indicating the
mess of cans around the swings. "Do your jobs right tonight and you
could afford the good stuff..., now don't tell me I don't look
after my boys". Joseph smiled a wicked smile through the smoke and
shook his dreadlocked hair as he laughed at something only known to
him.

"What's the
job then J man?” Tama asked.

"Where gonna
do that corner shop up the north end, there's only that little
chink girl behind the counter so it should be a doddle. Plus it's
chock full of K2". Joseph was grinning as he spoke. "It's a fucking
crime the amount of money they make off of that synthetic cannabis,
its only right that we help ourselves to some of that".

"Nice one J
man, we're up for that, aren't we Star". Tama sat nodding his head
in the front seat, excited at the prospect of easy money.

Martin
worried about Tama, he was always too eager to please, to easily
led, it was going to be his downfall one day. He saw Joseph
observing him coolly through the rear view mirror, his eyes not
giving anything away.

"Is that right
Star, are you up for it?”

"Yeah J
man..., yeah I'm up for it, let’s do it", He replied, not at all
certain he meant it.

"To fucking
right, I'm putting my faith in you two meatheads, I don't expect
any shit from you now". His look was as cold as ice as he said it
and Martin shivered involuntarily.

Joseph
was six years older than he was, so they had rarely had anything to
do with each other growing up, even though they had lived in the
same small neighbourhood all their lives. Joseph had always been a
player, even from a young age. His father who was a big shot in
‘The Gang’ had handed him his status in the neighbourhood. Nobody
messed with the gang, so nobody messed with Joseph. Joseph had
grown up believing he was untouchable. No one even blinked when
Joseph stepped into his father’s shoes after jail finally caught up
with him.

Joseph
senior or ‘Big J’ was widely known to be still pulling the strings
from the inside and his influence was far reaching, but it was
still Joseph junior who was on the outside. Joseph senior had the
respect, but Joseph junior only commanded fear. His influence was
that of intimidation and fear, something he seemed to revel in. He
wondered what he would be like if Big J was still around to keep
him in line.

Not much
he could do about that now, he needed some money and Joseph was
offering, although he had the impression he could not say
no.

"How is
it going to play out?" He queried from the back.

"Same as
it always does, we go in, make the little bitch cry for her mummy,
get the gear and get out". Joseph took another long pull on his
cannabis cigarette, "But first we need to get us some wheels", he
said, while holding the smoke in his lungs.

He saw
Tama's eyes light up, if there was one thing Tama loved to do it
was steal cars.

They had
been driving around for a few hours now and he was beginning to get
bored. Martin had been listening to the conversation in the front
seat that seemed to consist of Joseph belittling Tama at every
opportunity, although Tama had failed to notice or was just
ignoring it. Joseph had passed around a Cannabis joint a few times
and he had begun to feel the mellow lethargic feeling he always got
when smoking weed. He had refused the lines of Speed offered, but
Tama had inhaled them as if his life depended on it. As a result,
Tama was practically bouncing off the roof of the car. The music
had been pounding the whole time.

"What about
that one J man? It’s an easy score". Tama was pointing at a
ten-year-old Subaru parked in the darkness of the street.

"What is it
with you and Subaru’s T? That’s all I've ever seen you steal".
Joseph's mood had improved as the night wore on.

"Stick with
what you know J man, that's my motto".

"I don't
see you bumming little boys T, so you can't live by that
motto".

Martin
burned inwardly at the comment, he wanted to reach over the seat
and stick a knife in the back of Joseph’s neck, twist it sharply
and snap his spine. Thoughts like this were nothing new to him; he
took a breath and stared out into the passing darkness letting the
feeling wash through him.

Tama just
shrugged his shoulders and carried on as if he had not heard a
word. "Come on J man, there is no one about, let’s just get it
done".

Joseph pulled
his car over in the shadows further up the street, "Ok big man, go
and get it, but take Star with you. We will meet back at the park
in ten minutes".

Martin climbed
out of the stuffy smoked filled car, happy to be in the fresh air
again. Tama followed him unsteadily. Joseph looked Martin in the
eye and held his gaze for a short time. Martin stared back but said
nothing. Joseph broke off the eye contact and drove away, the sound
of the music died down to nothing as the car accelerated up the
street. They both turned and walked back towards the Subaru parked
conveniently in the shadows.

"What's up
with you Martin, you've hardly said anything all night" Tama
punched him good-naturedly on the arm.

"I don't like
him Tama, you know that. He treats people like shit".

"Yeah well
what are you going to do about it Martin, you're just as scared of
him as everyone else, besides he's a means to an end, we need
money, he's got a plan".

"A long as
that plan doesn't turn to shit, you know he'll leave us in it don't
you."

"We'll
just have to make sure it doesn't then", Tama had reached the car.
Looking around to check they were alone he reached down and
expertly sprung the lock on the car door using the slightly
modified slide hammer he always had with him. It was something
Martin knew he would not be without it when he would be 'Shopping'
for cars. Opening the door, Tama lay down into the foot well,
popping the cover off below the dashboard. He had the car started a
few seconds later. Martin had only just managed to get to the
passenger side and climb in before Tama had accelerated away from
the curb.

Stoned or not
Tama was good at what he did.

One
thing Tama did not do well though, was drive sensibly, he had to
remind him a few times that they were in a stolen car and he did
not need to draw attention to that fact.

"Take it easy
tonight Tama, don't try and show off, it's not worth it. Joseph
won't thank you".

"Fuck you
Martin, I can handle myself".

Martin
knew it was the Cannabis speedball mix talking, giving Tama a false
sense of bravado. He liked Tama but he knew he was not very bright,
and he tended to do silly things when he was out of it.

He did
not say anything for the rest of the journey back to Unity Park at
the top of Eglington Road. An uneasy feeling about tonight had
settled in his stomach, but did not want to share it with Tama. He
knew his friend would pass it on to Joseph and he could not be
bothered with the drama.

Tama steered
the stolen car into the park access road and towards the lookout.
He could see Joseph had parked his own vehicle in the shadows near
the trees, out of the streetlights. Tama parked next to Joseph's
now silent car.

"You two
bitches took your time," Joseph said as he climbed into the rear
seat. "I was beginning to think you had shit your pants and gone
home".

Martin could
not help but notice the shotgun Joseph threw on the seat beside
him. It was an evil looking thing with a shortened barrel, two
black holes for eyes sitting side by side, eyes that would kill you
as soon as blink.

Joseph was
absently stroking the polished but mottled wooden stock, fingers
flicking in and out of the trigger guard. He was looking directly
at Martin, his eyes hidden in the darkness of the car, making it
hard for him to work out his expression.

"You ready to
do some work", he said.

"Let’s do it",
Tama chimed in from the driver's seat. He planted his foot on the
accelerator and then dropped the clutch sending the car into a
sideways spin, tyres squealing on the rough surface, an acrid smell
of burnt rubber entering the car’s interior. Joseph sat silently in
the rear as Tama sped out onto the road and started downhill past
the darkness of the cemetery.

They were
sitting in the stolen car a little way down the road from the
store, the street lights were intermittent if working at all,
giving them some cover in the darkness. Joseph had lit up another
Joint and was passing it around. The lights were on in the store
and the signs were still out. Martin could tell Joseph and Tama
were amped up about the prospect of the impending violence, they
were fidgety and on edge.

The waiting
was making him sick, he hated the thought of the chaos and horror
they were about to bring to the unsuspecting girl inside. The sight
of Joseph wielding a sawn off shotgun in your face was bound to be
terrifying for anyone. He just hoped that they would be able to
keep a level head and get the job done. The sooner this was over
the better.

"Are you ready
to fuck some shit up", Joseph said, throwing each of them a black
synthetic ski mask.

"Fuck yeah,
let’s do this" Tama enthused.

Joseph
flicked the remains of the joint out of the car window, the embers
flaring then dying out on the road. Picking up the shotgun with one
hand, he pulled his mask over his face with the other and got out
of the car. Tama followed like a puppy dog, eager to please his
master. Martin fell into step behind them as they approached the
welcoming lights of the store.

They went
through the door one by one and then things got noisy.

"Get
your fucking hands in the air you slope bitch," Joseph yelled.
"Fucking do it, or I'll send you back to your maker". He was waving
the shotgun in her face menacingly. The girl was staring back at
them, straight into the barrel, not moving. Joseph turned the stock
of the gun towards her and slammed it into her face. "I said get
your lazy gook arms in the air bitch". The force of the blow
knocked her against the wall behind her and she stayed leaning
against it, blood slowly leaking from one nostril.

Martin
could tell it was pure terror making it impossible for her to move
or say anything. He tried to make her put her arms up by motioning
to her but she was beyond help. The colour had gone from her face
and there were tears streaking down her pinking cheeks. Her mouth
was open but there was no sound. He looked over at Tama who was
filling his bag with synthetic cannabis and chocolate bars from
behind the counter. He could see a glaze had descended over Tama’s
eyes, which reflected the fluorescent lights above them. Tama was
moving on autopilot, the moment had taken him, an excitement found
only in extreme behaviour. He looked back at Joseph who seemed to
be having a moment of indecision; he knew Joseph was not used to
having his orders go unheeded. He found himself looking at his
watch; they had been in the shop for less than two minutes. They
needed to get out very soon.

Then Joseph
changed tact.

"You are
actually quite sexy aren't you", he said, leering at his helpless
victim. "I've never had an Asian girl before...; I've heard you are
all quite tight". He stroked the barrel of the gun against her
cheek smearing the blood from her nose, and then ran it down over
her small breasts until he reached her crotch, then he rammed it
between her legs making her cry out.

"I think I
might have bit of fun before we go", he said viciously. "Tama hold
this will you". Joseph pulled the shotgun from between her legs and
handed it to Tama. "If you’re good I'll let you have a go next". A
horrible laugh erupted from his mouth. The girl’s eyes did not
comprehend her situation.

Martin
could not believe what he was hearing. This was not what he had in
mind. She did not deserve this. She was only doing her job; it was
one thing to rob a shitty corner store, but to rape a girl, that
was something that made him sick to the core. Joseph had unbuckled
his jeans and was pulling them down; he could see his ugly manhood
swinging between his legs as he manoeuvred himself closer to her.
The girl cowered away from him, trying to melt back into the wall
behind her. She still had not uttered a word, pure terror showing
in her eyes.

"Get your
hands on some of this, you little slut, it will be the biggest
you've ever had", Joseph said, as he grabbed his flaccid penis and
thrust it towards her.

Martin
knew he should do something but his mind deviated between stopping
Joseph and risking his anger or running as far away from here as he
could. He looked over at Tama holding the shotgun, looking for some
sort of direction, but the look on Tama's face told him that he
would not do anything; he was totally lost in Joseph's sick power
play. He looked back at Joseph in time to see the flash of a wooden
bat glance off the back of his head. Joseph lurched forward,
pinning the girl against the wall.