the stereo or an
abandoned wallet was one thing, but being able to take the car away, do it up
and sell it on was quite another. Aiden could drive, though illegally,
and knew a bloke at a local family-run garage that had already resprayed and
changed the number plates on the Nova he’d stolen a couple of months back. So
he wanted to combine Ricky’s talents with his own to construct something far
more lucrative than twenty notes for a stereo and spare change in a wallet: he
wanted to offer Ricky Finn a split in sales if he agreed to team up with him to
sell stolen cars.
Ricky and Aiden sat on top of the garages running through
the middle of Carlton estate. The ‘twin towers’ loomed over them angrily
against the grey English sky. It was just starting to drizzle. Aiden lit up a
cigarette and handed it to Ricky then lit his own.
“Come on, Rick, all you have
to do is break into the cars, and you can do that with your fucking eyes
closed! I’ll be the getaway driver. I’ll sort out the plates, paint jobs,
sales, the lot... what d’you reckon, eh?”
“It ain’t the gig, Aiden, it’s
just that I’ve kinda already been approached,” Ricky replied with that same gormlessness
that his long, angular face always contorted into when facing an obstacle.
Aiden frowned and took a swift
pull of his cigarette. “By who?”
“Jason Ryan...”
“What d’you wanna partner up
with that cunt for?” Ricky shrugged. He didn’t have any other reason than that
Jason had asked him first. Aiden sensed this. “Look,” he pressed confidently.
“If I have a word with Jason, explain that I had been meaning to talk to you
about it for a while, would you reconsider?”
“I...”
“How much did he offer?”
“Twenty percent...”
Aiden nodded then grinned, all
bravado and charm personified; the true salesman. He approached everything he
wanted with the same cunning. He had a manner about him that lured people into
a false sense of security, a false sense of trust for the good-looking man-boy
asking them for a favour. He had convinced Lily Summers to go out with him in
the exact same way. She had refused initially, but it hadn’t taken long before
his charm obliterated her sense of reason and he convinced her that she
couldn’t live without him. It was time to do the very same to Ricky Finn. “If I
get Jason to back off... I’ll give you twenty-two percent and I’ll
guaranteethree sales a month. Bet Jason couldn’t pull that off...”
“I don’t want no trouble from
him though, Aiden...”
Aiden showed off his pearly
whites once more. “Ricky, this is me, mate. Jason won’t bother you when
I’m here to back you up!”
Ricky nodded. Having lived
just a block away from the Fosters all his life, he was well aware of Aiden’s
reputation for being a lairy bastard. Aiden had been brawling in boxing rings
and on the streets from a young age, so Ricky knew that Aiden was capable of
having his back if Jason did decide to kick off. “Yeah, alright, Aiden...”
Aiden patted Ricky on the back
and jumped down off the garage roof. “I’ll be in touch,” he called over his
shoulder as he swaggered away with a triumphant smirk on his chops.
Chapter five
Kate Foster had been listening to her mother and father
having intercourse downstairs for half an hour before she was able to go and
put something on for her tea. Kate rarely ate what her mother made. Vivien had
just two recipes under her belt, and she hated both.
Kate was fourteen years old. She
was tall, dark-haired and attractive, like her brother, and she was slender
with a substantial chest and long legs.
Having made herself fish
fingers and chips, she sat, still in her school uniform, eating alone when
Aiden came back to the flat. Duggie had already left for his usual visit to the
pub and Vivien had gone to the local off-licence.
“What are you so happy about?”
Kate asked when her big brother, who she adored, strolled in with a wide grin
on his
abandoned wallet was one thing, but being able to take the car away, do it up
and sell it on was quite another. Aiden could drive, though illegally,
and knew a bloke at a local family-run garage that had already resprayed and
changed the number plates on the Nova he’d stolen a couple of months back. So
he wanted to combine Ricky’s talents with his own to construct something far
more lucrative than twenty notes for a stereo and spare change in a wallet: he
wanted to offer Ricky Finn a split in sales if he agreed to team up with him to
sell stolen cars.
Ricky and Aiden sat on top of the garages running through
the middle of Carlton estate. The ‘twin towers’ loomed over them angrily
against the grey English sky. It was just starting to drizzle. Aiden lit up a
cigarette and handed it to Ricky then lit his own.
“Come on, Rick, all you have
to do is break into the cars, and you can do that with your fucking eyes
closed! I’ll be the getaway driver. I’ll sort out the plates, paint jobs,
sales, the lot... what d’you reckon, eh?”
“It ain’t the gig, Aiden, it’s
just that I’ve kinda already been approached,” Ricky replied with that same gormlessness
that his long, angular face always contorted into when facing an obstacle.
Aiden frowned and took a swift
pull of his cigarette. “By who?”
“Jason Ryan...”
“What d’you wanna partner up
with that cunt for?” Ricky shrugged. He didn’t have any other reason than that
Jason had asked him first. Aiden sensed this. “Look,” he pressed confidently.
“If I have a word with Jason, explain that I had been meaning to talk to you
about it for a while, would you reconsider?”
“I...”
“How much did he offer?”
“Twenty percent...”
Aiden nodded then grinned, all
bravado and charm personified; the true salesman. He approached everything he
wanted with the same cunning. He had a manner about him that lured people into
a false sense of security, a false sense of trust for the good-looking man-boy
asking them for a favour. He had convinced Lily Summers to go out with him in
the exact same way. She had refused initially, but it hadn’t taken long before
his charm obliterated her sense of reason and he convinced her that she
couldn’t live without him. It was time to do the very same to Ricky Finn. “If I
get Jason to back off... I’ll give you twenty-two percent and I’ll
guaranteethree sales a month. Bet Jason couldn’t pull that off...”
“I don’t want no trouble from
him though, Aiden...”
Aiden showed off his pearly
whites once more. “Ricky, this is me, mate. Jason won’t bother you when
I’m here to back you up!”
Ricky nodded. Having lived
just a block away from the Fosters all his life, he was well aware of Aiden’s
reputation for being a lairy bastard. Aiden had been brawling in boxing rings
and on the streets from a young age, so Ricky knew that Aiden was capable of
having his back if Jason did decide to kick off. “Yeah, alright, Aiden...”
Aiden patted Ricky on the back
and jumped down off the garage roof. “I’ll be in touch,” he called over his
shoulder as he swaggered away with a triumphant smirk on his chops.
Chapter five
Kate Foster had been listening to her mother and father
having intercourse downstairs for half an hour before she was able to go and
put something on for her tea. Kate rarely ate what her mother made. Vivien had
just two recipes under her belt, and she hated both.
Kate was fourteen years old. She
was tall, dark-haired and attractive, like her brother, and she was slender
with a substantial chest and long legs.
Having made herself fish
fingers and chips, she sat, still in her school uniform, eating alone when
Aiden came back to the flat. Duggie had already left for his usual visit to the
pub and Vivien had gone to the local off-licence.
“What are you so happy about?”
Kate asked when her big brother, who she adored, strolled in with a wide grin
on his
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