and…’
‘AND…’ The Colonel turned back to Laurence with not even a nearly smile on his face. His eyes were piercing. ‘If you are not
for
Blanco, you are against him
and
us.’
‘Colonel, I didn’t mean…’
The Colonel silenced him with his raised hand.
‘I know what you meant. I know everything. When you came here you were a bum with nothing but pussy and beer on your mind. I gave you all that you wanted. You sit here in your fancy clothes that I paid for and you question my authority?’
The Colonel was spraying the table with spit. Sophia had stopped her crayoning to watch the patterns it made as it landed on the table.
Laurence shrugged and shook his head. He looked hastily around the table and realised he was on his own.
‘I don’t question it, boss. Just want to be sure, that’s all. I like things the way they are.’
‘Do you? You’re happy with what you have, are you, Laurence, not thinking of branching out on your own?’
Panic flitted across Laurence’s face.
‘No way, boss.’
‘Sure,’ said Terry. ‘We have a good life here. But there’s always more. We stick together and we can achieve it. Is that right, Colonel?’
The Colonel relaxed. He could always rely on Terry. Terry was a shrewd businessman like himself. Terry was the brains in Angeles. The Colonel looked at each man in turn.
‘Now it’s our turn to prove ourselves to Blanco. We can’t afford to make mistakes. We are supposed to be professionals, not fucking amateurs. We were given a job. All we had to do was get the women to the UK and liaise with the Chinese, then we would get our money.’ He turned his head slowly towards Brandon and Laurence. ‘What happened in London was a major error. It looked bad…very bad…We looked like fucking arseholes.’
Brandon stared back at the Colonel. Laurence looked around the table nervously. Sophia picked up Princess Pony and held it up to her face and stared at Laurence through the pony’s pink mane. Sweat was overflowing from Laurence’s frown lines and trickling down the side of his face. Sophia was watching a big droplet form at the end of his nose and she was counting the seconds it took to drop.
‘What
did
happen in London, Laurence?’
Laurence flashed a look at Brandon. Brandon kept his eyes glued on the Colonel. Sophia giggled as the sweat drip landed on the table.
‘We was caught out, is all. They caught us unawares.’
‘How “unawares” exactly?’
‘One of the women needed teachin’ a lesson—causin’ trouble. I was busy, didn’t see them comin’.’
‘And where were you, Brandon, when this
punish
ment
was being handed out?’
‘I was called to a meeting with the Chinese, sir.’
Terry and Reese looked at one another. Everyone around the table knew the truth. It had been Laurence’s cock-up, his fault. He had been left in charge of maintaining a watch over the women. He had been too busy sampling the merchandise.
Laurence’s phone vibrated on the table. Laurence picked it up and read a text message.
‘I have to use the john.’
‘Anything the matter?’ asked the Colonel.
‘Nothin,’ answered Laurence. ‘Be back in five.’
He got up and walked across to the flight of stairs that led down to the toilets and the lower floor. The Colonel had the ‘nearly smile’ glued to his face as he turned his head first to the right, then the left.
‘And where is Jed?’ He drummed his fingers on the table.
Laurence walked past the seating area and the dance floor. A few couples were getting ready to party, a few others were just getting drunk. He read the text again.
Meet me in the john. I need to speak to you.
Something about the text bothered him. A text wasn’t just a text. You could tell who it was from by the way they phrased it. Did they use predictive? Did they abbreviate? The Filipinos were the fastest texters in the world,but Laurence’s friend wasn’t. He made mistakes. This text was perfect. Too perfect.
Laurence walked
‘AND…’ The Colonel turned back to Laurence with not even a nearly smile on his face. His eyes were piercing. ‘If you are not
for
Blanco, you are against him
and
us.’
‘Colonel, I didn’t mean…’
The Colonel silenced him with his raised hand.
‘I know what you meant. I know everything. When you came here you were a bum with nothing but pussy and beer on your mind. I gave you all that you wanted. You sit here in your fancy clothes that I paid for and you question my authority?’
The Colonel was spraying the table with spit. Sophia had stopped her crayoning to watch the patterns it made as it landed on the table.
Laurence shrugged and shook his head. He looked hastily around the table and realised he was on his own.
‘I don’t question it, boss. Just want to be sure, that’s all. I like things the way they are.’
‘Do you? You’re happy with what you have, are you, Laurence, not thinking of branching out on your own?’
Panic flitted across Laurence’s face.
‘No way, boss.’
‘Sure,’ said Terry. ‘We have a good life here. But there’s always more. We stick together and we can achieve it. Is that right, Colonel?’
The Colonel relaxed. He could always rely on Terry. Terry was a shrewd businessman like himself. Terry was the brains in Angeles. The Colonel looked at each man in turn.
‘Now it’s our turn to prove ourselves to Blanco. We can’t afford to make mistakes. We are supposed to be professionals, not fucking amateurs. We were given a job. All we had to do was get the women to the UK and liaise with the Chinese, then we would get our money.’ He turned his head slowly towards Brandon and Laurence. ‘What happened in London was a major error. It looked bad…very bad…We looked like fucking arseholes.’
Brandon stared back at the Colonel. Laurence looked around the table nervously. Sophia picked up Princess Pony and held it up to her face and stared at Laurence through the pony’s pink mane. Sweat was overflowing from Laurence’s frown lines and trickling down the side of his face. Sophia was watching a big droplet form at the end of his nose and she was counting the seconds it took to drop.
‘What
did
happen in London, Laurence?’
Laurence flashed a look at Brandon. Brandon kept his eyes glued on the Colonel. Sophia giggled as the sweat drip landed on the table.
‘We was caught out, is all. They caught us unawares.’
‘How “unawares” exactly?’
‘One of the women needed teachin’ a lesson—causin’ trouble. I was busy, didn’t see them comin’.’
‘And where were you, Brandon, when this
punish
ment
was being handed out?’
‘I was called to a meeting with the Chinese, sir.’
Terry and Reese looked at one another. Everyone around the table knew the truth. It had been Laurence’s cock-up, his fault. He had been left in charge of maintaining a watch over the women. He had been too busy sampling the merchandise.
Laurence’s phone vibrated on the table. Laurence picked it up and read a text message.
‘I have to use the john.’
‘Anything the matter?’ asked the Colonel.
‘Nothin,’ answered Laurence. ‘Be back in five.’
He got up and walked across to the flight of stairs that led down to the toilets and the lower floor. The Colonel had the ‘nearly smile’ glued to his face as he turned his head first to the right, then the left.
‘And where is Jed?’ He drummed his fingers on the table.
Laurence walked past the seating area and the dance floor. A few couples were getting ready to party, a few others were just getting drunk. He read the text again.
Meet me in the john. I need to speak to you.
Something about the text bothered him. A text wasn’t just a text. You could tell who it was from by the way they phrased it. Did they use predictive? Did they abbreviate? The Filipinos were the fastest texters in the world,but Laurence’s friend wasn’t. He made mistakes. This text was perfect. Too perfect.
Laurence walked
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