was nothing to him.
“The cellar door is locked from the inside, which means they are still in there,” Gus replied and pointed toward the back of the club.
“So what, Gus, I don’t care. I’ve got better things to do.” Mick wanted to be away from the scene before the police began sniffing around. “We’ll find out who did this before long, and we can deal with them then.”
“Mick, did you hear what he said?” Jinx came out of the shadows. “He said we peddle filth in his city, and he was going to take your produce and your money. Now it sounded to me like he means to do this again. If we don’t stick together and make this bastard disappear, then they could hit anyone of us at anytime.”
Mick stopped and thought about it for a second. “Fair enough, Jinx, what do you suggest?” Mick was shrewd and he shrugged his huge shoulders. “Shall we knock on the back door and ask for our money back?”
“It was an inside job, Mick. One of us set it up,” Gus said.
“Maybe one of you did, but I think you’re forgetting that whoever stole the money had an Uzi in his hand, and right now all I’m carrying is twenty Lamberts and my lighter. I’m as pissed off as you are, but there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“He’s right,” Jinx added. “I think we should start asking questions tomorrow, and we can rule Jessie out of the sting.”
There was a murmur of agreement amongst the men. There were also suspicious glances. Old rivalries simmered beneath the surface.
“What about you, Jinx?” Bodger spoke. His real name was Barry Hodge, but no one used it. He was a major fraudster and scammer. He manufactured software in the Far East that could capture credit card and bank account data and sold it all over the world. He had made over two million dollars selling the latest computer gaming consoles to American internet customers; of course the goods had never materialised. “Where are your boys tonight?”
Jinx had arrived on his own for the poker game. He always did. No one needed to ask why he didn’t have a minder; it was obvious. Unless someone was going to shoot him, he could look after himself, but the insinuation that he was involved was there.
“I don’t need my boys all the time, Bodger, but you do.”
One of Bodger’s men stepped forward. “Watch your mouth!”
“Or what, sweet cheeks?” Jinx didn’t move but his grin turned into a sneer. “Do you fancy a shot at the title?”
“Don’t mind if I do, it’s about time someone shut you up, you prick!”
Instinctively the men cleared a space between the antagonists. Tensions were running high after the robbery and the explosion.
“Knock him out, Billy,” Bodger goaded his man. Billy was an ex-boxer. and His nose said he wasn’t the best defensive fighter in the world; it was flattened to his face. He had been a handy-man in his youth but never good enough to make a career in the ring. Billy came from a family of fighters and villains, and he resented the rise to power of some members of the black community. He had been a racist from an early age and didn’t care who knew it.
Billy Williams raised his hands to his chin in an orthodox boxing stance. He looked light on his feet for a big man. Jinx didn’t change his expression as the boxer circled him. Billy lunged forward with a hard left jab but he was slow at getting his arm back out of danger. Jinx grabbed the extended limb and twisted it violently to the left, forcing Billy down onto one knee. In one fluid movement, he hit the back of Billy’s elbow joint with his forearm. His entire weight was behind the strike and Billy’s arm snapped like a twig, bending in the completely wrong direction. Billy screamed and fell on his back in a puddle, blubbering like a girl. Bodger looked to his other minder, who looked scared and picked up his screaming colleague. He didn’t want to take Jinx on. The pouring rain was running down his face in rivulets.
“Anyone else?” Jinx
“The cellar door is locked from the inside, which means they are still in there,” Gus replied and pointed toward the back of the club.
“So what, Gus, I don’t care. I’ve got better things to do.” Mick wanted to be away from the scene before the police began sniffing around. “We’ll find out who did this before long, and we can deal with them then.”
“Mick, did you hear what he said?” Jinx came out of the shadows. “He said we peddle filth in his city, and he was going to take your produce and your money. Now it sounded to me like he means to do this again. If we don’t stick together and make this bastard disappear, then they could hit anyone of us at anytime.”
Mick stopped and thought about it for a second. “Fair enough, Jinx, what do you suggest?” Mick was shrewd and he shrugged his huge shoulders. “Shall we knock on the back door and ask for our money back?”
“It was an inside job, Mick. One of us set it up,” Gus said.
“Maybe one of you did, but I think you’re forgetting that whoever stole the money had an Uzi in his hand, and right now all I’m carrying is twenty Lamberts and my lighter. I’m as pissed off as you are, but there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“He’s right,” Jinx added. “I think we should start asking questions tomorrow, and we can rule Jessie out of the sting.”
There was a murmur of agreement amongst the men. There were also suspicious glances. Old rivalries simmered beneath the surface.
“What about you, Jinx?” Bodger spoke. His real name was Barry Hodge, but no one used it. He was a major fraudster and scammer. He manufactured software in the Far East that could capture credit card and bank account data and sold it all over the world. He had made over two million dollars selling the latest computer gaming consoles to American internet customers; of course the goods had never materialised. “Where are your boys tonight?”
Jinx had arrived on his own for the poker game. He always did. No one needed to ask why he didn’t have a minder; it was obvious. Unless someone was going to shoot him, he could look after himself, but the insinuation that he was involved was there.
“I don’t need my boys all the time, Bodger, but you do.”
One of Bodger’s men stepped forward. “Watch your mouth!”
“Or what, sweet cheeks?” Jinx didn’t move but his grin turned into a sneer. “Do you fancy a shot at the title?”
“Don’t mind if I do, it’s about time someone shut you up, you prick!”
Instinctively the men cleared a space between the antagonists. Tensions were running high after the robbery and the explosion.
“Knock him out, Billy,” Bodger goaded his man. Billy was an ex-boxer. and His nose said he wasn’t the best defensive fighter in the world; it was flattened to his face. He had been a handy-man in his youth but never good enough to make a career in the ring. Billy came from a family of fighters and villains, and he resented the rise to power of some members of the black community. He had been a racist from an early age and didn’t care who knew it.
Billy Williams raised his hands to his chin in an orthodox boxing stance. He looked light on his feet for a big man. Jinx didn’t change his expression as the boxer circled him. Billy lunged forward with a hard left jab but he was slow at getting his arm back out of danger. Jinx grabbed the extended limb and twisted it violently to the left, forcing Billy down onto one knee. In one fluid movement, he hit the back of Billy’s elbow joint with his forearm. His entire weight was behind the strike and Billy’s arm snapped like a twig, bending in the completely wrong direction. Billy screamed and fell on his back in a puddle, blubbering like a girl. Bodger looked to his other minder, who looked scared and picked up his screaming colleague. He didn’t want to take Jinx on. The pouring rain was running down his face in rivulets.
“Anyone else?” Jinx
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