Die Tryin' (35 page)

‘Okay. You have one thousand, two hundred and twenty two grams of gold at thirty eight pounds a gram…’ Adrian said casually as he punched the figures into the calculator.

Nick did a quick calculation in his head. He stared at Tony ruefully.

‘Forty six thousand four hundred and thirty six pounds,’ Adrian said, looking at them with a neutral expression stamped on his face. ‘Give or take once we remove the stones.’

Tony stared at Nick and shrugged.

‘That ain’t even a fifth of what that’s worth,’ Nick said in a loud whisper. ‘Knew we’d be taking a hit doing it this way…’

‘It’s better than nothing,’ Tony replied philosophically. ‘I just wanna get rid.’

Nick still had that rueful smile planted on his face as he turned back to Adrian, tapping his clenched fist on the counter. ‘So, you’re just gonna hand over the best part of fifty grand to him?’ he asked, giving Adrian a sideways look. ‘Just like that?’

‘Yes,’ Adrian replied in that same neutral tone that matched his facial expression to perfection.

Nick stared at him incredulously. ‘Come on, Adrian,’ he said. ‘You got that kind of money here?’

‘My dear, we are a very big company,’ Adrian stated nonchalantly. ‘We are all over the Internet.’

‘If you say so,’ Nick replied.

‘I do. And what I give you, we get back once we melt it.’

‘When are you gonna melt it?’

‘It will be sent away tomorrow at 9 am.’

‘And when do I get my money?’ Tony asked.

‘We will deposit your money into your bank account within forty eight hours.’

‘What about the stones?’ Nick asked.

‘The stones we will remove and post back to you via Royal Mail Special Delivery service.’

Nick turned to Tony. ‘The stones aren’t marked,’ he whispered to him. ‘You can sell ’em to a jeweller or auction ’em. They’ll fetch top dollar, believe me, bump up your score.’

‘Whatever,’ Tony answered flippantly. ‘I’ll sort that out later.’

Nick shrugged. ‘Cool.’ He turned back to Adrian and sighed. ‘Okay, boss. Where does he sign?’

*****

They trudged out of Dump Ur Gold, Tony holding a receipt for the gold he just handed over to Adrian.

‘That bloke was weird…’ Tony stated.

‘Yeah, he was,’ Nick replied, without any humour in his voice. ‘You took a massive hit there, you know,’ Nick said, staring at the street with distant eyes. Cars went by on the busy High Street, people bustling by behind them.

‘At least I got something, and finally got rid of that fucking bling!’ Tony stated, watching the world go by with a casual gaze. ‘And it’s a good amount. Not great, but good. Means I can make moves now.’

‘And once you shift the stones…’ Nick reflected. ‘Yeah, maybe not so bad after all. At least you’re better off than you were this morning.’

‘Yeah, well let’s hope Adrian pulls through,’ Tony said. ‘If he don’t, I’m gonna come down here in two days and smash his fucking head in.’

‘He’ll pull through. He’s all over the Internet.’ They both chuckled. ‘So what do we do now?’ Nick then asked.

‘Dunno. Go get drunk?’

‘I meant with our lives.’

Tony shrugged indifferently. ‘Don’t matter. We’re all fucked anyway.’

Nick turned to face him. He was talking like Charlie and that was unusual. ‘What do you mean,
re
?’ he asked.

‘Marco. That’s what I mean,’ Tony told him, still watching the street. ‘He’s gonna get us, you know? Just like he got the others.’

Nick couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Was this really Tony Savva standing next to him? Who the fuck was this imposter?
‘Listen to me,’ Nick said angrily. ‘I don’t believe all this shit about ghosts and zombies, okay?’

‘Well, I think you should.’ Tony replied in a calm voice, his eyes scanning the street. ‘You know why?’

‘Why?’

‘Cos it’s true. Taki
(See No Evil)
; Nick Black
(Hear No Evil)
. Both killed by Marco
.
Just ask Charlie.’
(Ask Taki; ask Nick Black; ask little fucking Costa!)

‘Charlie’s mad, Tony.’

‘No he’s not.
No, he’s not,’
Tony said, laughing absently. ‘He’s right when he says Marco’s back. Believe me.’
(It was Marco. Marco said he’s gonna kill you!)

‘No, I don’t believe you, Tony. I believe that Charlie killed Taki, and doesn’t know it ’cos he’s got more than one personality living inside him. As for Nick Black, it was an accident. For all we know, Charlie might have scratched that message into the side of Carla’s car without us noticing…’

Tony laughed and turned to face Nick for the first time since they left
Dump Ur Gold
. His eyes gleamed with sorrow and regret. ‘And that’s what you believe is it? You laugh at me when I say Marco’s the one doing all this, and you believe a skinny fuck like Charlie did it?’

‘Charlie’s stronger than you think,
re
. He put your sister’s husband in hospital didn’t he?’

‘Ex
-husband.’

‘Whatever. If he’s capable of that, then he’s capable of killing.’

Tony just stared at him with dark eyes. ‘You
wanna
start believing,
re
, ’cos it’s real. Stop acting blind and wake up. We’re all going down—me, you, Charlie. And you know it. So, if I was you, I’d sell up and enjoy the money while you still can.’

‘Is that what you’re gonna do, Tone? Enjoy the money while you still can?’

‘Yeah,’ Tony replied, facing the street again and watching it. ‘I’m packing in my job and going to Thailand.’

‘Thailand?’
Nick exclaimed, not believing what he just heard. ‘What the fuck are you gonna do out there?’

Tony shrugged. ‘Dunno. Drink. Fuck. Heard it’s good for that. I mean if we’re all gonna die anyway, I might as well enjoy myself before I go. You never know,
he might not find me out there…’

‘Who, Tone? Who won’t find you out there?’

‘Marco…’ he replied monotone. Then, he chuckled. ‘You know, it’s like
50 Cent:
Get Rich or Die Tryin’
. Well,
we
died trying.’ He stared solemnly at Nick as he spoke. ‘But, at least we tried…’ he added, and then turned his back on Nick and walked away.

‘Where are you going?’ Nick asked.

‘Travel agent. Then solicitors. Then home.’

‘Don’t you want a lift?’ Nick shouted after him.

‘I’ll get the bus,’ Tony replied, shouting over his shoulder, not breaking stride from his focussed march.

He got further down the street before he disappeared into a crowd of people.

And Nick Theodorou never saw Tony Savva again.

Tony had been gone for almost a month when Nick XR2 went round to see Maria.

He strode confidently up to Tony’s mum’s front door, and rung the bell. After a minute, Maria opened it. At first, she seemed a little shocked to see Nick standing there; her eyes widened and she froze.

‘I wanted to find out if you’ve spoken to Tony,’ Nick said, wanting to get straight to the point and not allow that moment of stasis to become uncomfortably long. ‘He’s just disappeared,’ he added with a slight shrug.

‘He’s in Thailand,’ Maria replied and cocked her head to the side, her apparent unease melting. ‘Said he needed to get away for a while.’

‘Yeah, I know that,’ Nick said. ‘I was wondering if you’ve spoken to him since he got there.
Did
he even get there?’

‘Yeah. He got there. He’s got a flat out there.’

‘A flat?’ Nick echoed.
So, Adrian must have pulled through then…
Nick nodded. ‘Good.
Is he all right…?’

‘I
think
he’s having a good time. You know Tony…’

Nick chuckled. ‘Yeah,’ he said and nodded.
‘I know Tony…’

Another moment of uncomfortable silence ensued.

Maria broke it. ‘You wanna come in for a cup of tea?’ she asked.

Nick checked his watch, scratched the back of his head, and then faced Maria. ‘Okay,’ he said and smiled.

Maria returned the smile, and opened the door wide enough for him to enter.

*****

‘It was that Charlie who beat him up,’ Maria said, her voice tinged with anger, a look on her face like she had just smelt something rotten. ‘Mario told Elle’s brother and she told me. And now Mario won’t come near here, he’s too scared.’ She took another sip of her tea. ‘The divorce is due through any day,’ she added, and Nick didn’t seem to sense any regret on her part.

‘Looks like Charlie did you a favour then,’ he said and took a sip of his tea.

‘Mario might have turned out to be the wrong man for me, but I don’t want that other bloke near me. He gives me the creeps.’ She shivered as she spoke.

‘Charlie’s…
Charlie,’
Nick replied. ‘Don’t worry too much about him. I don’t think he’s gonna bother you in the future. Haven’t seen him myself for a while now. But, as far as Mario goes, you’re better off without him.’

‘Well, my face is better off that’s for sure,’ she said dryly. Nick chuckled. He liked the way she could have a sense of humour about such a bad situation.

He sipped more of his tea. ‘Very true,’ he said quietly.

‘Such a shock what happened to Nick Mavro,’ Maria then said out of nowhere.

Nick nodded as he placed his cup down again. ‘Yeah. Shocking.’

‘I think that’s one of the reasons why Tony needed to get away,’ Maria suggested.

‘Yeah, maybe,’ Nick said, knowing that was bullshit.

‘Where was it they had the car crash again? Birmingham?’

‘Wolverhampton,’ Nick corrected.

‘I mean, what was Nick doing up there anyway?’

‘Something to do with his girlfriend,’ Nick replied. ‘She led him astray. You know… messed with his head. He changed a lot after they got together.’

‘Really?’

Nick nodded. ‘Unfortunately, yes…’

A second of silence ensued. Maria broke it. ‘So, how come no one’s tried to tie you down yet?’ she asked.

Nick chuckled, glad to be changing track from Nick Mavro. ‘A few have. But, they’re not what I’m looking for.’

‘No?’

‘No.’

‘So what
is
it you’re looking for?’ she asked, a wicked gleam now in her eye.

Nick locked onto her stare and suddenly he was reading the script the same way a stock trader reads the FTSE 100. And right then it was the precise moment to strike.

He placed his tea down on the table and got to his feet, Maria’s stare not leaving his. He approached her slow and sleek, like a panther moving silently in on its prey. He reached down, carefully took her cup of tea from her hand, and placed it down on the table next to his. He could feel an anxious excitement building inside his stomach, causing his legs to tremble—a state that he was not so accustomed to. He knew how cool he was, how slick, how calm in the face of pressure he could be. But a beautiful woman was all it took to destroy all that. And that threat was here. And it was very real.

He took in a deep breath, and kept his cool long enough to arch his back downwards, reach out, and stroke her hair lightly with his steady fingertips, allowing them to come down and stroke both her cheek and chin delicately, lightly, like the touch of a hummingbird’s beating wings. Maria looked up at him with dark eyes that gleamed seductively like the jewels they snatched from the tomb, her lips parting to reveal pearl like teeth.

Nick moved in, without hesitation, his heart slamming against his ribs, his legs feeling as if they were about to buckle at any minute. But he held firm, held steady, and went for the kill. He puckered his lips, and only when he was sure enough, at the very last moment did he close his eyes and allow their lips to touch in a delicate, but equally passionate kiss.

His legs suddenly solidified to granite, and his heart cooled down to a steady rhythm as he felt the surging power and satisfaction of a long desired conquest. He reached out and placed his hands on her firm, svelte waist as she fell back, her hair splaying wildly across the arm of the sofa.

He laid down on top of her, and they embraced as new lovers.

And that was the moment Nick Theodorou got everything that he had wanted for a long, long time.

*****

Charlie stood on London Bridge, staring out blankly at the murky Thames as it ebbed away into the distance. He looked down at the bag of jewels in his hand. He lifted it up to his face, and then dangled it over the edge of the bridge.

‘Go on, drop it!’
the Old Witch dared him.
‘What good is all that gold to a worthless roach like you?’

Charlie took in a deep breath of petrol-stained air and closed his eyes. It wasn’t the value of the gold he cared about, it was the curse the jewels had put on them all. The spilt blood—Marco; Taki; Nick Black. And now Tony had disappeared. And the way Charlie saw it, as long as these things were in his possession, the spirits would remain vengeful.

‘And you might as well throw yourself over while you’re at it,’
The Old Witch added.
‘That pretty little thing—the big lump’s sister. Looks like she’s found a new man.’
She spoke in a devilish voice.
‘Your friend with the car…’

Charlie’s eyes flicked open. He found himself staring at the dirty Thames. ‘You’re lying,’ he told the Old Witch.

‘Oh, am I? Go and find out for yourself, you miserable wretch! You’ll see. Little whore opened her legs for him in the blink of an eye once that dumb brother of hers was out of her way.’

The spite in her words stabbed at his heart. He wished he could wring the old bitch’s neck, kill her once and for all, banish her from his life, to never listen to her poison again.

‘One day, I’ll beat you,’ he said through gritted teeth.

His words were returned with a rusty cackle.
‘Never, boy…’
she replied.
‘Never.’

Charlie glanced up at the oppressively grey sky, then down at the bag again. It dangled precariously from his fingers.
Just drop it, drop it, get those cursed things out of your life,
he told himself.

‘Go on, drop them. Drop them in the river. They’re no good to you. Drop them…’
the Old Witch advised him with childlike eagerness.