Rattling Snakes Cage Ch. 03

This is a romantic crime thriller which contains some romantic sex, some non consensual sex, some male on male violence, and a lot of very interesting and interacting characters, with some twists and turns in the story.

I have tried to keep things as tasteful as I can, keeping in mind some peoples sensitivity.

As with all my stories there is not always a nice tidy happy ending for everyone – life is just not like that.

*

Snake opened the door to the men that he had invited over, each of the six men worked for him and knew exactly why they were there. Walking over to the bar he raised up the bottle of Scotch and gestured to the men to see if they wanted a drink. Each man nodded and quietly went over to get their glass of the amber liquid after Snake had poured them all out.

Saluting with their glasses the seven men made a silent toast before knocking back the drink and then turning as one walked over to the bedroom door. Snake opened the door and the men all followed him in.

The girl turned over from her stomach onto her side as the door opened, the smile on her face for Snake wide and welcoming only to falter and be replaced by the look of fear on her face as she saw the six men swarming into the room with him.

"What the......."

"Shut the fuck up......"

Scooting back scared to the headboard she grabbed a pillow to hold in front of her as the six men started to divest themselves of their clothes, never taking their eyes from her.

"Welcome to the party baby......"

Shaking her head as the men moved closer towards her she started to plead. One of the men leant down and grabbed her ankle pulling her down the bed away from the end where she hovered.

"No good up there Red...."

Another of the men grabbed her hair and twisting it around his hand told her, "Just relax........we'll all have some fun and then if you can walk afterwards we'll call you a cab to get home."

Suddenly there were hands all over her, pulling and pushing. Pinching and squeezing.

And there watching it all with a grin on his face was Snake.

*

Patrick woke up his body feeling even more bruised than yesterday if that was possible. Sleeping on cardboard on a lino floor was not his idea of a good night, even if he had the pleasure of holding Rachel's lovely warm body all night. Her hair had tickled his face, and at one point in the night he had woken up and lay there just absorbing her as she slept, her breathing even, and his body yearning to sink itself deep inside her.

But now it was morning and he knew as soon as she opened her eyes he was going to have to deal with the situation and tell her what was going to happen to her, and he knew she was not going to be happy.

He lay watching her, her long black lashes laying in a curve on her closed eyes, her mouth slightly open as she lay on her back, her hands still tied in front of her, the blanket down exposing her cleavage inside the dirt smeared top she was still wearing.

He knew he had never seen anything so beautiful in his life before, and he knew he never would again.

At that moment he felt himself fall.

Oh shit...... he thought. It seemed that complications were mounting upon complications and his life, which he had been planning on making less problematical, was getting more and more of a mess.

Slowly Rachel's eyes fluttered open as she came awake, turning her head to look at Patrick as he lay with his head balanced on his crooked arm. Smiling at her he whispered, "Sleep ok sweetheart?"

"What do you think you big creep! I'm lying on cardboard, hands tied, with probably the biggest pile of shit as an excuse for a man in the world......"

"So that's a no then is it?"

Struggling to sit up without the use of her hands she told him, "I need to go to the toilet."

Throwing off the blanket Patrick stood up and grabbed her arm to help her stand, "If I undo your wrists promise me you'll not try to escape."

Rachel just gave him a baleful glare, and Patrick shrugged, "In that case you'll have to go with the door open and me watching." And he took out the knife from his boot and cut the bandages tying up her wrists.

Sitting as coyly as she could on the loo, glaring at him as he stood leaning against the wall opposite the toilet he conversationally told her, "I've come to a decision. Today we lie low, wait for Jerry to return and go on to the safe house he's going to get. You'll stay with me there until the deal is done, I have the money, and I'm on my way..... Well on my way from the UK.... I'll contact whoever you want to let them know where you are and then you're free."

"How long will that be?"

"About four or five days, week at the most."

"A WEEK."

"Yeah....think of it as a holiday.....a break from reality....something you can tell your grandchildren about....."

Standing up and pulling up her pants she stormed out the loo and over to him as he straightened up from where he was leaning. Poking him in the chest she told him, "One week with you.....you have to be joking."

"No joke sweetheart......the alternative is not something you want to find out. One week and then your free." Reaching out and stroking her hair behind her ear he continued, "Besides it will give us time to get to know each other better......you never know this could be the start of a beautiful friendship."

"In your dreams you bastard."

*

Sarah stood in the kitchen of the small house she shared with Rachel pouring herself a coffee. She and Rachel had been friends since they met at school when they were thirteen, growing up together, seeing each other through the ups and downs of their boyfriend troubles, and sharing the rent on the tiny house in the village not far from Biggin Hill in the North of Kent.

Taking a sip of the hot coffee she wandered upstairs with the second cup ready to wake Rachel up. It wasn't like her friend not to be up yet but Sarah guessed she must have come home very late last night and have overslept as she never heard her come in. Hoping that her friend had met someone nice last night she turned towards Rachel's bedroom. That last sod that Rachel went out with had really hurt her.

Warren and Rachel had been going out for six months and during that time neither Rachel nor Sarah had realised that he was married. Last week Rachel and she had been out shopping in Bluewater Shopping Mall and there he was, arm and arm with a woman and pushing a child around in a push chair. When Rachel had confronted him the next night he admitted it, telling her his marriage was just a sham. But that's not how it had looked to Sarah and Rachel when they had seen them laughing and smiling at each other from across the shopping Mall. He and his wife had looked like they were very much an item and Rachel had told him to piss off, crying into her friends shoulder for two days unable to understand how he could have lied to her and used her like that.

Calling out through the bedroom door for Rachel to wake up she opened the door only to find the room empty, the bed unslept in. Smiling to herself Sarah turned around and walked back downstairs to the kitchen. Perhaps her friend had found someone else last night. She certainly hoped so. She couldn't wait for tonight to find out who he was that had made her friend stay out all night and what had happened. Finishing her coffee Sarah grabbed her bag and left the house making for her own car and the short drive to work.

*

Picking up the bag and blanket Patrick pushed Rachel out the room where they had spent the night and up the stairs to the original room they had been in. Walking over to a far corner Rachel stood, arms wrapped around her waist eyeing the chair in the other corner.

"You're not going to tie me to the chair again are you?"

Glancing at the chair in the corner Patrick looked back at her, "Only if you misbehave."

Laying the blanket down on the floor in front of a wall he walked over to the window and carefully looked out. "People will be arriving soon at the other units. We'll need to keep away from the window and be quiet," looking over to her he said, "and I do mean quiet. No shouting to get attention or I promise you that when I get through tying you up you'll look just like an Egyptian mummy and won't be able to even wiggle a finger."

Walking back to the blanket he sat down and pulled out from the bag a packet of biscuits and a bottle of water. Patting the space next to him he told her, "Come and sit over here, time for breakfast."

Rachel slowly made her way over to him and sat down carefully keeping as much space between them as possible. She watched as he opened the packet of chocolate biscuits, taking three and handed them to her, "There's only these and a couple of apples left so we'll need to make them last until Jerry comes and gets us later tonight. Also there is only this bottle of water and the rest of the Scotch left. I wouldn't trust drinking any water from the faucets in this building, so go careful on the water to make it last." Taking three biscuits himself he put the remainder of the packet back in the bag and taking out the pain killers shook out a couple, picked up the water and taking a sip swallowed the small pills.

"Do the bruises hurt?"

"Only when I breathe."

"Your face looks a bit of a mess."

"Thanks for the compliment."

Taking a sip of the water to wash down a biscuit she asked him, "Why did they beat you up?"

Leaning his head back against the wall and sighing he answered, "Because I was stupid and got caught. Rule number one is to never get caught."

"Why did they catch you? What had you done?"

"You ask a lot of questions." Bending one of his legs and resting his arm on his knee he told her, "The man that had me beaten up and that I escaped from is called Snake. His real name is Nick Armstrong. We started out together working for a local guy years ago, mostly small stuff. Nick was really ambitious. Worked his way up, became more and more hard and ruthless. I rose with him." Stopping talking for a moment he closed his eyes and seemed to be lost in some thought as Rachel ran her eyes over him for the first time really looking at him. He was a good looking man under all the purple bruises on his cheekbone, jaw and eye on the left side of his face. Masculine with a strong jaw line slightly covered in stubble, and a good head of shiny dark hair cut stylishly.

"Like what you see?"

Jumping at his voice she blushed, "I was checking your wounds. Would you like me to put some stuff on them from the first aid kit your friend bought?"

Turning his head towards her he sighed, his now opened eyes twinkling, "Want to play Florence Nightingale to get your hands on me?"

Giving him a long hard look she told him acerbically, "Not with a ten foot pole."

Laughing he finished off his food, taking another swig of the water before passing it to her. "It's going to be a long day and we might as well call a truce. Deal?"

Turning her back to him she sat staring into the shabby office, "Do I have a choice."

"Not really, no."

*

Jerry yawned as he followed the car carrying a family of four up the motorway towards Brentwood in Essex. He was exhausted and the day was not going to be over until he had retrieved the goods, got them back to the lab and had gone onto get Patrick and the girl and get them installed in his friends flat.

What was keeping him going was day dreaming about Megan and how perfect it was going to be living together in Spain, her health improved in the warm dry weather, their life together one of peace and quiet. No more taking chances, no more dealing with a load of men over dosing on testosterone and violence.

He and Patrick had increasingly become uncomfortable with what they were seeing. Snake was becoming more and more out of control, his cruelty becoming random, his greed placing what had been a good earner for all the men in the firm under the close attention of the police. Patrick had told him that Snake was gearing up for a turf war against other firms, aiming to increase his power, and the two men had decided enough was enough. Time to get out.

And that is why they had decided to rip off the cocaine from Snake so that they could bankroll the escape.

Only for Patrick to get caught yesterday when moving the last bag from the lab.

So now it was more imperative to get Patrick ensconced somewhere safe, the deal completed with his contact, the money paid, and for them to get away from a vengeful Snake.

*

The day was going slowly, boredom was setting in and Rachel's stomach was rumbling with hunger. For the last three hours she had sat deliberately with her back towards Patrick, ignoring him. He leaned against the wall from where they sat on the blanket, eyes closed as if he was asleep, But she knew he wasn't. About an hour ago they had heard some voices not far from the building they were in and Patrick had gotten up and carefully peeked out of the window to check who it was. Sitting back down he had settled, taking another couple of pain killers and sitting there as if he didn't have a care in the world.

Twisting around to face him she asked him, "You still didn't say why your friend.....what did you say his name was......."

"Nick Armstrong....."

"Yes....well you didn't say why he was beating you up......."

"I stole from him."

"You stole.......!"

"It's what I do......I'm a thief.....I steal."

"From a friend?"

"From a bigger thief......and crime boss."

"Have you no morals?"

"Not a lot......what about you? What do you do?"

"I work in a bank as a Financial Advisor...."

"A thief by any other name!"

"What do you mean?"

"Legal theft....banking."

"No its not."

Patrick just closed his eyes and rested his head back against the wall. After a long silence she asked him, curious.

"Have you ever been to prison?"

"Hmmm...."

"Really? And it didn't stop you from stealing?"

Giving a gentle shake of his head he explained whilst still keeping his eyes closed, "Did two years in my early twenties. Made a lot of contacts whilst inside. Sort of like a finishing school." Opening his eyes he looked at her horrified face as she sat there next to him, "I told you I'm a thief. That's what I do. It's my job......don't make the mistake that I'm soft and you can talk me around to letting you go. I'm fighting for my life and I have no compunction about holding you hostage until I'm gone and am safe."

*

Snake grabbed the pocked face man by the lapels of his suit jacket and snarled into his face, "What the fuck do you mean there's no sign of him. He can't have got far. I fucking hurt him, he was on foot, he has to be somewhere on the manor."

Trying to placate his boss the scared man said, "We turned over his crib, no sign he had gone there. We've got a man sitting on the place in case he turns up there."

"He won't fucking go to his place you fucking idiot. Patrick's not stupid and he'll know we would be watching there. He's hiding out somewhere nearby. Fucking find him. Check on any of his girlfriends; see if the bastard has been to any of them for help. Put the word out in the locals that if he turns up to contact me or else."

Letting go of the man, Snake stalked over to the window, "Make sure that everyone knows I'm looking for him. Anyone that helps him will be as dead as he'll be when I've finished with them."

*

By mid afternoon the biscuits, apples and water were gone, and time seemed to be dragging on. Patrick watched as the girl picked up the empty water bottle tipping it up to her mouth as the last little drop dripped into her open lips.

He felt himself go hard.

Leaning over he took the three quarter full bottle of Scotch out of the bag and holding it out towards her, "Here, if you're thirsty try a swig of this."

Wrinkling her nose, she shook her head, "Nasty stuff...."

Shrugging, he twisted off the top of the bottle and lifting it up to his mouth took a mouthful, "Suit yourself.....more for me."

She watched as he took another swig before tentatively lifting up her hand for the bottle. Handing it to her Patrick watched as she wiped the top of the bottle with her hand, his right eyebrow rose slightly, "You won't catch anything, I'm clean."

"I'm not taking any chances." And she took a small sip from the bottle, grimacing at the taste.

"I take it you're not a Whiskey drinker? A little light Chardonnay more your poison?"

Taking a bigger sip she nodded.

Laughing he told her, "I bet its white wine, Sushi and clubbing up West at weekends. Safe men with good jobs, and the old nine to five with a pension."

"As compared to.....?"

"Whatever I want it to be....no rules, no regulations."

"Seems to me no rules and no regulations haven't got you far....just hiding out in an old abandoned building in the middle of nowhere."

"Ah but in a week's time I'll be halfway around the world....sun, sea and the good life. This is only a temporary blip."

Taking another sip she stared at him, "If you say so.....but right now you don't look like the blip is quite so temporary or quite so small."

*

Jerry stood in the lab, the retrieved packages handed over, and pouring himself a cup of coffee from the small table in the corner. The packers were cutting the coke with some other stuff, diluting it and then packing it into the small bags ready for distribution. Snake stood at the other side of the room with some of the hard cases that worked for him. Trying to hear what was being discussed without being obvious he moved over to stand near two other of the collectors that stood talking near to Snake.

"What's Snake so fired up about?" he casually asked one of them.

"Seems that Patrick Curtis has been ripping him off. Apparently gone on the run. Word is there's a contract out for him to be brought back to Snake for a good going over."

"Yeah....how much?"

"Ten grand."

Jerry nodded and sipped his coffee. "They have any idea where about he could be?"

"Nah...last seen not far from here running out into the woods. My bet is he has someone who picked him up and is hiding him."

Looking over at Snake Jerry knew he had to move Patrick to somewhere safe as quick as he could and get the sale over and done with so they could get away before the heat came down on them both.

South London was going to get to be a lot more dangerous place to be in over the next week.

*