Rattling Snakes Cage Ch. 10

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.

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

*

Johnny 'the slice' had a dilemma, he now knew where Snake could find Patrick, and he needed to get hold of Snake to tell him where he was and get the reward. But first he had to get to see him, and that wasn't that easy, as the gang boss was not available direct, you had to go through his minions and make a meeting.

Driving over to the club that the man usually could be found at night he walked in, It was early afternoon and staff were getting the place ready for tonight, cleaners sweeping the floor, bar staff preparing the bar and a couple of men drinking coffee at a table near the back office. Walking up to the men Johnny stood nervously, hopping from foot to foot.

One of the men, a bald tough looking geezer looked up and grunted, "What you want creep?"

Clearing his throat Johnny asked to see Snake. "I got something he'll be interested in."

"Come back tonight then. He'll probably be here then."

"He'll want to hear my information now."

"And why would he want that?"

"Cause I know where Curtis is."

The man stood up and moved forward, towering over Johnny. "Where is he you little toss pot."

Stepping back Johnny told him, "I'll tell Snake...contact him and I'll tell Snake to his face."

He could see his reward money disappearing in the distance if he told this thug where Curtis was. The bastard could tell Snake the information and claim the money, cutting him out completely. Stepping forward intimidatingly the man growled, "He's a busy man. You think he has time to meet up with you."

Just as the man was about to grab him the office door opened and the owner of the club stepped out. "What's going on here?"

Johnny almost ran past the big thug up to the manager and told him, "I need to speak to Snake, can you contact him, tell him Johnny 'the slice' has the information he wants on Curtis."

A long silence stretched as the manager of the club gave Johnny the once over, a look of disgust on his face, then with a sigh got out his mobile phone and dialled. After a short conversation he disconnected the call and told Johnny to sit over there, pointing to a corner of the large room. "Snake will be here in half an hour."

*

Cuddled up on the couch, Patrick lay with Rachel's head on his chest, gently stroking her arm. His chin rested on the crown of her head and they lay quietly talking, trying not to mention what was about to happen at four o'clock or what would transpire after the exchange. They were taking this precious time to spend together, both lost in their own thoughts between the murmurings, Rachel scared that something bad was going to happen to him, Patrick wishing she would agree to come to Florida with him.

Earlier Patrick had put the plastic wrapped bags of cocaine in the sports bag that Jerry had brought the supplies inside to the Industrial Unit a few days ago. Taking the towelling robe belt he had tied it to the handle of the bag and then to the metal handle of the window so that it hung outside the building, hidden from view from anyone inside and as the window faced the back of the building, from prying eyes out the front when they arrived.

He was seasoned enough to know that this was the calm before the storm. That even though Jerry knew the Manchurian gang leader and had worked for and trusted him, he didn't, and that with that amount of coke and money, greed and double dealings could flare up.

Bending his head a fraction he kissed the top of Rachel's head and she twisted her head up to look up at him, smiling a small tremulous smile.

"You know I wish I had met you ten years ago, before I met Snake and my life would have taken a different route." he told her.

Shaking her head and laughing she answered, "Don't be soppy you would have been done for child abuse. I would have been fourteen and you still would have done what you have done with your life. It's in your nature Patrick. Remember you told me that first night....I'm a thief....its what I do."

"I bet you broke a lot of hearts when you were fourteen."

"Not so many."

"Well you're breaking mine now."

And he kissed her, a deep wet soulful kiss full of love and yearning.

*

Snake barrelled into the club, two of his henchmen trailing.

"WHERE THE FUCK IS HE?" he roared, looking around for Johnny who shrunk down in the chair, scared at the look on the tall mans face. It reflected a manic rage and he had heard rumours of what could happen to a person if Snake decided to take it out on them.

Moving over to where he sat, Snake kicked and pushed chairs aside until he was in front of Johnny. "Ok you cunt, start talking. Where's Curtis?"

"He's in a block of flats over in West Dulwich Mr Armstrong, top floor, door on the right."

Leaning down on the table with his hands, his face inches from Johnny's, "What road?"

"Laraby, just off Parsons Lane."

Straightening up Snake turned and strode away and Johnny called after his retreating back, "What about the reward Mr Armstrong?"

"If he's there then you get it. Until then keep out of my sight." and then he was gone, the two beefy men that arrived with him leaving as well, the club now just Johnny, the bar staff and the two original men that had been there when he arrived.

*

Jerry had booked the tickets for the Eurostar to Paris, told Megan that he would be collecting her at about seven and to be ready as they were going to start the drive over to Spain tonight and have a look around with a view to settling there.

Megan smiled at her end of the phone, excited she believed everything that Jerry told her. Looking around her tiny high rise flat with the noisy neighbours and the mould in the bathroom she was happy to leave it. Life until she met Jerry was mundane and he brought light and hope into it. What ever he said, she would do. Where ever he wanted to go she would follow.

She was an innocent and she had found her knight in shining armour.

*

The police had got a read out on Rachel's mobile phone calls from the Mobile Network at last. But the last couple of calls both in and out were to a Pay as You Talk unregistered mobile phone so they were unable to find out who she or someone else had called. But they did have an idea from what area the last calls were made and received in. There were a couple of calls that were covered by the phone cell in the vicinity of the industrial unit, and the last call was received in an area in West Dulwich. Unable to get a complete fix on the actual address they looked at a map of the site covered by the cell. It was a high residential area of houses, flats and a small park.

They decided to go search the park first for any possible body.

*

Snake and his two men sped towards West Dulwich, traffic heavy and his temper rising. He was so close and when he got his hands on Patrick he was going to teach him a lesson before he finished him off. The double dealing, motherfucking bastard would beg for death and release, but he wouldn't give it. He was going to break every fucking bone in his body and cut his fucking cock off before he would let him die.

*

Darwin and his two men were loading the brief case containing three hundred thousand pounds into the boot of the car outside the house in Dulwich Village that he was renting. He would pay for the coke, but not the full amount. Jerry and his partner would take the reduced amount or they would get nothing. The three men were tooled up with knifes just in case, and Darwin himself had a shooter which he kept on him always.

A man can't be too careful. Not in the business he was in.

*

A really pissed off Johnny 'the slice' walked out of the club and into the corner boozer and ordered a beer. He had counted on having the money this afternoon from Snake. He hadn't planned on having to wait. But what else could he do. Drinking down the pint in one go he ordered another one and as he was waiting for it to be poured he looked around the pub and noticed the redheaded girl that he had passed onto Snake the other night.

When his pint was given to him by the barman he walked over to where she sat nursing a Vodka and lime. And not the first one by the looks of it.

She was still sore, bruised and totally humiliated by the gang bang that had happened the other night at Snakes and was looking for revenge.

Looking up at the man who was taking a seat at her table she narrowed her eyes and told him, "Piss off you bastard.....you're the reason I spent the other night being fucked by seven fucking men, and not a penny for it."

*

The first thing that Patrick and Rachel heard was the almighty crash of the front door as it was kicked in by one of the two henchmen. Trying to sit up, but still entangled they watched in horror as Snake strode into the flat and hauled a screaming Rachel off of Patrick's prone body by her hair.

"Sorry to break up your little party Curtis but you and I have some unfinished business."

The two henchmen grabbed Patrick and pulled him off the couch and onto his knees in front of Snake, who held Rachel also on her knees by twisting his hand in her hair and making her kneel, her hands grabbing at the hands that were pulling at her scalp painfully.

Patrick looked up at his former friend and employer with a look of defiance, "Big man Nick.....three against one....you never could fight fair."

"I don't give a shit about fighting fair.....now where is my fucking coke?"

Patrick looked up at Snake and said in a calm voice, "You want the coke? I'll tell you where it is once you've let the girl go.....as soon as she's out of the flat and I know she's safe I'll tell you."

In answer Snake kicked Patrick in the belly and a great grunt of pain left his mouth as he doubled over.

Rachel screamed, "Leave him alone....."

Letting go of her hair, he gave a push to her and nodding to one of his men who let go of Patrick and grabbed the girl. He stepped over to the panting Patrick and grabbed his hair lifting his face up. "One way or the other you're going to tell me....so if you want to reduce the amount of pain before you break, I would tell me now."

Patrick spat in Nick Armstrong's face and with a contorted bellow of rage another hard kick from his foot connected with Patrick's already tender stomach. Retching this time along with the pain, the kneeling man frantically tried to think what to do to get Rachel out of here and away from the madman in front of him.

He knew Jerry and the buyer were due here soon, but he couldn't see the time, and he couldn't rely on being saved by them anyway.

Things were starting to look really helpless when it started to take a turn for the worse.

Watching as Nick picked up the empty wine bottle from the table beside the couch the man asked in a deceptively quiet voice, "Doing a little early celebrating were we?" and then turning towards Rachel who was being held by his henchman he said, "She's a pretty little thing Patrick. How come you haven't shared her with me.....we always did share things.....you and me......"

With a snarl Patrick launched himself at Snake, breaking free from the hands that were holding him still, just as Snake turned around and punched Patrick hard, meeting his momentum and knocking him sideways to a heap on the floor, the split on his lip starting to bleed again, "Maybe after I've had her, Mick and Pete can have her. We could take turns all night........you going to tell me what I want to know Patrick?.....WHERE IS MY FUCKING COKE?"

*

Jerry was walking up the first flight of stairs when he heard the commotion from the top floor. Running up the last flight and peeking around the corner he saw the broken door hanging on its hinges.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." He muttered under his breath and ran down the stairs to outside the flats entrance. "Fuck, fuck, fuck....." walking up and down agitated in the street he tried to think what to do and then had an idea.

Picking up the mobile he dialled Darwin's number and when he answered asked the man, "How bad do you want to rattle the snake's cage?"

*