It was starting to really rain now, perfect robbing weather, and the greyness of the day made it nice and dim inside the old-fashioned shop. Anyone passing would not be able to see what was going on inside.
It was over in under seven minutes, though the two women involved would believe it had lasted a lot longer than that because of their fear. They were outside, ballys off and guns well hidden without anyone even taking a second glance at them. The car started first time and they were gone before the call had even been put through to the police or the ladies had set off the alarm. Laughing their heads off they spun away from the kerb and went to a friend's yard to dispose of the guns and then they sat it out for a few hours, chatting and drinking beer until Pat deemed it safe to go home.
Lance noticed that little Johnny was happy to let Pat be the main man and he knew that a lot of other people were going to feel like that towards him. Pat had a knack of making people do what he wanted; their father had been the same way. He knew Pat was going to shake their world up and make them a force to be reckoned with.
Annie watched as her daughter poured herself another drink. The drinks were being consumed earlier and getting larger by the month. Since Patrick had come home she had eased off a little bit but Annie knew her daughter well enough to know that something was bothering her, something more than usual.
She still looked good, she would give her that. Lil was one of those people who, no matter what happened to them, still seemed to look well.
She wasn't slim exactly but then, as a woman got older, she looked better with a bit of weight on her. She still had the voluptuous look that attracted men to her and her hair was shiny and thick; well-cut and groomed, like the rest of her. But Lil had the vacant look of the heavy drinker; the empty eyes that seemed unable to see what was going on around her. She wasn't bloated or pale-looking like most heavy drinkers but she was gradually losing interest in her surroundings. She was only really happy when the kids were around her and yet she was leaving the brunt of the household chores to her mother. Not that Annie minded; she loved being here, being in the thick of them all.
'Come on, Lil, eat something.'
'I ain't hungry, Mum, how many fucking times, eh?'
Annie sighed and swallowed down the retort that came quickly to her lips. Lil was capable of telling her to leave and she didn't want that to happen.
'Keep your hair on. Have you looked in on Kathleen? She is rough, bless her. I took her up a cuppa and she was already asleep.'
Lil nodded. 'She's all right. I saw her earlier and she has a gyppy tummy, that's all. She went to the doctor tonight; she fit her in like. She took her prescription and crashed out. She'll be OK, Mum; a couple of days in bed should sort her out.'
'She is a fucker for that kebab house on the high street, no wonder she has the shits.'
Lil laughed with her mum; the drink was taking over now and giving her the lovely relaxed feeling she craved. It made her happy and it made her forget the abortion her life seemed to have become.
Annie sat opposite her; she had cooked the dinner for everyone and then washed up and tidied away. She did this because she knew her daughter would put up with her if she was useful. 'What's the matter, Lil? You can tell me, love.'
Lil sat back heavily in the chair. The kids were out of earshot so she decided to confide in her mother; she needed to get it off her chest anyway.
'Lenny turned up at the club last night, all sweetness and light, the ponce. But he was worried about Pat being home, I could feel it. I don't trust him, Mum. He can make you believe anything and we know that better than anyone, don't we? And I don't want my poor Pat being put in a position where he might be used or, even worse, set up.' Lil shook her head at the foolishness of her words, knowing how they sounded when spoken out loud. But she knew Lenny Brewster better than anyone and she knew what he was capable of.
'Pat is a shrewd fucker, Lil. He knows the score, so stop worrying, girl. He's done his bird, kept his head down and his arse up and he ain't silly, love.'
Lil nodded her agreement. 'I know all that, Mum. He is my son after all, but he is out to make a name to get a rep like his father's. He wants to make a niche for himself and I know that Lenny won't let that happen. Patrick's memory is still too fresh in everyone's mind, especially his. He could never compete with him and he knows it.'
Annie didn't say anything. The truth of what her daughter had said was evident to anyone who knew the situation, who knew the score. Pat Junior was a hard little fucker and, she for one, was looking forward to when he took back what was theirs; she was sick of making ends meet. She was sick of kowtowing to a wanker like Lenny and she wanted her daughter to have some peace of mind at last. That was something she believed would only come with Lenny's demise and she prayed daily for that to happen.
She sat with her daughter and the sound of the rain drumming against the window panes was loud in the room. Annie loved this daughter of hers and she wanted to protect her in any way that she could. Grasping her hand, she squeezed it tightly as she said quietly, 'Stop worrying, Lil. We'll be all right; the boys will look out for us.'
Lil, laughed then; a low, sad laugh that sounded empty and hollow. 'Oh, Mum. I think I'm pregnant again.'
Annie closed her eyes in distress and annoyance.
'You are joking!'
Lil shook her head sadly. 'I wish I fucking was.'
Annie realised she was being serious and knew that it was true. 'Whose is it then?'
The loudness of her voice, and the anger she could barely disguise, hit a nerve and Lil stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray as she shouted: 'Who are you, Mother, the fucking police? Mind your own business for once.'
Then she saw her mother's face and the realisation of what had happened to her again finally hit home.
'Oh, Mum. What am I going to do?'
Annie stood up and went to put the kettle on. 'Well, you better knock the drink on the head for a start. The child will be born with a fucking hangover and a lighted fag.'
Lil didn't answer her, she just poured herself a large drink and lit another of her endless cigarettes. This was the last thing she needed in her life and, like everything else that had happened to her, there was nothing she could do about it.
Christy and Colleen were playing in the park nearby. It was a cement paradise for the kids who lived around the area. The walls that surrounded the small park were completely covered in graffiti, brightly coloured and deliberately obscure. The people around and about had no idea that the messages meant something to the kids who frequented the area. The police and the parents of the children who used the park had no idea that it had any real meaning whatsoever. They just saw it as a necessary evil, something the kids did because they were bored. It actually meant a lot to the teenagers; it was the writings of the ICF and the inner-city firm gave all its members the information they needed to know about where a fight or a rally would be. Christy and Colleen knew that, even at their young age.
They were on the swings when they heard someone screaming nearby, in one of the high-rise flats. It wasn't unusual to hear screams on this estate; in fact, it was more unusual if there was no noise whatsoever. The park was a place of dangerous proportions; it was a place where anything could happen, and frequently did. Murder was not unheard of and fighting was a daily occurrence. But for the kids it was a place to meet up and chat, listen to music or score anything that took their fancy. Even though Christy and Colleen weren't scoring yet, the dealer knew that at some point in the future they would be. It was how the estate worked, how the black economy survived and how the kids learned how to waste their lives at a very early age.