Читать книгу The Young Gangsters - E.J.P Murphy - Страница 9

IT WAS MONDAY NIGHT. THEY ALL SAT THERE, ALL THE BOYS DRAPED IN THEIR ATTIRE. MORRIS LOOKED AT THEM, HE WANTED TO LAUGH, BUT HE KNEW IF HE DID THEY’D BREAK HIS LEGS.

“How did you get rid of your dad, Jimmy?” Micky asked him, “And where’s Mark?”

“I got him to take my brother to a show up West, it cost me 50 quid.” He looked across at Morris. “It had better be fucking worth it.”

“Don’t worry, Jimmy, it’s going to be a doddle.” Morris looked at him with a big smile on his face.

“Yeah, OK then,” Jimmy said to them. All faces were turned to him, waiting for him to speak. Jimmy continued, “This is how it goes down. I’ve already been down to the warehouse over the weekend. I’ve clocked it. It looks so-so; I didn’t find any cameras inside.”

Micky interrupted. “Hang on, you mean you went inside … how’d you manage that then?”

“Easy, Micky, I went pretending I was looking for a job. Morris’s dad don’t work weekends so nobody knew me, right?”

“Yeah, very crafty, nice one, Jimmy,” Dave said.

“So I went in and, just like Morris said, not very good security, but I did notice one camera on the outside, and, now I think about it, they can’t really have a camera inside as it might pick up their little scam … see what I mean?”

“Great work,” Paul White said, looking at Jimmy with admiration, “so we can go in Friday night then?”

“Not yet, mate, I’ve still got to look for a way in; it might be alarmed but I wouldn’t think so, as they really wouldn’t employ security in my opinion anyway.”

He looked at Morris and said to him, “Can you find out from your dad about that mate, you know, a question here, a question there, find out all you can? I’ve got to know by Wednesday.”

“You’ve got it, Jimmy.” Morris looked at his watch, it was just after 10.30pm.

“I’ve got to go, Jimmy. I’ll get all that for you if I can for Wednesday.” He got up, nodded to the rest of the gang and walked out of the flat.

“You trust him, Jimmy?” Bertie asked his mate when Morris had gone.

“Yeah, I think so; anyway, he gave me that plan last Thursday about the layout for the job. He’ll drop himself right in it if he talks. It was his idea anyway and I’ve got you to prove it, know what I mean?”

Sammy Jones spoke. He had a bit of a stutter and spoke very slowly “w – wh – where’s the mo – m – money kept, Jim – Jimmy … has he – he told you y – yet?”

“Yes, he has, Sammy. You ain’t going to believe this, boys, they keep it in a carcass of meat in the big freezer waiting to be picked up Saturday morning by one of the containers going to Greece. Quite clever, eh?”

He looked around them as they looked bemused.

“Bloody hell,” Pete ‘Looney Tunes’ said, laughing, “very clever, very clever.”

“OK, you lot, let’s have ya. My old man will be back soon and I don’t want him or Mark wondering why you are all here this time of night.”

When they had gone, Jimmy went out to the balcony and lit up a fag. He looked down on the yard below, saw his gang coming out of the main door and shouted down for a laugh, “Keep the bloody noise down, you bloody hooligans.”

He saw Bertie and Dave look up, knowing that it was him. They stuck their fingers up in the air at him and he could just about hear, “Fuck you.”

He threw the butt down, put his arms above his head and yawned. Jimmy walked back in and sat down in his dad’s chair. He reached across and picked up the phone (which he had had reconnected) and dialled Bertie’s number. He waited a while and was just about to put the receiver down when it was picked up.

“Hello, who’s that?”

“Oh hello, Mr Cooney, is Bertie in yet?”

He heard him shout to his son, “Bertie, Bertie, Jimmy on the phone.” It went silent.

“Jimmy, what’s up, mate?” Bertie asked.

“Nothing really, Bertie, just thought I’d tell ya, I don’t trust Morris.”

“Me neither mate. Anything you want me to do about it?”

“Yeah, get hold of Dave, tell him to follow him until we do the job, OK.”

“Yeah sure, Jimmy, is that it? If so, I’m off to bed and see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, that’s it Bertie, I’ll see you down at Pancras Way at 12.00 tomorrow. Clear up that little thing I told you about. Oh, and by the way, tell the boys to come fully loaded tomorrow. See you, Bert.”

Jimmy put the phone down, stood up and walked into his bedroom. As he started to get undressed, he heard his dad and brother come in. He walked out clad only in his boxer shorts.

“How’d it go, Mark?” he asked, looking across at his brother.

“Smashing, Jimmy, it was great, even Dad was dancing in the aisle.”

Jimmy looked at his dad, who had sat down in his armchair by then.

“It’s a bleeding change for him even to move.” Jimmy looked back at his brother. “Right, I’m off to bed, see you in the morning. “Night, Mark.”

He looked again at his dad and said, “Don’t forget to lock up, there’s a load of bleeding thieves around here.”