Читать книгу Ultimate Hard Bastards - The Truth About the Toughest Men in the World - Kate Kray - Страница 27
ОглавлениеHARD BASTARD
CORNISH MICK
Normally, when a man reaches a certain age or when his beer-gut swells, he seeks out a personal trainer. But not Cornish Mick. In his younger, thinner days, he used to do a bit of boxing. He’s from the school of hard knocks and is a little bit ‘tasty’. Mick tenderly pats his beer belly and winks, then he holds up his right index finger and smiles. ‘That’s all I need. It takes one finger to pull a trigger.’
Mick can’t be bothered with all the puffing and panting, sweat and toil from training down the gym. He’s not a man who’ll waste words or make idle threats – no matter how big a man is, he just lets his finger do the talking.
He’s a cutter; a shooter; a killer. Upset him and he’ll pop a cap in your arse and bury you in the woods sooner than look at you. I know – I have first-hand experience of Mick’s bad temper.
It was late Saturday night. Yet another gangster do. Men in hand-made dinner suits. Villains’ wives, all lipstick, powder and paint. I sat at the top table with the top men all smoking the best Cuban ‘Lah-di-dahs’.
Mick sat beside me. We chatted and laughed about this and that, until a big man in a cheap suit started making a bit of a nuisance of himself. He was a wannabe gangster, a loud-mouth with nothing to say and saying it too loud.
I remember thinking with a foolish sense of annoyance that I wished the geezer would just go away. Mick’s eyes narrowed. There was no mistaking he was beginning to get irritable.
Mick no longer listened to what I was saying. His mind was elsewhere. The loud-mouthed, plastic gangster was getting on his nerves.
Mick stood up, shrugged his shoulders and straightened his tie. His eyes looked spiteful. I had never seen Mick like this before. He walked over to the geezer and told him to fuck off. Mick said it with conviction. Then he said it with some scorn. His voice grew more determined, more positive. The loudmouth spluttered and stammered, ‘Err … Err …’
Suddenly from his back pocket Mick pulled a blade. The loud-mouth was no longer loud; with no more words, no more warnings, Mick dragged the blade slowly down the man’s cheek.
His eyes widened to the size of saucers as he clutched his face. Blood, the colour of fine red Chianti, trickled through his fingers. Mick pulled a crisp white handkerchief from the top pocket of his bespoke suit and handed it to the man. Then he coolly hailed a cab. He helped the man into the taxi with as much concern as a scorned woman. Mick turned to me, ‘Sorry, Kate, where was we?’
BACKGROUND
I was born in Cornwall. There’s nothing much to say about Cornwall except that the pasties are nice! The eldest son of two brothers and two sisters. My dad was in the Army most of the time, so the discipline was left to my mother, and I must say she was a dab hand with a broom handle!
I came to London when I was 42 years old, after I’d been round the world doing various naughty things. I followed my heart, and a girl, to London. The romance didn’t last long. When I got some ‘bird’ she pissed off with someone else. Aah well, you can’t win ’em all. But I stayed in London – on business of course!
LIFE OF CRIME
I’ve been away for 18 years altogether but have been sentenced to about 35, most of which were for crimes of violence and armed robbery.
WEAPONRY
I only need one finger to beat the biggest man in the world – my trigger finger.
TOUGHEST MOMENT
Losing my dad, I think, was the toughest moment in my life. He died in 1963 when I was in Dartmoor. The screw unlocked my cell and told me straight that my dad had died. I couldn’t even get a day out for the funeral.
IS THERE ANYONE YOU ADMIRE?
Joey Pyle. He’s a fair man, he’s loyal, he’ll stick to his guns and he won’t turn anyone over. What you see is what you get with Joe.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN HANGING?
For crimes against women and children – yes, I do.
IS PRISON A DETERRENT?
While you’re young it’s not, the consequences just go over your head. You don’t think about getting caught or else you wouldn’t do the crime. Every thief in the country believes he will never get caught – someone else, but never him.
I know some of the hardest men around who cry themselves to sleep because they just cannot stand being locked up. Then there’s people like Reggie Kray and Ronnie Fields. They don’t do it easy, they do it the best way they can. When you get to a certain age, you look back and think about everything you’ve missed and start to think twice. I’m 65 now. I don’t want any more bird.
WHAT MAKES A TOUGH GUY?
Pride is a part of it. If you’ve got pride in yourself, there’s no way you’ll be made a mug of. It’s not muscular development or anything like that. I know little blokes that are as hard as nails. I think it’s pride and having a sense of right and wrong. If somebody does you wrong, then you’ve got to do something about it. It’s hard to put into words. You can have a bloke as big as a house that can’t hold his hands up because he just hasn’t got the heart. Having a heart plays a big part in being a tough guy.
MICK’S FINAL THOUGHT
I don’t feel in danger in my local pub just having a quiet drink. But there are times when I go out and stand with my back to the bar and watch certain people all night. To me, Roy Shaw was one of those. Although he’s straight with his mates, if I didn’t know him I’d be very, very careful. I think it’s the unpredictability of some people’s nature. Ronnie Kray would fly into a rage for no apparent reason, like swearing in front of a lady. Roy Shaw is exactly the same. Something would snap in Roy if he thought you were taking the piss. You can say what you like to me, but if you take the piss or if I thought my life was in danger or I was going to get nicked, I’d kill you – no hesitation.
