The Victim. Kimberley Chambers

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      ‘Grandad, can we see Mummy?’ he yelled excitedly.

      Eddie had been too busy arguing with Jed to notice the kids were there and he felt really emotional as he laid eyes on the pair of them. Georgie looked skinnier than the last time he’d seen her and Harry seemed a few inches taller.

      ‘Get away from them chavvies. They’re nothing to do with you or that whore of a daughter of yours any more!’ Alice screamed.

      ‘I want my Mummy!’ Georgie sobbed, as Alice roughly dragged her and Harry back towards the kitchen.

      ‘Grandad, can we come home with you?’ Eddie heard Harry shout just before the door was slammed. Eddie felt completely useless. He could tell the kids were unhappy – it was written all over their little faces – and he needed all his self-restraint to stop himself from putting them in his motor and taking them home with him.

      ‘You ever come near my kids again, I’ll fucking cut you to pieces,’ Jed yelled, lunging at Eddie once more.

      Jimmy grabbed his son by the hair. ‘Get in that kitchen with your mother and make sure them kids are OK.’

      ‘No! Why should I? That bastard killed my son and …’

      Grabbing Jed by the neck, Jimmy marched him into the kitchen. ‘You leave this to me and if you come back out this kitchen, I shall clump you so hard you’ll see fucking stars,’ Jimmy warned as he slammed the door and marched back to where Eddie was standing. He walked out into the cold December air, shut the front door and marched Eddie over to where the stables were.

      ‘You’ve got some fucking nerve turning up here, I’ll give you that much,’ he spat.

      Unlike Eddie, Jimmy O’Hara was no oil painting. He was six feet two, had dark, greying, wavy hair, thick lips, a beer belly and a big bulbous nose that splattered over to one side of his face. Jimmy opened the stable door, let Eddie inside and turned to him with a look of hatred.

      ‘So, what do you want?’

      Eddie was finding it increasingly difficult to keep his cool. Jed had attacked him and had ripped his Armani shirt, he hadn’t been able to speak to his own grandchildren and now he had this big, ugly prick looking at him as if he were some kind of faeces he’d trod on. Taking the advice of his probation officer, who had told him to take ten deep breaths whenever he felt as if he was about to lose his rag, Eddie spoke in the most sympathetic voice he could muster.

      ‘I came here to apologise for the deaths of your son and your grandson.’

      Jimmy gave a sarcastic chuckle. ‘Well, that’s fucking big of ya. We’ll forget all about it and be best buddies then, shall we?’

      ‘Just drop the sarcasm and hear me out will you, Jimmy? It weren’t fucking easy for me to come round ’ere today, so the least you can do is listen to what I’ve got to say. If you don’t, then I’ll walk away now and we all know what will happen next, don’t we? You’ll shoot a couple of my family and then I’ll shoot a couple of yours. And so it goes on Jimmy, like it always bastard well has done, until we’re all laying six feet under.’

      ‘Go on then, talk, I’m all ears,’ Jimmy spat.

      ‘I’ve come here today not only to apologise, but also to offer you a deal. You know as well as I do that I had sod-all to do with what happened. I’ve had sweet fuck-all to do with my brothers for years – they might be my flesh and blood, but they’re mugs, the pair of ’em. I ain’t stupid; I know you’re gonna want revenge and so would I if I’d gone through the same as you had. So I’m gonna give you permission to go ahead, do what you’ve gotta do with Paulie and Ronny and when you do, I promise they’ll be no repercussions from me or my family.’

      ‘I think you’ve forgotten something, Mitchell. Your cunting brothers happen to be in Belmarsh with a lot of your old pals and I know for a fact that you’ll say one thing to me, then have their backs watched for ever more. Don’t insult me, by treating me like some dinlo, please.’

      ‘I promise you, Jimmy, I won’t get involved. My brothers fucked up big time and now they have to pay the price. I’ll keep out of it, I swear I will.’

      Jimmy was thinking of the bigger picture. He would never truly rest until all of the Mitchells were dead, especially Eddie, but if he agreed to this deal now, it would give him plenty of time to plan the rest of their executions properly. Neither Eddie nor his sons were any man’s fools, and Jimmy wanted that fucking Raymond dead as well. Doing life in prison didn’t appeal to Jimmy one little bit and if Alice ever lost her beloved Georgie girl over his rash actions, she would never forgive him, and would probably leave him for good.

      ‘Well?’ Eddie asked impatiently.

      Determined to make his biggest enemy sweat, Jimmy glared at him. ‘Hold your fucking horses, Mitchell. This is heavy shit and I need five minutes to think.’

      Jimmy knew quite a few traveller lads in Belmarsh and even if Eddie’s heavies were looking out for Ronny and Paulie, Jimmy was sure he could bribe someone to get to them for him. He turned to Eddie; he was determined to have the last laugh, even today. ‘I’ll agree to the deal on one condition.’

      ‘What?’

      ‘I know two lads who will sort out your brothers, but they ain’t gonna do it for nothing. I want thirty grand off you so I can give ’em fifteen each.’

      Eddie was gobsmacked. This was getting silly now. ‘No way. It’s bad enough I know my brothers are gonna die without paying for some bastard to do it. I can’t do that, Jimmy, it’s fucking despicable.’

      For the first time in weeks, Jimmy felt like really laughing out loud, but he managed to hold it back. ‘Well, that’s my terms, so take it or leave it.’

      Feeling as though his head was about to burst, Eddie sat down on a bale of hay. He hadn’t told Gary, Ricky and Raymond that he was coming to see Jimmy today and now he could never tell them. With images of his kids, his grandchildren and Gina flashing through his mind, he stood up. Their safety was his priority right now.

      ‘OK, you’ve got a deal. But it’s between me and you, and if you blab to anyone, including any of your family, the deal’s off.’

      ‘Cushti. When will I have the wonga by?’ Jimmy asked.

      ‘Friday. I’ll meet you in the car park of the Optimist at twelve noon.’

      Jimmy smirked. ‘We gonna shake on this then?’

      Eddie reluctantly shook Jimmy’s hand, and then took a slow walk back to his motor. Paying for his own brothers to be killed literally made him feel like the Devil in disguise. Picking up pace, Ed broke into a jog. He knew O’Hara had made a complete mug out of him today, but he could hardly refuse his terms; his hands were tied for now.

      Feeling as sick as a dog, Eddie started his motor and drove at speed towards home. When he reached his own driveway, he got out of the Range Rover, leaned against it and pictured Ronny and Paulie’s faces. He then vomited like he’d never vomited before.

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