Jessie Keane - Ruthless

‘All right. Frisk ’em – all three of ’em,’ said Benny O’Connor.

It was a very thorough frisking. Annie shut her mind to it as the hands travelled up and down her body. She kept her eyes to the front, not meeting Max or Alberto’s gaze. Alberto and Max were worked over too, more roughly. ‘They’re clean,’ one of the heavies told Benny.

‘Good,’ he said. ‘Follow me.’

Annie glanced over her shoulder as he led them through a door beside the cloakroom. Alberto’s men were standing in the lobby. Steve, Gary and Jackie were there too, watching. Benny O’Connor’s men were lounging against the cloakroom counter, but one peeled away from the bunch and followed them through the door beside the cloakroom. Annie caught Steve’s eye as she went through it. He winked. Then the door closed on them. They were inside a Delaney sanctum, and anything could happen.

The office consisted of a desk and several chairs at the far end of the cloakroom. The check-in girl, a sweet-faced middle-aged woman with dyed blonde hair showing black at the roots, was in there with them, hanging up coats, storing away tickets, sometimes glancing across.

‘Dora?’ said O’Connor.

Dora stopped what she was doing, looked at him.

‘Fuck off for a bit, yeah?’

Dora fucked off.

‘Now,’ said Benny, seating himself grandly behind the gargantuan desk in a big executive-style leather-backed chair. ‘What can I do for you people?’

Max turned, studied the muscle-head blocking the door. Then he returned his attention to Benny.

‘We’re looking for Redmond,’ he said.

‘Redmond?’ Benny’s eyes were cold but his lips were smiling. ‘As in Redmond Delaney ? We ain’t seen that bastard in years. Last we heard, he was missing, presumed dead. Took off in a plane and it vanished over the Irish sea.’

‘Only, things have been happening,’ Max went on.

‘What sort of things?’

‘Things like people trying to snatch my daughter.’

‘Oh?’

‘Yeah. Oh, and blow up my wife.’

‘Ex-wife,’ said Annie.

‘And it upsets me, as you can imagine,’ said Max, as if she hadn’t spoken.

‘I can understand that.’

‘I’m starting to suspect that he didn’t die in a plane crash. That he’s alive and well and making trouble. So if you know anything about what Redmond’s up to, or where he is, or who else might be behind these things that have been happening, this is your chance to tell us.’

Silence.

Benny was very still, his eyes locked with Max’s. Then he slumped back in his chair and assumed an air of disappointment. He shrugged. ‘Sorry. Can’t help you. Don’t know a bloody thing.’

‘But if you did, you would tell me,’ said Max.

No he fucking well wouldn’t, thought Annie.

‘Of course.’

‘If you should hear anything, I’ll make it worth your while.’

Annie turned and looked at her ex-husband. He had clearly gone berserk. If Redmond was on the scene, it would be more than O’Connor’s life was worth to say a word. Max must realize that.

‘I appreciate the offer,’ said Benny, very smooth. Then he turned his head and shouted: ‘Dora!’

Dora reappeared through a door at the rear of the cloakroom, like a rabbit popping out of a hole. She looked at Benny.

‘Give these people their coats, our business here is done,’ he said, getting to his feet.

While Dora hurried off to fetch his visitors’ coats, Benny swaggered around the desk and extended a hand to Max. Max shook it.

‘I’ll be in touch if I hear anything,’ said Benny.

Liar, thought Annie. Why the hell wasn’t Max grabbing this fucker by the scruff of the neck, why wasn’t he making O’Connor spill his guts?

‘Thanks,’ said Max.

Dora handed Annie her black cashmere. Then she gave Alberto, who was standing beside the big man on the door, his camel-coloured coat.

‘Thank you,’ said Alberto politely.

She gave Max his. ‘Thanks,’ he said, and Dora went back into her rabbit-hole.

Max shrugged on his coat – and turned with a gun in his hand.

Benny’s eyes popped out of his head. ‘What the f-’ he squeaked.

Max fired the gun. It had a long barrel, a silencer. It went thunk, hardly made a sound.

A neat hole appeared, ripped in the costly grey leather of Benny’s right shoe, just above his instep.

Benny opened his mouth to yell in pain and Max clamped a hand over it.

‘Make a sound and your knee’s next. Then kiss goodbye to your bollocks.’

It had happened so suddenly that Annie could only stand and stare. She half-turned, and saw that Alberto had a silenced pistol in his hand too, and its muzzle was jammed against the slab-like neck of the heavy on the door.

‘Do yourself a favour, pal,’ Alberto told him. ‘Don’t move.’

They arranged this , she thought. The cloakroom woman passed them the guns.

‘Holy shit…’ escaped her lips.

Sweat had sprung out on O’Connor’s face. It had gone redder than ever. He was trying not to shriek with pain, biting his lip to stop himself. Max was staring into his eyes, and Benny could see that Max meant every single word.

‘Now, you tosser,’ said Max, pushing Benny until he was bent painfully back over his own desk. ‘Where’s Redmond Delaney?’

‘I don’t know…’

‘Wrong answer.’

‘Well, he’s dead , isn’t he? I told you. The fucking plane vanished, and him with it.’ The man was panting in distress. ‘Oh shit , my foot.’

There was blood seeping out of the top of his ruined shoe. Annie felt faintly nauseous just looking at it.

‘Those shoes were fucking horrible anyway,’ said Max conversationally. ‘Back to the point, yes? Redmond. Dead? I don’t think so. Some people are damned hard to rub out. Like cockroaches.’

‘I don’t know,’ wailed Benny.

‘As I said, wrong answer.’

Max took aim at Benny’s knee.

‘No!’ yelped Benny, sobbing now. ‘Don’t.’

‘Redmond,’ said Max. ‘Three seconds. One…’

‘I don’t-’

‘Two…’

‘Please-’

Max took aim. ‘Three…’ he said.

‘No! I’ll tell you!’ said Benny in a paroxysm of fear.

‘Where is he?’ said Max, pausing.

‘Redmond? I don’t know, but wait! Wait! His cousin – Rufus. He came over, flew in from Shannon a couple of weeks ago, they said he had Orla with him. I didn’t believe it at the time. Thought she was long gone. But no one said a damned thing about Redmond.’

Max glanced at Annie. Rufus again. The same name Dickon had given up before he’d gone straight to hell. This was starting to have the ring of truth.

‘This Rufus, where’s he staying?’

‘I don’t-’

Max sighed. ‘Wrong answer. Where’s he staying?’

‘No, he’ll kill me!’

‘Not if I kill you first, arsehole,’ said Max, and fired the gun again.

Thunk!

A hole appeared in the other shoe, up near the big toe this time. O’Connor let out a half-stifled moan of agony. ‘Shhh,’ said Max, coming in close to the man’s tortured face and whispering into his ear. ‘We don’t want to wake the neighbours, do we? Not when we’re getting on so well. Now, tell me. Where is Rufus staying? And don’t jerk me about, my friend. I’m running out of patience very fast here, and you’ve run out of feet. Knee’s next.’

Benny, sobbing with pain, told him.

‘Good boy. Was that so hard? Now go and sit in the chair. Alberto, bring your boy over and seat him here. Let’s get you all comfortable, shall we?’

O’Connor could barely walk on his wounded and blood-sodden feet, so Max half-carried him round and dumped him into his grandiose chair. Alberto got the heavy into another one. Max dug in his coat pocket and handed Annie scissors and duct tape.