Ken Bruen: Ammunition

Truth to tell, the cunt had left him nothing but bitterness, and she spent no more money on crystal than she spent time on her son.

Porter was suitably impressed and relayed the moving story to Roberts at a later date. Roberts had laughed, said:

‘He took them off a pimp he busted on the Railton Road.’

Porter had been raging, but what, confront Brant, yeah, right so he let it slide.

Brant was feeling better, picked up the phone, let it ring, then heard:

‘Yeah?’

Tired voice, husky with cigs, bad booze, and worse men, He said:

‘How you doing, Alanna?’

This was Lynn, a hooker who’d been around almost as long as Brant and they had history, a lot of it not so bad, he’d saved her arse more than once and ridden it a lot more. She said:

‘I thought they shot you’

He laughed, genuinely amused, a rare occurrence for him. He laughed often but very rarely with conviction, he said:

‘Just a flash wound.’

Like John Wayne, shrugging off massive bullet wounds.

Brant had watched The Shootist more times than he’d eaten late night kebabs in Piccadilly Circus. She asked:

‘What’cha want, Sarge?’

Letting lots of the London hard leak over the question, let him know she was still a player, a tired one but hooking, you didn’t expect to be energized. He said:

‘A shag.’

She was silent and he could hear her lighter click, a gold Colibri he’d given her. She said:

‘So, what else is new, give me twenty minutes. You’re home I take it?’

‘Home and horny.’

Click.

He wasn’t horny, in fact, he never felt less like sex. The doctor had told him that gunshot victims often lost their usual appetites. He was fucked, pun intended, if he was going to let that be true. He took another wallop of the whisky, feeling better by the minute, and went upstairs, knelt down in his bedroom, and lifted up the carpet. He had a floor safe, got it opened, and took out his favourite piece.

The Sig Sauer, model 225. It had been revised to carry eight rounds of 9mm Parabellum ammo, he even had the grown-up version, the 226, which jacked fifteen rounds.

He thought:

Ammunition.

And aloud said:

‘Yah little beauty.’

It was as close to affection as he got.

Lynn had said once:

‘Little boys and their weapons.’

He’d of course, mounted her, muttering:

‘Try this weapon.’

He could see Rodney Lewis in his mind, the big-shot city trader, smirking at him and Porter. Brother of a fucking rapist, and Brant was in, no doubt. He’d paid for the hit on him and would definitely try again.

That type always did.

Brant racked the Sig, said:

‘Mr Lewis, you are dead fucking meat.’

He felt much better, must be the Jameson, worked every time.

He put the gun in his belt, walked, no, swaggered down to wait for Lynn.

The fear, nearly abated… nearly.

Roberts had summoned Falls to his office. She’d been having a cup of tea and a blueberry muffin when she got the call. Lane, the cop who’d been on the Happy-Slapper arrest with her, had got up from his table when she’d entered. That was worrying. She wasn’t sure he’d stand up, continue to maintain the lie about the set-up they’d pulled. Eyeing the muffin, she’d reassured herself:

‘Naw, he’s an old-style copper, he won’t sell out the blue.’

Or black, in her case.

‘Would he?… no, the fuckhead wouldn’t have the balls.’ He certainly wouldn’t have the balls for long if he did.

She sighed. As if this weren’t enough, she’d had another damn letter/card from Angie, the psychotic bitch.

Read:

Sweetie

Do you miss your little vixen? Don’t you fret none, I’m coming round real soon and then… you’ll be coming… in a flood… or a fall.

Xxxxxxxxx

Ang

Thing too, it kind of turned on Falls. Christ on a bike, how fucked up was she? The old urge for a line of coke surfaced and with ferocity, she could almost feel the icy drip down the back of her throat. Eat something sweet they’d told her in rehab when the compulsion arose.

Fucking words to live on.

She could eat Angie.

That’s when the summons came, and she was relieved not to eat the muffin as her weight was definitely on the up.

Like her career, yeah?

She was a sergeant, wasn’t she… muff that.

Andrews, the new gung-ho WPC, asked:

‘Liz, you eating that?’

Liz?… the fuck did she come off?

Falls, without breaking stride, said:

‘I’d skip it if I were you, I’ve noticed it goes right to your hips and… it’s Sergeant to you, got that?’

She did.

And muttered under her breath:

‘Cunt.’

Falls knocked lightly on Roberts’s door, heard:

‘It’s fucking open.’

Good sign.

Roberts had a mess of files on his desk, a half-eaten slice of Danish, many many cups of tea?… and he looked like he was on the verge of a heart attack. He looked up, his eyes were bloodshot, and she thought:

Uh-oh, back on the sauce and big time.

He didn’t offer her a chair, barked:

‘This Happy Slapper, the photo gig, the mugging/mobile phone thing, how solid is that?’

She didn’t hesitate, said:

‘Rock.’

He gave her a long, cold look then asked:

‘You sure on that, Sergeant? You want to change your mind about anything, this is the time. You’ll lose yer stripes, but you’ll save yer job?’

Jesus, she felt sweat on her neck, down her back, her thighs, thought:

That prick Lane.

Said:

‘No, sir, we got him bang to rights.’

Roberts leaned back, let out a weary sigh, said:

‘Lane, your colleague, says he didn’t see it go down. In other words, he’s bailing, so you’re out on yer fucking tod, no backup, and I got to tell you, the press will be all over this. Last chance. Want to change your account, your report?’

She had to go with it. Said:

‘I stick with my report, the arrest was white.’

Meaning, a good one, fuck, a great one.

Roberts was scratching his head, then ran his big meaty hand through his hair, now almost white and getting spares, said:

‘McDonald is fucked. The witness on the old-age vigilante’s screw-up has positively identified him. It will be released in a few hours.’

Falls actually felt for McDonald, asked:

‘Isn’t there anything we can do. He’ll do jail time for this?’

Roberts seemed almost sad, no one liked to see the blue go down, he said:

‘Naw, he’s done and you get to tell him, give him time to get a lawyer, tell him get a real expensive one. He’s going to need the best.’

Falls was panicked. If they could throw McDonald down the shitter, what about her? She attempted:

‘Wouldn’t it be better, sir, if he heard it from you, you know, his commanding officer and all?’

Roberts had already dismissed her, was opening a file, said:

‘Never could stand the bollix.’

Falls went to the pub, she ordered a large Stoli, no fucking ice, thank you very much, and defintely no fucking conversation. She gulped it down, ordered another, and the barman did consider a query but saw her expression, said:

‘Yes ma’am.’

‘Ma’am?’

She nearly laughed but the small death she was feeling prevented it. She went to the back of the bar, got out her mobile, and with a sinking heart, called McDonald.

McDonald felt like shite warmed over. He’d come to at the foot of his bed, still in his clothes.

Sort of.