121And so it begins! This is where the twists start coming, small though they might be to begin with, prepare yourselves kids because a storm is coming. :p Thank you to all those of you who left a review on the last chapter even though it was relatively uneventful, this one is more focused on the GSE and the boys as is the next one. Please leave a review, they really do keep me going :) El xx
"I can't feel my nuts."
Pete smirked, not looking up from where he was straddling one of the less rotten looking benches in St Mark's Park, focusing on pouring what had to be his fourth sugar into his coffee. He had text the boys first thing, leaving Allie warm in his bed and his mother fast asleep on the sofa still, her face streaked with mascara leaving him sick with guilt. This needed to be done, now. No matter how much he wanted to lock himself away with Allie and pretend that he was a normal bloke, he didn't have that luxury anymore, not with Steve….
"Well I ain't warming 'em up for you, if that's what you're getting at," Dave mumbled through a mouthful of bacon as he screwed up the wrapped of his sandwich and threw it at his friends head.
"I was hoping you might be nice enough to call your mum," Swill giggled. "She never says no,"
"Fuck off," Dave chuckled with Pete, checking the time on his phone and noting it had just gone 8.30am. "Not that I had anything else better to do but is there a reason we're all here freezing our bollocks off at the crack of dawn?"
Pete turned to him and sighed, taking a sip of his scalding hot coffee and revelling in the warmth it spread through his body. Glancing at the two men leaning against the wall next to him, their coats pulled up around their necks to ward off the icy wind, he relented and stood up with them.
"I spoke to Bov last night about this shit with Tommy," he caught the flash of fear in their eyes and didn't know whether that was a good or a bad thing. "He reckons we need to square up."
"And you?" Dave asked him almost instantly, his dark eyes fixed on Pete's baby blues. "What do you think?"
Letting out a breath that felt as though a knife was piercing his throat, he shook his head mutely and took another sip of coffee before replying.
"I think my brother was almost killed. I think the Firm is looking at us now and whether Steve likes it or not, we're gonna have to step up to it. At least until he's out of hospital."
"Mate, they're gonna be gunning for this," Swill piped up, his tone unsettlingly serious. "Millwall aren't the type to pull a move like this and sit back; they're waiting for us to start something they fucking know we can't finish."
"Who's to say we can't finish it?" Pete cocked his head.
"Because look at the fuckin' state of ya."
The three men turned, eyeing up the figure stumbling through the early morning mist and tensed, more than ready to fight if they need to.
"Two tarts and the young prince," Terry smirked, snatching Pete's coffee from the bench and taking a sip. "Hardly the Spanish Inquisition, are ya?"
Grinning, Pete relaxed his body, having known Terry as long as he had known his brother. He was Steve's right hand man, but unlike Pete's relationship with Bovver, their roles were reversed. Terry had brains, saw sense and spent most of his time trying to quell Steve's temper although usually to no avail.
"What you doin' here?" he laughed.
"I went round to yours this morning to check on you and your mum and a lovely little blonde answered the door and told me you'd be here," Terry winked at Pete. "She's a good 'un. Any bird who puts HP on a bacon sarnie without having to be told is diamond."
Chuckling, Pete knew damn well that Allie would have had him sat at the table, making him coffee and a bacon sandwich before he'd even introduced himself. He shouldn't have expected any less.
"I left her a note," he nodded.
"Yeah," Terry pursed his lips. "Just for the record mate, she bought the early morning run story as much as I did. Wiley little thing, I 'ad to talk her out of coming with me,"
"Sounds about right," Pete winced. "What did you say?"
"I said that I had to talk some sense into you because your family is the heart of the Firm which killed your old man and nearly killed your brother and I was pretty certain you'd come here to work out what revenge strategy you're going to take."
Pete stared at him open mouthed, his stomach plummeting as he watched him sit down on the bench and light a cigarette.
"I'm joking, Dunham," he took a long drag and narrowed his eyes. "I'm not that stupid, but I fucking well know you are,"
"You can't expect me to just sit back and let this go," Pete shot back.
"Pete," Terry leant forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I'm not asking that of you, because I see Steve as a brother and I know I what it's like to feel that fire in your gut. But that madness, that's not what you need right now, that's not what any of us need." Lowering his voice, he spoke only so Pete could hear him. "You and I mate, we're the same. We got balls but we also got brains and you know as well as I do that moving on this ain't just risking the start of one war. Steve is the Major and if you do this, you 'ave to deal with the consequences from him as well as Tommy."
"What if we cleared this with Steve first?" Dave shrugged, edging forward to where the two men were sat and perching next to them.
"You really think he'd go for this?" Swill raised an eyebrow. "Mate, if the bitch fit he threw when we showed up to that meet with the Reds is anything to go by then I'd say we're fucked if we take on Hatcher, one way or another."
"So your solution is to what, sit pretty and hope for the best?"
The four of them turned to see Bovver stood just a few feet away from him, his arms folded in front of his chest, his somewhat handsome face wearing a look of pure disgust.
"There's a reason you're just his right hand man, Terry," Bovver snorted.
"And there's a reason you ain't in this Firm," the older man shot back, clambering to his feet and casting a dangerous glance his way. "Because in the eyes of the Major, you ain't even out of fucking Pampers yet, so do us a favour and let the grownups keep talking, yeah? Before you embarrass yourself."
Opening his mouth to reply, he stopped only when he caught the look Pete gave him; slumping his shoulders, he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, taking a deep drag as he gestured for them to continue.
"Now," Terry sighed, his tone losing its hostility as he turned back to Pete. "I can't stop you doing anything, mate and you know whatever you choose I'll have your back but I think Dave might have a point, maybe you should run this past your brother, just see what he says."
Seeing the trepidation in the younger man's eyes, Terry bit the inside of his cheek and clapped a hand on Pete's shoulder.
"Look mate, I'll have your back either way," he promised. "But if you want to do this, then we have to do it right,"
"Ok," Pete nodded slowly, wishing he sounded more confident as he stood and jammed his hands into his jacket pockets. "Those two lads you had down the pub last week," he jerked his chin in Dave's direction.
"Ike and Ned?" he asked.
"Yeah, they were good lads, see if you can get 'em on board, if Steve gives this the go ahead, I'll set up a meet down the Abbey or something," he glanced at Terry who nodded back. "Get our heads together; we're not mincing around with this, if we go over to Hatcher, we fucking better well know what we're doing."
"What about me?" Bovver piped up, stubbing his cigarette out on a nearby tree.
"See what you can find out about who was with Tommy," Pete narrowed his eyes. "I want to know where, when and why Hatcher gave this order. And I wanna know why he's suddenly so fucking quiet,"
"You safe doing that on your own or do you want company?" Terry cast a glance at Bovver who went to snap back at him but seeing the sincerity in his eyes, swallowed his pride and nodded.
"Number's ain't a bad thing in Tower Hamlets, are they?" he shrugged, reaching for his bike helmet. "You alright to drive, only I don't fancy you coping a feel on the back of my bike,"
"In your dreams, bender," Terry laughed, following Pete and the rest of the boys across the field. "What about you, Pete?" he came shoulder to shoulder with him. "Where're you off to?"
"Me?" Pete laughed, his eyes focused straight ahead towards his car which was shrouded in early morning fog. "I'm off to ask the Godfather for a favour."
"Stabbed?"
Allie dropped another handful of blueberries into the blender, popping a few in her mouth for good measure and reached for the yogurt as Lara stared at her in horror.
"Stabbed?"
"Is this in date?" Allie mumbled to herself, lifting the lid and sniffing it tentatively.
"Harding!"
The blonde jumped as the yogurt tub was ripped from her hands and she lifted her gaze to meet her friends.
"STABBED?"
"Jesus, lower your damn voice!" she hissed, casting her eyes to the ceiling as though her father and brother would be able to hear anything in the colossus they called home. "And yes, stabbed."
Lara flopped back in the high top stool she was sat in, letting her arms dangle at her sides as she watched Allie go about making her morning smoothie like this was any other conversation they'd ever had. She had known as soon as Allie had text her from outside Harry's room, apparently too scared to knock in case she interrupted anything, that something was seriously wrong. The blonde's usual glow had been replaced with blood shot eyes and dark shadows and even now as she fiddled with the blender, Lara could see her delicate fingers shaking.
"And you're…ok with this?" she asked as soon as the blender had ceased its rumbling.
"This particular incident or stabbing in general?" Allie cocked her head. "You really want to get into the knife crime debate at 9am? Because…"
"Allie," Lara slammed a hand down on the counter and shook her head. "Cut the bullshit, you know exactly what I'm asking you."
Meeting her challenging stare, Allie sighed and reached for the two glasses she had prepared, pouring the smoothie into each of them and dropping a few strawberries into the glass.
"I'm worried about Pete," she conceded. "And his mum was a wreck, the only reason I felt comfortable leaving her alone this morning is because a neighbour came around."
Biting her lip, Lara fought her inner demons and wondered how she should phrase what she so desperately wanted to say; Allie was a soft touch, she got involved too easily and made other people's problems her own and Lara wasn't sure that someone like Allie with the world at her feet should be running around council estates looking after stab victims mothers. She also knew the answer to that statement would likely be one of the larger pieces of fruit laid out before her being shoved somewhere she really didn't want it and so decided to sugar coat it as best she could.
"And this is normal for Pete's family?" she cringed when she noticed Allie stopped moving as soon as she spoke the words. "Someone getting hurt like this?"
"What?" Allie frowned. "Of course not!"
"Well you said that their neighbourhood isn't exactly…"
"Like ours?" Allie finished for her with a roll of her eyes. "Right because everyone we will ever meet with live in Mayfair and drive Porsche's." Shaking her head, she glared at the redhead. "We are a minority, don't let that go to your head.
"Oh ok," Lara snorted. "Forgive me for trying to make casual stabbings in the street a class issue."
"Look," the blonde fired back. "Pete's family…they don't have what we have. That doesn't make them bad people and that doesn't mean they deserve-…"
"Whoa!" Lara stood up and pointed a stern finger at her. "I didn't say any of that. I don't give a shit if Pete comes from Barking or hangs out with the Branson's on Necker, all I'm saying is that you're in your first year of university, you're trying for internship doing the one thing you have obsessed about since you were 11 and I'm worried that you're going to get so caught up in…in saving Pete that you're going to let yourself down." She shrugged. "This sounds like some seriously unsavoury shit, Allie Cat. All I'm saying is be careful and think about what you're doing."
Allie stared at her for a long moment, wanting to shout back but she knew that Lara's heart was in the right place, even if her argument was borderline ridiculous. She loved Pete. It was that simple, whether other people saw it that way or not.
"I'll be fine," she told her, reaching out and tugging playfully on a strand of her hair. "And thank you for being an overprotective psycho."
"Always," Lara winked at her, pulling her in for a hug and noticing a mark on her neck; her eyes went wide and she grinned, noting the horror in Allie's eyes as she did so. She knew that look.
"Oh my God," the red head grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "Could I give less of a shit about the drama…you totally got laid last night!"
"Shut up!" Allie hissed, lurching forward and slapping her hand hard over her friend's mouth.
"You did!" Lara shrieked, her words muffled by the blonde's fingers, giggling, she pried them away and shook her hand excitedly. "You promised me details."
"Uh huh," Allie shook her head. "Just like you once promised me that ex-boyfriends and brothers were off limits," she gestured to Harry's old Oxford hoodie which Lara was draped in and laughed at the blush creeping up her neck. It took a lot to make Lara Knight blush.
"Such a cheap shot," she gasped.
"What?" Allie smirked. "The comment or my brother?"
"I'm too damn proud of you for that comment to be angry," Lara wiped away an invisible tear. "That was down-right Taylor level bitchy. But I still want details,"
"I'm going for a nap," the blonde called over her shoulder, toasting her smoothie as she made her way to the kitchen door.
"Don't even think about going to sleep without telling me what happened," Lara gasped after her, shaking her head as Allie turned, pushing the door open with her derriere and grinning broadly. "Alyssa!"
"Nighty night," she giggled, heading for the stairs and letting the door swing shut behind her. Ignoring the barrage of curses in her name, she tip toed through the hallways until she came to the sanctuary of her bedroom. Placing her smoothie on the nightstand, she began to shed her clothing, her body suddenly exhausted. Sleeping in Pete's single bed in his old room hadn't been the most comfortable experience given he had more or less taken up the entire thing and she had resorted to sleeping on top of him like a cat. In addition, the stress of worrying about his mother who looked as though she might keel over at any moment was painful; granted she had lost her mother too young but Allie could only imagine how her father would feel is something like that happened to herself or Richard or Harry.
Crawling under the rich cotton sheets, she sighed happily and reached for her phone, wondering whether she should call Pete. She settled for a text, not wanting to disturb him if he was with his mum or Steve. Keeping it on the pillow next to her, Allie stared at the screen for a short moment, counting to ten as she always had since she was little to see how long it took her to fall asleep. She only managed to reach 3.
I hope everything is ok, I missed you this morning. Call me if you need me, I love you x
Pete stared at his phone for a long moment, wanting so badly to creep out into the hallway and call her just to hear her voice if nothing else. Throwing a tight lipped smile at one of the nurses who slipped past him, he slumped his shoulders realising that he was looking for an excuse, any excuse not to go into Steve's room. Through the glass he could see his brother sitting up in bed, laughing at whatever he was watching on television, his arms and chest still a maze of tubes and wires. With a deep breath, he shoved the door open, stepping inside quickly so as not to let the cold in.
"Alright?" he mumbled.
"Oi, oi!" Steve grinned, turning down the volume. "Didn't think you'd be back so soon,"
"Didn't think you'd be up so soon," Pete nodded to him, pulling a chair up beside the bed and perching on it.
"Yeah, well you know me," his brother winked. "It'd take more than a bitch scrap in the street to keep me in bed for long,"
Pete wanted to snap at him, to tell him not to be so fucking stupid, to remind him of what had happened and the hell he had put their mother through the last 24 hours. Remembering however that he was here to ask a favour, he kept his mouth shut, forcing a smile instead.
"I brought you a coffee," Pete laughed when he practically lurched forward in his bed to grab it. "Proper stuff, double shot and two sugars,"
"You beauty," Steve groaned as he took a sip before casting a hopeful glance at his brother. "Don't suppose you…"
He trailed off when Pete held up the newspaper and a bag from Daisy's the best sandwich shop in Barking and let out a laugh.
"Mate, I could fucking kiss you right now but I wouldn't want to make Bovver jealous," Steve smirked as Pete began laughing, pulling out two bacon sandwiches and setting them on the table. "Speaking of," he frowned, tearing into the foil. "He's been awful quiet since yesterday, did you have words with him?"
Steve watched as his brother fumbled with the lid of his coffee, taking far too long to pour in the single sachet of sugar he always took and instantly felt tense. Something had happened, he knew it. He just hoped Pete was smarter than all of the scenarios running through his head at that moment.
"Tell me you ain't done something we're both going to regret,"
"Of course not," Pete frowned, swallowing hard when he noticed the way his brother's hands were wrapped tightly around the bedding. "But I spoke to Terry this morning…he thought, I thought it was time to talk to you about this. Properly."
"I'm the head of this Firm," Steve hissed. "And if you think for one fucking second-…"
"I ain't treading on your toes, mate," the younger Dunham shook his head. "But I'm tired of sitting back and doing nothing; what you forget is that the little note I found from Hatcher, that was implicating me as well as you. I'm not waiting to find out what he means, Steve."
"And you think you're ready for that, do ya?" Steve asked him earnestly. "You think you honestly know what you'd do if you were toe-to-toe with Tommy Hatcher and ten of his boys?"
Pete stared at him for a moment, wanting to tell him of course he did; but he knew he couldn't. the fact was, the odd scuffle after a match didn't equate to being the Major. Steve immersed himself in the violence while Pete picked up the scraps and more than that, Steve was always looking over his shoulder. If he went rogue on this, he knew how it was likely to end up.
"He put you in 'ere, he wants us in the plots either side of Dad," Pete threw his half eaten sandwich back into the bag and rubbed his hands clean of crumbs. "It's not happening, Steve. Now I'm not asking you to step down, I'm just asking you to let me step up. I don't need to start a war, he's already done that, I just want to make him realise, he's started a war with the wrong people."
Steve regarded his younger brother for a long moment and then jolted forward, his hand cupping the back of Pete's neck and bringing their faces within inches of each other. Two shades of blue collided and they stared at one another, the tension between them palpable.
"You stick with Terry," Steve spoke quietly. "Bov is good lad but he don't use is brain, so you stick with Terry and he if he tells you it's time to go, you fucking run, you don't question him. Hatcher might be getting on but he's a nasty, vicious old cunt and he'll put you in the ground without even blinking if he gets a clear shot."
Pete nodded mutely, not entirely trusting his voice as a mixture of adrenaline and fear wove its way through his veins.
"And for fuck sake, Pete," Steve shook him gently. "Keep yourself safe, keep the boys safe. Because nothing is worth…" he gulped. "You got a lot going for you right now and if you get arrested or worse…you could lose all of it. And some things…they ain't worth the risk. Do you know what I'm getting at?"
"I know, mate," Pete whispered, thinking of his mother, of Allie, of the brother in front of him. "I won't let you down,"
Steve smiled sadly and let his hand drop from his neck, laying back in the nest of pillows Shannon had set up for him this morning and reaching for his oxygen mask, inhaling the stale air deeply.
"I know you won't, Pete." He nodded, the last few words from his mouth spoken as a whisper. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of."
The thundering noise swept through the fog once, twice and then stopped dead, leaving the campus in an eerie silence that spun around Pete Dunham like a hurricane. Rounding the corner, he frowned, craning his neck to see what was making the noise and felt a grin pulling at his lips.
"Mother fucker!"
Strolling over to Benjamin who was fanning the black smoke from his face, Pete nodded at a passing group of girls he recognised as living on the same floor making a point to ignore the flirtatious giggles and whispers they sent his way; once upon a time he would have been right in there but these days…
You're fucking whipped, his brain laughed at him.
Coming to a stop, he shook his head as he watched the Scotsman fling a spanner to the ground and lace his hands behind his head, smearing grease into his already mused hair.
"What the fuck is that thing?" Pete called.
Benjamin turned and winked at his friend, gesturing grandly to the smoking pile of metal next to him.
"That, brother is a motorcycle," he beamed. "A Harley to be precise,"
"It fucking was a Harley once upon a time," Pete shook his head, shaking the handles and laughing when one of the gears fell to the floor. "Where's the rest of it?"
"On the M25 somewhere," Benjamin smirked as he laughed harder. "Honestly Dunham, the amount of shit that fell off this thing when I pushed it into 4th, I think people thought Santa was coming to town,"
"And how much have you pissed away on this?" Pete asked, leaning against Steve's car which was still there from the night before.
"Hey, hey, hey," Benjamin frowned, shaking an oil rag at him. "This machine is an investment. Think of all the pus-…pussycat dolls." His eyes went wide and he shoved Pete's shoulder. "Next time you want a fry up, think of the Pussycat Dolls and remember, a moment on the lips and all that shit…"
"The fuck are you on about?" Pete laughed.
"I think he was trying to maintain the façade he has going with me that he's an actual gentleman," Allie grinned as she came to a stop next to Pete, narrowing her eyes at the Scot. "Nice save,"
"I try," he waved her off and upon seeing a slight mark on her neck made a mental note to quiz his friend about how their date went last night.
"Alright stranger," Pete smiled, turning to her and wrapping his arms around her waist. "I was just on my way to see you,"
"I went back to my Dad's this morning," she explained, her body suddenly relaxing at his touch and making her realise just how tense she was still. "I literally just got back here to pick up my stuff for class and heard this…" she gestured to the bike and grinned at Benjamin. "She purrs like a kitten,"
Laughing loudly, Pete pulled her to stand in front of him and let his chin rest on her shoulder, his arms folded across her stomach; he felt her body ease into his and felt guilt stab at him again. Everything that had happened in the last 48 hours had been drama she didn't need to inherit yet here she was.
"Sod both of you," Benjamin frowned. "Neither of you get a ride now,"
Saluting a passerby who was on their phone but turned their head at that comment, the dark haired man collapsed onto the pavement and dropped his head into his hands.
"I've made a mistake," he cried.
"No you haven't," Allie laughed, crouching down next to him and resting her chin on his shoulder. "I like it and Pete has nothing to do all day, he can help you fix it,"
"Oh," Pete frowned at her and she had to keep herself from laughing. Was Pete Dunham pouting? "I thought we could just be lazy arses and watch a film in my room or something…"
"Or something?" Allie raised an eyebrow, grinning as she straightened up and walked over to him, pushing herself onto her tiptoes to kiss him. "I'll be back soon, I just have to sort some stuff out with Lara,"
Feeling herself relent somewhat as he gave her hand one last squeeze, Allie turned and began walking towards her car, turning on her heel to grin at the two men.
"And hey," she called. "Good luck with the pussy magnet, I'm sure it'll turn out to be a dream,"
Their laughter followed her as she started the engine and turned out of the small carpark, fishing her phone out of her pocket and dialling the number she had obtained this morning.
"Hi, yes my name is Allie Harding," she gulped, feeling herself turn cold. "I'd like to find out which ward Steve Dunham is in, please,"
Aaaaand review ;)