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CHAPTER 43 - READING, BLOBS AND A RECON


SCI ALBION - A DAY LATER


MEETING ROOM 6


LUTHER


I know they said to them that they should sit on their hands, but Faal’s so literal sometimes.


“Come apply your brain to this.” I tap the table opposite; Zee stops pacing and sits down.


“What is it?” 


“Read it and find out.” I reply. Once again, I’m slightly nervous as she’s reading my submission for law school. I’ve not told anybody about it. I know that Brian said he would pay for it, but I want Zee and Faal to see it first. 


“Come read before your hands go numb, lunkhead.” Zee orders; for the next twenty minutes there is silence. “Thoughts?” She asks him.


“As tax write offs, it would be small, but a start. If I could make some suggestions, Luther?”


“Tax write offs? I don’t understand. As for suggestions, yeah, sure.”


“Well, as much as some-marrow wants to do this, you are our father, so our responsibility. We’re paying. Let’s start with page 3.”


OUTSIDE THE HOME OF IGGY WOOLLEY - SAME TIME


VANCE


Again I check behind me; I’ve parked up the street, having driven myself. After seeing that conference, I’m keeping as low a profile as possible. I knock at the door and wait, the money burning a hole in my pocket. When it opens, I’m surprised by who I see. “Who are you?”


“You first.” The arrogant looking man retorts.


“I’m a friend of Iggy’s. Where’s he?” I try to step inside, but he holds his ground. “I need to speak to him about some business we have.”


“I’ve got a list of his visitors, so unless you give me a name, you’re not going to see him.” 


I’m thrown by his assertiveness, but need to get my supply. “Graham Phillips.”


“Now how hard was that?” He smirks. “Cody.” He replies, then neither moves from his spot nor his gaze from my face. “And you want what?”


“I would rather speak to him directly, he knows what I need.” I look up the street again. 


“Expecting someone?” Cody growls. “You seem a little anxious. Iggy doesn’t like anxious people around here, it tends to draw attention.”


“No, no, of course not. It’s just that I have to be at another appointment in an hour, and traffic can be difficult. So if…”


“Call and tell them that you might be a little late, then we can get to business.” I can’t believe the impudence of this child! He reminds me of someone! “I don’t understand the appeal of it myself, but it’s your jolly. Hey, are you listening?” He snaps his fingers in my face. “Welcome back, you going to call then?”


“Yes, of course, Corey.” I return. 


“Graham, buddy. Iggy had cooked up some good stuff, you asked for top grade, which judging by that tremble…” He waits for me to steady my hand. “...you are rather keen to have. So, what’s my name?”


“My apologies, Cody. Give me a moment.” After I take a few steps back to ‘make a call’, he closes the door sharply; which, whilst annoying, gives me time to settle my jangling nerves, which his scrutinisation intensified. Fixing on a smile, I head back up the path, he opens the door before I can knock.  “All sorted, may I come in now?”


“Suppose, while I’m still not comfortable with you, Iggy is, so enter.” I step inside, but he waves me ahead. “You’ve been here before, obviously, but like I said, not comfortable.”


I want to cry with relief when I see my manna on the table in front of Iggy. Fumbling for the pouch, I go to hand it to him. “Give it to me.” Cody demands. “Some folks have been short changing...just need to make sure that it’s correct.” I say nothing as he slowly counts out the notes. “Well, apart from my tip, it’s all there.” 


“Good, thanks.” Iggy replies, before double checking the bag, then putting it on my side of the table. “There you go.”


Whilst I want to say ‘thank fuck’, I say ‘thank you’, and start to leave when something catches my eye.


“Problem, Graham?” Cody drawls, “Thought you were keen to get away, you know, for your appointment?”


“Yes, yes, I was. Just...never mind. Good day to you both.” 


VANCE’S CAR - TEN MINUTES LATER


“Well at least I know where the glass ended up.” I mutter before opening the bag and rubbing some coke along my gums. I crank the seat back, thankful for the seclusion of the garage, before putting on some Rachmaninov and letting the mood take me...washing away all thoughts of Justin Taylor-Kinney for now!


IGGY


“You’re one cocksure bastard.” I peel off two fifties, he pauses before taking them. “How did that face stay so pretty in jail?”


“Because I knew then, now and forever when to keep my mouth shut.” Cody replies.


“Hmm. So what are you going to do now?” 


He shrugs. “You?”


“There is a lot of shit to come, after which I will move on. This was good whilst it lasted.”


“Hmm.” He sits down. “You’re not curious as to why I was in?”


“Nope. The less I know, the better in my opinion.” I look at my phone as it flashes. “Next customer is twenty minutes away. Repeat performance?”


“Repeat tip?”


“You and I are going to get along just fine.” I smile.


The door opening brings in Zeus. “Thank you gentlemen. As long as you do as we say, when we say, then you can carry on as before but elsewhere. As a matter of interest, why do you have a glass from prison Cody?”


“No reason, glad it was of use.” 


“Not as much as us.” Zeus returns before looking at his watch. “How long do I have to disconnect?”


“Twenty minutes.” I reply.


“Be done in ten, I promise.” He responds and true to his word, he is.


QUBE HOUSE - SAME TIME


KITCHEN


JUSTIN


I push open the door; once more he melts my heart. Brian has both girls with him, one on either side on footstools. “Now you must listen very carefully to Poppitydaddy and Uncle Poppitydaddy, understand?” Heads bob. “Once the blobs are on the sheet, you must not touch. Only when I say go, can you take your biggie spoons and squish them. I want a big shouty yes, please.”


“Yes, please!” They squeal grabbing their spoons in readiness.


“Thank you. Once you’ve done squishing, they need to cool right down. But then the bestest of the best of things happens, because it’s just us…” They look up at him in wonder. “...we get to taste it first.” 


“Mind if I join you?” I ask. 


“Of course not.” He gives me a literal sweet kiss, seems he’s been tasting the caramel coconut cracker toffee along the way. “How you feeling? Thought you could nap a bit more.”


“Much better.” I smile. “How long till they're cool enough?” 


“About 15 minutes or so…” He leans into my ear. “...but go check the fridge, did a first run, so might not be as good as this one. You know, made with the love of your daughter and goddaughter. It's not in that one.” I stop and turn. “Like the Beam, I fully intend to eat and drink off of a J-Plate later, think you can hold off until then?”


“Yeah.” I murmur before helping my ‘Poppitydaddy’ make blobs.


BRITIN - ALICE AND GEORGE’S COTTAGE - LATE EVENING


GEORGE


“Hey, Alice! Looks like we’ve got company!” I call out as I watch the screen with Vince and Phil. 


“Who? Everyone but the brothers are in Portland.” 


“A highly stoned Gardner Vance.” Vince replies before muttering into the radio. “How the fuck is this idiot standing up? We could knock him down with a spoon!”


“Shall I go play welcome party?” She asks, taking her gun out of the crock pot.


“No.” I reply, she looks disappointed. “Ripped makes people dangerous. Let’s just watch, see what ‘lie of the land’ he thinks he has. Do we have the results back yet?”


“From the glass?” Vince asks, we both nod. “Not yet. Seems that Iggy handled it himself, so we’ve got to ‘de-glove as it were.”


“Ah shit.” Alice sighs, before scratching her head. “Just thought of something, how did he get here? He knew about the loft, but this is not listed as theirs anymore. At all, anywhere, so how does he know they live here?”


“Good point and...urgh!” Phil exclaims before trying to cover the screen.


“Move! She’s seen the boys, and give me sound!” Vince orders.


The image that greets us is Vance with his pants round his thighs, his hands in his boxers, but it’s what he’s saying that brings everything into sharp reality. “Do you feel that, Justin? How good do I make you feel? Better than your husband, yes?”


VANCE - TEN MINUTES LATER


I know they say that coke impairs certain things, but that took a lot longer than I thought. I redress myself and make my way back to the gate. It was a pure fluke that I found out about this palace. One of my passions is property, so when I saw this after my release, I wanted it so bad, but of course Kinney got it first! If that wasn’t bad enough, their brazen love making in the flower beds reminded me of them in the loft. His cries as he was being plundered by his husband shook me to my core, as it took me straight back to that night…


Start of flashback

THE LOFT - DISCOVERING OF THE SABOTAGE


VANCE


“We will discuss this tomorrow first thing!” I hiss at Brian who only has a cushion protecting his modesty whilst Justin doesn’t even look at us. Brian says nothing, but before he bangs the door shut, I hear him ask ‘wanna finish’, Justin’s breathy ‘always’ almost had me cumming there and then.

End of flashback





Coconut caramel taffy: https://www.shugarysweets.com/caramel-coconut-cracker-toffee/

 

Chapter End Notes:

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