A Mistake Too Far, Retribution

I loved him and I loved her more than anything I had ever had in my life before but the feelings of hatred for this fucker were overwhelming. The next day I had a couple of phone calls with my brother, my thoughts were getting more and more extreme and it was decided not to talk anymore over the phone.

Snooker is a great relaxant, it calms me, it always has. Even though he always beats me I enjoy it and I felt better, quieter, I didn't want to rip any strangers throat out now.

"Are you intent on going through with this Baz?"

"I have no choice Steve, its eating me up. I love them both but I want him dead more."

"Are you willing to lose them over this? Because you will you know."

I sat quietly sipping from my coffee cup, his words were true I might well lose them. I would definitely be the prime suspect if something bad happened to the shithead.

"I don't know how to get past this bruv, I thought I was but now seeing him its brought it all back. I hate him, he ruined my life."

"Fuck mate! listen to yourself, you have a stunning woman who loves you. You have a little boy that worships the ground you walk on. You might well hate his guts for what he did but consider this, if he hadn't, you would not have what you have now."

I looked up over my mug and hissed through gritted teeth, "He still needs to hurt for what he did."

Later that day at home with concern in her voice, April asked if I was ok.

"Yes, I am fine."

"You don't look fine, we have 45 minutes before we pick up John. Let's talk Barry, please, tell me."

"I know we agreed that I would come up the school with you today but, I am not sure I can love. If I see him again I might lose it."

She took my chin to face her, stared me dead in the eyes with a menacing look that I had never seen from her.

"You need to listen to me Barry Jones. You have a family now and if you think I will allow you to jeopardize that over something that happened nearly six years ago, you are very much mistaken."

"April....."

"Enough! Get a coat, we will take the long way and walk to the school. Think about what I said Barry, if you think more about revenge than us, then you are not the man I thought you were and we are done!"

I trudged into the hall like a scolded schoolboy, took my overcoat from the hook and put it on. April took my arm and led the way to the front door, we locked up and took a stroll through the local park.

"I am sorry April, I thought the anger had gone. Of course I love you and Johnny I will never do anything that would cause you both pain."

I hesitated before saying with a deep sigh, "Its just that he never got what was coming to him, he got away with wrecking two marriages scot free. He ruined my life."

As the words left my mouth I knew I had said the wrong thing, I felt her hand clench on my arm. She stopped walking and I turned to see tears falling from her face. There was no anger in her eyes, just sadness.

She took a tissue from her pocket and wiped her cheeks as she said quietly between soft sobs, "You think that your life is ruined?"

"No, no, that's not what I meant. Shit! It all came out wrong."

April turned and walked away. I walked after her to be told "Fuck off! I don't want to look at you right now."

She walked off and through the park gates in the direction of thew the school, I sat on a park bench with my head in my hands. I thought to myself this cunt is wrecking my new life now too.

I took my mobile out and rang Steve.

"Steve, I need to finish this."

"Not over the phone Baz, we'll talk later."

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I met April and Johnny at the front door, I had got home before them and got a brew on the go.

"I am sorry love." I said, holding my arms wide hoping she would step into them. She did.

We held each other for a minute while Johnny danced around our feet.

"I promise I would never do anything to harm our lives, I love you both more than my own life."

I took her by the hand leading her into the kitchen, where a bunch of red roses that I had hastily bought from the corner shop 15 minutes ago were standing in a vase next to a steaming teapot and cups.

She smiled as I poured two cups of tea and a strawberry milkshake.

"I am sorry love, I really didn't know I still had such anger in me over him. I won't deny I wanted to hurt him but not at the cost of us. My love for Amber died the day it all happened so I promise you it's not that."

April raised her palm saying, "It's ok, I understand, not now though ok. Not in front of Johnny."

We spent the afternoon in each-other's arms on the sofa watching soppy daytime movies, I had hoped I had allayed her fears.

The next morning I met my brother down by the docks near the old woodyard.

"Steve, he has to go."

"Go? as in....go?" he said.

"I don't know how but I want him gone, permanently."

"Baz, he is not worth fucking up your life over."

"I cant let it go mate, he is in here." I said pointing to my head. "I can't get him out."

Over the next two hours we came up with a basic plan to get him, it's not like we were master criminals but it made sense at the time. Steve would enlist the help of a couple of his drivers from his haulage company, ones that would do iffy jobs with no questions asked if the pay was right.

I went out of my way to not go anywhere near the school over the next month just in case I crossed paths with shithead. April was ok with that and our lives settled back into a nice routine. For the next two months myself, Steve and Colin, a driver that he could trust logged Bob Barnes daily routines.

I booked us a family getaway to Tenerife for the second and third week of June, the school were ok with the lost time because of John's age so the date was set.

Steve had enlisted three of his most trusted drivers, it helped that I knew all three and knew they were sound blokes. He sorted the payments out with the promise that somehow I would get it back to him.

Two days before my flight, Colin and Terry would follow Bob's car at a discrete distance in a black unmarked transit van. It was his weekly poker night at one of his colleagues houses. Bob always parked around the corner in a quiet cul-de-sac. It was perfect, no street lights, cctv, nothing. I was ready in dark clothes in an alleyway waiting for him near to where I knew he would park.

As a creature of habit he turned into the road at 7pm as per normal. I thought my heart would explode it was beating so fast. I had wanted this moment for years and now it was here, I was shaking with anticipation. He took the corner a bit fast and scuffed his wheels on the curb as he parked the car, I hoped no-one heard the noise and cautiously looked around. No signs of life anywhere left or right. The scumbag exited his car turning his back to me as he locked the car.

The tyre iron hit the back of his head with a sickening crack, much harder than I intended and he fell lifeless to the ground.

"Shit! Shit!" I cursed.

The lights of Colin's car lit the street as he pulled into the street and I ducked behind the car out of the beam.

Bob stirred, "Thank fuck." I hissed, "I thought I had killed you."

I felt Terry's hand on my shoulder and nearly shit myself.

"Barry, get out of the way, we'll take it from here."

They wrapped an almost lifeless Bob Barnes in a plastic sheet and bundled him into he back of the van in record time, as if they did this every day of the week. Reversing out of the road they sped off into the night. I ducked back into the alley after checking nothing was left on the pathway, I waited for one minute to watch for nosey neighbours then left quietly.

I dumped and burnt my clothing and changed into my normal wear. Five minutes later I met Steve in the local pub.

"All ok?" he asked.

"Like clockwork."

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"How was your snooker? Did you beat him at last?"

April asked as I walked indoors.

"No we didn't go in the end, we ended up at the Kings Head and had a game of pool instead. It made a nice change and I met up with a few old friends there.

My alibi was tight.

The next day I called into the office to say my goodbyes and pick up some paperwork. It was more to be seen by people than anything else, then I made my way to Jones Haulage yard on the outskirts of town, Steve met me at the gate.

"All the lorries are out, cameras are off. Just you, me and Mr. Barnes."

Steve took me across the lorry park to a few containers at the back, he unlocked the furthest one saying,

"Put this mask and gloves on,"

We both put on some overalls too.

"There is no going back now mate, you have to go through with it."

"I know."

"If you speak, you have to finish him here and now." He warned sternly before we walked into the darkness of the container.

At the far end of the steel box sat a man trussed up at the ankles to a chair, his wrists were tied to the arms of the chair with a hood over his head. He made a muffled sound and I walked slowly to him and removed the hood, his mouth was taped tight. He screamed into the gag shaking his head with complete and utter terror in his eyes. He had dried blood in his hair and a trickle of dark brown had dripped from his ear to be soaked up in the collar of his shirt. His trousers were wet from urine and he stank, he had been here all night.

I almost backed out, I stumbled backwards a few metres and I actually felt pity for him. I felt a prod in my back as my brother pushed me fully back into the depths of the container. I looked back at him and he shrugged his shoulders as if to say "up to you."

I had hated this man for years but now, standing here in front of him with the power to take his life I hesitated. Steve grabbed my arm and dragged me into the sunlight, he slammed the heavy door shut behind us, he ripped off the mask and mouthed,

"What the fuck Baz?"

"I am not sure mate, I didn't realise he would be helpless like that. It has thrown me."

"What? do you want me to untie him and give him a weapon to even the odds up! for fuck sake bruv, what are we doing here if you have second thoughts now. It's a bit fucking late wouldn't you say?"

I nodded dumbly and took off my mask taking a few deep breaths to gather my thoughts.

"Ok." I said, replacing the mask and picked up the length of steel pipe laying outside by the door.

I walked back into the darkness not even looking at him and smashed the pipe into his right hand. The second blow took his kneecap, muffled screams were yelled into the gag as he rocked in the chair. My third was aimed perfectly to smash between his splayed thighs and into his testicles with the end of the pipe. It rendered him unconscious. We left the container and Steve disposed of all the evidence and I went home to pack with April.

I was shaking all the way home, It was essential that I had to get this under control before I entered my house. I took my briefcase from the backseat with my paperwork and walked in as casual and normal as I could.

"Hi love, did you get it all sorted?" came the call from the lounge.

"Yep, all has gone to plan. Ready to go on hols?" I replied as cheerily as I could.

April was on here hands and knees packing the suitcases as only a woman can, Johnny had a cute elephant style suitcase of his own with a seat on top that he could use as a bike in the airport.

"Ok, we have three hours to kill. Are you sure you have everything, tickets, passports?" I said as sarcastically as I could muster.

"I sorted it all while you were at the office, don't worry. All you need are your own toiletries."

We made it to the airport in plenty of time and I was so relieved when the plane was airborne. I could stop looking over my shoulder at last. I would be out of the country for part three of the plan.

We had a wonderful time in Tenerife and for a lot of the time I almost forgot what was happening at home. It was two days after we arrived home that April came back from the school run ashen faced.

She got johnny sorted out with his dinner and whispered to me, "Bob Barnes is dead."

"Sorry?" I replied as calmly as I could.

"You know, Bob Barnes, the man you hate. While we were on holiday he apparently jumped from a motorway bridge and was hit by multiple lorries."

"Really?"

She looked at me quizzically raising a brow with a slight tilt of her head as if she was about to ask a question.

"I am glad we were away." I said before she could ask her question.

It seemed to satisfy her for the moment.

He had probably died when he hit the tarmac but the lorries were timed to make sure.

I had rung Steve from Spain on his office phone a few days after our arrival.

"All go to plan?"

"Perfectly." He said. "No comebacks."

I felt bad that I had deprived a young lad of a father but he was a scumbag of a man so the way I figured it, I did the kid and his mother a favour in the long run. Steve made sure that the last thing Bob Barnes heard was, Barry Jones sends his regards.

Revenge was sweet.

The End.