Becca XXX: Dangerous Cargo Ch. 06

I set off again with condensation puffing out of my lungs with every step. My feet pounded the pavement as I left the city behind me and moved into the mish-mash area that I'd seen on the satellite imagery. The streets were even quieter here and all I could hear was my breathing and my footsteps.

Pant-pant-pant. Step-step-step.

The street lights were few and far between and I knew this was probably a no-go area for women at night. My eyes were out on stalks trying to look for danger before it came my way, but my vision was restricted by my hood.

After another twenty minutes, I stopped short of the row of shops and takeaways which were opposite the turning for the warehouse. Several people were hanging about outside the shops and they didn't look like the sort of people I wanted to meet. I made it to the care home, about a hundred metres from the shops. The place seemed quiet, so I slipped through the bushes and leaned against the fire-escape in the darkness.

I waited and observed, feeling invisible, but nervous.

The people outside the shops were all men and at first, I thought they were all together. As I watched, I saw something exchange hands between two of the men and then the group split into two. Four of them headed towards me, while the other two stayed where they were. The four coming my way were laughing and joking and pushing each other and I realised that they were in their late teens or early twenties. It was the way that they moved and behaved that gave them away - spritely but immature.

It seemed pretty obvious to me that they had just scored some drugs from two dealers outside the shops. They were now on their way to either smoke it, snort it or inject it depending on what it was. I had to stay where I was for now. If I came out of the shadows at this point, they would see me so I pulled my hood over my face and kept perfectly still. The human eye is drawn to movement, so even though I was practically invisible, they'd still notice me if I shifted position.

I breathed slowly and deeply, trying to bring my heart rate back down from running. That wasn't the only reason it was racing inside my chest. The adrenaline coursing through my veins wasn't helping.

The boys came level with me, still acting like children and taking the piss out of each other. If they saw me, I was going to have to make a run for it. As it turned out they were too pre-occupied with their cocaine which one of them happened to mention as they passed me.

"There should be enough for at least a line each, lads," one of them said excitably.

"You can't beat a bit of blow on a school night," laughed another.

I waited for them to turn the corner and then I stuck my head out. I saw that the remaining two men outside the shops, were now talking to someone in a car which had pulled up. Again, something was exchanged from hand to hand and then the car drove off at speed.

This looked like it was one of Brian's street corners where his business was conducted. Maybe he had pulled up and parked here to give instructions to his crew or to re-supply them and take the money back to the boss. It seemed plausible, but I still wanted to check out the warehouse.

The problem was that the only way I could get into the estate, was to run past these two guys. The estate was a dead-end which didn't even have an alleyway according to google maps. It would look pretty suspicious for a girl on her own to be running onto an estate with no way out.

I watched for a while longer and then decided it was worth the risk. If I could find a stash of MP7's in the warehouse, there maybe some clue as to their origin. There might be a serial number on them or some other markings that an expert could use to find out where they were from.

I took a deep breath, pulled my hood over my face a little more and set out running. There was no point in trying to sneak past them, it would look even more suspicious than just running by. I kept my head down and crossed the road so I could give them a wide birth.

Puff-puff-puff. Step-step-step.

My breathing and cadence were in time with each other. My heart was already pounding from the run, but the nervous adrenaline was now giving me something extra. My subconscious knew that I was in a dangerous situation and it was already getting me into fight-or flight mode.

I saw them out of the corner of my eye as I ran past and they had their backs to me. Both were wearing dark clothing with their hoods up, similar to me. They must have heard me coming because they slowly turned around as I got closer. Something in the back of my mind told me that I was in trouble, as though there was something significant about these two men, but I couldn't figure out what.

I got past them and turned right into the trading estate, leaving them behind me. I could feel them staring at me as I disappeared into the darkness. As soon as I was out of their line of sight, I stopped and hid behind a low brick wall while I checked to see if they were following me.

I waited silently.

One minute ticked by.

Then two.

After three minutes of waiting, I thought that I must have gotten away with it and I breathed out and examined the new scene to the side of me.

The word 'disappointment' didn't quite cut it.

As I saw the target building in all its glory, I realised there was no way there'd be any weapons in it. The place was being demolished and looked more like an open-sided barn than a warehouse. The exterior walls had been taken down and all that was left was the metal roof and the steel structure holding it up. There were piles of bricks and twisted concrete placed in piles and some of the interior walls remained standing. I looked across the road at the other buildings and realised the whole estate was a construction site. Wire mesh fences had been constructed all around the buildings with warning signs stating that demolition was in progress. The fence was sectional with concrete blocks placed at each join. Some of the joins had been forced open, probably by kids, to gain access to the derelict area. It would be like a forbidden playground for them.

The Google street-view which I'd used to survey the area must have been years out of date. What was once a run-down industrial estate, was now about to be torn down to make way for a new development. It looked like this was a dead-end in more ways than one and that Brian had just been resupplying his dealers after all.

I kicked myself mentally for wasting time, but there was no way I could have known. I could only work with the information that I had and there wasn't much of it.

I was about to turn and run back home when I heard a commotion going on at the shops. I heard raised voices and then shouts as the two dealers seemed to be having an altercation with a punter.

"GET BACK HERE, MOTHER FUCKER," I heard one of them shout.

I heard the patter of panicked feet running along the pavement and they were coming my way.

Whatever 'Mother Fucker' had done, the dealers certainly weren't happy about it and they were giving chase.

"There's nowhere to run, fuck face," said a voice that I recognised.

I suddenly realised the significance of the two dealers wearing hoodies. They were the same assholes who had tried to rape me on Friday night. It looked like two of them had gotten out of the hospital sooner than I'd hoped.

My mind flashed back to Friday night as I tried to figure out which two were back out causing trouble. The guy in the Red hoody had received a broken leg and the guy in the Green one had a broken arm. There was no way that they would be back on the streets. That just left Blue, who I'd punched in the balls, and Black whose teeth had ended up all over the lobby floor.

Mother Fucker ran past at light speed as I crouched lower to stay out of sight. He had a duffle-bag in his hand and was running for his life. As he got to the wire fence, he hurled the bag over the top and started to scramble through one of the gaps. The fence rattled and clanged, but he made it through. Blue and Black caught up with him and started to scrabble through the same gap.

I stayed where I was. I was in two minds whether to make a run for it while they were distracted, but suddenly everything changed.

Mother Fucker had made it to the building as the two dealers made it through the fence. Both young men slid their hands awkwardly into their waistbands and pulled out short stubby black pistols. I heard the 'click-clack' of the top slides being pulled back and released.

"STOP RIGHT THERE, OR WE'LL SHOOT YOU, MOTHER FUCKER," shouted Black, pulling his pistol up and aiming it in the direction of the runner.

He must have heard the 'click-clack' too because he stopped in his tracks and dropped the bag onto the floor with his hands in the air.

Black and Blue walked slowly towards him with their weapons raised as I weighed up my options. It seemed strange that these two were now armed, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

They had taken a beating on Friday night and then one of The Mancs had been shot and killed a few nights later, in retaliation. These two must have been issued with pistols to protect themselves from any reprisals from The Mancs. I had unwittingly escalated the war between the two gangs.

"Turn around," said Blue. "Let's get a look at you."

Mother Fucker slowly turned around and I saw how young he was. He barely looked old enough to legally buy a drink and he looked terrified.

Having a pistol pointed at you does tend to have that effect.

"You think you can steal from us, mother fucker?" spat Black. "Do you know who we are?"

"Sorry man. I didn't know it was you. Please, just take the bag back and I'll go," he pleaded.

"It's a bit late for that. No fucker steals from The Lees," said Blue. "You're gonna have to pay for this."

Both of the dealers had that look in their eyes. It was the look of vengeance and I knew this kid's life was about to end. Drug dealers like these two were protected by their gang, but they would have to prove that they had the minerals to do what was necessary if they were threatened. They'd already taken one beating and now someone was trying to steal from them. They had a lot to make up for.

I don't know why, but I couldn't sit back and watch this unfold. I had no idea who the kid was, but I couldn't let his life end like this. Besides, I'd told these assholes that if I met them again, it wouldn't end well for them.

I reached my hand behind me, just like I'd practiced in my flat. I unzipped the bottom of the bag, gripped the Makarov's handle and pulled it out. Black and Blue were still bearing down on Mother Fucker and they were now about ten feet away from him.

I kept in a low crouch and crept to the hole in the fence. As quietly as I could, I squeezed through the gap and dropped onto one knee on the other side, flicking the safety off with my thumb.

The dealers were right next to Mother Fucker by now and I watched Blue pistol whip him across the face. The kid dropped to his knees, crying out in pain and pleading for his life.

"No, please. I didn't know it was you. I'm sorry," he sobbed, holding his hands up in surrender.

Blue kneed him hard in the face and the kid howled with blood gushing from his nose.

"People are going to find you dead in the morning and they'll know that The Lees are making a stand," said Black. "You must be with The Mancs, you little cunt."

I looked around for cover, but I was in the open ground at the front of the building. I ran to the steel girder on the right-hand front corner and stopped. The execution was about to take place thirty metres away. My line of sight meant that if I shot at these two idiots, I might hit the kid which would defeat the objective of what I was trying to achieve.

Black lifted his arm and pointed his pistol at Mother Fucker's head. His arm had a slight tremble to it; maybe it was his first kill. Six pounds of trigger pressure was all it was going to take to end Mother Fucker's life.

I couldn't let that happen.

It was now or never.

I pointed the Makarov to the left of the gathering and squeezed off two rounds.

Thud-thud.

The sound was magnified in the enclosed space and it rang out across the whole estate. I hoped it hadn't woken up any of the old dears at the care home, but I knew someone would be calling the police.

My bullets hit the pile of rubble about five metres away from them, making them all duck their heads down, as an involuntary movement took over their bodies. Something in the primeval subconscious mind causes the human body to either curl into a ball like a hedgehog or run away when it hears gunfire.

Mother Fucker did the former and Black and Blue did the latter. They darted behind a pile of bricks and hit the deck.

"What the fuck!" shouted Blue. "Who's there?"

"You don't know who you're fucking with," yelled Black. "You're a dead man."

As they hid like startled rabbits, I dashed to the next area of cover. It was a metal skip full of rubbish. Mother Fucker remained motionless on the floor between me and the dealers.

I was about to move closer when Blue decided to return fire. He popped up, fired two shots at nothing and then ducked down again. He didn't even know what he was shooting at, he was just firing blindly. I definitely had the upper hand. For starters, I was zeroed in on their position and they had no idea where I was. Secondly, they assumed I was male, which boosted my confidence even more.

Don't get me wrong, I was scared out of my wits, but something was driving me on. I had to push the fear deep down inside of me. Maybe it was just about doing the right thing, or maybe I was worried that they'd recognise me and feed my description back to Brian. If they did, my cover would be blown.

I fired another shot in their direction and moved again, making it to a low, partly demolished wall. They were now to my half left.

This time Black returned fire, squeezing off three rounds in the same direction that Blue had.

Thud-thud-thud.

"We're gonna fuck you up, asshole."

Blue stuck his head up and fired off another three rounds too.

Thud-thud-thud.

"Leave now. You don't wanna get involved in this, shit head."

I stayed silent. Sometimes it is a lot more intimidating to say nothing, instead of mouthing off a barrage of abuse. It also allowed me to stay stealthy. I was practically invisible being dressed in black so why would I give away my position by shouting back?

I peeped around the side of the wall and saw the kid still cowering in the dirt. He saw me through his bleary eyes and begged me to come and rescue him using nothing but his facial expression. I put my palm out to tell him to stay put and he nodded.

I was three rounds down out of eight in the magazine. That left me with five, plus the spare mag in my backpack. While Blue and Black continued to shout abuse, I moved back behind the wall and took my bag off of my shoulders. I quietly unzipped it and took out the spare mag. I then placed the bag back onto my shoulders and stuffed the mag into the pocket of my hoody for quick access.

Next, I peeped over the top of the wall and brought my weapon up into the aim. I had it focused on where I'd last seen Black as it was his turn to fire. I fired two rounds to get his attention.

Thud-thud.

Crack-ping.

As soon as I'd fired, I dropped into a prone position so that I was lying on the floor next to the wall. I then rolled out to the side again and waited for him to return fire.

I didn't have to wait long.

He'd figured out where the shots were coming from and fired two rounds at the top of the wall, which is where I had been, but not where I was right now. As soon as I saw his hooded head appear, I squeezed off two more rounds and then rolled back behind the wall.

Thud-thud.

There was no cry of pain and for a split second, I thought I'd missed him.

Then Blue started screaming.

"Aaarrgghhh, fuck, you've killed him, aarrghhh," he cried. "You fucking cunt."

I stayed silent and still, thinking it might be a trap to lure me out into the open.

"He's fucking dead, man. You mother fucker. I'm gonna fucking kill you."

He let rip with a hail of bullets which thumped into the wall between me and him. If the brickwork hadn't been there, he'd have probably hit me. I took the opportunity to change magazines. I only had one round left in the chamber so it was an ideal time. I flicked the magazine out of the hand grip and slammed in the new one. There was no need to rack the top slide as there was already a chambered round. I now had a total of nine.

I guessed that Blue was probably reloading after his last attack. He must have emptied his mag in anger and I doubted he was as prepared or well-trained as I was.

I took a peek out from the side of the wall again and saw nothing. I got onto my haunches and prepared to move. My plan was to try and flank him and then come up behind him, where he'd be a sitting duck.

I fired two shots and made a run for the next lot of cover which was a pile of old tyres stacked on top of each other.

I waited, breathing and sweating hard.

I heard him move on the gravelly surface as he prepared to return fire.

Click.

"Shit!"

It was unbelievable. He'd had plenty of time to reload, but in his blind fury, he hadn't bothered. Seeing your best friends head explode right next to you, can cause a lot of confusion. Either that or he'd played too many PlayStation games and thought he had a never-ending supply of bullets.

I broke cover and made my way over to him quickly, but cautiously, hoping to get to him before he reloaded.

I had my weapon held out with my arms straight, ready to finish him off the second he showed himself. As I got level with the rubble pile, I could hear him scrabbling about to reload the weapon with shaking hands. The smell of cordite hung in the air with tiny wisps of pistol smoke making the whole scene look spooky in the darkness.

I took a deep breath and jumped out from behind the rubble, bearing down on him.

"DROP IT. DROP IT," I shouted.

He immediately let go of the pistol and it clattered onto the floor next to his lifeless mate. Blue was sitting down in a pool of dark shiny liquid which I knew was his late friend's blood.

"Please... don't..." he whimpered, lowering his head and raising his hands. "You don't have to kill me. I've not seen your face... I won't say nothing to nobody."

His grasp on the English language was about as good as his tactical skills.

"You're wrong. You already know who I am," I replied. "You've seen my face before. Don't you recognise me?"

I let my hood drape back onto my shoulders, but he refused to look at me.

"Don't you recognise my voice?" I asked. "You tried to rape me on Friday night at the Cedars Estate. How's your balls?"

A glimmer of recognition came over him and he slowly raised his head to look at me.

"Holy shit, it's you again," he gasped. "Who the fuck are you, lady?"

"Lady? That's not what you were calling me on Friday night. I was a fucking slut, according to you and your friends. Remember?"

"Nah... nah... that wasn't me, that was all them. I was just going along with it. You know how it is."

"Of course you were. Who's the kid you were going to execute?" I asked, changing the subject and nodding at the curled-up hedgehog.

"He's one of them. He's trying to steal our stash for The Mancs," he spat.

I looked down at Mother Fucker and gave his foot a kick.

"You. Get up. Who are you?" I asked, not taking any chances.

He slowly uncurled while I kept my weapon trained on Blue. His friends pistol was within reach, whereas Mother Fucker was unarmed. I focused on the biggest threat first.

"Please, Miss. I'm not with any gang," he had his hands held up.