Volvo pulled up at the kerb and the door opened. He climbed in with some difficulty, swearing and blaspheming at the pain. The car pulled away as soon as he was secure.
***
Marty and Jaz had been told t hat Dennis Grierson must be on the Farm, probably staying with a sympathiser in the flats. They had also been told that it was their job to make sure he didn’t get off the estate and rouse reinforcements. Mickey wanted to secure the area and let everyone know he was running the flats from now on, but some of the TH Crew were already secretly expressing doubts to Marty about whether the Crew could really control the community as Psycho had done. After all, he had ruled by violence and fear. Most members of the TH Crew were school kids who scared nobody on their own and who would be back at school in a couple of weeks.
It also worried the older members that Dennis Grierson had controlled the sale of serious drugs in the area, keeping violent dealers off the manor. The Crew carried no weight with the Albanians who handled the distribution for the rest of the Farm. To Crew members like Marty and Jaz, who had young brothers and sisters, the ‘no drugs dealt in the flats’ rule was sensible, but the Albanians wouldn’t give a second thought to getting ten year olds hooked on drugs. They didn’t have to live here.
The two gang members had been on the prowl since six this morning and were now riding their bikes down to the Butty Van parked in the lay by on the main road, where they could buy a sausage, egg and bacon roll. They had just rounded the corner when they saw a red Volvo pull over to the wrong side o f the road and pick someone up.
“Shit, Jaz, that’s Den getting in the car! We have to stop h im! Mickey’ll have us whipped!”
Jaz and Marty abandoned their bikes at the side of the road and stood in the path of the Volvo , which was now about seventy-five yards away. When the car showed no signs of slowing, Jaz pulled out a handgun and started waving it around.
“Jaz, what’s that? Where did you get a gun?”
“Mickey gave it us last night. Said we might need it.” Jaz aimed the gun at the oncoming car, but it never slowed. Sweating , and regretting his decision to carry, Jaz pressed the trigger. Nothing.
“Bloody hell, Jaz! The safety, man! You’ve got the safety on!” Marty yelled above the roar of the car engine. Jaz flicked the safety off and levelled the gun, firing at the same time.
***
Den had his eyes closed , but they sprang open when Ron yelled.
“Jes us, Den! Are we suddenly living in Dodge City? It’s a couple of the Crew and they’re tooled up again.” Den could see the two teenagers standing in the road; they were in the uniform of the Crew; purple hoodies cut off at the elbow.
“Drive straight at them, Ron. They’ll get out of the way.”
Ron gunned the engine as one boy levelled the gun. At first nothing happened, but then a shot rang out, the bullet passing over the car roof. Ron pressed the pedal to the metal and aimed at the boy with the gun, hoping to scare him. A second later another, final, shot rang out and a crease appeared on the car hood before a ricochet punched a hole in the neoprene gasket holding in the windscreen. A crack started to spread down from the point of impact.
***
Marty was almost hysterical. Shooting people in broad daylight wasn’t what he signed up for, and now the red Volvo was almost on them. He dived at Jaz, trying to move them both out of the way of the oncoming car, but it was too late. The driver’s side wing clipped Jaz, sending him spinning to the ground, his hip dislocated and his leg broken. His head banged into the tarmac and he was out for the count. Marty had pushed Jaz out of the path of the car, but this meant that he was now in harm’s way. He would perhaps have had a chance if he had gone over the hood and been thrown off, but that wasn’t to be. The car hit him whilst he had both feet grounded, and the bumper hit
***
Marty and Jaz had been told t hat Dennis Grierson must be on the Farm, probably staying with a sympathiser in the flats. They had also been told that it was their job to make sure he didn’t get off the estate and rouse reinforcements. Mickey wanted to secure the area and let everyone know he was running the flats from now on, but some of the TH Crew were already secretly expressing doubts to Marty about whether the Crew could really control the community as Psycho had done. After all, he had ruled by violence and fear. Most members of the TH Crew were school kids who scared nobody on their own and who would be back at school in a couple of weeks.
It also worried the older members that Dennis Grierson had controlled the sale of serious drugs in the area, keeping violent dealers off the manor. The Crew carried no weight with the Albanians who handled the distribution for the rest of the Farm. To Crew members like Marty and Jaz, who had young brothers and sisters, the ‘no drugs dealt in the flats’ rule was sensible, but the Albanians wouldn’t give a second thought to getting ten year olds hooked on drugs. They didn’t have to live here.
The two gang members had been on the prowl since six this morning and were now riding their bikes down to the Butty Van parked in the lay by on the main road, where they could buy a sausage, egg and bacon roll. They had just rounded the corner when they saw a red Volvo pull over to the wrong side o f the road and pick someone up.
“Shit, Jaz, that’s Den getting in the car! We have to stop h im! Mickey’ll have us whipped!”
Jaz and Marty abandoned their bikes at the side of the road and stood in the path of the Volvo , which was now about seventy-five yards away. When the car showed no signs of slowing, Jaz pulled out a handgun and started waving it around.
“Jaz, what’s that? Where did you get a gun?”
“Mickey gave it us last night. Said we might need it.” Jaz aimed the gun at the oncoming car, but it never slowed. Sweating , and regretting his decision to carry, Jaz pressed the trigger. Nothing.
“Bloody hell, Jaz! The safety, man! You’ve got the safety on!” Marty yelled above the roar of the car engine. Jaz flicked the safety off and levelled the gun, firing at the same time.
***
Den had his eyes closed , but they sprang open when Ron yelled.
“Jes us, Den! Are we suddenly living in Dodge City? It’s a couple of the Crew and they’re tooled up again.” Den could see the two teenagers standing in the road; they were in the uniform of the Crew; purple hoodies cut off at the elbow.
“Drive straight at them, Ron. They’ll get out of the way.”
Ron gunned the engine as one boy levelled the gun. At first nothing happened, but then a shot rang out, the bullet passing over the car roof. Ron pressed the pedal to the metal and aimed at the boy with the gun, hoping to scare him. A second later another, final, shot rang out and a crease appeared on the car hood before a ricochet punched a hole in the neoprene gasket holding in the windscreen. A crack started to spread down from the point of impact.
***
Marty was almost hysterical. Shooting people in broad daylight wasn’t what he signed up for, and now the red Volvo was almost on them. He dived at Jaz, trying to move them both out of the way of the oncoming car, but it was too late. The driver’s side wing clipped Jaz, sending him spinning to the ground, his hip dislocated and his leg broken. His head banged into the tarmac and he was out for the count. Marty had pushed Jaz out of the path of the car, but this meant that he was now in harm’s way. He would perhaps have had a chance if he had gone over the hood and been thrown off, but that wasn’t to be. The car hit him whilst he had both feet grounded, and the bumper hit
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