Rise and Fall by Casey Kelleher Page A

had barely started. The boy had just flashed the knife as they danced around him in circles trying to avoid getting cut, as the others watched, laughing and jeering. 
    On hearing the gunshot, the boys forgot about the two jokers that they had been threatening and ran towards the flat where the noise had come from. 
    Gavin and Shay followed, hoping the gunshot had been Jamie finishing off Jerell; they had been in there longer than planned and Gavin and Shay had no idea what the situation was.
    Seeing Jerell running out of the flat and down the street, dragging Tyler, the gang of boys followed. They were unsure why their boss was running, but if he wasn’t hanging around, neither would they. 
    The first thing Shay and Gavin saw when they got to the flat was Jamie, crouched on the floor, blood on his clothes and hands. 
    “Oh my fucking God, we need an ambulance,” Shay said.
    “We ain’t got time for a fucking ambulance, get Gavin’s car here, now.” The panic in Jamie’s voice was evident. Looking at Les, Jamie ordered: “Pull yourself fucking together, mate, the police are going to be swarming all over here in about five minutes. You need to get a fucking grip.” 
    Les was shaking; a warm trickle of piss ran down his leg, as he went into shock.
    Knowing that he wouldn’t get any sense out of the bloke, Jamie nodded to Gavin. “Gavin, get Les in the Jag and back to my place. Do it now. I’ll call you in a bit. Do not let him out of your sight, you hear me?” Jamie reached into Gary’s pocket and rooted around for his car keys; then, trying to think clearly despite the nightmare that had just unfolded before him, he got his own keys out of his back pocket and passed them to Gavin. 
    Seeing Gavin hold up a shaky Les as he guided him to the Jag, Jamie hoped that Gavin would be able to keep Les under control, the last thing they needed right now was fucking hysterics from him.
    Shay screeched up beside the flat in Gavin’s car seconds later; Jamie looked back down to Gary who was lying on the floor having taken the bullet that Jerell had meant for Les. Gary’s eyes were glazed and he was clearly in a lot of pain.
    His hands tightly placed over the hole in Gary’s stomach, Jamie tried to stem some of the bleeding. “It’s going to be alright, Gary, you’re going to be alright,” he said, and hoped to God he was right. 
    Jamie and Shay lifted Gary carefully into the back seat of the Escort. There was no time to wait for an ambulance to arrive; Shay would have to get him to the hospital.
    As Shay weaved in and out of the traffic like a racing driver, Jamie’s mind was also racing. Jerell was an animal and whatever he had been doing to that poor boy when they had burst in on him was disgusting; it had been the last thing Jamie had expected to see and had shocked him to the core. He hoped that the kid would be okay, but right now his priority was Gary, who was now mumbling incoherently in the back of the car.
    “Fucking hell, what are those horrible noises he’s making?” Shay glanced behind him. The sight of Jamie and his boss covered in blood made him want to cry. This was bad, very bad.
    He pushed his foot to the floor; fuck speed restrictions, the hospital wasn’t far but they were running out of time. Gary looked like he was slipping away.
    Gary lay across the back seat, his head resting on Jamie’s lap. His breathing was raspy; his eyes were opening and closing. Jamie fought to keep him conscious by saying his name and telling him he would be okay. Gary didn’t seem able to reply. Jamie did everything in his power to remain in control; he would be strong for his boss, even though he felt like falling apart. Gary couldn’t die.
    Shay drove like a maniac up Lambeth Palace Road towards the Accident and Emergency unit of St Thomas’ Hospital, feeling that they were losing the battle with time. Gary had stopped making the rasping sounds; his breathing was slow, too slow and quiet. He was almost