Dave sat at his laptop, on a spreadsheet he was listing all the money he had spent. Some was his own, the rest was from the £150k given to him. It didn’t take long, downstairs, Sally had left a list of shopping he needed to pick up from Tesco’s. He set off reluctantly, as he walked round the aisles, he was cheered up by a call from Marius, he said he had something for him, could they meet later. They agreed on 16:00 at the Marriott Hotel, where this had all started. He put the shopping away, had a late lunch, leaving a note for Sally, he set off for the meeting. He saw Marius’ car, he knew there would be three minders with him, his Glock was in his shoulder holster. Marius was sitting with one of his minders, as soon as he saw Dave, he motioned for the minder to move. He walked to a table and sat with another, the third was watching the entrance to the lounge. Dave caught the waiter’s eye and ordered two more coffees. Marius stood up to greet him, as they shook hands, Dave smiling said he had his gun with him and wouldn’t hesitate to use it. “I wouldn’t expect any less from you.” Marius wanted to know how it had gone. Dave sent him images he had taken, the drugs, the weapons, the captured men and finally the dead bodies. “Show these to your friends, proof the job was done. He had £40m-£50m worth of drugs stored there and two articulated lorries full of guns, you wouldn’t have stood a chance when he moved in on you. I hope your friends appreciate what I have done.” “They do,” he indicated a briefcase at the side of his chair, “One suggested we offer you a lifetime of free prostitutes, I said I didn’t think you were like that. What about the injuries you mentioned.” Dave pointed to the scars on his head and said he would be dead if it wasn’t for a bullet proof vest.” “A wise precaution,” he went on to thank Dave for keeping his business going, “A word of advice for you, if you know of anyone who bought any of the weapons, tell them to get rid of whatever they have. There are people going through the records recovered to see if they can trace where they went, there will be knocks on the doors of anyone they suspect. It has worked out well for both of us.” They sat and chatted until the coffee was finished. “Is everything calm now across Birmingham?” “There will always be challenges, usually from out of town people, but we deal with them, this has brought us closer together, we try to resolve any issues we have before the shooting starts. We are trying to set up a regular meeting where we can discuss business and grievances.” “It all sounds very professional, next you will be applying to register for VAT and tax.” They shook hands, Dave picked up the briefcase and walked out with Marius, “I’m not going to find any surprises when I open the case? If anything happens, the people who worked for me, will come after you and your friends.” “No, I wouldn’t do anything like that. If you want, I will open it and let you see.” “Yes please, open the tailgate of your car, do it there.” Marius did as he was asked, the case was full of money, “pull out some of the bundles so I can see the bottom.” “You don’t trust anyone, do you?” “It’s how I manage to stay alive.” The case was closed again. Dave walked to his car and was soon on the M42. He phoned Sally to say he would be home in forty minutes. She hugged and kissed him when he walked in, “I’ve missed you, I hardly got anything done at work today, I was thinking about you all the time, I rang Olivia, and asked her if they wanted to go to London as a thanks for the help they gave you. She rang back later saying they would be there.” “Do you want to count this before or after tea?” He held up the case for her to see. “Let’s do it now. How much do you think is in there?” “I thought there might be £10k, but it looks a lot more.” “Fifty bloody thousand, added to the money you already have, that makes £80k in total. There must be over £100k spread around the house.” Sally wanted to go out for a meal, Dave said he was tired and it could wait until tomorrow, there’s plenty of food in the fridge, taking a large cottage pie ready meal, she put it in the oven, cooked vegetables, it was their meal that night. Dave closed his eyes as he sat on the sofa afterwards, within minutes, he was asleep, Sally left him as she loaded the dishwasher, tidied the kitchen and sorted out her clothes for the morning, the money she put in the wardrobe of the bedroom Dave had originally been in. Only then did she wake him up. “Time you were in bed,” he climbed the stairs slowly, undressed, cleaned his teeth and slipped into bed. Sally lay next to him, she was concerned, he was physically and mentally exhausted. He made it look as if the solutions came easily to him, she knew how hard he worked to be as good as he was. Something would have to change, what it was and how it would happen, she had no idea.
Dave didn’t do much the following day, he booked the train tickets, then lounged about the house. He tidied up, sorted out his clothes for the weekend then lay on the sofa. The phone ringing woke him, Jane Goodley asked when he could come and see her, “I want to discuss where we go from here.” “I’m in London with some friends from tomorrow, we are staying for the weekend, I will see what arrangements Sally has made and speak to you later.” Dave knew exactly what was planned, he wanted to talk with Sally first. When she had a chance at work, Sally phoned Michael, she explained to him that something was wrong with Dave, “would you have a word with him over the weekend, see if you can find out what it is. I’m worried, I will try to get it out of him when I get home, but I think he won’t say anything.” Michael agreed that he would do what he could. He was asleep on the sofa when she saw him, she showered and changed, he was still sleeping. He woke when the kettle was boiling. “Have you been sleeping most of the day?” “I tidied up a bit, then sat on the sofa, Jane Goodley rang, she wants to see me, I said we were in London tomorrow, but I wouldn’t make any decisions about a meeting until I had spoken to you.” “Dave, will you tell me what’s wrong, did something happen last week? If you tell me, we can try to come up with a solution.” “I don’t know what it is, I’m tired, but that isn’t the issue, something is niggling me, I keep trying to figure it out, but I’m getting nowhere. I’m struggling to settle.” “Do we need to get away from everything, give yourself time to think, find out what this is, then move forward?” “It’s like the start of an investigation, where there are loads of directions I can choose to go, but I can’t find the right one. I don’t expect you to understand fully. I’ll be alright over the weekend, I’m looking forward to it, maybe after that, we can talk again.” Sally said he should go to the meeting tomorrow, “I’ll come with you, see what she wants to talk to you about.” Dave phoned her back and said they would be there at 15:00. Sally sat opposite Dave, “is this anything to do with our relationship?” “No, I love you, more than perhaps you realise.” Nothing else was said, she wanted to call Olivia and say what time to be at the station. “There is a train at 10:30, I booked tickets for that one.” When she came off the phone, Sally said Michael would pick them up just after 10:00.
In the bedroom, Sally was sorting out what she wanted to take. Dave joined her, he pulled out their suitcase for Sally to pack, he was sitting on a part of the bed that didn’t have any clothes laid out. “As soon as you have packed, do you want to get into bed.” “It depends what for, if it’s to sleep, then, no, anything else, I’ll be packed in about two minutes.” He lent over and ran his hand up her leg, “let me finish first.”
They sat waiting on Friday morning for Michael to arrive. A ‘peep’ on his horn indicated he was here. Dave carried the suitcase, Sally had a smaller overnight bag, each carried a coat. They were in the hotel by 12:30, it was agreed to meet in the bar for lunch, the plan was to visit the theatre that evening, once they had decided which show they wanted to see, Dave went off to find the concierge, he asked him to see if he could find four tickets sitting together. As he and Sally left for the Home Office, the concierge called him over, “I have been able to secure a box for you, the tickets will be here later this afternoon, Dave thanked him, a porter had hailed a cab.
Jane Goodley was still being friendly, she asked how they both were, and if Dave had recovered from last weekend. Coffee had been brought in and left on the desk, Jane poured it out. Her first question shocked Dave, “what were you talking to Marius Barbu about in the Marriott Hotel?” His expression never changed, had she been following him, he was sure he wasn’t being tailed, or was she watching Marius. “I never knew his surname, we’re friends, we met up for a chat.” “And the case you left with, what was in that?” “A gift from him and some of his friends. I hope you aren’t following me, if you are, then we will be gone, and our working relationship will be over.” “No, we are following him just now, it will be one of the others next, we like to keep up with what is happening. There is very little trouble in Birmingham just now, we’re not going to pull any of them in, the city would be like Liverpool is at the moment.” “You know they are trying to set up regular meetings to sort out any problems they have.” “As long as they shoot each other, I’m not bothered, it’s when it spills over and affects ordinary people, I have to act. What was the gift for, are you working for them as well?” “No, it was Marius who first brought the weapons to my attention, he realised the Liverpool gang were trying to move in. They read the papers, it was a small thank you.”
Sally asked why she wanted to see Dave, “my offer of a job here still stands, you would be a valuable asset to have. If your answer is still the same, I have several different opportunities, one is to spend time here giving the knowledge you have to the new starters, teach them how to think, explain how to investigate. They would appreciate your knowledge. Another option would be to give you an office closer to home, where you can run any investigations rather than from your house.” “You know my methods are not approved, the software I use is for the most part illegal, I can’t use that within a government building.” “David, I want you working with my department, think what would work, then come back to me, in the meantime, my people are struggling with a lot of the paperwork from the farm and his office, will you and Sally try to make some sense out of it.” “Dave won’t be about next week, he needs time away to recharge his batteries, we can make a start the following week, arrange to have it boxed up and shipped to us the following Monday.” Jane looked at Dave, “If that’s what Sally says, then that’s what to do.”
Outside he wanted to know what was happening next week, “I’m not sure, we are going away somewhere, I don’t know where, just the two of us, there is a lot of talking to be done.”
The four had an early meal before going to the theatre, none of them had seen ‘The Mousetrap’, they all enjoyed it, Dave was a bit too analytical, trying to figure out what was going to happen before it did. It wasn’t far to walk to the hotel, Dave had suggested they take a taxi, the others wanted to walk. They walked along Piccadilly, Michael and Dave in front, Olivia and Sally behind, there was plenty of traffic, but few other pedestrians, after The Ritz, they were the only ones on their side of the road. Suddenly there were two figures in front of them. Dave saw a knife, “money, watches and jewellery quick, or you’ll get it.” The knife was being waved about in Dave’s face, “I think you will regret this in the morning,” Dave’s left hand came up and hit the arm holding the knife, at the same time his right hand connected with the jaw of the lad. Michael punched the other, not as hard as Dave, enough to make him turn and run. Dave grabbed his lad by the throat, “not your night is it? Now fuck off.” He ran along the street towards Piccadilly Circus. Dave picked up the knife. “You could do a bit of damage with this.” “What the fuck just happened.” Olivia was shaking, Michael wrapped his arms round her, Sally said to Dave that it was all over before she realised what had taken place. “Did you hurt him?” “I hope so, trying to spoil our evening.” Olivia was calmer, they walked quickly to the hotel, at the porters desk, he handed over the knife, “I took this off a couple of lads round the corner. Can we order food, will you send someone across?” The porter looked at Dave in amazement. The blade was about twelve inches long, curved and serrated on one edge.
Dave was starving, he ordered burger and chips, while the others had sandwiches. They stayed drinking until 02:00. In the morning, over breakfast, Sally and Olivia decided they wanted to go shopping, Dave tried to get tickets to a Premier League football match, but the concierge didn’t have any luck. They decided to have a walk and find a pub, maybe watch a rugby match. Sally and Olivia left in a taxi, Dave and Michael walked towards the park, they were both wrapped up against the cold. They watched in amazement at joggers and runners in shorts and running vests. Sitting on a bench, Michael judged it was the right time. “Sally asked me to speak to you, if you don’t want to talk, then that’s fine. She’s worried about you, she can’t figure out what it is that’s wrong, is there anything you want to talk about?” “In the past, if I ever wasn’t sure about what to do, I would always let things happen and deal with whatever came next, I did that with Sally, I never thought too much about what was in the future, I would deal with that when it came along. The problem I have now, is, the future is here and for once I have to make a decision.” Michael stayed silent, he wasn’t going to interrupt. “It was only after the job was finished I started to think, I’d been hit over the head with an iron bar, shot and nearly drowned. It isn’t fair on Sally, I know she worries, I play down the danger, but I can’t have her thinking every time I drive off, it might be the last time I see her. I have never loved anyone the way I love her, I have to decide what I do next, I don’t want to sit behind a desk five days a week. I’ve got a skill set that not many people have. I’m not being big headed when I say there aren’t many better than me, it’s a fact. My problem is I don’t conform, I don’t obey rules, I don’t respect rank or position, I respect people. Many dislike me because of that, but I’m not bothered. I’ve been offered a senior role at MI5, but I won’t take it, one reason, is we would have to move, Sally is settled in Loughborough, and I quite like it. They offered to set up an office locally for me, but I would be bound by their rules. For once in my life, I don’t know what to do.” Dave stood up, Michael joined him standing. “Sally knows there is something up, she wants to go away next week to talk, I’m not sure what about, but I can guess.” Michael was cold, he moved off, “Come on, lets walk, maybe it’s time to reassess what your priorities are, what you are prepared to give up or change. Eventually you will have to call it a day with the action man stuff. Quit while you are ahead, I’m not saying that is what you should do, it’s something to think about. If you love Sally, and I don’t think there is any doubt, she has to be your first priority, think about that, see if other pieces fall into place once you do that.” They had reached a pub, “time for a pint,” Michael pushed the door open, it was warm inside, there was a smell of food, Dave felt his stomach rumble. The talk was over, the conversation after that was the usual pub talk, sport, politics, work and the weather. They spent an enjoyable afternoon together, over the months, they had become good friends. They wandered along the streets ending up at the hotel, Dave was approached by one of the porters as they came in through the doors. “Mr. Stretton, the duty manager would like a word with you when it’s convenient.” Dave said he was looking for the ladies and would be with them, “once I’ve had a coffee, you can come for me.” Sally and Olivia were in the lounge, shopping bags were everywhere. They sat drinking coffee, around ten minutes later a porter came across and asked him if he was ready, there was a look from the other three, “I’ll be back shortly.” He was shown in to an office, on the desk was the knife from last night. The duty manager stood up and thanked Dave for coming. “Mr. Stretton you left this with the porters last night, would you explain how it came into your possession.” Dave ran through the events, “do you want me to report this to the police?” “There’s no point, nothing will happen, will you dispose of the knife?” He was assured this would be done, they shook hands, Dave returned to the lounge. Immediately he was questioned about where he had been. “It was about last night, the duty manager asked if I wanted to report it to the police, I said not to bother.” Olivia shivered at the mention of the attack. Sally suggested they ate out that evening, she went off to see the concierge, returning with a few menus from local restaurants. It was agreed to book a table at a Greek Taverna. At the end of the meal Michael insisted on paying. Dave tried to say the weekend was on him, but Michael wouldn’t relent. As they walked back, Olivia walked with Dave, Sally was with Michael. She said Sally was the happiest she had ever seen her, “you aren’t thinking of doing anything to spoil that are you?” Dave said he loved Sally and was very happy. She kept talking to Dave, to stop him from hearing any of the conversation going on behind him, Sally asked if he had spoken to Dave, “Yes, he is struggling, he loves you very much, the attack on him in Liverpool has had an effect on him. He is at a crossroads, and, he said for the first time in his life he was having to make a decision. It all revolves round you, he is trying to solve it in his head, I’m not sure what his options are, I do know, you are the centre of his thoughts, it’s all about you and him as a couple.” Sally thanked him, she said they were going away on Tuesday to try to sort out what to do. “Somewhere remote, with no distractions and hopefully no phone signal.”
When they were in bed, Sally sat on top of Dave, she said nothing, her time was spent kissing him, she lost count of the number of times she whispered in his ear that she loved him. The next morning they sat in bed with coffees, “Olivia told me something yesterday when we were shopping, she has stopped screwing around, so you are safe. She loves Michael, but couldn’t help herself, she realised one day how much hurt it would cause if he found out.”
Over breakfast Sally thought a visit to Madame Tussauds would be a good way to round off the weekend before catching the train home.
© 10210ken 2025
