Chapter 17 #2
I fly to my feet, fists clenched ready to pummel the prick.
Cora tugs at my arm. “Frankie, what are you doing?!”
Zach’s face twists into something unholy. A flash of who he really is behind his perfect, dark skin. “Yes Frankie, what are you doing?” He taunts, flashing white teeth and an arched eyebrow.
“Not now, Zach. Save your taunts for after we deal with this mess.”
I turn to Ben and notice for the first time how ill he looks. His skin is pale, no longer flush from the adrenaline, his messy hair is still left hanging over his forehead, and a shadow of stubble has begun to appear along his jaw.
Zach places his arm on his brother's shoulder. “What is it?” He asks, his eyebrows knitting together.
“I feel weak. Weaker than I have for a long time.” Ben mumbles, as Cora and I watch the exchange with fascination.
Zach’s jaw clenches. “You expended too much energy, Brother. Let us deal with them and then rest. Please?” It’s odd to see. Half truths and riddles float in the air between them.
“They’ve finished deciding,” Cora mutters. I turn to face her as my brows knit together. “My grandmother was Russian, I speak it fluently.” She looks down as she speaks as if embarrassed by the fact that she knows the language.
“That's… helpful.” God why am I so shit when it comes to her?
She flashes me a smile as she stands up. “Who would have thought I could be so useful in a matter like this, right?” Hope bleeds from her. Does she think that I don’t find her useful?
“Who cares? Let's go. I have a fiancée to find.” Zach says.
“Don’t you mean your brother's fiancée?” Cora snarks.
Ben clears his throat, which gets us moving back into the center of the room but the odd comment lingers. Surely my sister wasn't? God, I don’t even want to think of the ins and outs on whatever the hell is going on there.
“We have reached an agreement.” My eyes find the man who speaks; he has a thick accent like Malachi did and, now that I’m looking at him, he looks similar too.
Just like Malachi, he’s bald and tall, with beady eyes inside deep set sockets.
He looks me up and down, his lip curling ever so slightly into a warranted sneer.
I did kill his leader after all. I wouldn’t be surprised, or pissed off, if he punched me in the jaw and called it even.
“And?” Ben sounds weary. He’s using the back of an old chair to keep himself standing to my left. So he does have a weakness… But why does Zach look no different? Is whatever is making Ben weak just an individual circumstance tailored to him?
“And we will give you what we know and forget about Frankie’s disagreement with Malachi in exchange for Gary’s territory”
Low grumbles ripple through the other men who have gathered to watch the exchange.
I feel nervous as I gauge the other leaders' reactions to this.
They hate the Russians, they hate outsiders in general.
Would bringing them in cause all of this to crumble?
Everything my dad worked for? Everything my ancestors fought in blood for? What would Dad do if he were here?
Would he put Lou above everyone else?
Everyone’s eyes seem to turn on me, waiting with bated breath to see what lies in store for the future of Birmingham’s underground. How did it come to this? How did I end up being in charge of it all?
“You can't seriously be considering this, Frankie?” A voice to my right says.
“Your dad would be turning in his grave!” I whip my head to the left.
“Gary was right about you!”
Suddenly the voices that had kept to themselves in my head were becoming a reality. They start to blur together, a low hum accompanied by a high pitched ringing noise. I can’t tell who’s speaking. Is it me? Am I saying all of the things that had plagued my mind since Dad died?
Sweat grows thick across my forehead, my throat tightens, and I find myself unable to think of anything at all. Nothing except the warm hand pressed firmly in my own, squeezing gently, grounding me in this reality. I open my eyes, not realising that I’d closed them, and look down at her.
Cora smiles reassuringly up at me, but I see the pity behind her blue eyes.
She knows as well as I do that I can’t win in this situation.
If I say yes, there will be a war and discourse between the territories.
If I say no, the Grenville brothers will murder me.
Probably right here in front of everyone.
Perhaps I should let them.
“Think of your sister, Frankie. We can deal with whatever mess is left behind later. Together.” Together.
The word sounds strange, even stranger that someone else is saying it to me.
But there's no time to stand in awe of her acceptance. I know what Dad would have done. He went to prison for her, for me, for my mistakes. He died for her. I know he’d do it again, consequences be damned.
In this, I hope that he will finally be proud of me.
I look back out to the crowd and my eyes find Charlie’s, brown and hopeful, watery with admiration.
Why is this kid always crying? And why is he not back in the flat?
Keeping him a secret from Cora has been difficult, but not impossible; Charlie has kept to himself unless we went out.
Even when we went for our runs, I’d see him loitering at the lamppost at the end of our street waiting for us to get back.
Charlie gives me a nod of encouragement and I turn back to the Russian man in front of me. He holds out his hand for me to shake, and it only takes me two heartbeats to grasp it on my own. “You’ve got yourself a deal. We’ll get you settled into your new territory right away, Mr..?”
The man’s face relaxes in relief. “Kolya,” he says. I give him a tight smile. “As soon as we are within our new territory, I will give you the information you seek.”
Just as he finishes speaking, spit hits my left cheek.
I turn my head to see the men that used to serve my dad gathered around us, fists clenched, jaws tight.
“You’ll pay for this, Garrick,” one of Gary’s men says through gritted teeth.
While none of them make a move, it's clear to me that I haven’t avoided war at all.
I just started a new one. One with people who used to sit around my dining table and eat my mum’s food after a hard day's dealing.
But at least we are one step closer to finding Lou.
That’s something.
It has to be something.
As the men leave, a clatter from behind me drags my attention. I whirl on the spot to see Ben lying on the floor, his skin pale and slick with sweat. “What’s happening?” I yell as I rush over to him.
“It’s… It’s just exhaustion.” Zach’s hands shake as he brushes Ben's hair back from his forehead. “I’ll get him home. You deal with getting them settled, We need to find Louisa and we need to find her now.”
“Can you please tell me what the fuck is going on?!”
“She’s dying, Frankie. And if she dies, so does he.” He glances back down at his brother. “If my brother dies, I will personally rain hell down upon you.”
I swallow hard, not doubting his threat for a second.
Cora tugs at my hand, but I can’t take my eyes off of Ben, how still he is.
“Come on, let's do as he says. Zach will help him feel better. There’s nothing you can do except find out where your sister is.” Finally my eyes meet hers.
“I’m not going anywhere, Frankie. I’ll be with you every step of the way. ” She gives me a reassuring smile.
Everyone is counting on me. It’s time to be the person I was born to be. I glance back at the Russians and slide into the lovable rogue persona I’ve perfected over time. “Is now too soon for you boys to start?”.