Brendan was content with his life. He would never have described himself as happy but he made a considerable amount of money through little effort and could get away with fucking almost any guy he wanted. Despite wanting to be a good husband to Eileen he could never fulfil his duties. He had given her three children, granted they lost their first, Niamh, before she even had a chance at life but it wasn't as if everything in their life was a sham. Brendan loved his boys, he may not show it in the most conventional ways, but he would die for them and everything he had done was to provide them with a better future.
He'd split from Eileen just over three months ago when the business and strings of one night stands finally began to catch up with Brendan to the point where she could no longer take it. Feeling Dublin was no longer the right place he moved to Chester where his younger sister lived and began to rebuild his empire in England.
Money was tight and with two small mouths to feed Ste was desperately in need of a new job. If it weren't for the kids they'd manage, him and Amy, what with his job at the local night club and Amy's part time work as a teaching assistant at the local school, they might just have covered their bills. Ste couldn't complain however, he loved his kids and, whenever he had the opportunity, he would spend every minute playing cars with Lucas or plaiting Leah's hair for her so she could be a princess (although in Ste's eyes she already was). Everyday he'd scan the job section of the Chester Herald and ask in The Dog and Price Slice to see if there were any extra shifts he could cover, there weren't.
So began another day of stock taking at the club. Amy had taken the kids to school as Ste's night shift hadn't finished until 4 o'clock. The work was boring and Ste was grateful to hear the sound of Doug's cheery voice. Ste and Doug had been friends since they were kids, they were like brothers, and whenever Ste was having a shit day Doug was guaranteed to cheer him up.
"So I got a job!" Doug said clearly proud of himself. Despite his best efforts to congratulate his friend Doug could tell that Ste was still facing money issues. "Hey its okay you'll find a new job soon! If you like I could put in a word with the boss...not that I've ever actually met him but I start tomorrow so I guess I might see him them" Doug always had a way of remaining positive and cheery in almost all situations, a luxury Ste couldn't afford to get away with.
"What's the job?" Ste asked not wanting to get his hopes up. Doug was smart he had qualifications and stuff so there was little chance of and employee even considering him for most jobs. He only had his job at Chez Chez cause the owner had felt sorry for him and the kids, apparently although having none of her own she had two nephews and remembered how much her brother had struggled originally.
"Well...I don't really know...it think it's a courier" Doug sounded unsure but Ste's ears pricked up. As far as he knew he didn't need any fancy maths qualifications to deliver letters.
"What kinda courier? Could be good to get some extra work"
"All I know is I have to take a package from A to B and I get paid £100 for it!" Doug replied slightly smug and the simplicity of his new job.
£100 per package that would be more than Ste made after a nine hour shift at the club. He wanted in whatever the job.
"Mr Brady?" Kevin jogged up behind Brendan eager to keep up. "We've got some more couriers set up, three in total, all students, unsuspecting." He grinned slightly, a grin that Brendan did not return. "And urm maybe another tomorrow so four in total" Brendan rolled his eyes, did this runt honestly believe that he wasn't capable of adding three to one? "So will that be enough?"
"Ye" Brendan replied still walking towards his office and refusing to make eye contact with this jumped up assistant. "Now can you do me a favour?"
"Sure, whatever you want boss"
Brendan strolled into his office and blocked the door way "good now fuck off and leave me alone!" and he slammed the door behind him.
Brendan wasn't a heavy drinker although the odd whiskey now and then certainly helped relieve the stress of having to work with idiots like Kevin. Sometimes he wished he could simply employ people with more than two brain cells just so that he could have a vaguely intellectual conversation with someone other than Walker. Dumb people were needed though, simple minds, less questions. People on the bottom line who were desperate, too desperate in Brendan's opinion, easy to silence and quickly disposable. This was the world Brendan lived in.
He started at the bottom himself, naturally. However, Brendan was not the kind of man to sit back and stay where he was, he needed a challenge. What with the help from Walker and Warren the three men had built themselves an empire. Of course it was all kept very quiet; the kind of services these men offered wasn't exactly going to be advertised in the local rag. It was for those in the know and those who knew not to say anything. Not even Cheryl, Brendan's baby sister, knew what her brother did for a living. She believed he did something important and receptacle, what with the large disposable income fancy suits and regular needs to be in contact with his work associates. It worked though, this double life, with the lies and the risk. Living on the edge, it's what kept Brendan feeling alive.
Brendan just hoped none of these newbies would fuck up tomorrow cause if they did, they were on their own. He wasn't about to get his hands dirty. After all, he was the boss.