"The King was home, so God help the Queen" - Martina Cola - The Take
She was a short woman, with brown pixie cut hair, basic dark eyes and full lips. Nothing special really, her thin body was well framed with the tight jeans and white t-shirt she was wearing along with a pair of black doc Martins. This was her first meeting with Freddie Jackson; she had already met his cousin Jimmy, who had accommodated her with a place to stay at his house with his wife Maggie and son Jimmy Junior.
A heavy build man, with pilot sunglasses stepped into the grey building, walking next to Jimmy; she knew there could be no misunderstandings that this was the infamous Freddie Jackson. With his blue dress jacket, golden necklaces, ring on almost every finger, passing and a coy grin at the tall dark skinned man next to her.
-"Desmond, mate" Freddie put his hand out, tapping the other one firmly on Desmond's shoulder, then approached her the coy grin never leaving his lips.
He reeked of alcohol even this early in the afternoon, -"You must be Eliza, the American bird"
Without a single word given to him she stepped away giving room for him to view their recent drug project: crack cocaine, it was a strong drug as any, and Eliza was the best chemist on this side of London.
-"Now that's what I call a science project" Freddie grinned as his head turned to his cousin Jimmy, this was the deal he had made with the devil: Ozzy: a man still in prison pulling all of the strings, not knowing how much shit he was in letting Freddie Jackson run the show. Everyone else knew, nobody trusted Freddie as far as they could throw him, Jimmy included.
Eliza presented the project, not explaining the chemical process of the drug, knowing it was pointless, Jimmy had his arms crossed paying well attention to her words, all Freddie was doing was smoking a cigarette and seemingly undressing her with his eyes.
She wasn't afraid of him, not one bit, Eliza had seen meaner men then him come and go, through the course of her life. After the presentation Jimmy took Freddie aside to a little room he had claimed as his office, it didn't take long before Freddie came out still smoking like a chimney with that same disturbing grin which made Desmond cringe. –"Welcome to the business, babe" he said coyly.
It was going to be one hell of a ride working with a man like him; she already knew she would hate his guts, just like she did her own father's.
They went back to Jimmy's house, Eliza had taken her own car, following them a few cars back still not losing track of them.
Maggie stood in the kitchen when Eliza walked through the house; she smiled at the tiny brunette, they were the same height and even sometimes the same clothing size, except for Eliza's breast's where not as fulfilling as Maggie's.
Everyone loved Maggie, she was kind, sassy and always right in her opinions of people, and this is how much Eliza had picked up about the woman who had let her stay in her house for the past three months.
Eliza loved Maggie from the first moment she saw her, maybe because she saw a bit of her own mother in Maggie or maybe just because Eliza always attached herself to people too quickly.
Either way she had grown rather fawned of the brunette, offering her a hand with the dishes, Maggie was smoking a cigarette as she dried a plate, glancing over to the living room where Freddie sat with Jimmy, they where relaxing drinking a beer.
A small figure of a boy ran through the kitchen, this was Jimmy's first born, they had named him after his father: Jimmy, nicknaming him little Jimmy. Eliza preferred to call him James, which was his birth name, he was a polite little guy, with big bold blue eyes that were now staring up at her admiring her, she ran her hand over his hair smiling down at him. –"Do you wanna come to the park with me and Uncle Freddie" eminently the plate that Maggie was drying fell back into the sink, she shook her head: -"Did your dad tell you this?"
-"No" he answered, -"Uncle Freddie wants to take me kite flying, can I go?"
His mother looked pale as a ghost at this point, Eliza understood why; nobody would want their child near a man like Freddie Jackson, especially not alone. –"You have homework" was all the mother managed to muster out before forcing the boy upstairs with continuing threats of grounding him. Maggie was always cold towards Little Jimmy, it worried Eliza sometimes, because she saw how Jimmy admired his mother, how all he wanted was to please her.
After the dishes where done, Eliza walked to her room, passing the living room, catching Freddie's feeble eyes right away, he laughed as she departed. In her bedroom, she changed her clothing after spilling some dish water on her jeans.
Walking back out of her room, she saw Freddie in the hallway on his way to the bathroom; he stopped in his tracks, passing another sheepish grin.
-"You have made yourself nice here, haven't you"
She kept her distance from him still standing by her bedroom door, Freddie walked over to her as she felt the full presence of him: he was a head taller than her, with a bulky back and when he stepped up to her, his eyes radiated something she most defiantly had encountered before: hatred.
His glassy eyes and sheepish grin looked down at her, -"Is it fear that keeps you from talking to me then, babe?" He was proud of it, the fact that he had the entire world at his feet, ready to stomp it down anytime he felt like it.
She wouldn't give him that pleasure of controlling over her, so she looked him dead in the eye: -"I don't like you"
He started laughing, stopping when he saw how serious she was, then cocked his eyebrow up with the fascination of reading her, nobody could read her, she had been through this process as well. –"That's alright, babe, I know you will warm up to me eventually" he said putting his large hands on her small shoulders, his thumbs pressing down at her, he was hurting her and she wasn't giving off a single reaction. –"American's" he grinned while letting go, walking off.
-"I'm actually Irish" she threw after him, he didn't respond, her northern American accent could fool anyone, even him. Not that she expected him to notice, he wasn't the type to care.
At dinners with the Jackson's, the entire family was there, all from Freddie's parents to Desmond, Eliza didn't know if she would be invited, but since Desmond got an invitation she knew she would have one too.
After her mother got put in the hospital for the cancer she had gotten on her lungs, Eliza would visit her sometimes. Her mother was a strong woman, who hated getting sympathy even on her death bed.
The chemotherapy had done its work on her mother's gentle facial features; she looked more like one of those poor wretches that had the life sucked out of them. Her hands where cold as she rested them on Eliza's arm, by her mother's bedside Eliza tried her best not to mention all of the negative things that had been happened to her lately. Her mother hated Eliza's job, she was so proud of her daughter when she finished her degree in botany and chemistry, only to figure out that she would follow in her father's footsteps.
Eliza promised it was temporary until she could pay off her mother's expensive treatments; which she had an inner hope that her mother would beat the cancer, but even with her mother's strong charisma Eliza knew better.
The doctor's had said that her degree of lung cancer was too severe and even with the treatments; she had an 80/20 present chance of not making it. Her daughter took it, any hope was better than no hope.
-"Eliza, darling" he mother's rich Irish accent sounded desperate,
-"If I pass, promise me, you will get out of this what you are doing now, go back to America, make a life for yourself, get married to a good man, have children, you know that is what I always wanted for you, my love"
Eliza wanted to cry at her mother's confession; she squeezed her hand tightly, knowing she would miss her mother more than any person in the world if she passed. Her daughter would miss her accent, her soft touch, the scent of warmness when she hugged her. The memories back from when she was a child and her mother would nuzzle her up in her arms, cradle her from the harshness of the world, that sudden feeling fell from her as her mother release her hand.
Eliza wanted to lie down next to her in that hospital bed, cuddle up to her. Instead her mother smiled, telling her to hurry on, it was almost time for her dinner with the sharks as she called them.
-"Don't let them smell your fear, my love" she said after her only child walked out the door.
Eliza wouldn't let them know her fear, because she didn't have any fear, not with all that she had seen; losing her mother would be the last strain in her fight against fear.
There was a certain lightness in Maggie's parents house, they where good people, Eliza felt it when she hugged them, they had deep involvement in this type of lifestyle their daughter led. Eliza envied them a little, knowing how they would probably live out their lives well, having a perfect family, with her barely having anyone.
While they sat eating, Freddie was behaving, his arm around his wife Jackie's chair, giving her all his attention, not as much as glancing over at any of the other women.
Jackie was a typical drunk; she was a beautiful woman, with bleach blond hair, full lips, green eyes and a well shaped figure, even after giving Freddie four children.
All of his children where around the table: Kimberly, Dianna, Roxanne and his only son: Freddie Junior.
Eliza hadn't seen much of Jackie, since she moved herself in with Jimmy and Maggie, but she knew how much Maggie cared for her sister: Jackie, coming to her rescue every time she was on a bender, insulting her neighbors, family and God above for Freddie not caring about her enough.
They lived in a small collective apartment, a shithole pretty much compared to Maggie's big beautiful house. Jackie would stare over at her sister during dinners like this passing her a friendly glance that turned poisonous when Maggie wasn't staring back: envy.
Jackie was filled with envy, she couldn't get Freddie to love her, she couldn't give him the perfect life she felt he deserved, a life that Maggie had already created for herself with Jimmy.
Eliza and Desmond felt uncomfortable by the vibe that these people where giving off each other, and as quick as dinner ended, Desmond gathered his jacket, thanked for the supper and excused himself for business he had to do: all lies.
After befriending Desmond, or Des as he preferred to be called, Eliza knew he didn't like the Jackson's, he stuck out with them for the same reason she did: the load of cash they were sitting on. They were not the best company to keep Desmond was smart enough to know that. Eliza on the other hand wished she felt the same way, but she didn't, she had grown to like Maggie and Jimmy.
Eliza thought of this as she was smoking in the backyard with Maggie's father, she saw the family resemblance; Jackie had his eyes, while Maggie had his good common sense, and he was a clever, kind man.
The night finished off quietly, Freddie didn't make a raucous about anything, he stuck to Jackie all night long, letting her rest her head on his shoulder when they sat on the sofa.
Maggie helped her mother with the dishes, while Eliza was talking to Kimberly who was wondering about Eliza's business with her father; Eliza knew she couldn't tell the twenty one year old that much without spilling the beans about her drug making skills.
Freddie had made sure they keep it all on the down low about the illegal activity just in case someone ever decided to snitch to the police, whom had been trying to catch them the past couple of years.
It was easy to pay the cops off for small things, but you can't pay your way out of a ton of crack cocaine exported to different locations. This production would be the motherload of drugs ever made by Jimmy's company, it had to go well in order to please the ones in charge of the money donations: Ozzy.
Eliza knew she was going to have to talk her way out of this, but Kimberly kept pushing it, making Eliza look at her twice, well enough to notice that the girl wasn't right.
-"Are you using?" Eliza asked, knowing it was none of her damn business to begin with, Kimberly didn't respond, just started laughing like she was just being told a joke.
Eliza grabbed her by her upper arm, dragging her into the hallway; it was narrow like a painful hospital ward, reminding her of her sick mother and how terribly she needed the money the Jackson's provided her with.
She didn't want to care, but she had known addicts and Kim was using. She confided in Eliza, telling her everything, asking her if she could give her something, just to take the edge off, for now, since her dealer wouldn't give her anymore, she was skinned.
Eliza didn't know what to do, she had no drugs on her, she never used any of the stuff she made, and it was a sure downfall for a dealer to do that. So she told her that she could perhaps get her something, just for her edge. Going back to her purse, digging forcefully through it, finding her mother's painkiller, they still had her mother's name on the bottle.
Eliza gave her two pills, asking her to take them separately; they weren't as harmful as ordinary painkillers so she knew that Kim would be safe taking them.
The girl didn't listen, she chucked them down, saying thank you and pushed her way back to the party, grabbing a drink on the way, and Eliza followed her through the entire night, making sure that Kim didn't drink more then she should.
Jimmy was now in the kitchen with Maggie, they seemed to be arguing about something, but quietly so nobody would hear them, Maggie was afraid of leaving Little Jimmy alone for too long with Freddie, who was on the floor with this little precious kid, playing with him.
Jimmy protested saying that his cousin would never hurt his kid, he loved that little boy. Maggie pulled Little Jimmy off from the floor by his waist, leaning him against her hip, calling him sweetheart saying she was going now, he needed to get to bed.
Freddie followed her a little, with Jackie's eyes still on them both, observing their movements, Eliza sat down next to Jackie, noticing this, Jackie didn't say anything to Eliza, she figured it wasn't important since the short haired girl wasn't Freddie's type, therefore not a threat to her, unlike her younger sister. –"I need to talk to you Jackie" Eliza said, hoping to tell her about Kimberly, Eliza still tried telling herself that it was really none of her business, but she felt obligated. Kimberly was still so young, and Eliza had seen addictions: how they ruin lives, as well as take them.
-"What do you want?" Jackie didn't take her eyes off Freddie and Maggie, they seemed to be having a heated argument, with Little Jimmy clutching onto his mother's bosom.
-"It's about Kim, she's on drugs"
Jackie finally looked over at Eliza with a know at all grin tapered to her red lips,
-"Everyone here is on drugs, sweetheart"
That's when it hit Eliza that Jackie didn't care about Kimberly, if she had cared she would have seen the signs, Eliza stood up again, walking over to Maggie and Freddie, hoping to take Little Jimmy from her arms.
She heard Freddie's words as sharp as knives carving into the space between herself and them: -"He's my son too"
Eliza ignored it, she put it in the back of her mind, already tonight she was swimming in deep water with these sharks: giving away prescription painkillers, now saving Little Jimmy from the argument. –"I'll take him" Eliza offered as she stood between them, Maggie shot her an angry glance, -"He is my son, I'll take him"
Then she walked off to find Jimmy, telling Eliza to get ready because they were leaving for home, she watched Maggie as she hung onto the child around her chest for dear life, almost shaking at the fingertips.
-"You heard any of that?" Freddie asked behind Eliza, he actually looked afraid, it was the first time she saw actual fear in Freddie Jackson's eyes, apart from the staggering hatred he had for the people around him, which was always in the background.
-"Like what?" Eliza responded, leaving space for a continuing explanation from his side, he just lifted his shoulders up in an undecided motion, smiling coldly.
-"Depends on what you heard?"
Eliza now knew the mess she was in, these people she had chosen to share her bed with, these messed up creatures really didn't care about nobody, but their own asses.
She walked away, not answering his question, not really caring was had happened between him and Maggie, all she really wondered about was getting what she needed and leaving these fuckers behind, like she had heard her mother tell her to do many times before.
Two months after the Jackson dinner, business was booming, the crack cocaine was selling like water; life was going good for Eliza and the Jackson's, but not for long.
One August afternoon, Eliza got a phone call from the hospital that had kept her mother for treatment, the news was devastating, and she fell on her knees trying to catch her breath in the backroom of the lab.
The building was already cold, dungy, that's how Jimmy preferred it, then it didn't seem like it was anything important, and they could dispose of it, if necessary.
Right now, this four walled backroom, with Jimmy's desk in the center seemed like hell on earth for Eliza. The doctor on the phone was trying to reach her, she had gone into complete shock, and the world around here was spinning.
Her mother had passed away just twenty minutes ago, while Eliza was cooking up the last of the batch for the buyers across town, it was loads of money involved, because they wanted to ship it out to Russia.
Eliza's mother's doctor explained that she could come down to the hospital, say her final goodbyes, before her mother would be sent off to the morgue to do a analysis of what had happened, they thought it might be the chemotherapy that made her heart weak, resulting in the bleeding aneurism on her brain.
It happened to most patients of this high risk cancer. Eliza couldn't hear it anymore, she wanted him to shut up, so she put the phone back on its place, leaning herself onto the desk, trying to understand what had just happened, she kept repeating to herself that her mother was dead.
Calling up Jimmy, he didn't answer, instead Freddie answered, with his tired drugged out voice, he must have been on a bender again the night before, and Eliza asked if she could speak to Jimmy that something had happened.
Freddie wanted to know what it was, but she hesitated telling him, asking instead if he could drive her to the hospital, he told her that he would do it for Jimmy, since he was taking care of some of his business for him.
Freddie turned up an hour after she had called, he sounded more sober now than before, still with those sunglasses on, she locked up the small lab, got in his car and gave him directions to just drop her off at the hospital. He didn't ask questions, even if he wanted to, but he knew she wouldn't give him the answer, she was too proud for that, so he did the only thing he knew how to get answers out with by giving information away.
-"You and Jimmy are quite the pair of business partners"
Eliza didn't answer him, just eyed the road, trying to channel her pain into not crying over her mother, she had just gone to see her yesterday, promising her that she would do as her mother had requested, to leave England for America.
In a way Eliza felt it was her fault, she jinxed the situation, she might as well been the cancer at this point, Freddie waved one of his hands infront of her face, while the other one rested above the steering wheel: -"Earth to American"
-"I'm Irish" she hissed, Freddie took that as he always did when he got reprimanded, with a coy grin while placing the hand he just waved in front of her face on her knee.
The already emotional girl jerked her body away in disgust, forcing his hand away from her leg, sneering at him, -"What the fuck is the matter with you, my mother just died and you decide to make a fucking pass at me, stop the goddamn car, you prick"
Freddie seemed surprised by her vocabulary insults and sudden information, not doing as he got told, continuing to drive, -"Stop the fucking car" she shouted until her face went red and Freddie's surprised expression turned sour, he hated people yelling at him even more then getting told what to do.
-"Don't get a fucking brass with me, girly, I didn't kill your mother"
It hit home, Eliza stopped her rage fit, looked at him with tears in her eyes, pacing herself for the storm she had tried to contain for as long as possible, it flooded over, her tears, the pain stuck in her chest, her vision clouded and her body shook from the violent crying.
Freddie finally pulled over, lighting a cigarette as she fought to get out of the car, she couldn't, he had childproofed it, and it was only able to open from the outside.
–"Open the door" she hulked pulling at the little flip of the door.
Freddie breathed smoke out from his lips, arching his brows a little, -"You really look extremely ugly when you cry"
Eliza wanted to attack him, she was crying her heart out, ready to see her own mother's dead body, not for this, she couldn't do this right now, -"Open the fucking door"
-"You heard what Maggie said about Little Jimmy being mine, didn't you?"
-"Open the fucking door" Eliza shouted louder, then going for his car keys, this didn't result in anything other than Freddie grabbing her hand squeezing it tightly, making sure he left a mark for the whole world to see.
-"Answer me, babe"
His cigarette was coming to an end as he pulled it out of his mouth, holding it between his thick fingers, looking down at Eliza's bare arm that was right in front of him. –"I never much liked the new kids Jimmy brought into our business, you know? First Desmond, now you, like what does a bird like you know about cooking dope, the only thing you should be cooking is food in a kitchen, where you belong"
Eliza bundled her other hand up and punched him in the nose, making him bleed, Freddie wiped his nose with his other hand looking down at the blood mark left on his dress jacket sleeve, -"Feisty one are we"
Then he put the cigarette out on her bare skin, just above her wrist, she wretched out in pain trying to pull her arm away, -"You know, women belong in the kitchen or on their knees, like my father used to say" Freddie held the cigarette down into her skin until it almost disappeared in her arm, then he flicked it off in her face.
-"You sick son of a bitch" Eliza spat, when she finally got her arm free from his gasp, looking quickly at the round burn mark, it was red and painful.
-"You have no idea, babe" he said proudly, then pulled his fingers into her short hair, tugging at it, pulling her into his face, grabbing her by her jaw line, she saw the beast dead in the eye, no mercy was found in them.
This was the true form of Freddie Jackson; she wondered how the hell Jimmy could ever be related to this type of evil. –"Now I'm gonna ask you again, babe, what did you hear and don't make me ask once more, or I'll break that arm clean off for you"
His breath felt dirty against her lips, it smelled heavily of cigarette's and mentos gum, which he was chewing while observing her again, there was no kindness in her eyes either, she wanted to kill him. –"I didn't hear nothing" Eliza hissed, Freddie put force into his hands, pushing her hard against the door, she looked at him not moving, waiting for the next move he was about to make.
-"Little Jimmy is my kid"
Eliza hissed, -"Maggie wouldn't touch you"
-"No, you are right, she wouldn't, I raped her the night Jimmy and Desmond went off to Amsterdam, funny isn't it, that kid is better than my own" Eliza felt the air around her closing up, she was locked in the car with a rapist, Maggie's rapist.
-"Don't worry, babe, I don't fuck lesbians" he grinned at her, starting the car.
He drove her to the hospital, she ran out as fast as she could through the hospital doors, from one hell into another, and her arm didn't even hurt anymore when she saw her dead mother's body.
The doctor had left her alone for a moment, Eliza didn't feel the sadness anymore, she felt complete rage over a life that wasn't even hers, she wasn't a part of the Jackson family, but she loved Little Jimmy and Maggie with all her heart.
–"I'm gonna help, mom, I'm gonna do what you did for me, I'm gonna start a war"" she put her hand on her mother's cold resting hand.
Before she could say anything more, the nurses and doctor told her that it was time for her mother to be moved, that they were sorry and that they would call her about funeral arrangements.
Her mother had settled everything before her death, so that her daughter wouldn't have to, this brought the tears back, but not for long, not when she remembered Freddie's angry grip and threatening words buzz through her head. Eliza was going to kill Freddie Jackson, once and for all.