Chapter twenty-one
Harrington Close
Defensive positions were assumed, and everyone was on hyper alert. Up on my orders Stephanie had rounded up her sister Claire and the two of them were now chatting nervously about Baxter's oncoming assault, well almost everyone anyway. The manor house had been fortified to the best of our abilities and the materials available to us, so needless to say it wasn't brilliant. Our defences mainly consisted of locking and barricading every door and window baring the one in Stephanie's room, which had the best view of the grounds. All six outlaws were now present and accounted for and scattered around the house and grounds on look out, Will was hidden in some bushes by the front door, Mark by the south wall entrance, Jack positioned on the roof, John in a group of trees in the grounds, George was stationed by the gates and me taking the defensive and offensive position at Stephanie's window, all off us armed with binoculars' and bows.
For now all we could do, was wait. It was unnerving and unsettling all this waiting about, wondering when Baxter would decide to raise his ugly head, so as you can imagine none of us were very happy about it, the waiting I mean, but what else could we do? Im not complaining or anything (actually that's exactly what I was doing) but I couldn't help but think my job was slightly more difficult than everyone else's, and I didn't mean I had more work to do or my job was in someway harder than everyone else's, no it wasn't the physical protecting bits that bothered me, it was the mental drainages that were getting to me.
"What have we ever done to him?" asked Claire near to tears "he killed our daddy isn't that enough for him? This is your fault!" she shot the last bit at me and was now openly crying. I rolled my eyes, we all dealt with stress and fear in different ways, I knew that, me? When I was stressed or afraid I got on with things, I did my best to get rid off the things that were bothering me so much and came out of everything a much stronger person, not Claire though, she cried and begged some unseen entity to make it all go away.
"It will be all right Claire; we are going to make them pay for murdering daddy." Stephanie soothed, notice how she made no effort to stick up for me, in what way exactly was this my fault? I wanted to ask but instead I held my tong and carried on with the task at hand. I walked to the window and looked through the binoculars straight ahead at the roads and streets beyond the manor's gates, still no sign of Baxter, what was he doing? I put down the binoculars and spoke into my ear piece.
"Mark anything on the south wall? By the back gates maybe?" I asked, wondering if Baxter would be taking the strategic approach.
"Nope Robin, don't worry you'll be the first to know if I see anything, Baxter's bound to turn up sooner or later." Mark replied.
"I think I'd rather it be sooner, this is nothing short of torture." I said leaning against the wall by the window and rubbing my forehead in frustration.
"I think that's what he wants" Jack joined in; though she spoke into the microphone on her headset I could hear her on the roof "to get to us first."
"So you're saying he wants to mess with our heads before he kills us" Claire let out a cry and Stephanie glared at me at my lack of tact "somehow I don't think so, Baxter doesn't even know we're hear does he George?" I asked ignoring Stephanie, her ears perked up at the mention of George's name.
"No he didn't know" George replied in answer to my question "but Robin are you sure…" Will interrupted George's question and I was grateful, I knew what it was.
"It's eleven 'clock, not exactly late is it?" oh gawd I've been hear for an hour "surely Baxter will wait until he's sure the Kennedy's are all asleep before he makes his move. It would be able to get rid off them while their out of it" I agreed with Will, we might have quite a wait yet, oh the joys.
"Speaking of out of it" I said lowering my voice so the sisters couldn't hear "is Mrs Kennedy still at The Swallows?"
"Yep" Mark replied who was keeping an eye on her just in case Baxter was looking to erase Kennedy's ex-wife as well "she's still in the pub."
I had to admit, I felt pretty bad for Mrs Kennedy, I mean I know she's an alcoholic who isn't exactly in the running for the mother of the year award, but she's had it abit ruff. She had had it no where near as bad as some of the single mothers on the Southside, working two minimum wage jobs and bringing up four kids all on their own, that was ruff. But she hadn't had it easy either, her rich husband leavers her with their two daughters while he goes off galbanting doing who knows what, gets murdered by the most powerful man in Locksdale who is breathing down her neck now for some unknown reason, all the while trying to bring up two unruly teenagers, it can't have been much fun.
"Ouch!" John yelled.
"John!" we all asked in unison, everyone had sprung into a defensive position at John's exclamation expecting the worst.
"It's alright, just banged into a tree is all." John replied and everyone relaxed, sighing and telling John off for scaring us.
"Bloody hell mate" Will exclaimed "give us all a heart attack next time why don't ya, we though one of Baxter's goons had snuck up on you or something."
"How do you walk into a tree anyway?" asked Mark, you could hear the smile in his voice.
"I didn't walk into it, I banged into it. Anyway you try walking about out here, its proper dark, I can't see a thing!" John replied defensively, I laughed a little.
"Robin are you sure you're alright up there?" George asked, the concern that coated his words broke my heart, if only his fear wasn't for bloody Stephanie "you don't need me to come up there do you? It's no problem…" I interrupted before his words could spark anymore jealousy.
"George everything's fine! Credit me with a brain wont you, im sure I can handle this on my own!" I said exasperated, Stephanie jumped to her feet abandoning her sister and motioned for my headset.
"I know it's just I don't want to…" he started but again I didn't want to have to hear his words.
"I know George, you don't want them to get hurt. Alright I know so don't worry" I said while shooing Stephanie away, or trying to at least.
"I want to talk to him!" she hissed in my ear.
"Steph?" he asked a confused tone to his voice "Robin this has nothing to do with…"
"Yes its Stephanie, she wants to talk to you and she's getting on my last nerve!" I snapped though my words were directed more to the spoiled princess in front of me that the night in shining armour by the gates. I didn't care if she had helped me and the others fortify the house, or rounded up her sister so I could keep an eye on them both, she was still a bitch.
"And here we were worried this might get boring." Will commented and the others laughed cheerfully at his words, well everyone except George, but I was too busy trying to get Stephanie to back off to notice this.
"Do you mind im trying to have a conversation here?!" I snapped.
"Robin im talking about y…" he trailed off when he realised I wasn't listening.
"I want to know what's going on, I have a right to know!" Stephanie demanded.
"For gawd sake I'll tell you if anything is happening, just let me listen!" I yelled.
"Whatever." Stephanie spat.
"Robin…" George tried again.
"Don't you dare whatever me! I don't have to be here you know?!" I was full on shouting at her now; all professionalism was well and truly out of the window.
"No? Then get lost!" she yelled back, Claire watched worriedly.
"Robin!" George piped up concerned.
"Will you just listen to him?!" Stephanie screamed, Claire ran into the en-suite bathroom and I pushed away Stephanie who was still reaching for the head set.
"I thought you couldn't hear?" I asked.
"I never said that." She said.
"I'll talk to you guys later." I said into the microphone before hanging up, I took off the headset at placed on the window sill, and turned to face Stephanie.
"What's wrong with you?" I asked, that was when she ran at me aiming a slap my way, it wasn't like I couldn't take her, I had blocked her attack and gently (well sort of gently) pushed her backwards. Unfortunately though, when Stephanie attempted to assault me, I stepped backwards banging into the headset and sending it toppling out the window, great Mark was gunna kill me, but I couldn't dwell on that thought as Stephanie spoke.
"What's wrong with me, what's wrong with you? Why won't you listen to him?" Stephanie asked, she looked as pissed off as I felt.
"I do listen to him." I said simply, she scoffed.
"Then what was that? If I had George Baxter telling me to be careful because he couldn't bear to see me hurt, I'd at least let him finish his sentence!" she spat.
"What are you on about?" I asked genuinely confused now, the furious rage I had felt so strongly just a moment ago was slowly vanishing.
"What am I on about?" Stephanie repeated with a humourless laugh, she imitated my common accent "I'll tell you what im talking about, but fist answer this, are you blind or something or are you just oblivious by nature?"
"I don't understand." I said, and I didn't.
"I can't believe this!" she span around in frustration running her hands through her hair "you honestly don't know."
Ok, she was annoying me again, what was she talking about, why wouldn't she just say what she wanted to say? Before I could ask, Stephanie took in my expression and spoke again.
"George!" I exclaimed.
"What about him?" I asked.
"Oh-my-god! How thick is this bitch?! He's in love with you! Who knows why, but he is!" She practically screamed and my mind went blank, I swear I didn't hear a thing after 'he's in love with you'; maybe she was right maybe I SHOULD get my ears checked.
"W…w…what? George?" I managed to stutter, this wasn't possible, no way, and she was completely messing with me she must be. I know there was a… lets say… attraction between us, why else would George have kissed me not just once but twice, but it ment nothing, we were just, I dunno what we were just doing, it ment nothing!
"Yeah!" she said as if I was slow "like I said, who knows why when he could do so much better." I barely heard her insults; I couldn't get over what she had said.
"I… I don't think so! We are, George and I, we're just friends." I muttered, she looked like I'd just suggested the sun wasn't going to rise tomorrow.
"Gawd don't make me say it again." She said sitting down.
"But you! You and George… I thought." I couldn't speak properly, what was happening to me?
"What you thought me and George were an item, ha I wish" she said, I could tell she was opening up and this wasn't something she admitted often "haven't you seen the way he looks at me, it's like im his little sister or something, it makes me sick. But what's worse is when I see him looking at you, like there's no one else in the room, because to him there is no one else there, your all that matters." I looked at her in disbelief.
"Don't believe me? What about the other night, when you came here to tell me Baxter wanted us dead and I started throwing things at you. I wouldn't have hurt you, not really, but still George treat you like you were the most valuable thing in the world, like you would brake like the vase's I was throwing if he wasn't careful." She said and my expression must have still been on of scepticism as she carried on.
"Or Wednesday night, when he kept look out, I dressed up to the nines, I mean come one no red blooded male could have resisted me in that outfit" I tried not to imagine, like I wanted to know that "but did he notice me? No did he narners, I invited him down here, but all he did was talk about you. 'Robin said this… Robin said that… Robin's ex-boyfriend makes my blood boil!' it was sickening!" she said, I was blushing terribly now, for so many reasons, the memory of that embarrassing incident only one of them.
"But…" I started but Stephanie wouldn't let me finish my denial of her claims.
"Save it alright, you know im right." She said scornfully, I didn't though, I didn't know she was right, hec I wasn't even sure of my own name at this moment in time, George loved me?! So instead I stood there looking bewildered, besotted and bemused, could I believe her? What if this was some sort of trick to get me to admit my feelings for George and make me look a fool in front of me when he told me they were unrequited.
'Denial' rang out from my pocket, or was that just irony and the noise was in my head? I would have stood there contemplating this had Stephanie not asked.
"Are you not going to answer that?"
I reached into my pocket relived of a distraction; I hadn't recognised the ring tone until I heard his voice and my heart started trying to batter its way out of my chest.
"Robin!" George breathed I sigh of relief though worry coloured his words, was that for me? "What's happened to your head set, none of us could reach you?"
"I accidently knocked it out of the window." I replied grateful my voice had returned though it was a little hoarse.
"Robin, listen to me he's here, fathers here now!" George shouted and I span round and grabbed my binoculars though I didn't need them, far off beyond the gates I saw the three car's I had seen earlier back at the Baxter mansion, speeding down the streets that lead to the manor.
"George, those cars were parked outside your house." I commented, fear now gripping me.
"I know Robin." George replied, he sounded equally afraid, though why should he? He hadn't seen what I had; he didn't know what had been loaded into the back of those cars. Guns, lots of them, I realised it now, that's what was in those cases, guns, and George was still down by the gates!
"George!" I exclaimed, Stephanie jumped to her feet again, Claire came out of the en-suite and my head began to spin, I needed to get George off the front line and back here with the rest of us.
Author note: just to let you know im not happy with this chapter, im sure it could have been done better, let me know if you spot any weak points in it, it is an important chapter. xxx