Reckless Moments

by Debs60

A/U: Charles has always wanted to be in the army and Molly has always been fiercely loyal and independent. They have known each other since they were children but had very different upbringings and career direction, despite this their paths continue to cross through to adulthood. Will their differences pull them apart or were they always destined to be other half of each other?

7. Chapter 7

Reckless Moments

Chapter 7 – Our time apart

He was packing the last of his things into his Bergan and holdall ready for the trip back to Catterick. He had managed to phone Molly and she seemed completely unconcerned about what had happened and it was nothing for him to worry about, in fact Artan had had the good sense to do a bunk because her Dad and brothers couldn't find him. She laughed as she reminded him that he promised to write and she expected him to take her somewhere nice in June 1997 when he got back. He had plenty of time to think of something so there was no excuses and he couldn't help but laugh with her and hope that she did still want to go out somewhere, with him.

-OG-

Dave, Fred and Sam had scoured London for Artan and came up with nothing, he had vanished off the face of the earth.

Fred and Dave had gone to visit one of Tony's old contacts in North London, a Greek called Costa Latsis. They in turn had worked with him a couple of times over the years on the odd job, supplied him with bouncers if they needed them in a rush. It had always been a good working relationship and neither side had interfered with the others business. Cos, as they had always called him, had a huge family scattered through London, cousins, uncles, aunts a plethora of relatives all keeping in touch and passing snippets of information they had heard on to him. They were sitting in his back garden with a beer as he filled them in on some of the rumours he had heard. But remember they are only rumours he reiterated and Dave thought he would have more faith in some of Cos' rumours than what he read in the papers.

The Albanians felt that they were being held back, couldn't expand across London like they wanted so needed to partnership with some of the older firms or take them out if they weren't willing.

"I thought your daughter was marrying one of them Dave" grinned Cos "That's why we have left well alone"

"First I've heard of it and I don't think my Molls knows anything about it either" growled Dave already feeling his temper rising

"You control what comes up the river and they don't like it, they want other things brought in" shrugged Cos

"What things?" asked Fred with narrowing eyes

"Girls for their clubs" he shrugged in disgust "Drugs, guns"

"What" exclaimed Dave "They want to traffic girls to work in their clubs" he knew some of the girls in the massage parlours turned a trick or two but that was their choice, they weren't forced. He had never approved of forcing someone into that life.

Cos nodded, it wasn't really a side of the business he wanted or got involved with either "Get them on to heroin, they will do what you want to feed their habit, they don't last long but there are always more that are willing to make the crossing for a better life and the promise that their families are being looked after back home"

"Well, it ain't gonna happen" retorted Fred almost shouting

"I believe a consignment of heroin has already been delivered" sighed Cos "this was brought in for the Turks who they thought might then become allies"

"Are they allies" Fred continued and Cos shook his head "according to a cousin who happened to overhear the transaction they do not want to be involved in a war, they already have a route in for their drugs and are happy with their other business dealings they have with you" Cos took another sip from his beer before continuing "They see no reason to change what already works well for them"

"Drugs, guns, people" shrugged Cos shaking his head "I was surprised when I heard" he looked at both Dave and Fred "When Tony retired I didn't think you would go into that sort of business, thought you would stick to the old ways"

"Does Tony know, does he think this is what we have done with his old business" asked Dave

"I am guessing from this conversation you know nothing about it, I haven't spoken of it with Tony when I join him for a game of golf in Spain" he grinned at both of them "You might want to speak with him, see if he has any ideas, but if you will take an opinion from an old Greek who would also like to retire and pass on his business to his sons, look close to home, this is someone with access to everything you have and it is you who will spend the time in prison if this should come to light, the trail will lead back to you"

"Thank you Cos for the information" said Dave standing up and putting out his hand to shake Cos' "I have known Tony and all of you and your families for many years, we even came to your release party Dave, Molly's 18th, and we too are happy with how things are and see no reason to change that, I do not like the idea of London being flooded with bad drugs and guns"

-OG-

Fred and Dave drove back to the east end in total silence before Dave couldn't contain himself any longer "You don't think it was one of our boats that brought in that bomb that went off in Docklands do you or that bus"

"Nah Dave, one of the reports I read was that one came in via Scotland and they drove the truck down, and the other one, well" he snorted in disgust "went off early and he blew himself up didn't he" he shrugged "could have been part of the same batch, it was only a couple of weeks later"

"I can't do another stretch Fred and from what Cos said it would make that last one look like a walk in the park, this lot would get us 30 years apiece" he felt himself bristling with frustration and remembering some of the haunted looks from the lifers "we gotta sort this" and Fred nodded in agreement as he drove them back to Newham. How had it got to this, they were only trying to find that nutbar Artan, now it seems the shit was really gonna hit the fan, it was only a matter of time Special Branch or someone could come sniffing. How had they missed this? Easy they hadn't been looking, they assumed everyone was loyal, most of their men had been with them years.

-OG-

"You bloody fool" shouted Victor Artan's cousin as they sat drinking Vodka in their dimly lit club. As Artan looked around the small club he couldn't help compare it to the one he had been in the other night and owned by Gary Dawes. Theirs was large, clean and the dancing girls were nothing like the ones here, who were thin, sulky and with sunken eyes. This one was yellow with smoke and you could barely see across the room for the clouds of it hanging in the atmosphere. There were no women other than the prostitutes, this was a club for men and apart from him and his cousin there were only about half a dozen other people in here. He couldn't help but be envious of the Dawes place, the money it must be pulling in, it was always packed with people, they even stopped in for a drink on their way home from work. Didn't matter what time of night or what day of the week it was always busy pulling in the punters and raking in a fortune.

"Are you listening to me" said Victor slapping him on the arm drawing his attention back to the conversation "All you had to do was keep well in with the girl, get us access to the yard" he ranted "and you had to bollocks it up by shagging her mate then trying to hit her in front of her brothers" he was getting angrier by the minute "Couldn't you have kept it in your pants until you got back here, you could have had any one of these girls" his hand moving in a sweeping motion round the room. Artan looked around the room again, at the girls dancing on the poles with a look of disgust. He shrugged, didn't see why it was such a problem what he did and he certainly didn't want to touch any of these girls.

"I've spoken with our contact and they are all out looking for you" continued Victor "It's only a matter of time and they come here looking" Artan at least had the grace to look a bit worried now and so he should, he had royally screwed up their plans for the next shipment now if they found him here and worked out what was actually going on. "Best you go away for a bit until it calms down"

"I have my job here on the building site, I can win her round" pleaded Artan as Victor shook his head "No Artan, you won't, her father and brothers would never allow that now"

"But I didn't even hit her"

"Only because they stopped you but you shagged her friend and she knows, that won't be forgiven, even if you did have charm" Victor sighed "Look go visit family for a few weeks, lie low, they won't look for long" Artan looked at his cousin and saw the set jaw, the almost black hard eyes and knew that he would not change his mind, so he nodded in agreement that he would go away for a while.

-OG-

Not too many miles away Sam was visiting his Dads brother Seamus. He had received a phone call from Dave telling him about the meeting with Cos. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, never would have believed it if it hadn't been Dave telling him. All this because that twat Artan went to clump Molly and Jackie mentioned the rumours she had heard about him. How could they not be aware of what was going on in their own firm and who was the snake, it must be someone from down at the yard. Drugs, guns and girls he thought shaking it head, this was like going back to the 60's and the south London firms, they were into all that sort of thing and now it looked like history repeating itself. Tony had never been into that, clubs, pubs, snooker halls, protection rackets and the odd heist. Gun running, his thoughts running away with him, his heart racing, this was heavy and if they were caught he would never see his kid grow up.

Seamus and Sam were sitting in his kitchen drinking tea and catching up on the Delaney family news, it had been a while since he had seen his uncle.

"So to what do I owe the pleasure then son" grinned Seamus his soft lyrical southern Irish accent not diminished by his forty years of living in London. Sam took a deep breath, this was going to be a difficult conversation "Have you heard any rumours that I'm bringing in guns". Seamus' eyes opened wide before he burst out laughing "You're not joining the cause are you lad, surprised if you are"

"No I'm not" huffed Sam but couldn't help but grin at still being called lad "It's just we heard a whisper that guns were coming into our dock hidden in a container" Seamus stood up and went to one of the kitchen cupboards pulling down two tumblers and a bottle of Irish Whiskey "What makes you think I know anything about it" he laughed but not in amusement "My brother hasn't been feeding you things has he, leading you to believe I am involved with the cause" turning towards his nephew, raising his eyebrows in question as he put the glasses down and filled them with the amber liquid. Sam looked down at his half-filled glass, sighing and shaking his head "No Uncle, it's just that bomb that went off in Docklands and its close to us and we don't want to be involved in that, it's not our business or the business we want to get into" he took a large gulp of his whiskey before continuing "We are looking more closely as to what is coming in on our boats and we don't want to end up making an enemy when we put a stop to it" he looked up at his uncle who nodded "Big leap from guns to Semex" he grinned "I haven't heard anything, but I probably wouldn't, what I can do is mention it down the pub, to the Irish community that you're not interested in that business, you run a legit firm" he laughed as Sam blushed "Well mostly legit, it might get back to the right ears"

"Thanks Uncle" grinned Sam glad that the conversation was coming to an end, he had always liked his Dads brother and he didn't want to be the cause of a family rift. He lifted his glass in salute and took another large gulp.

"The Provo's aren't the only army son" continued Seamus "there are other armies who might want guns either brought in or taken out". Sam looked into his Uncles deep blue eyes, similar to his own, and there was an impenetrable look as he stared at him. He had a feeling that his uncle knew something but he wasn't going to push it. He had got what he came for, they weren't going to make dangerous enemies that could have implications in his own family.

-OG-

The sections had settled in well to their barracks and it gave Charles an opportunity to write to Molly, telling her how beautiful Hong Kong was, if she thought some of the buildings going up in Canary Wharf and across London were high she should see some of the buildings here, some days they were above the clouds. He told her about some of the men, how they moaned about the heat and humidity. How they kept having eating challenges until they found out they had been eating frogs and poor Mansfield had been as sick as a dog when he found out. Then Dangles had joined him when he found out that wasn't all they had been eating.

He was surprised at how long Molly's letters to him were. He thought he would consider himself lucky if he got a few lines of scrawl but as the months passed he came to look forward to her letters as they got longer and longer. It was as if he was still home they were so detailed.

The one he got at Christmas saying his Mum and Dad had gone up to stay with his Uncle Fred but they had all come round for Christmas dinner and how his dad had to be helped into the taxi after getting pissed on the Port that Dave had brought out. Her Nan had been with them that year and had got the hots for his dad and he barely left his mums side her nans advances so obvious. He was gripped to her hand, she said, even when she got up to go for a piss, I thought he was gonna go with her so me Nan didn't get him. His mum hadn't mentioned any of that in her letter to him, just that they had a good time at the Dawes household over Christmas. He couldn't stop laughing at the thought of his Dad being terrified of Marge.

Another of her letters told him that Artan had vanished and he was happy about that. He may not remember their manager in the club Jackie, who was apparently a top girl according to Molly, but they were doing up the little flat, her and her brother so that she could move in and get out of that pit she was living in. Jac's was over the moon about it and she often met her for a drink when she was working at the club.

She sent him photos from home too. He had to agree his Dad did look pretty wasted when he left the Dawes house at Christmas. The one he kept on him though was of her on the step of the porta cabin, he knew it was down at the yard because the beasts were there with her. She had written TaDa on the back and her hands were held wide over the dogs head a huge beaming smile on her face. She had dyed her hair back to her natural colour, dark chestnut she told him and she hoped he liked it she wrote. Hoped he liked it, he thought looking again at the photo, she was stunning as she grinned out of the photo.

He told her that he couldn't wait to get home, he didn't expect to meet any of the dignitaries and that included Prince Charles during the handover ceremony, so there was no point in her asking him to pass on her regards. He would have to go to barracks but should be back in Bath by 7th at the latest and he would book a table at his favourite restaurant. His mum had told him that they would be home for a couple of days after his arrival but as his dad was also on leave they had decided they would use the time to go to their apartment in Lake Garda. He had declined the offer to go with them. Too right she wrote back, they had waited long enough but was he trying to lure her to his home and would he take her to play on the swings, she was quite happy with the Travel Lodge in Catterick if she could see him sooner.

-OG-

Charles was already at the station waiting on the train from London. He scoured the platform looking for her before looking at his watch. It was definitely the train she said she was taking. Molly had spotted him as soon as the doors opened but realised he hadn't seen her as she started walking up the platform.

She realised he had finally seen her as his face broke out into a wide grin and he put his hands behind his head. She couldn't help but return the happy smile and very nearly broke out into a run and throw herself into his arms. She thought better of it, perhaps she should be a bit more grown up about it, not to mention she was wearing her killer heels, she'd probably embarrass herself and fall flat on her face. But it was hard seeing him in that dark blue blazer and dark jeans, a pale blue shirt which fitted perfectly across his broad chest and the top two buttons undone, his hair a little shorter than when she last saw him. "So you miss me then" she beamed up at him standing in front of him close enough to see specks of amber in those dark brown eyes. He couldn't stop the smile spreading across his face as he shook his head, if only she knew just how pleased he was to see her. Taking her hand and looping his arm through hers "Come on Molly Dawes I'm taking you for that lunch I promised" "Good" she grinned "I'm bloody starving" as they walked out of the station.

He took her to Cloisters, a small restaurant within a hotel near to his home and he was more than happy with her reaction her look of surprise the way she laughed saying she thought he was going to take her for a Big Mac and Strawberry Milkshake, like when they were kids, shaking his head at her as he helped her to her seat. They laughed and joked throughout their lunch, reminiscing over past family get togethers, her blonde phase, he even asked after the Beasts and were they still down the yard. Passing in and out of each other's lives had given them an easy friendship, there were no awkward silences as they thought of something to say.

They had finished their lunch and wine and the plates had already been cleared as he leant forward across the table on his forearms. Molly mimicked his motion leaning forward on her arms grinning at him, just as the waitress arrived with a small plate, carrying their bill. Charles rolled his eyes and shook his head and sat back as Molly started sniggering leaning further forward before whispering "I don't know how I've kept me hands off you" a huge grin on her face. Charles sucked in his bottom lip, licking it, then leaning forward again "Ditto"

"I thought you were supposed to be a gent, Charles" she laughed in mock anger "Bleedin ditto"

Charles was putting his card on the plate and the waitress collected it as he refocused back on Molly grinning at him "Do you know I think in all the years I've known you that is the first time you have ever called me Charles" as the waitress came back with his card he nodded his thanks "stop sniggering, are you going to start calling me Charles now" as he stood up to lead her out of the restaurant, the chemistry between them almost palpable as they looked at each other oblivious to the people still in the restaurant.

"Are you having a giraffe, not bleedin likely" she laughed "I thought we could move on to Chaz now" they were walking down the street as his fingers pushed into her ribs to start tickling her causing her to shriek "Molly Dawes, I do believe you are still ticklish" pulling her against him bending his head to kiss her stopping her laughter

-OG-

It was hours later as she lay there thinking, looking around Charles bedroom with her eyes. He still had that world map on his wall with little pins in, each one denoting where his Dad had been, never seen it from this angle she sniggered as she currently lay in bed with Charles his arm around her and her head on his shoulder, he had his eyes shut but she wasn't sure if he had fallen asleep. It had been a while since she had last seen it but there looked like there were even more pins. Crikey she would only need a map of England for her Dad and two pins one in London and one in Maidstone. He hadn't even done anything about getting his passport so he could go and visit Tony in Spain, and he had been invited out there lots of times. She sighed and Charles pulled her a little tighter, nope he definitely wasn't asleep.

"Do you still do that?"

"What" he replied opening his eyes to look at her before following her gaze to the map on the wall "No not really, he doesn't go away so much these days, stays in Army HQ"

"It's nice this ain't it?"

"Nice" he exclaimed but she could feel his laughter under her hand rumbling in his chest "Nice…" turning onto his side to face her, their heads close together on the pillows "I would have expected something a bit..." and he shrugged his shoulder "more descriptive, I don't know… that was blinding Charles… the earth moved Charles"

She burst out laughing tutting loudly "Don't be silly Charlie goes without saying don't it" slapping his arm playfully "Nah I meant this, you and me like this" and she had stopped laughing staring into his eyes as she tried to think of the words. He was mesmerised, her eyes reminding him of the ocean, calm welcoming and full of life. "I know this is new, it's all sparkly, exciting and that" she sighed and wrapped her arm around his waist, still trying to work out what she wanted to say, this was the first time in her life that she wished she went to school more often and she was good with words like him "I don't have to pretend with you, watch what I say, wonder if you really like me or if you just want to get to know me brothers or me dad" she sighed again and he didn't interrupt wanted to know how she felt, listen to her "It's like we skipped a few bits, the secretive bits, the awkward bits, the bits you don't want anyone to know, it's like we've always been together but we haven't it's still new but at the same time its comfortable, its good" and she gave him a tentative smile, he felt a wave of sadness at the lonely childhood she must have had, her dad in prison while her school, her friends and even her family made her feel she couldn't be herself with someone new in case they wanted something from her.

He rolled them over so she was on her back as he propped himself up on his elbow his thumb stroked her cheek before pushing strands of her glossy dark hair behind her ear "Nice" and he waggled his eyebrows "Comfortable, like slippers" he grinned and kissed her nose "But me I'm going with exciting, a new adventure for the two of us" he kissed her lips lightly "Yes we have skipped the early bits of a relationship, you know me and I know you, this is it for me Molly I love you" the smile she gave him in return he would always remember, indescribable in its joy

"Ditto" she grinned

-OG-

They talked amongst other things late into the night. Molly wanted to keep them a secret for a while longer, it's not that her parents and brothers wouldn't approve, they liked him but she liked it as it was while they found their feet and he could understand that, he would have pressure from his own parents about what he was doing, with him being in the army and away a lot. His mum was best friends with Molly's and they were bound to start ordering their hats if they found out. Yes they could keep quiet about it for a while after all this had been their first real date, since that kiss on her eighteenth birthday party.

He also gave her the good news that he had a new posting and that he and the sections were coming back to Aldershot so he would only be a couple of hours to see her in London and she would be able to come to him there. In the meantime she could sort out her passport and they could go away together for a week or two somewhere warm. He had to go back to Catterick that weekend to pack up but in two weeks he would be in Aldershot so get moving on the passport front.

-OG-

He had moved down to Aldershot with the sections, had met up with Elvis, Bones and Blue who had been on exercise in Pirbright, all reminiscing on places they had been, people they had met. Even Elvis had shocked him, telling him he was pretty much loved up with a medic he had met on his last tour. It just made him miss Molly and wish he had been seeing her tonight. They met whenever they could, either in London or Aldershot, he'd bought her a world map like she had asked as part of her 19th birthday gift so that she could put pins everywhere he went. They were still keeping their relationship quiet and part of him was a bit disappointed as he wanted to shout it from the roof tops but he could understand as they were still finding their feet with these new feelings for each other and which were getting stronger every day.

-OG-

Jack was working at the yard, he loved it down here, the noise, the men, the smell of the river and he wanted to have a word with Fred and his Dad about making more of the scrap metal business, maybe get rid of the cut and shut, there was big money to be made in scrap, they had the land to expand here. They could still bring in the not so legal stuff in the hidden compartments of the containers but the scrap was the way forward. He much preferred it down here to working the clubs. He looked up to see Derek walking in the gates to the yard. What was he doing here, it was rare that he came down here. He had Bill and Ben in with him in the porta cabin, they were big dogs and he couldn't remember exactly how old they were, maybe 6 or 7, they were slowing up and liked the warmth of the porta cabin. Both of them growled at the entrance of a new person into the office.

After that business with Artan and the rumours that their wharf was being used for business they didn't want they had upped the security, only Fred, Sam, Dad and him knew about it. In fact he had got it all installed. There were security cameras hidden everywhere including this office but so far nothing had shown up, there were no unusual movements on the docks. He and Molly had looked at all the latest gadgetry to make sure they were as secure as they could be. Although she was spending more time up at the club with Gary, she got on well with the manager Jackie, she still spent a lot of time down here on the computer doing the books logging the scrap and finding buyers once it had been shredded, before going off by lorry or boat for smelting here or in Europe

"Hello Jack" smiled Derek "Thought Dave was here and we had a meeting"

"Nope" replied Jack "Never said nothing to me this morning, think he is with Fred and Sam gone to see the Greeks about something"

"The Greeks, they got a job on" asked Derek and getting a distinct feeling he was being deliberately left out. He'd always felt an outsider with the three men. Good job that idiot Artan had gone on the trot he thought, that could have ruined all his plans with the Albanians and the big money if Dave had caught up with him. Once Fred, Dave and Sam were out of the way the firm would become his, the men moving their allegiance automatically to him and with the Albanians also on board they could expand up into the central region, take the clubs, casinos and whorehouses of Soho. They would be racking it in. He would hold off with anymore of his imports until it had all died down, he could wait after all he had been the top dog waiting in the wings for 15 years, since Dave got that tug although he had expected all of them to get caught, but never mind he had managed to syphon off enough assets to fund this takeover. Maybe he should let that moron Artan get a capture, but he didn't want to lose Victor as an ally, not that he was sure he would be that bothered about his idiot cousin. He wasn't going to get the Greeks on side and from what he was hearing the Turks were not working with the Albanians and happy with current arrangements. He would need the man power and viciousness of the Albanians if he was going to expand into Soho, providing security to the pubs and clubs there.

"I'll catch up with him later" smiled Derek as he left the porta cabin and Jack stared after him. What was that all about, he thought? Surely he should know that his Dad never came down here until after work had finished for the day, then they might go through any plans they had, him, Fred and Sam. He couldn't help but look up at the ceiling at the hidden cavity not that his Dad kept anything here anymore, he had a new hiding place for that and he grinned.

-OG-

He had been back from Hong Kong a year and been in Aldershot for ten months. He'd rented a small flat in Aldershot, so that he didn't come across all his sections, he very much preferred to keep his personal life private. When he went to London it was a night or two in a hotel after dinner. Grabbing moments whenever they could based on both their schedules. He had introduced her to Elvis and they had got on like a house on fire which hardly surprised him as they were both windup merchants. He was actually enjoying this sneaking around as much as Molly, none of their families knew, always with a secret smile for each other whenever the families saw them together. They had got very close over the months, no matter how brief some of the unions were. Nothing was off limits and neither felt that there were any secrets, they knew each other more than any other person in their lives. They often discussed the different lives they led, the happiness and sadness it had brought them. Talked of how they would fit in with each other and he knew that there would never be another that could make him this happy again.

Charles was back in London for the weekend, staying with his brother Andrew who had been living in a lovely flat over the casino, by London standards it was huge as it ran across most of the upper floor of the casino. He had always had a distant relationship with his brother and had been surprised when Andrew said that he could stay. He had always been a tad envious of the closeness between Gary and Jack, they were brothers and best friends. Charles told him that he was meeting his mate Elvis and his girlfriend at the club, if he wanted to come with him but Andrew said he already had something on and would see him at breakfast. Seemed like nothing had changed and he still didn't want to build bridges and be more like a brother. He saw more of Elvis than he did of his own brother.

-OG-

Molly was sat at the bar thinking, there was something wrong going on down at the yard, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was that was out of place, but her instincts told her that something weren't right. Charlie was coming up tonight and bringing his mate Elvis, she always had a laugh with him, he was so laid back he was horizontal and he was bringing his girlfriend with him. She hadn't met Georgie before, and was more than a little nervous as she was an Army Medic and probably really bright, if she had learnt all that stuff. She knew she had no real qualifications herself and that sometimes made her feel inadequate. She did have an eye for design and what people liked and Gary was listening to her about some of her ideas for the club but what she would really like is her own club prove to them all, her Dad and her brothers, she could do it.

She was talking with Jackie who she had developed a good friendship with after the disaster of her 18th birthday party, well in some ways it had been. She knew that Jackie had the hots for her brother Gary and she sometimes saw him give her the glad eye but neither had plucked up the courage to make the first move. They would be good together she thought, like her and Charlie, if only one of them would say something.

"So you been down in the yard all day" beamed Jackie "I love it down by the river watching all the boats coming in and out"

"Yeah" she answered "Jack should be here soon he was just finishing up as I left, Charlie is coming in tonight with his mate Elvis and his girlfriend is down from Manchester" She saw Jackie raise her eyebrows but couldn't be bothered to clarify that it was Elvis girlfriend and not Charlie's her mind already wandering. That's it she thought. That boat, it was pointing the wrong way it was out mid river as if it was going to go out not come in. They had nothing due to go out today, the wharf up river was closed so what was it doing there.

"Sorry Jacs" she shrugged not having heard anything else she had said while she had been thinking "Something ain't right, I'm going back to the yard" she looked at her watch "I might catch Jack and I can go with him to drop some stuff off to Dad at the Earl on the way back" she grinned at Jackie "Tell Gary I shouldn't be too long and to give Charlie and his mates a drink if I'm not back in time" She picked up her bag and left walking quickly out the club and down the side alley to where her car was parked. Jackie staring at her retreating back and wondering what she had said to make her leave like this.

-OG-

It wasn't long after that Charles, Elvis and Georgie walked into the club. Jackie smiled broadly at them, she had been expecting them. She took their drinks order and pointed them to a table that had been reserved for them. That wasn't normally the policy of this club but they were friends of the family so she made sure that they had a table to sit at.

She was just taking the drinks across to them as Gary arrived and asked where Molly and Jack were, they were both supposed to be here by now. She told him that Molly had been here but she said that there was something she wanted to check at the yard and left, she'd be back as soon as she could.

Gary got his phone out and dialled his brother. Jack picked up after two rings and Gary could hear he was driving "Is Molls with you" he asked "Nah ain't seen her since she left to go back to the club hours ago, I'm on my way over to you now"

Gary was standing behind Charles and turned his back putting his finger in his ear trying to dull some of the noise from the club "She went back to the yard, Jacs said she wanted to check something, it weren't right and she would go with you to see Dad at the Earl"

"I got the disk with all the accounts on here, I was going to drop it off" answered Jack "I ain't long left, I'll go back for her, drop the disk to Dad and meet you there in a bit" already looking for somewhere he could do a U turn back to the yard.

-OG-

He was getting more than a little nervous, he wasn't sure where Jack was when he said he would turn back but surely he should have been at the yard by now, unless he stopped at the Earl first to drop the disk off. He had his phone in his hand and was about to ring his father and see if they were there when his phone rang and it was Jack. His face paled as he listened to Jack, everyone stopped to look at him when he called loudly for his brother before disconnecting the call.

Gary instantly dialled his father. It rang out the first time so he tried again. "Sorry Son" laughed Dave "I couldn't figure out which button to press Sam had to help me"

"It's Jack and Molly they're on the missing list Dad" his voice going up a couple of octaves as the implications suddenly resonated with him. "Molls went back to the yard, told Jacs that something weren't right, I asked Jack to go back for her" he huffed "Jack just called, he said he was in trouble, I thought I heard shots" he felt like he couldn't breathe "Now I can't get hold of either of them on their phones"

"Shit" and he heard his father talking, it must be Sam and Fred he was talking with "We're going over there now, you follow and we'll see you there" the line went dead and he couldn't help but stare at his phone. He motioned to Jackie who came over straight away "Give them drinks until I get back love"

"I heard some of what was going on" started Charles "I'm coming with you, if Molly is in some sort of trouble down at this yard then I want to come with you"

"I know you're fond of me sister, we all do" he shrugged and couldn't help but grin that they still thought their relationship was going under the radar "But you don't know what you're getting into" shaking his head "I ain't got time to muck about arguing with you, Dad's on his way and I need to join them" he swallowed hard "I think I heard a shot"

Charles stood up straight and almost to attention, a good three inches taller than Gary the look in his eye brokering no argument he had every intention of going with Gary to find out where Molly was. Gary gave a hard stare back before nodding, he really didn't have time for this.

"Well you ain't going without me" piped up Elvis and both Gary and Charles looked in his direction "Don't forget what I do for a living" he smirked, Gary looking at his dark Latin looks and thinking he would be fuckin useless. Although Charles knew out of all of them he would have the right skills, he couldn't say.

While Charles knew, because of Molly, some of the things the families were into, it could be that Molly and Jack were in serious trouble and judging by Gary and Dave's reaction they both thought there was something very wrong. Yes, Elvis would be good to have with them but he was here on a night out with his girlfriend. As if on cue Georgie spoke "Well you're not leaving me here on me own in London" she said indignantly "Don't forget I'm a medic out of all of you I will be the most useful if someone is hurt"

"Don't worry love" piped up Jackie who was still standing there "You can sit at the bar and we can have a chat when I'm not serving, or if you prefer I can take you up to me flat and you can wait there until they all get back" she grinned. Georgie looked across to Elvis who was still looking at Charles determined that he wasn't going on his own with Gary.

Georgie wasn't happy about how the evening had gone but when had anything gone to plan, her last tour with Elvis hadn't, they had spent ages waiting to get rescued, and that's how they had got together in the first place, in that cave him telling her that it would all be OK, using his ingenuity and getting them out of there. She hadn't met Molly but if she was in trouble and Charles and Elvis could help then who was she to try and kybosh that. She trusted both Elvis and Charles and they seemed worried.

Gary pulled his car keys from his pocket before turning to Charles "Look mate are you sure you wanna come, don't you remember who live in the yard" his shoulders rising as he took in a huge breath "The beasts are down there, Molly and Jack ain't answering their phones, something's happened and it might not be pretty" Gary was getting more agitated and worried with every second they were wasting, he wanted to get on the road follow his Dad, Fred and Sam find his brother and sister.

Charles wished Gary hadn't reminded him of that fact, now he was even more worried than before. They had made plans to meet here, and she wasn't here so he knew something was very wrong, something was stopping her from being here and it wouldn't be something simple like taking Bill and Ben for a walk.

"The beasts" whispered Elvis as they were walking at a fast pace to Gary's car. Charles couldn't help but chuckle "Yeah Bill and Ben, they're Molly's dogs". They were at the car as Gary unlocked it and they piled in, they barely had an opportunity to close the doors before Gary had started the car and floored the accelerator wheel spinning out the side turning and into the traffic "Fuckin great things who wouldn't let anything happen to our Molls or Jack" added Gary catching the conversation but concentrating on getting them back to the yard.