Taking Care of Harry
Chas sat in the passenger seat, knowing that he was really too tired to drive but then he wasn't sure Harry was in a fit state to be behind the wheel either. He decided that thought was probably better kept to himself. He couldn't shake the image of Harry the night they had found her, how Dempsey had reacted after Swabey Junior had taken her. Now it seemed as if he had his henchmen doing his dirty work for him. He looked out over the wasteland that had once been a railway station as they waited.
"Chas."
"Mn?"
"Are you alright?" Harry asked as she kept the engine ticking over.
"Aye." He turned to face her. "Is it not me that should be asking you that?"
Harry smirked slightly. "I'm ok. You know that." She lied. "I am always ok. Now, lets just hope whatever Dempsey has got involved with we can end it today."
Chas nodded, remaining silent he turned his attention back to what looked like an abandoned building that was probably once a ticket office. "We checked the others, uniform went through them. This is the only viable one on the list. Yer man has to be here."
"I hope so." Harry paused as she killed the engine. A van was approaching from the other side of the wasteland. There was no way she wanted to let anyone know they were there before they needed to. Chas tensed slightly, hoping that his logic and his hunch was right. The longer Dempsey was missing, the worse the possible outcome could be. He glanced across at his friend knowing she was thinking the same thing.
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Dempsey held his ribs as he managed to get himself into a seated position. The air around him felt thick and fetid. He couldn't help but think that was what triggered his nausea in the first place. Trying to force his mind onto something other than the pain in his ribs and the urge to vomit he looked around. He was definately being held in a damp, usually disused building. The last minutes of daylight allowed him to see the patch of rising damp a few feet awat and the peeling green paint on the walls. He swallowed hard, knowing that the room had clearly been used as an office of some sort before it became his prison. He closed his eyes, resting his head on his knees as he forced himself to think. He had to find a way back to Harry. That was all that mattered. He had to go home.
"Jimmy boy." He looked up to see the thug that had punched him in the stomach earlier approach him.
"Evening." Dempsey replied, his voice as monotone as he could make it.
"Yeah, it is." He narrowed his eyes as the man crouched in front of him. "Bet those ribs are a bit sore. I told him to lay off with the boots but you know what 'es like."
Dempsey fell silent. His right eye was almost completely swollen closed. He didn't want to provoke the larger and heavier man into hitting him again. He needed to keep his wits about him. He felt the codl chill from the gaps in the window hit him.
"Too much." The other man paused. "You know something? None of this is personal. Not for me."
"Just following orders." Dempsey replied as the other man shrugged.
"What can I say?"
"You could let me go."
"No." The thicker set man got to his feet. "If I did that I wouldn't be paid and my bossess wouldn't be happy."
"Can I ask you something?" Dempsey knew he was pushing his luck. The other man shrugged.
"Where am I? Am I still in the UK."
"What?"
"Am I still in England?"
"Yes." The other man paused. "I suppose I can tell you that. You are still in England. Do you know how long you've been here?"
Dempsey shook his head slightly. "No, not really. One minute I am getting ready for bed, next you show up. That's all I remember."
"So, the blonde woman."
"What about her?" Dempsey tried to keep his voice level.
"The one I suffocated in her sleep." Dempsey narrowed his eyes, he knew the man in front of him was lying. He had spoke to Harry. He knew she was alive but then he wondered for a moment if that had really happened. Maybe his head injury meant his brain was playing tricks on him. He felt the familiar feeling of dread build up in his gut. He knew if he was wrong and she really was dead then there was no way he was going to carry on without her. He had made that plain enough once, when he had been temporarily partnered with the unflappable Joyce. "You remember that? Yeah?"
Dempsey narrowed his eyes.
"Oh we took care of her. Why my boss wants you left alive for the moment remains to be seen."
"Just shoot me now." Demspey decided. "Get it done. Because I aint gonna be any use to you or your bosses if you killed my girl."
"Your girl." He laughed. "She didn't even put up a fight. Not for me nor for my boss that time."
Dempsey suddenly knew who the thug was referring to. He felt sick, knowing that the man had recruited someone to come after them. He raised his head to face the man, ignoring the fact his hands were still tied up. "I swear to you. You may as well put us both out of our misery because I aint saying or doing anything now I know she ain't alive."
"Have it your way." The thug got to his feet. "My boss will be here soon. Don't worry." He punched Dempsey once more, sending him reeling as gunshots could be heard outside.
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