TIES THAT BIND

Chapter 8

They were interrupted by the sound of cars, two burly men wearing dark suits and dark glasses got out the front opening the rear doors for two men who got out the back. He recognised Danny instantly but the man with him, he had never met, a short slim man with receding fair hair and spectacles, which he was already pushing up his nose, possibly the same age as his uncle and Danny but his rounded shoulders, giving the impression of a slight stoop, and somehow made him look much older. Another four men got out the second car all darkly dressed with sunglasses. It could almost be comical. He wanted to laugh but wasn't sure why, perhaps because he didn't know where Molly was, if she was in danger, or because for the first time he didn't feel in control of a situation. He was a Captain for goodness sake, he should be able to adapt and improvise but he had no idea how to deal with any of this. Charles had met Danny a couple times over the years, watching as he raised a hand in acknowledgement to Fred who nodded in response pointing him towards the hanger. The looks on both their faces was enough to let him know they would take a very dim view if he did laugh, reminding him once again that whatever was about to happen in that hanger was very serious indeed, that Molly knew but he didn't, and that in itself rankled. All this had been planned, organised and he had known nothing about it.

-OG-

Danny nodded to the men at the cars, he could feel the tension between uncle and nephew. He covered up his surprise at seeing the nephew, straight as a dye Fred had told him, was leaving the army, Dave and Fred handing over the security business, he would have to meet him for lunch if that was the case, it wasn't just the casino they supplied door men for, it was his mother who now lived here permanently. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about an outsider being here, he would hold his tongue, he had to assume Fred and Dave knew what they were doing "Fred" he queried "Everything set" as Fred nodded in response "Yep, Molly got all the papers, she's inside with the others" he tipped his head to the entrance not taking his eyes from Charles "I brought my attorney to sort the paperwork and transfers" spoke Danny looking between the two men, "I'll see you inside then" starting to walk away with his two minders, the fourth man, who Charles had been wondering about, followed behind carrying a briefcase, bringing up the rear the men from the second car carrying holdall's. What was in those bags? They didn't appear to be heavy the way they were slung over their shoulders, Charles needed to know what was happening, this was wrong on so many levels. What the hell had Molly and the Dawes got themselves into? What were they going to do?

Charles started moving round his uncle toward where Danny had already disappeared, feeling the firm hand on his chest again as his uncle looked at him with angry narrowed eyes "No Charles, this isn't for your eyes" his voice softening "it won't even be for Molly, Gary or Nicky's either" looking down at his feet "these people tried to take what was ours and didn't care how they did it, now we will take what's theirs" turning on his heel and walking away

"I can't just sit here" he called after his uncle "Please yourself, I'll send Colin out to take you back to London"

"I'm not leaving without Molly" Fred turned back glaring at him "You are, you have some thinking to do son and when you're done thinking…" he shook his head, his hand rubbing his forehead "Just go home Charles. Gary and Nicky will take her home in a bit" long strides taking him into the building. Colin must have been hovering by the door because it was only seconds before he joined him at the car blocking his path to the hanger and making it quite clear by his expression, he was to get in. This time he sat in the front with Colin, sighing as he pulled out his phone and dialling Elvis number, he needed a drink and who better than Elvis, his oldest friend, the only one he could talk to other than Molly and he couldn't talk to her, she was in that hanger with the men who killed her brother. He rubbed the back of his neck as he felt the tension rising along with his anger, telling Colin where he would like to be dropped and he would get the train back into London later. He still wasn't entirely sure where they were but had just spotted a sign for the M25, so he should be able to get his baring's soon.

"I'm sorry mate" sighed Colin beside him still watching the road ahead "I should have backed up Molly more, told you not to come"

Charles huffed a snort of a laugh "Don't think anyone would have been able to stop me" playing with the phone in his hands, turning it over and over as if it would give him the answers.

"Still must have been a bit of a shock when Molls pulled that piece out her bag"

"Well that's got to be the understatement of the year" annoyance clear in his voice, realising Colin was talking about the gun

"We are not wholly bad or good, who live our lives under Milk Wood"

"What?" An incredulous Charles spoke turning to look at Colin who was grinning as he watched the road

"So shoot me I like Dylan Thomas" he laughed as Charles shook his head at his poor turn of phrase in the circumstances, still staring at Colin, who knew, he'd used that poem himself at a funeral in Newport, twice in fact.

"All I'm saying is try not to think too much, she's a good kid, she did what had to be done for the family"

"Really"

"Yes really" Colin's voice a little harder, that maybe he should cut her some slack "Took it really bad about her brother"

"I know that" he interrupted rolling his eyes in irritation, of course he bloody knew that, he was the one that held her when she cried, the one that tried to comfort her in the night when she woke from another nightmare calling her brother's name. He couldn't get it out his own head sometimes, that he would never see Jack again, that he had been gunned down here in London, that he had kept secrets from his family and never had the opportunity to lead the life he wanted with the person he wanted. All of it muddled in his own nightmare's, Geraint, Smurf, his shooting, Jack; all of it playing out in the dreams he couldn't stop, confused flashes of memory that she sometimes appeared in as they twisted and turned, making him wake in a cold sweat.

"We all took it bad, losing Jack, Sam and Tone" sighed Colin, it wasn't the same down the gym without Sam and Jack, still kept expecting one of them to walk in "these people don't play by your rules, they like to think their gangsters but they aint nothing more than thieves" closing his eyes momentarily, he had worked for the family for years, met his wife through them, he owed them a lot, helped him all those years ago when he needed it "they would have had another go at them, take the businesses, kept going until they had the lot"

"Would that have been such a bad thing"

"You reckon?" huffed Colin taking his eyes from the road and giving him a look of disbelief before remembering he hadn't played a part in the firm and probably had no idea how these things worked "how do you think they would have gone about taking it all? you would be happy to bury your wife then would you" turning back to the road "cos these people wouldn't have stopped, would have kept coming until the whole family was gone, that was the whole bloody point, the whole family had to be gone, anybody who could have fought back, keep loyal had to be gone" his own heart beating faster at the thought, Lil on her own, raising their son and maybe never knowing what happened to him

"Why?" the fingers of dread around his heart as he remembered Molly's words when they looked at their new home, pinching the bridge of his nose, how he had agreed about upping the security because of its location to the forest, her reasons had clearly been different from his, and he was only just beginning to understand.

"Would have thought a soldier like you would know," Colin shrugged "Chain of Command" he grimaced "take out the family and there is no one for people like me to protect, to follow, if we showed any kind of loyalty we would vanish too. The whole thing would collapse like a deck of cards, the businesses would be absorbed and so would the people who worked in them, too frightened to say anything in case they joined the rest of the family". He sighed as he thought of Lil "the east end would have been theirs, no one left" he shrugged again "would it have stopped there, nah, the north and Cos were already in their sights. That's the problem with thieves who want more, show weakness and the vultures circle, there can be no survivors"

"Your wife, Lilly isn't it, she works at the Massage Parlour doesn't she" changing the subject but having been left with something to think about, the one thing he did understand, was if there was no one to give the orders then chaos quickly ensued. Colin laughed at the sudden change but always willing to talk about his wife and little boy

"Yeah, she does more hours now that Liam is at school" sniggering "Keep up Charles, it's a beauty salon now, or that's what they're calling it these days, set up a couple more actually" Charles nodded but didn't respond "When Molls put Lil in charge she asked if any of the girls were up for retraining and to give her a list of girls who would like to train as beauticians, give 'em another skill, something to fall back on, give 'em choices" he laughed again "that's why Baxter never would have found anything" the sneer clear in his voice at what Baxter had done "Some of the girls still turn a trick, earn a few extra bob if they want to. Molly has made sure they are safe, panic buttons in the room, they even have their own rota, security always there manning the door no matter what time of night, a bar and reception with another level of security, if there is a weirdo its dealt with quickly" he grinned looking briefly at Charles "the girls feel safe, my Lil and Molly make sure of it" he inhaled deeply, his pride for Lil evident "only one rule, no drugs they have to be clean" "A couple of the girls who showed real promise run the others that Mol and Lil set up"

"I hadn't realised there was more than one" Charles smirked "Beauty Salons" he said with some sarcasm

"Two more" answered Colin enthusiastically "after Molly saw just how far her mate had fallen what with the drugs and that, she asked Lil if she thought it was a good idea to set up a couple more" beaming "so that's what they did, not that Proud Mary knows she works for Molly, but she runs one of them" he shrugged "My Lil always goes to that one, makes sure it's running smoothly, seems that Proud Mary is doing a blindin job over there, really got her act together by all accounts," Now there was a name he hadn't heard recently, he knew she had paid for her rehab, but hadn't realised she was working for Molly.

"Right here we are then" grinned Colin as he pulled into the kerb outside a sports bar on the outskirts of London where he had arranged to meet Elvis.

-OG-

Elvis was already there sitting in a booth with two pints lined up, sliding into the seat opposite and taking a large gulp, what he had seen today and the informative conversation with the multi-faceted Colin, didn't think he would ever be able to forget those dulcet tones reciting Dylan Thomas, his hands like sausages gripping the steering wheel as he did it, dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and tie the only tattoo visible today was a small swallow in between his thumb and index finger how small and plain it seemed in comparison to the one he had seen that ran from his elbow and across his shoulder, a colourful work of art. Wasn't the swallow something to do with the Navy and travelling. He shook his head, Colin was certainly an enigma and he would have to ask if he had read any of Dylan Thomas' other works along with if he had been in the navy, but today definitely wasn't the day.

"So to what do I owe this unexpected visit" beamed Elvis watching his mate swallow half the pint he had got for him "You having second thoughts about your resignation, can't be that long now"

"Yeah! Well! After what I've seen today, I'm not so sure it was a wise decision" he took another gulp, Elvis now fully aware that his mate was stressing over something, his tone, the expression on his face, he was always the uptight one out of the pair of them, the one that overthought every situation "Uncle Fred and Dave offered me a position" and Elvis raised an eyebrow grinning "It's not funny Elvis, what the fuck would I be getting myself into"

"What did they say it was" taking a sip of his own beer, he had a feeling that not only did Charles have something he wanted to tell him but this was going to turn into a session judging the way he was sinking that pint.

"A security firm they acquired years ago that they haven't done much with, supplies door concierge, event security, that sort of thing"

"and they're gonna give it to you" Elvis' eyes opening wide "you lucky bastard, to come out the army a job waiting for you, be your own boss"

"Well not exactly give, I give them a percentage of profits until its mine but I can do what I like with it, they won't be involved or interfere"

"Christ Charlie, I would be biting their hands off, you know how hard it is finding a job once you leave the service, they either think you can't function without the army telling you what to do, or that you're a trained killer with no other skills, institutionalised and damaged in some way" he laughed "you want a partner, I've been thinking for ages about packing it all in, trying to keep this level of fitness up" as he ran his hands down his toned torso smirking and Charles rolled his eyes "aint no easy task anymore"

"So what's changed your mind" he continued and Charles filled him in on everything that had happened today, swearing him to secrecy, all the while not knowing how he felt about any of it, really needing someone to talk to, and it seemed Elvis pulled the short straw. That he still didn't know where Molly was, what she was doing and just how much involvement she really had, that he hadn't realised, noticed or just blindly shut his eyes to and was obviously a lot more than he could have ever possibly envisaged. The conversations he had with both Fred and Colin. The whole thing was just a bloody mess.

Elvis nodded in all the right places, listened and ordered more drinks. He had the added advantage of being at the club where Derek, Artan and Victor met their end, he himself had no problem with it as they were trafficking guns to war zones, was more than happy with how all that turned out but he had seen what his uncle and Dave had done. He had privately thought that Jack and Sam's death would have a similar outcome, seen it in their eyes at the funeral, that they would track down who did it and literally go in all guns blazing and it looked like they had. Once Charles started he couldn't stop talking, told him everything he had seen, what his Uncle and Colin had said "You know what? he quoted me Dylan bloody Thomas and I think he might have been in the Navy" pointing to his own hand and telling him about the tattoo. "She didn't even tell me that she had lost our baby until I got home" now that came out the blue…

Elvis sat back in his chair staring at his friend, at a loss as to what this was really about, a small part of him wished he never picked up his phone, or maybe got his parents to babysit and brought Georgie with him, she had served with Charlie, knew him well, maybe she would use the right words, cos he sure as hell didn't know what to say "Is that what this is all about really, you still stewing on that" he leaned forward crossing his arms on the table, they'd talked about all of this before, when he and Molly came back from their holiday, thought he was OK with it all "Do you know it was 5 days before they shipped you back to Blighty after you were shot and no one told her, I thought you wanted to….."

"Not really the same thing is it" he interrupted

"Isn't it" Elvis took a sip from his own beer "You wanted to protect her, not let some faceless twat tell her, have her worrying before she needed" he shrugged "Fred reckoned she could probably find a way out there if she knew" noting Charles snort of disbelief. Charles got up went to the bar ordering 2 more pints and a couple of chasers. Sighing as he saw him return, hoping that Laura didn't wake up too early tomorrow morning, he had a bad feeling he was going to have a thick head. "You don't think she did the same thing, it was your first tour after you were shot and didn't want you losing focus" staring at his friend "kept it all to herself, didn't want you worrying and let's be honest mate, who knows how long it would have taken to get you back" he took a gulp of his own pint, ignoring the whisky chaser "a couple of weeks compassionate and then you would be back there again, in Afghan wondering how she was, how she was coping while you were out on patrol"

"I should have been there"

"She could have been in bloody Tesco's and it was the checkout girl that called an ambulance" he shrugged, he really didn't know what to say, didn't know how he would feel if he was in the same position and it was Georgie, but Charlie hadn't talked about it in a long time, thought he and Molly had sorted it all out, again he wished he had got his parents to have Laura for the night and brought Georgie with him, she would know what to say, cos he was at a bit of a loss "she was with her mum and her brother, she had someone with her, someone she knew" he sighed downing his own whisky "sometimes shit just happens" he'd been on enough ops to know that for himself, that feeling of guilt, not being there "and there aint nothing no one can do about it, can't change the outcome, no matter how much you want to; you just can't and that's the way it is. She wanted to wait until you were home and she could tell you herself, not have you fretting thousands of miles away"

Charles nodded taking another gulp of his beer clasping it in his hands as he stared into its fizzy depths a deep frown on his forehead "I know, it's not really about that, don't know why I said it really" he sighed whispering "after the baby then the IVF, we talked, went on holiday and talked some more, we were in a good place, a really good place, we had everything worked out" he looked up a small smile hovering on his lips "we had a plan, everything just felt perfect, we had each other. I just wanted to be home, you know stop living out a Bergen, she was going to put a manager in at the club" he shrugged blinking rapidly lowering his eyes "but then the club happened and she closed it" he stumbled over his words as he felt a lump in his throat "then Jack happened, it all went to shit Elvis" he huffed looking across at his mate "I know who her family are, or I thought I did" he sighed swallowing his whisky in one "She's told me things, I've over-heard things from Fred and Dave" he shrugged "It just didn't seem real, not really until today, till I saw" his head down again as he stared at his pint "I know she can be reckless" he huffed as he remembered "take on armed men with a baseball bat" he looked up "she fucking shot him"

"If she joined the army, ended up part of your section in Afghan"

"She couldn't" interrupted Charles abruptly "We're married"

"Just supposing" replied Elvis rolling his eyes, he could be bloody hard work sometimes "you know the kids going out to play kiss chase or something"

Raising an eyebrow "Really" queried Charles

"Well OK, tag or hop-scotch then, how do I know what kids play these days" Elvis grinned back "Some old Russian minefield, you've seen it, not just the kids but our own men, have you told Molly, I mean really given her the graphic detail of what it's like out there" as he watched the horrified expressions crossing Charles face, another round of drinks with chasers turning up at their booth, please don't tell me he's set up a tab. "What would she do" he asked ignoring the drinks

Charles grinned as he downed his next chaser "probably try and bring them home with her" sighing "queen of the lost cause sometimes"

"Now if you saw someone strapped with enough explosives to take down half your section what would you do" Elvis grinned "shoot them in the foot so they could hop across and carry out their plan"

"This isn't funny Elvis" huffed Charles leaning forward and whispering "she fucking shot him, why did she do that, I'm just not sure I know her anymore"

"But your Uncle said he was one of the shooters, killed her brother, her father with even more problems to that leg of his, your uncle wounded, knowing that she could have been on that pavement with her brother" he shrugged "I'd say that showed restraint, especially if these people wanted to wipe out the whole family like Colin said"

"I don't know why I bother talking to you about anything" Charles retorted angrily leaning back in the booth

"Cos we're mates" grinned Elvis "Look! you and Molly are polar opposites, different upbringing, different life experiences, I'd go so far as to say different values, on paper the pair of you really shouldn't work, but you do" raising his eyebrow

"Don't start with the iceberg analogies" huffed Charles as he swallowed another whisky

"I have no idea what you're talking about Charlie Boy" replied Elvis shaking his head and downing his own whisky "you know what, how you both are together, well a lot of people would be envious at what you two have, it's pretty bloody special" grinning at his mate as he snorted a laugh "How you make each other happy and you really haven't made me believe she is someone who would go off half cock on a revenge mission" Crickey! not another set of drinks turning up as the barmaid put two pints on the table. Charles eyes already looked like they were struggling to focus "and by the way that tat you mentioned Colin had, it aint just the Navy and travelling mate, he could be handy with his fists, or maybe he has done some time, you know in prison, done some bird" a wide smile creeping across his face "I'd say fighting meself seeing as how he has been Molly's minder for years, or then again if he has had the time to read some boring poet it might have been a stretch at one of her majesties establishments" shaking his head at the stern expression on Charles face, his sense of humour had clearly left the building, turning the conversation back to Charles problem

"Jack was another with two sides to the coin, he bought the pair of you that bloody fur ball." Sniggering as he took another gulp of his pint "Even I could see how close she was to Jack, and this bloke Serge, well if he didn't pull the trigger he was part of it" taking another gulp of his beer "How would you feel if it was Andrew that was shot, wouldn't you want to see justice was served" instantly regretting bringing him up as Charles face took a rueful expression, not that he was insinuating his mate would have followed the actions of the Dawes but he had their tenacity of wanting to know who and why.

"That's another thing" sighed Charles taking another mouthful of his beer "Fred said something" taking another gulp "That he was a wrongun before he even got to London" Oh shit thought Elvis, he had overheard part of a conversation between Fred and Dave about this. Dave reckoning that Fred should have had a wing named after him for the amount he had paid that Uni. "I'm going to have to speak with Mum"

"No don't" responded Elvis quickly, if he was in this much of a state at Molly shooting a bloke in the foot, what the fuck would he do if he knew what his uncle had done "Look mate, I don't know much, just what I overheard, you know when it all kicked off" swallowing his chaser "Don't think your Dad knows, but your brother was selling drugs, he was kicked out of Uni, your Uncle gave a donation to cover it up, nothing on file, all of it buried, so your brother could start again"

"He did that alright didn't he, moved on to fucking guns"

"Not his smartest move, I'll give you that" shrugged Elvis "but he seems to have settled down since and with the Scorpion too" smirking "always thought that a bit odd meself, not that she ever stood a chance with you" Charles chose to ignore it, although he had thought the same thing himself at the time. Taking a gulp of his beer "I always knew mate, the way you spoke about Molls" raising his eyebrows "all the way through Sandhurst all we heard about was this reckless girl Molly and the scrapes she got herself into" he huffed a small laugh "felt I already knew her before I even met her, she's definitely gutsy, I'll give you that"

"Do you love her" Elvis asked catching Charles on the hop, moving the conversation on and changing it in one breath, he'd still been mulling over Elvis' comment about always talking about her, he hadn't realised he had, taking a gulp of his drink before he answered, remembering how she had him pinned against the wall on her 18th, the way her face just lit up when she was happy, her eyes, the way she looked at him, how she held him when he had one of his nightmares; how with a look, a word, a touch she could make it feel like fireworks were going off in his stomach, she would always be an important part of his life, would always want to come back to her "Of course I do, it was just, well I didn't expect any of this today, didn't realise she could do something like that"

"Who knows what any of us are capable of when the chips are down" Elvis raised his eyebrows at his friend, the indecision etched across his face "in our line of work we see all sorts, the ones that run to their fallen mate, the ones that don't, the ones that carry the guilt because it wasn't them and the ones that are never quite the same again" taking a gulp of his drink as he remembered some of his own missions, the things he had to do, the men he lost "who the fuck is perfect" shaking his head "I think that Colin was probably right mate, things might have been a whole lot worse if they had done nothing, where would they have stopped" as he watched his friend swaying in the chair opposite. Best call a taxi to get him home, there was no way he was going to find his way back on the train, would probably pass out and wake up in a siding somewhere.

Elvis poured Charles into the back of a black cab giving the driver the address. As it sped away he pulled out his phone from his back pocket and dialled a number "Molly, he's on his way home. He's had a few so don't expect too much from him" Elvis laughed at her response "I think he knows what he wants darlin and he just needed to get it straight in his nut" he looked at his watch "Look I better get off home myself, Georgie will be wondering where I am"

-OG-

He closed his eyes as he sat in the back of the cab his head against the window. The cab driver was wittering on about how bloody difficult it was getting anywhere in London these days, cycles lanes, bus lanes, and now they had this new bloody bike for hire scheme, who in their right minds wanted any more of them on the bleedin roads, the twat wasn't any better last time around when they had the GLC – how were the rest of them meant to get anywhere. Keeping his eyes closed and hoping he would stop, it was going to take at least 30 minutes to get home and it was like being in a confined space with Dave, he was tempted to ask the driver who he voted for but it was just a step too far and would probably encourage him further to go into great detail about this current lot and what a useless waste of space they were and what were we paying our bleedin taxes for.

Do you love her Elvis had asked him as his mind wandered away from the cab driver's incessant chat. She was one of the most frustrating people he had ever met, her fear of trusting people a prime example. Independent since the day she started school, feisty and could have a row with herself if the mood took her, but if you worked past that hard as nails shell she liked to wear as an armour, she was one of the kindest and most loyal people he had ever met. When he came back off tour, or from an exercise her face seemed to light up when she saw him. That smile of hers when his keys joined hers in the bowl in the hall was when he always knew he was home. He'd always wanted to make her happy, and he thought he did, wanted to show her things she hadn't seen before, see that wide grin of hers as she threw herself into it with enthusiasm.

She was the one that brought him a calmness, for one so small she managed to hang onto him, her small hands clinging to him, whispering to him in the night. Yes, he loved her and he didn't want to lose her and today had been enough to scare him once again into thinking he might. That there were people out there who wanted to hurt her and that had frightened him; a lot.

-OG-

He could hear Teddy scurrying about on the other side of the door as he tried to focus on getting his key in the lock, grinning that at least he could be guaranteed one welcome after this debacle of a day. Bending down to stroke Teddy as he bounded about jumping at him in his excitement, throwing him off balance so he ended up on the floor his back pressed against the front door, Ted giving him enthusiastic licks and jumping back and forth over his outstretched legs making him laugh "Get off you bloody great furball" he giggled

"Don't call him that, you make him sound like something the cat puked up" his eyes moving to the voice. Molly, she was smiling at him as she walked towards him and knelt down beside him "What cat, you haven't got a cat as well have you, Ted wouldn't like it" he grinned at her as he stroked Ted, now lying across his legs. She shook her head grinning at the state of him, wondering how she would get him up off the floor, a huge sense of relief that he had actually come home. His eyes roaming her face, her hair down, no makeup, her eyes bloodshot and puffy, she had been crying. It was rare that she cried and he hated it when she did and he had a bad feeling he might have been the cause this time.

"I'm sorry" his hand coming up to her cheek his thumb stroking her cheekbone "I think I might have been a bit of a dick, it was all just a bit of a shock" now that was an understatement if ever there was.

"I'm sorry too, I should have been more insistent you shouldn't come, tied you to the bed or something to stop you" she grinned

"Kinky" he waggled his eyebrows laughing

"Do you want to talk about it" he nodded in response "but not tonight" he grinned "tonight I need you to help me get off the bloody floor" and was rewarded with one of her kilowatt grins as she wrapped her arms around him "You're gonna have to put some bloody effort in I aint gonna be able to lift you without a bit of help"

He brought both hands up to cup her face "I do love you Moll, you know that don't you" and she nodded "and I love you too, you muppet" both of them breaking into peals of laughter as Ted decided he liked this new game and started jumping about over them again.

-OG-