Mirror of Me by T.A.Fynes

 

A glass filling slowly with cold clean tap water. Bananas and green apples on a kitchen tray.
Freshly baked bread cooling beside a gas cooker. A cat slinking by the window.
The lazy summer sound of buzzing bees.
           

“Jed! Jed!” The voice came battering through the dreamy haze. 

“Jed! Wake the fuck up. There's work to be done.”

 Judy was upset. My daydreams pissing on her yet again.

“Jed, do you want to die. Do you want that?"

Thought, yep, every fucking day. Said, "No."

She was cradling her favourite rifle. A scoped .22 Rimfire. Plastic bottle on a string around her neck. It suppressed the sound. Made killing a lot safer. Hunting to, but we didn't do much of that now.
We lived a smelly life in a Soho wine cellar filled with rodents. Good eating if needed.

Needed, now that we were all out of dogs. I had my usual layer of shitty coats on, but it was still cold. Londinium, no power, no heat, November.
           

"Slab has a job for us."

A job, usually involved killing some poor bastard for no apparent reason.

Said, "So who has upset our friend Slab? A slight, or is it just the usual land grab."
"Not our concern," replied Judy, "We do the job and get out."

Said,” Get fucked you mean."
"We score this, and we can get all the way to the coast. Brighton. The big time." was her excited reply.

Asked, "So what's the Payola?"

Answer was, "Three tins of Heinz beans and two jars of Bovril."
Added, "And Heinz will set you free."

Her reply. “No more cheap shots. Get your ass in gear, let’s move on up.”

Thought, Motown records. Shaft.

 Asked, “Who be the scope, Sister."

"Willow. Brother." was her acidic reply.

"Fuck," was all I could choke out.

"Do we have a problem Brother Jed?"

Said, "Yea, I like Willow. He does deals, gets stuff, helps people. Helped us”

She looked at me with her death mask.

“The Bovril alone will get us a ride to the pearly gates of Brighton. Understand, Willow is going down."

Said, "Of course Dear." Still adored her.
She had cut her long blond hair. No water for washing. Her face heavily scarred from the burns and beatings.

We were both soot black from the constant city fires.

Thought, she used to be so sweet and so hot. Yea, and I used to be Mr Nice Guy. Morals were stripped, long gone. Along with the well-stocked supermarkets. 

Slabs hard-man Gully came in and dumped our payment on the floor.

Slab was an oddball like that. He paid up front. Failure was not expected or tolerated.
Gully was built like a Turkish wrestler, muscle on muscles. But a sharp knife could carve him up.
Quickly. Ready for curing.

He was scared each time we met.

Said," Gully my friend, why Willow?"
Looked at me as if I was mad. "Slab points, you kill. End of story. Capisce."

Said, "Capisce."
Judy took the loot and went off to stash it in our secret Bovril place.

Said, “Everybody’s got a secret place. Where's yours Gully?"

Gully backed away quickly. "You keep away from me. Willow will be in Trafalgar tomorrow. Slot him there."

Said, "More bang for bucks."

Gully looked stupidly at me.
Said, "His followers will see him fall."

He pointed a finger and said "Remember, Slab expects."
Then he left. 

Said, "Every man to do his duty, amen."

Trafalgar next day was packed with soot black psychopaths.

Slabs tribe was there. Willow's protection crew spread out. Judy was scoping from the rubble of the old African Embassy.

Fires were burning. A drum beating out a slow cadence. A stink of badly cooked rancid meat filled the air.
Women in cages. Kids in cages. Food or pleasure. Take your pick.

Tasting just like bacon, human flesh was now trending.

Thought, what ever happened to, tastes like teen spirit?

I moved through this soot sicko fair. Hundreds of filthy killing animals, a mirror of me.

I was stopped. Could see hunger in their eyes. Got a soulless glare in return.

Slab was on a platform giving the crowd the full arm. Willow was sitting near him chatting with some other Big Tribal Kahuna's.

I had to be very close to stick Willow. As close as an itchy rash. Slab expects.

My weapons where whatever was at hand. Smiled, thought, it's why we get paid the Bovril big bucks.

Willow came and embraced. Jed his friend his soul brother. Had he not once saved Willow's life.

But Slab expects.

Willow had apples. Said, "Fuck Willow. Where from?"

"Ha! Brother, we took a Brighton caravan. Next year we take it all. Rape that City of Sinners."

He moved to stand beside Slab. They had, it seemed, concluded a Devil's pact.

Ginkgo, Willow's lackey stood well away from them. Thought, odd, yet another unknown chess piece.

He was watching me.

OK. Show time.

I had palmed a long wooden splinter.

Slab had his arm around Willow when a .22 round punched through his left eye.

Said, "Head Shot! “And rammed the splinter through Willow's right eye.

Lots of blood. Judy expects. Panic was now trending at the disco.

Judy was popping away at the rest of the Big Kahuna’s.
I relieved our dear departed Willow of his ceremonial butchering knife.

Ginkgo and Gully had vamoosed. The looting stampeding and tribal genocide had started.

Smiled, thought, what they really need is democratically elected leaders.

Much later, we stood with our stuff at the caravan crossroads.

Said, "You cut a sweet deal with Brighton."

Judy just nodded. "I'm tired of black shit. I want a bath. I want to swim in the wild open sea."

An Arab, washed, perfumed, came riding up on a very tasty looking horse. Sneered down on us. And said, “Brighton.”

 Answered, "Yea."

"Got Gold." he said spitting, “You need lots of Gold to get to Sin City.

Said, "We have Bovril and Heinz beans."

Smiled, thought, and a very dangerous talent for deception.