Die for You

Chapter 54

"Snow Queen does sound a lot nicer than Ice Queen I have to say," Becky replied with a light chuckle, "but why call her that at all?"

"Paul said she was as cool as ice," Jill added, "That's why he suggested calling her the Ice Maiden, he told me that he was really proud of her when she did it, said Freen was incredible."

"He suggested it because he knew it would wind me up," I said finally, "and did he also tell you that he followed me the whole way, under the same fire, and that he went in through the same doorway with me, shoulder to shoulder?"

"He never did, no." Jill replied cocking her head at me thoughtfully, "but I do remember you telling me that once before. As I recall, you were telling me how much you loved him for always being there for you; you were rather drunk at the time, though."

"Drunken words, sober thoughts," Becky pontificated, putting down her cup and sitting back.

"Absolutely," Jill agreed quickly, "that was those two all over. He felt the same way about you, you know, Freen? He told me when we first got serious that he loved you like a sister and if we were going to have any kind of a future together, I'd have to deal with you as well as him."

"I bet that was a fun conversation," I said scornfully, "great date material talking about how there's another woman in his life."

"It was better than me getting paranoid about his affections," she said looking at Becky carefully,"like that Amanda of yours, how is she by the way? The TV said you were back together."

"Well, we're not," I said firmly, "the bitch just told them that so she could get her five minutes of fame at my expense as fucking usual. She told me to fuck off and I did, we're over. We were pretty much over the day the day I came to see you, we just didn't know it then."

"I thought that might be the case," she said laying her hand on Andy's leg. "Seeing you with Becky here that is, it's not in your nature to cheat Freen, so I presumed the TV must have got it wrong."

"Miss Armstrong is just my employer, Jill," I said defensively, sticking to our story.

"And Andy here is the Pope, Freen. Come on I know you, and I'm not stupid."

"You don't know me, Jill" I said bitterly, "you haven't known anything about me for years now. You never wanted to."

Silence fell over the room, broken only by the clinking of cups against saucers as the four of us sipped our drinks.

"Well, this is fucking awkward, isn't it?" Chunks said suddenly, causing Becky to jump in her seat. "Becky, what is it you do, and what does Snowy here do for you besides avoid questions about you?"

"I work for the family business," Becky said with a smile, "we sort of do lots of things, but my role is mainly sales."

"What do you sell, Becky?" Jill added, "the television said you worked for Armstrong Industries, but I don't remember them saying what you do?"

"We sell arms mainly," Becky said, "guns, bullets, shells, missiles... you name it, we sell it. I'm the Director of Sales for the company and that's why I need Freen here. We appear to have upset a group of people who have made a lot of threats against us, so she heads up the team that keeps me and my family safe. Because I'm apparently a main target for them, I get twenty four hour protection from Freen here herself, Daddy insisted on it."

"Is that why you were attacked?" Chunks blurted out, his tact no better than it was when I knew him. "Jill told me about it on the way over here, I missed it I'm afraid. I was in Butlins when it happened, I'm just back here on leave at the moment."