The Cunning

104

Jase's burner phone buzzed on the kitchen table above the newspaper Sam was reading. He checked the caller ID, considering letting it ring seeing as Jase was still in bed but when he saw Ramon's number, he knew better than to let it go to voicemail. Wishing he could have five more minutes of peace  before the job reared its ugly head, Sam reluctantly answered.

"Hello?"

"Jase?" Ramon replied, one decibel short of a shout. Of course he wasn't ringing with good news, no one ever did.

"He's in bed. It's Sam, what's happened?" He sipped his coffee, stretching his legs out under the table.

"Tell that stupid cunt to get his arse up." Ramon's cockney twang really came through when he was angry, it was like listening to Vinnie Jones. "There's been a shooting at the club, lucky we were fucking closed for maintenance. I'm going to assume it was Mitch, so what I want to know is why the fuck hasn't he been dealt with yet?"

Sam pinched the bridge of his nose. Mitch was taking liberties now. Someone had to try and talk some sense into Jase, get him to look at the bigger picture. Sam had let things slide for long enough, trying to be a decent friend and have faith that Jase had things under control but Mitch was getting loud and obnoxious, and it was making them all look like pricks.

"I'll go wake him up," he replied, cutting the call off. "Jase," he called through the bedroom door, banging on it with the side of his fist. "The club's been shot up, Ramon is pissed mate, get up, we're going round." He could hear Jase stirring and then a faint shuffling as he got up to answer, still half asleep and half dressed.

"What do you mean shot up? They're closed," he grumbled.

"I don't know, Ramon's fuming though. I'm guessing they've gone assuming it was open, and it upset him when it wasn't. I've messaged Kieran and Tommy, they'll be here soon. We need to do something, he's taking the piss." Sam ignored Jase's tired moans, already walking away. Jase might have been willing to wash everything down the drain for a girl but he wasn't.

Twenty minutes later, the four men sat around the table in the kitchen.

"She needs to go," Sam said, getting straight to the point. Jase's brows furrowed as he lit a cigarette.

"Fuck off," he mumbled sleepily, struggling to keep his eyes open, squinting at Sam through the smoke.

"From the second she got here, there's been nothing but trouble. You know it, I know it, Benny, Adam and Mitch, everyone knows it. You let Harvey leave even though he stitched us right up because she told you not to kill him. You've had to get rid of two bodies because of her-"

"Two?!" Tommy squeaked, having not been filled in on any developments since before they'd taken Peter out. Sam continued.

"The entire line is banging on about Madison being your downfall. I'm sorry to say it because Jay won't be too happy either, but she has to go if we're going to scrape together whatever's left of this mess."

Tommy and Kieran fidgeted uncomfortably. No one was going to outright accuse Jase of having an emotional connection to Madison but it wasn't exactly news and it was awkward watching Sam subtly address it.

Jase slouched back in the wooden chair, tapping ash in the tray. He moistened his lips. Sam was doing his best to remain assertive but Jase could tell this was as uncomfortable for him to say as it was for Jase to hear. It had been harder to hear from Madison, though.

"You're right," he said quietly, finally admitting defeat. A weight buried itself deep in his stomach, pulling at his shoulders and making it feel like his chest was going to cave in. He'd grown to really hate this job.

Sam had the decency to attempt to hide his relief, but the straightened back gave him away. Tommy and Kieran exchanged a glance. After how Jase reacted to Adam torturing Madison, they hadn't expected him to throw in the towel now.

"I know how you..." Sam started, but trailed off, unable to find the words, "I'm sorry, but there's a lot riding on this. If there was ever a time to think with your head, it's now."

Jase nodded again.

"I know. I'm not mad that Charlie's dead, but the second it gets out that Madison was the one to do it, it's game over. We can't have people thinking we let the girls kill clients and it's not like I can keep her in the house forever anyway. May as well rip the plaster off now." He sounded nonchalant, as if he were already over it but the words hurt as they left his lips, it didn't feel like it was him talking. It felt robotic, like he was programmed to say them when it was time to call it a day.

"I am sorry, Jase," Sam said sincerely. Jase shrugged.

"It was going to happen at some point. Now's as good a time as any." The four of them sat in silence for a moment before Kieran piped up.

"What's the plan then?" he asked, aching to change the energy in the room. Jase stubbed the cigarette out and folded his arms.

"I'll think of something, give me a couple of days. In the meantime, you two go check out the damage he's done to Ramon's place. Tell him we'll pay for it as a goodwill gesture." Kieran and Tommy cleared off, leaving Sam and Jase in silence. Jase took out another cigarette, needing to give his hands something to do that didn't involve smashing things up in the building internalised rage.

"I genuinely didn't want it to come to this. Not only for your benefit, she's the only friend Janine's had in years," Sam said earnestly. Jase didn't want his apologies, what good were they? He let his vision blur, staring through Sam as he spoke.

"We talked about it last night," he said, clearing his throat. "Madison said pretty much exactly what you said about people taking advantage because of how I am with her. I told her we'd get rid of her then. Guess it wasn't just an empty threat." He took a deep breath, setting his feelings aside for the moment. "I'll get Mitch's number, we'll get it sorted by next week." Sam wasn't happy about the wait but asking Jase to sacrifice Madison was enough without pushing him to speed it up. He was just glad Jase was coming to his senses and realising that this didn't end unless she was gone and every trace of her was wiped.

*

Jase filled the bedroom doorway, watching Madison sleep as he had done many times before. He was kicking himself for letting things go this far. What did he expect to happen? That being locked up in the house for the rest of her life like an animal would be enough to satisfy her? Meanwhile, the entire empire Jase and the others had built crumbled around them. He wouldn't be able to look after her for much longer either way, not with how things were going, Benny would see to that as soon as he returned. It was time to cut their losses. Sam was right, she needed to go if they were going to have a fighting chance of everything returning to normal and it was better to do it whilst Benny was away.

Rather than cause himself further confusion by getting back into bed, he got in the shower. The climax of the past few months was fast approaching, he needed a clear head if he was going to do this properly.