New Story - again written exclusively on Steemit - WiP - Bouncer Part 24

This story is evolving with a pace all its own. I'm listening to the feedback and if something resonates, I've decided that I'll go with it (thanks @kiwideb). Feel free to give feedback on characters, storylines etc - even if you think it's harsh.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23

Pictures from Google free to use search

Please note: This is the FIRST DRAFT, no editing, written straight onto paper. I don't know how to highlight that any more than it is. I'll NOT be making any alterations to what's already been written. As a good friend and excellent author has said, First draft is a race to get the story down before it decides to stop telling itself to you. Thanks Glenn. @alienbutt

55 pages, 21,631 words so far.

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They drove around the one-way system to the street where Liz lived. Taylor waited on the pavement and Zack stopped the car to allow him to get in.

Zack then drove around to drop off Joe and then went on to Crackers’ house.

“Coffee?” Crackers said as they pulled up outside his home.

“Why not,” Zack said.

Standing in Crackers’ kitchen, mugs of steaming coffee in hand, Zack waited for him to ask the questions he knew were coming.

“Who’s funding this?” Crackers said.

“The business?” Zack said after a pause.

Crackers nodded.

“We are. Our dad left us his life-savings which amount to a little more than ‘fuck-all’ and we’ve put a mortgage on the house he left us, as well as taking out as much as we can on our own homes,” Zack said. “Why?”

“Are you looking for a partner?” Crackers said.

“No. We don’t know anyone well enough to go into partnership with. Plus, it’s a risky business and we don’t want the stress of anyone else’s money getting lost along with ours,” Taylor said.

“Fair enough,” Crackers said. “But how stable is this business?”

Taylor shifted his stance. Rather than leaning against the wall as he had been, he stood up straight.

Zack looked at him, checking how he held himself. Taylor didn’t like answering personal financial questions, especially from someone he didn’t know too well.

“Crackers, with all due respect,” Taylor said.

“Which means, ‘mind your own fucking business,’ usually,” Crackers said. His voice had a light tone which made Taylor smile.

“Pretty-much, yeah,” Taylor said.

“Well, I do have a bit of money and I could get another mortgage on this house,” Crackers said.

“You’ve only just paid it off,” Zack said. “Why would you get another one?”

“Why?” Crackers said. “Isn’t that obvious? You know what you’re doing, you have the respect of most of the door lads in town, you have a brother who has legal experience and you have a contract with one of the Russian big-hitters.”

He looked at Zack and then Taylor. “Not to mention the fact that Taylor here, seems to have his feet well under the table with your new contact’s dad,” he said.

Taylor blinked. He’d just started to lean on the wall again when Crackers dropped that bombshell into the conversation. “What?” he said.

Zack and Crackers laughed.

“You didn’t know that Liz was Viktor’s daughter?” Crackers said.

“No! How would I have known?” Taylor said. “How did you know?”

“Well, I put two and two together earlier when Liz said her father knew what he was doing,” Crackers said. “You obviously missed that. Zack doesn’t miss anything, especially when he’s not been drinking and he didn’t bat an eye, so I guess he already knew.”

“You knew?” Taylor said, turning to Zack.

“I thought it best not to let either of you know that Viktor requested we take his daughter out,” Zack said. “He’s got a game-plan and I decided to allow it to play out. You did well enough. You chatted to her and played nice, you made a good impression. I guess she’s telling her dad how well you behaved, what a gentleman you are…”

“How do you know I was a gentleman?” Taylor said.

Zack studied his brother for a moment. He took a deep breath, let it out in a sigh and shook his head. “Brother, if you had behaved badly with the manager of the club we’d just agreed to work for, you’d be a fool. You’re no fool. You’re also no chancer. You didn’t get it on with the hookers last night, you’re not going to risk everything just to get your end away,” he said.

Taylor grinned. “Yeah, you taught me better than that,” he said. “You always came home with tales of lads that risked everything they had at home for a blow-job with a bit of ‘strange’ and they almost always got caught out and lost everything.”

“Oh? Anyone in particular spring to mind?” Crackers asked, trying to sound nonchalant with the question.

Zack and Taylor looked at him. They realised he thought they were talking about him.

Zack laughed.

Taylor said, “I don’t think your name came up.”

“No, not you,” Zack said. “You may arrange to meet a lass after you finish work, but I don’t recall you ever leading one down the stairs, through reception and into someone’s car, parked around the side of the club.”

“Tell me about that one!” Crackers said. “Who did that?”

“You remember that dive we worked at, ten or fifteen years ago, The Jockey?” Zack said. He paused a moment to think. “No, you weren’t there. We had a small team on that night.”

“No, I never worked The Jockey, I don’t remember why,” Crackers said.