Since reading the article, he’s seething with anger and full of dark, nasty, evil thoughts.
He’s discussed how he feels with his friend. Maybe it was fate the way their paths crossed. How incredible to recall the day they were chatting to pass the time during a car journey and discovered they had both been cheated by the same family.
Reading the newspaper article made Chris decide the time had come to do something to even the score. Something so bad the person his hate is directed at will suffer for the rest of their life. The way he’s suffered.
Now it’s their turn. How they will suffer brings a smile to Chris’s face.
His friend has told Chris he feels as if he has waited his entire life for this moment.
The anger and hate they both feel. Oh boy, how they will make them suffer for what they have done!
Chris thinks his friend has come up with the perfect plan. The family certainly won’t see what is coming. But the thing that brings a smile to his face is how much they will make them suffer. And not just in financial terms.
Yes. Revenge will taste sweet.
Chapter Seven
The door of the petrol station flies open as the two masked raiders confidently walk in and the shorter one approaches the cashier's desk. He points a baseball bat at the head of the lady standing behind the counter with her mouth open.
"Okay, lady, hand over all the cash..."
The sight of the black ski mask terrifies her. The lady freezes.
He shouts at her again, this time with a louder and more menacing voice. "Come on, hurry up!"
She reacts to this new command, opens the till and takes out a fat wad of notes.
With her hand shaking, she passes them across the counter.
"Tha… That's all there is."
The masked raider grabs the cash and as he turns, he reaches out to the rows of sweets and picks up two KitKat bars and places them in his pocket.
He calmly walks out, followed by his accomplice who has been standing in the shadows guarding the entrance.
They walk over to the vehicle they had stolen a few hours earlier and before the customers using the petrol pumps realise what is happening they are gone, the black BMW screeching off in the direction of the M6 motorway less than a mile away.
The pair pull down their hoodies and remove their masks.
Callum chuckles as he passes one of the chocolate bars to his friend.
“I thought the old dear was going to have a heart attack when I put the bat in her face.”
Gordon smiles as he finishes counting the money.
“So how much did we get?”
“Eight hundred.”
“Is that all? I was hoping to be paid more than a KitKat bar for helping you rob your own family,” jokes Callum.
“That’s eight hundred each.”
“Oh, that’s better. We’ve had worse days.”
Chapter Eight
Gordon Mitten's idea to stay with friends does not last long when his mates find him making a beeline for their girlfriends. One by one, he uses up all the favours until each friend makes an excuse as to why he cannot stay any longer.
So he drove down to Luton to visit with an old chum from his university days. Smokey Brown had been the go-to guy if you wanted something for a boost. Ecstasy, Skunk, Acid, you name it and Smokey knew someone, who knew someone.
Now he is a big-shot dealer in his hometown. He is king. A luxurious penthouse apartment with a flash new Porsche parked outside. He is living the high life, in more ways than one.
Gordon has seen what his friend's lifestyle is like and wants some of the action.
Within two weeks he is buying from Smokey and selling at clubs and outside local schools. The money comes easy but Gordon likes to splash the cash around.
Even with an executive-level income, he is always broke.
Luckily, all it takes is one phone call to his mum and she takes pity on him and promises to send him money every month.
He told Smokey about the falling out with his father and the reason. Gordon doesn't realise but he is learning the trade in exactly the same way as he would have done in the family business; start at the bottom and work your way up. The irony isn't lost on Smokey but it hasn't penetrated Gordon's head, yet.
His idea is to learn from Smokey and find his own territory and become a 'main man' just like his friend.
There is one small problem. Smokey was left £600,000 by his aunt in her will. This got him on his feet and into the major league when he could afford to buy the 'merchandise' in bulk.
The couple of grand Gordon’s mother sends him every month isn't going to cut it. Smokey gives out more than that in tips to waitresses at bars and restaurants.
Unlike his friend, Gordon has no dying aunts. Well, none he is aware of.
Chapter Nine
The headline of the Trentbridge Times newspaper explains how seventeen-year-old identical twins Erica and Leona Mitten were awarded equal second place in a beauty contest.
'Local twins robbed of Beauty Contest title'
The newspaper reveals everyone attending the event had been surprised when the twins only achieved second place.
Later it was disclosed the winner of the contest is the niece of the judge.
The paper quoted Oscar Pearson who had been an attendee at the contest as saying, "It was obvious to everyone the twins should have been the winners."
It soon became a hot topic on Twitter and the details caught the eye of a top London talent agent called Miles Tyler.
He followed a link to the newspaper article where it mentioned the girls worked as part-time waitresses at The Alley Club in Trentbridge.
Miles made a note to pop into the club on his return journey from Manchester in a couple of days' time.
Chapter Ten
Trentbridge town centre after 11pm
