Day Zero

smiled, a few frowned. One or two ignored her entirely. She wasn’t exactly high up in the hierarchy, which was a blessing at times.
Things were changing. Something was in the wind. Every wide boy, lag and hustler in East London was on alert. Not just the riots or the paramilitary wankers on the streets, but something closer to home. The Kelleys were on the prowl. They were gobbling up bits of turf left, right and centre and there wasn’t much anyone could do about it. Even so, there’d be blood on the streets before it was done.
Ro felt a tingle of anticipation. She hadn’t been called on to do anything too bad yet, but that day was fast coming. There’d come a moment some fool would decide not to stay down, or she’d be ordered to make an example of someone – and then what? She looked at her hands again, wondering if she’d have the minerals to do what needed doing.
“Pensive,” a familiar voice said.
Ro turned. “What?”
The man standing beside her was shorter than her, but not by much. He was stocky, a lad’s lad, with a shaved scalp and three lions tattooed on one forearm. He grinned, showing off a gold tooth. “New word-a-day app the missus got me. Bloody brilliant. Today’s word is ‘pensive’. Means thoughtful, innit?”
“Shut up Colin.” Ro smiled as she said it, turning back to the bar. She’d known Colin longer than she liked to admit. He wasn’t a friend, exactly, but he was friendly. Her pint arrived, head rolling down the sides of the glass. She took a sip. Colin didn’t shut up. She didn’t mind, as she hadn’t expected him to. Colin liked the sound of his own voice.
“Looks like everyone’s in here tonight. Something must be going down.”
“Not that I heard,” she said.
“Billy sent word round.” He was talking about Billy Bricks. William Brickland to the Old Bill. Billy had been a boxer once, before he’d started taking money to lose fights rather than win them. Now he was a top dog for the Kelleys, seeing that things got done when they needed doing. Ro was scared shitless of him. Billy Bricks was a wrong ’un, and not afraid to mix it up with anyone – except possibly Mary Kelley. Then, even the feds stepped light around the matriarch of the Kelley Clan.
“Did he say why?” she asked.
“Does he ever?” Colin looked at her. “Haven’t seen you around much these days, Ro.” He signalled the barman and ordered a pint of Guinness. “Keeping busy?”
“Busy enough. You?”
“You know me, luv. Always something on.” Colin was tapping on his Optik as he spoke, eyes on the screen. He was shaped like a brawler, but he’d never thrown a sober punch in his life. He was a white van man by trade, though that was mostly just a side hustle. He made his real money driving for the Kelleys. When something needed moving in a hurry, there was Colin. He grinned. “Been running some new routes, you know.”
Ro frowned. “What sort of new routes?” Colin’s routes had to be authorized. Since his van was mostly owned by the Kelleys, that was only fair to Ro’s way of thinking.
Colin frowned, as if he’d said something he hadn’t meant to. “Just new ones,” he said, by way of explanation. She heard the hesitation and straightened. Colin wasn’t the sharpest knife in the rack. He’d gotten dinged a time or two for wandering off his patch, making off-the-books deliveries.
The first time they caught you, that got you a warning, maybe a beating depending on how you took the former. Sometimes, if the money was right and you offered to pay a percentage, they even let you keep doing it. But the second time…
“Colin,” she began. He looked past her, and then pushed away from the bar.
“Sorry luv, got to take a piss. Talk later.” He hurried towards the gents, glancing over his shoulder as he went. Ro was about to call after him when a heavy hand fell on her shoulder, startling her.
“Rosemary. Just in time.” She knew the hand and the voice, and didn’t turn. She cursed Colin for not warning her.
“Billy,” she said.
“Was that Colin I saw scuttling away?” Billy Bricks asked as he leaned against the bar beside her. He was an old villain, grey and weathered by violence, but still hard with muscle. His nose had been broken and reset at least twice. Eyes like polished stones looked her over. She didn’t meet his gaze. Billy didn’t like people looking at him.
“Yeah. He had to take a piss.”
“Bet he did.” He smiled. “Thought you weren’t going to make it tonight,”
“I wanted a pint.”
“Well, it saves me having to run you down later, don’t it?”
“Something up?”
“Why would you ask that?”
Ro took a swallow of her beer, playing for time. Something was on Billy’s mind. That made her nervous. “No reason. It’s just… you don’t usually talk to me.”
Billy smiled. He had an ugly smile. “I usually don’t need to, do I?” He turned to the bartender and knocked on the wood. “Pint of Best please, Harry.” He looked back at Ro. “We’re having a meeting later, in the back. That’s why everyone is here.”
“I didn’t know about it.”
“But you’re here anyway. Lucky you.” Billy leaned close, and she could smell his aftershave. Like him, it was out of date.
“What’s the meeting for?” she asked.
He was silent for a moment. Then, he chuckled softly. “Someone’s being cheeky again. Running a side-deal without permission. One of our vans got spotted down near Blackfriars Bridge this morning. Only we didn’t want no one making any deliveries over that way today, did we? Like I said, cheeky.”
“Maybe they were running a personal errand,” she said, and immediately regretted it.
“On company time? Heaven forefend, Rosemary.” He shook his head in mock-disappointment. “That’s why the place is packed tonight. I’m spreading the word that if anybody hears so much as a whistle about someone taking side-jobs without our say-so, they