Later that night Jake was standing at the mirror, ready. There was now only one more thing he had to do. He threw his old jacket over his shoulders and looked at the reflection that stared back at him. Involuntary outbursts of speech seemed to be occurring more often to him, and he murmured the words ever so quietly… ‘This is for you, babe.’ Jake had found and followed the four guys; he had watched them enter Chandler’s pub on the other side of town. Jake glanced at his watch - it was now ‘chucking-out’ time. He was directly across the street from the pub and from his location he could quickly determine which way they would turn; then he would intercept them at a suitable location.
Bodies had started drifting out into the street and the noise grew steadily louder. Suddenly Jake saw them, as they half-fell and half-staggered into the street. They were louder than most and looked as though they were trouble just waiting to happen. Jake saw Bryant first. He was finishing his last bottle of beer and tossed it high into the air; it smashed against the bus shelter to loud cheers from his friends. Jake shook his head. Bryant was the leader and nothing but a bully. Jake was gripped by an urge to go straight over and end the man’s life right there and then…Bastard!
‘No, let’s do this right, Jake son, let’s just stick to the original plan,’ he said to himself. The men turned right and headed off towards the housing estate at the opposite end of town. Jake paralleled them, picked up his pace and quickly got in front of them. He could see the alley ahead and the irony was not lost on him. He knew they would cross the street and pass it within the next few minutes. As he came to the opening he quickly jumped inside. The alley was well-lit, so he quickly ran to the far end, jumped onto one of the large refuse bins and removed the last two security lights, plunging the last seven metres of the alley into darkness. Perfect. He pushed between the last two bins, crouched down in the dark, and waited. After only a few minutes Jake heard the voices grow louder as his targets moved closer and closer. Jake was as calm as he had ever been and his breathing was easy. Suddenly the men appeared at the entrance to the alley, fifty metres to his left. Jake could see them but they couldn’t see him. He was hidden in the blackness.
‘Bryant,’ Jake heard himself say, as he peered over the top of his hiding place. The four stopped abruptly and tried to focus into the darkness at the far end of the alley where they knew the voice had come from.
‘Who’s there? Come out and show yourself,’ said Bryant. Jake said nothing.
‘Come out before I come in and burst your face for you,’ Jake could hear the anger build in Bryant’s voice. He gestured with his arms to someone who wasn’t there.
The four guys looked at each other and, after a few moments mumbling and cursing, they took their first tentative steps down the alley. Slowly they came towards Jake, spread out like four wild west gun-fighters. Bryant reached inside his jacket and pulled the knife. Jake shook his head quietly and very slowly crouched down out of sight. The grumbling noises told him their exact location and he held his breath for only a few seconds as they passed. Jake slowly reached up and pulled the balaclava over his face leaving only his eyes exposed. For the next few moments he was going to have to convince these people that he was not Jake Silverman but someone else entirely. Although Justin was slightly taller than Jake, Jake was hoping tonight’s intake of alcohol would help in some way to cloud their pickled memories. Jake stepped out of his hiding place and followed them deeper into the alley. They could now go no further and stopped just before the wall. Jake was three paces behind them but said nothing.
‘There’s no-one here,’ said a voice.
‘Let’s go down the club,’ said another, as they turned.
‘Oh, so there you are,’ said Bryant in a slightly startled voice.
‘What’s with the mask? Are you an ugly bastard or what?’ he added, and the sound of the laughter drifted through the alley. Jake said nothing as he glanced left and right and took in all available information from the four targets directly ahead of him. The two on the left were of stocky build, scruffy looking, and obviously the worse for a night on the booze - as they all were. The knife in Bryant’s hand twinkled in the gloom. The fourth guy was tall, skinny and completely bald.
‘Okay, lads, here’s what’s going to happen,’ Jake said, finally.
‘I’m going to speak very slowly in order to give your small pickled brains the chance to understand what this is all about. You four clowns have been in my face far too much recently and the final straw was when you came into my bank and were out of order with Vicky. And now, enough is enough. I’m going to teach you some good old-fashioned manners, so the next time any of you guys happen to meet her you will be courteous and polite,’ Jake said, watching all four at once.
‘Mr Bank Manager…Mr Bank Manager,’ said Bryant, shaking his head. ‘You taking the four of us on is a very stupid idea. You know, after we are finished with you, I’m going to cut you…I’m going to cut you so bad that every time your little Vicky looks at your ugly face she’ll remember me.’ He made a vicious slashing motion towards Jake.
‘Grab him!’ he screamed.
The two on Jake’s left lunged forward. Jake hit the first guy with a right then a left quickly followed by a perfect uppercut which landed directly under the man’s chin. It lifted him straight off the ground and rendered him unconscious before his weight was back on his feet. Jake then stepped back and with a left hook caught number two on the side of his head. As the target stumbled to his left, Jake swept both his legs away. He kept his left leg going in a wide arc up into the air and brought it down with a heavy stamp on the guy’s face. Suddenly Jake felt two strong arms grab him from his right-hand side. He dropped his centre of gravity and half-rolled to his left. He spun round as he dropped, and pulled his target over the top of him. They fell back and, in the time it took for them to reach the ground, Jake had his right arm round the guy’s neck. He drove the top of the man’s head directly into the concrete. His cranium opened up like a squashed tomato.
Without stopping Jake rolled over the body and straight up onto his feet. The whole episode lasted 28 seconds and Jake was now left facing Bryant. He studied him closely like a rattlesnake with a mouse. Jake could see the blade in his hand as it shook in the gloom. He never took his eyes from his final target as he took two steps forward.
Almost there. The words rattled around in Jake’s head. He kept talking to himself. Knife in his left hand… perfect… chest height… even better.
Suddenly Jake lashed out and the blow struck the back of Bryant’s hand. The sound of breaking bone was quickly followed by the noise from the knife as it crashed against the far-away wall and out of harm’s way. Jake immediately jumped forward and drove his left fist into his stomach quickly followed by a right then another left. Each blow moved up Bryant’s body and he floundered about like a rag doll. Jake grabbed Bryant round the throat with his right hand, forcing him back up against the wall. All went quiet as Jake squeezed.
‘Okay it’s done…Now, what I’m about to tell you, you had better make sure sticks inside that empty little head of yours. You have invaded my territory and I don’t like it…I don’t like it one little bit. You have come into my world and hurt a very, very special friend of mine. If I chose to, I could end your wasted little life right here and right now,’ Jake said, as he squeezed harder. ‘What I could do is close my hand completely and within two minutes I’d have stopped all the oxygen going to your brain. You’d start to feel all light-headed, it would start to get darker inside your head and you’d feel like you were falling asleep. Then you’d probably wet yourself as your self-control went completely. Finally, the lights in your head would go out one by one never to come on again… and to think all this could happen because you think you’re a wide boy. You and your buddies think you can treat people like something on the soles of your shoes. Well you can’t, and I’m here to make sure that if I do let you live - and I haven’t actually made my mind up on that one yet, but if I do - you and the rest of your so-called friends will stop being arseholes and start being decent members of this little community. Well, what do you think, dickhead? Do you think you and the rest of this pile of shit can turn over a new leaf?’ Jake squeezed even harder and could feel Bryant’s body gradually becoming heavier.
‘What do you say, mate, do you want me to let you live? Just nod your head and I’ll get the message.’ Jake felt his hand slowly move up and down. ‘Good lad,’ Jake said, as he released his grip and stepped back. Bryant crumpled into a heap, coughing and spluttering. Jake lowered his voice to a whisper as he crouched down beside him.
‘Let me give you a little word of warning… and this you better take notice of. If you ever find yourself anywhere near Vicky again and I hear that you said anything, and I mean anything, out of turn then I’ll come looking for you again. Only next time I’ll be in a real bad mood, and believe me, I can be an absolute bastard when I’m in a bad mood. So you just think on, mate. It’ll be far safer for you and your people if you just stay completely out of our way. Then there will be very little chance of us meeting up like this again and you guys ending up all covered in blood and in all this pain and discomfort. It also means I won’t have to come out on a horrible night like this and stand in the shadows waiting for you. Okay?’ Jake watched Bryant slowly nod his head.
‘Correct answer. Right, I’ll be off home now… hope I don’t catch you later,’ Jake said finally, as he patted the top of Bryant’s head. Getting to his feet, Jake turned and picked his way between the bodies lying in the alley. Slowly he made his way back to the entrance. Walking towards the light his pulse was normal and he breathing easy. He stopped and turned back. He could just make out the ghostly figure of Bryant lying propped up against the back wall. Jake raised his hand and pointed a finger back down the alley, and said just one word.
‘Remember.’
Jake pulled the hood off his head and thrust it into his pocket as he stepped out into the brightly lit street.