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‘What?’ shouted Cole with such force that Jed shrank back towards the door.
‘How in fuck’s name did that happen?’
‘I’m not sure exactly but she must have kept that pen she used to write the letter to her boyfriend and used it as a weapon.’
‘A ballpoint pen? Is this some kind of joke?’ he bellowed, striding around his desk to stand up close to Jed.
‘Well, Scott doesn’t think it’s a joke. She stabbed him in the eye socket. He’s in a bad way. He seems unconscious or semi-conscious, he’s not making much sense.’
‘Jeez! Am I dreaming?’ Cole continued to pace back and forth, his face puce and set in an angry grimace. ‘Did you phone for an ambulance?’
‘No, not yet, I wanted to ask you what to do.’
‘Oh, well, at least you’ve got that right.’
‘Thank you,’ said Jed nervously.
‘Who recommended this joker Scott, remind me?’
‘Lee Percival.’
‘Really, well he didn’t choose very carefully did he?’
Cole sat at his desk having poured another slug of whisky. Jed remained standing. Cole drank his whisky in one go and then sat in silence for a few minutes whilst his brain processed the onslaught of information.
‘Right, this is what I want you to do. Are you listening?’
‘Of course.’
‘There must be no more fuck-ups, do you understand?’
Cole gave his instructions and Jed listened. The remaining colour drained from his face.
‘Got it?’.
‘Yes, consider it done,’ said Jed.
‘What are you waiting for? Piss off out of here.’
Jed crept out of the office. He knew what he had to do and it wouldn’t be for the first time. He liked to think of himself as Cole’s right-hand man. There were no second chances in this job. He turned up his collar against the weather and reached for his cigarettes. He had a long night ahead.
**
Jessica had never felt so relieved as she did when they arrived at her flat in Victoria Road. On the journey, she had learned that the lady’s name was Denise and she didn’t know how to thank her. She had literally saved her life. She felt like hugging her but in her current state that wasn’t really an option.
‘Which one is it?’
‘About half-way along on the left, just pull in here behind this white car please.’
‘Now I think you need a long hot bath and a hot drink,’ advised Denise.
‘Yes, I just hope my friend is in as she has my spare key. Thank you so much for your help. I don’t know how to thank you,’ and Jessica began to weep once more.
‘There, there,’ said Denise, patting her arm. ‘The best advice I can give you is to ditch those awful friends of yours. They want locking up in my opinion.’
‘Do you have a mobile number, I’d like to contact you when I’ve sorted myself out in a few days?’
Denise reached for her bag and hunted for a scrap of paper. She found her diary and ripped out a corner of one page after writing down her mobile number. ‘Give me a call sometime and we can have a chat,’ she said smiling at Jessica. ‘Now I’ll wait until your friend lets you in.’ Denise sat watching the bedraggled young woman still feeling shocked at how cruel some people could be.
Ruth was waiting with the door to her flat open. As Jessica appeared Ruth’s mouth fell open in horror and she swore, ‘What the..shit, Jessica, what’s happened to you?’
‘It’s a long story. Please, just let me in.’
‘But you are filthy. Where are your shoes?’
‘It’s complicated. I need to get warm.’ Jessica stepped inside Ruth’s flat and stayed on the mat so as not to make a mess. ‘Can I borrow your dressing gown? I need to take these things off. Can I have a bin bag to put them in?’
Ruth rushed off to collect her dressing gown and a black plastic sack. She left Jessica alone to strip off.
‘Thanks,’ shouted Jessica.
‘Look, before we chat, go and have a hot shower. I’ll find you some clothes of mine you can borrow. I’ll make you a hot drink and then you need to explain just what has been happening.’
**
Nick left the main entrance to the chemistry building and sprinted down the steps. It was still raining hard but not torrential as it had been a few minutes ago. He started to jog past the buildings in the direction of the car park, keeping hold of his baseball hat against the strong wind. Without Dan’s coat, he would have been soaked. The rain lashed against his glasses and he had trouble seeing where he was going. He heard footsteps approaching at speed behind him and he assumed it was someone else trying to avoid getting drenched. Automatically he stepped to one side to allow them to pass but the footsteps didn’t pass him. Instead, he was grasped from behind in a stranglehold. Someone had their arm around his neck and the other grabbed his wrists.
‘What did you think you were playing at, eh?’ shouted one assailant menacingly.
‘Let me go!’ screamed Nick.
‘That stuff you gave us was either the wrong stuff or full of shit!’
Nick struggled but it was impossible. His stature was no match for the two brutes who had accosted him.
‘What stuff? What are you talking about?’
‘Don’t get clever with me? And where’s Jessica?’
‘I don’t know any Jessica! I’ve no idea what you are talking about! Help! Help someone!’
‘Shut up!’ and a punch landed on Nick’s stomach. He doubled over as the breath was knocked out of him. The two attackers pushed him down to the floor where he tried to curl into a ball to protect himself. They kicked his head and his ribs and Nick cried out in agony. Both men continued to rain down blows on the defenceless figure.
‘I’ve a good mind to teach you a proper lesson,’ hissed JB as he knelt down close to Nick’s face. He produced a knife and pulled down the coat to expose Nick’s neck. Nick struggled away from the knife and his hat fell off.
JB stared down at his quarry. Although there were similarities, he could clearly see that this wasn’t Dan.
‘Shit, it’s the wrong bloke,’ he said to his colleague. ‘He must have borrowed his jacket. Dan always wears that jacket. Come on! Let’s go!’
They stood to make their escape and RB put the knife back in his pocket.
‘Hey, you two!’ shouted someone in the distance. ‘Stop!’
RB and friend looked around and saw a torch coming towards them. Two security guards were chasing down the path in pursuit. They ran as fast as they could in the opposite direction to find their car which was parked in a dark corner. The security men reached Nick who wasn’t moving.
Mark leant down and shone his torch to look at the bloodied face of his friend.
‘Fuck! Phone for an ambulance, Gerry! Nick, Nick, can you hear me?’
Mark took off his coat and placed it gently under Nick’s head. He listened to his chest and thought he could hear his heart. Placing two fingers against Nick’s neck he concentrated and could feel a slow pulse. Nick was still alive. Without disturbing him too much he put him in the recovery position. He’d seen the thugs kicking at his abdomen and was worried that Nick might vomit and choke.
‘How long did they say?’ he asked Gerry.
‘They didn’t but the ambulance is on its way. I told them it was a serious assault and which entrance to use.’
‘Nick, it’s Mark. I’m here for you mate, hang on in there.’ Mark held onto Nick’s hand and thought he felt a slight pressure. Perhaps it was imagination but he held on to that hope. Poor Nick, he thought to himself. How unfortunate was this to get mugged when he’d only been here at the university for a few days. It was like he was jinxed. He’d taken a serious beating before and had been lucky to survive. It was impossible to know what long-term damage was being done to his body, let alone the effect his mental state. ‘Come on, come on,’ he said, looking up for signs of the ambulance.
They heard a faint siren which appeared to be approaching.
‘That’s it!’ shouted Gerry, ‘I’ll run round to the access road and direct them over here. It won’t be long now.’
‘The ambulance has arrived, Nick, you’re going to be OK.’ Mark was still holding Nick’s hand trying as best he could to shield him from the driving rain. However, this time he could feel no reassuring squeeze from Nick. Mark felt like crying, it did not look good at all.
