Lee and Freddie Whitelaw stepped into the shop with caution and glanced over at the man behind the counter. It seemed there was no one else inside. Just the three of them. Lee almost felt guilty. Almost. But Freddie had fucked up and they needed quick cash. The blade up Lee Whitelaw’s sleeve was cool against his arm. Beads of sweat formed on his brow and the back of his neck. He watched as Freddie pulled his balaclava down over his face and moved towards the counter.
Lee waited, as planned. If Freddie couldn’t get what he needed, that was when Lee would step in. He didn’t want to use a blade, didn’t even want to threaten the man with it. He wasn’t like Freddie. He wasn’t as scummy as the rest of the family. Or the rest of the people on the estate. But he wasn’t going to stand back and watch his brother make an arse of the situation if he didn’t have to.
‘Right, open the till and give me what’s inside,’ Lee heard Freddie say. He sounded surprisingly calm but it didn’t last long when the man resisted.
‘I said open the till, you fucking idiot, or I’ll fucking cut you.’ The words threw Lee into action and he too pulled his own balaclava over his face and moved towards the counter.
As he approached, he saw terror in the man’s eyes. Lee couldn’t help but wonder why he would ever choose to do a shift in a shop in the middle of Mainhill on his own, knowing what the place and the people were like.
‘Do as he said,’ Lee warned, allowing the blade to slide out from its hiding place. Holding it outright at the shopkeeper, Lee felt nausea setting in. He kept hoping for the man to spring into action and hand over the money in the till. He didn’t want to have to slice the man open, it would bring more aggravation than they needed right now. It was bad enough the situation they were in. Murder or attempted murder was not on the cards.
The man calmly pressed a button to release the till drawer and then stood back. ‘Help yourselves.’
Lee frowned under his balaclava as Freddie leapt across the counter and started filling the bag with the cash from inside.
Lee kept the blade up, pointed at the shopkeeper. ‘Hurry the fuck up, would you?’
‘Got it,’ Freddie replied, sliding himself back across and onto the shop floor. As they made their way out quickly, Freddie pulled down one of the stands and a selection of sweets and newspapers fell on to the floor.
‘Ha, fuck you, ya bastard!’ Freddie shouted as he waved the bag of stolen cash in the air. Lee pulled him onto the street and they ran down the hill towards the centre of the estate where they lived.
Lee still had the blade in his hand as they rushed along the pavement, then weaved in and out of the derelict garages which stood behind the row of council flats. A group of drunk teenagers cheered them on, waving bottles of Buckfast in the air and jumping around excitedly.
Lee ignored them and kept moving towards the centre of the estate, the most notorious part of Mainhill. Freddie on the other hand, swung the bag of cash above his head and laughed along with them. If Lee wanted to plug anyone right now, it would be his brother. It was as if Freddie wanted them to get caught. He wasn’t thinking of the bigger picture at all and that was dangerous for not just Lee and Freddie, but for the whole family.
Approaching the stairs which led to the council house they shared with the rest of the Whitelaws, Lee and Freddie took them two at a time. Freddie was inside first, hunched over and sucking in great lungfuls of air and laughing at the same time.
‘Quick, shut the fucking door,’ Freddie hissed at Lee, pulling off the balaclava and revealing his acne-scarred face.
‘Do you think we’re good?’ Lee said as he locked the door, trying not to show his frustration.
Freddie peered out of the side window and down the stairs towards the street, his chest heaving as he gulped in air.
‘Aye, we’re good. D’ya think anyone would be stupid enough to come after us knowing you had a blade on you?’ Freddie moved away from the window and leaned over, placing his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. Lee stared at Freddie before sliding down the wall. He sat down on the floor behind the front door and removed his own balaclava before wiping the back of his hand over his forehead. Beads of sweat trickled down his face as he too tried to catch his breath.
‘Are you no’ right in the heed or something?’ Lee said, jabbing a finger at Freddie, still holding the blade in his other hand. ‘What the fuck was that all about, swinging the bag at those wee fuckers down on the street? Do you want us to get fucking caught?’
‘Oi, we live in Mainhill. It’s no’ like they’ll grass on us, is it? That group down there want to be like us, Lee. Stop yer bloody whinging,’ Freddie mocked.
Lee removed his balaclava, took another breath and considered what Freddie had said. He was right, as much as it annoyed Lee. Those boys down there would eventually grow into becoming just like Lee and Freddie. A vicious circle of living in Mainhill.
‘How much did we manage to get?’ Lee asked.
‘I dunno, Lee. I didn’t exactly stop to fucking count while you held a blade up to him,’ Freddie replied, as he dropped the bag to the floor and opened it. ‘Bastard thought he was getting sliced open, did ye see his face? Priceless.’
Lee Whitelaw hid his disgust at how much Freddie enjoyed other people’s misery. That was where they differed considerably. He leaned forward as Freddie emptied the contents of the bag on to the floor. They’d managed to pull the entire contents of the shop till in their heist. Lee’s eyes widened as Freddie counted out the cash.
‘Three hundred and seventy-two quid,’ Freddie smiled. ‘That should keep us going for a while, eh bro?’ He nudged Lee with his shoulder and a grin spread across his face.
‘Nah, that’s going straight to the debt we owe,’ Lee replied. As much as Lee liked a smoke and a line every now and then, he was nowhere near as bad as his brother. If Freddie wasn’t careful, he’d be on the heavier shit soon enough. No matter how bad things got, Lee always promised himself he’d stay clear of that stuff. Once was enough to get you hooked.
‘Fuck the debt, Lee,’ Freddie sneered as he began to shove the cash back into the bag.
Lee shook his head and got to his feet along with Freddie, and they moved through the hall towards the kitchen where their mum was standing at the counter with a mug in her hand, looking a little worse for wear. Barely standing, Lee thought as he stared at the woman who called herself a mum. She was half swaying, half leaning against the worktop.
The kitchen was dark and dingy. Nicotine-stained wallpaper hung off the walls in tears and strips, and the blind on the window barely held on with one screw. A cloud of smoke floated above their heads, clinging to the pulley dangling above their head. Not that there was clean laundry hanging on it. There were never clean clothes, or bed sheets. They were lucky to have both of those things at all, never mind clean ones. That wasn’t one of Rosie’s priorities. Heroin, booze and cigarettes were the things that drove her, and even then she could barely get out of bed to source those things. That was a job for Lee and Freddie.
‘A’right boys?’ Rosie Whitelaw slurred, her eyes almost rolling to the back of her head.
Lee Whitelaw shook his head. He knew her claims of getting clean were bullshit. He’d heard it his whole life and had stopped hoping a long time ago. ‘Nice to see you sober for once, Maw.’
Freddie shot Lee a look. He didn’t want Rosie to clock the bag of cash they had on them, she would only spend it all on herself.
‘What you doing?’ she asked, her eyes now almost completely shut. Her speech was slow, barely audible. She hadn’t even heard Lee’s dig.
‘Nothing, Maw,’ Freddie replied.
Rosie Whitelaw would have been a looker back in her day if she hadn’t allowed the drugs to get a grip of her. Lee knew that Freddie would eventually become the same thing. Nothing but a junkie. That was exactly what Lee didn’t want to become. Having grown up around that kind of lifestyle and seeing what it had done to his parents had made him determined to get away from Mainhill and live some kind of normality.
Freddie gestured towards the hallway and Lee made a move upstairs. Freddie was right to want the money out of Rosie’s way. But they would have to be careful. Their old man was upstairs and if he saw the money, he too would likely nick it and spend it on himself. Drugs of course, just like Rosie. It was a wonder they weren’t dead already. In fact, Lee often wondered if it wasn’t the drugs that were keeping them alive. Without them, they’d probably die from withdrawal.
Freddie went inside his bedroom and Lee followed. This was the only room in the house which possessed carpet. Not that it was luxurious by any means. It didn’t even fit the space properly and was littered with stains from over the years. Taking socks and shoes off wasn’t an option. The rest of the floors in the council house were covered in flattened cardboard boxes.
Growing up in the Mainhill estate, Freddie and Lee had come to learn that most of the families who lived there were the same as them. Druggies for parents (although the Whitelaws seemed to be the only family left with a full set), cardboard boxes acting as carpets; boarded up windows and overgrown grass surrounding the council houses and flats were the defining features of the Mainhill estate. It wasn’t unusual to see kids aged around ten smoking and drinking in the street now that Freddie and Lee were older. It seemed as time went on, Mainhill got worse. And if you didn’t live in Mainhill, you didn’t venture in. Except for the dealers who made a living off other people’s misery and addictions.
Just as Lee was about to close the bedroom door, he stopped and listened. Cammy Whitelaw was snoring like a bull.
‘Don’t wake Da,’ Freddie whispered. Lee closed the door quietly and slid the bolt across to secure it. ‘He’ll only pocket the cash when our back is turned.’
Turning, Freddie was already emptying the bag onto the bed again. Three hundred and seventy-two quid was a lot of money for people like the Whitelaws. It would mean some food and most of all, drugs. But Lee knew that this money had to go to debt. Without question.
A mobile phone started ringing in Freddie’s pocket and he pulled it out. By the look on his face, Lee knew who was calling his brother.
‘It’s them.’ Freddie glared at the phone and then at Lee.
Lee held out his hand and Freddie gave him the phone. ‘Let me deal with this, Fred. No offence but you’re not the brightest of sparks. You’ll end up in deeper shit if you try to fix this.’
‘Don’t answer it,’ Freddie said.
‘Freddie, Terry Reid isn’t fucking stupid. He knows where you live. If we keep ignoring him, he’ll just send some of his heavies round. D’ya wanna end up at the bottom of the fucking canal, mate? Coz you know that’s what will happen if you don’t pay up.’
Freddie sighed heavily. ‘We owe them three hundred. That won’t leave nearly enough for what we need. Yer as well giving them the fucking lot.’
‘First of all, we don’t owe him anything. This is all down to you. But I’m not going to let you get killed for a couple hundred quid,’ Lee said. His thumb hovered over the answer button and he hit it before even he changed his mind.
‘Hello?’
Freddie stared at Lee with bundles of notes between his fingers.
‘Aye, Richie, nae bother mate. Got it ready and waiting… Aye, right. We’ll meet you outside in half an hour.’
Lee knew it was bad when Richie Jackson had said he was coming to get the money himself. He and Terry weren’t ones for coming into Mainhill themselves unless they absolutely had to. Lee worried that this could mean the worst.
‘Shit!’ Freddie exclaimed. ‘Well fucking done, bro. You’ve just lost us a good few gram of coke right there.’
Shoving Freddie’s phone into his pocket, he ignored his brother and reached for the cash. Counting out the amount they owed to the Reids, Lee opened the bedroom door and headed for the front door. This day was going from bad to worse.
‘Oi, Lee ya fucking prick,’ Freddie called after Lee, who was ignoring him as he reached the front door.
‘What the fuck’s all the racket?’ Cammy Whitelaw shouted from the bedroom upstairs.
Lee was outside and moved down the concrete steps to the street. He eyed the kids across the street, playing loudly outside the council flats. Women stood in their verandas, smoking and chatting to one another and the group of young teenagers who Freddie had shown off to still stood on the corner of the circle where the Whitelaws lived, drinking bottles of cheap cider.
Lee knew that as soon as Terry Reid’s men drew up, everyone would either scarper or the estate would fall silent.
Standing at the bottom of the stairs, Lee waited. It was ridiculous of Freddie to think they would get away with not paying Terry what they owed him. Terry wasn’t a one-man show, and he ran the entire city. It would be unlikely that Terry himself would turn up with Richie, but if Lee and Freddie didn’t pay up now, then it was a possibility. He could walk into the estate and shoot them dead in front of everyone and not one person would say a word when the police came knocking. If the police came at all. It was the kind of place that if the police could avoid it, they would. Mainhill practically ran itself.
‘Oi,’ Freddie shouted from the top of the stairs. ‘Are you fucking deaf?’
‘Nah,’ Lee replied without turning to face his brother. ‘But you’re a fucking idiot.’
‘Mate, we could hang off for a bit longer. We could double the money we’ve got in that bag and then pay off our debt.’
Lee turned to Freddie who was now standing by his side looking flustered. ‘And how are you going to double the money?’
‘I dunno. Casino and that?’
Lee burst into laughter in Freddie’s face. ‘Like they’d let the likes of us into a casino,’ Lee scoffed. ‘And have you forgotten who owns the casinos in the city? Aye, Terry Reid. Like I said, you’re a fucking idiot. Look Freddie, just leave me to sort this eh? The Reids are already gunning for you for trying to deal a bit of coke you bought off them. Yer lucky I caught that Richie lad in a good mood or you’ll have ended up with two broken legs. Just fuck off now, eh? We’ll sort out some more cash once I’ve dealt with this.’
Freddie opened his mouth to reply but thought better of it and disappeared back up the stairs towards the house.
Lee turned to face the street again when Maisie Whitelaw emerged from one of the flats. His pregnant sister was almost ready to drop and had moved into her own place just the previous day. He couldn’t believe six months had passed by since she’d told him about the pregnancy. He recalled the conversation they’d had when she found out about the baby. She was certain she wasn’t keeping it. But then she’d been for a scan and when she heard the baby’s heart, that had done it. Maisie had sobbed, said she didn’t want to go through with the termination. So, she didn’t.
‘How’s things, sis?’ Lee asked.
‘Place is a fucking palace compared to that shithole up there,’ Maisie said. ‘But it’s still a dump. Need to get some cash together and at least give it a lick of paint.’
The closer Maisie approached, the more Lee could smell weed. It didn’t seem to matter that she was growing a child in her belly, it still didn’t stop her. Although he had to be grateful she was at least off the heroin. Lee gave her a tight-lipped smile.
‘Maybe you should be asking that prick for some cash to help you set that place up for when the baby comes,’ Lee sneered, although the emotion wasn’t directed at his sister.
‘What you doing out here?’ she asked, ignoring his jibe.
It annoyed Lee that Maisie hadn’t bothered to fight Galzo on the fact that she was having his child. He’d shown zero interest in her or the pregnancy. If it hadn’t been for Maisie practically pleading with Lee not to, he’d have done him in by now.
‘Waiting on someone,’ Lee replied, pushing Galzo’s face out of his mind.
‘The Reids?’ she pressed. ‘Freddie still owes them money?’
Lee nodded. ‘Aye, so you best do one. Don’t want you here when they turn up. Bad enough I’m having to involve myself because Fred couldn’t finish something he started, I don’t want you around when they get here.’
Maisie barely acknowledged the concern in her brother’s tone, instead she continued walking and headed up to the house. ‘Maw and Da in?’
‘Aye, although you’ll not get much sense oot Maw, she’s off her face again.’
Maisie sighed. ‘Granny of the fucking year award, coming up.’
Lee closed his eyes and shifted his stance from one foot to the other, patting the lump of cash in his back pocket. The nerves were making his stomach lurch.
The blade he’d used to threaten the shopkeeper earlier was still up his sleeve, so at least he had some way of defending himself if things got ugly. Lee hoped it wouldn’t come to that. That was the last thing the Whitelaws needed, Lee slashing a bloody gangster.
Around twenty minutes had passed when Lee heard the sound of a car turning into Mainhill. It didn’t sound like the rickety pieces of shite he was used to hearing in the estate. There was a softer purr to the engine. A newer machine.
Looking up, Lee saw the pristine Range Rover. Brand new. Tinted windows, blinding shine. The vehicle’s approach made Lee feel sick…
The Range pulled up next to Lee and the back, driver-side door opened. ‘Where’s Freddie?’ Richie Jackson asked. Lee stared into the car and felt his stomach drop at the sight of Terry Reid.
‘He’s away for a few days,’ Lee lied. ‘I said I’d take care of his debt.’
‘Oh did you now? That wasn’t your call to make,’ Terry replied from inside without making eye contact with Lee.
‘Get in,’ Richie said.
Trying not to tremble with fear, Lee felt the blade of the knife up his sleeve nip his flesh as he climbed into the back of the car.
Terry wasn’t driving. He was in the passenger seat. Richie took them out of Mainhill, through the centre of town and out to the town’s substation grounds. Lee knew this wasn’t a good thing. Terry Reid was clearly angry that payment was late.
‘How ye doing, young Lee? Things going well?’ Terry said, sounding abnormally cheerful.
‘Erm, aye. Good Terry.’
The Range stopped in the staff carpark outside the substation. It was empty. Lee knew he was in trouble.
Terry turned to face Lee as Richie got out of the car. ‘Good, ye say? Word has it you just knocked the till from your local newsagent’s. One of our properties. A lot of takings, were there?’
Shit, shit, shit. Freddie and his bright fucking ideas.
‘Got anything to say about that, Lee?’
‘Terry…’
‘Mr Reid, please.’
‘Mr Reid, I have your money right here. Three hundred. I’m sorry it’s late but—’
‘So you’re paying me with dirty money?’ Terry said just as Richie opened Lee’s passenger door. ‘I don’t take dirty money, Lee. You should know that by now.’
Lee looked at Richie who was gesturing for him to step out of the car. Lee did what he was told without words and Terry got out of the car too.
‘Mr Reid, Freddie’s skint. He didn’t have a choice,’ Lee replied, trying to keep the desperation from his voice. ‘We just wanted to pay you back.’
Terry glanced at Richie. ‘You know what, Richie? The Whitelaws have absolutely scunnered me over the last few months with their excuses.’
‘Aye, me too mate.’
‘And now, Lee,’ Terry’s eyes fell upon Lee. ‘Can you take a guess at what is going to happen when I take that money off you?’
Lee was silent, his eyes darting between the men in front of him. This is it, he thought. I’m dead because of my brother. Terry continued.
‘I’ll have to go back to Mr Stewart’s shop and hand this money back to him, and give him the additional seventy-two quid that you’ve left at home. That shop is his livelihood, and you and your thieving rat of a brother thought you’d be able to just take what you needed. Ever heard the expression “robbing Peter to pay Paul?”’
‘Mr Reid—’ Lee started, but Richie is already in his face.
‘Oi, shut your mouth and fucking listen.’
The blade of the knife shifted inside Lee’s sleeve. He could take it out, brandish it at them as a warning. But it would be stupid of him to do that. He was in the middle of nowhere, in a substation carpark, face to face with Glasgow’s biggest gangsters. He’d be dead within a second. And even if he did somehow manage to get away with doing something so stupid, he’d be on the run for the rest of his life.
No wonder the shopkeeper had been so bloody calm, Lee thought. He’d have known fine well that the Reids would sort this out.
‘Once you give the money back, you’re going to apologise on behalf of you and that rat you call a brother. Then you’ve got three days to find three hundred quid, plus seventy per cent as a late payment charge.’
Lee felt the bottom of his stomach almost fall out his arse. How the fuck was he supposed to find that amount of money? He didn’t even know what seventy per cent of three hundred was off the top of his head, but he knew it was a lot more on top of what he already owed. He?. Freddie was to blame for this. Lee had tried to tell Freddie to pay the money back straight away but Freddie thought he was fucking invincible these days.
They’ll no’ come looking for me, bro. They’ve got bigger things to be getting on with.
Aye, killing folk like you who haven’t bothered to pay what they owe, Lee had thought.
‘Oi, dream boy? Is there anyone in there?’ Richie shouted, knocking on Lee’s head. ‘Do you get where we’re coming from, Lee?’
‘Aye, aye I get it.’
The knife slipped down towards Lee’s hand but he didn’t allow the blade to reveal itself from under the sleeve of his jumper.
‘Good, because I don’t want to have to shoot you or that family of yours. Young Maisie, she’s due her baby soon, is she not?’ Terry said. Lee saw a glint in his eye and knew not to push his luck.
‘I’ll get your money, Terry. With the interest,’ Lee replied, desperate to distract Terry from thoughts of his pregnant sister. Maisie was only sixteen. It wasn’t her fault Freddie fucked up. And Lee was only doing what any brother would do for his family and trying to take control of the situation.
‘In three days, mind,’ Richie said.
‘Aye, in three days,’ Terry repeated.
Terry and Richie fell silent and Lee wondered if this was it. They were just playing a sick game with him, making him think that they were going to give him another chance to get the money.
Lee followed Terry’s hands with his eyes as they moved inside his jacket. His heart banged against the wall of his chest and Lee wanted to close his eyes. He took a deep breath as Terry produced a handgun and a surge of adrenaline like electricity forced its way through Lee’s body. Terry moved closer and held the gun to Lee’s forehead, pressing hard into his skin.
Shit, shit, shit!
Lee stood perfectly still, like a frozen statue in the middle of the substation carpark. He felt the vibration of the electricity humming in the cables above him.
‘I don’t normally conduct my business like this, Lee. I don’t often come out to the streets to sort out the likes of you and your family, I’ve got dealers for that. But I’ve had enough of you lot taking the fucking piss. I don’t take kindly to people thinking I’ll just sit back while they try to fleece me. Luckily for you, Lee, I’m in a good mood and I’ve got something else I need to deal with. So three days or I blow you apart, blow all of you apart. Got it?’
Lee nodded as Terry pulled the gun away and pushed it back inside his jacket. Terry and Richie backed away, an evil smile slithering across Richie’s face. They got into the car and drove off, leaving him alone. The bastard gangsters.
The fear weighing in Lee’s belly dispersed along with the sound of the Range in the distance. He looked out to the main road which led back to Mainhill and began walking. It would take around an hour if Lee walked at a good pace. But that was fine, because he was alive and he hadn’t expected to be at this point.
‘I’ll fucking kill Freddie for this.’