Free One Night by Oliver Clarke Page A

waiting for us.”
    “Don’t worry,” said Fuller. “I have a contact in the security firm. If anything changes they’ll tip me off. Information is everything. That ’s the basis of all good jobs, a few discreet pieces of information put together to create something much bigger than you’d expect. Besides, even if there is another guard the four of you should be enough to handle things.”
    “Four?” said Joel.
    Danny smiled. "I'll be coming too."
    "You?" Joel was shocked. It was a very long time since Danny had got his hands dirty. In his day Joel knew he'd been involved in some impressive jobs but that was years in the past.
    "Someone's got to keep an eye on you two jokers," the older man said, indicating Joel and Reynolds. "Best behaviour boys. There's a lot of cash for the taking here and I don't want you two fucking it up. And not a word of this to anyone until it’s done. Not to your mates, not to your birds. If you talk in your sleep then you s leep alone until we have the money. This one is absolutely under wraps. That’s why we’re doing this here rather than somewhere more public. The last thing we want is one of Parker’s dealers seeing us and him putting two and two together."
    Joel left not long after that. He walked back the way he’d come.and got the Tube home.
    Danny called him that evening. They met in the same bar. The s ecretaries weren’t there when Joel arrived which was kind of a shame. Danny was, and that was a surprise. He was rarely on time for anything so the fact that he had managed it twice in one day was kind of a miracle. Joel got a pint and joined Danny at a table in the corner.
    “I wanted to make it up to you,” Danny said.
    Joel nodded, “Don’t worry about it, I didn’t realise things were bad for you.”
    “They are mate, very bad. This will sort things out though. Hopefully for good.”
    “Okay, then it’s worth it,” said Joel.
    “I know how hard this is for you.”
    Joel looked at Danny. Without him he’d still be breaking into taxi offices and pawn shops. Danny had seen the potential in him when they’d first met and had helped him achieve it. He knew how much he owed him. Danny had done alright out of Joel for sure, he always got his cut after all, but Joel knew how much he owed him. He’d never had a father figure, the string of men in the foster homes he’d been in hadn’t even come close. Danny might just be the nearest thing he’d ever had to a dad. Not all the way there maybe, not that he really had a yardstick for it, but Joel looked up to him more than he ever had anyone else. Respected him. Hell, he loved him.
    “I still think of that guy. Of what Reynolds did to him.”
    Danny leaned forward. “It’ll just be this once, Joel. I promise. A quick and easy job to set us both up for a while and then Reynolds will be nothing more than a memory. Trust me.”
    Joel looked into Danny’s eyes and knew that he did. There weren’t many people he’d say it for, in fact the man in front of him might be the only one, but he’d trust Danny with his life.

Chapter Fifteen
     
    The lights of the van filled the end of the alley with a whiteness so bright that it almost blinded her. Against the glare she saw the blurred shape of a man and then heard a metallic crash and the sound of glass breaking. The noises echoed around her, disorienting her and making her feel like she was caught in the grip of a nightmare
    Then the sounds faded away and the blinding light dimmed. She blinked to clear her eyes. Joel was on the floor at the end of the alleyway, the bag by his side. She ran to him and helped him to his feet. Her heart swelled at the nearness of him.
    The van blocked out the street beyond. She could see the driver bent over the steering wheel, starting to sit up and look around. He was dazed from the crash but she didn’t think he would be for long. He’d been so focussed on running Joel down that his bloodlust had blinded him to the narrowness of