Free Wolf Tickets by Ray Banks Page B

there's other people doing other things up there that might not be a hundred percent legit. So, y'know, it's not necessarily what we think it is."
    "It's exactly what I think it is. O'Brien dropped a fucking twenty on us."
    I picked at my teeth – there was a shred of batter that had packed itself into one of my back molars – and said, "Don't sweat it, marra. Seriously." I fished out the batter, sucked it off the end of my finger, and then looked back down at my chips. There was a fat one gagging to be eaten. "We just need to find somewhere else to hole up for a while, that's all."
    "No," said Farrell. He was staring at the police car. "I know what you need to do, Jimmy."
    I hammered a burp out. "Digest."
    "You need to burn that car."
    "Fuck off, will you?"
    "C'mon, Jimmy, it'll be like the good old days. You know you want to."
    I shook my head. Never pulled a burn on a police car before, and I wasn't about to do it now, either. "Don't fuck us about, Sean. I'm not an animal. I'm not about to torch a jam sandwich, am I? Give your fuckin' head a shake, man."
    "But O'Brien—"
    "Is after the money, isn't he? And how's he going to get that money if we're both locked up? Think about it."
    Farrell thought about it. "I already told him there wasn't any money."
    "And he's going to take your word for it, is he?"
    "It's the truth."
    "Doesn't matter. If he wants the money, he'll need to come to us."
    "No."
    "No?"
    "We go to him."
    "Alright then, that's your other option. And I might have an idea." More chips in my mouth. They were going cold. I slung the rest out the window. "This lad's fresh out of prison after a long stretch, he's not from here and from what you've said he doesn't sound like the kind of bloke who has a lot of friends ..."
    "So?"
    "So, he'll have to be in a halfway house, won't he? He won't have anywhere else to kip."
    Farrell didn't say anything to that. He sniffed and reached behind him, popped another can of Stella. He guzzled the beer like it was mother's milk and his eyes turned to glass. Something definitely gone the way of the beast there. A vein bumped out of Farrell's temple – he was feeling the kick too much, and that kick had thrown his thinking out of whack. Drinking Stella wasn't going to help. They called that shite Wifebeater for a reason. Not so much brewed, more chemically engineered, and it had a way of bringing out the bolsh in people.
    Farrell burped. He nodded at the steering wheel. "Alright. Halfway house it is."
    I started the engine, pulled away from home. Farrell drained the can, chucked it out of the window and reached behind him for another. Couldn't say I wouldn't have done the same, given the circumstances. I mean, after Brenda left, that was me piss-mortal for a fuckin' month. Spent all my time reliving the bust-ups and picking at the stitches of our time together until it all snapped apart and I was convinced that she was the last good woman in my life, and she'd gone because of me. Too much said, too much done, and you couldn't put a Band Aid on a bullet wound. You only needed a glance at Farrell to see he was going through something similar. Simmering on the outside, his eyes half closed. Inside, mind, he was churning, and that was a bad combination.
    What I should've said was, "You know what it is? You want to pick a fight with a fuckin' maniac, you be my guest, but you're on your own." I should've been hard about it – cruel to be kind – but I wasn't. Because when your marra's in pain, you're supposed to do something about it, even if you were sure it wasn't the right thing to do.
    All this revenge bollocks, this wasn't the right thing to do. It was understandable – I mean, if O'Brien had done to Brenda what he'd done to Nora, then I'd be itching to hunt the prick down an' all – but it still wasn't right. One thing to draw a bead in a combat situation. You were paid to do that, and your conscience was given a good scrub by the flag you fought under. This was different. This