Action Adventure / DEATHS RUN ON THE LOST MOON (Analysis)
DEATHS RUN ON THE LOST MOON. ®
By: KWESI NEWSON.
The two young men stood on
not been there for long, maybe five minutes and in that time, they had not said a word to each other.
They were both deep into their own thoughts.
“It has to get better than this. We just can’t keep scratching around for a few quid.”
“How much did we get?”
Thomas Spencer took out a wallet from his coat pocket and started to count the
money.
“Seventy five quid and sixty dollars. Hardly worth the effort”.
He checked to see if there was anything else of value.
With the exception of some credit cards, all that was in the wallet were ticket stubs
and some receipts. He took out the cash and threw the wallet, including the credit
cards, into the river!
Thomas Spencer and David White didn’t do credit cards. They found credit cards
to be restrictive and were too easily traced, but cash was different. Cash was the king as far as they were concerned.
“What are we going to do now, Tom?”
“Fancy going down to the Portobello? It is Saturday and the market will be crawling
with bleedin’ tourists doing their early Christmas shopping! Anyway, we need to get away from this area for a few hours”.
“Yeah, sure! How was I to know the yank would have his wallet on a chain?”
David White was trying to apologise to his partner for pointing out the American as
an easy target!
The American gentleman had not been as easy as they had thought. Not only did
he have his wallet chained to his coat, but he also had hold of the chain and he
would not let go. They had been forced to drag him screaming and threatening to
shoot them if they ever went to his country, for quite a long way before the
American collapsed in a heap and his coat pocket was ripped off.
The
“Come on, Dave. This is going to be easy pickings.”
“Tom, I don’t think we need to worry too much about the CCTV. It is so packed
people are bumping into each other.”
The search for likely victims began. They were in no hurry. With the exception of luck, the reason they had managed to avoid any contact with the Police for their various criminal offences was because they were careful. They tried not to take chances.
By the time they got to ‘The Market Bar,’ they had relieved four people of their wallets.
They calmly walked in as if it was their destination from the outset. And so it
would have appeared to anybody who might have been following their journey
along the
Once inside, Tom, who had the wallets, went to the toilets. Dave went to
order their drinks. By the time Tom came out of the toilets with the cash, and the empty wallets secreted behind the toilet cistern, Dave was sitting at a table with their drinks.
“You can’t sit there. That is where Benjamin and his cronies sit. Come on, move to the next table.”
They picked up their drinks and sat down at the next table.
They had only sat down for a few seconds when a tall black man walked in and made his way straight to the bar. He ordered a glass of
With his pint in hand, Benjamin sat down at the table, which had been vacated by the two lads.
“Hello, Benjamin, how’s tricks?”
Benjamin took off his cap to reveal a shaven head. He was sitting back facing the bar with the two front legs of the chair in the air.
“Not bad, Tom. You and Dave have a good day?”
“So far, so good.” Tom and Benjamin chatted for a while until Innocent, Benjamin’s cousin, joined them. Innocent was followed by another man, who the two lads knew as Rico.
They all exchanged greetings and chatted for a short time.
Eventually, Tom And Dave turned to their drinks.
“How much?” Dave asked. Tom took a sip of his lager before he replied.
“Not that much, but enough for us to have a good weekend without worrying about
doing another job.”
This was how they lived their lives. Having just enough to go from one period to
another.
Tom and Dave had known each other since childhood. Tom, at 25 was the eldest of the two by a month. He came from a black family and was the unspoken leader. Even though as far as they were concerned, there wasn’t one. However, when a decision needed to be made, the task would normally fall to him and invariably, he would always come up with a solution they would both agree on!
Tom looked around the busy bar, it was a place they regularly frequented.
“This is just like any place in this area”
“What do you mean? I thought one of the reasons we like coming here is because it is
different?”
Tom nodded his head in the direction of the other end of the bar where Benjamin and another man
were standing. It was obvious they were making a deal for drugs.
“I see what you mean! I reckon most people smoke weed and the government is bleedin’
stupid. If they legalised it, they could tax it. Can you imagine how much money they
would make? I mean, it’s not as if people can’t get it.”
“I am sure they are well aware of how much money could be made from taxes
on cannabis”
Tom started to wonder why the government was not prepared to legalise cannabis.
The two lads both smoked it on a regular basis, but they had no interest in hard
drugs. They had both seen the damage hard drugs could do. Some of their
acquaintances had gone down the road of Heroin and Cocaine addiction and they had
never recovered.
“Tom? Are you listening to me?”
Tom came out of his thoughts.
“Sorry, Dave. What did you say?”
“I said, don’t forget we have one more job to do tonight.”
“No, I haven’t forgotten. I wish I could.”
One of the ways the lads made regular money was by delivering drugs. It was a job, Tom in particular, did not want to do anymore.
He felt they took the risk of carrying the drugs all over
Counties, while Olu, their lord and master, sat on his fat arse.
“Look, Dave, I have to admit I am not too happy about being a drug runner so
somebody else can get rich.”
“Neither am I, but what choice do we have? If not for Olu and his handouts, we
would be in some grotty office pulling nine to five shifts.”
“Wake up, Dave. There is more to life than just nine to five jobs.”
“Like what, Tom?”
“Like what? Like we could do our own thing. Look at Benjamin and his cronies. I have an idea they are planning a big job. That is what we should be doing, making plans. We shouldn’t be working for anyone, but ourselves.”
“What do you have in mind? Maybe we should ask Benjamin if we can do the job with them.”
“That is not a bad idea.”
“I was only joking, Tom.”
“Yeah, I know. I don’t think he will be too happy if he finds out I have been listening to their plan.”
“What’s the job?” Tom cast a sly look towards Benjamin.
“I am not sure, but I think it is a robbery. Stop looking at them, Dave. I don’t want any trouble with that lot.”
They drank another couple of pints before they left the bar and made their way to
Olu’s place in Chiswick!
They knocked on the door, after a few seconds, a girl in her early twenties appeared.
“Yes? What do you want?”
“Why do you always ask us what we want, Miriam? You know who we are.”
“Them’s the rules, honey. If you don’t like them, take it up with the main man.”
“Well, I think it is a stupid rule.”
Dave and Tom pushed past the girl and walked in.
“I will tell him you think it is stupid. Maybe he will change it for you.”
It was obvious to Dave, Miriam was not in a good mood.
“He didn’t mean nothing, Miriam. Tom has had a pretty bad day.”
“Like I give a shit what kind of a day he’s had.”
She led the way to the backroom.
Miriam, as the two lads knew, gave the impression she didn’t give a damn about anybody. The only person Miriam gave a damn about, was her so-called sister. Miriam, like most people involved with Olu, only had fear as their weakness, and the fear was of Olu.
As they walked through the main room, the two lads noticed some of the henchmen, made up of Africans, Chinese, West Indians and a few women, dotted around the place. None of them looked happy.
Miriam opened the door and, with a smirk on her face, she stepped to one side to let the lads pass.
“They are here, boss!”
“You are late!” Olu’s deep voice bellowed out in anger. Instinctively, Dave looked at his watch.
“Sorry, but we couldn’t get a bus.”
Dave had always been afraid of the big black man who sat in a massive armchair which was adorned with animal skins. He had never been able to understand why Tom always appeared to be totally calm in Olu’s presence.
“I am not interested in your excuses. If I say I want you here at six thirty, I want you here at six thirty and not six forty five!”
Dave was about to apologise again when he noticed Tom walking over to the drink
cabinet. Tom started to pour himself a drink.
“Like Dave said, we couldn’t get a bus. When the day comes and you have control of London Transport, then you can say you don’t want any excuses.”
Dave wished Tom was close enough to him so he could stamp on his foot to shut him up.
“Take no notice of, Tom. He has had a bad day.”
Dave tried to diffuse the situation by saying the same thing to Olu as he had said to Miriam.
There was a moment’s silence and then Olu walked towards Tom.
“Pour me a drink as well, then! Do you think I could really control London Transport?”
“I don’t see why not. You can carry on doing exactly what you do now, which is sitting on your arse and getting everyone else to run around for you. The way I see it, that is how London Transport is run.”
Dave nearly pissed himself. He could not understand why Tom was purposely trying to antagonise Olu. However, instead of Olu pulling out a gun and shooting them, he burst out laughing.
“That really would be something, wouldn’t it? Control London Transport and you control
“You know I can’t do that. I will deliver your drugs, but I’ll be damned if I will be your waiter”.
Dave now believed both he and Tom were dead. He started to make some excuse, and as one, both Olu and Tom told him to shut up.
Olu went and sat back down on his animal skin covered chair.
“Miriam, come in here”. Olu bellowed out. In an instant, Miriam was in the room.
“Yes, boss?”
“Fix me a drink!”
Miriam went over to the cabinet, nudged Tom out of the way and proceeded to make Olu his drink.
Dave, though he was wary, was fascinated by the struggle of wills between Olu, and Tom.
Olu, of course, had to show he was all-powerful. He could easily have got his own drink. But he had to prove that although Tom was not prepared to do his bidding, there were others who would gladly obey his command. As he sipped his drink, he turned to Tom.
“I told you I like your straight talking, but don’t get above your station.”
Dave looked at Tom who didn’t seem to be fazed by the veiled threat.
“Miriam, get the package for the boys”.
Miriam dutifully left the room to carry out Olu’s demand. She returned with a brown envelope.
“Give it to the boys.”
Dave gladly took the envelope from Miriam, hoping they could now get away with their skin still intact.
“Hey! Where do you think you are going?”
“To make the delivery as normal. That is what you want, isn’t it?”
Again Dave was nervous. Olu’s attention was on him.
“That is the difference between you, and Tom” Olu gestured with his chin to the direction where Tom was standing. “You see, he doesn’t move until he knows what he has to do. You can learn a lot from your mate”.
Dave looked at Tom for some support.
“So what do you want us to do? I mean, Dave is right. Every Saturday you have us make a delivery to the same place at the same time, and with the same thing. How is he to know things have changed?” Tom was now standing next to Dave.
“Things, as you say, would have been the same if you had turned up on time. Your normal delivery has already gone out. You two are going to deliver to a new place.”
“I am sure if we stand here long enough, you will tell us where we have to go.”
For a fleeting moment there was anger on Olu’s face. However, just as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished.
“Miriam, take Dave next door. I want to talk to Tom, alone.”
“Naw! I don’t think that is a good idea. I don’t want my mate to be left alone with that thing you call a woman. He stays with me.”
This time Olu did explode. From out of nowhere he produced a gun and walked up to Tom and placed it to Tom’s head.
“I will like you to say that again, boy. But this time I want you to know that when you finish, It will be the last thing you will ever say.”
Olu then cocked the pistol.
“It’s okay, Tom. I will go with Miriam.” Olu and Tom were eyeball to eyeball.
“You know if you pull the trigger you are going to be covered in as much blood as I will be.”
“Like I give a shit, you punk.”
“Go on boss, do the punk.” It was a statement Miriam would live to regret.
Olu looked at Miriam and without saying a word, he pointed the gun at her and shot her in the throat.
Miriam fell backwards to the floor with blood gushing out of a hole where her Adam’s apple should have been.
The door flew open and a host of Olu’s henchmen came rushing in, with guns drawn.
“Get this piece of shit out of here, and close the door after you!”
Miriam’s lifeless body was unceremoniously dragged out of the room. There was a pool of blood on the floor were she had fallen
Dave was amazed at how cool Tom was being. He was actually lighting a cigarette.
“You see what you have made me do? Because of you, that piece of shit thinks she can tell me what to do.” Olu went and sat back in his chair.
It was obvious Olu was fuming, and Dave couldn’t work out why he and Tom were still alive.
“I want you to take the envelope to the Grosevenor Hotel. There are a lot of footballers waiting to have a party in room, four twenty one. Just knock on the door, give it to them and walk away. Do you understand? Just give it to them and walk away.” Olu had seemingly decided business must come first. Dealing with the lads was something that could be taken care of at a later date. For now, he needed them for the plan he was working on. Olu was only one phone call away from clinching the best possible deal he had ever done. Tom and Dave, for the moment, were part of that plan. However, if they carried on showing him no respect, then he would not hesitate to deal with them instantly.
“Is that it? Why did Dave have to leave the room just for you to say that?”
“I was going to make you a proposition. But now, I don’t think you are ready for it.”
“Why don’t you just cut out the crap and tell us what it is you want.”
Dave was beginning to think Tom didn’t want to live anymore.
“Okay, big boy, if you think you are capable of making a journey out of the country.
Make the delivery and come back. Then we can sit down and talk about it.”
Tom finished his cigarette and threw the butt into the pool of blood on the floor.
“Well, I guess we will be seeing you later.”
The two lads left and made their way to the hotel.
PART TWO
It was starting to rain when the two lads got to the Grosvenor hotel. It was good timing on their part, another minute and they would have got soaked.
They made their way past the reception and headed for the lifts. Nobody questioned them as to the reason why they were in the hotel.
“Bit posh ain’t it? I wonder how much a room for the night would cost?”
Hard as he tried, Dave could not hide the fact that he was impressed with the splendour of the hotel.
“A lot more than Olu is paying us to make this delivery.”
They got into the lift and pressed the bell for the fourth floor. The doors closed silently and it hardly felt as if the lift was moving. The gentle music in the lift accompanied them on their journey to the fourth floor.
“You know what, Tom? The carpet in the lift is better than the one we’ve got in our front room.”
“This is how the other half live and that, one day, is how I want to live.”
“We will have to make a hell of a lot of deliveries to get to that stage, Tom.”
“Yeah, I know! But why do we have to rely on making deliveries for a pittance. There has to be other ways.”
They were now standing outside room, four twenty one. Dave knocked on the door.
A man, who was unmistakably a bodyguard, immediately opened it.
“We’ve got a delivery for this room.”
The bodyguard stood to one side and allowed the lads to enter. They were amazed at the number of well-known footballers that were in the room. Handing over the envelope, they quickly left.
“Did you see who was in that room?”
“Yeah! They are no different from everybody else. They have more money, that’s all.”
“But aren’t they supposed to be professionals and not drink and take drugs?”
“It’s generally okay if they do it on a Saturday after a game. They don’t have to report back to training until the Monday. If they are sensible, it has usually cleared their system before they start training or have a drug test.”
Dave thought about what Tom had said and, as they made their way down to the ground floor in the lift, he asked Tom if it wouldn’t be a good idea to sell the story to a Sunday paper.
“It would be a good story, but what do we tell them? We saw a group of footballers ready to have a party. I don’t think that would sell many papers, do you?”
“Yes, but they have drugs. We can prove that.”
Tom was beginning to get slightly irritated by Dave’s lack of understanding.
“Look, Dave, we can’t prove anything. All we can say is, we delivered drugs to the room.
We didn’t give it to them personally. We didn’t even see them drinking, let alone take any drugs.”
For some reason, Dave didn’t seem to want to let go of the subject.
“Wouldn’t it be great if we could get a camera in there? We could make a lot of money. We could blackmail the players and if they refuse to pay, we could sell it to the highest bidder. How about that for an idea?”
“How about a clip round the ear, for an idea? Dave, if we did something like that to one of Olu’s customers we might as well start digging our own graves.”
“I see what you mean, but there must be a way of getting a picture of them.”
“Well, actually there is! You will have to find a way of getting a camera in there and to get the camera in, you will need to get in.”
Dave again thought about what Tom said.
“So you think it’s a good idea, then?”
Tom, feeling this particular conversation had gone on for long enough, clipped Dave gently round the ear.
“No, I don’t! Come on, lets get back to Olu and find out what his fantastic offer is.”
When they got back to Olu’s place, the lads were amazed at the speed Miriam had been replaced by another woman. It was business as usual.
“Olu is waiting to see us.” Dave told the new girl at the door.
“Yeah, I know. He told me to take you through as soon as you arrived.”
She opened the door and stepped to the side for the lads to enter.
“Have you got a gun?” Tom asked the girl as he walked past her.
The girls who guarded the door always had guns and Dave couldn’t understand why Tom was asking the new girl if she had a gun.
Dave looked at Tom, expecting an answer to his silent question, but Tom was not forth coming with a reply.
“No, not yet. They are looking for the gun the girl who got the sack was carrying.”
“Sacked? Who said she got the sack? Olu shot her.” Dave couldn’t believe the story of Miriam’s demise from the world was being put down as a sacking.
“I guess in a way they are right. Shot, sacked, it’s the same thing. She will never work here anymore.” Tom was nonchalant about the death of Miriam.
They walked into Oku’s private room.
“Ah, lads, you are back! Sit down and let me get you both a drink.”
Dave looked at Tom and wondered what was going on. He couldn’t believe that Olu, the great and mighty Olu, was about to pour them a drink.
“Any problems with the delivery?” Olu asked as he gave the lads their drinks.
The hairs on the back of Dave’s neck, stood up. Olu was actually, smiling!
“No. No trouble, at all. We did what you said. We gave it to them and left.”
“Good, good! I knew I could rely on you. Which brings me to the matter in hand.
How would the two of you like to have a three-week holiday, in
Tom was the first to react to what they’d just heard.
“Sounds good. But knowing you, Olu, you don’t give anything for free. So what is the catch?”
“Oh, Tom, when are you going to start trusting me? There is no catch. However, I would like you to do me a favour on your way back.”
Dave couldn’t believe that Olu was being so nice. He was practically begging Tom for some understanding. However, Tom didn’t appear to be overly impressed by Olu’s statement or behaviour.
“Like I said, what is the catch? And what do you want us to bring back?”
“That is what I like about you, always straight to the point. Okay, I want you to bring back two cases.”
“Let me guess what will be in the cases.” Tom said sarcastically. “If we get caught trying to get that amount of drugs through customs, we could be looking at a very long stretch in a prison.”
“Who says you are going to get caught? It is a tried and tested way. It has been done hundreds of times.”
“So, why us? Why don’t you use your regular people?”
“That, is why! I need new faces. The regular people have made too many journeys. They are becoming too well known. I thought you guys might like to make some real money for a change. If you don’t want the job, just say so and we will forget this conversation ever took place.”
“How much dope will we be carrying, and how much do we get paid, and when?”
“Slow down! One question at a time. You will be carrying eighty kilos of dope and for that, you get thirty grand. Five now, the rest when you get back.”
“That is not much. If you compare it to how many years we might have to spend in prison.”
Tom turned to Dave and, with his eyes, he asked him what he thought of Olu’s plan.
Dave, scared of saying ‘No’ to Olu, nodded his head.
“Okay, we’ll do it. When do we go?”
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