We'll Always Have Holby : part 19
We'll Always Have Holby
Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Part 3 ~ Part 4 ~ Part 5 ~ Part 6 ~ Part 7 ~ Part 8 ~ Part 9
Part 10 ~ Part 11 ~ Part 12 ~ Part 13 ~ Part 14 ~ Part 15 ~ Part 16 ~ Part 17 ~ Part 18
Of course it was ironic - and it was certainly not lost on her. She was doing to Charlie what Louis was doing to both of them. Charlie Fairhead; protected by those who loved him most. Not that he'd thank them for it. Besides, she'd told Louis herself; get it over and done with. Rip that plaster off, get the pain over in one shot. And yes, she'd stupidly used the word shot. Thankfully he'd actually been slightly amused by it.
He'd spoken to her, told her about Ryan. Ryan Green, used to go to school with him until he'd finally been kicked out at the end of the last year. Right about the time Jade had come to his attention.
The beautiful Jade. Not a stunner so she could go unnoticed, but once you did see her she was impossible to miss. Tall, but not more so than him. Slim, but not this painful size-zero-wannabe skinny half the year seemed to aspire to. Perfect size twelve. Apparently. Brunette hair just past her shoulders and the deepest brown eyes to match. Lust at first sight.
But she was already dating someone. The same someone Ryan beat up that got him excluded. Of course, the ex wasn't completely innocent in all of this, and Jade's eyes well and truly opened she saw fit to start the summer break as a single girl. Louis had found her sat on a wall by the park, crying over something. He'd stopped only to offer her a tissue and subsequently found out that it was her dad's anniversary the following day. Her mother had decided that she wasn't going to cope and had taken herself off to her sister's. He'd found himself offering to go with her, little realising that it was the same cemetery his mother and grandfather were buried in.
That had been the start of it. Confessions in a graveyard.
She asked why Ryan had been there that night, that Jade had mentioned money. Louis answered the question, but indirectly.
Ryan always looked up to his brother. Steve was one of those guys that had trouble written all over him. The education system gave up on him as soon as they could, and teachers everywhere breathed a sigh of relief and realised they could put their stab vests away. For one teacher (science - Steve always hated science) that hadn't been a joke. Steve had attacked Mr Robson for failing him on an important test. The fact that Steve hadn't attended pretty much all the classes was apparently irrelevant.
Steve's luck finally ran out and he enjoyed a brief detainment at Her Majesty's pleasure. Upon release he finally seemed to gain the smarts that his failed education had not provided and kept a low profile. His eager young brother, idolising the man who had everything he could ever want, became the face on the street. They all knew it, just Ryan was a bit more cunning than big brother, and nothing was ever able to stick.
Mainly because no one would ever speak up against the Green brothers. Not if you liked your kneecaps. Or your sister.
Louis hadn't been the only one to notice Jade. That afternoon that they talked, someone else had been gathering the courage to go and speak to her. For all his bravado, Ryan had no luck with the girls. There were rumours around school that the only way he would be able to have a girl was if Steve gave him one. Pride had led him to boast many a conquest - all older women of course, with anatomy that Barbie would be envious of - but the entire school knew it to be lies.
Time was Louis and Ryan may have fallen into company together. During "The Rebellion" (Maggie noted how Louis' speech managed to make it into a proper noun) Ryan had watched, almost impressed, as one tearaway sought to create havoc and general disruption. This in turn had been fed to Big Brother who'd once approached the headstrong Louis and offered him the chance to make some real money.
This was not long before Christmas last year. Before father and son made peace.
What he'd never told anyone before was that he'd been asked to do a job. Just a little one, hardly worth calling it a job. Just pick up a parcel and deliver it to an address. Easiest two hundred quid he'd ever make. Desperate to rebel and desperate to be wanted, he'd agreed.
Maggie said nothing as Louis talked about that walk to the pickup point. He didn't know why, but all of a sudden he started to think about that Christmas in Lapland with his parents, grandfather and Dan. He knew now that was when his parents had gotten back together and with that train of thought he was damned. "What would your mother say?" had become a favourite of Charlie's whenever they thought, and for the first time he actually wondered what she would say to his current path.
When he realised there would be more tears than words, he turned around. He reneged on the deal. To his relief, Steve was arrested on another matter shortly after, and had just been dispatched to another detainment. But the Greens don't forget. Louis would have made two hundred, so he now owed two hundred. And Ryan came to collect.
Maggie listened to him in relative silence, but when he'd finished no amount of pleading or blackmailing would convince him to relay any of this to the police. For all their dubious means and methods, Ryan did have some kind of honour code. Two hundred had been paid, plus interest, and a point had been made. If everyone kept to their respective corners from now on, it'll all be James Bond.
"What?" she asked.
"Live and let live."
"Wasn't the film called Live and Let Die?"
"Yeah, but the song starts live and let... It's just called James Bond, Maggie. One of them generational things."
And that had been that.
~~
"Any luck?" Charlie asked as Maggie emerged from Louis' room.
She shook her head. "Says he can't remember anything beyond the fact that there were three, maybe four of them."
"He's lying," Charlie said. "Jade said..."
Maggie grabbed his arm and pulled him to one side away from the police officer. "You and I both know he's covering, but for his sake we need to keep quiet."
"Why?"
"Because he's terrified that the guy will come back to finish the job."
"All the more reason to get him locked away."
"And that'll make it all better?" she challenged. "These are not the type of people who work by themselves."
"I'm not letting them get away with this."
"You think I want this?" she asked. "You think I like the idea? But if Louis insists that he doesn't remember anything and we continue to push this then we will push him away."
"I can't just do nothing, Maggie."
"I know."
"Did he talk to you?"
She glanced away; the officer was watching them intently.
"Take that as a yes," Charlie said.
She didn't deny it.
"But you're not going to tell me, are you?"
"He wants to protect you. More than anything else he wants that."
"Something you two have in common, right?"
"Charlie..."
"No. I am sick and tired of people I care about keeping me in the dark because they think that's best for me. That's not your call to make."
"Where are you going?" she asked as he began to walk away from her.
"There's someone I need to speak to."
~~
Jade came down the stairs, curious as to who would want to see her. When she saw who it was she almost walked back out of the kitchen, and would have done had her mother not been there.
"Can we have a minute?" Jade asked. When her mother had gone she turned back to Charlie. "Let me guess. He's still not talking."
"No."
"And you have come here in the hope that I will be able to talk some sense into him?"
"...Maybe."
"I tried, OK? He'd rather we split up than name Ryan, and I..."
"Ryan?" Charlie asked.
Too late, Jade realised her mistake.
"I know a Ryan."
"Mr Fairhead..."
"Tell me he's not involved with the Green boys."
"I don't know."
"You said there was talk of money owed. Why would Louis owe them money? Is it drugs?"
"No!"
"Stolen goods?"
"Mr Fairhead, I honestly don't know."
"Thank you," he said.
tbc...
Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Part 3 ~ Part 4 ~ Part 5 ~ Part 6 ~ Part 7 ~ Part 8 ~ Part 9
Part 10 ~ Part 11 ~ Part 12 ~ Part 13 ~ Part 14 ~ Part 15 ~ Part 16 ~ Part 17 ~ Part 18
Of course it was ironic - and it was certainly not lost on her. She was doing to Charlie what Louis was doing to both of them. Charlie Fairhead; protected by those who loved him most. Not that he'd thank them for it. Besides, she'd told Louis herself; get it over and done with. Rip that plaster off, get the pain over in one shot. And yes, she'd stupidly used the word shot. Thankfully he'd actually been slightly amused by it.
He'd spoken to her, told her about Ryan. Ryan Green, used to go to school with him until he'd finally been kicked out at the end of the last year. Right about the time Jade had come to his attention.
The beautiful Jade. Not a stunner so she could go unnoticed, but once you did see her she was impossible to miss. Tall, but not more so than him. Slim, but not this painful size-zero-wannabe skinny half the year seemed to aspire to. Perfect size twelve. Apparently. Brunette hair just past her shoulders and the deepest brown eyes to match. Lust at first sight.
But she was already dating someone. The same someone Ryan beat up that got him excluded. Of course, the ex wasn't completely innocent in all of this, and Jade's eyes well and truly opened she saw fit to start the summer break as a single girl. Louis had found her sat on a wall by the park, crying over something. He'd stopped only to offer her a tissue and subsequently found out that it was her dad's anniversary the following day. Her mother had decided that she wasn't going to cope and had taken herself off to her sister's. He'd found himself offering to go with her, little realising that it was the same cemetery his mother and grandfather were buried in.
That had been the start of it. Confessions in a graveyard.
She asked why Ryan had been there that night, that Jade had mentioned money. Louis answered the question, but indirectly.
Ryan always looked up to his brother. Steve was one of those guys that had trouble written all over him. The education system gave up on him as soon as they could, and teachers everywhere breathed a sigh of relief and realised they could put their stab vests away. For one teacher (science - Steve always hated science) that hadn't been a joke. Steve had attacked Mr Robson for failing him on an important test. The fact that Steve hadn't attended pretty much all the classes was apparently irrelevant.
Steve's luck finally ran out and he enjoyed a brief detainment at Her Majesty's pleasure. Upon release he finally seemed to gain the smarts that his failed education had not provided and kept a low profile. His eager young brother, idolising the man who had everything he could ever want, became the face on the street. They all knew it, just Ryan was a bit more cunning than big brother, and nothing was ever able to stick.
Mainly because no one would ever speak up against the Green brothers. Not if you liked your kneecaps. Or your sister.
Louis hadn't been the only one to notice Jade. That afternoon that they talked, someone else had been gathering the courage to go and speak to her. For all his bravado, Ryan had no luck with the girls. There were rumours around school that the only way he would be able to have a girl was if Steve gave him one. Pride had led him to boast many a conquest - all older women of course, with anatomy that Barbie would be envious of - but the entire school knew it to be lies.
Time was Louis and Ryan may have fallen into company together. During "The Rebellion" (Maggie noted how Louis' speech managed to make it into a proper noun) Ryan had watched, almost impressed, as one tearaway sought to create havoc and general disruption. This in turn had been fed to Big Brother who'd once approached the headstrong Louis and offered him the chance to make some real money.
This was not long before Christmas last year. Before father and son made peace.
What he'd never told anyone before was that he'd been asked to do a job. Just a little one, hardly worth calling it a job. Just pick up a parcel and deliver it to an address. Easiest two hundred quid he'd ever make. Desperate to rebel and desperate to be wanted, he'd agreed.
Maggie said nothing as Louis talked about that walk to the pickup point. He didn't know why, but all of a sudden he started to think about that Christmas in Lapland with his parents, grandfather and Dan. He knew now that was when his parents had gotten back together and with that train of thought he was damned. "What would your mother say?" had become a favourite of Charlie's whenever they thought, and for the first time he actually wondered what she would say to his current path.
When he realised there would be more tears than words, he turned around. He reneged on the deal. To his relief, Steve was arrested on another matter shortly after, and had just been dispatched to another detainment. But the Greens don't forget. Louis would have made two hundred, so he now owed two hundred. And Ryan came to collect.
Maggie listened to him in relative silence, but when he'd finished no amount of pleading or blackmailing would convince him to relay any of this to the police. For all their dubious means and methods, Ryan did have some kind of honour code. Two hundred had been paid, plus interest, and a point had been made. If everyone kept to their respective corners from now on, it'll all be James Bond.
"What?" she asked.
"Live and let live."
"Wasn't the film called Live and Let Die?"
"Yeah, but the song starts live and let... It's just called James Bond, Maggie. One of them generational things."
And that had been that.
~~
"Any luck?" Charlie asked as Maggie emerged from Louis' room.
She shook her head. "Says he can't remember anything beyond the fact that there were three, maybe four of them."
"He's lying," Charlie said. "Jade said..."
Maggie grabbed his arm and pulled him to one side away from the police officer. "You and I both know he's covering, but for his sake we need to keep quiet."
"Why?"
"Because he's terrified that the guy will come back to finish the job."
"All the more reason to get him locked away."
"And that'll make it all better?" she challenged. "These are not the type of people who work by themselves."
"I'm not letting them get away with this."
"You think I want this?" she asked. "You think I like the idea? But if Louis insists that he doesn't remember anything and we continue to push this then we will push him away."
"I can't just do nothing, Maggie."
"I know."
"Did he talk to you?"
She glanced away; the officer was watching them intently.
"Take that as a yes," Charlie said.
She didn't deny it.
"But you're not going to tell me, are you?"
"He wants to protect you. More than anything else he wants that."
"Something you two have in common, right?"
"Charlie..."
"No. I am sick and tired of people I care about keeping me in the dark because they think that's best for me. That's not your call to make."
"Where are you going?" she asked as he began to walk away from her.
"There's someone I need to speak to."
~~
Jade came down the stairs, curious as to who would want to see her. When she saw who it was she almost walked back out of the kitchen, and would have done had her mother not been there.
"Can we have a minute?" Jade asked. When her mother had gone she turned back to Charlie. "Let me guess. He's still not talking."
"No."
"And you have come here in the hope that I will be able to talk some sense into him?"
"...Maybe."
"I tried, OK? He'd rather we split up than name Ryan, and I..."
"Ryan?" Charlie asked.
Too late, Jade realised her mistake.
"I know a Ryan."
"Mr Fairhead..."
"Tell me he's not involved with the Green boys."
"I don't know."
"You said there was talk of money owed. Why would Louis owe them money? Is it drugs?"
"No!"
"Stolen goods?"
"Mr Fairhead, I honestly don't know."
"Thank you," he said.
tbc...