Something Else

Chapter 8 - More Trouble

Steve stopped drumming his fingers on the glass of the telephone box when Lee finally answered the phone. 'Hallelujah!' he muttered. He threw down his cigarette and trod on it as he turned and leaned against the phone directories looking particularly pissed off. 'Where the hell have you been?' he demanded to know, unable to sound anything but angry. 'We've been trying to get hold of you since yesterday lunchtime. How come you switched your mobile off?'

Lee closed his eyes with a heavy sigh, having already expected a reaction like that from Steve in particular. He propped himself up against the wall, not hiding the fact he didn't like his tone. 'My battery's fucked on my mobile, and I haven't been anywhere.'
But Steve wasn't accepting it. 'What do you mean you haven't been anywhere? We came round God knows how many times. You weren't in all day!'

'Yeah, I told you that yesterday,'
'Did you hell!'
'I fuckin' did! I told you when I dropped you back round Dave's that I was going for a drive. I ended up crashing out on the beach at Bronte,' he lied, 'I had a bad comedown.'

Steve narrowed his eyes as he listened, casting Paul a look as he waited in the car outside the phone booth. 'Well, while you were out Rat got done over.'
It took a moment to sink in, ' ... you what?'
'Yeah, Rat got jumped!'
Lee's face fell, not believing he had heard that right and moved the phone to his other ear, fearing the worst. 'What happened?'

'He went down the shops for some fags, not long after you dropped us back from the hospital, and he got a kicking. Two carloads of the bastards drove by and beat the shit out of him. It was only half seven in the fuckin' morning. It's like they'd been cruising 'round having already got Bob, just waiting.'
'Shit,' cursed Lee under his breath. 'How bad is he?'

'Fortunately, he's not as bad as Bob. He was lucky that there were some people around at the time who managed to break it up, though he's lost a couple of teeth.'
Just then Stacey came through from the bedroom wrapped up in the quilt to see what was happening. When Lee saw her, he placed a finger over his lips to stop her from speaking and hung an arm around her shoulders. ' ... So where are you?' he asked, knowing he'd have to change their plans now and go and meet them.

'Up in Randwick. Me an' Paul just went into your work to see if we could catch you there. Even they don't know where the hell you are! What the fuck do you think you're playing at, Lee?'
'Ahh, give it a rest, will you, for fuck's sake!' he told him, raising his voice to shut him up.

Steve's voice remained cool as he then explained his reason for calling. 'Listen, Lee, there're obviously a few things we're going to have to sort out before tonight now, right, so are you going to bother putting yourself out to come and meet us, or what? We've taken the day off to sort this shit out.'
'Yeah, yeah, I'll meet you,' he said, not liking Steve's attitude at all. 'Who else have you spoken to so far?'
'No one. We were hoping to find you first to see what you had to say.'

Lee looked at Stacey with a shake of his head, turning his nose up at the phone in his hand. 'Alright, I'll meet you – but give me an hour. I've got a couple of things I need to do.' He looked at the time - it was ten o'clock. 'I'll see you down the pub at eleven.'
Steve glanced at his watch and nodded moodily, grunting a reply in no specific words and hung up, kicking open the door, then strode moodily back to the car.
Paul looked up as Steve got in and replaced the length of armoured cable he'd "acquired" for the night, back under the seat. 'What did he say?' he asked.

Steve gave him a cynical look. 'He reckons he crashed out down Bronte beach.'
Paul raised his eyebrows as Steve started the engine. 'Yeah?'
'Yeah. He reckoned he had a bad comedown.'

Paul then smiled a knowing kind of smile as he looked back over his shoulder at the car Steve just pulled out in front of. 'Bullshit!' he remarked. 'I bet you anything he's been out shaggin' that bird!'
Steve spat out of the open window with a sour expression and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, not taking it as lightly as Paul. 'Exactly what I was thinking.'