Intoxifresh

Chapter Twenty-One

After an uncomfortable night's sleep in Simon's old bed Marco rubbed his eyes, moved a dark wooden chair close to a window, then stood on it to take in London's morning landscape for the first time.

He found a few boxes of cereal in the kitchen but, after finding the fridge empty, he left the apartment to purchase some milk. After returning he relaxed into a padded seat at Simons smoked glass table to have breakfast and right in front of him was a Monopoly board game. He then knew that Simon had been serious about sending the pills and all he had to do now was to work out a strategy for the meeting. He'd usually have his finger firmly on a trigger in this situation but he'd left his guns in New York. Even though Marco knew he could easily obtain some weapons in London, he wanted to spend the small amount of money he had on essentials.

Everything London had to offer was waiting for him outside the apartment and, with the meeting a little over four hours away, he decided to go out and explore.

With nowhere to run to the four goons were discreetly directed onto a sleek looking train scheduled to travel from Heathrow to Surrey. Lanying Lu had no option other than to trust Jack Fox when he'd said that he knew the route. Jack, Gino, Joe and Stefani Rossi were unusually quiet during the trip and deep down were all hoping to catch up with their boss as quickly as possible. They needed his help to get them away from the super triads.

The group of eight arrived at the dull looking apartment block and Jack Fox immediately recognised the building from his earlier visit. 'You sure we at right place?' Lanying uttered sternly as she took in the sight of the large grey structure towering above them.

'This is the place all right,' confirmed Jack. 'His apartment is on the second floor. I wonder if he's had the front door replaced.' Lanying gave Jack a short but intense stare before demanding he lead the way. Her loyal gang members kept a close eye on the Americans as they moved into the building.

They arrived at the taped up remains of Simon's front door. 'Hey!' Lanying hollered to get Jack's full attention. Being in control was like a drug to her. 'Go inside, see if he in,' she demanded. Jack peeked through the gaps, removed more tape and looked around. As each of them went inside they smelled the faint musk of cigar smoke that lingered in the apartment.

'There's no one here. I guess he must have done a bunk. He did look terrified that day,' Jack said, smiling as he thought about the day he stole Simon's car, then frowned as he replayed in his mind the moment the fake pills were handed to him.

'Where you think he gone?' Lanying asked as she began to explore the apartment herself.

'I have no idea,' Jack said, staring intently as Lanying threw cushions, opened cupboard doors and scattered the contents over the floor. She then opened Simon's recent post. Angry at finding nothing she tore them up and threw the papers behind her, they fell like confetti over the rest of the group.

'Hey, there's something written down over here,' Stefani Rossi said, picking up a piece of paper from the desk where Simon's computer used to be. Lanying walked over and yanked the piece of paper from his hands. She held it up close to her eyes but failed to make out what it said.

She thrust the paper towards Jack. 'What it say?' she asked, impatiently.

Jack recognised Marco's handwriting and felt relieved that they were on the right track. 'It says Red Lion, noon.'

'What is Red Lion, noon?' Guang asked, knowing that his leader was wondering the same thing.

'Sounds to me like the name of a bar,' Joe suggested.