Five Beautiful Boys

An Unexpected Hitch

Gerard frowned as he stared at the closed door. Iero had long since left and he had done little since but stare at the door. In his mind he was weighing up the options and the risks. He didn't believe for a moment that Iero cared in the slightest whether he was implicated in the robbery. He fully believed that both he and Mikey would be killed as soon as they had their hands on the contents of the vault. That, he was certain, was the type of man he was. The type of man who would say anything just to get the reaction he wanted; a minimum fuss approach to ensure he got the required result.

All he really wanted was those jewels and he would do anything, say anything to get them. He had already proved his willingness to kill; the news had just arrived to say that Philip Wallis, the manager, had sunk into a coma from which he was not expected to recover. That had been his doing, something over which he had shown no remorse. Gerard picked up the phone, his mind made up; he would make him pay and he would not let him kill his brother.

*

Ray picked up the coffee pot and stood poised ready to pour only to sigh with annoyance as the doorbell sounded. Returning the pot to the hotplate, he headed for the door. No sooner had he pulled it open a shade than it was almost pushed in his face knocking him back against the wall. Ray's eyes widened as he assumed the worst; looking up, he expected to see a line of police come to arrest him. Instead, his eyes alighted on the blond and lightly bearded face of Bob. He appeared dishevelled and flustered; something had clearly upset him, but pushing himself away from the wall with an unhealthy measure of irritation, Ray was in no mood to notice.

"Bob!" he yelled, angry at the abrupt and dramatic entrance made by his friend. "What the hell...?"
"He's been arrested!" Bob cut in, slamming the door behind him.
"Who? Frank?" Ray replied, suddenly stunned and unnerved by the turn of the conversation.
"No, Gary!" Bob replied in a way that suggested that Ray should know immediately who he was talking about.
Ray shrugged and shook his head; his expression quietly asking for more information.
"Who?" He prompted again.
"Gary! My contact in the army, the one I got the device for opening the vault from."
"What for?" Ray asked quickly.
"What?" Bob replied puzzled by the question; his brow crinkling, registering his confusion.
"What was he arrested for?" Ray continued, explaining his question.
"I don't know."

Bob was stopped in his tracks; it wasn't something he had thought about. He had heard the bad news from a 'friend of a friend' and assumed the worst.

"This isn't good," Ray frowned. "We have to find out more. Can you contact the person who told you?"
"Yeah, yeah, I guess, but not from here. Besides, I don't know what he'll tell me, if anything. There'll be a major security clampdown, even if he knows, he may not be able to say anything."
"Well, how did you find out in the first place? What, he just rang you and said that the guy stealing for you has been arrested?"

Bob frowned, deeply unimpressed. He knew the way he had told the story had given little away, and Ray knew nothing of army procedure but even Ray must have known that the question was ridiculous.

"It's called sarcasm, Bob!" Ray added, realising merely from the expression on his friend's face what he was thinking. "How did you find out?"
"I know what it's called, Ray, but I just don't think it's the best time for it!" he snapped in return. Bob heaved a deep sigh before continuing. "No, he didn't just ring me. Well, he did, but not about that. He's been trying to locate Alison and Dan for me."
"Any leads?" Ray asked hopefully.
"Yeah," Bob nodded. "Yeah, I think I know where they are."
"Wow! That's great news!" Ray paused as he noticed that Bob wasn't so enthusiastic.
"What's wrong?"
"Everything!" Bob's expression displayed a look of utter dismay as Ray appeared not to grasp the sheer gravity of the situation. "Ray, I'm close to finding her, to seeing Dan and then Gary goes and gets himself fucking arrested while I'm in possession of a piece of army gadgetry that's so hot it's burning my fingers! I can't get arrested, Ray! If I go down one more time, I'll lose Dan forever. I won't even be allowed to see him through plate glass!"