The Cunning

19

Most people had left the house by six in the morning. Jase was shuffling around, tossing empty beer bottles in a black bag. Once the kitchen was cleared, he lit a cigarette and stood in the doorway of the living room. Janine was asleep, her head resting on Sam's lap, his hand placed affectionately on her hair. Madison was at the other end of the sofa, also asleep. She'd pulled the sleeves of her knitted jumper over her hands and curled up into a ball. He stood watching her for a minute before he called her name, his throat rough from chain-smoking in the kitchen for five hours.

"Madison." She hummed in reply. "Go to bed." Gradually, Madison managed to hoist herself off the sofa. Jase then woke Sam and Janine. When they'd all gone, he laid down, finishing his cigarette and eventually drifting into a dreamless sleep.

"I think we're going tonight. I'll ask Jase when he wakes up," Adam said. The sound of cans being crushed and bottles clinking had disturbed Jase on the sofa. The noise wasn't helping his hangover.

"Going where?" he mumbled, removing his arm from over his face. The living room was now awash with grey daylight that made his eyes sting. Rain tapped on the window, fat drops merged into fatter drops and raced down the glass.

"Mitch hangs around in The Leather Boot. It's about a half-hour away," Adam replied. Jase's head pounded and his neck was incapable of turning more than 45 degrees in any direction. Sleeping on the sofa after a night of drinking and cocaine had left him feeling gross. He wasn't in the mood to go straight anywhere yet.

"You reckon he'll be there tonight?" he asked.

Adam laughed. "He'll be there in a few hours I reckon. Look alive, sunshine."

Jase was the principal negotiator where Ramon's business was concerned. He carried out most of the dirty work which allowed him a more significant chunk of money than the others.

Ramon made it his mission to have anyone that was anyone in his pocket. If this Mitch McKinney had any sense about him, he'd jump at the chance to work with them rather than against them.

"Alright, I'll be ready in a couple of hours," Jase huffed, rubbing his eyes.

*

Madison rolled over on the bed when Jase walked in, his hair wet from his shower. Beads of water dripped from his curls onto his bare shoulders as he rummaged through the wardrobe for a t-shirt.

"My lips hurt," she said.

"You probably chewed them last night. Coke will make you do that." He pulled a black t-shirt from the hangers.

"I don't think I want to do cocaine ever again." She was dehydrated and there was a mild vibration running through her body.

"That's a comedown. You'll be alright in a few hours," Jase assured, turning to face her as he pulled the t-shirt on.

"Where are you going?" She didn't expect an answer. Their conversation last night had been a by-product of drugs and alcohol. That's the only reason Jase had spoken to her with such little concern for the order of things and if it wasn't, she was sure he had ulterior motives.

Madison wouldn't take his honesty at face value, he was better than that. People didn't tend to respect total idiots and Jase was well respected.

"Out," he replied stiffly, now going through the drawer beside her head. "Where did you disappear to last night?" After the second time Madison had gone upstairs with him, she had tried to stay out of the way and avoid doing more coke. There was a long game that needed playing and she'd be no good totally off her tits instead of just a little bit off her tits.

"With Janine. And Sam," Madison replied. She tried to gauge his reaction but he offered nothing more than a disinterested twitch of his brows. Madison continued. "Are they like, a thing?" Jase took a fresh packet of cigarettes from the bedside drawer. He gave her a sideways glance.

"Don't let me hear you say that again," he said. She took the warning and didn't bother pressing the matter. She had observed Sam and Janine for herself, yet no one had said anything so it was no secret. The only person that could have a problem with it was Benny, who hadn't been there.

Jase was different around Benny. More serious, far more dangerous, like he had a point to prove. The dynamic was strange. It always looked like Jase was the boss. He was well put together, clean, assertive, and intelligent. But everyone ultimately answered to Benny. Which begged the question, what loyalty did Jase owe Benny as to why he stuck around for four years? And did she have what it would take to manipulate him into breaking it? Or was it not loyalty that kept him around but the money? It was obvious the respect for Benny the men in the house had only went so far if they kept secrets from him.

Madison needed more information about him. People didn't just end up working in places like the house, and they were rarely born like Jase. This wasn't nature. Once she found out where he had come from, it would be easier to determine where he intended on going.