The Cunning

37

"Jase!" A familiar voice called as Jase left the shop the following afternoon, after his gym session. He turned to spot Reece crossing the road, closing the distance between them. "You spoke to McKinney the other day, didn't you?"

Jase narrowed his eyes. "Why?" he asked, only half interested.

Reece's brows twitched up, "You heard what he's been saying?"

"I can't say I care much." Reece pressed on, regardless of Jase's lack of enthusiasm.

"He told a few of my mates that you walked away from him, scared like." Jase couldn't help but smile. "None of them believed him," Reece said, quick to put him and his friends in the clear, "I figured to give you a heads up. He keeps telling people you're going soft, saying you're not cut out for it anymore." Reece shook his head, "Charlie's the one that started that. Little twat's been running his mouth off."

No one paid much mind to Charlie; he was always exaggerating things and as for Mitch, he could say what he wanted. It was only a problem if people believed him. Jase took this as a 'no' to the proposition he gave Mitch.

"Charlie's just shifting the attention from the fact he got his nose broken by a girl. As for McKinney, I'm not exactly worried about him. Let people talk. It's cheap," he said, his expression impassive.

"True. I'll let you know if I hear he's planning anything." Jase thanked Reece and got in his car.

Reece was only telling him because he preferred being on the winning side. He was nothing more than a clout chaser, but he had fingers in every pie, so his information was often factual, even if it was uninteresting. Tossing the bag on the passenger seat, Jase was already forming a plan to put McKinney in his rightful place. Either a grave or, at the very least, out of work.

Adam, Sam, Benny, Tommy, and two others were waiting in the living room when Jase got back to the house. He'd sent out a text to round them up.

"What's this about then?" Adam asked, his eyes fixated on the television screen as his thumbs flicked at the Xbox controller.

"McKinney's saying we backed off. Reece said he's been talking shit," Jase replied from the kitchen, putting the bag on the side before joining them. "I'm taking it as him rejecting Ramon's offer."

"What do you want to do about it?" Sam questioned; the game was now on pause. Jase smiled.

By the early hours of the following morning, they were watching the heat protruding off the fire licking the night sky. A thin layer of sweat surfaced on Jase's forehead from the sheer heat. The Leather Boot was engulfed in flames.

"Alright, come on," he said, turning and walking away. The others followed suit. Although they'd checked for cameras and it was a stand-alone pub on a quiet road, their faces were still covered with bandanas and masks.

The pub paid Mitch to keep trouble out, in return, they let Mitch store his drugs there. It said a lot about the size of the footprint he'd made if it was vandalised - burning it down was a far more prominent sign of disrespect than his pathetic flick of ash.

You were with Ramon, or you got taken out. That's how it worked. London wasn't big enough for the both of them.

*

Hello all! How do you think Mitch will respond to Jase burning down his local hangout? Was it a stupid move? Also, sorry for such a short chapter but please still comment and don't forget to vote :)