“Look after her,” he said, just above a whisper, then he was gone, followed out by the other police officers.
The kitchen door swung shut, leaving Frank and me alone.
Frank looked left and right in confusion. “Where the fuck have they all gone?”
I tilted my head to the side. “I thought you wanted everyone to ‘fuck off out of your house’? Seems they took you at your word.”
Frank frowned. “What’s your game, mate?”
I shrugged. “I requested five minutes alone with you before you were arrested.”
“What’s a poncy git like you want with me?”
“Thisponcy gitis quite unhappy, Frank.” There was an edge to my voice now. “This poncy git didn’t appreciate hisgirlfriend being admitted to hospital with a head injury yesterday.”
He rolled his eyes. “Didn’t look like she was your girlfriend when you shook her off.”
“That was a mistake I won’t be making again.” My voice lowered as I spoke the next words. “Clara is mine, andnobodyhurts what’s mine.”
“Stupid bitch clocked me with a fucking saucepan! She could have killed me!”
“And yet, unfortunately, here you stand.”
“You don’t know who you’re fucking with,” Frank spat out. “Iownthis fucking city.Nobodyfucks with Frank Mason.”
It was at this point that I decided I had had enough of this irritating conversation. I needed to get back to Clara, and I’d have to stop off on the way to get more Branston Pickle as we were running low. I did not need to be conversing with this low-life piece of shit for any longer than was strictly necessary.
Frank’s eyes flew wide as I covered the distance between us in a couple of long strides. I put one of my hands to his neck as the other grabbed his coat, and I pinned him to the wall.
“You thinkyourun London, do you?” I said in a low, dangerous voice.
“Get the fuck off me,” he shouted, struggling against my hold. I wasn’t having that, and he clearly wasn’t listening to me, so I pulled him away from the wall to slam him back against it. The force of the impact rattled the door next to us. “You’ll pay for this,” Frank said in between his winded gasping breaths. “I’m the fucking gaffer around here.”
“Don’t be absurd,” I told him, my voice still low and controlled. “Families like mine have been in charge of thiscountry forcenturies.Do you think we came by that level of power lightly? Do you think for a moment we aren’t many times more ruthless than you? There’s a bridge in Bath that, in order to cross, you have to pay one pound to my family. People have been paying to cross that bridge since the sixteen hundreds. When it comes to extortion, you’re light-years behind us. I have the support of the police, the judiciary, the government and the very people I extort. You should have thought twice before you decided to yank the chain of a member of the aristocracy, you stupid fuck. Before you fucked with me and my girlfriend, I was willing to simply prosecute you to the full extent of the law. Now it’s not just the law I’ll be utilising. I have influenceeverywhere. Your family’s gangster activities are child’s play compared to mine.”
I released him suddenly and he fell forward a couple of steps, rubbing his neck and gasping for breath.
“Where are the fucking police?” Frank asked as he staggered away from me.
I pulled my cuffs down and adjusted my watch as I stalked him casually. The man was not very light on his feet and clearly a stranger to cardio, given how loudly he was still gasping for breath.
“Oh, you want the police here now?” I asked. “I thought you weren’t overly keen on the police?”
He made a lumbering dash for the exit, and I cut him off easily.
“Now, now, Frank,” I said, stepping to block his way when he tried to duck around me. “You’re being unconscionably rude. We haven’t finished our conversation yet.”
“F-fuck off,” he said, real fear in his tone now.
“It might interest you to know that I had access to your daughter’s medical records yesterday.”
He blinked at me in confusion. “What do you––?”
“Unfortunately, we don’t have time to match the full extent of her injuries. But I feel it’s sufficient for now to simply go through the ones inflicted this calendar year. Let’s start with the most obvious.”
Frank’s eyes flew even wider when he realised my intention. He swung a clumsy fist at my head, which I dodged easily before driving my own fist into the side of his chest.
“Holy shit,” he gasped as he nearly went down. “You’ve broken my fucking ribs!”
