The Resurrection


This is the sequel to the 'Dont Mess With Father Christmas' story. To read the original story click here.

Part 1


Vinny sat in his armchair waiting for the running water to stop. It was an armchair that just an hour earlier he thought he’d never see again. He’d come back to find the money and diamonds he’d given Katerina strewn across the bed and the sound of water running in the adjoining bathroom.  He knew the lazy bitch would still be there, she probably thought it was her place now. She’d get the shock of her life when she walked dripping wet through that bathroom door to find him sitting there pointing his gun at her. The little minx had completely duped him, she’d been such an actress, the tears, the sobs - so convincing. It was his weakness and he knew it,  he wouldn’t trust a man as far as he could see him but he always let his guard down when women were involved; a pretty girl in a little dress, or a pretty girl in distress, or let’s face it just a pretty girl. That was what got him stabbed by Georgina in the first place.
Vinny lit a cigarette, he noticed his hand was a lot steadied now then when he’d lit the previous one. That was when he’d walked out of the boss’s house, walked away from Father Christmas, walked away from his past. He’d been a second from death. He knew his boss and he knew the look in his eye; he’d raised that gun with the intention of using it, with the intention of blowing Vinny’s brains out - no mercy, no sympathy, no sentimentality.
As Vinny reflected on the scene he realised the boss’s voice has sounded slurred as he’d told the Father Christmas story. Vinny hadn’t really thought about it at the time, just put it down to alcohol but now he realised it was the first sign of the stroke that was to follow. Raising his arm with the gun had been too much for Father Christmas and he’d toppled backwards into his chair. The goon at the back of the room had stepped forward, seen the colour on his boss’s face and called for help. The triplets piled into the room, they all went to their stricken grandfather  completely ignoring Vinny.
Vinny, sensing his opportunity, simply turned on his heel and walked away unnoticed. As he lit his cigarette outside the house he realised he was shaking like a leaf but he knew he had to keep moving he could not afford to wait. He got into his car and drove. He had so many things to consider, did he stay here and wage war on the triplets now that Father Christmas was out of the way? Did he have friends he could turn to? Could he take over the club and the diamonds, the drugs and the girls? Assume control now then wait for the backlash from the Romanians once the dust had settled. Or he could just get the hell out of town and start afresh somewhere else; he had money, contacts and knowhow, a new start would be easy. He  knew he should get out of town, he was a marked man here but he didn’t like to give up without a fight and he also wanted to see that murdering bitch Georgina begging for mercy.
The water had stopped, Vinny stubbed out his cigarette and he imagined Katerina drying that dainty little body and wrapping her hair up in his towel. He steadied his gun, he'd make that bitch suffer. The door opened, steam poured from the bathroom, a fragile figure emerged. She shrieked when she saw the gun and the dead man holding it. But if she was surprised, then so was Vinny. It wasn’t Katerina wrapped in his towel but Eleanora.

Part 2 

After Eleanora had recovered from the initial shock she threw herself at Vinny, her towel fell to the floor and she sat in his arms naked, kissing his stubbly face and stroking his hair.
‘Kat told me you were dead, said the Romanians had killed you but you're, you’re alive?’
She was touching him as if to make sure he was real, as if to make sure this was not a dream. Vinny was motionless, too shocked to move, his brain racing, trying to work out what on earth was going on.
‘Oh Vinny I thought I'd lost you. I thought I'd lost you,’ she sobbed in his arms.
What is it with these whores and tears thought Vinny. His first clear thought since he had set eyes on Eleanora through the steam.
He pushed her away and stood up, she replaced him in the chair pulling the towel over her, suddenly aware of her nakedness. Vinny lit a much needed cigarette and walked over to the window. He blew out a lungful of smoke and without turning round to look at Eleanora tried desperately to clear his mind.  
So Kat and Pieter had told him she was dead, why wouldn't he believe them? But he'd never seen a body or even seen the scene of the crime. it had been a set up; that fucking Father Christmas was a clever bastard.
‘Where the hell have you been?’ Vinny asked without looking round. He'd decided not to tell her he thought she was dead too. See if he could catch her out.
‘I was coming over to yours but then I got this client, he offered me a lot of money to spend time with him in his hotel. I told Kat to tell you, didn't she? It was almost like Pretty Woman only he was no Richard Gere and there was no fairy tale ending.’ 
It made sense to Vinny, His boss would send one of his lackies to hire the girl to get her out of the way for a few days, very clever really. 
‘When I got back Kat phoned me to tell me you'd been shot. I came over here straight away, she let me in but then she slipped out to see a client.’
It sounded plausible to Vinny, he turned and looked at Eleanora and then went over and kissed her forehead. He held her, pleased she was still alive, happy to see a friendly face. They hugged in silence for a moment but then a voice in Vinny's head started yelling.
‘What the fuck Vinny, what are you doing, you're doing it again, just because she has doe eyes and perfect skin doesn't mean she's to be trusted. She's telling you what you want to hear.’
It was true, Vinny did want to believe that Eleanora didn't have a clue that she'd been ‘killed’ by Georgina, he didn't want to believe that she could be as manipulative as Kat.
He weighed it up - on one hand she must be being genuine, she'd told the story so naturally; it hadn’t sounded rehearsed or anything.
But then he realised she could be lying; all that ‘you're alive’ bullshit wasn’t it a bit over the top? Was she just buying time, time to come up with a conceivable tale? And she'd taken a fucking shower, who takes a shower when in mourning? But then again she'd just come from a client, she said he was no Richard Gere, maybe she needed to be cleansed of him? So a shower made sense.  it was all so confusing. But deep down he knew he couldn't trust her, he shouldn't trust her, he wouldn't trust her.
‘Get dressed and go.’ Vinny’s voice growled the order.
She looked at him shocked, still an active part of an embrace that he'd deactivated some moments before. He lost her eyes, staring instead at some invisible spot on the wall behind her.
‘Go’ he growled again.  ‘I need to be alone, you said yourself I'm a dead man, I need to sort out my funeral.’

After she'd gone Vinny did some thinking, he paced around his flat like a demented polar bear, he smoked furiously as he reflected on the past few months. He realised he’d not been very clever. He'd been too impulsive, too trusting, too naïve. He'd been led into traps like a cow being led into an abattoir. He was better than that, he needed to get his mind straight. 

Until now he'd been a bit of a loner, he'd invested for the future by dipping his beak in the boss's profits but he hadn’t built a network of friends he could rely on. Right now he didn't know who he could trust, Kat was out, Eleanora was a major doubt, Pieter had played him like a piano.
Vinny was alone, alive but alone. 
How about the boss? Was he alive? Vinny had no way of finding out. 
And what difference did it make. The boss had signed the death warrant. Vinny was a dead man walking.
He thought about leaving town again; common sense told him getting the fuck out looked like the best option but common sense didn’t really come into it. He still had unfinished business, he wanted Georgina naked, begging for mercy before he pulled the trigger with a smile on his face.
But if he was going to stay he couldn't stay where he was. As soon as the dust had settled, Georgina or the twins would come looking for him and the flat would be the first place they’d look.  And if Eleanora was the enemy then they'd already know exactly where he was.
That thought spurred Vinny into action. He gathered the money that that slovenly bitch Kat had left on the bed, and stuffed it in a holdall  along with her passport and the diamonds. He then emptied the rest of the safe into the bag and stuffed a few clothes in on top. He grabbed his gun, shoved it into his trousers and left the flat.

He checked into a mid range hotel near the station, he didn’t care about the standard , he just wanted a safe room and a room safe. He stuffed the money into the safe and lit a cigarette. As he smoked he looked down at the streets below. He could see the girls plying their trade, cars picking up, cars dropping off, skirts adjusted, lipstick replenished, back to work. It was early evening and the light was fading but business booming; workers getting their kicks before going home to the wife. A car stopped, a Beemer, a girl got out. Even in the fading light and from this distance Vinny knew who it was. Or at least he thought he did; he was getting sick of seeing ghosts. Of course Father Christmas would not waste a precious commodity like that. Why kill a perfectly good girl when you are about the kill the problem? Again he had to give credit to his boss, it was well thought through.
But this was good, a plan was hatching in Vinny’s mind. He took in a big breath of smoke and smiled as he exhaled, he liked it. He liked it a lot.

Part 3 

Georgina sat by her grandfather, he was going to live - there was life in the old dog yet. They couldn’t say whether he’d make a full recovery or not but the signs were encouraging. He looked so grey, so old, so limp that Georgina could barely believe the doctor’s words.  She squeezed her papa’s hand. She’d been crying but the tears had stopped, her papa would not want her to cry, he’d want her to think, to keep a clear mind, to keep focus. Her mind had been on hold since the stroke but now it was working again.
How the fuck had they let Vinny get away? Okay so she and her brothers had been preoccupied but her father’s driver and Stefan were there and neither of them had acted. Now that Diamond idiot could be anywhere and plotting their downfall. They had to get to him before he got to them. But where the hell was he. She also had to deal with the driver and Stefan. She knew the driver had to go, he was getting fat and lazy, if only she had a hitman like Vinny to take care of it. As for Stefan well he’d need to be taught a lesson, but he was only young, he could learn. Maybe she could get him to take care of the driver; that would show her if her little bodyguard had any balls, it would also make him a man.
She’d sent her brothers to Vinny’s flat but he was long gone. None of the girls had seen him, Kat, Eleanora, Anna on the one side or anyone on the other. He’d disappeared with that money and those stones. Be she knew he wouldn't have gone far. She cursed his name; she knew it was crazy but she blamed him for her papa’s stroke, she hated that thieving bastard. She wished she’d twisted that knife a little further and a little harder.  When she found him she’d make him wish Father Chirstmas had had time to pull the trigger.

Part 4

Vinny picked up the phone and ordered room service, he wasn’t hungry but he needed the bellboy. He lit another cigarette and coughed as he exhaled, he knew he was smoking too much but he’d just escaped death, he didn’t care.
He watched the girls on the streets while he was waiting for his food. He needed Mila to stay there, not to be picked up. 

There was a knock on the door, Vinny took the gun off the bed and put it back into the waistband of his trousers and went to over to the door. The spyhole revealed it was who he had been waiting for. He opened up and ushered the young man in to the room carefully closing the door behind him and going back over to the window. 
‘Where do you want it?’ 
‘Just put it over there,’ said Vinny, he watched the lad put the tray down and then spoke. ‘Do you want to earn yourself a bigger tip?’ 
The bellboy looked round at Vinny who had a large denomination note between finger and thumb. The lad’s eyes lit up. 
‘I need you to bring me a girl, not just any girl but that one.’ Vinny pointed at Mila who was doing her best to attract customers down on the street below. The bellboy peered out of the window.
‘Tell her a client is willing to pay her big money for a night. Bring her back with you and you get three of these. You understand?’ 
The bellboy nodded 
‘Can you do that for me?’ 
He nodded again. 
‘Go then.’ Vinny growled. The bellboy went. 
Vinny knocked the lights off so he could watch the scene unfold in the hastening gloom below. He made sure to stand back a little so he would not be visible from the street.
At first he thought the bellboy was heading towards the wrong whore. But just at the last moment he found his radar and honed in on Mila. Vinny wondered if he would bottle it when he saw how young she looked. If the poor lad got arrested soliciting an under-aged girl, the money Vinny was offering would pale into insignificance.
But either the lad didn’t notice or he didn’t care. Vinny watched them negotiate, their heads bobbed back and forth like boxers in the ring. He instinctively took a step back when they both looked round at the hotel, but then he saw the two of them leave her patch together, cross the road and head into the building. Vinny the Diamond smiled, flashing his trademark diamond to no one in particular. Part one of his plan had just fallen into place.


There was a knock on the door, the same knock as when the food was delivered.
‘It’s open.’ his voice was full of tar.
There door opened and two figures came in.
‘Where do you want it?’ Vinny guessed the bellboy was speaking out of habit.
Vinny turned round, Mila gasped as she saw who the client was. She looked pale, ready to flee but her legs didn’t move.
Vinny took out three notes and handed them to the young lad and then shooed him out of the room.
Mila was still rooted to the spot avoiding eye-contact, fear coursed through her veins. Vinny smiled, he’d let the bitch suffer for a while, after all she had helped set him up. He watched her shake. He realised he was horny, he had half a mind to fuck her, but she was so young, she’d insisted that she was 18 but there was no way and even if there was the slightest of chances she was telling the truth he wasn’t prepared to risk it. He’d go to prison for murder but not for that; he’d not be called a nonce, no way.
But he enjoyed watching her suffer, after all he was sure that this bitch had double crossed him, sold him out. But despite enjoying her pain he had to keep her sweet, after all she had to believe in him for this plan to work.
He walked around her, inspecting her.
‘It really is you, I thought you were dead.’ He said this in the kindest voice he could muster.
‘Vinny, she made me …’
‘Ssssssh’ Vinny put a finger on her lip, he knew it was corny but it gave him a feeling of power. Mila was sniffing back the tears. ‘It’s alright, don’t worry, I know it wasn’t your fault. I’m sure you kept your promise.’
Mila looked at him for the first time, she searched his face for clues; did he really think it wasn’t her fault? Did he really think she had kept her gob shut? She was confused, unsure what to think. It was exactly the look Vinny’d been hoping for, it told him all he needed to know. It told him that she had set him up and that she’d do so again. But this time he wanted her to.
‘You’re a good girl Mila, you gave me the information I needed, I trust you. I know Georgina is a bitch, but you were brave.’ Vinny was laying it on a bit thick now but it seemed to be working. ‘Now I have more cash and I need more information, can you give it to me?’
Another look had come over Mila’s face - greed. She’d gone from fearing for her life to working out how much she could milk both Vinny and Georgina for. Vinny could read her like a book, he knew she was thinking how could this so called gangster be so stupid as to trust her again after what happened last time?
She looked at Vinny now and nodded.
Vinny took out a wedge of notes and peeled off a few for Mila.
‘Is the old man dead?’
Mila shook her head.
‘Do you know where he is?’
Mila looked at the notes in Vinny’s hand.
‘C’mon Mila I am not a charity, you’ve got enough there, answer the question.’ His voice was rough both in tone and texture.
Mila got the message and told Vinny all that he wanted to know. Vinny smiled, patter her on the shoulder and gave her one more note for being a good girl before ushering her out of the door. 

Part 5 

From his vantage point Vinny watched Mila walk back across the square towards the gaggle of girls milling around the station. Business was quieter now so there were too many girls jockeying for too few punters. But that didn't concern Mila, as Vinny predicted she was already talking animatedly on her mobile phone. Vinny knew exactly who she was talking to and now all he had to do was sit tight and wait for Georgina to spring his trap. But this time Vinny would be ready.

Georgina killed the call. Mila might look fragile and vulnerable but she was a crafty little cow who drove a hard bargain. That bitch knew exactly where Vinny was but wouldn’t tell until Georgina had put the notes in her hands. How were her pimps running these girls? When all this died down Georgina needed to have a good look at what was going on and maybe mete our some punishment. Mila would be top of her list. 

Georgina got into her car and drove over to the station, every second was precious, who knew what Vinny the Diamond was planning? She picked Mila up and handed over the cash.
‘Speak’ she said, impatience in her voice.
Mila looked a little scared but was that just her act? She told her story in great detail, Georgina had to admit she was good, room number, room layout, Vinny’s temperament, Mila provided everything. As soon as she was finished Georgina kicked her out of the car and drove off. Vinny was close, very close. She knew she should think this through. It needed to be planned, less haste more speed was her grandfather’s motto and Georgina lived by his every word but this was one time when she had to ignore her papa. Vinny was plotting, Vinny was planning and Vinny had to be stopped.

Vinny watched Georgina stride across the hotel car park. She was as arrogant as she thought him stupid. Look at her, not even trying to hide her approach, did she think he wouldn’t be watching, waiting for her. She’d fallen into his trap like the stupid bitch she was.

‘Hello Georgina’ Vinny smiled, his diamond sparkling in the low lighting. Georgina looked around to see Vinny coming into his room behind her, a cigarette in his mouth and a gun in his hand. 
Georgina had bought a key card from the greedy bellboy and let herself into Vinny's room only to find the room empty. She’d thought she’d wait for Vinny but wasn’t expecting him to be back immediately.
‘Put that knife down there's a good girl.’

Georgina did as she was told, throwing her knife on the floor.  Vinny approached her, appraised her.
‘Such a pretty little thing’ he said with a lecherous tone. ‘Shame you have to die my dear.’ He blew smoke in her face. Georgina winced and moved away wondering if anyone was getting out of here alive.
‘Get undressed’ he said.
Georgina stood there motionless not about to play his game.
‘I said’ Vinny repeated slowly ‘get undressed.’ He picked up the knife and took a step towards her. He wanted to check she didn't have any concealed weapons but there was more to it than that.
She slowly started unbuttoning her blouse. She stripped off her shirt and then undid her jeans, stepping out of them.’
‘Everything’ Vinny said, ‘everything.’ She unclasped her bra and let it fall to the floor before peeling off her little panties.
Vinny circled her, inspecting her, checking her out, dehumanising her. He had to admit she was a fine woman, her dark skin and toned body momentarily got him thinking. He banished those thoughts from his mind. He was a new man, not influenced by the temptations of the flesh.
‘Kneel down’ he said, his voice rasping the instructions. This time she did as she was told immediately, kneeling on the rough carpeted floor.
Vinny had her exactly where he wanted her, kneeling, naked, powerless. Since he’d come round in hospital all those weeks ago he’d dreamt of this humiliation. She was trying not to be show it but Vinny could tell she was scared and that was all part of the fun. Immediate death was too good for her, he’d make her suffer first.
‘Vinny come on,’ Georgina was trying it on and was doing her best puppy eyes but Vinny really  had made himself immune.
‘There
s no come on, you’re gonna die, and nothing you can do can save you.’ Vinnie smiled ‘But I like playing god and I'll decide when you breathe your last breath.’
Georgina bowed her head, she was too proud to beg and she wasn
t going to give the toerag the pleasure of seeing her fear or her tears.
‘Look at me’ Vinny wanted to see those tears but Georgina
s head stayed bowed. ‘Look at me.’ he said again.
At that moment Vinny heard the sound of a key card opening the door. He took a step back so that he had both the naked girl and the door in his eyeline. The door swung open and in walked the pale, grey figure of Father Christmas.
Fragile and weak he may have been but he still carried the gravitas of the boss. To his side was a girl, looking as pale and as weak as the old man but more from fear than illness. Georgina looked up and saw her grandfather, she made to move towards him.
‘Stay where you are,’ Vinny barked. She did as she was told, waiting to see how things would unfold but suddenly feeling a lot better about life.
‘Vinny, Vinny, Vinny how did it come to this?’ His body may have been weak but his voice was strong and steady. Vinny shrugged wondering why the boss had bought the girl with him. 
‘I trusted you, confided in you, and now look at us. Such a pity.
Vinny looked down for a second, slightly ashamed but pulled himself together.
‘Ive come here unarmed,’ Father Christmas continued, ‘in the hope that I hope I can talk to you face to face, man to man, that we can reach an agreement. Now you can kill me if you want, and kill Georgina, I wouldn't blame if you did, but what then? You could run, but you would always be looking over your shoulder, looking out for the twins.’ Vinny still had the gun pointed at Georgina knowing the old man wouldn’t put her life at risk. Because you know they would hunt you down and kill you. They may not be as bright as Georgie here but dont underestimate them Vinny. Here…’ the old man held out his hand, there was a healthy wad of notes in it.
‘Let me buy my granddaughter’s life, you can have this, and your freedom. You spare Georgie and you have my word that you can live the rest of your life without having to watch your back.’
‘How can I trust you?’ Vinny growled.
‘You can’t, you won’t but you have to. You pull that trigger and you'll never have freedom, you’ll just be a dead man walking.’
‘I want her as well,’ Vinny nodded towards the girl by Father Christmas’s side. The old man looked at the pale girl.
‘I want her freedom, freedom from your clutches, from your pimps.’ Father Christmas smiled, that was exactly why he'd bought Eleanora with him. He knew Vinny better than Vinny knew himself.
‘Okay’ he said ‘she’s yours. Now Georgia put some clothes on.’
Georgina did as she as told, replacing the clothes as carefully as she
d removed them. 
‘We’re even now Vinny, you’re free.’ With that he took his granddaughter’s hand and left the room.


1 comment:

  1. Petra Goláňová28 June 2015 at 12:45

    I wonder if you could have been a cop in one of your previous lives or if you are now in an alternative reality. :)

    ReplyDelete