All Due Respect Issue 2 by Owen Laukkanen Read Free Book Online Page A

to think, he had to move.
    Passing between two parked cars he crossed the road and headed in the opposite direction, towards the pebble-dashed walls of the housing estate. Every instinct told him to run, but even as he heard the siren, even as his heart skipped and his breath came in ragged gasps, he forced himself to walk. ‘Don’t look, don’t look,’ he said, repeating the words over and over until his self-serving mantra was lost in the siren’s scream and he at last risked a glance behind. Ricky’s legs almost gave way. The patrol car hadn’t stopped. It hadn’t gone to Ladbrokes or stopped to ask the witnesses a thousand stupid questions. It had swerved the scene of the crime and left the details for some other blue-nosed cunt to define and was bearing down on him like a Banshee from hell. Self-preservation kicked in and Ricky ran.
    Before it followed him around the corner, he ducked down behind a parked car. As it passed he clocked the occupants. The driver, older and more experienced, swivelled his head left and right, watching for any movement that might give him away. In the passenger seat, a young Turk. Keen and ready for action, his shaved, bullet-shaped head jutted forward, eyes bulging in the thrill of the chase.
    Ricky let it pass then ran to the estate where an open door or a friendly face might offer salvation. But doors had closed and any friendly face had turned away to watch the action from an upstairs window. Ricky’s heart beat wildly. He had dodged one patrol but there would be others. Matrix, the armed response unit, would be on their way and soon the estate would be crawling with police. He had to get off the street. In front of him was a six-foot wooden fence leading to the back gardens. No choice. Ricky tied a knot in the bag, threw it over, then heaved himself up, scrambled after it. He landed heavily, felt something in his ankle give and went down in a heap. More sirens echoed in the distance. Sitting up, he winced and felt his ankle. Sore, but manageable. For a moment the police would be blind but that wouldn’t last long. He had to go before they threw a blanket over the area and cut off every avenue of escape. If he could make his way through the estate and across the park, he could lose himself in the back streets. And Capo would be there. Didn’t he say if it went tits up to go to the second rendezvous point? Ricky frowned. That seemed so long ago now.
    Whatever, he had no time to think. Gathering himself he lunged for the first fence and pulled himself over. Using the gardens like stepping stones, Ricky jumped each wooden fence in succession. And as he did, he scanned each and every window for the face that might give him away. He was lucky, only once was he seen. But the old girl who had a mouthful of pegs and her hands full of linen, just stared at him like he was some kind of apparition. By the time she thought and considered her options he was gone.
    Ricky paused. He had made it to the last house on the estate. Beyond the gate was the access road that curled round and joined the through route. If he could cross it, gain entry to the private houses lining the main road, he had a chance.
    Ricky started. Bunch of kids, six or seven at most, watched from the side of the house. Any second now, he knew one was going to start bawling. Ricky put on a big smile and held a finger to his lips. Two of the kids ran. Crouched down behind a rose bush, he probably looked like Jack the Ripper. And he felt like shit. Ricky pulled down his hood, wiped his face. One kid still stood there. He forced another smile. “Hey mate,” he said. “Are the bizzies out there?”
    The boy looked at him. He was blond and blue eyed with a mass of curls. A beautiful kid, an angelic-looking kid, and he held out a hand for his cut of the take.
    “Jesus.” Ricky shook his head. Even the kids were on the fucking make. He untied the knot in the bag and handed the kid a £10 note.
    The boy turned it in his hand