Meeting Father Christmas Part 5

When he got back to the flat Katerina was sitting on the bed smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. She was wearing his shirt. He leant over and kissed her forehead. She tried to force a smile but it looked more like a grimace. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot. Vinny leant against the wall.

‘Any news?’ Katerina’s voice was weak and fragile.

Vinny shook his head.

‘Why would anyone want to kill Eleanora? Why Vin?’

Vinny shook his head again

‘I dunno Kat, I dunno’ but he knew it was because he’d asked her to ask around. He knew and Kat knew he knew.

‘Vinny am I in danger?’

‘No Kat, I don’t think so, but you wanna take a few days away? I’ll fix it.’

Katerina nodded, tears forming in her eyes.

‘I wanna go home Vin.’

Vinny nodded, he knew she didn’t mean back to the hovel of a flat she shared with Eleanora but home home.

‘Ok Kat, I’ll sort it.’

Silence filled the room broken by the inhaling and exhaling of cigarette smoke. Then Katerina jumped as Vinny’s phone bleeped.

It was the phone he used for Pieter but it wasn’t Pieter’s number. Mila! He read the message.

‘She’s here.’

Vinny went over to a safe in his desk. He punched in a number and the door swung open. He took out a passport and a wad of cash. ‘Don’t go back to the flat.’ he said as he handed Katerina her documents.  ‘Book a ticket with this, keep the rest and leave today.’ With that he grabbed his keys and left the flat wondering how long it would take her to find the diamonds tucked inside her passport and wondering how he’d explain his moment of altruism to his boss.

As Vinny drove he was well aware this could be a trap, a set up, so he had to keep a clear mind and his wits about him. He parked up about 60 metres away from Mila’s flat. Up ahead he could see a little black Jeep. He’d seen it before somewhere. He wracked his brains and lit a cigarette. It was warmer today but rain in the air, the start of spring? The street was quiet, a few cars went by but there was hardly a soul to be seen. Vinny waited, Vinny didn’t like waiting. He checked his mirrors again - no one around. He’d wait for Georgina and then follow her. If the chance arose, he’d make his move but he was happy for this to be a recce, an exercise in gathering information; information was power.  The door to the house opened. The woman that emerged was unmistakably the woman who had stabbed him; stylish, sexy and moving with self-confidence. Vinny decided that he’d have his way with her before pulling the trigger. He didn’t need to worry about leaving traces, she would just disappear like the others. Following Georgina out of the house was another unmistakable figure; the small childlike Mila, she looked scared, Vinny feared the worst. They both got into the Jeep, now Vinny remembered where he had seen that car before. It was in the street on the day of the stabbing. It was beginning to make sense to him now.

He readied himself to start the car but they didn’t go anywhere.

His mobile bleeped. It was Mila's number again. He now knew this was a trap. He looked down at the message.

‘Father Christmas wants to see you. :-)’ The smiley face was a bit excessive thought Vinny.

Before he knew it, his passenger door opened and one of the Iscru brothers climbed in.

'Follow the Jeep, don't try anything, I’ve got a knife and Dan's in the car behind.’ His accent was thick, the voice tarred by 1000 cigarettes.  Vinny saw the glint of the knife in Gregor's hand and looked in the mirror to see the other ugly fucker right up his arse. He was stuck in the middle with Iscru.

He did as he was told. They drove towards the ring road. When they got on the dual carriageway Vinny thought about putting his foot to the floor, he could lose the Jeep and the heap Dan was driving in no time. But he’d still have to deal with the idiot with the blade next to him. Then the passenger door of the Jeep opened and Vinny saw something fall heavily on to the road. He swerved to avoid the object but instinct told him Mila was already dead... And so for that matter was he.

Twenty minutes later they pulled up outside a big house in the suburbs. Vinny approved, he thought it was the kind of place that he would buy if he were Father Christmas.

‘Don’t move.’ said Gregor flashing the knife to support his words.

Vinny waited until the Romanians had manoeuvred into place.

‘Don’t make sudden moves.’ Gregor was relishing the role of captor. ‘Get out of the car and follow Dan, I’ll be right behind you.’

Vinny had little option but to walk the metaphorical plank. He followed the Romanian gorilla up the path towards the front door. As he passed Georgina she smiled and blew him a kiss.

He had half a mind to punch her, claw her pretty face, ruin her looks; what did he have to lose? But Gregor had read his mind and put a steadying hand on his shoulder, keeping him on the straight and narrow.

Dan knocked on the door. Vinny could hardly believe his eyes when he saw who opened it.

‘Boss, what the hell are you doing here?’ Relief flooded Vinny’s body; his boss was here, now everything would sort itself out, this unseemly mess could be cleared up and they could all go home.

Before Vinny could shake his boss’s hand Georgina skipped passed him.

‘Papa’ she said and hugged the old man. Vinny’s relief turned to confusion as he watched his boss kiss that bitch on the cheek. Was his boss Father Christmas?

Vinny was led through the house to the study. His boss settled behind his desk and signalled to Vinny to sit in the chair opposite. They were alone except for one man who stood stock still in the corner. Vinny recognised him as one of his boss’s drivers.

‘What’s going on?’ Vinny didn’t usually feel fear, he’d never been afraid, not even when he took a beating from a rival faction at the football. Fear had never been part of his DNA. Until now; now he was terrified.

‘Vinny, Vinny, you’ve spent the last 6 months ripping me off and you have the gall to ask me what is going on? You think I wouldn’t find out that you’ve been squirreling away anything you can get your hands on. I trusted you.’

Vinny had no argument, since he’d been fired as a driver he’d been finding ways to feather his own nest, to look after himself, he'd stolen goods, overcharged customers and taken some extra commission from the pimps. He’d been careful, not too much from any one place, spread out his crime,  covered his tracks but obviously not careful enough.

‘But… you’re Father Christmas?’

‘Yes, it was a nickname I had back in Romania.’ because of my surname. When my daughter married that little runt Iscru I set him up in business running the girls on the other side of town and selling drugs and booze in places where I didn’t want to get my hands dirty. He had a free hand but still reported to me. I told him to call me Father Christmas as a code. He was good to start with and when the little toe rag started to cheat on my precious daughter well I could ignore it for the sake of the business. But when he started to beat her I had to take care of him. In fact, you did it for me, remember Georgi?’

Vinny nodded, it’d been his first kill.

‘I offered my daughter the business but she didn’t want it, so I took it over until my grandchildren were old enough to take it back into their own family. ’

‘Why stab me, why not just kill me.’

‘I wanted to see if you’d come to me for help Vinny. If you still trusted me’ his boss shook his head. ‘I’m disappointed.’

‘Fine, you got me, but why did you kill Eleanora?’

‘You were too close to her, she was too fond of you, she’d do anything for you. You asked her to get information she was getting too close, she had to be eliminated.’

‘How do you know all that?’

‘You have your girls and I have mine.’

‘Anna?’ Vinny nodded, he’d never trusted her.

‘No, Katerina.’ Father Christmas enjoyed the confused look on Vinny’s face.  

Vinny couldn't believe it. He'd been duped. She'd been in his flat reporting back on his moves. All the tears, the fragile little voice, that fucking whore should win an Oscar.

‘I warned you about your weakness Vinny. But would you listen to me? No. And I knew I could use it against you. Stand up.’

Vinny hesitated and then left his chair. His boss stood up too, Vinny watched his boss raise his gun until it was level with Vinny’s forehead.

‘And now, for the final time Vinny the Diamond, don’t mess with Father Christmas.’