Dead Set on Living

by Radioactive Ultra Donkey

End of a Journey..

Author's Note:

Hello boys!
I told you I'd be back, you grots! After riding the lifecoaster for a few years I decided to take another shot at this hobby. I hope you guys are along for the ride!
I'll take yet another look at the story and might cut away a lot of stagnant parts for pacing sake.

Since most of the guys from "thee olden days" have found better things to so, I'll need a new proofreader and definitely an editor. So let me know if you're up for the task.

Oh, almost forgot, the new title is way more in line with the story and the direction I'll take it to.
The next chapter will be up tomorrow, most likely.

Point out anything that bothers you.
Cheers!

“Have a good time, ma'am,” said Alex, trying his best to make it sound like he hadn't said that very sentence a hundred times before that night. He smiled politely as he gave the lady her all-access card back, receiving a generous smile in return.

Hearing the entrance click shut behind him, he allowed escape to a curt sigh and watched the cloud of vapour dissolve in the crisp autumn air.

He gently moved away the cuff of his mandatory dress shirt to glance at his watch. It was just past four, meaning the entrance was to be closed down. Part two of his job just began; making sure people could get home in one piece.

With his mood brightened, he couldn’t help but tap his foot to the rhythm of the overplayed club music.

“It's bloody past four in the night! Is now really the time to call me about that?”

Alex turned his head towards the exit, out of which walked a familiar face.

“Okay okay, fine.”

It was Eddy, a rather close friend of Alex since late high school. He held a phone in the hand next to his ear and two steaming cups of coffee in the other.

“No, it only does it when I switch from second to third,” Eddy spoke into the phone. “Hold on.” He then reached out, allowing his friend to take one of the cups. “No… Yes, of course it’s a manual, what am I, daft? No… Yes, he’s here, what are you talking a-” Eddy stopped mid-sentence. After a couple of confused glances at his phone he blurted out; “Bleeding hell! The toss hung up on me!”

Alex witnessed the event rather confusedly. “Who?”

Eddy tisked and put his phone away. “That Bexley guy, ah, the mechanic,” he answered, leaning against a wall.

Alex took a sip from his coffee, peering over the rim to give his friend a sceptical look.

“I know,” Eddy sighed. “I mean, I don’t. He called me and started asking about what he had to look at on the truck.”

Alex chuckled. “There’s something wrong with that guy, I’m telling you,” he said. Eddy shrugged and rolled his eyes. “Anyway, where is he?”

“I don’t know,” Eddy chided. “He’s on his way here, apparently. He asked if Lachlan's here and said he was on his way.”

Alex groaned. “Please, no… Last week he was so off his trolley he threw up everywhere inside. Didn’t miss a single spot, really,” he recalled. Eddy bursted into a barking laugh. “No, I’m serious, Eddy! Besides, entrance’s closed, no one gets in from now on.”

“Heh,” Eddy sniffed, stroking his bearded chin. “Didn’t you wallop him to the face afterwards?”

Alex folded his hands together. “I did, he called me longshanks.” Eddy didn’t answer, opting to shake his head amusedly.

Some time passed. The relative inactivity around the exit was made quite bearable with the help of a hot cup of coffee and the company of a good friend.

Alex caught Eddy yawning. “Tired?”

Eddy nodded exaggeratedly. “Tired? Yes, I’m tired! Guess where I slept last night?” he asked, prompting Alex to look at him inquisitively. “That’s right! On the couch! I woke up this morning and had Action Man stuck in my arse!”

Alex chuckled at Eddy’s antics and looked down at the man's left hand, and at the golden ring proudly fixed on the fourth finger.

Obviously, Eddy was happily married for a few years now to a woman he loved dearly. He lived in a nice, sizable home with two young rascals to look after. Alex respected that, and perhaps even envied it.

“Debra’s birthday,” Eddy started as if remembering just then. “Tomorrow, right?”

“Today,” Alex corrected, his face lighting up. “I called her yesterday, she still has no idea.”

“Good.” Eddy nodded, tinkering with his phone. “Um, would you mind if I bring the youngest with me? Carol's working and-”

“Of course,” Alex interrupted. “Debra would love that.”

“Hey, thanks, I-" Eddy interrupted himself, looking past Alex. "Shag me twice on wednesday...”

Following his gaze, Alex saw a familiar car park a distance further, soon after revealing its occupant; the Bexley mechanic.

“Oi!” the man shouted, waving a hand as soon as he spotted the doormen. Alex could tell the guy had seen one over the eight, as shown by the beeline he followed to approach them.

“What are you doing here, Alfie?” Eddy hissed.

Alfie the Bexley guy gave him an odd look. “What? I have some business with Lachlan, so maybe… let me in? Okay?”

“You’re a tad late,” Alex answered, prompting the much shorter man to turn towards him. “Entrance’s closed long ago, you’re not getting in,” he continued, pointing a finger at the nuisance. “Especially not since what happened last week.”

Alfie’s eyes squinted, and Alex’s fingers itched badly.

Eddy literally stepped in between them. “Let’s just stay calm, a’ight? Now, just tell us what you’re doing here.”

Alfie sighed. “I told you, I have to speak to Lachlan about… you know what.”

Alex frowned. “I don’t.”

“I do,” Eddy half-sighed. “You’ll have to wait until we close down, one hour and-a-half from now.”

Alfie groaned, looking around him in frustration. “No, I-” he fell silent, looking off into the distance.

Alex followed his gaze and saw a white van park a moderate distance away, nothing suspicious.

“You’re right, I’ll wait in the car.”

Both Eddy and Alex looked surprised as Alfie simply turned around and left, making his way to his car.

“What was that?” Eddy asked.

Gesturing towards the van, whose headlights were long since off, Alex tried to piece everything together. “He saw that van park up there, I’m not sure...”

Eddy nodded. “Yeah, he shat himself, what’s he gotten himself into now?”

Time passed, and the occurence had slipped from Alex’s mind some time earlier. Nearing six o'clock, most of the partygoers had gone home, with the remaining few standing outside smoking or waiting for a cab to arrive.

Eddy and Alex had gone inside to get their pay and weren’t all that surprised to see the place was a dump; The dance floor was stained with all kinds of spilled liquors, and cigarette filters were scattered around the lounge area, ashtrays overflowing with the things.

“This is what happens when someone calls off, not enough staff to keep up with the animals,” said Eddy.

Alex pursed his lips, looking at the mess. “It's been worse, though. Remember New Year's Eve?”

Eddy shuddered. “Just... Don't remind me...”

As the clock passed six, everyone called it a night and went on their way home.

“I’ll call you when I wake up, a’ight?” asked Eddy as he unlocked his car.

Alex waved at his friend and started walking. As usually he had to park quite a distance away. He grumbled something about staff-only parking spots until he caught eyes on a familiar vehicle still parked on the same spot.

Walking past, Alex couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, only adding to the mild confusion.

He shook his head, and mentally rolled his eyes. Alfie was a grown man, capable of making his own decisions. If he was in trouble, it shouldn’t be any of Alex’s concern.

Just behind him, the van's back doors swung open. Immediately pulled back to full attention, Alex turned around and saw three men jump out of the vehicle.

"Seriously," he managed to stammer, before hell broke loose.

"Get him!"

Alex swung blindly into the mass. Left. Right. Each time his fist collided with something, but it didn't do anything to stop them. As if done a hundred times already, they almost expertly seized him. With one on each side and another holding his legs, they grappled and lifted him up. Alex kicked and writhed, shouting vulgarities the entire way, and was eventually tossed into the back of the vehicle.

---

“Bloody fucking idiots! Go and wake up the other half of London, will you?!”

Alex laid on his back with hands and feet bound, a greasy rag stuffed into his mouth. He watched the smallest of the group throw a tantrum.

“The guy’s a fuckin’ tree! We kept it nice 'n' short. He almost knocked my teeth out!” a gruffer voice retorted with a certain accent.

“Can it, yankee twat! Where’s his wallet?”

Alex groaned trying to pull his hands loose. They were bound with one of the attacker's shirt. Amateurs, there was no way it would hold. Trying to be the least obvious, he felt it starting to come loose, just a little longer...

He froze as he heard a familiar click; that of a bullet being chambered.

"Would you please stop that?" the third man asked.“Help him upright."

One of the others obliged and sat Alex up, with his back against the side.

The man with the pistol kneeled down in front of him. Alex could smell a strong scent of cologne.

“Do you know why this happened to you?” the man asked, holding the weapon loosely.

Alex coiled up his body, and before the man could do something he was kicked with both feet, hit square in the face. The blow threw him back to hit the other side of the van, losing hold of the weapon somewhere along the way.

The other two scrambled, and kept Alex in place while the third found his bearings. He soon got up and loomed over Alex, having to bend over slightly under the low roof.

He kicked Alex in the stomach. "Mother!" Another kick. "Fucker!"

Alex coughed into the rag, having kicked all air out of him.

"Hmmpf! Mmm-" A punch to the face silenced his muffled response.

The man ran a hand through his slicked back hair and sighed. "Heh, let him speak." He made a faint hand gesture and the gag was removed.

A strained chuckle escaped Alex’s throat. “Hah hah hah... I’m a cop… you fuck-up... I’ll have you- Ah!” Another punch to the face shut him up.

Biting his lip in anger, Alex looked back up at the man in front of him, making sure to take every detail to memory. His olive skin, smooth face, black hairs, the beginnings of a tattoo peeking just from under his expensive-looking shirt...

“Oh, I know that,” the man spoke sternly. “I know all about you, you know.”

"That so? Then why am I here?" Alex fumed.

"Because, you're more than just a cop," the man answered. "You're Lachlan's attack dog, aren't you?"

"I'm a doorman in one of his clubs," Alex explained, not at all liking where this was going. "That's hardly the type of guy you're looking for."

"No, you're exactly the one we're looking for." The man pressed a finger on Alex's forehead. "You turn a blind eye to Lachlan’s business, and hear this, he wants you gone now," he finished with a sneer before turning back around.

"There," he tossed a wallet on Alex’s lap. "You won't need it but it's yours." Another guy put the walled in Alex's pocket.

"We’re almost there!" the driver shouted.

Alex knew it was over. He stayed put, not saying another word, nor looking at anyone anymore. He contemplated why Lachlan turned on him, who these men were and in what manner they'd finish the job.

"We're making an example out of you," the lead guy said. "You'll see."

The vehicle stopped, and the man opened the back doors. On his signal Alex was dragged towards the back, allowing him to see what they meant.

They had pulled over at the local police station. Alex could see light coming through the windows, but knew no one inside could help him.

He sat down on the edge of the vehicle and gave the familiar building one last hopeful look, desperately expecting some kind of miracle, until he felt something cold being pressed against the back of his head.

Comments

[Xenon]

ANOTHER delete and re-write? what the hell?

[Radioactive Ultra Donkey]

8594649
Hm, It's only fair that you complain. I've got nothing to say besides that after three years, It's only natural that I want to start fresh again.

[Eon333MS]

Starting over.

[JBL]

Looking forward to it.

[Odd_Sarge]

Good to see you taking another go at it.

[Twi]

I really liked the first story, let's hope this new start will be just as good =)

It's good to see that you're back at it

[Hewolf]

AWWWWW I liked the way the old story was going! But glad to see you back

[Allstar13521]

he allowed escape to a curt sigh

he allowed a curt sigh to escape
Unless you're going for an archaic vibe

Key:
Mistake
Awkward
Correction
Less Awkward
Twilight (Clarification)

[JzanderN]

8594649
Wait, this happened before?

Huh.