Dying For LA by Ian Jones (top fiction books of all time .txt) 📕

at Reed who was leaned over, listening to Cindy who was talking excitedly to him.

Sammy glanced over.

‘Now that is a big guy,’ she commented.

‘Yep. But he’s a hundred percent. I like him a lot.’

‘So you just met?’

John looked at Sammy carefully. She was a journalist, and he really hoped he wouldn’t have to spend the evening dodging questions or even avoiding talking to her.

‘Why did you ask that?’

Sammy blushed.

‘Jeez, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like, well you know. I just wondered.’

John held up a hand.

‘Ok, ok. Yeah, we met recently. It’s nothing interesting.’

‘I suppose asking your line of business is not allowed?’

‘I could tell you, but …’

‘You’d have to kill me,’ Sammy finished for him. They both laughed.

‘Not quite. It’s complicated, and we just met. But what about you, you’re a reporter right?’

‘Yeah, actually I’ve been in TV forever. But new here in LA. And it hasn’t been a great start. I kind of banked everything on finding you, and I can’t believe I just bumped into you. I’d given up. Christ knows what I was thinking.’

She smiled, and John smiled back.

They relaxed, and Sammy told him about herself. John was happy sitting there, on the roof in the warm evening with a beautiful woman, a cold beer and the sounds of the sea. They sat there for a while, just chatting, no awkward questions then went for dinner, paying way too much for not nearly enough food in a bistro, ending up in another bar right on the seafront, then back to the hotel, where keeping his distance didn’t seem so important anymore for John.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Rico was woken by Sal shaking his shoulder. He opened his eyes slowly, there was very little daylight coming in through the windows so he can’t have overslept.

‘What? What is it?’ he mumbled.

‘Shhhhhh … shut the fuck up man, listen!’ Sal replied urgently.

Rico sat up. He could see Greg and Rolf were also awake, and watching Sal.

Rico listened, then heard voices. Yann and Leo. Arguing.

‘What time is it?’ he asked.

‘Nearly half-six,’ Greg replied.

So that was weird straight away. Yann was never awake before ten or often eleven. Which was why they always ate breakfast so late.

Rico climbed out his sleeping bag and made his way cautiously over to the stairs, but he still couldn’t hear very clearly. The other two men were two floors below and all he could really make out was Leo cursing. It was obvious Yann was being accused of something but it was impossible to tell what.

Rico pulled on some trousers and barefoot made his way silently down the stairs, with the others following. He walked across until he was immediately above the stairway down to the next floor and stopped again. Leo’s voice was much clearer now.

‘This is why you fail. This is why. Because you do not act. We give money, lot of money, and for what? You do nothing. Just sit around on your fat ass waiting for someone else to do it. I said all along you were useless. I was right. I should just shoot you like a broken horse.’

Rico turned and looked at the others. What did this mean? Suddenly he felt like a weight was lifted. Surely all this was over now. They wouldn’t be carrying on. Leo was ending it, and if that meant Yann was out the picture then so what? Nothing had worked out so far for Rico; he had very little money and no place to live but he would sort that out. He always did. He needed to get away. The four men grouped at the top of the stairs and as they talked in whispers about what they should do suddenly there was a noise and there was Leo, standing just below them, watching, strange smile on his face.

‘Come,’ he told them, and turned walking back down the stairs.

They all looked at each other and then slowly followed.

Yann was sitting in the office chair which had been pulled into the main room. The big metal trunks were lined up on the floor, all open. They were full of guns and ammo, but both Rico and Sal knew that. Next to them was a small suitcase, standing open, empty apart from a couple of stacks of hundred-dollar bills.

Leo took position behind them.

‘You see?’ he asked.

Everybody moved closer. Neither Rico or Sal knew about the cash, but they had no idea what they were supposed to be looking at. Rico looked over at Rolf and Greg who had never seen inside the trunks either so they would be even more confused. Rico turned to watch Yann who was sitting very still, paler than ever and sweating.

In the end Rico turned to Leo.

‘Yeah, we know about these. I mean about the guns, not all that money. But we been together a long time. We been practicing a lot. All these guns work I can tell you that for sure. Sorry Leo, I ain’t sure what to say.’

Leo shook his head.

‘No. Is not the point. For weeks, we wait. I hear “They are not ready, they need more money, they do not have the weapons.” This is what I hear when I ask what is happening. Because is a deadline, no? We have to get this done, you are being paid to deliver. And all the time, is this. It does not change. But we fight in Chechnya with lot less I promise you. So what have you been doing?’

Rico didn’t know what to say, and he knew Sal wouldn’t either. All they had ever done was what they were told. Yann was still just sitting silently.

Leo picked up an AK-47 from the trunk, and then bending down at the other one snapped a clip into place.

‘I should just kill you all I think. But especially this fat piece of shit,’ he sneered.

Rico held his hands up.

‘Look Leo, we’re as much in the dark as you are here ok? We didn’t know anything. We were told nothing. We were cooped