Excerpt: Into Something Good

Bobbie glanced down at the note in his hand as he strolled down the sidewalk until he got to the destination scrawled on the piece of paper. He looked up, finding himself at the nightclub; it was usually filled to the brim with people wanting a good night out, but seeing as it was the middle of the day, the place was dead. Bobbie balled up the note and stuffed it into his pocket. Pushing his way inside, he jogged down the stairwell until he got into the bar. The dance floor was empty, all the chairs piled up on the tables, except for one in the corner where a group of men sat.

He should have turned around at that moment. He didn’t.

‘Robert,’ called one of the men with a grin as Bobbie slowly approached. The man behind the bar slowly cleaned a glass, watching him with a haughty expression. ‘Pull up a chair.’

‘I’m not stayin’ long,’ Bobbie replied gruffly, watching the man with a steady gaze. Craig Layton gave a small nod, cocking his head lightly, before gesturing around him.

‘These here are business associates of mine,’ he said, smirking. ‘This here is Robert Hasser. He was a valued asset of mine until he decided this wasn’t the career path he was searching for.’

‘Look, is there a reason you wanted me?’ Bobbie demanded, patience wearing thin. He’d known Craig for a long time and if you weren’t straight to the point with him, he’d make the suspense last for hours, playing a constant came with you.

Craig’s smile flickered. He leaned forward, elbows on the table. His dark hair was slicked back, falling down the collar of his shirt, the top couple of buttons open, revealing dark, wiry hair. His goatee looked freshly cut, but there was a shadow in his eyes that Bobbie was all too used to. ‘I want you to do a job for me,’ he finally answered.

‘No,’ was Bobbie’s immediate reply.

‘Now, hear me out-’

‘You really think I want to get into that shit again?’ Bobbie hissed. The fan above him whirred, merely spreading hot air around. ‘You’re stupider than I thought.’

‘We both know who the stupid one here is,’ Craig said, voice low and all signs of a smile gone now. He held his hand out to his left, his eyes never leaving Bobbie’s face. A large man, sweating in his cheap suit, pressed a brown package into his hand and Craig curled long fingers around it. ‘Now, Robert, you know I wouldn’t ask you if I had somebody a little more reliable around here.’ His last words were hissed and another of the group- a kid who looked barely eighteen- shifted uncomfortable. Bobbie didn’t even want to guess what he’d done wrong. ‘All I need is for you to deliver this to a certain somebody.’

‘I’m not doing this,’ spat Bobbie, taking a step back. ‘I have a family now. I’m settled.’

‘Ah, yeah, Taylor. How is she?’

‘Keep her out of this,’ Bobbie said, voice dangerous. The smile graced Craig’s lips again. ‘Leave me alone.’ He turned, stalking back up the stairwell.

Craig’s yell of ‘You know where to find me!’ echoed after him.