Jay Matthews

Brother’s Keeper: The Finale

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New to Brother’s Keeper? Read Episode 1

Jay stands over Natalia, holding the bloodied hammer in his right hand. His left hand is lifeless by his side, dripping blood. He tosses the hammer and crouches to pick up the shotgun. He aims for her head and blasts it to pieces.

***

He drops the shotgun and winces in pain as he slowly unbuttons his jacket with his right hand. He opens his jacket to reveal his bulletproof vest – the same vest that saved him in Afghanistan – with several shotgun pellets embedded in it. He thankfully smacks the vest and slowly picks out the pellets.

He pulls out Natalia’s Zippo lighter from his jacket and lights it. He walks to the torture table and carefully places the lit lighter on it. He then crouches to pick up the dagger and walks to Alan.

He cuts the rope knotted tightly around Alan with one deft swing and supports Alan’s unconscious body with his before it falls to the ground. He searches Alan for the Mercedes key and pulls it out of Alan’s trouser pocket.

He slowly and carefully carries Alan over his right shoulder, picks the Desert Eagle from the table, and staggers out of the room.

He staggers into the hallway with the Desert Eagle raised and is met with the gruesome aftermath of his carnage. He steps over the henchman with a knife lodged in his throat and stops at Samuel’s corpse. He grimaces as he crouches to Samuel and picks out the Range Rover key.

He staggers along into the kitchen and stops at the doorway to scan the room. He is unaffected by the merciless result of his vengeance as he stares through the dead bodies. He staggers across the kitchen to the gas cookers and opens all the gas valves. He then staggers towards the exit as quick as he can.

He steps out of the back door with the gun raised and quickly scans the car park – it’s desolate. He tosses the gun back into the restaurant and staggers as quick as he can to Alan’s Mercedes. He unlocks the car and gently lays Alan on the back seat.

He walks briskly to the Range Rover and unlocks the car. He opens the back door and grimaces as he reaches in to pull out the duffel bag filled with money. He rushes back to the Mercedes and steps into the driver seat.

He swiftly pulls out of the car park and speeds away just as the restaurant violently explodes and the raging flames light up the night.

***

Jay parks the Mercedes indiscriminately outside the A&E Department of Epsom Hospital. He rushes out of the car and pulls open the back door. He quickly pulls out Alan’s wallet and removes Alan’s watch and tosses them onto the car mat.

He grimaces as he carries Alan over his right shoulder and rushes into the A&E department. He walks through the half empty waiting room and barges into the active major incidents ward.

‘I need help!’ he screams. ‘He’s dying!’

Two nurses immediately rush to him and they lead him towards a bed.

‘What’s the …’ the older nurse begins to ask, and abruptly stops as the extent of Alan’s injuries becomes evident to her.

She and the younger nurse assist Jay in laying Alan softly on the bed and the younger nurse purposefully runs off.

‘What happened?’ she earnestly asks Jay.

‘You need to pay attention now, okay?’

‘Sorry?’

‘Just listen. He’s 26, a heavy drinker, social smoker, marijuana as well, and he snorts cocaine. He has no allergies. Isn’t currently taking any prescribed medication. No long term conditions. Blood type is O positive. You get that?’

She takes a moment before she nods, and then asks, ‘What is his name?’

‘I don’t know,’ he says, and stares over her head to a fast approaching Trauma team, which is led by the younger nurse.

They shove him aside and begin working on Alan, and he watches them work. He soon becomes overcome with emotion and fights back tears. He grabs the older nurse’s arm and she turns to him.

‘Tell him …’ he stops; he doesn’t know what to say. He lets go of her arm and walks away.

‘Where are you going?’ she questions him. ‘You are bleeding. You …’

‘I will be back,’ he says, and turns around. ‘Tell him I will be back.’

***

Jay stands over Stephen, who is asleep with an I.V still inserted through his hand in a patient room in a different ward of the same hospital. Across the room, Stephen’s wife is asleep in a cosy sleeping bag.

Stephen’s breathing is regular and his blood pressure on the monitor beside the bed reads relatively normal.

Jay softly shoves Stephen in the shoulder, but Stephen doesn’t wake up. Jay flicks Stephen’s nose and Stephen instantly wakes up. Stephen attempts to speak, but Jay covers his mouth.

‘Quiet,’ Jay whispers.

Stephen nods and Jay uncovers his mouth. Stephen scans Jay for a moment and is visibly concerned.

‘Are you okay?’ Stephen whispers.

‘Yes,’ he says, and pauses for a beat. ‘Sincerely, no, but I’m doing better than you.’

They smile at each other.

‘I know you won’t be in this bed much longer,’ Jay continues. ‘But Alan will …’

‘Alan?’

‘Yes, he’s downstairs in A&E.’

‘Was is the …’

‘That doesn’t matter anymore. It’s sorted.’

Stephen knows exactly what Jay means and nods.

‘Is Alan alright?’

‘No, but he will be. I need you to watch him from a distance while he recuperates. I need time, a couple days, maybe more. Downstairs, they don’t know who he is, and I’d like to keep it that way for as long as I can, unless the stubborn fucker wakes up and tells them, but I think he’s going to be out for a while.’

‘He’s that bad?’

‘Yes.’

‘And you’re leaving again.’

‘Yes, I need to finish something.’

‘You don’t.’

‘I do. Tell Alan I said …’ he pauses for a beat, gathering his thoughts. He’s not at all good at voicing his emotions; he hasn’t had any practice. ‘I’m not here, but I am actually here. I’m here for him. I will return.’

‘You want me to write this down?’ Stephen teases, and they smile. ‘I’ll tell him. Take care, brother.’

‘You too, brother. Wednesday, expect a package. It’ll come every three months till I return. Sort yourself out, take care of Alan … and Derek.’ He gestures to Stephen’s wife. ‘And her.’

‘Thank you.’

‘Thank you.’

Stephen watches Jay walk away.

***

Jay steps out of the hospital and walks briskly past a couple ambulances to the Mercedes parked outside the hospital. He steps into the car and speeds off.

He pulls out his phone, scrolls to Mr Smith’s number, and calls. It’s answered immediately.

‘Hello, Captain,’ Mr Smith softly says in his distinct soothing elderly Texan accent.

‘Hello, Lieutenant General Rupert Spencer-Harington. Yes, I know your name, as you know mine.’

There is a moment of silence.

‘Very well, Captain Matthews,’ Rupert, aka Mr Smith, says in a relatively younger and very cultured English accent – his real voice and accent.

‘You got my brother killed.’

‘No. You got your brother killed. You became a loose end. Your brother was simply collateral damage.’ He pauses for effect and continues. ‘And from what I gather, your brother was well on his way to getting himself killed.’ He pauses for a beat. ‘But unsurprisingly, you survive. You, Captain Matthews, are a very special soldier. What a shame. Oh well, we won’t underestimate you again.’

‘You won’t live to make that mistake.’

There is no response from Rupert.

‘I’m coming for you,’ Jay says. ‘I’m coming for you all.’

‘We’ll be expecting you.’

Jay ends the conversation as he slows to a halt at a red light. He opens the phone and picks out the red SIM card on the battery. He tosses the phone out into the desolate road and speeds off into the night as the traffic light switches to green.

Brother’s Keeper: Episode 35

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New to Brother’s Keeper? Read Episode 1

Jay turns back to Alan, but then a sudden shotgun blast smashes into him and drives him across the room. He crashes onto the wall and collapses to the floor. He is lifeless and blood begins oozing from him.

***

Natalia quietly parks her Mini Cooper beside her brother’s Range Rover and hurriedly steps out of the car, holding her P22 pistol firmly. She walks briskly to the back door and rummages through her bag for the key. She picks it out and quietly opens the door.

She steps into the kitchen and is immediately startled by a gunshot, and then another shot. She takes a deep breath and walks on, but is then taken aback when she sees the dead bodies spread around the kitchen, each with a bullet hole in the head and two in the chest – all clinically done.

She steps into the hallway leading to the restaurant’s back room and stops in stride when she sees Gennady, laying dead with a massive hole through his head, Samuel, on top of Gennady with a bullet hole where his ear used to be, and three other dead men from her dad’s crew, one of whom has a knife through his jaw.

It is an immensely gruesome sight and she has to fight her impulse to puke, but just then there are two simultaneous gunshots from inside the room that startle her and fill her with immense fear as to the fates of her brother and father.

She walks on, but steps on and almost trips off a sawn-off shotgun. She looks down to the shotgun as she curses underneath her breath, and then she looks to her comparatively tiny P22 pistol and back to the shotgun. She quickly places the P22 pistol in her bag and crouches to carefully pick up the shotgun.

She pumps the shotgun as quietly as is feasible and walks purposefully into the room with the gun raised. Soon as she steps into the room, she sees Jay with his back to her. She carefully aims at him as he turns towards her, and shoots him in the chest.

The gun blast drives Jay across the room into the wall and he collapses onto the floor. She watches as blood begins to ooze from his body.

She remains in the doorway and scans the room. She sees Robert, who appears dead and is bleeding out, in front of the desk and races to him.

She crouches to him and drops the shotgun to cradle his head. She passionately sobs as she attempts to stop the bleeding from his neck, but she can’t stop it.

She screams with immense grief and shakes his head as she calls out to him, ‘Roman! Roman! Please, don’t …’

Suddenly, he opens his eyes and struggles to keep it open as he stares at her.

‘Natalia!’ Mr Petrov calls out from the other side of the desk, and that startles Natalia.

She attempts to respond to her father, but Robert opens his mouth in an attempt to speak … but he can’t manage it.

‘Natalia! Help me,’ Mr Petrov pleads in Russian, through severe pain.

Again, she attempts to respond to father, but then Robert fights to speak.

‘He …’ Robert just about utters, and stops to gather strength. ‘Killed …’ he pauses again. ‘Mother.’

With that, Robert dies in her arms. She embraces him tightly and shuts her eyes for a very long moment.

She opens her eyes and out pours a flood of tears. ‘I know,’ she says to him, and kisses him softly on his lips.

‘Natalia!’ Mr Petrov desperately calls out again.

She gently sets her brother’s head on the floor and picks up the shotgun as she stands. She walks around the desk to her father.

He’s bleeding profusely, seemingly from all around his torso, and a considerable pool of his blood spreads out from him. He looks up at her with relief.

‘My darling, help me.’

She pumps the shotgun and aims for his head.

He is in visible shock and then is overcome with fear. He attempts to speak, but she blasts his head to pieces.

She lowers the gun and begins wailing. It is loud, absolutely frantic, and goes on nearing five minutes before she gathers herself and turns to Alan, who is evidently breathing, although very faintly.

She walks to Alan, pumps the shotgun, and aims for his head, but just before she pulls the trigger, Vasily’s hammer smashes into the crown of her head and she collapses to the floor.

Jay stands over her, holding the bloodied hammer in his right hand. His left hand is lifeless by his side, dripping blood.

He tosses the hammer and crouches to pick up the shotgun. He aims for her head and blasts it to pieces.

Brother’s Keeper: Episode 34

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New to Brother’s Keeper? Read Episode 1

Mr Petrov stands, alert, and watches Jay step into the room with two guns raised. Jay’s face is almost entirely covered in blood splatter, but there is calmness beyond the blood of several dead men. He turns and stares at Robert and Mr Petrov.

***

Jay stares at Robert and Mr Petrov for a long quiet moment before he turns away from them to walk towards his lifeless brother.

Mr Petrov is momentarily confused by Jay’s action, but it quickly dawns on him that the Captain is in fact Alan’s brother Jay. He attempts to swiftly reach for his revolver, but Robert pulls out the M9 handgun and, without looking up from the ground, aims for his father.

Mr Petrov stops in his tracks and is taken aback. His mind is further mired in bewilderment as he ponders if Jay and his son are working together; and, if so, for how long; or maybe Jay’s employers are betraying him. Suddenly, he smiles, because he admires the move by his son – ruthless and impeccably timed; better late than ever to prove yourself the son of Sergei Petrov. He looks back to Jay as Jay approaches Alan.

Jay crouches to his brother and fights back his emotions as he checks his brother’s neck for a pulse. There is a pulse, although very low, and Jay shuts his eyes tightly in relief. He scans his brother’s wounds and, again, his rage threatens to overcome him. He cradles his brother’s head and softly kisses his brother’s forehead, like he used to do when Alan was just a baby. He turns to Roman and Mr Petrov – they will pay dearly.

Mr Petrov looks away from Jay to his son, who is still staring down to the ground – this bloody coward couldn’t have set all this inmotion; he’s just a pawn; a bloody disgrace.

‘You’ve been played, you foolish boy,’ Mr Petrov says in Russian. ‘Look at me!’ he demands.

Robert, with teary eyes, looks up to Mr Petrov, and Mr Petrov is in visible disdain at his son’s tears.

‘You bloody coward. You are …’

Robert pulls the trigger and Mr Petrov flinches, but there is no gunfire. Robert repeatedly pulls the trigger, but still no gunfire – Jay had emptied the gun clip into the back garden of the safe house.

Mr Petrov realises the gun is either jammed or out of bullets. He swiftly picks up the revolver and shoots Robert – the bullet pierces through Robert’s neck and Robert crashes unto the floor.

Mr Petrov quickly attempts to shoot at Jay, but Jay shoots him in his right shoulder and the revolver flies away from his grasp as his arm becomes limp. He attempts to clutch his severely wounded shoulder with his left hand, but Jay shoots his left shoulder and that arm becomes limp. Mr Petrov screams in pain and falls back unto his chair.

Jay walks calmly towards Mr Petrov with both guns aimed at Mr Petrov’s head. Mr Petrov attempts to speak, but Jay shoots him in the belly with both guns and he collapses unto the floor.

Jay walks around the desk to Mr Petrov, who is bleeding profusely from his belly and shoulders and wailing in pain. He aims both guns at Mr Petrov’s head, and Mr Petrov looks up at him without an ounce of fear.

‘Finish me,’ Mr Petrov says in English, through pain.

Jay slowly lowers the guns.

‘You are finished,’ Jay says, and walks away.

Mr Petrov attempts to object, but he cant muster any words as he is in too much pain and losing blood rapidly – he is dying, slowly and ever so painfully.

Jay walks away from the desk but suddenly stops and turns around to Robert.

Robert is in his last moments of life as he bleeds profusely from his neck, but his dying eyes are focused on Jay.

There is a long quiet moment as they stare at each other. Jay nods softly at Robert, and Robert struggles to nod back but he can’t and instead slowly blinks at Jay. The share a moment of acknowledgment and then Jay turns to walk back to Alan.

He scans the small table beside Alan with the torture devices neatly arranged on top. He places both guns on the table and picks up a sharp exotic dagger.

He turns back to Alan, but then a sudden shotgun blast smashes into him and drives him across the room. He crashes onto the wall and collapses to the floor. He is lifeless and blood begins oozing from him.

Brother’s Keeper: Episode 33

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New to Brother’s Keeper? Read Episode 1

Jay takes a deep breath and slowly exhales. Suddenly, he pulls out the knife and drives it into the throat of the square jawed henchman in one swift motion. He then simultaneously grabs the henchman’s Desert Eagle with his left hand and pulls out Slim Charles’ gun through his jacket pocket with his right hand.

***

Robert struts confidently past the square jawed henchman into the back room of the restaurant. He stops momentarily to stare at Alan, who is lifeless, absolutely battered, and tied to a chair as is customary when Vasily is on the job.

He turns to glare at Vasily, but then he hears the door shut behind him. He looks behind to see that Jay and Samuel haven’t been let in. He is alone. Immediately, his demeanour changes; his confidence withers into immense fear. He turns to his father, sat behind his desk and glaring intently at him, and this only reinforces his fear.

“Fuck that,” he thinks. “Fuck him.” He attempts to strut towards the desk, but as he approaches his fear threatens to overcome him.

He stands at the desk, like a student awaiting punishment from the headmaster.

‘Sit,’ Mr Petrov says, and gestures to a chair beside Robert.

Robert diligently sits.

Faint noises of continuous semi-automatic gunfire from just beyond the thick door seep into the room.

Robert is alarmed. ‘Can you hear that?’ he asks Mr Petrov in Russian.

‘I hear nothing,’ Mr Petrov stoically replies.

The faint noise of gunfire abruptly ceases.

‘Why did you do it?’ Mr Petrov solemnly asks.

‘Do what?’

‘Why did you kill my boy?’

In that moment, Robert notices the silver revolver on the desk in front of his father. He looks up to his father and sees the quiet rage in his father’s eyes. He’s seen that look several times before, although never directed at him, as if it was he’d be long dead. Now though, the look is directed at him – his life is in the balance.

‘I didn’t,’ he says earnestly. ‘It was a mistake. I specifically told the Captain not to touch Fyodor.’

Mr Petrov is evidently agitated by Robert’s response.

There are two loud knocks on the door.

‘I’m not ready for them!’ Mr Petrov screams at Vasily.

He returns his focus to Robert and there is a moment of silence as they stare intently at each other.

‘I’d respect you more as a man if you just admit you did it,’ he says, and pauses. ‘I understand. If I were you, I’d have killed him too.’ He pauses to allow that statement to sink into Robert. ‘You think I killed your mother, don’t you?’

Robert opens his mouth to speak, but he stops and doesn’t speak.

‘You’re a man now,’ Mr Petrov continues. ‘Well, you’re of age to know this things. Yes, I killed your mother.’

Robert leaps out of his chair, fuelled with rage.

‘Why!’ he demands with a scream.

Mr Petrov stoically stares at Robert for a long moment and then shakes his head in disappointment.

‘Now that you know for sure that I killed your mother,’ Mr Petrov says, and gestures to the revolver. ‘Kill me. Be my son. Do what I would do.’

Robert’s rage is on the verge of eruption as he stares at his father and glances at the revolver.

There is a long quiet moment as Mr Petrov casually waits for Robert to act, but then Robert’s rage begins to simmer and he sits.

Mr Petrov shakes his head in disappointment.

‘Now tell me, did you kill my boy?’

Robert doesn’t respond; he looks to the ground and fights back tears.

Mr Petrov stares intently at Robert with a mixture of shame, disappointment, rage, and resignation – shame, because he had a hand in raising a coward and his blood runs through the coward’s veins; disappointment, because even though he’d given Robert more than enough chance to grow into a strong and brave man like his father, Robert is in fact nothing but a coward; rage, because this coward has killed his son, his chance at redemption; and resignation, because he will kill the coward.

Mr Petrov turns to Vasily.

‘Bring in the Captain. Maybe he will be a man and talk.’

Vasily nods and unlocks the thick door. As he pulls the door open, there is gunfire and the back of his head explodes. He collapses backwards onto the floor and there is a large bullet hole in his forehead.

Mr Petrov stands, alert, and watches Jay step into the room with two guns raised.

Jay’s face is almost entirely covered in blood splatter, but there is calmness beyond the blood of several dead men. He turns and stares at Robert and Mr Petrov.

Brother’s Keeper: Episode 32

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New to Brother’s Keeper? Read Episode 1

Robert pulls open a desk drawer, picks out Slim Charles’ knife, and hands it to Jay.

***

Natalia parks her Mini Cooper in the empty driveway of the Matthews’ home and intently scans the house, searching for any sign that anyone’s home. The lights are switched on in one of the upstairs rooms facing the street, but no other lights are visible from the house.

She opens the glove compartment and picks out a pair of black leather gloves. She takes her time to wear them as she continues to scan the house. She reaches underneath her seat and pulls out a small Walther P22 pistol. She deftly unlocks the safety and checks if there is a bullet in the chamber – there is. She places the P22 in her Givenchy shoulder bag and steps out of the car.

She confidently walks up to the door and pushes the door buzzer. She stares up at the room with the lights on and waits for a long moment before she pushes the door buzzer again and firmly knocks on the door twice. She turns around to scan the quiet upscale residential street for a moment before she turns back to the door and picks out Alan’s house key from her handbag.

She unlocks the door and quietly pushes it open. She steps into the dark hallway – there are no lights switched on downstairs and no lights are visible from upstairs either.

She gently shuts the door behind her and calls out, ‘Jay.’

There is a moment of silence.

She switches on the hallway lights and walks to the open doorway of the living room; she looks in and its dark, quiet, and empty. She walks to the kitchen doorway and looks in; it’s also dark, quiet, and empty.

She walks quietly up the stairway and then stops at the top of the stairs. She remains motionless as she stares down the hallway to Alan’s bedroom, which has its door ajar and its lights switched on, and then to the closed door leading to Jay’s old bedroom just ahead of her, and lastly to the closed door leading to Jay’s present bedroom at the other end of the hallway.

She slots her hand into her bag and clutches the P22. She walks to Alan’s room door and pushes the door further open with her foot.

She steps into the aptly lit, flamboyantly furnished, but very untidy bedroom. She scans the room and notices a small framed picture on a chest of drawers – the first picture she’s seen in the entire house. She walks to the chest of drawers and stares into the picture – teenage aged Alan and Jay in loving embrace with their parents on a sunny holiday.

Her gaze remains on the picture for a long moment, focused on the mother, and then she suddenly shuts her eyes as she fights back memories of her dead mother. She opens her eyes and turns away from the picture to walk out of the room.

She opens the door leading into Jay’s old room and briefly stares into the dark and untidy room before she shuts the door and walks to Jay’s bedroom.

She pushes open Jay’s bedroom door and, even in the darkness, notices that the room is very tidy. She switches the lights on and is utterly surprised by how meticulously clean the room is. She carefully scans the room as she walks around. She stops at his travelling bag and stares at the baggage label attached to the handle – it reads from HAV to LHR via CDG. She takes a moment to ponder, and then, suddenly, runs out of the room.

The flight was from the Havana airport in Cuba, to London Heathrow, via Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris. Jay is the man from Cuba.

Natalia, holding her phone to her ear, frantically races to her car.

‘Come on, ring!’ she exclaims, as she unlocks the car.

She dials another number for Robert as she steps into the car, and returns her phone to her ear as she quickly reverses out of the driveway and into the street. She speeds on, steering the speeding car with only one hand while listening to ringing tone of her call. She then loudly curses as her call is sent to voicemail.

‘Roman, be calm,’ she says frantically. ‘But as soon as you hear this, you kill the man from Cuba. He is Jay – Alan’s brother. Jay is the Captain.’

***

Robert’s Range Rover Sport parks beside Alan’s silver Mercedes in the small car park behind Sophia’s place. Robert, Samuel, and Jay step out of the car and Jay successfully hides his recognition of the Silver Mercedes, but it confirms to him that his brother is in the restaurant, and, if still alive and he dearly hopes so, gravely needs his help.

A phone begins to ring, and Robert quickly pulls out the phone – a different phone from the one he’d shattered in the butcher shop – and stares at the caller ID; it reads “Natalia”. He hisses and rejects the call and switches the phone to silent.

He leads Jay and Samuel to the back door and taps the door twice.

Gennady opens the door. He nods at Robert and steps aside to allow Robert and Samuel through, but he then stops Jay and attempts to frisk him.

‘He’s with me,’ Robert sternly says to Gennady.

Gennady hesitates for a moment before he steps aside.

Robert leads Samuel, Jay, and Gennady who is a couple steps behind, in a single file through the large kitchen full of men who don’t look at all like chefs or kitchen staff. Eight men in total, and they all look mean and readied for a fight – they are henchman, and all look of Russian descent.

Jay, with his hands in his jacket pockets and clutching Slim Charles’ gun in his right and Slim Charles’ knife is his left, keenly observes the men and his surroundings. He follows the train into a hallway and then past two sturdy henchmen, who are heartily eating, but they abruptly stop eating and follow behind Gennady.

The restaurant phone begins to ring loudly, but no one cares.

Robert leads to another large square jawed henchman, with a Desert Eagle prominently tucked in his waistband, standing in front of a sturdy door. The henchman taps the door behind him twice and steps aside as it opens.

Robert steps through the door and Samuel and Jay attempt to follow, but are stopped by the square jawed henchman. Jay stares into the room just as its doors close and his eyes light up. He saw Alan tied to a chair, lifeless, and bloodied. He becomes visibly enraged and struggles to regulate his breathing.

Gennady and the henchmen surround Jay and Samuel and slowly begin to converge. Samuel is visibly terrified, but Jay calmly shuts his eyes.

Jay takes a deep breath and slowly exhales. Suddenly, he pulls out the knife and drives it into the throat of the square jawed henchman in one swift motion. He then simultaneously grabs the henchman’s Desert Eagle with his left hand and pulls out Slim Charles’ gun through his jacket pocket with his right hand.

Brother’s Keeper: Episode 31

~ amenalonge ~ Leave a comment

New to Brother’s Keeper? Read Episode 1

Robert gestures at the duffel bag, which is full of money, and says to Jay with a wide smile, ‘You want to count …’

Suddenly, a loudly ringing phone interrupts him.

***

Alan appears lifeless, but he’s still tied to the chair in the expansive backroom of Sophia’s Place. All his toes are smashed and bloodied and the fingers on his left hand are also smashed and bloodied. Vasily stands over him, cradling a bloody hammer and admiring his brutal work.

At the other end of the room, Natalia sits on the desk beside her father, who is evidently anxious and deep in thought.

‘I’m going to their house,’ she says to him in Russian.

‘You want one of the boys to accompany you?’ he asks, also in Russian.

She glares at him with a raised eyebrow, and he nods – almost apologetically.

‘Call your brother before you go,’ he says.

She nods and makes the call. It’s answered after a few rings.

‘Are you done?’ she asks Robert, through the phone.

‘No, why?’ he snaps at her.

‘What do you think, Roman?’ she replies, hiding her annoyance. ‘Alan is here. He has nothing for us.’

‘What’s he doing there?’ Robert angrily questions, and continues fuelled with anger. ‘I gave him till tomorrow.’

‘Calm down, dad wanted it this way.’

‘What the …’

‘Hold on,’ she says, and passes the phone to her father.

‘Why haven’t you called?’ Mr Petrov demands, in Russian. ‘I’ve been waiting.’

‘I was going to …’ Robert begins responding in Russian.

‘Going to?’ Mr Petrov questions with more than a hint of hostility. ‘The Captain has done it?’

Robert hesitates for a moment. ‘Yes, but …’

Natalia watches her father face fill with worry and she as well becomes incredibly worried, hoping its not what she fears.

‘But what?’ Mr Petrov demands.

‘Yes, he did, but …’ he hesitates for a beat. ‘Fyodor was killed. It …’

‘What?’ Mr Petrov screams.

Mr Petrov’s distraught startles Natalia and confirms to her that it is what she fears – Fyodor is dead.

‘It was an accident,’ Robert says. ‘Fyodor was caught …’

‘Bring the Captain to me,’ Mr Petrov sternly commands.

‘I can deal with him.’

‘You can’t deal with anything!’ he screams, and pauses for a beat. ‘Nothing, you fool! Bring him to me, NOW.’

Mr Petrov ends the conversation and stares down at his desk, seething. Natalia and Vasily watch him with deep sympathy as he struggles to fight back tears.

He slowly pulls open a desk drawer, picks out a silver revolver, and places it gently on the desk.

‘I’ll wait with you,’ she softly says.

‘No. You go,’ he says coldly.

Natalia attempts to object.

‘You go!’ he barks at her.

***

‘Fuck!’ Robert yells, and tosses his phone hard onto the ground, shattering it.

The room is silent as Jay curiously stares at the duffel bag, not at all bothered by Robert, although he is somewhat surprised that Robert can speak Russian – he isn’t entirely sure it was Russian, as Russian is one of the few major languages that he doesn’t at least have a passing understanding.

Suddenly, he recognises the bag – he’d seen it in Slim Charles’ house – and it immediately becomes apparent to him that Robert is in fact Roman and “What is he doing there? I gave him till tomorrow,” must be in reference to Alan.

He looks up to Robert and says, ‘I can help you with that.’

Robert stares intently at Jay, unsure of the exact meaning of Jay’s offer.

‘Your problem,’ Jay says, and gestures to the shattered phone. ‘I can help you with that.’

Robert takes a moment to contemplate and then looks to Samuel for approval; Samuel nods approvingly.

Robert takes a deep breath and says, ‘Okay.’

The room is silent as Jay and Robert stare intently at each other.

‘You’re going to need a weapon,’ Robert says, breaking the silence.

‘What about the M9?’ Jay asks.

‘I’ll be using that,’ Robert says, and pulls out the M9 from the brown envelope. He tucks the gun in his waistband and asks Jay, ‘Are you good with a knife.’

Jay nods.

Robert pulls open a desk drawer, picks out Slim Charles’ knife, and hands it to Jay.

Brother’s Keeper: Episode 30

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New to Brother’s Keeper? Read Episode 1

Natalia’s smile broadens and she scrolls through the contacts on Alan’s phone to “SUPERMAN”. She calls “SUPERMAN”.

***

Jay calmly steps into Palm Palace Shisha bar – seemingly forever busy – and walks to sit on the empty chair opposite Robert. He places the envelope – containing the M9 – on the table.

Robert gently strokes his half empty glass of gin and sprite as he stares intently at Jay. He is tipsy – he’s had four glasses of gin and sprite – and is battling severe anxiety as he questions his decision to instruct Jay to kill Fyodor – his 2 years old half brother – and ponders its unavoidable far-reaching consequences.

‘I added sprite,’ he says, gesturing to his glass. ‘It tastes much better.’ He pauses and vacantly scans the bar. ‘I like sprite.’

He downs the rest of his drink and remains silent as he continues to people watch, and Jay stoically stares at him.

He turns back to Jay and asks, ‘You want a drink?’

Jay doesn’t respond.

‘I can’t imagine it’s easy to kill a kid,’ Robert says flippantly, in an effort to disguise his true sentiment.

Jay instinctively shakes his head as a response to the comment – “it’s certainly not easy,” he’s thinking.

‘You did it, right?’ Robert earnestly asks.

Jay doesn’t respond.

‘I know,’ Robert says, hiding his resignation. ‘I got your text. Well, not me per say. I’m professional.’

Jay pulls out Cameron’s wedding ring and places it on the envelope.

Robert reaches for the envelope and drags it to himself. He stares at the ring for a moment and nods.

‘Where’s the money?’ Jay asks.

‘I don’t carry that sort of cash around. It’s very conspicuous. I like that word – conspicuous.’

‘Where is it?’ Jay sternly asks.

‘It’s in my office … back of a little butcher shop where I lay my head during the day. It’s close. Might even pack you some fucking tasty sausages to take with you.’

Jay calmly stands and says, ‘Let’s go.’

Robert leads Jay out of the bar to a black Range Rover Sport parked in front of the bar. He turns to Jay with a smile and says, ‘I didn’t think my man in the brown leather jacket needed to hide any more.’

Jay hides a smile; when he was approaching the bar, he’d noticed Samuel – the man in the brown leather jacket – sitting confidently in the driver’s seat of the car. He follows Robert’s lead and steps into the back seat.

Jay slots his hands into his jacket pockets and clutches Slim Charles’ gun – tucked in his waistband – through the large hole he’d cut in his right pocket earlier in the day.

‘Captain,’ Robert says to Jay, and gestures to Samuel. ‘Meet man in the brown leather jacket.’ He turns to Samuel. ‘Brown leather jacket man …’ He gestures to Jay. ‘Meet Captain.’

Samuel and Jay acknowledge each other through the rear-view mirror.

‘I tried to get him to wear another jacket,’ Robert says. ‘I thought it had become too conspicuous.’ He laughs for a moment. ‘But he didn’t listen. Stubborn fucker, he is.’

Samuel exaggeratedly nods.

‘To the office,’ Robert instructs.

***

They are ten minutes into the journey to the butcher shop and the car is silent; you could cut the air with a knife.

‘So, Captain, you have a family?’ Robert asks.

Jay turns to Robert, but doesn’t respond.

‘I thought so,’ Robert continues. ‘You strike me as one of the no attachment types – nothing you can’t leave in thirty seconds flat and shit. You have it right; family is fucking overrated.’

With that, the car returns to silence.

***

The Range Rover parks by the back entrance of a high-end High Street butcher shop and Jay, Robert, and Samuel step out of the car. Robert leads Samuel, and Jay, who still has his hands in his pockets and is firmly clutching the gun, to the back door.

Samuel does his best to act cool, but is evidently on edge.

Jay, on the other hand, appears absolutely calm but his mind is in overdrive working out the smoothest way of eliminating them both, disposing their bodies, cleaning up the scene, and escaping in just over an hour – which is all the time he has left from the three hours of silence he’d requested from Cameron.

Robert stops by the door and stares expectantly at Samuel, but Samuel doesn’t react.

‘The key?’ Robert asks, and gestures to the door.

Samuel pats himself, searching for the key, and then has a moment of recollection. He forces an apologetic smile and walks briskly back to the car.

Robert turns to Jay and exaggeratedly shakes his head in disappointment. Jay sees through their elaborate charade and has the urge to put a bullet through Robert’s eyes right there and then, but no, he’ll wait till he gets the money.

Samuel steps into the driver side of the car. He opens the glove compartment with one hand and surreptitiously opens a secret compartment underneath the steering wheel with the other. He quickly picks out a matte black sawed off shotgun and tucks it into his jacket before he picks out the back door key from the glove compartment.

He shuts the compartment, steps out the car, and walks briskly back towards Jay and Robert.

Samuel opens the back door and Robert leads through a small hallway into an expensively furnished office. Samuel waits at the door, and Robert walks round to the front of his desk.

Jay glances back to Samuel at the door before he walks up to the desk.

Robert picks up a duffel bag from the floor and dumps it onto the middle of the desk.

Samuel reaches into his jacket and grabs the shotgun. His nervous finger is on the trigger and he waits for Robert’s signal to shoot Jay. It’s not his first rodeo, but he has only one shot, if he misses or isn’t quick enough, he knows he won’t live to regret it.

Robert gestures at the duffel bag, which is full of money, and says with a wide smile, ‘You want to count …’

Suddenly, a loudly ringing phone interrupts him.