‘I do worry, though,’ I say. ‘Because if this is to do with drugs or weapons, I’m not interested, alright? Thank you very much for thinking of me and giving me the opportunity, but I really don’t want to get involved.’ The last thing I want to do is get mixed up in any sort of criminal activity. I’m here to try and clear my name, not muddy it.
Marek looks down at the floor and walks over to me, stopping when he gets to me and putting his hands on my shoulders. ‘Bradley, this is good work. Good money.’ He dips his hand into his back pocket and pulls out a wad of cash – far more than thirty euros. ‘This is for you. Payment.’
‘What for?’ I ask, knowing exactly what it’s for.
‘For hard work and loyalty.’
‘Loyalty?’ I say, trying not to break out into a laugh. ‘We only met this morning. I’ve done one delivery.’
‘One very valuable delivery,’ he replies, staring into my eyes. ‘One big test.’
I’m at a loss for what to say. ‘A test? Sorry, I really don’t know what this is all about. I think it’s probably just best if I go, alright?’
Marek says nothing. I head upstairs, taking the stairs two at a time, and shove everything into my rucksack. I just want to get out of here as quickly as possible.
When I’m done, I head back down the stairs and find Marek stood at the bar with another man who I’ve not seen before.
‘Ah, Bradley. This is my brother, Andrej.’
I certainly wasn’t expecting that. I’d always been under the assumption that I’d be dealing directly with Marek, and now this mythical business don of Bratislava is standing right in front of me. Andrej cocks his head slightly to one side and smiles at me. I can only presume he can see the look of shock that I can feel on my face.
‘Andrej is telling me how happy he is at your hard work,’ Marek says.
‘Very happy,’ Andrej adds, his voice much deeper and more resonant than Marek’s.
‘I’m glad,’ I say, trying to be as pleasant as possible but still making it perfectly clear that I want nothing to do with this. ‘But I’m afraid I can’t do any more deliveries. I’m only in the area for a little while. Thank you, but I have to go. Here’s the money for the room,’ I say, handing the wad of notes back to Marek, who looks at Andrej and says nothing.
‘Go?’ Andrej says. ‘But you have only just arrived. You have a job. We have given you work, money and generosity.’
‘Yeah, and I really appreciate it, but I need to go. You can have the money back.’
‘Back? No. There is no going back, Daniel.’ I freeze. Andrej’s eyes suddenly look very different. I can’t think of a word to say, but fortunately I don’t need to, because Andrej speaks again. ‘You left your bag in your room. Your passport was inside.’
I can feel my jaw hanging open, my heart hammering in my chest.
‘You went in my room? In my bag?’
‘It is important that we know who we work with,’ Andrej says, as if this is the most normal situation in the world. ‘We cannot work with liars and frauds.’
Oh, well at least you’ve got some form of morality to your business is what I want to say, but I end up saying: ‘In that case, you don’t have to. I’m leaving.’
I keep my eyes fixed to the ground and walk towards the door, stopping dead when I hear Andrej’s voice behind me.
‘The police in England are offering a very big reward for finding you.’
How the fuck have they got into my room, got my passport, identified me and found out about that in the space of half an hour? And why the fuck did I leave my passport there in the first place? I should’ve burned it along with the old rucksack. Scrap that – I should have left it in France somewhere. Not long after we’d left Claude’s place, that passport was completely worthless. I’d have been better off being caught without a passport at all than with that one. If I’d just ditched it earlier, I wouldn’t be in this situation now.
‘Drug dealing and blackmail?’ I say, without turning round.
‘At least we have not murdered you,’ Andrej replies. I’m not sure whether that’s a threat aimed at my life or a reference to him being able to take the moral high ground over the Lisa situation.
I turn and address Marek. ‘What’s this all about, Marek? Why are you doing this to me?’
Marek says nothing.
‘We are very generous to you,’ Andrej says. ‘You have a room. A safe place. Also, you have a job. And with very good money.’ Andrej’s English is far better than Marek’s, and he has that intimidating air of someone far more educated and refined.
‘I did not kill Lisa,’ I say, looking Andrej in the eye in the hope that he’ll be able to see the truth. ‘Someone has set me up and made it look like it was me.’ I choose not to mention Jess. ‘I’m not a bad person, alright? I don’t break the law. I’m not a murderer, and I’m certainly not a drug runner.’
‘So why are you here?’ Andrej asks. ‘Why did you run from England and come to Slovakia?’
I look away and shake my head. ‘I don’t know.’ The truth is far too complicated to go into right now. I wouldn’t even know where to start. ‘It’s a long story.’
‘Who killed your wife?’ Andrej asks.
‘I don’t know. I really don’t. I wish I did.’ I look him in the eye again as I speak. He says nothing for a good twenty seconds but continues to look at me. I hold eye contact.
When he eventually speaks, they’re not the words I was expecting to hear.
‘We can help you.’
48
My legs ache, the lactic acid in my muscles making them feel like they’re on fire.
I had to get out of there. I had no other option. The whole room suddenly felt stuffy and claustrophobic, like it was closing in on me. I barely even heard the last few words they said, as it all became far too much for me.
Now I’m walking randomly but purposefully around the streets of Bratislava. I don’t know where I’m going and I don’t know why. All I know is that I need to get some air, get some space, get some distance. I’ve barely been here a few hours and already Andrej and Marek have discovered who I am. What hope do I have against the combined police forces of Europe? Not much, by my reckoning.
Even though I disappeared pretty sharpish, I know exactly what’s going to happen from here. And I know Andrej and Marek do, too, which is why they didn’t try to stop me leaving. Those words. We can help you. All I want, all I need and desperately desire, is for someone to help me. To have someone on my side, someone who can find out who’s doing this and why, whilst keeping the police well away from me. I don’t even trust the British police after my experience of their corruption back at Pendleton House, so I’ve got very low hopes for the Slovakian police force.