Pretty Boy Psycho

Our two weeks leave goes ever so quickly. Having free time has been awesome. I’ve been keeping an eye on Geordie; made sure he’s had plenty of fun so he’s not dwelling on his horrid time at Spindle Tower. We found this tavern which serves average food and gets rowdy with music. Danny got chatting to lots of girls there. Me and Geordie sampled some beers. I totes prefer spirits. We managed to rope Charlie into our sampling session. I got giddy quick and was soon dancing with the locals. Somehow got home and woke up with a mega headache. Geordie told me I was a lightweight and was suffering with a hangover. Our days have been spent flying freely, going wherever we please. That’s been the best. After a lot of whining I managed to get everyone to come on a picnic to Dover. Don even came. He treats our house as an inn. Sometimes he’s here other times he’s not. When he is here he mainly sits on the veranda watching the scenery. He’s not on the veranda this morning.

Back to business today. Charlie’s sat with Hotaru waiting for everyone to gather so we can fetch our assignment. Danny’s there too performing a warm up exercise with his katanas. I stroke Sunshine while waiting for our captain to turn up. I hope our two weeks of freedom have been enough to make him feel better. Geordie’s very skilled at hiding how he’s really feeling. I think I can see through his facades most of the time the hard part is getting him to drop his guard and talk.

I thought Geordie was still in his room but he must have gotten up super early seen as there he is flying in-between the two hills. He lands with a thump. Scans the veranda.

“Has anyone seen that little weasel this morning?”

“If you mean Don, no,” says Charlie. “What’s he done?”

“Done. He’s been sighted on Shade several times by field agents on patrols. He’s our next assignment. Everyone’s saying Shade has a new rider and we’re supposed to bring him in. I told him to be careful.”

“You went to get our assignment already,” sighs Charlie. “I thought we were going in together.”

“Yeah well Chunk was stamping about on the roof at the crack of dawn so thought I’d take him for a ride to get our assignment to save time.” Geordie dumps some envelopes into my hands. “You have a problem. These were given to the agents patrolling Kensington by your boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend! But I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“That’s not what clerical are gossiping about in corridors.”

I tear open the first letter and read neat loopy hand writing.

Dear Corey West

Tomorrow night I am hosting a party at my house. I would be pleased to see you there. Bring your friend Danny if you like. Do keep the Hackney boy at home. He would lower the tone.

Looking forward to seeing you

Casey Hillcrest.

Oh boy. Well this letter is dated five days ago meaning I’ve missed his party. Not that I’d have gone. I open the second letter.

Dear Corey West

You were not present at my party. You missed an exquisite evening. We had champagne. I suppose you must have been busy on a job. You should pop down Kensington sometime. How about market day?

From Casey Hillcrest

Double oh boy. I drop both letters onto the ground. Half-heartedly I open a third letter.

Dear Corey West

Have you lost your manners? You haven’t bothered replying to my letters after I took time out of my busy schedule to write to you. I am having another party this weekend. I know you want to come.

Casey Hillcrest

The last letter is somewhat disturbing as there is no letter inside. I tip the envelope upside down. A lock of hair falls onto my palm.

Geordie snickers. “You got yourself a sex pest. Hanna told me Casey’s been telling the whole of Kensington that he’s seeing Corey West.”

“It’s not funny!” I wail as I turn over my hand until the lock of hair falls off onto the floor.

“I wonder what he’ll send you next.”

“Nothing because I’m not opening another one of his letters. Not one.”

“Want me to shut him up?” Danny gives me a pat on the shoulder, seeing that these letters have disturbed me. “I’ll tell him if he tries to send any more letters on I’ll make his eyes black.”

“Sounds fun,” agrees Geordie. “We’ll get him to retract his shit about you being his boyfriend too.”

“You’d better,” says Charlie. “Casey knows who Al actually is. People might start wondering how you know him Al, then your cover will be under threat.”

“Right side assignment: Shut up Casey. That won’t take long then we’ll deal with Don. Are you going to wait here Al lad?”

“No, I’ll come.”

“He wants to see you. If you turn up you’ll be giving him exactly what he’s after,” points out Charlie.

“He won’t be seeing me.” I pull up the hood on my cloak and flash a switchblade. “But I’ll be seeing him.” I tilt my head smiling. “I can handle Casey Hillcrest.” I will handle him. Show him he can’t manipulate me into doing what he wants. He certainly can’t spread false gossip about me. The back of my neck heats up. Suppose Ashley hears the gossip or... well anyone.

“What’s with the face?” asks Geordie.

Oops my smile must have dropped. “How would you feel if Hanna told everyone you were dating?”

“I’d be pissed I guess. Why are you using Hanna as an example?”

“She gives you the eye.” Poor Geordie never notices emotive stuff like girls’ eyes following him round a room.

“Assignment day!” shouts Don in excitement as Shade lands close to where we’re stood. “What assignment did we get?”

Geordie grabs Don by his shirt collar.

“Ow, you’re hurting!”

“I told you to be discreet flying round on Shade. To stay away from Cloudy patrols.”

“I tried.”

“You’re a liar. You’ve been sighted numerous times.” Geordie gives Don a shake. “Our assignment is to bring you in.”

“Me?” Don explodes into laughter.

“It’s not funny. Courtney assumes Shade’s new rider is a threat working directly for Midnight.”

Don keeps up laughing while Geordie continues to shake him. “We can’t bring you in neither can we tell Court you’re our friend. She’d still want you dead.”

“Despite him doing a couple of months training at Cloud High?” I ask.

“He rides a skeletal. He’s a threat in her eyes.” Geordie shoves Don away. “This is a headache.”

Don’s laughing disappears. “Do you want me to go away never to come back?”

“That wouldn’t solve the problem of us bringing you in. Charlie will have to figure out how we’ll handle this assignment. Let’s go sort out Hillcrest first. Punching his smug face might give me some inspiration.”

* * *

Stepping foot inside Kensington is weird. I’ve distanced myself from the place, so it just resembles some where the old me lived.

We head towards the skate park seen as that’s where Casey used to spend most of his time. I’m sure he still does. As we pass by where market day is held Don joins up with us. I think he must spend time in Kensington seen as now and again people wave at him when he passes by them.

When we arrive at the skate park Casey’s two best friends, Frankie and Milo, are drifting down slopes on their boards. Trying to come across as casual as Danny always manages to be in awkward social situations I approach the slope Frankie has just gone down. I remember how those two used to poke fun at me whenever I hung round the skate park to watch Casey skate boarding. Those were mega cringe moments.

“Is Casey around?” I ask, skipping hello.

Frankie flips up his skateboard so he’s resting one end against his palm. “He went to Bloomsbury for the day.”

“Oh okay. He should be back tonight or perhaps tomorrow?”

Frankie shrugs. “He went to Bloomsbury for the day two days ago.”

“On his own or with friends?” My heart does a sudden shocked bang. No one should walk to Bloomsbury by themselves.

“Well we’ve not gone with him, have we? Did you want him for something important?”

“No,” at this point Charlie steps in. “We’re from Cloud Association. We want to tell him to stop bothering field agents on patrols with his mail. If he wants to send letters he ought to go through the proper channels.”

Frankie isn’t listening he is too busy staring at Charlie’s scar.

“If you see him can you tell him?”

“What? Oh yeah sure.” Flip, Frankie manages to drop his gaze and soars off on his board.

Charlie stuffs a hand into his jacket pocket as he turns away from the skate park. He pulls out the letters I threw on the floor. Lays them out on a bench, examining them. Ends up tracing a finger a long my false name which is written across an envelope.

“Is there a problem?” I ask.

“Look at the y in Corey. He loops the tails round see. This one is shaped slightly different to all the other y’s. This also happens to be the fourth envelope.”

“What are you saying?”

“This letter was sent yesterday. Casey left for Bloomsbury two days ago which leads me to believe he didn’t write Corey West on this envelope, I think someone else did.”

My insides gasp. “There was a lock of hair inside that envelope.”

“Looks like someone has gotten rid of your problem,” smirks Geordie. “Maybe he got killed on the way to Bloomsbury and a sadistic weirdo sent you a lock of his hair as a keep sake.”

“Hair. What colour?” asks Don.

Danny scratches at his own hair which is similar in tone to Casey’s. “Normal black.”

“Well Midnight isn’t interested in normal black,” says Don.

“Can you all stop talking about Casey as though he’s met a sticky ending?” I re-read the letters to see if there’s anything out the ordinary in them. They seem like typical manipulative in tone letters to me. “There could be a perfectly innocent explanation as to why he’s been gone two days rather than one.”

“You should be happy he’s gone”, says Geordie.

“Gone?”

“You know dead in the Thames or bleeding in the underground with his head kicked in.”

I turn to Charlie clutching at the fourth envelope. “Do you think something sinister happened?”

“Captain Yuki does want you to suffer and Casey’s been shooting his mouth off that you’re seeing each other. Yuki might have seen an opportunity. Yes, I think that lock of hair was some sort of message.”

“So what if summat sinister has happened to him? He’s a sleaze,” says Geordie.

“He might have a massive ego but that doesn’t mean he deserves to be killed.”

“How about we report these letters to HQ? See if Courtney sees if it’s worth investigating,” suggests Charlie.

“That isn’t good enough.”

“You can’t be serious?” groans Geordie.

“We were close once.”

“You’re taking this relief role of yours too far. Casey don’t give a damn about you. Are you attached ’cause he’s Jess’s cousin?”

“No, it’s because I think I might have loved him.”

“He didn’t love you. He used you.”

“I know. I loved him, and he screwed me over.”

“You were in love at thirteen?” muses Danny.

“Perhaps. I’m not sure. What I do know is I’m going to see if I can find out how he is. I don’t expect you to help me. Helping him probably sounds nuts.”

“You are nuts but if helping him is important to you count us in,” says Geordie.

“Really?” I smile.

“We’re your crew mate,” says Danny. “We can perhaps punch him after we find him.”

“To Bloomsbury,” says Charlie. “Do you know which way Casey would have gone?”

“Yes. The same way the basketball team and cheerleading squad go when they have an away game against Bloomsbury Academy.”

I lead the way, walking the path I’d been countless times with Jess. Our arms would have been linked as we chatted away and sang our school’s anthem. How in the world did I go from linking arms with Jess to being Geordie’s back up lad with switchblades? As we leave Kensington I pull down my hood. Don runs off in a different direction, so the patrol doesn’t see us with him. We expect Don to meet us minutes later. We keep walking. He doesn’t come; what does come is a scream from over by some dilapidated tower blocks. We’re straight over to the source of the scream, through a hole in a tower block wall.

Don stands in the middle of chipped bricks and cracked slates. When he hears us coming he runs at Geordie; turns away from what’s frightened him. A huge red smiley face is painted onto the far wall. My stomach knots together churning. Beneath the smiley face is a familiar looking skateboard meaning something horrific has happened to Casey. Sick creeps up my throat on realising the smiley face could be painted in Casey’s blood.

“Captain Yuki’s special symbol. She had it painted in the cell I slept in.” Don pushes at Geordie’s chest. “She’s playing mind games. Get out. You shouldn’t respond by playing along.”

“Urrr guys.” Danny points upwards. My eyes follow his finger to a body dangling from way up on the high ceiling tied to the rafters by the wrists. Must be a strain to be held that way.

Whoever’s dangling from the ceiling they’re too high for me to reach, plus the stairs are caved in, so there’s no way up. I take off outside to see if I can find a way to get to him.

Geordie follows me outside. “Keep a cool head.”

“Someone, possibly Casey, is hanging suspended by the wrists from a tower block ceiling and you want me to be cool?” Ooo there’s a rusty escape ladder going up to the top of the building. That should work. I start to climb.

“Yuki’s playing games we need to think before -”

“- What helping him down? Games or not I won’t leave someone hanging. It’s cruel.”

This ladder wobbles and creaks. Fab job I’m slim so can shimmy on up. I manage to get onto the top of the roof well before Geordie because he’s having to tread carefully due to his bulky frame.

I kneel on what’s left of the roof. Peer down at the body. See a mussed-up version of a stylish short haircut with a long fringe over the right eye. “Casey!” I yell as I make a grab for the rope tying him to a ceiling beam. Can’t reach. I lay on my stomach. Stretch my arm right out. Manage to grasp the rope. Now what? I tug the rope over to me, as I do Casey mumbles as he’s forced to move. Alive. “Casey don’t worry I’m helping.” I keep tugging at the rope trying to pull him up. For all my attempts the best I do is jerk him around. “Sorry!”

“Move aside.” Geordie snatches the rope from me.

I keep knelt at the edge of the hole, waiting, while Geordie uses his muscle to pull Casey out of the tower. After a minute’s work Casey’s arm is in my reach; I grab hold and help pull him out.

He tries to speak as we lay him on the roof. “An a-gel.”

“Pardon?” I cut the rope from his wrists with a switchblade. Owie, the skin beneath the rope is red raw, cracked, and bleeding.

“I see a-gel.”

“An angel! You stay away from her.”

“Message.”

“She’s giving you a message? Ignore her and focus on me. Don’t follow the angel.”

“Yuki says you next,” blurts Casey then scrunches himself into a sitting position with arms folded round his stomach as though hugging himself.

“Have you been suspended for two days?”

“Didn’t you hear me?” snipes Casey. “She told me to tell you, you’re next.”

“And what did you tell her?” Geordie shows Casey his fist.

“Geordie!” I push away his fist. “He’s been through enough without you threatening him.” I take off my long yellow coat and drape it over Casey’s shoulders.

Geordie snorts. “You’re giving him exactly what he wants.”

“I’m sure he really wanted to get beaten and strung to roof rafters in order to see me.”

My coat is flung at me. “Piss off and take your sympathy with you.”

Knowing full well it’s a bad move I tap at his shoulder. “It’s okay.”

“What part of piss off did you misinterpret?” Casey shoves me off. I almost end up falling through the hole. “Fuck,” he takes in a sharp breath clearly gaining pain from moving his wrists.

“Shall I fetch Frankie so he can walk you home?”

“You will not. No one from Kensington is seeing me in this state.”

“What are you planning on doing today?”

“I’m going to sit here.”

“All day?”

“Forever. Just go away.”

“I don’t think you should be sitting up here by yourself.”

“Well I think I should. Go away.”

Geordie starts climbing down the ladder. I can’t move, not when someone is vulnerable on their own in the middle of Lundune on top of a dilapidated tower block. I sit next to Casey. Dangle my legs into the hole. After a couple of minutes Casey’s head is drooping as though he’s falling to sleep then his whole body follows his head. I put an arm in front of him to stop him falling through the roof.

“Get off.”

Realisation takes over. Casey’s hurt because he knows me. I said everything was okay but it’s clearly not. “She won’t get away with this,” I say instead of trying to reassure him.

“Excuse me?”

“Yuki she’ll pay. I promise.”

“Don’t be stupid. Yuki’s a psychopath who wants you to suffer. Do your little patrols and keep your distance.”

“But I’m not suffering you are. At least let me walk you home.”

“I told you I’m not going anywhere near Kensington like this.” And people think I’m image conscious.

“Okay then come clean yourself up at our place then let me walk you home.”

“Your poky tent?”

“There’s water and bandages.”

“I’m cool here.” Casey tries to sit straight but is soon to slump again.

Having an idea I say, “nudge,” and do just that with my elbow into Casey’s side. His eyes slant onto me. Pretending not to notice I stare around me as though in a daydream.

“Stop it.”

“Stop what?” I nudge him again.

“Fine I’ll get cleaned up at your poxy tent.”

Result. I get up. Go down the ladder first in case Casey has a stumble and needs my assistance. Takes him ages to climb down. I do a lot of waiting around.

“Finally,” says Geordie when we reach the ground. “We taking him back to Kensington?”

“Later. He needs to use our bathroom.”

“No way! He can use his own,” exclaims Geordie.

“He just needs a little time to gather his nerves before going home,” I say on my way into the tower. I pick up the skateboard, which is thank fully in one piece, and take it to Casey, hold it out to him. Too bad he’s too drained to take it. Ends up sitting on the kerb. I tuck the board under my arm. “Will someone let Casey have a ride to ours please?”

“I guess,” says Charlie sounding anything but sure about having Casey come to our house.