Page 111 of Little Children

Bryant was flattening his body against the barrier and holding on to the thin wire.

‘Know what?’ he gasped, playing for time.

Pain shot through his calf as Roy kicked him in the back of the knee.

‘Everything. I can’t have you ruining my life.’

Every second was like torture, but he wasn’t going to reveal what he’d pieced together. His only chance was to pretend he didn’t know exactly what the bastard had been up to.

Roy bent down behind him and tried to pull up his injured, weakened leg.

Bryant cried out, knowing he couldn’t turn around. If he loosened his grip on the metal, there was a chance Roy could bundle him over. His only chance was to hang on for as long as he could and pray that someone was on their way.

‘Doesn’t matter what I know,’ he protested. ‘Pippa will never testify?—’

‘Fuck Pippa. I ain’t losing sleep over that slag.’

He cried out as Roy’s foot hit the back of his other leg. His knees were trembling and begging for him to fold to the ground, but that would mean letting go of the metal, the only thing keeping him from going over.

‘What then? I’ve got no proof you planted the evidence on Jasmine to frame her ex. Even my boss thinks I’m clutching?—’

‘Your boss is a fucking bitch who needs a good?—’

‘Fuck,’ he cried as Roy landed a blow to the small of his back. The pain shot through his whole body, white-hot pain that brought nausea and dizziness.

‘You’re still not getting it, you stupid twat, even if you haven’t put it together, you will eventually. That’s why I can’t let you live. I should never have shown you…’ His words trailed away as he landed another punch between Bryant’s shoulder blades.

Bryant knew he was going to pass out, and when he did, he’d let go of the railings and Roy would be able to…

‘Over my dead fucking body,’ he heard before the weight was pulled away from him.

He fought the nausea down as his legs gave way and he crumpled to the ground. He didn’t know how, but his boss was holding a writhing Roy to the ground with the help of Detective Inspector Butler.

The guv looked at him and saw the state of his face.

‘You’re a fucking bastard,’ she spat down at Roy. ‘And I’m gonna make sure you never hurt anyone again.’

‘Fuck off, bitch,’ he said, trying to roll onto his left side. He had no chance of getting up, but he was trying it anyway.

‘Get his phone,’ Bryant croaked.

‘Bryant, just rest for a?—’

‘Get his phone – out of his pocket,’ Bryant insisted. Suddenly he knew exactly what the man was trying to do.

Noting his urgency, Red reached around and took the phone from Roy’s pocket. He handed it to the guv while he put a knee in Roy’s back and took a pair of cuffs from his back pocket.

‘Fuck off, Red. You don’t have to do this. It was a misunderstanding, an argument that went too far. Brummie bastards coming up here and trying to tell us how?—’

‘Shut up, Roy,’ Red said, moving the man to the wall of the plant room and forcing him to sit. ‘If even half of what I’ve been told is true, you’re never going to get to use that badge again.’

Bryant could see that the screen of Roy’s phone was cracked from the rolling around but hopefully that was the extent of the damage because Roy had pretty much given him the evidence he’d been seeking.

‘Password?’ the guv asked.

Red took the phone and lit up the screen. ‘It’s his birthday, like every other one he uses.’

‘Give me my fucking phone,’ Roy raged as colour flooded his face.