The Other One *Editing*

Chapter 14 - Collecting Favours

What's this? And update? By me? This quickly? No wayyyy! Yet here we are. I hope you enjoy it's quite different to what I've done so far!
~EK xx

It had been months since she'd seen her, and boy had she missed her. Her baby, her little rascal and here she was right in front of her. Harley. Her beloved motorbike. Shining in a rusty old garage, filled with paint cans and forgotten toys. "Thanks for looking after her Frankie." She said stroking her handlebars.
"Its cool." Frankie said, from behind his long fringe. "I owed you anyway for that uni thing. Thanks again for-"
"Don't mention it." She said, holding her hand up to cut him off. Frankie had a habit of spilling too much and it had caused Lizzie problems in the past.
"You gunna take her for a run around then." He said, lighting a cigarette.
"You bet." She said, plucking it from his nicotine stained fingers. "I need to collect on some more favours. Don't give me that look." She grinned, passing the cigarette back to him. Frankie had flicked his hair back to frown down at her. "You know you're not my only client."
"I know." He said, rubbing his acne covered chin. "Don't mean I have to like it."

Ever since university Frankie had been slightly overprotective of Lizzie- because it wasn't bad enough having two overprotective brothers. Although he knew about her lifestyle he didn't approve. "Well I'll see ya round Frankie boy." Lizzie said, ignoring this and pulling her helmet on.
"See ya little L." He said, crushing his cigarette under his scuffed-up Doc Martin.

She zoomed off round London. Following routes only she knew, dashing in and out of slower moving taxis. She was heading to a dodgier part of London than Frankie's parent house. She had some people it was important to catch up with if she was going to keep up with life in London. She'd left her phone back at 221B to make sure she couldn't be tracked. It was extremely important that no one knew where she was heading.

Pulling up outside a grungy looking pub, she pulled off her helmet. Hair rolling out, down her back she grinned up at the wonky sign that read "The Fox." Someone had spray painted a U over the O in a poor attempt at rendering it rude. Some of the windows had cracks in them and there was a strong smell of urine around the front door as Lizzie walked through.
"Little L!" A large, bearded man called from behind the bar. "Big T!" Lizzie called back. "You missed me?"
"Course we have." He said, passing a beer to an old man who was leering at Lizzie from his bar stall.
"Can we help ya sweetheart?" Lizzie said to him, in her sweetest, most dangerous voice.
"No." He said, quickly turning back to his beer.
"Yeah that's what I thought." She said, sitting down on the furthest stall from him. "So how are things going T?"
"Yeah business is good, lot less trouble since you got back."
"Whispers travel fast." Lizzie thought out loud. She'd only been back in London a few weeks and people were already behaving.
"Yeah lotta' whispers at the moment. Stuff going on that none of us wanna deal with."
"This gotta do with my brother by any chance?"
"Sorta."
"But none of these whispers are being particular interesting at the moment. No one can tell me anything."
"No one knows."
"I think I need to go have a word with the guys, anyone in the back?"
"A few."
"Sweet." She said, pulling a wad of cash out her boot. "Gift for ya T."
"Pleasure doing business with ya." He said, tucking the cash in his back pocket before lifting the sticky counter so she could bob under. Walking through to the back Lizzie grabbed a bottle of beer.

'The Back' was a social club for those who needed privacy for they're social outings. The kind of people who needed to make dodgy deals to earn extra cash. Lizzie like to think of them as underground people. The only crimes committed here had no real victims and everyone looked out for each other. You betray someone here you become the outcast of a society that you don't want to mess with.

The room was dark with round tables scattered through it. Each one sticky and covered cigarette burns. The air was stuffy with old tobacco smoke (and other smells she didn't wish to identify.) There were a few people dotted round. Two women playing pool, a couple getting 'friendly' in a back corner and two men chatting over whiskey.

As soon as she walked in eyes turned to her. Lizzie had been expecting this, just because whispers had been flying didn't mean that people expected her back. She'd been gone for a while, only sending phone calls when people needed favours, or she needed to collect on hers. "Ya miss me?" Lizzie said, sitting down on one of the tables and opening her bottle on the bottom of her boot.
"I heard you were back." Said one of the women playing pool. She had dark hair that framed her pale face.
"Do I take that as a yes, Scarlett?"
"Of course, bitch." She grinned, setting her pool cue down ignoring the distaste of her opponent.

Lizzie slid off the table onto the chair as Scarlett joined her. "What took ya so long to come see us? And by us, I mean me."
"I had to wait till my brother got a case he was watching me too much."
"Sure." She said, dramatically while grinning.
"So, what have I missed?" Lizzie asked, sipping her beer. Scarlett had been Lizzie's top informant since she was fifteen. Lizzie had met her when Scarlett was nineteen, she'd had run away from her abusive home and needed somewhere to stay. Lizzie had hooked her up with someone and they're friendship had grown from there.

After updating her on what had been going on and any new contacts she could use Lizzie hugged her goodbye and headed back out the front. "Catch ya later Big T."
"You too Little L." He winked, and she headed out the door.

As she walked out the front she noticed the old bloke from earlier wobbling outside the front of the pub. "Oi, you alright mate?" She called.
"Course darlin'." He leered back, stumbling towards her.
"Okay, back off man."
"You're a very pretty girl you know." He grinned, half of his teeth were missing, and his breath reeked of booze.
"I know." She said pushing him back. "But honestly you're not my type."
"What's that supposed to mean?" He slurred, stepping back to her.
"Not interested mate." She shouted at him. "That clear enough?"
"You'd be lucky to have me babe."
"Oh, I bet."
"Listen here you little-" The man said charging at her. Lizzie sighed. Taking a step to the left she watched the man collide with the wall. Once he'd re-orientated himself Lizzie swung her knee out to hit him in the crotch and when he was bent over she punched him in the face. He hit the floor like a ton of bricks. "You alright there, Little L?" T called from the doorway. "This fella coursing ya some trouble?"
"Nothing I can't handle thanks. Just make sure he don't choke on his own vomit. I ain't being blamed for a pervs death."

And with that Lizzie hopped back on her bike, hand smarming slightly. Lizzie shook it out before putting her helmet back on. She had one more errand to run tonight.