Chapter 48: Two bullets

                                    

                                          
" It's not over until I say so."
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Neil wastes no time in calling the unknown number. But it goes straight to voicemail. "Where are they Pete? You bastard!" He shouts down the phone, drawing unnecessary attention to himself. 
"That's not Peter's number, Neil." Josh says as he retrieves the phone, showing he still had Peter saved under contacts. 
"He's behind it, I swear!" Neil says. Now tugging a little at his hair. 
Josh proceeds to call the number...
"Josh?" Peter answers the call with surprise.
"Do you have them?" Josh cuts to the chase. 
"What? Who?" Peter questions. 
"The kids Peter! Neil's kids." Josh now shouts down the phone.
"What? No. I don't know what you're talking about? What's going on Josh?"
"Someone has taken the kids from the park."
"And you thought it was me? Fuck Josh! I know I'm sick but I'm not that fucking twisted." 
"Where are they?" Neil suddenly snatches the phone from Josh's grasp. 
"I don't have your fucking kids!" Peter shouts back. 
It's now Neil's turn for his phone to ring. "Fuck, it's Jen." He huffs as he shoves Josh's phone back into his hands. 
"Jen..."
"What the hell have you done? Where are my boys?" Her voice filling with total hysteria down the line. 
"Jen I..." 
Another image comes through on Neil's phone from Jen, again of the children, with the caption. 
When he looks away, I will play. 
"This is your fault Neil. You and Joshua and his bagage. You did this now fix it. Find my boys!" 
"I will I will!" Neil looks at Josh. Who again puts his ear to his phone. 
"Pete..."
"Fuck, Josh leave me out of this please. I have nothing to do with this." Peter insists.  He then ends the call.
"Pete? Peter!" Josh looks at his phone now cut off. 
***
Peter feels uneasy. He begins to pace back and forth in his flat. He once again takes his ringing phone to his ear..."Tell me you didn't Stewart." 
"What are you talking about Peter?" Stewart laughs innocently.
"You know damn well what I'm talking about. The kids. Please don't tell me you have taken them. 
"Oh, well...maybe, but they wanted to come so technically I didn't take them." 
"Are you out of your mind?" 
"Yes. But that's why we're friends isn't it?" That's why we get along so well." 
"Take them back, Stewart." Peter damands. 
"Sorry, I can't do that." Stewart sighs.
"Yes you can. Just go back to where you took them from and leave them there." 
"But we're already here." Stewart whines. 
"What do you mean?" 
Peter turns at the sound of a key turning in the lock of his front door. 
"Hi honey, we're home." Stewart now enters Peter's flat with two small boys. "Boys this is uncle Peter." He says casually.
The children look at Peter. "Stewart says my dad took something from you. We need to help him get it back." Liam says, still stood in the room a little nervously. 
"What the fuck are you doing bringing them here Stewart?" Peter shouts. 
"Shh language! There are children present." Stewart protests, covering the ears of the younger child. 
"This stops now Stewart. I'm calling the police."  He attempts to make the call, but his phone gets knocked out of his hands. It skids across the laminate floor. 
"No, no. Peter, hear me out. No one is going to get hurt. It's just going to be a simple exchange. The boys, for Joshua. My gift to you." Stewart dares to smile at his plan. This so-called genius plan. 
"Stewart, I don't want this anymore. Josh doesn't love me anymore. I can't make him love me. This won't make him love me."
"But how will you get over this if you lose? Why are you giving up? Don't you understand the lengths I have gone to?"
"Stewart...I appreciate everything you have done for me but it's over now. These kids have nothing to do with it." Peter holds out his hands, trying to calm a now very unpredictable Stewart down. 
"No. It's not over until I say so." Stewart insists, but as he turns, he sees Peter's phone in Liam's hand. 
"You little shit!" Stewart shouts and goes to grab Liam. There are screams heard from the children before Stewart suddenly feels a sting to the back of his head. He falls to the floor, with Peter left standing with his cast iron light sabre in his hand. 
"Stay there!" He instructs the boys as Peter drops the collectable on the floor. It makes a clatter before he disappears into his bedroom, instantly pulling up the overhanging duvet from the side of his bed, in order to seek out and retrieve an old dusty brown leather box from under it. He drops the box on the bed, clicking open the hinges. Inside lay an old gun. A service revolver. Once his grandfather's when he was in the military. He takes it from the silk lined case, checking the barrel. Two bullets. Just two bullets. That is all that he would need.