SkinMarvin Gay Stories

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Chapter 5

"Right, lads, we don't want Ant-Toe-Nee seeing where his new digs are going to be just yet - let's get that blanket over his head. Mind you don't wreck his hair, Gobbo," said Charlie. A new name in the conversation, thought Anthony. What did that matter, it was hardly as if he was going to be able to go anywhere with these six animals surrounding him.

Once he'd been manhandled out of the back of the van, he felt himself being bundled down a narrow passageway (still outside) and eventually through a set of huge heavy doors, followed shortly by a smaller door. He heard a door shut behind him and as that happened the blanket was removed. "Awww, Gobbo, I told you not to wreck his hair, you stupid git - look it's all messy," chided Charlie, grinning at Gobbo. "Sorry Charlie, sorry Ann-Toe-Nee," said Gobbo, pretending to be sheepish but really not giving a happy damn....

Anthony took in his surroundings. He was in a hallway of what seemed to be a flat of some kind. The plaster was coming off the walls and there were posters of old punk and oi bands on the walls - Anthony of course didn't know that, he classed everything that wasn't Top40 as either heavy metal or rap. These were distinctly heavy metal to Anthony.

"Welcome to your new home, Ann-Toe-Nee," began Charlie, "me and the boys are going to do our best to make your stay here as happy as possible. As I told ya earlier, you can't go anywhere cos we see you as a threat at the minute, Ann-Toe-Nee, so we have to fix you up a bit so you ain't so threatenin' any more. That is, so that you're not threatenin' to US any more."

"I don't understand, why don't you just please let me go, I won't speak a word about this to anyone, honest. Look, you can blindfold me and leave me back tied up somewhere in town, just let me go, please, I beg you...." Anthony was indeed in begging mode again.

"Nah, Ant, I don't think so somehow. See you're forgettin' we know where you've come from, and we don't like coppers, Ann-Toe-Nee. Our Nadine got us more info on you than you know about yourself, sunshine. You ain't goin' nowhere till we've sorted you out, young man." A chill ran down Anthony's spine. He was stuck in the hallway of some dingy flat, and he was stuck here, and nobody, literally nobody knew where he was. His bosses in London weren't expecting his calls, the local nick knew not to contact him, and Rachel thought he was on a course in Manchester. Anthony was in deep, deep trouble.

"Yeah, Ant, you'd better get used to the idea," Nisbo chimed in, "look on it as a change of direction for a bit." Nisbo smiled an evil smile. Looking round, Anthony could see that they were all smiling evil smiles. "We've decided the best thing we can do to your bosses for tryin' to fuck up our little operation here is to take you out of action for a bit - and replace ya with one of us."

"What, you're going to pretend to be me?" asked Anthony incredulously. "That'll never work..."

"Nah, boy, we're goin to let you do the work for us - we're just goin to get rid of the old Ann-Toe-Nee and replace him with a new Ann-Toe-Nee - a make over for YOU. That'll teach your fuckin' bosses to fuck with us." Nods of assent all round from the skins.

Charlie, Nisbo and Gobbo grabbed a bit of Anthony each and dragged him further into the flat. Off to the right of the hallway further back was what was supposedly a living room. The skins had it the way they obviously liked it - an old stereo, a few battered chairs and an even more battered settee and a simple old-fashioned table were the only items of furniture in the place. Nothing matched. No one cared. A strong single bare bulb hung from the ceiling. The carpet was threadbare and quite frankly, disgusting.

Two of the other skins, Deck and Ricky, were moving what furniture there was back to the walls of the room. Gobbo went into the kitchen and brought out a heavy kitchen chair and set it under the lightbulb. Ricky brought the rope. "Go out to the van and tell Sammy to hurry up, we're nearly ready," ordered Charlie indiscriminately, "He won't want to miss this." Sammy was the one that had got Anthony into this predicament in the first place. He played the part of the innocent would-be newboy lure very well indeed. Anthony was cursing the fact he ever talked to Sammy, in his keenness to do well on the first day of the new assignment. All that seemed very far away now. Anthony gulped as Nisbo and Deck removed his leather jacket and flung it in the corner of the room.

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