Read Die Tryin' for Free Online

enquired.
    ‘Me and Tony are old skool homies from North Finchley,’ Nick Black responded. ‘Charlie’s on the East side, and our man over there XR2 controls the Southgate manor.’
    Marco smiled. ‘You’re a bit of a joker aren’t you?’ he said to Nick Black.
    ‘Hang around with this lot long enough and you’ll find laughter is the only way to cope.’
    ‘Well, fuck off then!’ Tony snapped from the side of his face.
    ‘You’ll regret saying that, Tony my man,’ Nick Black said darkly. ‘You mark my words.’
    ‘Where
you
from then?’ Nick XR2 asked Marco. ‘Not round here.’
    ‘Here? No way. This is like the countryside to me. I mean you got trees on the streets and shit.’
    ‘Where then?’
    ‘Somers Town.’
    ‘What you doing up here then?’
    ‘I’ll get to that,’ Marco said before turning back to Nick Black and continuing with his questions. ‘What about work? What do you lot do?’
    ‘Tony fixes cars,’ Nick Black informed him. ‘Not that I’d trust him with mine, but there you go…’ Tony grabbed his crotch in response and gulped more Stella. ‘Charlie,’ Nick Black continued, looking at Charlie, who was eyeballing Marco hard with those bug eyes. ‘Well I’ve actually got no idea what Charlie does with himself…’
    ‘I get by…’ Charlie said, his wide eyes never leaving Marco.
    Nick Black shrugged. ‘He gets by. XR2’s a rich boy. Lives in a big fuck off mansion type thing. Works with his dad at their clothes factory in Tottenham.’
    ‘And what about you?’ Marco asked Nick Black.
    ‘He’s a college boy,’ Tony replied between gulps of beer. ‘Sits on his arse all day watching Neighbours and drinking cups of tea.’
    ‘I told you before about dissing Neighbours, bro.’
    ‘Sorry, Mr fucking PhD.’
    ‘I’m not doing a PhD, Tone. I’m not
that
clever. Nah, university is better than work, kind of like learning to fish.’
    A confused look emerged on Marco’s face. ‘What do you mean?’ he asked.
    ‘Well, work is for people who don’t know how to fish.’
    Marco chuckled to himself. ‘Very good.’
    ‘Look. What’s with the interrogation anyway?’ Tony then said in a peeved voice. ‘And what about this proposal. It’s getting late and the stink of candy floss is starting to get up my fucking hooter.’
    ‘Yeah. I wanna hear this,’ added Nick XR2.
    Marco put his hands together and stared at them one by one. ‘I’m asking the questions ’cos I wanna suss you all out, see if you’d be good for a little job I’ve got on. You know Islington and St Pancras cemetery?’
    ‘Yeah,’ Charlie replied. ‘Got a relative buried there.’
    ‘What about it?’ Nick XR2 asked.
    ‘Well,’ began Marco. ‘Once upon a time there was a bitch. Greedy, rich, selfish bitch. Absolutely minted. In fact, so minted that all she cared about were her clothes and her jewels. She had diamond encrusted necklaces, solid gold ankle bracelets, tiaras covered in diamonds, gold crowns, rings; the lot.
    But, when her old man died, the old bitch went radio rental, locked herself away from society, became a recluse. From what I hear, started getting into some dark, satanic shit. Thought she was some kind of Egyptian queen or some crap. She disowned any family she had left, became a lonely old hag. All she cared about was her fucking bling and nothing else. And even when she croaked, she just couldn’t bear to part with it.
So—’
    ‘I can see where this is going,’ Nick Black interrupted. ‘And I don’t think I like it.’
    ‘Shut up,
re
!’ Nick XR2 said. ‘Let the man finish.’
    ‘When she died,’ Marco continued, as if he hadn’t been interrupted at all, ‘she made sure she was buried with all her jewels. Every single one of ’em. Made the funeral directors dress her up from head to toe in bling.’
    ‘And let me guess,’ said Nick Black. ‘She’s buried in Islington and St Pancras and you know the exact grave.’
    ‘Tomb,’ Marco replied. ‘She’s