3. Austin

Chapter three

Austin

T he shop was right where Google said it would be, at the junction of Somerset Road and Glyne Place.

How had I never seen it before? I’d been down this road countless times, yet walked past it every single time.

I stood in front of the gloss red door, the shiny brass knob sparkling in the morning sunlight.

Tentatively, I approached, my hand slick as I twisted the knob. It turned with ease. I slowly pushed the door open, the creak loud in the quiet.

I stepped into the store, and my eyes gradually adjusted to the dim interior.

The shop was cavernous, much bigger than it looked from the outside. Tall cabinets containing glass bottles of every hue lined the walls, and the wooden floor bore scuff marks and scratches from shoes and boots.

Old tomes piled on bookshelves full of cobwebs threatened to topple at the slightest breeze. I sneezed as a cloud of dust spiralled in the air, floating down to settle again on the glass counters.

The smell of incense filled the air, a heavy, cloying fragrance reminding me of a childhood spent at Mass in ancient churches.

“Can I help you, son?” I whirled around, almost losing my balance, but a firm hand steadied me. Where the hell had he come from?

A strangely dressed man had appeared at my side, towering over me. His top hat added inches to his already impressive height. His origin was unclear. Clean shaven with obsidian eyes that glinted in the store spotlights and jet-black hair, he looked Asian but, on closer inspection, gave hints of a Mediterranean heritage.

He was like no one I’d ever seen.

A jolt of electricity surged through me, and I jumped. A knowing smile flitted across his face. He released me, walked to the counter, and pulled out a box from beneath it.

He rummaged around inside it, mumbling, digging out knickknacks of all shapes and sizes. He inspected each one meticulously, then shook his head and put them to one side.

I’d still not said a word, mesmerised by the man and what he was doing. Was he The Owner?

A steady pile of items grew on the smooth wooden counter.

“A-ha!” He held a shimmering object aloft. “Here it is.”

He offered it to me, and I took it, a little anxious about what it might be.

“What’s this? A casino chip?” I flipped it over and over in my fingers until it finally rested in my palm. Well, if this wasn’t a sign, I didn’t know what was.

The chip pulsed, and the heat radiating from it warmed my hand. It glowed, getting redder by the second, and the heat became too intense, unbearable, but as much as it burnt, I couldn’t let it go. Panic set in and my heart raced, fear slowly turning to relief as it cooled.

I looked pleadingly at the shop owner, who regarded me with a grin.

“Yes. I knew it. That’s what you came for.”

Honestly, I’d come here with no idea what I was looking for other than help. Curiosity had driven me to seek the shop and step inside.

I’d assumed I’d need to explain my wants to The Owner, but it seemed he’d known my needs before I did.

“What do I do with it?”

Was it priceless? The casino chip looked old, covered in scratches, with a small nick on the edge.

“Use it. What would you usually do with a casino chip?” He frowned.

“Gamble with it?”

He tilted his head. “Maybe? Or maybe it’s just an amulet. Protection? Assurance? What do you think you need it for?”

What did he mean by that? I’d come here on a whim, not expecting anything. Grandpa had been right, but he’d said nothing more.

“How much do I owe you?” Did I need to pay?

The chip couldn’t be worth much in its current state.

The man shrugged. “You’ll pay when the time is right.”

I looked down at the chip sitting in my palm. It no longer glowed and was now cool to the touch. As much as it had burnt my skin, it had left no marks.

“But wait. I have something else.”

He pulled a pack of cards from his waistcoat, a strange-looking deck like nothing I’d seen before.

“What are those?”

He shuffled the cards quickly, split the deck several times, and fanned them out on the counter.

“Tarot. Choose a card.”

“I’m not into parlour tricks.”

“I assure you this is no parlour trick. Humour me, young man.”

Where was that accent from? I couldn’t place it.

The backs were black, silver stars twinkling, blinking on and off the more I gazed at them. Did one call to me more than another?

I reached out my hand, then pulled it back again. This was stupid.

“Take a card. What harm can it do?” He smiled broadly.

Ah, fuck it. If it kept him happy.

I snatched a card from the counter and held it to my chest.

“Hmm, being coy. What are you expecting to see?”

“Something that’ll bring me luck.”

He tilted his head. “I think you have that already. I sense something in you, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Human parents?”

“What? Of course. What else would they be?”

“I’m just commenting on what I feel. What I sense from you. If you say so, young man. Now let’s look at your card.”

I pulled the corner back and sneaked a peek. What the actual fuck?

I presented it to him.

Of course it was the Devil.

“Ah, so many questions. So many answers. So much in your future.”

“Good or bad?”

He sucked in a breath. “I can’t tell you that. It’s not what this card is about.”

“What is it, then? What does it mean?”

“In a nutshell? Addiction, obsession, secrecy, cheating, sexuality, entrapment. The list is endless and so much more.”

Nothing to do with Dante, then. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or not. Even so, the card’s description didn’t sound good.

“I get the impression that’s not what you wanted to hear.”

I didn’t know what I’d been expecting from my visit. Certainly not a tarot card or the casino chip now sitting in my coat pocket.

“I’m not sure what I wanted. For a start, I didn’t know if this shop was even real. My grandpa used to tell me stories.”

“Ah yes. I remember him well.”

“What? How could…” That lying old man. Wait until I got home. I’d be having words.

“Tread carefully,” the man said, his face now serious. “Something bigger is at work here.”

A noise off to the side startled me, and I turned away from him. I thought we’d been alone in the store all this time.

“What do you mean?” The spot he’d been standing was empty. Where in God’s name had he gone to?

The front door swung open, a flurry of leaves blowing in. That seemed to be my cue to leave, and I walked out into the street. Chill seeped into my bones.

Not only was the man nowhere to be found, but the shop had gone too. Well, it was still there, just not how it had been mere moments ago.

A boarded-up door replaced the shiny red one, the windows were dirty and cracked, and faded posters peeled as if they’d been hanging on the brick walls for years.

I tried the sticky, dull brass doorknob, but it didn’t budge.

Had I travelled in time?

An improbable and unlikely scenario, but I checked my phone all the same.

Yep, still the same date, but time suggested I’d only just arrived.

“Hey,” I asked a man walking by the now abandoned store, his small dog cocking his leg to pee on a lamppost. “Do you know when this was last open?”

“I don’t ever remember seeing it open. Looked like that for years.” He pulled up his collar, secured his flat cap on his head, and hurried away, dragging the poor dog behind him.

Weird didn’t even cover it, but as I put my hand in my pocket, my fingers touched the rough chip nestled there. I hadn’t imagined it, then.

I shivered and took one last look at the boarded-up store. Nope, too much weirdness for the day.

I ran, putting as much distance between me and the shop as I could.

I finally stopped a few streets away and leant against a wall to catch my breath. Fuck!

I called Joel. “I want to do this job as soon as possible.”

My run-in with The Magic Shop owner had spooked me. He’d known things no one could about me, and when he’d pulled out the Devil card, I had no idea what that meant.

I was no angel, that was true, but a devil? I wasn’t that bad.

“It’s gonna be a couple of days. Pete’s got himself tied up in something and is currently down the nick.”

“Fuck.” I slammed my hand against the wall. Tingles shot up my arm.

“Hey, take it easy. I said a week. It’s been only a day.”

I knew that, but I wanted this one done. The niggling doubt hadn’t gone away. It’d got worse.

Maybe I should back out?

“I think I’m out, Joel. I’ve got a funny feeling about this one.”

“What? Fuck, Austin. We agreed. We’d do three, then be done.”

“Then pick another one. This job has disaster written all over it.”

“No. This is the one we chose. We have the best chance to get as much money as possible from this one. The stakes are always higher at this one. The starting bets are higher. They command a more affluent clientele.”

“And you think we can win?”

“I think you can win. There’s a difference.”

“You put far too much faith in my abilities. I could lose every penny I win.”

“It’s never happened, so why should it this time?”

He had a point, but something didn’t sit right. I knew this was wrong, but how could I let my friends down? When we were much younger, we’d made a blood pact.

We weren’t the four musketeers, none of this all for one, one for all bullshit.

But we’d grown up together. Faced the same problems many had, but we’d chosen to stick together.

They’d never forgive me if I bowed out now, and I was no coward.

“Okay, then I’m still in.” I squeezed my eyes shut. God, hopefully, I didn’t come to regret my decision.

“Good man, good man. I knew you wouldn’t let us down.”

Despite having each other’s backs, I knew Joel couldn’t possibly be the mastermind behind these jobs, as much as he thought he was.

Someone higher must have been pulling his strings. I just didn’t know who. Joel came from a long line of criminals, unlike me.

Grandpa had always been an upstanding citizen, and so had Dad until he’d fucked off and abandoned me.

We’d never known Momma’s family.

The other thing was, I didn’t know what the effects would be of the chip The Magic Shop owner had given me. He’d said nothing other than it could help me.

And what had he meant about paying when the time was right?

When in fuck’s name would I know the right time?

The chip buzzed, a faint throb in my pocket.

“Austin?” Joel’s voice brought me back to the present.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Let me know when it’s going down. I’m on my way to work now. I’m in until late, so I won’t be around until midday tomorrow. We need to do this one sooner rather than later.”

“I get ya. Gotta go.”

And with that, he was gone.

I hurried to work, cutting it close. I usually arrived a good fifteen minutes before my shift started. Not today, though. I’d be lucky to get there on time. I rushed through the door and removed my coat.

“You’re late today,” Amber said.

“Yeah, had to make a quick pit stop. Took longer than I thought.”

“Well, you’d best get to it. Patrick’s not in the best of moods today.”

I didn’t need telling twice, and nodded to my boss, who glared at me.

The day passed without incident, but the chip in my coat pocket kept calling me, an invisible bond forged, a constant reminder of where I’d been this morning and what was on the horizon.

Several times, Amber had to raise her voice or nudge me to get my attention. I was too preoccupied with the whys and wherefores of what was coming. Like a storm brewing in the distance, a sense of dread filled me, and for the first time in forever, doubts crept in.

I didn’t want to let my friends down, but the thought this could all go tits up sat heavily in my gut.

And what would happen to Grandpa if I got caught? He’d have no one. Who’d look after him if I couldn’t take care of it before the job went down?

“What’s wrong, Austin? You’re distracted.” It wasn’t the first time she’d asked, but what could I tell her?

That I was about to go swindle the biggest casino around and hoped it didn’t all go to shit. Not to mention, I could be leaving my grandpa with nothing.

Things were getting out of hand, and the feeling of being trapped in a situation I couldn’t escape from grew stronger and stronger. But I’d committed to do the job. I had no idea where Joel sat in all this, but if I dropped out, I could be upsetting the wrong people.

Out of the frying pan into the fire, or maybe it was the jaws of hell.

Only time would tell. Right now, I had a shift to finish. I smiled at the next customer and tried to put the worrying thoughts from my mind.

After closing, Amber and I sat with a cold drink, resting our legs. Patrick was off in his office, putting the takings in the safe. Thankfully, he left us alone.

“What’s going on with you? I’ve never seen you like this. Is Stan okay?”

For now, yes. A deep sense of foreboding settled in my chest.

“He’s fine. Look.” I paused, swirling the ice in my glass, “if anything ever happened to me, would you look after him until I get back?”

“What the fuck, Austin? You’re scaring me.”

“Everything’s fine. I just worry what’ll happen to him if I’m not around.”

“It’s those guys you hang with, isn’t it? You know they’re trouble. What are you mixed up in?”

“Nothing, I swear. I could get knocked down by a bus tomorrow, and then where would he be?”

She didn’t look convinced, and for a split second, I regretted mentioning it to her.

She reached across the table and took my hand. “I don’t know what you’ve got yourself into, but take care of yourself, please. You’re my best friend.”

“And you’re mine. Just… look after him, okay?”

We said no more about it, but I could tell my words had shaken her, and when we said good night, she looked at me with tear-filled eyes.

I wiped a tear with my thumb and drew her in for a hug.

“It’s going to be fine. I promise.”

“If only I believed you.” And with that, she retreated into the darkness of the night.

If only I believed me too.