A Kind of Hush Read Online Free PDF Page A

great to feel warm and comfortable. No hassle, no pressure, no fears. Mick was out till quite late most nights and Pete and Den, or is it Den and Pete, took me around with them.
    I needed some clothes and other bits and pieces so they decided to take me shopping; well that's what I thought they were going to do, but boy was I in for an education.
    First they would take me into one of the best clothing stores in the local shopping centre and let me choose whatever I wanted. I wasn't to actually pick it up, just show it to them. I was having a great time picking out some very expensive stuff, pretending that I could afford it and thinking to myself that this was a fun way of killing some time, when they gave me some money and told me to go and sit in the cafeteria overlooking the shop. Situated on a sort of balcony, from my table by the rail I could drink my coffee and watch everything that was going on.
    I watched as Pete took a stack of clothes to the shop assistant who gave him a ticket for the changing-rooms, Den was over by the far side of the shop out of sight at this time. He waited until the assistant's attention was distracted by someone or something else, which wasn't  long in a place of that size, and quickly moved in hugging a pile of clothes that he had picked up. As he passed the changing-room door, Pete slipped him his ticket and with Pete's ticket and the pile of clothes that he had, he came up on the assistant from behind and gave the whole lot to her, saying that he didn't like them. She, thinking that Den was Pete, took them with the usual shop assistant's scowl and began sorting them out for returning to the racks. Den would then keep her attention by talking to her whilst Pete would slip out behind her with the pile that he had for me.
    As they were only allowed to take three items at a time into the changing-rooms, it took seven different stores before we decided to call a halt. By the end of that day I was the one who was getting the assistant's attention while Pete and Den did their swapover. It was the sweetest thing that I had ever seen, electronic tags were found dumped in changing-rooms all over the place.
    I also discovered how the boys had so much money. What I heard frightened yet excited me. Mick called it 'getting even'. Pete and Den said that it made them feel magic when they did it. They felt that they could at last feel control over something in their lives.
    What they were doing was setting up and rolling nonces, dirty old men, just like mine.
    One of the boys would stand as bait, wait until he was approached by one of these guys and walk off with him to a quiet spot to do business. Unfortunately for the bloke, half-a-dozen other boys would be waiting and the only business that he would get would be the loss of any cash or valuables that he was carrying, a good kicking and a visit to a local hospital. It was sweet, they never  complained (well, they wouldn't would they), and with any luck another nonce might just think twice before ever touching a kid again.
    It sounded brilliant. My mind turned to thoughts of setting up my old man like that and I asked Mick about it.
    'Later,' said Mick. 'I want you to meet some of the others first.'
      
     

Chapter Three

    That night Mick drove us across to King’s Cross in a pure white Golf GTi. This motor had everything - soft top, radio, stereo cassette blasting out Acid House music, even a phone.
    I asked where he had got it from and he replied, ‘Ask no questions and I’ll tell you no lies,’ then he winked.
    Den chipped in with, ‘You’ve got to learn Stewy boy, when you want something in this world you can’t sit back and wait for it, you’ve got to go out and get it.’ Just then the car phone rang, we all jumped.
    Mick picked it up. ‘Hello,’ he said softly. He listened for a second or two then yelled.
    ‘Fucking hell, it’s the geezer who owns this motor!’
    Pete and Den creased up with laughter. I could hear the poor bastard