Start Milo wakes as Tex dumps him onto a small patch of grass as the rain and wind pauses. Wincing his painful eyes, he glances around the overgrown section. Tex steps up to the weather beaten, paint peeling, back door and raps on it hard.

“Cookie,” he calls, keeping his voice as low as he emotionally can. He raps harder and raises his voice. “Cookie, Cookie open up”. Bang bang bang. “Cookie,” he shouts with an earnest hint of fear.

“For fucks sake keep your voice down,” Cookie yells from inside as his footsteps rumble down the hall. “The people next door will think you want to kick my ass or something.” Cookie opens the door. “Holy fuck what happened to you?” Tex directs Cookie’s attention to where Milo lays, clutching his wound in the palm of his hand.

“Milo’s worse,” said Tex dispassionately. “He’s got a massive gash above the eye.” We have to get him inside and fix him up.”

Cookie looks perplexed “Well yeah sure, but shouldn’t he be going to the hospital?” Tex looks at Cookie with a tinge of shame.

“Yeah.., nah.”

“Why not?” Asked Cookie. Tex pauses before answering, scrunching his face as he thinks.

“The police are after us.” Cookie smiles, as if it’s a joke.

“You’re shitting me.”

“I’m not,” said Tex as he goes back to Milo and lifts him to his feet.

“For what?”

“Look can you just let us in and I’ll explain inside?” Cookie looks dumbstruck for a moment before answering.

“Oh yeah yeah,” he nods, then starts shaking his head, nah nah nah, you’re not coming inside like that. You’re both covered in mud. The Mrs will kill me. How about I’ll hose you both down first, then you can strip off and I’ll get you both some blankets and then you can come inside.” He notices Milo shivering and starts nodding to himself. “I’ll start running a bath,” he says as he turns and runs inside. Milo starts staggering off down the path to the street. Tex grabs him by the arm.

“Where are you going?”

“I have to get the weed,” Milo mumbled as he writhes in a feeble attempt to break free of Tex’s oversized grip.

You’ve had a kick to your head Mate, you’re going a bit crazy, we’re not going back to that place again, ever, understand?”

“It’s twenty pounds.”

“I don’t care if twenty pounds of gold, It’s buried under mud, gorse and water and the place is crawling with cops so you’re not going anywhere, now once again do you understand?”

Cookie hits them hard with the water jet. “Got good pressure here aye,” said Cookie with a half hearted smile. “Turn around so I can get your backs.” Tex helps Milo turn and looks at him with anger.

“Why did Ozil want to kill you?” asked Tex.

Milo’s reply is barely audible. “Don’t know.”

“How did he know about the escape tunnel?

“Don’t know.” Tex narrows his eyes.

“Ok here’s a towel each, strip off and we’ll go inside.” said Cookie as he attempts a second smile. Milo just stands in a stupor so Tex and Cookie start removing his clothes.

“So Tex tell me what happened, why are the police after you both? Asked Cookie. Tex grimaces.

“Our business in the big building over there was a front for a marijuana grow. The police just raided us.” Cookie looks hurt.

“Oh my god. And all this time you guys were lying to me.”

“It was for your best interests Cookie.”

“Yeah but we’re best mates and you both left me out of it.”

“For fucks sake, he obviously like’s you better than me, he’s ruined my life not yours with his crazy fucking plan, so stop feeling sorry for yourself.” Cookie doesn’t attempt a smile this time. Once stripped down to his underpants, Tex and Cookie wrap Milo in a blanket and help him inside.

“How did you know they were coming?” said Tex to Milo, who was barely shuffling along.

“Milo? Milo don’t you fucking ignore me, I know you can hear me.” Milo was in fact near oblivious to what Tex was saying. He was back in the tunnel, drowning in mud as if it was still happening for real. He staggers to fall. Tex and Cookie steady him. Cookie looks worried.

“You know he really should go to a hospital. He looks like he’s at death’s door.” Tex looks annoyed at Cookies good intentions. He briefly scrutinizes Milo’s face, then looks back at Cookie.

“Bullshit,” said Tex who takes all of Milo’s weight himself and drags him into the bathroom.

Minutes later a groggy Milo starts to wake His blood red eyes set in black sockets slowly start to open. He’s sitting in a bath of brown water and propped up against the wall. Cookie was holding Milo’s wound together with his fingers as he was suturing the third stitch of the gash. Milo is suddenly alert, fearful and unaware of where he is. He jerks away from Cookie in shock. Water splashes over the side wetting, Cookie’s pants. “Hey hey it’s ok,” said Cookie. “You’re in my bathroom, it’s just us and Tex here.” Milo winces as he turns to look at Tex who was wrapped in a blanket, sitting on a stool in the corner of the dim, unlit room. He was staring at Millo with a brewing scowl.

“Don’t be so rough,” said Milo to Cookie, slurring the words.

“If you don’t like it then do it yourself. You ungrateful fuck,” said Tex.

“You’ve got a nasty four inch cut on your forehead,” said Cookie. I’m stitching it up with a needle and thread.” Milo looks bewildered.

“Why what happened, and why do my eyes hurt so much?”

“Seriously Milo cut the bullshit..,” said Tex.

“Tell me what happened,” Milo nearly shouts, “because I honestly don’t know.” Tex shakes his head with an angry smirk. Cookie interjects with a somber voice.

“Tex was saying you were raided by the cops.”

“You set me up,” said Tex to Milo.

“Really we were raided?”

“Oh it’s much worse than just that.”

Milo shuts his painful eyes. “Of course it would be.”

“You knew about the raid long before it happened. At least forty minutes before. You told me to be there at exactly ___ with a rope.”

“What?” Said Milo with disbelief.

“You knew Ozil was going to kill you and you wanted me there to save your sorry ass.”

“What?” said Cookie.

“No way.” Said Milo shaking his head. “Your imagination is running wild there big fella.”

Tex goes into a rage and points at Milo. “Don’t you fucking tell me I’m going crazy. It was him who kicked you in the head for fucks sake and if I hadn’t stopped him...” His voice trails off.

“Cookie check the messages on my phone,” asked Milo.

“It won’t work, I think it’s full of water,” said Cookie.

“Are you sure? I thought it was waterproof,” said Milo.

“Or maybe it’s flat, I dunno but it just looks munted.” Tex looks at his own phone which is dead as well.

“So what happened then? Did we just shake Ozil’s hand and come to Cookies for beer?”

“Nah not quite. Instead of shaking his hand for you, I had to kill him.”

Cookie turns to Tex with a look of shock. “You murdered Police Sergeant Ozil?” Tex chews his lip and stares at the floor.

“Yeah, I um, I don’t know. Maybe. I had to bash him unconscious, there was no other way.” Tears well in Tex’s eyes. “By the time I stopped.., his face was a mess. You know at the time I thought he was dead. But I didn’t check, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. To know it’s a fact. I thought I’d really killed him.” He looks at Milo.“ And it’s all because you fucker you set me up.”

“No, no way,” said Milo empathically.

“You texted me to be there at exactly (time) with a fucking rope.”

Milo shakes his head. “No I didn’t.” Tex erupts with his booming voice.

“Then why the fuck was I there with a fucking rope waiting for you to come out of a fucking mud puddle?”

“I don’t know,” said Milo staring into nothing. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“Why did he want to kill you Milo?” asks Tex.

“I don’t know. I can’t remember anything about anyone. My head feels like it’s jammed in a vice, and every time you yell at me, it’s another turn of the fucking handle.”

“He was out the back all by himself, being shady, waiting right at the escape hatch coordinates, why?

“I don’t know.”

“No, no no, you’re not going to bullshit your way out of this, not this time. All the secrets, all the big stuff you never told me it’s going to come out now understand?”

“I wish I could, but I can’t remember anything right now, understand? You see I”ve had a kick to my head mate, I’m going a bit crazy,” Tex glares at him for quoting him back, “it‘s called a concussion.”

“But that’s not from a real kicking, just keep fucking with me and I’ll show you a real kicking.”

“Good, put me back to sleep then.”

Tex moves towards Milo. Cookie intervenes by holding up his open hand. “How about we all take a deep breath and give Milo a moment to think. And Milo, how about you tell us the earliest part of the day you can remember, and from there feel forward in your memory, and while you do that, how about I’ll continue doing the sutures. Sit down Tex, and let him think.” Tex grudgingly does as he’s told.

“Sure Milo, tell us how your day was,” said Tex sardonically. Lightening brightens the room with a flash and thunder reverberates across the town. After a pause Milo speaks.

“I was talking to my father on the telephone.., and Jet was pissed.”

Next Chapter: 3