For Evil to Flourish. Dubya Ph.D Lorimer

      Benny Patterson tried to resist and struggle as best he could, but he was powerless against so many hands, carrying him up some stairs, dragging him across a rough floor and finally hauling him upright by a rope tied around his wrists. With his feet still tied together, he could feel himself swaying unsteadily. This was one of the few times in his life he had been really afraid, certain that this must end with a beating, or maybe worse.

      His fear grew when the hood was removed and he had his first glimpse of his captors. There were four of them wearing disposable overalls, dark blue, not white like the police forensic people wore. They also wore rubber gloves, but most incongruously, they wore rubber masks of politicians or royals. There was the Queen, Prince Charles, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair.

      The man wearing the Queen mask stepped forward and undid the belt and buttons on Patterson's jeans and pulled them, along with his underpants, down to his knees, while he writhed and twisted. He was obviously trying to swear and threaten them, but nothing intelligible was getting past the tape over his mouth.

      The man then tied a piece of string around Benny's manhood, no easy task under the circumstances.

      The gang member in the Margaret Thatcher mask, meanwhile was tying the other end of the length of string around a concrete block which 'she' then placed on the sill of an open window next to Benny. Knowing he was at least one storey up, he realised with horror what would happen if the concrete block went over the edge. So absorbed was he with his immediate problem, he didn't notice he was now being filmed on his own camera phone.

      'Now young man,' said 'The Queen', imitating her majesty's voice,

      'We have some questions for you, and if we think you're lying, we toss that block out the window, and I'm sure you know you're not going to enjoy that. Also, if you scream and shout when we take the tape off your mouth, we will push the block out the window. But on the other hand, if you're a good little boy, and do as we ask, we will let you go in one piece. Do I make myself clear?'

      'The Queen' couldn't make out what Benny was trying to say, but it didn't sound like a yes, however 'Mrs Thatcher' gently pushing the concrete block a little way over the edge suddenly had Benny turn very still, apart from the frantic nodding of his head.

      'That's more like it, now we can talk properly.' The man in the Queen mask then none too gently removed the tape.

      'You supplied the drink and drugs to that girl who died, didn't you?'

      'No way, I didn't even know they were there, honest to God!'

      'Mrs Thatcher' sighed theatrically, then pushed the block a little further over the edge,

      'Not what we want to hear, Benjamin.'

      'Stop. Okay, okay, I was there.'

      'And you raped them?'

      'No, no, that's bullshit, I didn't touch them!'

      'You gave them drugs, you raped them, and then you did nothing to help them when they became ill, isn't that right?'

      'I didn't know there was anything wrong with them, honest, I thought they just fell asleep.'

      The block was moved another inch, teetering now on the brink.

      'I swear, I swear on my mother's life, I just thought they needed to sleep it off.'

      Benny was blessed with such stupidity that it was probably true, he may well have imagined that he could return after a few hours and find the girls none the worse for wear.

      'Who else was in the flat with you?' Patterson hesitated just a second too long before answering.

      'Nobody. Just me and the girls.'

      'So it had to be you who gave the girls drugs, then?' Patterson shook his head, but didn't reply.

      'The drugs were supplied to you by the Hills, were they not?'

      'No way, I don't know anything about drugs, or the Hills, no way!'

      'And I suppose your going to try and tell me you're not a pimp and the Hills don't get a cut of your profit?'

      'Course not, I've never had anything to do with whores, nor worked for the Hills, you're mixing me up with somebody else, I swear!'

      'The Queen' shook her head sadly.

      'Oh, I don't think so, Benjamin, we know exactly who and what you are, and if you're not willing to admit to what you've done, well, we're obviously wasting our time here. I don't think I can watch this, it won't be pretty.', and he turned away from Patterson as Mrs Thatcher started to push the block over the edge.

      'Aaagh, no, no, don't, I'll tell you.'

      The man in the Thatcher mask held the block right over the edge.

      'No more warnings, next time it goes over.'

      'Ok, I got some stuff from a friend of Darren, but it was just this once, just a little, for personal use. Honest, I swear, just this once, and it was for a party, I didn't know the lass was going to die!'

      Benny was shaking and crying, the tears running down his face, but still he was lying, obviously even more scared of the Hills than he was of this gang.

      'I warned you what would happen if you gave us any more lies.' and without hesitation, 'Mrs Thatcher' let go of the block.

      For a split second Patterson was frozen, then suddenly he let out a high pitched scream........ Which gradually tailed away to a baffled silence as he realised the block had hit the ground, while, surprisingly, he was still intact.

      'What the.....?'

      The masked man's shoulders were shaking with laughter as he held up the cut end of the piece of string.

      'Gave you a fright there, didn't we Benjamin,' Then leaning in close, he said menacingly,

      'Just remember, next time we won't be playing with you.'

      As Patterson started to curse and swear, he was silenced with a fresh length of tape across his mouth. Still laughing, the bizarre-looking foursome walked away together.