Brother 32008: FKA Danny "Mullz" Mulligan
Swipe. Swipe. Nothin. Swipe.
He pauses.
Weren't that he gave a fuck, really. Justâblonde from last night was proper fit. Said maybe. And his profile? Clean. Tight. Maybe she messaged. Maybe she wanted a drink. Maybe he'd get his dick sucked before midnight.
Taps back to his own profile. One last clock.
First pic: shirt off. Obviously. Left arm cocked, hand behind his head, tatts on full blast. BOOZE across the knuckles. All caps. Gothic. Done at sixteen, Magaluf, lads dare. Dumbest thing he'd ever done. Still rates it.
Caption: "Not lookin for nothin serious. Just someone who can match energy."
Standard.
Lets the screen fade to black, catches his own reflection. Jaw still sharp. Hazel eyes. Scar on the cheek that birds always ask about. Curls messier than usual, but shaped. Gold chain tucked under a half-zipped grey marl hoodie, flecked with paint from fuck-knows-what. No shirt underneath. Trackies sagged just enough. Creased Air Max 95s. One lace undone.
He still had it. For thirty-four? Could do worse.
Grabs the vape. Tucks it behind his ear. Grinder. Rizla. Rolls up without thinkin. Out the flat before the paper's sealed.
DLR, eastbound. Wind movin like it owes money. Platform full of suits and slack-jawed morning heads. Everyone movin like background noise.
Then he sees him.
---
Some little guy, what, five-eight? Boiler suit. Navy. Crisp. White shirt. Black tie. Like he's goin to a funeral for fun.
Moves like he's fucking gliding. No phone. No fidget. Just straight ahead, like he knows exactly where every crack in the fuckin pavement is.
Danny clocks him. Frowns.
Boiler suit hugs him in weird places. Shoulders. Waist. Like it's tellin his body what shape to be. And heâs lettin it.
Looks like a cultist. Or a Mormon. Or one of them Stepford cunts from a sci-fi show.
Danny don't like it.
Some posh twink playin dress-up? Nah. That walk. That stillness.
He ainât scared.
Thatâs what fucks Danny off.
He clocks the posture, the calm, and somethin in his chest goes tight. Prick needs to be reminded what world heâs walkin in.
He drops the roach. Grinds it underfoot. Follows.
Crowd thins. Up the steps. Past Morleyâs. Side street. Down the alley behind the Tesco Express. Rain-streaked walls. Piss smell. Home turf.
The little guy stops. Like he knew he was bein followed.
Danny adjusts his hoodie. Steps up slow.
âOi,â he calls. âYou got the time, bruv?â
The guy turns.
And Dannyâs heart stalls.
Same eyes. Bit older, sharper now. But the face?
â...Matt?â
The little bloke tilts his head.
No smile. No confusion. Just calm.
âYeah,â he says. âI used to think that was my name.â
Danny snorts. âSkeenâ
Silence. Rain in puddles. A hiss from the street behind.
Danny steps in closer. Tension in the jaw. Breath tight.
âStill got that notebook?â he says. âFrom school. Bet you do. Bet you still write shit in it.â
No answer.
Danny shoves him.
Not hard. Testing. The fabric of the boiler suit gives under his palm. But the lad doesnât flinch. Doesnât move. Just lets it happen.
That stings worse than a shove back wouldâve.
Danny huffs. âWhat, you too fuckin zen now to swing?â
The lad blinks once.
Danny grabs the collar. Quick. Just to see.
âYou always was a bitch,â he mutters, low.
Thenâcloser than he meant to beâ
âYou want somethin, yeah? You tryna make a point wearin that shit round here?â
Still nothin.
And thatâs when it happens. Not a word. Not a gesture.
Just the silence.
Dannyâs fingers loosen.
Something inside, long buried, cracks sideways.
And for the first time in his fuckin life, Danny wants someone to tell him what to do.
Not shout it.
Not threaten it.
Just say it.
He lets go of the collar.
Steps back. Hand half-raised like maybe he was gonna swing. Maybe he still might.
The lad finally speaks.
Soft. Not smug. Not preachy. Just bored.
âYou done?â
Danny blinks. Nods. Once.
A beat.
Then the guy turns. Walks toward the end of the alley.
Stops. Looks back.
âYou comin?â
Danny hesitates.
Then follows.
---
Itâs colder than it should be.
Not freezer cold. Just... blank. Like even the air gave up on having a flavour.
Danny steps inside.
Door clicks shut behind him.
No lock. It doesn't feel like a room that has ever needed one.
It ainât a room so much as a box. White. Bare.
No windows. No signs.
Just one table. Two chairs.
One form, facedown.
A folded navy boiler suit.
Boots beneath it. Laces loose. Toes straight.
The setup isn't complicated, but for some reason, it feels like a fuckin altar.
And Matt, or whatever the fuck he calls himself now.
Standing at the far wall.
Hands behind his back.
Eyes forward. Still.
Not lookin at Danny.
Not lookin at anything.
Just... there.
Danny doesn't say shit. Not yet.
The air hums. Lights above buzzing soft. Too soft.
City noiseâs gone. Canât even hear his own breath properly.
No script. No signal.
Just him, and Matt, and that fuckin form.
Dannyâs throat clicks. He tries to say something, but there ainât anything.
No clever line.
No step forward.
Just...
A memory.
---
Him, fourteen, crouched behind the bins after school, waitin to jump some year seven kid just because he looked at him wrong.
Him, twenty-one, laughin as he pissed on a stolen bike frame behind a club in Ilford.
Him, twenty-eight, gettin kicked out the flat by a girl who said he werenât cruel, just not real.
Always loud. Always movin.And not one fuckin thing to show for it.
He can't remember when he started crying.
---
He tries to reassemble, rubs his eyes, growls in frustration - must be the weed, he tells himself.
It isn't.
Another salvo of intrusive recollection -
Him, fifteen, mouthing off in front of older boys just to see if anyone would stop him.
Him, eleven, pretending to hate drama class because he couldnât stand how much he loved it.
Him, nine years old, deliberately getting himself detention so he wouldnât have to go home while his uncle was visiting.
It hits him. Danny doesn't exist, has never existed. "Danny" is a lie, a character, a construct. A shield, from judgment, from failure, from pain.
And it isn't working.
He looks at Matt. He looks at the uniform again. The way itâs folded.
Tidy. Heavy. Still.
That ainât a uniform.
Thatâs the peace he had been looking for, but never knew the shape of.
---
Silence.
He sits.
Chairâs cold. Doesnât creak.
The paper waits.
He slides it toward him. Doesnât even realise heâs doing it.
Flips it over.
UNITY COVENANT AGREEMENT
Designation: 32008
Formerly known as: âââ
He stares.
Then looks down at his hand.
Resting. On the page.
Knuckles forward.
BOOZE
Tattooed across the bone. Done at sixteen.
Did it to prove he werenât soft.
Still no idea what he proved.
He blinks.
The shape matches.
3 2 0 0 8
Not similar.
Not inspired by.
The same.
Printed on the form. Inked on the flesh.
Itâs not symbolic. Itâs proof.
Like the paper already knew.
Like the ink had always been waiting to be read.
He doesnât look up.
Doesnât speak.
He signs.
---
He doesnât hear movement.
But when he finally lifts his eyesâ
Matt's gone. Fuck, he was never really there.
It's 15155 standing there.
And the uniform is still waiting.
He stands.
The formâs still warm under his hand.
But itâs done.
Signed. Marked. Numbered.
---
He steps toward the table.
The boots first.
Black work boots. Clean. Laces looped loose like theyâve been waiting.
Socks beside themâwhite. Rolled. Regulation.
He peels off the Air Max.
Then his socks. Ball of fluff between the toes. Doesnât look at it.
One foot, then the other.
New socks. Tight cotton. No comfort.
The kind youâre meant to sweat into.
Then the boots.
Laces pull tight. Not elastic.
Just... expectant.
Next: briefs.
White. Plain. Folded like hospital linen.
He drops his joggers.
No ceremony. Just cold air on thighs.
Puts them on.
They donât ride.
They contain.
Then the undershirt.
Also white.
Also tight.
Slides over the ribs like it already knows them.
Dress shirt next.
Stiff. Freshly pressed. White so pure it feels sarcastic.
He buttons from bottom up.
Fingers slower now.
Not clumsyâcareful.
Black tie.
Then the coveralls.
Denim blend. Navy. Stiff seams.
He unzips halfway. Steps in.
Thighs resist.
Stomach resists.
The fabric doesnât yield.
It just waits.
He pulls it up.
Arms in.
Right sleeve catches at the forearmâtight over the ink.
Zip rises.
Click.
Done.
15155 speaks.
Quiet. Even. Like itâs the last line of a prayer heâs said a hundred times before.
âYou donât need to be afraid anymore, 32008.â
And it hits.
Not like a fist.
Not like a switch.
Like warm water through cracked concrete.
He hadnât even known how much was hurting.
Didnât know heâd been holding himself that tight, that long.
He crosses the roomâ
steps slow, knees softâ
and folds himself into the smaller manâs chest.
Chest to chest.
Arms slack at first. Then holding.
One hand curled against the patch.
UNITY. All caps. Embroidered right over the heart.
He rests there.
Lets the silence wrap him.
His breath slows.
He listens.
Not to words.
Not to thought.
To rhythm.
15155âs heartbeat.
Steady. Mechanical.
Like it was installed, not born.
And thenâ
his own heartbeat
shifts.
Just slightly.
Syncs.
Matches.
And Dannyâno. Not Dannyâ
32008
smiles.
Eyes still closed, lips barely moving, he whispers:
âHail Unity.â
