The prospect of a bit of trouble excited Louise, as long as she wasn’t on the receiving end of Denise’s temper. In a place where boredom soon took a hold, the inmates found their own ways to entertain themselves.

‘No I’m not. What kind of a fuckin’ mug do you think I am? She’s a kickboxing expert, isn’t she?’

‘What you gonna do, then?’

‘I don’t know yet. Let’s just play it cool for now, pretend it’s all forgotten. Only, it isn’t, is it? And one day I will get her, when she least fuckin’ expects it.’

*

Peter took his seat at the head of the dining table in his plush apartment, and looked around at his men. To the left of him were Mickey and Sam, who had proved to be worthwhile members of the team since they started working with him. To his right was David, one of his oldest friends.

He and David had been through a lot together since they were teenagers. David, along with another friend, Alan, had accompanied Peter on some of his earliest crimes when they had started carrying out house break-ins and snatches on shopkeepers. At that time Alan was their unofficial leader – until he had stabbed a man to death during a house burglary. He was still serving his sentence for that crime.

Once Alan was inside, Peter had carried on working with David, using a squat as their base after Peter’s father had thrown him out. Then Peter had enlisted Mickey and Sam to help them carry out larger jobs together and they had continued working with him. They all regarded Peter as their leader.

The trouble with David was that he had always been a bit of a loose cannon and, as the years went by, he was getting worse. Peter was sure it had something to do with his drug habit although David would never admit it.

Further to Peter’s right and the next along from David sat Glynn, the newest member of the gang, who was puffing on a cigar. When he handed his cigars around Peter turned down the offer, opting instead for the cigarette he had already lit.

Although Glynn hadn’t been with them long, Peter liked and respected him. He was charismatic and smart, and was a savvy operator. His rugged good-looks enabled him to ingratiate himself with many people, especially women, but what impressed Peter most was his sharp mind and the fact that he was well-built and could handle himself.

In the few months since Glynn had worked with them, his input had been invaluable. Rather than just following instructions like the rest of the men, Glynn would come up with fresh ideas for ways to do things. It felt good to Peter to have someone so switched on. It meant that on the rare occasions that he missed something, he could almost guarantee Glynn would have it covered.