Elton knew immediately that he was dealing with a narcissistic prick who had a bit of a brain, but not too much; he knew he wouldn’t pose a problem. In the world of the Carltons, Elton realised, this man was the real intellectual. And that wasn’t saying too much. He treated him as such because he knew that was what was expected of him. It didn’t mean he liked it, of course. What Elton didn’t allow for was that, for what Teddy lacked in intelligence, he more than made up for in cuteness; you did not get as far as he had by being a complete fucking wanker. He had heard all about the visit to his brother, and he was not impressed. He also knew that Jack Johnson wanted what they had. That wasn’t exactly something he was shocked about – some fucker was bound to; he just had not thought it would be Jack.

He liked Jack Johnson; he had always been good to them. But Teddy had never seen Jack as a fucking scavenger, scraping around for other people’s fucking downfalls. That was wrong! Jack was a fucking man to emulate and to aspire to. But, Teddy reasoned, that was before he and his brother had been the victims of the capture of a lifetime. Life was running away from them both. They were fucked on so many different levels.

Teddy was also man enough to admit that once they were sentenced, there was no real hope for their enterprises. They had more chance of getting a wank off Pope fucking Gregory than they did of keeping the businesses in their orbit, not least because there wasn’t one person in the family he would trust enough to run it all.

But young Elton had his own agenda. Especially now that he had a serious grudge against the Carlton family, thanks to Bobby and his bad attitude. The brothers had looked at him like he was a cunt of Olympian standards. But they were the ones behind bars; all he actually was was the broker for them to get a terrific deal. Because what Jack was offering was far more than anyone else would have.

Elton smiled widely at Teddy and Teddy, being Teddy, smiled widely back. It occurred to Elton that if they had met under different circumstances they would probably have been friends. He liked the look of the man, his natural friendliness that was so like his own; it was warm and loving though it actually meant nothing. He sensed that Teddy Carlton had sussed him out as easily as he had sussed him. Shame really that they were at odds, but such was the life they lived. He had a job to do, and he was determined to see it through. After all, he worked for Jack Johnson. His wages had been paid and he saw that he was well compensated for his time.