The downside of Jason Prior was that he was a degenerate gambler and, like all true gamblers, he had no conscience. When he lost large amounts, he was not inclined to pay the debt. He would be angry with himself for losing, and with whoever gave him the means to blow said money. He would be granted the honour of writing a chit, promising to pay the poke back within fourteen days, and he would then tip whoever had given him the tick a resounding bollocks. He was fast running out of people to borrow from, even though they knew he was good for it. His failure to pay had caused a lot of bad feeling and resentment. Jason was a man for whom that upset meant absolutely nothing – he genuinely didn’t care. Or, in his words, he didn’t give a flying fuck. If they wanted their money, let them come and get it, simple as that. If they were mug enough to give it to him, then that was their lookout. Jason was a ferocious man, with an even more ferocious temper, so the odds on that happening were slim. He was a bona fide nutter, and that had always been his biggest asset as far as he was concerned. But now he was finally going to pay the price for his bad behaviour and, as the word was coming from Jack Johnson this time, Jason needed to wise up. Jack only asked once.

This was what was going through Lenny’s mind as he saw Geraldine waiting outside Jason’s house. It was a nice drum – with three storeys it had the look of a substantial property. Lenny was waiting over the road, his shotgun hidden by his long overcoat. He nodded towards Reggie who was opposite him. They had agreed it would be best to come at Jason from the front and the back to give him no chance of escape. He was a slippery fucker at the best of times.

As Jason tripped happily down his front steps, smiling widely at Geraldine, both Reggie and Lenny moved into place. Geraldine started running away and Jason stopped short for a few seconds, wondering what the fuck was going on with her. It was then that he saw Lenny Scott and the shotgun. For a few seconds his face registered shock, and then he dropped to his knees, pulling out a weapon of his own. As he took aim, both Lenny and Reggie started blasting him. He didn’t have a chance. No one on the street took any notice – they just moved away as quickly as possible.