‘Enough for what?’ asked Macdonald.

‘To get us out of here.’ Verity went over to the warehouseman. ‘Give me the duct tape.’ He held out his hand to Owen, who tossed him the roll. The warehouseman tried to speak but Verity pushed the barrel of the shotgun under his nose and told him to shut up. ‘George, come over here.’ The Glaswegian walked over to him. ‘Put your shotgun against the back of his neck.’ The Glaswegian did as he was told, and Verity wound duct tape round the weapon and the warehouseman’s neck.

‘You use him like that and it’s kidnapping,’ said Macdonald. ‘Shoot him and it’s cold-blooded murder.’

‘If the cops let us go, no one’ll get hurt,’ said Verity. He nodded at Fred. ‘Do the same with him.’ He gestured at one of the fork-lift drivers. The West Indian hauled the man to his feet and did as he was told.

‘They won’t let us walk out of here,’ said Macdonald. ‘Even with hostages.’

‘Armed robbery will get us twelve years, maybe fifteen,’ said Verity. ‘If a gun goes off and one of these sad fucks gets it, it’ll be manslaughter. Ten to twelve. We’ve got nothing to lose.’

‘Ted Verity, I know you can hear me,’ said a voice. Verity spun round, then realised that the voice had come through the scanner earpiece. It was being broadcast on the police frequency. ‘This is the police. It’s over, Ted, come out now before this gets out of hand.’

Verity roared and ran over to the fork-lift driver Fred was tying up. He slammed his shotgun against the man’s chin, then kicked him between the legs, hard. He fell back, and Verity hit him again as he went down.

Macdonald grabbed Verity’s arm. ‘What the hell’s got into you?’

Verity shook him off. The earpiece buzzed again. ‘There’s armed police out here, Ted. There’s nowhere for you to go. Leave your weapons where they are and come out with your hands in the air. If we have to come in and get you, people are going to get hurt.’

A telephone began to ring in the office.

‘Answer the phone, Ted,’ said the voice in Verity’s ear.

‘It’s the cops,’ said the Glaswegian. ‘They’ll be wanting to talk to us.’

Eddie hurried over to Verity.

‘They’ve already talked to us,’ said Verity. He slapped the scanner on his belt. ‘On the radio.’

‘How did they know we had a scanner?’ asked Eddie, his face just inches away from Verity’s.

Verity could smell garlic on his breath. ‘They knew everything,’ he said. ‘We’ve been set up.’ He swore, then pushed Eddie in the chest. ‘Get the fuck away from me!’ he said.