Christie McCarthy was a man who had his creds, and he had come here for a fight – not just to avenge his son’s death, but to show people that some things needed to be redressed.

He glanced at his close friend, Sam Dunne, his sister’s husband, and a man who he knew would always be there if needed. Like him, Sam was subdued.

‘He was still my son, Michael, my boy, and you fucking murdered him.’

Michael shrugged nonchalantly. This was starting to irritate him now. It was all going on too long. ‘Well, you know what? He didn’t give me much fucking choice, did he? I’m not going to enter into a big discussion about this. I had to do what I did, and you both know that. I’m sorry to the heart of me for offending you, Christie. I have the greatest respect for you, but this was just business. It wasn’t personal. If I had let his actions slide, you know I would never have lived it down!’

Christie was shaking his head in denial, so Michael bellowed, ‘He asked for it, and he fucking got it! Not before time, either. You should have seen this coming, mate. He used your name, and he lived off your reputation like a fucking leech. I’m only saying to you what everyone else has been saying about him for donkey’s years. I didn’t want to do anything to him. As you know yourself, this kind of thing is a last resort, for fuck’s sake! But it happened. Whatever you might think, I did what I had to do.’

Sam Dunne couldn’t look Christie in the face. He was with Michael Flynn every step of the way. He loved Christie McCarthy like a brother, but that son of his had always been trouble. It was awful to know Kelvin was dead, for a father to know that his son had been murdered, but it had to be a relief for him in some ways. Christie had been plagued by the lad’s antics for years. He spent money like water; he couldn’t hold a job down, he had stolen from his own family. He had been devoid of any kind of decency whatsoever, he had lived his whole life believing he was entitled to everything. Now he had been taken out by Michael Flynn, and Sam Dunne was seriously regretting his impulsive actions in coming here. But family was family.