It made him think of Shelby, trying to beat through a barrier she couldn’t even see, a whole industry right under her nose. It financed her lifestyle while trapping her in a cage. What were her and Davey’s conversations like? Did Davey get lonely, keeping that secret? The most dangerous thing in that life wasn’t the drugs, it was the secrets you keep from those you love.

Listen to you. Getting philosophical.

He needed to go back to Big Mane’s and stop pretending to be anything other than a rehabilitating ice addict with a nightly curfew.

He fled through the side exit, pulling his hood over his head.

The Dread Pirate Blackbeard. Here, in Shacktown.

Blackbeard was a drug lord with a reputation for fierce violence and cruelty. Even in the criminal world, he was considered the lowest of the low. As close to pure evil as Mackerel could imagine. His moniker was taken from Dread Pirate Roberts, the infamous man who had captained Silk Road, the first black market on the dark web. His name, in turn, had been taken from The Princess Bride, which featured the original Dread Pirate Roberts – a feared pirate whose name was passed down to his successor so he could continue to reign with terror even after his death.

This Dread Pirate Blackbeard was the same. No one knew who he was or where he’d come from, but he’d ruthlessly taken over other operations all around Indonesia and South-East Asia, and even New Zealand. He ran business in every illegal trade: drugs, weapons, human imports, body disposal. He’d been wanting to find a way into Australia for years and, of course, the rumours said his sights were set on Tasmania as the way in.

When he lumbered through the front door of Big Mane’s place, he yelled out, ‘Hey, bro! I’m back.’

Big Mane wandered in from the lounge room, wearing footy shorts and a cardigan, and wrapped Mackerel in a stiff hug.

‘You okay, bro? I’ve ordered us pizza and I’ve got a shit ton of beer in the fridge. I figure you and I both need to get maggot drunk. Where have you been? You weren’t answering my calls.’

‘Sorry, I didn’t even hear it ring,’ said Mackerel honestly. ‘I’m just gonna have a shower first, let me know when the pizza’s here.’

‘Roger.’

In the shower, Mackerel’s mind turned back to Blackbeard. It was wise, to start with the island of Tasmania. That’s how he’d do it, if he wanted to start a criminal operation in Australia. The Tasman Peninsula was the perfect place to make landfall – open to the seas but isolated, offering Blackbeard a bottleneck of land to control, a direct sail to New Zealand and proximity to Hobart.