‘I’m telling you this, Chopper, because we are banged up together, and as Timmy once pointed out to me, if you get torched one night, so do I. Just before I came in here Lewis had a bloke burnt alive on another wing, and do you know why? Lewis thought he had given him a dirty look in the chapel. Now if that don’t tell you what you need to know, nothing will. He’s a bona fide headcase, you mark my words. Timmy will be skinned alive one night, and that’s if Lewis arrives back in a good mood. He has the backing of a lot of major criminals, mate, he’s hand in glove with them all - the real big ones. He made a point of cultivating them over the years, now he can call on literally anyone to help his end. If you’ve got a fucking death wish, then put in for a cell transfer before you make any moves, OK?’

Chopper took a deep drag on his roll-up, then blew out the smoke slowly, digesting what Georgio had said.

‘Lewis warned me to put the frighteners on you, but you know that - I told you before. You have the look of a man who’s going places, Brunos, and maybe, just maybe . . . I might want to go with you.’

Georgio sat on his bunk and pushed his hands through his hair. ‘I dunno what the fuck you’re talking about. All I do know is, if Lewis can move around, then he’ll be back here in the prison hospital. And when he is, he might just as well be in your jockey shorts with you, that’s how close to us all he’ll be. If, and I mean if, I go on the trot, you will be the first to know. But at the moment I just want to get through me time in peace.’

Chopper nodded nonchalantly. He had made his point and he knew it.

‘You’re a funny bloke, Brunos. I heard you was a hard card of a man.’

Georgio nodded. ‘I am. But I am also a shrewd man. I know when to keep me trap shut and listen, and when to open it and get things done.’

‘That’s the kind of man you are, is it?’

Georgio looked at him. ‘I’m also a frightened man. Lewis frightens me and I ain’t ashamed to admit it. He makes Saddam Hussein seem like one of the Three Bears. I’m frightened all right, and if you had an ounce of brains in your head, you’d be shitting about it now.’

Chopper answered slowly this time. ‘I think you’re talking sense, Brunos. I might heed your warning.’

Georgio slammed himself back on his bunk. Lying flat, he put his hands behind his head.