‘If he does the dirty before lunchtime,’ Eric went on, ‘then they’ll move him in the afternoon. All we’ll need is a joey on a mobile at the ferry terminal to say whether or not the sweatbox goes on it. If it does, we’re off.’

Donna frowned. ‘What if they don’t move him until the night, though?’

Eric shrugged. ‘Same thing. I’d prefer the daylight obviously, but it don’t really make that much difference. As long as he hasn’t got the big entourage. Also the local police will not be able to get too organised.’

Donna was confused. ‘But why would they move Georgio out so quick if he’s A Grade?’

‘Think about it, love,’ Anthony told her. ‘They want the ringleader out to defuse the situation. While he’s there the men he’s got behind him will want to carry on, won’t they? He’s got to wind them up, ain’t he? Be the big man. The prison authorities won’t want him there, and if he wasn’t going on the trot they’d take him from the laydown to another nick and segregate him for a few months. There’s nothing like three or four months on the block - solitary to you, love - to get people to crack up.’

Eric poured out more vodka for everyone except Donna.

‘Are there any nonces on his Wing, do you know? Only that’s a good scam. Everyone wants to do the nonces; it’s part and parcel of prison life. If Georgio can get a weapon, he can quite happily do all the nonces over. Beat the fuck out of them and then cause uproar. They’ll want him out all right, they always do. They don’t give a fuck how they’re tortured on a daily basis, but a big one with three or four mashed up at once scares them. The Sun would be climbing all over their backs for a start. Especially if we make sure they know all about it. Then we nab your man as they trundle him off the laydown.

‘That’s where the GOAD comes in,’ he finished off. ‘Good order and discipline. It’s an old antiquated rule but it can work for us in this. The GOAD is brought in when you’re classed as a disruptive influence, or in the case of nonces, for your own protection.’

‘So they could take the nonces with him then?’

Alan shook his head. ‘Not until they’re out of the hospital, love. Georgio’s got to hammer the fuck out of them, and knowing Georgio he’ll enjoy doing that. No one likes the nonces. No one. Not even the screws. That’s why he has to shit up the Governor as well. It’ll be the icing on the cake, see. Once he’s been humiliated in front of the Wing, the Governor will want Georgio out of his sight.’