Albie flinched at his words and Nick smiled sadly.

‘I always get upset about it, you know that, Albie. Now I have to decide what I’m going to do to Georgio Brunos. How best to fuck him up. I would call off Eric if I could, but as Alan Cox said, Eric doesn’t give a flying fuck either way. He’d jump Georgio if he was a rapist as well as a beast. He wants his dosh and he’ll only get that off Georgio once the jump’s over. No, it’ll be much better to see Mr Brunos for myself. Face to face like. In a knife-to-cheek situation, know what I mean?’

Albie smiled knowingly.

‘You’d like that, Albie, wouldn’t you?’

He made a noise in his throat, causing crumbs to spray across the table. Nick looked at him with distaste. ‘Wipe your mouth, Albie, you know I can’t bear bad table manners.’

Albie wiped his mouth with a Kleenex and smiled again.

Nick put another doughnut on his plate and wondered aloud, once more, what was the best way to pay back Georgio Brunos.

Eric felt the calm excitement he always experienced when a job was in progress. He sat in the skip lorry waiting patiently for the other men to do their jobs. He wasn’t worried about them, they were good men, well-briefed and frightened of him. One thing he had learned in the Army: frighten the hell out of the men and they’ll respect you. The majority were in the forces because they needed the order and discipline. They wanted to be told when to eat, sleep, shit and do their overtime. He smiled as he thought it, checking his watch once more.

A police car cruised past and he stared ahead of him at the paper perched on the steering wheel. He would not leave the yard with the skip lorry until he knew the sweatbox was on the ferry. Then he would move it to the spot at Devil’s Bridge. It was planned out perfectly. There were roadworks on the slip road near where the jump was to take place; Jonnie H. and the others would be following him in the Mercedes van, all dressed as workmen. A council logo painted on the side of their vehicle would ensure their passage without hindrance.

All they needed was Brunos to do his job and they’d be on their way.