Something crashed outside the building and Jia flinched, only for a second, but it was enough for Nowak to make his move. He lunged forward, grabbing for the gun, his hands around hers, shoving her towards Nadeem and Idris. He roared with rage, hammering Jia’s jaw with his head, all the while holding on to the gun. She could feel the trigger cutting into her as he forced her finger on to it. BANG! The recoil propelled them both backwards, hard. Jia clutched for the corner of the desk to steady herself, as Nowak slipped on the blood that had poured out of his men and pooled on the floor. She looked up to see Idris slumped on the ground, Nadeem crouching beside him, Malik standing silent at the back of the room, his back against the wall. The gun was still in her hand.

Time slowed. The air cooled. She looked at Nowak staggering up from the floor. In the coming years, her cousins would recognise the look in her eyes and remember this as the first time they’d witnessed it.

‘Mr Nowak, everything is personal,’ she said, and she pulled the trigger. The bullet erupted square between his eyes and he fell backwards, his body hitting the wall behind him before thudding to the floor.

Bilal looked around for his friend Majid. He’d been getting in his car to go home that morning when his mother had called to complain about his wife again. He was tired of the constant arguing, the accusations and the emotional blackmail. He’d shouted at the old woman. She’d cried. He’d hung up the phone and called Majid to see if he was free for lunch. The crowd of Asian protestors was already heaving by the time Bilal reached the curry house. Someone knocked into him; he ignored it and carried on, trying to spot Majid in the sea of faces. The crowd continued to jostle him and Bilal’s agitation rose. ‘Get the fuck away from me!’ he’d said to the guy behind him. Hatred spewed out of him. Hatred for this street, for this city, for the people – this continuous shit that destroyed any hope of a future. Someone pushed him again. ‘Fucking watch it, mate!’