Peter shook his head. ‘I don’t hold out much hope, Dan. He has a roving eye all right – probably got it from my father, whoever the fuck that was!’

They laughed together. Neither of them cared that their fathers had abandoned them; they had been lucky enough to have Theresa as a mother and she had been more than enough as a parent.

‘I’ve told him to get your Danny onboard, and come down on the Allen brothers. I think we have to let the lads be seen to be sorting this one. They ain’t mugs, and this will give them the opportunity to prove themselves – not only to us, but to the public in general. I think we are best playing this down a bit – I don’t think it will gain us anything if we make too much of it, you know? They will be seen to have lost a considerable amount of earn. The thing is, we don’t want the other families we work with to think that we are without some degree of restraint.’

Daniel nodded, hiding his annoyance. His brother was asking him nicely not to interfere in his usual way – no public hammerings, no crippling, and no outrageousness. After all his years of good behaviour, he resented his brother feeling as though he had to mention it. Daniel was a lot of things, but he was not a fool. Personally, he thought that where the Allens were concerned, his kind of justice was all they would understand. They were bullies, no more and no less, known for their violent outbursts. But, as usual, he swallowed.

‘Fair enough, if that is what you think. But last night we were agreed about the fact they needed a fucking reprimand.’

Peter was expecting his brother to say that. ‘And they got one, we made our feelings crystal clear last night – not only to them but to everyone else there as well. We tugged them publicly; they know the score now. Thing is, my Petey thinks we should sit back now, and see how the Allens react. It’s a new world, Daniel, and if they are sensible they will take onboard the situation they have found themselves in, and hopefully learn from it. If not . . .’ He left the rest of the sentence hanging between them in the air.

Daniel nodded once more. ‘For the record, Pete, I think they need a bit more than a fucking slap on the wrist, whatever Petey thinks. This smells all wrong to me. I know they bring in a decent wedge, and I also know that they are well compensated for it. Without us, and our groundwork over the years, that money they spend like fucking water would be in someone else’s back pocket. All that aside, I will swallow for you, but I feel that I have to give you my honest opinion.’