“What do you think?” Hicks said. “Ten years?”

“The gun and the coke, plus his history? At least.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Milton said. “López is going to need another partner.”

“You got any ideas who that might be?”

“One or two,” he said with a thin smile.

36

Milton went out for a haircut and a wet shave and settled back into character as the ambitious John Smith, the upwardly mobile drug dealer who was looking to establish himself as a serious player in the British market.

He returned at seven in the evening.

“Anything from Chase?”

“Just called,” Ziggy said. “He’s flying out in the morning.”

“Jackson?”

“They’ve charged him. Possession of a prohibited firearm and possession of a class A drug with intent to supply. He won’t get bail for that. He’s out of commission.”

Milton nodded with satisfaction. He took out his phone and the napkin on which he had written the number that he had used to contact Juan Pablo López. He typed out a message, requesting a second meeting.

“Here goes,” Milton said.

He pressed send.

“What next?” Ziggy said.

“We wait.”

* * *

They didn’t have to wait for very long.

Milton’s phone buzzed. He picked it up and read the message.

“What did he say?” Ziggy said.

“He wants to meet. The club, same as before. Tonight.”

* * *

Milton changed into a pair of two-hundred-euro Edwin jeans and a black turtleneck. He pulled on a pair of brogues and went into the living room.

Ziggy pointed down at his shoes. “Take them off.”

“What?”

“Your shoes. Take them off.” He held up a pair of boots. “These ones tonight, please.”

Milton recognised the boots. They were black leather, with nine metal eyelets on either side and a fashionably distressed look. Milton had bought them in Diesel while they were waiting to approach López for the first time.

“Those are mine,” he said. “Right?”

“They are. I’ve made some changes. Here—look.”

Ziggy handed him the boots. Milton took them and realised that one—the right one—felt just a little heavier than the other.

“What have you done?”

“Look at the sole,” Ziggy said.

Milton turned the right boot in his hands and looked down at the thick sole. He ran his finger along it and, when he reached the heel, he felt a little indentation that ran in a straight line just below the join between the heel and the midsole. He looked at it more closely and saw the line. It would have been impossible to see if he hadn’t known to look for it.