‘We only ever hurt people who hurt us,’ Gary replied quite truthfully.

‘Where’s it gone? I can’t see it now,’ Eddie asked Raymond, as he stared in the wing mirror.

‘They followed us off the slip road, but I still couldn’t see who was driving. It’s too dark.’

When Raymond pulled onto the garage forecourt, Ed clambered into the passenger seat. He turned around to face Ricky and Gary. ‘I’m getting out with Raymond. Yous stay with them two and watch ’em like a hawk.’

Jed O’Hara parked the Land Cruiser out of view at the exit of the service station. ‘Give us the shooter,’ he said to his brother.

Billy’s hand shook as he handed him the gun. Unlike Jed, and his deceased brother Marky, Billy had always been the runt of the litter when it came to bravado and he knew it. ‘You can’t just shoot ’em in the garage. You’ll get us both banged up,’ he said.

‘Just shut it and give me the bullets,’ Jed ordered.

‘The bullets are in the gun, ain’t they?’

Jed glared at his brother. He was a sod for playing pranks on people himself, but Billy joking at a time like this just wasn’t funny. ‘Don’t mess about, Bill. My chavvies are in that fucking van.’

‘I ain’t messing with ya. All you said was get the gun; you didn’t say anything about bullets, did ya? I thought it was already loaded.’

Absolutely furious, Jed whacked his brother over the head with the now useless weapon. ‘How’s the gun meant to work without any fucking bullets, you thick, useless cunt? Dad keeps the bullets separate in case the chavvies ever find the shooters,’ he screamed.

Billy held his hands over his head in case he got clumped again. ‘I’m really sorry, Jed, but I didn’t know that it weren’t loaded. Dad might tell you everything, but he treats me like a dinlo and never tells me nothing.’

‘That’s ’cause you are a fucking dinlo,’ Jed said, turning the key in the ignition.

‘Where we going now? They ain’t come out the service station yet,’ Billy said, as Jed zoomed back onto the motorway.

‘Ring Dad and give me the phone,’ Jed yelled.

Billy did as his brother asked. ‘You got bullets, ain’t ya? Where are ya now?’ he asked his father. On learning his dad’s gun was loaded and he was only about twenty miles behind him, Jed breathed a massive sigh of relief.

Raymond was surprised to see no sign of the Land Cruiser as they left Kendal services. ‘Perhaps we got it wrong,’ he said to Eddie, who was now sitting in the passenger seat.

‘Nah, whoever it is will reappear, mark my words,’ Ed replied.