Frankie was stressed, didn’t know if he was coming or going. His black jacket was zipped up tightly and his Nike cap pulled down low over his eyes. He checked his phone. It was nearly showtime. He was in this deep now – no way out. He had to see it through. He was a double-agent. A triple-agent if he counted Kevin Grey, too. He lifted his head as he spotted a silver car pull up in the layby. The headlights dipped then switched off; a sign that the guy was nearly ready for him. There wasn’t much traffic about and it was quiet, eerie. Frankie lit up and sat on the wall facing the bus stop waiting for his phone to ring. He watched the cars driving by in the distance and wished this nightmare was over. Maybe after all this had been sorted, he would get on his toes and go somewhere new, a place where nobody knew him. The world would be his oyster. The money he’d already earned would set him up for a few months. He could stay in a hotel, maybe even rent a caravan. In this game you could never predict what was around the corner and you always had to be prepared for the worst. Frankie had always been wise with his money so far, stashed it away for a rainy day. And now he had to admit, it was proper pissing down. It was time to move on; nobody would miss him anyway. His mobile started to ring and his heart sank. He tried to stay calm, deep breaths, long, deep breaths.

Frankie jumped down from the wall and flicked his cigarette butt to the roadside. He approached the car with caution before opening the passenger door and climbing inside and trying to brazen it out.

‘You’re late. You should have been here at ten o’clock. I thought you wasn’t coming. Five minutes late you are, don’t make me wait again.’

The man kept his head down. His black beanie hat was pulled down low.

‘Have you got the money?’

‘Yeah, count it if you want. It’s all there, every penny.’ Frankie handed it over like it was burning him.

The man took the bundle of notes and rammed it into the glove box. He pulled out a packet of white powder and threw it over to Frankie.