drinking whisky from a cut-glass tumbler, stolen from the Godfather set.
Tony eyeballed Harold before exploding in a shower of spit and facial expressions that would have scared someone doing the haka.
‘Are you fucking kidding me, Harold? Let me ask you something. Did you see what they did to Eddie? Did you? Did you?’
‘Of course I did. I identified his body.’
‘Who else would have done that but the cartel? They want their money, Harold. We need to get hold of a hundred million and we need it now. When they realise Francisco’s dead and the
money still isn’t in their hands then they will come for each of us. You must strike first. Get some balls, Harold. What the fuck has happened to you? You’ve gone soft.’
Harold spoke: ‘The cartel don’t care about the money: it’s the principle.’
Tony opened his eyes slowly and focused on Harold. He was in his customary-post snorting position of leaning back, head tilted backwards, eyes closed to stop them from watering. His Adam’s
apple moved up and down his throat.
‘A Colombian drugs cartel with principles, huh? You’re more stupid than I thought.’
‘They want proof the shipment went missing,’ continued Harold cautiously, hurt but nervous. ‘If it was confiscated by the police in Amsterdam, they want to see the papers. They
said they can see there is no shortage of top-grade cocaine in the UK right now.’
‘Look and listen, Harold. Eric the smackhead, or some other nobody, stole their shipment. It’s being snorted in every corner of Amsterdam, right now. What does it matter any more? We
have a war on now and we’re going to win it or die.’
Harold wasn’t ready to drop the subject. There was a lot sloshing around in his mind. He knew his days as Tony’s sidekick were numbered. He knew Marco was the young buck in the rut
but he didn’t know if that meant he had to die, or if he could just accept retirement. Another thing he didn’t feel right about: he seriously hadn’t seen Eddie’s death
coming. Eddie was the best one of the bunch. That made Harold more nervous than ever. If they could kill Eddie, they could kill any of them.
Tony gave a bored roll of the eyes and made a tick-tock motion with his head.
‘Are you fucking in or out?’ he screamed in Harold’s sweating face.
Harold chewed on the inside of his lip. His rubbery features had begun to blur into dark purple.
‘They’re not going to forgive us, Tony. You made me part of this. You went behind my back and organised Marco to step in and get the shipment, and then he killed our man in
Amsterdam. Why the need to cheat them?’
Tony slammed his palms on the desk and the cocaine dust showered it. ‘In or out, out, yes? I don’t want their forgiveness. They can stick it up their Colombian arses. I want to cause
them maximum damage all along their chain. I want them to sweat while we get together enough money to go over their heads to the real men in the game.’
Harold paused as realisation kicked in. ‘You don’t want to fuck with these guys, Tony.’
‘Don’t I? Really, Harold? It’s too late for that. We’re taking over, Harold, and you better be ready. You want to be my right-hand man still? This is your time to shine,
Harold. I need someone who is a hundred and ten per cent. That you, Harold, hey?’
Chapter 16
‘Any more on Billy Manson, the manager from Paradise Villas?’ Carter asked, as he came in and sat down to attend the meeting with Chief Inspector Bowie. It was
seven p.m. Willis and Robbo were already there in Bowie’s office.
‘How did his alibi fit in with events, Robbo?’
‘His wife confirmed that they were at the council fireworks display,’ answered Robbo. ‘There’s CCTV footage; we can see his wife Jo pushing the buggy with their youngest
child in it. The other child is walking beside. We can’t see Manson himself. His wife said that they separated while Manson went off to get them something to eat. It’s too crowded
Tony eyeballed Harold before exploding in a shower of spit and facial expressions that would have scared someone doing the haka.
‘Are you fucking kidding me, Harold? Let me ask you something. Did you see what they did to Eddie? Did you? Did you?’
‘Of course I did. I identified his body.’
‘Who else would have done that but the cartel? They want their money, Harold. We need to get hold of a hundred million and we need it now. When they realise Francisco’s dead and the
money still isn’t in their hands then they will come for each of us. You must strike first. Get some balls, Harold. What the fuck has happened to you? You’ve gone soft.’
Harold spoke: ‘The cartel don’t care about the money: it’s the principle.’
Tony opened his eyes slowly and focused on Harold. He was in his customary-post snorting position of leaning back, head tilted backwards, eyes closed to stop them from watering. His Adam’s
apple moved up and down his throat.
‘A Colombian drugs cartel with principles, huh? You’re more stupid than I thought.’
‘They want proof the shipment went missing,’ continued Harold cautiously, hurt but nervous. ‘If it was confiscated by the police in Amsterdam, they want to see the papers. They
said they can see there is no shortage of top-grade cocaine in the UK right now.’
‘Look and listen, Harold. Eric the smackhead, or some other nobody, stole their shipment. It’s being snorted in every corner of Amsterdam, right now. What does it matter any more? We
have a war on now and we’re going to win it or die.’
Harold wasn’t ready to drop the subject. There was a lot sloshing around in his mind. He knew his days as Tony’s sidekick were numbered. He knew Marco was the young buck in the rut
but he didn’t know if that meant he had to die, or if he could just accept retirement. Another thing he didn’t feel right about: he seriously hadn’t seen Eddie’s death
coming. Eddie was the best one of the bunch. That made Harold more nervous than ever. If they could kill Eddie, they could kill any of them.
Tony gave a bored roll of the eyes and made a tick-tock motion with his head.
‘Are you fucking in or out?’ he screamed in Harold’s sweating face.
Harold chewed on the inside of his lip. His rubbery features had begun to blur into dark purple.
‘They’re not going to forgive us, Tony. You made me part of this. You went behind my back and organised Marco to step in and get the shipment, and then he killed our man in
Amsterdam. Why the need to cheat them?’
Tony slammed his palms on the desk and the cocaine dust showered it. ‘In or out, out, yes? I don’t want their forgiveness. They can stick it up their Colombian arses. I want to cause
them maximum damage all along their chain. I want them to sweat while we get together enough money to go over their heads to the real men in the game.’
Harold paused as realisation kicked in. ‘You don’t want to fuck with these guys, Tony.’
‘Don’t I? Really, Harold? It’s too late for that. We’re taking over, Harold, and you better be ready. You want to be my right-hand man still? This is your time to shine,
Harold. I need someone who is a hundred and ten per cent. That you, Harold, hey?’
Chapter 16
‘Any more on Billy Manson, the manager from Paradise Villas?’ Carter asked, as he came in and sat down to attend the meeting with Chief Inspector Bowie. It was
seven p.m. Willis and Robbo were already there in Bowie’s office.
‘How did his alibi fit in with events, Robbo?’
‘His wife confirmed that they were at the council fireworks display,’ answered Robbo. ‘There’s CCTV footage; we can see his wife Jo pushing the buggy with their youngest
child in it. The other child is walking beside. We can’t see Manson himself. His wife said that they separated while Manson went off to get them something to eat. It’s too crowded
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