Andre was on his feet again, swinging his bottle of beer around like a mad man.
"You're insane, Gigi. The man's offered five hundred thousand quid for your head on a stick and you think it's going to be this easy. Sorry, Gigi, I cannot let you do it. It's suicide."
Jorja was on her feet now too.
"So you're not going to help me with the passport. Fine, I will just have to go to Nicolescu then. I'm sure he'll be just too thrilled to hear his arch-nemesis didn't have the guts to accept this job."
She turned to leave and heard Andre clicking his tongue in irritation behind her.
"You are still as bullheaded as ever, Georgina."
He’d only ever called her by her full name once, long ago when they first met.
"Fine, I'll help you, but on one condition."
She turned to face him.
"Name it."
"You take one of my men with you."
"Not going to happen, Andre. I have to do this on my own."
"Take it or leave it, Gigi. I can have the passport ready for you in fifteen minutes, and I'll do it at no charge, but you take Zeus with you, or I won't do it. I'm the best in the business and you know it."
She followed his eyes that indicated one of his men who stood to one side talking on a cell phone.
"That guy! He'll stick out like a sore thumb in Switzerland."
"I trust him and it’s the only way I know you'll be safe. I'll have him tone down on the Jamaican flavor, but it's not negotiable."
She hesitated but knew Andre well enough to know he was only trying to look out for her.
"Fine, but he does it my way. What I say, when I say it, and how I say it. Deal?"
Andre was quick to respond.
"You need to fix your make-up before I can take a photo. Angie's got some make-up that should do the trick." He was referring to his latest fling who had been sitting quietly at the back of the room staring at her phone's screen.
They exchanged a brief smile and Andre came in to give her another hug.
"Thank you, Andre. I can't do this without your help."
"Just promise me you'll be careful, okay? You still owe me that bottle of Moët remember? I never did get it so this time I'm not having you disappear without getting what you owe me. Now get your face sorted out and let's get you on the first plane out of here."
Andre 'Mad Dog' Williams was just about finished with Jorja's forged travel document when a loud banging on the flat's door jerked them all to attention. Zeus was at the door first, gun in hand.
"Yo?" He shouted the slang greeting through the door but no one answered.
Andre's body tensed up and he nervously rushed the last bit of work on the passport. As if rehearsed a thousand times before, Angie was quick to hide away any evidence of her boyfriend's illegal activity in a small safe behind an obviously fake painting of the Mona Lisa, while the rest of Andre's protectors took up positions in each corner of the room.
Jorja's hand was on her gun now too where she had hidden in the nearby bathroom, leaving the door slightly ajar to keep an eye on events.
"Yo, speak up!" Zeus invited an answer again.
When no answer came back, he looked over his shoulder for instruction from Andre who had just completed the passport and was already at the bathroom door where he handed it to Jorja.
"Stay here and let me handle this, okay?" he whispered to her and moved toward the flat's entrance.
His hand was on the gun that was tucked inside the waistband of his pants underneath his shirt while he readied himself and nodded for Zeus to open the door.
Five men followed by Ludwig burst through the door the moment he unlocked it and a maelstrom of switchblades and guns came at the unsuspecting party of Jamaican gangsters, pinning them against the walls before they had a moment to fight back. Angie screamed and ran to the bedroom, slamming then locking the door behind her. Close on her heels one of the rival gangmen was after her, passing the bathroom where Jorja had already locked herself inside.
Venom, the pit bull, barked ferociously before lunging at Ludwig's shins and sinking his teeth into his legs. His attack was countered by an angry fist against the side of his head that sent the poor dog yelping across the floor.
"Where is she, Mad Dog? I know she's here!" Ludwig shouted as he charged toward Andre and pointed his gun firmly against Andre's forehead.
"You just missed her, you fool, now get out!"
But Ludwig wasn't convinced and, with his gun still aimed at Andre's head, scanned the room.
"You're lying. She's mine, Mad Dog, do you hear me? That money is mine! Now give her up before I make you regret it!"
"What money?" Andre bluffed.
The insult got him a backhand across the face after which his cautionary gaze met his opponent's angry scrutiny.
"You might think you have me with that gun pointed at my head, but this is my hood, bruv. Get out before I kill you with my bare hands." Andre's words were slow, controlled, and heavy with threat, emphasized by his sarcastic cant address for the term they used when referencing a brother by blood or friendship.
His threat invited a scoff from Ludwig. One the guy soon came to regret when, in one quick move, Andre seized his gun and turned the barrel full into his rival's face.
The skilled action took Ludwig by surprise and he retreated two steps. With the gun now in Andre's hands, aimed firmly at Ludwig's face, he drove his rival back toward the exit.
"Tell your men to stand down."
Ludwig hesitated.
"Don't make me ask you again, Ludwig. I ain't gonna be so nice second time round, bruv. There's a reason why I am still running things around here and deadbeat wannabes like you end up bleeding out on my floor."
With Ludwig's eyes fixed on the barrel of his gun, he gave the command to his men who instantly backed away from Mad Dog's gang.
"Good, now get out of my house and never, ever point a gun at me or my friends again. Got it?" His lips pulled back like a rabid dog’s, growling while he exposed his mouthful of gold teeth that threatened to rip out Ludwig's throat.
The action that drove home Andre's gang name had the intended effect and Ludwig turned and left, his men close behind him.
In the distance, police sirens pierced the night air, letting them know someone must have called the police about the disturbance. Angie slowly emerged from the bedroom, as did Jorja who came to stand next to Andre, her tone amused when she spoke.
"I see you're still scaring people off with that ridiculous fake rumor you invented. As if you could ever rip someone's throat open with those blunt teeth. You're as meek as that little puppy of yours, my friend."
"Yeah, well, don't go advertising that, Gigi. That rumor's what's keeping the scepter in my hand."
His attention turned to the sirens that grew louder by the second.
"We've got to get you out of here before the cops find you." He beckoned Zeus to join them. "My man Zeus will take care of you and, Gigi, it's not too late to back off."
She reached out and placed one hand on his shoulder.
"I need to do this, Andre. I'm tired of hiding. I'll see you again soon, my dear friend. Thanks for your help."
Her smile was warm and loving when she turned and left with Zeus on her heels, leaving the tough Jamaican exterior of her friend to nearly melt in a colorful puddle on the floor.
"You've got that right, and don't forget the Moët next time!" Andre yelled after her as he watched them escape into the chilly night air.