God, it’s early. Way too early. George is staring at the ceiling. Contemplating the day ahead. Contemplating all that can go wrong. That’s a lot to think about. Going to need a coffee first. Twenty minutes later: showered, dressed and downing as much caffeine as one cup can hold. Got to meet Hutton at nine. Not much to clear up, but there’s no such thing as too much preparation. One of the things he picked up from Calum. It’s preparation that decides whether you succeed or fail. So meet Hutton, run through everything Jamieson said. Make sure Hutton knows what he’s doing. Make sure he knows not to do the job on Fizzy. That was a surprise. George thought they’d be delighted to see Shug make such a stupid mistake, but instead they came up with a better idea. A more profitable one. It was Jamieson who told George about it last night, but it sounds a lot like a John Young idea.
John Young. It’s funny, but George hates the man now. No good reason to. All the things George doesn’t like about his life are his own fault. He knows it. It’s just that Young epitomizes all the mistakes George has made. Probably because Young’s the one that gives the orders. Young told him to ruin Calum’s relationship with that girl Emma. So George did it. His own fault. He keeps doing these jobs and doing them well. No matter how often he tells Young that he doesn’t want any more responsibility, he keeps getting more responsibility. And here we are again. A job with responsibility. George will be meeting someone who matters, having a discussion that matters. Something he can’t believe he’ll be any good at. It’s not killing someone. That’s something. He’s drawn a line in the sand there, and so far has never crossed it. But this will be another step towards becoming the one thing George doesn’t want to be. Important.
There aren’t many people like George Daly in the business. Smart muscle. He goes round and beats people up, intimidates them. He’s the warning Peter Jamieson sends to people who owe him money. Usually pathetic souls that anyone with the ability to stay upright could batter. It’s easy, mindless work. It’s mostly carried out by mindless people. Halfwit thugs that Jamieson can hire and fire without consideration. But George is different. He’s smart, tough and a likeable guy. That draws attention. Means he gets all the challenging muscle-jobs. Means that Young and Jamieson want him to start doing more serious work. Take on more responsibility. Back up a gunman like Calum. Go and do a job like today’s. George doesn’t want that. He’s not just smart. He’s smart enough to know that ambition is poison. That responsibility is a curse. In this business, the best thing you can be is irrelevant.
Out of the flat and heading for his car. Looking up and down the street. A simple precaution. George doesn’t live in fear of death. If you stay away from the killing, it tends to stay away from you. But he has beaten up a lot of people in his working life. Some who are just stupid enough to think revenge might be a good idea. He’s had a couple of people come after him over the years. Looking to get even. Looking to show the people around them that they’re still tough. It’s a certain type of person you have to worry about. The pathetic junkies are no threat. They’re living day to day. They have no concept of revenge for historical acts. It’s small-time dealers, the wannabes. They borrow money from Jamieson, or take stock from him with the promise of a cut of the profits. When Jamieson doesn’t get the money he’s due, he sends George round to serve a warning. You beat up some little bastard who thinks he’s a big tough gangster. He’s humiliated, so he looks for revenge. Happened twice. Both times they tried to deliver the beating themselves. Forgetting that George is a professional. Beating is what he does. A second humiliation taught them to give up. There’s nobody here today, so he’s into the car.
The first meeting is with Hutton at the same flat as yesterday. No trouble getting there. Hutton’s waiting. Looks nervous. Strange, George didn’t expect him to be like this. Thought he would be the same as Calum, all cold and relaxed. Guess they must all behave differently. No shame in nerves.
‘Job’s off,’ George is saying, and watching the nerves settle. ‘Jamieson’s going to try and play this a different way. Wants to try and set something up with Fizzy. No hit, though. Word from Jamieson’s own mouth is that you should ignore Shug from now on. If he calls, blank it. Sit tight until you hear from me or John Young. I don’t think you’ll be doing anything else for Shug now.’
Hutton’s trying to hide his relief, but not quite managing. Not from someone as skilled at spotting it as George. ‘That’s fine,’ Hutton’s saying, playing it cool. ‘I’ll wait for one of you to get in touch. Ignore anyone else.’
‘One last thing,’ George is saying as Hutton’s getting up. ‘I’m on my way round to meet with Fizzy Waters. Can you give me some directions?’
George knows the city well. Not obsessive about learning the back streets and new-build areas like some. Gunmen, for example. For them it could be a matter of life or death. Capture or escape. For George, knowing the city is a matter of convenience. Only rarely does he have to do a job in a hurry. The kind of people he intimidates aren’t going anywhere. He’s going to Fizzy’s house now. Knows the area, and Hutton gave him directions to the house. Some people are good at giving directions. Hutton isn’t one of them. Said all the wrong landmarks to look out for. George thinks he knows where the street is; he thinks wrong. He doesn’t want to switch on his satnav to find out where to go. Another lesson learned from Calum. When you’re doing a job, be paranoid about technology. It can tell tales on you. It takes him twenty minutes of driving up and down random streets in the area to find the right one.
Out of the car and up to the front door. Hoping that nobody saw him driving around like an idiot. You see someone driving that way and you remember them. George doesn’t want to be remembered. Ringing the doorbell and waiting. Fizzy might not be at home. If he has any sense, then he won’t even be in the city. Run a mile, you fool. But Shug told Hutton he’d be there. Seemed sure Fizzy would stay. So that’s the most reliable info George has to work with. Someone coming to the door. Opening it. Don’t be a woman. Apparently his girlfriend isn’t in the city, so that should help. It’s a man. Fizzy. Staring down at the young man he doesn’t recognize. George, all curly hair and easy smiles.
‘Hi, Mr Waters, my name’s George. Listen, I know this is difficult, but we need to talk. Better not to do it out on the doorstep. I work for Peter Jamieson.’
The tone was the key. Easy for those words to sound like a threat. Easy for any mention of Peter Jamieson to be taken the wrong way. But George aimed for sympathetic and friendly in his tone, and he nailed it. Fizzy’s nodding. Opening the door all the way. Too trusting, George is thinking. That’s what comes from only working in the car business all these years. George could be anyone. Could be working for Shug. Could have been sent round to test Fizzy’s loyalty. Fizzy’s lucky that he’s not going to learn the hard way.
George is inside. The first hurdle over. He’s not carrying, so if this turns nasty, it’s going to be tough for him. He has to assume that Fizzy’s armed. Assume it, even though it’s unlikely. Fizzy is in his own home, which has to comfort him as well. No reason why this should turn nasty, but you never know. Don’t assume you know what goes through the head of another person. Fizzy’s smart, but inexperienced. If he realizes he’s on the outside, he should be desperate for help. This should be an easy conversation. Should be.
Fizzy’s led him through to the family room at the back of the house. Houses round here are bigger than they look from the front. George is impressed, a little jealous. Shows how well Fizzy was doing from the car-ring. Enough to buy a place like this. There was good money in what they were doing. Shows how stupid they were to want more. There’s a lot of people like that. Made stupid by greed and ambition.
‘I shouldn’t need to tell you what the situation is here,’ George is saying as he sits down. ‘You know that Shug’s throwing away everything. He’s tied himself to MacArthur, but MacArthur’s setting him up. MacArthur’s been feeding info to Peter for weeks now. Looking to get rid of Shug and take his business, so he’s hoping Peter will take Shug out. He actually called Peter the night you had your big meeting with MacArthur. I’m guessing you’re not surprised by that,’ he’s saying, watching Fizzy’s expression.
‘No. Not really. Sounds about right.’
‘You should also know,’ George is saying, and looking at the floor. Pick the right words. Don’t make it sound melodramatic. Sometimes the truth can be made to sound like a lie. Tread carefully. ‘Shug called up Shaun Hutton last night. Told him he wanted rid of you. Said you were a danger to him–a threat. I don’t know what went on between you and Shug, but he seems to want rid of you.’
Fizzy’s sitting there, just staring straight ahead. No shock. No immediate emotion. ‘Okay.’
‘Now, you don’t need to worry,’ George is assuring him. ‘Well, you do need to worry a little bit, but not about Hutton. He’s not going to carry out the job, that’s been made sure of.’ Keep that bit vague. Fizzy doesn’t need to know that Hutton’s crossed over until he follows him. ‘You may still need to worry about Shug, though. Once he has it in his head to kill you, it’s not easy to turn that around. In this business, when someone thinks of you as an enemy there’s usually no way back.’
Keep talking. Fizzy’s clammed up, but that’s fine. He’s not arguing against what George is saying, which is enough. ‘I’m not going to pretend that Peter’s sent me here out of the goodness of his heart. He hasn’t. Shug pissed him off. Shug’s going to go down, you know that? MacArthur’s setting him up for a big fall. If he lives long enough, he’s looking at big time. You need to be as far away from him as possible when that happens. Anyway, Peter Jamieson has bigger things to worry about. Shug was a nuisance, but MacArthur is more than that. He’s sizing up Peter, looking to make a move against him. Everyone knows it, Peter included. He’s not going to let that happen. Peter’s going to undercut MacArthur in this wee game. See, MacArthur wants all of Shug’s business. Peter reckons he can get it instead. If he does, he needs someone to run it. Someone credible. Someone with the know-how. That’s where you come in. In exchange, you get the full benefits and protection of a senior person in the Jamieson organization.’
It would look amateurish to leap to an answer, so Fizzy’s taking his time. Doesn’t really need to. What else is he going to say but yes? Jamieson’s offer is the only one on the table. The bastard probably knows it. He can stay loyal to Shug, but that’ll get him precisely nowhere. Not now. Shug wants him dead. He’d like to pretend that the order probably came from MacArthur, but it’s only pretending. It came from Shug. George is right, the friendship is over. Fizzy has to look after himself now.
‘If your man can get control of the business and keep me safe, then I’ll run it for him. I’ll want to do it a certain way, keep it out of the drug trade.’
George is putting a hand up and nodding. ‘There’ll be no crossover, I can guarantee that. Most of all they want the legit business.’
Fizzy’s nodding. ‘Fine. They get control of it. Keep me safe. Shug goes down, and I’ll run the business for Jamieson.’