He has his single bag packed and sitting on the kitchen table. Been sitting there for the last forty-five minutes. William should have been back half an hour ago. Pick Calum up, drive him across to Edinburgh. Calum’s printed out his boarding pass. It’s in the side pocket of the bag. All he needs is his brother to drive him across. Sitting there, tapping the table. He phoned his brother’s mobile twice, got no response. Called the garage, and no answer. Doesn’t have his own mobile to use, only the house phone. Can’t text him. Maybe William’s driving. On his way back to the house, can’t pull over and answer his phone. That’s no excuse for how late he is. He knows what time he needed to be home. He said it himself when he went out. Calum doesn’t want to think the worst, but there isn’t much room for anything else.
Calling the garage one last time. Nothing. Calling William’s mobile one last time. Nothing. Now his attitude is changing. Assume the worst. Treat everything from this point onwards as a job. Get that focus. They know–Jamieson and Young have found out. They’ve done something to William. Maybe just holding him. Or maybe beating him. Maybe even killing him. A flash of anger. Targeting William, just to get at Calum. To lure him out. Calum’s moving over to the window, looking out into the street. No sign of anyone there, but someone will be there. Someone watching and waiting. Waiting for the message that William’s been punished. When they know the older brother isn’t coming back, they’ll go in and get Calum. They’ll use Hutton. There’s nobody else. Hutton will be nervous. He knows how dangerous Calum will be. Knows what happened to the last man who tried to kill him.
One more phone call. Calling a taxi firm he knows has no connection to Jamieson. Telling them where to pick him up and where he wants to go. Looking at his watch. He wanted to get to the airport early. Get through security and settle down on the other side. He could get the taxi to take him all the way through to Edinburgh. Would cost a fortune, but he could get away. They’re not going to force a taxi off the road. They’re not going to try to hit him in an airport, with all the security there. This could be his one chance at a getaway. When you know they’re on to you, run. That’s obvious. Don’t consider anything else. Just run. If you stay around, chances are they get you. Put yourself first. Be selfish. Take the one chance you have to get away. If they have William, then that’s too bad for William. He knew the risks.
A car blowing the horn outside. Calum over to the window, looking out. A taxi, driver craning his neck to see the front door. Calum’s picking up his bag, slipping the strap over his head. Pausing, just briefly. Flee the city. Leave his brother in all sorts of trouble. Or go to the garage and check. If he finds nothing there, then he’ll have to go to the airport anyway. No time to hang around. He’s sighing. This shouldn’t be a difficult decision. He should put his brother first. But he never has before. Never put anyone other than himself first. The joy of being a gunman. The isolation justifies selfishness. He’s at the front door, pulling it open to let the driver see that he’s there. Stepping out and stopping. He’s making it look like he’s locking the door, but he doesn’t have a key. He’s looking up and down the street. Can’t see anything obviously out of place. He will, though. When the taxi starts moving, he’ll see anyone who follows, because he’ll know what to look for.
He’s dropping into the back of the taxi.
‘East end, is it, mate?’ the driver’s asking him.
A pause. This is the chance to change your mind. To leave William to his fate and go your own way. But he can’t. He might be selfish, but he’s still William’s brother. The least he owes William is to go to the garage and check. ‘That’s right,’ Calum’s saying. The car’s pulling out and getting to the end of the street. Calum’s looking back over his shoulder. There’s a car at the other end of the road. He can just see it as the taxi starts to turn. Its nose is edging out from its parking spot. The watcher, following. Calum’s making a point of not looking over his shoulder too often. Don’t spook the driver. Get to the garage; decide your next move from there. Another thought. They’re luring you to the garage. Hold the brother, so that the target comes looking. It’s a good place to carry out a hit. No. They would only know that Calum’s waiting for William if William told them so. And he wouldn’t tell. Not ever.
Driving through the city. Occasional backward glances, making sure the following car is still there. Could be a gunman tracking him. Could just be a watcher, gathering information for the gunman. The gunman will be Hutton. Has to be. Calum’s thinking. Thinking that he’s tempted to go round to Barry Fairly’s house and punish him for his disloyalty. It must have been him. He grassed. You know what happens to a grass. So Jamieson and Young know the new ID. Can they find out what plane ticket he has booked in that name? Course they can. So they know when he plans to leave. They know his brother’s been helping him. Easy to guess that William’s going to take him to the airport. Lure him to the garage.
Another look over his shoulder. Car’s still there, but it’s a long way back in the traffic. Can’t make out the driver from here. Doesn’t recognize the car. It’ll be a company car. Designed to be unrecognizable. Thinking again. They won’t be luring him to the garage, because they couldn’t rely on him to turn up. They know what sort of person he is. Or, they should. They must know that he would be prepared to leave his brother and run.
They’re close now. Calum can recognize some of the buildings.
‘Next left,’ he’s telling the driver, ‘the garage is halfway along on the left-hand side.’ Make a judgement. Tell the driver to wait, or let him go. Might as well let him go. If William’s there and there’s nothing wrong, he can get a lift from his brother. If it’s a set-up, then the driver isn’t going to be any use. He’ll drive away at the first sign of trouble, preferably without Calum aboard. He’s pulling up outside the garage now. Calum’s looking up and down the street. He can see William’s car, parked right in front of the entrance. That looks like a lure. He’s fishing in his pocket, getting money out for the driver. Stepping out of the car, looking along the street again. Nobody parked there that he wouldn’t expect to see. Not a lot of action on the street. Never is. Few businesses left here. Little activity. Looking at the doors of the garage. Pulled tight shut. That’s not right. Obviously not right. If William was working in there, as his car suggests he was, then the doors should be open, at least a little.
There are two ways of playing the situation that Calum’s in. The subtle way, and the sledgehammer way. From where Calum’s standing, the subtle way looks like a waste of time. They know he’s running and they’re making moves against him. They must know that he’ll work out what they’re up to. Playing subtle achieves nothing. Can’t trick them, when they know more than he does. So you go down the sledgehammer route. You go aggressive, confrontational, none too subtle. You let them know that they’re in a bloody great big fight. Let the bastards know that if they want to take you down, they’re going to have to work for it. Few people can play that part well. Most aren’t intimidating enough. Calum is one of the few who is. They know how dangerous he can be. They will fear him. And he will give them good reason to.
Watching the blue car coming along the street. He’s hanging back beside William’s car, not letting the driver get a good look at him. Now he’s running. Out onto the street, into the path of the other car. He won’t give them time to run him over; the car’s still far enough away for Calum to pull back. But they will know that he’s spotted them. And he will see who the driver is. Know your enemy. Nothing more important than that. He’s expecting the car to accelerate, but it isn’t. It’s slowing down, the driver watching Calum. Fear, but friendship too. Calum’s staring at him. It’s George. Standing on the road in this quiet industrial area. Watching his friend follow him. His friend setting a trap. If George is following him, then surely Hutton’s inside. Waiting for the prey to turn up like a simple-minded weakling. Walking in and letting them kill him. He’s getting angry with George. He doesn’t expect much from his friends, not in this business. But he hoped for more than this. And as the car creeps forward, Calum isn’t moving. Too pissed off. Too defiant.
George is pulling over to the side of the road. He’s not going to run Calum down. Knows better than to pick a fight with Calum MacLean. That’s not a fight George has any prospect of winning. Not that he couldn’t beat Calum up. Of course he could–that’s where George’s prowess lies. But he wouldn’t go any further than that. He would beat Calum, but he would never kill him. George isn’t naive. He knows that, if he had to, Calum would kill him and not give it a second thought. There’s a line in the sand that George is unwilling to cross. Calum has no lines; no moral boundaries. He can switch those thoughts and emotions off. Accordingly, he can always survive. George cannot. So George is pulling over and switching off the engine. Getting out of the car and taking a few steps towards Calum. Raising his hands. Calum will know that George isn’t armed. George can’t be so sure about Calum.
‘So what is this,’ Calum’s asking, ‘a set-up? You got Hutton in there waiting for me?’
‘No,’ George is saying, shaking his head. ‘This isn’t anything. I swear, Calum. I was sent to watch your brother’s house. I was told you were in there, and to report if you moved. That was it. I don’t know what else is going on. I wish I fucking did. I don’t even know what I’m following you for, but I know it’s serious. The hell is going on here, Cal?’
Sounds genuine. Doesn’t mean this isn’t a set-up, just that George doesn’t know about it. That would be a smart move. Keep George in the dark. Too close to the target to be trusted with the truth. ‘I’m leaving,’ Calum’s saying. ‘They know. William’s been helping me, and now I can’t find him.’
‘You’re leaving?’ George is saying. There’s real shock there. He understands what that means. Understands the consequences.
Calum’s ignoring him. Walking to the door, pulling it slightly open and then stepping quickly back. No sound from inside. Stepping back to the door. George standing watching him, unsure what he should do.
‘I’ll go in first,’ he’s saying suddenly. Calum’s turning and looking at him. About to say something and stopping, because George is marching towards the door. No arguments, George is going in first. Stepping up to the door, glancing quickly in. Can’t see much in the gloom. Ducking inside, out of view. No movement. George knows what to look for. He’s stalked about in the darkness before. Don’t look for shapes. Look for movements and look for colours. Any movement is a threat. Any colour that stands out. Silver is usually a good one, but not so much in a garage. And listen. Always listen. Can’t see or hear anything that shouldn’t be there. Place seems empty. He can hear Calum step in behind him. The flick of a light switch and the place is transformed.
‘Oh Jesus, Calum, get over here.’