'Whoever he is, he's got a gun.'
So he did. And he was pointing it their way.
But it was okay.
'Don't worry,' Carlos said. 'That's a Glock. Almost definitely a replica.' Cause even Carlos, with all his connections, found it almost impossible to buy a reasonably priced fully operational Glock these days. He owned one once, but Richie's crazy dad had stolen it just before he got himself killed. Carlos didn't know for sure, but he suspected it was the same gun Jordan had used that night at the cottage. Unlike tonight, where he'd had to give Jordan a converted Valtro 98 'gas alarm' pistol. Lot of them about at the moment. Good business in buying replicas in bulk in Berlin, smuggling them into the UK, and adapting them to fire live rounds. So Carlos was told. But Glocks? Apparently they were hard to come by, priced accordingly. Supply and demand. But there were shitloads of replicas sold before the ban was introduced in October last year. So either this cop-teenager had more money than was likely, or that was a replica in his hand. Carlos was betting on the latter.
What the fucker was doing out here in a police car pretending to be a cop with a Glock, Carlos had no idea. He smiled, wound down the window, stuck his head out. Felt good to get some cool air on his skin. The night smelt of fox piss and rapeseed. ' Problemo, Officer?'
The guy said nothing. Got closer to the car. 'Turn off the engine and get out.'
'Why?'
He waved the gun in Maggie's direction. His hand was big, fingers thick, looked swollen. 'Tell him.'
That was interesting. Almost as if he knew her.
And Maggie, well, she didn't look scared at all. She leaned across and turned off the engine.
'You a joyrider?' Carlos asked him. Seemed like a logical guess.
'Get out.'
'Do what he says, Carlos,' Maggie said.
'You heard her.'
'I don't think so,' Carlos said.
'Get the fuck out.'
'I don't the fuck think so.'
'If you don't, I'll kill you.' He looked at Carlos, didn't move. 'I'll shoot you in the head.'
Carlos stared at him, pretty sure he was right about the Glock being a replica. Pretty damn fucking sure. Yeah. 'Go on, then,' Carlos said.
'Eh?'
'Kill me.'
The guy's lips tightened. He said, 'I want you to get out first.'
'I know.'
'You better do it,' Maggie said.
'Listen to her.'
Carlos said, 'I'm fine where I am.'
'You have to do what you're told.'
' No posible. Sorry.' He didn't know what was going on here, but he was going to find out. 'Why don't you tell me what you want?'
The guy looked at Maggie, then back at Carlos. 'I want you out of the van, standing the fuck right here.'
'Is it the van you want?' Carlos asked. 'Or me? Or my wife?'
'I told you.' He was getting twitchy, jerking the gun around. 'Just get the fuck out.'
'Listen,' Carlos said. 'How about you fuck off back to your police car and drive away. Then we can all get on with what we were doing.'
'Right. I'm going to shoot you.'
Carlos folded his arms. 'And I'm going to sit right here.'
'You can't do that.'
'Why not?'
'Cause I'll…'
'Shoot me?'
'Yeah.'
'Glad that's settled.'
The guy blinked hard. 'You think I'm fucking messing around?'
Carlos uncrossed his arms. 'How did you get the car?'
'Huh?'
'Stealing a cop car can't be easy.'
He said, 'What's it to you?'
'Just saying,' Carlos said. 'Must have taken a bit of planning. A bit of know-how.'
'Not really. Just hung around Lothian Road. Only a matter of time before a police car showed up.'
'Hmm,' Carlos said. 'I bet they didn't leave the door open and the key in the ignition.'
'Got a technique,' he said. 'See — ' He broke off as the passenger door clicked open.
Carlos turned to see Maggie getting out of the car. 'Wait,' he said.
'It's okay,' she said, the door snicking shut behind her.
He watched her walk round the front of the van, no hesitation, sidle up to the joyrider.
'A police car,' she said to him. 'I didn't expect that.'
'I'm good.'
'So I see.' She fingered her hair. 'My husband doesn't think your gun's loaded, you know.'
'Doesn't he?' He looked at Carlos. 'You don't?'
'Maggie,' Carlos said. 'Don't taunt him.'
'He thinks I'm taunting you,' Maggie said to the joyrider. 'Do you think so?'
'What I think,' the guy said. 'I think I should blow this fucker away.'
'What's your problem?' Carlos asked. 'You got some issue with me, spit it out? I'm getting bored of this.'
'Bored? You're getting fucking bored?' The guy twisted his body, pointed the gun at the police car and fired. The windscreen exploded.
' Mierda. ' Carlos felt the explosion reverberate in his bowels, the sound of the windscreen shattering like an after-effect in his veins. He glanced in the rearview, saw the bodybag wriggle. Thank Christ. They'd left the zipper undone just enough to allow air into the bag. Should mean Jordan would be able to get the bag open from the inside. Wasn't the plan, of course. But the plan was all gone to fuck. From now on, there was no fucking plan.
The joyrider said, 'If you don't get out of there right now, I'll shoot you where you sit. Last chance.'
Looked like everybody was on their last chance tonight.
'What does it matter?' Carlos asked.
'I don't want Maggie having to drive with your blood all over the place.'
Maggie?
The joyrider knew where to find them, he knew Maggie's name. This was definitely no accidental encounter.
'Maggie?' Carlos said, looking at his wife.
She nestled in close to the joyrider, stood facing Carlos. 'You killed your mother,' she said. 'You crossed a line, Charlie. How do I know that you won't kill me? Or Sofia?'
Holy shit. Maggie was behind this? Bad enough that she'd want to get rid of his mum, but she was planning on getting rid of him as well? Fuck, what a bitch. Carlos felt stupid to have been so misled for so long.
'Christ's sake,' he said. 'Don't be fucking ridiculous.'
'Is it?' Maggie said. 'I thought long and hard about it. If you can bump off your mother, nobody's safe. Seems fucking logical to me.'
'I'd never hurt Sofia.'
'Right,' Maggie said. 'But you'd hurt me?'
'I didn't say that.'
'You don't know how scary you are, Charlie. What you do. And it's bad enough when I'm not involved. But look what you've made me do now. I'm an accessory to murder. You think I like driving around with that thing in the
