‘What the fuck’s going on?’ moaned Krys while his eyes made a bad job of trying to focus.
‘Shut the fuck up!’ snapped Tugger, pulling him off the bed by the handcuffs and forcing him to his knees. He gave him a quick smack round the face with the barrel of the gun to establish control. ‘Now, get to your feet. Now!’
‘Fuck off,’ snapped Krys. ‘You know who you’re fucking dealing with?’
‘Course I do, you prick. Now shut it.’
Krys opened his mouth to say something else but I came round the bed, holstering my gun and pulling open a roll of adhesive tape. I bit off a piece and shoved it over his mouth while Tugger held his head still. Krys’s face went red with rage and he started struggling wildly so I kicked him hard in the stomach, doubling him over. It was important to break him quickly so we could get out of the place with the minimum of fuss.
Tugger pulled him up by his hair and we manhandled him to the door. When we reached it, I fished out the keys to the girl’s handcuffs and chucked them on the bed. No point inconveniencing her any more than was necessary. Krys was struggling again, and in his rage he managed to kick the door, making a little bit too much noise for my liking. So I grabbed him by his bollocks and yanked hard. Twice in quick succession. His eyes bulged and I could almost smell his pain. I put my mouth close to his ear. ‘Struggle again and I’ll have the fucking things off,’ I hissed.
He seemed to get the message, and we pulled him out of the door without further incident. Joe was still standing at the end of the corridor next to the stairs, shotgun in hand. He nodded in acknowledgement as we came towards him. Krys turned to me as we walked and his eyes narrowed, the message in them clear. I stared right back, daring him to try anything.
Then, suddenly, it all went wrong.
A door swung open just behind us and a white-haired geezer of at least sixty came out, saw what was going on, and shouted, ‘Oh dear! What on earth’s happening?’ in tones that made you think he half-expected us to turn round and tell him. However, he decided against waiting around for an answer and immediately jumped back into the room, slamming the door behind him. At this point we were ten feet from the stairs, and fifteen from the lift.
Krys, sensing the possibility of rescue, tried to slow up, dragging his heels along the floor, but I tugged on his nuts again while Tugger pushed the barrel of his gun hard against his face. It seemed to do the trick, and this time he didn’t resist as we pushed him right up to the lift entrance. Joe had already called the lift and he pressed the button to open the door. At the same time, out of the corner of my eye, I saw another door open further down the corridor. A second later Big Mick’s naked upper half emerged, wielding a handgun that was pointing in our direction.
There was a deafening roar as Joe pushed us aside and pulled the trigger on the shotgun. A huge chunk of skirting and wall disappeared and Mick leapt back out of sight. We immediately pushed Krys into the lift, and I kneed him hard in the groin to minimize any further disruption. He went down to his knees and I turned and pointed the Glock back down the hall. Big Mick appeared again, his body crouched down, and let off a couple of wild shots. Joe and I held our ground and returned fire, sending dust and skirting flying in all directions. Tugger held on to Krys.
Then, without warning, the door opposite the Lovers Suite flew open and Fitz appeared in view with a revolver in hand, firing wildly in our general direction. A bullet whizzed straight past my head and into the lift, narrowly missing Krys. It hit the full-length mirror at the lift’s rear, shattering it instantly. Taking advantage of the covering fire, Mick also appeared again, firing off another series of rounds. Joe’s shotgun erupted in return, blowing a huge hole in the doorway where Mick’s head had just been, while Fitz was forced to retreat as I unloaded a steady burst of gunfire in his direction. I then jumped to one side and disappeared into the stairwell while Joe retreated into the lift as the doors closed.
I dashed down the first flight of stairs until I was in the second floor stairwell. The lift carrying Krys and the others was going all the way to the ground, and from there they were going straight into the back of the Mercedes van. My job now was to make sure Big Mick and Fitz didn’t get a chance to balls anything up. I ejected the Glock’s magazine and replaced it with a full one, chambering the first round. Above me the door on the next floor up banged open and heavy footfalls came down the stairs. Taking a deep breath, I stepped back so I was leaning against the door that led into the reception area, and raised the gun. Behind me, I could hear people crying out and shouting in the bar, and I hoped Kalinski was calm and ruthless enough to keep a lid on things until it was time for him to go.
Big Mick came crashing into view, dressed only in trousers, almost slipping up in his haste to get down the stairs and
