‘They don’t like not knowing who it is they’re dealing with. I’m taking a real risk here.’
‘And being paid for it.’
He glared at her. ‘Not well enough.’ He punched a number into the phone and put it to his ear.
Tina looked up and down the street. It was still fairly busy, with a number of shops open, and plenty of illegally parked vehicles. Two in particular caught her eye. One car was outside an off licence further up on the other side of the road, and had a couple of people sitting in it. The other was a white van with blacked-out rear windows, outside a fruit and veg shop the other way. She didn’t like the look of either of them, and was contemplating calling things off when the door to the restaurant opened and Zafir ushered her inside.
The door was immediately locked behind them by a big guy with a beard. He looked at Tina suspiciously then addressed Zafir: ‘Who’s she?’
‘I’m the girlfriend of the man who ordered the passport, and I’m here with the money,’ Tina said, eyeing him coolly. At the same time she put her hand in her jacket pocket and gripped the can of CS gel, just in case.
The big guy didn’t look happy but walked past them to the back of the restaurant, motioning for them to follow. As they did so, another guy, smaller but more dangerous-looking, appeared out of the shadows and fell into step behind Tina as they mounted the narrow staircase.
She looked round and was about to say something when she saw he had a gun pointed at her back.
‘Keep moving,’ he said.
Tina tensed but did as she was told, knowing from long and bitter experience that there was no point panicking. No one wants to fire a gun. It’s there as a threat.
At the top of the stairs they were led into an office with a desk at the end behind which sat a fat, bald man who Ray had told her was the boss. The big bearded man peeled off so he was standing behind Zafir, who then turned round and saw the gun for the first time.
‘Whoa!’ he exclaimed, jumping backwards and almost falling over a box on the floor. He turned to the fat man, looking petrified. ‘What’s going on, Faz?’
The fat man smiled. ‘We’ve got a few questions we need to ask,’ he said. ‘The first one: where’s the man who came here yesterday?’
‘He couldn’t make it,’ said Tina. ‘He sent me instead. I’ve got the money. Where’s the passport and the driving licence?’
The fat man reached under a pile of paperwork and produced what looked like the goods, holding them up for her to see. ‘They’re here. But you know, I’ve just seen a photo of a wanted fugitive on TV, a Mr Ray Mason, and he looks a lot like the man here.’ He poked a stubby finger at the driving licence photo.
Tina swallowed. She hadn’t seen the news for a good few hours now. Obviously there’d been some sort of development and they had a new likeness for Ray. This was bad.
‘You. Zafir. You brought the man here yesterday. You vouched for him. It’s Ray Mason, isn’t it?’
Zafir shook his head firmly. ‘No. His name’s Bobby Fitzsimmons. I served time with him. I told you that yesterday.’
The fat man’s face screwed up in anger. ‘You’re lying. I know the evidence of my own eyes.’
He nodded to the bearded guy, who stepped forward and punched Zafir in the side of the head, knocking him into the wall. Zafir’s legs wobbled beneath him and he went down on one knee, clutching his head.
‘I’m not putting up with this,’ said Tina, who knew that the minute she showed weakness she was finished.
‘Shut up and listen to me,’ the fat man said. ‘I know that the man you represent is Ray Mason. I hear the police are after him, but so are other people. People with deep pockets. So I’m going to ask you once and once only. Where is he?’ As he spoke, he nodded to the gunman who came up behind Tina and pushed the end of his gun into the small of her back. He was so close she could smell his deodorant. ‘And if you don’t answer, my friend will put a bullet in you.’
Survival, in Tina’s experience, was all about the ability to make swift decisions. These men were amateurs. Dangerous ones definitely, but amateurs nonetheless, which meant that the gun was very unlikely to be loaded. And the fact was, Tina was angry. She’d already been treated like dirt by the two men who’d threatened her in her office, and she wasn’t going to put up with it a second time.
‘OK, OK,’ she said, raising her hands. ‘I know where he is.’ She took a step forward away from the gun, half turning as she did so, so that she could see everyone in the room, calculating that no one was going to shoot her while she was cooperating. ‘I’ll tell you, but get him to lower that gun. I don’t want it going off accidentally.’
The fat man made a gesture and the gunman lowered his weapon, giving Tina a cocky look.
‘Thank you,’ she said with a relieved sigh. Then, in one rapid movement, she swivelled round on her heel and sent a flying snap-kick straight into the gunman’s groin, hitting him with such force that he was slammed straight back into the door, his body bent double. The gun flew out of his hand, going off at the same time with a loud bang, which shocked everyone, including Tina.
Taking advantage of the confusion, she kicked the gun out of reach and charged at the bearded guy who’d punched Zafir, yanking the CS gel from her jacket and unloading it in his face before he could react.
She got him right in the eyes and he yelped in pain, covering them with his hands and presenting her
