As Vince went down, Dave and Ricky grabbed Dennis and dragged him off. The place was suddenly quiet and Dave looked around at the faces of his regulars: ponces and hangers-on, all drinking for free and waiting with bated breath and eyes alight with excitement for the cabaret to start. There wasn't one real mate in the whole place and even his brother didn't have enough loyalty to wish one of his own well or toast their success and good fortune.

Dave had learned nothing from his years with Patrick Brodie but it was as if someone had turned a light on in his brain. He was suddenly seeing himself and what he had achieved with a stunning clarity that was as enlightening as it was terrifying. A room full of no-necks and empty pockets did not augur well for his peace of mind or his brothers' safety. The tatty furnishings, the over-the-hill barmaids and the fug of cigarette smoke showed him the reality of what he had allowed to happen to what had once been a promising young life.

Vince was kneeling up on one knee, his head was bleeding profusely and his arm was groping about for the bar so he could hoist himself upright. He was obviously concussed and Dave felt the anger rising up inside him. He picked up the metal pipe from the floor where Dennis had dropped it and laid into his brother with all the strength he possessed. No one attempted to stop him, not even Ricky, and that spoke volumes as far as Dave was concerned.

Chapter Eight

'You nearly killed your own brother.' Dave was still covered in his brother's blood and as he listened to Patrick's shocked voice, he could smell his own sweat and vomit; it made him start to heave. Patrick stepped away from him quickly, expecting him to spew up again at any moment.

Patrick looked at the man before him and despaired of what he had been reduced to. In me years he had known Dave, he had watched as the promise he had seen in the beginning had been proved to be nothing more than youthful ambition. He had not cut it in the real world and though it had never been said out loud, it had been there between them for a long time.

He had had a lot of time for Dave and he cared about him, but he had passed him over many times because he had not had any faith left in him. Patrick had tried to help him, tried to give him advice, but it was like talking to a brick wall. With Dave, all the lights were on but no one actually seemed to live there a lot of the time. He didn't have the staying power you needed to keep moody businesses on the boil. He was a chancer by nature, like them all. Dave would be better off as a blagger; a quick fix, a good wedge. 'You all right, son?' Patrick's voice was sad and he was sorry that it had come to this.

He was also relieved that the struggle between the Williams brothers and Spider's graft had not had to be resolved by him. He liked this boy and he liked his brothers; they were useful if not indispensable. They had a history together and that meant a lot to him. He knew it was Dennis who was the driving force for most of the aggravation the family encountered and he also knew that Vince Williams, being a decent bloke, would not exact any kind of retribution. At least, he wouldn't once Pat had talked to him. This was an unfortunate turn of events and the best way to deal with it was to settle it sooner rather than later. This meet they were supposed to have had with Dave was not exactly what he had had in mind, but if it kept a turf war at bay then it could only be a good thing.

Cain and Spider were laughing as James McMullen, a large Jamaican with a permanent smile and an erratic dress sense, filled them in on what had happened to Dennis Williams.

James was feeling the buzz of the grass acutely and was in the process of building another joint of Olympian standards. The men fell quiet as the enormity of what had happened sank in.

Cain shook his head sadly, wondering what had caused the Williams family to implode so violently. 'Poor old Vince, he is a really nice bloke. A really trustworthy geezer; what was that fucking Dennis thinking about?'

Spider shrugged. 'Fucking scum, the lot of them. They think they're better than everyone else. That Dennis would take out his mother if he thought a few pennies would come his way. They are sixpenny killers, they ain't in the real world. Cheap and fucking nasty, the whole lot of them. No loyalty, no fucking respect for themselves or anyone around them.'

Cain nodded at the truth of his brother's statement. 'Imagine going for your own family though, your own flesh and blood.'

James licked the big bamboo papers he had rolled so expertly and said, matter-of-factly, 'Jealousy, man. Plain and simple jealousy. Vince is still in the game, big time, has made a few quid and continues to make a few quid. That lot owe money everywhere and the fact they are under Brodie's umbrella is the only reason they ain't been forced to cough it up yet. Debts are mounting; I heard they can't get any more credit from the fucking Cash and Carry, let alone anywhere else.'

Cain digested this bit of logic. 'Dave should have finished him off. Dennis won't let this go, he ain't got the fucking brains of a lab rat. Dave would be well advised to watch his back.'

'Where does that leave us though?' Spider asked. 'They want what we got and they will still be wanting it. It might take them a while to regroup, get back on track but, mind my words, they will still need poke. I think we should go in and finish them off", once and for all.'

James nodded in agreement but Cain wasn't so sure. He honestly believed that this was a classic case of feuding and that the Williams brothers would be too busy in-fighting in future to do anything else and he said as much.

'I don't know. They will be taking sides even as we are talking about it; Vince will want redress at some point, he ain't a cunt. He must know that if he lets this go, he will lose respect. Dave will be fighting to keep his position as head of the family because who's gonna trust him now? It's over for them, finished.'

James and Spider grinned at each other at the naivety of youth.

'Listen, boy, when something like this happens you can only do one thing in their position. And that is to bounce back bigger and better than before. It's like when the police get caught taking money; the others feel it as badly as their mates so they posse up and go out and feel everyone's collars, whether they be guilty or not, to make the public respect them once more. We all the same, we need to overcome fuck-ups by making a show of strength. We haven't seen the last of those fuckers, especially that Dennis. He is a hot-headed prick looking for something he ain't got the fucking brains to see if it was lying in the gutter and whistling at him.'

Spider laughed at James's words. 'Wisdom like that is something you gather with age, Cain. You can't buy it, no more than the Williams brothers can buy business sense or outside friendship. James be right, it's not a matter of when they will be back, it's more a matter of how. They are going to have to do something pretty spectacular to get the attention of everyone; they will need to be a talking point to regain their respect and, worst of all for us, it will entail stealing someone's livelihood. So you watch your back, they still want what we got and we still got to protect our assets.'

James nodded sagely, his big, powerful body moving gracefully with the grass he had smoked. He was mellowing out by the second, but he was still capable of keeping his reputation intact, no matter how much dope he smoked. He was a big man who was stronger than the average, both mentally and physically. He was a strategist by nature and a womaniser through choice. He was about as dangerous as any one person could be.