All the faces below me were Arab. Baldilocks was leaning against a concrete ramp in a baggy blue short-sleeved shirt and black pants. He took a long drag on a cigarette and swapped jokes with the fat van driver, who had a brown sweater stretched over his gut. I thought that he had been the one to spot Hubba-Hubba at the rear of the shop, as the Romeos prepared for loading inside. But none of this made sense. Why lift him, and why lift the Romeos?

Lotfi was inches from me now, his eyes fixed on the pit. Hubba-Hubba's head was still bowed. He wasn't reacting to the blows, just rolling with them, taking the pain. Romeo One was on his knees, begging Goatee for mercy. What he got instead was another burst of good news from the broom handle.

Lotfi turned to me, his face determined. "He's waiting for me."

I nodded. "Not long now, mate. Go beyond the skylight, see if there's a trap door."

He took another long, hard look at his brother before crawling backward and making his way to the other side of the roof. Maybe there was a fire door, with a steel escape ladder attached to an interior wall. It wouldn't help us much: we'd be spotted at once coming down it. But at least it got Lotfi out of the way for a while. I didn't want him worked up any more than he was already.

As I listened to the screams and shouts I looked around below me. The building was just one big open s.p.a.ce, and had obviously once been used as a garage workshop. I was lying with my head toward the shuttered entrance at the far end of the building. There was nothing behind it now, apart from the Lexus. It looked as though it had been the vehicles' holding area, before they were brought over to the inspection pits and ramps for repair in the middle. At the other end, the ground-floor window we'd found was hidden by two mobile construction trailers, which stood at right angles to each other in front of a rough, whitewashed cinder-block cube, no more than eight feet high, which jutted out of the corner. Unless Lotfi came up with something magical, the only way in was through the shutter, or that window.

Goatee stepped off the gate and barked an order at the boys by the ramp. Baldilocks and Van Man threw down their cigarettes, walked over to the pit, and dragged the ironwork gate to one side. When there was a big enough gap, Romeo Two was herded into it by the black-leather brothers.

Hubba-Hubba didn't react as the newcomer fell in beside him and the gate was dragged back over. But the reunited Romeos yammered off to each other and did some more begging to the people above.

A cell phone rang. A couple of them reached into their pockets, but it turned out to be Goatee's. He flipped it open, and did a bit of business as the other four congregated by the ramps. Cigarettes were pa.s.sed around and lit as Goatee carried on his conversation in what sounded like French. There was even a little laughter from him as he walked toward the shutters.

Goatee had a big smile on his face, and waved his left arm gently back and forth as he talked. He was maybe in his early forties, with a short, very neat hairstyle that made him look even more like George Michael today. His body language was cajoling, and he kicked small imaginary soccer b.a.l.l.s against the wall as he moved.

Lotfi appeared from the other side of the skylight on his hands and knees, shaking his head as he closed in on me. He stared down at Hubba-Hubba, then shifted his attention to Goatee.

"It's a woman," he whispered. "He says he'll be home late, there is lots to do."

And then, as if a switch had been thrown, the phone was thrust back into Goatee's pocket and he strode back to the pit. The smile had gone.

The two Romeos were on their knees, beseeching him in rapid Arabic. I turned to Lotfi. "What are they saying?"

He put his ear to the hole instead of his eyes and plugged the other ear with his thumb as a jet pa.s.sed overhead and vehicles raced about us, his face screwed up in concentration. While I waited for him to work it out, I moved the Browning to the back of my jeans and turned the f.a.n.n.y pack around, letting my front sink into the tar. It didn't make much difference, I was already covered in the stuff. I felt as if I'd been crawling in hot volcanic mud.

"They don't know who my brother is. They've never seen him before."

I watched Goatee light a cigarette while he glowered at the two men gibbering on their knees below him, picking off some tobacco that was left on his lips.

"They're saying they're just here to collect money from three locations. One yesterday and two today. They don't understand what's happening. They know nothing apart from where to collect the money."

He had the same thought as I did. "Nick, two collections today?"

s.h.i.t! I glanced over to him, then back at Goatee, who was holding a hand out as Van Man brought over Hubba-Hubba's yellow Sony. He brought it up to his mouth and mouthed, I glanced over to him, then back at Goatee, who was holding a hand out as Van Man brought over Hubba-Hubba's yellow Sony. He brought it up to his mouth and mouthed, "Bonjour, bonjour, bonjour," "Bonjour, bonjour, bonjour," with an exaggerated sneer. with an exaggerated sneer.

He flicked his unfinished cigarette into the pit and crouched over Hubba-Hubba, shouting questions. There was no reaction at all from the Egyptian. "He wants to know who he was talking to on the radio." Lotfi wiped sweat from his face. "He wants to know who we are, where we are, what we're doing." And then, strangely, Lotfi smiled. He looked me in the eye. "He won't say a word, Nick. He knows I'm coming."

Hubba-Hubba was still facing the bottom of the pit, not responding. Maybe Lotfi was right: he actually did believe. Goatee got p.i.s.sed off at the lack of reaction and hurled the Sony at the gate. Shards of plastic and electronic components showered into the pit like shrapnel. Then, in what looked like an explosion of frustration, he forced the broom handle down onto the base of Hubba-Hubba's neck with both hands. Hubba-Hubba just took the pain and went down, his bloodstained head falling into Romeo Two's lap.

Lotfi stared down as Goatee screamed into the pit. He was looking far too calm. It was as if he had a plan. "What else are they saying, mate?"

Lotfi closed his eyes and c.o.c.ked his ear to the broken pane. "He doesn't believe the Romeos. He says it doesn't matter who is telling the truth and who is lying. It doesn't matter if he kills them and he is wrong. Someone else will collect the cash." He opened his eyes again and looked at me. "It is now time, Nick."

I nodded back. "We only have the window to-"

Lotfi jerked away from the gla.s.s and up onto his knees. Wiping his hands on his jeans to get the tar off, he nodded over toward the gate. The heat burned into my palms as I put my hands into the black stuff and pushed myself up to see what he'd seen. He was already crawling toward the downpipe.

A Peugeot station wagon with police markings and blue light bar had stopped at the intersection opposite the line of cars in front of the brocante brocante, where the Scudo was parked. It was three up, and the front pa.s.senger was on the radio.

51.

I had to a.s.sume the worst: that third-party calls earlier had alerted the police about the Scudo and these three boys were just about to get a promotion. They'd find the radios and the rear setup, and the cash under the seat-together with enough fingerprints to keep them dusting for weeks. The first thing they'd do was look for us around here. had to a.s.sume the worst: that third-party calls earlier had alerted the police about the Scudo and these three boys were just about to get a promotion. They'd find the radios and the rear setup, and the cash under the seat-together with enough fingerprints to keep them dusting for weeks. The first thing they'd do was look for us around here.

I checked Lotfi's Focus. Nothing was happening there, but it wouldn't be long before it did after his cops-and-robbers impersonation. I couldn't help thinking that maybe it was G.o.d's way of saying, "That's enough of a recce for me today, now just get on with it."

Still trying to work out how we were going to do it, I decided to take one more look down into the building before I went to join Lotfi. I hadn't reckoned on things getting worse. Goatee was still on the gate, but the trunk to the Lexus was now open and Baldilocks was handing him a red plastic fuel canister. The can was then held up, like a bottle of wine at a restaurant, for the three in the pit to see.

Hubba-Hubba finally looked up. The charm had gone from his neck. There was no reaction at all: he just took the shouting, and bowed his head once more. He was waiting for Lotfi to come. But in the meantime he was preparing to die.

Lotfi was nearly at the corner of the roof as a train squealed into the station. He stopped at the parapet, waiting in case anyone took the short cut. By the time I had reached him, the train had left. Should I tell him what I'd seen? What would it change if I did? We were still going to have to get down and try to make entry through that window. Would it help for him to know that his brother was on the verge of being torched-especially if it turned out we couldn't get inside?

Lotfi checked for people crossing the train tracks. "All clear. Ready?"

I nodded, checked my Browning and f.a.n.n.y pack, then clambered over the parapet, scrambling down a bit too fast. Slivers of rust sliced into my hand, but my pain was nothing compared to Hubba-Hubba's. As soon as I hit the ground, Lotfi started to follow.

I switched the f.a.n.n.y pack and Browning from my back to my front once more and took my Leatherman out of its belt case. I wanted the weapon back where it normally sat, because it was an instinct to draw down from that position and I got the feeling I'd be needing it.

Lotfi landed beside me as I opened the blade of the Leatherman. Reaching up on tiptoe with my left hand and pushing up with my free hand on the concrete windowsill, I started to stab and cut into the plastic fan casing.

Lotfi was against the wall, keeping watch. It seemed a good idea to prepare him for failure. "If we can't get these bars off, the only way to go in is through the shutter. We wait for someone to come out, or maybe the van to come back, then-"

"G.o.d will decide what we can and cannot do, Nick. It's in his hands." He didn't look at me: his eyes stayed fixed toward the track.

That was all well and good, but what if G.o.d decided it was time to light up the pit?

I lifted out the center of the four-inch-diameter fan and tried to look through at the bars beyond the now-grimy, tar-smeared gla.s.s.

f.u.c.k it, I had to tell him.

"Before we left the skylight, I saw Goatee waving a fuel can at the three of them in the pit. You know what that could mean, don't you?"

His expression didn't change. His eyes still didn't leave the track. But he did have his beads in his left hand, threading them between his fingers and thumb, one by one. "Yes, I do know what that means." His voice was unbelievably calm, unbelievably collected. "Let's just carry on."

I needed help to get my hand through the hole. "Give us a leg up, mate." I lifted my right foot, and he cupped his hands. We both grunted as I stretched out my arm and he pushed up against the bricks.

I got a glimpse of urinals as I reached through, and at the fourth attempt I managed to pull down the rusty window latch. Not much happened. The frame was so old it had been glued in place by years of weather. I lowered myself back to the ground and used the Leatherman blade to pry open the frame.

There was no noise from inside, which was good: if we couldn't hear them, chances were they couldn't hear us. I just hoped none of them suddenly decided they wanted to take a leak.

Pushing at the bars was no good, they were solid, but I used them to pull myself up the extra foot so I could see what was going on. They were secured by three straighthead screws, above and below the frame, driven through two strips of metal that were welded onto the bars.

I dropped back to the ground and got out the screwdriver of the Leatherman. "You know we still need to get the hawallada, hawallada, don't you, as well as Hubba-Hubba? We've already lost the third one, and without these people we don't get to the ASUs. We need them-you know what's going to happen if these ASUs aren't jumped on?" don't you, as well as Hubba-Hubba? We've already lost the third one, and without these people we don't get to the ASUs. We need them-you know what's going to happen if these ASUs aren't jumped on?"

"Nick, I understand the importance. You forget, my brother and I volunteered."

His expression was so calm it was unnerving. He really did believe in right and wrong, and all that Kismet stuff. "You also know it's finished, after this? We are compromised to the police, we have missed the other collection. Let's just get both of them out, drop off the hawallada, hawallada, and get the f.u.c.k out of this country. Okay? No revenge s.h.i.t, it'll take too long." and get the f.u.c.k out of this country. Okay? No revenge s.h.i.t, it'll take too long."

I pulled myself up again, using the bars, and managed to half-sit on the sill so I could get to work with the screwdriver. At least the stained toilet and two dust-filled urinals had no smell, just dried cigarette b.u.t.ts, from the eighties probably; the filter ends gathered around the drain holes were faded white with age.

Layers of paint covered the screw heads near the ceiling, and I had to dig them out first with the blade before I could get the screwdriver to bite. It eventually started to turn after the head had twice slipped out of the groove and sc.r.a.ped my knuckles.

The first screw came out and I handed it to Lotfi and stayed silent as I dealt with the remaining ones. There was too much to think and worry about. I glanced at Lotfi, still calm, watching up and down the path. Me, I was worrying a bit, but ready to go for it so we could get the f.u.c.k out of France before the police got hold of us.

I didn't bother with the bottom screws, just pried the bars downward. Then, getting out my Browning and turning my f.a.n.n.y pack around to the back of my spine again, I went in headfirst, belly-flopping onto the toilet, using the two urinals as support to stop me falling onto the floor and making noise.

I could hear voices on the other side of the door.

Lotfi followed me through, closing the window behind him but not pulling down the catch.

The door was an overpainted cheap interior one, with an old, brushed-aluminum handle. The gap at the bottom was too narrow for me to look through, but the screams and shouts didn't leave much to the imagination. At least I couldn't smell gasoline or burning yet.

Lotfi also got his ear to the door. "They're begging them to stop-we must hurry now."

"We need to spread out so we can cover them all. I'll take the left, using the Portakabin on that side as cover. You take the right, using the other one."

One of the Romeos screamed so loudly it sounded as if he were in here with us. Lotfi got very worked up, his eyes flashing once more the same as they'd done in Algeria. I put a hand on his shoulder. "Me left, you right, and this G.o.d of yours knows I'm with you, yeah?"

As he nodded, both Romeos cried out again. I pulled the hammer back from its half-c.o.c.k position on the Browning and checked chamber by gently pulling back the backslide just enough to see the bra.s.s of the round in position. Then I pushed it back into position.

Lotfi was doing the same as I checked my f.a.n.n.y pack for the last time and wiped the sweat from my eyes with a tar-stained hand.

Slowly, I pushed down on the door handle and it gave way with the smallest of squeaks. I didn't want to burst in. I wanted us to get in as far as we could, using the Portakabins as cover, before it went noisy.

There was a little resistance from the hinges, but I managed to pull it toward me an inch as Goatee's shouts and the screams from the pit increased. My view was mostly obscured by the Portakabins, but between them to my half-right I could see the concrete ramps. And no one was there anymore.

52.

I couldn't understand the Arabic, but I could tell the difference between begging and demanding. Lotfi's hard-set jaw told me that for him every word mattered. couldn't understand the Arabic, but I could tell the difference between begging and demanding. Lotfi's hard-set jaw told me that for him every word mattered.

I just had to a.s.sume that they all were at the pit; there was nowhere else for them to have gone, unless they were hanging around in the mobile construction trailers or giving the Lexus a polish.

Change of plan now that I couldn't see anyone. I visualized how I would go straight through the gap in the two trailers to the ramps, so I could use them as cover while I dominated the area. None of them would be able to outrun Mr. Nine Millimeter.

That would give Lotfi a chance to move in and lift Hubba-Hubba, and once that was done, there would be three of us to get Goatee into the car and get the f.u.c.k out. And that was about as far as I got. We'd just have to get in there with the maximum amount of speed, surprise, and aggression, weapons up, making sure they didn't have time to draw down. Only Lotfi's G.o.d could tell where things went from there.

I moved my head back so I could whisper to Lotfi. "Change of plan, I'll head straight for the ramps and-"

A piercing scream forced its way through the gap in the door.

Lotfi jumped up, pushing me over. Pulling at the door, he drew down his weapon before hurling himself into the warehouse, screaming Arabic, running straight through the gap between the trailers, then turning right, to the pits, and disappearing from view.

I followed, safety off, screaming at the top of my voice, joining in with everyone else now as the noise echoed about the building. "Hands up! Hands up! Hands up!"

I'd taken only three steps into the warehouse when there was a loud whoosh whoosh from the other side of the trailers to my right, then agonized screams that drowned every other sound. from the other side of the trailers to my right, then agonized screams that drowned every other sound.

I emerged past the trailers to see the group to the right of the blazing pit staring open-mouthed at us. We both screamed louder, trying to overcome the noise from below us as the flames shot higher than our heads.

Baldilocks was in position to draw down, but couldn't decide whether to do so or not. He looked at Goatee. He was looking at me. I stayed static, weapon up, out in the open.

Lotfi had reached the pit, his screams now just as loud as those of the burning men.

I kept my Browning up, pushing down with my thumb on the safety. "Hands up! Hands up! Hands up!"

The black-leather brothers were trying to work out whether to take a chance and draw down; I could see it in their eyes. I felt the heat on my face as I moved in closer, to get better shots, never crossing my feet over as I moved, wanting to keep them apart so I had a constant, stable platform to get some rounds off on target. I didn't have that many to f.u.c.k about with.

Lotfi, on his knees by the pit, roared with all the air in his lungs as he battled with the hot, heavy iron gate, trying to drag it just a few feet.

Hands flailed from the flames below. Disembodied, high-pitched screams filled the building.

Above ground, the group's eyes were still darting everywhere, at the pit, at me, at each other. I moved toward them more and with each step the stench of burning flesh became stronger than the fuel's. It was tempting to do all four of them, but Goatee was in the middle of the group. I needed him alive.

Lotfi yelled for his brother, fighting the flames, fighting the gate.

Where was Van Man?

There was movement to my right and I was too late.

The piece of scaffolding swung in hard. I felt a crushing pain in the right side of my chest and the Browning flew from my hand. I lost all the air from my lungs before hitting the concrete.

Between the flashes in my head I could see Lotfi lying on the floor, gripping a charred hand that strained up through the bars of the gate. The flames were beginning to die. Even if his brother hadn't burned to death, he would have been asphyxiated long before now.

Lotfi bellowed like a wounded animal, a long, drawn-out, pitiful howl of despair. His sleeves were smoking and burnt away, and his hands and arms were blistering. Bodies moved in and he was kicked away from the gate, but it wasn't physical pain that was causing his anguish.

My glimpse of him lasted a second more, before feet rained in on me too. I could do nothing more than curl up, close my eyes, grit my teeth, and hope it would stop very soon.

Angry Arabic echoed around the walls. The kicking stopped. Hands grabbed my feet, dragging me on my stomach and chest toward the pit. Lotfi's screams got closer. I pushed down on the heels of my hands to try to keep my face from being grated along the concrete floor and felt the skin of my palms coming away.

I opened my eyes in time to see the charred but still recognizable bodies in the pit, and the smoldering paint on the gates. My legs were released, my f.a.n.n.y pack got pulled off me, and I was pushed against the right-hand mobile construction trailer. Lotfi was marched over to join me and forced onto his knees. All four of them stood around us, letting off a good kick now and again. The hem of Baldilocks' pants was just inches from my face. I could smell cologne and cigarettes, and heard heavy, labored breathing as one of them spit on my neck.

Lotfi seemed oblivious to the state of his arms and hands. His skin was hanging off him like potato peel, some flakes red, some black. His watch and Medic Alert looked as if they had sunk into his grotesquely swollen wrists. The raw skin on my hands, ingrained with grit, was incredibly painful, but nothing like he was going through.

A pain in the right of my chest was as much as I could bear. I had to take rapid, shallow breaths, and each one felt like I was being stabbed.