Trouble Brewing By Edward Winslow Copyright 2011 Edward Winslow Smashwords Edition

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The thing about prison, #a"e thought to himself as he !oined the line for the metal detector, is how absolutely tedious the whole e$perience is. This shouldn%t ha"e been news to him after watching The Shawshank &edemption, but for some reason, he e$pected something more e$citing. 'f course, that was the (S prison system. )aybe he%d e$pected that the New *ealand prison would be something foreign and e$otic, but actually, it was !ust one line after another. Line up at the gates. Line up for the metal detector. Line up to sign in and out. Line up to go into the "isitors% room. +etween one thing and another, a half hour "isit usually ended up taking closer to an hour and a half, and that didn%t count the time it took to bus out to the prison and then back into work. ,e finally made it to the front of the shuffling -ueue, put his wallet, keys and phone into the little basket, and stepped through the metal detector. t went off, and his heart !umped into his mouth. .Step through again, please,/ the guard said, sounding utterly disinterested. She was a tiny woman with an outrageous beehi"e and an enormous gun. #a"e tried to focus on the hair, but the gun kept drawing his attention. ,e went back through the metal detector, and it went off again. The guard sighed, and #a"e swallowed ner"ously. #on%t look shifty, he told himself. t%s probably nothing. t%s e$tremely unlikely that anyone would smuggle a gun into your pocket in the hopes that you might be able to get it through the metal detector. .'"er here, please,/ the guard said, pointing #a"e to a spot off to the side of the metal detector. .0eet on the marks, and spread your arms, please./ #a"e did as he was asked, trying to look as calm and innocent as possible. This always happened to him. nternational tra"el was e"en worse. ,e tried so hard not to look guilty that he always ended up doing something ridiculous and suspicious, and getting hauled aside for additional screening. E"ery time, without fail. t dro"e +elinda cra1y. She usually went on ahead, and tried to pretend they weren%t tra"elling together. And then yelled at him afterwards, of course. The guard wa"ed a handheld metal detector o"er #a"e%s body. Nothing on his front, but his back pocket went off. The guard ga"e the detector another e$perimental wa"e, and it s-uawked again. 'h shit, #a"e thought. Someone really has stashed a knife in my back pocket. ,e licked his lips and tried to take a normal breath. .Empty your back pocket, please, sir./ As #a"e reached for his pocket, heart thumping with the thought of what he might find, he noticed a commotion on the other side of the room. A gigantic, muscular woman in ripped !eans and an ron )aiden T-shirt was being checked out. No way was she a "isitor, #a"e thought. f there was one person in the world who looked like she belonged here, it was this woman. She either belonged in some sort of futuristic cyberpunk mo"ie, or playing the )r T role in an all-girl A-Team reboot, #a"e decided, eyeing her short blue mohawk and the angry set of her shoulders. The guard at the check-out desk had !ust gi"en her a tray, which presumably had her personal effects in it. She was sifting through the things on the tray, looking for something that clearly wasn%t there, and arguing loudly with the guard. .2hat do you mean, you threw them away3 2hat the hell gi"es you the right to do that3/ .4ou know that this is a non-smoking prison,/ the guard was saying, completely unintimidated by her. .2e%re re-uired to dispose of any cigarettes that prisoners bring with them./ .+ullshit,/ she replied. #a"e couldn%t belie"e it. n her place, he%d be keeping his head down and getting the hell out of there as soon as possible, but it didn%t look like that thought would e"er cross her mind. . bet you guys take them home with you. 'r smoke them outside./

.Sir3 5lease empty your back pocket./ #a"e !umped. ,e had forgotten where he was for a minute. .Sorry,/ he mumbled, and reached into his pocket. ,is hand hit metal, and he pulled out a couple of coins. ,e held them out to show the guard. .Sorry,/ he repeated. .)ust ha"e forgotten them./ .5ut them in the basket, please, sir,/ the guard said. #a"e dropped the coins in the basket with the rest of his stuff, then submitted to another wanding, his usual metal detector an$iety forgotten as he tried to see what was going on at the check-out desk. Ama1ingly enough, the woman hadn%t started some sort of riot, and instead, the guard who was checking her out was laughing at something that #a"e couldn%t hear. ,e kept watching as he took his stuff out of the basket and returned it to his pockets, not really belie"ing it. f he%d been a prisoner, he would ne"er ha"e argued with a guard, but if he had temporarily lost his mind and started an argument, they%d probably turn around and ha"e him back in a cell so fast his head would spin. That wasn%t happening here, though. The woman was putting her things in her pockets and !oking with the guard as she rubbed something from a flat metal container into her mohawk, urging it into spikes. %ll ne"er ha"e that kind of charisma, #a"e thought. ,e watched the woman finish doing her hair, and then gi"e a friendly wa"e to the guard as she turned to lea"e. #a"e shook his head, and then went to !oin the line to check in.

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Twenty minutes later, #a"e finished his -ueueing and made it into the "isitors% room. As usual, he sagged a little bit when he stepped inside, partly from relief that he had made it through all the prison bureaucracy successfully, and partly because the room was !ust depressing. t was was large and relati"ely empty, and though it was lit by fluorescents, and the cheap plastic tables and chairs were bolted to the ground, they didn%t manage to make it look grim and forbidding, !ust cold and institutional. There were other "isitors at the other tables, close enough that e"eryone but the toddlers felt the need to lower their "oices and look uncomfortably about them when they greeted the prisoners they had come to see, but far enough away that no really !uicy details of their con"ersations were audible. The walls were white painted cinderblocks of the sort that seemed to store up winter and release it year-round. t was a nasty place to "isit, a place where talking felt wrong. t was the sort of place that seemed to insist on long periods of awkward silence. That was what #a"e had done each time he had "isited +elinda so far, and from what he could tell, it would be the order of ceremonies for e"ery other "isit for the ne$t eighteen months. +elinda wasn%t there, of course. #a"e had "isited her four times now, and she had ne"er been waiting. At first, he had suspected that this was !ust a prison thing, but from what he had seen, other prisoners managed to get down to the "isitors room in plenty of time to be waiting for their "isitors. She%s doing it on purpose, he had decided. About the only 7E'%s pri"ilege a prisoner can still e$ercise is keeping people waiting to see her, and +elinda seemed determined to keep him waiting at e"ery opportunity. ,e stopped at the table in the corner to pour himself a cup of tea, more because he wanted a prop than out of any desire to actually drink it. ,e found an empty table by the wall and sat down. +elinda came in a couple of minutes later, spotted him almost immediately, and then ostentatiously went o"er to the table to get herself a drink before coming o"er. 2ater, probably, #a"e thought. She ne"er drank tea, and he%d already heard enough complaints about the prison coffee to be sure she wasn%t drinking that. .,a"e you been waiting long3/ she asked as she sat down, her "oice flat and disinterested. .A couple of minutes./

,e waited, wondering whether she would offer anything like an apology, but of course she didn%t. She stared o"er his left shoulder and said nothing. ,e tried the same tactic, but he hadn%t had the years of board meetings to practice it, and he cracked and spoke before she had e"en started looking uncomfortable. .,ow are you doing in here3/ .0ine./ .4ou%"e got e"erything you need3/ t was a stupid -uestion, and #a"e didn%t need to see the scorn in her eyes to know that it was. t probably made her day that she got to show it, though. She sniffed, and !erked her chin in some appro$imation of a nod, but didn%t reply. #a"e gripped the styrofoam cup a little harder. t was cold to the touch. The tea was probably going to free1e if it got any colder. ,e loosened his grip and tried again. . %m doing fine. 0ound a flat in Newtown, near the 1oo. Little one bedroom place under one of those old houses. t%s not "ery big. And it%s pretty draughty, but guess all of those old buildings are./ . suppose so./ . t%s a change from the house, can tell you that,/ he said. Their huge house had been sei1ed by the bank after the trial, along with the rest of their assets. Their assets - what a !oke. They had all been +elinda%s assets. Almost all of them, anyway. ,e worked, of course, but a medical e-uipment salesman%s salary was nothing compared to the 7E' of ndomitable nsurance. That said, though, the 7E'%s salary and benefits were nothing compared to the enormous amounts of money +elinda had managed to funnel into her accounts in the 7aymans. +ut it was all gone now. ,ouses, cars, boat, all of it. . mo"ed four kilometres o"er, and four steps down the socioeconomic scale./ he said, trying for humour. +elinda lifted an ominous eyebrow, but said nothing. Looking down, #a"e could see ice crystals beginning to form on the surface of the tea. .2ork%s going well,/ he tried. .8ot a new account this week. New pri"ate hospital up in Auckland. 5lastic surgery, liposuction. ,ollywood-style stuff. %m going to ha"e to go up there in a few weeks to meet with their ops manager./ .8ood./ .4eah./ ,e nodded, and they both returned to silent staring past each other. .4our sister called./ This was ob"iously desperation territory. f there was one thing that +elinda cared about less than his !ob, it was the suburban antics of her older sister. .'h yes3/ .Asked me to send you her lo"e. She thought that she might bring the kids to see you, but then she found out that she needed you to send her a "isitor form before they%d let her in./ .&eally./ +elinda%s tone was absolutely flat, but #a"e could hear the secret satisfaction. .She asked me to remind you about it./ .#id she./ .4es. She did./ .2ell thank you for reminding me,/ +elinda said indifferently.

#a"e wanted to shout at her. 'r throw something. 'r storm out of the "isiting room, or anything that would make her look like the "icious bitch that she was. +ut he knew that if he did anything, somehow he would !ust come out looking like an ass. As usual. ,e felt the thin styrofoam of the cup fle$ alarmingly in his hand and made himself rela$ his grip. .4ou%re welcome./ +elinda said nothing, and there was nothing more for him to say either. ,e sat in silence and watched the film of ice gradually e$panding across the surface of the cup. +y the time the half hour was up and he got up to lea"e, the tea was fro1en solid.

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#a"e was still angry when he walked out of the prison, barely managing a smile in reply to the large )aori gate guard%s cheerful farewell. ,e knew it was stupid to let +elinda get to him. 0or that matter, he knew it was stupid for him to be going and "isiting her e"ery week. The bus ride each way took nearly forty-fi"e minutes - longer, if you counted the waiting time. All up, the half hour "isit took up most of the morning. That was three hours he wasn%t at work, and three hours he wasn%t being paid for. A year ago - heck, si$ months ago - that wouldn%t ha"e been a big deal, but now, e"ery cent counted, and he wasn%t making any money standing around in the wind and the rain of a 2ellington winter waiting for a bus. There it was. t rounded the corner in a hurry, sending up sheets of water from the o"erflowing gutters. #a"e stepped out and raised an arm, but the bus didn%t e"en slow down, although it did come close enough to the kerb to drench him as it passed. .Shit9/ #a"e started running after the bus, wa"ing his arms and shouting. .,ey9 Stop the bus9/ ,e chased it for about half a block, falling further and further behind, before he ga"e up. .Shit9/ he said again. The ne$t bus wasn%t for another half an hour. At this rate, there was no way he%d be at work before noon. A car horn blared. .8et in9/ a woman%s shouted. Looking around, #a"e realised that she must be shouting at him. .4es, you9 4ou see anyone else around here3/ The car was e$actly the sort of "ehicle you%d e$pect to find outside a prison - a battered old Nissan that would ha"e been a great candidate for street racing if it weren%t for the dented bodywork, smoking e$haust and audibly struggling engine. #a"e stooped down to look through the open passenger window, and was met with another blast of the horn. .Stop standing around9 Let%s go9/ The bus was nowhere in sight, and the rain was pelting down. 'rdinarily, e"en that wouldn%t induce him to get into this beater of a car with its possibly insane dri"er, but after half an hour of not shouting at +elinda, maybe a bad mo"e wasn%t actually such a bad idea. Shrugging his shoulders #a"e opened the passenger door and got in. .%+out time. f you%d waited any longer you%d ha"e had pigeons landing on you,/ the dri"er said, dropping the clutch and s-uealing away from the kerb. t was the woman from the prison, the one who had been arguing with the guard. .Smoke3/ .No,/ #a"e said, but then realised it was probably best not to antagonise enormous, muscular e$cons. .No thanks,/ he amended. . don%t smoke./ .,a9/ She pulled a battered softpack from the glo"ebo$, flipped a cigarette into her mouth and lit it with graceful, economical mo"ements. .4ou and e"eryone else./

.2hat3/ .Not smoking. Not drinking. Eating green leafy "egetables. +rushing teeth twice daily./ She tapped ash out of the window as she forced the asthmatic engine toward the cur"e of the motorway on-ramp. .Li1a./ .#a"e./ .American3/ 8reat, #a"e thought. ,e couldn%t belie"e how often this was a problem in New *ealand. Although usually when people had a problem with it, he wasn%t trapped in their cars on the motorway. .+y birth,/ he said. .)y parents are English./ .#iplomats3/ she asked. .7ollege professors,/ #a"e said. .Stanford. )y )om%s in the English department, and my #ad%s in Anthropology./ Li1a nodded, apparently satisfied. She flicked her cigarette out the window and they dro"e on in silence, broken only by the clanking of the engine as it struggled to match the speed of the citybound traffic. &ush hour was well o"er, but the motorway was still busy. 5robably another slip. The motorway cut right through the steep, shrubby hills around 2ellington, and hea"y rain tended to send piles of rubble coursing down the hillsides to block the roads. +etween that and the surface flooding, it was a miracle that anyone got into the city some days. .,ow did you get your car back so -uickly3 This is your car, right3/ he asked. The words came out of his mouth without inter"ention from his brain, and he immediately wished he could take them back. 0ortunately, Li1a didn%t seem at all offended. .Lawyer dropped it off for me yesterday. 5arked it round the corner and left the keys on the wheel. Said it was the least she could do./ .'h./ #a"e cleared his throat. .&ight. Sorry./ Li1a wa"ed the apology away. .Thanks for the lift,/ #a"e said after a few minutes. . %m at 7happle )edical Supplies in Thorndon, but you can drop me anywhere around there./ .This isn%t a lift,/ she said, scowling at the road. .2hat3 Then what is it3/ #a"e heard his "oice rising to a s-ueak, a ner"ous tic that he had always hated in himself. 2hat was going on here3 2as this what a kidnapping was like3 t wasn%t what he%d imagined, but apparently things worked differently in real life than they did in the mo"ies. .Look, don%t ha"e any money. 2ell, %"e got some, but not much. )aybe a couple of hundred dollars. And %d need to go to a bank machine to get it for you. )y wife - 'h shit./ Suddenly, he knew what was going on. .This is about +elinda, isn%t it3 Look, didn%t know that she was ripping off the company, swear./ .Shut up,/ Li1a said, but so casually that #a"e found himself rela$ing. .4ou%"e got the wrong idea. This isn%t a kidnapping. don%t do kidnapping./ .2hat do you do3/ .That%s not important./ Li1a frowned at him. .Sorry./ .Like was saying, this isn%t a kidnapping. This is you doing me a fa"our./ .2hat kind of a fa"our3/

.Need you to get some stuff for me./ #a"e was instantly suspicious. .2hat kind of stuff3 +ecause don%t do drugs. 'r guns. 'r anything like that, okay3 keep myself out of trouble./ .Sure you don%t want a cigarette3 ,ere./ She had a lit cigarette between his lips before he knew what was happening. ,e took a breath, coughed, and knocked ash out the window. .4ou need to rela$. t%s not what you%re thinking./ .So what is it3/ Li1a turned the car off the motorway, blasted through an orange light, and lit another cigarette. .)an, lo"e that,/ she said. .That%s the worst thing about prison. No smoking./ .No kidding,/ #a"e said noncommittally. ,e wound down his window and hung his arm out into the rain, flicking the cigarette away and trying to make it look like the wind had pulled it out of his hand. .'nly part really had trouble with./ .2hat were you in for3/ #a"e hesitated, winding the window back up to co"er his awkwardness. . f you don%t mind my asking, mean./ .Assault./ Li1a glanced sideways at his face and wa"ed a dismissi"e hand. .Not what you think./ .4ou keep saying that./ .2ell, it%s true. t was an accident./ That could mean anything. #a"e wasn%t reassured. .2hat kind of accident3/ .2ell, not completely an accident. that./ .2hat3/ Li1a laughed. .#a"e, really, it%s not -/ .2hat think. know. 4ou%"e said that./ #a"e stared through the windshield, watching the wipers struggle with the hea"y rain. .4ou watch roller derby3/ .No./ .&eally3 5robably the best sport in New *ealand. )aybe the best in the world. %m on the 2ellington All-Stars team. E"il Li1a. 4ou heard of me3 Star !ammer3/ #a"e shook his head. .Ne"er mind. 2e were facing off against Auckland. +ig game. 2e were behind, ;<-;=. Last !am of the match, and was the !ammer. They had a tight pack, kept cutting me off. 7ouldn%t get through, but our girls were doing their work, so neither could their !ammer. :am was locked up. ,ad to get through, though, and had to do it first, if we were going to win the game./ Li1a flicked the butt of her cigarette out the window, and shook her head. .So what happened3/ .2ell, we kept going round, and kept getting nowhere. 7lock was ticking down. Then, %m not sure what went on in the pack, but they lost it for a second. There was a gap. went for it, full-bore. Nearly made it. was pulling ahead, when one of them tripped me. +itch./ 0or a second, #a"e thought she was going to spit out the window, but she didn%t. .So, is that a foul3/ meant to hit her. :ust didn%t mean for her to break her pel"is like

.#amn right it%s a foul, if one of the referees calls it. 'nly this time, they didn%t. was on the ground, and Auckland%s !ammer made a break through the pack. So did the only appropriate thing./ .2hat3/ . got to my feet, worked up a good head of steam, and ran into that bitch as hard as could. Sent her flying, right off the course. )ost beautiful tackle you%"e e"er seen, and completely legal as well. All the way up until she ran into the guard rail for the seating. Then, apparently, it was e$cessi"e force. ,a9/ .They sent you to !ail for that3 That seems pretty harsh to me./ .4eah, seemed pretty harsh to me, too,/ Li1a mumbled through yet another cigarette. .)y lawyer was sure she%d get me off. #idn%t happen. Sentence was only for a month, but it was a pain in the ass. 2hich brings us up to today, and you helping me get my stuff back./ 0inally, #a"e thought. %m probably not going to like what comes ne$t, but at least we%re getting to it. .2ell, tell me what you want me to do, but there are some ground rules. Nothing illegal, and definitely nothing that might technically be legal but might also see me arrested for assault./ That was insensiti"e, he thought as soon as the words were out of his mouth, but he managed to keep -uiet and return Li1a%s look with what he hoped came across as firm determination. . don%t need you to do anything illegal. :ust need a third party to pick my stuff up./ .2here are we going, anyway3/ The car had turned off the main road, and was threading through steep narrow streets lined with soggy-looking weatherboard houses. #a"e only had the "aguest idea of where they were. .To my e$%s place./ Li1a wa"ed a hand. .>ind of e$. She was on the team, and we were sleeping together, but it wasn%t really a relationship. 5retty much cut me off after the assault thing. The whole team did. Apparently it%s my fault that we got knocked out of the championship, and apparently that%s more important than me getting locked up for assault./ . %m sorry,/ #a"e said. t felt inade-uate, but he didn%t know what else to say. Li1a shrugged. .Anyway,/ she said, swinging the car sharply towards the kerb and hitting the brakes, .we%re here./ She cranked the handbrake up and turned to face #a"e. .:ust down the hill a little bit. ?@A+./ .So what%s the plan3/ .2hat plan3 4ou go in, you get my stuff, you try not to mention my name too much, if they ask, you don%t really know me, and so on. #on%t need a plan. Seems pretty straightforward to me./ .4ou know,/ #a"e said, .that%s a good point. who could do this for you3/ don%t really know you. #on%t you ha"e some friends

.Actually, no,/ Li1a said. .Not today, not in 2ellington./ She ga"e him a flat look. .Look, %m sorry. know you%"e probably got other stuff you need to be doing. +ut could really use your help with this. ,ow about it3/ .'kay,/ #a"e said. .'kay. 2hat stuff am picking up3/ .Sleeping bag, pillow, thermarest, backpack of clothes, bike, bike helmet and laptop. There should also be a duffel full of derby gear, but she can keep that./ .And who am asking for3/

.Leah. +ut if you can get away without talking to her, do that. ,er flatmate is a guy called Nigel. 7hef, when he%s not on the benefit. ,e should be home./ #a"e nodded, and got out of the car. .All right, then./ .8ood man,/ Li1a said as he shut the door.

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?@A+ was a lot like e"ery other house on the street, and like most houses in 2ellington, for that matter. A white weatherboard duple$ with a rusting iron roof and thick ropes of condensation streaming down the windows. Someone must be home. #a"e walked up the cracked concrete dri"e and knocked at the door. .7oming,/ a "oice called from inside. A man%s "oice, #a"e noticed with relief. ,e heard the distant flushing of a toilet, and then approaching footsteps before the door was opened. .2hat do you want3/ The man was either stoned, or hadn%t slept in a week. ,is eyes were bloodshot and puffy as he s-uinted out into the daylight, and his clothes were rumpled and disgusting. .Nigel, right3 s Leah around3/ .No. 7ome back tonight./ Nigel was closing the door before the words were e"en halfway out of his mouth. .2ait9/ Nigel stopped, peering through a fi"e centimetre gap. .2hat3/ .)y name%s #a"e. %m here to pick some stuff up for Li1a. )aybe you can help3/ .Li1a, huh3/ Nigel smirked. .+etter if you don%t wait for Leah, then. 7ome on in./ ,e opened the door, and #a"e stepped inside. The house was probably in better condition than his own place, but it was hard to tell under the piles of unwashed clothes, dirty dishes, and lurking hulks of broken furniture. ,e suppressed a shudder, hoping that this wasn%t how he was going to find himself li"ing in si$ months% time. .This way,/ Nigel said, leading him through a disgusting kitchen and out into the backyard. . n here./ (ntil Nigel opened what was probably a door, #a"e had thought he%d been looking at a pile of wood planks leaning up against a fence, but he realised that it was actually !ust the worst shed in New *ealand. Nigel gestured him inside impatiently, and #a"e put a tentati"e foot inside, holding an arm in front of his head to ward off any spiders. t wasn%t actually all that dark inside. t wasn%t light by any means, and the window was thickly layered with dust and dirt, but the wide gaps between the planks meant that -uite a bit of light made it into the shed. #a"e could see a heap of things in the far corner, directly under one of the larger holes in the roof. ,e looked back at Nigel uncertainly. .That%s it,/ Nigel said. .That%s all there is. Leah was going to put it in the street, but then she decided to dump it in here. Li1a%s pretty lucky - it was a close thing./ .&ight./ #a"e shouldered the dripping backpack, and gathered the rest of the things awkwardly under one arm while he tried to steer the bicycle with the other. .2as there a laptop3/ . n the bag. Leah sold the battery, but the rest of it%s still in there./

.She sold the battery3/ #a"e made it out of the shed and dropped e"erything to check the contents of the bag. And indeed, there was a laptop, without battery, tucked into a wide inner pocket. .2hy3/ .The lithium. )eth factories get it out of the batteries somehow. #on%t ask me./ Nigel shrugged, and waited impatiently while #a"e gathered e"erything up again. .Not through the house, man,/ he said. .4ou%ll get it dirty. Take it down the path instead./ .&ight,/ #a"e said, but Nigel didn%t seem to notice the sarcasm. ,e pushed down the path and out onto the street, trying not to worry about the crawling feelings down his neck.

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Li1a was standing beside the open car trunk as he walked back up the street. .+aby9 7ome here9/ #a"e looked around to see who she was talking to, and in the time it took him to turn his head back, she had whisked the bicycle out of his hands and knelt beside it, checking it o"er an$iously. . think got e"erything./ #a"e leaned o"er the trunk and let Li1a%s stuff cascade out of his arms, then turned round to dump the backpack on the top of the heap. . t was in a shed. 2ell, in a kind of a shed. There%s probably some water damage. %d let your laptop dry out for a day or two before you turn it on, if were you. 'h, and the battery isn%t there. Apparently she sold it to a meth dealer./ .7ra1y bitch,/ Li1a said. .+ut at least she didn%t mess with my bike. That%s my li"elihood, right there./ She slapped the ripped seat affectionately. #a"e cast a dubious eye o"er the bike. t looked like !unk, a collection of rust, duct tape and stickers that had spontaneously assembled themsel"es into a bike frame. .&eally3/ .She doesn%t look like it, but this is the fastest bike in 2ellington. And ,/ Li1a said with a grand gesture, .am the fastest bike messenger. No contest./ She unearthed a battered black bike rack from the depths of the trunk and attached it to the car%s tow ball. .Leah could ha"e used the rest of this stuff to start fires if she wanted, but if she%d laid a hand on my bike, there would ha"e been trouble./ #a"e belie"ed her. ,e didn%t understand why she was so attached to such a decrepit old bike, but that didn%t make any less sense than anything else that had happened this morning. .2ell, happy to ha"e helped,/ he said, trying to check the time on his phone without being too ob"ious. Ele"en-thirty. f they left now, maybe he could still make it into work before noon. .2ell, appreciate it,/ Li1a said, busying herself with bungee cords and tiedown straps. .No problem./ Li1a finished with the bike and turned to face him. .So what now3 4ou want to go and get a drink or something3 )ust be about time for one./ t was "ery tempting. After e"erything that had happened that morning, one drink wouldn%t be nearly enough, though. ,e%d need two or three at least. And it was way too early for that. .Look, %d lo"e to, but really need to get to work./ .'f course. Somewhere in Thorndon, right3/ They both got in the car, and Li1a fired the engine up. .,a"e you at your door in fi"e minutes. Less, if get all the lights./ They took off in another cloud of e$haust and patch of burned rubber. Li1a wea"ed through the narrow streets like a maniac, using the full width of the road, and skimming past the few other cars they passed with inches to spare.

. %m not in that much of a rush,/ #a"e managed, closing his eyes as they narrowly a"oided yet another collision. .&ela$9 #idn%t you say you were going to work3 #on%t want to make you late./ .&eally, it%s fine. %"e got plenty of time./ .2ell, if you say so./ Li1a slowed down fractionally as they turned onto the main road, but #a"e could see that they were still o"ertaking other cars at an alarming rate. .So where are we going3/ .7happle )edical Supplies. Take the third right after the lights, and then it%s right there on your left./ .)edical supplies3 #oesn%t sound fun./ #a"e laughed. . t isn%t. t%s a terrible !ob, and a complete waste of time, but need the money./ .That%s bullshit,/ Li1a said with a snort. .They%"e got you thinking that, and so you%re wasting your whole life doing pointless stuff that you hate./ . don%t hate it,/ #a"e began, but Li1a cut him off. .4es you do. 4ou !ust said you%re !ust doing it for the money. 4ou should -uit. 8o do something you lo"e, like did./ .2hat, go to !ail for assault3/ #a"e blushed. ,e was usually better about thinking before he opened his mouth, but for some reason, talking to Li1a was bypassing that part of his brain. . didn%t mean that,/ he muttered. ,e waited for an e$plosion, but Li1a didn%t seem to mind. .'b"iously not. Like derby or martial arts or something. Something you can be passionate about. And yeah, if it means getting sent to prison for assault, you should do it anyway./ . don%t think that%s always such a good idea,/ #a"e said, more to himself than to Li1a. .This is the turn,/ he said more loudly, and slightly too late. Li1a guided the car through a dramatic, screeching skid, and forced it up the side street. .2here3/ .:ust here. This one./ The car bumped to a stop in front of #a"e%s building. ,e could see the empty foyer through the glass double doors. t looked like today nobody was going to see him coming in late. .Thanks for the ride,/ he said. .No problem. Thanks for your help with my stuff./ . t%s fine./ ,e paused awkwardly, one hand on the door handle. . guess we%ll probably see each other around, 2ellington being what it is./ .)aybe,/ Li1a shrugged. .7an%t count on it. 2e ne"er saw each other before./ .That%s true./ ,e sat there for another moment, feeling like he should say something else, but not knowing what. Li1a seemed to pick up on his hesitation. .#on%t ha"e a phone number at the moment,/ she said, .but if you want to ha"e that drink sometime, call Lightspeed 7ouriers. 2orked there before went away. 8uess they%ll probably want me back./ .Lightspeed 7ouriers. 'kay./ #a"e opened the door and got out. . t was... interesting... meeting you. 8ood luck with things./ .No need,/ Li1a replied. .See you round./

.Sure./ #a"e closed the car door and walked up to the office, hearing Li1a%s car s-ueal away from the kerb behind him.

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.8ood morning, #a"e9/ The company%s receptionist, &ose, was coming up the hallway from the tearoom as #a"e was sneaking down it. #amn, he thought. +usted. There goes any chance of getting in and starting work without anyone noticing what time it was. .,ow was your "isit3/ .0ine,/ he mumbled. &ose was the sort of woman that his mother had always taught him to describe as well-meaning. She was friendly and welcoming, and probably a great front person for the company, but she had absolutely no tact or discretion, and the best way to deal with her was to a"oid mentioning anything personal in any way. .,ow%s +elinda holding up3/ &ose went on. .Are they treating her well3/ .4es, e"erything%s fine./ .#id you see the profile of her in yesterday%s ,erald3 cut it out for you and put it on your desk. Such a lo"ely picture of her. And -uite a flattering portrait, as well. 2ell, e$cept for all of that nasty embe11lement business./ .&ight. Thanks./ 'f course, #a"e thought, it was much easier to follow the appro"ed procedure with &ose when the papers weren%t constantly reporting on your personal life. t wasn%t as bad now as it had been during the in"estigation and the trial, but the papers were still running the occasional story on a slow news day. And of course, they had all co"ered the sentencing. &ose had had a field day with that, in the kindest way possible. She checked the trash cans at work, so he had been forced to take all of the articles she clipped for him home before throwing them away. .2ill you be going to see her ne$t week3 thought might make her a lolly cake. She was so fond of the one that brought to the Easter picnic last year./ #a"e couldn%t help smiling. That would ser"e her right. +elinda had always been an e$pert in flattery and two-faced compliments, and she%d taken three pieces of that lolly cake, and then complained about it all the way home. .They don%t let you bring food in,/ he said with genuine regret, .but %ll tell her you offered./ .Such a shame,/ &ose said. .+ut ne"ermind. %ll make one for her when she gets out./ .That%s an e$cellent idea. %m sure she%d like that./ .2ell, %ll go and make a note in my diary now. wouldn%t want to forget./

&ose bustled up towards the reception desk, and #a"e continued down the hallway. ,is office was right at the back of the building, car"ed out of a corner of the warehouse. t was -uiet and peaceful, and "ery few people came to see him, but it was also tiny and a little damp, and the only window looked out on a brick wall. Almost all of the floor space was taken up by his desk, chair, and filing cabinets, and all of the surfaces were co"ered with papers, catalogues and assorted samples of medical e-uipment. ,e turned on his computer, hung his coat on the corner of his door to dry, and went up to the tearoom to get himself a cup of tea. .The *ip%s broken,/ &ose called down the hallway as he reached the tearoom door. #a"e would ha"e !umped out of his skin if he weren%t already used to it. &ose had actually set up a system of mirrors so she could keep an eye on the hallway without lea"ing her desk. #a"e suspected her of keeping a

diary of e"eryone%s mo"ements, and discussing them with :ackie, the boss, at their weekly meetings. . %"e called an electrician, but he won%t be in until late this afternoon./ .That%s all right. %ll !ust get some water,/ he yelled back. ,e snagged his fa"ourite mug from the cupboard, and filled it with water from the tap. Then, glancing around, he plucked a teabag from the canister and a sugar packet from the bowl, tucked them into his pocket, and went back to his office. Sitting down at his desk, he dropped the teabag into the mug of water and !iggled it up and down impatiently to release the tea. This always took fore"er when the water was cold, but e"entually he managed to turn the water in the mug a shade of pale brown. Then, wrapping his hands around the mug, he glared at the tea and thought hot. As the tea began to warm up, the teabag released more of its substance into the water, making the tea stronger, and speeding the heating process along. +efore long, the tea was steaming hot, and #a"e nodded in satisfaction, remo"ed the teabag, and tipped the sugar into the mug, stirring it with the end of a pencil, and taking a first careful sip. )ost of the time this is a pretty pathetic talent, he thought to himself, but it certainly is handy at times like this. Not heroic or lifesa"ing - he%d ne"er used his talent to warm a frostbitten mountaineer or put out a house fire with a gigantic block of fro1en tea - but occasionally useful, in a small way. A lot like he was. Not grand or heroic, but sometimes -uietly useful behind the scenes. #a"e had been fi"e years old when he had first disco"ered that he could change the temperature of tea. t had been a Saturday morning, and he had got up early to watch cartoons. (sually, his father got up early on a Saturday as well, and brought his mother tea and toast in bed, but that morning he had slept in. #a"e had decided it would be nice to make tea and toast for both of his parents, so he had gone into the kitchen, put bread in the toaster and put water on to boil. Tea was always a bit of a ceremony in the &osewood household. t ne"er came in a mug, but always in the delicate green cups and saucers that had belonged to his great-grandmother. t always came with food - a fresh scone, a piece of toast, perhaps a piece of cake or an after-dinner mint. And it was always made from tea lea"es in a teapot, either the little white one, or the big sil"er one that was e"en older than the cups and saucers, and ne"er e"er from a teabag. ,is parents had been li"ing in 7alifornia since long before #a"e was born, but when it came to tea, they were English to the core. 'n that morning, #a"e had prepared the tray !ust the way his father always did. Two green cups sitting on their saucers, the matching milk !ug, which he carefully filled from the bottle in the fridge, and the little sugar bowl with its sil"er spoon. Two small plates with butter kni"es, the butter dish and the !am !ar, and sitting in the middle of the tray, the teapot. ,is father usually used the little white teapot, but #a"e lo"ed the huge old sil"er one, so he scooped the tealea"es into the pot, poured the boiling water carefully o"er the top, and then set it neatly in the middle of the tray. 2hen #a"e went to lift the tray, it was almost too hea"y for him to carry. ,e wrestled it through the kitchen and out into the hallway, taking tiny steps and stopping whene"er the wobbling threatened to get out of control. ,e slopped a bit of milk out of the !ug, but he made all the way to the top of the stairs before disaster struck. #aisy, the cat, was sleeping in the patch of sun by the hallway window, and #a"e was concentrating so hard on the tray that he didn%t see her. ,e stepped on her tail, she !umped and shrieked, and he o"erbalanced, falling o"er backwards and sending the tea tray flying. The lid came right off the teapot, and hot tea - !ust a little below boiling - came pouring down on him. The heat of the tea burning his hands and stomach was the most awful thing he had e"er felt. t seared at him for a second while he wished that it wouldn%t, that it would cool down and stop hurting him, and then it did. ,is parents had woken up when they heard the crash, but by the time they arri"ed in the hallway, #a"e was sitting and crying in the middle of the wreckage of the tea tray and a puddle of cold tea.

,is hands had been burned, but not as badly as they could ha"e been. The doctor was pu11led about that, and so were #a"e%s parents, but #a"e knew what had happened. ,e had wanted the tea to cool down, and it had. Later that week, and not without a little fear, he had tried the same trick on a cup of tea, and had been delighted when it went from piping hot to stone cold and then back again. 0or a few hours he was con"inced that he was going to be the greatest superhero that the world had e"er seen, but when he tried to heat up the water in his paddling pool, nothing had happened. Nothing happened that night when he tried to warm his bathwater up so he could stay in a little longer, and nothing happened the ne$t morning when he tried to cool his oatmeal down so it was easier to eat. '"er the ne$t few months, #a"e tried working his power on e"ery li-uid he could get his hands on from ice cream to motor oil, but nothing worked. E$cept for tea. +y the time he was se"en he could bring a cup of tea to any temperature from superheated steam to solid ice within seconds, or less if he really let the tea stew before he started, but he couldn%t e"en take the chill off a glass of ice water. ,is parents had been baffled, but supporti"e. They had ne"er heard of anything like it, and it certainly wasn%t a talent that either of them possessed. They had made discreet en-uiries with their own parents, but apart from some fascinating stories about a great-great-uncle who had run a popular tea-house in Shanghai at the turn of the century, it didn%t seem like there was any connection to tea in the family. ,is father had been keen to get #a"e tested, but his mother had put her foot down. As he got older, #a"e read e"ery medical book he could lay his hands on, looking for an e$planation, but as far as he could tell, there wasn%t one. 5erhaps it was !ust one of those things. That didn%t make him any less shy about his talent, or any more comfortable around people, but it did set him up for premed at college. And that set him up for meeting +elinda, dropping out of medical school and getting a !ob to help pay her )+A fees, mo"ing to New *ealand, and finally here. Selling medical supplies to people who actually were doctors and trying not to feel bitter about it. .#a"e3/ #a"e nearly !umped out of his skin. &ose was standing in the doorway, looking at him with what would ha"e been concern in anyone else, but from her was probably !ust nosiness. . was !ust thinking,/ he said. ,e realised that his cup of tea was still steaming, and he hastily dropped it down to room temperature. .4ou startled me./ .There%s someone here to see you. That woman from the new medical centre in the ,utt./ &ose sounded a little reproachful. .4ou hadn%t forgotten, had you3/ .'f course not./ #a"e stood up. . %ll take her into the small conference room./ ,e edged past &ose into the hallway. She was still looking into his office. .Are you drinking cold tea, #a"e3 .4es, know that. told you the *ip wasn%t going to be fi$ed until later today./

!ust need the caffeine. Something to get me started./

&ose was still looking at him strangely. . could go down the road and get you a coffee, if you%d like./ This was e$actly like &ose, #a"e thought. :ust when you make up your mind to really dislike her spying and gossiping and creeping around being nosy, she%d do something like this. .That would be fantastic, &ose,/ he said, reaching into his pocket for his wallet. &ose wa"ed him away. .This one%s on the company,/ she said. .7offee all round until the *ip%s fi$ed. %m sure :ackie won%t mind. 0lat white3 Two sugars3/ .5lease,/ he said. &ose smiled at him. .8et on with you, then. %ll bring your coffee in to you in a few minutes./ .Thanks, &ose,/ he said.

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#a"e%s apartment was probably only se"en kilometres from his work, but it was on the other side of the central city, so it took nearly an hour to get from one to the other. The trip in to the central bus station was pretty -uick, e"en if the bus was running late and he decided to walk itB but the trip across town and out to Newtown was torturous. There was no way to lea"e early enough to miss the rush hour traffic, and lea"ing late enough to a"oid it meant sticking around at work till well after si$. +ecause he had been so late in that morning, #a"e did stay late, and should ha"e had a -uick ride home as his reward, but between the rain, the crowds, and the trolley bus losing its connection to the o"erhead wires fi"e times in as many kilometres, it was after se"en and pitch black outside by the time his feet hit the narrow alleyway that led to his basement apartment. The light was on in the lounge room. The light was on, and the window was beginning to fog up with condensation. #a"e felt his heart beat a little faster. 2hat was going on3 ,e might ha"e left the light on when he had left home that morning, but he knew for a fact that he hadn%t accidentally left someone sitting in his apartment breathing away and fogging up the windows. 'r, for that matter, two people, he thought as he peered through the misty panes. +ecause that%s who was in there now. Two people in what looked like dark suits and o"ercoats, sitting around his little dining table reading the paper. 5erhaps it was some sort of optical illusion. 'r a hallucination. 'r some sort of weird !oke. There wasn%t any kind of rational e$planation for it, he was -uite certain. .2hat the hell%s going on here3/ he demanded, pushing the door open. 'ne of the men at the table stood up. ,e was alarmingly large and "ery alarmingly muscular. #a"e stopped in the doorway, bracing himself against the frame. .)r &osewater,/ the man who was still seated said, looking up from his section of the paper with perfect calm. #a"e could tell that if he were to stand up he%d be "ery nearly as large as the other man, and probably twice as scary. .7ome in. Sit down./ The enormous man pulled out one of the mismatched chairs for #a"e, but #a"e didn%t mo"e. .2ho are you, and how did you get into my house3/ .The door was unlocked,/ the seated man said. .Cery careless of you, in this day and age./ #a"e knew this was a lie, and by the look on his face, he could tell that the man didn%t care that he knew it. .2hat do you want3/ he asked, taking an unwilling step into the room. .Sit down, )r &osewater. )ake yourself at home, and then we can talk./ A little part of #a"e was telling him to cut and run, but it was o"erruled by his legs, which were already halfway to the table. This was probably how a mouse felt when it was about to be eaten by a snake, he thought. ,e sat down in the chair that was being held for him, and the man at the table smiled. .8ood. )y name, )r &osewater, is +ruce 0armer. him3/ work for Alistair 7o$. 5erhaps you%"e heard of

#a"e had to fight the urge to laugh. ,eard of Alistair 7o$3 The man was all o"er the papers, either for charitable contributions or suspicions of shady dealings. Sometimes both in the same story, if the stars were aligned !ust right for the editors. ,e managed to keep his face neutral and nod. .E$cellent. thought you might ha"e. Now, what you might not know is that )r 7o$ was hea"ily in"ested in ndomitable nsurance. Cery hea"ily in"ested./

.2as he3/ #a"e croaked. ,is mouth was suddenly dry. ,e had known that a lot of in"estors had lost a lot of money when ndomitable had gone under, but he hadn%t really thought about them as indi"iduals. +elinda hadn%t wanted to talk about it, and he had been !ust as happy to pretend that the whole thing wasn%t happening. 2hat a dumb mo"e, he realised now. .,e was. ,e lost a couple of million in the crash, and that%s after the creditors were paid out. Eighteen cents on the dollar, )r &osewater. Not "ery much, you%ll agree./ .No,/ #a"e said. .4ou can imagine that )r 7o$ is eager to recoup his losses. Two million dollars isn%t the sort of loss you !ust write off and chalk up to e$perience./ +ruce leaned across the table towards him, and #a"e was uncomfortably aware that the other man was still standing behind his chair. . guess not./ .E$actly,/ +ruce said, sitting back and folding his arms. #a"e had no idea what was going on here, and e"en less of an idea what was e$pected of him, but it was ob"ious that +ruce was e$pecting something. The silence stretched out between them before he finally asked, .2hat do you want from me3/ +ruce slammed his palm on the table loudly enough to make #a"e !ump, and before he rela$ed again the man behind him had pulled him out of his chair and was holding him with his arms pulled uncomfortably tight behind his back. . should ha"e thought that was ob"ious, )r &osewater,/ +ruce said, his tone suddenly "icious. ,e stood up from his chair and walked around the table towards #a"e. The man who was holding him turned him around, mo"ing him away from his chair. #a"e tried to pull his arms free, but he was pinned like a bug, and his efforts only made the man%s grip on him tighten. .2hat we want,/ +ruce said, standing in front of #a"e now, .is the money./ ,e emphasised Dmoney% with a sharp punch to #a"e%s stomach that would ha"e sent him to the floor if he wasn%t being held so firmly. The breath flew out of him with an ugly sound, and he fought for air. +ruce stepped e"en closer. .Two million dollars,/ he said. .Two million dollars3/ #a"e gasped. ,e hardly recognised his own "oice, and the words didn%t sound like English to his ears, but +ruce ob"iously understood perfectly. ,e probably did this e"ery week, #a"e thought. Sick bastard. .Actually, it%s slightly more than that. Two million, three hundred thousand and eighteen dollars./ The satisfaction in +ruce%s "oice curdled #a"e%s stomach. +ruce leaned a little closer now and whispered in #a"e%s ear. .2e know that there was money that the police ne"er reco"ered. The press knew it, the !udge knew it, and you can be damned sure that we know it too. So what suggest is that you go and sit down with your wife, ha"e a heart to heart talk, and tell her that if she doesn%t come up with the fucking money by the end of August she%ll be getting your balls mailed to her for 7hristmas./ +ruce was shouting now, and he ended his speech with another agonising gut punch. ,e stepped back suddenly, and the man who had been holding #a"e%s arms let them go suddenly, and #a"e collapsed to the floor. .4ou%re cra1y./ #a"e shook his head. Two million dollars3 2here the hell was he supposed to come up with that kind of money3 t was true that there had been rumours of secret bank accounts, offshore trusts, shell companies, and e"en bo$es full of cash buried in their backyard on one particularly slow news day, but he%d ne"er discussed it with +elinda because it seemed so impossible. t must ha"e been impossible. +ut now, for the first time, he began to think it might be true. Alistair 7o$ wouldn%t send a couple of guys to shake him down like this unless he thought there was a real chance that he%d be getting some money out of it. 2ould he3

. %m -uite serious, assure you, )r &osewater./ +ruce was calm again, or at least he sounded calm. #a"e was huddled in a ball on the floor, and all he could see of +ruce was a pair of pinstriped trouser legs and polished black leather shoes. .2here the hell am going to come up with two million bucks in si$ weeks3/ .)r &osewater, if it weren%t for the fact that your wife is in prison, we wouldn%t ha"e gi"en you that long. )r 7o$ is being e$traordinarily generous, in "iew of your circumstances. So we e$pect you to deli"er. #o you understand3 Two million, three hundred thousand and eighteen dollars. 0rom you. To us. +y the end of August. 'r else./ ,e started walking away, but #a"e heard him stop in the doorway. .'h, and )r &osewater3 :ust in case you start thinking that you can li"e without your balls, let me tell you this. 2e don%t do "i"isection./ The door slammed shut, but it was ten minutes before #a"e got up off the floor and tiptoed into the kitchen to pour himself a shot of "odka.

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As he walked into the "isiting room at Arohata 2omen%s 5rison for the second time that week, #a"e was surprised to find that he actually felt lucky to be there. ,e had spent most of the pre"ious morning on hold with the #epartment of 7orrections, trying to arrange an e$tra "isit with +elinda. Apparently, it was all "ery much against regulations, but the combination of persuasi"eness, persistence, and pitiful pleading had e"entually won the day. 0rom there, it was easy. :ackie didn%t bat an eyelid when he went into her office and asked for the afternoon off to go and see +elinda. &ose didn%t say a word when he packed up and left after lunch. Although, on reflection, this was less surprising. :ackie must ha"e told her where he was going, so there was no point in talking to him about it when she could make up a much better story to spread round the tearoom at afternoon tea. At any rate, he was here now, and so was +elinda, entering through the door to the prison and making her way to one of the little bolted-down table and chair arrangements. The "isiting room was halfempty, and +elinda was headed for a table in the corner, as far as possible from e"eryone else. Suits me !ust fine, #a"e thought, but he knew it meant that +elinda was gearing up for a fight. She had ne"er liked to air her dirty laundry in public, and the enforced airing of the trial had only made her more secreti"e when it came to her pri"ate life. She reached the table before him and sat down, taking the chair that would place her back against the wall. .#a"e,/ she said, looking up at him as he approached. She didn%t stand up, though, or e$tend a hand, or do anything else that might be mistaken for a greeting. .+elinda,/ he replied. ,e sat down in the chair opposite hers and s-uirmed a little, wishing he could edge it further from the table. She raised an eyebrow fractionally, but didn%t say anything, ob"iously waiting for him to start. #a"e opened his mouth, and then closed it again. 2here do you begin telling your wife that you%"e had a "isit from a crook, probably some sort of hit man, demanding a couple of million dollars3 t might ha"e been easier if there was any kind of closeness between them, but that was long gone. The threat of horrible repercussions if they didn%t come up with the cash was the biggest thing they had had in common for years. #a"e sighed and looked down at his hands. 5erhaps this would be easier if he didn%t ha"e to look at her while he told her. 5erhaps he should ha"e done this o"er the phone. ,e knew, of course, that it would ha"e been stupid as well as impossible, but that didn%t stop him from wishing that he was

sitting in his office right now, telling +elinda o"er the phone how his life had !ust gone to hell because of her for the second time this year. The thought made him angry, and he was finally able to speak. . had a "isit on Tuesday night. At home. 0rom a guy called +ruce 0armer. 5erhaps you%"e heard of him3/ #a"e looked up, but +elinda didn%t say anything. ,e waited, and e"entually she shook her head. .That%s funny,/ he went on, .because he knows you. Seems like he%s the main man for Alistair 7o$. ,im, know you%"e heard of./ Again, he paused, but she said nothing, so he kept on going. .Apparently, when you shafted ndomitable, 7o$ was one of the in"estors who lost money. A lot of it. Two million dollars. And now he wants it back. 0rom us./ +elinda managed a laugh at that, a short, e$plosi"e .,a9/ #a"e waited for more, but when she refused to speak, he ground his teeth and continued. .Alistair 7o$,/ he said, .thinks that you%"e got some money hidden away that the police and the ta$ department didn%t find during the in"estigation. Assets that they didn%t sei1e. Actually, he thinks you%"e got a whole lot of money hidden away, because he%s gi"en me until the end of August to come up with more than two million dollars. So really hope you ha"e got a bunch of money buried in the backyard somewhere, because it%s not going to be pretty if you don%t./ #a"e was suddenly aware that his "oice was raised and he was sounding a little hysterical besides, so he shut his mouth and stared defiantly at her. This time, he would wait her out. She had to start talking sooner or later. .And what are you going to do about it3/ The disinterest in her "oice made him want to choke her to death right where she sat. .2ell, gee, don%t know. thought for starters, %d get the money from you and gi"e it to him, and then for a finale might mo"e to )e$ico, change my name, and li"e out the rest of my days in peace./ .2hat if don%t ha"e any money to gi"e you3/ .2hat do you mean3 2hat if you don%t ha"e any money, or what if you don%t gi"e it to me3/ She had the money. ,e knew it as soon as the sentence was out of her mouth. That was the way she talked when she was lying on the phone, gi"ing an e$cuse for why she wouldn%t be at a meeting or why she couldn%t meet with the bank. 'r the police. .2hate"er you like./ .#amn it, +elinda, %m your husband9/ ,e was out of his chair now, yelling at her, and he knew he had to get a grip on himself before the guard came o"er to end the inter"iew. ,e drew a shaky breath and sat back down. . %m your husband,/ he repeated, .and if that doesn%t mean anything to you, maybe this will. ,e knows how to get to me, and he%ll make it easy, but what%s he going to do then. #o you really think he can%t get to you !ust as easily3 4ou might get away with it for a while, but not fore"er./ .)aybe,/ +elinda said. .+ut maybe not. Anyway, it doesn%t matter. don%t ha"e any money for you, and if )r 7o$ doesn%t like that, then %m afraid that%s !ust the way it is./ .+elinda,/ he hissed, trying to stay calm, but feeling like he could lose it at any second ,/his guy 0armer came round to my house and threatened me. ,e threatened to kill me, +elinda. can%t handle this on top of e"erything else. f you know anything about this money you ha"e to help me./ .Actually, don%t./ She leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. . don%t ha"e to do anything. %"e supported you in the past, and look what it%s got me. was a businesswoman, a success, a 7E', and what were you3 A medical supply salesman, and not e"en a good one. Sure, you dressed up okay for dinners, but that was about all you did, and could ha"e got that from anyone was willing to buy a EFGGG suit and a fancy watch for. carried you for years, and you did absolutely nothing./

. supported you.

stood beside you./

.4ou stood behind me,/ she said dismissi"ely. .That%s all you%"e e"er done. 2ell, %m afraid that the ride%s o"er./ .2hat3/ #a"e was getting angry again, and he knew his "oice was getting louder, but this time he didn%t bother trying to keep it down. .Are you kidding me3 2ho paid your rent in college when you wanted to mo"e out of the dorms3 )e. 2ho ga"e up medical school, and the chance for a real career, in San 0rancisco when you decided you%d do better going back home to New *ealand3 )e. 2ho arranged your e"ents, entertained your clients and kept things going while you were out of the country for weeks at a time3 )e. And who wore out the words DNo 7omment%, li"ed in a house with the curtains shut for three weeks and dro"e you to court in a blacked out S(C while your trial was on3 )e. )e, me, me./ She ga"e him a little round of sarcastic applause. .2ell, well done, #a"id. 4ou%d make a great society wife. hope you can find an ageing millionaire to take you on./ .0uck you,/ he said, getting up from his chair and storming out of the room. ,e wished that he could ha"e turned the table o"er and thrown a few chairs, but he realised later that that was probably why e"erything was bolted down.

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.)om3/ .#a"id3 s that you3 2hat time is it3 t must be three in the morning o"er there. Are you all right3/ .#id wake you up3/ .No, was !ust getting up. 4our father is still in bed. +ut why are you calling so early3 ,as something happened3/ .4ou might say that./ #a"e drew in a deep breath, and tried to keep his "oice le"el. .)om, %m in trouble./ .2ell, tell me what%s happened, and we%ll see if we can%t sort it out together./ t was e$actly how #a"e had known she%d react, and in a way, it was why he hadn%t called her before. They%d talked, of course, during the arrest, the trial, the con"iction, but since then, he%d been trying to keep his problems to himself a little more. ,is parents were moderately well off, and he knew that they would help him if he really needed it, but he hadn%t wanted to ask for their help !ust because he was suddenly poor and more than a little embarrassed. ,e could deal with coming down in the world, and in a way, it had almost been a relief. +ut this was different. The whole story spilled out of him. The goons in his house, their demands for money, +elinda%s stonewalling, all of it. Somewhere in the middle of it, he started crying, but by the time he finished, his eyes were dry and he felt deeply relie"ed. .2ell,/ his mother said. . t does sound like you%re in a bit of a mess./ #a"e actually laughed at that, much to his surprise. . guess am./ .#o you think that +elinda has some money hidden away somewhere3/

. don%t know,/ #a"e admitted. . !ust don%t know. f you%d asked me a week ago, would ha"e said that the cops got e"erything, and that the rumours in the papers were basically stuff they were making up to fill in a slow news day, but now3 )aybe. )aybe she does ha"e a secret stash of cash. And if she does, you can bet she%ll try to hang onto it./ .That%s certainly not in -uestion./ +elinda had ne"er got on with #a"e%s parents, and his mother in particular. She%d been polite to +elinda%s face, of course, but she%d actually called her D"ulgar% when trying to con"ince #a"e to call the wedding off, and that was about the worst thing she could call a person. t wasn%t an American idea of "ulgarity, either, but something deeply +ritish, a mi$ of rude, superficial and grasping that was e"erything #a"e%s mother was not. . %m afraid that there%s no hope there, e"en if she does ha"e the money your )r 7o$ is after./ .4eah,/ #a"e agreed, and they both lapsed into silence. #a"e was curled up on the couch in his lounge room with all the lights off, keeping a ner"ous eye on the windows. ,e%d been there since he%d got back from the prison. ,e didn%t know when +ruce would be back, but he had no doubt that it would be sometime soon, and the thought made him sick. .2ell, #a"id,/ his mother said e"entually, . know it sounds uncharitable of me to ask this, but is this really your problem3/ .2hat do you mean3 'f course it%s my problem. %m the guy being beaten up in my own apartment here./ .4es, know that, but when you get right down to cases, you didn%t defraud the company. 4ou didn%t make off with anyone%s money. 4ou%re really nothing to do with any of this. )r 7o$ is !ust using you to get to +elinda. Surely that%s ob"ious3/ . guess so./ .Then think the solution is ob"ious as well. f it%s not your problem, then all you need to do is walk away from it, and then it will go back to being +elinda%s problem, which is where it belongs./ .2hat are you suggesting3 That lea"e the country or something3/ .E$actly, dear. know you%"e wanted to stick it out, to stand by +elinda while she needed you, and you%"e done that. And now all you%re doing is making things worse for yourself, and you%re ultimately making things worse for her as well by letting her dodge the problems that she%s created. The best thing you can do for e"eryone is to lea"e the country and come home. Not permanently, if you don%t want to, but for a couple of months at least. 8i"e yourself a chance to put things in perspecti"e, and gi"e yourself a break from this whole nasty mess. Now what do you say3/ ,ome. t was almost irresistible. t was summer in San 0rancisco now, and the thought of long sunny days on the deck at his parents% house with a stack of books and a couple of beers made #a"e feel suddenly homesick. ,e sighed. .That does sound great right now. All %m going to do here is get myself beaten into a bloody pulp./ .E$actly,/ his mother repeated. .Now, do you need some money for your flights3 tight for you at the moment./ know things are

.No, %ll be okay. Things are tight, but should be good for a one-way ticket out of here./ .That%s the spirit. 'nce you get a chance to "iew things calmly from a distance, %m sure you%ll be able to sort out what you want to do ne$t./ .Thanks, )om./ .Any time, dear./

. %ll book my flights tomorrow morning, and %ll email you my itinerary./ .Lo"ely. See you soon./ .4eah, see you soon. Lo"e you, )om./ . lo"e you too./

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A tiny part of #a"e had hoped that talking to his parents would make e"erything better, but most of him was unsurprised that it hadn%t. ,e had tossed and turned for hours after getting off the phone, and then finally fallen into a shallow and restless sleep sometime after fi"e. ,e woke up at half past eight, unrested and slightly -ueasy. ,e ga"e a large tra"el mug of tea a -uick blast on his way down to the bus stop and hauled himself into work !ust before half past nine, hungry from ha"ing skipped breakfast, but at the same time feeling too sick to keep food down. .8ood morning, #a"e9/ &ose boomed as he entered. ,e%d been hoping to slip in unnoticed, but instead she was making enough noise that the whole office would know he was late. 2hich might ha"e been deliberate, he thought. ,e could see &ose and :ackie sitting down and cooking up !ust such a scheme. .)orning,/ he mumbled. ,e kept his eyes down and kept mo"ing, hoping to a"oid being sucked into a discussion. ,oping in "ain, of course. .'h, dear, you look terrible9 s something wrong3 4ou%re not usually this late, unless of course you%"e been "isiting +elinda. ,as something happened at the prison3 didn%t hear anything on the news./ .2hat3 No. Nothing%s happened at the prison./ #a"e couldn%t keep the annoyance out of his tone, but as usual, &ose didn%t notice a thing. .2ell, that%s good to hear. Now, don%t forget, you%"e got 'scar )iddleton coming in at ten. %"e booked you into the small conference room./ . hadn%t forgotten./ .And don%t forget that he was asking about a new set of scales. ,ea"en only knows how they managed to break their set - thought they were indestructible. )ake sure that you ask him, because %m absolutely dying to know./ . %m a little curious myself,/ #a"e admitted as he eased towards the hallway. .+etter go and get ready for him./ . %ll ring when he gets in./ .Thanks, &ose./ #a"e reached the hallway and made a dash for it, stopping briefly in the kitchen, which was blessedly empty, to refill his mug. ,e made it all the way to his office without speaking to anyone else - it looked like #enise and Suresh were both out this morning, and :ackie was talking loudly on the phone - shut his door and sat down at his desk with a sigh. should ha"e called in sick today, he thought. 7alling in sick probably wouldn%t ha"e been much of an impro"ement, anyway. Sure, it might help to ha"e a day off if he could sleep, or if he had something to do to take his mind off e"erything, but as it was, he%d probably !ust spend the whole day

sitting on the couch waiting for Alistair 7o$%s goons to bust down the front door. t was ama1ing how horrible it was that they knew where he li"ed. t probably wouldn%t ha"e been much better if they%d come up to him on the bus or in the street somewhere, but there was something e$tra unpleasant about the fact that they%d come into his home to threaten him. )aybe it was time to mo"e again. )aybe it was time to mo"e all the way back home to 7alifornia. .#a"e./ ,e looked up, one hand ho"ering o"er his computer%s power button. t was :ackie, standing in the doorway, holding the door halfway open and looking displeased. Not that that was anything unusual. .)orning, :ackie,/ he replied, trying to sound pleasant, or at least awake. .4ou%re in late. Again./ . know. Sorry. +us broke down,/ he lied. .4ou%"e been late a lot o"er the past few weeks. 4our producti"ity is slipping./ .Sorry,/ he repeated. .,ad a lot on my plate, you know./ . %m trying to be understanding, #a"e, but this is a business. need you here during business hours, and need you to be selling while you%re here. That%s what you%re paid to do./ #a"e felt like he was in the second grade again, being called into the principal%s office for putting paint in )issy La)onte%s hair. ,e knew he was blushing, and hated himself for doing it. . %"e got a lot of appointments lined up for ne$t week,/ he said. This was an e$aggeration, but not a lie, and it was the kind of thing :ackie liked to hear. .And %"e got 'scar )iddleton coming in at ten, and 5eninsula )edical this afternoon/ .&eally3/ :ackie raised a disappro"ing eyebrow. #a"e nodded, and she seemed to soften e"er so slightly. .All right, then. +ut don%t want to ha"e to ha"e this con"ersation with you again./ .No./ .At work, on time, and in a fit state to do work, you understand./ .4es./ .8ood./ She turned and left, shutting the door behind her. #a"e let out a long breath, and turned his computer on. The hell with this, he thought. ,is computer whee1ed to life, and he logged in, fired up his browser and went to Air New *ealand%s website. 2ellington to San 0rancisco. Lea"ing ne$t )onday. 'ne adult. t came to nearly two thousand dollars, which would !ust about clean him out, but being broke at home in the States had to be better than staying in 2ellington. ,e sat with his mouse ho"ering o"er the buy button for a minute, then decided to check a couple more airlines for a cheaper fare. The phone rang when he was on his fourth search, making him !ump out of his skin and knock his forgotten mug of tea o"er. The li-uid crept across his desk towards his computer, and he hastily fro1e it for easy remo"al later. .Sorry, &ose,/ he said, still fumbling with the recei"er. . got caught up in a few things here. 7ould you tell )r )iddleton %ll be right out3/ . %m afraid this isn%t &ose./ #a"e clutched the recei"er as a chill went through him. The man on the other end of the phone sounded classy and well-educated, with a "oice that would be perfect for a classical radio station, but

there was something terrifying about it as well. #a"e knew that it wasn%t one of his clients, or anyone calling up about medical supplies, for that matter. .2ho is it3/ he asked, thought he was sure he knew the answer. ,e wasn%t disappointed. .This is Alistair 7o$./ .2hat do you want3/ . wanted to talk to you about the discussion you had with one of my employees earlier this week. +ruce. %m sure you remember it./ This "oice could make D8ood morning% sound like a deadly threat, so the things he was actually saying were enough to make #a"e glad he hadn%t eaten breakfast that morning. .4es, remember,/ he said, forcing the words through dry lips. .Then you%ll know what %m calling about./ .The money./ .E$actly9 was sure you%d understand./

.Look, %"e spoken to +elinda, and she says there%s nothing. can tell you, ha"en%t got any money, and definitely not two million. think that the papers must ha"e made some sort of mistake or something./ . don%t think so, )r &osewood. think that there is two million dollars out there, and if you don%t ha"e it, you had better find it. Huickly./ . can%t-/ .4ou had better,/ 7o$ repeated. . t might be a little troublesome getting to your lo"ely wife, but as you%"e seen, we ha"e no trouble getting to you. #o we3/ .No./ .And incidentally, it might be a little more difficult getting to you at ??IG Santa 7ru1 A"enue, but can manage that as well. do ha"e connections o"erseas, you understand./ #a"e started shi"ering uncontrollably. That was his parents% address. ,ow did 7o$ ha"e it3 And how did he know that #a"e was thinking of skipping out and going back to the States, anyway3 2as he some sort of mind reader3 2ith an effort, #a"e managed to click his browser closed. .'kay,/ he said. . understand./ .8ood. %m delighted to hear it. So, two million dollars by the end of August. hearing from you./ .2ait9/ .4es3/ .,ow will get in touch with you3/ .There will be no need for that. )y people will be staying in regular contact with you. 8oodbye, )r &osewood./ The line went dead, but #a"e stayed e$actly where he was, the recei"er still held to his ear. ,e was still shaking, and it didn%t feel like he would e"er stop. ,e could feel something horrible inside him, and he reached forward !ust in time to grab the trash can before he threw up. look forward to

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0i"e minutes later, he was still sitting at his desk, clutching the trash can. t was hard to belie"e that there was something more horrible than ha"ing your wife tried for fraud and embe11lement and sent to prison, all your assets sei1ed, and the media running around after you e"ery day for a month, but apparently there was. ,e had no way of getting the money. Not e"en if he sold e"erything he had left. Not e"en if his parents sold e"erything they owned, and there was no way he would ask them to do that. There had to be an answer, though. )aybe he could disappear. Lea"e the country, cut all ties, change his name, and keep his head down for the rest of his life, !ust like he had told +elinda he would. t had to be possible. Slowly, he felt life coming back to his arms and legs. ,e started gathering up the pieces of fro1en tea from his desk and throwing them away. Then he stood up and took the trashcan out into the hallway and out towards reception. .#a"e3 2here are you going3/ #a"e didn%t turn to look at her, but e"en out of the corner of his eye, he could see that &ose looked genuinely concerned. . %"e had a little accident. :ust going to throw this in the skip,/ he said. .#o you want me to do it3 4ou look like you should be sitting down./ .No, %m fine. The fresh air will do me good./ . f you%re sure./ &ose sounded dubious, but she didn%t push it. #a"e went outside, walked around to the side of the warehouse, and threw his trash bag into the skip. ,e set the empty can down on the ground and took a few deep breaths of the chilly air. ,e was calming down, although it was a hopeless sort of calm. Something horrible was certain to happen, unless +elinda turned around and produced two million dollars. ,e couldn%t rule it out altogether, but it seemed pretty unlikely. And he couldn%t see any other way out of this. t was nearly ten. Time for his appointment, and there was no reason to let the complete wreck of his life stop him from selling a few scalpels and bits of tubing to a hack from a third-rate medical centre. ,e picked up the trash can and walked back round the corner, almost colliding with a man on a bike who had !ust hopped the kerb. .,ey, watch yourself,/ the man said. .Special deli"ery./ ,e pulled in front of #a"e and leaned his bike against the wall. #a"e followed him inside. .#eli"ery for :ackie &opata,/ the man was saying to &ose. . %ll get her,/ &ose replied. The courier unstrapped his massi"e bag from his back, opened it up, and pulled out a package. ,e was wearing a sil"er cycling !ersey , and when he took the bag off, #a"e saw the logo on the back. Lightspeed 7ouriers. Li1a. That trip out to pick up her stuff felt like it had happened last year instead of three days ago. At the time it had seemed like the weirdest thing that would happen to him all year, but now it was looking almost normal. And Li1a was starting to seem almost normal compared to some of the people he had spoken to that week. .E$cuse me,/ he said to the courier. .4eah3/ .#o you know someone called Li1a3/

.Sure. She%s one of the couriers. 2hy3/ .No reason,/ #a"e said. The man looked at him suspiciously, and he felt compelled to elaborate. . met her the other day, and she said she worked for Lightspeed 7ouriers. She seems "eryJ interesting,/ he finished lamely. .4ou know she%s not into guys, right3/ the courier snorted. .4ou%"e got a deli"ery for me3/ t was :ackie. The courier turned away from #a"e and handed her a parcel. .,ere you go./ .Thank you./ .7an !ust get your signature here3/ :ackie signed, then turned on her heel and walked back into her office. The courier 1ipped up his back and hoisted it onto his back. .Listen,/ #a"e said, .About Li1a./ The courier seemed surprised #a"e was still there. . told you, she%s not into guys./ . know that. That%s not what this is about. - left something her car the other day./ .Sure you did./ . did9 7ould you gi"e me her number3 !ust want to see if she%s found it./

The courier shook his head. .No way. Against company policy./ ,e looked at #a"e again, and then seemed to come to a decision. .+ut !ust in case you actually are someone Li1a wants to talk to, here%s what %ll do. 4ou gi"e me your number, and %ll gi"e it to her. f she wants to talk to you, she%ll call./ .8reat9/ t wasn%t what #a"e was hoping for, but it was better than nothing. ,e wasn%t sure what Li1a could do to help him, but he was con"inced that if there was a person in 2ellington who could help him right now, it was her. ,e took out a business card, wrote his personal cell number on the back, and added .The guy who helped you pick your stuff up the other day/. ,e hope that would !og her memory. .2ill you see her today3 t%s kind of important./ . %ll get it to her,/ the courier replied. .She%ll call you if she wants to./ .Thanks./ #a"e watched the courier lea"e. .2ho was that,/ &ose asked. #a"e realised she had been listening to the whole con"ersation. .2ho%s Li1a3/ .Someone met last week. She ga"e me a lift into town./ &ose looked like she had a hundred -uestions -ueued up, but 'scar )iddleton walked in the door that minute, and #a"e ushered him into the conference room before she could say another word.

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2alking into the seedy bar, #a"e felt like a secret agent. ,e%d had a te$t that afternoon, while he was meeting with yet another practice manager for yet another small medical centre. .0riendly%s bar, ;KGG./ That was all it had said. No name, and he didn%t recognise the number. ,is first thought had been Li1a, and then his second thought, following hard on the heels of the first, had been Alistair 7o$ or +ruce. 7hecking the bar%s location on the internet had swung him back to Li1a, though, and now that he was actually here, he couldn%t imagine the te$t ha"ing come from anyone else. At one point in its history, Newtown had been a seedy, dangerous sort of place. t had been slowly gentrifying for about twenty years, though, and 2ellington 7ity was pushing high-rise de"elopment out that way, so it was a pretty tame, mainstream sort of suburb these days. +ut there were still stubborn pockets of resistance a couple of streets off the main drag, and 0riendly%s looked like it would be one of those holdouts until the day it was finally bulldo1ed. 'utside, the paint was cheap and peeling, the windows were blacked out, and one corner of the facade drooped alarmingly into the street. nside, the atmosphere was dense and smoky - in complete "iolation of health regulations - the taps at the bar ad"ertised three different types of cheap beer, and the linoleum on the floor was so sticky that it made sucking noises as #a"e walked across it. The place was surprisingly busy. Not full. Not hopping, but busier than #a"e imagined it had any right to be. There were a couple of tough-looking older guys seated at the bar, and half a do1en small groups scattered between the booths and the darts boards. ,e spotted Li1a, sitting in a corner booth and pouring from a pitcher of beer, at the same time she spotted him. She nodded, and he came o"er. .,ey,/ she said. .Sit down. +eer3/ .Sure, #a"e agreed, settling down into the cracked "inyl seat opposite hers. She poured another beer e$pertly from the pitcher and slid the full glass towards him. .Thanks./ ,e looked at it for a moment, wondering whether the glass was clean and whether a bar like this cleaned its lines more than once a century, and then tried the beer. t was surprisingly good, and he took a healthy swig before setting the glass down. .So,/ Li1a said. .:oey ga"e me your message. (rgent, he said./ #a"e flushed. .4eah, sorry about that./ .So what%s so urgent3/ .2ell -/ #a"e hesitated. This morning, after the call from Alistair 7o$, sending an urgent message to Li1a had seemed like a sensible thing to do. ne"itable, e"en. +ut now that he was actually here, it !ust seemed a little ridiculous. .2hat3 t%s gotta be something. :oey said you looked like you could piss your pants if someone spoke to you loud enough./ This was cra1y. #a"e knew it was cra1y. ,e%d always been a bit of a loner, ne"er had much success making friends, but he%d li"ed in 2ellington for years, and not all of the people he and +elinda had socialised with had been her friends e$clusi"ely. 'kay, most of them had, but surely he had someone better to talk to at a time like this than this strange Ama1on who%d !ust finished ser"ing a sentence for assault3 ,e ran through the possibilities in his mindK &ochelle, definitely more +elinda%s friend than his ownB Simon and )onica, dittoB :onno and Te Aroha, possible, but they were on a si$-month holiday in Europe. They%d probably send him some nice emails of support, though, and if he did get beaten to a pulp by 7o$%s guys, they%d probably send ama1ing flowers to his hospital bed. 'r his funeral. That left #aniel, and since he was possibly the biggest coward #a"e had e"er met, he would only be good for making #a"e feel better about his recent reactions. The man was afraid of e"erything from aard"arks to 1ebras. f #a"e wanted someone to puke with, all he%d ha"e to do would be to tell #aniel about e"erything that had happened this week.

.'kay,/ he said at last. .This is probably going to sound a little cra1y, but some stuff has been happening to me this week, and need your help./ .4ou need my help3/ Li1a twitched an eyebrow. .4es./ .'kay. 2ith what3/ She leaned back into the corner of the booth and waited. #a"e took a deep breath, and then told her all of it, from the day he%d come home from work to find police searching the house right through to the call from 7o$ that morning. Li1a listened to the whole tale in silence, nodding occasionally, and running her fingers through the condensation on the side of her glass. 2hen he was finished, she didn%t say anything for a couple of minutes. #a"e was wondering whether he should get up and lea"e, and he had about made up his mind to do that when she spoke again. .#o you think she%s got the cash3/ #a"e sighed e$plosi"ely. . guess that%s the -uestion, isn%t it3 %d like to think that if she did, she%d tell me, and she%d gi"e it to me so could get out of this mess. And you know, up till )onday, if you%d asked me, %d ha"e said that of course she%d do that. +ut now3/ ,is hand gripped his empty glass hard enough to turn his knuckles white. . bet that bitch does ha"e the money and she%s setting this whole thing up because she figures it%s cheaper than a di"orce./ Li1a nodded. . think you%re right./ She poured him another beer, and topped up her own glass. .#rink up./ .0or tomorrow die3/ #a"e barked out a laugh. .'r at least by the end of August./ .'nly if you can%t come up with the cash,/ Li1a said. .,a"en%t you been listening3 There%s no way %m going to be able to find that kind of money. Not e"en if was out there selling my body for si$teen hours a day, se"en days a week. #rug dealers couldn%t e"en come up with two million bucks in the ne$t si$ weeks./ ,e slammed down half his beer in one long gulp. .That pitcher%s getting low. %ll get us another./ .#on%t worry. 8ot it co"ered./ Li1a let out a piercing whistle that made #a"e !ump. Looking around the room, though, nobody else seemed to be bothered. Li1a held up the mostly empty !ug, and the barman nodded and began filling up another one. .Thanks, +enny,/ she said when he brought it o"er to them. .No worries, L,/ he replied. They drank in silence for a while before Li1a spoke again. .So the problem%s pretty simple. 7o$ wants you to gi"e him money. 4ou don%t ha"e it. 4our wife might ha"e it, and she might not ha"e it, but either way, you%re not getting it from her. So where do you get it3/ .That is a simple problem all right,/ #a"e agreed,/ but think the solution%s going to be tricky./ Li1a shrugged. .2ell, you can%t raise it. 4ou can%t borrow it3/ .No./ .So you ha"e to steal it./ She nodded, and leaned back with a satisfied e$pression on her face. .Steal it3/ #a"e was aware that he was talking too loudly. .Are you cra1y3/ he hissed.

.Am cra1y3 Are you cra1y3/ she replied. .Think about it. Need money. #on%t ha"e money. 7an%t raise money. 7an%t borrow money. 2hat other option do you ha"e3/ .That%s illegal9/ .So go to the cops. Tell them e"erything and see what happens. That%s your other option./ #a"e thought. 'f course that was the sensible option. 2hy wasn%t he already down at the police station3 ,e shook his head. . don%t think that%s a smart mo"e. 7o$ will still get to me./ .&ight. +ack to stealing it, then./ . think there has to be another solution. There%s got to be a way out of this./ #a"e emptied his glass, and Li1a filled it for him. .,ey, %m open to suggestions. 4ou drink up, and if you think of a better idea, you let me know./

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.Are you sure about this3/ #a"e asked Li1a as they crept up the narrow street. Li1a shrugged. .)akes sense to me. Are you sure, that%s the thing./ That was a really good -uestion, but #a"e didn%t ha"e an answer. ,e watched the familiar houses through the window and wondered what the hell he was thinking. t had seemed like a good idea half an hour ago, looking at it through the bottom of a few !ugs of beer, but now, dri"ing along his old street with a couple of strong coffees in his stomach, he wasn%t so sure. . don%t know,/ he said. .2ant to go back to the bar3 0ine with me./ Li1a sounded genuinely accommodating, and #a"e was tempted. +ut that wouldn%t get him any closer to sorting out his problem with 7o$. 'f course, breaking into his old house to see if +elinda had stashed a couple of million bucks away wasn%t the smartest idea he%d e"er had. 'rdinarily, he%d ne"er consider doing anything like this. +ut nothing about this situation was ordinary, so perhaps the best thing to do was throw ordinarily out the window for now, and !ust go with it. . %m fine,/ he said. .The house is !ust round this corner./ Li1a s-uee1ed her battered car into an impossibly narrow spot between a )ercedes and a +)2. #a"e could hardly bear to watch. ,e didn%t know whether he wanted her to make it, or to scratch a bumper, set off a car alarm, and bring this whole cra1y pro!ect to an early end. ,e told himself he wanted her to succeed, but he felt oddly disappointed when she ga"e the wheel a final twist, set the handbrake and turned off the engine. .&eady3/ she asked. ,e ga"e her a !erky nod in reply. .Then let%s go./ #a"e got out of the car and watched as Li1a retrie"ed a small backpack from the trunk. .Lead the way,/ she said. ,e walked down the street as casually as he could manage, but feeling like e"eryone within a mile of him could see e$actly who he was and what he was planning. The street wasn%t well lit, and most of the houses were designed to make the most of the harbour "iews, with hardly any windows facing onto the road. t would be remarkably bad luck if anyone saw him, and it wouldn%t matter if they did. ,e wasn%t doing anything illegal. 4et. .This is it,/ he said to Li1a, pointing at the huge white garage and enclosed platform for the pri"ate cable car that went down to his old house. t had only been a month, but he already felt out of place

here, like he was "isiting an ac-uaintance rather than coming home to a place he had li"ed for nearly si$ years. .:ust in time,/ Li1a said, pointing to the for sale sign by the big glass door. #a"e looked at it. Tenders were closing ne$t week, and who knew how soon after that someone would be mo"ing in3 .Looks like it,/ he agreed, and tried to con"ince himself that this was a good omen. Li1a was already trying the door, and finding it locked, was reaching into her backpack for something. #a"e wasn%t sure he wanted to see what she%d come out with, e"en though there was nobody else in sight. .,ang on,/ he said, and scrabbled among the white pebbles of the ornamental border for a minute before coming up with the spare key. ,e unlocked the door, and wa"ed Li1a through. .4ou must ha"e been loaded,/ she remarked, looking at the gleaming metal of the cable car, and then peering down the hill at the house. .Not me. t was pretty much all +elinda%s money. Anyway, let%s go down,/ he said, getting into the cable car. The power was still on, which was a relief. Although thinking about it, #a"e decided that the real estate agent would want to keep it on so prospecti"e buyers could use the cable car. 2hen the power went out, the only way down to the house was by ladder down the bank, and that wasn%t fun e"en during the daytime. At night, it was terrifying, and he was glad to be taking the cable car sedately down the hillside. The ride was o"er in less than a minute, and #a"e opened the cable car door. .,ere we are,/ he said. .2ait,/ Li1a said. .2e should check this thing first./ .8ood point,/ #a"e agreed. There wasn%t much to check, but #a"e lay flat on the ground to look underneath the car while Li1a pulled a screwdri"er out of her backpack and opened up the panel under the seat and checked inside. Nothing. t would ha"e been far too easy for +elinda to ha"e hidden anything in the car. Li1a reattached the panel and looked o"er at the front door. .4ou got a key to this one too3/ she asked. #a"e felt around under one of the windowsills where the spare key had been taped, but there was nothing there. .8uess not,/ he said. .'kay./ Li1a looked pleased, and she rummaged in her bag while si1ing up the front door. She pulled out what could only be a set of lockpicks, selected one, and put it in the lock. She mo"ed it around for an agonisingly long time, staring at nothing and frowning with concentration, before the door opened with a satisfying click. She opened the door. .Let%s go./ .,ow many times ha"e you done this, anyway3/ #a"e asked as he stepped inside. .Ne"er,/ she replied. .8ot a friend who%s a locksmith. 8a"e me some lessons a couple of years ago. Always wanted to try it in real life./ #a"e shook his head, but said nothing. ,e wasn%t sure whether he wanted to laugh or scream. n the end he did neither, but walked through the entrance hall and into the lounge room. The house was big, dark, and empty. ,e%d ne"er really felt like it was a warm and welcoming sort of place, e"en when he%d been li"ing there, but now it felt positi"ely forbidding. .'kay,/ he said, .let%s get this o"er and get out of here./

Li1a nodded. .Let%s split up. 8et it done more -uickly./ That seemed sensible, at any rate. . %ll take this floor. There are bedrooms upstairs, and a games room downstairs. Although without furniture, can%t see where you%d hide anything in the games room. guess the kitchen and bathrooms are most likely. f the cash is here at all, that is./ .2on%t know until we look,/ Li1a said. She went back into the entrance hall, and #a"e could hear her climbing the stairs. ,e stood for a moment, o"erwhelmed with the weirdness of being back in the house again, and then shook himself and went into the kitchen. ,e searched as thoroughly as he could, looking inside the o"en, the dishwasher and all the cabinets and drawers, checking the fuse bo$ and the water meter, lifting a loose flap of carpet and peering underneath. ,e looked inside the cistern in the downstairs bathroom, and peeled off the wrap round the hot water cylinder !ust in case +elinda had decided to tape a bunch of notes to it. Nothing. ,e was re-wrapping the cylinder when Li1a !oined him. .0ind anything3/ she asked. .Nothing,/ he said. . f it%s here, it%s so well hidden that we%d ha"e to knock the place down and sift the rubble to find it. ,eck, if it is here, that%s how they probably will find it./ .)aybe,/ Li1a said. .Let%s check outside./ They went outside and Li1a locked the front door behind them, looking -uite pleased with herself as she did so. Then they started searching again, but they had no more luck with the outside of the house than they had inside. .Screw it,/ #a"e said, straightening up and wiping dirt off his hands. .There%s no money here./ .#oesn%t look like it./ .#amn9/ #a"e said, kicking the ground in frustration. ,is "oice sounded startlingly loud, and he fro1e, waiting for one of the neighbours to come out and in"estigate, but nobody did. .#amn,/ he said again in a near-whisper. .That would ha"e been way too easy, wouldn%t it3 2e find the cash, gi"e it to 7o$, and this whole thing goes away. 2ay too easy. 2hat now3/ Li1a looked at her watch. .+ack to the pub,/ she said. .Still a couple of hours till it closes./

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#a"e and Li1a didn%t lea"e 0riendly%s until closing time, and e"en though his house was less than a mile away, walking there was almost too difficult. ,e lurched cra1ily all o"er the sidewalk, and Li1a had to practically carry him the last two blocks. ,e struggled with the front gate, but e"entually pushed it open and stumbled down the path with Li1a following. .2ait./ #a"e stopped dead, and Li1a ran into him, causing them both to stagger into the wall. .2hat is it3/ .Light%s on. 7an%t remember putting the light on this morning./ .)aybe you left it on last night. No point turning it on in the morning./ #a"e felt the beer rising in his throat. . t%s +ruce. Same as last time. %m fucking sure of it./

.'kay./ Li1a parked him up against the wall. She suddenly seemed a lot less drunk. .2ait here for a minute./ #a"e leaned against the wall, trying to control his breathing. ,is heart felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest. ,e watched Li1a creeping towards the front door, peering in the windows as she went. She stopped by the door and tried the knob. .Locked,/ she called back to him -uietly. ,e stumbled towards her, groping in his pockets for the key. Li1a took the key from him, unlocked the door, and slipped inside. ,e felt like he should follow, but he waited, ashamed by his fear. Li1a reappeared at the door in less than a minute. .Empty,/ she said. .8uess you left the light on./ #a"e felt like crying. .8uess did./ .,ey, it%s okay. Let%s get you inside./ .&ight./ ,e made it all the way to the kitchen table before his legs ga"e way, and he barely managed to sit down before he collapsed. .0uck,/ he said, tears starting despite his efforts. .2hat%s happened to my life3 had it pretty good, and then all of this happened. No moneyJ kicked out of my houseJ wife in prisonJ cra1y bastards threatening to kill me unless come up with a whole bunch of money don%t ha"e./ ,e broke down and started sobbing. Li1a sat down at the table and waited silently until he stopped. . %m sorry,/ he said e"entually. . hardly know you and %m dragging you into all of this. don%t understand why you%re helping me./ . had a good feeling about you the first time we met. And kind of owed you one for helping me out then. / .+ut not like this. This is cra1y./ . t%s an ad"enture./ #a"e shook his head. .4ou%re cra1y./ Li1a !ust shrugged. #a"e sniffed, and wiped at his face. .Sorry for losing it,/ he said. .0orget it./ Li1a stood up and looked around the kitchen. .,ow about a cup of tea3 %ll put on the kettle./ #a"e laughed, sounding a little hysterical e"en to himself. .>ettle3 %ll make it./ ,e pulled himself up and grabbed a couple of clean mugs from the dishrack. ,e filled them with cold water and took them back to the table, then grabbed the bo$ of teabags from the cupboard. .That%s cold water, you boo1er. Not going to work./ . %m not drunk9/ #a"e insisted. .2ell, maybe a little./ ,e dropped the teabags into the cold water and started dunking them to release the tea. .,ere./ Li1a reached for the mugs. .Let me do that./ .No9 2atch this./ ,e let go of the teabags and glared theatrically at the two mugs. n a few seconds, steam started to rise from them. .There,/ he said. .)ilk and sugar3/ Li1a leaned back in her chair. .,ow the hell did you do that3/ . t%s magic9/ #a"e said, with another hysterical laugh. . am the 8reat Tea )agician9/ . t%s a trick, right3 ,ow did you do it3/

. told you. And watch this./ ,e -uickly cooled the tea in her mug until it was starting to ice o"er, then warmed it back up again. .Any temperature you want. ce, water, steam. 8o on, ask me./ 0or the first time since he%d met her, Li1a seemed speechless. .So you can make water be any temperature you want3/ .Not water9 That would be way too useful,/ #a"e said bitterly. .Tea. 'nly tea./ .Shit,/ Li1a breathed. .That%s incredible./ .2hen was a kid, used to think %d grow up to be a superhero. (sing the 8reat 5ower of Tea to sa"e people. don%t know how the fuck thought that would work. +uilding bridges out of fro1en tea to sa"e drowning children. used to imagine that if tried really hard, maybe could do water instead. Now that would be useful. Tea3 (seless. The only thing %ll be building out of fro1en tea is a nasty 5opsicle./ .Are you kidding me3 This changes e"erything9/ .2hat, am going to become some sort of circus freak. 4ou think %m going to get enough people through at fi"e bucks a pop to raise two million bucks3 n si$ weeks3/ #a"e wasn%t sure whether he was going to laugh or cry. .4ou know,/ he said e"entually,/ you%re the first person %"e e"er told about this. And don%t know why %m telling you./ ,is body made the decision for him - cry. Again. .This is the most embarrassing night of my life./ .,ey, it%s okay,/ Li1a said, coming o"er to gi"e him an awkward hug from the side. .4ou%re tired, you%re drunk, you%"e had a cra1y week. 4ou need to get some sleep, and then in the morning, things will look different./

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#a"e woke up in his own bed the ne$t morning, fully dressed e$cept for his shoes and socks, and with no memory of how he got there. &olling o"er, he s-uinted at the clock on his bedside table. t was strangely blurry - he couldn%t make out the numbers at all. t took him a few seconds to realise that it was blurry because there was a glass of water sitting beside it. must ha"e really been on the ball last night, he thought. don%t usually remember to get myself water before go to bed. 'r aspirin, for that matter, he added, noticing two of them sitting beside the water. ,e sat up, took the aspirin and gulped the water. The coldness felt horrible in his stomach, but he managed to keep it down. Setting the empty glass back on the bedside table, he noticed a note. Gone to get breakfast. Back in 15. Hope you like burgers. L. Li1a. 0ragments of the night before started to come back to him. 0riendly%s bar. The terror he had felt at seeing the kitchen light left on. ,is trick with the tea. And then a half bottle of Scotch that he had unearthed from the back of a cupboard. ,e "aguely remembered the first two shots, but after that, nothing. ,e hoped he hadn%t embarrassed himself further - the tea thing was bad enough, and he%d still been comparati"ely sober at that point. 'nly comparati"ely, though, he told himself, because to be fair, you were pretty wrecked. The front door banged, and he heard someone mo"ing through the house. The tips of Li1a%s blue mohawk peeped around his bedroom door. .)orning, tiger,/ she called, in what was probably a -uiet "oice for her. . t%s okay. %m up./

She popped herself into the room like a !ack-in-the-bo$. .8ood. +reakfast on the table. ,a"e a shower, get changed, and %ll put the coffee on. 5lunger in the pantry3/ .(m, yeah./ .See you in a couple of minutes, then,/ she said, lea"ing as suddenly as she had arri"ed. This whole morning was happening too strangely and too -uickly for #a"e to really process. +elinda had ne"er been this chipper after a big night. n fact, she tended to be worse than he was, and she snored so loudly that he usually staggered off to the spare room at some point in the early hours, so he was used to waking up alone with a hango"er, and then going downstairs to wrestle with the analgesics and coffee on his own. +elinda would usually put in an appearance around midday, and she would e$pect coffee to be ready for her. Li1a, meanwhile, didn%t e"en look a little bit hung o"er, and she sounded disgustingly chipper. Still. Shower. That was probably a good idea. ,e struggled to the bathroom, sub!ected himself to a brief sluicing, and came into the kitchen !ust as Li1a was pushing the plunger on the coffee. .8ood timing,/ she said. .Sit./ ,e sat at the table, and she brought o"er the coffee and unrolled the top of a plain brown paper bag. .7an%t do )c#onalds,/ she said. .These are from a place know./ The burger she handed him was si1ed somewhere between softball and basketball, with grease and sauce starting to soak through the wrapper. ,e looked at it from a couple of angles, trying to work out the best plan of attack, and then sailed in. t was delicious. ,is stomach didn%t fight it at all, and it was gone in a do1en huge bites. .That was e$actly what needed,/ he said. .Thank you./ Li1a wa"ed him away. .)e too. :ust the thing after a big night out./ .About that,/ he began, and then stopped. 2hat could he say, after the way he had acted the night before3 .The whole thing,/ he began again, .with the light, and the tea, and all of it. Sorry. %"e had a rough week, guess, and !ust kind of let it get to me./ Li1a crammed the rest of her burger into her mouth and wiped her fingers on a ser"iette. .0orget it,/ she mumbled. .Not important./ .2ell, !ust wanted to say thanks for listening, and for getting me home safe. All of it. it./ .Seriously, not important. 2e need to talk about what to do ne$t./ .About what3/ .2hat, are you kidding3 About the money. %"e got an idea./ .&eally3/ #a"e poured himself a cup of coffee and fussed with milk and sugar, trying to buy himself time to think. 'kay, he had come to Li1a for help, but he hadn%t really e$pected that she would gi"e it, and to tell the truth, he was a little afraid when he thought about the kind of help she was likely to offer. Sure, she was being really nice to him, and she definitely seemed efficient, but it was important to remember, he told himself, that she had been arrested for assault. Technically, he was associating with a criminal. 'f course, technically, he was a criminal himself now, e"en though it had been his own house, and e"en though they didn%t find any cash to burgle. .That tea thing that you do-/ Li1a said. #a"e groaned. .2hat3/ .Look, %m sorry about that. was drunk. didn%t mean to -/ appreciate

.2hat are you talking about3 That%s the key to this whole thing9/ .+ut it%s useless9 tea./ told you, can%t do water, and to be honest, ha"e a pretty hard time with weak

.4eah, but you can do any temperature, right3/ .&ight,/ he admitted, drawing the word out. .,ow is that going to help us3/ .Seriously3/ Li1a stared at him. .4ou%re like a human safecracker. %"e been talking to Sue - that locksmith friend told you about. She says this thing is totally possible./ .2hat thing3/ #a"e felt his headache starting to come back. .Safecracking9 She says you can do it !ust with temperature. ,eat the workings up, then free1e them. )ight take a couple of goes, but e"entually the metal will !ust shatter./ .&eally3/ .That%s what she said. :ust talked to her this morning./ #a"e sat silently, spinning his coffee cup on the tabletop. f this was true, then he%d been selling his powers short for years. All his life, almost. 'n the other hand, it was illegal, and safecracking was probably more difficult and dangerous than Li1a was making it sound. 'n the other other hand, it wasn%t like he had any other way to get 7o$ what he wanted, and it was probably better to be a little criminal than a lot dead. . don%t want to steal from anyone who really needs the money,/ he said. Li1a snorted. . f they need the money, then they don%t ha"e the kind of money you need./ .True. +ut don%t want to steal from good people. 4ou know, old ladies who make big donations to charity. f we ha"e to do this, then we need to pick our targets. &obin ,ood style, okay3/ ,e couldn%t belie"e he was saying this, but a lot had happened lately, and maybe it was time he made some changes to his life. E"en if that did mean robbing from the rich to gi"e to Alistair 7o$, who was certainly one of the rich himself. #a"e felt a strange fierceness building up inside him. .And one more thing./ .2hat3/ . want to stick it to 7o$. don%t know how, but if we get the opportunity, want to do it./

.Sure thing, tiger./ Li1a grinned at him. .That%s the ticket./ .'kay, then all we need to do is pick our target./ .4ou let me take care of that. 4ou need to work on your skills./ Li1a looked him o"er. .2e%re going to do this thing./ #a"e nodded. .2e are./ .0inish your coffee, and then let%s hit the net. 2e%"e got targets to find./

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#a"e spent most of Saturday on the internet with Li1a, searching for a target. The 4ellow 5ages didn%t turn up anything promising, and neither did the news. They agreed on the guidelines early on.

No banks. Nothing with hea"y security. Nobody who couldn%t stand to lose the money. And preferably, someone who was enough of a prick that e"eryone would be secretly glad to see them lose their money if the story ended up hitting the news. t was a shame, #a"e said to Li1a after a couple of hours of searching, that there weren%t any incredibly wealthy politicians in New *ealand. That would be seeing !ustice done, but as it was, none of them really had anything worth stealing. Nothing portable, anyway. )aking off with a house would be a neat trick, but it was probably beyond them. 'n Saturday night, they ordered pi11a, and after dinner they sat around the kitchen table while #a"e broke pins. ,e had a dish of cold tea in front of him, and they dropped the pins into it, one at a time. ,e heated the tea until it seemed like it would disappear in a cloud of superheated steam, then brought it down as -uickly as possible to free1ing. This didn%t work particularly well, but when Li1a suggested they switch to green tea "odka, things started to happen. A couple of heat-and chill cycles and a tap with a hammer, and the pins shattered. #a"e could hardly belie"e it when the first one broke. Li1a had been dipping into the "odka, and she let loose with a loud war cry and banged on the table hard enough to send the dish and its contents flying. Later, cleaning up the mess on the floor, #a"e thought that he hadn%t been so happy in years. Li1a slept on the futon in the lounge room that night, and when #a"e woke up on Sunday morning, he found her toothbrush in the rack, and the disreputable backpack he had retrie"ed for her the first time they had met sitting by the end of the futon, clothes spilling out from the half-open 1ipper. Li1a herself was sitting at the kitchen table, engrossed in a bowl of 2eet-bi$ and the Sunday paper. .8ot something,/ she announced, thrusting the paper towards him. .2hat3/ .A target. Look./ .New Tolkien film gets green light3 2hat about it3/ .&ead the rest of the article./ .E$ecuti"es from three ma!or ,ollywood studios ha"e arri"ed in New *ealand this week to meet with 5eter :ackson. No new pro!ects ha"e officially been announced, but sources close to )r :ackson ha"e confirmed that they are in negotiations to produce another mo"ie set in :&& Tolkien%s )iddle-Earth. still don%t see the point of this./ .>eep reading./ . n a rare departure from her nati"e 7alifornia, #iana 2estlake has tra"elled to New *ealand with one of the delegations. t is rumoured that she is considering financing the new film, her fourteenth such "enture. )s 2estlake has not appeared onscreen since ?L=<, when she played )rs +ennet in the critically-panned punk adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. t is unknown whether she is considering a role in this new film. )s 2estlake did not respond to re-uests for an inter"iew./ .#iana 2estlake9/ Li1a threw up her hands in triumph. .5erfect./ . %m still not seeing it./ .#on%t you watch TC3 This is absolutely perfect./ .2ell, she can definitely stand to lose the money, but don%t see how we%re going to get it from her. t%s not like she%s come here with a briefcase full of hundred-dollar bills./ Li1a ga"e him a scornful look. . %m not talking about the money. %m talking about her necklace./ #a"e opened his mouth, but Li1a cut him off before he could say anything. .There was a show about it last month. Not much else to do in prison. 0aith - my cellmate - was mad for documentaries. And

reality TC. 0ourteen hours a day. Ask me anything about endangered fish or the latest season of Survivor. Anything at all./ This was more than #a"e was used to hearing out of Li1a in one go. ,e wasn%t sure what to say. .,ow about you tell me about this necklace3/ he said at last. .&ight. The Star of )ars. )assi"e red diamond. And a bunch of other little ones, on a necklace. Supposed to be worth millions. +ut apparently they got them out of some mine in the 7ongo with sla"e labour. +lood diamonds./ .'kay, think %"e heard something about that, anyway./ .Some slea1y dictator ga"e #iana this thing for her AGth. +ig scandal. +ig internet petition to get her to gi"e it back. +ut she said fuck you to all of them, and kept it./ Li1a looked as if she appro"ed, #a"e noticed. )aybe not of the necklace itself, but he was sure that she appro"ed of the sentiment. .Takes it with her e"erywhere. >eeps it in a special safe. 2on%t trust it to hotel safes./ .,ow do you know this3 thought #iana 2estlake was supposed to be a recluse./

.Saw it on the special. #on%t know how they got her to do the inter"iew. +ut she opened this thing up and ga"e them a look at the goods. Looked pretty pleased with it, too. )ade in Swit1erland. Some guy who mostly does bank "aults./ #a"e felt his heart beating faster. . guess that%s pretty much what we%re looking for,/ he said. ,e rubbed his palms ner"ously along the edge of the table. . t%s perfect,/ Li1a said. #a"e nodded. t was perfect. t was e$actly the sort of thing they were looking for. 2orth millions, at least according to Li1a, and it didn%t sound like there%d be many people crying when it turned up missing. f he was going to turn into a thief, then this was at least morally !ustifiable. +ut then againJ . t%s bound to be guarded,/ he said. t sounded better than . %m too scared to do this,/ which would ha"e been the truth. +ut Li1a shook her head. .She%s a recluse. +it cra1y, too. Tra"els alone. )aybe with a maid or something, but not with a bodyguard./ .2e don%t e"en know where she%s staying./ .True. +ut we can find out. +ound to be somewhere fi"e-star. 2hich narrows it down a lot./ .4ou%re serious, aren%t you3 4ou actually want us to steal this necklace./ #a"e could hear his "oice rising. ,e gripped the edge of the table. . %m not sure that can./ Li1a shrugged. .2hat are the other options3 7o$ isn%t going away. 4ou need to get a grip./ .4ou%re right. know you%re right. Sorry./ #a"e breathed out hea"ily and felt his shoulders rela$. . %"e !ust ne"er thought about doing anything like this before. don%t e"en download mo"ies, you know3 +elinda%s trial was one of the most horrible things %"e e"er been through, and all had to do was sit in the back of the courtroom and watch it. t scares me, thinking about doing something that could see me right there ne$t to her in !ail./ .Nah,/ Li1a said with a crooked grin. .4ou%d be in a men%s prison./ #a"e laughed. . guess would./ .+ut you%re not going to prison. 2e%re going to do this nice and smart, and we%ll offload the trouble onto 7o$ before he knows what%s happened. Then we%ll be free and clear./

. guess you%re right. t%s not like he%ll be taking the necklace down to the station and saying DE$cuse me, officers, seem to ha"e recei"ed these stolen goods by accident%./ .&ight./ .So all we need to do is figure out where #iana 2estlake is staying and when she%ll be out of her room./ #a"e paused. .And how to get into the room, guess. And how to get in and out without being spotted. And how to do the handoff. And-/ .Easy,/ Li1a cut him off. .#on%t worry about that. +y the time we do this, we%ll ha"e it all co"ered./

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So much had changed o"er the weekend that #a"e felt almost disoriented going into work on )onday morning. Li1a had slept on the futon for the third night in a row, and she had brought the rest of her stuff in from the car. They hadn%t discussed it, but it seemed that Li1a had decided she was mo"ing in. #a"e hadn%t li"ed with anyone but +elinda for years, but he wasn%t complaining. Li1a wasn%t obsessi"ely neat, she didn%t take up much space in the bathroom, and she had an almost spooky sense for when he%d be in the kitchen, and managed to ha"e coffee ready to go e"ery morning. #a"e had taken the bus to work that morning. Li1a%s shift didn%t start till ten, so she was still at home when he left. #a"e wished that +ruce would try to pay an early morning "isit on him with her there. 2hen he had come out of the shower, she had been doing pushups on the lounge room floor in shorts and a sports bra. ,e%d ne"er seen a more muscular woman, and he was pretty sure that she could twist +ruce%s head off his shoulders as easily as she%d take the cap off a bottle of beer. And she%d ha"e no hesitation about doing it either, he thought with satisfaction. 2ith her in the house, he was sleeping like a baby, with no worry about intruders and only the faintest of twinges when he thought about what they were planning to do. .8ood morning, #a"e,/ &ose greeted him. .4ou%re here bright and early this morning./ #a"e was pretty sure that this was meant to be a comment on his lateness last 0riday and he didn%t answer, !ust ga"e &ose a moderately friendly nod and went straight back to his office. 5utting e"erything that had happened in the last week out of his mind, he got to work, and got more done by morning tea than he had in weeks. &ose and :ackie were sitting at the table in the tearoom, gossiping o"er the pages of an entertainment maga1ine. .,ello, #a"e,/ :ackie said. #amn. .)orning, :ackie./ .,ow were those meetings on 0riday3/ .'kay./ #a"e hoped she would lea"e it at that, but he wasn%t surprised when she didn%t .Sell a lot3/ #a"e cleared his throat. . made some sales. And 'scar was -uite interested in the new E78 units. ,e%s considering an order later in the year./

. s he3/ :ackie asked, a nasty little smile on her face. .4ou know, #a"e, %"e been re"iewing your sales figures o"er the last couple of months. They%re down. '"er a third lower than they were this time last year. Any thoughts on that3/ No right reply. :ackie was a master when it came to these kinds of discussions. t was almost a pleasure to watch her doing it to a client who was late paying their bills. t was much less pleasant to be on the recei"ing end of it. #a"e !ust shrugged. . %ll be keeping a close eye on your figures this month, #a"e. e$pect to see an impro"ement./

.&ight,/ #a"e said, as neutrally as he could manage. :ackie ga"e him a final look, and then turned back to the maga1ine. #a"e got a mug out of the cupboard and tried to make his cup of tea without making any noise. ,e was looking in the fridge for the milk when the bell at reception rang. .8et that, will you, #a"e,/ :ackie said. .&ose is busy./ #a"e pressed his lips together angrily, but didn%t say anything. ,e closed the fridge and left the tearoom. .7oming,/ he called up the hallway. There was a man sitting in one of the "isitor%s chair, his face turned away from #a"e as he flipped through one of the catalogues that &ose kept at reception. As #a"e came out of the hallway, the man looked up, and #a"e fro1e in his tracks. +ruce. +ruce crossed his legs and smiled, and something in his e$pression reminded #a"e of :ackie. ,e really hoped that the two of them ne"er met. That would be an unstoppable force. .)r &osewater,/ +ruce said. .2hat a surprise to run in to you here./ .2hat are you doing here3/ . s that any way to treat a customer, )r &osewater3 think not./

.This is a medical supply company,/ #a"e said, keeping his "oice down and hoping that :ackie and &ose stayed in the tearoom. .There%s nothing here you%d be interested in. Now what do you want3/ .Nonsense9/ +ruce e$claimed, grinning like a wolf. . %"e got a great deal of interest in the medical supply business, and someone recommended this fine establishment as a place where could buy some e-uipment./ ,e wa"ed the catalogue. .4our range seems "ery comprehensi"e./ +ruce sat back in his chair. .2ell, aren%t you going to take my order3/ .2e only supply to businesses,/ #a"e gritted. .And %m buying on behalf of a business./ +ruce dropped the smile. .7o$ and Associates. 5erhaps you%"e heard of them3/ .2hat do you want3/ #a"e demanded, knowing that his "oice was raised, but unable to keep it down. .'h, a few things./ +ruce flipped theatrically through the catalogue. .'ne stretcher with patient restraint straps. 'ne scalpel holder and four do1en blades. 'r,/ he said, staring directly at #a"e in a way that made him shi"er, .two million dollars./ .#amn it,/ #a"e hissed, . %m working on it. need more than a week, you know3/

.2ell, you%d better hurry. )r 7o$ is getting "ery impatient. ,e%s eager to hear from you, )r &osewater. 5lease don%t disappoint him. don%t think he%d like that./ .7an help you3/ &ose said from -uite close behind #a"e, making him !ump. +ruce rearranged his e$pression into a bland smile. .No thank you. was !ust placing an order with your colleague. with e"erything need. sn%t that right, )r &osewater3/ think he will be able to supply me

.&ight,/ #a"e said slowly. E"ery instinct he had was telling him to run down the hallway and out through the warehouse, but he managed to hold his ground. . %"e got your order, )r -3/ .0armer,/ +ruce supplied. .Surely you remember./ #a"e%s stomach stated to hurt as he thought back to their last meeting. .'f course,/ he said. . %m sorry./ .Not at all./ +ruce reached into his coat pocket and held out a business card. . do hope you can fill our order. )y employer and will be looking forward to hearing from you./ #a"e walked towards +ruce and gingerly took the business card, half e$pecting to ha"e his wrist grabbed and his arm broken as he did so. ,e glanced at the card and backed away. )ore than anything else, he wanted +ruce to get out of the office and ne"er come anywhere near him again. .Tell him we%ll ha"e what he wants by the end of the week,/ #a"e blurted. As soon as the words left his mouth he wished he could take them back. 2hat the hell was he saying3 'ut of the corner of his eye, he could see &ose beaming appro"ingly at him. .E$cellent9 %ll tell )r 7o$ to e$pect your call./ .'f course./ .Splendid. ,a"e a nice day./ +ruce offered one last predatory smile, including &ose in it this time, then turned and left. #a"e sagged against a wall, holding the business card limply in his fingers. .There, see3/ &ose said. .Things are turning around for you already./ .&ight,/ he mumbled. .And what a nice looking young man. s it a big order3/ .No, !ust a couple of things./ .2ell, %m sure he%ll be back for more if he%s happy with what we gi"e him this time./ #a"e shuddered. . %m sure he will,/ he agreed. . %d better go and place that order./ ,e left before &ose could say anything else, holding his speed down the hallway to !ust below a run. 2hen he got to his office, he shut the door and sat down, his head in his hands. 2hat the hell was thinking, he asked himself. Sure, it was a shock to see +ruce right there, and sure wanted him out of there as soon as possible, but seriously. ,e ga"e me si$ weeks, and %"e gi"en myself one. 2hat an idiot. ,e pulled his phone out of his pocket with shaking fingers and dialled. .,ey, tiger./ Li1a%s cheerful "oice made him rela$ fractionally. .2hat%s happening3/ .,e was here,/ #a"e whispered into the phone. .+ruce. 7ame to check up on me, think. And listen, Li1a -/ ,e didn%t want to finish the sentence, but he forced the words out. . think %"e !ust fucked things up for us./ .,ow3/ She didn%t sound at all alarmed, !ust calmly curious. #a"e felt himself loosening up, and he knew that he could tell her. . said we%d ha"e the money for him by the end of the week. Two million. wanted to get him out of there, you know./ .That%s fine./ guess panicked. !ust

.That%s fine3/ .4ep. No problem./ .2hat do you mean, no problem3/ .'kay, maybe a small problem. ,a"e you got a phone number for him3/ .(m,/ #a"e unclenched his hand and stared at the business card. Alistair 7o$. E$ecuti"e #irector. And then a 5' +o$ and a phone number. .Not for +ruce. Looks like %"e got a number for 7o$, though./ .8ood. 7all him. Tell him you%ll ha"e something for him, but he%ll need to take it in gems./ #a"e laughed, a little hysterically. .+y the end of the week3/ .4ep. was !ust about to te$t you. +een talking to the guys, checking the paper, beating the drums. know where she is, and know when she%s going to be out of her room. 2e ha"e a clear in, tomorrow night./ .4ou%re kidding me. t%s not e"en ele"en in the morning. ,ow did you manage that so -uickly3/ .7ouriers talk,/ Li1a said. .Not hard to put things together./ .Li1a, you%re ama1ing. owe you for this./

.7all 7o$, set up the deal. 8et a number you can call to make the handoff. Then go back to work, don%t think about it. 2e%ll talk tonight./ .'kay. Thanks, Li1a./ .No worries./

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.,ello3/ .)r 7o$3 This is #a"id &osewater./ .)r &osewater9 ,ow nice to hear from you. %"e been e$pecting your call./ .4ou heard what told your guy3 +ruce3/ .4es, he told me that the two of you had had a nice little chat./ .Look, your two million. can get it./ look forward to recei"ing it./

.+ruce said you had told him that. . n gems./ . beg your pardon3/

. can get it for you in gems. Not cash. +y the end of the week. That%s the deal./ . don%t think you%re in any position to be dictating terms, )r &osewater./

.4eah, that%s probably true, but this is the only way %m going to be able to get you what you want. Two million. n gems. +y the end of the week. ,eck, they%re probably worth more than two million. This is a deal for you./ . %ll be the !udge of that. +ut ne"ertheless, %m intrigued. So accept your offer./ .'kay. (m. ,ow should contact you, when %"e got the stuff3 This number3/ .Take a look in your letterbo$ when you get home. %ll ha"e one of my associates lea"e you a phone. Speed dial one when you%re ready to make the e$change./ .'kay./ .Cery good. look forward to hearing from you./

.&ight. 4ou%ll hear from me soon./ . better had. 'h, and )r &osewater3 :ust in case you%re getting any smart ideas about forgery or anything like that, want you to know that ha"e a !eweller on staff, and he%ll be present at the e$change./ . %m not thinking about ripping you off9 !ust want this o"er. Soon./

.E$cellent. %ll be e$pecting your call, then./

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#a"e had heard the e$pression Dsweating bullets% before, and it had always sounded "aguely appealing in an action-mo"ie kind of way, but it turned out that it wasn%t so much fun in practice. 2hen he was talking to Li1a, e"en about something cra1y like stealing a bunch of conflict diamonds and handing them o"er to a ma!or criminal, he felt relati"ely confident. 'r maybe not confident, but insulated from whate"er cra1iness the world might ha"e in store for people who did things like that. +ut talking to 7o$, e"en on the phone, brought back the an$iety that he knew he should ha"e been feeling all along. ,e left work after lunch. t was the only thing he could do, after his meeting with +ruce and the call to 7o$. ,e had tried to put it out of his mind and get on with work as if nothing had happened, but it was hopeless. ,e kept popping his head out into the hallway to make sure that there weren%t any more goons at the front desk, and he !umped a mile e"ery time he heard footsteps coming towards his office. :ackie had caught him doing it at least twice, and from the look on her face, she probably suspected he was on drugs or something. And the way he was feeling, that might not be such a bad idea. Not stimulants, though. Something calming. t was a shame that 7happle )edical didn%t deal in pharmaceuticals as well as medical supplies. :ackie had seen him lea"e, and of course &ose had as well, but she actually seemed relati"ely concerned, so #a"e figured he must ha"e looked sick. 2hich was only fair, because he felt pretty sick. 8etting out of the office helped a little, and so did mi$ing with the crowds at the bus station, but when he got home and found a brand-new cellphone in his mailbo$, the an$iety came back more strongly than e"er. ,e spent the afternoon pacing his lounge room and !umping at shadows, and he had ne"er been more glad to see anyone than he was to see Li1a when she got in. .2hat the hell is that3/ were the first words out of his mouth. Not what he had intended to say, but it was the only appropriate -uestion to ask.

.Still./ Li1a replied, dumping the thing on the kitchen table. t looked like a giant%s chemistry set. .A still3 2hy do we need a still3/ .8reen tea "odka%s pretty pricey,/ she replied, running hot water into the sink and adding a generous dash of pink crystals from a white plastic packet. .And besides, bet we can make something a lot stronger than that. Ne"er know when it%ll come in handy. Now grab a sponge and help me get it clean./ The cleaning took the best part of an hour, and Li1a let #a"e do most of the work, while she cooked up the mash in his largest pot. They didn%t speak much, but #a"e felt better !ust ha"ing something to do with his hands and knowing there was someone else nearby. t was pathetic how weak and frightened he felt, but then again, he told himself, it wasn%t like he was used to dealing with situations like this. ,e didn%t think that there were many people who were, though. .Li1a3/ he asked, pulling the wire brush out of a piece of coiled tubing and setting the tubing out to dry. .4eah3/ She didn%t turn around from her position at the sto"e. .,a"e you e"er done anything like this before3/ .#istilling3 No. Always been curious, though./ .No, didn%t mean that. 7o$./ meant e"erything else. +urglary. :ewel thefts. #ealing with guys like

.4ou saw my first burglary the other night, tiger. Think it went pretty well, too. E$cept for not finding the cash./ Li1a ga"e the pot another stir and then set the spoon down. .Think this is ready. +ring that big glass container o"er to the sink and we%ll pour this stuff in./ #a"e lifted the big demi!ohn into the sink and stood back as Li1a poured the hot mash in. .4east,/ she said, handing a packet of brewer%s yeast to him. .:ust pour it in on top3/ .Think so./ ,e opened the packet and scattered the contents on top of the mash. Li1a put a huge rubber stopper into the mouth of the container and lifted it carefully out of the sink. t must weigh a ton, #a"e thought, but Li1a carried it as easily as a feather pillow. She set it in the corner of the kitchen, ne$t to the hot water cylinder. .Should be warm enough,/ she said. .Now we wait./ She sat down at the kitchen table. #a"e pulled out the other chair and sat down opposite her. . %"e been freaking out all day,/ he started again. .E"er since +ruce showed up at work. ,e scares the shit out of me, you know3/ Li1a nodded, but didn%t say anything . was ne"er much of a fighter as a kid. was more of a nerd. liked to study. %d wanted to be a doctor since kindergarten, and my parents were pretty big on encouraging that kind of thing. +ut was pretty -uiet and not ob"iously freakish or anything, so the other kids didn%t really bother me. There were weirder kids for them to pick on. used to think was lucky that way. +ut now %m not so sure. )aybe if %d learned to fight when was younger, this whole situation would be freaking me out a little less./ Li1a leaned back in her chair and looked at him. .2orried about fighting3/

.4es./ .2hy3/ #a"e gestured towards his hollow chest. .Look at me. %m not e$actly a prime physical specimen. 7ompared to most men, %m pretty puny. ,ell, %m pretty puny compared to a lot of women./ .#oesn%t mean anything,/ Li1a said. .:ust need to know what to do in a fight. There was a chick at the ))A gym used to go to, maybe this tall,/ she held up a hand !ust below her shoulder height, /but she beat me three times out of four. 8reat fighter. 8reat spirit, and she could turn your own strength against you like that./ She snapped her fingers. .That%s fine, but bet she%d probably been training for ten years or something to get that good./ .About that,/ Li1a agreed. .So don%t think that%s going to help me right now. f someone gets me down, or gets me trapped, %m toast./ .Not if you%"e got tea. Throw it in their faces. 0ree1e them, burn them. Should turn the tables pretty -uick./ .2ell, guess that%s true,/ #a"e agreed. .+ut what if don%t ha"e any tea3 %m screwed, right3/ .7arry some. Always./ .'kay, but what about when run out3/ #a"e persisted. Li1a ga"e him a long look. .8et up,/ she said, pushing her chair back and standing up herself. .7ome into the lounge room. 'kay. Now lie down here on your back./ #a"e lay down, feeling a little foolish. 0oolishness -uickly turned to concern when Li1a kneeled o"er him, one fist threateningly raised. .This what worries you3/ she asked. .4es9/ he replied. .'kay,/ she said. .Try to get out./ #a"e wriggled and s-uirmed, but he couldn%t escape. ,e didn%t e"en seem to mo"e Li1a, much less mo"e her far enough to get out from underneath her. She waited, looking e$pectant, until he ga"e up. . can%t do it,/ he said. .:ust don%t know the trick,/ she said. .Switch places./ They switched. .2hat you need to do,/ she continued, .is this./ Suddenly, she bucked her hips up, sending #a"e sprawling forward o"er her right shoulder. .Then mo"e your body to the side,/ she said, mo"ing as she spoke, .and then up and around and you%re out./ #a"e%s face was pressed against the carpet. .Easy for you to say,/ he mumbled. .4ou%"e got four, fi"e inches on me./ .#oesn%t matter if you do it right, tiger,/ she replied. .Try it./ ,is first effort was a dismal failure. ,e barely mo"ed Li1a an inch. +ut she coached him through the mo"es patiently, and soon he was throwing her forward and getting out from underneath her almost as easily as she was with him. .8ood,/ she said. .All there is to it./

.Thanks, Li1a,/ he said. .That%s not as hard as thought it would be. +ut does it work in a real fight3/ .Absolutely. ,ow lost my first league match. And the escape was helped me win my fifth. #oesn%t work e"ery time, but it does work./ #a"e nodded thoughtfully to himself. .That%s a comforting thought,/ he said. .#o you think you could teach me a couple more mo"es like that3/ .Sure,/ Li1a agreed. .2on%t make you a cage fighter or anything, but it%s good stuff to know./ . !ust hope ne"er need it,/ #a"e said. .#on%t worry,/ Li1a said. .This thing goes off right, you won%t e"en see anybody./ #a"e had nearly forgotten where their con"ersation had begun, but it all came back to him like putting on a lead "est. .&ight,/ he said. . hope so, anyway./

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#a"e called in sick to work the ne$t morning. &ose sounded sceptical when she took the call, but there was nothing she could do about it, and anyway, #a"e was a !ewel thief now, or at least "ery nearly. 8oing to work was the last thing on his mind. .Stay at home and get ready,/ Li1a had told him before she went to work herself. .Take a nap. 5ractice your thing with the lock. Tend the still. 2hate"er. %ll be back at two, and we%ll go and get ready./ Tending the still was an appealing idea, and there was something comforting about the way it sat in the kitchen gently bubbling away, but there was really nothing to do to it. Sleep was out of the -uestion. #a"e tried half a do1en books and two #C#s, but couldn%t concentrate for more than fi"e minutes, so when Li1a finally got back to the apartment she found him on the internet, clicking through 4outube "ideos almost at random, but not really watching them. She looked him o"er slowly, but he couldn%t tell what she was thinking. .7ome on,/ she said at last. .Let%s go get you ready./ ,is stomach churned at the words, and it kept right on going when they got into the car and started dri"ing. #a"e felt like he was riding a rollercoaster as the car went up the hill, and he was sure he was going to ha"e to ask her to pull o"er so he could throw up. .2here are we going3/ he managed to ask when they stopped at a light. .Seeing a friend./ .2hat for3/ .4ou%ll see when we get there./ They made the rest of the trip in silence, and a few minutes later, Li1a pulled up in front of a freshly painted beachfront cottage with a neat garden and a pristine red )ini in the dri"eway. They got out of the car, walked up a short gra"el walk, and Li1a knocked on the door. A small Asian man with blondtipped hair and perfect skin pulled the door open and ga"e Li1a a big hug. .Li1a9 #arling9 4ou look fabulous9/

#a"e tried not to grin as he watched Li1a submitting to an e$tra"agant bout of air-kissing. .7ut the flattery, you old -ueen,/ she said, gi"ing the little man an affectionate slap on the back that sent him staggering forward. .+ut your hair,/ the man continued, reaching up to inspect the roots of Li1a%s mohawk. .,ow long has it been since you had this done3/ . don%t know. )onth3 Si$ weeks3 2eek before went inside./ The man shook his head. . %m glad you%re out, darling,/ he said. .Sorry didn%t "isit. Sydney for a fortnight, and then London. Are you okay3/ .4eah. 0ine./ .2ell, come inside and sit down. %ll ha"e you blue as an Eskimo%s balls before you can turn around twice./ Li1a took a step inside, and the man noticed #a"e for the first time. .And who is this3/ .#a"e. The guy told you about. #a"e, :ean./ .2ell, hello there,/ :ean said, e$tending a hand to #a"e with an e$aggerated "ampiness. #a"e shook it, and was surprised to find himself pulled toward :ean, held firmly by the chin, and closely inspected. .,e is a pretty one, Li1a. Are you sure you want to co"er this face up3/ .8otta be done,/ Li1a said. .2hat%s got to be done3/ #a"e asked. ,e knew he should be getting used to strange things happening when he was with Li1a, but he kept being surprised by the things that she sprung on him. .4ou%ll see,/ :ean said, letting go of his chin. .7ome inside, come inside./ Li1a motioned #a"e ahead of her, so he followed :ean into the house. t was as neat and tastefully set out as the garden, all polished wood floors, art deco furniture, and old mo"ie posters on the walls. .7ome into the kitchen,/ :ean said o"er his shoulder. .2ill you ha"e a cocktail3 )o!ito3 Li1a3 +ourbon and coke3/ .Not for me,/ Li1a said. .+etter gi"e our man here something to steady his ner"es, though. %ll get it. 4ou get started./ .E$cellent9/ :ean agreed. .)i$ me up a little something as well, won%t you3 Sit down, #a"e./ ,e motioned to a leather and chrome swi"elling chair that was set up in the middle of the kitchen, ne$t to a little wheeled tea trolley set up with scissors, makeup, and a lot of strange tools that #a"e couldn%t figure out. #a"e sat down. .So, what are we doing3/ .#isguise,/ Li1a said, selecting a bottle from the row on the counter. .#on%t want your face all o"er the front page tomorrow morning./ That made sense, but #a"e still felt uneasy. .(mJ Li1aJ #oes :ean know..3/ .&ela$. :ean%s solid. 4ou can trust him. &ight, :3/ .Absolutely,/ :ean said, whipping a hairdressers% gown o"er Sean%s head and doing it up around his neck. .2hen Li1a commands, obey. E$cept when she commands me to drink cheap beer or watch tele"ised sporting e"ents. Now, do as the lady says and rela$. This won%t hurt a bit./ was in

That didn%t sound at all reassuring, but #a"e couldn%t think of a good way to protest. Li1a put a glass in his hand, and he took a deep drink. ,e had no idea what it was, only that it was good, and probably incredibly potent. .2hat do you think, darling3/ :ean asked Li1a o"er his head. . rish con artist3 +elgian diamond magnate3/ .(p to you. +ut classy. t%s a fancy hotel. And maybe a few distinguishing marks. 8i"e the cops something to put in the description./ She winked at #a"e. . f they e"er figure out what happened, that is./ .'f course./ :ean mo"ed around #a"e%s head, tilting it this way and that. . think Swedish assassin. This hair will bleach out nicely, and he%ll look cute as a blond. A little e$tra on the nose, think, and blue contacts. And maybe a little knife scar here, on the cheekbone. Something to suggest a little danger and daring, gi"e the receptionist a little thrill. 2hat name, by the way, darling3/ .Andreas Schmidt. No #. 7redit card only./ .Swiss assassin, then. 5erfect./ :ean rested his hands on #a"e%s shoulders, easing him back into the chair. .Now, you sit back and rela$. 2hen %m done with you, your own mother won%t know you./ The whole transformation took nearly two hours, but :ean wasn%t e$aggerating his skill. 2hen he finally pulled the gown off and ga"e #a"e a mirror, #a"e didn%t recognise the person looking back at him. .That%s incredible,/ he said, touching his hair, which had been bleached, curled, and outrageously mulleted. .This is the e$act haircut wanted in the first grade, e$cept my mother wouldn%t let me. can%t belie"e you thought of it. .'h yes, the mullet is "ery in this year,/ :ean said. . don%t understand the attraction, myself, but you must admit that it%s distincti"e. And your hair was so long, it was practically crying out for it./ .2hat%d tell you3/ Li1a said. .:ean%s a genius. The best. +e paying a couple of grand for this, if you were a mo"ie star./ .,e%s incredible,/ #a"e agreed. .Thanks./ .)aybe try not to sound so American, darling,/ :ean suggested. .5erhaps a hint of an accent, nothing too strong. Subtle. Try to sound a little foreign./ #a"e thought about his mother, the way she still sounded English after thirty-fi"e years in 7alifornia. She%d tried to teach him to speak like an English boy, but she%d gi"en up the fight pretty gracefully when it became ob"ious that it wasn%t going to stick. n high school, though, when he was fourteen or fifteen, he%d gone through a phase of trying to emulate her, on the theory that it might make him sound foreign and mysterious. t hadn%t worked, of course, but he could probably still do the accent. .,ow about something like this3/ he asked. Li1a nodded. .Nice./ .5erfect,/ :ean agreed. .And now, wardrobe. ha"e a few things that should be suitable./

#a"e followed :ean through the house to his bedroom, and stood awkwardly in the middle of the room while :ean si1ed him up. . f you were two inches shorter, you could wear something of mine,/ :ean said, .but that%s not the look we%re going for. Still, ha"e a few things in your si1e that will look fabulous on you. 7ome through./ ,e opened a door and led the way into a smaller room filled with racks of clothes and shoes. . usually work on big budget films,/ he said, .but do a little work on local productions from time to time. And of course, there%s the derby girls./ ,e wa"ed his hand at a rack of gaudy outfits in leather and lycra. .+ut none of that for you. 4ou want to look rich, but not

classy. This shirt, think,/ selecting an appallingly purple silk shirt from the rack and throwing it o"er his arm, .and the sharkskin suit. 2hat si1e shoes3 @I3/ .@F./ .These ones, then. 0old up some of this paper and put it in one of the heels. t%ll change the way you walk./ ,e handed clothes and shoes to #a"e. .4ou can get dressed in here, and then come out and let us ha"e a look at you. %ll lea"e you to it. 7all if you need anything./ ,e winked at #a"e, and then left the room, shutting the door behind him. #a"e got changed -uickly, being careful not to mess up his new haircut, and then went into the kitchen, buttoning up his suit !acket. .Not like that9/ :ean said. ,e hurried o"er and fussed with the !acket .)iddle button only on a three button suit. There. Now let%s ha"e a look at you./ :ean stood back, and #a"e turned around with his arms out. .2hat do you think3/ he asked. .5erfect,/ Li1a said to :ean. .Looks like some Eurotrash rocker, or a soccer player./ .Thank you, darling. do my best./

.5erfect,/ she said again, this time to #a"e. .8ot a credit card for you. Andreas Schmidt. ,otel room%s booked and paid for, so you shouldn%t need to use it./ .,ow did you get that3/ She shrugged. .+orrowed it./ ,e must ha"e looked horrified, because she laughed. .Actually borrowed it. 0rom one of the guys./ .4ou borrowed someone%s credit card for this3 The cops will be onto him in a second./ .No they won%t. ,e%s got a stack of these. #idn%t ask where this one came from. #oesn%t matter, does it3/ #a"e hesitated. . guess not./ .8reat. So, credit card, hip flask, cell phone, sprayer,/ she said, handing things o"er and watching #a"e fill his pockets. .,ammer./ An old-fashioned looking thing with an oddly shaped head and a wooden handle. .8et this down your trousers. That%ll make you walk funny./ She glanced meaningfully o"er at :ean, and he giggled. .5ri"ate !oke,/ he said to #a"e. .'ne more thing./ Li1a pulled a pair of black leather dri"ing glo"es from her pocket and tossed them to him. .#on%t want you getting fingerprints all o"er the place. Now, you ready3/ #a"e felt his stomach -ui"er, and sternly pulled himself together. t was too late to back out now, and there was really no other option. . %m ready,/ he said, using his mother%s accent. .'kay, then. Let%s go. %ll drop you at the station, and you%ll walk from there./

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2alking into the ntercontinental, #a"e felt oddly calm. Li1a had dropped him at the train station, and he%d used the short walk o"er to the hotel to settle himself down and try to get into character.

,e%d ne"er been much of an actor. A couple of bit parts in school plays, and a couple of student film appearances in college when his roommate, +rian, had had actors -uit on him at the last minute. t had been fun, pretending to be someone else, but he !ust didn%t ha"e the knack for reading dialogue. t always came out of his mouth wrong, stilted, ob"iously something written down rather than sounding natural. .0orget about it,/ Li1a had said when he%d mentioned this in the car. .:ust go with what you%"e got. No time to write a script. 5lay it any way you like. t%s a hotel. 2hate"er you do, they%"e seen weirder./ This, at any rate, was probably true, and #a"e had repeated it to himself like a mantra as he walked up 0eatherston Street. ,e had hesitated !ust a little outside the hotel, then settled his suit !acket more comfortably on his shoulders and walked in. .E$cuse me, miss,/ he said to the woman behind the reception desk. . ha"e a reser"ation. Andreas Schmidt./ E"erything about that, from his phony accent to the words he had picked, sounded fake to him, but the receptionist didn%t e"en look up. .'f course,/ she said, tapping away on a keyboard. .,ere we are, )r Schmidt. &oom ;GL. 4our key,/ she said, pushing a swipe card across the counter towards him./ .Thank you./ .4ou%ll need that to operate the lifts as well, so make sure you ha"e it with you when you lea"e your room./ .Thank you,/ he said again. She ga"e him a minimally friendly smile as he picked up the key, but he barely returned it. Arrogant, he decided, was the way to play it. 'r at least aloof. The less said, the better. ,e swiped himself up to the si$th floor and let himself into his room. t was nearly as big as his apartment, and definitely a lot warmer and drier. The sort of place he would ha"e stayed with +elinda, back when they used to take trips together. Not the sort of place he would ha"e chosen for himself, but +elinda thought that staying in a four and a half star hotel was slumming it almost beyond bearability. Still, he thought, at least it meant he wasn%t intimidated by the decor. ,e tried to imagine Li1a in a place like this, but he couldn%t. 'f course, he knew that she probably made deli"eries here all the time. And if she did happen to be staying in one of the rooms, he couldn%t imagine her being intimidated by the decor. 'r by anything else, for that matter. #a"e looked at his watch. Se"en o%clock. Li1a%s source - the courier who had deli"ered the in"itation - had told her that #iana 2estlake would be attending a party at 5eter :ackson%s from eight. She was probably in her room getting ready. The coast should be clear by half past se"en, but they%d agreed that #a"e should wait until -uarter past eight to make his mo"e. 8i"e her time to get well clear, and gi"e e"eryone else time to go out to their business dinners and shows before he started prowling the hallways acting suspiciously. Not that he was going to be acting suspiciously. ,e hoped. ,e sat down on the bed and channel surfed for about a -uarter of an hour, but he couldn%t pay attention to anything that was on the screen. ,e wished that Li1a was there. ,e wished that anyone was there. E"en a screaming match with +elinda would be a nice distraction. 0inally, he ga"e up trying to find anything worth watching, and left the TC tuned to a shriekingly loud reality show set in a Te$as massage parlour, looking at the screen without really taking much in. E"ery couple of minutes, he would touch the pockets of his !acket, checking for the hip flask full of green tea "odka in one, and the screw on misting no11le adapted from a can of 2#-@G in the other. Li1a had worked on that the night before, swearing and rummaging through a litter of parts on the kitchen table while #a"e had made dinner. t had been an ama1ingly domestic e"ening, and not at all like his life with +elinda. The closest he and +elinda had come to a -uiet night in at home in the last fi"e years was !ust before the trial started, when she%d been accosted by reporters e"ery time she had left the house.

They%d spent two weeks% worth of e"enings together, trying to find things to talk about o"er dinner and then sitting in awkward silence through whate"er was on the TC. t had been the first real time they had spent together in years, and it had been awful. %m not to wait for her to lea"e me, #a"e resol"ed. 2hen get through this, %m going to di"orce her. 2hen get through this. Not if. The TC was blasting out the closing credits of the reality show, and #a"e turned it off. The butterflies were still making themsel"es at home in his stomach, but he was almost getting used to them. ,e went to the bathroom, washed his hands, and checked his face in the mirror. Still okay. ,is cheek was starting to itch under the late$ of the fake scar, but he didn%t want to touch it in case he picked it loose or something. ,e dried his hands on a thick grey towel, pulled on Li1a%s black leather glo"es, then checked the contents of his pockets one last time. 2allet, empty e$cept for twenty dollars and Andreas Schmidt%s credit card. ,ip flask. )ister. The plasticky bulk of the disposable cellphone that Alistair 7o$%s men had left for him. t probably didn%t weigh more than a couple of ounces, but e"ery time he felt it sitting at the bottom of his pocket it made his skin crawl. t was a disposable phone anyway, and there was nothing he wanted more than to be rid of it. +ut not long now. ,e took one last deep breath, then let himself out of his room, checking the hallway casually. Empty. Li1a had said it would be, but in his imagination, it had been bustling with people, all of them watching him from the corner of their eyes or looking o"er his shoulders to see what he was up to. +ut no, it was empty. ,e walked -uietly down the carpeted hallway, checking the room numbers as he went. There. ;G?. The door was tucked around a corner, in"isible unless you were right ne$t to it. t couldn%t ha"e been more perfect if #a"e had asked for it. ,e opened the hip flask and screwed the mister in place o"er the mouth, then looked around again, trying to seem casual. 2asted effort - the hallway was still empty. ,e ga"e the mechanism of the card locker a couple of sprays of the "odka, then heated it up as hot as he could make it. ,e didn%t know what he was e$pecting, but the little click and puff of smoke drifting from the side of the lock was "ery satisfying. ,e pulled down cautiously on the door handle, and the door swung open. ,e slipped into the room and closed the door behind him, setting the chain lock on the door. t wouldn%t help him if he were disco"ered, but it made him feel irrationally better. nside, the room was dark, with a slash of street-light orange coming through a crack in the curtains. ,e couldn%t bring himself to turn the lights on, so it would ha"e to be enough. ,e waited for a minute while his eyes ad!usted. +ed, desk, table and chairs. ,e couldn%t see anything that looked like a safe from where he stood, so he began to mo"e carefully into the room. There9 +y the bed. t was a s-uat cube of metal, nearly a metre on a side, looking ominous and impenetrable. And hea"y. ,e couldn%t imagine the sort of person who would tra"el with something like this. An eccentric, of course, and one with enough money to tip the hell out of the bellboy who had to bring it up to the room. #a"e s-uatted down in front of the safe and inspected it. There was the lock. ,e put the end of the mister into the lock and pumped the handle a do1en times. A bead of "odka trickled out the lock and down the front of the safe. The whole mechanism must be soaked, he thought. At least, hope it is. ,e set his glo"ed fingertips against the safe door and heated the "odka up, then chilled it down. ,e heard a little crack from inside the safe as it set hard. A little more, he thought. +etter safe than sorry. ,e pumped in more "odka, and began the cycle again. ,ot, then cold. ,ot and cold. ,e could hear things cracking from inside the safe. 'r was that someone in the hallway3 ,e fro1e, holding his breath and straining to hear. No. Nothing. 7arry on. 'ne more. ,ot, and cold. 7old as you can go. 8ood. ,e put the hip flask back in his pocket, lea"ing the mister in place. 'kay, now the tap. ,e really hoped that there was nobody here for this bit. ,e untucked his shirt from his pants, undid his belt, and eased the hammer out from the loop on his waistband where it was

hanging. ,e paused for another minute, listening for any sound in the hallway, but there was nothing. 'kay. ,e tapped the safe door sharply with the hammer and heard something shatter. ,e took hold of the handle and pulled. The safe swung open. There was the necklace. Lying on a "el"et stand, and looking e$actly like something out of a mo"ie, or a promotional "ideo for a diamond merchant. ,e snatched it up and stuffed it into his inside coat pocket. All of a sudden, all the ner"ousness he had been e$pecting to feel while he did the !ob welled up, and he felt himself starting to shake. ,e stood up, and fumbled with the hammer, trying to get it back on its loop where it belonged. t felt like fore"er before it was safely tucked away and his shirt was neatly tucked in again. 'kay. Time to go. ,e crept up to the door and slid the chain off its lock. Silence from the hallway. ,e hoped that nobody had crept up on the room while he was cracking the safe, waiting to collar him as soon as he opened the door. +ut if he waited in the room he%d get caught anyway. +etter to open the door. ,e pushed it open, cautiously at first, but there was nobody there. 8ood. ,e closed it behind him and took off his glo"es. Safe. Almost safe. ,e didn%t meet anyone in the corridor, and the lift, when it arri"ed, was empty as well. Thank 8od. ,e wanted to slump against the wall and cry, but he didn%t. That would be a "ery hard thing to e$plain away if the lift stopped to pick anyone else up. +ut it didn%t. t went straight down to the lobby. #a"e got out, nodded to the woman at reception, and walked out the door. Li1a was waiting for him in a car park by the waterfront, slouched low in the dri"er%s seat of her car. .,ow%d you go3/ she asked casually, as if #a"e had !ust been out picking up a few groceries. #a"e nodded, and touched his pocket .8ot it,/ he said. ,e wanted to show her, but he knew that was stupid. .8ood,/ Li1a said. .Let%s make the call./ #a"e%s phone seemed to spring in his hand of its own accord. Speed dial one. The phone rang twice, and was answered. . %"e got what we talked about. 2e need to meet, tonight./ .>araka +ay !etty. 'ne hour./ The phone went dead. #a"e hung up, and set the phone down. .2e%re on,/ he said to Li1a. .>araka +ay !etty, in an hour./ .#amn,/ Li1a said. . don%t want this shit in my car for an hour./ . know./ .0uck it. Let%s go for a dri"e./

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>araka +ay !etty was dark and deserted. n the summer, it would still be light at this time of night, and there would be families fishing from the end of the !etty. Now, though, it was cold and windy, and e"en the fancy houses across the street had their curtains shut. There couldn%t be a better place in 2ellington for a secret hando"er. 'r an assassination, #a"e thought uneasily, rubbing his hands together for warmth.

Li1a was waiting in the car down the road. . %ll be watching you,/ she had told him when she let him out. .+e right there the second anything goes funny./ . really hope it doesn%t come to that,/ he had said. .)e too,/ she had replied, but there was a look in her eye that suggested she was lying. She%d probably like nothing better than to mi$ it up with some local toughs. .8otta be prepared, though./ . guess so./ ,e wished he had brought a warmer !acket. The suit was certainly memorable, but it wasn%t e$actly winter wear, and he had been waiting on the !etty for nearly twenty minutes. A couple of cars had gone past in that time, but none of them had e"en slowed down, much less stopped. ,e was beginning to think that the secret plot Alistair 7o$ really had in mind was !ust to keep him out here until he fro1e to death. A set of headlights came round the corner, mo"ing slowly. #a"e looked at his watch. ,alf past nine. This must be them. The car cruised la1ily along the winding road and turned into the !etty parking bay, illuminating #a"e with its headlights and also cutting off his escape route. (nless he decided to !ump into the ocean. +reathe, #a"e told himself. They%re crooks, but that doesn%t mean this is going to end badly. E"erything%s gone fine up till now. No reason it won%t keep on that way. ,e wanted to look o"er to where Li1a%s car was parked, but he knew that would be a stupid mo"e, e"en if he could see anything apart from the glare of the headlights. The car%s doors opened, and three people got out. 'ne of them stayed by the car, and the other two approached #a"e. They were -uite close before he could make out their faces. 'ne was a small man who he%d ne"er seen before. The other was +ruce. They were looking suspiciously at him, and #a"e realised that they must not recognise him. :ean will be pleased, he thought, taking a step towards them. . was starting to think you weren%t going to show,/ he said. +ruce looked startled. .)r &osewood. .A disguise seemed like a good idea./ . ndeed. take it you were successful3/ didn%t recognise you in that outfit./

.That%s right,/ #a"e said, keeping his "oice admirably steady. .2ell, let%s see what you ha"e./ .'kay./ #a"e reached into his pocket and pulled out the necklace. The smaller man made a mo"e towards it, and #a"e !erked his hand away. .Steady,/ +ruce said. .This is )r Tsokos. 'ur !eweller. ,e%s going to need to inspect your goods./ .0ine,/ #a"e said. .,e can inspect them. +ut you wait by the car. And turn the lights down./ +ruce smiled. .Cery well,/ he agreed. 2hen they were alone at the end of the pier, )r Tsokos pulled out a little lamp and a loupe, which he screwed into his eye. .)ay see the necklace, please3/ he asked. ,e took it from #a"e and studied it closely for a couple of minutes, turning it in the light and muttering to himself. .Cery good,/ he said. .E$cellent./ ,e took the loupe out of his eye and wa"ed at +ruce, who came close enough to talk.

.8ood3/ +ruce asked. .'h, yes,/ )r Tsokos agreed. .)ar"ellous./ .All right then. Take them to the car./ )r Tsokos walked up the pier carrying the necklace with him. +ruce turned to lea"e as well. .,ey,/ said #a"e. .2hat about me3/ . %m sorry3/ .That%s it, right3 2e%re s-uare now. got you what you wanted, and now you%ll lea"e me alone. &ight3 4ou and 7o$ and all of his other guys./ +ruce smiled. .That%s between you and )r 7o$, )r &osewater. +ut it certainly does look that way. ,e%ll be "ery pleased that you%"e made payment so promptly. hope you don%t mind that won%t be gi"ing you a receipt./ . don%t want a receipt. !ust want all of you guys to lea"e me alone./

. think it%s safe to say, )r &osewater, that our business is concluded./ .8ood./ #a"e breathed out. .Now, good e"ening./ +ruce walked up the pier and got into the car. t pulled away, and in another minute it was gone. #a"e felt like singing or shouting, or something, but he made himself walk -uietly back to Li1a%s car and get in. .'kay3/ she asked. .Looked fine from here./ .'kay,/ he agreed. .Let%s go home./

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2hen his alarm went off the ne$t morning, #a"e got up for !ust long enough to lea"e a message at work to say he wouldn%t be in, and then went back to bed until nearly noon. ,e was e$hausted despite the fact that he and Li1a had been home before ele"en the night before, it had been nearly three before he had finally been able to get to sleep. 2hen he finally got up, it was only so he could get his computer to check the news. The heist was the top story, with large type and photo of an aggrie"ed Mand slightly stoned-lookingN #iana 2estlake getting top billing on all three news sites he checked. The press was all o"er the story, with articles about the pro"enance and history of the Star of )ars, articles about #iana 2estlake%s fading career, articles Mof courseN speculating about what this would mean to the new Tolkien film she was supposed to be funding, and articles about the heist itself. #a"e skimmed all of the filler articles, but he read e"ery word that the press printed about the heist. The police had released -uite a bit of information about the broken safe and the fried door lock, and they made the usual appeals for people to come forward, but it didn%t sound good for them. Each of the three articles included the magic phrase .The police ha"e no suspects at this time/. #a"e felt almost sick with relief. ,e had gi"en up on the news sites and was watching the midday news on TC when his cellphone rang. .,ello3/

.,ey, master criminal9/ t was :ean, sounding camper than e"er o"er the phone. .7ongratulations on your daring midnight caper9/ #a"e laughed. .Thanks, think. guess %m not out of the woods yet, though./

.#on%t be so modest. ,a"e you seen the news3 They%"e got no fucking idea what happened. 4ou%re a natural. 4our parents would be so proud./ .)y parents9 Shit, %d better call them and let them know e"erything%s okay now. is okay now./ guess e"erything

.'f course it is. E"erything%s splendid, master criminal./ The phone went silent for a minute. .Anyway, called to in"ite you to a celebration./ .A celebration3 'f what3/ .4our success, of course9 s there anything else going on that we should be celebrating3/ . don%t think so,/ #a"e said. .Nothing in my life, anyway./ This whole con"ersation seemed a little odd, but when he stopped to think about it, his whole life had become pretty cra1y o"er the last couple of weeks. )aybe ha"ing celebratory drinks with the "irtual stranger who had helped him with his illegal acti"ities was the logical ne$t step. .Nothing in my life either, yet,/ :ean said. .4et3/ . %m hoping to ha"e something to celebrate real soon, if you know what mean./ #a"e had no idea, but he laughed politely. .2ell, guess a celebration sounds good,/ he said. .8reat. II?+ +aker Street, tonight. 4ou know it3/ .4eah, know it./ t was probably one of 2ellington%s fi"e fanciest bars, a place that had been too hip for him to consider going to e"en when he had been able to afford it. ,e couldn%t imagine taking Li1a to a place like that, but he guessed :ean knew her better than he did. . guess %ll ha"e to do some laundry,/ he said, half to himself. .2hat time3/ he asked :ean. .AKFG. %ll book us a booth./ .'kay, sounds good. See you there at AKFG./ .7an%t wait,/ :ean trilled, and then he hung up. #a"e checked the time difference to San 0rancisco and then dialled his parents% number. ,is mother answered on the third ring. .,ello3/ .,i, )om. t%s me./ .#a"id9 %"e been worried about you. ,ow is e"erything3/ .2ell,/ #a"e hesitated. 5utting aside paranoid conspiracy theories about what kind of information the (S go"ernment could pick out of his phone calls, how much did he want to tell his parents about what had happened3 They%d probably understand why he%d done what he%d done, but he could almost guarantee that they wouldn%t appro"e. That they%d be disappointed in him. And to be fair, he%d probably be disappointed himself, in their place. .E"erything%s okay, )om,/ he said at last. .Are you sure3 4ou don%t sound like e"erything%s okay. 2hat time is it o"er there3/

. t%s !ust after midday,/ he said. . %"e taken the day off./ .Are you sick3/ .Not really. :ust a little run down or something. t%s been pretty cra1y here./ .And what%s happening with +elinda and that man who%s been bothering you about money3/ .2ell, think that really is okay. don%t think he%ll be bothering me anymore./

.4ou shouldn%t take risks with people like that, #a"id. The last time we spoke, you were planning to come home. #on%t you think that would be the best thing to do3/ #a"e sighed. .,onestly, )om, e"erything%s working out o"er here. %m still thinking about it, but %m fine here for now./ . f you%re sure, #a"id. 4ou know you%re always welcome here, and if there%s anything you need from us, all you ha"e to do is ask./ . know that, )om. And appreciate it. 4ou know that./ ,e could hear his mother sighing down the phone. .4es, know that, #a"id. sometimes. Especially when you tell me things like you did the other week./ !ust worry about you

. can understand that. t had me pretty worried too. +ut e"erything%s going to be fine now./ . hope so./ . t is. &eally./ .2ell, let us know if it isn%t. And keep us in mind if you decide you%"e had enough o"er there. 2e%d lo"e to ha"e you li"ing closer to us again./ . %d like that too. +ut think need to get my life into order here first. Sort things out with +elinda. don%t want to ha"e that hanging o"er my head fore"er./ .2hat do you mean Dsort things out with +elinda%3/ his mother asked sharply. .,as something else happened3/ .No, )om. Nothing else has happened. Actually, was thinking about getting a di"orce. 5utting all of this stuff behind me once and for all./ ,e hadn%t been thinking about it until the words were out of his mouth, but as soon as he said it, #a"e knew that was what he wanted. .That%s an e$cellent idea, #a"id9 4our father will be so pleased to hear it./ .2ell, don%t tell him yet. .'f course./ . should probably go now. %ll try to get in and talk to +elinda this week, or early ne$t week. %ll email you and let you know what happens./ .All right. 2e%ll be thinking about you. 7all us if you need us./ .Thanks, )om. Lo"e you./ . lo"e you too, #a"id./ .+ye./ ha"en%t spoken to +elinda yet, and guess should do that first./

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.Are you sure about this3/ #a"e muttered to Li1a as they stood in front of II?+ +aker St. Li1a ad!usted the chains on her !acket and rolled her eyes at him. . t%s a bar. They don%t ha"e a dress code./ .4es, they do./ #a"e pointed to the densely printed sign ne$t to the door. .And this isn%t on it./ ,e gestured to his own artfully distressed !eans and baro-uely biker leather !acket. . should ne"er ha"e let you pick an outfit for me for tonight./ .2hate"er. :ean will lo"e it./ Li1a shouldered the door open. .4ou%d lo"e it if you weren%t so paranoid. +esides, it goes with the hair./ #a"e reached up and touched the curls of his mullet. . can%t belie"e you talked me into keeping this./ .,ey, it looks good./ ,e shook his head. . t%s so tacky. And memorable. minute./ feel like the cops are going come grab me any

. f they ha"e you on camera. And if they%re looking for you. And if they can tell it%s you without the nose and the scar and the contacts./ Li1a rolled her eyes at him. .Not going to happen. 7ome on./ She gestured insistently and he followed her into the bar, e$pecting to be kicked out by an outraged staff member at any minute. t didn%t happen. n fact, nobody e"en seemed to notice them as they walked through the low-roofed main room towards the booths along the back wall. .#a"e9/ :ean called while they were still at least half a room away. ,e stood up and wa"ed to them, resplendent in a red smoking !acket and tu$edo pants. .And Li1a, you%re here too. know whose idea this outfit was9 Cery cute. Sit down, make yoursel"es comfortable, and let%s ha"e a drink./ ,e hugged them both, sat them down in the booth, and summoned a waiter to the side of the table before #a"e knew what was happening. .Scotch and soda for me./ ,e leaned o"er the table towards #a"e. . always think it%s important to match your drinks to your surroundings, don%t you3/ .Sure, guess./ #a"e didn%t know what to say. .Another scotch and soda for my handsome companion, and make sure you use the good stuff,/ :ean instructed. .Li1a3/ .No way. +eer./ :ean shook his head. .And a beer for the lady./ The waited tapped an order into his 5#A, and mo"ed onto the ne$t table. .So, #a"e,/ :ean asked, .ha"e you e"er been here before3 know you ha"en%t, darling,/ he said to Li1a with a smile. .This isn%t your usual choice of place./ .Not so bad,/ Li1a said, looking around. .8uess %ll ha"e to come here more often./ :ean laughed. .E$cellent, darling9 And you3/ .No,/ #a"e said. . %"e ne"er been here before. 2e - %"e been in"ited to a couple of things here, but ne"er went./

.A terrible waste. Ah, here are our drinks. A toast9/ :ean e$claimed, raising his glass. .To our master criminal, and his successful endea"ours9/ #a"e s-uirmed a little in his seat, wishing that :ean would talk a little more -uietly, but nobody seemed to be paying them any attention. ,e clinked glasses with Li1a and :ean, and then drank. ,e wasn%t usually much of a scotch drinker, but this was certainly going down well. ,e took another large swallow and settled back into the corner of the booth. . can%t belie"e what you%"e done to this handsome man,/ :ean was saying to Li1a. . t should be a crime to dress a man like that up in clothes like yours. Not to mention that they%re far too big for him./ .2hat3 Thought you liked them rough./ .,a9 think we both know you%re talking about yourself, Li1a./

.4eah3 2hat about :erry3/ .2hat about )andy3 She was butcher than a truckers% con"ention. #o you remember the time security tried to bar her from the women%s changerooms before that match in Auckland3/ Li1a and :ean both laughed, and then :ean launched into an incomprehensible reminiscence about people #a"e had ne"er heard of. ,e smiled, sipped at his scotch and soda, and said nothing, only half-listening to their con"ersation. .And what about you, #a"e3/ :ean asked e"entually. .2hat3/ #a"e tried to replay the last few minutes of con"ersation. .2hat about me3/ .2hat will you do ne$t3 Now that your troublesome situation has been resol"ed, what plans do you ha"e3/ .8ood -uestion,/ Li1a agreed. .2ell,/ #a"e hesitated. . %m not sure. hadn%t really thought about it./

.4ou should think about it9 4ou and Li1a are a great team, and together with me, you would be e"en greater. 2e could do anything9/ .That%s true,/ Li1a said. .+etter than working these day !obs, anyway. Lot of possibilities out there for people with your skills./ . ha"e been wondering about that,/ :ean said. .4ou will ha"e to tell me how you de"eloped those skills, darling. Anyone would think that you were an e$perienced master criminal, but Li1a tells me that you%re practically a "irgin./ #a"e coughed, trying to co"er his awkwardness. . don%t really want to talk about that,/ he said. ,e knew that Li1a "ouched for :ean, and he trusted her, but he wasn%t sure he was really ready to tell people about his cra1y powers. Not while he was still sober, anyway. .)aybe later./ .'f course. +ut what about your plans3/ . don%t really ha"e any. Not for work, anyway. was thinking- . he took a deep breath. . %"e been thinking about getting a di"orce. am. %m going to get a di"orce from +elinda./ Li1a grinned at him, and ga"e him a solid thump on the shoulder. .That%s it. 0irst things first. 8et rid of her, then make plans./ :ean%s eyebrows had raised almost off the top of his head. .)arried3/ he mouthed at Li1a. She nodded. #a"e blushed. .2ell, that certainly calls for another round. 2aiter9 Another round,

please./ The waiter brought their drinks o"er, and :ean raised his glass again. .A toast, to that most e$cellent of institutions, di"orce9 )ay you find happiness./ .#amn right,/ Li1a agreed. .#i"orce,/ #a"e murmured, lifting his own glass. They all drank. . had no idea you were married,/ :ean said. .+elie"e me, wish wasn%t. t was a terrible idea, and it worked out terribly./ #a"e shook his head. Li1a thumped his shoulder again, more gently this time. . t happens,/ she said. .2orked out in the end, though./ . guess,/ #a"e said. . f you count us ha"ing all our accounts fro1en, her getting sent to !ail, and me getting the s-uee1e from Alistair 7o$ as things working out. Not that things were going great before then. n fact, the whole thing was pretty much a disaster from the time we mo"ed to New *ealand. See, +elinda was from New *ealand originally. Little farm outside #unedin. She got some kind of scholarship to Stanford, and that%s where we met. She was sure that when she finished school, she%d be offered some hot-shot !ob from some big company in the States. #idn%t happen. So we ended up coming here instead when ndomitable offered her the !ob. 2hich paid pretty damned well, but ob"iously not well enough for her./ ,e gulped down half of his drink. .Thinking about it, %m pretty sure she only married me for a green card. should ha"e broken it off years ago. 'ne of us should ha"e./ There was silence at the table when he stopped speaking. ,e sighed. .Sorry. 8uess %m being a bit of a downer. !ust want to put all of this stuff behind me and do something good with my life. No more prison "isits and medical supply sales./ .That%s the spirit9/ :ean said. .'nce you put this behind you, anything%s possible./ . %ll drink to that,/ #a"e said. .)e too,/ Li1a agreed. They clicked glasses, downed their drinks, and :ean called for another round.

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.8ood morning, #a"e9/ &ose seemed to bellow when #a"e crept into work the ne$t morning. .)orning,/ he croaked back at her. ,is head was pounding, and his stomach felt like it was balancing on the "ery edge of re"olt. ,e had no idea how late he, Li1a and :ean had been out last night. ,e couldn%t remember "ery much that had happened after the si$th scotch, but he had a "ague memory of staggering down 7ourtenay 5lace between Li1a and :ean, cheerfully shouting at passing cars. ,e thought he remembered more drinking after that, and possibly the back of a ta$i, but he wasn%t at all sure about anything. 2hen he had opened his eyes that morning, the first thing he had seen was a fresh bottle of water, on his bedside table. The second thing was an unopened packet of ibuprofen, with a note folded underneath them. ,e had thought it must ha"e been from Li1a, but the handwriting was nothing like hers. t was from :ean. Take two of these and call me in the morning, the note had said. ,eck, take fi"e or si$. 4ou%ll probably need them. +ut gi"e me a call anyway. And then a cellphone number, in big bold figures with two lines drawn beneath it.

,e had taken four ibuprofen, washing them down with half the bottle of water. t had been a struggle, but he managed to keep them down. ,e had set the rest of the packet on the futon ne$t to Li1a on his way to the bathroom, where he had taken a long shower and dressed for work. ,e was impressed that he had made it in to work at all, but of course, &ose wouldn%t see it that way. . think you%re actually sick,/ she said, sarcastically, but also unpleasantly loudly. .:ackie9 #a"e%s here. And think he%s actually sick./ :ackie popped her head out of her office. .#a"e. 8lad you made it./ She didn%t sound glad at all. .7ome into my office for a minute, won%t you./ This wasn%t good. #a"e went into her office and sat down, gritting his teeth as his stomach roiled. .2hat%s the problem3/ he asked. ,e knew that this was a tactical mistake, but he hoped :ackie would get whate"er it was out of her system so he could go to his office and lie down for a while. :ackie sniffed the air. . don%t think you%re sick at all. ,a"e you been drinking3/ .A little. Last night./ . see./ :ackie sat down behind her desk and stared at #a"e until he started to feel uncomfortable. This was ob"iously going to be worse than he had thought. .Look, could we !ust get on with it3/ :ackie sniffed again, this time with disappro"al. .2ell, #a"e, the problem is you. %"e got some serious concerns with your performance at work./ .'f course you do,/ #a"e said sarcastically, much to his own surprise. .4es, as it happens, do. '"er the past si$ months, your sales ha"e fallen steadily, and now they%re substantially lower than anyone else%s. 4our reports are consistently late, your "isits to clients are down, and to be frank, you%"e got a problem with absenteeism./ .Absenteeism,/ #a"e said flatly. ,is stomach was under control now, but he was losing his grip on his temper. .Absenteeism,/ :ackie agreed. .4ou know "ery well that you%"e had a lot of time off work o"er the past few months, between your annual lea"e and special lea"e. t would be less of a problem if your absences had all been scheduled, but they ha"en%t been. 2hy is that./ . don%t know, :ackie. )aybe it%s because my wife got sent to prison./ #a"e%s "oice raised as he spoke, and he was -uite sure that &ose could hear him "ery clearly from reception. She was probably lo"ing it, too, he thought. . understand that, but this is a business, and it needs to run like a business. That means that need to know that my employees are going to be at work and working when they%re scheduled to be working. don%t know that about you, #a"e, and want to know what you%re proposing to do about it./ #a"e was suddenly furious. .2ell, :ackie. your ass./ thought might start by telling you to stick your !ob up

:ackie sat back in astonishment, and #a"e smiled in spite of himself. ,is anger was making his headache come back, but he didn%t care. . beg your pardon3/ :ackie said. .4ou heard me. This is bullshit. This whole place is a !oke. %"e been ha"ing a ma!or crisis in my life, and all you care about is how to s-uee1e more work out of me. 2ell, you can s-uee1e someone else, because %m though9 ,ear that, &ose3/ he shouted. . know you%re listening. 2ell, hope

you%re both happy, because am. This is the worst place ha"e e"er worked, and you are the worst people %"e e"er worked with. And %m through./ ,e stood up, pushing his chair back "iolently as he did. .That clear things up for you at all3/ . don%t think you%re being rational about this, #a"e,/ :ackie said. .)aybe not, but %m doing the right thing for once in my life, and think that%s more important. %m out of here./ Li1a will be proud of me when tell her about this, #a"e thought. might not know what %m doing with my life now, but know %ll be happier not doing this. ,e turned and marched out of :ackie%s office, out past reception, where &ose was listening with her mouth open, out the door and down the street to catch a bus home.

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.#a"e. 2hat are you doing back3/ Li1a croaked from the depths of the futon as #a"e opened the front door. ,e took some satisfaction from the fact that she was ob"iously suffering almost as much as he was, which meant that she didn%t ha"e the magical capacity for infinite alcohol that she seemed to ha"e. ,e dropped into the armchair beside her and helped himself to a couple more ibuprofen from the packet, which was still lying on the futon where he had dropped it when he%d left for work. . -uit my !ob,/ he said with a hea"y sigh. .8reat9 That place was shit for you. 8otta be pleased with that./ ,e shrugged. . t was good at the time. was getting pretty tired of taking shit from :ackie and &ose, and to tell you the truth, when they started up this morning !ust decided to tell them what thought of them. 'r maybe not e"en decided. t !ust seemed to happen./ .D+out time./ Li1a sat up, and held out her hand for the ibuprofen. ,e handed her the package, and went to the kitchen to pour her some water. .Not happy, though, are you3/ she said, taking the glass he offered her. #a"e shook his head. .At first, was thrilled. felt like a million bucks when walked out of there. +est decision %d e"er made in my life. +ut then at the bus station, had a while to wait before the ne$t bus, so got myself a coffee. And was handing o"er the money for it, and realised. %m broke. 5ractically broke, anyway. %"e got enough money in my bank account to co"er two weeks of rent and food, and then really am broke. #amn it9/ ,e slammed his fist into the arm of his chair. .This has been hard enough. ,a"ing the house repossessed, the car, practically e"erything else, for that matter. )o"ing into this place. +ut at least had a !ob, enough money to get by from one week to the ne$t. Now don%t e"en ha"e that./ Li1a nodded, but she didn%t say anything. They sat together in silence for a couple of minutes. .So what are you thinking3/ she asked e"entually. . don%t know. %m thinking shouldn%t ha"e -uit, that%s for sure. %m thinking maybe should go crawling back and apologise, say was ha"ing a bad day or something./ .#on%t do that./ .2hy not3 don%t e$actly like the idea of mo"ing again, and especially not when %d be mo"ing into a cardboard bo$ on 7ourtenay 5lace. need that !ob, Li1a./ .No you don%t,/ Li1a said firmly. .4ou need money. Any money%s fine. That !ob, another !ob, sugar daddy, bank robbery, Lotto winnings. t%s all money./

. %m not robbing a bank,/ he said, unable to keep a little smile off his face. Li1a grinned back. .#idn%t say you had to. :ust an option./ . like some of your other options better./ .Sugar daddy3 4ou%"e got the legs for it./ .4eah, right./ .Sure you do. Ask :ean./ 0or some reason, #a"e found his face heating up. .No,/ he said. Li1a !ust looked at him, perfectly calm. .+ut you%re right. There are other !obs out there. And guess it doesn%t ha"e to be a good !ob or anything. Not at the moment. Anything will be fine as long as it pays the bills./ .There you go,/ Li1a agreed. .5lenty of work out there./ She looked at the battered plastic 7asio on her wrist. .Shit. +etter get mo"ing. 8otta ha"e one of us bringing the bacon./ #a"e pulled his laptop onto his lap and turned it on. .+y the time you get back, it%ll be two of us again./

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2hen his cellphone rang se"eral hours later, it nearly scared #a"e out of his skin. ,e was deep in the online !ob ads, and !ust about coming to the conclusion that there wasn%t a single !ob within a hundred kilometres of 2ellington that he was actually -ualified to do. )om and #ad were right, he thought, setting the laptop back on the coffee table and fumbling in his pocket for his phone. should ha"e gone on to med school. Then at least %d ha"e skills that were always in demand. ,e finally got the phone out of his pocket. .,ello3/ .)r &osewood. This is Alistair 7o$./ #a"e fro1e. ,e had to force his hand to loosen its grip on his phone before he crushed it. .2hat do you want3/ he asked, his mouth dry. .No need to sound so worried. !ust called to thank you for your efforts. )y people ha"e had the items "alued, and it seems you ha"e more than paid off your debt to me./ .8ood./ .That being the case, ha"e a proposition for you./ don%t like the sound of that, #a"e thought to himself. .2hat3/ he asked. . was wondering whether you would be interested in undertaking more !obs of a similar nature. 4ou seem to ha"e a natural talent for this sort of work./ .No9/ #a"e practically shouted. ,e took a deep breath and began again. . %m sorry, )r 7o$, but %m not interested. As far as %m concerned, that was a one-time thing./ .That%s disappointing, )r &osewood. would urge you to reconsider./

.Look, %m not interested. And %m not going to change my mind./

. see./ There was silence on the line. .)r &osewood, %"e got some associates in the police force, and they%"e told me that there are some "ery interesting circumstances about a case they%re in"estigating at the moment./ .&eally,/ #a"e said flatly. .'h yes. They%re all -uite perple$ed./ .2ell, %m sorry to hear that./ . was hoping that you could enlighten me as to your methods. 4ou really do seem to ha"e stumbled onto something -uite new, you know./ .Look, %m sorry. +ut %"e told you, that was a one-time deal, and !ust want to put it behind me now. 'kay3/ .'f course. Though can%t help but be disappointed./ .2ell, %m sorry to hear that, but won%t change my mind./ . see. 2ell, in that case, goodbye, )r &osewood./ .8oodbye./ #a"e hung up. ,e was shaking, and he couldn%t sit still. ,e tried to go back to his !ob searching, but he couldn%t concentrate. diot, he told himself. #id you really think that you%d be able to pull something like that off for someone like 7o$ and that%d be the end of it3 ,e heard a noise outside and !umped, half e$pecting to see +ruce come through the door, but nobody did. need to get out of here for a while, he thought. ,e called Li1a, but there was no answer. ,e thought about lea"ing a message, but in the end he !ust hung up. ,e sat for a couple of minutes, thumbing through the contacts on his phone and tapping ner"ous fingers on the armrest of his chair. There was nobody in his list that he could imagine calling at a time like this. ,is parents, perhaps, but they would only worry. E"eryone else he had known before +elinda was sent to prison seemed impossibly distant now, as if they were part of someone else%s life. Looking around the room, his eye fell on the half-empty package of ibuprofen and the note from :ean. 7all me, it had said. And why not3 f there was anyone in the world apart from Li1a who would understand how he felt, it was :ean. ,e created a new contact in his phone, and entered :ean%s details. ,e hesitated for a second, but then he pressed 7all, and heard the phone start to ring.

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Sitting in the "isitors% room waiting for +elinda to be brought in, #a"e found it hard to belie"e how much had happened in the last two weeks. t felt like two months, or maybe two years. Two weeks ago he%d been sitting here stressing about how much time at work he was missing. Not anymore. ,e had looked at the !ob ads on the weekend, but he hadn%t found much. t didn%t really seem like there was much out there. ,e%d wanted to feel depressed about that, but Li1a wouldn%t let him. .8et o"er it,/ she%d said. .4ou%"e got skills, you%ll find a way to use them. Not worth worrying about./ And surprisingly enough, he hadn%t. 7onsidering what he and Li1a had accomplished so far, it seemed ridiculous to worry about something as minor as finding another !ob before his sa"ings account ran dry. A mo"ement in the corner of his eye made him look up. +elinda was walking towards him, grim and unsmiling as e"er. .4ou%re here,/ she said, sitting down opposite him, but looking off to one side.

.That%s right,/ he replied. The silence that followed would ha"e felt awkward to #a"e back when he was still trying to feel like he cared for her. Now, though, it didn%t bother him at all. ,e wondered whether it bothered her, but he found that he didn%t really care either way. A few weeks ago, he probably would ha"e hoped that it did bother her, all the while suspecting that it didn%t. That would ha"e upset him, then, but it didn%t now. n fact, he almost found it funny, especially when he thought how desperately +elinda had probably wanted to be rid of him for the last couple of years. ,e really had no idea why their marriage had lasted as long as it had. +ut not to worry. t wouldn%t last much longer. .This probably isn%t the best timing for you,/ he began, .but can%t let this wait./ ,e thought he was speaking "ery calmly, but something in his tone made her look at him. . don%t know when things went wrong for us, but do know they%re really wrong now. And don%t know whether we could fi$ what%s wrong if we tried to./ ,e paused for a minute, suddenly feeling ner"ous. +ut feeling ner"ous doesn%t make any of this less true, he told himself sternly. 4ou%re probably feeling ner"ous because you know it%s been true for so long and you%re only !ust getting around to admitting it. ,e licked his lips, and continued. .Actually, to tell you the truth, don%t e"en want to try. guess that%s how broken things are. !ust want to mo"e on./ .#o you3/ t wasn%t really a -uestion. +elinda sounded bored and angry, but #a"e thought he could detect something else as well. ,e wasn%t sure what it was, or what he wanted it to be. 0ear3 ,ope3 ,e had no idea. ,e took a deep breath, and let it all out in a rush. . want a di"orce./ +elinda didn%t say anything. She didn%t e"en mo"e. She sat, unblinking, like a li1ard on a warm rock. #a"e ga"e her a minute, but it became ob"ious she had no intention of saying anything. . wanted to make things work, and tried to make them work for years. 0or a long time after it was really ob"ious that there was probably no point in trying. %m not sure why did, but don%t want to do it anymore. And don%t think you want to do it either. think this is the best thing for both of us./ +elinda was still sitting there, silent and unmo"ing. Then her lips twitched, !ust a little. .4ou%re right,/ she said, with something like a smile on her face. #a"e hardly remembered the last time he%d seen her smile, or e"en approach a smile. . am3/ .4ou know you are. This whole thing is between us is !ust a disaster, and it%s going nowhere but down./ ,e nodded. . know. %m sorry./ .#on%t be./ +elinda reached across the table and took his hand. #a"e was ama1ed. . t%s not your fault. %m not saying it%s my fault either, but it%s not your fault. %m not sure how imagined things would be between us, but nothing worked out the way that hoped. didn%t get the career wanted, didn%t ha"e the success thought %d ha"e. Nothing worked out. hated e"erything about it. hate e"erything about it./ She took her hand back, frustration and anger in her face, but #a"e knew it wasn%t directed at him, and he was surprised to find that he actually felt sorry for her. . wanted to blame you for e"erything, and it made me furious to know was being so unreasonable. There was no way things were e"er going to work, no matter what happened. think we both know that./ . guess we do. should ha"e said something earlier./

.'ne of us should ha"e said something earlier./

.2ell, that%s not important. Look, know the timing on this sucks, but couldn%t wait. want to get on with my life, and it sounds like you do too./ ,e saw her lips tighten. .Sorry. guess that was pretty insensiti"e./ She shook her head. . t was, but it%s fair enough. There%s no point putting you through any more of this./ ,e shrugged. . don%t think there%s much can do from in here, but if you can arrange things out there without me, won%t contest the di"orce. After all,/ she said with another odd little smile, .it%s not like %"e got a whole lot of property left for you to make a claim on./ 0or a minute, #a"e thought back to their last meeting, and he wondered whether she really did ha"e a couple of million of Alistair 7o$%s money tucked away somewhere, but he said nothing. Things were going well, and there would be nothing to be gained by asking her about it and making her angry. And e"en if she did ha"e the money, he didn%t want it anyway. ,e didn%t want a thing that had come through 7o$%s hands. .8uess not,/ was what he said. .'kay, then./ She slapped her hands on her thighs and straightened up. . %m glad that%s resol"ed./ .So am ,/ he said. .4ou know, coming in here, would ne"er ha"e e$pected things to turn out like this, but %m glad they ha"e. didn%t really want to start another fight or anything. think we%"e done enough of that in the past couple of years./ . think you%re right,/ +elinda said, standing up. .4ou%ll let me know what you find out about whether we can do this now./ #a"e stood up as well. . %ll look into it in, and %ll come and see you in a couple of weeks to let you know what %"e found out./ .4ou don%t ha"e to do that, you know. 4ou could send a letter./ ,e shrugged. . could do that, but it seems wrong, somehow. +ut if you%d rather sent a letter, will./ .That%s okay./ She ga"e him another little smile. . t might be nice to see you again and not ha"e to spend all that energy being angry with you./ .All right. %ll see you in a couple of weeks./ ,e hesitated for a second, feeling awkwardly like he should hug her or shake her hand or something, but not knowing what to do. She laid her hand on his arm for a second, then said goodbye and turned away. ,e waited a minute, letting her lea"e, then left himself, feeling lighter than he had in years.

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.8ood news,/ #a"e called, opening the front gate and walking down the side of the house to his front door. . n fact, scratch that. Not good news. 8reat news. Ama1ing news. 2hat the hell has happened here3/ The flat was a mess. The armchair had been knocked into one corner of the room, and the coffee table was lying on its side in another, with its contents all o"er the room. The futon back had been slammed into the wall hard enough to crack it, and it was dusted with flakes of plaster and paint chips.

And in the middle of the futon was Li1a, holding an icepack to her knuckles, an opened beer sitting by her foot. .Little dust-up,/ she said. .Nothing ma!or./ .Nothing ma!or3 Are you kidding me3 t looks like you called a wrecking crew in to redecorate./ Li1a looked around and grimaced. .Sorry. Should ha"e tidied up a bit before you get in./ .2hat3 That%s not what meant. 2hat happened in here3 And what happened to your hand3 Are you okay3/ Li1a shifted the icepack, re"ealing swollen knuckles and drying blood. .0ine. :ust punched someone a couple of times, is all./ . can see that,/ #a"e said. .2ho3 And why3/ .Not important,/ Li1a replied, shifting in her seat and looking away. She was a terrible liar, #a"e thought. Almost as bad as am. ,e sat down ne$t to her on the futon. .Look, whate"er happened, it%s fine. can handle it. Tell me./

Li1a refused to meet his eyes, and for a moment he thought she was going to refuse to answer. .+ruce,/ she said in a low "oice. #a"e%s stomach tightened uncomfortably, and he felt light-headed. .,e came here3 2hat for3/ . don%t know. 2asn%t e$pecting to find me here, though. 8uess he was looking for you./ #a"e was sure he was going to throw up, but he managed to keep it down. .#id he ask for me3/ Li1a ga"e him a -uick, choppy nod. .5retty pissed off when said you were out, too. Tried to get into the bedroom to look for you. #idn%t like it when told him he couldn%t./ .4ou stopped him3/ Li1a nodded again. .2hy3 t%s not like was in the bedroom./ .5rinciple,/ Li1a said shortly. She seemed to think for a minute, then turned around and looked at him. .7an%t let someone like that walk all o"er you, #a"e. Need to draw a line, and then you need to stick to it. No backing down./ . drew a line last week, when talked to 7o$./ .>now you did. Now he%s pushing you on it. Time to stick to the line./ #a"e shi"ered in"oluntarily. . know you%re right. +ut %"e got to tell you, 7o$ and his guys scare the shit out of me./ Li1a s-uee1ed his leg with her unin!ured hand. . know they do, tiger. t%ll be okay./ They sat -uietly together for a couple of minutes. .Are you hurt3/ #a"e asked e"entually. .Apart from your hand, mean./ .No. 4ou should see the other guy./ .&eally3/ #a"e found himself smiling. .2hat did you do to him3/ .+roke his nose./ Li1a held up her swollen hand. .:ust about broke my hand on it, too./ .Shit, Li1a. ,e%s not going to be happy with you./

.#on%t think he%ll be back for seconds, though. Told him %d rip open his ballsack if he did./ #a"e found himself laughing as she spoke. .And you know %ll do it./ . know you will,/ he said. . bet +ruce knows it too./ ,e shook his head, still chuckling. .8uess %ll need to watch myself for the ne$t little while, hey3/ .)aybe. Think they%"e got the message, though. They tried to fuck with us. 2e fucked back. ,arder./ .4ou think that 7o$ is really the kind of guy to lea"e it at that./ .Not for something important,/ Li1a admitted. .0or something small3 Sure. No point making a big deal of it./ . hope you%re right./ Li1a !ust shrugged. There didn%t seem to be anything more to say. #a"e sat silently beside her, staring at a large plaster chip on the armrest of the futon. .4ou hungry3/ he said e"entually. .Little bit./ She held up her beer bottle. .Thirsty, too./ . %ll go fi$ us something./ . %ll clean this place up,/ Li1a replied, swinging herself to her feet. .No, you sit down. %ll get it. 4ou%"e already done your bit today. 0or the whole week, e"en./ .,ope you%re right,/ Li1a said, and #a"e could hear doubt in her "oice for the first time. .So do ,/ he said.

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Li1a was wrong. They grabbed #a"e the ne$t morning, as he was walking down to the supermarket. ,e had taken his usual route, a -uick walk down a couple of -uiet streets and a shortcut through a little park. The street where they got him had looked deserted. Later, he realised that they had probably been waiting in the parked electrician%s "an, and !umped out behind him once he had gone past, but at the time, all he knew was that there was something o"er his head, he was being held in a grip far too powerful to break out of, and then, hands tied behind his back, he was lying on the floor of a mo"ing "ehicle, going somewhere, for what felt like fore"er. 'f course it had to be 7o$. ,e knew that. After what Li1a had done to +ruce the other night .,a"e you bastards got Li1a3/ he shouted, but his "oice was muffled by whate"er they had o"er his head, e"en to his own ears. There was no reply, and no indication that anyone was e"en listening. ,e tried shouting louder, but still, nothing. Try not to think about it, he told himself. ,e was sure that what Li1a would be saying if she were here. #on%t worry about anything, !ust get through it. 2hate"er it is. 0igure out what%s going on, and then decide what you need to do about it. 8ood ad"ice. ,e felt himself rela$ing, although only marginally, and he took a few deep breaths. t was harder to breathe with his head co"ered, but he tried to reassure himself that that was fine. 4ou%re getting

enough air. 4ou aren%t going to choke. And once we get where we%re going, they%ll probably take this thing off your head. ,e felt the "an, which had been speeding along in a straight line for some time, start to slow and turn. 2e must be getting off the freeway, he thought. +ut where3 ,e had no idea how long they had been dri"ing for, but probably not more than half an hour. 2here would that put us3 The ,utt3 5orirua3 Somewhere like that, anyway. 'utside 2ellington itself, but not far outside. The "an twisted and turned its way onward for se"eral minutes more, taking it relati"ely slowly, and then it turned one final sharp corner and eased slowly to a stop. #a"e heard the front doors bang shut, the "an%s sliding door open, and then he was being picked up under the arms and set on his feet, held in the same unbreakable grip as before. The person holding him propelled him forwards at a brisk pace, not pausing when he stumbled, but not letting him fall either. #a"e felt like he had been picked up by a tornado and was being forced along by the winds, not knowing where he was going to land or if he%d be ali"e once he did. And then he did land, with a bump, in a hard metal chair. ,is arms were untied, briefly, but he didn%t ha"e time to do more than wiggle his fingers and fle$ his wrists before they were tied again, this time to the back of the chair. ,e heard footsteps behind him, walking away, and then there was nothing. 0or a moment, #a"e felt inclined to panic, but at the same time, part of him was starting to get angry. ,e felt oddly cheated that they hadn%t unco"ered his head when they put him in the chair. ,e had been so sure that they would. .,ey9/ he called. .2hat%s going on3 Are you !ust going to lea"e me here fore"er3/ Saying it out loud sent a shi"er through him, but he put it aside. t would make no sense, he thought. 'f course, it didn%t ha"e to make sense. 2hen you thought about it, kidnapping him in broad daylight didn%t make a whole lot of sense either, but maybe that was !ust the way things worked with people like 7o$. Again he felt panic rising up inside him, and again he summoned Li1a to beat it back. +ullshit, she%d say. ,e could almost hear her saying it, and the thought made him smile a little. 7o$ is a businessman. Not a legal business, but he still has to make money. And he makes shitloads of money. 4ou don%t get that by acting cra1y. 4ou%re right, Li1a, he said to himself. 2hate"er this is about, there%s a reason for it. t%s not !ust some sort of cra1y random kidnapping, and it%s probably not e"en !ust re"enge for me turning him down. 7o$ wants something from me. ,e must. #a"e didn%t know how long he sat in the chair, but he did know that he was intensely thirsty and sore when he finally heard the footsteps return. 'nly there were more of them this time - he was sure that he could hear at least two people. ,e heard a scraping noise nearby, and the sound of someone settling into a chair. Then silence, for !ust long enough to be unner"ing. .Take the bag off,/ he heard someone say. 7o$, he was sure. And then the bag was lifted off his head, and he s-uinted as the light hit his eyes. ,e was in a large empty room with a concrete floor and dirty white walls. A warehouse, he guessed. There were a few grimy lou"ered windows in the wall opposite him, and a lot of harsh fluorescents set into the ceiling. There was a flimsy metal card table in front of him, and seated opposite him, Alistair 7o$. .,ello, )r &osewater./ .)r 7o$,/ he replied coldly. .Thank you for coming./ 7o$%s cellphone, which was resting on the table, started to ring and "ibrate, coming perilously close to !umping off the table. .E$cuse me./ 7o$ picked the phone up. .4es3 see. No. No, tell him that%s not acceptable. want it by the end of the week. No later. Tell him

don%t think that would be ad"isable. No. No. &eport back when you lea"e./ 7o$ hung up the phone and looked o"er at #a"e. . %m sorry about that, )r &osewater. +usiness./ #a"e didn%t know what to say. ,e wanted to spit, or shout, but e"erything in him said that that would be a "ery bad idea. ,e pursed his lips, but said nothing for a long moment. .2hat do you want,/ he asked at last, managing to keep his "oice relati"ely le"el. .2hen we last spoke, )r 7o$, told you had some associates on the police force./ 7o$ paused e$pectantly. . remember./ .4ou%ll also remember that told you they were -uite perple$ed about your methods in the 2estlake burglary./ ,e paused again, and #a"e nodded. . t sounds to me as if you%"e come up with something -uite new. And baffling. That could be "ery "aluable to me. So %d like to ask you to reconsider my offer. can assure you, as a member of my team, you would be well compensated, and think you%d agree that it would be a considerable ad"ance on your current position./ 7o$ looked meaningfully at where #a"e%s arms were tied to the chair. #a"e shook his head. . told you, this was a one-off. don%t want to make a career of this./

. %m sorry to hear that. do hope can con"ince you to change your mind./ 7o$ smiled, and #a"e shi"ered. ,e was opening his mouth to reply 7o$%s phone rang again. 7o$ took it out and glanced at the screen. .4ou%ll ha"e to e$cuse me again. hope you will take this time to think about my offer./ #a"e said nothing, and 7o$ stood up, touching the screen of the phone. .4es3 4es./ ,e looked o"er at #a"e, then mo"ed away, turning his back to him. ,is "oice was muffled, but the room%s acoustics were surprisingly good, and #a"e could still hear his side of the con"ersation. .E$cellent. %m "ery pleased to hear that. This weekend3 'f course. )ight suggest my holiday house on 2aiheke sland3 think you%ll find it suitably discreet. 'f course. 'f course. 2hy don%t you ha"e him contact my security man to make the arrangements3 That%s right. 4es. 2e will take care of all of that at this end. 7ertainly. Cery well, )r Liang. %ll tell him to e$pect your call./ 7o$ hung up the phone and walked back to the table. .Another business matter. Now, where were we3 Ah yes, we were discussing your employment with me./ .Look,/ #a"e said, trying to sound firm but nonthreatening, . %m really not interested. And %"e gotta tell you, wouldn%t be cut out for this anyway. don%t know anything about threatening people, kidnapping them off the street, stealing stuff, or anything like that./ .7ome now, )r &osewater. 4ou can hardly e$pect me to belie"e that this was a first effort./ . %m telling you that it was./ .&idiculous9 )y contacts tell me that it was "ery professionally e$ecuted. 7ertainly not the work of a first-timer. There%s no need to be modest, )r &osewater. )y organisation needs your skills, and we are willing to pay generously for them. And you can see that if you choose not to work with us, we can make your life -uite uncomfortable. 8i"en those facts, would ha"e thought that the decision was ob"ious./ . %m sorry,/ #a"e said. .The answer%s still no./ 7o$ stood up, slapping the table with both hands. . %m sure you don%t mean that, )r &osewater. t would seem most unwise. +ut now, ha"e business that can%t put off. 2hy don%t you take a little time to consider my offer, and we can discuss it when get back./ 7o$ made a little gesture, and #a"e heard footsteps receding behind him. . won%t be long, )r &osewater. And do hope you take the time to consider all the alternati"es before you make a final decision./ ,e walked past #a"e, and in a minute, #a"e heard the rattling of a door.

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#a"e had no idea how long he sat in the empty warehouse. t was long enough for his arms to start hurting where they were tied to the chair, and for his legs to become twitchy and restless. And it was certainly long enough for him to start wondering again whether anyone would be back to untie him, or whether 7o$ had decided that the easiest way to take him out of commission was to lea"e him here to die. That%s paranoid, and it doesn%t make any sense, he told himself sternly, but he couldn%t stop himself from worrying. ,e s-uirmed in the chair, but he was efficiently restrained, and after a short effort, he concluded that the only way he%d be getting out of it was if 7o$ let him loose. And that was if 7o$ showed up. 2hen he finally heard the door open again, he was ashamed at how relie"ed he felt. ,e%d known that 7o$ was dangerous and not afraid to use "iolence, but he hadn%t realised that he was capable of something more subtle. t was a great effort for him not to turn around as he heard the footsteps approaching, but he managed it, and he kept a relati"ely calm e$pression as 7o$ sat back down opposite him. .)r &osewater,/ 7o$ said, leaning back in his chair. . hope you%"e taken this opportunity to reconsider my offer./ . ha"e,/ #a"e said. .And can hope that you ha"e decided to accept3/ 5art of #a"e wanted nothing more than to shout 4es o"er and o"er until 7o$ let him out of the chair and out of the warehouse, but he kept -uiet. ,e didn%t trust himself to speak, so he !ust shook his head. . see,/ said 7o$. . s that your final position, ha"ing considered all of the alternati"es3/ . %m afraid so,/ #a"e said. .2ell, )r &osewater, must say that %m disappointed. had a little time to think about it./ felt sure that you would see sense if you

. %m sorry, but there%s !ust no way can do that,/ #a"e said. ,e could hear the tremble in his own "oice, and he hoped that 7o$ couldn%t. .4ou%re refusing my !ob offer3/ #a"e nodded. .And you refuse to show me the remarkable techni-ue you seem to ha"e stumbled on that is pro"ing so troublesome to the police3/ #a"e managed another choppy nod. . n that case, will ha"e to see whether my associates can be more con"incing./ 7o$ focused on something behind #a"e, and nodded. .)r 0armer3/ #a"e heard someone come up behind him, and he turned his head to look. 'h shit, he thought as he saw who it was. +ruce. And he didn%t look happy at all. ,e had a black eye that was "i"idly purple and blue, and there was some sort of construction in surgical tape o"er his nose. .4ou%"e made some new friends, #a"e,/ +ruce said, pulling #a"e%s chair back roughly and coming to stand in front of him. . met them the other day when paid you a "isit./

. can see that,/ #a"e said. ,e was shocked at how calm his "oice sounded. nside, he was screaming. +ut inside that, he felt a little satisfaction at the state of +ruce%s face. 8ood work, Li1a, he thought. . %d hoped that )r 0armer could talk some sense into you then, but unfortunately, it didn%t work out,/ 7o$ said. .)r 0armer is understandably upset by what did happen./ .(nderstandably,/ #a"e repeated. .And ha"e to tell you, one of )r 0armer%s less admirable -ualities is a desire for "engeance. 'f course, if you were to !oin our enterprise, or at least let us in on the secrets of your remarkable success, %m sure he%d be willing to let bygones be bygones. f notJ/ ,is "oice trailed off. #a"e%s heart was pounding, and he wanted nothing more than to get up and run away as fast as he could. ,e strained forward, but his arms were tied tight, and he fell back again. Li1a, #a"e said to himself. 2hat would she say3 .0orget it,/ he said. .Cery well,/ 7o$ said. .)r 0armer3/ A fist dro"e into #a"e%s face, and he felt something gi"e way in his nose. ,is head snapped back, and he started to shout when another fist landed deep in his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. ,e collapsed forward, and the only thing keeping him in his chair was the ropes tying him to it. ,is nose was bleeding. 'ut of the corner of his eye, he could see +ruce coming in again, fists raised, but he couldn%t stop staring at the drops of blood falling from the end of his nose and forming a little pool of blood on the leg of his !eans. And then +ruce came in with the other hand, knocking him in the side of the head and making him see stars. .2ait,/ he gasped. ,e knew he couldn%t handle much of this. .)r 0armer,/ 7o$ said, and +ruce stepped aside. .4es, )r &osewater3 4ou%d like to reconsider my offer3/ .4es,/ #a"e said. . %ll show you how it works./ ,is mind was racing almost too fast to make sense. ,e knew he had to do something, but what3 8et yourself untied, he imagined Li1a saying. And then get the fuck out of there. .E$cellent9 %m delighted to hear it./ . %ll need a cup of tea,/ #a"e said. .+lack, with the teabag left in. And a s-uirt bottle, or something like it./ ,e felt +ruce mo"ing towards him again. . %m serious9/ he said hastily. . %ll show you, but that%s what %ll need to do it. And %ll need to ha"e my hands free./ 7o$ looked thoughtful, but then he nodded. .Cery well. Tea first, and then will ha"e your hands untied. +ut no tricks./ #a"e shook his head, causing drops of blood to fly from his nose and hit the dusty floor. .No tricks,/ he agreed. .)r 0armer,/ 7o$ said. . belie"e there%s a kitchen behind the office. 8o and see if you can get )r &osewater what he has asked for./ +ruce nodded, and walked away. #a"e sat in his chair, watching 7o$. ,e had an idea, but he wasn%t at all sure how it was going to work out. Not only that, his face was killing him, and his stomach was churning like a washing machine. +ut he had to do something, and becoming one of 7o$%s goons wasn%t an option. ,is muscles tensed up, and he concentrated on looking calm and harmless. 2ho am kidding, he thought. probably am harmless. And if this doesn%t work - no9 %m not going to think like that. This is going to work.

+ruce returned with a large mug full of black tea, and a s-uirt bottle of E$it )ould. .This do3/ he asked #a"e, setting them down on the table. #a"e could tell that +ruce would rather be hitting him than talking to him. . s the bottle empty3/ +ruce picked it up and shook it. .5retty nearly,/ he said. .7ould you empty it, please3/ #a"e felt himself calming down as he spoke. This was either going to work, or it wasn%t, but either way, it was the only choice he had. :ust go with it, he told himself in Li1a%s "oice. +ruce unscrewed the top and upended the bottle. A thin trickle of bleach fell onto the concrete. ,e set the bottle back on the table, ne$t to the mug. .Thank you./ #a"e looked across at 7o$. .)y hands3/ .'f course./ 7o$ nodded at +ruce. +ruce mo"ed behind #a"e%s chair and started loosening the ropes. . must say, )r &osewater, this is all -uite fascinating. do hope that this isn%t some sort of elaborate hoa$. would be most unhappy if you were trying to trick me./ The ropes fell away from #a"e%s arms, and he shook his hands out. . %m not trying to trick you, )r 7o$. know this seems odd, but assure you it isn%t a trick./ . certainly hope not./ 7o$ waited for #a"e to finish stretching his fingers out, and then clapped his hands together. .2ell,/ he said. Shall we begin3/ .'kay./ #a"e picked up the mug of tea and took the teabag out. ,e took a little sniff - it seemed pretty strong. 8ood. ,e poured it carefully into the s-uirt bottle, trying to spill as little as possible, then screwed the no11le back onto the bottle and ga"e a few e$perimental puffs. .'kay,/ he said again. . don%t really see where this is going, )r &osewater,/ 7o$ said. .2ell,/ #a"e replied, . can%t really e$plain it, so %ll ha"e to show you. 2hat do, you see, is this./ ,e stood up suddenly, wincing at the pain in his stomach, pi"oted, and s-uirted +ruce s-uare in the face, heating the tea up to boiling as it left the no11le. +ruce screamed and fell to his knees, raising his hands to his face. 7o$, who had been watching with stunned stillness, finally started to mo"e. #a"e turned on him and repeated his trick, pumping the superheated steam furiously towards 7o$ until backed off. ,e turned and sent another blast towards +ruce for good measure, then ran for the door, the bottle still clutched in his hand.

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#a"e ran out of the warehouse and down the road, turning occasionally to look behind him. ,e e$pected to see 7o$ or +ruce coming out of the warehouse to follow him at any minute, but nobody did. ,e came to an intersection and turned right, !ust out of a desire to get out of the warehouse%s line of sight. t didn%t seem to matter which way he turned. The street was deserted, and lined with warehouses and light industry. 0rom the look of the hills around him, he guessed he was somewhere in the ,utt, but he had no idea where. Not near the harbour, he knew, but beyond that, he couldn%t tell. The o"ercast sky ga"e no clue as to what time it was, either. The whole e$perience felt utterly surreal, like something out of a dream.

,e felt appallingly "ulnerable running down the empty streets, but e"ery time he looked behind him, 7o$ and +ruce were nowhere to be seen. 5erhaps %m going to get away with this after all, he thought. +ut can%t get complacent. 0irst step - what should the first step be3 Stop running randomly down these streets and find a place to hide. 'r better yet, get the hell away from here altogether. 2here"er here was. The growling of a poorly-maintained engine behind him made #a"e turn around. ,e wasn%t sure what he was e$pecting, but his subconscious prompted him with helpful images of +ruce trundling down the street in a bulldo1er, or perhaps a light tank. 2hen he saw that it was actually a bus, he could ha"e kissed the ground. There was a stop ahead of him. ,e stopped, and flagged the bus down. .)y 8od, what%s happened to you, mate3/ the dri"er asked as he stepped on board. t took #a"e a minute to realise what he was talking about - he had almost forgotten the pain of his broken nose in the adrenaline of his escape. .Accident,/ he said shortly. .'ff to AOE, are you3 There%s a medical centre right round the corner, you know./ .Long wait,/ #a"e impro"ised. .8oing to a doctor in town. 8ot an appointment in an hour./ Listen to me, he thought. sound like Li1a. . f you say so,/ the dri"er said, closing the doors and pulling out. #a"e walked down the aisle of the almost empty bus. There were a couple of children in uniform sitting near the back door - probably kids cutting class, he decided - and an old lady with a shopping buggy in the seat immediately behind the dri"er. ,e could tell she was fascinated, but trying politely not to stare. ,e mo"ed right to the back of the bus and took a seat in the corner, pulling the hood of his sweatshirt up and slouching down in his seat. t probably wasn%t safe to rela$ yet, he told himself, but he felt himself rela$ing anyway. ,is nose was really starting to hurt, and he didn%t want to know what his face looked like. &ecognisable, that was for sure, although with his mullet and his old hoodie he probably fit right in here, e"en with the broken nose. ,e needed to get off the streets, but where3 Not home. 7o$ probably wouldn%t send people o"er there right away, but there was no -uestion he%d get to it e"entually. So home was definitely out. +ut so was staying off the streets. #a"e stared blankly at the window while his mind went round in circles, until finally he realised that there was one thing he could do. ,e pulled out his cellphone and dialled a number. Li1a picked up on the second ring. .2hat%s up3/ #a"e pitched his "oice as low as he could, holding the phone right ne$t to his mouth so he could be heard o"er the sound of the engine. .2e need to get out of town,/ he said. .2hy3/ .Some of 7o$%s guys grabbed me this morning. Took me to a warehouse somewhere out in the ,utt. got out, but %m sure they%re looking for me. ,e%s got contacts on the cops - he told me so,/ #a"e said, thinking as he spoke. . need to get out of 2ellington and out of sight./ .'kay,/ Li1a said after a hesitation so brief that #a"e wondered whether he%d imagined it. .2here are you now3/ . %m not sure. %m on a bus. The ?I?, think./ .'kay,/ Li1a said again. The bus slowed, and turned onto a busier road. #a"e still wasn%t sure e$actly where he was, but as long as he couldn%t see 7o$ or +ruce, he decided that he didn%t care. ,e waited, and e"entually Li1a spoke again. . %m on a !ob. Nearly back at the depot, though. %ll clock out, go home and get the car./

.2hat should do3

don%t know where this bus is going./

f you%re on a bus in the ,utt, it%ll go through 2aterloo 7entral. 8et off there. ,op a train into town, get out at >aiwharawhara. )eet you at the station. f %m not there, wait for me. 7all if you want. f anything feels funny, or if you see 7o$ or +ruce, call me. Then run the fuck away./ #a"e felt another spike of adrenaline rush through him, but he nodded. .'kay. %ll meet you at there./ An$iety prompted him to add, .#on%t be long, hey3/ .#on%t worry, tiger. %ll beat you there./ . really hope so. See you soon./ .#efinitely./

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8etting off the bus and onto the train was one of the hardest things #a"e had e"er done. ,e knew that he had to keep mo"ing, but he felt irrationally safe on the bus, and he !ust wanted to stay there, tucked up in his corner seat, for the rest of the day. )aybe fore"er. 0ollow the plan, he told himself sternly. 4ou don%t e"en know where this bus is going. 4ou could end up anywhere. 7o$ and +ruce are probably already out looking for you. Now get off the bus and follow the plan. ,e pushed himself out of his seat and got off the bus. t wasn%t -uite deserted, but there were "ery few people about. ,e checked the time on his cellphone - !ust after two. E"eryone was probably still at work or at school, e$cept for a pair of young mothers pushing enormous strollers, and a worrying looking pack of punks down the far end of the platform. #a"e checked the timetable - the train wasn%t due for nearly ten minutes. ,e tried to sit on a bench, but he felt far too e$posed. Looking around, he spotted the bathrooms. ,e went into the men%s room and straight to the disabled stall at the far end, which he locked behind him. Turning around, he caught sight of himself in the mirror. ,is face was a mess. Actually seeing the damage made e"erything hurt more. ,is nose didn%t look too bad - perhaps a little crooked, but otherwise okay - but there was blood e"erywhere, and angry purple bruises were starting to form. +lood had trickled down his chin and into the front of his sweatshirt, lea"ing dark flaky trails where it dried. ,e couldn%t belie"e that the bus dri"er had let him on the bus. n the dri"er%s place, he would ha"e sped off and called the cops. And perhaps that%s e$actly what he had done. +ut no, no point in thinking like that. >eep mo"ing, don%t attract attention, and don%t worry about things until they actually happened. ,e pulled a handful of paper towels from the dispenser, wet them down, and began gingerly dabbing at his face. The pain in his nose -uickly con"inced him not to bother with it, but he managed to get most of the dried blood off. There was nothing he could do about the bruising, and, he concluded, nothing he could do about his hoodie. ,e took it off, and tied it about his waist. t was really too cold for !ust a T-shirt, but there was no point drawing attention to himself by walking around in a gory bloodied shirt if he didn%t ha"e to. ,e rinsed his hands, threw the paper towels in the trash, and headed back out to the platform !ust in time to catch the train. 'n the train, he took another back corner seat, and looked resolutely out the window, hoping that nobody would sit ne$t to him or ask him for his ticket or anything like that. ,e knew it was irrational, but he couldn%t stop himself imagining 7o$ as some sort of omnipotent figure, who only had to pick up a phone to ha"e an e$tensi"e network of criminal and legal contacts rush out to blanket the city and snap up anyone he asked for. t was probably true, to a certain e$tent, but #a"e tried to reassure himself that there was no way 7o$ could know where he was at the moment, and e"en if he did, there

was no way he could get someone onto a mo"ing train to pick him up on such short notice. >eep mo"ing, he thought. All you ha"e to do is keep mo"ing, and he won%t be able to get to you. 2hich was fine, as far as it went, but nobody could keep mo"ing fore"er, and New *ealand wasn%t e$actly a huge place. ,e didn%t like the looks of the punks from the platform. They looked like !ust the sort of people 7o$ would ha"e on his payroll for shakedowns, petty thefts, and any minor assaults that he might want done. They had got onto the car in front of #a"e, and they hadn%t seemed to pay any attention to him at any point, but one phone call from 7o$ was all it would take. f they come into this car, %m going to get out at the ne$t stop, and don%t care whether it%s the right stop or not. n fact, if they come into this car, %m pulling the e-brake and getting out right away. The hell with waiting for the ne$t stop. 2aiting%s for suckers. 2hen the train finally pulled into >aiwharawhara station, #a"e was a ner"ous wreck. The car had been filling up steadily, and although nobody had actually sat anywhere near him, his heart had !umped e"ery time someone got on. The punks had got off at 5etone, though, and the relief he had felt as the train sped away from them took his breath away. %m cracking up, he had thought. ,e got up and left the train, keeping his head down and walking casually. The train doors closed, and the train pulled away, lea"ing him with the enormously welcome sight of Li1a%s battered 7orolla, and Li1a herself, leaning against the hood and smoking a cigarette. She looked up and met his eye, ga"e him a little nod. ,e nodded back, unable to keep a grin off his face. As he walked o"er the bridge towards the car, she ground out her cigarette and opened the passenger door. .Li1a9/ he said, surprising himself by gi"ing her a bear hug. .4ou ha"e no idea how glad am to see you./ She patted his back. .8lad you%re okay, tiger. ,ad me worried. 8et in the car, and let%s go./

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.2hat happened3/ Li1a asked, as she pulled onto the motorway and gunned the accelerator. #a"e shook his head. . don%t know where to start. was walking down to the grocery store, and some guys !umped me and put me in the back of a "an. They dro"e me around for a bit, and we wound up at this warehouse. They took me in, and there was 7o$./ Li1a looked like she wanted to spit, but instead she lit up a cigarette. .2hat%d he want3/ .Same as before. ,ow we pulled off the heist. And then he offered me a !ob. Anyway, told him he wasn%t interested, and he went away for a while. 2hen he came back, he had +ruce with him. guess he thought that would change my mind. Anyway, he roughed me up a little,/ #a"e tried not to think about the feeling of his nose breaking, and hurried on, .and then told him %d show him how it worked./ Li1a%s lips curled. .4eah3/ .So showed them. :ust like you said. +lasted their faces with the hottest steam could muster. And then got the hell out of there. &an around for a while, and then found a bus. hopped on, and then called you. And that%s pretty much all there was to it./ .0ace looks like hell,/ Li1a said, not taking her eyes off the road. . know. t feels like hell./

.5ainkillers in the bag at your feet. 2ater, fruit, crackers. 8rabbed a couple of things from the kitchen on my way through./ #a"e pulled the bag into his lap, got out a couple of painkillers, and washed them down with water. Looking at the bananas and the crackers, he realised that he was star"ing. .Thanks, Li1a. 4ou%re ama1ing./ .Not a problem. 0igured you could want them, and thought we%d better put some distance between us and 2ellington before we stopped./ .Thanks,/ #a"e repeated, through a mouthful of banana. ,is face hurt like hell when he chewed, but he was so hungry he didn%t care. ,e ate -uickly and without talking, working his way through two bananas and half a package of crackers. .So,/ he asked at last, washing e"erything down with another swig of water, .where are we going3/ Li1a shrugged. .North,/ she said. .And after that3/ he asked. .#on%t know,% Li1a admitted. .0irst thing was to get the hell out of 2ellington. 0igured we could decide later. #a"e nodded. .Sounds good to me,/ he agreed. ,e leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes.

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Li1a dro"e north for se"eral hours without stopping. They drank all the water, and ate all the food Li1a had packed. Looking into the back seat, #a"e saw that Li1a had packed up se"eral armloads of clothes and bedding M.#idn%t want you to wait at the station, so !ust grabbed what was closest./N as well as his laptop, her laptop, and a package of tea bags M.+est to be prepared. #idn%t think you%d ha"e any on you./N 2hen they got to Taihape, though, she decided to stop for food, gas, and medical supplies. She made #a"e wait in the car, reading a map, while she went into the gas station and the grocery store. .8ot you some stronger drugs,/ she said, tossing a bottle of pills into his lap. .And food./ . %m not really hungry,/ #a"e said, looking up from the map. Li1a had pulled a cooked chicken and some rolls from a bag and was assembling sandwiches. .Need to take those with food,/ she said, handing a thick sandwich o"er to him. ,e started chewing obediently. .So,/ he said, tapping the map with a greasy finger, .where are we going to go3/ Li1a shook her head. .,a"en%t figured that out. Any ideas3/ .No./ They finished their sandwiches in silence, and Li1a started the car. .>eep going north, suppose,/ she said. .5lenty of -uiet places to camp out for the night./ .At least it%s not raining,/ #a"e said. .Not yet. Should pick up in an hour or so. Need to sleep in the car tonight./

.2hat about a motel3/ .#on%t want you to be recognised. 7ar tonight. Tomorrow we figure out what to do./ . guess that makes sense./ They reached the town limits, and Li1a sped up. .>eep going for a couple of hours, though. No point stopping here./

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#a"e do1ed off and on as Li1a dro"e. ,is face hurt in spite of the painkillers, and he felt like he%d used up an entire year%s supply of adrenaline that day. The pain kept waking him up, but then the e$haustion put him back to sleep again pretty -uickly. Li1a didn%t seem to notice. She dro"e with her eyes fi$ed on the road and a frown on her face. t was the first time he had seen her without a clear idea of what to do ne$t, and she didn%t seem to know how to handle it. . guess 7o$ will ha"e someone watching the flat,/ he said as they were dri"ing along the edge of Lake Taupo. .)akes sense,/ Li1a agreed. .2e should probably call :ean, and warn him to stay away from the place,/ he suggested. . guess they%ll try to grab him if he shows up there. %d hate to think of that happening to him./ Li1a turned to look at him for the first time in se"eral hours. .+rilliant,/ she said, smiling broadly. .8enius./ .2hat3/ . %ll pull o"er./ She slowed the car and pulled o"er to the side of the road. .4our phone got signal3/ ,e looked. .4ep. #o you want me to call him3/ .Let me./ ,e handed his phone to her, and she dialled. .:ean3 Li1a. Not good. 7o$ grabbed #a"e earlier. No. No, he%s fine. ,ang on./ She handed the phone o"er to #a"e. .2ants to talk to you./ .:ean3/ .#a"e9 2hat happened3 Li1a said that 7o$ kidnapped you or something3 )y 8od, it%s like something out of a cheap action mo"ie./ . %m fine. &eally. ,e did get me, but escaped. :ust like a cheap action mo"ie. E$cept didn%t get blown up or shot at./ .2here are you3 #o you want me to come o"er3/ .No9 #on%t do that. 7o$ is probably still after me - chances are he%s got people watching the house or something. Stay away from there./ .+ut where are you3 Surely you aren%t in the house3/ .No. 2e%"e left town. 2e%re somewhere south of Taupo at the moment. %m not sure e$actly where./

.And are you okay, darling3/ .5retty much. %m pretty shaken up, and a little beat up, but %m okay. .Are you sure3/ .4eah, am. &eally. don%t want to do it again tomorrow or anything, but %m fine. ,ang on, Li1a wants to talk to you again./ ,e handed the phone back. .2e need a place to hide out,/ she said. .Somewhere -uiet. Away from people./ She paused, listening to :ean speak. .E$actly. :ust what we need. #o you mind3 8reat. Thanks./ She hung up the phone and passed it back to #a"e. .2hat3/ he asked. .:ean%s got a bach on 2aiheke sland. ,oliday home. +ought it a couple of years back. &ents it to tourists, mostly, but it%s empty now. ,e says we can use the place. ,e%ll !oin us day after tomorrow./ .&eally3 That%s fantastic9/ Li1a nodded. .Should be perfect for a couple of days. 7ouple of weeks, e"en. 8i"es us some time to decide what to do ne$t./ She started the car again and pulled back onto the road. .8oing to try and push through tonight. 4ou up for a shift dri"ing later3/ . f it gets us there sooner, %m up for !ust about anything./

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They dro"e through the night, and arri"ed in Auckland early the ne$t morning, in time to make the first ferry out to 2aiheke sland. #a"e had ne"er been there before, but :ean had te$ted him directions, so they managed to find the holiday house relati"ely easily. t was a little old cottage with a large rose garden out the back, and it seemed to #a"e that it was basically a more pictures-uely rundown "ersion of :ean%s house in 2ellington. ,e mentioned it to Li1a, and she nodded. .:ean knows what he likes,/ she said. .0inds a thing and goes with it./ . guess that makes things easier,/ he said. Li1a had stopped at a minimart on the outskirts of Auckland for some basic supplies, and they breakfasted on enormous bacon sandwiches and mugs of tea before going to bed. #a"e was sure he wasn%t going to be able to sleep, but he was out as soon as his head hit the pillow, and he didn%t wake up until mid-afternoon. Li1a, for once, slept e"en longer than he had, not emerging from her room until nearly fi"e. They ate another "ast but simple meal, and then lit a fire and sat in front of it playing Scrabble until well into the night. Li1a played Scrabble the same way she did e"erything else - with an unner"ing focus and efficiency - and it was all #a"e could do to keep within shouting distance of her score. After four games, he managed a narrow "ictory, and decided it was time to -uit while he was ahead. They had barely talked through the whole e"ening, but that was a relief. t felt like e"erything that had happened o"er the past few days was mo"ing into the past, rather than being part of an an$iety-inducing present. #a"e slept late the ne$t morning, and woke up feeling refreshed and rela$ed and almost as if he had come to 2aiheke on holiday, instead of being on the run. :ean arri"ed around mid-afternoon the day after they had, with hugs all round, concern for the state of #a"e%s face, and newspapers. #a"e wasn%t -uite all o"er them, but there was a large photo of him on the fourth page. The story was headlined .7rooked E$ec%s ,usband Attacks +usinessman/, and it

took great delight in rehashing all the details of +elinda%s trial, painting himself as some sort of shadowy "illain, and implying that maybe he had played a part in the crimes that +elinda had gone down for. 7o$, if you belie"ed the article, was a upstanding, respectable 2ellington businessman, who had been minding his own business when #a"e "iciously assaulted him. The article ended with a plea for anyone who had any information about #a"e%s whereabouts to contact the police. .2ell, that%s !ust great,/ #a"e said, throwing down the paper in disgust. .8uess 7o$ must ha"e buddies in the media as well as the police./ .8uess so,/ Li1a grunted. .Shit,/ #a"e muttered. .2hat the hell are we going to do now3/ .2e need to clear your name, darling,/ :ean said. .#ramatically, and conclusi"ely, so there can be no more -uestion about any of this./ .2ell, hate to bring this up, but the article is technically right. pretty badly./ probably scalded 7o$ and +ruce

.Self-defence,/ :ean said with a dismissi"e wa"e. Then he stopped and looked at #a"e curiously. .Scalded3 ,ow did you manage that3/ #a"e looked at Li1a, who nodded back. .Tell him,/ she said. .,e%s cool./ ,e hesitated, but he knew Li1a was probably right. About this, anyway. And there was no point keeping :ean in the dark now that he knew this much about what was going on. .'kay. 7ome into the kitchen./ There was no kitchen table, so they all stood around the kitchen counter while #a"e assembled his tools. ,e filled a mug with cold water, and dropped a tea bag in it. :ean ga"e him a -uestioning look, but said nothing. #a"e took a deep breath, suddenly feeling ner"ous. ,e cleared his throat. .'kay,/ he said. ,e wrapped his hands around the mug to hide the fact that they had started to shake, and then slowly heated the tea until it was steaming. .2ell,/ :ean said. .,ow unusual./ ,e sounded calm enough, but #a"e could see the surprise on his face. . can go both ways. ,ot -/ he brought the water right up to boiling point, .-and cold./ ,e cooled the tea back down, taking it through room temperature and down to the point where ice started to form on the surface. .+ut only with tea. Nothing else./ ,e took his hands off the mug and turned to face :ean, uncomfortably aware of the sheepish smile that he couldn%t -uite keep off his face. . think this calls for a drink,/ :ean said, pulling a bottle of red wine out of a cupboard. Li1a grabbed a couple of glasses, and they all went back into the li"ing room. :ean poured himself a large glass and drank about half of it in one swallow. .(seful talent, huh3/ Li1a asked :ean. .Cery unusual,/ :ean said, taking a smaller sip of his drink. .+ut suppose it would ha"e its uses. ced tea any time you wanted. 7amping trips, if you like roughing it./ .Safecracking,/ Li1a put in. .+reaking and entering. Escaping from kidnappers./ .2ell, darling, since you put it that way, suppose it is useful./ .4ou know,/ #a"e said, . ne"er thought it was useful. 8rowing up, was really embarrassed about it. ne"er told anyone, apart from you guys. None of my friends, none of my family. Not e"en +elinda. )y parents knew about it, of course, but we ne"er really talked about it./

. f it had been me, would ha"e told e"eryone. would ha"e made myself a costume and run around the neighbourhood, making little ice sculptures and lea"ing them on people%s car bonnets./ Li1a ga"e :ean an amused look. .That%s you. No surprise./ .&eally3 And what would you ha"e done with these magnificent powers3/ .0ought crime,/ Li1a said with a shrug .+eat up gang members. ,elped people across the street. Like that./ . ne"er did anything like that. 8rowing up in the States, do you ha"e any idea how embarrassing it is to ha"e a power that in"ol"es tea3 And how useless. Apart from at my parents% place, the only tea e"er saw was powdered iced tea. don%t think that stuff e"en had tea in it./ .So you carry your own supply,/ Li1a said. .Like last week./ .E$actly,/ :ean chipped in. .Some sort of reser"oir, perhaps in a backpack. ,ard shell, of course, but perhaps co"ered in black rubber with metal accents. And then make the costume to match./ .4eah3 And what do you call yourself3/ Li1a asked. .Teaminator3 The +ag )an3/ :ean brushed the -uestion away. .#etails, darling. Not important. 2ork out the look first, and worry about the details later./ .2ell, right now, don%t think the look or the name matters,/ #a"e said. .2hat need to do is clear my name and get 7o$ off my back./ .E$actly,/ Li1a agreed. .2ell, you can%t go out looking like that. 0ar too recognisable. be "ery important./ .4ou%re probably right,/ #a"e acknowledged. .'f course %m right. %ll go into town and pick up a few things. 2e need to gi"e you a complete makeo"er. )ake it so your own mother won%t recognise you./ .Shit9/ #a"e said. . %d better call my folks. from the cops or anything./ hope they ha"en%t seen this, or ha"en%t had any calls think that in this case, the look will

.8ood. 4ou do that. :ean, you do the disguise. %m going to go find wifi. Need to come up with a plan./ :ean nodded agreement, set down his empty glass and picked up his car keys. #a"e looked at him and Li1a. .Thanks, guys,/ he said. . can%t belie"e you%re doing all of this for me, but really do appreciate it./

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An hour later, #a"e sat down on a swi"elling stool in :ean%s bathroom, ready for his second makeo"er in as many weeks. .2hat a relief,/ :ean said, fastening a hairdresser%s gown behind #a"e%s neck. . %"e been trying to think of an e$cuse to cut this,/ he lifted the hea"y curls of #a"e%s mullet, .off e"er since finished it. t might be appropriate if you were in some sort of hea"y metal band, but it%s !ust not you, darling./

.Tell me about it,/ #a"e grimaced. .So this time, we need to go with something completely different. %m thinking neat, clean-cut, perhaps with a beard./ ,e came round to the front of the chair and frowned at #a"e. .#efinitely with a beard. ,a"e you e"er worn one3/ .No. tried a moustache in college, but it looked pretty terrible. t lasted maybe three weeks./

.5erfect9/ :ean fingered the stubble on #a"e%s !aw. .4ou ha"e an e$cellent start, so all we need to do is gi"e it a little style and maybe darken it !ust a fraction while it comes through. :ust for the first week./ #a"e coughed. .The last look you ga"e me was pretty, uh, e$treme,/ he said, trying to think of a polite way to phrase it. .4ou%re worried that because do so much work for film that can%t do style3/ .No, of course not,/ #a"e said. . !ust -/ ,e shrugged. . promise you that this time, you will look elegant, cultured, and handsome. No mullets, no war wounds, and no sharkskin. 'kay3/ .'kay. Sorry./ :ean spun the stool around, sprayed #a"e%s hair with water from a bottle, and started cutting. .Not at all. t%s a pleasure to find a straight man who%s concerned about his appearance. Although, ha"e to say, was -uite surprised when Li1a told me you were married./ .&eally3/ #a"e felt his face heating up, and he was glad :ean was behind him where he couldn%t see it. .'h, yes. %m rarely wrong about these things, but suppose none of us can be right all of the time, don%t you think3/ . guess not./ .Still, a sensiti"e, sweet man like yourself, with such neat clothes and well-maintained hands. f you e"er thought of switching teams, could ha"e your dance card filled inside an hour. n fact, %d be happy to book you out myself./ #a"e opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. .+ut %m embarrassing you,/ :ean continued. .That%s not what meant./ .'f course not./ . mean, %m flattered, of course, andJ/ #a"e had no idea what he meant to say. :ean stopped cutting, and swi"elled the stool around to look at #a"e. .Enough,/ he said. . t%s forgotten./ ,e swi"elled the stool back and resumed cutting. .#id you contact your parents3/ .4eah,/ #a"e said, !umping for the con"ersational ball a little too -uickly. .7aught them as they were going out to the theatre. think kind of ruined their night, too. The cops hadn%t spoken to them, so they had no idea what was going on. And %m glad about that, guess. wouldn%t like to think of what the cops might ha"e told them. They would%"e worried. 'f course,/ he added with a sigh, .they%re worrying now./ .2hat did you say3/

.2ell, told them about 7o$%s offer. didn%t tell them that he%d grabbed me off the street, but did tell them he wouldn%t let me lea"e, and about how got out. had to - they would ha"e found out one way or another. told them that %d left 2ellington, that 7o$ was after me, and that the cops had the wrong idea about what had happened. That they%d probably be getting a call from the cops in a couple of days./ .And how did they react3/ . think it freaked them out./ #a"e paused. .'kay, know it freaked them out. +ut told them that e"erything was okay, and that had friends who were helping me try to set the record straight. don%t know if that was much comfort. #ad wanted to get on a plane right then and come get me, but told him that was a bad idea. And then told them %d be fine, and that %d call again in a day or two, and that was it./ .8ood,/ :ean said. .Tilt your head down, please./ #a"e tilted his head and waited, feeling the mullet falling away from his neck. ,e%d ne"er really felt sentimental about his hair, but it was oddly sad to see it lying on the floor around him. ,e wasn%t sad to lose the mullet, though. That could ha"e gone last week, and he wouldn%t ha"e minded. .:ean3/ he asked later, while :ean was massaging black dye into his hair. .4es3/ . %"e been wondering. 2hy are you and Li1a helping me3/ .2hy3/ .4eah. mean, you barely know me. Li1a%s known me for less than a month, and you%"e known me for less than that. And 8od knows need your help, both of you, and %m glad to ha"e it, but ha"e no idea why you%re gi"ing it to me./ .2ell,/ :ean said, his fingers mo"ing steadily through #a"e%s hair. .At first helped because Li1a asked me to, and then once got to know you, helped because liked you, and wanted to help you./ #a"e twitched a shoulder impatiently, but kept his head still. .That would make sense if needed help mo"ing house or something, but it doesn%t make sense for something like this. %m on the run from the police, you know. 0or assault. 2hich probably makes you guys guilty of harbouring a felon, or being an accessory, or whate"er they%d call it here. And that%s not e"en thinking about the 2estlake diamond thing. So why are you doing it3/ #a"e heard :ean sigh, and felt his fingers go slack. . don%t want to go into it, darling, but let%s !ust say %"e ne"er found the police to be particularly helpful when a person is in trouble./ #a"e shi"ered. ,e wanted to say something, but he couldn%t think of anything that would sound right. ,e wasn%t sure e$actly what :ean meant, but he has a couple of scenarios running around inside his head, and none of them were pleasant. ,e reached up, found :ean%s forearm, and ga"e it a s-uee1e. . won%t ask./ .Thank you,/ :ean replied -uietly. . don%t like to think about it./ .2hat about Li1a3 Same thing3/ ,e had lowered his "oice to match :ean%s, and the two of them were practically whispering. .No,/ :ean said. .&elated, but not the same. She hasn%t told you3/

.No. Nothing./ #a"e grimaced with embarrassment. .Actually,/ he admitted, . hadn%t really asked. guess needed help so badly that didn%t want to stop and -uestion it, !ust in case that !in$ed it or something./ . can understand that. And %m sure Li1a would ne"er tell you, howe"er much she might want you to know. That%s !ust the way she is./ :ean walked around and sat on the edge of the bathtub, stripping off his glo"es. . met Li1a about ten years ago, when she got in"ol"ed with a band styled. 8ot in"ol"ed with the lead singer, more specifically. 7heri. She was ten, twel"e years older than Li1a - it was one of those fabulously inappropriate affairs. Li1a was eighteen, "ery young for her age. Almost nai"e, although it%s probably hard for you to imagine that./ #a"e ga"e a little nod and smile. t was "ery hard for him to imagine Li1a as being young and nai"e. She was the wisest person he had e"er met. .2ell, 7heri being a musician, artistic temperament and so on, was hea"ily into drugs. A !unkie. The music career went down the tubes a few months after she and Li1a got together, and 7heri turned to alternati"e re"enue streams./ .2hat do you mean3/ .5rostitution, darling./ :ean looked impatient. .Li1a had no idea. 0or months, really. She didn%t find out about any of it until the police raided the house. 2hich was unfortunate, because they picked up drugs, cash, all sorts of things. And they picked up Li1a./ .2hat happened3/ .Suspended sentence. 7ommunity work. 5robation. +ut she ne"er saw 7heri again, and she ne"er trusted the police, or anyone else who she thought might try to take ad"antage of her. She hasn%t had a relationship that lasted more than si$ months since then, and the a"erage has probably been closer to si$ weeks. She tried to cut me off, but wouldn%t let her. got her to mo"e in with me for nearly a year while she got herself back on her feet. think %m the only person who knew her then that she still sees./ #a"e blew out a deep breath and shook his head. ,e wasn%t sure what he%d been e$pecting to hear, but it certainly wasn%t this. .'kay,/ he said at last, still shaking his head, .that !ust makes it all make less sense. 2hy the hell did she get in"ol"ed with the mess %m in3/ .2ell,/ :ean said, .she told me how the two of you met./ The memory made #a"e smile. t was funny to think how terrified he%d been of Li1a the first time they%d met. Now, she was probably the single most reassuring person in his life. .2hat about it3/ .4ou helped her. No -uestions asked./ .2ell, asked a couple of -uestions./ :ean made a dismissi"e gesture. .Not the way she sees it. think she%s decided that you can be trusted. And %m delighted that she%s found someone else she can trust./ .)e too,/ #a"e said. .That%s good. +ecause if you let her down, after what %"e told you, %d ha"e to kill you./ Threatening wasn%t usually a word that #a"e would ha"e associated with :ean. 'utrageous, dramatic, o"er the top, perhaps, but not threatening. Looking at him now, though, #a"e belie"ed e"ery word that :ean said, and he was really glad he could mean it when he said, . %m not going to let her down./

:ean looked at him silently for a moment, then stood up. .8ood,/ he said. .Now, let%s wash this dye out of your hair and see what we can do about your beard./

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.2ow,/ Li1a said, stopping in the door and staring at #a"e. She looked o"er at :ean. .8ood work. 2ouldn%t ha"e recognised him./ :ean smiled, basking in the praise. .Thank you, darling. 4ou%re too kind./ ,e had gi"en #a"e a short haircut, carefully styled with lashings of product, with an o"erall effect somewhere between male model in !eans catalogue and young conser"ati"e. #a"e had been a bit dubious about the beard, but when he actually saw what :ean had done, he was surprised by how much he liked it. :ean had wa$ed his eyebrows and gi"en him another set of coloured contacts green, this time. ,e%d co"ered o"er the bruises from his broken nose with some sort of makeup, and the nose itself appeared to be setting slightly crooked. A designer T-shirt and a grey sweater completed the look, which was nothing at all like the mulleted throwback #a"e had been that morning, or the long haired slacker look he%d adopted for the past ten years. 2hen :ean had finished up and let him look in the mirror, he hadn%t recognised himself. ,e%d been sneaking glances at himself in mirrors and other reflecti"e surfaces for the past hour, and he%d decided that he liked the way he looked. .2hat did you come up with3/ he asked Li1a. She sat down in an armchair, making a disgusted gesture. .Nothing./ .&eally3/ #a"e could hardly belie"e it. .4ep. Nothing. 4ou%re still in the news. #on%t think they%d recognise you if they saw you now, though. 7o$ is still claiming assault. #iamond thing%s fallen off the radar, but that%s about the only good news./ ,e shook his head. .So what do we do3/ . don%t know./ ,e had ne"er e$pected to hear those words from Li1a. She sighed, and they all lapsed into silence. #a"e tried to think of something to say, but his mind !ust kept going round in circles. t looked like they were screwed, and the only thing for it was to wait until the cops picked them all up. .)aybe should turn myself in,/ he said. .#on%t be fucking stupid,/ Li1a said. .)y thoughts e$actly,/ :ean agreed. .That would be a waste of e"erything we%"e !ust done. f you wanted to go to the police, you should ha"e done that right at the beginning. t%s too late for that now./ .4ou%re right. up in it.% know you%re right. !ust don%t want this to go wrong and for you guys to get caught

.Not going to happen. Not if we ha"e the right plan./ Li1a leaned forward, picking at the edge of the coffee table. .Two options. 'ne, we pin something on 7o$ and deli"er him to the cops, or two, we

fuck with him so badly he knows he doesn%t want to fuck us back. Either way, we need to know more about what he%s doing. &ight now, we%"e got nothing./ .Absolutely nothing3/ #a"e asked. t was hard to belie"e. Li1a had always managed to come up with something, and it seemed wrong to see her at such a loss. .Absolutely nothing,/ Li1a said flatly. She threw herself back in her chair. .Nothing useful, anyway. Lots of background on 7o$. ,is companies - the straight ones. ,is donations to things. +ig fucking architecture maga1ine special on his holiday home here on 2aiheke. ,is pri"ate golf course. ,is-/ .2ait,/ #a"e said. .,is holiday home3/ ,e frowned with concentration. ,e knew that sounded familiar, but he couldn%t get it. Then suddenly, the whole scene came back to him, "i"id and intense. The warehouse. The chair. 7o$, talking on the phone. And then +ruce, breaking his nose. ,e shuddered, and tried to drag his thoughts back onto their original track. .2hat is it3/ :ean asked, and Li1a wa"ed at him to be -uiet. .:ust after 7o$ brought me to the warehouse, someone rang him. ,e took the call, and remember him saying something about his holiday home, and some sort of thing that was going on there. can%t -uite rememberJ/ .#on%t force it,/ :ean murmured. .&ela$, and it%ll come back./ #a"e blew out a breath and shook his shoulders, trying to rela$ and think. .,e was talking to someone. can%t remember the name. Something Asian, though. Li3 No, Liang. That%s it. )r Liang, he said./ The whole scene was coming back to him in great chunks. . don%t know what they were talking about, but he said something about contacting his security guy, and how pri"ate his place on 2aiheke was. think that whate"er it is is going down this weekend. +ut don%t know what. t sounded shady, but it might !ust be some rich dude looking for a place to ha"e a -uiet orgy or something./ .No other option can see right now./ Li1a said. .Liang3 4ou%re sure3/ #a"e nodded. .4es. %m sure./ .'kay. See what can dig up./ She got to her feet and grabbed her laptop. .4ou need to get wifi,/ she said to :ean. . f had wifi, it would hardly be a -uiet holiday retreat, darling,/ :ean replied. .True. +e handy right now, though. Anyway, back in an hour or two./ .8ood luck,/ #a"e said. Li1a pinned him with a look. .#on%t worry. 2e%ll get something./

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Li1a came through, !ust as she always did. She was gone for nearly two hours, but when she came back, #a"e could tell from the e$pression on her face that she had found something. .8ot it,/ she said, setting her laptop on the coffee table, sitting down, and putting her feet up. .Nailed it./

.E$cellent,/ :ean said. .This deser"es a drink9 ,ot buttered rum3 The perfect drink for a winter escape./ .+eer,/ Li1a said firmly. :ean sniffed, but went into the kitchen to get her a beer. .8ood call,/ #a"e said to her, -uietly. :ean had made them both a hot buttered rum about half an hour before. #a"e had ne"er had one before, and after he had tasted it, he made a silent "ow ne"er to ha"e one again. ,e had taken a couple of polite sips, and was letting the mug cool by his foot, waiting for an opportunity to either pour it out when :ean wasn%t watching, or accidentally knock it o"er. . %ll be back./ ,e picked up the mug and went to the bathroom to tip it down the sink. 2hen he got back, :ean wa"ed him into a seat and demanded that Li1a spill e"erything she knew. .4eah,/ he agreed. .2hat did you get3/ .Liang,/ Li1a said. .8ot him. ,e%s a ma!or player in ,ong >ong crime. Suspected in !ust about e"erything, but ne"er arrested. Ne"er dumb enough to ha"e something pinned on him. Always someone else there to take the fall./ .2hat do you think he wants with 7o$3/ #a"e asked. Li1a shrugged. .#on%t know, but if they%re meeting here, probably not a cigar and a round of golf. 8otta be something big. 7ould be the diamonds - he%s got family in the business. 7ase last year when they suspected him of mo"ing some stolen !ewellery. 7ops ended up picking up his brother in law. 8emstone cutter. Not cutting gems now, though. #oing ten years./ .2ould he come all the way to New *ealand for a thing like that3/ :ean asked. .That doesn%t seem "ery sensible./ .7ould ha"e other business as well. +een in New *ealand a lot lately. &eal estate, or at least that%s what he%s telling the press. 8olf courses. 5robably all kinds of stuff on the side as well./ .&ight now, it%s all we%"e got,/ #a"e said. . f they are up to something crooked, and we could get proof of it, that might be enough to get 7o$ off my back. And then the cops might be more inclined to belie"e my side of the story about this assault thing./ . f 7o$ is as crooked as you say, they might be inclined to belie"e you now,/ :ean pointed out. Li1a brushed that away. .,e%s still got the diamonds to pin on #a"e, though. Need to take him out of the picture./ :ean hesitated, then nodded. .2e should check this out,/ Li1a continued. .7an%t hurt. )ight help. )ight be !ust what we need./ . don%t think we can afford to be picky,/ #a"e agreed. .2e should at least check it out, and if it%s nothing, then guess we%ll !ust ha"e to try to find something else./ . agree,/ :ean said. .'f course we should look into this. +ut think we should keep looking for alternati"es./ .There are no alternati"es,/ Li1a said. .None that we can see now, but if we keep looking, who knows what we might find./ .That doesn%t matter now,/ #a"e cut in. .&ight,/ Li1a agreed, pulling a folded piece of paper from her pocket. .#irections to 7o$%s place. Not far away. E"eryone up for a dri"e3/

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They piled into :ean%s car M.Less conspicuous in a nice place like this, darling./N and started out across the island. The roads were almost empty as they dro"e through 'neroa and 'stend, and completely deserted after that. #a"e felt incredibly e$posed, but he reminded himself that 7o$ had no idea where they were, and he probably wasn%t on the island yet anyway. And there was no way that his people would be looking out for :ean%s )ini and certainly no way they would be able to tell that he was inside it. 7o$%s house would ha"e been easy to find e"en without the directions. t was ludicrously outsi1ed, a sprawling fau$-art-deco comple$ at the foot of a low hill. t was set well back from the road, but #a"e could clearly make out a man washing the windows, and a couple more people doing something inside. .2hat a repulsi"e design,/ :ean said. . simply cannot imagine anything less suitable./ #a"e had to agree. t was probably incredibly desirable if you liked that sort of thing, and there was no doubt that it was e$pensi"e, but to him it !ust looked like an updated "ersion of something out of )iami Cice. . guess these guys are here to open the place up,/ he said. .5robably going to take them a couple of days, too,/ he said. .There must be si$ months of built-up bird shit on those windows./ .>now when Liang%s arri"ing3/ Li1a asked. #a"e thought for a minute. .No,/ he said. . don%t think so. .7ould be any time between tomorrow and Sunday, then./ . doubt it will be Sunday,/ :ean put in. .Surely 7o$ will want to entertain his guest if he%s trying to conclude a ma!or deal./ .5robably true,/ Li1a said. .Need to keep a watch on this place. Starting tomorrow morning./ .A watch for what3/ #a"e asked. .And what are we going to do if we see whate"er it is we%re looking for3/ . don%t know,/ Li1a admitted. They all stared out of the car at the acti"ity in the house. .2ell,/ #a"e said slowly, .4ou%re probably right about the watch. guess we can%t come up with any kind of plan if we don%t know what%s happening here. )aybe we can make some decisions once we know more about it./ .Need to set some things mo"ing,/ Li1a said. She was controlling her "oice, but #a"e could tell how frustrated she was. .Too late to be sitting around planning if things are already happening. 0uck9/ :ean started the engine. .Some things are ob"ious,/ he said. .2e%ll need recording e-uipment. 7ameras. ha"e a friend in town who has a film production company. %ll see him tomorrow and borrow what we need. Long range microphone. +inoculars./ Li1a nodded. .8ood. Stakeout first, planning later. +esides, 7o$ is a businessman, and so is this Liang. There will be no business conducted until after dinner. t%s simply not done./ think 7o$ !ust said Dthis weekend%./

.&ight,/ said #a"e. That had always been one of +elinda%s rules when she was trying to close a deal. .2e might not ha"e a lot of time, but we%ll ha"e enough time to come up with something. 2e%ll !ust need to ha"e some contingency plans up our slee"es./ .Easy to say,/ Li1a muttered, but she was already looking more cheerful. .Easy to do,/ #a"e said. . %"e seen you do it. 2e%ll get through this./

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+y Saturday morning, #a"e was feeling less sure about the whole thing. ,e and Li1a had staked out 7o$%s place on 0riday from si$ in the morning till half past ten at night, hiding in the bush across the road, and all they had seen was hours and hours of cleaning. A couple of deli"ery "ans from upmarket delis and butchers had stopped by on 0riday afternoon, as well as a station wagon that had disgorged a popular TC chef and a couple of assistants, but there had been no sign of 7o$, and no sign of anyone who could ha"e been mistaken for a ,ong >ong crime boss. 'n 0riday afternoon, it had started to rain. The trees had pro"ided some shelter from the wind, but there was no place to sit that was completely free of drips, so by the time they finally ga"e up, #a"e%s pants were soaked, and he was shi"ering. Li1a seemed warmer, but no less wet, and they were both pretty dispirited when they got back to :ean%s bach. :ean, meanwhile, had gone to Auckland to pick up the gear, and then commandeered the master bedroom. ,e came out to greet them, and to force mugs of hot buttered rum on them, but he wouldn%t let them see what he was working on. ,e seemed "ery pleased with himself, though, and managed to cheer them up a little before they all turned in. #a"e and Li1a had agreed that morning that there was no point in them staking out the place together, and #a"e had "olunteered for the first shift. So, at si$ o%clock, he was back in position, with a pair of binoculars and a flask of coffee, watching 7o$%s house slowly starting to wake up. +y eight o%clock he was ready to gi"e it up and go home. +y nine o%clock, he was ready to turn himself in and take whate"er came !ust to get away from the boredom of the stakeout. ,e thought about calling Li1a, but he knew there was nothing to say. She%d probably switch shifts, if he asked, or e"en do the whole day by herself, but that wouldn%t be fair. This was his problem, and he needed to do his part, howe"er tedious, in getting himself out of it. All the same, though, he thought, wish we could set up a webcam to watch this place instead of sitting out here oursel"es. This is going to be a hell of a waste of a weekend if 7o$ ne"er shows up. +ut if he%s not going to show up, then why all the acti"ity3 t%s not like he knows we%re watching him and he%s trying to distract us. At least, if he does, we%re so deeply screwed that there%s no point worrying about it. ,e sighed, and tried to find a dry place to sit. mpossible. E"erything was soaked, but if he scraped away the top layer of lea"es, he could sit on ground that was merely damp. #amp and cold, but at least it wasn%t soaking through his pants. And at least it wasn%t raining. n fact, if he wasn%t stuck hiding in the drippy bushes, it would be -uite a nice day. 7old, but sunny, and not too windy. ,e sipped at his coffee, looked through his binoculars, and tried to a"oid checking the time on his phone. A pair of black cars turned up the dri"eway, and parked in front of the house. Eight men got out, and #a"e would ha"e known immediately that they were security e"en if +ruce hadn%t been among them, his face a bright, shiny pink under dark sunglasses. 8uess didn%t scald him as badly as thought had, #a"e thought, feeling oddly relie"ed. +ruce looked around, and #a"e%s stomach clenched as +ruce%s ga1e mo"ed o"er the clump of trees where he was hiding. ,e was sure he%d be spotted, but

+ruce didn%t seem to notice anything. ,e began pointing and speaking, ob"iously gi"ing orders to the rest of the men. E"en though he was a good two hundred metres from the house, #a"e didn%t trust himself to speak. nstead, he pulled out his phone and te$ted Li1a. .Security%s here. Eight guys, including +ruce. Looks like they%re setting up. No sign of 7o$./ A moment later, his cellphone "ibrated. .2hat%s happening3 8et the mike on them. ,ang in there, tiger./ diot, #a"e thought to himself. ,e fumbled in the case at his feet and pulled out the long-range microphone that :ean had borrowed. ,e set it up, put the headphones on, and pointed it at +ruce. .Jthe midday ferry,/ +ruce was saying. .So want you and Ste"e to go down and meet him. And 5iri, you and :ohn get down to the golf course. 'rganise the caddies, get e"erything ready. )r 7o$ will be there at ele"en. 2hen they%re ready to come back to the house, let us know. 2e%ll ha"e the two cars, as well as the limo, and we%ll do full motorcade. 2e want to impress )r Liang with our security arrangements, so e"eryone look sharp. No screw-ups. (nderstand3/ Nods from the assembled men. +ruce continued. .8ood. Anything looks wrong, you call me. And want all teams to check in with me e"ery half hour, regardless. (nderstand, we aren%t e$pecting anything funny, but we want this deal to go ahead smoothly. 2e don%t want to worry )r Liang, or gi"e him any reason to think he might be better taking his business elsewhere./ )ore nods. .All right. Huestions3/ There were none. . n that case, let%s get on with it./ The men scattered, with four of them getting back in the cars and dri"ing away, slowly. #a"e kept the mike pointed at +ruce, but he didn%t say anything more. ,e watched the cars dri"e off, and then turned around and went into the house. #a"e could see him through the windows, talking to the TC chef and one of the cleaning staff. ,e took off the headphones and set the microphone back down in its case, then te$ted Li1a again. .Liang and 7o$ on their way. Liang midday ferry, 7o$ ??. )eeting at golf course. 7oming to house later./ ,er reply was almost instant. .8ood work. 7oming to get you./ .Shit,/ he muttered when he read it. 'ne of the security men had been stationed at the front of the house, and was watching the road carefully. f Li1a dro"e past, he would see her, and if she stopped across the road to pick #a"e up, he would become suspicious. t would probably gi"e the game away. +ut how the hell was he going to get away from the house otherwise3 .#on%t dri"e by house,/ he te$ted. .)an watching road. Need to find alternati"e pick-up./ ,e looked around. The bush went all the way down to the beach, which was a couple of hundred metres below the road, but it was patchy. Still, if he was careful, he could probably get down to the beach without being noticed, and then he could walk along until he came to the ne$t bay, and then make his way back up to the road. There was a sheep pasture there, out of sight from the house, where he could wait. As long as 7o$%s security people didn%t dri"e past, nobody would see him. And if he waited by the hedge, perhaps they wouldn%t notice him. .8oing to walk along beach. )eet me in front of field with big tree./ .'>. I<mins./ ,e packed up the microphone properly, shutting the clasps on the case. t wasn%t a great thing to be carrying when you were sneaking through the bush, but he would manage it. Thermos in one hand, and case in the other, he set out.

t was "ery slow going. ,e probably could ha"e made it down to the beach in two minutes, but he was paranoid about making noise or ob"iously rustling the bushes. ,e could practically feel the man at the house watching him. t took him ten minutes to creep down to the beach, and then another twenty minutes to stroll casually along to the ne$t bay, picking up shells, skimming stones, and generally acting like a tourist out for a stroll. Li1a was waiting for him when he got to the pasture. She had popped the hood of her car, and was up to her waist in it. She straightened up as he approached. .Think that%s got it,/ she said loudly. She slammed the hood closed, and got in. #a"e got into the passenger seat, and she started the car, doing a slow three-point turn and heading back away from 7o$%s house. They dro"e in silence for se"eral minutes, with Li1a taking fre-uent glances at the rear"iew mirror. She didn%t rela$ until they were halfway across the island. .8ood work,/ she said. .8ot any ideas about what we should do3/ She shook her head. .Not yet. +ut we%ll ha"e something before they finish their game./

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2hen they got back to the bach, they were no closer to ha"ing a plan. Li1a still seemed confident, but #a"e suspected that she was feeling as hopeless as he was. t seemed pretty ob"ious that something was going to happen at 7o$%s place, and it was probably going to happen that night, but they still didn%t know what, or what to do about it. They had talked themsel"es to a standstill, and were staring silently out at the road. :ean bounded out of the house before Li1a had a chance to turn off the ignition. .E$cellent work, darlings9 Are we ready to leap into action3/ .No,/ #a"e said, getting out of the car and slamming the door. Li1a !ust grunted. .2hat%s the matter3 #o they ha"e armed guards and attack dogs3/ .5robably,/ Li1a said. #a"e hadn%t considered this, but now that he did, he realised that of course the guards would be armed. 'r at least some of them would be. :ean herded them both inside and sat them on the couch. .2e%"e come this far, and now you want to gi"e up3 5lease. That doesn%t make sense. 2e%"e got our eyes on them, and of course they%re going to be doing something illegal. That goes without saying. All we need to do is get the proof, and get it to the police. &ight3/ . guess,/ #a"e said. .+ut how3/ .Not important9/ .4es it is9 2e can%t !ust go wandering in there, cameras rolling, and hope that we catch them in the act./ :ean deflated a little. .True. +ut howe"er much like ha"ing you as a house guest, you can%t hide out here fore"er. 2e need to take risks, and this is a good risk./ .&ight,/ Li1a agreed. .No -uestion that we%ll see something if we%re watching. 8et it on camera, get it to the cops. 7ut some sort of a deal for you./

.And that%s assuming we e"en need to cut a deal,/ :ean put in. . f we gi"e them something !uicy enough, then all your problems will probably go away right along with 7o$./ .'kay,/ #a"e agreed. .So we need to get close enough to film whate"er the hell is going on, and then get away clean at the end of it. Easier than it sounds./ . %m prepared for all e"entualities,/ :ean said, opening up another of the e-uipment cases he had borrowed from the film studio. .They bought this from an in"estigati"e !ournalism programme a couple of years ago. The producers got sued, and the show ne"er aired, but they had some pretty nice e-uipment./ ,e held up a "aguely microphone-looking piece of e-uipment. .Coila9/ .2hat is it3/ .A laser microphone, darling. They dropped it off yesterday, while you and Li1a were out. t picks up audio right through windows. And to complete the international espionage look,/ he indicated another little case, . ha"e an infra-red camera. 0ully charged, and ready to go./ Li1a got up and s-uee1ed :ean%s shoulders. .8ood work,/ she said. .8uess that%s us sorted./ . s it3/ #a"e asked. .So what are we going to do3/ :ean and Li1a sat down, leaning o"er the coffee table. Li1a%s fingers twitched across the empty bottles and pieces of packaging that littered it as she spoke. .:ean co"ers the golf course, lets us know when they finish. 2e go up to the house, same way you left. ,ide the car. Set up to record./ #a"e shook his head. . %m pretty sure the dining room and stuff is around the back. 2e%ll need to find a good hiding spot back behind the house and set up there. don%t know where we%d need to put the car for that, though./ .Not important. +ound to be plenty of places to stash it./ Li1a said. .2e set up, stay hidden, and record. 8et the dirt, get back to the car, get back here. Then call the cops. 7o$ doesn%t know anything until the cops pick him up./ #a"e thought it o"er for a long minute. t sounded too easy, but who was he to !udge3 )aybe sometimes things were easy. .'kay,/ he said. .That sounds like it%ll work. +ut what if they spot us3/ .2on%t happen,/ Li1a said. .+ut if it does, we take them out. Huietly. And then back to the plan./ .And if 7o$ isn%t really up to anything shady with this Liang guy3/ :ean snorted. .5lease9 #on%t tell me you really belie"e that3/ .No, guess not. can./ !ust want to make sure we%"e got e"erything co"ered. At least, as much as we

.2e ha"e e"erything co"ered,/ :ean said. .And ha"e a little surprise for the two of you. 7ome with me./ They got up, and he led them into the master bedroom. .Are you ready3/ he asked, his hand on the closet door. #a"e looked at Li1a, who shrugged. She ob"iously had no idea what :ean%s little surprise was either. .Sure,/ #a"e said. .'kay9 Take a look at this9/ :ean flung the door open with a grand gesture. nside, on hangars, was a pair of costumes. There was no other way to describe them. They were matte black and looked like they were made of leather, but with dull metallic accents. .And to top it

off,/ :ean said, pulling a couple of strips of fabric off one of the hangars and dangling them from his fingers, . made you these./ ,e held his arm out, and #a"e took the strips. ,e had to turn them o"er se"eral times before he figured out what they were. .)asks,/ he said at last. .4ou made us masks3/ .#on%t forget the rest of the outfit, darling. 4ours is this one./ :ean pulled one of the hangars out of the closet and e$tended it to #a"e. . can%t wait to see it on you. And you too, of course,/ he said to Li1a. .Thanks,/ she said, gi"ing him a half-smile. .+ut why3/ #a"e asked. .2ell, you remember the day came up, when we were talking about your powers, and how you could carry a supply of tea with you3 t seemed like too good an idea to pass up, and had some time. And of course, keep a stock of fabric up here in case get the urge to sew, so you see it all came together. had the time, you needed the costumes, and here they are. 8o on, try it on9 #on%t keep me in suspense all afternoon./ #a"e took the hangar from :ean and went into the bathroom to change. The costume seemed "ery bulky, and when he took it off the hangar, he realised why. There was an integrated backpack - black rubber with metallic accents, !ust the way :ean had described it - on the back, with a hose running along the right arm to a small metal pump action chamber and a no11le. ,e tried the costume on. t fit snugly, but comfortably. Turning around, he looked at himself in the mirror. nstant superhero. ,e couldn%t keep a grin off his face. . f you%d told me when was ten,/ he said as he emerged from the bathroom, .that one day %d look like this and be wearing this kind of costume, on the way to catch a bad guy in the act and turn him o"er to the cops, wouldn%t ha"e belie"ed you. +ut would ha"e wanted it to be true more than anything else./ .Slow down, tiger,/ Li1a called from the master bedroom. .:ust catching him on tape and turning the e"idence o"er. No heroics./ .&ight,/ he called back. Then he turned to :ean and hugged him. .Thanks, :ean,/ he said. .This is ama1ing./ :ean looked a little embarrassed, but pleased. . %m glad you like it,/ he said. . hoped you would. +esides,/ he said with a wink, .you looked so cute in that leather !acket of Li1a%s, had to see how you%d look in the full ensemble./ . lo"e it,/ #a"e assured him. . look like a fucking biker,/ Li1a said from the bedroom door. :ean and #a"e turned to look at her. She was fearsome - si$ feet of black leather and shoulder spikes. .4eah,/ #a"e said, .but you look like the scariest biker %"e e"er seen in my life./ :ean swatted him. .#arling, you look like a nin!a. Like a punk warrior. Try it with the mask./ ,e put her mask on and fastened it. .There. Now look./ Li1a turned to look at herself in the bedroom mirror. .'kay,/ she said. .Not bad./ .Not bad3 E$-uisite9/ :ean insisted. Li1a nodded. .Sure. Now let%s get mo"ing. Lot of work to do, not much time. 4ou better fill that backpack. need to figure out this microphone./

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#a"e and Li1a made it into position - a scrubby little tree and a couple of bushes near the top of the little hill behind 7o$%s house - !ust before sunset. They had parked Li1a%s car a couple of kilometres away, dri"ing it down a rutted dirt road and parking under a big willow tree, and then hiked from there toting the cases full of e$pensi"e e-uipment. t wasn%t easy. t seemed like e"ery second bush was a gorse bush, and they formed an impenetrable barrier around most of the hill, forcing #a"e and Li1a to go round them. E"entually, they did find a way through, but they had to go half an hour out of their way to find it, and e"en so, they had to do -uite a lot of bashing through gorse and undergrowth. 0ortunately, it turned out that :ean%s costumes formed a pretty good impenetrable barrier of their own, so they didn%t get too badly scratched. . f e"er wear this outfit again,/ #a"e said, looking down at his muddy tennis shoes, . %m going to ha"e to get some boots to match it. These look ridiculous./ .That%s your big concern3/ Li1a asked. .2orse than :ean. About to start a big op, and you%re thinking about shoes./ .,ey, it%s better than worrying about being caught, isn%t it3/ he replied. Li1a shrugged, and he broke out the binoculars and peered down the hill at the house. .,ow are we looking3/ Li1a asked. .5retty good, think. %"e got one guard down by the pool, and another one !ust inside. 7ouple of other people inside as well. think they must be waiters or something. +artenders, maybe - he%s got a huge bar in that place. And there%s the dining table. 5erfect. Looks like we%re in e$actly the right spot./ .See +ruce anywhere3/ . don%t think so./ #a"e ga"e the house a slow scan. .No. ,e%s not in sight. 8uess he could be around the front of the house, though. 'r he could ha"e gone to the golf course or something. Speaking of which, anything from :ean3/ Li1a glanced at her phone. .Nothing yet./ .)e neither. wish they%d hurry up./

.5lenty of time. No point rushing it./ . guess you%re right./

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:ean%s te$t came in ten minutes later. .Lea"ing now. Two cars and a limo. ,eaded your way./ .They%re on their way,/ #a"e said to Li1a. .Should we start filming3/ Li1a rested a hand on his arm. .Settle down, tiger. Take them twenty-fi"e minutes !ust to get here. E"erything%s ready - no point wasting batteries filming this./

#a"e looked o"er at the camera rig. .#o you think we should test it again3/ . t%s fine. Smoke3/ Li1a pulled a crumpled pack out of a pocket on the slee"e of her costume, and lit one up. #a"e hesitated, really considering it, and then shook his head. . doubt it%d help./ .(p to you. 5lenty here if you change your mind./ . %m going to te$t :ean./ .'kay. Tell him to wait ten, then come up to the meeting point./

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#a"e was s-uirming like a toddler by the time 7o$%s motorcade arri"ed at the house. They could see the headlights come up the road and turn into the dri"eway, but then they were hidden by the house. .7an you get them with the mike3/ he asked Li1a. She shook her head. .,ouse%s in the way. Need a window. :ust wait. 8ot to come back where we can see them soon enough./ ,e !iggled his foot. . hope you%re right. can%t take much more of this./

Li1a put the headphones on and sat silently, listening to whate"er was going on below. #a"e picked up the binoculars and ga"e the house another sweep. There was another guard walking round the side of the house to !oin the guard who had been there all along. t looked like they were talking, but he couldn%t hear what they were saying, and he didn%t want to disturb Li1a. The guards seemed "ery close, and as they looked out at the hill where #a"e and Li1a were hiding, he couldn%t help but feel that they could see him. 5erhaps there were people creeping up behind them while they watched the house. Stop it, he told himself. 4ou%re !ust freaking yourself out, and you%"e got work to do. There%s nobody creeping up behind you. They almost certainly don%t e"en know you%re here. Look at them. Those guards are probably !ust for show. Looking through the binoculars, #a"e could see that the guards seemed pretty rela$ed. 'ne of them was leaning against the side of the house and smoking a cigarette. The other was facing the first guard, so all #a"e could see was his back. Li1a nudged his arm. .8ot em,/ she said. .They%re in the dining room./

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Nothing happened for the ne$t couple of hours. The guards wandered around the outside of 7o$%s house, with +ruce and another man who seemed to be Liang%s personal guard keeping watch in the dining room. 7o$ and Liang dawdled their way through a pre-dinner martini, and then a four course dinner. Li1a kept the microphone trained on them, but she and #a"e took turns with the headphones. The con"ersation was frustratingly boring. The current business climate. The recession. 8olf handicaps, e"en. #a"e couldn%t belie"e it. ,is an$iety was completely gone, but he didn%t know what to do with the boredom and frustration that had replaced it.

They te$ted :ean e"ery half hour, but they had nothing to report. ,e didn%t ha"e anything to report either, but at least he had a portable #C# player to keep him entertained. Listening to Liang and 7o$ was like listening to the world%s most boring radio play. #a"e was getting cold, and his foot was going to sleep. .Need to put a heater in the ne$t "ersion of this outfit,/ he te$ted :ean. .5rice of looking fabulous,/ :ean te$ted back. #a"e put his phone away, and tried to find a more comfortable place to sit.

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The dinner was drawing to a close. The dessert plates were being cleared, and 7o$ and Liang had pushed their chairs back and were chatting o"er coffee. #a"e%s hands were free1ing, and he could see Li1a suppressing a yawn. Suddenly, her head came up, and she began fiddling with the controls to the camera. .2hat is it3/ he hissed. She wa"ed him to silence. ,e looked through the binoculars, trying to figure out what was going on , but as far as he could tell, it was !ust more of the same after-dinner chitchat. Looking o"er at Li1a, though, he could tell that it was something "ery interesting. ,e mo"ed his head closer to hers, trying to hear something through the headphones. She looked o"er, and then pulled the headphones off and turned them so they could both hear. .Jconsidered my proposition3/ Liang was saying. . ha"e,/ 7o$ said. .And can assume that you would be interested3/ 7o$ nodded. . f you are interested in breaking into the New *ealand market, would certainly be interested in a partnership. 5ro"ided that it was in my best interests, of course./ .'f course,/ Liang agreed. . %d be interested to know more about what you%re planning,/ 7o$ said. .So would ,/ #a"e muttered. Li1a glanced o"er at him, and then turned back to the camera screen. .As you know, New *ealand company law pro"ides se"eral interesting opportunities for someone looking to mo"e money around, you might say. intend to create se"eral companies in New *ealand for that purpose. .And how much money would you be mo"ing3/ 7o$ asked. .The sums would be -uite significant,/ Liang said. . nitially, se"eral million dollars, but would e$pect that to rise substantially o"er the first three months./ 7o$ leaned back, and touched his fingertips together. .And you%d be looking for local help to -3/ . would need some local parties to act as company directors. Strictly hands-off, you understand. ,alf a do1en people, to begin with./ . belie"e that should be possible,/ 7o$ agreed.

.E$cellent./ .And in return,/ 7o$ said, . would appreciate your assistance with some of my supply lines. belie"e you ha"e contacts throughout Southeast Asia and the )iddle East3/ . do./ . ha"e been ha"ing someJ supply problems in Afghanistan./ .'pium3/ Liang in-uired. 7o$ wa"ed a hand and nodded. ,oly shit, #a"e thought, and looked away from his binoculars long enough to check the recording light on the camera. .'ne of my suppliers was shot last month, and %"e been unable to find a local replacement./ . think can help you with that, )r 7o$/ Liang said. .)y suppliers can ha"e the goods here within a week of payment./ . %d need to see samples and check the -uality first, you understand./ .'f course./ Liang turned, and spoke to his bodyguard in )andarin. The guard bowed, and walked outside, pulling out a cellphone. . will ha"e a deli"ery for you by the end of the week./ .,ow "ery efficient,/ 7o$ said, offering Liang a worryingly toothy smile. . %m sure that there are a number of other areas in which cooperation would be mutually beneficial./ .That certainly seems to be the case./ .0or e$ample, belie"e you ha"e e$tensi"e dealings in gemstones,/ 7o$ said. . do./ 7o$ looked o"er his shoulder at +ruce. .The leather case, in the study, please,/ he said. +ruce nodded, and left the room. .Something "ery interesting came into my possession recently,/ 7o$ continued. . had planned to break it up for sale, but perhaps you could take it in recognition of our agreement. And as a down payment for the first month%s deli"eries./ . %m intrigued,/ Liang said. +ruce returned with a thin leather folio, which he set on the table in front of 7o$. 7o$ opened it, and turned it to face Liang. As he did, #a"e saw something flash in the light. ,e ad!usted the binoculars. t was the necklace. #iana 2estlake%s necklace. .0uck,/ he muttered. ,e started to shi"er, and realised that he was furious. ,e wanted to get up and scream, or hit someone. .The Star of )ars,/ he heard Liang say before he dropped his headphone. ,e turned to Li1a. .,e can%t !ust go gi"ing that necklace away to some crook like this. 2e%"e got to get it back./ .Are you fucking cra1y3/ she demanded. .2e%"e got e"erything we need right here9 Let them make the e$change and we can get this tape to the cops./ . %m not letting him do it,/ #a"e said. .Sure, took the necklace in the first place, but %m not going to sit around and let him use it as some sort of bargaining chip in one of his deals./ .#on%t be an idiot,/ Li1a said, but he was already up and mo"ing.

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,e ran towards the house, his eyes fi$ed on the dining room. The ground underneath him was une"en and rocky, and he hadn%t gone more than fifty yard before he tripped and fell. ,e pushed himself back up to his knees, !ust in time for Li1a to run into him. ,e fell again, but she managed to keep her balance and come to an awkward stop. .#on%t do it,/ she said again. . ha"e to,/ he said. . don%t want those diamonds hanging o"er me fore"er. the cops, and 7o$ along with them./ .)ight not happen, you know. 4ou might get us both killed,/ she hissed. #a"e shook his head. ,e wasn%t angry anymore, but he felt like he was being picked up and carried along by something huge and ine"itable. . ha"e to do this. 4ou don%t ha"e to./ Li1a looked behind him, towards the house. .7an%t let you go alone,/ she said. .Anyway, they%"e heard us. Look9/ ,e looked. Sure enough, the guards who had been standing outside the house, bored to death, were mo"ing towards them, looking alert. .0uck,/ he said. .2hat now3/ .8otta take them all out now,/ Li1a said. .Then get the necklace and get out. Then back to the original plan./ .'kay,/ #a"e said. There was no other option now. ,e knew that. The only thing to do was ride things out and hope for the best. .Now get down,/ Li1a said, pulling him down to the ground. She spoke directly into his ear as they both watched the guards approaching. .They can%t see us. 2ait till they%re right on us. Then we take them down and run./ .'kay. 2hat should we do3/ .#epends on what happens,/ she said. .2e !ust do what we ha"e to, and watch each other%s backs./ ,e found her hand and s-uee1ed it. .Sorry./ . t%s okay. Let%s do this./ want them turned in to

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The guards ob"iously didn%t know where #a"e and Li1a were, and they were nearly on top of the place where they were lying when Li1a said .Now9/ and !umped to her feet. The first guard didn%t ha"e time to do much more than let out a startled shout before Li1a took him to the ground. #a"e was slower getting to his feet, but the second guard had turned to face Li1a, and didn%t see him at all. #a"e tackled him from behind, knocking him down, and punched him in the back of the head. 2hen that didn%t seem to stop him, #a"e punched him again, and then again. ,e was raising his hand for a fourth blow when Li1a grabbed it. .Enough,/ she said. .,e%s out. Now we need to get mo"ing before the rest of them show up./

#a"e looked towards the house. ,e could see a scramble of acti"ity in the dining room. t looked like 7o$ and Liang were lea"ing, and there were more guards coming into the room. .'kay, let%s go,/ he said. They got back up, and started mo"ing towards the house, not -uite running this time, but hurrying as much as they could. .2e need to go round the front,/ Li1a said. .Stay out of the light./ They angled towards the side of the house, away from the pool and the terrace. #a"e could see two more guards coming round the corner, !ust mo"ing into the darkness from the light. ,e mo"ed towards them, but Li1a was faster, taking them both out with what seemed like superhuman speed. ,e had a better "iew of what happened this time, and he was still standing there goggling when Li1a got back up. .7ome on. 0our more, at least,/ she said. They came to the corner of the house, and looked out. The two black cars and the limousine were parked in a pool of light. A guard was running out of the house towards the limousine. Li1a pushed #a"e out towards him. .8et him,/ she said. . %ll go in round the back./ #a"e ran towards the man, his feet crunching on the gra"el. ,e went faster than he thought he could, but he was still fifteen feet away from the man before he was spotted. Too far to !ump, too far to roll. ,e could see the man%s hand going to his belt. 8un, #a"e thought. ,e was sure of it, but his hand was already working the pump action mechanism on the arm of his suit. ,e lifted his hand, and sprayed a !et of tea towards the man, heating it up to boiling point. The man screamed, dropping the gun and falling to his knees. #a"e kicked him in the face, and he fell o"er backwards. The gun. #a"e picked it up, and threw it away as far as he could. ,e%d ne"er fired a gun, and now probably wasn%t a good time to start. The guard he had !ust hit was still on the ground, clutching at his face. 5robably not getting up any time soon, #a"e thought, turning towards the front door. ,e could see another guard running up the hallway, and he dodged to one side and made a di"e towards the front door. This guard already had his gun out and ready. #a"e heard a colossal bang, and a small part of his brain realised that the guard had !ust shot at him. The rest of his brain wasn%t e"en thinking, !ust rolling up into a crouch with a smoothness that astonished him, taking aim, and letting go with another blast of steam. Not close enough to get the guard, but close enough to surprise him and make him hesitate. #a"e saw the opportunity, and went straight for the other man, charging at him as he fired another !est of steam. This one was close enough, and the guard fired a wild shot into the air as the steam hit him. #a"e hit him a second later, dri"ing him into the ground and hitting him in the face, !ust as he had before. ,ow many was that3 Si$. Si$, plus howe"er many more Li1a had got. 0rom the sounds coming down the hallway, it sounded like there was at least one left, though. ,e could hear Li1a shouting something. t didn%t sound good. 8etting back to his feet, he ran down the hallway and into the dining room. +ruce stopped him in the doorway, a gun pointed directly at his chest. #a"e skidded to a halt and nearly ran into him. ,e could see Li1a o"er +ruce%s shoulder, fighting with Liang%s bodyguard. ,e couldn%t tell who was winning. .#own on the ground9/ +ruce said, his finger tight on the trigger. #a"e put up his arms, and got down to his knees, and then lay on the ground on his face. ,e felt +ruce%s foot pressing down on his back. .Now who the fuck are you, and who sent you here3/ +ruce demanded. .Nobody sent me,/ #a"e mumbled into the carpet.

.+ullshit. This isn%t the kind of op that you make up on the spot. Tell me who you are, and who you%re working for./ #a"e couldn%t belie"e that +ruce didn%t recognise him, but then he realised he was wearing a mask, and besides, he%d had a substantial makeo"er since the last time they%d met. .2hat, you don%t know who am3 thought you were the head of security around here./ #a"e said. ,e knew that making +ruce angry was probably a bad mo"e, but the alternati"e was lying here on the floor and being shot, and it was no worse than that. .4ou%re in no position to get smart with me,/ +ruce said, ob"iously controlling his "oice with some difficulty. .Tell me who sent you, and what you were told to do./ .4ou%"e got no idea, ha"e you3/ #a"e said scornfully. .So why don%t you fucking tell me3/ +ruce rolled #a"e o"er roughly. ,is knuckles were white where they gripped his gun, and the pink sheen of his burns was lost as his face turned red. #a"e%s eyes were fi$ed on the gun. 8ot to make him too angry to shoot, he thought. That%s the only way %m getting out of this. .4ou can%t figure it out for yourself3 Not "ery smart, are you3/ +ruce dropped his weight down on #a"e suddenly, sending a rush of air out of his lungs. ,e reached a hand out, ripped #a"e%s mask off and stared into his face. #a"e could see recognition and confusion warring on +ruce%s face. .2hat the fuck3/ +ruce said. #a"e did the first thing that came to mind - he lifted his head up and spat at +ruce. t hit him right in the cheek, and started to trickle down towards his !aw. +ruce lifted his gun hand, ob"iously intending to hit #a"e with the gun, and as the blow came towards him #a"e bucked his hips, sending +ruce falling forward. #a"e wriggled his torso to one side and tried to push himself free. t was a struggle. +ruce weighed a lot more than he did, and he was clearly a better fighter. ,e reco"ered almost instantly, grabbing #a"e%s arm, and wrenching the no11le of his sprayer free. Tea spurted out, and #a"e heated it up. The steam !etted towards +ruce, and he fell back, co"ering his face with his hands. #a"e could see that +ruce had finally figured out who he was. ,e lunged forward with all his strength, and knocked +ruce back, snapping his head against the wall. +ruce went limp, and #a"e scrambled to his feet. Li1a was still going at it with Liang%s bodyguard, but apart from that, the room was empty. 7o$ and Liang were nowhere to be seen. 'utside, he heard a car re""ing. .0uck9/ he shouted, turning around. ,e heard a meaty thump behind him, and in a second, Li1a was beside him, running down the hallway. They reached the front door as the limo pulled out. .2e%"e lost them,/ he said. .+ullshit,/ replied Li1a. She ran towards one of the black cars, wrenched the door open, and started the engine. .8et in9/ she shouted. .And get :ean on the phone9/ #a"e !umped into the car, and Li1a skidded down the dri"eway. ,e dialled :ean%s number and put the phone on speaker. .#arlings9/ :ean said. .,ow goes the sur"eillance3/ .:ean, get your car into gear, and block the road with it. 7o$ and Liang are coming your way. +lock the road, then get the fuck out of your car before they ram it./ Li1a shouted .Are you serious3/ .,urry. 4ou%"e got a minute at the most. 2e%re headed your way./

#a"e heard the sound of :ean%s car starting and the crunch of gra"el as he pulled it into the road. Then nothing. Li1a%s eyes were fi$ed on the road as she tried to catch up to 7o$ and Liang. #a"e could see the headlights ahead of them, but he had no idea how far they were from :ean%s car. ,e hoped that Li1a%s plan would work. ,e hoped that :ean got away from his car in time. Ahead of him, he heard an enormous bang, and he saw the headlights of the limo shudder and !olt. Li1a slammed on the brakes and pulled the car into a screeching skid, stopping !ust short of the limo. They got out of the car and ran up to the limo. 7o$ and Liang were inside, looking da1ed and barely conscious. Li1a whipped out the camera from somewhere and started filming. .There are the diamonds. 'n the seat. 8rab them,/ she said. #a"e reached into the car and grabbed the necklace. Li1a played the camera o"er the car one more time, then turned it off. .:ean9/ #a"e shouted. .4ou okay3/ . %m fine,/ he heard a reply from somewhere off to the side of the road. .+ut don%t think my insurance is going to co"er this./ :ean walked onto the road and glared at 7o$. . hope you%re insured, prick,/ he said. .Let%s go,/ Li1a said, heading back to the car. .+etter call the cops now and hand this stuff o"er./ .5robably a couple of ambulances, too,/ #a"e agreed. .8ood idea./ Li1a looked at him. .8ood work in there, tiger. +ad idea, but good work./ ,e reached o"er and hugged her. .Thanks, Li1a. :ean,/ he said, pulling :ean into the hug couldn%t ha"e done it without you. And you too,

.2e%re a good team,/ Li1a agreed. .Now let%s get out of here./

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#a"e%s cellphone rang as he was lea"ing the police station. .,ello3/ .#a"id9 Thank hea"ens we%"e reached you. 4our father saw you on the news and we%"e been worried out of our minds. Are you all right3/ . %m fine, )om. &eally. didn%t want to call you until e"erything was sorted out here, but %m fine./

.Are you sure3 4our father said that the police were looking for you about an assault. find that incredibly hard to belie"e, but he showed me the story, and there you were. 2hat on earth is going on3/ #a"e found a con"enient bench by the side of the road and sat down. . t%s pretty complicated, )om, but basically it was all a big misunderstanding. %"e talked to the police - %"e actually !ust finished talking to them a couple of minutes ago - and we%"e cleared e"erything up./ .+ut how did it happen in the first place3 assault someone./ can%t understand how they could belie"e that you would

.Actually, )om, that part did happen./ There was silence on the line. #a"e could almost hear his mother%s shock, and he hurried on. .Not like you think, and almost certainly not the way it was reported./ .This )r 7o$ from the news is the same man who was demanding money from you, isn%t he3/

.4eah, but that%s been cleared up as well. ,e%s under arrest at the moment, and there%s a pretty long list of charges. don%t really want to talk about that, though. t%ll probably be on the net pretty soon./ .2hat happened3 #id you get +elinda to talk to him3/ .No, took care of it myself. Not by myself, though. . %m glad to hear that, dear. thought it was disgusting./ had some friends who helped me./

couldn%t belie"e the way e"eryone dropped you after the trial. t

.These are new friends, )om. 4ou%ll probably need them ne$t time you come out to "isit. think you%ll like them./ #a"e heard a shout, and looked o"er at the police station. Li1a and :ean had !ust stepped outside, and were looking o"er at them. ,e ga"e them a wa"e, and pointed to his phone. .So you%"e decided to stay in New *ealand3 That%s a shame. home again./ was looking forward to ha"ing you

. know, and miss you guys too, but think %m going to stay here for a while, and see how things work out./ . f you%re sure, dear./ . %m sure, )om. think that e"erything%s going to be fine. %ll call you in a week or so, once things settle down and know what %m going to do ne$t./ .All right. lo"e you, #a"id./

.Lo"e you too, )om. +ye./ .8oodbye, dear./ #a"e hung up the phone and stood up. :ean and Li1a had nearly reached him. .Are you guys okay3/ he asked. .0ine,/ Li1a said. .4ou3/ .4eah, %m fine too. Took a while, but think they belie"e me about what happened. That police psychiatrist wants to see me again, but did the thing for him, and he definitely belie"es %m not cra1y now. think he might think that he%s losing it, though./ :ean laughed. . t will probably do him some good./ .)aybe,/ #a"e agreed. .Anyway, what now3 #o you guys want to head back to 2ellington3 guess should start looking for !obs and stuff, decide what %m going to do ne$t./ .A drink,/ Li1a suggested. .)aybe a couple./ .E$cellent suggestion,/ :ean agreed. .Let%s go home./ .That sounds good to me./ #a"e said.

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Acknowledgements

This isnPt going to be some big 'scar speech, but would like to thank &en, Sam and Sensei A"is for being my reading guinea pigs and making a lot of helpful suggestions. And Pd like to thank Sam again for doing the co"er, and for generally putting up with me throughout this whole process.

About the author

Edward 2inslow li"es in 2ellington, New *ealand, where he splits his time between work, writing and karate Mand, you know, wasting time on the internet and stuffN. Trouble Bre ing is his second book.