I knelt blindfolded on the cold floor. Three of the heavies who had brought me in had remained. I could take any one of them, two if I was quick enough, but the third would get me, for sure. There was no way out of this, so I determined to go with dignity.

"It's going to do my little heart good, watching you die."

I recognised the voice. Lucky MacGuire would oversee proceedings. I was honoured.

Lucky's "little heart" had not been happy for the past few weeks. It was my fault. I had taken the money he had offered, yet still put three of his closest associates in the clink. Lucky had taken a dim view of my performance, so he sent the heavies 'round.

Six of them turned up this evening. I'd seen three of them coming, but there were as many out back as there were at the front door. I put up the best fight I could, putting at least one in hospital, if he survived at all, but it was futile - six was too many to take without a shooter. After overpowering me, they took me bound and blindfolded in a van to God-knows-where. Now I was to pay the penalty for distressing Lucky.

Here I knelt. The walls echoed, and the floor was cold and hard. I guessed I was in a warehouse. Lucky owned a few. The sound of footsteps gave me the information on numbers and positions. Two of the men who had escorted me in had left the room; the other three were somewhere behind me. Lucky walked from one side of me to the other in front.  

"I don't understand you," he admitted. "Did you think you'd get away with turning on me like that?"

I treated the question as rhetorical.

"I asked you a question!"

Lucky backhanded me across the face. I fell over sideways. Was he really expecting an answer? Of course I didn't think I'd get away with it. I wanted to cause him as much trouble as I could, but I'd wanted to be away when they came after me. I'd taken the money to relocate out of London after shopping him. I was all packed, but a little too slow off the mark.

But I couldn't tell him that. I just had to take whatever was coming. I remained silent, and I remained on my side on the floor, steeling myself for the expected kicks.

They didn't come. Lucky snapped his fingers, instead. One of the men behind me approached and raised me back on to my knees. Kneeling there on the cold floor, I felt the cold, hard kiss of a gun barrel against the side of my head.