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Alpha?"
    "All five from Tuka's gang," said Johnny.
    "Dammit, Alpha," said Steinman. "I haven't got that much room in the cells."
    "You only need the morgue," said Johnny.
    Steinman looked from Johnny to Wulf, who stood beside him with his arms folded, smiling inappropriately at the dancer. The Gronk stood in between them, rubbing the bruise on the top of its head. It was a decidedly unlikely trio of bounty hunters.
    "All right," said Steinman, easing his feet off the front of the stage. "Let's take a look."
    He took his half-finished beer with him - there was no telling how long this would take.
    "Dead or alive," said Wulf to Steinman's retreating back. "There still is der reward for dead, yes?"
    "Yeah, yeah," said Steinman, wondering if there was any money in the kitty to cover it.
    "Did you get Tuka, though?" he said. "That's the big money, the boss-man!"
    "Just minions," said Johnny.
    Good, thought Steinman. Thank sneck for that. Last thing he wanted was a major bust attracting attention. Vaara attracted its fair share of people hiding out. Steinman didn't mind low-lifes so long as they stayed low. But every now and then he had to deal with mercenary do-gooders like Alpha. But at least Tuka's boys were worth taking out. Last thing Steinman wanted was more missing persons, turning up months later in a dustbin minus vital organs. Body sharks liked high quality meat, and that meant they strayed all too often from low-life victims to people who voted and paid their taxes.
    Steinman stepped out into the Vaara day, the glare stinging his eyes. He stood half off the kerb and swigged on his beer.
    "Okay then," he said. "Let's see 'em."
    "They're right there..." began Johnny, until he was fully out of the bar and realised that they weren't.
    "Wulf? Where'd you park?" hissed Johnny.
    "I parked right here," said Wulf. "They were here."
    " Habeas corpus , boys," said Steinman sternly. "And it looks like you don't hab yerselves any corpuses."
    Johnny slapped Wulf on the shoulder.
    "Where's the snecking car?" he yelled.
    "It was here," said Wulf.
    "Is this some kind of joke?" said Steinman. "Because I'm not in the mood."
    "Please," said Johnny quietly to the Viking, " please tell me that you didn't leave the keys in the ignition."
    "Well," said Wulf, "I, er..."
    "You did," said Johnny, his white eyes boiling with rage.
    "But who would steal a car full of dead bodies?" said Wulf.
    "If you wanna report a theft," said Steinman, "you can find me in my office. Later."
    He swaggered back into Daphne's Bar while Johnny glowered at Wulf in the street.
    "If music be the food of love," bellowed Steinman inside the bar, "then get 'em off."
    The awful music whirred unceremoniously back into life while Johnny and Wulf stared each other down. Chasing out of the bar after them, the Gronk bumped its head on the bottom of the swinging doors again.
    "Ouch," it said. "Where did the car go, Mister Misters?"
    Johnny slowly withdrew his own key from his pocket and marched over to the remaining vehicle.
    "Come on, Gronk," said Wulf forlornly. "It's been a bad day."
    A jeep full of dead bodies was an unusual sight, even in an outlaw town like Black Rock. Johnny bumped the jeep around what passed for streets in the area and collared any passers-by who looked like they could manage a sentence in reply.
    Nobody had seen a thing.
    After too many dusty streets and depressing one-storey buildings, he shunted the jeep to a halt and turned the engine off.
    The trio sat there in the afternoon sun, listening hopelessly for the sound of birdsong that would never come. The Vaara sky was now a dark mauve, shot through with yellow streaks as the sun began its slow crawl below the horizon.
    Wulf and the Gronk sat meekly in their seats, the Gronk because he had little choice, and Wulf because he knew this was his fault. They were light years off the beaten track, low on cash, and now someone had stolen their next meal ticket.
    Johnny rubbed his eyes.
    "This is wrong," he said