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was that behind his back, one of the black guys took Hodges completely by surprise when he swept his hand off the money and punched himsmack in the middle of the face. As Gavin now whipped round to the commotion unfolding behind him he saw Hodges stagger back across the room, the loud crack that accompanied the blow indicating that Hodges’s nose was broken. Eric yanked his gun out from his waistband , flicked the security catch and aimed it. Everybody immediately scattered, ducking down or hitting the floor. As Eric fired, the black gambler dived behind an elderly Asian man who caught the bullet in his stomach. At the sudden deafening blast of the Mauser everyone froze. The Asian man dropped, screaming, blood ballooning beneath the ratty, yellow cardigan he was wearing.
    Gavin couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing. The Asian man continued to scream and the room now suddenly came alive. A number of the gamblers around the table scrambled to their feet and headed for the door; Eric, apparently in a state of shock, made no move to stop them. He just stood there, looking at the writhing man on the floor, the gun hanging limply in his hand. Hodges, who had been leaning up against the wall holding his face in his hands as they pooled with blood, now gave an enraged yell. He charged at the guy who had punched him. Gavin continued to stare. This wasn’t supposed to be happening! The black man was big, but surprising nimble on his feet. As Hodges charged at him, he stepped back to give himself room, used his arms to spread Hodges’ outstretched arms and then used Hodges’ forward momentum to head butt him in the face. Gavin winced sharply as Hodges staggered back, tripped and banged his head on the wall as he hit the floor. He rolled on to his side and stayed there, dazed. Meanwhile Eric now came alive and again raised his arm to aim the gun. But this time Blackie was too quick. He slapped Eric’s arm away, knocking the gun sliding across the floor. He grabbed him round the neck, yanking him down to his waist. Eric struggled in the headlock for a while but red in the face and with saliva drooling from his mouth, he soon gave up. It was all over in a flash.
    Gavin looked at Blackie, then looked at the man who had done for Hodges. Apart from those two, only the Chinese woman, the wounded man whimpering and gurgling on the floor, and an old white man remained in the room. Gavin turned back to Blackie.
    ‘This doesn’t change anything, you know. You’re still going to have to pay.’ He slowly and carefully approached Blackie. He gently easedaside the arm locked around Eric’s head. The relaxation of pressure allowed Eric to choke and splutter as air was suddenly released back into his windpipe. While he did this, the other black guy who had dealt with Hodges went over to the discarded Mauser Parabellum and picked it up. He didn’t aim it at anyone, holding it in his hand openly for Gavin to see. Moving with as much authority as he could muster in a situation that had clearly veered wildly out of his control, Gavin went to the fallen Hodges and helped him to his feet. The three of them headed for the door. First Eric, then Hodges went out. Just before Gavin left he turned back to the black with the gun, staring at him.
    ‘And you,’ Despite the throbbing in his head, Gavin tried to grin. ‘We’ll meet again. You can count on that.’
    They kept the eye contact for a moment, and then Gavin left, closing the door quietly behind him.

3.
    H looked around the room. What the hell just happened? Blackie and Shampa stood side by side, Blackie with his arm around her; Sammy picked himself up from the floor and dusted himself down; Dipak lay on the floor where he had dropped after the skinny guy had shot him. His eyes were open, but he wasn’t moving. He was lying in a spreading pool of blood. That’s when H realised he still had the big gun in his hand.
    Blackie looked at it and then went quickly to the window. He looked out