'Leonid already knows you've crossed over to Yuri Donstov.'

'So what is this? A warning?'

'It's me finding out that Leonid's not lying,' said Alexei.

Silence.

'Something's gone missing from your office,' said Alexei. 'He told me that, too.'

Vasili closed the window. Sighed.

'I'm sorry, Alyosha.'

'Rita took a heavy beating for you. I haven't seen her, but Leonid had that animal with him – you know, the one that even the Moldovan girls won't go with.'

Vasili hit the steering wheel five times. The horn blared into the night.

'Steady, Vasya.'

'I'm sorry, Alyosha,' said Vasili. 'I'm fucking sorry. What more can I say?'

'Well, that's something.'

'It wasn't supposed to happen like this. Leonid wasn't supposed to be back until next week. I was going to talk to Yuri, get permission to bring you in. You were going to be part of it. You know that. I just had to…'

'That's just the point, Vasya: I didn't know that.'

'I couldn't tell you. You're too close, Alyosha,' said Vasili. 'Yuri made an offer that Leonid wouldn't have given me in a million years.'

'But without me. You didn't want me protecting your back and… what the fuck does it matter anyway?' said Alexei, trailing off. 'What was that, Vasya?'

'Nothing.'

'I heard it. You're crying.'

Silence.

'Well, thank fuck for that,' said Alexei. 'At least you're fucking sad, Vasya.' Pepe was on the road, a little later than planned, with a few more drinks inside him than he'd intended, all because of the football: Sevilla FC winning a UEFA cup game in Athens. He'd got caught up in the post-match euphoria, eaten dinner with wine and brandy. Now he had the music on full blast and was singing along with his favourite flamenco singer, El Camaron de la Isla. What a voice. It was making him tearful.

Perhaps he was driving a little too quickly, but there wasn't much traffic and the lanes of the motorway seemed as wide and well lit as an airport runway. The music drowned out the rattling of the steel rods. He was happy, bouncing up and down on his springy seat, looking forward to seeing his daughter and the babies. His cheeks were wet with emotion.