"Me? Physically nothing. But I have permission from my employer to use my discretion when necessary. And when I use my discretion, the chap sitting in the BMW with the tinted windows in the library car park will do the necessary."
With a "Bullshit", Jason leans forwards and attempts to peer between the books to locate the car.
I duck down out of his eyeline.
I…have no idea if it’s bullshit. It wasn’t part of the plan we discussed and I don’t know if I need to do something about it.
"I assure you I'm telling the absolute truth. But let me prove it to you." Carlos reaches into his breast pocket and produces a phone. He presses the screen and places it to his ear. After a moment, he says, "We need you."
Jason's leg has started to jitter. Pressed against the table leg, the open pages of the magazine vibrate. He glances between Carlos and the gaps above the books in the shelving unit. "I don't know nothing about this guy owing you money. I promise."
"But you know now, Mr Travers. And perhaps you're beginning to understand why we have a problem."
"But it's not my problem, is it? It's this dude's." He gestures at the picture.
"We both know you are fully aware of his name, Mr Travers."
A massive man with a shaved head, a black turtle-neck sweater and a thick gold chain arranged over the sweater walks past me without looking at me and steps in beside Carlos, and if I hadn’t already started sweating at Carlos going off script, I definitely am now.
"Everything okay, Mr Harris?" the man asks in a thick Slavic accent.
"I think Mr Travers understands the situation now, don't you?"
Jason stares up at the huge man, open mouthed, and gives a quick series of nods.
"Thank you, Bogdan."
Bogdan eyes Jason for several seconds, then returns from the direction he came.
Jason's eyes follow him, and Carlos takes the opportunity to pull another photo from his case. "Who's this woman, Mr Travers?"
Jason looks down at the photo and turns from pale to grey. "That's my nan." His voice shakes.
"Is it now? Your nan. How interesting." Carlos pulls the phone from his pocket and dials again. "He says it's his nan," he tells the voice at the other end.
The person receiving the call says something indistinct and Carlos "Humms" before hanging up.
"You're not going to do anything to her, are you?"
"That really depends on you, Mr Travers, and how well you stick to our agreement of returning all the money to this man –" Carlos taps the photo of Theo. "– by five o'clock Monday evening."
"B-but," stammers Jason. "I haven't got all of it."
"Spent some of it, did you?"
"Only a little bit."
"Here's how it's going to play out. You are going to return your brand-new luxury car to the dealership with as close to a full refund as you can get, and then you are going to find the rest of the money the best and fastest way you can. If that means borrowing from your little piggy friends, then so be it."
Carlos gathers the photos, puts them back in the briefcase and stands. "But let me make one thing clear. If you ask for money from your nan, or acquire it from anyone else through deceptive or forceful means, I'll call in my discretionary powers and ask Bogdan to have an intimate conversation with you. Do I make myself clear, Mr Travers?"
"Yes." Jason's voice is little more than a whisper.
Carlos leaves The Study Nook and as soon as he's out of sight, Jason picks up his phone and thumbs it open. "We have a big fucking problem." His voice raises in volume and pitch. "I'm freaking out, Dan."
I leave him to it.
Chapter forty-nine
