'Where is it?' Maddy says, losing her patience with the incompetence of her staff members.
They all look at each other. Jane looks at Ian. Ian looks at Jessie. Javier looks at the floor. No-one looks at Maddy.
'Where is it!?' Maddy says again, this time loud enough for almost the whole building to hear.
Jane opens her drawer and without looking at her, hands Maddy a big cash bag, full to the brim with money. There must be almost a hundred thousand dollars stuffed inside. You could hear a pin drop in the office, until Maddy says,
'You have got to be fucking kidding me.'
Across town, a battered Ford Transit van carves through the traffic. Inside, Carlos grips the steering wheel tightly, focussing himself on the task ahead. River has the front seat alongside him, with his feet up on the dash, and trademark cigarette hanging from his lips. Alex has been relegated to the rear of the vehicle, and crouches there on the wheel arch opposite Peters, whose bulk makes it difficult for him to ride comfortably with the chairs taken out.
'Slow the fuck down Carlos', Alex says, as he struggles to hold on, the road surface and the age of the vehicle knocking him about like a pebble in a tin can.
One In A Billion Page 25