'Don't be stupid,' said Ivan, a rough edge to his voice. 'They won't take any apologies. Give the money back or don't give the money back, they'll kill you just the same.'
'It says it right here,' Reid jabbed at the piece of paper. 'Give us our money back now. If that's what they want I reckon we should just give it to them.'
'To who, exactly?' Matt said. 'It doesn't say who or what, just give it back. Christ, we don't even have the money yet.'
'It doesn't matter,' said Reid, his voice growing more and more distraught. 'Just give it back, that's all.' He stepped angrily towards Matt. 'We're going to be next if we don't do something about it.'
'You're being stupid,' Ivan interrupted. 'I used to be a terrorist, as you are so keen on pointing out. I know how these people's minds work. They want the money, but they want you dead as well. He's just saying that to try and unsettle you. You're letting them get to you.'
'The only stupid thing I've done was get mixed up in a mission with you,' said Reid.
'I've had to take enough nonsense from you,' Ivan snapped. 'How do I know you didn't kill both Cooksley and Damien?'
Matt recognised the tone in the man's voice — it was the same cruel arrogance he had heard just before Whitson was killed. 'Break it up, boys,' he said, stepping between them. He looked to Ivan, then at Reid. 'We have to stick together, and fight them together,' he said. 'That's the only way. Otherwise they just pick us off one by one.'
Matt walked alone along the ridge of the hillside. He could feel the wind curling around his ears, but a few rays of sunshine were starting to struggle through the clouds. He had told the others he would check the back of the lodge and explore the hills behind to make sure no one was watching them from a distance. But, in truth, that had been an excuse. He needed to be alone for a few minutes.
He was wearing a grey overcoat, and black leather shoes — a man dressed for the town, not the country. He was still struggling to come to terms with Damien's death. In the Regiment you got used to your friends dying — it was part of the job, an occupational hazard. You knew the risks when you signed up, and nobody expected to life for ever. But this was different. This wasn't someone he'd worked with for a few years, this was the man he'd grown up with, whose life he had shared, whose sister he was planning to marry. If I'd had a brother, this is what it would have been like to lose him.
In the Regiment it was usually some Rupert's fault that a guy got killed. This time it's my fault.
'I'm sorry about your mate,' said Reid, walking up alongside him.
Matt had been so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed Reid at his side. They were about two hundred yards above the lodge, with a panoramic view of the whole valley. If anyone approached, they'd be able to see him.
'I'll miss him,' said Matt.
'It's Ivan, I tell you,' said Reid. 'How else could the assassin know we were here?'
Matt shrugged. 'I was with Ivan this morning down in Hammersmith. It couldn't have been him.'
'Not personally, no,' said Reid. 'But who says he hasn't got an accomplice? He finishes you and me off, then he and his mate collect all the money. Makes perfect sense to me.'
'He didn't know where you were going,' said Matt. 'Not unless he overheard you saying something to Damien. Or he had you followed.'
'We did our best,' said Reid. 'I kept my eye on the mirror through the journey. I tucked into a couple of lay-bys, took a couple of detours by some side-roads. That should have flushed out anyone on our tail. But like I said, I reckon it's Ivan. OK, you were with him — but he could have slipped away to make a call.'
Matt said nothing.
'I think that stuff about the IRA chasing him was just a stunt,' Reid continued. 'How do we even know he was in the IRA? No — he's got an accomplice, and they're working it together. As long as we have nothing to do with him, we're safe.'
'So what do you want to do then?'
Reid paused. 'Maybe we should finish him off now,' he said quietly. 'Out here on the hills, bury him somewhere. No one will ever find the body.'
Matt took a moment before answering. 'We're not murderers,' he said. 'And we've got no evidence.'
They stood in silence for a while. A light rain had started to fall. 'We can't stay here then,' said Reid. 'We've got to lose him.'
'There's a place in Spain. I'd have to clear it with the guy who owns it, but if he agrees it's perfect,' said Matt. 'The place is wired for maximum security — cameras, light sensors, tripwires, the works.'
'And what do we tell Ivan?'
'We don't want anything more to do with him, we tell him that. If he doesn't like it, we'll just kick the hell out of him. There's one of him, and two of us. What can he do?' Matt looked down at the lodge below them. 'And if it turns out he's responsible for Cooksley and Damien dying — then we kill him. He deserves it.'
Ivan's face was drawn, his eyes bloodshot and his shoulders sagging. Matt had known the man for only a few days, but Ivan had always seemed to be in control, always knew exactly what to say, everything mapped and planned. But not now. For the first time, control seemed to be slipping from his grasp.
'We're off,' Matt said, looking at him directly. 'I'm not saying we don't trust you, but right now Reid and I don't trust anyone. So we're disappearing for a few days, until the money is ready. We're not telling you where we're going, and we don't want you to start looking for us.'
Ivan was grinding his feet into the ground. 'Each time a man dies, the share to those left standing goes up,' he said. 'Now you kick me out, and that makes five million each for the two of you.'
Matt jumped forwards and grabbed Ivan by the shoulders. 'Don't say that,' he spat. 'Damien was my best friend, and now he's dead.'
A slow chuckle started to rise through Ivan's throat. 'You think it's me, don't you?'
'We're not saying that,' Reid said.
Ivan pulled up the collar of his coat. 'You're making a big mistake,' he said. 'Sure, information is swilling around somewhere, but it's not coming from me. I thought it might be coming from the Provos, but I don't think it's them any more.'
Matt leant into Ivan's face. 'So where's it from, then?'
Ivan shrugged. 'Dig your own graves if you want to, boys, it's no concern of mine,' he said. 'What's the proposal for cutting up the money? That's all that worries me right now.'
'You'll get your share,' Matt growled.
'I'm not letting that money out of my sight.'
'We'll collect it together,' Reid said, 'the way we always planned. We'll take our shares in Rotterdam — you know as well as we do when the cargo ship's coming in — then we'll go our separate ways.'
Ivan laughed. 'No. I'm sticking with you until I get my money.'
Matt jabbed a finger at his face. 'You heard what we said, you'll just have to accept it.'
Ivan waited for a few moments, then nodded. 'OK then — but if either of you double-cross me, I'll kill you,' he said. 'Then I'll kill your families as well. If it's the last thing I do.'
He turned to walk away. The rain was heavier now, and water was dripping down the side of his face. 'If you make it, that is,' he said, 'because it's not me.'
'So long as we're away from you, we'll be OK,' said Reid.
Ivan shook his head as he set off. 'A couple of bone-stupid British squaddies. You haven't figured it out yet, have you? And the rate your brains work, you never will!'