"_" "My old man, Vic Hill, is of the firm belief that people are born fully fixed." "Some people are born kind, some people are born evil, and that he was born just plain naughty." "Stop, police!" "Stay where you are!" "Put down your weapon!" "Off, now!" "Whoo-hoo-hoo!" "He's never known what it's like to earn a straight living and never had any interest in finding out." "He'd rob banks, blow the shutters off armored trucks, and have a crack at cracking any safe that couldn't be cracked." "Happy New Year, Dad." "Happy New Year, Albert." "Oh, looks like I'm in the doghouse again, son." "Yeah, Mum went to sleep." "I need to tell you something, Albert, and I need you to listen very carefully." "You know when a kid at school has got something that you really want, and you spend all your time thinking about how to get that same thing for yourself, and you sit there, scratching your noggin," "plotting all the different ways that you can earn the money to get that BMX that you want so badly, and you slave your little bollocks off every day, and you just can't seem to squirrel away enough money to get that bike." "And I really wanted that bike." "Yeah, well, Albert, there is a way to get it." "You just have to take it!" " Take it?" " Yeah." "But here's where the trick is: you must not get caught." "You make sure that you're super duper smart and cover your tracks, because if you do get caught... the bubbles will go flat in your pop." "Have the bubbles gone flat in your pop, Dad?" "It seems that way." "Now, you... take this." "It's a lucky charm." "Now, go upstairs and don't come back down no matter what you hear." "No tears, son." "You're a Hill, and Hill's don't cry over flat pop." "Go." "_" "Bit hot." "Fake it until you make it, Albert." " Mornin', mate." " Hello." "You're all right?" "Yeah, good." " Morning, Albert." " Hello, my love." " How are you?" " Good, love." "Thank you!" "Morning, Albert." "Hello, Eddie." "It's for you." " Hello, Mum." " Morning, Albert." " Good." "Give me those." " Oh, they're all overdue." "Bills don't pay themselves, Albert." "Yeah, well, don't worry." "I'll sort it." " Charlie in?" " Since we opened." "So have we gone artisanal, Charlie boy?" "Brahms and List." "A vanilla and cardamom infusion." "Wholesaling at 400% markup on piss-cheap Serbian vodka." "And you found some tourist stupid enough to buy all this hipster shite, have ya?" "Come on, Charlie, you know we need as much cash as we can to bet on Billy's fight tonight." "Yeah, the mixologist is my second cousin on the Cavendish Scott side." "Ooh!" "A deal stamped in blue blood." "That imbues me with confidence." "Oh, yeah, I mean, we could always just flog it out of the back of a van again, but that business model hasn't really worked for us to date, has it, Al?" "You know, when Billy wins tonight, we can start to leave all this small-time shit behind us." "I mean, let's face it, this is not sustainable, is it?" "Head down, arms swinging out." "Yeah?" "All right." "You be a good boy and load all that into the back of the van, and I'll see you in a few." "What did your last peon die of?" "!" "All right, Albert?" "Morning, Patsy." "I was gonna call you today." "Yeah, well, I thought I'd save you the bother." "Which way's the wind blowing, Albert?" "I do need a bit more time." "Come on, Patsy, I am good for it." "You know that, don't ya?" "Well, I'm starting to wonder, son." "You been tap-dancing around me quicker than Fred Astaire on the nose candy." " Listen, Patsy..." " No." "You listen." "Don't think because you're Vic Hill's boy, I won't come down on you." "Money's owed, and money will be paid." "You got until the weekend... or I take a finger... and the florist's." "I've always fancied having me own concession." "All right, mate?" "Keep working!" "Hands up, all the time!" "And a... yeah!" "One-two, one-two!" "Come in behind that left!" "Beauty!" "Would you tidy this place up, Billy?" "It's a shit hole in here!" "Don't remember exactly inviting you over." "Right, and what are these?" "Thought we had an agreement." "No funny business 48 hours in the lead up to the fight." "Don't worry about it, Al." "I only went three rounds, you know." " What's up with you?" " You know what's up with me." "I told you this fight is important." "We're six unbeaten now." "We win tonight, I might be able to push things forward, make some proper money for a change." "I'm sick of scraping by hand-to-mouth, Bill." "I'm sick of living on that freezing cold barge, you living in here." "I'm sorry to break it to ya, that's every day shit." "So you gonna tell me what's really going on?" "So I'm right on the back foot with the bills, you know that, don't ya?" "Mm-hmm." "I took out a loan against the florist to cover 'em and now I'm late on the payments." "Who'd you get the money off, Al?" "You went to Patsy." "Well, listen, when you're the offspring of Vic Hill you're not exactly welcome at the bank!" "Well, does your mum know?" "She will do when he kicks her door down, 'cause I ain't paid him back." "And how much do you owe?" " Twenty grand." " Twenty grand?" "!" " And counting, unfortunately." " Jesus." "Anyway, I'm gonna go and do a bit of business with Charlie." "I'll come grab you before the fight." "Look after yourself today!" "Stay hydrated." "See ya in a bit." "So which one of you Girl Scouts is game for a little cuddle then?" "Mmm!" "Lovely lox this, Hate 'Em All." "Where'd you source it?" "The Friendly Screw, Vic." "Oh!" "Well, he is a man one can rely on." "A quality rarely seen in our line of work these days." "Used to be you knew who you knew." "Yeah, and stood where you fucking stood." "Well, you're right, anyway, look." "What you in the mood for today?" " Apple or pear?" " Hmm." " I think I'll go with the mix today." " Apples and pears it is then." " There you are." " Lovely." "Well, lighten yourself up, Mrs. H is on the phone." "Fifteen years in the shovel, and still yet to enjoy a peaceful bit of breakfast." "I was just telling Hate 'Em that my greatest achievement is having you stay married to me for all these years, Lily." "You got egg on your chin, Victor." "Oh, be at a loss without ya." "Hello, Mrs. H, yeah?" "Hello, handsome." "So, what's the gossip, Lil?" "Just everything shipshape for Johnny Reid's big send-off." " Oh, we make a few quid out of it?" " Hardly." "But all money is good money, right, love?" "Good luck to him at the pearly gates." "Wonder if St. Peter will take a bung and let him in, the vicious bastard." "Oh, is that Albert?" "I haven't heard from him in a couple of weeks." " He's a busy boy." " Busy with what?" "Flogging moonshine?" "Busy doing what he can to keep us above water." "It's not roses at the minute, Vic." "Albert needs to understand... that this small-time stuff is simply not sustainable." "More chances to get nicked." "If he's gonna play the game, he needs to go in heavy." "Oh come on, you were still trying to find your feet at his age." "Yeah, but I had ambition." "So does Albert, he's managing Billy's fight career." "He's gotten him a decent ticket tonight as it happens." "Billy's fighting tonight?" "Where's that, then?" "You keep your beak out of it, Vic Hill." "Oh, any chance of a viewing, Lil?" "Come on, I could really do with a good night in." "No, I wasn't planning on going." "I don't like seeing Billy fighting." "Ooh, you could put on that red dress I really like, the one with the low-cut front." "Show 'em all what I'm missing." "Turn it." "What's the matter?" "I'm trying to have me breakfast." "You daft sod." "I'm only daft for you, sweetheart." "I'm only daft for you." "Hey, Vic?" "Did you know that the robin redbreast is actually five and 3/4 inches in length?" "El Flamingo?" "Did you fall off your rocking horse, Charlie?" "Everyone knows this place is fronted by Sonny Castillo." "And that insane, wannabe Cuban  has a zero tolerance policy for any liberties of any description being taken inside his establishment." "It's urban legend, Al." "Sonny Castillo is a legitimate businessman." "I'm not an accountant, Sonny, but I can count heads, and we had a club full last night." "That was down to me." "We made a deal." "Ten percent of the takings, and this is not ten percent!" "Always with the drama, Lotti." "You need to center your fire, baby girl." "Yeah." "You're right." "I'll torch this place to the ground with you in it." "Hey, hey!" "You make me wanna salsa." "I swear to God, you got to have Cuban blood." "Give me what you owe me, you pig, or I'll leave you so fast." "No one leaves Santiago Castillo." "Now... you be a good girl." "Go shopping, and buy yourself something... transparent to wear tonight." "Okay, baby." "I'll turn some heads." "And now, the distillation process takes place in stainless steel vats for over several months." "Uh, the, uh, timing of the distillation is as such..." "Oi, what is it with you boys and your bullshit?" "Just pour the shit." "Where's Charlie's cousin?" "Just always expected to be dealing with him directly." "He got caught with his dirty, thieving fingers in the till last night." "Lil' Manny here had a chin-wag with him, threw him out with the empties." "Well, you know, he was always the black sheep of the family." "Pour." "You got a good pour." "That smells like shit." "Give me that, Beanie." "Cardamom vanilla." "You've got some bollocks." "Yeah, well, if it's not to your liking, we can be on our way, can't we?" "Not to my liking?" "It's inspired." "Inspired?" "Well, that's good, right?" "How many cases do you have?" "Dozen out in the van." "We'll take the lot." "Pay these boys." "Cash works, fellas." "Well, that went to plan, didn't it?" ""Went to plan," you penis?" "We were seconds away from getting the carpet treatment in there." "I just made us two grand." "When are you gonna give me a pat on the back?" "When you start adding some risk-averse value to this operation." ""Risk-averse value"?" "I think you might want to reconsider our chosen line of work, Al." "You know it was never a choice for me." "Oh, yeah, and I was born with a silver spoon up my ass, right?" " I didn't say that, Charlie." " Didn't have to." "I know what you and Billy think." ""Oh, Charlie, he's not the offspring of a bank robber or a bare-knuckle fighter." "No, he couldn't possibly know his way around "a bit of business."" "I don't have time for this now!" "We have to concentrate on finding more folding to put down on Billy's fight tonight!" "This ain't gonna cut it, and you know that mental case, Patsy is gonna be sharpening his garden scissors and dreaming of daffodils." "Where you going?" "Charlie?" "Charlie, where you going?" "To dip my fingers in the family coffers, so you can remain in possession of all of yours." "You're Albert Hill." "Vic Hill's son, right?" "That's right." "Thought you'd have more about you than flogging rebottled piss water." "But then again... maybe you're just like all the other losers in this neighborhood." "And you're fulfilling your dreams, are you?" "Knocking about with Sonny Castillo?" "I haven't even started to live my dreams, yet, mate." "All right, nobody move a muscle." "Vic, we got three bars here." "Don't do drugs, Albert, you'll end up in prison." "Drugs are really expensive in prison." " Well, I'll bear that in mind, Dad." " Listen, I've had a think." "Gonna work the odds on Billy Boy's fight tonight." " How'd you know about Billy's fight?" " Have him smack the fella around for three rounds without putting him away." "The odds are gonna shorten on the win, so we go in heavy on a loss." "Have Billy catch a cold in the fourth." "Boom." "No, I'm not having Billy take a fall." "No way!" "I'm trying to build something here, Dad." "Okay." "I appreciate that... but it's page one." "When the odds are there to be worked, we work 'em." "Gonna make a packet out of this." "Get back to your winning ways the next go around." "I've got ten grand stashed with Clive at the battle cruiser." "Go and grab it, and put it on the wager." "And since when did you have ten grand stashed at the pub?" "Rainy day readies." "You forget I'm a bank robber?" "Get your head straight, son." "Billy goes down in the fourth." "Bollocks!" "Dad just called me." " Did he now?" " Knows about the fight." "Wants Billy to take a fall." "Told me we'd "make a packet out of it."" " And what did you say?" " What do you think I said?" "He didn't give me a chance to say anything, did he?" "You know what he gets like." "Your dad sees things in simple terms, love." "If there's a bulletproof way to turn over a pound, he'll take it every time." "Well, that equaled out perfectly for all of us, didn't it?" "Don't be too tough on him, love." "I mean, he's just..." "trying to stay relevant." ""Stay relevant?"" "What about me?" "I'm just trying to get fucking relevant." " Language, Albert." " No, Mum!" "We've been up against it ever since Dad got nicked." "Unpaid bills up to our ears!" "We haven't had any help from anyone!" "You're still peddling fake designer shirts, and look at me, I'm still wearing 'em." "Dad put us in this situation in the first place, and he thinks he can just call me up and get me to do whatever he wants whenever he wants." "Was that a statement or a question, Albert?" "'Cause what I see is a young man, and he should be making his own choices." "Yeah." " Hello, Staff." " Oh!" "Good afternoon, Master Charles." "Are my parents home?" "Well, if you mean "parents" in the biological context, pertaining to an organism, cell, or complex molecular structure that generates or produces another, then yes, your "parents" are indeed... in residence." "Thank you, Staff." "Afternoon, Charlie." "Everything ticking along all right, old chap?" "Head down, arms swinging, Father." "Good boy." "Do me a favor, would you, and pop into the bedroom and remind your mother that the plumber was called out to disencumber... the pipes and not her." "Okay." "TMI." "Jesus." "Oh, Christ." "Work the odds a little bit, Alby." "We'll make a packet out of it, Alby." "Course Billy goes down in the fourth, 'cause you have to run my life from inside the nick, don't ya?" "He ain't going down." "Why does he go down in the fourth?" "He ain't gonna take a dive, you ain't gonna shorten the odds, he ain't going down in the fourth." "Not going down in the..." "All right, Albert?" "Vic called, said you'd be dropping by." "And like a rabbit out of a hat, here I am." "Any thoughts on the fight, son?" "Too close to call, Clive." "Good afternoon." "And how may I be of assistance?" "Um, S-Saul Gold, please." "Mr. Gold is occupied, but I'd be more than happy to help you with any inquiry you may have." "Inquiry, yeah, I may have..." "Right, yeah, um... yeah." "Um, I have a very rare, gold, antique fob watch." "Mint condition." "Been in my family, the Cavendish-Scotts, for over four generations." "Um, I'd like an appraisal for a potential sale." "It's sub-mint, as indicated here by the wear on the bezel." "The weight of the watch is 100 grams, so mass value is nominal." "Hmm." "Not antique, but placed into the mid-century modern era." "The fob watch is not a style that is in vogue in the current market." "So, we could make you a purchase price offer of 3,000 pounds." "Would that be satisfactory, sir?" "Yeah, uh, what?" "How-how much?" "Yeah, yeah, yeah, that-that-that-that's satisfactory." "Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Cavendish-Scott." "Go in." "Ask her out." "Or call her later?" "Now?" "Later?" "Too soon?" "Too soon." "Billy, I wanna run something past ya." "It's about the fight." "And what about it?" "Well, I've been thinking... you know if we work the odds on this a bit, well, you know, we can make a packet out of it." "Work the odds?" "I ain't taking a dive, Al." " Not a chance." " Listen, Billy." "You know I'd never ask you to do that." "So what're you asking then?" "Take a few slaps in the first three rounds." "Right, we let the odds lengthen on you winning, we lay down our bet, and you poleaxe this prick in the fourth round." "You want me to do the rope-a-dope?" "I know it's a lot to ask of ya, but I'm right on the back foot here, ain't I?" "I do this... and our problem goes away?" "Like it never happened." " All right, then." " Yeah?" "Oh!" "What, seriously?" "!" "Well, you know I've never been shy about taking a few digs, Al." " Come here." " Oi, easy there!" "Feint!" "Protect yourself at all times." "You're lucky!" "And what?" "Albert Hill!" "What's occurring, Blud?" "This and that, Tip Top, you know me." "So, is your half-Pikey pal ready for a proper tear up?" "What do you think?" "Fighter weighs in at 162 pounds." "You promised us a "proper ding dong" Tip Top." "We're fighting Castillo's boy." "Keep your head straight, Billy, all right?" "Keep your head straight." "I'm comin' for you!" "It's fight night!" "Come on, Al." "You've wrapped me three times already." "Yeah, well, these babies are our ticket to the big time." " All right, girls?" " Oh, there he is." "Where've you been?" "Getting your bottom spanked by Staff?" "No, raising funds to extract your broke ass from the gutter." " Yeah, all right." " A "little risk-averse value."" "Three bags to up the ante." " Three grand?" " Shit." "Fair play, Charlie Boy." "Fifteen grand, all right?" "All of it to go down on Billy to win in the fourth." "And don't put it down till the end of round three, we good?" "Good as gold." "Oi." "Round four." " Fourth round." " Right." " Hate 'Em?" " Yeah?" " Fight time." " Fine." "I'll be back for you, little man." "Keep them custard creams on ice for me, all right?" "Yeah, right." "All right, let's get the old lady on the phone." "Hey." "Sit right here, baby." " All right, love?" " Hello, beautiful." "You get us some ringside seats?" "Ah, well, the Hill name still holds some sway around here, babe." "Check this out." "Come on!" "You're the man!" "You got this!" "Billy Boy!" "Okay, let's have some fun!" "Center of the ring, please, boys." "Right." "I want a good, clean fight." "Leave the monkey business in the zoo." "To your corners." "To your corners!" "Boys, can you keep the noise down?" "The fight's about to start." "Sweet." "Listen to me, stick to the plan, and we're home and dry." "Stick to the plan, all right?" "No knockout until the fourth, yeah?" "Right, that's when he's getting it." "I hope he remembers to go down." "He'll go down." "Go, Billy!" "Come on!" "Come on, Chepe!" "Referee, he's holding now!" "He's holding!" "Referee!" "Slow down, Billy Boy." "Have a live wire in that boy, innit?" "Yeah, Billy Boy, you know the script." "You know the script." "Ref!" "Wake up!" "What are you doing in there?" "!" " I barely touched him." " Well, touch him less." "Less touching, please." "Touch him, touch him!" "Too early, too early." "I know, but he's makin' it look good, isn't he?" "Nice!" "Come on!" " No." " No." "What are you doing?" "What are you doing?" "Come on, Billy!" "Oi!" "Oh!" "... After the bell, that." " Round four, we're done, we're done." " Sweet, this is it." " We're home dry." " We're in." "How you feeling?" " Good as gold, Al." " Yeah?" "What action you offering Billy Ayers in the fourth?" "It's a carpet." "Three to one odds." " Fifteen large." " Fifteen large?" "Do I stutter?" "Well, I'll have to go up the totem pole to get an aye on this one." "I will take your folding, big bollocks." " Lovely." " Nice one." "Fourth round, Bill." "Fourth round, Bill, eh?" "Put him on his ass." " Come on, Billy, you know what to do." " You got this, Bill." " Billy!" " Oh, no!" " Oh!" " No!" "What is he doing?" "!" "Billy!" "Billy!" "Come on then!" " One." " Get up." "Two." "Three." " Four." " I need you to get up, Chepe." "Come on, come on!" " Six." " Are you counting down or what?" " Seven." " Are you counting there or what?" "!" "Nine." "Move it." "Box!" "Ah, shit!" "Ref!" "He's gouging his eye there!" " He gouged his eye!" " He thumbed his eye!" "Sit your ass down." "Oh, ho, ho, ho!" "Yeah!" " Boom!" " There he is!" " Bye-bye, good night." " Stay down." "One, two, three, four..." " Billy, stand up!" " Five!" "Six." "Seven." "Bill!" "Get your ass up!" " Eight!" " Eight!" "Nine!" "No." "Chepe Vago is the winner by TKO!" "Ah!" "Oh, son!" "Oi!" "Hey, what's your game now?" "Ten seconds, can you count?" "Waving off after nine, what's your problem?" " That's it mate, that's it." " You're a mug, you're a mug!" "Whoo!" "Whoo!" "Let's get out of here." "I mean, he turned us over!" "Castillo properly turned us over!" "All that money, Billy, gone." "Shit!" "We're fucked!" "Yeah, and not to mention the small issue that Vic Hill thinks he just won a small fortune." "I'm well aware that I'm now 30 grand in the hole to my old man." "Thank you very much, Charlie." "Yeah, well, I say we go back there and lodge a protest." "Let's go back and kick the shit out of him." "Hey!" "All right, boys?" "What do you want?" "Sonny hustled you guys." "I think you mean your boyfriend hustled us." "Soon to be ex-boyfriend." "Time to move along." "Your eye all right, tough guy?" "Still in its socket." "You haven't answered my question." "It was me who turned El Flamingo from a dive bar into the hottest spot around here." "Sonny's been shortchanging me out of my cut for months." "I want what's mine." "My guess is you want what's yours." " Thought we could help each other." " Go on." "Sonny's got a collection going out this morning." "5:00 a.m." "A security van picks up this month's takings from El Flamingo." "I'm talking couple of hundred grand?" "I give you the route, you figure out the best place to hit the truck." ""Hit the truck"?" "And what makes you think we'd be stupid enough to rob Sonny Castillo?" "Maybe the rumors about you are right." "The apple did fall far from the tree." "But if you boys decide to man up..." "I'm only 11 digits away." "We've gotta go after him, Al." "I can't just sit on my hands." "For once, I think I actually agree with Billy." "And you think you've got the minerals to hold up a security van, do you, Charlie?" "Actually, yeah, I think I might." "Yeah, well, Sonny Castillo is a proper nut, and if we get this wrong?" "We are bang in trouble, and I'm talkin' "two in the back of the head" kind of trouble." "What do you think Vic'd do?" "We all know what Vic would do!" "This entire neighborhood knows what Vic Hill would do!" "Now, you wanna go and do a 20 stretch in the nick, you go and knock yourself out." "Get inside, boys, come on." "There's no shame in what happened tonight, Billy." "You had him beat, and you were robbed." "Bloody robbed." "I'm, uh, sorry about the towels, Mrs. H." "Don't you worry, love." "You know it's not the first time" "I've had to clear up a mess in this house." "Most likely won't be the last." "Albert?" "Kitchen." "So I take it you bet on the win." "Yeah, and we would have won if we hadn't been turned over." "Oh, somebody's always getting turned over in this game, Albert, you should know that by now." "Well, I feel like I'm losing control, right?" "Paddlin' upstream, trying to steer things in the right direction, and as soon as I feel like I'm gettin' somewhere..." "Everything turns to shit." "Yeah." "Why is it so hard to get ahead, eh?" "Why?" "Listen." "I know life has dealt you a tough hand, but it is what it is, and we are where we are, and the only part of it you can control is how you react to the crap that is thrown at you." "So, you can either be a mark, or make a mark, Albert." "No one can make that choice for you." "I'm gonna turn in." "Get up, boys." "We're gonna hit that truck." "Two trucks?" "!" "Think, think!" "Shit!" "Right." "Let's be having ya!" "Oh, no, you bloody well don't!" "What's that?" "We've rung the bell." "Charlie... can you bring the van 'round, please, mate?" "That's gangsta!" "_"