How a Gunman Says Goodbye by Malcolm Mackay

turned up with a van. He and MacLean drove off with Davidson’s body. Maybe, professionally, Scott should take responsibility for Frank. Maybe he should pull the trigger himself, prove that he can. He caught him, he kills him. Fizzy wouldn’t do it, though, and he’s not going to force someone else.
    ‘Listen, kid, you’ve done well, getting him there. He’s at your own flat?’
    ‘Yeah.’
    ‘Right. I’ll get someone round. Won’t be me or Shug. It’ll be someone to take care of him. Someone to get rid of him. You sit tight. Don’t let him move.’
    He’s thinking that he should have been more enthusiastic towards the boy. Too late now – he’s hung up. Getting rid of Frank MacLeod, that’s a coup. Jamieson’s gunman. One of his closest allies. If Frank went to kill them, and they got the better of him, then they’ve done something noteworthy. Something many others have tried and failed to do. Have to tell them that later. The first people to get the better of Frank MacLeod. First he knows of, anyway. If anyone else had bettered Frank, he’d be dead by now. Nature of the work he does. Would be preferable if there was a way of doing this without contacting Shug. This is why Fizzy ought to know more about the business. Especially about the people they’re using. He knows Shug’s using Shaun Hutton as his gunman now, although he hasn’t had a job for him yet. He likes Hutton, seems a better option than Davidson was. A more pleasant person, anyway. Not that that’s how you judge a gunman, but still. Shug knows Hutton’s number, Fizzy doesn’t. Shug is keeping a lot more secrets than he used to.
    The phone’s ringing. It’ll take a while for Shug to answer. His wife will wake first, and then wake Shug. Then he’ll spend thirty seconds bitching into thin air. Then he’ll answer his phone. They’re too old for this. This is the first time it’s occurred to Fizzy. If they were going to do this, they should have done it ten years ago. They were in their twenties, they had fewer responsibilities, and the market would have been easier to get into. They had the energy and the ability to take risks. Starting in your thirties has more disadvantages than advantages. More money to start you up, but less of everything else.
    ‘Fizzy – Jesus, have you looked at a clock lately?’ Still sounding groggy, not happy to be awake. Shug’s not an instinctively aggressive soul, and he doesn’t hold grudges, but he can be tetchy.
    ‘We have an issue.’
    ‘What sort of issue?’
    ‘A little bit good, bigger bit bad.’
    Fizzy’s explained what’s happened. He’s told Shug that Frank MacLeod is lying on Tommy Scott’s floor, waiting for a bullet. Someone needs to deliver it. Shug’s said almost nothing so far.
    ‘What about Scott? He’s got MacLeod’s gun.’
    ‘Scott’s not a gunman,’ Fizzy’s saying, digging the boy out of a hole. ‘This is a great chance to get rid of MacLeod and weaken Jamieson. We get rid of one of Jamieson’s best – think how that’ll look. If Scott and his halfwit pal do the job, God knows what might go wrong. We need a pro round there. Someone who can do the job and remove the body cleanly. Get this right and we get rid of the old man without anyone knowing.’
    There’s silence on the other end. Shug’s thinking. Fizzy can hear him moving around. He’ll be out of the bedroom by now, into his den. Doesn’t want to keep Elaine awake.
    ‘Okay. You’re right. I’ll make a call.’
    Shug’s hung up; he’s going to call Hutton. This is just horrible. Fizzy’s sitting in his living room now, his phone in his hand, and he doesn’t know what to do. Nothing. There’s nothing he can do. His part in this is over. Wasn’t much of a part. Hutton will go there and do the job. The phone traffic will stop, so as not to link people to the scene any more than they already are. The proper and professional thing to do is nothing. Never used to be like this. Not back when they