Free The Sudden Arrival of Violence: A Glasgow Underworld Novel 3 by Malcolm Mackay

costs. Might be a bit less if we’re selling in a hurry. Gives you more to run with.’
    Calum’s nodding. ‘As long as it’s safe. Safety first. That needs to be the first thing,’ he’s saying. ‘After that, I need a new identity. I know a guy who can come up with a new passport and driver’s licence in good time, if the money’s right. I can’t go and see him about it,’ Calum continues, with a bit of a shrug. A ‘you know what that means’ kind of shrug.
    ‘I can go see him,’ William’s saying. A pause. ‘I know a guy: does fake service histories and whatnot for cars. I know he does driver’s licences too. I could have a word with him.’
    Calum’s shaking his head. He chose his man carefully. Any counterfeiter who lasts is a good counterfeiter. But a driver’s licence and a passport are two different things. These new biometric passports require a speciality. They also need the passport to be falsely registered – something his chosen man can do for him. Same with the driver’s licence, but that’s easier.
    ‘We’ll stick with the guy I’ve chosen. He should be fine. I’ll tell you what I need.’
    ‘I’ll go see him tomorrow then. You have enough time for all this?’ William’s asking.
    ‘I hope so,’ Calum’s saying quietly. ‘The counterfeiter will already have IDs he can use. They set these things up and hold the IDs for years before they sell them. Gives them a history.’
    ‘Is this one of those dead-baby things?’ William’s asking with another frown.
    ‘Might be a stolen ID, might just be made up. I will need to set up a bank account in the new name, but that’ll be a piece of piss. Then I’ll need to book tickets to get myself out of here.’
    ‘You’ll need his ID before you can get through an airport,’ William’s saying. ‘If you’re not leaving Britain, you could always just drive.’
    ‘Nah,’ Calum’s saying. ‘I will have to leave at some point. Jamieson has connections with people all over the country. He could find me anywhere in Britain.’
    ‘He could find you anywhere,’ William’s warning.
    ‘He could. But he won’t.’
    Another moment of silence between them. Quiet in the house. William lives alone. He’s never married, although he was with a girl called Morven for years. Six years, maybe a little more. Then it all fell apart, in no time at all. Calum never knew why. Knew William didn’t want to talk about it, so didn’t ask. Been a couple of girls since, but William hasn’t settled. The elder brother’s the one to break the silence. Has to be. He has the right to ask; Calum only has the right to answer.
    ‘So you going to London or what?’
    ‘Probably. Just to begin with. Then on somewhere else. I’ll see how the land lies. See where I can go.’
    ‘You got any idea where you’ll end up?’
    ‘I have an idea,’ Calum’s nodding, and saying no more. It’s not an idea he’ll share with William. Not yet. Safer for his brother to know as little as possible. William understands that.
    ‘So does this have something to do with that wee firecracker you were knocking about with? The one who came and called me all sorts of terribly insulting things at the garage?’ William’s asking with a smile, teasing but genuinely interested.
    The firecracker’s name is Emma. Calum hasn’t seen her since the day she walked out of his flat nearly two months ago. She asked him to walk away from this life, and he told her he couldn’t. Which was true, at the time. He doesn’t know where she is now. He does know he’ll never see her again. He can’t, when he’s using a new identity.
    ‘It is and it isn’t,’ Calum’s shrugging. ‘It’s not about her personally. It’s about having someone like her. Having that kind of life. I can’t have it. Not if I stay. Only way all that can be mine is if I make a break. So that’s what I’m doing.’
    ‘Hell of a risk for a life you might not enjoy.’
    ‘I don’t enjoy this one much, so it’s