He had been waiting outside the Houses of Parliament in the cold for hours. Most of the MPs had already come out, taken cabs or walked away. But not the men Alfie was waiting for. But then, at last, there they were: the three men he had seen in George’s Shooting Gallery. They came to a halt under the gas lamp, their backs to a scarlet postbox: Ron Shufflebottom, Tom Craddock and Roland Valentine, who was so handy with a gun and had nearly put an end to Alfie’s life. Had he really thought he had seen a rat, or had he seen the face peering down at him and thought he was being spied on? Whichever it was, this man was dangerous. Alfie could see them quite clearly. Although the air was still foggy, there were no clouds in the sky and a brilliant full moon lit up the whole scene. The three men stood together looking for a cab. So far, Alfie had watched them for three nights, and each night they had shared a cab back to their apartment.
