" Let's get it done before the pub throws out sic !sx , " I said , leading off .sx " Fine by me , " said Crackle , " I'm not needed till the finale .sx " .sx " What does the band do for an encore ?sx " I asked as we walked .sx " They ain't got one .sx Every tune they know they do .sx If the show runs for more than an hour an' three-quarters , they're up shit creek without a paddle .sx " .sx I wondered why he'd stopped writing music reviews , but I kept it to myself .sx There were only three cars in the car park of the Flying Horse and the Mercedes was parked in the farthest corner from the road .sx Even better , the driver's side was up against the back wall of the pub .sx I did the obvious and checked the doors first .sx Locked , of course .sx " OK , Crackle , I'll keep an eye out if you can do the driver's door .sx If I whistle , duck down behind the car .sx " .sx That would be a laugh .sx Crackle towered over the Mercedes and could probably lift it if he wanted to .sx " Will it take long ?sx " .sx He eyed the front of the sports car professionally .sx " Naw , easy .sx " .sx I walked into the middle of the car park so I could see the road and the front door of the pub .sx There was a juke-box on inside belting out Country and Western , which turned out to be just as well .sx I watched in horror as Crackle dropped the tool bag on the ground and took out a nine-pound masonry hammer , spat on his hands and then swung at the driver's door window .sx By the time I got to him , he was reaching inside to work the handle .sx " Is that how you usually break into a car ?sx " I hissed at him .sx " That's the way I've been doing it for fifteen years , " he said , drawing himself up to his full awesome height .sx " Well .sx .. fine .sx Been successful ?sx " .sx " Yes .sx .. and no , " he said thoughtfully .sx " Yes , I got into the cars .sx No , I kept getting arrested .sx " .sx I shook my head .sx Why me ?sx " Get the boot open , will you ?sx " Quietly .sx " .sx Crackle shrugged and picked up a chisel from his tool bag .sx I was about to check to see if there was a release catch in the Mercedes itself , but then I thought :sx Why not let Crackle keep himself busy .sx There was nothing inside the car except a road map on the passenger seat , open at West Yorkshire .sx Huddersfield was ringed in black ink and a route north had been traced in the general direction of Newcastle .sx So he knew where the band was going .sx Well , that wasn't difficult .sx Anyone could have told him .sx Then , on the back seat , underneath a light blue Pringle sweater was a pair of headphones attached to a Walkman set .sx Except it wasn't a Walkman .sx I'd seen commercial versions marketed as Whisperers , but this was definitely a souped-up de luxe model .sx It clipped on to your belt and it looked like a personal stereo , but it didn't play music ; it received , picking up and amplifying sound so you could overhear conversations across the street .sx I realized that it could have been me who had put him on to Astral Reich .sx He'd been outside Candlepower when I'd talked to Jev Jevons and he'd been in the concert hall in Leicester .sx No wonder he'd ripped the headphones off when the Reich started their sound check .sx It must have blown his eardrums .sx I wrapped the headphone wired around the Whisperer and stuffed it into my jacket , then levered myself out of the car .sx Crackle was pointing inside the boot , the boot lid hanging at an off-true angle suggesting it might never close properly again .sx I tried to remember what I'd said on the phone to the girl at Euro Lime about there being no damage to her one and only Mercedes .sx " Cameras ?sx " asked Crackle , thinking of loot .sx I examined the only thing in the boot , a metal briefcase exactly like the ones professional photographers use .sx I tried to open it but it was locked .sx " Allow me , " said Crackle , leaning forward with the chisel and hammer .sx One blow sprung the lock and inside , sure enough , were a couple of cameras and a flash unit padded in a foam - rubber mould .sx " Worth anything ?sx " breathed Crackle suddenly deciding to be secretive .sx " No , they're not , " I said , but mostly to myself .sx Because they weren't .sx They were good , cheap , automatic cameras , sure , but not worth the expense of such a case .sx " Gimme the chisel .sx " .sx I dug the chisel blade into the side of the foam rubber and worked it around the edge until the whole shell came up .sx Underneath it was another rubber mould with four cut-out shapes .sx One was unmistakably meant to house an automatic pistol , one I guessed was for a three-inch cylindrical silencer and two rectangles for magazines .sx All were empty .sx So the mysterious Mr Gronweghe was armed .sx We already knew he was dangerous .sx " So what do we do now ?sx " asked Lucinda , taking charge of the Council of War we'd called in the back of Stevie's truck .sx Over in the Polytechnic the band started its second set .sx " Three ways , " I said .sx " Call the cops .sx .. " .sx " Get real , " said Mitch .sx " Give him what he wants , then .sx " .sx " And just what the fuck exactly is it he's chasing ?sx " Mitch challenged .sx " That's not an option , Angel , is it ?sx " Lu-Lu came to the rescue .sx Mitch took it without question .sx " Not really .sx So we're left with leading this guy away from the band so you can get on with your lives .sx And I guess that means I have to do the honourable thing for the Greater Good and all that other bullshit .sx " I tried to look modest .sx " What do you need ?sx " asked Mitch , not trying to talk me out of it .sx " Transport - I have to get back to my wheels in Leicester - an empty suitcase , the use of Snap and Crackle for a few hours , some privacy , no questions and a big favour from Elvis .sx " .sx Astral Reich finished to thunderous applause at one minute after midnight .sx Much to the annoyance of their fans , by 12.15 they were being driven by Lucinda back to their hotel , the George , in the centre of town near the railway station .sx Mitch had briefed his crew and the rip-down was half done before Lu-Lu's microbus had left the car park .sx Rip-downs are much faster that set-ups and this one would have been faster if I hadn't rearranged the packing schedule .sx Fans were still streaming out as I pulled Jerry's truck up to the college buildings head on .sx The lighting trusses were brought down , disconnected and hauled out to be shoved in first , then Elvis supervised various other bits of equipment and then I backed the truck off to a corner so that the other trucks could get in .sx The lighting trusses , the first thing to go up , should have been the last thing to come out .sx And trucks should always reverse up to a hall .sx What we were doing looked highly suspicious .sx At least I hoped so .sx I let Crackle lock me in the back of Jerry's truck and set to work with my hacksaw on the truss I'd marked with insulating tape .sx It didn't take long to saw right through the tube and then I started to pull out the strips of plastic paper and the first one just kept coming and coming .sx I began to feel like a bad magician trying to do the flags of all nations trick from his top pocket and when I had the first strip completely out of the tube , I did some calculations .sx There were roughly twelve tablets per foot and I reckoned the strip was near fifty feet long .sx That would give a street value of about pounds9,000 working on six hundred tabs per strip at pounds15 each .sx I shoved my fingers into the tube and scrabbled out the other strips .sx It was difficult to be accurate and I may have counted some twice , but I made it twenty-five in all .sx If they were all as long as the first , that could be 15,000 tablets .sx That meant I was sitting on around pounds 225,000 worth of naughty substances .sx And I was gonna need a bigger suitcase .sx " It's me , Angel .sx " .sx " Come on in .sx " .sx Lu-Lu climbed aboard .sx I had the lighting trusses strapped against the side of the truck and the suitcase hidden behind an amp at the far end to the truck .sx " The guys are almost through , " said Lucinda .sx She was wearing her rubber and leather Batsuit from the concert but had tied her hair back in a pony tail .sx I looked at my watch :sx 1.40 a.m. " Did Elvis do his stuff ?sx " I asked .sx " Yep , but he says you're crazy .sx " .sx " Wouldn't be the first time .sx No hassle from the college ?sx " .sx " Hell , no .sx The duty electrician sloped off about nine o'clock , they always do .sx Elvis ran a cable off the main junction box .sx None of the students knew what he was doing .sx He says to tell you that he'll connect it to the circuit behind Jerry's cab , then he'll knock twice on the outside .sx Got that ?sx " .sx I nodded .sx " Then , about fifteen seconds later , he'll put the fuse in , so make sure this switch is off .sx " .sx She pointed to the light switch which operated the internal lights .sx " He thinks you'll blow all his lamps and maybe the main fusebox too , and you'll only get one shot at it .sx You all done ?sx " .sx " Ready as I'll ever be .sx Did you get those staging blocks ?sx " .sx " They're outside ; last thing to be loaded , then we'll make a big play of leaving for the hotel , like you said .sx " .sx " Snap and Crackle ?sx " .sx " They'll be around , though you won't see 'em .sx " .sx " Any problem there ?sx " .sx " Uh-uh .sx " She shook her head .sx " I promised them a bonus , but even so , they'd have done it for Stevie .sx He was popular .sx " .sx Thinking of what had happened to Stevie when our friendly local psycho had a knife didn't cheer me up now I knew he had a gun as well .sx Lu-Lu read my face .sx " You sure you're gonna go through with this ?sx " She reached out and wiped the back of a soft leather driving glove against my cheek .sx " You could talk me out of it , real easy .sx " .sx She put a black-gloved finger against my lips .sx " I hope the Wolfman is worth it , " she said with a smile .sx " It's close , " I said .sx She pursed her lips .sx " Now I know you don't mean that , " she said primly , " but just how much shit did you find ?sx " .sx Over two hundred grand's worth , " I said , keeping my voice down .sx " She whistled .sx " Dollars ?sx " .sx " Pounds .sx " .sx " Werewolf who ?sx " she said .sx I had been sitting in the dark for nearly an hour when he came .sx .sx The first thing I heard was him trying the door handles , then there was a silence for a few seconds , then a metallic scraping , followed by a rapid high-pitched whine .sx Then the door clicked open .sx It happened very fast and , if I hadn't been on tenterhooks for the last hour , would have taken me unawares .sx I knew what it was even though I couldn't see it :sx he had a battery-powered lock gun , a handful of which were imported from the States for use by bona fide car dealers .sx ( Now there's a contradiction in terms .sx ) Such a stink had been raised about them - question in the House and so on - that they'd been removed from sale pronto .sx I knew Duncan the Drunken would kill for one and I was impressed that Gronweghe had come so well equipped .sx I'd had the roadies put two of the stage blocks in the truck near the doors .sx One was flat on the floor and the other was balanced on its end .sx The blocks were about five feet square and hollow , so I could , with a bit of crouching , keep inside the up-ended one , my hand on the light switch .sx The theory was that when Gronweghe opened the door , he would be confronted with a seemingly solid-packed truck interior .sx He would then have to open the other door as well .sx