The two Kakrs outside the new office were the same ones I had always known. They scowled at me as I approached the new door. 'You remember me? Not been too long, has it?'

'We remember you,' said the one on the left. 'Can't stay out of trouble, can you?'

'Hey, this time I tried. Trouble just can't help staying away from me.'

The Kakrs didn't move, stone silence as always. They gripped their guns as if expecting me to attack them.

'Can I go in then?'

'He expecting you?'

'No, I just thought I'd show my face around here for once. Of course he's expecting me, dummy.'

A snort shot a small cloud from his large, flared nostril. He reached behind him and swung the door open. 'Go on in.'

'Thank you. One day you'll just open it for me without all this hassle we go through every time.'

'That'll be the day.'

I stepped into a sparsely furnished rendition of the office that I had once known. The smell of fresh paint was almost overpowering and I had to concentrate not to gag. The desk was new and freshly varnished. It was wooden. On the walls were photos of girls in various lewd poses, in various states of non-dress. The artwork was very un-like the boss, who was sat behind his desk with a glass of whiskey in his hand.

He followed my gaze. 'Yes, I'm not a fan either. Prosterothal pumped a lot of money into getting this place back on its feet, but one of the requirements was that one of the big guy's sons should have his photographs all over the walls. Advertisement in case I have business meetings in here.'

'They're, a bit too...'

'Graphic?'

'I was going to say shit, to be quite honest, but we can go with graphic,' I said.

The boss laughed. 'Say it away. I may run a strip club, but I still try to keep it as classy as possible, a place of enjoyment, not entertainment. Of love not lust. As much as Prosterothal can take that philosophy.'

'I understand what you mean.'

'Do you understand about not getting involved with anything criminal in nature, as I expressly told Markro and yourself before I sent you to Archers'?'

'As I said to the big boys outside, trouble just keeps coming to find me.'

The boss got up from his chair and walked around to me. 'Sometimes I think that I should never have brought you into this mess. You would have had an easier life of it.'

I shook my head. 'I wanted this life, I got it. And when the final bits of installation are done in the main rooms down there, I'll be back behind the bar, changing the music, manning the lights. You gave me a family, boss, and there isn't anything I would do differently.'

He put a hand on my shoulder and we both smiled.

'You sentimental young man,' he said. 'Now rest up. I'll call you when I need you.'

'Which will be sooner rather than later?'

He sighed. 'I always hope never to have to ask you to do anything except run the music, but sometimes it can't be helped.'

'Is that a yes?'

'More than likely, Xayne. More than likely.'

That was all I needed to know.