Ramon reached forward for his whisky after he'd seen Jack's finger broken.

'He's tough. I'll give him that' Ramon said, 'You think he's gonna break, Hector?

Hector screwed up his mouth and moved his head from side to side indicating his uncertainty, so Ramon continued,

'When I look at his face now, I'm thinking, maybe he's not going to break. I mean, he looks angry, doesn't he? Hey – I'd be angry if someone was breaking my fingers....' he smiled at his own joke, 'But he looks kinda hard too, doesn't he? Like he's gonna try to remember these guys and get his vengeance. Ha – who knows – I might let him'

Ramon chuckled as he imagined himself turning the tables on Carlos, and he took another swig of his drink and pointed at the screen trying to emphasize his point. 'You see, I don't understand him, Hector, that's my problem. He's supposed to be just a mercenary but sometimes he seems – I don't know - too committed to our operation. I mean that's what I want of course. Don't get me wrong. But why is he so committed? With some of the others I know it's just fear. And, hey. I think Jack's a bit frightened of me sometimes. I've seen him scared - but – well - not like the other guys. So it's not fear that keeps him loyal. He needs the drug, of course – but he was paying for that before he came to us. There's plenty of people will pay a man like Jack good money to do their dirty work.'

'Maybe he's just that kind of guy' Hector said, somewhat bored by his brother's attempts to analyse Jack. 'I wish we had audio for this' He added, nodding at the screen.

Carlos was moving onto Jack's middle finger now, having spent a minute or two manipulating the broken one. Jack's eyes were screwed up in pain but he still held Carlos' stare as the man at his side began to wrench his middle finger away from his hand.

'Yeah,' Ramon continued, ignoring his brother's comment about the audio, 'Maybe he is. Just that kinda guy. Maybe this is like a home from home for him. He was just an army guy right – until the drugs thing, and that life suited him. Maybe he sees something of that life here. Promotion for good work and loyalty- and really good pay of course – better than he's ever seen before – and the bonuses are good for Jack– a fix whenever he needs it.'

Jack flung his head back as the second finger snapped, his mouth open and his eyes wide with the horror of the pain.

'Now we definitely need sound' Hector complained. We don't even know if he's screaming

'Well, we'll go across in a little while. You'll hear him then as we walk across the yard'

Claudia came into the room, having finally got Sergio to agree to go to bed.

'Hey – what are you guys watching?' She asked, moving towards the screen, which currently showed a close up of Carlos smiling as he moved Jack's broken fingers.

'Now that has got to hurt,' Hector observed.

'Oh Christ, you've got someone in the barn again. Is this just a game to you?' She addressed Hector, but he was too intent on watching so Ramon answered.

'I'm sorry Claudia, but it is not a game. This is a necessary test. You should not watch, of course. And try not to worry. It will be all over in less than an hour'.

There was a flurry of movement on the screen as Carlos decided to try a different tactic and Jack was moved and pulled over to the wall where manacles hung ready to receive his wrists. The movement on the screen attracted Claudia's attention and she looked at the image for a little longer.

'Tell me that's not Jack,' she said very quietly.