Sun of the Sleepless by Patrick Horne

absent-mindedly switched it off and gazed out of the window across the road to the street-lit façade of the book store. Beneath the bunched up frown of his heavy forehead, the dark brown eyes were unfocussed but none-the-less penetrating.
    'I know what you're thinking Frans, but don't worry, I'm not about to release my frustrations on this guy. I just want to get this over and done with. This whole thing has been a distraction, however important it may be, but I've no desire to take it out on this guy even if he is a thieving little shit!'
    'Fair enough,' Frans chuckled, 'so if he is at the coffee-shop we keep it simple? A quick pass to make sure he is wearing the ring and then a quick take-down to retrieve it. I suppose we should subdue him, take any other valuables and let him wake up to think that he was mugged.'
    'That seems the easiest way,' agreed Rey, 'he's unlikely to admit to being robbed by two old fuckers like us so he'll most likely make up some story for his mates about some big fight. He won't make any connection with the old dealer and even if Janssens hears about it, it is unlikely that he would give a shit about this grunt getting done over. If anything it'll probably make his day, he's unlikely to go to the police about it.'
    'So, we get the ring back, the thief gets some bruises which he can brag to his friends about and the dealer gets some social justice. Everybody is happy!'
    'That is one way of looking at it. First of all though we need some transport, I don't want to be standing about on a street corner freezing my arse off all evening. Besides which, we may need to follow this guy, especially if he doesn't have the ring on him.'
    Frans reached into his jacket hanging on the back of his chair and withdrew his mobile phone. 'I can sort that out; we can have a vehicle delivered within half an hour. Do you have a preference?'
    'How about that Aston Martin?'
    Frans winked as he tapped in the number of their local field office, 'I was saving that for the next job!'
    He placed the phone to his ear and Rey could hear the faint ringing tone emanating from the handset.
    'Make it something like a Volkswagen Golf,' Rey suggested in a hushed tone, 'something small but nippy. We need to park up and remain unobtrusive but we may need some punch if it comes to following him.'
    Frans nodded and started speaking in Dutch. Rey recognised the sequence of identification statements that Frans was making and during the ensuing conversation caught mention of the name of the café they were sitting in. Frans glanced at his watch and nodded again, unseen, to the contact at the end of the phone. He ended the call, switched the power off and dropped the phone back into the folds of his hanging jacket.
    'So we're all set? What can they do for us?'
    'Your wish has been granted,' Frans beamed, 'they have a brand new Golf GTI for us and they can deliver it in fifteen to twenty minutes. Perhaps one of us should go and survey the coffee-shop while the other waits here for the car?'
    'Is that a hint?' Rey quizzed as he raised his eyebrows.
    The impish grin widened under Frans' sparkling eyes, 'You are younger than me, and you can take the cold better. Besides, you paid the bill last time so I'm really doing you a favour.'
    'That kind of favour I can do without!' Rey laughed as he stood. He swung up his coat from the back of his chair and in one fluid movement had threaded his arms into the sleeves and adjusted the collar lapels in anticipation of the cold wind that was still gusting. He made to leave the café and then turned back, 'If he doesn't turn up this evening we'll set up a shift with Akosua for the next couple of days, don't forget to bring my books with you and don't be too late, it's damned cold out there!'
    Over a cup of steaming coffee, Gertrude had settled down to prepare a list of all the books that she intended to sell via the internet, prioritising them according to suitability and the likelihood of making a good