'You conniving little bitch,' Albert said for Pamela's benefit. 'You unlatched the door.'
Pamela looked wildly past Theo's shoulder, hoping for a sign of the Chief Inspector and some other men. But there was no one. Albert, too, noticed this, but warily.
'What, no reinforcements then, Theo?'
Something hard, like a smile that was not a smile, touched Theo's stony features.
'No witnesses,' he pronounced.
Pamela almost fainted. Were Albert's words true after all? Were both of these men brutal, uncaring, ruthless monsters?
Albert acknowledged what Theo had said with an inclination of his head. 'No witnesses, then. But I've got the knife.' He waved it menacingly, not taking his eyes from Theo's.
'Doesn't matter,' Theo told him. 'With or without it, I'm still going to rip your arm from its socket, and you're going to go running home to your mam and bleed to death, just like you always do.'
For the first time, Pamela saw real fear in Albert's eyes. 'You're insane.'
As if to verify this as fact, Theo nodded. 'It takes a one to know a one.' Then, he began to advance, as though his opponent was of no consequence at all.
Albert held the knife up, defensively, and started backing up. Suddenly, Pamela gasped as he lunged, tried to plunge it in Theo's abdomen. Theo responded with a movement that was almost too quick to comprehend. He evaded the thrusting sliver of metal and struck Albert a blow that sent him reeling.
Pamela had never once in her life been in such close proximity to such naked violence. She felt a sympathetic concussion from the blow Theo inflicted on Albert, attesting to the power of both men. Such a blow, she knew with certainty, would have sent her flying across the room like a rag doll, bones crushed, internal organs ruptured and bleeding. She backed away further, towards the open door of the balcony. She felt something warm and wet on her cheek. Putting her hand to her face reflexively, glancing down, she saw the slash of blood that had sprayed her- the hand that touched her cheek encountered a warm, sticky substance . . .
'That hurt,'Albert pronounced distinctly, smiling through the blood on his mouth.
Without warning it was though a dam had burst, allowing the violence incarnate it had contained to burst out with unfettered savagery. Pamela sidled away until she was back by the door as the two men cudgelled each other like titans, Albert swinging his heavy maul-like fists while looking for any small opening to slash or stab, Theo dodging, ducking, raining blows like a frenetic sledgehammer when Albert invariably missed.