“If it was me...”

“Should I cough up tonight Paolo? What do you say?” asked Tony.

This was Paolo’s chance, but to make his answer seem considered, he avoided giving Tony a straight ‘yes’.

“Well, they’re obviously pretty ruthless, and I’ve no doubt that if you don’t pay tonight there will be another finger on its way tomorrow. Taking his eyes out and cutting his bollocks off seem extreme and they may just be trying to scare you, but if it was me, it would work! So I would probably pay up as soon as I could.”

“Then you’d be a fucking idiot Paolo!”