Fags and lager - Charlie Williams

Royston Blake recounts another tough tale from the crap town of Mangel. Still Head Doorman at Hoppers, Blake begins to notice a change in general punter behaviour. The norm of beery violence and lechery has given way to trance-like stares and nonsensical blatherings. Particularly amongst the younger age bracket, which seems to be dominant these days. Puzzled, he scratches his head and seeks solace at the bottom of a pint glass. And when Doug the shopkeeper offers him a bounty of 400 fags and 400 cans of lager to sort out his teenage daughter's undesirable boyfriend - an enigmatic outsider with a curious pull on the youth of Mangel - Blake's solace looks to be in the bag for at least a couple of weeks. But things don?t quite go according to plan.
So begins Blake's journey from pillar of the Mangel community to local pariah. Can he rise above it this time? Will Nathan the barman help him out? And where has Finney got to?