Understand me, Mr Millet? What I know of Moscow is that you keep your nose clean and do the work you’ve set out to achieve, and that way there’s no hassle. I’ll tell you this.
Life was a deadly game in which you had to keep your cards close to your chest and your back to the wall, your eyes open and your nose clean in order not to end up in the gutter with your hat in your hand.
But our Jack hadn’t kept his nose clean, being the sort of bloke who was born with somebody else’s silver spoon in his fist if not his mouth.