He nearly choked with laughter, throwing his head backwards and causing another awkward look from the barmaid. Pretending to brush a tear of laughter from his eye, he straightened up. He liked Mackie. Liked Rue and Mr Punctuality upstairs as well. There were plenty of people he knocked about with from time to time, and were always ready with a beer or a cheeky spliff. But Mack and the others? They were a different breed. He'd never admit it, but while he was glad to be in Romania he'd have followed those three anywhere. A desert with no water let alone booze, no loud music or local girls? No problem. There were your mates, and then there were your true mates. His three travelling companions (especially Mackenzie, he always said to himself) were the<em>true</em>mates variety.