Cocaine Wars (40 page)

In early 2011, Freddie Thompson and Brian Rattigan are really looking like the John Gilligans of the new millennium. Garda crackdowns and a relentless war have seen them both fade to shadows of their former selves. Rattigan is in a prison cell alone with his thoughts of his fading empire. Freddie Thompson is on the run, moving between four different countries, scared to death of coming home because there is a bullet with his name on it or a pair of handcuffs waiting for him. Meanwhile, the next generation of dealers jockey for position, observing how vulnerable the two gang bosses are and biding their time until they take over, much like Brian Rattigan and Declan Gavin did after Gilligan's demise. While this goes on, the families of sixteen young men continue to grieve for their loved ones, and a community struggles to come to terms with the devastating feud that will mean that Crumlin and Drimnagh will be forever associated with death and destruction.