Former soldier Michael Fox didn't care for the specifics. As long as it wasn't about drugs, he was willing to help his friend get back what was owed to him.
That friend, the Supreme Court heard yesterday, was high-ranking Nomads bikie member Neil Green.
Mr Green hasn't been seen since April 16, 2010 when he and Mr Fox went to a business in western Sydney to have a conversation with Kevin Gall, and resolve their falling out with "peaceful means".
But it wasn't until the unarmed pair got there that Mr Fox said learnt what the debt was - $2.5 million, and two guns.
Advertisement
"Obviously at that point I realised it was a lot more serious than I thought it was," Mr Fox told the jury yesterday.
"Neil left a lot of things out."
The Crown alleges Neil Green was murdered in a hail of bullets by Kevin Gall, who ambushed the pair by shooting over a fence at his father's business in at Girraween.
But as the trial began yesterday, it was also alleged that Mr Gall fired the weapon at Mr Green to protect his father.
Kevin Gall, 34, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Green, while his 61-year-old father is accused of being an accessory after the fact.
Mr Fox, the court heard, is the key Crown witness.
Crown Prosecutor Margaret Cunneen, SC, said Mr Fox and Mr Green had waited with Bruce Gall for Kevin to arrive - but eventually shots were fired.
"[Kevin Gall] was firing the pistol from the there side of the fence," Ms Cunneen told the jury.
Defence barrister Matthew Johnston told the court his client, Kevin Gall, did fire the bullets - but it was out of fear for his father's safety.
"He could hear the fear in his father's voice," Mr Johnston said.
Giving evidence yesterday afternoon, a volatile Mr Fox said his friend could definitely get angry.
"He was a violent man - well, he could be if you were doing the wrong thing by him," he said.
Later, under cross-examination, he was asked to explain what that meant.
"He's a one percenter ... one per cent of the community. One per cent of the population. That's what that means," he said, referring to the bikie gang motto.
Repeatedly swearing and accusing Mr Johnston of questioning his integrity, Mr Fox had to be warned by Justice Christine Adamson to simply answer the questions on numerous questions.
The trial continues.
Ex-soldier denies being 'muscle' for shot bikie
A former soldier has denied being "hired muscle" for the Nomads to help stand over a western Sydney businessman and his son over an outstanding $2.5 million debt.
Former high-ranking bikie Neil Green was killed in April 2010 as he and his former military friend, Michael Fox, attended an industrial park in a bid to settle a dispute.
Kevin Gall, 34, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Green and his father, Bruce Gall, 61, has denied being an accessory after the fact.
Mr Fox said he did not know what it was they were there to retrieve, only seeking an assurance that it was not to collect drugs.
He said he had offered to be the peacemaker because Mr Green, 36, could be a violent man "if you were doing the wrong thing by him".
The Supreme Court has heard that, on April 16, Mr Fox and Mr Green were allegedly ambushed by gunfire as they waited for Kevin Gall to return to the industrial estate in Girraween.
Mr Fox said the pair had been waiting with Bruce Gall when shots rang out, striking Mr Green at least four times in the torso.
Mr Fox said he was only able to "make good" his own escape when Kevin Gall ran out of ammunition, and his pleas for Bruce Gall to also fire were not carried out.
During his colourful evidence to the court - in which he called counsel for the two Gall men "dickheads" and Justice Christine Adamson "your majesty" - Mr Fox vehemently denied being a stand-over man for Mr Green.
"He's a member of a bikie gang, bikie gangs have big goons with tattoos and beards and are a lot more intimidating than me, and a lot less educated," Mr Fox said.
"I don't work for the Nomads, I didn't know Neil as a Nomad, I've never once seen him in his Nomads gear."
He told the court he did "elite level" security work in dangerous countries such as Somalia, where, last year, he escorted a team from the Channel Nine program, 60 Minutes.
Mr Fox denied under cross-examination that he had told Bruce Gall on the day of the killing that he was a "mercenary" and "killed people".
The trial continues.