Page 33 of The Nameless Ones

‘Second – and I hope this will brighten your day – one of the Vuksans’ men, Aleksej Markovic, has come up for air. He’s in Paris, staying at a hotel in the tenth arrondissement. Do you have email on your phone?’

Louis reached into a pocket and removed a primitive Nokia.

‘What the fuck is that?’ said Harris.

‘It’s a Nokia.’

Louis also possessed an iPad mini, but he was scrupulously careful about its use.

‘So I see,’ said Harris. ‘Does it have a winder?’

‘No, but it has something more useful: anonymity.’

Harris conceded the point. He checked to make sure they were not being watched before rousing the iPad from its sleep. A tap of his fingers produced an image of a man drinking coffee outside a café. Louis recognized Markovic from the material supplied by Ross.

‘When was this picture taken?’ said Louis.

‘About twenty minutes ago.’

‘That’s fast work.’

‘He was careless – not very, but it doesn’t take a lot.’

‘Why isn’t he in hiding like the rest of them?’

‘Necessity,’ said Harris. ‘What do the Vuksans require?’

‘Money.’

‘Exactly. We think that Paris may be the last stage in one of their people-smuggling ratlines. From there, the cargo either vanishes into the banlieues or, for an additional charge, is moved to the United Kingdom or elsewhere. The only reason for Markovic being in Paris is to ensure that a delivery will be concluded safely.’

‘Ross said that the Vuksans might be helping terrorists gain access to Europe.’

‘They are,’ said Harris. ‘Terrorists pay well, and the Vuksans don’t ask security questions.’

‘So why don’t you just lift Markovic from the street and see how long he can breathe underwater?’

‘For the same reason that you can’t approach Frend directly. If we apprehend Markovic now, whoever he’s waiting for will be alerted and the cargo will be lost. Also – and I’m not privy to every detail, so you’ll have to take this on trust – Markovic operates through cutouts. He never meets the cargo directly, but monitors proceedings from a distance. And finally, the French don’t take well to foreign agencies operating on their territory without permission, but if we bring them in, you’ll never get to Markovic. We could let the French interrogate him, and listen in as guests, but he won’t give up the Vuksans or the others, even if he knows exactly where they are – and my guess is that he doesn’t, just in case he’s picked up.’

Louis had not missed the flash of the blade: if we bring them in, you’ll never get to Markovic.

‘You want me to take care of Markovic?’ he said.

‘Isn’t that why you’re here?’

The hearing aid was in Harris’s right ear, away from Louis, but he appeared to be having no trouble with his left. Louis guessed that Harris could probably hear perfectly well with his right, too. Transmitters and receivers came in all shapes and sizes.

‘You must have me mistaken for someone else. I’m a tourist.’

‘I’m not recording this conversation,’ said Harris.

‘You say.’

‘If I was recording, I’d be more circumspect. If it makes you any happier, yes, we would like you to take care of Markovic. We want him wiped from the map. Consider it payment for our help.’

That was all Louis wanted to hear. Harris might not have been recording their conversation, but Louis was.

‘And his cargo?’

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