I didn’t want to dwell on the legal sensitivities of a private security contractor holding twenty Kazakh citizens. I concentrated on the big blank map.

‘If they make a move it will be fast and on the ground,’ I said. ‘Government buildings, roadways, telecom cables – they’ll have them within hours.’

‘We’re preparing for that. Lines open with both Kazakh military and China. GL5 have some advanced capability: the means of blocking radar and electronic jamming. They’re monitoring.’

‘China’s invested too much to let Russia march in,’ I said.

‘What are you thinking?’

‘Any annexation would cut their new Silk Road in half. That’s our biggest asset.’

‘For sure.’

‘What about the other ’Stans? Who would they side with? Could they turn against Russia?’

‘We’re hearing positive noises. Certainly Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan would be reluctant to fall in line with Moscow, if it came down to it.’

‘Find out what kind of loans Russia has given this place, and then how much China’s put in. Most war is debt collection. See who’s left out of pocket.’

Walker agreed, collected his papers and went to speak to his own analysts. I was briefly alone with Piper and her press releases.

‘Whose idea was it to call the field Conqueror?’ I said.

‘Not us.’

‘You should try to find something local, something Kazakh.’

‘We can try.’ Piper thought. ‘This is about independence, right? Local strength. What could be more independent than selling your oil to Europe?’

‘When you’ve got five thousand miles of border with Russia, that’s not a joke. Eight billion pounds: a flagship for the Kazakh economy, the largest-ever foreign investment in Kazakhstan. Money from this deal will keep the peace, keep Kazakhstan at the heart of international values and progress. And Gazprom don’t have the tech. They won’t get it out of the ground.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘I’ve no idea. But it sounds right. This is fracking, horizontal drilling, new advances. Show diagrams, flag up old Russian kit. Get photos of dead herons from Gazprom fields. Russia will be ready to exploit environmental issues. Spin Conqueror as a clean-up operation. This isn’t wilderness, it’s a brown site. We’re going to leave it in a better state than we find it. We’ll clean up the groundwater, dispose of the radioactive tailings. Then get the British Prime Minister over here on Independence Day. Now or never. Gold fountain pens.’

She stared at me, unblinking, tongue pressed against her teeth.

‘That’s a big ask.’

‘What you get the man who has everything is moral approval. The President doesn’t need more money, he needs to look good in the eyes of the world, so he can hand it all to his daughter and people still cheer. It can be twenty-four hours in and out.’

‘I’ll put out feelers.’