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Back A Shadow Intelligence Save as PDF
Chapters (58)
  1. Cover
  2. Also by Oliver Harris
  3. ONE
  4. TWO
  5. THREE
  6. FOUR
  7. FIVE
  8. SIX
  9. SEVEN
  10. EIGHT
  11. NINE
  12. TEN
  13. ELEVEN
  14. TWELVE
  15. THIRTEEN
  16. FOURTEEN
  17. FIFTEEN
  18. SIXTEEN
  19. SEVENTEEN
  20. EIGHTEEN
  21. NINETEEN
  22. TWENTY
  23. TWENTY-ONE
  24. TWENTY-TWO
  25. TWENTY-THREE
  26. TWENTY-FOUR
  27. TWENTY-FIVE
  28. TWENTY-SIX
  29. TWENTY-SEVEN
  30. TWENTY-EIGHT
  31. TWENTY-NINE
  32. THIRTY
  33. THIRTY-ONE
  34. THIRTY-TWO
  35. THIRTY-THREE
  36. THIRTY-FOUR
  37. THIRTY-FIVE
  38. THIRTY-SIX
  39. THIRTY-SEVEN
  40. THIRTY-EIGHT
  41. THIRTY-NINE
  42. FORTY
  43. FORTY-ONE
  44. FORTY-TWO
  45. FORTY-THREE
  46. FORTY-FOUR
  47. FORTY-FIVE
  48. FORTY-SIX
  49. FORTY-SEVEN
  50. FORTY-EIGHT
  51. FORTY-NINE
  52. FIFTY
  53. FIFTY-ONE
  54. FIFTY-TWO
  55. FIFTY-THREE
  56. FIFTY-FOUR
  57. FIFTY-FIVE
  58. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

‘Go for it.’

He gave me an address in the Triumph of Astana.

FIFTY

Apartment 601. No name. I was told to buzz, say I had a delivery, get the lift straight up.

Satayev ended the call, and I was left staring across the gym equipment. I was being swept along by something. This was my last chance to escape, I thought, but I knew I was kidding myself. That moment had long passed. I wanted to know what story I was in.

Walker had arranged a driver. He put a tracker on the case, the size of a memory card. Morbid curiosity kept me moving.

The dawn was dreamlike and fragile. People huddled at the bus stop in the grey sunrise, looking at phones. There was heavy activity around the government district, tactical vehicles containing special forces driving in. A city in shock. Viewing it through tinted glass didn’t help shake the sense of travelling through a dream. Towards a dream.

I kept the case on my lap as GL5 drove me there, but that made me self-conscious so I put it on the seat beside me as if it was just another load of paperwork. I had an earpiece that connected to GL5 high command, a discreet microphone on my jacket. The vehicle would be tracked on satellite. None of this helps you feel secure. As a rule I don’t handcuff briefcases to my wrist: it’s blatant, and arms get severed for a lot less than 1.5 million dollars. Still, you never get used to carrying that amount around.

We turned north. The Triumph appeared. I felt a heavy, sleep-deprived wave of dread. Something was making sense in a way I could only associate with impending death.

‘I want to walk in on foot,’ I said, trying to keep some kind of control on the situation.

He shook his head. ‘That is not possible.’

We entered the building’s shadow. Barriers for the underground car park sank into the ground and we sped down the ramp towards a lot of high-end vehicles under neon.

There was a lift in the underground car park, with its own armed guard.

‘I think I’ll be okay from here.’

‘We’ll stay by the car.’

The lift took me up to the ground-floor reception where I had to cross the lobby to another set of lifts. These lift doors opened to reveal a gleaming interior of polished brass and mirrored walls. I stepped inside, reflected to infinity – me and 1.5 million dollars rising through the building, asking myself why I was still alive.

The doors opened on a long corridor, five doors in each direction. Number 601 was the furthest to the left. The beige carpet absorbed all sound.