—Agents today are so fucking dumb I could cry. They’re soft. They have to go to charm school, learn how to eat with four different types of knife and fork. They have first-class degrees and run marathons but they don’t know anything about the real world. College kids with guns. They sacked me: did you know that?

He waited for the translation, wanting to judge Leo’s reaction. Leo nodded.

—You retired only a few months after my wife’s murder.

—I was one of the best agents who ever worked for the FBI. In my time, there were mavericks in the Bureau, people who got the job done by any means necessary and no questions were asked. We were given space to act, to make decisions. We were judged on results, not on process. We didn’t have restrictions, or rules. We did whatever we needed to do. Those times are over. The FBI has changed. They want people who do as they’re told, who think in a certain way, company men, no initiative, no guts, every decision needs four permission slips to be signed.

Wistful, he glanced into the near-distance, seeming to forget his guests. Then, abruptly, he turned back to Leo.

—You’re risking a lot coming here. With one phone call, I could have you kicked out the country.

Nara translated, looking at Leo, her eyes imploring him to leave. Yates immediately spotted the division of opinion between the two of them and added, hastily:

—Don’t get me wrong. I’m not going to do that. I don’t get many visitors, certainly not ones I can talk with about interesting subjects.

He was lonely. He was vain. And he was proud. Like a professional interrogator, Leo weighed these characteristics, evaluating how likely it was that the man would talk and what pressure might be needed. The combination of vices was promising. Yates had remained silent for many years. He was bitter. The fact that the truth had been erased from historical records bothered him as much as it bothered Leo. He wanted to tell his story. He wanted to talk. Leo only needed to flatter him.

Yates sat down, sinking into his comfortable chair, as laid back as if there were a sporting event on television.