‘Perhaps we should leave,’ he said, in a low voice. ‘Before the police secure the docks and begin to search for witnesses. It would not be convenient.’

‘No,’ she agreed. ‘Best not to get caught up with the wallopers.’

They allowed themselves to be swept along in the tide of people flowing away from the docks, where some boats still burned. A small, secondary explosion boomed behind them, possibly a gas canister, panicking the crowd, who started to push and move with greater urgency. Jules and Shah cut across the flow, emerging onto clear ground, or at least less crowded, on the road that ran around the bay.

The buildings here were all new, and very spare in their simplicity. Fibro-cement panelling and external metal joists, giant roller doors and huge rumbling air-con plants. The area was zoned for light industry, and unsurprisingly it had been colonised by marine engineering firms and suppliers servicing the trawler and naval fleets. A few weed-choked lots still stood empty, but even they had been marked off for development, and Jules could see earth-moving equipment in some.

Shah’s vehicle, a Land Rover of battered but rugged appearance, stood in front of one such lot, partially blocking a sign that announced development approval had been granted to erect a battery manufacturing plant on the site. A young, fit-looking Nepalese man, another Gurkha, stood holding the rear door open for them. Jules wondered if Shah might want to change to avoid getting oil and sea sludge all over the seating, but he waved her in and followed without delay.

Their driver – Shah introduced him as Ganesh – moved quickly and gracefully around the vehicle, into the driver’s seat. They pulled away before she was able to fit her belt.

‘If this was Cesky, it is best we not linger,’ said Shah. ‘He will have men watching the dock. They will not move openly with so many witnesses, but they will note our presence and Mr Ross’s survival. They will regroup and try again.’

She didn’t need telling. After blundering into the ambush Henry Cesky had set for them in Manhattan, they’d narrowly avoided another in Galveston, Texas, where they’d holed up to count their losses and plot the next move. Jules had hoped Cesky’s influence would be marginal in Texas, what with him being such a buttboy of the Kipper administration. But she’d been wrong. He didn’t need influence. He just needed reach.

‘I have a compound out near the airport,’ said Shah. ‘It is secure. We should go there. Ganesh, call ahead to Birendra. Have him send men to meet us as soon as possible.’

The driver acknowledged the direction with a very military ‘Yes sir’ and fitted a hands-free earpiece to his mobile phone.

‘Birendra is still with you?’ asked Jules. ‘The same Birendra?’