The space in which they sat was fiercely utilitarian, with very few flourishes of decoration. A calendar, with photographs of interesting golf courses, on the wall behind Shah; a sheathed kukri dagger in a glass-front box hanging beside it. Nothing else. Not even a few family photos.

‘How long have you been here?’ she asked. ‘In Darwin, with your business, I mean.’

‘Nearly two years now,’ Shah replied. ‘The city was perhaps half its current size when I arrived. Even then, it had grown significantly. I remember it from the Timor mission in ’99, when it was much smaller. Many of the Americans who were caught in this region after the Disappearance found their way here. A large number remain, although more were just passing through on their way to the southern cities, and I suppose, like our friend Miguel, many have returned home now. But Darwin was growing when I arrived, Miss Jules, one of the few places that was. The granting of free-port status amplified the rush of money and people seeking haven here after the Wave. It seemed a good choice to locate my business. There was much demand for security contractors then. There still is.’

He emptied the last few drops from his cup before refilling it. The absence of a handle did not seem to bother him, Jules noted. He held the scalding-hot vessel in his thick, brown fingers with no discernible discomfort.

‘I must thank you again, Miss Julianne, for the opportunity you offered us back in Acapulco. My comrades and I did well to cross your path, and great honour accrued to you for ensuring our contract was fulfilled, even after the authorities in Sydney seized the Rules and those assets you had set aside for our payment. It allowed me to fund the beginnings of this business, and the money we make is very important to our people back home. Your name is well regarded in our villages.’

She waved off the compliment. ‘Daddy would have disowned me if I hadn’t learned at a very young age how to hide a few baubles and trinkets from the old Bill. Anyway, you and your chaps earned it, Mr Shah. We wouldn’t have made it to Sydney without you. Not all of us did, of course,’ she added with residual sadness.

‘To absent friends,’ he said, raising his cup.

Jules returned the toast and then set the empty cup aside. ‘So, this is your main place of business now?’ she asked. ‘It’s not an idle question. You said you’d had dealings with both Seattle and Fort Hood. Do you do much work in the US? Do you have a profile there? I’m just wondering how it was that Cesky drew a bead on you, all the way down here in Darwin.’

Shah was not a demonstrative man. An almost imperceptible downturn of the mouth, the faintest shrug – they were his only reactions.