‘Well, it wouldn’t stand up in court,’ said Jules, ‘but you can say fuckity bye-bye to any legal recourse, Norman. You’re well out of luck. So unless you’re interested in finding out what it feels like to have a kukri dagger inside your windpipe, I’d suggest you entertain us with a little story.’

Shah inclined his head, almost imperceptibly, at the young man carrying the cruel blade. Baran was still holding Parmenter’s head back by his hair, but the blade flashed up now and described a short transition across the man’s brow. The fighting knife had been sharpened to such a fine edge that there was probably no pain. At first. Just a cold burning sensation, followed by shock. Blood began pouring from a long gash, blinding the captive, who squealed at the unexpected violation.

‘Jeez, mate,’ said Pappas. ‘You’d better watch out with that thing. It’s sharp. You’ll end up scalping the bloke.’

Parmenter began to gobble for air as though he was drowning. Panic took over. Shah came off the desk in one fluid movement and drove a spear-hand strike into his solar plexus. It would have knocked the American onto his back had Baran not braced himself for the impact. Instead, it drove all the air from Parmenter’s body, without doubling him up. The restraints kept him secured.

‘Mr Parmenter will require a minute to compose himself,’ Shah declared.

Julianne took the chance to squeeze Pappas’s arm in greeting. She’d been so surprised when he walked in, yet his appearance was not really unexpected. Not when she thought about it. Shah obviously relied on him as a conduit to the local power structure, and the shadow state that was the real power in the city.

‘Do we have time for this? I mean, here?’ she asked waving her hand around the room.

‘We’ve got about ten minutes,’ Nick replied. ‘Then we’ll have to move him.’ He didn’t explain any further, but nor did he give the impression that further explanation was necessary.

‘Deep breaths, Mr Parmenter,’ said Shah. ‘That’s right. You’ll feel better in no time, as soon as you’ve told us everything we need to know. I’m sure you understand the alternative. It would be overly dramatic to go into details.’

Parmenter struggled to fill his lungs and blink away the blood that was blinding him.

Julianne turned back to him. ‘Who’s paying you?’ she demanded to know. ‘I don’t care how much. I just want to know who sent you, and who else is on your list.’

Baran pulled Parmenter’s head back again, slowly this time, lest he actually remove the man’s scalp. Jules blanched at the sight of bone inside the gaping, lipless maw the kukri dagger had opened up. The Gurkha laid the edge of his knife hard up against Parmenter’s nose. It had a salutary effect.