‘Well, it is because I consider you a friend – a personal friend, a good personal friend, a friend with whom I share my summer holiday – that I’m asking you this, if the answer is no, then just tell me, and we won’t say any more. I need a favour – a very small favour.’

Slan now had a feeling that his reaction when the photographs landed on his desk had been the right one, a feeling that he had bolstered when Sleder’s personal assistant had telephoned, and a feeling that was being further bolstered now. He had a feeling that today was pay-day and it was he who was going to be writing out the cheques. ‘What – er – what sort of favour?’

‘A very small one, Harry. Well, one that is small to you, but will mean much to me.’

Slan stared Sleder in the eye.

‘My company is having problems at the moment, big problems. The whole world economy – it is not good. I have a large company – turnover last year is eleven hundred million dollars – and it is a private company – I own it all. But now there are big problems: we manufacture textiles – fabrics for curtains, for dresses, for seat covers – but the world textile trade is in severe recession. We are producing oil and exploring for more, but the exploration is costing more than the profits we are making from the production. We are producing explosives, but there is a world surplus, and there are many legal restrictions, and many countries are cutting back on their spending on defence. We are farming, but the profits in food at the moment are slim. We produce component parts for railway trains, but the railways are in decline.

‘You see, this business was founded by my grandfather, and was rooted in the areas that were growth areas in his lifetime; they were still growth areas in my father’s lifetime; but now, for me, times are changed. I must find new areas. And we have moved into one new area where there is real potential for growth: the manufacture of nuclear fuels.’

Slan nodded. ‘You want me to give you information?’

‘No. I don’t need information; that I have – all I want. What I need are customers; I need orders! I need orders for AtomSled! This is the name of my new company: AtomSled. Punchy, eh? It has balls, don’t you think?’

Slan nodded. If Sleder thought it had balls, then it had balls.

‘Gebruder Sleder has a good reputation throughout the world. Everyone knows that Gebruder Sleder delivers on time, and it delivers what has been ordered! Because of our reputation for reliability, we have been granted licences to produce nuclear fuel for power stations in eleven countries, including the United States; but we cannot seem to break through and get the big meaty orders that we need.’