‘I thought you were going to buy American Fossilized. It was widely rumoured – still is. We’ve got plenty of orders; if you buy the company, you’ll get them all!’

‘Ha! I would love to, but I cannot afford it. Your turnover is five thousand million dollars, with a profit last year of seven hundred million. I do not have the kind of money that would buy a company of that size. I know there has been speculation in the financial press, and I have not discouraged such rumours – they are good for prestige – but the press do not know the size of my business, nor the money I have. My company is spread across the world; there are holding companies in Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Panama, and other, very private places. The press can only guess at the size of my business and the extent of my personal wealth, and, as is usually the case when the press don’t know something, they err on the large side. Big sums of money, big deals – that sells newspapers.’

The wind had suddenly gone from Slan’s sails. He had been assuming all along that Sleder was going to buy the company, which was why Sleder was interested in him, probably saw in him the company’s future president, and now this was not the case, not the case at all. ‘What – er – what are you wanting me to do?’

‘Harry, I want you to buy our fuel rods and our fuel assemblies.’

‘You’re joking. How can I do that? We don’t buy either rods or complete assemblies from other companies. We make them ourselves. That’s our business.’

‘I know this. You are the exclusive manufacturer of fuel for fifteen power stations in the United States, and for two in Canada. In addition, you supply many other power stations with some of their requirements. American Fossilized manufactures twenty-three per cent of all the nuclear fuel used on the North American continent. If you were to stop manufacturing overnight, that would leave a very big gap in the market …’

Slan’s mouth dropped open.

‘… and we would have the stocks ready to fill in right away.’

‘What do you mean?’ Slan’s face had turned a deep shade of ivory.

‘Harry, I want you to sabotage your plant.’

‘You’re mad.’