‘For sure. SledAtom – no, the other way around – Atom-Sled could certainly assemble such an element. But why has Sleder picked on Whalley? That doesn’t make sense. He doesn’t do the buying of fuel. That whole department belongs to British Nuclear Fuels – and they don’t buy in fuel, they make the stuff themselves.’

‘Does Whalley have any dealings with them?’

‘Yes, he does. They come under his authority, but rather tenuously. He wouldn’t often have any direct dealings with them – not unless there was a major problem.’

‘Have there been any major problems?’ asked Fifeshire.

‘Not that I know of – certainly not until the time of my – enforced holiday.’

‘Could that have been a reason,’ said Fifeshire, ‘for your kidnapping – to get you out the way?’

‘I think someone ought to go and take a look at British Nuclear Fuels rather quickly,’ said Quoit.

‘I’ll get straight on to it.’ I said.

‘Don’t worry, Flynn, I’ll deal with them,’ said Fifeshire, ‘I want you to take your magnifying glass and your spade along to AtomSled. We’re going to need some fast digging. They’re based in New York, although they’ve offices in the Sleder headquarters in Hamburg. I think New York is where you’d better start.’

I nodded, not particularly enthusiastically.

Fifeshire looked at his watch. ‘The last flight to New York is a British Airways flight at 12.45 – if you hurry you should be able to make it. Did you have anything important lined up for Christmas Day?’

‘I did particularly want to hear the Queen’s speech.’

‘I’m sure someone can record it for you.’

A certain young lady was not going to be too happy with me when I broke the news that I wasn’t going to be joining her on Christmas Day after all.

‘If you’re going to go snooping around AtomSled, what better time than the Christmas holidays – everything slack and shut down for most of the time.’

‘Of course, Sir Charles.’ He was right, bugger him; he was always bloody right.

Chapter 20

20

I had been in New York during Christmas week two years before, and it all looked familiar to me. It was a bitterly cold, overcast day and sleeting as I sat in the back of the cab in a tail-back on the Triboro Bridge.