‘This is one hell of a night to go fooling around in helicopters.’

‘I can think of things I’d prefer to be doing,’ I shouted.

We were still climbing, and the wind was screaming outside. It was dark and eerie up here, and we were about level now with the tops of the tallest of the skyscrapers, heading in towards Manhattan at a faster rate than I, at this moment, relished. This was one hell of a way to spend Christmas Eve.

‘You sure about what you want to do?’ shouted the pilot.

‘Yes,’ I said, feeling very unsure.

‘I don’t know that I’m going to be able to set you down – this wind’s worsening, and I don’t know that roof at all.’

‘Didn’t you fly over it today?’

‘Sure I did, half a dozen times; each time it looked worse than the time before. It’s not fit to make a perch for a jackal. There’s stuff all over the place – the roof of the elevators, ventilators, the air-conditioning motors are all up there. There’s just one gap that’s good enough, and if we get blown wide of it, you can bend over and kiss your ass goodbye.’

He was right. Landing on the roof of a building isn’t easy. It’s tough enough in broad daylight with a calm breeze. In the pitch dark, in a gale, on a roof that’s not designed for helicopters landing, it wasn’t going to be too clever. But then, Sleder hadn’t exactly sent me an embossed invite to drop by on him; if he had, with his style for doing things, he would have had the roof levelled and landing lights installed.

‘What the hell do you want to go fooling around up here for? Why don’t you go in the front door?’

‘I lost my key.’

‘Oh, I just got it. Don’t tell me. You’re Santa Claus, right?’

‘Right. That’s what’s in my sack—’ I stopped talking suddenly, quite suddenly; anyone would have done. I gulped deeply. Only feet down below and to my right were the top windows of 101 Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, looking more sinister and uninviting than I could ever have imagined.

‘I ain’t gonna be able to hang around for too long. I’m gonna set you down and then get my ass out of it. If I get caught by a gust, I’ll be over the edge.’

‘Okay.’

‘Going in now.’

The chopper thumped down onto the black roof. I opened the door. ‘Happy Christmas!’

‘You too, Santa!’