‘It’ll just take a squad. One Bulwark, full crew, in and out. We shut it down, waste the muscle and bring in the overseer for questions. I might even ask them about Adeard Terashova while I’m there.’

‘Yes, the man you’re meant to be finding for me.’

Zidarov shrugged. ‘One thing leads to another.’

‘I dislike that very much. I want you concentrated on your primary tasking.’

‘I am, Castellan.’ Zidarov felt his scar twitch again. It did that sometimes, when he was trying to get a result. ‘This is how I see it. Adeard Terashova’s been putting himself about. He runs an import station on the High Ridge, something his mother gave him to handle – the supervisor there gave me the link to the Vidora. He’s a bored rich boy, given a job he finds even more boring. He starts to throw his weight around. Maybe he makes a fuss about the protection charge. Maybe he thinks he’ll tangle with them for a while, get involved in their business, make some real slate. Either way, he’s in over his head. His collection agent was called Yellowsnake. Borodina tracked him to this location – that’s why we have it on file. We could get both of them – your missing name, and a genuine player pushing the boundaries. If we only get the agent, I’ll ask him all about Adeard. He might even tell me something useful, once he’s seen what Draj does when he’s angry.’

‘Or you’ve drawn a blank so far, and now you’re fishing.’

‘It’s a lead.’

‘It’s a hunch.’

‘Look, Terashova’s boy might be running those damned machines himself, or he might be hooked up to one, or he might have nothing to do with it, but it’s worth doing anyway because these people are wholesale shits and it does no good for us to turn a blind eye. The way I see it, we hit this place, we nip it in the bud, then we work out what we can use.’

Vongella pondered that. Zidarov had to give her credit. She might be flaky, and undoubtedly had sources of income that weren’t on any official register, but she rarely flat-out refused a call for backup without some kind of solid reason.

‘You’re pushing this,’ she said.

‘If he’s really missing, if he’s really got mixed up with the Vidora, time is of the essence. You could have your answer for Udmil by tomorrow, or we could be sending the body parts back to her in a few weeks.’

Again, she thought on it.

‘Dawn, then,’ she said. ‘Use Draj, like you said. I can give you a squad, and that’ll have to do. Make it clean.’

Zidarov nodded. ‘Good. Thanks. Thanks very much.’