Yellowsnake thought for a moment. Zidarov could see him weighing up what to do. Eventually, he shrugged.

‘Almost a month ago. We had a business meeting.’

‘At the station?’

‘Yes.’

‘And that was where you had all your meetings?’

‘Yes.’

‘What was the nature of the business you discussed?’

‘Import-export.’

Zidarov chuckled darkly. It was always import-export. ‘Did he ever express dissatisfaction with the terms of your business arrangement?’

‘No.’

‘Did you have any other disagreements? Did he behave unusually?’

‘No.’

‘So you have no idea why he might have disappeared shortly afterwards?’

‘None at all.’

Zidarov reached up to scratch the back of his neck. It was kept cold in the chamber. At least it kept him awake. ‘From what I know of Adeard, he had ambition, if not much sense. I think he’d have found working at a station like Gargoza rather boring. I think he might have wanted to try new things. So I wondered what you might do, say, if he expressed an interest in playing a larger part in your operation. Not just paying the bills, maybe collecting a few, too.’

Yellowsnake looked at Zidarov flatly. ‘What attraction would that hold for us?’

‘I don’t know. I’m not in import-export. Slate, maybe? He had access to lots of it.’

‘So do we.’

‘He has a big name.’

‘Not an advantage, in our line of work.’

‘So you didn’t pursue anything like that? He wasn’t trying to partner with you?’

Yellowsnake smiled coldly. ‘We don’t need partners.’

‘I think he did, though. I think he spotted an opportunity for something more glamorous. Much more lucrative. Like cell-draining, for example.’

Zidarov watched carefully as he spoke, looking for anything – an eyelid-flicker, the twitch of a finger. Yellowsnake was too good for that. ‘But that’s not legal, probator.’

‘No, it isn’t. So if I had footage of a storage chamber, verifiable footage, showing illicit medicae activity going on, in a location where we know the Yezan cell had operations, you’d be shocked?’

‘I’d be very shocked. But, if you mean the place I think you might mean, there’s nothing there. Nothing at all. So you’re wrong about that.’

‘Strange, isn’t it? To own an empty storage facility?’

Yellowsnake looked equivocal. ‘Not really. Things get moved around. Facilities change. That’s the nature of the business.’

‘Not any more. There’s been a shutdown.’

‘I noticed. So is that what this is all about? This Terashova boy?’

‘Not really. Your people shot a sanctioner, wounded a ­probator. Castellan’s laying down a marker.’

For the first time, Yellowsnake looked a little caught off guard. ‘I don’t know anything about that.’

‘Are you sure? If you did, it might get you out of a whole lot of trouble.’

‘Where did it happen?’

‘Up in the suborbitals. Think a bit harder. Someone’s got twitchy, and it’s landed you all in a heap of trouble.’