As soon as Oddur walked in he stood up and waved, and asked him what he wanted to drink. Oddur asked for a cappuccino, and Anton made a mental note to ask for just that next time. There was something cool about the way Oddur said it – ‘cappuccinothanks’, all one word, as if this was something he had ordered a thousand times before but somehow still looked forward to; as if there was something special about that kind of coffee.

‘We were at school together,’ Anton said with a smile.

‘Yeah, that’s what you said in your message,’ Oddur said. ‘Sorry, man. I don’t remember you at all.’

‘That’s all right,’ Anton said. ‘You normally only remember the older kids. That’s why I remember you but you don’t remember me.’

In fact, he was relieved that Oddur hadn’t remembered him, as two years ago he had been a stick-thin spotty weakling; not exactly the slick business type he wanted Oddur to see now.

‘Excuse me a moment,’ Oddur said, looking at his phone. He seemed to be reading messages and answering them; he held the phone in both hands and tapped with his thumbs at incredible speed.

‘I saw in the paper that you won an honorary award in the university robotics competition,’ Anton said as Oddur put his phone down.

‘The engineering students’ competition,’ Oddur said. ‘I would have won if I had been old enough to take part. But I’m still at high school, so they gave me an honorary award instead. My robot, Wrangler, was the best of the lot.’

‘That’s fantastic!’ Anton said, raised his cup in appreciation and sipped, as if he was toasting Oddur’s success.

Oddur lifted his cup at the same time and when he put it down again, it was clear that the moment had come when he wanted to know what Anton’s request to meet him was about.

‘You’re interested in robotics?’ he asked.

Anton shook his head.

‘No,’ he said. ‘That’s why I need your help.’ He moved his chair closer to the table, leaned forwards and dropped his voice. ‘Let’s say, for example, that I needed a remote-control system that could light a fuse leading to some dynamite to blow up an old shed. Is that the kind of thing you could produce?’

Oddur stared at him in surprise.

‘Why on earth would I do that, even if I could?’

‘Because I’d pay you. As much as you want.’

Oddur shifted in his chair and sat very upright, as if his body had stiffened.

‘What are you going to blow up?’

Anton was slightly taken aback by how abrupt Oddur’s manner had suddenly become.

‘It’s just an idea,’ he said to calm Oddur down. ‘Just an idea, you know. Let’s just say that I want to do something a bit special as a surprise for my girlfriend’s birthday, and I’m taking her and some friends for a picnic. The best part might be when we blow up a rotten old shed that’s in a place I know.’