Gary considered the question and tapped lightly on the window ledge with his fingertips. ‘Unlikely. He can offload quickly at the other end, but he still needs the time to gather funds at this end. I can’t see him leaving us again for a while. The important thing is that we don’t put the wind up him. He mustn’t get even a whiff of the fact that we’re on to him. We’ve made that mistake before, and the moment it happens he’ll go to ground. Disappear. Someone else will take over and then it will take us an age to find out who before we can get stuck in again.’

‘So why didn’t we get him before he made the last trip?’

‘We weren’t confident he was in possession and we’re still not sure where the funds come from. I want to be certain of both. We only get one chance to nab him properly and if we mess it up we’re back to square one.’

His boss straightened up in his chair then asked, ‘You do think it’s worth all this trouble?’

Gary nodded. ‘Oh yes.’

‘I mean for the amount of money he’s smuggling out.’

‘Iceberg.’

‘Sorry?’

‘The money is something concrete that we can get him on. But I’m pretty sure there’s more to it than currency smuggling.’

‘Well, he’s not going to admit to any more than that is he?’

‘No. That’s why we need him to lead us to others before we jump on him.’

‘They’re not all Triads, you know,’ his boss said wearily.

‘No, sometimes it’s not that straightforward. There are all kinds of strange things going on now, with the Chinese economy ballooning like it is. More opportunities.’

‘Do you need more help?’

‘Not for now. I’ll carry on with Sarah for a bit. I’ve got Ben Atkinson doing the foot slogging. We can get him in closer if we need to. I might need some more muscle later on, but for now we can manage.’

‘I’ve heard you say that before. Just make sure that as soon as you think you’re getting out of your depth you call for reinforcements. No heroics.’

‘OK.’ Gary walked towards the door.

‘And keep me informed.’

‘I will.’ He closed the door behind him and murmured, ‘Most of the time.’

‘So?’ Sarah Perry sat on the edge of her desk, dangling her legs.

‘I’ve made sure he knows we can’t rush it,’ said Gary. ‘I think I’ve bought us a bit more time.’

‘And more help?’

‘No. I’ve said we we’re fine for now. If Ben can keep providing us with intelligence I thought you and I could manage.’

Sarah frowned. ‘Was that wise?’