‘We’ll escort President Seguma down to the car park and drive out in Lang’s wagon. A UKN will RV with us on the way to the airport. We’ll dump the kit, get on a private jet and fly home. By the time anyone has figured out what’s happened, we’ll be long gone.’

‘And Lang?’

‘He’ll come with us too,’ Mallet said, icily. ‘But we’re not asking him nicely.’

Bowman stared at the map as he mentally reviewed the plan. ‘It’s risky,’ he said.

‘So is getting in a car. Or going on a date with Tiny.’

‘This thing could easily go south.’

‘The plan isn’t up for debate.’

‘What if there are BGs in the building, though? Seguma might have some of his bodyguards with him.’

‘We think that’s unlikely.’

‘He’s the president. He’ll want some sort of protection.’

‘Not at this meeting, he won’t.’

‘The president doesn’t trust his BG team,’ Casey explained. ‘He’s getting paranoid in his old age. Believes some of them are spies. He sacked a bunch of guys on his team six months ago.’

Mallet said, ‘As you know, Seguma has gone to great lengths to keep this meeting secret. That means keeping his BG team out of the loop as well. The smart money is on him going to this thing alone.’

‘They won’t want to meet with the Russians alone, John.’

‘I agree. It’s possible that Lang might have one or two of his heavies with him,’ Mallet conceded. ‘Minders. Dumb muscle he can trust. But we’re talking about one or two guys. He won’t have any more than that.’

‘And if he does?’

‘You’ll have to stay fluid. React to any unexpected threats. Staying flexible comes with the territory, especially when you’re fighting gangsters.’

‘I’m beginning to realise that.’

They talked through the courier plan for a solid thirty minutes. Webb broke out the laptop and brought up the exterior of the apartment complex on Google Street View, pointing out the various entry and exit points, the position of the team in the vehicle. Bowman studied the original architectural drawings for Lang’s apartment, making sure he’d committed it to memory. Then they switched their focus to the situation around the building: roadworks, tourist hot spots, likely traffic jams, rush-hour times, parking zones. From time to time, Mallet asked Bowman if he had any questions. There was no negativity, no judgement. The rest of the team had spent the past seven days pulling the op together. They knew the whole thing backwards. As the newcomer, Bowman was having to absorb every aspect of it at lightning speed.

‘What about our kit?’ he asked.

Mallet leaned back, giving the floor to Loader. ‘Tiny will explain. That’s his area of expertise. Along with lessons in how to repulse women, of course.’