“That slap was a good move,” Brazuca tells me, without turning from the window.

“I was inspired.”

“Hell of an inspiration. But it was the right instinct. They would never have talked to me with you there, and it made them sympathetic to me. They’re actually not bad once you get to know them a little.”

“And what did they have to say?”

“You were right, they’re part of the security detail at the mine.”

Ex-military types in a flock like that . . . it seemed obvious that they were blowing off steam after work. Especially given the proximity of the mining village that Nebula supports, now that they’ve taken over the mine there. “And?”

I can tell he’s enjoying stringing me along.

“Let’s go find Lam,” he says, grinning. “He should hear this, too.”

Lam is in the private bungalow with its separate suite of rooms on the hotel property. Right off the beach. How he managed to swing this on such short notice is beyond me, but it’s possible a minor sheikh or two have been kicked out to make room for him.

His bodyguard is there, out by the pool with Lam and a woman I haven’t seen before. She’s tall, fat, and more beautiful than any person has the right to be. She has the hair of a model in a shampoo commercial, long and glossy, even with all this salty sea air. Her and Lam match in a way I can’t explain. When he sees us coming, he sends her away with a kiss on the cheek.

“A bit young, don’t you think?” I say.

Lam shrugs. “Legal.”

“You didn’t want to introduce us?”

“She didn’t want to be introduced. Her oil baron daddy is looking for her, and she wants to keep a low profile.” This makes sense. The woman looked to be in her early twenties. Also looked like money in that indefinable way that some people do. The way that Lam does. It also makes sense that within a day of being here, he would already be mingling with the heiresses of the island.

He checks to make sure Ivan’s out of earshot and lowers his voice. “So what did your little trip into town tell you?”

I wonder what Ivan would think of all this if he knew what we were saying. Brazuca and Lam got into a bitter fight about keeping him in the dark when we arrived at the hotel. I don’t care either way, but Brazuca has a point. If we’re stuck with him, might as well use him. But Lam doesn’t want him reporting the particulars of our trip to his father. It’s why he brought only one bodyguard with him and not a horde of them, like he should have.