‘Because the Russians let it happen,’ he says slowly. ‘Because the Russians benefit from the instability that resulted from a terrorist attack in central Paris. The Russians fight ISIS in Syria because they’re allied with Assad. But it also serves their purposes to have ISIS seen as a threat in Europe. Nothing is black and white, no matter how hard you try to make it. You can play for both teams at the same time. But I have no excuse. I should have known better, and I’ll have to live with the fact that I trusted Gregorij and the Russians. The people who died in Paris, died because of my naivety.’

The car is silent again. What Yassim has told them is too big for the limited space inside this car, and Jacob wants to open a window just to burst the intensity of this bubble.

‘Are they really that fucking cold?’ George says. ‘They let Paris happen when they could have prevented it?’

Yassim shrugs. ‘I think they’re desperate,’ he says. ‘Or maybe not desperate, but they see themselves as under attack from the West, as if the West distrusts everything they do. Like a cold war I guess. Just somewhat less intense.’

‘So what Myriam said was true,’ Jacob says quietly. ‘She thought you were a terrorist. The only thing she didn’t know was that you were working for the Russians. Why didn’t you tell her about this new attack? I could have just given the information to her. Why did I have to smuggle it?’

‘Do you trust her?’ Yassim asks, still calm. ‘Are you even sure she’s a Swedish spy?’

Jacob thinks about the ambassador’s car and what happened at the bathhouse, Myriam’s blackmail and ruthlessness. He shakes his head. ‘I don’t know,’ he whispers. ‘I don’t know what I trust.’

They sit in silence for a while.

‘So what you’re saying is that the Russians want these terrorist attacks to be carried out,’ George says.

‘Look at it this way,’ Yassim says. ‘Several terrorist attacks in Europe at once, just a few weeks after the massacre in Paris. Coordinated with military precision. It would push Europe into greater involvement in the war against ISIS in Syria, and it would help those forces in Europe that want to take a more aggressive stance on immigration. There’s nothing that irritates the Russians more than a Europe with open borders. These attacks mean calls for the opposite. For the Russians it’s a win-win. A few hundred people are an acceptable price to pay.’

‘But why not go to the media yourself?’ George says. ‘Why pull Jacob into this?’