‘That’ll do,’ I said. ‘Take it.’ Privately I was thinking, I don’t care if he goes via Timbucfuckingtoo, as long as I get him off my hands. The idea of Rick sipping champagne in a first-class seat gave me a royal pain in the arse. But then I consoled myself by thinking, If he’s getting binned, back to the Green Army, it’s the last time he’ll be travelling like that for a while.

‘I’ll charge it to the Embassy for now,’ Kate was saying. ‘Then we’ll send the bill to Hereford. He’ll have to collect the ticket from the Lufthansa desk at the airport. He needs to be there by 1400 at the latest.’

‘No bother. I’m very grateful to you. Has David appeared yet?’

‘Just this moment. D’you want a word?’

‘Yes please.’

I hung on, then heard Allway say, ‘Good morning.’

‘Good morning,’ I went. ‘Can you fill me in on what’s happening?’

‘The situation’s pretty confused at the moment.’

‘What’s causing the panic?’

‘Clinton said something about Russia being on the point of becoming ungovernable.’

‘Don’t you feel that’s exaggerated?’

‘Personally, yes.’

‘So what line’s London taking?’

‘No special line yet. But Washington is advising Americans to leave unless they have urgent business here. Are you people all right out at Balashika?’

‘For the time being. Everything’s been going fine. I don’t know how this will affect things, though.’

‘No,’ Allway said cryptically. ‘I get the impression that your team may be off home fairly soon.’

‘Oh, really?’ I went. ‘We’ll have to wait and see.’

I rang off, and called Hereford on the secure satellite link. By good luck the CO was already at his desk, and sounding cheerful.

‘Hi, Geordie,’ he went. ‘How are things?’

‘Rough. You’ve heard the news?’

‘Yes. It sounds a bit dicey. How does it feel at that end?’

‘Can’t tell yet. But listen, Boss. That’s not what I’m calling about. It’s Rick Ellis. I’m sending him home.’

‘Oh God!’ he said. ‘What’s happened?’

I told him in short, sharp sentences. He didn’t query my decision, and I was glad of that. He saw my point. I summed up by saying, ‘He’s dropped us right in it. At the very least, the Mafia know there’s a Brit presence in the barracks here. That means there’s a threat to our lads, quite apart from the potential disruption of Operation Nimrod.’

‘Are you going to need a replacement?’

‘Not worth it. We can manage as we are.’

‘OK, then. I’ll see Rick as soon as he gets back.’

‘Do you need a report immediately?’

‘It can wait. I’m sure you’ve got plenty on your hands. You can give me a full statement when you get back.’

‘Will do.’

‘What’s the state of play with the operation?’