When I realised how well sited we were, I almost changed my mind about the need to move the devices: in such favourable circumstances I thought hard about keeping Orange with us. Then I reckoned, No: I don’t fancy being out of the building all day, running the course, with those things sitting here – even if Toad is in charge. Better get both of them into the Embassy until we’re set up to deploy them. Thus I decided that we wouldn’t wait, but would follow my original plan and move them on Sunday evening. For one thing, they’d be gone before Anna came on the scene, at 8.30 on Monday morning; and for another, I already knew from our first visit that the Moscow traffic was far lighter during the weekend than on working days.

It wasn’t long before I felt sure I’d made the right decision.

With the course not due to start until Monday morning, we had all Sunday to sort ourselves out; but we’d hardly got a scratch breakfast down our necks when Steve, one of the scalies, came up to me with a face of doom and asked if he could have a word. When I asked what the problem was he jerked his head up and back, meaning, Let’s go outside. So we walked out the back, into the edge of the forest, and he said, ‘Geordie, they’ve put bugs in the power points.’

‘Where?’

‘In the signals room, and in the kitchen.’

‘Ah, shite! Are you sure?’

‘Hundred per cent. I was making a routine sweep, and they came up loud and clear. Have a listen for yourself.’

Back inside, I borrowed Steve’s detector kit and ran the sensor pad along the wall in the signals room. As it passed the dual power-point, a loud brrraannggg sounded in the headphones, then died away as I moved the pad on. I said nothing, but shook my head, went through to the next room, and got the same thing.

What should I do? Report the bugs to Anna in the morning? Have a quiet word with Sasha? Say nothing?

In the open again, walking up and down, I asked Steve if he could disable the microphones without his interference being apparent.

‘I suppose if I knocked one out, they might think it had just broken down. But if I did both they’d be bound to realise.’

‘OK, then. Knacker the one in the signals office. Break one of the connections or whatever you have to do, but leave the other. Have you swept the signals room thoroughly?’

He nodded. ‘There’s only the one in there.’

‘Better do all the rooms the same.’

Now I realised why our hosts had done so much redecorating: they’d painted over any bits of replastering that had been needed.