Hansi the hacker smirked. ‘Piece of piss. The public stuff I can get in minutes, but the private stuff, like address, bank details, that’ll take me a bit longer. Leave it with me, I’ll get you everything that’s out there in a matter of hours.’

‘Good. Oh, and while you’re at it …’ He read out the address Tony had taken a cab to that morning. ‘I want to know who lives there. And what they do. OK?’

‘And I get paid when?’

Krasic patted him on his greasy head. ‘When I see the results.’

‘I’ve never let you down yet,’ the hacker said, his mouse pointer already moving across the screen.

‘Now would not be a good time to start.’ Before Krasic could say more, his phone rang. He stepped to the other side of the high-ceilinged room of the apartment in Prenzlauer Berg, where counter-culture wannabes rubbed shoulders with the real thing like his man in the corner. ‘Hello?’ he grunted.

‘Darko, it’s Arjouni.’ The heavy Turkish accent was unmistakable, Krasic thought, wishing his new middle man would remember not to use names on the phone.

‘What can I do for you?’

‘We’re short. The supplies that were due, they’ve not come in.’

‘I know that. Don’t you have enough to be going on with?’

‘I’m nearly out. There’s no way I can make it through the weekend.’

‘Shit.’ Krasic muttered. ‘OK, leave it with me.’ He ended the call then dialled Tadeusz. ‘Boss? We’ve got a problem with supplies. With the river being closed, there’s a shipment still en route.’

‘Is it far from home?’

‘Köln. I can get there in four, five hours,’ Krasic said.

‘I’ll come with you.’

‘There’s no need. I can manage.’

‘I know you can manage, but I’d like to come along. The last couple of days have given me a taste for seeing what goes on in my business.’

‘I thought you were doing a live TV interview tonight on Business Berlin?’ Krasic objected.

‘That’s not till ten o’clock. We’ll have plenty of time to get there and back, the way you drive.’

‘What about your new business partner? Aren’t you supposed to have a meeting today?’ Krasic said, trying to keep the sneer out of his voice.

‘She could come too. She likes to see how things work.’

‘No way. This is too close to the bone. Telling her is one thing, showing her is another. You come, if you must. But she stays away.’

He heard Tadeusz sigh. ‘Oh, all right. Pick me up in half an hour, OK?’

Krasic replaced the phone in his pocket and headed for the door. ‘Let me know when you have what I need. Call me, OK?’

‘OK, Darko.’ The hacker looked up from his screen. ‘I love working for you. It’s never the same thing twice.’