Most kept his eyes on the phone. Louis held the drone hovering five feet in the air. Now that it was started and airborne, he was reluctant to bring it down again. It was one thing getting the machine off the ground, but another to land it softly, especially with a mass of C4 attached.

‘A fight,’ said Most. ‘Bilbija and Mirko have both drunk a lot. One of the bouncers has taken a punch.’ He paused, as another text message came in. ‘She can’t see everything that’s happening, but she thinks – wait, the escort cars have arrived, and the Audi is leaving.’

Louis sent the drone higher, taking it well above the trees scattered around the perimeter of the lot before turning it toward the casino. The screen on the controller displayed the view from the DJI’s high-definition infrared camera, the terrain clearly visible below.

‘They’re heading for the gate,’ said Most. ‘Thirty seconds.’

Louis had the drone flying fast now. His eyes didn’t deviate from the screen. The road appeared and he directed the drone to follow it. Ahead lay the entrance to the smaller track leading to the house. The track was lined with evergreens, which would make it almost impossible for Louis to target Bilbija’s car. If he was going to make the strike, it would have to be on the main road. He also wanted to come at the Audi from the front, in the hope of hitting the windshield or the hood, or even allowing the drone to be dragged under the vehicle. Wherever the drone struck, the Audi’s forward momentum would work in their favor.

‘They’ve left,’ said Most, before he swore for a second time.

‘Tell me,’ said Louis.

‘There’s only one person in the car.’

‘Who is it?’

‘She doesn’t know. She’s trying to find out.’

‘Tell her to try harder.’

The drone reached the intersection between the main road and the secondary trail. Louis turned it to face south along the road, and held it in place as the drone’s available flight time ticked down. Ten minutes. Nine-fifty-nine, nine-fifty-eight, nine-fifty-seven …

‘One of them has a broken nose,’ said Most, reading from the screen. ‘The other was told to go home because he was making the situation worse.’

‘I don’t care about injuries,’ said Louis. ‘I only want to know which of them is in the car.’

Most’s thumbs tapped out a reply. He was still typing when the drone’s camera registered the headlights of the lead car.

‘I have them,’ said Louis.

‘She’s still working on it!’