‘Sure, and while I’m at it, why don’t I give you the access codes to my Bitcoin accounts, and maybe you’d like to sleep with my sister, too?’

‘I don’t believe you have a sister,’ said Harris, ‘and if you do, I don’t want to meet her. What’s the price?’

‘Rafi travels with a chaperone. I have a picture of him, too. I want them out of the way. I need a clear run at the Vuksans.’

‘The Vuksans are no longer a concern for us. They’re coasting on fumes.’

‘But they remain a concern for me,’ said Louis. ‘And Rafi smells bad. It would be a shame if his people blew up a Christmas market and word got out that you’d passed on the chance to take him down.’

‘And how would that word get out?’

‘Do you want me to play back the recording of this call so far?’

Harris laughed.

‘You really ought to look up “trust” in the dictionary,’ he said. ‘It could transform your life. All right, assuming we can trace Rafi, it’ll take time to assemble a team in Vienna.’

Louis hadn’t told Harris where he was calling from.

‘If you can trace this call so quickly,’ said Louis, ‘you can also find Rafi.’

‘It’s not just about finding him, but also removing him – and those around him, because I bet he didn’t arrive with just one other guy in tow.’

‘So hire a bigger van.’

‘In addition,’ Harris continued, as though Louis had not spoken, ‘wherever that cell phone is, you can be sure this Rafi, whatever his real identity, will be nowhere near it.’

‘Nevertheless,’ said Louis, ‘it’s the point of contact. Once you’ve targeted that phone, you’ll have a location, and someone there will use it to get in touch with Rafi. And if you can capture the phone, you’ll have access to emails, too. Hell, you’ll even be able to listen in when they go to the bathroom.’

‘Okay,’ said Harris, ‘give me the number and send on the images. I’ll see what can be done.’

‘The Vuksans are about to turn to smoke,’ said Louis. ‘They have clean passports on the way. I might have a day left before they run, two at most.’

‘Jesus, you really want them dead, don’t you?’

‘I have no idea what you mean,’ said Louis.

‘You know, I’m not entirely happy to have made your acquaintance.’

‘I hear that a lot from people.’

‘I’ll bet you do,’ said Harris. ‘Probably just before you shoot them in the head.’

Chapter LXXV