‘That it doesn’t much matter who kills them, as long as someone does,’ said Louis. ‘If you fail, and get shot by the Vuksans or the Austrians, the world will be a better place, and I’ll come at the Vuksans again when the opportunity arises. If you succeed, and get shot by the Austrians after, the world will be an even better place. It’s a win-win situation for the world and me. Only a sap wouldn’t let another sap do his dirty work for him.’

‘That’s very admirably unidealistic of you. So, what do you have for me?’

‘The lawyer, Frend, is staying at a hotel in the city. You spooked him by hanging around outside his office. You should have been less conspicuous.’

‘Which hotel, and what name is he using?’

‘I don’t know the alias,’ said Louis, ‘just the hotel. I imagine it’s the kind of place that prides itself on its discretion. Frend used to take his mistress there to fuck her, because a fifty-euro note was enough to ensure that the desk didn’t ask for ID.’

‘We can’t search every room,’ said Rafi, not unreasonably.

‘You won’t have to. Frend will be leaving the hotel at five a.m. tomorrow for a business meeting.’ Louis had decided it was better if Mr Rafi didn’t know that the meeting would involve the exchange of a million euros, and had been arranged for the ultimate benefit of the Vuksans. ‘You can take him when he leaves. After that, it’s up to you how you persuade him to tell you where the Vuksans are holed up.’

‘And how do you know about this meeting?’

‘Frend told us.’

‘Why would he do that?’

‘Because,’ said Louis, ‘my colleagues are holding his daughter hostage.’

When the call was ended, Louis put away his cell phone and rejoined Angel in the restaurant. A text message, from a Virginia number, arrived as he was settling the check. It read: Found him.

Chapter LXXVIII

The original call made by Louis was traced to a recipient device in a rented apartment located above an electronic repair store on Jurekgasse in Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus. The return call from Mr Rafi also came from Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus, this time from a Turkish restaurant on Preysinggasse, on the other side of the maze of railway tracks leading to and from the adjacent Westbahnhof station. Within the hour both locations were under surveillance, and efforts were being made to obtain and access footage from nearby security cameras. Three men and one woman, all believed to be from the same Turkish family, were found to be renting the apartment on Jurekgasse. As anticipated, none of them matched the description of Mr Rafi or his aide. The Turkish restaurant did not have a security system on the premises, and was not overlooked by any cameras nearby, which was almost certainly the reason Mr Rafi had chosen to contact Louis from there.