Hacker knocked, stepped into the study and quietly closed the double doors behind him. The walls were rich with ornately carved oak panels and the golden early-morning light from the east-facing leaded windows reflected off shiny dark green buttoned leather and the arrays of antique weaponry displayed around the room. A pair of enormous claymore two-handed swords hung crossed against a banner of his employer’s family tartan and the clan crest with the motto VIRECIT VULNERE VIRTUS. Courage grows strong at a wound. Hacker knew a little about courage, and wounds too.

Outlined against the window was the back of a large leather swivel chair, turned away from the desk to face the view of the estate. Hacker walked up to the desk and stood with his hands clasped behind his back. He said in his calm, soft voice, ‘You wanted to see me.’

The chair slowly swivelled back around. Hacker’s employer looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes as though he hadn’t slept. He didn’t thank Hacker for having dropped everything and travelled halfway round the world at such short notice. That wasn’t the kind of relationship he had with anyone.

‘Yes, Hacker. I called you back from Korea because your skills are needed here in Scotland. There’s some urgent business that has to be attended to.’

Hacker replied levelly, ‘I thought I was already attending to business. You sent me to Seoul to stop Kang’s people taking over our interests there. Which, as your international head of security, I was in the process of dealing with when I received your message.’

‘Yes, yes. But never mind Kang for now. I need this poacher person found and dealt with instead. Plus this old fool McCulloch is turning into a real headache, poking his nose in where it’s not wanted.’

Hacker was already fully briefed on the events that had been taking place here during his absence. He replied, ‘With all due respect, need I remind you that McCulloch and the poacher are scarcely in a position to cut you out of a multi-million-dollar property investment deal? While I can assure you that Kang and his gangsters are busy doing just that, now that my back is turned.’

His employer waved that irritating distraction away, like swatting a fly. ‘It’s all a matter of priorities, Hacker. My current ones are closer to home.’

‘You don’t have to worry about the poacher,’ Hacker said. ‘He’ll be found and taken care of, just as you wish. Easy meat.’

‘Good. As for Ewan McCulloch’s uncle, this “Boonzie” person, I’m concerned that we may have a real problem here. The poacher is just some local idiot who saw too much. But McCulloch is a professional. I never bargained for someone like this getting involved in our affairs.’

‘I thought you had local muscle keeping tabs on him,’ Hacker replied. ‘Baird and his cronies.’