‘I’m not backing off and I’m quite sane, thank you.’ Holm lowered his voice. ‘There’s some dodgy arms dealing going on between Allied American Armaments and the Saudis, the net result of which is Taher getting his hands on a bunch of weapons. What’s strange is there’s nothing on the system about Brandon Hope or the company. Nothing, do you hear?’

‘Nothing. I see.’ Palmer nodded. Holm had his attention. ‘You want to know if I’ve heard something?’

‘Hope is involved in a charity that works in North Africa. If there’s anything going on in the region you’d be aware of it, right?’

‘One would hope – sorry – so.’ Palmer tapped the table. ‘But no, there’s not been a whisper.’

‘This could be big, Harry. I think Brandon is shipping the arms across the Med in a boat he owns. The weapons are going to Taher who is then distributing them to the jihadis: AQIM, al-Shabaab, ISIS, whatever. I can’t believe your people on the ground haven’t got even an inkling.’

‘Well, quite. Very worrying.’ Palmer scratched his chin. ‘You have proof of Brandon’s involvement?’

‘Not directly. It’s just me and the lad at the moment, so we’re struggling to keep on top of it all.’ Holm turned his head. Javed was down by the lake. ‘But if I can land Taher I’ll be back in favour, and if you help me you’ll be in line for some credit too. A lot of credit.’

‘We’ll need to proceed carefully, Stephen. You know how things are.’

‘Are you talking about Karen Hope and her presidential ambitions?’

‘There is that, of course, but I was thinking of the Saudi link too. We don’t want to embarrass our allies.’ Palmer glanced at the window. ‘Who knows about this?’

‘Only me and Farakh. Huxtable doesn’t have a clue.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes. I’ve been keeping a lid on the information. Too many times I’ve been close to Taher and he’s disappeared in a puff of smoke.’

‘Are you suggesting…?’ Palmer let the sentence hang.

‘You know I am. Hell, we’ve talked often enough about it before. You even admitted yourself you were worried.’

‘Yes, but the Spider?’

‘Not Huxtable, but the people around her. Somebody with high-level access. Perhaps even in one of the foreign agencies we share information with. I’ve long suspected the Americans haven’t being playing by the rules.’

‘The CIA?’

‘Yes. It makes sense now we know Allied Armaments and the Hopes are linked to Taher. The Agency could be running interference to safeguard their national interests.’

Palmer narrowed his eyes, his brow creasing. ‘That’s extremely concerning.’

Holm nodded. Although Palmer was obviously troubled, Holm felt a weight lifting from his own shoulders. The SIS officer was more used to dealing with this sort of thing than Holm was. He’d know what to do.