‘Yes. This was years back now, but I’m merely using it as an illustration of the way the man thinks, the way all of his ilk think. They use people, Rebecca. In a way, Weiss is just like Hope. He’ll do anything to get what he wants.’

‘Are you saying he’ll give me up if I don’t go along with this?’ Silva shook her head. ‘But he said himself that was too risky.’

‘What is risky is trying to second-guess him. He’ll do whatever he thinks needs to be done.’

‘For the country?’

Fairchild laughed. ‘For Simeon Weiss.’

‘Who else knows about this?’

‘The operation to kill Karen Hope?’ Fairchild turned his head and gazed out across the manicured lawns towards the gatehouse. ‘You heard what Simeon said. I’ve no idea if that’s the truth or not.’

‘Somebody in the government?’

‘I doubt it. Most politicians understand very little of what really goes on. Their outlook is too short-term: a parliament, a second term in office. The future of this country depends on events that take decades to seed and grow fruit. There are people who are working on scenarios involving who the next president but one might be. Friendships are being cultivated in Chinese universities right now that will serve this country well into the second half of the century. Strategy is being worked out for when India becomes a global superpower, for when the US and Europe have sunk so low they are third-rate backwaters.’

‘This all sounds like some sort of bad conspiracy theory.’

‘Possibly, but truth is stranger than fiction. Could you have predicted the fall of the Berlin Wall or the global financial crash or the Arab Spring? In any case it doesn’t really matter. Weiss is setting the agenda and you’ll do what he says or suffer the consequences.’

‘Did he put you up to this just now or are you part of the whole thing?’

‘He told me to try and persuade you. He mentioned a break-in at your father’s house. There were gunshots and someone was hurt, possibly killed. He felt it might be time for the police to investigate.’

‘How—’

‘I’ve no idea.’ Fairchild held his hands up. ‘But Weiss deploys resources as and when needed. He probably had your father’s place wired from the get-go.’

‘This is crazy. Why me?’

‘You remain the best person for the job. I can’t imagine getting close to Hope is going to be any easier now she’s been alerted to the fact she’s a target, so a long-range shot will still be the method of choice. Simeon has assets aplenty he could deploy but I assume he feels you are a safe bet because you’re personally involved. That gives you the motivation to carry out the job and zero reason to betray him. Especially after it’s all over.’