Mawnie Schwartz, similarly dressed, stood a few feet away in the members’ enclosure. He was also watching the race and waiting for the chance to speak to his boss. Bleulance hardly reacted as Antoinette streaked across the line first, much to the delight of the big crowd, who roared their approval of the short-odds favourite. His concession to excitement was to wave a hand at the seventy thousand spectators and say, ‘That should keep the punters happy.’

He turned to Schwartz, gave a jerk of his head and wandered to a quiet corner of the enclosure.

‘I want you to go back to the plan to eliminate Haut,’ Bleulance said. ‘There are rumours that he will begin marketing his water-for-fuel invention later this year. Enough is enough!’

‘Baron, we’re concerned about retaliation from the CIA. We’ve been, er, active in handling those close to Haut.’

‘Circumstances have changed. Our information is that the CIA is not looking after him unless he stays at the Roosevelt in New York. I think you should finish what you set out to do originally.’

‘Use Farquar again?’

‘Tell him he must organise it or he’ll have to sell the Texas property and refund the proceeds to us.’

*

Haut, who was beginning to accept his fate as a new-age nomad, took only a few days to settle in to his latest home atop a mountain. Koh Samui was known as an idyllic holiday location for foreigners, and Haut was appreciating all the benefits that thousands of others enjoyed on their short visits, except for one factor: he was on the remote, unfashionable east side of the island. Haut found one good restaurant, Mud, on a beach within ten minutes by taxi, and thirty minutes by foot. The nearest village was twice as far away.

He always proclaimed he was okay being alone as it allowed him to be closer to his god. But, underneath that, he was a gregarious human being. He needed company.

Haut was pleased to receive a call from Ryan Gram. They had been chatting and exchanging emails since they’d first met on the plane trip from New York to London. Gram had expressed his disappointment that Haut was likely to take his technology to NASA, as suggested by Donnelly, rather than Gram’s corporation, Tielisten Allan.

‘I have to take my advice from William,’ Haut told Gram during a phone discussion. ‘He knows the business side of things with my stuff better than anyone.’

‘And he’s backing you big-time?’

‘That too.’

‘I’ve been giving my situation a lot of thought since we first met,’ Gram said. ‘How would you like it if I came to Koh Samui to work with you?’

‘But your job with Tielisten Allan?’

‘I’m willing to give it up. Your inventions are so important to the future of the planet.’

‘I can’t pay you …’

‘Just some modest investment in your new corporation would suffice.’

‘We can work something out.’