On the phone he sounded less friendly and more businesslike. He had heard, he said, that I had an office and was running a consultancy and he wondered if he could call around, there was something he wanted to discuss. He sounded like an investigator. I wondered if I should not explain that I did translation for businessmen sent to me by Donald and Susan. This could hardly be called consultancy. Instead, I told him that he could visit the office whenever he liked. He arranged to come the following morning. I asked him if he wanted to tell me what it was about before he came; he said that he did not.

He was dressed in an expensive suit the next morning. I noticed the rich, thin, tight leather of his shoes. He sat down opposite me and lit a cigarette. When he saw me first, he said, he thought that I was attached to the American Embassy, but he had discovered recently that I was just starting, that not too long ago I used to work as a teacher. He looked at me as if to say that there was more he knew as well, but I could not judge how much more. I wanted him to leave the office. He smiled and pulled on his cigarette. He asked me if I knew how the system worked. I told him that I did. I could not think of any other answer. I had no idea what system he was talking about.

This office was perfect, he said. I had a secretary, notepaper, plausible connections. Certainly, he said, YPF would look very favorably on any applications I chose to make, especially if I moved into the technical side of things. I did not understand. I asked him what he meant. He worked in the department which dealt with contracts for services, he said. A huge amount of work was done by outside agencies, and these agencies had to be carefully chosen and checked out and monitored.

He stopped and asked me if I had an ashtray. I handed him a saucer. He stubbed out his cigarette and lit another. If it had been the afternoon or the evening I maybe could have thought of something to say, but now I could think of nothing. His look of self-satisfaction suggested that there was nothing more to be added. Eventually, I asked him if there were any services with which my office could provide him. He nodded and smiled. He presumed I knew, he said, that even if this room were bugged, it would be easy to deny everything. I told him that the room was not bugged.

He said that his office was seeking tenders for a transport contract, not an important one, but worth money nonetheless. He had somebody he thought would be suitable, but the deal had fallen through. If the details were right, he said, he could probably make sure that if I put in for such a contract, I would get it.