‘No.’

‘London?’

‘Yes.’

His bright green eyes were vibrant, even startling, in direct contrast to the down-at-heel air of every other aspect of him. ‘What do you want?’ he asked.

He glanced at a young couple strolling past. They appeared to be deep in conversation but Kate waited until they were also out of earshot before she replied. ‘We need you to complete one task that is of vital national importance to the United Kingdom. If you do it, we will consider your obligations to us discharged and immediate steps will be taken to fulfil all promises made to you.’

He reached down to stroke his dog, carefully glancing about him. Kate watched a family of ducks drift past on the pond opposite, confident that if there were an issue, Julie – who was keeping watch outside – would let her know. ‘You have a London team here for security?’ he asked.

‘For extra security, yes.’

‘Clean skins?’

‘Yes.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes.’

He nodded and seemed to relax a little. His shoulders sagged. ‘What is it you want?’ he asked.

‘We’d like Igor Borodin’s travel records from the year Unit 61a was set up until the present day.’

He had taken a packet of sugar from the metal container on the table and was turning and turning it nervously in his fingers. ‘You don’t want much, then?’ he asked, with a rigid smile. She waited. ‘Any paper trail is impossible,’ he said. ‘It would be too risky. But my memory is very good, even photographic.’

‘I need the detail, not the hard evidence.’

‘Ten million.’

Kate didn’t know whether she was more surprised by the speed of his capitulation or the scale of his demand. ‘Three,’ she said.

He didn’t blink and she had to admit he had an impressive poker face. ‘The extraction plan involves not just me but my sister. We will have to remain in hiding for the rest of our lives. We will never know a moment’s peace.’

‘Andrew has already agreed we will take care of your security. You will receive a house, a pension.’

‘This is the most sensitive information in the most secret organization in Russia. They will not rest until they have killed me.’ His gaze was fixed upon her once more.

‘I’m sure that’s true,’ Kate countered, ‘but we have learnt from our mistakes. They will never get close.’

‘But we must have a life. The two of us. Seven million.’

‘Four,’ Kate countered. Whichever way she’d imagined this conversation going, it was not to a multi-million-pound negotiation for a deal she, in truth, had no authorization to make.

‘Six,’ he said.

‘Five. And that really is our final offer. I came here with the authorization to do whatever it took to make this happen, but there was no expectation that you would ask for a settlement on that scale. If I agree to more than that, I can’t vouch for our ability to deliver it.’

The waitress came with their coffee. Incisor tried to smile at her, but it came out as a pained grimace.