Rasnokov said, ‘We also are concerned about a regrettable murder within our borders. A young woman, a secretary with the GRU, was killed right here on the streets of her own city.’
‘A secretary,’ said Diana. ‘Is that right?’
‘I’m sorry, do I have that idiom correctly? You are asking for clarification?’
‘No. I understand.’
‘I’m pleased to hear that. She was apparently the victim of street crime, which raised suspicion among the investigators, as this is much rarer here than in your West. Much, much rarer. So they examined the case closely, and came to the conclusion that this murder was carried out by foreigners. Foreign … mercenaries? I think there’s a more accurate term.’
‘Hitmen.’
‘Yes, thank you. Foreign hitmen. You can imagine the distress. To have a citizen cut down by foreign criminals, professional assassins. Our president was most concerned that such activities should not go unchecked.’
‘And was he reminded that the action was not unprovoked?’
‘The president remained focused on the details. A grave insult had been paid to an arm of our national security. Such insults must receive the appropriate response.’
‘Which is where we came in. That incident was itself a measured and appropriate response to an outrageous act. You damn well know that.’
Rasnokov did not reply. Diana filled the gap by walking to the edge of the building and looking down. She liked to think she had a head for heights, but there was something about watching people far below, people who imagined themselves unobserved, that provoked dizziness.
She stepped back.
‘And to continue along this path, this repeated exchange of appropriate responses … Where’s that going to lead, do you think? Anywhere good?’
The silence continued.
It was going to be a long day. The boys and girls on the hub had been at it all night, combing through CCTV, ANPR, whatever they could squeeze from GCHQ, but the team responsible for dropping Kay White off a ladder, burning up Struan Loy, and frightening Sidonie Baker into the shadows had vanished from sight. The last time a pair of the GRU’s worst and wildest had broached UK borders, they’d arrived bearing sequentially numbered passports. That might have looked like a schoolboy error, but felt, in hindsight, like a two-fingered salute. The current model had been less openly abrasive, and, murders apart, hadn’t left a footprint. Or not one the hub had yet identified.
Rasnokov spoke at last. ‘We have no listening ears?’
‘None this side, Vassily.’
He hesitated again. ‘It is perhaps fair to say that the decision to … How can I put this? The decision to visit your marvellous cathedral was taken over my head. And might better have been left untaken.’
That he was saying this surprised her, but not its import. Rasnokov was as capable of brutal thuggery as the next man, but he’d never struck her as mad. And the original attack had been set in motion by a madman.
She said, ‘And you can’t have expected us to leave it at that, Vassily. We’ve already spoken of how such actions amount to insults.’
‘There was speculation that your Service lacked the necessary resources to indulge in such an extravagant response.’
‘Then your speculations are out of date, aren’t they? We’re not as strapped for cash as you imagine.’
‘“Strapped for cash”?’
‘Short of money.’
‘Ah, yes. “Strapped for cash.” I like that.’
‘Happy to help. So what about your current … tourists? Were they also wished on you from on high?’
She took his silence for assent.
It was going to be a long day, yes, but there was a glimmer of hope here. If she could tie a ribbon round the GRU hit team, she’d be able to focus on her other problems. Making truce would mean allowing the Russians to walk away, of course, but this wouldn’t be a public humiliation: the unnewsworthy deaths of a few former spooks hadn’t created the waves that the murder of a citizen had. Nobody missed a slow horse.
Jackson Lamb aside, that was. But she could deal with him later.
Rasnokov said, ‘Our current tourists. It might be fair to say that in this day and age, a time of environmental concerns, such holiday-making is uncalled for. The costs to the planet are too high. It might have been better had they too stayed at home.’
She took a breath. ‘So call them back.’
‘That would be one solution. Though I worry that their passage home might not be a smooth one. So many hold-ups occur these days. Major inconveniences.’
‘Things aren’t as bad as they were. You might find that their journey is untroubled.’
‘That would put everyone’s mind at rest. But I have to ask, what sort of premium would be charged for such a guarantee?’
It was good of him to offer, and saved her raising the question herself.
She said, ‘Well, Vassily, I always find it interesting to look at other people’s holiday snaps, don’t you? I wonder if you have any to share?’
Cantor said, ‘No way.’
He waited.
‘No way are you a spook.’
Reece Nesmith III said, ‘I never said I was.’
