Coughlin asked, ‘What if the target is watching from the northern end, where we can’t see?’
‘That doesn’t matter.’
‘But if we can’t see him, how do we guide Kooi into position?’
‘That doesn’t matter either.’
Coughlin sighed. ‘I could do my job a lot more effectively if you didn’t withhold intel.’
Hart faced him. ‘Your job at this time is to be a second pair of eyes for me. You just have to keep watching. Nothing more. That is within your capabilities, is it not?’
‘Of course.’
‘Then be quiet and trust and know that all factors have been considered.’
‘Look, I just want the job to work so I can get paid and I’m not going to stand here in silence if there’s something I think has been overlooked. If it hasn’t, great, but if you won’t tell me anything how can I know that?’
‘Fine.’ Hart stared at him. ‘Speak now or forever hold your peace.’
‘Okay,’ Coughlin began, happy to have got Hart to back down, albeit temporarily. ‘If Prudnikov watches the speech from the north side and Kooi ends up over there and out of sight, how do we know he’s going to stay in kill range if we can’t see and Francesca has gone?’
‘The moment Kooi steps outside he will be in range. The blast radius will kill anyone within fifteen metres, not five. He’ll wipe out each and every man and woman on the terrace. We’re not going to guide him into range, just like we’re not going to rely on him to detonate the bomb. As soon as he joins the crowd for the ambassador’s speech I’m going to call the phone and do it for him. Kooi didn’t need to know that.’
Coughlin nodded, understanding the logic and feeling better about his prospects of getting paid. Then he thought of something. ‘But Francesca is going to be there with him. When you say you’ll blow the bomb as soon as Kooi joins the crowd, you’re going to wait for Francesca to go back inside out of range, right?’
Hart looked at him like he was an idiot. ‘How is it going to appear if Francesca is the only survivor of the blast?’
He thought for a moment. ‘Suspicious.’
‘Correct,’ Hart said. It sounded vaguely insulting. ‘We don’t want anyone asking her difficult questions, now do we?’
Coughlin nodded his agreement, but when Hart looked away, he frowned in the dark and thought about what had happened to Jaeger.
The crowd in the music room expanded as more guests funnelled through the doorway. Victor watched every new arrival. Men entered adjusting bow ties and cummerbunds. Women checked themselves in the tall mirrors. Lots of hands were shaken and air kisses dispensed. Conversations in Italian and Russian and English provided a disharmonious clatter in Victor’s ears. He was fluent in all three, and snippets of small talk and serious discussion competed with each other and drowned the beautiful music of the string quartet. They had reached the last movement of Rosamunde, Victor’s favourite, and he wanted to make the most of it before it was time to go into action. Some things couldn’t be rushed.
Francesca signalled to a waiter for another flute of champagne. ‘I’m starting to get a taste for this,’ she said, sipping from her new glass. She checked her watch. It was thin and silver. ‘Not long now until the speech. How are you feeling?’
He didn’t answer.
‘You are going to go through with this, aren’t you?’ she whispered, quietly enough that no one nearby would hear.
‘Are you concerned I won’t?’
‘No,’ she said. ‘I’m concerned by what Dietrich will do to your wife and child if you’re too scared to go through with it.’
‘Do I look scared?’
‘No, that’s the problem. You don’t look like a man who is going to blow himself up.’
‘That’s the point of the sedative, surely.’
‘Even so, I didn’t think it would be this effective.’
‘I’ve said already that you don’t have to worry about me. I’ll do what I have to do.’
‘If you’re thinking of trying something you must realise it won’t work. I’m not going to leave your side until you’re out on that terrace with Prudnikov. Then Hart and Coughlin will be watching your every move. If you try to slip away they’ll know. If that bomb around your waist doesn’t go off and if Prudnikov is not in the blast radius then they’re going to know about it. All it takes is one call to Leeson and Dietrich is