Page 147 of Never

‘Drones that carry weapons over long distances are not small. This one has the wingspan of a corporate jet and needs a runway to take off. But it’s a big desert.’

‘You think it might have been stolen?’

‘The drone is normally flown by a three-man team: pilot, sensor operator and mission intelligence coordinator. However, one man could do it in a pinch. But he could do nothing without the control station.’

‘How big is that?’

‘It’s a van. In the back, the drone pilot sits in a virtual cockpit with screens showing the view from the drone, maps and aircraft instrumentation. There’s a conventional throttle and joystick. A satellite dish on the roof communicates with the aircraft.’

‘So the thief has to steal the van too.’

‘He might be able to buy one on the black market.’

‘You want me to put out some feelers?’

‘Yes, please.’

‘The drones might have been put up for sale. Alternatively, the General may have the drones under cover at some remote airstrip. Maybe someone is trying to buy a control station on the black market. I’ll see what I can find out.’

‘Thank you.’

‘Can I eat my salad now?’

‘Go for it.’

***

Tamara had a date with Karim for coffee on Tuesday morning.

She dressed carefully, because she had to go straight from Karim’s coffee shop to lunch with Tab’s parents. She did not put on the outfit prescribed by Tab: it would have made her feel like his puppet. However, she was not going to be mulish and dress in ripped jeans. She remembered him saying that she had the kind of simple chic that French people admired, and in truth that was her favourite style. She put on the outfit she had been wearing when he had said that, a mid-grey shift dress with a red belt.

She hesitated over jewellery. Marie-Anatole Sadoul owned and ran the Travers company that produced high-class bling, among other things. Nothing in Tamara’s jewel box was expensive enough to compete with whatever Tab’s maman might have on. Tamara decided to be contrarian, and wear something she had made herself. She picked out a pendant of an ancient Tuareg arrowhead. In places the Sahara was littered with such relics, so it was not precious, but it was interesting and different. It was carved of stone and carefully shaped, with serrated edges. Tamara had simply drilled a hole in its wide base and threaded it with a narrow piece of rawhide that she slung around her neck. The stone was dark grey and toned nicely with her dress.

Karim’s eyes widened appreciatively when he saw how smart she looked, though he did not comment. Tamara sat opposite him at what was evidently the proprietor’s table and accepted a cup of bitter coffee. They talked about the battle at the refugee camp eleven days earlier. Karim said: ‘We’re pleased that President Green did not believe the Sudanese lies about us invading their territory.’

‘The president had an eyewitness report.’

Karim raised his eyebrows. ‘From you?’

‘I got a personal phone call from her thanking me.’

‘Well done! Have you met her?’

‘I worked on her congressional election campaign, years ago.’

‘Very impressive.’ His congratulations were tinged with something else, and she realized she needed to be careful. Karim was a big shot because he knew the General, and he would not like to feel that Tamara might be an even bigger shot because she knew the American president. She decided to play it down a bit. ‘She does this all the time, calls ordinary people, a driver, a cop, a reporter on a local paper, and thanks them for doing a good job.’

‘She gets good publicity from it!’

‘Exactly.’ Tamara felt she had reduced herself back to normal size, and she was ready to ask her difficult question. ‘By the way, one of our drones is missing – did you know?’

Karim hated to admit ignorance. He would always pretend he already knew. The only time he would claim unawareness was when he wanted to hide the fact that he really did know something. So she reckoned that if he now said: ‘Yes, I heard about that,’ he probably knew nothing; whereas if he said: ‘I had no idea,’ it meant he knew all about it.

He hesitated for a significant fraction of a second, then he said: ‘Really? A drone missing? I had no idea.’

So you knew, she thought. Well, well. Pushing for confirmation, she said: ‘We thought maybe the General had it.’

‘Certainly not!’ Karim tried to look indignant. ‘Why, what would we do with it?’