A few days later they were sitting in Red’s office having a cup of coffee made with personal care and attention by Rasul, the Department’s general factotum. Rasul had been working in the Department since he came to Dubai twenty-five years ago from Kolkata. He was devoted, loyal and undemanding; and underpaid and undervalued. Just like the large majority, Bill reflected, of the vast army of subcontinent, economic slaves that had helped to make Dubai what it was today.

Ruth, next door, picked up the jangling phone. Almost immediately the phone on Red’s desk rang.

‘The solicitors in London,’ said Ruth, transferring the call to Red. He listened expectantly. Then a great grin spread radiantly across his broad, square face. Bill did not need to be told the content of the call as Red put the phone down and banged the desk exultantly.

‘Excellent, bloody great! That’ll settle that smug bastard’s hash!’ he said, adding needlessly, ‘the High Court’s granted the Mareva order. That’s all our friend’s assets frozen. He won’t like that one little bit. Now though, he’ll be forced to defend himself or lose all. He’ll try to fight – he’s so bloody arrogant he’ll think that he’s bound to win. But when he gets some sound legal advice, that there’s not a cat in hell’s chance that he can win, no point at all in even thinking about going to court, he’ll soon change his mind. Better try to make a deal with us, the lawyers will say, rather than fighting it.’

‘He’ll be fucked,’ rejoined Bill.

‘Damn right, he will! He will not even be able to present any cheques without the Court’s approval. And now that Mahmoud’s got him by the balls, he’ll grind them until his wallet’s dry. They’re pretty ruthless, these Arabs. Mahmoud certainly is; he’ll want to cut him off at the knees.

‘Right!’ said Red, decisively, ‘we definitely need to cover as many bases as possible here in Dubai to support the court case. What do you think?’

‘Now that the shit’s hit the fan, there’s going to be a lot of running around in the hen coop. The more we can hear what they’re up to, the better.’

‘Bug them? That makes sense. Let me speak to the others.’

‘We should get some good stuff from Al Fadl. I could do a collection every night. Then we should do something about this new office. Assuming that he doesn’t come back, you’d expect him to phone Al Fadl a lot now – and presumably the office too, if we can find it,’ said Bill. ‘If we can bug these as well then we’ll be covering the whole gang. That can be done easily enough – but only with cover from someone with serious wasta.’

‘OK, I’ll speak with Mahmoud,’ Red continued in genial mood after his success in getting the injunction. ‘This affair will certainly shake up the dovecot! Stanley’s an arrogant bastard. Considered himself as the de facto British ambassador; held the most prestigious expat job in the emirate. Had the protection of Mr 110 per cent himself, Al Turk. He could do no wrong. Now he’ll have to hang his head in shame – and with a bit of luck be forced to give the money back – and rat on the others.

‘How much will it cost? When could you do it?’ asked Red.

‘I’ve already got the guy standing by to travel out at once. We could do it within twenty-four hours of getting instructions. As to cost, I’ll work that out. I can let you have something this afternoon.’

‘OK, do that. Mahmoud will want to do it. I’ll call Riad straight away. If he agrees, he’ll have to run it by Mahmoud whenever he’s available. But don’t hold your breath. You know what it’s like trying to get hold of him. But I’m sure he’ll be all for it. And spending money is no object when it comes to him stitching up a few local enemies. Might be different when you come to get paid – then it’ll be like bargaining in the souk! I’ll call you later though. Send me the figures in the meantime. Anyway, I’ve gotta go to the Diwan – call me later.’

He heaved his large frame out of the too-small desk chair. Grabbing his briefcase, he stuffed a sheaf of papers into it and headed for the door. As he left, he shouted over his shoulder: ‘And find out where that motherfucker Al Turk’s hiding out now. We need to bug his office asap.’

Bill winced as the name reverberated around the corridors. Who else might be listening who would warn off Al Turk? Mahmoud had made plenty of enemies in his short time in charge of the Department, Red had told him earlier.