"You'll take the Gulfstream from Farley Field. Nobody will know you have gone."

She was weeping now, and Katya kissed her on the cheek. "All will be well, my love. Alexander is right. We must go."

Ferguson said, "I'll make a deal with you, Svetlana. It's important for Alex to go if there are strange and wicked people stirring, but you needn't worry about your paintings or your antiques. I'll arrange for a caretaker to live here and take care of them, all right? Now I must go."

Kurbsky walked to the gate with him. Ferguson opened it, and turned. "It really is the smart move until we get to the bottom of all this."

Kurbsky said, "I'm sure you're right. It's just that I've never been very good at running away."

"On this occasion, you must think of the women. I'll see you off from Farley. Roper will be in touch to confirm the timing."

As Martin got out of the Daimler, Ferguson said, "I'll sit beside you." Martin got the door open, it started to rain, and Ferguson scrambled inside. The big man slid behind the wheel and drove away.

"Thank God, that's sorted," Ferguson said.

"Things looking a bit better, General?" Martin inquired.

"Not really," Ferguson said. "Actually, the road ahead looks pretty bloody stony, but there it is." He leaned back, called Roper, and filled him in. "So the intruder at Belsize Park definitely makes their departure a top priority."

"I'll organize it at once. And that man Kurbsky tangled with-Matthew Cochran, wasn't it? Camden Town, Sixty Lower Church Street. We should check on him, too."

"You're right. See to it."

When Roper made the call, Dillon and Billy were in a bar on Camden High Street. Dillon had suggested a luncheon sandwich, but the truth was, he was thinking ahead, about what was waiting for him in Kilburn. Billy suspected that Dillon needed a drink and went along with the suggestion, though Billy never drank. He was a bit alarmed, though, when the Irishman downed his second large Bushmills. Then Roper called.