'Civil of them.'

'I would have asked you myself, of course, if --'

'Of course --'

'I'm glad of a chance to talk to you.'

He took a sip of water.

'Cheers.'

'Cheers.'

We began eating.

I didn't look at him except when he made the odd remark, and he found it difficult to meet my eyes. September was a beautiful month in Hong Kong, he said: the evenings were always like this, very calm.

I said I hadn't been in this part of the globe for some years.

He asked me how the food was.

'Very good.'

He seemed pleased again and I couldn't think why. Some exaggerated sense of hostmanship? His eyes went down to his plate, and the light flashed across his thick-lensed glasses.

'They treat me well. Very well.'

'I'm sure they do.'

'Nothing to complain of.'

'That's good.'

He ate rather hungrily, but I imagined they wouldn't be rationed on board a first-line missile site. Possibly he was hoping to get to the flavour.

He put his knife and fork down.

'Did you come here to take me back?'

I had to think for a couple of seconds.

'That was the idea.'

'What will they do with you now?' he asked me, and looked up.

'The same as they'll do with you.'

He pushed his plate away and folded his arms on the table and leaned towards me.

'I don't believe it, you know. What you said.'

'Don't you?'

I left it at that, wanting to know how much he'd need convincing. He stood it for five seconds or so.

'You can't prove anything.'

He wouldn't need much convincing.

'Anyway,' I said, 'it's up to you.'

He let that go because he had to: he knew we couldn't talk.

'How -- how well do you know Nora?'

Check and re-check.

I wouldn't normally have to, but that bloody light had bored holes in my eyes and I was longing for sleep and couldn't think as fast as I should.

Situation: I'd blown my cover to him. They hadn't broken me down but that didn't mean anything: they knew they were going to, if they kept on long enough. So I could talk to him about anything I chose but not about my warning to him now. He might not realize this and I was ready in case he let a word slip so that I could try covering it.

It was academic anyway.

They'd got us both.

'I don't know her very well,' I said. 'Done a bit of shopping with her, you know-House of Shen, Constellation "144" and places like that. Few evenings together at the Orient and Gaddi's -- she's fun, isn't she? Loves expensive things. Of course 1 didn't know she was married, or -- well --'

'That's all right,' he said with his head going down.

I don't often see people suffering -- I don't mean self-pity, I mean suffering. Maybe I don't recognize it too easily, because in my opinion it's always their own bloody fault and that's why I don't seem to have too many friends.

But I recognized it now.

I suppose she'd gone and shoehorned him into this thing.

Be a pushover in a place like Hong Kong.

My husband works for the Ministry of Defence.

How interesting.

It's interesting for him all right, but the money's not much.

I'm sure the prestige is a compensation.

You can't have a fling on prestige.

Hong Kong is certainly a little expensive.