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major. You are to use your UK passport at all times.’
    How do they know I have a UK passport? De Villiers wondered. ‘What is there in Hamburg?’ he asked, but there was a nagging thought at the back of his mind. He had been to Hamburg before, with the major and others. The major had been running the operation and De Villiers had been just one small cog in the machine.
    â€˜I have no idea. I wasn’t allowed to ask questions,’ Weber said.
    De Villiers made his decision quickly. ‘You can tell them that I’ll do whatever it is they want from me, but if they harm as much as a hair on Zoë’s head, I’ll come after them and wipe them out, every single one of them.’
    â€˜Pierre, this is not the time to make threats.’
    De Villiers ignored the rebuke. ‘And there is a condition: I want to talk to Zoë every day. If they miss a call, I stop cooperating. This is non-negotiable.’
    â€˜What if they say no?’ Weber asked. It was not an unreasonable question.
    De Villiers measured his words carefully. ‘Johann, there are three things you need to know about these people. First, they are men who understand negotiating positions and the value of a bargaining chip. They have Zoë and Liesl, but there is obviously something they want even more. And that is the reason they are putting pressure on me.
    â€˜I want to speak to Zoë every day. This isn’t negotiable. And you should demand to speak to Liesl once a day, without exception. They have to know that we are not going to cooperate on the basis of vague promises.’
    â€˜But why put pressure on me?’ Weber asked. ‘What could I possibly have that they want? What has this got to do with me?’
    â€˜I don’t think it has anything to do with you,’ De Villiers said, looking for the right answers as he spoke. ‘Not directly, anyway. I think it has something to do with me. Putting pressure on you is just another way they can put pressure on me, and make sure I do as they say.’
    Weber didn’t answer. De Villiers continued. ‘The other thing about them is that they won’t harm a child or a woman, not if they can help it.’
    â€˜How can you be sure?’ Weber asked.
    â€˜I worked for them, and I know. They are Calvinist to the core.’
    In a sense, De Villiers was relieved. The demand that he should go to Hamburg meant that there was some rational purpose behind Zoë’s abduction. People with rational demands tend to act rationally towards their captives; otherwise their demands would not be met. And he thought he knew the men concerned. As long as he cooperated, Zoë would be safe.
    The problem was that De Villiers was not the kind of man to give in to an unlawful demand. He suspected that his brother-in-law was the same.
    â€˜What’s the third thing?’ Weber asked, interrupting his thoughts.
    â€˜They’ll be safe,’ De Villiers said. ‘They know me and they know they won’t get anything out of me unless they can prove to me at all times that Zoë is safe. They know I don’t trust them and won’t give them what they want unless I have proof that Zoë is safe.’
    â€˜Who are these people, Pierre? Who are they?’
    â€˜They’re soldiers. I am sure of that. From long ago. I know them from the Angolan days.’ He addressed Weber’s fear. ‘I know them and their kind. Believe me: they want something from me and as long as I have whatever it is that they want, Zoë and Liesl will not be harmed.’
    â€˜But what if you’re wrong?’ Weber asked.
    â€˜Johann,’ De Villiers said slowly. ‘They’ve chased me through the Kalahari and detained me and tortured me for months. And they got nothing out of me. They know me. They know—’
    â€˜But what if you are wrong, Pierre?’ Weber repeated. ‘What then?’
    â€˜If I’m mistaken,’ De