Page 67 of The Nameless Ones

‘There’s only one person in the car.’

‘Who is it?’

‘She doesn’t know. She’s trying to find out.’

‘Tell her to try harder.’

The drone reached the intersection between the main road and the secondary trail. Louis turned it to face south along the road, and held it in place as the drone’s available flight time ticked down. Ten minutes. Nine-fifty-nine, nine-fifty-eight, nine-fifty-seven …

‘One of them has a broken nose,’ said Most, reading from the screen. ‘The other was told to go home because he was making the situation worse.’

‘I don’t care about injuries,’ said Louis. ‘I only want to know which of them is in the car.’

Most’s thumbs tapped out a reply. He was still typing when the drone’s camera registered the headlights of the lead car.

‘I have them,’ said Louis.

‘She’s still working on it!’

The drone continued in the direction of the small convoy, descending as it went. Using the drone’s precision altimeter Louis would have to fly only a meter or so above the first car in order to hit the second. The more distance there was between the two vehicles, the easier it would be. At the moment, he judged them to be about twenty meters apart. He didn’t want them to get any closer.

‘Most,’ he said calmly, ‘I need to know now.’

They would only have one chance with the drone. If they hit the Audi and Luca Bilbija wasn’t in it, they would lose him. Bilbija would bury himself deep and all their efforts would have been for nothing.

The drone was closing in rapidly on the convoy. Five hundred meters, four-fifty, four, three-fifty, three, two-fifty. Soon the lead car would fill the lens of the camera. Its headlights, thought Louis, might even pick out the incoming threat.

Two hundred meters.

‘Abort,’ said Most. ‘It’s not Bilbija.’

Louis lifted the drone fast. The screen showed the three cars passing just beneath it. The drone continued to rise until it was well above the road.

‘Wait!’ said Most. ‘Bilbija’s outside the casino. He’s making a call. She thinks he’s asking Mirko to come back for him. He doesn’t want the guards to drive him, and they don’t want to take him unless they have to. He’s made himself unpopular.’

‘Is he alone?’

Most tapped the question. The phone pinged.

‘Yes, he’s alone.’

Louis brought the drone down again, following the road south.

‘Confirm his position,’ he said.

Most realized his intention.

‘Seriously?’ said Most.

‘Seriously,’ said Louis.

Most tapped again. The reply came instantly.

‘He’s smoking a cigarette on the lawn and talking on his phone. She says there’s no one else nearby.’

The casino was in sight. Louis tilted the drone west. Seconds later, it was passing over the gatehouse, and the camera picked out a guard looking up, trying to determine the source of the noise. The lawn appeared, the figure of a man visible upon it. By now the drone was below tree level. The man turned toward the drone. In the final seconds, Louis saw Luca Bilbija’s face.

There was a flash, and the camera went dead. A moment later, they heard the explosion.