Silencer by Andy McNab

flight – you name it – are deducted. Even so, still life-changing amounts of money.’
    ‘Isn’t it illegal here too? How does he get away with advertising?’
    She dived back into her cigarette drawer. ‘The only country where it isn’t illegal, I think, is Iran. But so what? Like I said, there’s no law or government here. The vice squad in this city consists of seven officers, Nick. Seven! They don’t even have a vehicle. They have to catch a bus to crime scenes. That’s why there are people like me.’
    ‘So what sort of money are we talking about? How much could I get for a kidney?’
    The disposable clicked but there was no flame. She gave it a couple of shakes and sparked it up this time, then wafted it across the tip of her smoke.
    ‘He promises ten thousand US, and you’d be lucky to see half that. But if you’re desperate, Nick, if you’re trying to escape from poverty or debt – or this country …’ She raised the filter to her lips. ‘Diminetz will send them to wherever they need to be – to whichever broker, in whatever country. Sometimes they come back in good condition – it all depends where the operation takes place. But sometimes they don’t. That’s when Linda and I pick up the pieces. And sometimes they just disappear completely.’
    Another toxic cloud filled the room. My eyes were watering, but Lena wasn’t deterred. ‘China is also a growing market. The new middle class doesn’t want organs from executed prisoners any more. They want designer organs to match their designer handbags and watches. Prisoners have been on bad diets, and are probably riddled with hepatitis or HIV. They want healthy organs from healthy, strong young men and women.
    ‘Diminetz sells the dream: clean, fit, healthy East Europeans, who have been working out in the fields, not drinking or smoking …’ She took another long drag, then balanced the cigarette on the dog-end mountain that was toppling off the ashtray. ‘They are paraded in front of the clients, like girls in a brothel. He makes sure they turn up without make-up, with short nails and no polish. If their hair is dyed he will keep them under wraps until it grows out. He wants them to look as wholesome and healthy as possible. It costs more, but the buyers don’t complain.’
    She swirled the remains of her coffee around a couple of times in the bottom of her mug. Her jaw clenched and I could see the anger in her face. She flicked through the pile of papers in front of her and scribbled the odd note. The end of her Bic ballpoint looked like it had been chewed by a Dobermann.
    ‘It’s all about supply and demand, of course. Their mark-up is as much as you’d expect on any designer bag – and if you wantthe real thing you don’t buy Louis Vuitton from a Somali at a street corner. Diminetz sells them to the broker for fifty to sixty thousand dollars. The broker sells them for a hundred and fifty to two hundred thousand, sometimes even more, depending on where the operation is taking place. Sometimes, if the girl is beautiful and her scar does not weep, she finds herself sold on as a prostitute.’ She tilted back her chair, closed her eyes and massaged her temples with her fingers. For a moment I thought she was going to cry. ‘So why is your friend caught up in this? You think that scum has put her up for auction?’
    ‘I haven’t got a clue. I’m just trying to cover every base.’ She didn’t need to know the full story, just enough to help. ‘Do you know if Diminetz speaks English?’
    Her eyes rolled and she burst out laughing.

6
Club Royal Park Hotel
    20.32 hrs
    The beaten-up Merc pulled in beside the third hotel on my circuit and I handed the cabbie a five-dollar bill. It had been a ten-minute ride so he was very happy indeed. He took off as fast as my last driver had done, before I realized my mistake.
    We’d passed a whole stream of posters along the way showing a girl gripped in a huge clenched fist being exchanged for a