“So call him.”
He shook his head.
Harry clucked his tongue. “Oh, not in front of me. I see how it is.”
“It’s not my rule. It’s his.”
“Number Four.”
Asher almost smiled. “Yes.”
“How does he know everything?” Harry asked. “He’s one step ahead. You said he’s well connected, but he has no country. So who does he work for?”
“Himself.”
“So he’s like some secret independent agency that knows everyone’s business, has eyes everywhere, contacts everywhere. Got us across every border so far, had vehicles when we needed. People on the ground to give us a room, a car. To warn us.”
Asher considered this. “Yes. That’s correct.”
“Why didn’t he call you to warn us? Why send the man to the door?”
“For the key to this car. If we’d have stolen something, we risk alerting the police and having them be on the lookout for the vehicle.”
“Do you think those cops we passed were looking for us? Is that why your friend told us to leave straight away.”
Asher gave Harry a look that said yes, that was exactly what he thought.
“So he has contacts in local police everywhere? Or just Algiers?”
“Notcontacts,” Asher said. “This isn’t the ’90s.”
Harry glared at him. “So he has access to information,” Harry deduced. “Christ. He’s a hacker.”
Asher laughed. “Something like that.”
Harry kept staring at him until he explained more. No more information was forthcoming.
“Then why can’t he just hack into Interpol and delete our files?”
Asher snorted. “Oh, Harry. You’re cute.”
“Don’t be an ass. You make it sound like he’s some almighty tech guru that can do shit like that. And he does have contacts, like the old guy with the room for us, and the guys who took us across the border. The fisherman.”
Asher sighed. “Okay, some contacts.”
“Like it’s the ’90s.”
Asher shook his head and laughed. “You’re insufferable.”
They were quiet for a few more miles.
“So...” Harry tried to sound casual. “How long have you known him?”
Asher flinched a little. “A long time.”
“How did you meet him?”
“Why are you so curious about him?”