UpayaAid’s offices were situated on a leafy road in Thapathali. Thierry, Dan, Robbie and Tim spilled from a taxi just around the corner from the broad, tree-lined driveway that led to the new two-storey concrete building.
Thapathali offered a different ambience to the frantic activity of the inner city or the decayed poverty of other suburbs. In the late afternoon sun, foreign children scooted around on BMX bikes. No smoking piles of garbage lay beside the road; no cows meandered around. Here, the ever-growing community of aid workers lived and worked in quiet comfort.
Thierry, his grey eyes hidden behind delicate wire shades, turned to the others as they ascended the driveway and pulled his gun out.
“I’ve been here a couple of times before. Elsa used to do reception. There is a securit
