The older man lunged for the Makarov, managing to get his fingers on the barrel before Williams snatched it away, and drove its butt into his nose. Then, as blood trickled past Holland’s lips, Williams reached over, twisted the director general away from the bank of dials and controls that filled the width of the cockpit, and fastened the end of his tie to the handle of the door next to him.

Williams’s face had remained as passive during Holland’s abortive attack as it had for almost the entire time since he’d put him in a chokehold in his office. And he stayed just as stoic as he turned the Cessna’s engine over, pulled out of the hangar, and taxied towards the runway.

It was only when Williams had lined up the plane perfectly between the two rows of lights that ran down the airfield’s longest, flattest stretch of grass that his expression changed. Because, just as he was getting ready to push the throttle stick in, the far end of the runway was suddenly lit up by the headlights of Knox’s Jaguar careening across it.

‘Oh good,’ Holland said as another drop of blood fell from his nose and onto his shirt. ‘The cavalry has arrived.’

Chapter 59

Chapter 59

‘Now what?’ Bennett asked as the Jaguar and Cessna faced down each other from opposite ends of the runway.

She and Knox had followed the blip on the tracker-receiver display as they got nearer to the coast and their target inched closer to the middle of the screen. For a moment it had looked like they’d overshot it, but that was when Knox had known for certain that they were heading for Shoreham Airport. He’d taken the same path as Williams and Holland, passing the airport on the far side of the estuary, then crossing over and doubling back inland.

Bennett had already asked Knox what they were going to do when they’d turned into the approach road. Knox hadn’t answered her, because he didn’t really know. Then he’d seen the glow of take-off and landing lights beyond the terminal complex and row of hangars and realised it was too late to come up with a plan.

He’d floored the Jaguar’s accelerator, but instead of turning towards the cluster of buildings at the end of the road he’d swung away from it, steering off the tarmac and onto grass. Almost instantly he’d had to swerve to avoid a ditch, sending both him and Bennett lurching in their seats, before they reached the airfield and saw the Cessna in the distance.

Now, as they stared at the plane through the Jaguar’s windscreen, even in the half-light they could see the twin blades of its propeller starting to spin quicker. Bennett turned to look at Knox, and he turned to look at her.