‘But I am not a soft touch,’ Kipper continued. ‘I like the idea of some of these characters being made to earn our trust out on the frontier. And I think ten years is a heavy enough sentence to levy on them for the crime of serving in Pharaoh’s army. Admiral, I’m happy to take your advice on how we might structure that program, including how we tweak it in such a way that, for them, getting back into the settled areas to see their family is incentive enough to stay on the straight and narrow. For the non-combatants, the women and children – well, the women, I guess – we really need some way to use them productively, to make them understand that they could have a future here. But that it’s our future, the one we envision, not some medieval theocracy they might’ve signed up for a year or two back. I’m not even going to pretend I know how to go about doing that, but then I don’t have to. That’s your job, Sarah. And yours, Jed.’

‘What?’

He nearly snorted fresh, hot coffee out through his nose. Humboldt looked just as surprised.

Kipper regarded him with a grin that was positively malign. ‘I can see they caught you with your pants down on this, buddy,’ he said. ‘And I know without even looking at you that you think the idea sucks dog’s balls. Excuse my French, Sarah.’

‘That’s okay, Mr President,’ she shot back. Ms Humboldt was still unsettled by the revelation that she’d be working with Jed Culver.

‘I know you’re already being tortured by nightmares about Mad Jack using this against us,’ Kipper resumed. ‘That’s why I want you to oversee the program for me. I have no doubt, Jed, you’ll come up with some way of making it look as though allowing these prisoners to stay is a punishment for them and a boon for us. I dunno, maybe you could find a genuine turncoat in there. Somebody who thought they had permission to wander into New York and take it over. And having been led astray by the devious Emir, he now burns with holy fire to wreak his vengeance and prove his loyalty to the country that gave him a chance and took him in, yada yada yada. You’ll work it out, I’m sure.’

‘But why, Kip?’ he said, perplexed that they would put themselves to so much trouble for no observable benefit. ‘Why help these bastards to get what they wanted in the first place? And after we spilled so much blood to deny them . . .’

Now the President favoured him with an almost indulgent smile.