It took him five minutes to get back to the road. A pall of smoke had begun to darken the sky. He heard sirens from the east and followed the sound, cresting the shoulder of another peak, then staggering down a rough foot path. After a few minutes he saw the golf course beneath him, which meant he was near One Boat. Another couple of minutes and the refueling station came into view.

A cluster of British military vehicles had stopped under the canopy, with several RAF men and security contractors directing cars in some kind of evacuation, other officers in full combat gear fanned out across the lava, guns at the ready. Kane approached with his hands raised.

“Got him,” one of them called.

“Stay there.”

Kane stopped.

“Are you armed?”

“No,” Kane said.

“Who fired those shots?”

“A man called Thomas Lindgren. He’s on his way to Georgetown with a girl who may be in danger. He needs to be stopped.”

A woman drove up to the fuel station shouting: “What’s happening? Can someone please tell me what’s happening?”

They told her to drive directly to the airfield. Civilians were taking shelter in a bunker beneath the adjacent base.

“Why?” she said.

“Proceed to the airfield. Follow instructions.”

“Someone said they found them,” the woman said. “At the fire.”

“Please proceed . . .”

The woman sped off. Kane was searched. He heard their radios: It sounded like a lot of officers were up at Devil’s Ashpit.

“What’s at Devil’s Ashpit?” he said.

“Two bodies at the NASA station. Someone started a fire there. Know about it?”

“No. But I suspect the man I told you about is involved. We need to get to Georgetown, fast,” Kane said.

“You need to come with us.”

Before Kane could reply there was the sound of a vehicle approaching quickly behind him. A jeep appeared, speeding from the direction of the US base. It screeched to a halt and Anne Lindgren jumped out, still uniformed, gripping her radio transceiver. She ran over to Kane.

“Some security guys said you were with Thomas and Carina. Where are they?”

“Thomas has Carina. They’ve gone to Georgetown.’

“What about Connor?”

“ ‘I don’t know about Connor.”

“What’s Thomas doing at Georgetown?”

“Maybe trying to get away. His boat’s there,” Kane said.

She looked baffled, turned to the British officer.

“Is anyone in Georgetown that you can contact?”

“Georgetown’s been cleared,” one of the RAF officers said. “There’s no servicemen there. Everyone’s busy getting people into shelter or up at the fire at Devil’s Ashpit.”

“Someone said they found bodies there,” Anne said.

“Looks like Petra and Lauren.”

Anne turned to Kane. “What’s going on?”

“Let’s go to Georgetown,” Kane said. “I’ll tell you what I know.”

“He’s under arrest,” the airman said.

“Not right now he isn’t,” Anne said. “Come with me.”