‘I don’t know how he does it.’

‘Sleep at a time like this . . . or ruin ours?’

He kissed her lips tenderly. ‘I want to know you, Mia.’

‘You will.’ She stroked his face, ran her hands through his hair. ‘You will.’

Nash was still hearing those sweet words when he was woken at two thirty with savage kicks to the soles of his feet.

‘You come now!’ barked the panicking soldier, his torch flashing around the inside of the tent as he stamped his feet in the mud. ‘Get dressed. Hurry!’

Douglas reached for the MP40, but Nash stayed his arm.

‘Wait.’

Shielding his eyes from the dazzling torch beam, he asked the soldier what was wrong.

‘Mba Suyanto says you come now . . . too much water!’

The rain was falling in solid curtains. Continuous thunder and pulsing flashes of reflected lightning told of the maelstrom in the mountains above. As they squelched up to the command tent, Nash could see Sura in animated discussion with the murderous Indonesian officer who had beaten Mia up.

‘I will fly the first load down tomorrow and send Ricki back for the second –’

She broke off as Nash stepped inside. The overhead lantern light accentuated the fatigue on her face, and for the first time he saw her real age.

‘Mr Nash, the water has already reached the stern of the submarine. How much time do we have until the sinkhole fills?’

‘It will depend on how much rain falls.’

‘Jaap?’

In the corner of the tent, Boerman sat like a statue in a collapsing chair.

‘We’ve had 175 millimetres in the last three hours.’

Nash pointed skywards. ‘It’s the mountain catchment you need to worry about. The sinkhole is filling due to back pressure in the subterranean system. Which means the level of the Hoosenbeck Cavern will be rising, too.’

‘And if it overflows the cave?’ Alatas asked this archly.

‘You mean when it overflows the cave? Then it’s going to barrel down this river bed in a raging torrent, and then you’ll have it coming from above and below.’

As the Indonesians glanced at each other, an opportunistic gambit popped into Nash’s mind.

‘You can’t stop it,’ he emphasised. ‘It’s just a matter of time, and I reckon sooner rather than later.’

‘There’s still three hours until dawn.’ Sura gave Alatas a worried frown.

‘I’d monitor the cave,’ advised Nash casually. ‘Get a sense of how fast it is rising, then plan how much time you have left.’

Boerman looked immediately suspicious, and Nash thought he’d overdone it, but then Alatas nodded.

‘Yes . . . that sounds logical. How would you do that?’

‘Construct a depth marker in the cave. It will let you estimate time and volume on the overflow.’

Nash briefly explained what materials he would need.

‘Jaap, take him up there now,’ Sura commanded. ‘Get it done.’