‘Well, it worked, because they didn’t go near the wreck, but the cocksuckers went and arrested me instead.’ She touched her face. ‘They weren’t friendly about it either. They drove me back to the base and locked me in a room there, until they could figure out if I’d been up to anything, I guess.’

‘This was when?’

‘Couple of hours ago.’ She nodded towards Howes. ‘When everything started to kick off, I had a ringside seat in the window of the room they put me in. The Patriots all turned up en masse and said they were taking charge.’

I looked at Howes.

‘I guess it doesn’t hurt to tell you,’ said the Major, regarding me wearily. ‘I refused. They were asking for unrestricted access to the main stage, without authorization or orders, and actually seemed to expect me to keep Kip Mayer locked up when my primary job’s to protect him.’

‘So Greenbrooke backed down?’ asked Oskar.

Howes shook his head. ‘Greenbrooke wasn’t there. His agents drew their weapons and ordered my men through to the main stage, then locked me in my own office. I’m guessing they sent my men back home so they wouldn’t have to worry about dealing with them here.’

I realized all this must have occurred after Chloe and I had left the hospital, when jeeps full of Patriots had driven past us on their way to the compound.

‘So how did the two of you get out of there?’ asked Yuichi.

‘Stupid bastards didn’t think I might have a spare key for my office, so, as soon as I was out, I waited until the coast was clear and sprang Miss Ludke,’ he said, nodding at Rozalia. ‘I needed some backup, and had a feeling that, if they’d locked her up, it might mean she had a better idea what was going on than I did.’

‘You couldn’t get Mayer out?’ I asked.

‘No,’ he said heavily. ‘They took him somewhere else, but I need to go back and get him. I don’t even know if he’s still on the island. But whatever we do, we have to do it quickly. We just ran into a pair of agents, but we managed to kill them. The others will have heard the shooting.’

‘I told the Major everything I knew on the way here,’ said Rozalia.

Beside her, Howes made a face as if he wanted to spit. ‘Not that I’m having an easy time believing it.’

I gathered up my predecessor’s notes and handed them to the Major. ‘If you want proof,’ I said, ‘I’ve got a fat chunk of it right here.’