Bramnik slammed one meaty finger into the palm of his other hand again and again, like a Roman senator plunging his dagger into an emperor’s chest. ‘There’s no paperwork filed, no warrant issued, no reason for you or your men to be here at all. The way I see it,’ he continued, his voice still escalating, ‘you’ve just illegally detained two of my operatives in the course of performing their duty!’

‘They disobeyed orders,’ Greenbrooke peevishly insisted, ‘and assaulted a base commander, no less. There are strict—’

‘Actually, sir,’ said the smaller man accompanying Bramnik, ‘Miss Mirkowsky has a duty to ensure the safety of the Pathfinders under her command at all times, under the terms of the special mandate they operate by. Within the terms of that mandate, Commander Barnes has, in fact, contravened his own general orders. And as for the assault, well . . . the fact is the Commander has been charged with dereliction of duty on any number of occasions, and if this matter were to go any further, I don’t have any doubt that those failings would be brought to light in a most unwelcome manner. Would I be correct, Agent Greenbrooke, in my understanding that Commander Barnes’ father has strong personal and collegiate ties to yourself?’

Greenbrooke’s face coloured, and he pressed his lips together in a thin line. In the meantime, Bramnik pulled a much-folded document from a jacket pocket and almost forcibly pushed it into the agent’s hands.

‘That,’ said Bramnik, ‘comes straight from the Special Department. I’ll save you the trouble of reading it: you don’t get to so much as take a shit around here unless I say you can. Do you understand?’

Greenbrooke unfolded the sheet of paper and quickly scanned the contents, before looking back up at Bramnik. ‘I can have this overturned,’ he snarled.

‘Knock yourself out,’ said Bramnik. ‘There are people right here on this island who owe Nadia Mirkowsky their lives, including members of the military detachment here. I don’t think you’d make yourself very popular with them if you took this any further. You can go now.’

‘This won’t be the last you hear of this,’ said Greenbrooke, trembling with anger. ‘I’ve been taking a very special interest in some of those high-flying associates of yours, Commander Bramnik. Particularly the Senator. You’ve had a smooth ride until now, but change is coming. Do you understand me?’

Bramnik looked as if he was fairly close to slugging Greenbrooke himself. Instead, he turned to the two soldiers still waiting outside the cell door and gave them their orders.

‘Escort Mr Beche out of here,’ he said, ‘and wait for me outside. Mr Beche,’ he added, addressing me for the first time. ‘You’re free to go. But I’d like it if you would be so kind as to wait outside until I can have a word with you.’