‘You should rest,’ Doctor Watson cuts in. ‘A few more days won’t make any—’

‘Now. We’re doing it right now. What do I need to know? Tell me. Big waves, you said,’ Ben says, looking at the doctor.

‘Ben,’ Doctor Watson says, his voice deep and gravelly. ‘You have just come out of a medically induced coma. If you go now you will pass out within a few minutes. That is fact. Do you understand? As strong as your will is, it cannot defy the capabilities of your body.’

Ben swallows again. The urgency inside pushing him to do something now. To dive through and put right the wrongs. ‘What did you do last time?’

‘They went through in a RIB,’ Konrad says. ‘But something went wrong. We waited five minutes then started pulling them back on the ropes but the yacht came through and jammed the winder . . .’

‘Did they have air to breathe? I mean scuba tank things?’

‘Didn’t think of it,’ Malcolm says with an expression of grief and pain.

‘We’ll learn from that mistake . . . I’ll take three tanks of air . . . can you get small ones?’

Malcolm nods, casting a look at Konrad. ‘We can use compressed air tanks . . . really small,’ he says, holding his hands apart a few inches.

‘Three of them . . . rope . . . and flotation devices like lifeguard rings or something they can grab . . .’ Konrad says.

‘I’ll need a bit of time,’ Malcolm says, looking back at Ben.

‘We don’t have time,’ Ben replies with a growing sense of urgency.

‘They’re dead, Ben,’ Malcolm says, swallowing and blinking hard. Ben goes to reply but his words strike deep.

They’re dead.

They died days ago.

Ben reels back, suddenly unsteady on his feet. The world spins. Adrenaline spikes. Shock hits. His inert body slumps as Doctor Watson rushes to prevent the fall he could see was coming.

Thirty-Five

Thirty-Five

‘M and K out,’ Echo says. Delta feeds it into the tablet, tapping on the screen.

Malcolm and Konrad. Names learnt by eavesdropping on snatches of conversations over the last four days since the RIB was delivered. Sometimes Malc. Sometimes Kon. Once it was Malcolm and three times it was Konrad.

Roland. They have not seen that person. Ben. They have not seen Ben. Safa and Harry. They have not seen them either. Safa and Harry both died.

‘. . . can’t believe they’re both dead . . .’

That one sentence fragment heard, but since then they have learnt Ben is alive and Roland is alive from the way in which they are spoken about.

‘. . . Ben will be devastated . . .’

‘. . . Roland’s under so much pressure . . .’

Present tense remarks.

Someone new too. Doc Watson. Doctor Watson is caring for Ben. Harry beat Ben.

‘. . . Harry almost killed him . . .’

Intelligence gained. A picture being built and fed back to Mother.