‘And this gentleman?’ Ben asked, turning towards the eldest man. He was taller than the other two and rake-thin, with a thick head of pure white hair and a beard like Methuselah.

‘No, this is Father Bugnolio,’ Madison said with a warm smile. ‘We met in Kabul and he hitched a ride with us.’

‘Formerly of Our Lady of Divine Providence Chapel,’ the old priest explained in perfect English. He reminded Ben strangely of Father Pascal, a dear old friend he had known in France, years before he’d lived there, and still missed. ‘A friend of Madison’s is a friend of mine,’ he said, holding out a hand. His grip was strong and dry. ‘I would be dead if not for her.’

‘Nonsense,’ Madison said. ‘You don’t kill that easily, Father B. Though I won’t deny that things were starting to get a little hairy back there in the city. We got out by the skin of our teeth, dodging roadblocks and checkpoints. Thanks to Aziz, who knows all the backstreets better than anyone.’

Ben asked, ‘How did you get here?’

‘I have a jeep,’ Aziz said. ‘Or I did. It broke down.’

‘We walked the last few miles,’ Madison said. ‘Hell of a climb.’

‘I agree with Father Bugnolio,’ Aziz said. ‘We would never have made it here without her.’

Ben introduced the rest of the men. ‘Did you run into Taliban units?’ Holt asked Madison.

She nodded. ‘Saw quite a few of them along the way. They seem to be everywhere. But we managed to stay out of sight. It was mostly pretty uneventful.’

‘Actually, we were attacked,’ Ramin said.

Ben asked, ‘By who?’

Madison brushed it away with a dismissive gesture. ‘Oh, it was nothing. Just a bunch of bandits who snuck up on our camp on the second night and tried to rob us. We saw them off easily enough.’

‘Another typical Madison understatement,’ said Ramin. ‘There must have been a dozen of them, armed to the teeth and vicious. I’ve never been so terrified in my life.’

The darkness had fallen quickly as they stood there talking, and the strengthening mountain wind had a chilly bite. Madison pointed back at the ridge. ‘Like I said, we’re camped out at the rock shelter back there. You’re all very welcome to join us. Plenty of room for twelve people. Wish I could offer you all the comforts of home, but we’re running out of food and water.’

‘We have enough for everyone,’ Ben told her. He thought he detected a look from Holt, who obviously resented sharing their provisions with four additional mouths to feed. But Holt covered it up well, thanking Madison for letting them use their camp. ‘We figured we’d stay here until first light. We’ll be moving on then.’