‘Worth getting killed over,’ Ben said. ‘Or dying of starvation up here. Look around you. You think your friends will be content to tough it out with you in the wilderness, scratching around the rocks for bare scraps to survive on?’ He motioned towards the sleeping figures. ‘Aziz isn’t well, you said so yourself. Ramin isn’t someone you’d bring on a camping trip, let alone this. And what about Father Bugnolio?’

‘I’m a fairly resourceful gal,’ she shot back at him. ‘I can go it alone, if needs be.’

‘Even if there’s still a load of treasure waiting to be found, how do you plan on getting it out of here?’

‘Huh. Says the guy who thinks he can snatch a truckload of orphanage children right out from under the noses of the Taliban fighters.’

‘We’ll work something out,’ Ben said, his turn to get defensive now.

‘And so will I, goddamnit,’ she replied. ‘I always do. The first step was to get here. And I managed that okay, didn’t I?’

Ben stared at her. ‘You’re crazy. I always knew you were crazy, but I had no idea how batshit insane you really are.’

‘Now, children,’ Wolf said, raising his palms. ‘Let’s not fight.’

Madison looked about to fire back another angry retort, but then she softened and gave a lopsided smile. ‘Okay, I admit I might have bitten off a little more than I could chew. But now I’ve got the great Ben Hope here to help me. That means anything’s possible, right?’

‘And me,’ Wolf said, prodding his chest with his thumb.

‘You too, honey. The redoubtable Mr Wolf.’

Wolf seemed to like being called ‘honey’.

Ben shook his head. ‘Don’t kid yourself, Madison. If you think I’m interested in hanging around here playing treasure hunt, think again. I told you I’d come to Afghanistan to get you out.’

‘And I told you—’

‘I know. But that’s not happening. You’re coming with me.’

‘Kicking and screaming under your arm, huh?’

‘If necessary,’ he replied. ‘Now, you followed your father’s footsteps this far. You’re going to have to imitate his example one more time, and forget about this stuff until it’s safe to come back here again one day.’

‘Come back to what, though?’