‘We made it!’ Madison yelled triumphantly, pumping a fist in the air and high-fiving Father Bugnolio, who just looked confused. Ramin still hadn’t opened his eyes.

And the others had made it too. Glancing in the mirror Ben was relieved to see the Humvee still coasting along behind over the levelling ground; a glimpse of Wolf’s golden grin behind the wheel. He’d probably enjoyed that.

Made it, but only just in the nick of time. A flood of lights far above them lit up the rainy night sky as the enemy convoy gathered on the plateau. Even if they’d been able to spot the escaping vehicles through the lashing rainstorm, as Ben had rightly guessed it was doubtful they’d attempt to follow them. If they wanted to give chase they’d have to double back the way they’d come and then skirt around the foot of the mountain, losing several minutes and a great deal of ground.

Right down in the valley now, with no power to the wheels the truck was rolling gently to a halt. Ben kept the lights off but started the engine and they quickly picked up speed again, lurching like drunken crabs over the uneven terrain, the wipers working full speed to bat away the pounding rain. Having opened his eyes at last and realised they weren’t all dead, Ramin was almost weeping with relief. Aziz sat ashen-faced next to him, clutching his heart. Madison was grinning from ear to ear while Holt and Scraggs were just staring at Ben as though he’d lost his mind. ‘Don’t ever do anything like that again,’ Holt said.

‘Didn’t they teach you off-road driving in the US army?’ Ben replied with a shrug.

Wolf’s voice came over the radio. ‘That was awesome. Can we go back up for another run?’ That Wolf.

Now all they had to do was put as much physical distance between themselves and a hundred or more enemy fighters, in the hope they could build on their head start and give them the slip. Ben pushed on hard, with Wolf right behind him. The lights on the plateau slowly faded out of sight. Within minutes the rain slackened to a drizzle and then petered out altogether, the storm ended as suddenly as it had begun. The fuel gauge was dipping into the red zone but Ben kept his foot down and the miles kept passing. Nobody said much, now that the initial adrenalin rush of their escape gave way to the anxious knowledge that this wasn’t over yet. Danger still lay behind them and more, much more, was waiting for them at the end of their journey.