‘It appears I was the last person in Afghanistan to know,’ Francine said, cocking an eyebrow and gazing at the prince in a whole new light. ‘A duke? An earl?’

‘Oh, he’s the real deal, honey,’ Madison said. ‘A bona fide future king.’

The future king sat frowning and biting his lip. ‘I never asked for special treatment,’ he complained in a whining tone, ‘let alone for anyone to risk themselves on my account. I don’t want any more responsibility than what comes with being an army officer. I’m done with being a prince. I don’t want it any more.’

‘Not your call to make,’ Ben told him.

‘Yes, it is. I resign. Hear me? You’re all witnesses to my formal abdication, effective immediately.’

‘Go tell that to the Taliban,’ Ben said. ‘I’m sure they’ll accept their misunderstanding and walk away.’

‘This is ridiculous! I can’t help what family I happen to belong to!’

‘But you’re here,’ Wolf said to him. ‘That’s all that matters. And soon they’ll be here too. All of the scattered units that were out there hunting for us will converge together and they’ll turn up in force.’

‘How many will there be?’ asked Father Bugnolio.

‘Hard to say,’ Ben replied. ‘Could be a hundred, could be five hundred, or more. A prize catch like Richard is a powerful motivator for them. They’re not about to let him slip through their net.’

‘Prize catch? Net? You make me sound like some kind of bloody fish,’ the prince said resentfully.

‘A whopping great king salmon is what you are,’ Wolf told him. ‘Whether you like it or not.’

‘Which leaves us with the next big question,’ Holt said. ‘What the hell do we do now?’

‘Get the heck out of here,’ the prince answered. ‘As fast as we can. Right now, instead of sitting here waiting for them like sitting ducks.’

‘Fine,’ Wolf said. ‘Then all the advance lookouts that have been quietly creeping into position in those hills across there ever since their scout reported back to them will be able to watch us pile into our vehicles and hit the road. That’s if there was a road instead of just a rocky wilderness, and if we could squeeze everyone into our two trucks without being totally overloaded. They’ll head us off before we’ve gone a mile. And trust me, you won’t like what happens next.’

Baldacci drew his index finger across his throat with an evil leer that looked even more sinister in the dim light of the lantern.