That was a name Ben hadn’t heard in a while, and his surprise must have shown on his face. ‘Carstairs?’

‘You haven’t forgotten your old regimental pals, have you?’ the second man said with a knowing look. ‘Because they haven’t forgotten you. And now they’d like to have a little chat.’

Ben certainly remembered Carstairs very well, from years ago. He must be past retirement age now, but obviously still active. He was senior SAS brass, with connections to military intelligence. Back in the day, Colonel Carstairs had been rumoured within the close-knit Special Forces community to be involved with a shadowy cadre called Group 13. So shrouded in mystery that even regular SAS officers like Ben had known virtually nothing about them, the unit was said to be run via the UK Foreign Office alongside others like the so-called Increment, allegedly responsible for carrying out covert, deniable missions on behalf of the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6. Those blacker-than-black ops included political assassinations, delivering secret military assistance to foreign powers, clandestine insertion and extraction of intelligence agents, and other classified missions where maximum discretion was required and to which the government could disavow all connection if compromised.

Ben had particular reasons for knowing that the whispers about Gordon Carstairs were more than just rumours. That was something he’d never told another living soul, all these years.

And now it seemed that Carstairs especially wanted to talk to him, to the extent of sending out a specialist team to pick him up. Ben thought that was interesting. He’d have bet that Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum here weren’t working alone, likely part of a group of four or six. Ben knew there was no point in looking around him in the hope of spotting the others. He wouldn’t see them. But they’d be there, dotted around various vantage points up and down the street and in the surrounding shops and buildings, watching.

‘A little chat about what?’ Ben asked.

Both men grinned. ‘If they told us,’ said the first one, ‘they’d have to kill us.’

‘Funny,’ Ben said. ‘I was just thinking that’s what I’d have to do to make you two go away.’

The grins vanished.

The first man said, ‘Correct.’

The second one said, ‘Meaning, you’d have to try.’

Ben considered the situation. These two guys weren’t joking around. And in any case, he had to say he was curious to know what Carstairs wanted.

‘What about him?’ He nodded towards Storm.

‘Don’t you worry, Major. We’ll have someone drive your vehicle back to Le Val for you. The doggie will be fine. And Captain Dekker will be informed of your whereabouts.’

Ben paused for a long moment, then made his decision. ‘Okay, boys. But I expect to be home again within a few hours.’