‘Halle-fucking-lujah,’ Cale said in the background, but nobody was listening to him. For Ben, who’d been banking on a rapid execution of their mission as his best means of avoiding going AWOL, this turnabout was welcome news. A revised plan was spinning together in his head. The moment they had Spartan secured, he would split from the task force and make his own way with all possible speed to the Zakara site in the Bamiyan Valley. He’d have to scrap the idea of bringing Meadows, Dixon or any of the other guys along with him for backup, but he was still betting on persuading Saleem and his gang, who might also be prevailed on to call in some more of their Northern Alliance friends. That would take care of Ben’s essential transportation needs, and provide useful manpower and firepower in case of a tangle with the Taliban forces. If he succeeded in finding Madison alive, Saleem’s people might also offer an alternative way of getting her and himself safely out of Afghanistan, via the old escape routes through the mountains into neighbouring countries such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan that the Mujahideen had used for years during their war against the Soviets.

They’d wing it, somehow. The first thing was finding her. And now that prospect seemed much closer – and all the more worrying for it.

It was on the tip of Ben’s tongue to tell Buchanan his intentions, but he held back. Instead he said to Goffin, ‘Let’s hope your man comes through for us this time.’

‘He will,’ Goffin snapped. ‘I trust him.’

‘More than you trust us lot, apparently.’ Ben said. ‘Unless you’re finally prepared to tell us who Golden Boy is.’

‘You’ll find out soon enough,’ Goffin said. ‘In the meantime, ignorance is bliss. If things go tits-up and you get caught, at least you won’t have to pretend that you don’t know anything.’

‘Getting caught isn’t my style,’ Ben said.

Goffin snorted and looked at his watch again. ‘Happy to hear it. Now let’s move.’

They hurriedly carted all their heavy kit down to the vans, then set off with Saleem and his friend Mazdak at the wheel and the rest of the task force concealed in the back. This time, Ben found himself riding in the front van, the white one, along with Goffin, Buchanan, Meadows, and Cale. They rolled quickly westwards through Kabul and cleared the checkpoints without incident once again thanks to the diplomatic charms of the Northern Alliance guys.