Gannon’s chute swung to the right, lining up with the tanker. Shepherd waited ten seconds, then did the same. He concentrated on keeping his breathing slow and even. It was easy to hyperventilate under stress.

‘Alpha Four has visual.’

Shepherd flexed his fingers on the toggles that controlled the direction of the chute. The key to landing without getting hurt was all down to the toggles. Getting the direction just right, slowing the descent, emptying air from the chute so that it deflated. Done right, it should be as easy as stepping off a chair. Done wrong, he’d slam into the deck or, worse, miss it.

‘Alpha Five has visual.’

The troopers were stacking up behind Gannon, drifting down towards the tanker. Shepherd wondered how many had done a similar jump before. The SAS regularly trained at HALO and HAHO, but during his days in the Regiment they’d never jumped on to a ship.

‘Alpha Six has visual.’

By the time the last trooper had the tanker in his sights, Gannon was only two hundred metres from the prow. Shepherd used small tugs on the toggles to keep his descent even. Suddenly he was no longer flying over waves but over metal plates, glistening wet, pipes and manholes, welds and rivets. Ahead he saw Gannon’s chute flare, then heard a thump as Gannon hit the deck and rolled, the chute flapping like a huge, dying bird. Gannon had hit midway down the length of the tanker, more than a hundred metres from the superstructure.

Shepherd pulled hard on both toggles and let his knees give as his boots hit the deck. He let go of the toggle in his right hand and hauled on the one in the left, deflating the canopy. He heard a dull thud behind him. Alpha Three. He grabbed armfuls of black silk, rolled it up tight and unclipped his harness. Gannon ran over, bent low. They shoved their chutes under a pipe and unclipped their oxygen masks. ‘Nice job, Spider,’ said Gannon, clapping him on the back.

Shepherd took off his mask and unclipped the oxygen cylinder. ‘Hell of a ride,’ he said.

‘You should knock the cop job on the head and come back to the Regiment.’ Gannon’s face hardened and Shepherd realised the major had remembered why Shepherd had left the SAS in the first place. Sue.

Shepherd waved away any apology that the major was about to make. ‘Let’s get to it,’ he said.

Another bump. Alpha Four. Shepherd looked up. The six remaining troopers were lined up in formation, coming in to land.