As Harry dealt with the car and the door, Charlie ditched the empty drum of alcohol and took a last walk around, opening the RV’s skylights, windows and the driver’s door. Finally, she reached into a cupboard and cut the rubber hose that ran from a propane cylinder to the hob.

After jumping the steps, Charlie made sure Harry was behind the wheel of her car.

‘Open the passenger door for me,’ she shouted. ‘Ready?’

Charlie was alarmed by a growing whiff of gas as she pulled the gun out of her hoodie and aimed inside the door where she’d sprinkled alcohol on a nylon cushion. The bang made her jump. The heat of the bullet caused static, igniting the cushion and sending streaks of burning alcohol through the RV’s interior.

‘Drive, drive, drive!’ Charlie screamed as she jumped in her car.

But the car decided to be bossy. ‘Please ensure the passenger door is closed, and passenger seatbelt fastened before hitting the accelerator.’

‘Bastard!’ Harry yelled, smashing the steering wheel as Charlie reached for the seatbelt.

Spreading the fuel through the cabin and opening doors and windows ensured that the RV burnt rather than exploded. But Harry was dazzled by the flames as Charlie’s belt clicked.

‘It’s in!’ Charlie shouted. ‘Why aren’t we moving?’

The accelerator was limp. Harry looked along the VW’s dashboard as the flames coming off the RV began licking the wooden beams of the storage unit’s roof.

‘The battery light is flashing.’

‘It was fully charged when we left!’ Charlie protested.

‘Must be the fire,’ Harry said, his neck catching the intense heat radiating through the car’s rear window. ‘The car thinks the battery pack is overheating.’

‘Are you kidding?’ Charlie gasped.

‘Get out and push,’ Harry said.

But Charlie leaned over the centre console.

‘It did this once before on a hot day,’ Charlie said, scrolling through menus. ‘You can reset the sensor, by going into …’

Charlie flipped on-screen menus as heat expansion blew one of the tires on the RV. The storage-unit roof was now ablaze, including a section directly above the Volkswagen.

‘Go now!’ Charlie shouted.

Harry pressed the accelerator and felt a satisfying whirr from the motor. The battery overheating light started to flash again, but Harry had enough momentum to clear the storage units and turn on to an unlit side road.

‘If a police chopper spots these flames, we are so screwed,’ Harry said.

‘We’re away from the heat source,’ Charlie said as Harry turned the car off. ‘Just give it a few seconds and we should be OK.’

A cop siren whooped in the distance while Harry gave the back of the car time to cool down. The flames behind had settled into a steady pattern, but a plume of smoke had erupted, suggesting a partial collapse of the storage unit’s roof.