‘A medical incident?’

‘A firearms incident,’ said Jameson.

Caroline looked at each of them in turn. ‘Are you going to tell me what’s going on here?’

‘We’re making sure Harry is as safe as possible,’ said Bloom, ‘and that involves keeping a medical eye on his recovery. We want to involve as few people as possible at this stage for security reasons which is why I asked you here to check on him.’

‘I’m not a neurosurgeon.’

‘No, but as a consultant anaesthetist you know more than us.’

‘You said this was for just a few days. Then where are you taking him?’ she said to Jameson.

‘That’s up to the Navy.’

‘Another hospital?’

‘Possibly.’

Caroline’s expression darkened. She was not happy about this and Bloom could understand her reticence. It was nowhere near to ideal.

‘He’s been sleeping since midday so we left him to rest, but perhaps you could wake him and check that everything is OK,’ Bloom said.

‘And you should know that he’s aware of your separation and divorce,’ said Karene.

‘Well, if he’s remembering things then that’s a good sign.’

Karene’s eyes diverted towards the floor.

Caroline stepped towards Bloom and Karene. ‘You told him?’

‘I’m afraid we needed him to know who Karene was so that he would trust us to help him,’ said Bloom.

‘So you destroyed the trust he had in me without a second thought.’ Caroline squared her shoulders and hardened her tone. Bloom guessed that this was the version of Ms Peterson her staff saw.

‘I think you did that yourself when you jumped into bed with Robin.’ Karene’s tone sounded light-hearted but the words were intended to sting and, from the look of fury in Caroline Peterson’s eyes, they did.

46

Abdul was summoned to Antony Bello’s private quarters just after midnight. He passed through the apartment as discreetly as possible, ignoring the two semi-clad women he could see asleep on the bed through the open bedroom door, and found Bello drinking whisky on his balcony.

‘How can I be of service, Sir?’ he said as he stepped into the warm night air. It was too hot to be outdoors for any length of time during the day, but the evenings were the perfect temperature.

Bello waved his hand towards one of the free chairs and said, ‘How can he disappear without trace?’

Abdul knew that Bello was referring to the British naval officer. Word had passed swiftly through the group that their surveillance had drawn a blank. ‘They know he’s the target. It is only wise to assume his people would protect him.’

‘Are you calling me unwise?’

‘I am simply saying that if we think like them, we can defeat them. It is nothing more than a game of chess.’

‘He has children. We will use the children.’

‘We could, although I believe they will be protected now too.’