He stamped his foot to the floor, mashing the accelerator. The engine roared as the Discovery surged forward, racing ahead of the sedan. As soon as they had overtaken it, Kember wrenched the wheel hard to the left, nudging the Discovery into the limo’s slipstream. Taking up the position in the middle of the column. They were directly behind President Seguma in the lead vehicle now, the rear of the limo no more than a bumper’s width ahead of them, with the bodyguards in the sedan trailing six or seven metres behind the Discovery.

Kember eased off the pedal, dropping the speed to twenty miles per hour, sticking close to the limo as they continued south on the near-empty road.

‘The BGs won’t appreciate that, Geordie,’ Bowman said.

‘I don’t give a crap. They’re pissing me off with their schoolboy tactics.’

‘Thought you said the threat to the president ain’t real.’

‘It isn’t,’ Kember said. ‘But I’m not having these twats make us look useless.’

The puzzling thought nicked at the base of Bowman’s skull again. ‘I don’t get it,’ he said.

‘What’s that?’ said Kember.

‘These guys are supposed to be the president’s top bodyguards. But they don’t seem bothered about keeping him safe.’

‘Hardly surprising, is it? They’re poor quality.’

‘It’s not just their training, mate.’

‘What is it, then?’

‘It’s their behaviour. The way they act around Seguma. They’re not timid. It’s almost as if they don’t respect him.’

‘Maybe they’ve got some leverage over him. They might know about the skeletons in his cupboard. Or maybe they just hate working for the prick.’

‘They’re working for a violent dictator, mate. You’d think they’d be treading on eggshells around him all the time.’

‘What else could it be?’

‘I don’t know,’ said Bowman. ‘But there’s something off about him. He seems small.’

‘He’s hardly gonna be a bloody giant, is he?’

‘I mean, he looks ordinary. I can’t see anyone being afraid of this guy.’

Up ahead, the limo turned off to the left. Kember took the same turn, following the limo and the sedan as they trundled down a side street flanked by white stucco terraces. They hung a left at Millbank and shuttled north towards the Houses of Parliament.

They were getting close now. Bowman could hear the whump-whump of helicopters circling overhead. The area was swarming with police. Armed officers in dark uniforms, tactical vests and baseball caps patrolled the streets, clutching their Heckler & Koch MP5 carbines. Yellow-and-blue liveried cars and motorbikes lined the sides of the road.

Bowman kept his eyes pinned to the limo, searching for any potential threats. But apart from the heavy police presence the area was deserted.