Bowman nodded at the bodyguards.

‘Where’s the principal?’

‘Inside,’ Jallow replied. ‘They’re showing him to his seat. What’s going on?’

‘I’ll explain later. Right now, I need you two to get over to the holding area. Secure the vehicles.’

‘What for? There’s no danger there.’

Bowman drew in a deep breath. He wanted the bodyguards elsewhere, away from the situation. The Regiment was taking control now. These guys would only get in the way.

He said, ‘Our team has got the Abbey covered. You’re needed elsewhere.’

‘To watch over some cars? What’s the point?’

‘There’s a risk someone might try and deface the limo while this thing is going on.’

The bodyguard shrugged his massive shoulders. ‘So?’

‘You think it’ll look good if your boss has to drive back to the hotel in a car covered in paint?’

Jallow muttered something to his partner. The pair of them turned and traipsed down the street towards the holding area. Bowman watched them for a beat. Then he hurried over to Kember and the two other grey-suited guys from the Counter-Attack Team. Lomas and Studley.

The shorter of the two guys glared at Bowman, face twitching with anger.

‘What the fuck just happened?’

Bill Studley, the team leader, was a squat Scouser with dark curly hair, and a temper that snapped more easily than a biscuit. What he lacked in height he made up for in fighting skills and sheer aggressiveness. The bloke at his side, Stan Lomas, was physically at the opposite end of the scale from Studley. He was built like a rugby prop, with hands the size of ham hocks and bulging arm muscles.

Bowman briefed them on the attack. The assassin disguised as a cop, the situation with the police. The plan to make it look like a fellow officer had fainted.

Studley cleared his throat and said, ‘Everyone get into your designated positions. We’ll cover the main entrance. You two head for the muniment room, just as we discussed. We’ll have to be as vigilant as fuck from now on.’

‘You think there might be another attempt?’ asked Kember.

‘These guys tried once. They might try again.’

‘Or it might be a decoy,’ Bowman pointed out. ‘A false attack. Get us to relax our guard before the real hit goes ahead.’

‘Stick with the principal closely,’ Studley said. ‘Eyes in the back of heads, yeah?’

Bowman said, ‘Shouldn’t we be getting more bodies down here now?’

Studley said, ‘There’s no time.’

‘But we need more pairs of eyes on this guy, Bill. These guys know what they’re doing.’

‘You fucking deaf, pal? I just told you, the plan stays the same. We’ll stick with what we’ve got.’

Kember said, ‘The incident will need reporting. Someone has to tell Scotland Yard what’s gone down.’

‘I’ll phone it in. Give the liaison officer the heads-up.’