‘We’ve had Davey Boy under surveillance for months. The guys at Six have infiltrated every corner of his business empire. They’ve hacked his computer, his phones. His properties have been rigged up with mics. They’ve flipped his accountant, his PA, even his cleaner.’

Bowman kept his face composed but felt a twitch of anxiety. For a moment he wondered if Six had discovered the truth about his addiction when they’d ripped Lang’s life apart. But he immediately dismissed the fear. No. There was no way Mallet would have invited him to join the Cell if he knew about his opioid dependency.

At least there was no chance of David Lang recognising his face, Bowman reassured himself. Unlike his twin brother, David had always maintained his distance from street-level crime and violence. He didn’t associate with thugs or drug dealers, he ran legitimate businesses. He didn’t hang out at the club in Romford.

My secret is safe. For now.

He said, ‘Where’s Lang now?’

‘His apartment,’ Mallet replied. ‘Overlooking the beach in Monte Carlo. That’s where we’ll make the arrest. Then we’ll give him a choice. He can come back with us and go into protective custody, or he can come back to something a lot less pleasant. But either way, that scumbag is coming back to the UK.’

‘What if he refuses?’

‘He won’t. Trust me.’

Bowman returned his gaze to the pinboard and sucked air between his teeth. ‘It’s not gonna be easy to isolate him. The principality will be crawling with police and cameras.’

‘We’ve got a way inside,’ Mallet said.

‘How?’

Mallet frowned at his Breitling. ‘There’s no time to go into the details right now. The other guys will bring you up to speed later. Fill in any blanks.’

‘But why bring me on now? You’ve been planning this thing for days.’

‘We had two other guys due to take part in the operation. An advance party from the Special Reconnaissance Regiment. They were brought in specifically for this mission. We’ve had them on the ground in Monte Carlo for the past forty-eight hours, keeping an eye on Lang. They’re out of the picture.’

‘What happened?’

‘They were arrested late this evening in Monte Carlo. A car accident. That leaves us two short, and we can’t do the mission with three guys. It’s not enough. We need someone to make up the numbers. That’s you.’

Bowman nodded guardedly. It wasn’t unheard of for a Regiment man to be recruited for a mission at the eleventh hour. A guy on a team might suffer a freak injury during training, and someone else would be brought in as a last-minute replacement. Accidents happened. But it wasn’t ideal. There wouldn’t be much time to go through everything: the plan, his job, the SOPs.

‘When do we leave?’ he asked.