Bowman was starting to see the picture more clearly now. They were going in on a deniable operation to arrest a suspect during the day, in the middle of a packed urban environment. Which meant the team would need to make contingency plans for any number of situations and emergencies. Murphy’s Law. Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Bowman would have to commit every procedure to memory before they touched down in the south of France.

‘Will we have enough time?’ he asked. ‘On the plane?’

‘It’s a two-hour flight to Nice. Should give us plenty of time to go through everything. Unless you’re planning to spend the flight like Tiny, using crap chat-up lines on the stewardess.’

He boosted up from his chair, signalled the end of the meeting.

‘Hurry up and get your kit sorted,’ he barked. ‘We’re out of the door in eighteen.’ Everyone stood to leave.

‘A word, Josh,’ Mallet added.

Bowman stayed put while the others trooped out of the room. Mallet rooted around in his pockets and chucked another stick of nicotine gum into his mouth. ‘You’ve got your ghost ID on you?’

‘In my pocket,’ Bowman said, recalling the two UKNs banging on his hotel door in the dead hours, ordering him to bring his Wing-issued passport with him to the meeting at Tower Bridge.

‘Why?’ he asked. ‘What’s the deal?’

‘We’ll give you a new cover story in the next few days,’ Mallet said. ‘In the meantime, you’ll have to go with the cover you used in the Wing. It’s not ideal, but it’ll have to do.’

‘What about my phone?’

‘You’ll be using your existing encrypted handset for the mission. You can stick the battery on charge during the flight.’ He paused. ‘We’ll need to sort you out with a uniform as well.’

Bowman frowned. ‘What’s my role in all of this, John?’

‘You’re going in as part of a two-man team disguised as couriers,’ Mallet said. ‘That’s how we’ll gain entry to Lang’s apartment. You’re one of the couriers.’

‘Who’s the other?’

‘Patrick. You’ll pretend to have legal documents that need to be countersigned by Lang. It’s the only way we can sneak in and out of the block without anyone spotting us.’

‘I’m playing catch-up, John. I need to know what the plan is.’

Mallet glared at him. ‘There’s no time to discuss this right now. It’ll have to wait until we’re en route to France.’

Bowman hesitated. ‘Are you sure this is a good idea?’

‘Dressing up as couriers?’

‘Bringing me on the op.’ He pointed to the pinboard. ‘I’m coming on to this thing late in the day. I still don’t know the ins and outs of the op, any of the SOPs, none of it.’

‘What’s the problem? I thought you wanted to fight mobsters.’