Impatient for a distraction, he took out his Service phone, keeping it hidden by his knees. With the tip of his index finger he tapped the print-sensor icon in the top right-hand corner to access S-chat, the MI6 internal messaging and news forum. Hell, anything was more entertaining for him than what they were watching right now. Elise spotted what he was up to, frowned, and wagged an admonishing finger.

‘It’s on silent,’ he whispered.

‘I don’t care,’ she retorted. ‘Put it away!’

Just one glance, just one quick glance, to give him something to think about until the interval: that was all he was asking. Luke coded in his personal ID number and pressed the return key. The words he saw next nearly made him drop the phone.

Suspected Plague Outbreak

UNDER NEWS BLACKOUT. Oslo station reports suspected Bubonic Plague outbreak on Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. Up to four people infected. Possible terrorism link. Norwegian NIS service investigating.

He read it twice, studiously ignoring the death stare he knew he was getting from Elise beside him. And suddenly the phone was vibrating in his hand. Incoming call. From Vauxhall Cross. Luke catapulted himself out of his chair and burst through the swing doors into the empty corridor, where he took the call with his hand cupped over his mouth.

It was Angela Scott, his immediate boss, and she sounded more stressed than usual. ‘You’ve seen the news on S-chat?’ she asked him.

‘Yes, just now.’

‘Listen, Luke, we’ve got a situation up there.’

There followed one of those awkward pauses he had become all too familiar with. He reckoned she must be thinking how much she could tell him.

‘I’m still here,’ he prompted her.

‘So, someone has gone missing. One of our Arctic scientists, Victor Skeet.’

‘And?’

‘We think his disappearance is highly suspicious. We need your help in finding him.’

‘You mean tracking him down, right?’

‘Yes, if you put it like that. But there’s something else …’ Her voice trailed off. Again came the pause. ‘Luke, I’m duty-bound to tell you he may be infected with whatever this disease turns out to be. So once you’ve located him you’ll need to keep your distance, do you understand? You’ll be working with Norwegian military trackers. When you find him, you call in the medics and they’ll take it from there. Is that clear?’

‘Crystal. Angela, you do realize I’m not a scientist and I’m not a medic, so—’

She cut him short. ‘Save it, Luke. The Chief has already put your name forward. You spent twelve years in the Royal Marines, with God knows how many winters digging snow holes or whatever it is you people do up in the Norwegian Arctic. There’s no one else in the Service with your skill-set for this one, so you’re in the frame now.’