One by one, they filed out through the inner door leading from the office into the cavernous interior of the warehouse, Luke following next to last. Once he’d gone through the door, Max clanged it shut behind them, with a metallic bang that made Luke flinch. His nerves were already screaming at him and a voice of reason was shouting, Get out now while you can! But outwardly Luke was projecting an image of quiet competence: the surveillance expert, come to help steer them through this final phase.

Blue plastic industrial barrels. Those were the first things he noticed. He counted about twenty as they walked past, lined up against the wall. Black carrying handles, black lids, grey seals, no markings. He would need to remember those details. Nobody commented on them.

King’s Cross station … 0830 hours … Those words kept ringing in his head like an alarm bell, growing ever louder. Got to get word to the team at Thames House. But how? His phone had been taken from him back at the pub in Great Notley. Luke was now on hyper-alert for any opportunity to slip away unseen, but would it ever come?

And their plan was insane. Releasing a lethal, lab-manufactured biological weapon into a crowded transport hub like King’s Cross? Did these people not realize what a blunt instrument that was? Agent X was not going to distinguish between race, colour or creed. It killed everyone. Horribly. After Svalbard that should have been obvious. And yet here they were now in this Essex warehouse, so desperate to make their mark on the world they were preparing to unleash untold misery in the name of ‘changing the course of history’. All to suit their batshit-crazy doomsday worldview.

‘This will be your vehicle,’ Niamh was saying, as they approached a white Ford Transit van parked up inside the interior of the warehouse. The rear doors were open and two men were loading duffel bags into it. They carried on with their task, not pausing to acknowledge the newcomer. If he was with Niamh he needed no introduction. ‘You’ll be travelling up front next to the driver and Klaus here.’ She indicated a tall, thin man with piercing blue eyes and a shaven scalp. ‘He’s one of the decoys.’

Luke adopted an expression of eager anticipation. ‘Decoys?’ he asked.

‘Yes, of course.’ She sounded surprised that he should even be asking the question. ‘We have to cover our bases. Klaus will be setting off a distraction next to the taxi rank outside. That will draw attention away from the target while the canisters are being delivered in place. And we have another trick ready, don’t we, Klaus? You can tell him.’