Milton pressed the AR-10’s stock into his shoulder, aimed out of the window and fired. The gun roared and a dozen big 7.62mm rounds streamed out. The muzzle brake reduced the kick and made it possible to handle, even in a vehicle that was moving at speed. Milton aimed at the vehicles, peppering them with bullets. Tyres exploded, gouts of steam jetted from pierced radiators and glass flew out of windows. The men dived for cover as Beatrix yanked the wheel in the opposite direction, the tyres carving lazy curves in the grit as she swung the rear end around and pointed at the suddenly accessible path to the exit.

“Covering fire!” she yelled, but Milton had already replaced the magazine and was out of the window again, this time pointing behind them.

The AR-10 roared as Milton emptied the second magazine, a third in his lap ready to be slapped in when the second ran dry. Beatrix looked into the rear-view mirror as one of the SUVs exploded, its fuel tank ignited by one of his rounds.

They raced out of the exit. Beatrix flicked her eyes back to the road ahead just as another blacked-out SUV raced right at them. There was no time to avoid it. The vehicle clipped them on the front right wing, swinging them around to the left, turning through one hundred and eighty degrees so that the nose of their vehicle was pointing back into the yard. Milton was slammed against the door by the impact, his grip on the rifle lost as he fumbled it into his lap. Beatrix jackknifed forward, her forehead bouncing against the dashboard. She fought a moment of dizziness and tasted her own blood in her mouth.

She grabbed the MP5 and aimed through the windshield at the vehicle that had struck them. The SUV had been turned onto its right-hand side by the impact and had skidded for another twenty feet along the road. It ground to a halt, a torn-off wing and a scattering of broken glass discarded in its wake. It had swung around a few degrees and Beatrix could see its underside, the suspension and covers. The two wheels that were off the ground were still spinning.

She heard a loud thud and then another.

She watched as the nearside door of the SUV, buckled by the impact, was forced open.

She saw a hand grasping the sill and then a head and shoulders emerge.

“Get down!”