Dempsey had walked into the centre of the market square, removed his utility jacket and slowly thrown all of his weapons and equipment clear of his body.

‘I’M HERE AND I’M DAMN COLD. YOU WANT ME, GET A BLOODY MOVE ON.’

His shouted words echoed around the buildings that surrounded the clearing. The effect was ghostly. As if he was standing in the heart of an empty village, in an empty district, in an empty country.

Only it was not an empty village. Far from it.

Dempsey knew that the Secret Service team had arrived. And he knew how to draw them out. How to make them face him, rather than just kill him from a distance.

At least he hoped he did.

Their organisation had been compromised. They knew that much. It was why they were here. What they did not know was how compromised. How much did Dempsey know? How much did Grace? How much had they passed on, and to whom? Jack Meyer would want to know all of that. He needed to know. And until he did, Dempsey would be kept alive.

He hoped.

‘ARE YOU COMING, JACK?’ he shouted. ‘I HAVEN’T GOT ALL DAY.’

‘No. No, you sure as hell don’t.’

The answer was spoken in an American accent. A voice that dripped with confidence.

Or, to be more accurate, over-confidence.

He turned in its direction. The sight that greeted him was not exactly as he had expected. He had expected Jack Meyer would deal with this personally. The man he saw now was younger. But otherwise? It looked like Dempsey’s gamble might have paid off.

The man was walking towards the centre of the market clearing. From the cover of a building much closer than where Dempsey had left Grace.

Had he been alone, perspective would have hidden the speaker’s unusual size. But he was not. He was flanked by two men on either side. All walking in time, in a near line.

The additional four men were Secret Service agents. Dempsey had no doubt of that. The way they looked. The way they held themselves. The way they moved. He could have picked them out of any crowd.

Their chief, though? He was something else.

Six-foot-six and massive with it, Dempsey thought. Handsome bastard, too.

The last thought almost made Dempsey laugh. It was a strange thing to notice in the circumstances, but it was just too hard to miss. The speaker’s movie star features were flawless.

‘You five always creep around like that?’ Dempsey asked. He kept his tone determinedly nonchalant. ‘You could’ve saved me the shouting if you just made some noise.’

‘Maybe I wanted to hear what you had to say,’ the giant replied. Dempsey had been right. He was clearly in charge. ‘Not that it turned out interesting.’

‘I’m sure I know some things that’ll interest you,’ Dempsey answered. ‘I didn’t catch your name.’

‘I didn’t give it, Agent Dempsey.’

The giant made a point of carefully enunciating the last two words. If they were intended to unnerve Dempsey, they failed.