‘You saw Skip’s presentation. Stutz wants to deploy it to weed out the bad apples. That’s where he’s focused. Forget Afghanistan, forget Iraq, Syria. Protecting the homeland from what’s coming down the pipe. That’s what he’s all about.’

‘How’s that going to work?’

‘First you gotta convince people it’s worth believing in. Maybe scare them some. Show ’em why it’s gotta happen. And let me tell you another thing. Stutz has the network, the manpower. You want in?’

Tom tried to look thoughtful while he came up with an appropriate answer. Rolt had won some of his sympathy. But nothing he had seen of Stutz and Lederer made him want to get any closer to them.

Kyle was staring at him as if waiting for an answer. ‘You been fucked over. You wanna chance to fuck them back?’

‘You’re still not telling me what it involves.’

‘It ain’t that simple. To get to that level, we need an indication.’

Was this what Rolt had meant by ‘jumping through a few hoops’? He hadn’t counted on this.

‘What sort of “indication”?’

‘You made a good impression on Stutz, I’ll tell ya. He likes guys like us. Gets off on the whole Special Forces thing. And you can talk the talk, all right. But if Invicta wants his dollars it’s gonna take more than a few fancy words and a coupla handshakes.’ His eyes were sparkling with intrigue.

‘He needs to know how far he can trust you, how far you’re prepared to go.’

‘How’s that going to happen?’

Kyle grinned and poked himself in the chest. ‘I give him the word. But I gotta know where you stand first.’

Was this all bullshit – the self-important ramblings of a former elite soldier gone down in the world?

Kyle’s phone buzzed in his pocket. ‘I gotta take this.’ He got to his feet and moved a few yards away, glancing back as he spoke.

Tom processed what he had heard with a mixture of curiosity and distaste. Kyle was smart, he had trusted him, and he was utterly fearless: Kyle had risked his life to save him. What had changed? He was bitter and angry with the world and he had good reason to be. Was this what Tom could look forward to – now he was out of the Regiment? Was Kyle just further round the curve? Perhaps this encounter was going to prove a valuable wake-up call. But right now there was a choice to be made. He was sounding as if he was about to set Tom some kind of challenge.