Sami gave a low whistle. Abby smiled broadly. Lukas was expressionless. Max couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

‘I guess you’d better have this, Max,’ Angel said. She handed him the box. Max opened it. It contained a shiny enamelled coin with a black-and-white insignia: a star, with two chevrons underneath and wings on either side. He took it out and turned it round. The flip side bore the letters ‘SFC’.

‘Welcome to the Special Forces Cadets, Max,’ Angel said. ‘We’re glad you’re here.’

Carefully, Max slid the challenge coin back in its box. Sami and Abby crowded round him. Sami slapped him excitedly on the back and Abby kissed him on the cheek. Only Lukas stayed slightly apart. When Sami and Abby had finished congratulating him, Max stepped up to the fourth member of their team. There was a moment of awkwardness. Then Lukas held out his right hand. Max took it and gripped it firmly. Lukas smiled. It was the first time Max had seen him do that.

‘We were rivals before,’ Lukas said quietly. ‘We’re brothers now.’ Without warning, he embraced Max.

‘Easy, big guy,’ Max said in a strained voice. Lukas’s grip was very strong.

‘Cadets! Fall in line!’ Woody’s voice, normally so friendly, had an edge to it. Max, Lukas, Abby and Sami stood in a row. ‘It won’t have escaped your attention that we’re missing a member. We’ve heard from Jack’s medical team. He’s badly concussed. There’s a chance of permanent injury. We won’t be seeing him again.’

The cadets watched Woody solemnly. Max couldn’t help remembering Jack’s bruised and bloodied face. Hector was right: that could have been any of them. It was a sobering thought.

‘The Special Forces Cadets have always operated in units of five. We’re glad to have Max on the team. But that still means we’re down a cadet. The good news is, we’ve found the perfect replacement. They’ve just arrived.’

Max blinked heavily. The helicopter. It must have brought the fifth cadet to Valley House.

‘Who is it?’ Lukas said, echoing everyone’s thoughts. ‘You can’t put people back on the team if they failed selection. They’ve got to be up to the job. Hector said so himself.’

A mischievous smile played over Angel’s lips. ‘Oh, our fifth member is up to the job,’ she said. ‘More than up to the job, wouldn’t you say, Woody?’

It was Woody’s turn to smile. ‘Reckon so,’ he said.

The cadets turned to see a figure approaching. It was a girl. She looked Chinese, and had long straight hair. She had a rucksack slung over one shoulder and was looking around nervously, as if she was lost.

Max grinned. It was Lili.