The cadets had all handed Angel their berets. They were trudging, looking dejected, back towards the house.

‘There’s a four-day selection process,’ Woody said. ‘Any of the cadets can quit at any time, if they haven’t been failed already. They just need to hand Angel their berets. That lot will be heading home first thing in the morning, along with the ones that we decide aren’t up to scratch.’ He grinned. ‘A bit like X-Factor. Less singing, of course. And more puking …’ He frowned at the two kids who were still retching by the parade ground. ‘They’re not in a good way, are they?’

‘How many make it through?’ Max asked.

‘Only five,’ Woody said. ‘The Special Forces Cadet team is always a five-person unit. Chances of making it are pretty slim.’

Max shook his head. ‘I still don’t get it,’ he said. ‘Why do you even need this team? What can a team of teenagers do that a team of adults can’t?’

‘You’d be surprised, Max. Young people like you – you’re practically invisible.’

‘Thanks very much.’

‘Don’t take it so personally. Imagine you’re, I don’t know, a terrorist. You’ll be on the lookout for military or police personnel. You won’t even notice a bunch of kids. In some instances, our cadet teams can get closer to the bad guys than anyone else.’

‘Teams? There’s more than one?’

‘Kids grow up, Max. We have to refresh the personnel every two or three years. That’s what’s happening today. Valley House needs some new occupants.’

‘And what happens to the ones who don’t make it? If it’s so top-secret, surely they all go back to wherever they’ve come from and tell everyone where they’ve been?’

‘Oh, sure,’ Woody agreed. ‘Some of them do. Not many though. I mean, people don’t really show off about things they fail at, right? Those who do, tell their friends that they’ve been to a top-secret training camp in the middle of nowhere to be assessed for an elite group of military personnel. Then their friends laugh at them and tell them not to be so stupid. They don’t tend to mention it again after that.’

Max looked out of the window. The remaining cadets were walking away from the parade ground. He assumed they were heading back to the Nissen huts.

‘I still don’t see where I come in,’ Max said. ‘There’s nothing amazing about me. And I’ve missed the first day of selection, haven’t I?’