‘M16 automatic assault rifle,’ he stated. ‘Magazine fed. Longer barrel. Higher calibre rounds such as 7.62 and 5.56. You see a bad guy with one of these? Run. An untrained operator will likely hit a target with an assult rifle at three hundred metres. A trained operator at six hundred metres. And they’re deadly far beyond that. These are intended as weapons of war, but terrorists and militants all over the world are in possession of them. Assault rifles like this can penetrate glass and steel, so you can guess what they do to humans. If any of you are still under the impression that firearms like this are fun toys, say now and I’ll tell you about the men and women I’ve known who have been killed by them.’ He looked at each of them in turn, his characteristic scowl etched deep on his face. The recruits looked back at him in silence.

‘Right!’ Woody said eagerly. ‘Let’s get to the range, shall we?’

Max could tell that the group was now more nervous than excited. They lined up by the sandbags while the Watchers disappeared back into the building. When they reappeared, Woody was still carrying the handgun. Angel and Hector were carrying boxes. Max assumed these contained ammunition. Hector looked along the line of recruits. He selected Abby. ‘You, come with us. The rest of you, wait here.’

Abby stepped forward, eyes darting from side to side as she tried to judge the reaction of the other recruits. Hector was already striding down the range towards the targets. Woody gave Abby an encouraging smile. ‘Come on,’ he said.

‘Let’s show these guys how it’s done,’ Angel added.

Abby followed them hesitantly down the range. The remaining recruits watched silently. Abby and the others stopped at the far end of the range, ten metres from the nearest target. The Watchers stood around her. They seemed to be showing her how to load and unload the handgun. How to hold it. How to aim it.

And finally, how to fire it.

Her arm was outstretched. The weapon was in her right hand, and steadied by her left. She released three rounds, then made the weapon safe, then handed it back to Woody. Max had to squint to see how accurate her shots were. Two were just outside the outline of a body printed on the target. One was just above the heart. Was that good? He didn’t know. Abby didn’t seem pleased. She trudged back to the others, head bowed. She looked at Ash. ‘They want you,’ she said, before sitting on a sandbag a little way from the others.