Ash fared slightly better than Abby, Jack slightly worse. Neither Maddy nor Els were on target. Lukas went next. He was astonishingly good. He held the firearm one-handed and released three rounds in quick succession. The bullet holes were closely clustered around the target’s heart. He handed back the gun and returned to the others. If he was pleased with his performance, he didn’t show it. ‘You,’ he said to Sami as he took a seat on a sandbag and stared resolutely back down the range.

Sami gave Max a ‘wish me luck’ look. Max felt for his new friend. He looked so diffident walking down the range. Unlike Lukas, he listened patiently to the Watchers, nodding in all the right places. When his time came to fire at the targets, he looked unsure as he raised the gun in his right hand and supported it with his left. He fired three shots, then lowered his gun and handed it back to Woody.

There was one bullet hole, directly in the centre of the target’s chest. At first Max thought that the other two rounds had missed the target entirely. But the Watchers were looking at each other in astonishment. Max realised that all three of Sami’s rounds had hit exactly the same spot. Sami handed over his weapon and walked back up the range. Max expected to see a small smile of achievement on his face. But there was none. If anything, his friend looked distraught. He was on the verge of tears.

‘What’s up, buddy?’

But Sami just shook his head and said, ‘You’re next.’

Max was confused, but the Watchers were looking in his direction. He didn’t want to keep them waiting so he jogged down the range to meet them. He was the last recruit to fire the handgun. He knew he couldn’t beat Sami or Lukas. He would just have to do his best.

He listened carefully as Woody explained in more detail about safety catches and loading mechanisms. ‘Keep your finger outside the trigger guard,’ he said. ‘When the time comes to fire, don’t yank at the trigger. Squeeze it, hold it, then gently release. Breathe regularly. Don’t hold your breath too much or you’ll start to shake.’ He handed Max the pistol. ‘Good luck,’ he said.

‘He’ll need it,’ Hector growled.

‘Hey, big guy,’ Angel said. ‘Go easy on the kid.’

But Hector’s words were like a worm in Max’s brain. As he stepped up to the firing point and cocked the weapon like he’d been shown, he realised his hand was shaking. He tried to steady it by taking some slow, shallow breaths as he raised his weapon and aimed at the target.