Max found himself staring at Hector. The older man seemed to be revealing something new about himself. Until now, he had been harsh and unyielding. Suddenly, he had a glimpse of another side to Hector. A side that suggested he was more concerned about the recruits’ well-being than he’d previously let on.

‘Today is different,’ Hector continued. ‘It doesn’t matter what my superiors say. It doesn’t matter how much they try to overrule me. You are not yet officially Special Forces Cadets. You have not yet been badged. That means you are able to say no. If this operation sounds to any of you to be too dangerous – and I wouldn’t blame you if it did – say the word and you will be pulled. No questions asked.’ He sounded hopeful that they would do just that.

The recruits stared at him. For a good while, nobody spoke. Then, slowly, Max raised his hand.

Hector nodded curtly at him. If he had seemed to soften towards the others, he showed no sign of it with Max.

‘I thought you said me and Ash weren’t good enough,’ Max said. ‘What are we doing on this chopper? Why are we even involved?’

Hector looked from Max to Ash then back again. ‘Right,’ he said. ‘If it was down to me, you’d still be on the ground. Seems I’ve been overruled for a second time. My superiors have decided, in their infinite wisdom, that numbers are important. The more eyes we have inside the school, the better. If you say yes, you’re on the team. But for this job only. Don’t get any ideas that this is a second chance. It isn’t. Frankly, Max, it would be best if you said no right now. My superiors are making a mistake letting you near this operation. That’s my honest opinion.’

Max felt himself flush. He looked round at Woody and Angel. They were avoiding his gaze, staring impassively into the middle distance. It was impossible to tell what they were thinking.

He became aware of Ash, his companion in failure, raising his hand.

‘What is it, Ash?’ Hector said.

‘I’m not doing it,’ Ash said quietly over the comms. At first he appeared nervous, but as the others looked at him his nerves turned to defiance. ‘It’s mad,’ he said. ‘You’re all mad, if you do it. Armed terrorists? SAS teams? You reckon you can deal with that stuff just because you can run up a mountain?’

There was no reply. Ash bit his lower lip and clenched his fists.

‘Seriously,’ he persisted, ‘it’s crazy.’ He waved an arm at Hector, Woody and Angel. ‘They’re all crazy.’

There was no response.

‘What about you, Max?’ Ash demanded. ‘Surely you’re not doing it? You heard what Hector said. What’re you going to do, risk your life for nothing?’