The bleeding had been stopped in short order, a topical antibiotic was applied, and his slight wound was bandaged. “He missed your jugular by a quarter of an inch,” the medic said.

They had a lunch of beef sandwiches and beer, then started training again. By the time Stone reached his quarters late in the day, all he could do was throw himself onto his bed and sleep, fully clothed, until the dinner bell rang. Then he pulled himself together, got a quick shower, and made it to the dining hall before the spaghetti and meatballs ran out.

—

The rest of the week was filled with more training, physical and mental, combative at times. By the end of six days, Stone felt the way he wished he’d felt upon his arrival.

—

On the morning after his last day of training, Stone was packing his things and getting into civilian clothes when the sergeant came into his room and tossed him some keys. “Alpha, yours is the Aston Martin, I believe.”

“Right, Sergeant.” Stone put the keys into his pocket.

“Why don’t we give you a bit of a time trial?” he said.

“In the car, I hope?”

“Don’t worry, mate, you’ve had your last run.” He took a map from his pocket and explained the route, which was mostly a perimeter road around the camp. “Leave your gear here. We’ll pick it up later.” The sergeant led the way out of the building to a parking lot Stone had not seen before. The Aston was waiting for him, looking as if it had just been hosed down. He got in and started the engine while the sergeant walked to the road and beckoned for him to follow. Stone drove up to him and waited for instructions.

“Got your route memorized?”

“Yes, Sergeant.”

“Try and get it done in under three minutes. I’ll be here.” He held up a stopwatch. “Ready, set, go!”

Stone already had the car in gear and accelerated like a rocket up the road. He tracked the turns, hitting every apex, and reckoned he was halfway around the perimeter when he saw a landmark, a bridge over a roaring river, with a turn just before it. He shifted down for the turn, then accelerated, then something went wrong: there was a noise, the car drifted right and struck the embankment beside the river, then it left the ground, still turning. The car struck the river upside down.