‘Any breakthroughs?’

Layla shook her head. ‘Nothing,’ she said. As she spoke, he caught the exhaustion in her voice. Her eyes looked as if she hadn’t slept in several days. ‘We’ve got every intelligence agent in the region offering a fortune to their informants, but so far we’ve come up with nothing. The freelancers and mercenaries know we will pay handsomely for any lead, but nobody’s talking. The satellite systems are scanning the region, and our computer wizards are monitoring all the Internet chatter. And so far we’ve come up with absolutely sod all. She could be anywhere.’

‘I thought Perry Collinson was confident he’d find something,’ said Porter. ‘So they wouldn’t need me.’

‘He was talking rubbish as usual,’ said Layla. ‘Everyone in here hates the guy, starting with Sir Angus. He’s a complete waste of space. Unfortunately the PM likes him. He sounds plausible on TV, and he gives a good sound bite. It’s only when he tries to actually do something that it all goes tits up.’

‘So you’re left with me.’

‘Afraid so,’ said Layla. ‘Any questions?’

Porter paused. He finished his slice of toast, and took a gulp of hot coffee, waiting for the caffeine to hit his bloodstream. He was feeling better this morning. The headache was mostly gone, and although there was some soreness where they’d operated on his leg, he could tell it would be back to normal in a couple of days. Even his teeth were feeling better, although there was still some numbness where a couple of them had been extracted. Not exactly 100 per cent fit, he told himself. But fit enough to kill one man. And that would be all the strength he needed.

‘Who tried to kill me?’

The cup of coffee almost fell out of Layla’s hand. ‘Someone tried to kill you?’ she said cautiously.

‘At the station.’

‘What happened?’

‘Right after I’d seen Sandy, a car pulled out and drove straight towards me,’ said Porter. ‘The guy was planning to kill me, but I was lucky, I saw him coming and managed to jump back just in time. I might have been out of the game for a while, but you never lose the instinct.’

‘He could have been a dangerous driver,’ said Layla. ‘London’s full of them.’

Porter shook his head. ‘He was coming straight for me. I could see it in his eyes. He had orders to kill.’

‘So what are you saying?’

‘That somebody doesn’t want me to go out to Beirut.’

‘That’s impossible,’ snapped Layla.

The anger was evident in her voice.

Porter shrugged, knocking back the remaining coffee in his cup. Maybe I’ve made a mistake even talking to Layla about this, he thought. Maybe she’s the one who wants me killed.

‘Impossible or not, it’s what happened,’ he said, his voice even and calm. ‘Only a few people within this organisation know I’m here. I reckon somebody wants me stopped.’

‘I’ll investigate,’ said Layla. ‘In the meantime, you’re staying right here. I don’t want you leaving the building until we move out to the airport. We should be able to keep you alive until then.’