‘Again, that’s what they say they want,’ said Provost ‘Don’t believe it. They can’t really expect a whole British Army to be withdrawn in response to a single kidnapping. So, there’s your answer. That’s not what they want at all.’

‘Then what is it?’

‘Publicity,’ said Provost firmly. ‘Look at how they are operating. Who do they kidnap? A TV journalist. If you want to influence politics, you kidnap a politician. If you want money, you kidnap a businessman. But if it’s publicity you want, then you kidnap a journalist, particularly a pretty blonde one.’

‘And they’ve certainly got it.’

‘Right,’ said Provost. ‘But the point is, there is no more perishable commodity. Katie Dartmouth might as well have a sell-by date stamped on her forehead. As soon as they kill her, the story is dead too. So what you need to do is string it out for them. Keep reminding them that when they kill her, they’ve basically lost. They haven’t got the troops out, and in a few days’ time they are not going to be in the news any more either.’

‘Why the hell should they listen to me?’ said Porter.

‘That’s the first thing to do, engage them in conversation. Make it clear that you sympathise with them, and then they’ll start listening. The next thing to do is to get them talking to Katie. From the picture they’ve put out on the Web, she is bound and gagged. That’s no good. Tell them she needs water and food, and she needs to breathe more easily. Do anything to get that gag off her. As soon as you’ve done that, get her talking. About anything, it doesn’t matter what. If needs be, the two of you should sit there chatting. At the moment, she’s just a symbol, and they are easy to kill. Turn her into a human being, however, and it gets a lot harder.’

‘I need to be able to offer them something,’ said Porter.

‘We’ll get to that later,’ said Sir Angus.

Porter nodded. We’re not getting anywhere, he told himself. All this talking isn’t going to make any difference to anyone.

‘When you get out there, Sir Angus will have given you some concessions you can make,’ continued Provost. ‘Every hostage negotiator always has those. You go in knowing what concessions you’ll make, but never make them right away. You need to feed them out slowly. That way the other side feel like they are extracting something from you.’

‘Any questions?’ said Sir Angus.

Porter rested his arms on the desk. ‘So, in your experience, has anyone ever negotiated a hostage out of Hezbollah?’

Provost coughed, and glanced at Sir Angus. ‘No,’ he said crisply.

‘Then I better have a plan B,’ growled Porter.

The coffee tasted good. Porter sipped on it slowly as he waited for the next talking head to be wheeled into the room. Layla had disappeared to get a fresh pot by the time Ken Stuart was led into the room. He was wearing cream cargo trousers, a blue jacket and a pink open-necked shirt. His dark hair was worn long, but his face was lined and craggy, making him look a lot older than his forty years.