All four men turned south, looked through their sights, and fired off a couple of rounds into the emptiness.

It sounded deafening in the still night.

Carr turned to Geordie. ‘I fucking love that sound,’ he said, with a smile.

‘You always were frigging mad,’ said Skelton, with a shake of the head.

Carr laughed. ‘Right, guys,’ he said. ‘Let’s go.’

The four of them knelt in a straight line, Kevin McMullen scanning the ground to his front with his night-sight.

He looked back over his shoulder to Carr and gave the thumbs-up.

Carr returned the signal, and the Londoner stood up and started heading east.

Carr let him get five metres ahead, passed the signal to Fred West, and followed.

His Diemaco was carried casually across his body, horizontal to the ground, his safety catch was off, and the barrel followed the movement of his head.

Everywhere that Carr looked, the muzzle followed.

His pulse was slightly elevated, his mouth slightly dry, and his head buzzing with excitement.

He felt utterly alive.

Chapter 78.

78.

JUST SHY OF THREE hours later, the four men moved cautiously towards the fifth RV.

The going had been good so far – the desert night was cool, and the rocky terrain easy underfoot – though the final climb to this point had been a little more testing.

Fit as they were, they’d not tabbed across hills like this, carrying equipment, even light scales, for several years.

Carr felt his chest thumping as he arrived at the crest, just behind Kev McMullen.

McMullen had already gone to ground on one knee, and was facing forwards, towards twelve o’clock, scanning the eerie green landscape to the east through his night-sight.

One by one, the others followed suit, until each was covering his area of responsibility in an all-round defence.

Geordie was the last man up, and he was feeling good about himself. He’d never have admitted it to Carr – he didn’t want to jeopardise his position on the job – but privately he’d been worried about his leg. After eight kilometres, it was no more than a niggle. He was confident he’d be fine.

He took up position, grinning, and faced back west to their six.

They knelt there in silence for several minutes, watching, listening, and taking a breather.

Then Carr tapped Skelton on the shoulder.

‘Have a drink, Geordie,’ he whispered. ‘I’m going to do a quick map-check. Pass it on.’

Geordie took out his water-bottle and passed the message on. Once he’d finished, and secured his water, Fred West had a drink. They were working on the tried-and-tested buddy-buddy system – Kev and Carr, Geordie and Fred. Whenever one performed any basic task, the other was alert.