There was the muffled sound of uncontrollable sobbing, and Nicholls heard a man’s voice.

A moment later, Paddy Morgan came on the line.

‘Justin?’ he said, his voice high and trembling. ‘Tell me.’

‘John Carr and his team have recovered Charlotte and the other girl,’ said Nicholls. ‘They’re…’

‘Are they in the air?’

‘No, but they’re some distance from where they were being held, with no sign of any pursuit.’

‘When will you… When will they…?’

‘We’re working on that now,’ said Nicholls. ‘I need to speak to Penelope, Paddy.’

‘Of course,’ said Paddy Morgan, his voice thick with emotion. ‘I’ll put her back on.’

There was the sound of whispering, and then the Prime Minister came back on the line.

‘I’m sorry, Justin,’ she said, clearing her throat. ‘It’s been a terribly stressful time.’

‘Of course,’ said Nicholls. ‘Listen, Penelope. She’s safe and well, but Carr’s original extraction plan is blown. I have a voice call with him in twenty minutes. I’ll know more then.’

‘Oh my God.’

‘Don’t worry,’ said Nicholls. ‘We’ll get her out. I promise.’ He paused. ‘Look, I have to go. I’ll keep you updated.’

He replaced the receiver, just in time to see Carr’s second message come across.

‘Jesus,’ breathed Nicholls.

He typed a reply – MAHSOUD: treat as team member, include in any extraction plan – and then got up from his desk.

Time for a coffee and to splash some water on his face before he called Carr.

Chapter 107.

107.

THE SAT PHONE on the bonnet of John Carr’s vehicle bleeped quietly as the second hand on his watch swept up to the vertical.

He picked it up.

‘Carr,’ he said.

‘John, it’s Justin,’ said the voice on the other end. ‘Congratulations. And I’m sorry about your KIA.’

‘Congratulate me when we get out,’ said Carr.

‘Yes,’ said Nicholls. ‘About that. You can’t extract by the planned route?’

‘No,’ said Carr. ‘It got very noisy, and every man and his camel in Houn will be out and about by now. Plus the north was already crawling with fuckers in technicals. We nearly got bumped coming in, and with a man down it’s not an option.’

‘I see. So what are you suggesting?’

‘We need an aircraft,’ said Carr. ‘A400M.’

‘Landing where?’ said Nicholls.

‘There’s no shortage of flat desert out here,’ said Carr. ‘So we can create a TLZ, if necessary. But I’ve checked my maps and there’s a long, straight stretch of newish road around sixty klicks south of my position, on the run-in to a place called Al Fuqaha. It’s a ghost town. Night strip – we can mark it, and we’ll clear it. I’m sure you can get all the info from satellite anyway.’

‘An A400’s a big call, John,’ said Nicholls. ‘It’s a strategic…’