‘How about his IT?’

‘He was quite assiduous at deleting content, but they’ve harvested a partial list of people he’s been in contact with in the last year or so. I’ll send it over. Fifty-odd names. Mostly noms de guerre, obviously, but the ISI think they can identify a few Saudis and Yemenis. Couple of Pakistanis. A Chechen. Might be an American in there.’

‘Great,’ said Ruth Hall. ‘Send it over, but don’t mention the source. We need to muddy the waters. A lot.’

Why those waters required muddying she left unspoken: she didn’t want to end up in court explaining how the SIS had used intelligence derived from a man who had been tortured to death by the Pakistani intelligence agency.

‘Understood,’ said Luke.

Ruth ended the call and immediately messaged the heads of the Egypt and Libya desks, to let them know that men in those countries might be involved in some attack on UK interests, with more information to follow.

Threats like this were ten a penny, and it was probably nothing, but when there was evidence that they were well-funded it paid to take them seriously.

47.

TWO FLOORS ABOVE her, Justin Nicholls was about to call the Prime Minister with an update – slight though it was – when there was a knock at his door.

It was a senior analyst who specialised in liaison with Five Eyes – the intelligence alliance between the UK and its partners in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States.

‘Just a quick heads-up, Justin,’ he said. ‘I’ve just got off the phone with the NRO, and they have something. It’ll be over on the feed in a moment or two.’

The NRO – the National Reconnaissance Office – was one of the US government’s senior intelligence agencies, and the one most closely responsible for managing that country’s satellite reconnaissance programme on behalf of the CIA, the Department of Defense, and other interested parties.

‘Thanks,’ said Nicholls.

He keyed in his ID number to enter the confidential feed and drummed his fingers on the desk as he waited for it to update.

A minute went by, and then a message appeared from an American inputter.

‘Non-tasked NSO SAT in LEO believed identified MARBELLA attackers’ second escape vessel in MTN,’ it said. ‘First SAT pass believed shows changeover from Vessel 1 to Vessel 2. Subsequent tasked pass shows activity at HOCEIMA, inc Vessel 2. CIA REAPER subsequently tasked to overfly. Images attached.’

The first file showed a large and seemingly empty stretch of the Mediterranean Sea. A white orientation square with a scale along one side had been overlaid in the southern half of the image. The detail of that square showed several small objects at its centre.

Nicholls looked closer.

It was a grey boat, its frothy wake stretching out in the blue waters behind it, suggesting it was travelling at some speed.

And near it… something.

In the top right hand corner of that image was a further enlarged detail.