‘You selfish prick.’ Max went to berate him further, but the anger dissipated before he spoke. There was no heat in his voice when he said: ‘Don’t you realize that in twenty years’ time we’ll be old men on a documentary saying, “I don’t know how Jezza did it.” Journalism students are going to be looking at their textbooks and reading “Chapter One: Watergate”, Woodward and Bernstein; “Chapter Two: the Daily Beast’s Coverage of the Burqa Bombings”, Jeremy Underwood. My name won’t be in there, but yours will.’

Jeremy did like the sound of that. Maybe it would be a waste of his years of drudgery not to stick around; after all, those miserable years had given him the news-sense that uncovered this in the first place. ‘I suppose,’ he said. ‘I also just think that—’

But Anna called across him and everyone who heard the odd flatness of her voice listened in: ‘Max, we’ve got a tip: the other two in Kayani’s gang are on their way here.’

Uproar in the newsroom. Terrified journalists jerking this way and that. The Health reporter dropping off her chair and crawling under her desk. Dozens of people trying to call the same Thatcham taxi firm at once. Some pulling on coats and stuffing things into handbags. Phones ringing unanswered. Rosie clutching her keyboard to her chest as if she were going to use it to defend herself.

Then the Editor was among them and shouting through the noise to Anna, ‘Where are they?’

Clutching the phone’s mouthpiece to mute it, she shouted back, ‘On a bus, in burqas, on the M6.’

‘How far away?’

‘We don’t know exactly, but still in the North, or at least the Midlands. I’ve got a snapper and a reporter getting into a car in Manchester.’

‘What’s the route of the M6?’

And Geraldine, who’d found him through the chaos, told them, ‘Bradford!’

The Editor said, ‘By God. Bradford, Luton, London, Berkshire – the whole country’s going up in flames. And they’re coming thick and fast. How do we know about this?’

‘A tip from a guy who’s on the bus. But I can’t get anything sensible out of him; he thinks he’s going to get taken hostage any minute. I’m trying to get him to send a map pin.’

The Editor didn’t know what that was, but it didn’t matter. ‘How does he know they’re terrorists?’

‘He says it’s obvious.’

‘Your people need to stand that up. Why would they come by bus?’

Geraldine said, ‘The 7/7 bombers came to London by train. But why does Pictures have this? Why didn’t it come to Newsdesk?’

‘He wants to sell us a snap.’