Jean-Michel responded, ‘I make a black Renault van, parked at the rear of the dwelling; there’s a late-model Audi parked behind it.’

Both vehicle types were used by the Company. There were no farm vehicles evident.

‘Keep your eyes on it,’ said Templar. He swung away to look at the farmhouse on the other side of the spur, and saw another legit farm.

They waited for another ninety minutes, monitoring the farm houses, and then Jean-Michel piped up. ‘Okay, boss, we have persons outside the northern house. Looks like they’re in the game.’

Templar swung his glasses back to the second farm. Three hundred metres away, a man walked to the front of the farmhouse, while another man—larger than the first and wearing a black cap—walked towards him.

‘That’s Valley—the big one, black cap. Brent, tell the boss we’re in place, ready for that call,’ said Templar, eyes steady on the two men outside the farmhouse.

Brent made the call. ‘Standing by,’ he said.

The men in Templar’s binoculars shared a smoke; Jim Valley seemed to be making a point to the other, giving an order.

‘Here we go,’ said Brent, who was monitoring his laptop. ‘There’s an incoming call. It’s to our IMSI.’

Templar peered through his binoculars: Valley fished a phone from his jacket pocket, hit the screen and put it to his ear.

‘That’s a lock,’ said Brent. ‘Jim Valley just answered a call from Philippe Manerie.’

‘Unload,’ Templar said, standing and shrugging his backpack to the ground. ‘And remember—don’t scare the kids.’

The three of them moved down from their position shortly after 7 o’clock, but on the other side of a small ridge, which gave them cover from the farmhouse. They were each armed with a Heckler & Koch 416, an assault rifle that Templar didn’t mind, although he preferred its predecessor, the FAMAS Bugle, which had proven itself in Africa. They each had a waist bag of wrist ties and duct tape, given they didn’t know how many adversaries they’d have to deal with. There were some outbuildings around the farm, and Templar sent Jean-Michel further to the west, to enter from the other flank. He crept up behind the main barn—which was empty—and surveyed the farmhouse. The first, smaller guard had gone back inside, while Valley had taken a seat in the cab of the van, messing around on his phone while he finished his cigarette. It created a blind spot for Manerie’s man. If Templar approached down the side of the van, he wouldn’t be seen from the farmhouse.