‘That policeman.’

Sami sat up and repressed the tears. ‘Never. I promise. Never. I’ll tell you. Yeah, he tried. Offered me money. I never took it. He kept following. I never let him. Never told him nothing. You gotta believe me.’

‘Calm yourself, Sami. If you are true and loyal, then whose side are you really on?’

‘I dunno. Our side, my mates’.’

‘Do you want to be a soldier? Some of your friends do. We can give you money to go abroad. To build the Caliphate.’

‘I dunno.’ The tears returned. ‘I’m not brave.’ He buried his face in his hands. ‘I just wanna go home.’

‘Thank you, Sami. Is there anything more you want to say to me?’

He removed his hands, his eyes burning with fear. ‘Please… will I be able to see…’ He hesitated, wanting to use the word ‘Master’ but corrected himself. ‘… to see the Adviser again?’

She returned a look of profound sadness. ‘That depends, Sami, on the Adviser’s opinion.’ She rose to leave the cell, her head rigid, not looking back. As the last swathe of her dress disappeared, the door slammed shut.

Two hours later, they came; the ‘escort’ and the driver. His hands cuffed and, this time, his eyes blindfolded, they led him through the entrance he’d first entered and onto gravel; he saw enough through the bottom edge of the blindfold to know it was still not light. He heard the van door open.

‘Please,’ he said, ‘I need to see the Adviser. I gotta speak with him. Something to tell him.’ The reply was a sickening blow crunching into the calf muscle of his right leg. They bundled him like a stiff-legged animal into the back and moved off in silence.

After half an hour or so, they stopped. This time, they yanked him out and grabbed him under his arms, dragging his body as his feet tried to keep up. Shafts of rising sunlight filtered through the gap under the blindfold. He felt himself sliding along leaves – and then the flash of yellow disappeared and he was in darkness.

They pressed him down on his knees. ‘Kneel!’ It was the first word he’d heard from either of them since they’d taken him from the cell. ‘Look ahead. No turning.’ The blindfold was pulled roughly from his head; now he understood why they’d applied it. Revealed inches in front of his terrified eyes was a gaping, recently dug hollow – a shallow grave. Though there was almost nothing left in his gut, he felt a sliver of slime dribbling around his crotch and buttocks. A rim of metal was jammed against his forehead. He heard a click.

No bang, still alive. ‘Never, ever speak of this,’ said the driver. ‘You never came here. You never met no one. You just went for a little holiday on your own. Understand?’

‘Yes,’ he bleated. ‘I understand.’