Jax suspected Clarke was right. He’d studied an Al-Qaeda training manual as part of an assignment during his degree. Originally seized by British police during a raid in Manchester, the document, dubbed the ‘Manchester Manual’, had been translated and posted all over the internet. Lesson Eighteen was the section that dealt with incarceration, and it went into some detail, too, including how to act in subsequent court appearances, how to send covert messages, how to conduct oneself, and when and how to recruit other inmates, even guards, to the cause. ISIS had adopted such manuals and practices from Al-Qaeda.

‘Are you recruiting me to go undercover?’ Jax asked Clarke.

‘Yes. And I want you to be recruited by them.’

‘And what makes you think I’ll say yes?’ Jax asked, not appreciating the man’s attitude – a combination of hostility and condescension – towards him.

‘Well, after that trick you pulled with the homemade IED, I’d say you don’t get much of a choice,’ he said. ‘Mate.’

‘IT’S done,’ Clarke said, mobile phone pressed to his ear as he walked towards his car. ‘Everything went as expected.’

Clarke listened as he opened his door.

‘You should already have a copy of his training plan. It’s all covered in the report. We’ll send him to Goulburn as per the schedule.’

Clarke kept the phone pinned to his ear as the other man checked through his emails for the report.

‘Yes,’ Clarke said. ‘It’s not long, but he is a fast learner. And it’s not like he’s starting from scratch. We’ll have him ready.’

Clarke was still listening as he started the car, his white Toyota Camry as bland as him. ‘Yes,’ Clarke said. ‘He’ll be transferred to Goulburn too. He’s already been briefed. That all?’

He hung up without saying goodbye.

Finally. Seven years in the making, Project Mnemonist was now live. He had just activated Riley Jax.

CHAPTER 28

Sofia, Bulgaria

SAMI watched as camo-clad soldiers clutching M16 assault rifles marched back and forth, outnumbering even the travellers at Sofia International Airport. The soldier who’d pulled him aside upended Sami’s backpack – a prepacked overnight bag he kept in his office, which was the only thing he’d had time to grab before heading off. The soldier carelessly poured the entire contents onto a stainless-steel countertop at the end of the X-ray conveyor belt.

‘Little late to be taking precautions,’ Sami sniped, grumpy after the local authorities had refused to fast-track him through customs after the private CIA plane had landed and Sami had disembarked. He was being processed like any other passenger.