So another of Jax’s tasks was to find the missing millions. He was to establish trust and work himself into the group, become Fasin Halim’s friend. He knew Halim was materialistic, and he’d seen that without his cash he had started to slide down in the group’s pecking order. Clearly, he needed something that would make him more important than the rest, help restore his status. Jax would talk to him, find out what he needed, what he wanted. And then he would deliver it – with the help of ASIO of course. Then Jax, quite naturally – he was in prison, after all – would ask that any payments be transferred electronically from Halim’s account to his own secret account. That would reconnect ASIO with the money trail, which would in turn lead to Halim’s millions. And without his money, the cell was done.

‘And this is Mahmud,’ Khalil now said. ‘He has been in here for many years and knows everyone.’

Jax took note of ASIO’s mystery man.

Finally, Jax was introduced to ‘soldiers’ Adam and Kyle Kent. Jax didn’t bother with Arabic this time, knowing the Australian-born and raised brothers did not speak a word of the language. He also knew that they had only recently been reunited. Originally, as part of a half-baked plan to split the terror cell, Kyle had been housed in a different wing of the prison, along with another six members of the Terror Twelve. The government was attempting to appease ASIO, which had recommended isolation for every member of the Twelve, by putting their leader in Supermax and splitting the remaining eleven across two prison blocks. But Kyle had recently been moved into Adam’s block after his lawyer had successfully appealed to have them closer together on compassionate grounds. Halim attempted to follow suit by making an appeal to have his two brothers, Kazem and Mahir, moved over to his block. While ASIO did not fight to keep the Kent brothers separated because they were considered bottom-of-the-rung soldiers, it drew the line at this and successfully blocked Halim’s appeal.

Following the introductions, Khalil put an arm around Jax and took him off to the side. ‘Told ya it would be sweet,’ he said. ‘And don’t listen to what anyone else says, they are top blokes. They’ll look after you.’

Jax heard Fasin speaking in the background, in Arabic.

‘I don’t trust him,’ Fasin was saying. ‘I don’t care what Khalil says.’

‘Believe me, he is sweet,’ Khalil called back to the group in Arabic.

Bashir intervened, also speaking Arabic: ‘He and only He can decide if this man is worthy. Our merciful Lord will guide us. If this man does good deeds and is a believer, his efforts will not be ignored. Nor will they if he is a disbeliever, the fires of Hell his eternal damnation. Allah the almighty will decide if he joins our mission.’