The American looked up from his broadsheet. ‘It will just be me and you, Agent Clarke,’ Sami said. ‘Thought it best to keep Mav in his cage. Please take a seat. Would you like some coffee?’

Clarke shook his head. ‘No, let’s get to it,’ he said. ‘I trust you have already received my report?’

‘Indeed,’ Sami said. ‘Both timely and thorough. Your asset is already proving his worth.’

Clarke posed the question in the form of a blank stare.

‘The phones,’ Sami said. ‘Seven in seven days? We would have blown the entire operation with our haste had he not only seen the flaw in a joint CIA/ASIO plan but also had the courage to tell a man as intimidating as you he was wrong. Are you sure we should be keeping him in the dark? I was surprised to find that even we have a file on this kid, and from what I’ve read you may be keeping your best player on the bench.’

Clarke was about to ask – and then he remembered he’d placed the call to Langley himself. ‘You’ve been keeping tabs on him?’ Clarke asked.

‘Excuse me,’ Sami said as he looked down at his phone. ‘Just have to reply to this.’

After he’d fired off a quick text, he looked back up at Clarke. ‘Oh, not me,’ he said. ‘But, yes, we have. You didn’t think the CIA would simply dismiss a one-in-a-hundred-billion chance did you? Ever met Agent Roberts? Bald, tanned, looks like he needs a good lie down?’

Clarke nodded.

‘Well, turns out he was here for more than the sun,’ Sami said.

Clarke suddenly felt violated. Jax was his. Like a son. What else did they know? Not just about Jax, but about him . . . He suddenly felt compelled to explain himself.

‘Probably not the best idea. I need him focused on tasks without the added pressure of outcomes.’ Clarke was surprised by his unmeasured and almost emotional outburst. Twenty-four days until the next bomb. Tick, tock. All on you, kid.

‘Good,’ Sami said as he nodded. ‘Finally, some honesty. And I understand. Managing an asset is never easy. And managing an asset as unique as this, well . . .’

Clarke felt the shift before he saw it, the hairs on his neck standing up just as the agent changed his expression.

‘But I am not one to be fucked with,’ Sami said as he leaned in. ‘You’re not the first to mistake my good nature for a weakness.’

Clarke hadn’t noticed how big this man was until now. His kind eyes suddenly became killer. Oh, how stupid he’d been to underestimate an American Arab who worked for the CIA.

‘Mav has already taken down two of your guys,’ he said, ‘It will soon be four unless I call him off. Do we have an understanding?’

Clarke nodded.

Sami fired off a text as Clarke pulled out his phone.