Ben had seen some impressive pyrotechnics, back in the day. Some of those had involved several tons, not just a few pounds, of high explosive. By contrast their home-made device was a pretty modest affair. But for Ben and Boonzie’s purposes that night, it was plenty good enough. Good enough to dislodge a hundred-metre section of loose rock and boulders that erupted from the mountainside in a broad avalanche and came tumbling and spinning and hurtling downwards, gathering speed and momentum as it came. For a breathless moment it seemed to hang in the air.

Then it hit. Rocks the size of small cars smashing into roofs and gables and towers like a missile bombardment from a thousand siege engines of old. Many an ancient castle had been reduced to rubble by the primitive ballistic technology of rock and stone. With Grace still trapped somewhere inside the building, Ben had no intention of wreaking that much devastation. Not yet. He was just getting started.

‘The basturts’ll ken we’re comin’ noo,’ Boonzie said.

Ben nodded. ‘And we’re not going to disappoint them. Let’s get this done.’

Chapter 62

The assault on Stuart’s fortress stronghold had begun. Ben and Boonzie crept inside the gates and crossed the snowy courtyard, keeping to the shadows. Ben had the sack of bombs over his left shoulder. Boonzie was right there behind him as they stalked fast and quietly through the darkness. If Ben had been worried about Boonzie’s heart condition, so far it seemed as though his concerns were unfounded.

There was still no visible movement from inside the castle, but Ben could guess at the kind of chaos that his explosive surprise must have triggered among the enemy. Things were about to get worse for them in there. Approaching the row of parked Audis, he reached inside the sack and pulled out a pair of bombs, numbered 2 and 3 in bright yellow. He rolled them under the parked Audis. Two pounds of RDX was easily enough to rip all three vehicles to pieces and give the enemy something more to think about. Ben hurried a safe distance away from the cars and thought about detonating the charges, then decided it could wait.