He kicked at the floor, toes finding just enough purchase for him to bring his flailing hand to the red reel. He pulled himself up into the space where it had been stowed. ‘I’m okay!’ he shouted breathlessly to his daughter before checking the hose.

It was a tough plasticised fabric, flattened to allow the maximum length to be coiled around the reel. He pulled the nozzle. The reel turned, the hose coming away easily. He unfurled more, watching the flat snake jiggle to the windows below, then drop out.

How long was it? There was still a lot left on the reel. He spun it ever faster until its own weight started to pull it out. He let go as the reel whirled out of control – then banged to an abrupt halt.

Eddie assessed the situation. The hose was about fifty metres long, over a hundred and fifty feet. Roughly ten or eleven storeys. Not nearly enough to get to the ground . . . but it should reach the neighbouring tower.

‘Okay!’ he said. ‘I’m going to swing across to the other building. If I make it, I’ll secure it, then everyone else can use it like a zip-line.’

‘If you make it?’ said Cheng incredulously.

‘All right, when I make it! Let’s stay positive!’

‘I did tell you about my vertigo, didn’t I?’

‘Well, if you stay here much longer, it’ll be cured permanently! Tell your guys to use their equipment webbing as harnesses.’ He addressed Macy. ‘Once I’m across, you come here and the soldier’ll lower you down. Then you can slide over to meet me.’

His forced casualness did not fool his daughter for a moment. ‘Daddy, I’m scared!’

He dropped the pretence. ‘I know, love. I am too. But,’ he quickly went on, ‘we’re going to get down from here, and find your mum. Okay?’

‘Mom,’ she corrected, with a feeble smile.

Eddie grinned. ‘That’s my girl. Okay, I’ll see you soon.’

He manoeuvred his legs to work the hose beneath the sole of one foot and up over the top of the other, bringing them together to trap it. He lowered himself slightly. The improvised step held his weight. It would act as a brake while he descended – as long as he could maintain his grip with his hands.

He took hold of the hose. ‘Going down!’ he announced, then started his descent.

The first part, over the sloping floor, was straightforward. It did not take him long to reach the windows.

Where his task became a lot harder.

He carefully brought his legs over the edge, wary of broken glass, then perched and looked down. He was over two hundred feet up, the end of the hose swinging far below. The space between the two towers was strewn with debris, young trees flattened by broken concrete and girders. But a fall was not the only danger.