‘According to the schedule the container will be on board the Excelsior bound for Rotterdam the day after tomorrow. If we’re going to meet its twin on the other side of the North Sea then I’m afraid we have to tell Huxtable something.’

‘Not the truth?’

‘No. I’ll use the Nazi memorabilia story. We’ve discovered that Henderson has links with far-right groups in the Netherlands. We make the case for going over to Rotterdam and liaising with our Dutch counterparts. Take it from there.’ Holm shrugged. ‘To be honest, as long as we keep a low profile, she’s not bothered what we do.’

The Spider was a little more prickly than Holm expected when he put forward his plan. First the budget wouldn’t stretch, then she said it was out of their jurisdiction, finally – and rather insultingly – she proposed sending an away team comprised of operatives better able to function under demanding conditions. By which she meant younger in the case of Holm, more experienced in the case of Javed.

In the end, though, she caught herself in her own web: the budget wouldn’t extend to a full-scale operation and with the heightened levels of threat in the UK and abroad, the best agents couldn’t be spared.

‘We’re going on a trip,’ Holm said when he returned to the office. ‘To the Netherlands.’

‘Us?’ Javed said. ‘You mean you and me?’

‘Yes. Don’t sound so surprised. You seem to have caught a whiff of the Spider’s scepticism. You don’t think we’re up to it?’

‘No. I mean, yes.’ Javed bit his lip for a second. ‘I mean—’

‘You mean you’re up to it but I’m not, right?’ Holm glared at Javed. ‘How many countries have you visited?’

‘Loads. Last year I went to the Seychelles.’

‘I’m not talking about holidays, I mean on service business.’

‘None.’

‘How many live operations have you been on?’

‘None.’

‘How many arrests have been made as a result of your research or actions?’

‘None.’

Holm shook his head and tutted. He gestured at Javed’s monitor. ‘You’re good with computers though, right?’

‘You know I am.’

‘Well get on that thing and get us flights to Amsterdam and car hire once we’re there. And make the car a decent one. I don’t fancy driving God knows how many kilometres in some jalopy.’

‘Driving?’

‘Don’t look so surprised. How else are we going to track the container back to its origin?’

‘I thought…’ Javed turned and stared at his screen. ‘You know. Helicopters. Satellites.’

‘You’ve been watching too many movies. This is you and me, lad. The Spider might scrape to a few tankfuls of petrol and some cash for a snack or two on the way, but helicopters and satellites are out of the question.’

‘But if we tell her we’re after Taher, wouldn’t that help?’