Once they’d negotiated passport control, they hired a car and drove the short distance down the coast to their destination. Holm had been rather pleased with himself in that he’d managed to book a couple of rooms in a hotel on the seafront using a TripAdvisor app on his phone.

‘A couple of rooms?’ Javed said. ‘That’s our cover blown.’

Al Hammamet sat some twenty miles south of Tunis on a curve of sandy coastline. A jumble of white buildings surrounded a marina complex, and away from the coast the land stretched away, pan flat. There were hotels and plazas and, despite the terror attacks, a good smattering of tourists.

They checked in to the hotel and Javed opened his marine traffic app. The Angelo was three quarters of the way across the Med from Naples and looked as if it would arrive at some point in the evening.

‘Let’s take a recce,’ Holm said. ‘And get something to eat.’

‘Maybe a club later?’ Javed said. He puckered his lips and kissed the air. ‘Just to embellish our cover story?’

‘Fuck off.’

They strolled towards the marina area, past restaurants where staff attempted to entice them in.

‘How the hell can a boat as big as the Angelo fit in here?’ Holm said. As they approached the marina he could see an array of small yachts, but nothing approaching the size of the Angelo.

‘There.’ Javed pointed beyond the masts to where a breakwater provided protection from the open sea. Several large motor cruisers were berthed on the marina side. ‘Those probably belong to some of the guests coming to the fundraiser.’

Holm turned his head. South of the marina a swathe of beach ran down the coast as far as the eye could see. Hotels lined the waterfront for a mile or so. A quiet and secluded spot for smuggling it was not. Plus they’d seen a good number of soldiers patrolling the streets, presumably there to reassure the tourists.

‘This is too public,’ Holm said. ‘How are they going to get the weapons ashore?’

‘Marine parts, remember?’ Javed gestured across to where a large white van had parked near one of the cruisers. ‘These boats require all manner of servicing. A few crates offloaded won’t seem suspicious.’

‘Let’s pray you’re right.’