They’d kipped in the car, Holm having found another track running parallel to the one the van and the SUV had gone up. He reckoned they were well hidden from both the road and the settlement, but still the night was an uncomfortable one and neither he nor Javed had slept much. By six it was light and they could see the lie of the land. Fortuitously, they’d managed to park in a deep wadi that led in the general direction of what they could now see was a farmhouse with assorted buildings. Holm broke out the water and snacks and stood looking towards the farm. Karen Hope was up there. Karen Hope. Holm had to repeat the name to himself just to make sure he’d got it right and the whole thing hadn’t been a bad dream.

‘Now what?’ Javed said, munching on a dry flatbread.

‘We head up there.’ Holm gestured to the valley. ‘We need to get closer and we can’t very well go sauntering along the track.’

‘It’s like the Grand Canyon.’

‘Nonsense.’ Holm quickly judged the distance to the farm and the depth of the rift. ‘A mile along the bottom of the wadi and a short climb up. We’ll be totally out of sight all the time.’

‘And when we get to the top?’

‘We spot the weapons and see if Taher’s there. Then we call Palmer on the sat phone.’ Holm cocked his head. ‘You set?’

‘Yes.’

‘Good. Let’s go.’

An hour and a half later Holm was regretting his earlier optimism. He’d seriously underestimated the amount of effort needed to navigate their chosen route. Low scrub filled the bottom of the wadi and every step was a fight against thorns and briars. Once they were through the scrub it was no better. The sun streamed in from the southern end of the ravine, leaving no shade, and the light shale reflected the glare into Holm’s face. The heat was intense. A few metres away, Javed was moving easily across the slope of the ravine, sure-footed and seemingly expending little effort, while Holm was struggling to stay upright as the loose rock shifted beneath his feet. He turned and looked to his left where the gradient steepened. At some point they needed to go up there and he was beginning to wonder if he’d have to admit to Javed he wasn’t going to make it.

Ahead, Javed stopped. A gully ran diagonally across the face of the slope before turning upwards and disappearing into the dark shadow of a series of rock pillars.

‘There, boss.’ Javed pointed to the top of the cliffs where a cluster of olive trees stood near the edge. ‘Those trees are close to the farm. If we can manage to get up the gully we’re home.’