‘See that!’ she said pointing to a rocky valley below, discernible in the moonlight. ‘It’s a drop of maybe seventy metres.’

Cavalier stroked his chin as he led her back to the plane.

‘It’s a good night for flying,’ he said, shaking her hand. Amaz stood well back from the plane, too much in shock to say anything. He climbed into the cockpit. There were maps in the glove box. The route to Chiang Mai was marked. He checked the tank’s fuel level. It was full.

He started the engine and put his foot on the accelerator. The plane did not move at first but churned up dirt and mud beneath it. Cavalier put his foot down hard, the over-burdened machine jumped then rumbled forward. Cavalier built speed on the short strip. He began to ease the joystick. The plane lifted about a metre, then slumped back to the rough ground. Cavalier built more speed, urging the plane to lift. It would not respond. Seventy metres short of the trees he jammed on the brake, causing the plane to shudder, slide, tilt and almost tip over. It stalled.

Cavalier tried to start it again several times. The engine was flooded. He waited and looked back at the other two. The guard was still prone on the ground. Amaz was standing, waving. Cavalier jumped back in, started the plane and backed it up to her. He alighted again and asked her to help clear debris in the jungle so that he could have another ten metres of runway.

Cavalier did some quick calculations about the weight he thought the plane could manage. He reckoned he needed to dump eight bags, leaving 21 on the plane. He tossed out the surplus. With Amaz’s help he pushed the plane as far back as he dared, checked it was not jammed in the undergrowth, and climbed back in.

‘There’ll be room next to me,’ Cavalier said above the engine’s roar. Amaz hesitated. She began to cry but couldn’t bring herself to respond. He turned off the engine and beckoned her to the cockpit window.

‘I’ll say you helped me escape,’ he said. ‘You’d have to give evidence against the others.’

‘No,’ she blubbered. ‘They’d track and kill me. I know them. Killing is their business.’

Cavalier jumped from the cockpit and tried to calm her down.

‘It’s okay. I am an experienced flyer.’

She hesitated, and then began walking to the plane.