Krastiņš joined in. “We can use your call, Tom, as a come-on and set up an anti-aircraft ambush. We’ve got the Stingers here in the store and I’ve been itching to use them.”

“Who knows, this may even create an opportunity to have a go at this high-profile VIP,” added Krauja.

“A perfect come-on,” Morland said. He knew all about come-ons from his training and had listened to the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan describe how everything the enemy did had to be viewed as a possible come-on; the initial incident being the lure to draw you in for the main attack. And, of course, as far as the Russians were concerned, he and the Forest Brothers were no more than terrorists. Which meant he had to start thinking like one, if he was going to survive. Krastiņš was right, once the Russians realized it was an encrypted transmission, they’d have to investigate and in this terrain, that had to mean by air.

“OK, Jānis, we’ve got a sked, a pre-planned radio call, in six hours, so we need to get moving. Where do you suggest we do it from?”

“Let’s get close to Ligatne, the old Soviet underground command bunker where we left our vehicles. That’s bound to wind up the Russians. No one knows the forest tracks here better than my guys. Your team can ride pillion. Let’s go.”

Later, after a short but exhilarating high-speed motocross journey along forest tracks, on the backs of six high-performance bikes ridden by the Latvian Special Forces, Morland, Krauja and the team, together with two Stinger anti-aircraft missile launchers, were in all-round defense in a harbor area, five kilometers from the old underground bunker at Ligatne. Bradley had set up the Harris Falcon satellite link to PJHQ.

Morland slipped the headset over his ears and adjusted the throat microphone, then had a sudden thought.

“What’s my call sign, Brad?” he asked the giant Kiwi.

“Penda One, boss.”

“Who the hell’s Penda?” asked Morland.

“Come on, boss. You should know. He was a seventh-century king of the Mercians. A real heathen bastard,” grinned Bradley.

Morland had no time to reply for, at that moment, he heard the voice of Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Graham, the PJHQ Baltic team leader, in his ears, punctuated by the regular background bleep indicating that the transmission was secure.

“Penda One, this is Zero, radio check, over.”

“Penda One, send, over.”

No time was wasted. After receiving Morland’s updated situation report, Graham said: “Critical information. I have GCHQ liaison officer Allenby sitting with me now. She reports that GCHQ are intercepting comms between the Kremlin and Russia Today TV. Senior Russian general expected in Riga accompanied by mega-important VIP, identity as yet unknown, within next twelve hours. Russia Today will film visit live. Number Ten looking for some sort of spectacular attack as retaliation for sinking of Padstow. Over.”