Breathing hard, Jack rushed over to Mina and yanked the bag from her head to let her breathe again. He swung around, quickly picking up the gun and aimed it at its previous owner’s head. ‘Who the fuck are you? What are you doing here?’

The man looked up at him and a twisted smile flickered across his face. In the hushed room they all heard the muffled crunch of breaking glass coming from the man’s mouth. The gunman twitched slightly and his eyes rolled back into his head. Two seconds later, he was dead.

‘Cyanide — shit,’ Jack said, furious.

He turned to Mina to check how she was coping. She was in shock. She looked at him, eyes wide with bewilderment. He took two quick strides towards her and reached out to touch her arm, she shrunk away from him and started sobbing hysterically.

‘Mina! Try to breathe slowly. Are you ok?’ he asked, as calmly as he could manage.

‘Who are you Jack?’ she stuttered.

‘We don’t have time for this. We need to get out of here Mina.’

He peered cautiously out of the window. ‘It’s clear. We can move out,’ he ordered.

‘But… the police.’

‘You can call the police once we’re out of danger. Mind you, I’m not quite sure what you’re going to tell them. These men are professionals, and they came after you for a reason.’

He took her gently by the arm and led her down the stairs. Her face was growing paler by the second. As soon as she made it into the passenger seat of his car, she passed out. Jack fastened her seatbelt and drove off. He couldn’t quite believe what had just happened. After a while, he pulled the jeep up at the main gate of the US military barracks, showed his credentials, and drove onto the base.

The third man was sitting in his car, still panting. He dialled a number on his mobile. ‘Miss Mastrani?’

‘Yes? Do you have the tablet?’

‘No.’

‘What happened?’

‘We turned the place upside-down, there was nothing in the flat. We waited for her to get back but then while we were interrogating her, some guy barged in. He killed Guslin with one stroke to the throat, smashed Anderson’s knee with a kick and disarmed him. I ran for my life.’

‘You… ran?’ she asked, softly.

‘Sorry. I only had a split second to decide what to do,’ he answered, already realising from her tone that he’d made the wrong decision.

‘Where is Anderson?’

‘I think he’s dead too.’

‘You… did well,’ she said. ‘I’ll deal with you later,’ she thought to herself. ‘Where are Mina Osman and that man now?’ she asked, neutrally.

‘No idea Miss Mastrani.’

‘That won’t do.’ He shuddered at her glacial tone.

‘What do you want me to do?’ he asked her desperately.

‘Return to the flat. Clean up the mess. Did anyone hear the gun shots?’

‘Don’t worry about that,’ he answered, finally being able to offer some good news. ‘It’s a war zone. People are kidnapped and murdered on a daily basis.’

‘Right. When you’re done, wait for further instructions at the agreed location.’

‘Yes Ma’am.’

‘I hope this Hassan is still alive. I need to…’ she paused, searching for the right word, ‘…speak to him when I arrive tomorrow’.

‘You’re coming in person to Mosul?’ he asked hesitantly.

‘Yes,’ she said, and hung up the phone.

The man thought about his options. He would clean up the mess at the flat, but that was it. He would be long gone before Mastrani arrived. He had worked with her long enough to know exactly what was in store for him, having failed his mission.

Chapter 11

December 6th, 2004

Mina woke up in a small room with white-washed walls. Looking around her, she saw her clothes hanging neatly on the back of a chair. She tried to work out how long she had been there, or recall who had undressed her and put her in bed, but she was groggy and could not remember a thing. She was thinking so slowly, what was wrong with her? A knock on the door startled her.

‘Miss Osman? May I come in?’

‘Yes’ she answered, gathering the sheet under her chin.

A doctor came into the room. ‘Hi. My name is Dr. Slotter. How are you feeling?’ he asked earnestly, a picture of good manners and efficiency.

‘Where am I?’ Mina demanded.

‘You’re in the infirmary on base. You’re safe here.’

‘But how did I get here? I don’t remember anything.’

‘You were brought here unconscious. I was told you had gone through a traumatic event, so I administered you some sleeping drugs. Our female nurses took care of you. Do you mind if I check you over?’

Without waiting for an answer he took out a tiny torch, shone it into her eyes and made her look up and down, left and right, then checked her blood pressure and pulse.

‘You seem fine. Is your pulse always so slow?’

‘Yes. I’ve practised yoga for many years. How long have I been out?’

‘The whole night.’

‘The whole night? Where’s Jack?’

‘Jack? I’m sorry, I don’t know any Jack.’

‘Jack Hillcliff,’ she insisted. ‘He must have brought me here.’

‘Major Hillcliff?’ he asked.

‘Major… Yes. Can I see him?’

‘Why don’t you rest a little while I try to get hold of him? He may not be on base right now.’

‘Thank you Doctor,’ she answered.