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which made his last mission a bit of a homecoming. What troubles me is that he left E squadron after just a few months.’
    Known as the elite of the elite, E squadron was the successor to the shadowy Increment, which had been made up primarily of British soldiers who had attained the SAS rank of sergeant. As with the Increment, the role of E squadron’s hand-picked soldiers was to assist MI6 operatives in the most sensitive of operations. Many aspired to join the ranks, but few made it.
    ‘I saw that, but he said in his application that it was for personal reasons. A fiancée, wasn’t it?’
    ‘Apparently,’ Sonny shrugged. ‘Can’t knock a guy for wanting a private life. I spoke to him earlier and he said he was looking for more of a training role close to home, though he knows he’ll have to go into the field from time to time.’
    Gray watched the men go through their drill, loading the magazines before stowing the weapons in their leather holsters.
    ‘Ready!’ Sonny shouted.
    After a few seconds, he flicked a switch, and the targets spun ninety degrees, giving the shooters a face-on aspect. Weapons were drawn, and the shed erupted with simultaneous gunfire.
    ‘Reset!’
    The targets disappeared, and the handguns were stowed.
    After four more iterations, Sonny went from man to man to ensure the pistols were empty. Satisfied that all rounds had been discharged, he walked the men downrange to inspect the targets.
    The shooting had been of a very high standard. One or two rounds were a little high or wide, but as they were using the guns for the first time, it was to be expected.
    Mackenzie’s grouping was particularly impressive, with all ten shots clustered within two inches.
    ‘Considering the distance, that’s some damn fine shooting,’ Sonny told the group. ‘Okay, guys, there are cleaning kits in the box. Strip and oil the weapons, please.’
    Sonny walked back over to Gray. ‘Score another point for Mackenzie.’
    Gray nodded. ‘He’ll fit the Benin contract nicely. If he balks at that, we’ll look for something closer to home. Send all the reports over to Len and copy me in when you’re done, please.’
    Gray left Sonny to continue the rest of the session, keen to get back to the car to see how Melissa was faring. His daughter seemed none the worse for the time alone. Gray unlocked the door to find her making gurgling noises to the toy sheep, and she gave him only a brief glance as he climbed behind the wheel.
    ‘Nice to know you missed me,’ he cooed, and Melissa offered him the goo-covered toy as a consolation.
    ‘No thanks, sweetheart. Let’s go see the doctor.’
    Gray pulled away, pointing the car towards the hospital. The monthly check-ups hadn’t detected any problems so far; hopefully today’s would prove no different.

Chapter 7
    9 July 2014
    ‘Pardon my French, Veronica, but this is bollocks!’
    Andrew Harvey was sitting in Ellis’s office, and the news that he was being replaced as section lead had come out of the blue.
    ‘I know, but my hands are tied. The orders came from the home secretary herself.’
    ‘Since when was it her job to micro-manage the security services?’ Harvey stood and thrust his hands into his pockets as he paced the room.
    ‘It isn’t,’ Ellis agreed, ‘but since the story broke about James Farrar absconding, she’s decided to take an active role in finding out what went wrong.’
    ‘What went wrong was that six months ago, one of her judges decided to grant him bail,’ Harvey seethed.
    ‘Apparently, he acted within the framework of the law. Besides, she claimed this isn’t just about Farrar. The lack of progress on DSA’s new leader was another point she raised, as well as the terror suspect who vanished while dressed as a woman.’
    Harvey began counting off on his fingers. ‘Farrar couldn’t be found because we needed help from external agencies, which we weren’t allowed to contact under any circumstances. DSA’s new leader has been