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Salim knelt and counted through the tears, the man’s words tumbling around his head. In the distance, a high pitched voice called: “Rebel! Come, Rebel!” Suddenly, a mobile phone rang. It was close; it must have been Nazim’s. Eventually, it stopped. He kept counting.
Amir was worried. They’d been gone for what seemed like an age. He wondered what they were talking about. He decided to phone Abdul Azeez. Getting out of the vehicle he paced up and down in front of it as he made the call. The phone was off. He phoned Nazim. No answer.
He could hear a dog barking. Instinctively, he made his way along the track and through the trees towards the sound. Coming upon the clearing he froze, momentarily, then dropped down on one knee behind a tree.
Two bodies lay on the ground. Salim knelt, blindfolded, between the bodies, his arms behind his back. A dog stood on a mound barking towards something out of Amir’s sight. Panic started to grip him. The dog, still barking, ran down the mound towards Salim.
Amir ran back towards the track leading to the car park. By the time he reached the people carrier and saw Abdul Azeez hadn’t returned, he knew it was time to leave. He’d go to the other car park and wait. Maybe Abdul Azeez would call him and he could pick him up somewhere. Yes, that’s it, that’s what he’d do.
Driving to Delamere Railway Station, he reversed into a space and turned the engine off. Thinking clearer now he took out his mobile phone, found the number and tapped ‘call’.
“Pizza Napoli, Luigi speaking. What would you like?”
“Luigi, we have a problem,” Amir said to his MI5 Handler.