'You grow up in my family, you learn something about handling firearms,' she replied.
Matt stopped five yards short of where Alison was standing. 'March her back towards the pit,' he said, pointing to where Alison had been digging, and where the Semtex was still buried.
Damien tapped her on the shoulder with the VZ-52. She winced in pain. More blood was flowing now, staining her jacket. Matt could see the colour start to drain away from her face as the loss of blood took its toll. Over the past few weeks he had learnt to respect her strength, if not her honesty. He knew she would hang on to life like a crab to a stone.
Now Alison stood silently in the ditch. Matt could see her glancing down, wondering which of the bags contained the Semtex. He took the explosive's trigger and held it up in the air. Bending down, he gripped Ivan's shoulder, dragged him twenty yards through the mud, and left the body behind a tree.
Walking swiftly back to where Alison was standing, he held up the trigger in front of her. 'Now, where were we before we got interrupted?' he said. 'I remember. I was about to blow you away.'
Matt detected a trace of fear in Alison's face, but mostly her expression was one of regret.
She minds because she is about to die — but she minds getting beaten more.
'You idiot,' she said, casting her eyes towards Gill. 'You don't know what you're doing.'
Gill shrugged. 'I'm the one holding the gun,' she answered. 'And I'm the only woman walking out of this wood alive. That doesn't make me so stupid.'
Alison laughed. 'You risk your life to save this pathetic washed-up squaddie,' she said, 'when for the past few weeks he's been screwing me every chance he gets. He doesn't care about you. All he wants is the money.'
The rain lashed harder against Matt's face. His hand gripped tighter on his pistol. He looked up into Gill's face. Maybe that was a tear running down her cheek, maybe it was the rain. He couldn't tell. But he could be certain of one thing — if she listened to Alison, the next few minutes could turn very nasty. Gill could control most things, but her temper was not among them.
The tip of Gill's rifle turned slowly away from Alison and towards Matt. Her finger was on the trigger; he could see the nail vibrating with rage. 'Is that true?' she said softly.
'This was about you all along, Gill, you know that,' said Matt. 'I only got involved with this mission so that I could make enough money to clear my debts. Then we could be together again.'
'You sad little fool,' Alison sneered. 'You're sitting at home grieving over him, and he's screwing everything that moves.'
It's working, thought Matt.
She'll push Gill over the edge if I don't stop her soon.
'You know that photograph of you, the one in the bedroom in Spain?' said Alison. 'Right next to the picture of his first day in the Regiment? He even put that away.'
Matt could see Gill's finger hovering on her trigger. 'That's not true, is it, Matt?'
Blood was seeping from the wound on his face, trickling down his cheek and smearing on the edge of his lips. He spat on the ground. 'She's just trying to save her miserable skin,' he replied. 'I'd rather sleep with a rattlesnake.'
'I'm a dead woman, I know that,' Alison snapped. 'Either she kills me out of jealousy or you kill me for revenge.' She looked towards Gill, her eyes suddenly full of sympathy. 'I just think you should know the truth.'
'The truth is, everything she's saying is lies,' Damien said, stepping forward. 'Complete lies.'
Gill looked towards her brother.
'I've been with this man all through the mission — the training, everything,' Damien said. 'I tell you, nothing happened between them.'
Matt watched as Gill took in what Damien had said. He had known these two people since they were all children. She would always believe her brother. He glanced up towards Alison. She knew the end was approaching, and suddenly she appeared afraid.
In the end, courage abandons even the bravest of us.
Matt trained his gun on her. 'Everybody walk back ten paces,' he commanded.
He walked backwards through the mud, waiting until Gill and Damien were also a safe distance from the ditch. Then he looked up into Alison's eyes. 'I hope they need intelligence officers in heaven,' he said. 'Otherwise, they aren't going to let you in.'
'Don't do it, Matt!' she yelled. 'Please!'
Her voice turned into a scream, carried by the wind high up into the trees. Matt slammed his finger down on the trigger, moving quickly back another couple of paces. The explosion lit up the wood, sending shafts of bright light hurtling in every direction. Mud and smoke churned into the air, and somewhere in the middle of the carnage he thought he heard a cry that lasted no more than a fraction of a second.
The shockwave from the explosion rolled over him and he could hear the branches of the trees creaking and shaking. Then, within three seconds, the noise subsided and the wind started to blow away the smoke.
Matt took a few steps forward. The Semtex had blown a hole several feet in the ground. Alison had been torn in a hundred different pieces; strips of flesh were draped on the branches like ribbons, and her blood was already being washed into the roots of the trees by the rain.
Matt looked back towards Gill and Damien. 'Let's get our money and get out of here.'
There was a feeling of emptiness inside as he walked away. It was a familiar emotion, one he knew from every battlefield he had ever been on: a sense of loneliness that overcame him after each mission. You fought with your squadron alongside you, but every kill was your own responsibility. Nobody could share that with you.
Three weeks ago, I had been grateful to her for giving me another chance. Now I'm just as grateful that it's her who got blown to pieces, not me.
'What happened?' he said. 'We were all convinced you were dead.'
'That was the point,' said Damien. 'It was obvious that someone was following us. I reckoned I had a chance of surviving if he thought I was dead. So when I got sight of Sallum on my tail I pulled a switch — in a sauna in Manchester. I noticed a guy in there, a gangster called David. A small-time hit man. The world would be better off without him, I reckoned. I went upstairs with Sallum, then slipped out, told David there was a guy waiting for him, a real babe. Off he went. It's pitch black in those rooms, so he wouldn't notice it wasn't me.'
'He had your credit cards, the works,' said Matt. 'One came with a hand, flying through the window.'
'That was the clever bit,' said Damien. 'As Dave went off, I checked the locker number on his key ring. Number twelve. I went downstairs to the bloke on the desk, told him I'd lost my key, slipped him a twenty-quid tip, and got the spare key from him. Downstairs, I switched my stuff into Dave's locker, dressed in his gear — which looked bloody terrible, by the way.'
'And you just took off?' said Matt.
'Right,' answered Damien. 'I've just been lying low for the last week. I contacted Gill a couple of days ago to let her know I was OK. And I came along today because I didn't know where you were and this was when we scheduled the collection. If I'd have known I was running into this kind of trouble I'd have come along mob handed.'
Matt looked towards Gill. 'Thanks for coming to get me. I was a dead man until you two showed up.'
Gill slipped her hand into his. 'A girl doesn't want to be left on the shelf, you know,' she replied, a smile spreading across her lips.
Matt collected two bags from where they were stashed, tucking them under his arm. Damien took another two, and Gill one. Ten yards away they heard a low moan, and Gill ran back to where they had dragged Ivan. 'He's alive,' she called out. 'He's coming around.' She tore a strip of her shirt to start bandaging up the wound on his head. 'We must get him to a hospital.'