The children had been very enthusiastic about the whole idea of a strange new school while they ate breakfast that morning, asking Kathryn endless questions. Kathryn had felt quite the opposite about it, however, and had not been able to sleep much the night before. Now that she was alone she felt even worse. It was as if she were without a purpose. Life, or what there was of it, would begin again when she picked up the children in the afternoon.

As she turned to walk back to her car she heard a woman’s voice calling after her.

‘Mrs Munro? Mrs Munro? . . . Kathryn?’

Kathryn stopped and turned around to see a neat, conservatively dressed woman in her mid-thirties beaming a smile and heading towards her energetically.

‘Sorry to shout. I wasn’t sure it was you at first,’ the woman said. ‘I heard you talking to your children before they went into school. We don’t get too many Americans around here. It is Kathryn, isn’t it?’

‘Yes,’ Kathryn said, quite coldly and without a smile.

‘I’m Joan.’ The woman continued to beam and held out a hand.

Kathryn took it limply. ‘Are you a teacher?’ she asked. ‘Oh, God no. Sorry, I should’ve said. I’m the RSM’s wife - RSM of the SBS.That’s regimental sergeant major to you. Gosh, I don’t know what the US Navy’s equivalent would be. Master Chief I think. Anyway, he’s the boss of all the non-commissioned officers. I arranged your accommodation and also the school for the girls.’

Kathryn nodded.‘I see.Well, thank you,’ she said, wondering how she could get away without being obviously rude. The truth was Kathryn was not an impolite person and much as she had convinced herself she did not like these people she could not bring herself to openly show it.

‘That sort of leaves me doing a kind of equivalent job amongst the wives,’ Joan continued enthusiastically. ‘How’s it been, settling in?’ she asked.

‘Everything’s fine,’ Kathryn said, wanting to get away.

‘I would’ve popped round to see you sooner but I thought I’d give you a couple of weeks to find your feet. I know how it is, moving to a new country. Dave - my husband, that is - and I did two years in Australia with the Australian SAS. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it’ll seem like you’ve been here ages in just a few months.’

Kathryn wanted to say that it felt like a life sentence already.

‘Don’t worry about your girls. They’ll be fine. I’ve instructed the headmistress to call me, as well as you of course, if they have the slightest difficulty settling in.’

‘That’s very kind,’ Kathryn said, looking over at her car. ‘I should be getting on. I’ve still got a pile of things to do.’

‘Of course . . . Any time I can be of help, please let me know,’ Joan said, following her for a few yards. ‘I just wanted to touch base and introduce myself.’Then remembering something she stopped and reached into her pocket. ‘Oh, this is my phone number. If you need anything at all just call, any time. Perhaps we can get together during the week for tea.’

‘Perhaps,’ Kathryn said, taking the note and forcing one last smile before turning away. ‘Bye.’

‘Bye,’ Joan echoed. She found Kathryn’s reluctance to chat curious, but put it down to shyness and walked away in the opposite direction.

Joan was the first of the enemy to break through Kathryn’s defences and have a conversation with her, brief though it was. Kathryn wished Joan had not been so damned pleasant. In the past two weeks Kathryn had succeeded in avoiding several wives who had tried to make contact. She didn’t answer her phone unless she absolutely knew it was Hank or was expecting a call from the States, and never returned any of several messages she had received inviting her to take tea. Kathryn wished she could be much harder and tell them to their faces that she was not interested in socialising. But it was unnatural for her to be hurtful to a stranger who had done nothing to deserve it, even being born English. In fact she was experiencing an internal conflict, part of her wanting to reconcile this national hatred she had been brain-washed with since childhood. She knew there was some truth to Hank’s accusation that her unhappiness had nothing to do with the English and that it was all down to being away from home and her friends.

She opened the car door and immediately cursed herself as she slammed it and walked around to the other side where the steering wheel was. She wondered how long she would keep doing that.

He placed the transparency back in the folder, put the file on top of the pile he had already looked through, and took the next one from the larger pile he had yet to read. This next pack was well used, the tattered folder barely holding together at the corners. He thumbed through the introduction on the subject of explosive linear cutting charges and turned to a sheet with a list of various mathematical formulas for plastic explosives. Hank sighed. Mathematics was not his best subject.

‘Do I have to memorise all these calculations?’ Hank asked Doles.

‘No.You just have to be able to teach ’em,’ Doles said in his soft Scottish twang without looking up.

‘Just teach ’em, Hanky boy, just teach ’em,’ Clemens echoed loudly in an American accent, also without looking up from his newspaper.

Hank stared at Clemens, a square-jawed, powerfully built rugby enthusiast, wondering if the man disliked him or just specialised in a witless version of the so-called dry British humour. It seemed to Hank that every time Clemens said something to him it was in a condescending Texas accent, and a very bad one at that. And why Texas? Hank wondered. He was from North Carolina, and Clemens from somewhere in south-west England, a ‘janner pig’ as Doles often referred to him.

Hank took a quiet break from the lecture packs and looked through the windows. Autumn had taken a firm grip and the air was moist.The slight breeze had a whiff of rotting sea vegetation that suggested the wind was coming from the south where the beach was only five hundred yards away. The training office, which was quite small considering its responsibilities, the subjects it covered and the various training aides that needed to be stored in it, was situated in a small, mature-conifer wood about two acres in size near the back gate of the camp. Just outside the office, intertwining and connecting over a dozen of the tall pine trees, was a Tarzan course of ropes, wire ladders and cables. It was originally built for the maritime anti-terrorist teams years ago when they were first formed. The men had used it in their daily workout ritual to maintain a high degree of upper body strength and endurance in preparation for the endless training exercises around the world scaling oil platforms and large ships. As the maritime teams grew in size and expertise they moved to a more spacious, purpose-built location. The Tarzan course passed into the hands of the training team, who retained its nickname ‘the pain pines’ and used it to beast the SBS selection courses, and any other military personnel for that matter, foreign or otherwise, who visited the unit to get a taste of how it operated.

The team, just the three of them at the moment due to a shortage of operatives and a quiet period as far as training was concerned, ran together every morning at eight o’clock for several miles and always finished with a round of pull-ups and dips and sometimes a couple of shifts up the thirty-foot ropes. The workouts were generally relaxed affairs with nothing too strenuous, which was the norm for training teams, although on occasion the competitive spirit raised its head and a run ended in a sprint finish. It was up to the individual to maintain his fitness and it was dimly looked upon if a reasonable standard was not maintained. Hank fitted well into the team fitness wise. Over five miles he was faster than Clemens but not as fast as Doles, who was lighter on his feet. Clemens was about equal with Hank on the ropes, where they could both manage five arms-only shifts up the thirty-foot lengths without a rest in between. It was in the swimming pool or the old quarry lake on the heath half a mile away that Hank had them both beat. He was a powerful swimmer and thrashed them easily over any distance including under the water.

Doles was only just past his peak in SBS terms.That meant he could get involved in all aspects of operations except the more strenuous activities such as climbing oil platforms. He was a swimmer-canoeist grade one and qualified to instruct and supervise every aspect of operational training, including diving, climbing, explosives and weapons. Clemens had been in eight years and could be described as reliable with stacks of enthusiasm when focused. He was preparing for his own senior instructor’s course at the end of the year, which would eventually qualify him to run his own team. Hank was disappointed when he learned he was to be on the same course, a comprehensive, intensive four months of lessons and supervisor training. It would no doubt be useful and he’d learn something but he didn’t think it would help his promotion prospects back home; more importantly, it would take a good size chunk out of his time in the UK, which he thought could best be spent in an operational team.

Hank lowered his legs from the desk and flexed his knees. They ached a little and were stiff from the morning run, which he put down to the cold, damp weather he was not used to.

He was feeing bored and wondered when the team was going to start some work. He had done nothing since joining but read lectures and SBS standard operational procedures, go on long drives to get acquainted with the various local training sites, and do a couple of dives in the harbour to keep his diving minutes in date. It was an unusually quiet period according to Doles. The next SBS selection course was not due to start for another two months and the team was waiting to find out what they would be doing until then. Doles suggested Hank lap up the peace and quiet while he had the chance. Once the work started he would have very little down time. Hank didn’t particularly care about having little down time. He was here to work and that’s what he wanted to do.

The door opened and Lieutenant Jardene leaned inside. ‘Sergeant Doles,’ he said in his usual calm, polite manner.

‘Sir,’ Doles replied, looking up from his writing but not standing.

‘Step outside a minute, would you?’ Jardene asked.

Hank liked Jardene. He had one of those toffee-nosed

Hank watched Jardene and Doles through the window. Jardene was doing most of the talking while Doles nodded with a look of deep concentration.Whatever they were talking about looked important.

The conversation lasted no more than a minute and on completion Jardene headed away. Doles opened the door and leaned in. ‘Bob,’ he said and indicated for Clemens to come outside. Clemens had also sensed something was up and moved quickly. Doles closed the door behind him.

Hank watched Doles talk with the same intensity as Jardene. After a few minutes Clemens walked briskly away. Doles then stepped back into the office and sat back down at his desk.

Hank lifted another lecture pack off the pile, put his feet back up on to the desk, and thumbed through the pages, although he was unable to concentrate on them. Something was in the air and he wanted to be included but he knew that he had to act as if he was politely keeping his nose out of it. If they wanted to include him, they would.

He flicked through the lecture pack notes but could not keep from glancing over at Doles, who was leafing through a file. Doles seemed to find what he was looking for, jotted something on a notepad, tore out the page and left the room.

As Doles walked away Hank got up and went to the window to watch him. Doles headed up a well-worn path through the trees and out on to the road that lead to headquarters.

Hank went back to the desk and slumped into his chair. He tossed the lecture pack down, a tad frustrated, impatient to get involved, and flexed his legs, searching around the aching kneecap for the source of the pain. He checked his watch. Lunch was in an hour. If no one returned in another thirty minutes he decided he would head over to the mess.

He thought about giving Kathryn a call, looked at the phone on Doles’s desk and changed his mind. He had nothing new to tell her anyway, that’s if she even answered the phone. He knew she was screening her calls in case a wife telephoned. Her attitude was beginning to irritate him. He blamed her mother, whom he never got along with, not from the first time Kathryn had brought him to the family home in Boston. He considered her to be an overbearing bully who thought far too highly of herself. But even though she no longer had a direct influence on her daughter the damage was already done. Hank could only hope Kathryn would find one English person she liked enough to start turning her around. The growing instability between them worried him. He had hoped the atmosphere might have mellowed but things were as bad as the first day they arrived in England. It seemed a long time ago since they were at peace with each other. And it wasn’t all her fault. He’d been under a new strain of pressure the past few years; he’d reached that point in his career when the future was uncertain. The pyramid of promotion was getting narrower and more guys were competing for fewer jobs. Those left on the sidelines could count the days to civvy street. Hank had tried to put it out of his mind but the pressure was on to lay on a damn good performance with these guys.

Doles walked past the window and stepped back into the office, followed a few seconds later by Stratton. Hank recognised him from that first day in the hangar with Marty. Stratton did not acknowledge him and joined Doles to pore over one of the many maps pinned to the walls.

‘They said we could use area “A”,’ Doles said, following the boundary line of a piece of countryside with his finger.

‘We’ll also need “E”,’ Stratton said, pointing to an adjacent expanse of land. ‘I need the town.’

‘When I asked about those areas they said 22 were using E and F.’

‘I need E and the connecting road to A,’ Stratton insisted, jabbing his finger on a circular road that ran through both of the areas. ‘Call ’em and tell ’em we need it.’

‘But they’re just going to tell me the same thing.’

‘Did you say the magic word?

‘No, because I don’t know the magic word,’ Doles said with a hint of sarcasm.

‘Op Phoenix.’

‘Can I use that over the phone?’

‘Use the secure phone. Look, we have priority. Trust me, we’ll get anything we want on this one.’

‘But you don’t know what it’s about.’

‘No, but I know who it’s from,’ Stratton said.

‘Then they know what it’s about. I mean, Phoenix was put together today, right?’

‘They won’t know. But when they make the confirmation call to DSF they’ll be told to give Phoenix priority. You know what the SAS are like. They always get upset when we get the big jobs instead of them.You’d think they’d be used to it by now.’ Stratton headed for the door. ‘I’ll get a stores list to you by this afternoon,’ he said as he opened it.

‘Oh, Stratton?’ Doles said, remembering something. ‘Be handy if I could sort out accommodation soon as poss. Got any idea on numbers?’

Stratton did a quick calculation in his head. ‘There’ll be eight from M. Clemens, you and me, that’s eleven, plus two drivers, a cook and a storeman. I want to use the bashers in quadrant A. Once we get into the camp we’re pretty much staying there, okay?’

‘And you don’t know how long for.’

‘Nope.’

‘That might be a problem if—’

‘The magic word,’ Stratton interrupted with a smile, one old friend to another. He winked and then left.

Doles sat at his desk and scribbled some notes. ‘I like magic words,’ he said to himself.

Hank had been watching and listening but went back to thumbing through the lecture pack as Stratton left. Doles paused to look up at Hank as if just realising he was there. His gaze lingered on Hank while he thought about something. Hank looked up at Doles, who remained staring at him. Hank went back to his file, wondering what Doles was thinking. Doles picked up the phone and dialled a number.

‘Sir. Doles here,’ he said. ‘What do you want to do with the attached rank? . . . Yeah.’ There was a long pause while Doles listened. Hank also waited for the reply, hoping he was the attached rank in question, even though he had no idea what for. ‘We’ve got odd numbers at the moment. He’ll even them up,’ Doles said. ‘That would help for some of the serials.’There was another pause as Doles listened.‘No reason why it should be a problem,’ he said. Then after listening for a moment longer he said with finality, ‘Okay,’ and put down the phone.

Hank kept his eyes fixed on the lecture notes, waiting for Doles to say something, but he was silent for what seemed an age. Hank became anxious that it wasn’t him they had been talking about.

‘Hank,’ Doles said finally.

Hank looked up with an expression of nonchalance. ‘Huh?’

‘The team’s on a warning order to move in less than twenty hours. We’re joining another team from M to beat up for an operation. The boss said if you want to come along for the training phase it’s okay by him.’

Hank shrugged. ‘Sure. Sounds great.’

‘It’s an isolation. Do you know what that means?’

‘Once we go in no one comes out or communicates with the outside world till the op’s completed.’

‘After the team is debriefed on completion.’

‘That’s fine by me.’

‘Don’t you want to know how long it could be for?’

‘No . . . When the job’s done, I guess.’

‘What about the wife and kids?’

‘Not a problem.’

Doles liked the answer. ‘We leave tomorrow morning,’ he said. ‘All you need to bring are civvy clothes. No military stuff whatsoever: watch straps, things like that. You’ll need your ID card. No smart clothes. Jeans and T-shirt routine, things you don’t mind getting damaged. There’ll be laundry facilities.You can tell friends and family you’re going to Scotland on an exercise for a couple of weeks.That’s what your wife will be told if she calls the camp. Bring some beer money in case but you won’t need much else otherwise.’ Doles checked his watch. ‘You might as well head home for the day. Bob can take care of stores by himself. Be here by seven for a seven-thirty departure.’

Hank picked up all the lecture packs and put them back in the filing cabinet. ‘Can I ask where we’re going, or do I wait ’n’ see?’ he asked.

‘I can tell you where the training camp is. It’s in Wales. The actual op location is secret. I don’t even know where it is or what the job is.’

Hank nodded as he picked up his cap and smoothed the starched edges. ‘I haven’t been to Wales,’ he said.

‘Hank?’ Doles said, stopping him as he reached the doorway. ‘You’re only going for the training.’

‘Whatever,’ Hank said with a smile. ‘Just glad to be doing something.’

‘I think you’ll enjoy it.’

‘I look forward to it. See you tomorrow,’ Hank said as he closed the door.

As he headed through the wood towards the car park, Hank felt uplifted, despite Doles’s assurance he would not get on the op itself. He had been in England just two weeks and was already going on operational training. That wasn’t a bad start, he decided. Who knew where it could lead?