‘How can I sleep?’

‘I feel the same. But we’re no good to anyone if we collapse.’

‘We’re good until we collapse,’ Lily said bleakly, turning to the next stretcher. A burst of gunfire in the distance made her wince. ‘That’s the way it’s going to be.’

It was almost dawn. There were two platoons with full military and medical gear on the ground now, brought in under cover of darkness. Crack SAS troops, with more on the way.

‘How can they hope to have had a successful coup?’ Ben demanded. He was treating a corporal who’d been hit in the face. A bullet aimed at him had hit a tree and sheared off what had essentially been an arrow. The man’s face was grazed, and once the splinter was out he’d be fine. If this was the extent of their casualties, they’d be lucky.

‘The guess is that they’d never expect us to act this quickly,’ the corporal told him. ‘First rule of warfare-never mess with a country who shares our passion for cricket.’

The man left and Ben rechecked his gear. As soon as the island was secured they could search for wounded, but for now, when the road into the township was still under insurgent hands, there was time to think.

About Lily?

Ever since Sam’s comment yesterday she’d been drifting in and out of his mind. At such a time, with her medical training, she had to be at the hospital. When could they reach the hospital?

He worked on, sorting gear so that when they moved into the township the urgent stuff could be moved first and he wouldn’t be left without imperative supplies. His job was partly about good medicine, but it was also a lot about good organisation.

‘Hey, Doc, we’ve got the road clear,’ a voice called, and he turned to see a corporal emerge from the shadows. Graham was a sometime paramedic, depending on need. ‘I’ve just been talking to the big boys,’ he said. ‘We’re heading for the hospital now. It seems to have become a refuge. The locals we’ve found are saying there’s been a recent drug problem on the island, so the hospital orderlies have been trained to be security guards. The first insurgents got a reception of gunfire and they’ve left the place alone. That’s where our initial radio report came from and we’re in contact with the radio operator now. He’s telling us it’s safe to come in.’