Which meant another six hours operating. Six hours where they somehow managed to stabilise the injured islanders.

‘But things have settled,’ Ben was told by the sergeant in charge when, with surgery completed, he’d made his way to temporary headquarters. ‘We’ve done a comprehensive sweep of the island. There are no more injured.’

‘Have you seen the island doctor?’

‘Lily,’ the sergeant said. ‘Yes. She’s working in the original hospital. She knows you guys are thorough, but most of the families want to talk to her.’ He hesitated. ‘They’ve had a succession of English teachers on the island and English is spoken by everyone. But maybe if my kin had been shot I’d want my family doctor to talk me through it.’

Damn. Ben had just come from the field hospital which was next door to the original building. He turned to leave but then he remembered. It wasn’t just Lily he was concerned about.

‘The hostage situation?’

‘We’re negotiating,’ the sergeant told him. ‘They want transport out of here.’

‘Do we know who’s in there?’

‘Ten islanders. The most badly injured they’ve tossed out. Ten fits with the number of islanders who remain missing. We don’t know how many rebels.’

‘Is Lily’s son there?’

‘Yes,’ the sergeant said, and Ben felt suddenly light-headed.

‘We know he’s alive?’ he demanded.

‘One of the injured men saw him. Yes.’

‘And you’ve told Lily?’

‘She was here when we heard. She’d been everywhere on the island, checking with each search team as they came in, checking herself. We were almost as glad as she was when we heard the kid was alive.’

‘And…Jacques someone?’ he ventured, and there was a nod.

‘We assume so. He wasn’t seen by the guy we talked to but he said he heard him talking.’

‘So they’re both safe. And you’ll negotiate transport in exchange for the hostages?’