Advised by Arthur of the latest details of the proposal from ISIS concerning Daniel’s case, the Danish authorities offered to take over all of the correspondence between the captors and Susanne and Kjeld in order to protect them. But Susanne and Kjeld didn’t want to give up control. They preferred to handle the situation personally in close collaboration with Arthur, whom they trusted – even if no one could predict the kidnappers’ next move. Arthur decided they should continue to communicate as ‘the family’ and not let the correspondence seem too ‘professional’. They must not under any circumstances give the impression that the government was behind their emails, especially since this was not the case. It was important that they separated themselves from the other negotiations that Arthur knew had already been initiated by European authorities for some of Daniel’s fellow prisoners. The captors should understand that in Daniel’s case, they were negotiating directly with an ordinary Danish family who had no way of paying such a high ransom.

They also needed to realize that, unlike Spain, France and some other European nations, the Danish government didn’t generally pay ransoms. Arthur and the family concluded that the best approach would be to try and appeal to the kidnappers with the truth and to speak to them from their emotional and exhausted hearts.

The crucial next step would be to buy time in order to scrape together the money, without putting off the kidnappers, while simultaneously trying to lower the exorbitant ransom of 15 million kroner.

The family were unwilling participants in a race against time, as the captors never failed to remind them. ‘The longer it takes, the less likelihood Daniel has of survival,’ they threatened.

Arthur had no doubt that the captors were capable of murdering Daniel if they didn’t get what they wanted. He wrote to them from the family’s email account, explaining that they hadn’t heard from the captors until this point and that they had repeatedly tried to communicate to find a solution.

‘We are a simple, hard-working family […] The amount you are requesting for Daniel’s release is unrealistic for us to put together,’ he wrote. He stressed that at the beginning of the coming week, they would go to the bank to ascertain how large a sum they could manage to raise towards the ransom. To keep the email personal, he signed off with: ‘We would very much like you to tell Daniel that we are thinking of him and praying for him.’

The following week, Kjeld and Susanne went to the bank to find out exactly how much they could borrow against their house. Kjeld couldn’t stand the thought of going and begging for money from other people and he was confident they could raise the entire amount with a loan from the bank.

On 17 February they requested the maximum sum they could borrow, which came to just over 1,350,000 kroner. They stated their offer to the kidnappers in American dollars, because they thought the sum sounded more impressive than in euros. Once their offer of $251,000 had been dispatched, Kjeld sent Anita a text message: ‘Let’s just hope they’re feeling generous.’

· * ·

‘You have to write some letters,’ ordered the Beatles as they handed out sheets of paper to the hostages in the cell in Raqqa. It was at the end of February and they were told to write home to their families in English. The letters were to contain specific wording and Daniel added no personal feelings to it, as he was ordered to write:

Dear Mum and Dad, I’m so sorry to put you all through this. Please follow the instructions of the group that is holding me. This is all about money. Collect as much money as possible and I will be released. I love you all very much and hope with all my heart to see you all again. Yours, Daniel.

A few days later the Beatles came back to record a video with the Spanish hostage Marc Marginedas. It came as no surprise that Marc was the first to be filmed, since a ransom had already been paid for his release. They knew this, because when the hostages had been kept in the house overlooking the Euphrates, George had told them, ‘It’s looking good for you Spaniards.’

The hostages had cautiously anticipated that the Spaniards would be the first to be released. Daniel felt dismay spread throughout his body that he wasn’t the one on his way home. When Marc had finished thanking them all, the Beatles turned towards Daniel and ordered him to take off his shirt. With open palms, they slapped his chest and rubbed him with the sole of a shoe until his skin looked red and raw. Then he remained bare-chested as they positioned him against the white walls of the cell and ordered him to look directly into the camera. With the marks across his chest clearly visible, he said in staccato sentences: ‘Hi Mum. I heard that you’re going to the bank next week. Please collect all the money that you can get. It’s just about money, so I can get released. Please help me.’

· * ·

On the day Marc was meant to be released, the Beatles banged hard on the door and stood in the doorway calling for him as he stood there with the hand-written letters that he had been told to take away with him.

‘You’re going home now,’ announced the Brits.

‘The rest of you can also get ready. You’re being moved.’

Marc stood in the middle of the room and said nothing. The Beatles went up to James.

‘Look at him closely. It’s the closest you’ll ever get to freedom.’

Marc was told to take a shower and he was allowed to go to the toilet. The electricity had gone out and it was dark in the cell. The Beatles put a flashlight in the corner, while the hostages were allowed to go to the toilet one at a time.

‘Make sure you empty your bladders. You’re going to be travelling a long way. You’re going to Iraq,’ the Beatles told them loudly, stomping around among the hostages, stepping on their arms and legs whenever possible. Then they split them up into smaller groups.

‘Denmark, sit together,’ came the order. ‘France, you too.’

Daniel and Dan moved close together and put their arms round each other’s shoulders.

‘Right then, boys, it’s taking a long time to go to the toilet … We can sing our little song, do you remember it?’ asked George as he held his nose.

One of the Brits found an empty pot, which he put on James’s head.

‘Can you balance it … ?’

When the pot fell off, they turned it over and put it on James’ head like a hat.

‘Have you been practising “Osama’s Lovely Hotel”? America, start singing!’ ordered the Beatles, who walked among the small groups in the dim light from the flashlight and conducted the singing.

While some of them took turns to go to the toilet, the remaining hostages had to sing in rounds about Osama’s lovely hotel, where you would die if you tried to escape.

‘Come on, Denmark!’ shouted the Beatles, randomly pushing and kicking the prisoners. When it was Daniel’s turn to urinate, he was given a light and hurried out to the toilet. As he washed his hands he could hear the hellish singing, a din that wailed in the background like a broken record. Then he returned to the room, sat down, put his arm around Dan and started singing too.

When the song was over, nothing more happened. They weren’t moved, even though the Beatles had made sure they had said it loud enough for Marc to hear. This was presumably so that on Marc’s release he could convey false information to his government’s intelligence service by telling them that the hostages were no longer being held captive at the Quarry in Raqqa.

They never saw Marc again. At some point the Beatles must have sneaked him out. Later that day, Daniel saw Marc’s old clothes in a tub in the bathroom. The first prisoner had left the cell, negotiations were under way for the others, and Daniel prayed that he would be next to leave.

But the threat the Beatles had issued to James just before Marc left the prison hung heavily in the air.