Billy was staring at him, his eyebrows raised, and so Edward said, “Jesus, man,” loading it with resentment, “compared to what we got up to in the jungle, this is nothing. This is child’s play.”

“Really?” Billy said, dubiously.

He laughed dryly, without humour. “You have no idea.”

There was silence for a minute. Edward stared at the road.

“Those Japs you topped––what was it like?”

Edward looked over at him severely. “I’m not going to talk about it.”

“Come on. Tell me. What was it like?”

“You don’t think about it. You just do it.”

“But what was it like? Shooting the buggers. Taking another fellow’s life?”

“You do your duty and that’s that.”

“This modesty, Doc, it don’t suit you.”

“Take the hint, Billy. I’m not going to talk about it.”

He sneered. “You ask me, it’s all bloody bollocks. You want us to think you’re some kind of war hero, but you ain’t. You ain’t nothing special at all. No better than any of us. You might’ve pulled the wool over Joe’s eyes, but you ain’t fooling me.”

The sudden outburst was shocking. Edward shook his head and gripped the wheel a little tighter. Billy put his feet on the dash and started to drum his fingers on his bent knees, making a show of his contentedness. They didn’t speak after that. Billy knew he had got under Edward’s skin, and he wanted him to know that he knew.

* * *

IT TOOK LONGER THAN THEY HAD PLANNED, nearer three and a half hours than two. There was a diversion and they approached the base from a different direction than they had when they had scouted it before. The new perspective emphasised how enormous it was. There were rows and rows and rows of huts, all organised with geometrical precision. They drove for a whole ten minutes alongside the wire fence until they came to the gatehouse. Edward pulled the truck off the road and stopped. A private approached the passenger side with a rifle. His nervousness reached a crescendo and he found himself holding his breath.

Billy wound down his window.

“What’s your business, sir?” the guard asked.

“Moving surplus goods.”

“Where are your papers?”

“Here.” Billy handed down the requisition form that Butler had faked for them.

The soldier squinted at it dubiously. “What are you here for? It don’t say.”

“Surplus goods.” Billy’s tone was brusque.

“For who?”

Edward leaned across the cab. “Major Butler,” he said.

“Butler?” The man was doubtful. “No-one’s mentioned it to me.”

Edward started to get very nervous indeed. They were vulnerable. The other two trucks had pulled off the road and were parked behind them, pinning them against the gate. There were another two men in the guardhouse and he knew each of them would have a Lee Enfield. If the sentry didn’t believe their story, there would be nothing for it. Their truck certainly wasn’t going anywhere.

They were helpless.

Edward leant over again. “Why don’t you speak with him?” he suggested brightly. “Get him on the phone.”

As he spoke, Billy reached into the bag by his side. In the corner of his eye Edward watched as he started to withdraw the butt of a Webley revolver. There was nothing he could say without alerting the soldier’s attention so he reached across the seat and rested his hand across Billy’s, gently holding it against the bag.

The guard returned the credentials. “I haven’t heard about nothing getting moved but that’d be par for the course. They don’t tell us nothing. Sorry to keep you waiting, chaps––it all looks in order. Do you know where you’re going?” Edward did, but he allowed the guard to provide directions. “On your way, then,” he said when he was finished. He lifted the gate for them. Edward hurriedly put the truck into gear and motored through before the man could change his mind. The others followed close behind.

“What the hell is that?” he muttered tightly.

Billy slipped the gun back into his bag. He smirked at Edward’s dismay, calmly fastening the bag again. “Shooter. What’s it look like?”

“No-one said anything about guns.”

“You never know, do you?––looked like we might need it for a moment.”

“What are you talking about?

“Tight spot, could’ve been important.”

Edward was incredulous. “You were going to shoot him? How long do you think we would’ve lasted? This is an army base, you bloody fool. It’s full of soldiers.”

“Calm down,” he said in a gloating tone. “We’re inside now, aren’t we? No need to panic.”

His tone was patronising, the way you would talk to a child. Edward clenched his jaw, refusing to look at him for fear of further losing his temper. “I’m not panicking,” he said.

Billy saw how much he had rattled him and didn’t let up. “I knew you was milky,” he leered. “I bloody well knew it. The first sign of trouble and you’re all over the bloody shop. What the hell Joe was thinking getting you involved, God only knows.”

Edward turned away from him. He was sweating and shaking. For a moment he heard his voice denying that he was scared but then he realised that he hadn’t spoken, that the words were like a phonograph playing in his head, and that Billy was looking out of the window again, carelessly, and that he needed to pay more attention to driving the lorry.

He gathered himself. The private’s directions took them along the main road through the base. Edward had been there before but the place was larger than he remembered. It had been a small staging post for two or three thousand men when he had passed through on the way to India, seven years earlier. It had grown out of all proportion since then and fifteen thousand Americans had been stationed there during the preparations for D-Day. Nissen and Maycrete huts were arranged in neat rows, radiating out from a central hub. The accommodation was arranged end-to-end, prefabricated corrugated iron walls and asbestos roofs. The Americans had built basketball courts and a baseball diamond and advertisements for Lucky Strike cigarettes and Oreo cookies could still be found in the windows of the stores. He imagined that the United States must look like this.

Butler was waiting for them on the hard-standing outside the administration block.

“What did he want on the gate?” Joseph said to Edward once they had parked.

“They didn’t know we were coming.”

Butler shook his head. “What?”

“They had no idea.”

“I told them––”

“Never mind,” Edward said. “We’re in now. Make sure it’s sorted out next time. Now––where’s the gear.”

“Follow me.”

Butler jumped into a jeep and they trailed him through the quiet base, the huts stretching away in neat, symmetrical lines, hardly a soul about. Butler parked in a space next to the stores and Edward slotted the truck alongside, reversing in to make loading up as easy as possible. The other trucks followed suit.

He switched off the engine, jumped down from the cab and went around to Joseph’s wagon. It would have been better to have it out with him later, when they were safely away, but he couldn’t wait; that, and he was still seething with anger. He took Joseph by the elbow and tugged him around to the back of the truck where they would be shielded from Butler.

“What’s the matter?” Joseph said.

“Billy’s got a gun.”

Joseph put a hand on his arm, trying to calm him down. “It’s just in case.”

“You know?”

“I told him to bring it. We don’t know Butler. We don’t know anything about him. And you never know when you might find yourself in a bind.”

“You didn’t tell me.”

“I didn’t think it was necessary.”

“Not necessary? He was halfway to shooting him!”

“Everything alright?” Billy had followed him over.

“It’s fine, Bubble,” Joseph replied. “Get the truck ready.”

“You sure he’s got the gumption for this, Joe?”

“Go back to the truck.”

“Right you are,” he said, making sure Edward caught his grin.