As Taggert brought the gun to bear on Doyle, Bodie slammed into him and threw his aim off so that the bullet went wide, nicking the CI5 officer's arm. Taggert whipped around and fired at Bodie, but again his aim was thrown off. There was a loud crack and the kidnapper fell to his knees, then pitched forward on his face.

Doyle dropped the file and ran to his partner, who was sitting up and shaking his head. A thin stream of blood coursed down his face and Doyle saw to his relief that the bullet had done no more than graze his partner's head. "Don't scare me like that, mate." He freed Bodie's hands, then helped him to his feet.

Cowley emerged from behind a tree with a rifle in his hands and, followed by Murphy, he stepped over the fence and surveyed the situation. Taggert lay dead, the file he had tried to extort close to his lifeless hand. Cowley picked it up and leafed through it, then glared at Doyle. "You brought the whole file?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do you appreciate the fact that if Miss Sinclair got her hands on this information, we would probably never be able to bring her to justice?"

"Yes, sir."

Cowley roared, "I should have you up on charges! At the very least I ought to sack you."

"Yes, sir," Doyle said woodenly.

Now Bodie spoke. "I'd have done the same, sir."

"When I want your opinion I'll tell you what it is!" The CI5 commander regarded the two men, battered and bloody and literally holding each other up, and he said grudgingly, "I might have done myself." At the look of relief that came over their faces, he snapped, "Or I might have written you off, Bodie."

The dark-haired man said,"Yes, sir. Permission to pass out, sir?"

"I second that," said Doyle, his face white.

"You two…" Cowley turned to Murphy. "Well, don't just stand there! Call an ambulance."

"Sir!" Murphy hurried off to their car.

Bodie really was feeling quite dizzy and now he said urgently, "I don't know where I was held, but I can identify the man who guarded me."

"All right, all right," said Cowley. "Let's get the pair of you to hospital and sort it all out later."