FIFTEEN
CHALLACOMBE COMMON, EXMOOR, 2023 AD
A man forewarned is forearmed, according to the saying, so Jake had only himself to blame for his lack of vigilance. Alice had advised him that he was again under surveillance, yet he had failed to spot the car trailing him from Shebbear to Challacombe. This negligence was owing not only to his distraction as he chewed over the details of the shaman’s scheme for defeating the demon panther, but also to not having benefitted from specialised training. His engagement by MI5 had been unorthodox, like his persona. No other secret agent could offer Jake’s range of abilities; the truth was that many of his endowments were not thanks to merit, but gratuitously bestowed. Had he followed the basic rules drilled into British agents, he would have tried t
