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Steph decided to use the night-vision goggles to watch this exchange lest she miss any subtle facial expressions. Michael was waiting for what he said to sink in. Davey was still frowning. Then he looked behind. Then he looked forward and sighed.

“Right,” said Davey.

“What?” whispered Steph. What had she missed that was soobvious?

“Basically, we have been under the impression that… put those down for a moment!” Davey pushed the goggles down from Steph’s face. They scraped her nose on the way down. She decided not to complain. “We have been under the impression that the cave lion was tracking the bison from west to east.”

“Right?”

“But the wind is blowing eastwards!”

“Right?”

Davey said no more. Steph wrinkled her nose. Then it sank in.

“Ah, he isn’t here, is he? He is the other side of the herd!”

“Exactly!” whispered Michael from somewhere to her left. “We’re going to have to go around them. The little furry bastard probably has our scent too.”

“If we start going around, won’t he lose our scent and focus on the bison?” Steph asked.

“Maybe,” replied Michael. “But it also means dipping closer to the tree line, which is a danger in itself. It will also add more time to the whole thing, which will make our chance of success that little bit slimmer. Still, we have little choice!”

They headed further south towards the shadowy tree line. Every so often the cloud above would clear to let slivers of moonlight through. At such times Michael would hold his hand up and crouch. For all of Davey’s comfort in the outdoors, it was clear to Steph that Michael was the more experienced tracker with the traits of a hunter. Davey must have learnt what he knew from Michael. Steph was still unsure what Davey’s experiences had been leading up to his current employment,. He was a difficult character to pin down.

The bison remained calm as they reached the trees, keeping a wide-enough distance between themselves and the animals. Spooking them would blow their chance. It was only now that Steph started to appreciate what a delicate operation they wereundertaking. She had known it was not a simple one, but appreciating it was something else. The risks were high: other predators being attracted to the bison, the cave lion bolting early, or the bison fleeing causing the lion to escape. It was all problematic.

“How’s it going?”

The sharp sound of the radio coming from Michael’s hip made Steph’s heart almost leap from her throat.

“Shut that damned thing off!” hissed Davey.

Michael fumbled angrily at his waist. He didn’t even answer the voice. He just switched it off.

Steph couldn’t tell whether it had been Daniel or Kelvin whose voice had pierced the quiet. She suspected Kelvin. He would want control.

Steph raised her goggles to watch the bison. It seemed Davey was doing similarly with his heat-signal detector. A few of the bison nearest to them had trotted further away. Most were settled down to eating again just a hundred yards or so from where they were hidden. A few kept raised heads in the direction of Steph and the others, but deciding there was little threat settled down to periodically taking mouthfuls from the ground.

The group kept moving. Steph kept her eyes behind them, constantly looking over her shoulder and occasionally walking backwards. She kept this up until bumping into something solid. It was Michael. He was staring out from the edge of the tree line across the open land that – now that Steph looked carefully – was open heathland.

She felt a hand on her shoulder pushing her down slightly into a crouch.

“Keep an eye on the trees behind us,” Davey breathed. “If anything seems odd, tell us!”

Steph nodded. She was not sure whether the lion had been seen in the darkness. She settled down against the tree theywere crouched behind and looked deep into the darkness at their back.

Apart from the sound of an owl there was nothing of interest for Steph to be wary of. She thought this would have relaxed her. If anything, it heightened her senses. It was as if something badwasgoing to happen and it was a question of when and not if. The anticipation she was building in herself twisted her insides.

Minutes passed. Nothing. She risked the odd glance back at Davey and Michael. Michael was crouched looking through the scope of his rifle. Davey was scanning the area with the heat detector.

Still nothing.

“This isn’t right,” Davey whispered.

“I know,” sighed Michael.

A loud snap suddenly cracked through the silence of the trees.