Author of Alex Rider, Foyle's War, Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, TV and film writer, occasional journalist.

Extras

Young Readers

Originally published in The Guardian There was just one question I had to ask myself. How could I have ended up dangling from a flagpole, twelve stories above a street in North London, with an armed maniac walking toward me, a rabid dog snapping at my fingertips, and the world's worst…

The man from Whitehall didn’t know he was being followed. His name was Davenport and he worked as a civil servant in the Ministry of Defence. He was carrying a black, leather briefcase which bumped against the side of his leg as he walked. He had no idea that there had been someone behind him…