Eagle Strike characters

Appears from the start

Fourteen years old and on holiday in the south of France, trying for once to be a normal teenager on somebody else's family holiday. He has been used three times by MI6 and wants nothing more to do with them, which lasts exactly as long as it takes for someone he recognises to appear on a yacht in the bay.

Appears from the start

A girl a little older than Alex, quick, sceptical and easy company, whose family have invited him to join them at a rented villa in France. She knows nothing about his other life and assumes, reasonably, that he is exactly what he appears to be.

Appears from the start

Sabina's father, an investigative journalist who is working on a story during what is supposed to be a family holiday. He is friendly to Alex and vague about what he is writing, and he takes a phone call that changes the shape of the summer.

First appears in chapter 2

The Russian contract killer who murdered Ian Rider and who has twice let Alex live. He appears in the bay aboard a millionaire's yacht, working for a client whose identity Alex does not know, and his presence anywhere has only ever meant one thing.

First appears in chapter 4

The American housekeeper who runs Alex's life in London and who has given up believing MI6's assurances. She backs him when nobody official will.

First appears in chapter 5

The head of MI6 Special Operations, who this time declines to be interested. A boy's accusation against one of the most admired men in the country is not something the department is willing to act on.

First appears in chapter 5

Blunt's deputy, caught between the department's position and her own sense that Alex is rarely wrong about this sort of thing.

First appears in chapter 6

One of the most famous men alive: a singer and songwriter whose records have sold in the hundreds of millions, and who now spends most of his fortune and energy on causes, above all his very public campaign against the drugs trade. He has been knighted, feted by governments, and is about to launch a games console that will change the industry. Alex's questions about the bombing keep leading back toward him.

First appears in chapter 8

An American official with access to material that is not supposed to be for sale, and expensive tastes that make him worth approaching. He meets Cray's people to conclude a transaction.