An Ounce of Metal — Larry Johns

Demolition expert Sergeant Billy Bentley was a good soldier; a lifer, on his third tour of The Stan.  Then someone screws up an unnecessarily-complicated mission and the wrong men die. Friendly fire, some say. Blue on blue. Either way, with the actual culprit being a high-up in the returning Afghan administration, Billy ends up an innocent scapegoat. The result is an immediate Dishonourable Discharge from a job he had devoted his life to. Back in the U.K., bitter and disoriented, he is approached by a military recruiting agency. Against his better judgement Billy accepts a contract which - he will discover - is to demolish a Surete records office in the heart of Paris. In planning the assignment he meets – and in some strange way, falls for  -  Gabrielle Thiery, who, on the face of it, works amongst the Paris criminal underworld. In fact, Gabrielle does not come as advertised, and almost every move that Billy makes will be known to the authorities. Despite this, and with realisation of yet another betrayal slowly dawning, Billy struggles to complete his assignment. He will come to realise that most people connected to his new line of work follow no Rules Of Engagement whatsoever. He also learns that though you can never get over an injustice, you can learn to live with it.