That’s not why we were there, he started to say, but Sophie was still talking, her tone urgent. “Alex, listen – it’s vital that the Seraphic Council are killed. If they are—”

“Is this seriously what you came thousands of miles to tell me?” he broke in. “Look, we know all about it – the Council, the reception, everything. That’s why we’re in Mexico City in the first place.”

Sophie didn’t miss a beat. “Good, that makes things easier.” She unzipped her bag and pulled out an envelope. “Here,” she said, handing it to him. “There’s a memory stick in there with all the details you need. You’ve also got ten VIP passes to the reception; they’ll get you and your team onto the top floor of the Torre Mayor.”

Slowly, Alex reached out and took the envelope. He could feel wallet-sized plastic cards inside. “Where did you get this?”

“From my contact. Her name is Charmeine and she used to know Nate; she worked with him back in the US until he joined the CIA. She’ll help you any way she can.” She nodded at the envelope. “Like I said, all the details you need are in there.”

All the details they needed. Alex tapped the envelope against his palm, frowning. “So it sounds like Charmeine was pretty confident you’d find us in time,” he said at last. “Was there a backup plan?”

“No one was confident about anything, believe me,” said Sophie. “And no, there’s no backup plan – she’s the only rogue left; if she tried to act on her own she’d be killed before she even put a dent in the Council. A trained team of Angel Killers is our only chance.”

Alex snorted. Our – yeah, just as if Sophie had been down here helping them out all along. “So what’s the proof that Charmeine’s definitely a rogue, and this isn’t a trap?” he asked.

“She’s legit, I’m sure of it.” Sophie took another puff of her cigarette; the smoke looked ghostly in the dark. “She knows things about Project Angel that only Nate could have told her.”

“Angels are psychic,” he reminded her dryly.

“Not that psychic without touching you. Listen, I took some convincing too, but she was definitely friends with Nate – she has all the inside information on how we attacked the gate when the Second Wave arrived. Plans, details, everything. The only way she could know all of that is if Nate told her. And if she wasn’t on our side, then they’d have tried to stop us at the time.”

“Okay,” said Alex finally, sticking the envelope into his pocket. “We’ll check it out – compare it with what we’ve already got.” Which wasn’t that much, but at least they had the classified blueprints to double-check things against.

“Yes, do that,” said Sophie. “You’ll find that it’s all accurate.”