‘The DJ: Mr Legs. This guy who came up just then. Huge DJ. I mean, that’s like …’ He searched for the right word. ‘That is so many people listen to that guy. I went to see him at Primavera, and one of my friends, Gustavo, great guy but mad, he thinks because of the weed he is a pig, actually like believes to be a real pig, and …’ The story wasn’t going to cut it, he realized; Steffi’s body had gone stiff again, her hands were on the keyboard. ‘Like, all I mean, you are doing so great. Like a million people are talking about this guy now.’

‘I don’t know if it’s worth it,’ said Steffi, looking dejected all of a sudden. He wanted to take her arm, but overruled himself.

‘Or look at this guy,’ said Emil, ‘he says, he wants to give a job to James, when he come back.’

This seemed to snare her. ‘Where?’

He leaned across her, scrolled up so that the message was in the middle of the screen. ‘I’d love to reconnect, I’d love to talk.’ Her eyebrows went up in reluctant acceptance.

‘That’s cool. That’s – look at the bio, the guy, one of the guys anyway, who do Sheep Wars. It doesn’t help James but maybe he can tell me how to get further in it. That would be something.’

‘I can do that, if it’s what you need. Remember?’

‘I forgot.’ Steffi was almost smiling. ‘I forgot you were – an expert at Sheep Wars. It seems like a long time.’

‘Not even expert. Whatever is after expert.’

‘Superhero?’

Emil felt his moment come, just when it had appeared too late. ‘Superhero, yeah, President of the World. Give me the phone, yeah? Just for … you need a break. Just, I can help you, show you it.’

Steffi blinked, rubbed her eyes, half-grinned. Emil slid his chair closer to her and waited as she opened the game, the wolf in shades coming to life. She moved the phone to landscape and selected her game, saved as she was on the way up out of King’s Cross underground, when life had been simpler. Emil had already got his hands on the phone and dragged it towards him: he narrowed his eyes solemnly like a doctor inspecting a patient.

‘OK, yeah, easy. Just have to find the weapon.’

Steffi watched as his fingers skipped across the screen. She could hardly follow what he was doing, but it was working. The sheep watched in dismay as Emil’s wolf slashed open their tyres and the chassis of their car sank comically like a ship. The wolf put on a napkin and was getting out a knife and fork as Emil laid the phone down in front of him like an engineer done with a minor task, barely seeming to register the success.