‘He puts a shell round his aura.’

‘No problem.’

Owen settled himself on a pillow to one side of an old chest of drawers. Cooper followed suit on the other side. He felt something hard pressing into his hip. He looked down to find the biscuit tin packed with small mementoes that Stride had searched in for his NUS card.

The boy’s entire previous life was crammed into that tin. Maybe he very rarely opened it, but at least he had brought it with him into his new life. It was useless for him to pretend that memories of his past life held no value for him. The evidence said differently.

‘So what are you doing here on your own?’ said Cal. ‘Where’s the heavy mob?’

‘I just wanted to talk. I thought I might be able to help.’

Cal snorted. ‘Bullshit. Since when did the cops help the likes of us? You’re employed by middle-class, middle-aged folk with their property and comfortable lives to protect.’

‘People like your parents, you mean?’

‘Yes, people like them.’

‘Well, we’re here to protect everybody.’

‘Stuff that. I don’t pay your wages. I don’t pay any taxes. So why should you bother about me?’

Cooper hesitated while he considered the answer. Everything depended on saying the right thing.

‘Hey,’ said Owen. ‘I’ve just realized – that means you don’t pay my wages either. Well, what a revelation.’ He started to get up, brushing down his jacket. ‘That’s that, then. I’ll be off. I can’t be wasting my time with a couple of dirty, idle gypsies. I’ve got nice, clean middle-class people to look after.’

‘Yeah. Fuck off, then,’ said Cal, popping the ring-pull off a can of lager.

Owen stood over him. He didn’t say anything. Cal looked at Cooper. ‘I hate this bastard in the red jacket,’ he said. ‘He thinks he’s my dad or something.’

‘We all know you never had a father, Calvin,’ said Owen.

‘And if you call me Calvin again, I’ll set fire to your fuckin’ beard.’

‘Get the matches out then, Calvin.’

Cal’s eyes glittered. He offered a can to Cooper, who shook his head. Then he held it up above his head, and the Ranger took it.

‘We both came for the solstice,’ said Cal. ‘That’s how we ended up in this quarry. There were loads of people parked down here then. It was like a real community. But the van broke down, and I had no dosh to get it repaired. It’s something to do with the drive shaft, they reckon. Coming down that slope knackered it.’

‘And you’ve stayed ever since.’

‘Everybody else drifted off and left us.’

‘Did you and Stride come together?’