Daggett glared, then took a deep breath and heaved himself out of the cruiser. His foot caught and he fell to his knees, then sprawled on to his belly. “I’m hurt! I’m hurt! I’m gonna sue! You haven’t even charged me with anything! I’ve committed no crime and now I’ve injured myself!”

“Up,” said Novak.

“I’m gonna sue!”

“So sue standing up,” said Novak.

He reached down, took hold of Daggett’s left ear, and twisted. Daggett howled, his legs kicking, and Novak pulled him slowly to his feet before letting go.

“You saw that!” Daggett shouted to Amber and Milo. “You both saw him assault me! I have witnesses!”

“Pretty sure your witnesses were fixing to kill you before I showed up,” said Novak. “I doubt they care about your civil rights.” He swept a hand towards the ramp leading up to the double doors with a police badge on the glass. Amber led the way, then Milo, and Novak followed Daggett, who kept complaining even though no one was listening.

The doors slid open and Amber stepped into a gleaming police station, all bright and clean and tidy. There was a civilian behind the desk with an ID badge around her neck, talking quietly into a headset. When Novak came in, she relaxed, nodded to him, and did something behind the desk that resulted in a door to their right beeping as it opened.

At Novak’s gesture, Amber walked to the door, and passed from gleaming and sleek to concrete and grey. There was another door just beyond and she waited at it while Novak moved up beside her. He took a card from his pocket and passed it over a sensor and the door clicked and he pushed it open.

There were two jail cells with barred walls and barred doors on each side of the room they walked into. All were empty. Amber walked into the first cell on the left. Milo walked into the second. Novak put Daggett in the cell opposite. He had them all back up to the bars and he took off their cuffs, then walked out.

“You haven’t charged me with anything!” Daggett shouted after him. “You haven’t charged me!”

The door shut with a click.

Amber looked at her cell. The bunk had a thin pillow and a thin blanket. The sink had a small bar of soap. The toilet, at least, had a seat, but no curtain or anything to protect her privacy.

“Hey,” said Daggett. “Hey, girlie. This is all your fault, I hope you realise that. If you hadn’t tricked me, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“You wanted to give me to the Hounds,” she said. “I think I prefer being here, to be honest.”

Daggett shook his head, a look of disgust on his face.

Milo watched him, and said, “The Yukon Strangler, eh?”