‘No, it wouldn’t,’ he said quietly. ‘Trust me, Luke, you can’t buy respect. It has to be earned. You can’t swagger up to your father, pockets stuffed with stolen money and expect him to regard you as an equal. Why are you trying to compete with him financially, anyway? You’ll never be his equal in that area. He’s one of the richest men on the planet. You need to find your own area in which to excel.’

‘Well, I’m not going to do that trapped here in the bloody Time Police, am I?’

It was on the tip of Ellis’s tongue to agree but he changed his mind slightly, saying, ‘Possibly not, but if you open up your mind to the opportunities you will find during your time with us, we can help you lay a solid foundation on which to build. You’re going to be in some tough situations, meet some unpleasant people and probably have to do some things you don’t want to. How you handle yourself through all that is entirely up to you, but – and I’ll only make this offer once – if you ever feel the need for guidance or advice, knock on my door. It’s going to be a long hard road for you and it’ll be even longer and harder if you try to take a shortcut.’

Staring down at the muddy grass, Parrish nodded. ‘I’m on report again, aren’t I?’

‘Son, your report is so crowded I doubt there’s even room. Now then – you led this mission. I asked for the team’s opinions on what to do with Plimpton. You’re the team leader today – what is your formal recommendation, Mr Parrish?’

Parrish drew a hasty breath to speak, then paused and took a moment to think properly.

Ellis waited patiently.

Finally, Parrish said, ‘I recommend we follow Farrell’s suggestion and leave him here. I think, in the heat of the moment, we had forgotten the most important part of his statement, which was that he didn’t initiate this. He’s just someone’s pawn. Someone deliberately sent him the wherewithal to make a pod. I recommend we monitor Henry Plimpton and see what, if anything, happens next.’

‘Except . . .’

‘Except what?’

‘Think, Parrish. You’re supposed to be bright. Stop thinking about yourself for five minutes and concentrate.’

Luke stared at the ground, concentrating as instructed. ‘Oh.’

‘Say it aloud.’

‘Well, Farrell’s plan is a good one except that I personally don’t think they – whoever they are – will ever come back – I know I wouldn’t – but I suppose there’s always a chance that whoever left the wherewithal to build the machine will contact Henry Plimpton again. It’s just . . .’

He paused, trying to assemble his thoughts while still juggling guilt, shame, embarrassment and . . .

‘Go on, son. You’re nearly there.’

And then he had it. ‘Sunday.’

‘What about it?’