‘Yep. That’s why the Seekers are after her, at least to my mind. They think she might know where it is.’

Albert looked at him. ‘You said where, Colby, not what.’

‘Well, obviously! Everyone knows what it is. It’s obvious, isn’t it?’

‘Well, what is it then?’

‘Exactly what the name says. It’s code. Computer code.’

‘Computer code?’

‘Yes, computer code. But, more than that, it’s the cure.’

Albert looked at him, not sure he had heard right. ‘Cure? What do you mean—cure? Cure for what?’

‘What do you think?’ said Colby. He waved his arm around, indicating the world around them. ‘This. Everything. The virus, the addiction, all of it. It’s the cure to the Epidemic.’

Albert stared at Colby, the words still sinking in, again and again. ‘But Theo can’t possibly know where it is! She’s a child!’

‘I agree with you,’ said Colby. ‘But that’s not what the Seekers who took her think.’

‘You mean that’s why Father and everyone are so worried about her all the time?’

‘I’d think so.’

Albert looked at him, then he shook his head slowly. ‘No, Colby, there’s more to it than that. I mean, when we were up in the City, before we came here, June and Ollie were all about getting her out and as quick as possible. Even when she was with them, they were worried, even before we left the flat. Not just worried, it was the only thing on their minds. Even the fact I got to come along was only because they couldn’t wait to get her out of the City. I thought then it was about her welfare, but the more I think about it, the more I get the feeling there’s more to it.’

‘Well, now that you know about her grandad, that should explain it, shouldn’t it?’

‘Does it? I’m not convinced.’

‘You’re becoming a conspiracy theorist. Watch yourself, or you might get as bad as the doc.’

‘The doc?’

‘Oh, yes. It’s not something they generally bandy about, but everyone knows he went cuckoo at the end. I mean, they said it was a nervous breakdown and stuff, maybe, but what’s the difference, especially when you’re a kid.’

‘You saw him?’

‘Everyone saw him. Why do you think the Seekers are after the kid in the first place? It was the doctor, wandering all over the place, ranting and raving to everyone that if anything happened to him, then Theo was the key to finding the cure.’

‘Those were his words?’

‘“Key to the Code” from what I remember, but to tell the truth I stayed away as much as I could. Anyway, what does it matter? Point is, by the time he vanished, the good doctor was pretty much crackers.’