‘I checked the mission itinerary,’ said Rozalia. ‘There are vehicles over there we can use.’

Dom stepped towards the control rig and touched its keyboard. In response, a screen lit up. ‘I want to be clear about this,’ he said, still glowering. ‘You weren’t here. I don’t know anything about this.’

‘All clear,’ said Rozalia. ‘And thanks.’

‘Don’t thank me,’ he muttered. ‘Just get the hell up on the stage so we can get this over with.’

A few minutes later I found myself staring at the ruined towers of Sao Paolo, off in the distance beyond parkland half-gone to jungle. I had hoped never to see them again.

Closer to hand sat the jeep and EV truck I remembered from last time, along with the SUV Casey had driven. A drone sat on its charging mount next to the equipment tent, humming quietly.

My gaze drifted towards the distant Hives, and I almost had to remind myself I wasn’t trapped in one of my nightmares.

‘Hey,’ I said, nodding at the drone. ‘Won’t they pick us up driving into the city?’

Rozalia shook her head. ‘Only if there’s someone to watch the monitors,’ she said. ‘And, in case you hadn’t noticed, we’re alone.’

‘Let’s get this over with, then,’ I said, heading for the SUV. Rozalia nodded, following in my wake. I found the map Casey had used to find his way along the city’s safe routes, still neatly folded on the dashboard. I checked the rear seat and saw a pair of rifles there, along with enough boxes of ammunition to stage a coup in a small African nation.

I hoped Rozalia wasn’t going to ask me if I’d spoken to Chloe yet. That was something I was a long way from being ready to talk about.

‘Here,’ I said, handing the map to Rozalia as she climbed into the front passenger seat next to me. ‘Since you helped map this place out, you can navigate for me while I drive.’

Every inch of the road into Sao Paolo was burned into my brain. I drove across the shallow waters beneath the shattered bridge, then back up the incline, before guiding the car onto the road that led deeper into the city. Low one-storey suburban homes gave way to broad avenues lined with shops and businesses, and I saw the remains of the financial district off in the distance, once-glittering towers reduced to shattered, partially dismantled stubs.

Rozalia told me where to turn, and which avenues to follow, and where to go in order to best reduce our chances of running into any bee-brains. But in truth, I hardly needed her help, and I soon found my way back to the elevated motorway spanning the Pinheiros, and the blockade through which Nadia had carefully navigated the other SUV a lifetime before.