She shook her head and put her hand on my arm. ‘First things first. Did you talk to Chloe yet?’

The question I’d been dreading. ‘I really, really don’t want to talk about that.’

She frowned. ‘It went that bad?’

‘You know, it might have been better if you’d just told me the truth about her and me, before I went over there and embarrassed myself.’

She shook her head. ‘Why? What did she say?’

I struggled to hold back my temper and stood. ‘Rozalia . . . good luck with finding out the truth about Nadia.’

She stared at me. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘I don’t want to be a part of this,’ I said.

‘What the hell?’ she hissed, glancing towards the pool in case anyone was watching. ‘You don’t have any choice. Christ, your life might be in danger!’

‘No, Rozalia, the other Jerry’s life was in danger. But I’m not him, and up until a couple of days ago, every last one of you were happy to lie to me about who and what I was.’

Rozalia started to open her mouth, and I put up a hand to stop her. ‘I haven’t forgotten what I was told,’ I said. ‘I know that if you’d told me who I really was, things could’ve gone bad for you. But, Jesus . . . every one of you survived a fucking apocalypse, and all it takes to make you roll on your collective backs are a couple of suit-wearing nitwits with rulebooks wedged up their asses?’ I bared my teeth and laughed. ‘Tell me, Rozalia. If Oskar hadn’t lost his rag, would I even know the truth yet?’

She stared at me in mute silence. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘Maybe you’re right. Maybe we should have been more—’

‘But that’s not the worst of it,’ I interrupted. ‘Because you forgot to mention that my previous incarnation was a total fucking asshole.’

Confusion spread across her face. ‘What on Earth . . . ?’

‘He hurt Chloe,’ I said. ‘And don’t pretend you don’t know. He beat her, badly. Apparently, that’s the person I get to become after living here for a couple of years, doing a job that makes no sense, for people who won’t tell me who they are. Well, fuck that.’ I picked up my coffee and drained the last of it. ‘Here’s my plan. Soon as I can find some way to escape to some place where the Authority can’t find me, I’m gone, do you understand? Even if it means risking a null sequence.’

My voice had risen. I backed away from her, ignoring the curious glances I was getting from out by the pool. ‘And, unless you’re crazy,’ I added before departing, ‘every last one of you’ll find a way to do the exact same.’