I ran for cover, trying to ignore the very real possibility that this might be the last time I’d see them alive.

I kept one eye on the surrounding buildings as I hurried along to the next intersection, keeping to the sides of buildings and the shelter of doorways. Some instinct, however, made me sure that Casey wasn’t anywhere nearby any more.

I figured that Lucky must have escaped from the river and got lost in Sao Paolo’s streets until Casey came across her on one of his secret visits. In the brief moment I’d seen her, she looked to be in good condition, as if someone had been looking after her. I’d have admitted to a certain grudging admiration for Casey’s strategy if I wasn’t so intent on blowing his fucking head off at the first opportunity.

I reached the corner of the next block and pulled myself into the recessed doorway of a bank, then stuck my head out to take a look around. The front entrance of Retièn was just across the road from where I crouched, a dozen metres away on the far side of an intersection. The building housing the labs was a blocky concrete affair, and its empty shattered windows offered no end of opportunities for Casey to take potshots at me if he was hiding in there somewhere. Nonetheless, I had to find some way inside.

A truck lay on its side across the middle of the intersection, partly blocking my view of the entrance to the labs. It angled across the road towards a children’s play park bordered by a waist-high concrete wall. The wall was perhaps six or seven metres in length, and at the far end stood the gutted remains of a taxi. I sketched out a route in my mind, took a deep breath, and made my move.

First I scuttled towards the truck, dropping down behind it and waiting. Nothing happened. I stayed there for another minute, sucking up my courage, before running towards the low wall, pulling myself over it and flattening myself to the ground.

Still no sound or sign of any kind of reaction.

I started to crawl on my hands and knees to where the concrete wall terminated. I peered around the corner towards the taxi, then ran towards it, dropping down to take advantage of what meagre shelter it offered.

Maybe this wouldn’t be as hard as I thought. Directly neighbouring the labs was a garage, the skeleton of a car still mounted on a part-raised hydraulic platform. A narrow alleyway between the garage and the labs led to the next block down. Perhaps if I headed down that way, I could enter the labs from the rear and circle around behind Casey . . .

I ran towards the alley, then came to a halt, looking around.

Still nothing. I steadied my breath and began to make my way down to the far end.