‘We’ve still got his clothes,’ Malcolm says. ‘We can time it so you arrive just after we’ve taken him.’

‘Fuck,’ Safa mouths again at the idea of it. It felt right outside but now it feels wrong again. This can’t be it. It can’t, but it is. It’s what he wants. ‘Malcolm, can you get the footage?’

‘I’ll do it now.’ Malcolm eases from the table, leaving them in a silence broken only by swallows and throats being cleared as coffee is poured and cups are lifted. A few minutes is all it takes and Malcolm rushes back with a large-screen tablet, which he places on the table. He thumbs the screen while the others wait and drink coffee.

‘It’s ready,’ Malcolm says. ‘Er . . . you want 3D or . . . ?’

‘Stick with normal,’ Safa says. Malcolm nods and turns the device so the others can see the front.

Harry stares at the image and the weird triangle showing in the middle that Safa leans forward to touch lightly. The image changes, showing pin-sharp, high-definition, real-time footage of a train platform. Dense crowds waiting and, despite the years between them, Harry immediately recognises the unique style of the London Underground and the sign emblazoned with ‘Holborn’ on the back wall.

‘That’s Ben,’ Safa says, pointing at Ben walking out of a side door at the end of the platform. ‘He’d just had a meeting with the works manager and Ben being Ben he’d pissed the bloke off enough to get kicked out in the middle of the Underground. See, the door slams in his face.’

‘That’s Ben,’ Harry says in shock at recognising Ben so easily.

‘Yeah.’ She freezes the image of the footage she’s watched so many times. ‘See this woman?’

‘Yes.’

‘She’s one of the environmental activists. This guy here, the tall one with ginger hair, this woman, this man at the back . . . there’s one behind this crowd kneeling down and another one over here. They’re all wearing I Love London T-shirts and rain jackets.’

‘Pretending not to be together,’ Harry says, clocking the distance between them.