Ben points at one of the unmarked doors. Harry nods as though to give his agreement and rises to follow. Ben walks slowly to the door and tries the handle. It yields to reveal a bathroom of sorts. One shower unit at the end. One stainless steel toilet. One basin fitted to the wall. Three neatly folded grey towels each with a new toothbrush inside a large clear plastic cup. ‘Bathroom,’ Ben says to Harry, who moves to peer over his shoulder.

Ben goes inside, grabs the first cup and twists the tap to run the water. He rinses the cup, fills it up, sips then gulps the contents down greedily. The water is like nothing he has ever tasted before. Cool, fresh, light and purer than any water he has ever drunk.

Harry watches from the open door. He moves in to take the cup from the second pile and holds it under the running water. The suspicious look stays on his face until the first sip is taken, then his eyes come alive and he drinks it down in one long gulp followed by a noisy belch and a new suspicious look, but this one directed at the cup. He fills his again, drinks it down then holds the cup in front of his face and taps a fingernail against the side.

‘What’s this?’ Harry asks.

‘Plastic,’ Ben says obviously.

Harry glances at him. ‘We got plastic but nowt like this,’ he says, switching the glare from Ben to the cup.

Ben looks out of the room to the name Harry Madden stencilled on the door. ‘You taking the piss?’ Ben asks him, then realises he just asked a very big man a rude question in the bathroom of a prison. ‘I mean, like . . . you know . . . it’s totally cool if you are.’

Safa hears them move across the room on the other side of her door. Low conversations. Another door opening and what sounds like running water and it’s that sound that makes her decide to go out. Her thirst is immense. Her mouth and throat feel bone dry. She needs water. With a deep breath, she pushes the handle, not expecting the door to open. When it does she has to step back quickly, which causes the dizziness to sweep through her again. She grabs the door frame and fights the sensation with her eyes closed. The voices stop talking. She detects the sound of motion and snaps her eyes open as Ben walks towards her in concern at her falling.

‘Get the fuck away . . .’ she snarls and steps back with her vision blurred and threatening to close in.

‘Okay,’ Ben says quickly, softly. ‘You’ll be okay. The dizziness passes . . .’