Her words came in a nervous rush. ‘Yes, he told me everything. About the growths, Mitchell, the Founders – all that, and a million and one other things. But he doesn’t have a copy of the files himself. He’s going to need them. We all are.’

Saul started moving again. ‘I’ve seen classified videos,’ he said, aware of the hysteria lurking at the bottom of his throat, ‘and I’ve read documents all telling me how the world is coming to an end. I’m even scared to let myself think about it too much, in case I go crazy.’

‘Are you sure you’re okay?’

‘I don’t know, Olivia. How the hell should I be?’

‘I don’t know either,’ she replied, her voice choking on tears. ‘I wish I did.’

Goddamn her. A part of him still wanted to hold her in his arms. He thought of Jeff, and felt a simmering resentment that he thought he’d outgrown long ago.

‘Look, I can send a copy of the files over to you right now.’

‘No, don’t do that. I found out they’ve got routines built into them that give away your location if they’re transmitted over any kind of network.’

Saul groaned, remembering that Donohue had told him much the same thing. ‘I sent them to you,’ Saul reminded her, ‘when they were still encrypted.’

‘Then it’s a good thing I didn’t stay at home, where I could be found.’

‘Fine, so what exactly does Jeff want to do with the files?’

‘Broadcast them,’ she replied. ‘People need to know what’s really going on, especially out there in the colonies. By the time the news starts spreading, we’ll be on our way to somewhere safe, and then it won’t matter if those people who tried to kill Jeff figure out where we are.’

‘Why Arizona?’

‘We’re at the Launch Pad facility,’ she said. ‘With the same people that took you and Mitchell up on your sub-orbital jump, remember?’

He ad a sudden mental flash of sleek black VASIMRs extending in ranks across the desert sands. ‘Like I could ever forget. But why are you there?’

‘Because they also run flights to the Moon, old-style Moon launches for people rich enough to afford it. It takes about three days to Copernicus City, the hard way – especially if you want to avoid passing through the Florida Array, for any reason.’

He realized, with a start, what she was telling him. ‘You’re seriously telling me you’re going to fly to the Moon?’

‘Strictly speaking, it’s only Mitchell that’s flying there.’

The rain started to ease off. ‘But what about you and Jeff? How are you getting there?’

He heard her sigh. ‘I’m not going to the Moon,’ she explained, ‘and neither is Jeff.’

‘I don’t understand.’

Saul listened as Olivia told him their plans to head for the Jupiter orbital platform.